Motorized circular rail with RGB-D sensor on cart for physical rehabilitation

This paper introduces a motorized circular rail managing the movement of two carts equipped with an RGB-D sensor each. The proposal is aimed at continuously tracking a person who is undergoing a series of physical rehabilitation exercises from two different viewpoints to monitor if the exercises are being correctly conducted. More concretely, this work offers all details of the trajectory calculation for safe movement of both carts on the motorized circular rail. Then, two study cases are presented to show the efficiency of the control algorithms implemented.AEI - Agencia Estatal de Investigação(TIN2016-79100-R)This work was partially supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) / European Regional Development Fund (FEDER, UE) under DPI2016-80894-R and TIN2016-79100-R grants

Mechatronic Systems

Mechatronics, the synergistic blend of mechanics, electronics, and computer science, has evolved over the past twenty five years, leading to a novel stage of engineering design. By integrating the best design practices with the most advanced technologies, mechatronics aims at realizing high-quality products, guaranteeing at the same time a substantial reduction of time and costs of manufacturing. Mechatronic systems are manifold and range from machine components, motion generators, and power producing machines to more complex devices, such as robotic systems and transportation vehicles. With its twenty chapters, which collect contributions from many researchers worldwide, this book provides an excellent survey of recent work in the field of mechatronics with applications in various fields, like robotics, medical and assistive technology, human-machine interaction, unmanned vehicles, manufacturing, and education. We would like to thank all the authors who have invested a great deal of time to write such interesting chapters, which we are sure will be valuable to the readers. Chapters 1 to 6 deal with applications of mechatronics for the development of robotic systems. Medical and assistive technologies and human-machine interaction systems are the topic of chapters 7 to 13.Chapters 14 and 15 concern mechatronic systems for autonomous vehicles. Chapters 16-19 deal with mechatronics in manufacturing contexts. Chapter 20 concludes the book, describing a method for the installation of mechatronics education in schools

Implementation of Low-Cost and Open-Source Instrumentation in 2D Material Research

This dissertation examines the importance of open-sourced scientific instrumentation in two-dimensional (2D) material research. 2D materials are gaining attention due to their extraordinary electrical, mechanical, optical, and thermal properties and their potential to transform various fields. However, studying these materials often requires complex and expensive scientific instrumentation, which can limit the accessibility and progress of research. The study explores the potential of open-source software and hardware in scientific instrumentation, and its role in democratizing access, fostering collaboration, and accelerating innovation. The study presents two instruments implemented for 2D material research, using only open-source software and hardware, and demonstrates experiments conducted with these instruments. Additionally, the study explores broader implications of open-sourced scientific instrumentation by demonstrating a motorized variable filter stage and retractable leadless pacemaker. The dissertation concludes by emphasizing the critical role of open-source instruments in the advancement of material science and the broader scientific community and the need for ongoing support and engagement to fully realize their potential

Development and evaluation of mixed reality-enhanced robotic systems for intuitive tele-manipulation and telemanufacturing tasks in hazardous conditions

In recent years, with the rapid development of space exploration, deep-sea discovery, nuclear rehabilitation and management, and robotic-assisted medical devices, there is an urgent need for humans to interactively control robotic systems to perform increasingly precise remote operations. The value of medical telerobotic applications during the recent coronavirus pandemic has also been demonstrated and will grow in the future. This thesis investigates novel approaches to the development and evaluation of a mixed reality-enhanced telerobotic platform for intuitive remote teleoperation applications in dangerous and difficult working conditions, such as contaminated sites and undersea or extreme welding scenarios. This research aims to remove human workers from the harmful working environments by equipping complex robotic systems with human intelligence and command/control via intuitive and natural human-robot- interaction, including the implementation of MR techniques to improve the user's situational awareness, depth perception, and spatial cognition, which are fundamental to effective and efficient teleoperation. The proposed robotic mobile manipulation platform consists of a UR5 industrial manipulator, 3D-printed parallel gripper, and customized mobile base, which is envisaged to be controlled by non-skilled operators who are physically separated from the robot working space through an MR-based vision/motion mapping approach. The platform development process involved CAD/CAE/CAM and rapid prototyping techniques, such as 3D printing and laser cutting. Robot Operating System (ROS) and Unity 3D are employed in the developing process to enable the embedded system to intuitively control the robotic system and ensure the implementation of immersive and natural human-robot interactive teleoperation. This research presents an integrated motion/vision retargeting scheme based on a mixed reality subspace approach for intuitive and immersive telemanipulation. An imitation-based velocity- centric motion mapping is implemented via the MR subspace to accurately track operator hand movements for robot motion control, and enables spatial velocity-based control of the robot tool center point (TCP). The proposed system allows precise manipulation of end-effector position and orientation to readily adjust the corresponding velocity of maneuvering. A mixed reality-based multi-view merging framework for immersive and intuitive telemanipulation of a complex mobile manipulator with integrated 3D/2D vision is presented. The proposed 3D immersive telerobotic schemes provide the users with depth perception through the merging of multiple 3D/2D views of the remote environment via MR subspace. The mobile manipulator platform can be effectively controlled by non-skilled operators who are physically separated from the robot working space through a velocity-based imitative motion mapping approach. Finally, this thesis presents an integrated mixed reality and haptic feedback scheme for intuitive and immersive teleoperation of robotic welding systems. By incorporating MR technology, the user is fully immersed in a virtual operating space augmented by real-time visual feedback from the robot working space. The proposed mixed reality virtual fixture integration approach implements hybrid haptic constraints to guide the operator’s hand movements following the conical guidance to effectively align the welding torch for welding and constrain the welding operation within a collision-free area. Overall, this thesis presents a complete tele-robotic application space technology using mixed reality and immersive elements to effectively translate the operator into the robot’s space in an intuitive and natural manner. The results are thus a step forward in cost-effective and computationally effective human-robot interaction research and technologies. The system presented is readily extensible to a range of potential applications beyond the robotic tele- welding and tele-manipulation tasks used to demonstrate, optimise, and prove the concepts

