Modularity in robotic systems

Most robotic systems today are designed one at a time, at a high cost of time and money. This wasteful approach has been necessary because the industry has not established a foundation for the continued evolution of intelligent machines. The next generation of robots will have to be generic, versatile machines capable of absorbing new technology rapidly and economically. This approach is demonstrated in the success of the personal computer, which can be upgraded or expanded with new software and hardware at virtually every level. Modularity is perceived as a major opportunity to reduce the 6 to 7 year design cycle time now required for new robotic manipulators, greatly increasing the breadth and speed of diffusion of robotic systems in manufacturing. Modularity and its crucial role in the next generation of intelligent machines are the focus of interest. The main advantages that modularity provides are examined; types of modules needed to create a generic robot are discussed. Structural modules designed by the robotics group at the University of Texas at Austin are examined to demonstrate the advantages of modular design

Earth orbital teleoperator system man-machine interface evaluation

The teleoperator system man-machine interface evaluation develops and implements a program to determine human performance requirements in teleoperator systems

Automated assessment of movement impairment in Huntington's disease

Quantitative assessment of movement impairment in Huntington’s disease (HD) is essential to monitoring of disease progression. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel low cost, objective automated system for the evaluation of upper limb movement impairment in HD in order to eliminate the inconsistency of the assessor and offer a more sensitive, continuous assessment scale. Patients with genetically confirmed HD and healthy controls were recruited to this observational study. Demographic data including age (years), gender and Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale Total Motor Score (UHDRS-TMS) were recorded. For the purposes of this study a modified upper limb motor impairment score (mULMS) was generated from the UHDRS-TMS. All participants completed a brief, standardized clinical assessment of upper limb dexterity whilst wearing a tri-axial accelerometer on each wrist and on the sternum. The captured acceleration data were used to develop an automatic classification system for discriminating between healthy and HD participants and to automatically generate a continuous Movement Impairment Score (MIS) that reflected the degree of the movement impairment. Data from 48 healthy and 44 HD participants was used to validate the developed system, which achieved 98.78% accuracy in discriminating between healthy and HD participants. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the automatic MIS and the clinician rated mULMS was 0.77 with a p-value < 0.01. The approach presented in this study demonstrates the possibility of an automated objective, consistent and sensitive assessment of the HD movement impairment

Function-Based Mapping of Industrial Assistance Systems to User Groups in Production

Abstract By looking at the last few decades, industrial production has undergone great changes. Industry 4.0, also called the fourth industrial revolution, describes the change in the entire value chain through the digital networking of systems, machines, and products. In addition, product variety and complexity in assembly increased due to customization. Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things, Horizontal and Vertical Data Integration and Cyber-Physical Production Systems are just some examples of technologies that find their way from research into industrial practice. However, the most important resource is often neglected, when talking about industry: the human. When we look at companies, we find different types of personnel in production, each with different requirements and capabilities. Assistance systems can be used to counteract these new challenges and offer adequate support to each individual worker. In the past, much research has been done to develop new worker assistance systems, while the analysis of specific needs of user groups in production has been ignored. This paper presents a function-based mapping of industrial worker assistance systems to different user groups and proposes a method for selecting the most appropriate assistance system to each user group

Micro-motion controller

Micro-motions in surgical applications are small motions in the range of a few millimeters and are common in ophthalmic surgery, neurosurgery, and other surgeries which require precise manipulation over short distances. Robotic surgery is replacing traditional open surgery at a rapid pace due to the obvious health benefits, however, most of the robotic surgical tools use robotic motion controllers that are designed to work over a large portion of the human body, thus involving motion of the entire human arm at shoulder joint. This requirement to move a large inertial mass results in undesirable, unwanted, and imprecise motion. This senior design project has created a 2-axis micro-motion “capable” platform, where the device studies the most common linear, 2-D surgical micro-motion of pinched human fingers in a damped and un-damped state. Through a system of printed and modeled parts in combination with motors and encoders a microsurgical controller was developed which can provide location-based output on a screen. Mechanical damping was introduced to research potential stability of micro-motion in any surgeon’s otherwise unsteady hand. The device is to also serve as a starter set for future biomedical device research projects in Santa Clara University’s bioengineering department. Further developments in the microsurgical controller such as further scaling, addition of a third axis, haptic feedback through the microcontroller, and component encasing to allow productization for use on an industrial robotic surgical device for clinical applications

