3D Printed Soft Robotic Hand

Soft robotics is an emerging industry, largely dominated by companies which hand mold their actuators. Our team set out to design an entirely 3D printed soft robotic hand, powered by a pneumatic control system which will prove both the capabilities of soft robots and those of 3D printing. Through research, computer aided design, finite element analysis, and experimental testing, a functioning actuator was created capable of a deflection of 2.17” at a maximum pressure input of 15 psi. The single actuator was expanded into a 4 finger gripper and the design was printed and assembled. The created prototype was ultimately able to lift both a 100-gram apple and a 4-gram pill, proving its functionality in two prominent industries: pharmaceutical and food packing

Effects of Compensation Strategy on Job Pay Decisions

Previous research has revealed wide variations in pay for the same job, even within a single locality. To date, however, the sources of such pay differentials are not well understood. The present research investigates how compensation managers from a wide variety of organizations combine infonnation about current job pay rates, market rates, and job evaluation points to arrive at new pay rates for jobs. In addition, it examines the role of two pay strategy variables (pay leadership position and external versus internal orientation) in job pay decisions, controlling for differences in organizational demographic characteristics (e.g., size, industry). Results suggest that pay strategies affect assigned pay levels, with higher pay being assigned by managers from fmns with market-leading strategies and internal pay orientations. In addition, pay strategies appear to influence the relative weights attached to market survey versus job evaluation infonnation in pay-setting for jobs. Specifically, although market survey information consistently explained more variance in assigned pay than did job evaluation, this effect was more pronounced among managers from finns having an external orientation. Organizational demographics also affected assigned pay levels, but to a lesser extent than pay strategies

Simulating Primary Manufacturing Area (PMA) activities of fixed trailing edge panels production

Simulation clearly has the potential to play an important role in manufacturing decision-making at many levels. This simulation study is conducted at the local manufacturing plant that manufactures fixed trailing edge panels for the aerospace industry. The model focused on operational activities at the primary manufacturing area of cutting and laminating of aircraft’s composite parts. The model built was used to investigate a variety of issues, for example to determine the impact of a proposed change, without affecting production.The result shows that when production rate was increased by 20% to investigate the current plant capacity, the current resources capacity was unable to tolerate this increment. From the model experimentation, an increase of 60 minutes working time for ply cutter machines and 75 minutes of lay up operators found to be the best design to meet the expected production throughput and increase resources utilisation

Poly Pelletizer: Recycled Pet Pellets From Water Bottles

Plastic water bottles comprise a large amount of waste worldwide. The goal of the Poly Pelletizer project is to create a system that will turn water bottles into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pellets compatible with extruders to produce 3-D printer lament, along with other recycling applications.The system promotes a sustainable solution to plastic pollution by giving manufactures, particularly in developing nations, the means to produce their own bulk materials using waste plastic. Shrinking industrial recycling processes to a workbench scale gives individuals the ability to convert excess bottles into seemingly limitless products. The system works by using a dual heating and pressure system to both evenly mix and melt the plastic before pushing the resin through a die. The Poly Pelletizer successfully created pellets using various mixtures of virgin PET and shredded water bottles

Technologie en innovatie in Vlaanderen: Prioriteiten.

Vlaanderen;

Innovative Asia: Advancing the Knowledge-Based Economy - Highlights of the Forthcoming ADB Study Report

[Excerpt] The development of knowledge-based economies (KBEs) is both an imperative and an opportunity for developing Asia. It is an imperative to sustain high rates of growth in the future and an opportunity whereby emerging economies can draw from beneficial trending developments that may allow them to move faster to advance in global value chains and in position in world markets. Over the last quarter of a century, driven mostly by cheap labor, developing countries in Asia have seen unprecedented growth rates and contributions to the global economy. Sustaining Asia’s growth trajectory, however, requires developing economies to seek different approaches to economic growth and progress, especially if they aspire to move from the middle-income to the high-income level. KBE is an important platform that can enable them to sustain growth and even accelerate it. It is time for Asia to consolidate and accelerate its pace of growth. Asia is positioned in a unique moment in history with many advantages that can serve as a boost: to name a couple, an expanding middle of the pyramid—Asia is likely to hold 50% of the global middle class and 40% of the global consumer market by 2020; and the growing importance of intra-regional trade within Asia, increasing from 54% in 2001 to 58% in 2011. Many developing economies are well placed to assimilate frontier technologies into their manufacturing environment

REDIRECTING STATE ECONOMIC GROWTH

Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Distributional effects of FDI: How the interaction of FDI and economic policy affects poor households in Bolivia

This paper provides a computable general equilibrium analysis of the medium to long-run impact of FDI inflows on poverty and income distribution in Bolivia. The simulation results suggest that FDI inflows enhance economic growth and reduce poverty. However, the income distribution typically becomes more unequal. In particular, FDI widens income disparities between urban and rural areas. The Bolivian government may promote growth-enhancing and poverty-alleviating effects of FDI by overcoming labour market segmentation and providing complementary public investment in infrastructure. Yet, simulated policy reforms or alternative productivity scenarios are hardly effective in reducing the divide between urban and rural areas. --Foreign direct investment,Poverty and income distribution,Bolivia,Computable general equilibrium analysis

China's Economic Growth and its Real Exchange Rate

Pressure from abroad to revalue China’s currency appears to associate its rapid economic growth with the likelihood of a real appreciation. In a world of open economies and differentiated traded goods, however, development-related productivity and endowment growth shocks tend to cause real depreciations, the principal exception being the Balassa case where non-traded service sectors are large and productivity growth is considerably faster in traded sectors. Yet China is special amongst developing countries because its labour force is likely to decline in future and this will cause upward pressure on its real exchange rate. This paper quantifies the links between growth shocks and the Chinese real exchange rate using a dynamic model of the global economy with open capital accounts and full demographic underpinnings to labour supply. The results suggest that, in the short run, the dominant force is financial capital inflows, which are appreciating. In the long run demographic forces prove to be weak relative to skill transformation and services sector productivity. These are both comparatively powerful and depreciating. While financial capital inflows driven by expected appreciation may be self-fulfilling in the short run, these results suggest that the fundamental forces are more likely to favour a trend toward real depreciation.Exchange rate, economic growth, demographic change, Chinese economy

Rice Market Liberalization and Household Welfare in Sri Lanka: A General Equilibrium Analysis

Current trade policy pursued by the Sri Lankan government on rice can best be described as ad-hoc as it is characterized by protecting farmers during glut seasons and consumers during deficit seasons. This study examines the economy-wide impacts of various policy packages on rice and related markets, which consist of liberal as well as protectionist elements. A general equilibrium model developed for the Sri Lankan economy using the input-output table for 2000 was used for the analysis. The model consists of 5 sectors, 2 factors of production and households in 8 representative provinces. The key results of the analysis indicate that removal of the import tariff on rice along with removals of the import tariff on fertilizer and/or subsidy payments on other agricultural sectors could improve economic efficiency and household welfare across provinces. Contrary to the general belief that protectionism is pro-poor, an import ban on rice reduces household income and welfare even in agricultural provinces, including Uva and Sabaragamuwa. Further analysis indicates that broad-brush approaches may not yield expected outcomes, as the policy packages generate second best outcomes due to existence of other distortions in the economy. The key channel of transmission of trade shock to households appears to be through government transfer payments that are influenced by changes in government expenditures on subsidy payments.International Relations/Trade,