Exploration and Implementation of Augmented Reality for External Beam Radiotherapy

We have explored applications of Augmented Reality (AR) for external beam radiotherapy to assist with treatment planning, patient education, and treatment delivery. We created an AR development framework for applications in radiotherapy (RADiotherapy Augmented Reality, RAD-AR) for AR ready consumer electronics such as tablet computers and head mounted devices (HMD). We implemented in RAD-AR three tools to assist radiotherapy practitioners with: treatment plans evaluation, patient pre-treatment information/education, and treatment delivery. We estimated accuracy and precision of the patient setup tool and the underlying self-tracking technology, and fidelity of AR content geometric representation, on the Apple iPad tablet computer and the Microsoft HoloLens HMD. Results showed that the technology could already be applied for detection of large treatment setup errors, and could become applicable to other aspects of treatment delivery subject to technological improvements that can be expected in the near future. We performed user feedback studies of the patient education and the plan evaluation tools. Results indicated an overall positive user evaluation of AR technology compared to conventional tools for the radiotherapy elements implemented. We conclude that AR will become a useful tool in radiotherapy bringing real benefits for both clinicians and patients, contributing to successful treatment outcomes

Bio-Inspired Soft Artificial Muscles for Robotic and Healthcare Applications

Soft robotics and soft artificial muscles have emerged as prolific research areas and have gained substantial traction over the last two decades. There is a large paradigm shift of research interests in soft artificial muscles for robotic and medical applications due to their soft, flexible and compliant characteristics compared to rigid actuators. Soft artificial muscles provide safe human-machine interaction, thus promoting their implementation in medical fields such as wearable assistive devices, haptic devices, soft surgical instruments and cardiac compression devices. Depending on the structure and material composition, soft artificial muscles can be controlled with various excitation sources, including electricity, magnetic fields, temperature and pressure. Pressure-driven artificial muscles are among the most popular soft actuators due to their fast response, high exertion force and energy efficiency. Although significant progress has been made, challenges remain for a new type of artificial muscle that is easy to manufacture, flexible, multifunctional and has a high length-to-diameter ratio. Inspired by human muscles, this thesis proposes a soft, scalable, flexible, multifunctional, responsive, and high aspect ratio hydraulic filament artificial muscle (HFAM) for robotic and medical applications. The HFAM consists of a silicone tube inserted inside a coil spring, which expands longitudinally when receiving positive hydraulic pressure. This simple fabrication method enables low-cost and mass production of a wide range of product sizes and materials. This thesis investigates the characteristics of the proposed HFAM and two implementations, as a wearable soft robotic glove to aid in grasping objects, and as a smart surgical suture for perforation closure. Multiple HFAMs are also combined by twisting and braiding techniques to enhance their performance. In addition, smart textiles are created from HFAMs using traditional knitting and weaving techniques for shape-programmable structures, shape-morphing soft robots and smart compression devices for massage therapy. Finally, a proof-of-concept robotic cardiac compression device is developed by arranging HFAMs in a special configuration to assist in heart failure treatment. Overall this fundamental work contributes to the development of soft artificial muscle technologies and paves the way for future comprehensive studies to develop HFAMs for specific medical and robotic requirements

Diseño de un robot móvil autónomo de telepresencia

The recent rise in tele-operated autonomous mobile vehicles calls for a seamless control architecture that reduces the learning curve when the platform is functioning autonomously (without active supervisory control), as well as when tele-operated. Conventional robot plat-forms usually solve one of two problems. This work develops a mobile base using the Robot Operating System (ROS) middleware for teleoperation at low cost. The three-layer architec-ture introduced adds or removes operator complexity. The lowest layer provides mobility and robot awareness; the second layer provides usability; the upper layer provides inter-activity. A novel interactive control that combines operator intelligence/ skill with robot/autonomous intelligence enabling the mobile base to respond to expected events and ac-tively react to unexpected events is presented. The experiments conducted in the robot laboratory summarises the advantages of using such a system.El reciente auge de los vehículos móviles autónomos teleoperados exige una arquitectura de control sin fisuras que reduzca la curva de aprendizaje cuando la plataforma funciona de forma autónoma (sin control de supervisión activo), así como cuando es teleoperada. Las plataformas robóticas convencionales suelen resolver uno de los dos problemas. Este tra-bajo desarrolla una base móvil que utiliza el middleware Robot Operating System (ROS) para la teleoperación a bajo coste. La arquitectura de tres capas introducida añade o elimina la complejidad del operador. La capa más baja proporciona movilidad y conciencia robótica; la segunda capa proporciona usabilidad; la capa superior proporciona interactividad. Se presenta un novedoso control interactivo que combina la inteligencia/habilidades del op-erador con la inteligencia autónoma del robot, lo que permite que la base móvil responda a los eventos esperados y reaccione activamente a los eventos inesperados. Los experi-mentos realizados en el laboratorio robótica resumen las ventajas de utilizar un sistema de este tipoDepartamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y AutomáticaMáster en Electrónica Industrial y Automátic