Traversability Analysis of a Novel One-DOF Robotic Leg

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Birglen ◽  
Carlos Ruella
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Mobile Robotics ◽  
Simulation Algorithm ◽  
Novel Technique ◽  
The Past ◽  
Robotic Leg ◽  
Leg Design ◽  
First Time

In legged mobile robotics the most common approach is to design fully actuated legs with several degrees of freedom (DOF) in order to successfully navigate through rough terrains. However, simpler leg architectures with as few as one-DOF have been developed in the past to achieve the very same goal. The ability of these simpler legs to traverse uneven terrains is arguably limited with respect to multi-DOF designs, but in some applications the reduction of the DOF and hence, of the number of actuators, as well as the simplicity of the associated control could be a great advantage and the decisive argument. In this paper, the authors propose a novel one-DOF robotic leg that has been specially designed to achieve the greatest robustness possible with respect to the difficult terrains it has to traverse. In order to do that, a method to analyze and optimize any one-DOF robotic leg with respect to its ability to overcome obstacles is proposed here. This method is based on a simple and efficient novel technique to generate synthetic terrains combined with a simulation algorithm estimating the traversability of the particular one-DOF leg design under scrutiny. To illustrate the generality of the proposed method, it is used to design both an optimal leg with the architecture presented here for the first time and also, one with the most common one-DOF leg architecture found in the literature.

scholarly journals The emerging technology of biohybrid micro-robots: a review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zening Lin ◽  
Tao Jiang ◽  
Jianzhong Shang
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Multiple Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
The Past ◽  
Great Prevalence ◽  
Performance Decline ◽  
High Energy Efficiency ◽  
Living Tissues

Abstract In the past few decades, robotics research has witnessed an increasingly high interest in miniaturized, intelligent, and integrated robots. The imperative component of a robot is the actuator that determines its performance. Although traditional rigid drives such as motors and gas engines have shown great prevalence in most macroscale circumstances, the reduction of these drives to the millimeter or even lower scale results in a significant increase in manufacturing difficulty accompanied by a remarkable performance decline. Biohybrid robots driven by living cells can be a potential solution to overcome these drawbacks by benefiting from the intrinsic microscale self-assembly of living tissues and high energy efficiency, which, among other unprecedented properties, also feature flexibility, self-repair, and even multiple degrees of freedom. This paper systematically reviews the development of biohybrid robots. First, the development of biological flexible drivers is introduced while emphasizing on their advantages over traditional drivers. Second, up-to-date works regarding biohybrid robots are reviewed in detail from three aspects: biological driving sources, actuator materials, and structures with associated control methodologies. Finally, the potential future applications and major challenges of biohybrid robots are explored. Graphic abstract

scholarly journals Additive Manufacturing for Effective Smart Structures: The Idea of 6D Printing

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Stelios K. Georgantzinos ◽  
Georgios I. Giannopoulos ◽  
Panteleimon A. Bakalis
Keyword(s):  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Smart Structures ◽  
Interaction Mechanism ◽  
Modeling And Simulations ◽  
Environmental Stimulus ◽  
Material Component ◽  
Design And Manufacturing ◽  
First Time ◽  
Printing Techniques

This paper aims to establish six-dimensional (6D) printing as a new branch of additive manufacturing investigating its benefits, advantages as well as possible limitations concerning the design and manufacturing of effective smart structures. The concept of 6D printing, to the authors’ best knowledge, is introduced for the first time. The new method combines the four-dimensional (4D) and five-dimensional (5D) printing techniques. This means that the printing process is going to use five degrees of freedom for creating the final object while the final produced material component will be a smart/intelligent one (i.e., will be capable of changing its shape or properties due to its interaction with an environmental stimulus). A 6D printed structure can be stronger and more effective than a corresponding 4D printed structure, can be manufactured using less material, can perform movements by being exposed to an external stimulus through an interaction mechanism, and it may learn how to reconfigure itself suitably, based on predictions via mathematical modeling and simulations.

scholarly journals Does Neonatal Imitation Exist? Insights From a Meta-Analysis of 336 Effect Sizes

2021 ◽  
pp. 174569162095983
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Davis ◽  
Jonathan Redshaw ◽  
Thomas Suddendorf ◽  
Mark Nielsen ◽  
Siobhan Kennedy-Costantini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Positive Result ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Significant Evidence ◽  
The Past ◽  
Substantial Heterogeneity

Neonatal imitation is a cornerstone in many theoretical accounts of human development and social behavior, yet its existence has been debated for the past 40 years. To examine possible explanations for the inconsistent findings in this body of research, we conducted a multilevel meta-analysis synthesizing 336 effect sizes from 33 independent samples of human newborns, reported in 26 articles. The meta-analysis found significant evidence for neonatal imitation ( d = 0.68, 95% CI = [0.39, 0.96], p < .001) but substantial heterogeneity between study estimates. This heterogeneity was not explained by any of 13 methodological moderators identified by previous reviews, but it was associated with researcher affiliation, test of moderators ( QM) (15) = 57.09, p < .001. There are at least two possible explanations for these results: (a) Neonatal imitation exists and its detection varies as a function of uncaptured methodological factors common to a limited set of studies, and (2) neonatal imitation does not exist and the overall positive result is an artifact of high researcher degrees of freedom.

