Prototyping and Integration of Educational Low-Cost Mobile Robot Platform

This paper describes the process of designing and prototyping a low-cost robotic platform based on existing equipment and projects that enable extracurricular STEM activities in Croatia and beyond. A robotic platform with a differential drive configuration was chosen for education from an early age due to its simplicity and a wide range of cheap and compatible components from which it can be made. From the aspect of integration into extracurricular or curricular activities, the BBC micro:bit ecosystem was considered, enabling block-based visual programming. Components with printable parts make up the assembly of the educational robot. The main steps in designing and creating a robot prototype are presented, which consist of the modelling, 3D printing of robot parts, and assembly into a functional system. After several stages of testing, an interactive workshop was held with 7th-grade primary school pupils. Further work is planned to create educational material for extracurricular STEM workshops

A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

Reducing risk in pre-production investigations through undergraduate engineering projects.

This poster is the culmination of final year Bachelor of Engineering Technology (B.Eng.Tech) student projects in 2017 and 2018. The B.Eng.Tech is a level seven qualification that aligns with the Sydney accord for a three-year engineering degree and hence is internationally benchmarked. The enabling mechanism of these projects is the industry connectivity that creates real-world projects and highlights the benefits of the investigation of process at the technologist level. The methodologies we use are basic and transparent, with enough depth of technical knowledge to ensure the industry partners gain from the collaboration process. The process we use minimizes the disconnect between the student and the industry supervisor while maintaining the academic freedom of the student and the commercial sensitivities of the supervisor. The general motivation for this approach is the reduction of the entry cost of the industry to enable consideration of new technologies and thereby reducing risk to core business and shareholder profits. The poster presents several images and interpretive dialogue to explain the positive and negative aspects of the student process

Beta: Bioprinting engineering technology for academia

Higher STEM education is a field of growing potential, but too many middle school and high school students are not testing proficiently in STEM subjects. The BETA team worked to improve biology classroom engagement through the development of technologies for high school biology experiments. The BETA project team expanded functionality of an existing product line to allow for better student and teacher user experience and the execution of more interesting experiments. The BETA project’s first goal was to create a modular incubating Box for the high school classroom. This Box, called the BETA Box was designed with a variety of sensors to allow for custom temperature and lighting environments for each experiment. It was completed with a clear interface to control the settings and an automatic image capture system. The team also conducted a feasibility study on auto calibration and dual-extrusion for SE3D’s existing 3D bioprinter. The findings of this study led to the incorporation of a force sensor for auto calibration and the evidence to support the feasibility of dual extrusion, although further work is needed. These additions to the current SE3D educational product line will increase effectiveness in the classroom and allow the target audience, high school students, to better engage in STEM education activities

The Fabrication Commons: Creative Agency Through Intuitive Interfaces

With digital fabrication tools and networking technology becoming increasingly attainable and versatile, there is an opportunity for more people to become makers instead of just being passive consumers. How can we take advantage of this to foster larger local and global communities of makers? Most digital fabrication research focuses on a singular novel process or application of a tool, and not the actual relationship between the users and the entire fabrication process. To engage a broader audience with digital fabrication, I propose a user-centric ecosystem that attempts to seamlessly link all of the individual elements of the workflow. My research involves designing a series of prototypes for inexperienced makers that lower the barriers of complex workflows. By doing this, anyone can be empowered to shape their environment and cater to their needs and desires without relying on mass-produced goods. With more engaging, accessible methods of fabrication, people can benefit from the advantages of creating something themselves, and form communities that are more empowered and meaningfully connected

Expanding production perspectives by collaborating learning factories-perceived needs and possibilities

Collaboration across organizational, business and technological borders receives growing emphasis in industrial production due to the evolution of production networks, as well as the growing integration of different product life cycle stages. These demands receive growing attention in the learning factory community, and can be answered by the combination of courses and collaboration across several sites. The paper gives an in-progress report on such an initiative: on perceived needs and opportunities of collaboration spanning the learning factory site at TU Wien, and the premises of MTA SZTAKI in Gyor and Budapest. Special emphasis is put on several collaboration types crucial to design and production in an enterprise network, such as parallel and collaborative product development, or transparency across organizational levels of different degrees of abstraction. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

A role-based conceptual framework for teaching robotic construction technologies to architects

In the last 30 years, there has been increasing interest in the adoption of robotics in the construction industry and more recently in architecture. Cutting edge technologies are often pioneered in industries such as automotive, aeronautical and ship building, and take decades to filter into the hands of architects. If this is to change, architects need to be better educated in the field of robotic construction technology. This research catalogues robotic construction technology currently being used by architects and discusses the motivations that drive architects to use this technology. This catalogue includes an interview with architect Dr Simon Weir and investigates his motivation for using robotic construction technologies on a project for an Aboriginal community in central Australia. Existing frameworks for classifying robotic construction technologies are reviewed and assessed for their suitability for use teaching architecture students about these technologies. This leads to the development of a new conceptual framework for teaching architecture students about robotic construction technology. This conceptual framework classifies the technology according to the role it plays in the construction process, which makes the information more accessible to architects. The developed conceptual framework is implemented by teaching a class of students from the Master of Architecture course at the University of Sydney. Results from this class reveal outcomes for further development of the implementation of the framework into the classroom. A revised course structure is presented along with an appropriate hybrid robotic system for teaching architecture students about robotic construction technology

Development of Modular Compliant Anthropomorphic Robot Hand

The chapter presents the development of a modular compliant robotic hand characterized by the anthropomorphic structure and functionality. The prototype is made based on experience in development of contemporary advanced artificial hands and taking into account the complementary aspects of human bio-mechanics. The robot hand developed in the Institute Mihailo Pupin is called “Pupin hand”. The Pupin hand is developed for research purposes as well as for implementation with service and medical robot devices as an advance robot end-effector. Mechanical design, system identification, modeling and simulation and acquisition of the biological skill of grasping adopted from humans are considered in the chapter. Mechanical structure of the tendon-driven, multi-finger, 23 degrees of freedom compliant robot hand is presented in the chapter. Model of the hand is represented by corresponding multi-body rigid system with the complementary structural elasticity inserted between the particular finger modules. Some characteristic simulation results are given in the chapter in order to validate the chosen design concept. For the purpose of motion capture of human grasping skill, an appropriate experimental setup is prepared. It includes an infrared Kinect camera that combines visual and depth information about objects from the environment. The aim of using the Kinect sensor is to acquire human grasping skill and to map this natural motion to the robotic device. The novelties of the robot hand prototyping beyond to the state-of-the-art are stressed out in the conclusion

Enabling New Functionally Embedded Mechanical Systems Via Cutting, Folding, and 3D Printing

Traditional design tools and fabrication methods implicitly prevent mechanical engineers from encapsulating full functionalities such as mobility, transformation, sensing and actuation in the early design concept prototyping stage. Therefore, designers are forced to design, fabricate and assemble individual parts similar to conventional manufacturing, and iteratively create additional functionalities. This results in relatively high design iteration times and complex assembly strategies