Ground Robotic Hand Applications for the Space Program study (GRASP)

This document reports on a NASA-STDP effort to address research interests of the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) through a study entitled, Ground Robotic-Hand Applications for the Space Program (GRASP). The primary objective of the GRASP study was to identify beneficial applications of specialized end-effectors and robotic hand devices for automating any ground operations which are performed at the Kennedy Space Center. Thus, operations for expendable vehicles, the Space Shuttle and its components, and all payloads were included in the study. Typical benefits of automating operations, or augmenting human operators performing physical tasks, include: reduced costs; enhanced safety and reliability; and reduced processing turnaround time

Mechanical considerations and design skills.

The purpose of the report is to provide experienced-based insights into design processes that will benefit designers beginning their employment at Sandia National Laboratories or those assuming new design responsibilities. The main purpose of this document is to provide engineers with the practical aspects of system design. The material discussed here may not be new to some readers, but some of it was to me. Transforming an idea to a design to solve a problem is a skill, and skills are similar to history lessons. We gain these skills from experience, and many of us have not been fortunate enough to grow in an environment that provided the skills that we now need. I was fortunate to grow up on a farm where we had to learn how to maintain and operate several different kinds of engines and machines. If you are like me, my formal experience is partially based upon the two universities from which I graduated, where few practical applications of the technologies were taught. What was taught was mainly theoretical, and few instructors had practical experience to offer the students. I understand this, as students have their hands full just to learn the theoretical. The practical part was mainly left up to 'on the job experience'. However, I believe it is better to learn the practical applications early and apply them quickly 'on the job'. System design engineers need to know several technical things, both in and out of their field of expertise. An engineer is not expected to know everything, but he should know when to ask an expert for assistance. This 'expert' can be in any field, whether it is in analyses, drafting, machining, material properties, testing, etc. The best expert is a person who has practical experience in the area of needed information, and consulting with that individual can be the best and quickest way for one to learn. If the information provided here can improve your design skills and save one design from having a problem, save cost of development, or reduce difficulty in manufacturing, then my writing effort will have been worthwhile. It is also my hope that you will freely provide others with design information that you have found beneficial to the less-experienced engineers. The result will be that as a whole, the designs will improve, and the development time will be shortened from start of the design to full system operation or deployment

ESSE 2017. Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical-, biological-, and information sciences to study and solve environmental problems. ESSE - The International Conference on Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy provides a platform for experts, professionals, and researchers to share updated information and stimulate the communication with each other. In 2017 it was held in Suzhou, China June 23-25, 2017

Biomedical Sensing and Imaging

This book mainly deals with recent advances in biomedical sensing and imaging. More recently, wearable/smart biosensors and devices, which facilitate diagnostics in a non-clinical setting, have become a hot topic. Combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence, they could revolutionize the biomedical diagnostic field. The aim of this book is to provide a research forum in biomedical sensing and imaging and extend the scientific frontier of this very important and significant biomedical endeavor

Climbing and Walking Robots

With the advancement of technology, new exciting approaches enable us to render mobile robotic systems more versatile, robust and cost-efficient. Some researchers combine climbing and walking techniques with a modular approach, a reconfigurable approach, or a swarm approach to realize novel prototypes as flexible mobile robotic platforms featuring all necessary locomotion capabilities. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of the latest wide-range achievements in climbing and walking robotic technology to researchers, scientists, and engineers throughout the world. Different aspects including control simulation, locomotion realization, methodology, and system integration are presented from the scientific and from the technical point of view. This book consists of two main parts, one dealing with walking robots, the second with climbing robots. The content is also grouped by theoretical research and applicative realization. Every chapter offers a considerable amount of interesting and useful information

The 31st Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium

The proceedings of the 31st Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium are reported. Topics covered include: robotics, deployment mechanisms, bearings, actuators, scanners, boom and antenna release, and test equipment. A major focus is the reporting of problems and solutions associated with the development and flight certification of new mechanisms