25 research outputs found

    Advanced Bionic Attachment Equipment Inspired by the Attachment Performance of Aquatic Organisms: A Review

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    In nature, aquatic organisms have evolved various attachment systems, and their attachment ability has become a specific and mysterious survival skill for them. Therefore, it is significant to study and use their unique attachment surfaces and outstanding attachment characteristics for reference and develop new attachment equipment with excellent performance. Based on this, in this review, the unique non-smooth surface morphologies of their suction cups are classified and the key roles of these special surface morphologies in the attachment process are introduced in detail. The recent research on the attachment capacity of aquatic suction cups and other related attachment studies are described. Emphatically, the research progress of advanced bionic attachment equipment and technology in recent years, including attachment robots, flexible grasping manipulators, suction cup accessories, micro-suction cup patches, etc., is summarized. Finally, the existing problems and challenges in the field of biomimetic attachment are analyzed, and the focus and direction of biomimetic attachment research in the future are pointed out

    Agricultural Structures and Mechanization

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    In our globalized world, the need to produce quality and safe food has increased exponentially in recent decades to meet the growing demands of the world population. This expectation is being met by acting at multiple levels, but mainly through the introduction of new technologies in the agricultural and agri-food sectors. In this context, agricultural, livestock, agro-industrial buildings, and agrarian infrastructure are being built on the basis of a sophisticated design that integrates environmental, landscape, and occupational safety, new construction materials, new facilities, and mechanization with state-of-the-art automatic systems, using calculation models and computer programs. It is necessary to promote research and dissemination of results in the field of mechanization and agricultural structures, specifically with regard to farm building and rural landscape, land and water use and environment, power and machinery, information systems and precision farming, processing and post-harvest technology and logistics, energy and non-food production technology, systems engineering and management, and fruit and vegetable cultivation systems. This Special Issue focuses on the role that mechanization and agricultural structures play in the production of high-quality food and continuously over time. For this reason, it publishes highly interdisciplinary quality studies from disparate research fields including agriculture, engineering design, calculation and modeling, landscaping, environmentalism, and even ergonomics and occupational risk prevention

    New trends in 4D printing: A critical review

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    In a variety of industries, Additive Manufacturing has revolutionized the whole design-fabrication cycle. Traditional 3D printing is typically employed to produce static components, which are not able to fulfill the dynamic structures requirements and relevant applications such as soft grippers, self-assembly systems, and smart actuators. To address this limitation, an innovative technology has emerged and is called “4D printing”. It processes smart materials by using 3D printing for fabricating smart structures that can be reconfigured by applying different inputs such as heat, humidity, magnetic, electricity, light etc. At present, 4D printing is still a growing technology and it presents numerous challenges regarding materials, design, simulation, fabrication processes, applied strategies and reversibility. In this work a critical review about 4D printing technologies, materials and applications is discussed

    Bio-Inspired Robotics

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    Modern robotic technologies have enabled robots to operate in a variety of unstructured and dynamically-changing environments, in addition to traditional structured environments. Robots have, thus, become an important element in our everyday lives. One key approach to develop such intelligent and autonomous robots is to draw inspiration from biological systems. Biological structure, mechanisms, and underlying principles have the potential to provide new ideas to support the improvement of conventional robotic designs and control. Such biological principles usually originate from animal or even plant models, for robots, which can sense, think, walk, swim, crawl, jump or even fly. Thus, it is believed that these bio-inspired methods are becoming increasingly important in the face of complex applications. Bio-inspired robotics is leading to the study of innovative structures and computing with sensory–motor coordination and learning to achieve intelligence, flexibility, stability, and adaptation for emergent robotic applications, such as manipulation, learning, and control. This Special Issue invites original papers of innovative ideas and concepts, new discoveries and improvements, and novel applications and business models relevant to the selected topics of ``Bio-Inspired Robotics''. Bio-Inspired Robotics is a broad topic and an ongoing expanding field. This Special Issue collates 30 papers that address some of the important challenges and opportunities in this broad and expanding field

    3D/4D printing of cellulose nanocrystals-based biomaterials: Additives for sustainable applications

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    Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have gained significant attraction from both industrial and academic sectors, thanks to their biodegradability, non-toxicity, and renewability with remarkable mechanical characteristics. Desirable mechanical characteristics of CNCs include high stiffness, high strength, excellent flexibility, and large surface-to-volume ratio. Additionally, the mechanical properties of CNCs can be tailored through chemical modifications for high-end applications including tissue engineering, actuating, and biomedical. Modern manufacturing methods including 3D/4D printing are highly advantageous for developing sophisticated and intricate geometries. This review highlights the major developments of additive manufactured CNCs, which promote sustainable solutions across a wide range of applications. Additionally, this contribution also presents current challenges and future research directions of CNC-based composites developed through 3D/4D printing techniques for myriad engineering sectors including tissue engineering, wound healing, wearable electronics, robotics, and anti-counterfeiting applications. Overall, this review will greatly help research scientists from chemistry, materials, biomedicine, and other disciplines to comprehend the underlying principles, mechanical properties, and applications of additively manufactured CNC-based structures

    Investigation of the use of Electro Active Polymer as a Pediatric VAD Driver

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    Background Heart failure is one of the principal causes of death and disability. The causes of heart failure are many, and a number of technologies have been developed to address this issue by providing support to the failing heart, both as a permanent solution and as a bridge to recovery. These options are called Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices, a particular branch of these devices is the Ventricular Assist Devices, which have been under intense development over the recent years offering a promising solution for this major problem. However, these devices are still bulky, and heavy designed to support failing hearts in the adult population. On the other hand, little has been done in recent times on the development of implantable solutions for heart failure or insufficiency in children. There are many reasons for this, but primarily the relatively small number of children requiring these procedures, the challenges associated with growth, and the lack of physical space for such implantable circulatory support technologies in children are fundamental limitations to the development and deployment of these technologies. Aims of the project The primary purpose of this project was to investigate the development of a new miniaturised self-power VAD that is suitable for paediatrics implantation. This project suggested the use of the newly developed Artificial Muscles to create a mesh that envelops the heart and works as an external assisting circulation mechanism. The same materials could be used to generate electricity when deformed, which can be used to power the proposed device. Critically, the project was to focus on optimising the materials with regard to their operating efficiency to ascertain whether they represent a viable option for VAD production. Materials and Methods A full review of the current available Artificial Muscles was performed to choose the most suitable type for this project. Then different fabrication protocols were developed to make IPMC Artificial Muscles using platinum and palladium coatings. A series of characterization tests were conducted on the fabricated Ionic Polymeric Metal Composites (IPMC) to ensure their quality. Finally, the mechanical and electrical properties were tested and compared with the proposed device requirements. Results The review of Artificial Muscles showed that IPMC would be the best candidate to use in this application. The characterisation tests showed as well that the produced IPMC Artificial Muscles were fabricated to the same standards as those commercially available, and the reported by other investigators. However, these materials showed very low mechanical output with high electrical power consumption, which made them far from practical and not suitable for the proposed application. On the other hand, IPMCs showed promising results as an option to generate electricity to power low consumption implantable devices
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