Optimization of Prosthetic Hands: Utilizing Modularity to Improve Grip Force, Grasp, and Versatility

It has been demonstrated that although many varieties of upper limb prosthetics exist, commercially available prosthetics are outdated and unsatisfactory. Ineffectiveness and limitations have led to some prosthesis wearers having to own multiple devices, whereas others have given up on them entirely. Even though ample research has been conducted to design and test new hand designs, the industry appears to rest in an overall stagnated state. It was proposed here, that one problem with prosthetic research is an excess of variables involved in testing, and therefore the improper application of the scientific method. It seems that each time a research team desires to test a new idea, a completely new hand and system is designed to house it. A costly and time-consuming cycle is then initiated which may lead to comparing the merits of one hand to the performance of distinct hand designs with multiple differences. Since these comparisons involve multiple variables, the results are often inconclusive and many projects end up shelved. To help advance prosthetic improvement, it seems necessary to unclog the process by lowering costs, speeding up development, and implementing an improved basis for comparison. The proposed method for achieving the first two objectives is to make use of a 3D printed hand platform. Such prosthetics are durable, inexpensive, and quick to manufacture and assemble. This allows for rapid transition from idea to prototype, and from observation to improvement. The method for improving comparison is the addition of modularity into the prosthetic. If a single hand could be reconfigured to implement different attributes and ideas, the merit of each innovation could be independently demonstrated and verified. In this research, a 3D printed hand was chosen which could accommodate configurations capable of adding adaptation as well as a resting state of partial curvature to the basic hand. The various configurations, including neither, each, and both changes were then tested in a series of experiments. These were arranged to discover the maximum weight that could be sustained while the hand attempted to maintain grasp on various bar shapes. These tests were run in two different test setups: attached to a non-amputee’s arm and suspended by clamps, in order to determine the influence introduced by the limitations of human strength and physiology. These rounds of testing successfully demonstrated that small modifications to the prosthetic could yield improvements in performance (even with a basic, low-cost hand), and that the merit of various ideas can be independently demonstrated on a singular platform

Laser space rendezvous and docking tradeoff

A spaceborne laser radar (LADAR) was configured to meet the requirements for rendezvous and docking with a cooperative object in synchronous orbit. The LADAR, configurated using existing pulsed CO2 laser technology and a 1980 system technology baseline, is well suited for the envisioned space tug missions. The performance of a family of candidate LADARS was analyzed. Tradeoff studies as a function of size, weight, and power consumption were carried out for maximum ranges of 50, 100, 200, and 300 nautical miles. The investigation supports the original contention that a rendezvous and docking LADAR can be constructed to offer a cost effective and reliable solution to the envisioned space missions. In fact, the CO2 ladar system offers distinct advantages over other candidate systems

Horizontal transmission of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2)

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is a small, non-enveloped, circular, single stranded DNA virus of economic importance in the swine industry worldwide. The focus of this dissertation was to investigate different aspects of horizontal transmission including the use of serology to accurately detect infection, the infectivity and amount of PCV2 present in various secretions and excretions following experimental or natural PCV2 infection, the use of disinfectants in the prevention of PCV2 transmission on livestock trailers, the potential for spread of infectious PCV2 in spray-dried plasma, and evaluation of disinfection protocol of a swine facility following a natural PCV2 outbreak. Results of the first study indicated that evaluated ELISAs had area under the receiver operating curve values greater than 0.94, detected both anti-PCV2a and -2b antibodies with no differentiation, and did cross react with anti-PCV1 antibodies in infected animals. The second study determined that PCV2 exposure (natural or experimental) results in a chronic infection and PCV2 is shed in similar amounts by nasal, oral and fecal routes. In addition, PCV2 DNA present in excretions, secretions or on mechanical vectors is infectious to nayve pigs and therefore important for PCV2 transmission. The third study determined that although PCV2 DNA was detected on trailer surfaces by PCR following three different disinfection protocols, PCV2 was not transmitted to nayve animals exposed to the contaminated trailers. The fourth study provided direct evidence that an experimental spray-drying process was not effective in inactivating PCV2 and it is therefore possible that spray-dried porcine plasma from pigs could represent a biosecurity risk for the industry. The final study showed that the combination of a multistep disinfection protocol with an improved, strict biosecurity plan can result in establishment of a PCV2 nayve herd and this status can be maintained for up to 10 months (300 days)

The 30/20 GHz flight experiment system, phase 2. Volume 2: Experiment system description

A detailed technical description of the 30/20 GHz flight experiment system is presented. The overall communication system is described with performance analyses, communication operations, and experiment plans. Hardware descriptions of the payload are given with the tradeoff studies that led to the final design. The spacecraft bus which carries the payload is discussed and its interface with the launch vehicle system is described. Finally, the hardwares and the operations of the terrestrial segment are presented

Policy and regulatory barriers to local energy markets in Great Britain

EPG Working Paper: EPG 1801The requirement to decarbonise the GB electricity system, alongside the falling costs of renewable technologies and developments in IT capabilities, provides GB with an opportunity for systemic change in the way that electricity is produced and sold, with the potential to enable flexibility markets at the local level given the correct regulatory conditions. The report highlights a range of regulatory and policy barriers to the Local Energy Market (LEM) approach

Proceedings of the COST Action TU1403 : Adaptive Facades Network Final Conference

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of A Soft Robotic Approach for An Intra-abdominal Wireless Laparoscopic Camera

In Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS), the Magnetic Anchoring and Guidance System (MAGS) arises as a promising technique to provide larger workspaces and field of vision for the laparoscopes, relief space for other instruments, and require fewer incisions. Inspired by MAGS, many concept designs related to fully insertable magnetically driven laparoscopes are developed and tested on the transabdominal operation. However, ignoring the tissue interaction and insertion procedure, most of the designs adopt rigid structures, which not only damage the patients\u27 tissue with excess stress concentration and sliding motion but also require complicated operation for the insertion. Meanwhile, lacking state tracking of the insertable camera including pose and contact force, the camera systems operate in open-loop control. This provides mediocre locomotion precision and limited robustness to uncertainties in the environment. This dissertation proposes, develops, and validates a soft robotic approach for an intra-abdominal wireless laparoscopic camera. Contributions presented in this work include (1) feasibility of a soft intra-abdominal laparoscopic camera with friendly tissue interaction and convenient insertion, (2) six degrees of freedom (DOF) real-time localization, (3) Closed-loop control for a robotic-assisted laparoscopic system and (4) untethering solution for wireless communication and high-quality video transmission. Embedding magnet pairs into the camera and external actuator, the camera can be steered and anchored along the abdominal wall through transabdominal magnetic coupling. To avoid the tissue rapture by the sliding motion and dry friction, a wheel structure is applied to achieve rolling motion. Borrowing the ideas from soft robotic research, the main body of the camera implements silicone material, which grants it the bendability to passively attach along the curved abdominal wall and the deformability for easier insertion. The six-DOF pose is estimated in real-time with internal multi-sensor fusion and Newton-Raphson iteration. Combining the pose tracking and force-torque sensor measurement, an interaction model between the deformable camera and tissue is established to evaluate the interaction force over the tissue surface. Moreover, the proposed laparoscopic system is integrated with a multi-DOF manipulator into a robotic-assisted surgical system, where a closed-loop control is realized based on a feedback controller and online optimization. Finally, the wireless control and video streaming are accomplished with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Analog Video (AV) transmission. Experimental assessments have been implemented to evaluate the performance of the laparoscopic system