Proctorship in Minimally Invasive Colorectal Surgery

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (03) ◽  
pp. 186-193
Author(s):  
Assad Zahid ◽  
Danilo Miskovic
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Colorectal Surgery ◽  
Minimally Invasive ◽  
Emerging Technology ◽  
Specific Technique ◽  
Novel Technique ◽  
The Past ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Minimally Invasive Colorectal Surgery ◽  
Teaching Programs

AbstractTeaching an established surgeon in a novel technique by a colleague who has acquired a level of expertise is often referred to as “proctoring” or “precepting.” Surgical preceptorships can be defined as supervised teaching programs, whereby individual or groups of surgeons (proctors) experienced in a certain technique support a colleague who wants to adopt this technique (sometimes referred to as “delegates” or “preceptees”). Preceptorship programs really focus on a specific technique, technology, or skill which is required to broaden, complement, or transform an established surgeon's practice.Within colorectal surgery, in the past 30 years, there is been an evolution of interventional options including open, laparoscopic, robotic, and endoscopic procedures. With each new emerging technology and technique, safe and effective uptake by established surgeons is best been attained by a period of proctorship by an experienced colleague. Formalizing this has been facilitated largely through industry support. There, however, remains a considerable chasm when it comes to standardization, quality control, and jurisprudence.This article aims to describe the requirements for a contemporary proctorship program, to examine instruments of quality control, and how to improve effectiveness.

FC14-01 - Internal losses and the creation of “Nowhere land”: psychodynamic themes of adults with ADHD discovered during drama-therapy

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1893-1893
Author(s):  
I. Manor ◽  
G. Yazpan
Keyword(s):  
Drama Therapy ◽  
Transitional Space ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chronic Disorder ◽  
Pharmacological Aspect ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
Socioeconomic Strata ◽  
The Creation ◽  
First Time

ADHD is a well-known, chronic disorder that persists in adulthood. During the past 20 years its existence in adults is becoming clearer, yet its dynamic aspects are rarely discussed. The treatment of adults is vital, as much as that of children; however the literature discussing it, especially its non-pharmacological aspect, is scarce.We describe the results of our treatment with drama-therapy of two groups of adults with ADHD. These groups included 11 adults (from both groups), men and women, from most socioeconomic strata, aged ≥ 60 yrs., who were diagnosed as suffering from ADHD and were treated for it for the first time in their life. Drama-therapy was selected as we believed it to be a useful method with associative, distracted ADHD patients, since it enabled the use of transitional space through non-verbal images and acts.This presentation discusses the basic themes with which patients began therapy. Interestingly, all patients, however different, shared the same themes that were built on self doubt and the pre-presumption of disappointment. The impairment related to ADHD, that was felt, but not understood, led to a strong experience of heavy losses, which we tried to define separately: of a clear path, of control, of the inner perception of borders and of the loss of an integrative inner self. All these losses were accumulated in the transitional space in a place we named “Nowhere land”.We would like to present these themes of losses and of becoming lost and to discuss their meaning.

BRAZILIAN BISHOP OUTLINES "A PASTORAL STRATEGY IN TIMES OF REVOLUTION"

Exchange ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-57
Keyword(s):  
Northeast Brazil ◽  
Profound Change ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The Past ◽  
First Time

AbstractMons. Antonio Batista Fragoso has been bishop of Crateus in Northeast Brazil for the past ten years. Eighty percent of the 360,000 people in his diocese are impoverished peasants who engage in rudimentary farming. At least half of the peasants are landless. It is among these people that Bishop Fragoso has encouraged the formation of small grassroots Christian communities that are responsible for a profound change in the patterns of Christian living in his diocese. The following is LP's translation of excerpts from a talk that Bishop Fragoso gave to his fellow bishops and priests in Managua in October, 1980. This is the first time it has appeared in English. (Editor Latinamerica Press)

scholarly journals Multi-stable composite twisting structure for morphing applications

2012 ◽  
Vol 468 (2141) ◽  
pp. 1230-1251 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Lachenal ◽  
P. M. Weaver ◽  
S. Daynes
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Model ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Engineering Structures ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Morphing Structure ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Unstable States

