Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2022, held in Hamburg, Germany, in May 2022. The 36 regular papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 129 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: haptic science; haptic technology; and haptic applications

Medical Robotics

The first generation of surgical robots are already being installed in a number of operating rooms around the world. Robotics is being introduced to medicine because it allows for unprecedented control and precision of surgical instruments in minimally invasive procedures. So far, robots have been used to position an endoscope, perform gallbladder surgery and correct gastroesophogeal reflux and heartburn. The ultimate goal of the robotic surgery field is to design a robot that can be used to perform closed-chest, beating-heart surgery. The use of robotics in surgery will expand over the next decades without any doubt. Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a revolutionary approach in surgery. In MIS, the operation is performed with instruments and viewing equipment inserted into the body through small incisions created by the surgeon, in contrast to open surgery with large incisions. This minimizes surgical trauma and damage to healthy tissue, resulting in shorter patient recovery time. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the state-of-art, to present new ideas, original results and practical experiences in this expanding area. Nevertheless, many chapters in the book concern advanced research on this growing area. The book provides critical analysis of clinical trials, assessment of the benefits and risks of the application of these technologies. This book is certainly a small sample of the research activity on Medical Robotics going on around the globe as you read it, but it surely covers a good deal of what has been done in the field recently, and as such it works as a valuable source for researchers interested in the involved subjects, whether they are currently “medical roboticists” or not

Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2020, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, in September 2020. The 60 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 111 submissions. The were organized in topical sections on haptic science, haptic technology, and haptic applications. This year's focus is on accessibility

Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2020, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, in September 2020. The 60 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 111 submissions. The were organized in topical sections on haptic science, haptic technology, and haptic applications. This year's focus is on accessibility

Conference on Intelligent Robotics in Field, Factory, Service, and Space (CIRFFSS 1994), volume 1

The AIAA/NASA Conference on Intelligent Robotics in Field, Factory, Service, and Space (CIRFFSS '94) was originally proposed because of the strong belief that America's problems of global economic competitiveness and job creation and preservation can partly be solved by the use of intelligent robotics, which are also required for human space exploration missions. Individual sessions addressed nuclear industry, agile manufacturing, security/building monitoring, on-orbit applications, vision and sensing technologies, situated control and low-level control, robotic systems architecture, environmental restoration and waste management, robotic remanufacturing, and healthcare applications

Neurophysiological Biomarkers of Motor Recovery in Severe Chronic Stroke

Schlaganfälle kommen jährlich millionenfach und weltweit vor. Die Patienten leiden fast immer unter verschiedensten Behinderungen, und mehr als die Hälfte entwickelt chronische Lähmungen. Für diese Gruppe der Patienten gibt es keine wirksame standardisierte Therapie. Die Vorgänge im Gehirn der Patienten, die ihre Bewegungsfähigkeit nach dem Schlaganfall wieder verbessern, versteht man auch nach Jahrzehnten der Forschung nur teilweise. Das Finden, Beobachten und Überwachen von neurophysiologischen Korrelaten des Erholungsvorgangs könnte helfen, die Gehirnaktivität vor und während einer solchen Behandlung besser zu verstehen. Durch die Entdeckung solcher “Biomarker” und davon abgeleiteter Vorhersagemodelle könnten neuartige Therapien entwickelt und gezieltere klinische Studien entworfen werden.\\ In dieser Dissertation werden mehrere Analysen von neurophysiologischen Daten der Gehirn- und Muskelaktivität von Gesunden und schwerst gelähmten chronischen Schlaganfallpatienten vorgestellt. Das Potential verschiedener Biomarker wird auf Basis dieser Daten bewertet. Zunächst wurde die Desynchronisierung des Sensorimotorischen Rhythmus’ untersucht. Die Gehirnaktivität von chronisch gelähmten Schlaganfallpatienten wurde während der Ausführung von Bewegungen des gelähmten Arms analysiert. Es ergab sich eine Korrelation zwischen der Erholung der Bewegungsfähigkeit und dem Verlauf der Desynchronisierung des Sensorimotorischen Rhythmus’ sowie dessen Lateralisation zwischen beiden Hemisphären. Die Position der Läsion scheint zudem einen Einfluss auf die Stärke der Desynchronisierung zu haben. Außerdem gab es beim Vergleich von Schlaganfallpatienten und Gesunden Unterschiede in der individuellen dominanten Frequenz des Rhythmus’. In einer weiteren Analyse wurde die Gehirnaktivität in niedrigen Frequenzen des Aktivitätsspektrums untersucht. Diese erhöhte sich bei den Patienten über der Läsion, was Ergebnisse früherer Arbeiten mit Tiermodellen und weniger stark gelähmten Schlaganfallpatienten bestätigt. Darüberhinaus wird eine Vorgehensweise für die Analyse von kohärenten Oszillationen im Gehirn während der Ausführung von Bewegungen vorgestellt. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die Verbindungen innerhalb der beschädigten Gehirnhälfte und zwischen den beiden Gehirnhälften mit der Therapie verstärken. Zuletzt wird ein Experiment vorgestellt, worin die möglichen Effekte der intensiven robotischen Therapie auf die Muskelaktivität der Patienten untersucht werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigten keinen ermüdenden Effekt des Trainings auf die Muskeln.\\ Im letzten Kapitel werden weiterführende Arbeiten für die Erweiterung von bereits existierenden Brain-Machine interface-Therapien vorgestellt. Ein virtuelles Exoskelett wurde zur Verbesserung des visuellen Feedbacks, das die Patienten während des Bewegungstraining mit dem Roboter erhalten, implementiert. Außerdem wurde hier ein umfassendes Training in eine “gamifizierte” Rehabilitationsumgebung integriert, um die Immersion und damit die Motivation der Patienten zu erhöhen.\\ Die hier vorgestellten Biomarker könnten als Bausteine für Modelle von Neurorehabilitation dienen und den Trainingsfortschritt der Patienten in solchen neuartigen Rehabilitationsumgebungen beobachtbar und visualisierbar machen. Die Übertragung der hier vorgestellten Forschungsergebnisse in neue oder verbesserte moderne Behandlungsmethoden könnten Millionen von Schlaganfallpatienten helfen, in Zukunft ihre Bewegungsfähigkeit wiederzuerlangen.The most common repercussion of stroke is disability, affecting millions of survivors globally each year. More than half of the victims develop chronic motor impairments. There is no efficient standardized therapy for this group. The processes in the brain of patients who recover their motor ability are poorly understood, even after decades of research. Finding, observing and tracking neurophysiological correlates of stroke and recovery could facilitate the interpretation of the brain activity before and during treatment. New therapies could be devised and studies designed, based on models and predicitions derived from these biomarkers. This thesis presents analyses of neurophysiological data of brain and muscles of healthy individuals and chronic stroke patients with severe motor impairments. Candidates for biomarkers are presented and their potential evaluated. First, desynchronization of the Sensorimotor Rhythm was considered. The brain activity of chronic stroke patients was analyzed during movement attempts of the paretic arm. There was a correlation between motor impairment and the evolution of desynchronization strength as well as the hemispheric laterality of the desynchronization. Moreover, the location of the lesion might have an effect on the strength of desynchronization. Furthermore, there was a significant difference of the peak center frequency of the rhythm compared between stroke patients and healthy individuals. Secondly, low-frequency activity of the brain during movement attempts of the stroke patients increased from before to after the intervention, confirming previous work in animal models and patients with less severe impairment. Thirdly, a methodology for the analysis of coherent brain oscillations during movement attempts is presented. First results show that connectivity within the hemisphere of the lesion as well as the communication between the hemispheres increased with the therapy. Finally, an experiment investigating potential effects of intensive robot-based interventions on muscle activity is presented. Results from four stroke patients did not indicate that the rehabilitation training induces muscular fatigue. The final chapter presents complementary work on enhancing existing Brain-Machine interface therapies. Sensory feedback to the patient is improved by way of displaying a virtual representation of an exoskeleton for training of movements of hand and arm. Furthermore, a rehabilitation training was embedded in a gamified environment for maximizing immersion and motivation of the patient. The biomarkers presented in these studies could serve as building blocks for modeling neurorehabilitation and to track and visualize recovery in such enriched training environments. The transition of this research to new or improved modern therapeutic approaches in clinical practice could serve millions of stroke victims

