White paper on the future of plasma science and technology in plastics and textiles

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: “Uros, C., Walsh, J., Cernák, M., Labay, C., Canal, J.M., Canal, C. (2019) White paper on the future of plasma science and technology in plastics and textiles. Plasma processes and polymers, 16 1 which has been published in final form at [doi: 10.1002/ppap.201700228]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."This white paper considers the future of plasma science and technology related to the manufacturing and modifications of plastics and textiles, summarizing existing efforts and the current state‐of‐art for major topics related to plasma processing techniques. It draws on the frontier of plasma technologies in order to see beyond and identify the grand challenges which we face in the following 5–10 years. To progress and move the frontier forward, the paper highlights the major enabling technologies and topics related to the design of surfaces, coatings and materials with non‐equilibrium plasmas. The aim is to progress the field of plastics and textile production using advanced plasma processing as the key enabling technology which is environmentally friendly, cost efficient, and offers high‐speed processingPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Soft Actuators and Robotic Devices for Rehabilitation and Assistance

Soft actuators and robotic devices have been increasingly applied to the field of rehabilitation and assistance, where safe human and machine interaction is of particular importance. Compared with their widely used rigid counterparts, soft actuators and robotic devices can provide a range of significant advantages; these include safe interaction, a range of complex motions, ease of fabrication and resilience to a variety of environments. In recent decades, significant effort has been invested in the development of soft rehabilitation and assistive devices for improving a range of medical treatments and quality of life. This review provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in soft actuators and robotic devices for rehabilitation and assistance, in particular systems that achieve actuation by pneumatic and hydraulic fluid-power, electrical motors, chemical reactions and soft active materials such as dielectric elastomers, shape memory alloys, magnetoactive elastomers, liquid crystal elastomers and piezoelectric materials. Current research on soft rehabilitation and assistive devices is in its infancy, and new device designs and control strategies for improved performance and safe human-machine interaction are identified as particularly untapped areas of research. Finally, insights into future research directions are outlined

Soft Actuators and Robotic Devices for Rehabilitation and Assistance

Soft actuators and robotic devices have been increasingly applied to the field of rehabilitation and assistance, where safe human and machine interaction is of particular importance. Compared with their widely used rigid counterparts, soft actuators and robotic devices can provide a range of significant advantages; these include safe interaction, a range of complex motions, ease of fabrication and resilience to a variety of environments. In recent decades, significant effort has been invested in the development of soft rehabilitation and assistive devices for improving a range of medical treatments and quality of life. This review provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in soft actuators and robotic devices for rehabilitation and assistance, in particular systems that achieve actuation by pneumatic and hydraulic fluid-power, electrical motors, chemical reactions and soft active materials such as dielectric elastomers, shape memory alloys, magnetoactive elastomers, liquid crystal elastomers and piezoelectric materials. Current research on soft rehabilitation and assistive devices is in its infancy, and new device designs and control strategies for improved performance and safe human-machine interaction are identified as particularly untapped areas of research. Finally, insights into future research directions are outlined

Southwest Research Institute assistance to NASA in biomedical areas of the technology

Significant applications of aerospace technology were achieved. These applications include: a miniaturized, noninvasive system to telemeter electrocardiographic signals of heart transplant patients during their recuperative period as graded situations are introduced; and economical vital signs monitor for use in nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals to indicate the onset of respiratory arrest; an implantable telemetry system to indicate the onset of the rejection phenomenon in animals undergoing cardiac transplants; an exceptionally accurate current proportional temperature controller for pollution studies; an automatic, atraumatic blood pressure measurement device; materials for protecting burned areas in contact with joint bender splints; a detector to signal the passage of animals by a given point during ecology studies; and special cushioning for use with below-knee amputees to protect the integrity of the skin at the stump/prosthesis interface

Bio-Inspired Soft Artificial Muscles for Robotic and Healthcare Applications

Soft robotics and soft artificial muscles have emerged as prolific research areas and have gained substantial traction over the last two decades. There is a large paradigm shift of research interests in soft artificial muscles for robotic and medical applications due to their soft, flexible and compliant characteristics compared to rigid actuators. Soft artificial muscles provide safe human-machine interaction, thus promoting their implementation in medical fields such as wearable assistive devices, haptic devices, soft surgical instruments and cardiac compression devices. Depending on the structure and material composition, soft artificial muscles can be controlled with various excitation sources, including electricity, magnetic fields, temperature and pressure. Pressure-driven artificial muscles are among the most popular soft actuators due to their fast response, high exertion force and energy efficiency. Although significant progress has been made, challenges remain for a new type of artificial muscle that is easy to manufacture, flexible, multifunctional and has a high length-to-diameter ratio. Inspired by human muscles, this thesis proposes a soft, scalable, flexible, multifunctional, responsive, and high aspect ratio hydraulic filament artificial muscle (HFAM) for robotic and medical applications. The HFAM consists of a silicone tube inserted inside a coil spring, which expands longitudinally when receiving positive hydraulic pressure. This simple fabrication method enables low-cost and mass production of a wide range of product sizes and materials. This thesis investigates the characteristics of the proposed HFAM and two implementations, as a wearable soft robotic glove to aid in grasping objects, and as a smart surgical suture for perforation closure. Multiple HFAMs are also combined by twisting and braiding techniques to enhance their performance. In addition, smart textiles are created from HFAMs using traditional knitting and weaving techniques for shape-programmable structures, shape-morphing soft robots and smart compression devices for massage therapy. Finally, a proof-of-concept robotic cardiac compression device is developed by arranging HFAMs in a special configuration to assist in heart failure treatment. Overall this fundamental work contributes to the development of soft artificial muscle technologies and paves the way for future comprehensive studies to develop HFAMs for specific medical and robotic requirements

