A 10-17 DOF Sensory Gloves with Harvesting Capability for Smart Healthcare

We here present a 10-17 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) sensory gloves for Smart Healthcare implementing an energy harvesting architecture, aimed at enhancing the battery lasting when powering the electronics of the two different types of gloves, used to sense fingers movements. In particular, we realized a comparison in terms of measurement repeatability and reliability, as well as power consumption and battery lasting, between two sensory gloves implemented by means of different technologies. The first is a 3D printed glove with 10 DoF, featuring low-cost, low-effort fabrication and low-power consumption. The second is a classical Lycra® glove with 14 DoF suitable for a more detailed assessment of the hand postures, featuring a relatively higher cost and power consumption. An electronic circuitry was designed to gather and elaborate data from both types of sensory gloves, differing for number of inputs only. Both gloves are equipped with flex sensors and in addiction with the electronics (including a microcontroller and a transmitter) allow the control of hand virtual limbs or mechanical arts in surgical, military, space and civil applications.Six healthy subjects were involved in tests suitable to evaluate the performances of the proposed gloves in terms of repeatability, reproducibility and reliability. Particular effort was devoted to increase battery lasting for both glove-based systems, with the electronics relaying on Radio Frequency, Piezoelectric and Thermoelectric harvesters. The harvesting part was built and tested as a prototype discrete element board, that is interfaced with an external microcontroller and a radiofrequency transmitter board. Measurement results demonstrated a meaningful improvement in battery operation time up to 25%, considering different operating scenarios

Towards observable haptics: Novel sensors for capturing tactile interaction patterns

Kõiva R. Towards observable haptics: Novel sensors for capturing tactile interaction patterns. Bielefeld: Bielefeld University; 2014.Touch is one of the primary senses humans use when performing coordinated interaction, but the lack of a sense of touch in the majority of contemporary interactive technical systems, such as robots, which operate in non-deterministic environments, results in interactions that can at best be described as clumsy. Observing human haptics and extracting the salient information from the gathered data is not only relevant if we are to try to understand the involved underlying cognitive processes, but should also provide us with significant clues to design future intelligent interactive systems. Such systems could one day help to take the burden of tedious tasks off our hands in a similar fashion to how industrial robots revolutionized manufacturing. The aim of the work in this thesis was to provide significant advancements in tactile sensing technology, and thus move us a step closer to realizing this goal. The contributions contained herein can be broken into two major parts. The first part investigates capturing interaction patterns in humans with the goals of better understanding manual intelligence and improving the lives of hand amputees, while the second part is focused on augmenting technical systems with a sense of touch. tacTiles, a wireless tactile sensitive surface element attached to a deformable textile, was developed to capture human full-body interactions with large surfaces we come into contact with in our daily lives, such as floors, chairs, sofas or other furniture. The Tactile Dataglove, iObject and the Tactile Pen were developed especially to observe human manual intelligence. Whereas iObject allows motion sensing and a higher definition tactile signal to be captured than the Tactile Dataglove (220 tactile cells in the first iObject prototype versus 54 cells in the glove), the wearable glove makes haptic interactions with arbitrary objects observable. The Tactile Pen was designed to measure grip force during handwriting in order to better facilitate therapeutic treatment assessments. These sensors have already been extensively used by various research groups, including our own, to gain a better understanding of human manual intelligence. The Finger-Force-Linear-Sensor and the Tactile Bracelet are two novel sensors that were developed to facilitate more natural control of dexterous multi Degree-of-Freedom (DOF) hand prostheses. The Finger-Force-Linear-Sensor is a very accurate bidirectional single finger force ground-truth measurement device that was designed to enable testing and development of single finger forces and muscle activations mapping algorithms. The Tactile Bracelet was designed with the goal to provide a more robust and intuitive means of control for multi-DOF hand prostheses by measuring the muscle bulgings of the remnant muscles of lower arm amputees. It is currently in development and will eventually cover the complete forearm circumference with high spatial resolution tactile sensitive surfaces. An experiment involving a large number of lower arm amputees has already been planned. The Modular flat tactile sensor system, the Fabric-based touch sensitive artificial skin and the 3D shaped tactile sensor were developed to cover and to add touch sensing capabilities to the surfaces of technical systems. The rapid augmentation of systems with a sense of touch was the main goal of the modular flat tactile sensor system. The developed sensor modules can be used alone or in an array to form larger tactile sensitive surfaces such as tactile sensitive tabletops. As many robots have curved surfaces, using flat rigid modules severely limits the areas that can be covered with tactile sensors. The Fabric-based tactile sensor, originally developed to form a tactile dataglove for human hands, can with minor modifications also function as an artificial skin for technical systems. Finally, the 3D shaped tactile sensor based on Laser-Direct-Structuring technology is a novel tactile sensor that has a true 3D shape and provides high sensitivity and a high spatial resolution. These sensors take us further along the path towards creating general purpose technical systems that in time can be of great help to us in our daily lives. The desired tactile sensor characteristics differ significantly according to which haptic interaction patterns we wish to measure. Large tactile sensor arrays that are used to capture full body haptic interactions with floors and upholstered furniture, or that are designed to cover large areas of technical system surfaces, need to be scalable, have low power consumption and should ideally have a low material cost. Two examples of such sensors are tacTiles and the Fabric-based sensor for curved surfaces. At the other end of the tactile sensor development spectrum, if we want to observe manual interactions, high spatial and temporal resolution are crucial to enable the measurement of fine grasping and manipulation actions. Our fingertips contain the highest density area of mechanoreceptors, the organs that sense mechanical pressure and distortions. Thus, to construct biologically inspired anthropomorphic robotic hands, the artificial tactile sensors for the fingertips require similar high-fidelity sensors with surfaces that are curved under small bending radii in 2 dimensions, have high spatial densities, while simultaneously providing high sensitivity. With the fingertip tactile sensor, designed to fit the Shadow Robot Hands' fingers, I show that such sensors can indeed be constructed in the 3D-shaped high spatial resolution tactile sensor section of my thesis. With my work I have made a significant contribution towards making haptics more observable. I achieved this by developing a high number of novel tactile sensors that are usable, give a deeper insight into human haptic interactions, have great potential to help amputees and that make technical systems, such as robots, more capable

