Computational Contributions to the Automation of Agriculture

The purpose of this paper is to explore ways that computational advancements have enabled the complete automation of agriculture from start to finish. With a major need for agricultural advancements because of food and water shortages, some farmers have begun creating their own solutions to these problems. Primarily explored in this paper, however, are current research topics in the automation of agriculture. Digital agriculture is surveyed, focusing on ways that data collection can be beneficial. Additionally, self-driving technology is explored with emphasis on farming applications. Machine vision technology is also detailed, with specific application to weed management and harvesting of crops. Finally, the effects of automating agriculture are briefly considered, including labor, the environment, and direct effects on farmers

Intuitive wireless control of a robotic arm for people living with an upper body disability

Assistive Technologies (ATs) also called extrinsic enablers are useful tools for people living with various disabilities. The key points when designing such useful devices not only concern their intended goal, but also the most suitable human-machine interface (HMI) that should be provided to users. This paper describes the design of a highly intuitive wireless controller for people living with upper body disabilities with a residual or complete control of their neck and their shoulders. Tested with JACO, a six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) assistive robotic arm with 3 flexible fingers on its end-effector, the system described in this article is made of low-cost commercial off-the-shelf components and allows a full emulation of JACO's standard controller, a 3 axis joystick with 7 user buttons. To do so, three nine-degree-of-freedom (9-DOF) inertial measurement units (IMUs) are connected to a microcontroller and help measuring the user's head and shoulders position, using a complementary filter approach. The results are then transmitted to a base-station via a 2.4-GHz low-power wireless transceiver and interpreted by the control algorithm running on a PC host. A dedicated software interface allows the user to quickly calibrate the controller, and translates the information into suitable commands for JACO. The proposed controller is thoroughly described, from the electronic design to implemented algorithms and user interfaces. Its performance and future improvements are discussed as well

Implementation of explosion safety regulations in design of a mobile robot for coal mines

The article focuses on specific challenges of the design of a reconnaissance mobile robotic system aimed for inspection in underground coal mine areas after a catastrophic event. Systems that are designated for these conditions must meet specific standards and regulations. In this paper is discussed primarily the main conception of meeting explosion safety regulations of European Union 2014/34/EU (also called ATEX-from French "Appareils destines a etre utilises en ATmospheres Explosives") for Group I (equipment intended for use in underground mines) and Category M1 (equipment designed for operation in the presence of an explosive atmosphere). An example of a practical solution is described on main subsystems of the mobile robot TeleRescuera teleoperated robot with autonomy functions, a sensory subsystem with multiple cameras, three-dimensional (3D) mapping and sensors for measurement of gas concentration, airflow, relative humidity, and temperatures. Explosion safety is ensured according to the Technical Report CLC/TR 60079-33 "s" by two main independent protections-mechanical protection (flameproof enclosure) and electrical protection (automatic methane detector that disconnects power when methane breaches the enclosure and gets inside the robot body).Web of Science811art. no. 230

sCAM: An Untethered Insertable Laparoscopic Surgical Camera Robot

Fully insertable robotic imaging devices represent a promising future of minimally invasive laparoscopic vision. Emerging research efforts in this field have resulted in several proof-of-concept prototypes. One common drawback of these designs derives from their clumsy tethering wires which not only cause operational interference but also reduce camera mobility. Meanwhile, these insertable laparoscopic cameras are manipulated without any pose information or haptic feedback, which results in open loop motion control and raises concerns about surgical safety caused by inappropriate use of force.This dissertation proposes, implements, and validates an untethered insertable laparoscopic surgical camera (sCAM) robot. Contributions presented in this work include: (1) feasibility of an untethered fully insertable laparoscopic surgical camera, (2) camera-tissue interaction characterization and force sensing, (3) pose estimation, visualization, and feedback with sCAM, and (4) robotic-assisted closed-loop laparoscopic camera control. Borrowing the principle of spherical motors, camera anchoring and actuation are achieved through transabdominal magnetic coupling in a stator-rotor manner. To avoid the tethering wires, laparoscopic vision and control communication are realized with dedicated wireless links based on onboard power. A non-invasive indirect approach is proposed to provide real-time camera-tissue interaction force measurement, which, assisted by camera-tissue interaction modeling, predicts stress distribution over the tissue surface. Meanwhile, the camera pose is remotely estimated and visualized using complementary filtering based on onboard motion sensing. Facilitated by the force measurement and pose estimation, robotic-assisted closed-loop control has been realized in a double-loop control scheme with shared autonomy between surgeons and the robotic controller.The sCAM has brought robotic laparoscopic imaging one step further toward less invasiveness and more dexterity. Initial ex vivo test results have verified functions of the implemented sCAM design and the proposed force measurement and pose estimation approaches, demonstrating the technical feasibility of a tetherless insertable laparoscopic camera. Robotic-assisted control has shown its potential to free surgeons from low-level intricate camera manipulation workload and improve precision and intuitiveness in laparoscopic imaging

Robotic arm inertial control for recreational child physiotherapy application

According to reports from physical therapists, physiotherapy presents a painful and uninteresting process because it distances itself from the ludic, which is a natural essence of the human being, and easily attracts children when applied. In 2021, the “Robotic System for Children's Physiotherapy with Recreational Activities” project was developed, which consisted of a robotic arm to assist in the physiotherapy process of children with Cerebral Palsy. According to the conclusions of the initial project, the developed control was effective in what was proposed but not sufficient for project application in rehabilitation environments In this way, this work present a new control that is safer and that allows its application helping in the rehabilitation of these children. This new control allows the robotic arm to reproduce the movements of the human arm, so that the movement of the forearm, arm and hand are reproduced independently, simultaneously and in real time. Therefore, the prototype control operates reliably and robustly, achieving what was aimed at, a safer and more efficient physiotherapeutic process for users

Biosleeve Human-Machine Interface

Systems and methods for sensing human muscle action and gestures in order to control machines or robotic devices are disclosed. One exemplary system employs a tight fitting sleeve worn on a user arm and including a plurality of electromyography (EMG) sensors and at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU). Power, signal processing, and communications electronics may be built into the sleeve and control data may be transmitted wirelessly to the controlled machine or robotic device

JNER at 15 years: analysis of the state of neuroengineering and rehabilitation.

On JNER's 15th anniversary, this editorial analyzes the state of the field of neuroengineering and rehabilitation. I first discuss some ways that the nature of neurorehabilitation research has evolved in the past 15 years based on my perspective as editor-in-chief of JNER and a researcher in the field. I highlight increasing reliance on advanced technologies, improved rigor and openness of research, and three, related, new paradigms - wearable devices, the Cybathlon competition, and human augmentation studies - indicators that neurorehabilitation is squarely in the age of wearability. Then, I briefly speculate on how the field might make progress going forward, highlighting the need for new models of training and learning driven by big data, better personalization and targeting, and an increase in the quantity and quality of usability and uptake studies to improve translation

Bibliometric analysis on Hand Gesture Controlled Robot

This paper discusses about the survey and bibliometric analysis of hand gesture-controlled robot using Scopus database in analyzing the research by area, influential authors, countries, institutions, and funding agencies. The 293 documents are extracted from the year 2016 till 6th March 2021 from the database. Bibliometric analysis is the statistical analysis of the research published as articles, conference papers, and reviews, which helps in understanding the impact of publication in the research domain globally. The visualization analysis is done with open-source tools namely GPS Visualizer, Gephi, VOS viewer, and ScienceScape. The visualization aids in a quick and clear understanding of the different perspective as mentioned above in a particular research domain search