Product design in studio : design of rail collective transports, design of products and spaces

Dissertação para obtenção do grau em Mestre de Design de Produto, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitetur

10th EASN International Conference on Innovation in Aviation & Space to the Satisfaction of the European Citizens

This Special Issue book contains selected papers from works presented at the 10th EASN (European Aeronautics Science Network) International Conference on Innovation in Aviation & Space, which was held from the 2nd until the 4th of September, 2020. About 350 remote participants contributed to a high-level scientific gathering providing some of the latest research results on the topic, as well as some of the latest relevant technological advancements. Eleven interesting articles, which cover a wide range of topics including characterization, analysis and design, as well as numerical simulation, are contained in this Special Issue

Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Summer Conference. NASA/USRA: University Advanced Design Program

The Advanced Design Program (ADP) is a unique program that brings together students and faculty from U.S. engineering schools with engineers from the NASA centers through integration of current and future NASA space and aeronautics projects into university engineering design curriculum. The Advanced Space Design Program study topics cover a broad range of projects that could be undertaken during a 20-30 year period beginning with the deployment of the Space Station Freedom. The Advanced Aeronautics Design Program study topics typically focus on nearer-term projects of interest to NASA, covering from small, slow-speed vehicles through large, supersonic passenger transports and on through hypersonic research vehicles. Student work accomplished during the 1990-91 academic year and reported at the 7th Annual Summer Conference is presented

Tyne Darling: a Novel

Tyne Darling spent most of his youth dreaming about the saints. They came 15 to a pack with a single stick of stale, pink bubble gum. Their posters hung on his walls, and their pictures—cut from the Sports Illustrated magazines he got from his uncle—were tacked to his cork board and taped above his desk. His saints were Hank Aaron and Oscar Gamble, Carlton Fisk and Tom Seaver. His saints had rocket arms and sweet, smooth swings. They played a game that existed out of time on a sacred square within a circle. His saints were baseball players. Now, as he grapples with the tentacles of adulthood—what it means to be a father and a partner—he works to unravel the tangled threads of his past and come to terms with his present and future circumstances. He gazes back at mistakes and missed opportunities, cuts through a rambling lack of self-belief, and reaches deep into the marrow of his sprawling ambitions, as he attempts to destroy his vāsanā—inclinations that were formed from past perceptions, experiences, and impressions—and come to terms with what it might be like to actually start anew (Varenne 88). What he finds in his rearview mirror, though, are the same kinds of things that are just beyond his windshield. Then, his friend is killed—suddenly and grotesquely—in the remote desert of Syria. Tyne Darling leans on the saints of his youth—on the stories and mythos of baseball—and upon the memory and threads of connection left by his departed friend, as well as upon his family—his partner, Emma, and son, Cass—as he discovers who he was, who he is, and possibly, who he will be