Technology 2003: The Fourth National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, volume 2

Proceedings from symposia of the Technology 2003 Conference and Exposition, Dec. 7-9, 1993, Anaheim, CA, are presented. Volume 2 features papers on artificial intelligence, CAD&E, computer hardware, computer software, information management, photonics, robotics, test and measurement, video and imaging, and virtual reality/simulation

NASA Tech Briefs, May 2002

Topics include: a technology focus on engineering materials, electronic components and circuits, software, mechanics, machinery/automation, manufacturing, physical sciences, information sciences, book and reports, and a special section of Photonics Tech Briefs

Electronic Interface and Signal Conditioning Circuitry for Data Glove Systems useful as 3D HMI Tools for Disabled Persons

A simple PC screen can be considered as an interface of a virtual environment where an user can move objects and interact with them. The interaction tools can be simply a virtual mouse or a keyboard. But it is evident how these tools cannot provide an immersive experience since the bi-dimensionality of the screen. So in the latter years the virtual reality is becoming more and more accomplished by new hardware interfaces capable to increase the realism degree. Among all, the sensorized glove is becoming one of the more interesting and promising of these interfaces. Here we propose the electronic interface and signal conditioning circuitry we adopt as the most suitable for our developed data glove system. The same solution we adopted can be usefully extended for other specific systems that treat signals coming from sensors which read kinematics from disabled persons with reduced Range Of Motion (ROM) capabilities

Biomechatronics: Harmonizing Mechatronic Systems with Human Beings

This eBook provides a comprehensive treatise on modern biomechatronic systems centred around human applications. A particular emphasis is given to exoskeleton designs for assistance and training with advanced interfaces in human-machine interaction. Some of these designs are validated with experimental results which the reader will find very informative as building-blocks for designing such systems. This eBook will be ideally suited to those researching in biomechatronic area with bio-feedback applications or those who are involved in high-end research on manmachine interfaces. This may also serve as a textbook for biomechatronic design at post-graduate level

Multimodal interaction: developing an interaction concept for a touchscreen incorporating tactile feedback

