Novel methods to characterise texture changes during food breakdown : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosphy in Food Technology at Massey University, New Zealand

Figures 2-6 (=Ogawa et al., 2001 Fig 2) & 2-12 (=Hutchings & Lillford, 1998 Fig 1) were removed for copyright reasons. Some possibly copyrighted Figures remain for the sake of clarity, while other Figures are in the public domain.The purpose of the mastication process is to break down food for bolus formation so that it can be swallowed safely. Although light has been shed on the criterion for a swallow safe bolus, quantifying these in terms of the bolus properties is not fully understood. There is a lack of suitable measurement techniques to quantify these identified bolus properties. Thus, the purpose of this work was to develop novel techniques that would be useful in in-vitro studies of food breakdown for the characterisation of bolus properties. A mastication robot (MR) had been previously developed to enable the reproducible mastication of food so that masticatory efficiency and food breakdown dynamics can be assessed quantitatively. To evaluate if the MR could be a controllable and reproducible alternative to subjects for food break down studies, a series of experiments involving the mastication of peanuts using a range of machine parameters was conducted. The bolus particle size distributions were used to characterise the breakdown of the peanuts. There were significant differences in the average particle size of the particles chewed by the different chewing trajectories during the initial chews. The performance of the mastication robot was validated against human subjects (n=5) by comparing the particle size distribution (PSD) of peanut boluses collected from subjects and the MR. Although the MR was unable to achieve similar breakdown capability as that for the human subjects, the MR proved to have good reproducibility in bolus preparation. Two novel techniques were developed to characterise bolus properties. The slip extrusion test was developed to characterise two determinant properties for safe swallowing, the bolus deformation and slippage properties. The test measures the force needed to extrude a bolus through a test bag imitating the swallowing action of a bolus. The multiple pin penetrometer was previously developed to measure the spatial distribution of texture in foods exhibiting heterogenous structures. The forces experienced by each pin is measured independently as they pushed through the food, providing a pressure distribution for each food. This allowed the characterisation of fibrous (non-fracturable) foods in a similar way to PSD analysis, offering a method to characterise boluses that do not form discrete particles. The variability in the structure of the boluses was also characterised using the grey level co-occurrence matrix through the image textural features: contrast, energy and homogeneity. Finally, these developed novel techniques were applied to five real foods with varying textures to show how the MR and these techniques may be used to characterise the changes in bolus properties across the mastication stages. Subjects (n=5) were asked to masticate the foods to determine their chewing behaviour and the bolus properties (deformation and slip properties) at swallow point. The chewing parameters from the median subject (subject A) was used to establish the parameters for the mastication robot’s set up for the factorial design of experiments. The developed models from the factorial study were used to optimize the conditions needed for the MR to achieve boluses with similar DR and SR properties as subject A. The five foods were then broken down using the MR configured in this way, and bolus properties were evaluated at various stages of the mastication process through the application of the slip extrusion test, textural mapping using the multiple pin penetrometer, and the back-extrusion test. Factor analysis was applied to the various data collected, which showed that the properties related to the hardness, swallowability and homogeneity attributes were best at describing the changes in the boluses as they were masticated to swallow point. In conclusion, the mastication robot could be used to replicate human chewing trajectories to consistently produce boluses in a controlled trajectory with controlled “simulated saliva” rates throughout the various stages of mastication. Thus, it is relevant as a tool to produce boluses for comparative analysis especially for studies investigating the properties of boluses collected from various stages of the mastication process. In addition, the developed characterisation techniques could be used to track the dynamic changes in the bolus properties for most of the mastication stages from initial chews to the swallow point and beyond that

DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFT PNEUMATIC ACTUATOR FOR MODULAR ROBOTIC MECHANISMS

Soft robotics is a widely and rapidly growing field of research today. Soft pneumatic actuators, as a fundamental element in soft robotics, have gained huge popularity and are being employed for the development of soft robots. During the last decade, a variety of hyper-elastic robotic systems have been realized. As the name suggests, such robots are made up of soft materials, and do not have any underlying rigid mechanical structure. These robots are actuated employing various methods like pneumatic, electroactive, jamming etc. Generally, in order to achieve a desired mechanical response to produce required actuation or manipulation, two or more materials having different stiffness are utilized to develop a soft robot. However, this method introduces complications in the fabrication process as well as in further design flexibility and modifications. The current work presents a design scheme of a soft robotic actuator adapting an easier fabrication approach, which is economical and environment friendly as well. The purpose is the realization of a soft pneumatic actuator having functional ability to produce effective actuation, and which is further employable to develop modular and scalable mechanisms. That infers to scrutinize the profile and orientation of the internal actuation cavity and the outer shape of viii the actuator. Utilization of a single material for this actuator has been considered to make this design scheme convenient. A commercial silicone rubber was selected which served for an economical process both in terms of the cost as well as its accommodating fabrication process through molding. In order to obtain the material behavior, \u2018Ansys Workbench 17.1 R \u2019 has been used. Cubic outline for the actuator aided towards the realization of a body shape which can easily be engaged for the development of modular mechanisms employing multiple units. This outer body shape further facilitates to achieve the stability and portability of the actuator. The soft actuator has been named \u2018Soft Cubic Module\u2019 based on its external cubic shape. For the internal actuation cavity design, various shapes, such as spherical, elliptical and cylindrical, were examined considering their different sizes and orientations within the cubic module. These internal cavities were simulated in order to achieve single degree of freedom actuation. That means, only one face of the cube is principally required to produce effective deformation. \u2018Creo Perametric 3.0 M 130\u2019 has been used to design the model and to evaluate the performance of actuation cavities in terms of effective deformation and the resulting von-mises stress. Out of the simulated profiles, cylindrical cavity with desired outcomes has been further considered to design the soft actuator. \u2018Ansys Workbench 17.1 R \u2019 environment was further used to assess the performance of cylindrical actuation cavity. Evaluation in two different simulation environments helped to validate the initially achieved results. The developed soft cubic actuator was then employed to develop different mechanisms in a single unit configuration as well as multi-unit robotic system developments. This design scheme is considered as the first tool to investigate its capacity to perform certain given tasks in various configurations. Alongside its application as a single unit gripper and a two unit bio-mimetic crawling mechanism, this soft actuator has been employed to realize a four degree ix of freedom robotic mechanism. The formation of this primitive soft robotic four axis mechanism is being further considered to develop an equivalent mechanism similar to the well known Stewart platform, with advantages of compactness, simpler kinematics design, easier control, and lesser cost. Overall, the accomplished results indicate that the design scheme of Soft Cubic Module is helpful in realizing a simple and cost-effective soft pneumatic actuator which is modular and scalable. Another favourable point of this scheme is the use of a single material with convenient fabrication and handling

The role of saliva in oral processing: Reconsidering the breakdown path paradigm

We discuss food oral processing research over the last two decades and consider strategies for quantifying the food breakdown model, originally conceptualised by Hutchings and Lillford . The key innovation in their seminal 1988 paper was shifting the focus from intact food properties, measured in the lab, towards strategies to capture the dynamic nature of eating. This has stimulated great progress in the field, but a key aspect missing in oral processing research is the conversion of the Hutchings and Lillford breakdown path conceptual model into quantifiable parameters considered in the context of physiological factors such as saliva and oral movements. To address these short comings, we propose the following analysis: Hutchings’s and Lillford’s definitions of “Structure” and “Lubrication” are incomplete and they comprise many and varied physicochemical properties. We offer, here, a deeper analysis of each parameter, and propose strategies for researchers to consider in their quantification as an update of the Hutchings and Lillford Breakdown path

Design of a Multiple-User Intelligent Feeding Robot for Elderly and Disabled

The number of elderly people around the world is growing rapidly. This has led to an increase in the number of people who are seeking assistance and adequate service either at home or in long-term- care institutions to successfully accomplish their daily activities. Responding to these needs has been a burden to the health care system in terms of labour and associated costs and has motivated research in developing alternative services using new technologies. Various intelligent, and non-intelligent, machines and robots have been developed to meet the needs of elderly and people with upper limb disabilities or dysfunctions in gaining independence in eating, which is one of the most frequent and time-consuming everyday tasks. However, in almost all cases, the proposed systems are designed only for the personal use of one individual and little effort to design a multiple-user feeding robot has been previously made. The feeding requirements of elderly in environments such as senior homes, where many elderly residents dine together at least three times per day, have not been extensively researched before. The aim of this research was to develop a machine to feed multiple elderly people based on their characteristics and feeding needs, as determined through observations at a nursing home. Observations of the elderly during meal times have revealed that almost 40% of the population was totally dependent on nurses or caregivers to be fed. Most of those remaining, suffered from hand tremors, joint pain or lack of hand muscle strength, which made utensil manipulation and coordination very difficult and the eating process both messy and lengthy. In addition, more than 43% of the elderly were very slow in eating because of chewing and swallowing problems and most of the rest were slow in scooping and directing utensils toward their mouths. Consequently, one nurse could only respond to a maximum of two diners simultaneously. In order to manage the needs of all elderly diners, they required the assistance of additional staff members. The limited time allocated for each meal and the daily progression of the seniors’ disabilities also made mealtime very challenging. Based on the caregivers’ opinion, many of the elderly in such environments can benefit from a machine capable of feeding multiple users simultaneously. Since eating is a slow procedure, the idle state of the robot during one user’s chewing and swallowing time can be allotted for feeding another person who is sitting at the same table. The observations and studies have resulted in the design of a food tray, and selection of an appropriate robot and applicable user interface. The proposed system uses a 6-DOF serial articulated robot in the center of a four-seat table along with a specifically designed food tray to feed one to four people. It employs a vision interface for food detection and recognition. Building the dynamic equations of the robotic system and simulation of the system were used to verify its dynamic behaviour before any prototyping and real-time testing

