Segmented capacitance tomography electrodes: a design and experimental verifications

A segmented capacitance tomography system for real-time imaging of multiphase flows is developed and pre-sented in this work. The earlier research shows that the electrical tomography (ECT) system is applicable in flow visualization (image reconstruction). The acquired concentration profile ob-tained from capacitance measurements able to imaged liquid and gas mixture in pipelines meanwhile the system development is designed to attach on a vessel. The electrode plates which act as the sensor previously has been assembled and fixed on the pipeline, thus it causes obscurity for the production to have any new process installation in the future. Therefore, a segmented electrode sensor offers a new design and idea on ECT system which is portable to be assembled in different diameter sizes of pipeline, and it is flexible to apply in any number due to different size of pipeline without the need of redesigning the sensing module. The new ap-proach of this sensing module contains the integration intelligent electrode sensing circuit on every each of electrode sensors. A microcontroller unit and data acquisition (DAQ) system has been integrated on the electrode sensing circuit and USB technology was applied into the data acquisition system making the sensor able to work independently. Other than that the driven guard that usually placed between adjacent measuring electrodes and earth screen has been embedded on the segmented electrode sensor plates. This eliminates the cable noise and the electrode, so the signal conditioning board can be expanded according to pipe diameter

A Caging Inspired Gripper using Flexible Fingers and a Movable Palm

This paper proposes the design of a robotic gripper motivated by the bin-picking problem, where a variety of objects need to be picked from cluttered bins. The presented gripper design focuses on an enveloping cage-like approach, which surrounds the object with three hooked fingers, and then presses into the object with a movable palm. The fingers are flexible and imbue grasps with some elasticity, helping to conform to objects and, crucially, adding friction to cases where an object cannot be caged. This approach proved effective on a set of basic shapes, such as cuboids and cylinders, in which every object could be grasped. In particular, flat bottom parts could be grasped in a very stable manner, as demonstrated by testing grasps with multiple 5N and 10N disturbances. A set of supermarket items were also tested, highlighting promising features such as effective grasping of fruits and vegetables, as well as some limitations in the current embodiment, which is not always able to slip the fingers underneath objects

A Modular Bio-inspired Robotic Hand with High Sensitivity

While parallel grippers and multi-fingered robotic hands are well developed and commonly used in structured settings, it remains a challenge in robotics to design a highly articulated robotic hand that can be comparable to human hands to handle various daily manipulation and grasping tasks. Dexterity usually requires more actuators but also leads to a more sophisticated mechanism design and is more expensive to fabricate and maintain. Soft materials are able to provide compliance and safety when interacting with the physical world but are hard to model. This work presents a hybrid bio-inspired robotic hand that combines soft matters and rigid elements. Sensing is integrated into the rigid bodies resulting in a simple way for pose estimation with high sensitivity. The proposed hand is in a modular structure allowing for rapid fabrication and programming. The fabrication process is carefully designed so that a full hand can be made with low-cost materials and assembled in an efficient manner. We demonstrate the dexterity of the hand by successfully performing human grasp types.Comment: 7 pages, 13 figures, IEEE RoboSoft 202

Analysis of Myoelectrical Signals for Building a Dextrous Hand

We analyze techniques for myoelectrical signals classification for the purpose of designing a multifunctional prosthetic device for human amputees. The main advantage of our system over existing models is that it is more robust, easier to work with, more general, and efficient enough to run in real time. We achieve this with the help of Supervised Growing Cell Structures. an artificial neural network model designed by Fritzke [10]. The current paper focuses on the flexion of the index, middle and ring fingers, as these are the most difficult movements to tackle

Active gesture-changeable underactuated finger for humanoid robot hand based on multiple tendons

The concept called gesture-changeable under-actuated (GCUA) function is utilized to improve the dexterities of traditional under-actuated hands and reduce the control difficulties of dexterous hands. Based on GCUA function, a novel mechanical finger by multiple tendons: GCUA-T finger, is designed. The finger uses tendon mechanisms to achieve GCUA function which includes traditional underactuated (UA) grasping motion and special pre-bending (PB, or pre-shaping) motion before UA grasping. Operation principles and force analyses of the fingers are given, and the effect of GCUA function on the movements of a hand is discussed. The finger can satisfy the requirements of grasping and operating with low dependence on control system and low cost on manufacturing expenses, which develops a new way between dexterous hand and traditional under-actuated hand. <br><br> <i>This paper was presented at the IFToMM/ASME International Workshop on Underactuated Grasping (UG2010), 19 August 2010, Montréal, Canada.</i&gt

FEEDBACK LINEARIZATION FOR DECOUPLED POSITION/STIFFNESS CONTROL OF BIDIRECTIONAL ANTAGONISTIC DRIVES

To ensure safe human-robot interaction impedance robot control has arisen as one of the key challenges in robotics. This paper elaborates control of bidirectional antagonistic drives – qbmove maker pro. Due to its mechanical structure, both position and stiffness of bidirectional antagonistic drives could be controlled independently. To that end, we applied feedback linearization. Feedback linearization based approach initially decouples systems in two linear single-input-single-output subsystems: position subsystem and stiffness subsystem. The paper elaborates preconditions for feedback linearization and its implementation. The paper presents simulation results that prove the concept but points out application issues due to the complex mechanical structure of the bidirectional antagonistic drives

Origami-inspired soft twisting actuator

Soft actuators have shown great advantages in compliance and morphology matched for manipulation of delicate objects and inspection in a confined space. There is an unmet need for a soft actuator that can provide torsional motion to e.g. enlarge working space and increase degrees of freedom. Towards this goal, we present origami-inspired soft pneumatic actuators (OSPAs) made from silicone. The prototype can output a rotation of more than one revolution (up to 435{\deg}), more significant than its counterparts. Its rotation ratio (=rotation angle/ aspect ratio) is more than 136{\deg}, about twice the largest one in other literature. We describe the design and fabrication method, build the analytical model and simulation model, and analyze and optimize the parameters. Finally, we demonstrate the potentially extensive utility of the OSPAs through their integration into a gripper capable of simultaneously grasping and lifting fragile or flat objects, a versatile robot arm capable of picking and placing items at the right angle with the twisting actuators, and a soft snake robot capable of changing attitude and directions by torsion of the twisting actuators.Comment: 9 figures. Soft Robotics (2022