The touchscreen, as an alternative user interface for applications that normally require mice and keyboards, has become more and more commonplace, showing up on mobile devices, on vending machines, on ATMs and in the control panels of machines in industry, where conventional input devices cannot provide intuitive, rapid and accurate user interaction with the content of the display. The exponential growth in processing power on the PC, together with advances in understanding human communication channels, has had a significant effect on the design of usable, human-factored interfaces on touchscreens, and on the number and complexity of applications available on touchscreens. Although computer-driven touchscreen interfaces provide programmable and dynamic displays, the absence of the expected tactile cues on the hard and static surfaces of conventional touchscreens is challenging interface design and touchscreen usability, in particular for distracting, low-visibility environments. Current technology allows the human tactile modality to be used in touchscreens. While the visual channel converts graphics and text unidirectionally from the computer to the end user, tactile communication features a bidirectional information flow to and from the user as the user perceives and acts on the environment and the system responds to changing contextual information. Tactile sensations such as detents and pulses provide users with cues that make selecting and controlling a more intuitive process. Tactile features can compensate for deficiencies in some of the human senses, especially in tasks which carry a heavy visual or auditory burden. In this study, an interaction concept for tactile touchscreens is developed with a view to employing the key characteristics of the human sense of touch effectively and efficiently, especially in distracting environments where vision is impaired and hearing is overloaded. As a first step toward improving the usability of touchscreens through the integration of tactile effects, different mechanical solutions for producing motion in tactile touchscreens are investigated, to provide a basis for selecting suitable vibration directions when designing tactile displays. Building on these results, design know-how regarding tactile feedback patterns is further developed to enable dynamic simulation of UI controls, in order to give users a sense of perceiving real controls on a highly natural touch interface. To study the value of adding tactile properties to touchscreens, haptically enhanced UI controls are then further investigated with the aim of mapping haptic signals to different usage scenarios to perform primary and secondary tasks with touchscreens. The findings of the study are intended for consideration and discussion as a guide to further development of tactile stimuli, haptically enhanced user interfaces and touchscreen applications

Systematic Approaches for Telemedicine and Data Coordination for COVID-19 in Baja California, Mexico

Conference proceedings info: ICICT 2023: 2023 The 6th International Conference on Information and Computer Technologies Raleigh, HI, United States, March 24-26, 2023 Pages 529-542We provide a model for systematic implementation of telemedicine within a large evaluation center for COVID-19 in the area of Baja California, Mexico. Our model is based on human-centric design factors and cross disciplinary collaborations for scalable data-driven enablement of smartphone, cellular, and video Teleconsul-tation technologies to link hospitals, clinics, and emergency medical services for point-of-care assessments of COVID testing, and for subsequent treatment and quar-antine decisions. A multidisciplinary team was rapidly created, in cooperation with different institutions, including: the Autonomous University of Baja California, the Ministry of Health, the Command, Communication and Computer Control Center of the Ministry of the State of Baja California (C4), Colleges of Medicine, and the College of Psychologists. Our objective is to provide information to the public and to evaluate COVID-19 in real time and to track, regional, municipal, and state-wide data in real time that informs supply chains and resource allocation with the anticipation of a surge in COVID-19 cases. RESUMEN Proporcionamos un modelo para la implementación sistemática de la telemedicina dentro de un gran centro de evaluación de COVID-19 en el área de Baja California, México. Nuestro modelo se basa en factores de diseño centrados en el ser humano y colaboraciones interdisciplinarias para la habilitación escalable basada en datos de tecnologías de teleconsulta de teléfonos inteligentes, celulares y video para vincular hospitales, clínicas y servicios médicos de emergencia para evaluaciones de COVID en el punto de atención. pruebas, y para el tratamiento posterior y decisiones de cuarentena. Rápidamente se creó un equipo multidisciplinario, en cooperación con diferentes instituciones, entre ellas: la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, la Secretaría de Salud, el Centro de Comando, Comunicaciones y Control Informático. de la Secretaría del Estado de Baja California (C4), Facultades de Medicina y Colegio de Psicólogos. Nuestro objetivo es proporcionar información al público y evaluar COVID-19 en tiempo real y rastrear datos regionales, municipales y estatales en tiempo real que informan las cadenas de suministro y la asignación de recursos con la anticipación de un aumento de COVID-19. 19 casos.ICICT 2023: 2023 The 6th International Conference on Information and Computer Technologieshttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3236-

Recent Development of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

Abstract: The use of renewable energies continues to increase. However, the energy obtained from renewable resources is variable over time. The amount of energy produced from the renewable energy sources (RES) over time depends on the meteorological conditions of the region chosen, the season, the relief, etc. So, variable power and nonguaranteed energy produced by renewable sources implies intermittence of the grid. The key lies in supply sources integrated to a hybrid system (HS)

Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen