Development of a mechatronic sorting system for removing contaminants from wool

Automated visual inspection (AVI) systems have been extended to many fields, such as agriculture and the food, plastic and textile industries. Generally, most visual systems only inspect product defects, and then analyze and grade them due to the lack of any sorting function. This main reason rests with the difficulty of using the image data in real time. However, it is increasingly important to either sort good products from bad or grade products into separate groups usingAVI systems. This article describes the development of a mechatronic sorting system and its integration with a vision system for automatically removing contaminants from wool in real time. The integration is implemented by a personal computer, which continuously processes live images under the Windows 2000 operating system. The developed real-time sorting approach is also applicable to many other AVI systems

High-speed pattern cutting using real-time computer vision techniques

This thesis presents a study of computer vision for guiding cutting tools to perform high-speed pattern cutting on deformable materials. Several new concepts on establishing a computer vision system to guide a C02 laser beam to separate lace are presented. The aim of this study is to determine a cutting path on lace in real-time by using computer vision techniques, which is part of an automatic lace separation project. The purpose of this project is to replace the current lace separation process which uses a mechanical knife or scissors. The research on computer vision has concentrated on the following aspects: 1. A weighted incremental tracking algorithm based on a reference map is proposed, examined and implemented. This is essential for tracking an arbitrarily defined path across the surface of a patterned deformable material such as lace. Two methods, a weighting function and infinite impulse response filter, are used to cope with lateral distortions of the input image. Three consecutive map lines matching with one image line is introduced to cope with longitudinal distortion. A software and hardware hybrid approach boosts the tracking speed to hnls that is 2-4 times faster than the current mechanical method. 2. A modified Hough transform and the weighted incremental tracking algorithm to find the start point for tracking are proposed and investigated to enable the tracking to start from the correct position on the map. 3. In order to maintain consistent working conditions for the vision system, the light source, camera threshold and camera scan rate synchronisation with lace movement are studied. Two test rigs combining the vision and cutting system have been built and used to cut lace successfully

Rewriting portuguese women’s history at international expositions (1889-1908)

This article aims to understand how the changing nature of industrial schooling contributed to the erasure of women’s participation. Industrial schooling, manual work and the politics of exposition were increasingly conceived as male, despite the Portuguese tradition of female artisanal production. With the promotion of technological modernization, at the turn of the nineteenth century, women’s artisanal or mechanical productions were no longer considered “industrial;” henceforth they ceased to be recognized as a professional activity and were mistakenly categorized as homework. Marques Leitão and António Arroio appear as key players in this process through their efforts to redesign industrial schooling with a representation of industry that was more limited than before. In the process they repositioned women’s work firmly within the home, introducing a vision of feminine domesticity which had not held sway in Portugal until then. In the first three decades of the twentieth century, both men consolidated their vision of industrial schooling through written reports and studies that synthesized the legal and pedagogical changes that they defended. These documents, written by “experts” in the field, served as precious primary sources. Reality is the product of what is said and what is left unsaid. In this case, the material traces left by the industry of women lace workers in expositions offers a suggestive way to rewrite this history.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Saturn S-2 quality assurance techniques: Nondestructive testing processes. Volume 1: Requirements and procedures

The methods and procedures used to perform nondestructive testing inspections of the Saturn S-2 liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tank weldments during fabrication and after proof testing are described to document special skills developed during the program. All post-test inspection requirements are outlined including radiographic inspections procedures

Regularity analysis for patterned texture inspection

This paper considers regularity analysis for patterned texture material inspection. Patterned texture-like fabric is built on a repetitive unit of a pattern. Regularity is one of the most important features in many textures. In this paper, a new patterned texture inspection approach called the regular bands (RB) method is described. First, the properties of textures and the meaning of regularity measurements are presented. Next, traditional regularity analysis for patterned textures is introduced. Many traditional approaches such as co-occurrence matrices, autocorrelation, traditional image subtraction and hash function are based on the concept of periodicity. These approaches have been applied for image retrieval, image synthesis, and defect detection of patterned textures. In this paper, a new measure of periodicity for patterned textures is described. The Regular Bands method is based on the idea of periodicity. A detailed description of the RB method with definitions, procedures, and explanations is given. There is also a detailed evaluation using the Regular Bands of some patterned textures. Three kinds of patterned fabric samples are used in the evaluation and a high detection success rate is achieved. Finally, there is a discussion of the method and some conclusions. © 2006 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Space station automation study. Automation requirements derived from space manufacturing concepts. Volume 1: Executive summary

The two manufacturing concepts developed represent innovative, technologically advanced manufacturing schemes. The concepts were selected to facilitate an in depth analysis of manufacturing automation requirements in the form of process mechanization, teleoperation and robotics, and artificial intelligence. While the cost effectiveness of these facilities has not been analyzed as part of this study, both appear entirely feasible for the year 2000 timeframe. The growing demand for high quality gallium arsenide microelectronics may warrant the ventures

"A vision of love and luxury": The commercialization of nineteenth-century American weddings

This article traces the commercialization of weddings in the second half of the nineteenth century. During this period, jewelers and silverware manufacturers recognized the possibilities of the bridal trade. They began to offer special bridal goods and services; they addressed themselves specifically to bridal couples and to those in search of presents for them; and they sought to influence the practices surrounding fashionable weddings in order to expand demand. Fancy bridal gift giving was further justified by a new sentimental attachment to goods among the middle to upper classes, whose fetishistic rhetoric remains a feature of wedding advertising today. © 2004 by The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc. All rights reserved

Laboratory testing of candidate robotic applications for space

Robots have potential for increasing the value of man's presence in space. Some categories with potential benefit are: (1) performing extravehicular tasks like satellite and station servicing, (2) supporting the science mission of the station by manipulating experiment tasks, and (3) performing intravehicular activities which would be boring, tedious, exacting, or otherwise unpleasant for astronauts. An important issue in space robotics is selection of an appropriate level of autonomy. In broad terms three levels of autonomy can be defined: (1) teleoperated - an operator explicitly controls robot movement; (2) telerobotic - an operator controls the robot directly, but by high-level commands, without, for example, detailed control of trajectories; and (3) autonomous - an operator supplies a single high-level command, the robot does all necessary task sequencing and planning to satisfy the command. Researchers chose three projects for their exploration of technology and implementation issues in space robots, one each of the three application areas, each with a different level of autonomy. The projects were: (1) satellite servicing - teleoperated; (2) laboratory assistant - telerobotic; and (3) on-orbit inventory manager - autonomous. These projects are described and some results of testing are summarized

The metaphorical value of lace in contemporary art: the transformative process of a practice-led inquiry

This thesis examines lace as a metaphor in contemporary art, comprising a practice-led inquiry based on the lace archive of Nottingham Trent University. Lace is placed in the context of creative art practice to establish an overview and understanding of the multifarious associations used to articulate ideas and concepts. This study explores the integration of lace themes into my current art practice while adopting methods of research that reflect on and challenge the tacit knowledge already present in my creative process. An action research methodology is implemented, introducing reflective activities to question my concept development and instigate change. Case studies are used to gain a deeper understanding of how and why the application of lace themes and metaphors are present in contemporary art. The research process has a cyclical form in that my art practice is a case study that informs and enriches my creative process. A theoretical inquiry is established, contributing to a philosophical framework built around ideas that encompass lace and the body, addressing the reappropriation from a fabric that once signified only wealth and status to a material that now adds a sexual charge to garments through the relationship it has with skin