Conventional shape-changing engineering structures use discrete parts articulated around a number of linkages. Each part carries the loads, and the articulations provide the degrees of freedom of the system, leading to heavy and complex mechanisms. Consequently, there has been increased interest in morphing structures over the past decade owing to their potential to combine the conflicting requirements of strength, flexibility and low mass. This article presents a novel type of morphing structure capable of large deformations, simply consisting of two pre-stressed flanges joined to introduce two stable configurations. The bistability is analysed through a simple analytical model, predicting the positions of the stable and unstable states for different design parameters and material properties. Good correlation is found between experimental results, finite-element modelling and predictions from the analytical model for one particular example. A wide range of design parameters and material properties is also analytically investigated, yielding a remarkable structure with zero stiffness along the twisting axis.

scholarly journals Novel AI driven approach to classify infant motor functions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Reich ◽  
Dajie Zhang ◽  
Tomas Kulvicius ◽  
Sven Bölte ◽  
Karin Nielsen-Saines ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Movement Pattern ◽  
Video Stream ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
The Past ◽  
Movement Assessment ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Ablation Study ◽  
First Time ◽  
Efficient Screening

AbstractThe past decade has evinced a boom of computer-based approaches to aid movement assessment in early infancy. Increasing interests have been dedicated to develop AI driven approaches to complement the classic Prechtl general movements assessment (GMA). This study proposes a novel machine learning algorithm to detect an age-specific movement pattern, the fidgety movements (FMs), in a prospectively collected sample of typically developing infants. Participants were recorded using a passive, single camera RGB video stream. The dataset of 2800 five-second snippets was annotated by two well-trained and experienced GMA assessors, with excellent inter- and intra-rater reliabilities. Using OpenPose, the infant full pose was recovered from the video stream in the form of a 25-points skeleton. This skeleton was used as input vector for a shallow multilayer neural network (SMNN). An ablation study was performed to justify the network’s architecture and hyperparameters. We show for the first time that the SMNN is sufficient to discriminate fidgety from non-fidgety movements in a sample of age-specific typical movements with a classification accuracy of 88%. The computer-based solutions will complement original GMA to consistently perform accurate and efficient screening and diagnosis that may become universally accessible in daily clinical practice in the future.

New species and record of Pseudonereis (Annelida, Polychaeta, Nereididae) from Taiwan

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4996 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-512
Author(s):  
PAN-WEN HSUEH
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Record ◽  
Length Ratio ◽  
Offshore Island ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Record Species ◽  
Ridge Pattern ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
First Time ◽  
Key Characters

Two new species and one new record species of the genus Pseudonereis are described from specimens collected from ecological surveys of coasts of Taiwan and an offshore island during the past 15 years: P. jihueiensis n. sp., P. kihawensis n. sp., and P. trimaculata. Epitokes of P. jihueiensis n. sp. and P. trimaculata are also described. Pseudonereis jihueiensis n. sp. can be distinguished from congeners by having edentate jaws, χ-shaped ridge pattern of Areas VI–V–VI, parapodial morphology (i.e., length ratio of dorsal cirrus to dorsal ligule or presence of small pennant-like dorsal ligule, shape of dorsal ligule in certain region of chaetigers), and no heterogomph spinigers in the subacicular fascicle of the neuropodia. Pseudonereis kihawensis n. sp. differs from congeners by having crescent-shaped pointed-bars in Area VI, λ-shaped ridge pattern of Areas VI–V–VI, parapodial morphology (i.e., length ratio of dorsal cirrus to dorsal ligule or presence of small pennant-like dorsal ligule or shape of dorsal ligule in certain region of chaetigers), and no heterogomph spinigers in the subacicular fascicle of the neuropodia. Pseudonereis trimaculata, a species originally described from Indonesia, is reported from Taiwan for the first time. A table of key characters for all species of Pseudonereis is provided.  

The Roman Imperial Cult in Smyrna

Belleten ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 76 (276) ◽  
pp. 385-402
Author(s):  
Murat Kılıç
Keyword(s):  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Imperial Cult ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Right ◽  
Rising Power ◽  
First Time ◽  
The City

The origins of the imperial cult in Smyrna date back to the Hellenistic period. It is a fact that political concerns were effective in the generation of such cults. Predicting the super power of the future and proving to be a loyal ally whilst acting in satisfactory behaviors were essential factors. The right preference made between two fighting or contending powers ensured that a city would benefit from various privileges in the future. For example, Symrna, which had established a cult in the city previously on behalf of Stratonice, the mother of Antiochus II of Seleucid dynasty, would do the same by building a temple in the name of the dty of Rome for the first time in Asia in 195 BC, after recognizing the rising power. Later on, while giving permission to the provinces that wanted to establish an imperial cult, the Roman emperors and the Senate would consider first, their relationships with Rome in the past and second, their origins. Smyrna, building its relationships with the Roman state on a solid basis, was granted the title of neokoros three times by the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Hadrianus and Caracalla, respectively. In this essay, the development of the Roman imperial cult in Smyrna is discussed within the historical process outlined above. An attempt has been made to put forth new opinions about the issue by discussing the academicians' evaluations on the imperial cult, which apparently was effectively executed in Smyrna between the first and third centuries AD, with the support of epigraphic and numismatic evidences.

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