Compliant polymeric actuators as robot drive units

A co-polymer made from Polyvinyl Alcohol and Polyacrylic Acid (PVA-PAA) has been synthesized to form new robotic actuation systems which use the contractile and variable compliance properties of this material. The stimulation of these fibres is studied (particularly chemical activation using acetone and water), as are the factors which influence the response, especially those relating to its performance as an artificial muscle.Mathematical models and simulations of the dynamics of the polymeric strips have been developed, permitting a thorough analysis of the performance determining parameters. Using these models a control strategy has been designed and implemented, with experimental results being obtained for a gripper powered by a flexor/extensor pair formed using these polymeric actuators.An investigation of a second property of the polymer, its variable compliance is also included. Use of this feature has lead to the design, construction and testing of a multi degree-of-freedom dextrous hand, which despite having only a single actuator, can exercise independent control over each joint

Polyzwitterionic biomaterials for improving tribological properties of articular cartilage: injectable treatments for early-stage osteoarthritis

Mechanical properties of articular cartilage, including stiffness, biolubrication, and wear-resistance, undergo deterioration during progression of diseases such as osteoarthritis. When the tissue becomes softened and wear-prone, resulting from biochemical alterations within the cartilage matrix, osteoarthritis patients experience painful joint degeneration and erosion of the bone-protective cartilage. Moreover, the synovial fluid bathing the cartilage also experiences a reduction in lubricating capacity as osteoarthritis advances, further hastening wear. An existing treatment paradigm known as viscosupplementation, designed to restore a viscous and lubricating nature to the synovial fluid, involves intraarticular injection of hyaluronic acid into affected joints. While this technique relieves pain for some individuals, the majority of patients experience neither pain relief nor protection of the cartilage from further damage. To address the unmet need of patients requiring chondroprotective thera-pies, this dissertation describes two potential intraarticular strategies based on the application of polymer chemistry principles to bodily tissues and interfaces. One strategy involves the synthesis of a non-hyaluronic-acid synovial fluid sup-plement, based on a phosphorylcholine-containing polyacrylate network, de-signed to functionally mimic the lubricity of the glycoprotein lubricin, phospho-lipid macromolecular assemblies, and high molecular weight hyaluronic acid. The second strategy involves the in situ photopolymerization of a related polyacrylate within cartilage bulk tissue to strengthen, prevent wear, and in-crease the proportion of compressive load supported by the tissue’s interstitial fluid rather than solid matrix. In this strategy, the branched polymer network functionally mimics the glycosaminoglycans that are found in healthy cartilage but depleted in osteoarthritic cartilage. For both potential therapies, chemical and physical properties of the respective fluid and tissue are analyzed, and ex vivo cartilage mechanical testing involving axial and shear deformation reveal the biotribological and compressive reinforcement conferred by the zwitterionic polymer. The synovial fluid supplement significantly decreases cartilage friction through a variety of lubrication mechanisms depending upon tissue fluid flow state and articulation conditions, and the cartilage-reinforcing supplement pro-tects cartilage during accelerated wear testing while also improving synovial flu-id’s ability to lubricate polymer-impregnated cartilage. The fundamental tissue—biomaterial tribological interactions investigated in this dissertation will inform the rational design of therapeutic, friction-reducing polymers for diverse applications.2019-04-04T00:00:00

Emerging Trends in Mechatronics

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary branch of engineering combining mechanical, electrical and electronics, control and automation, and computer engineering fields. The main research task of mechatronics is design, control, and optimization of advanced devices, products, and hybrid systems utilizing the concepts found in all these fields. The purpose of this special issue is to help better understand how mechatronics will impact on the practice and research of developing advanced techniques to model, control, and optimize complex systems. The special issue presents recent advances in mechatronics and related technologies. The selected topics give an overview of the state of the art and present new research results and prospects for the future development of the interdisciplinary field of mechatronic systems

Proceedings of the Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023

The conference was established for the first time in 2023 as part of a programme to sustain the research culture, environment, and dissemination activities of the School of Engineering at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. The conference served as a platform to celebrate advancements in various engineering domains researched at our School, explore and discuss further advancements in the diverse fields that define contemporary engineering