Development of a Method for the Characterization, Assessment and Control of Human Induced Uncertainty During Usage

Prediction of a system’s stress in succession to a human-machine interaction is difficult due to the variety and variability of the involved factors. Thereby, the human factor represents an important role, positive as well as negative, whereat the resulting uncertainty can be ascribed to the human performance variability. Current approaches for the investigation of the human influence onto system stress predominantly focus on human error and thus only on the negative aspects. In contrast, the concept of uncertainty recently attracts increased attention and allows for a holistic assessment of human induced uncertainty, but misses an applicable method. Assessment of the human influence onto the uncertainty during usage would lead to the reduction of safety measures and thus to a conservation of resources. The present work addresses the development of a holistic approach for the characterization, assessment, quantification and control of the human influence onto the uncertainty during usage. Based on a literature review, a model for the description of human-machine interaction, focusing on human sub-processes, is developed and a total of 67 influencing factors are allocated to the model’s elements. On this basis, the method of Human Uncertainty Modes and Effects Analysis (HUMEAn) is derived, which allows for a systemic assessment and quantification of human induced uncertainty. The developed method of HUMEAn is subsequently applied within a laboratory study to investigate the uncertainty of the human sub-process execution of action. For this, 58 participants must fulfill the task to place a specific weight on top of a tripod. The interindividual human influence, represented by the strength and dexterity of the participants, as well as the influence of task variation in form of different placing weights and instructions, are assessed. As a first result, system stress seems to follow a lognormal distribution. Thereby, a significant negative influence of the placing weight as well as the strength of the participants onto the resulting system stress is found. In contrast, specific instructions as well as the dexterity of the participants show a significant positive impact onto uncertainty. During a second study with 44 participants, the HUMEAn is applied for the investigation of the complex task of landing an airplane. Thereby, the human sub-process choice of action in conjunction with intraindividual influences are focused. The uncertainty of choice of action is quantified by means of a Markov model. Again, the resulting uncertainty is represented by a lognormal distribution. Further, pilots holding a commercial pilot license tend to less variation within their action sequence as other pilots. Overall, a significant positive influence of the factors qualification, simulator- and flight experience are found. Moreover, several predictors for the resulting system stress for specific states of the Markov model are identified. A third study with 32 participants is conducted to investigate the applicability of appropriate interface design for the reduction of uncertainty. Therefore, participants must stack two identical weights consecutively on top of a tripod. The findings confirm the possibility to reduce uncertainty regarding the resulting system stress through the implementation of appropriate feedback. Overall, the developed model and the derived methodological approach of the HUMEAn allow for a systematic and holistic characterization and quantification of human induced uncertainty. Based on the application of the method, implications for the control and reduction of human induced uncertainty can be realized, e.g. through selection or qualification of the operator as well as through appropriate interface design

Multifingered under-actuated hands in robotic assembly

New production paradigm of mass customization imposes the development of flexible gripping systems with exceptional dexterity, capable of mimicking grasping behavior of human hands. In this context, the most demanding technical challenges are: motoric capabilities and related design aspects, overall weight and size, and tactile and other perceptual capabilities. Also, to make the gripper industry acceptable, it should be in affordable price range. Having all that in mind, concept of the multifingered under-actuated hand appears as good candidate to be an optimal, general purpose solution. This paper presents the general conceptual framework for development of multifingered hands which are based on under-actuation principle