Redesigning the human-robot interface : intuitive teleoperation of anthropomorphic robots

textA novel interface for robotic teleoperation was developed to enable accurate and highly efficient teleoperation of the Industrial Reconfigurable Anthropomorphic Dual-arm (IRAD) system and other robotic systems. In order to achieve a revolutionary increase in operator productivity, the bilateral/master-slave approach must give way to shared autonomy and unilateral control; autonomy must be employed where possible, and appropriate sensory feedback only where autonomy is impossible; and today’s low-information/high feedback model must be replaced by one that emphasizes feedforward precision and minimal corrective feedback. This is emphasized for task spaces outside of the traditional anthropomorphic scale such as mobile manipulation (i.e. large task spaces) and high precision tasks (i.e. very small task spaces). The system is demonstrated using an anthropomorphically dimensioned industrial manipulator working in task spaces from one meter to less than one millimeter, in both simulation and hardware. This thesis discusses the design requirements and philosophy of this interface, provides a summary of prototype teleoperation hardware, simulation environment, test-bed hardware, and experimental results.Mechanical Engineerin

Impact of Ear Occlusion on In-Ear Sounds Generated by Intra-oral Behaviors

We conducted a case study with one volunteer and a recording setup to detect sounds induced by the actions: jaw clenching, tooth grinding, reading, eating, and drinking. The setup consisted of two in-ear microphones, where the left ear was semi-occluded with a commercially available earpiece and the right ear was occluded with a mouldable silicon ear piece. Investigations in the time and frequency domains demonstrated that for behaviors such as eating, tooth grinding, and reading, sounds could be recorded with both sensors. For jaw clenching, however, occluding the ear with a mouldable piece was necessary to enable its detection. This can be attributed to the fact that the mouldable ear piece sealed the ear canal and isolated it from the environment, resulting in a detectable change in pressure. In conclusion, our work suggests that detecting behaviors such as eating, grinding, reading with a semi-occluded ear is possible, whereas, behaviors such as clenching require the complete occlusion of the ear if the activity should be easily detectable. Nevertheless, the latter approach may limit real-world applicability because it hinders the hearing capabilities.</p

Implementación del modelo cinemático y dinámico y control de movimiento de un mecanismo planar 2R con componentes elásticos en las articulaciones

En esta tesis se desarrollan los modelos matemáticos de la cinemática y dinámica y una estrategia para el control de movimiento de un mecanismo planar 2R, el cual imita el movimiento de la cadera y la rodilla en el plano sagital durante la marcha humana y posee componentes elásticos en las articulaciones. Se inicia con una revisión bibliográfica de algunos métodos para el control de movimiento de Sistemas de Accionamiento Flexible, haciendo énfasis en aplicaciones robóticas, dispositivos de rehabilitación de miembro inferior y Actuadores Elásticos Seriales (SEA), correspondiendo estos últimos a los utilizados en el mecanismo. A continuación se desarrollan los modelos matemáticos, determinando la cinemática directa a partir del método de Denavit-Hartenberg y la dinámica inversa a partir del método de LagrangeEuler. Estos modelos se implementan posteriormente para predecir el movimiento de los actuadores en función del movimiento de las articulaciones, cuyos resultados se comparan con los obtenidos en pruebas realizadas al equipo real. Finalmente se desarrolla la estrategia para el control de movimiento del mecanismo, para lo cual se realizaron pruebas de desempeño a los controladores internos en los actuadores; a partir de estos resultados se desarrolló, implementó y evaluó un algoritmo basado en una forma simplificada del control adaptativo por planificación de ganancias, usando dos puntos de ajuste de los parámetros en los controladores internos y tomando como criterio de evaluación las desviaciones angulares entre cada articulación y su actuador.Abstract: In this thesis the mathematical models of the kinematics and dynamics, and a strategy for the movement control of a 2R planar mechanism are developed; this mechanism imitates the movement of hip and knee in sagittal plane during the human gait and it has elastic components in the joints. It begins with a literature review of some methods for movement control of Compliant Actuation Devices, emphasizing robotic applications, lower limb rehabilitation devices and Serial Elastic Actuators (SEA), the latter corresponding to those used in the mechanism. Then the mathematical models are developed, determining the direct kinematics from Denavit-Hartenberg method and the inverse dynamics from Lagrange-Euler method. These models are subsequently implemented to predict the actuators movement from the joints movement, whose results are compared with those obtained in performance tests on the real equipment. Finally, the strategy for the movement control of the mechanism is developed, for which performance tests on the internal controllers in the actuators were made; based on these results, an algorithm based on a simplified form of adaptive control for gains planning was developed, implemented and evaluated, using two adjustment points of the parameters in the internal controllers and taking as an evaluation criterion the angular deviations between each joint and its actuator.Maestrí

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program 1988, volume 1

The 1988 Johnson Space Center (JSC) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted by the University of Houston and JSC. The 10-week program was operated under the auspices of the ASEE. The program at JSC, as well as the programs at other NASA Centers, was funded by the Office of University Affairs, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. The objectives of the program, which began in 1965 at JSC and in 1964 nationally, are (1) to further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members; (2) to stimulate an exchange of ideas between participants and NASA; (3) to enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of participants' institutions; and (4) to contribute to the research objectives of the NASA Centers

05. 2009 IMSAloquium Student Investigation Showcase

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