scholarly journals A Low-Cost, Highly Customizable Solution for Position Estimation in Modular Robots

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Chao Liu ◽  
Tarik Tosun ◽  
Mark Yim

Abstract Accurate position sensing is important for state estimation and control in robotics. Reliable and accurate position sensors are usually expensive and difficult to customize. Incorporating them into systems that have very tight volume constraints such as modular robots are particularly difficult. PaintPots are a low-cost, reliable, and highly customizable position sensor, but their performance is highly dependent on the manufacturing and calibration process. This paper presents a Kalman Filter with a simplified observation model developed to deal with the nonlinearity issues that result from the use of low-cost microcontrollers. In addition, a complete solution for the use of PaintPots in a variety of sensing modalities including manufacturing, characterization, and estimation is presented for an example modular robot, SMORES-EP. This solution can be easily adapted to a wide range of applications.

2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110165
Author(s):  
Mohammadhiwa Abdekhoda ◽  
Fatemeh Ranjbaran ◽  
Asghar Sattari

This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the role of information and information resources in the awareness, control, and prevention of COVID-19. This study was a descriptive-analytical survey in which 450 participants were selected for the study. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data through SPSS. The findings show that a wide range of mass media has become well known as information resources for COVID-19. Other findings indicate a significant statistical difference in the rate of using information resources during COVID-19 based on age and gender; however, this difference is not significant regarding the reliability of information resources with regard to age and gender. Health information has an undisputable role in the prevention and control of pandemic diseases such as COVID-19. Providing accurate, reliable, and evidence-based information in a timely manner for the use of resources and information channels related to COVID-19 can be a fast and low-cost strategic approach in confronting this disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad N. Yousaf ◽  
Victoria S. Joshi ◽  
John E. Britt ◽  
Chad G. Rose ◽  
Marcia K. O’Malley

Abstract Although soft robotic assistive gloves have high potential for restoring functional independence for individuals with motor impairment, their lack of rigid components makes it difficult to obtain accurate position sensing to validate their performance. To track soft device motion, standard practice relies on costly optical motion capture techniques, which have reduced accuracy due to limitations in marker occlusion and device deformation. We propose the Instrumented Hand as a low-cost, open-source measurement tool to serve as a standard solution for acquiring joint-level position and torque measurements from magnetoresistive sensors. Shown in a case study, the Instrumented Hand can be used to validate soft wearable devices and evaluate range of motion (ROM) and torque capabilities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Khamis ◽  
D. Subbaram Naidu ◽  
Ahmed M. Kamel

This paper presents an efficient online technique used for finite-horizon, nonlinear, stochastic, regulator, and tracking problems. This can be accomplished by the integration of the differential SDRE filter algorithm and the finite-horizon state dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) technique. Unlike the previous methods which deal with the linearized system, this technique provides finite-horizon estimation and control of the nonlinear stochastic systems. Further, the proposed technique is effective for a wide range of operating points. Simulation results of a missile guidance system are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio C. Chacón-Torres ◽  
C. Reinoso ◽  
Daniela G. Navas-Leon ◽  
S. Briceño ◽  
G. González

Abstract Ecuador is one of the most affected countries, with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, in Latin America derived from an ongoing economic crisis. One of the most important methods for COVID-19 detection is the use of techniques such as real time RT- PCR based on a previous extraction/purification of RNA procedure from nasopharyngeal cells using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNP). This technique allows the processing of ~10,000 tests per day in private companies and around hundreds per day at local Universities guaranteeing to reach a wide range of the population. However, the main drawback of this method is the need for specialized MNP with a strong negative charge for the viral RNA purification to detect the existence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here we present a simplified low cost method to produce 10 g of nanoparticles in 100 mL of solution that was scaled to one litter by parallelizing the process 10 times in just two days and allowing for the possibility of making ~50,000 COVID-19 tests. This communication helps in reducing the cost of acquiring MNP for diverse biomolecular applications supporting developing country budgets constraints and chemical availability specially during the COVID-19 International Health Emergency.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Guido Valerio ◽  
Simona Mazzocchi ◽  
Alessandro Galli ◽  
Matteo Ciattaglia ◽  
Marco Zucca

A novel class of structures is proposed to realize ultra-wide-band radiating elements for large arrays, providing dual polarization, beam scanning, and compact and inexpensive realization based on suitable rhombic arrangements of dipoles printed on low-cost layered substrates. In a first implementation, four rhombic shapes, orthogonally placed on the same layer, provide two orthogonal polarizations. In a second implementation, the two polarizations are excited by two rhombic shapes printed on two different layers in a stacked-patch-like arrangement. This latter structure leads to a better lateral shielding of the single radiating element, in order to reduce mutual interactions among adjacent elements in array environment. The behavioral features of these antennas have been tested with various parametric analyses. Practical aspects have been addressed such as the choice of appropriate feeding and of commercially available dielectric layers. The resulting antennas are matched at the input ports in an extremely wide range of frequencies (5–25 GHz), covering various microwave applications, such as aircraft surveillance, weather polarimetric radars, and control and communications systems. Good radiating features, in terms of pattern shape and gain, are observed in a large band of frequencies. The basic scanning performance of large and small array configurations is finally investigated.


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