A novel vision-based multi-functional sensor for normality and position measurements in precise robotic manufacturing

Cobots play an essential role in the fourth industrial revolution and the automation of complex manufacturing processes. However, cobots still face challenges in achieving high precision, which obstructs their usage in precise applications such as the aerospace industry. Nonetheless, advances in perception systems unlock new cobot manufacturing capabilities. This paper presents a novel multi-functional sensor that combines visual and tactile feedback using a single optical sensor, featuring a moving gate mechanism. This work also marks the first integration of Vision-Based Tactile Sensing (VBTS) into a robotic machining end-effector. The sensor provides vision-based tactile perception capabilities for precise normality control and exteroceptive perception for robot localization and positioning. Its performance is experimentally demonstrated in a precise robotic deburring application, where the sensor achieves the high-precision requirements of the aerospace industry with a mean normality error of 0.13° and a mean positioning error of 0.2 mm. These results open a new paradigm for using vision-based sensing for precise robotic manufacturing, which surpasses conventional approaches in terms of precision, weight, size, and cost-effectiveness

Octogenarian women with acute coronary syndrome present frailty and readmissions more frequently than men

Background: A worse prognosis has been reported among women with acute coronary syndrome compared to men. Our aim was to address the role of frailty and sex in the management and prognosis of elderly patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome. Methods: A prospective registry in 44 Spanish hospitals including patients aged 80 years and older with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome. Frailty assessment was performed using the FRAIL scale. Results: Of a total of 535 patients, 207 (38.7%) were women. Mean age was 84.8±4.0 years, similar in men and women. A prior history of coronary artery disease was more common in men (146, 44.9%) than in women (46, 22.2%), P<0.001. Frailty was less frequent in men (65, 20.2%) than in women (77, 37.8%), P<0.001. Female sex was an independent predictor of death/hospitalisation (hazard ratio (HR) 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–2.4) and of hospitalisation at 6 months (HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.04–2.4). In men, compared to non-frail patients, both a prefrail status (HR 3.47, 95% CI 1.22–9.89) and frailty (HR 3.19, 95% CI 1.08–9.43) were independently associated with higher mortality. In women only frailty was independently associated with higher mortality (HR 5.68, 95% CI 1.91–16.18, compared to prefrailty or robustness). Frailty was associated with readmissions in men (HR 3.34, 95% CI 1.79–6.22) but not in women. Conclusions: In octogenarians with acute coronary syndrome female sex was independently associated with death/hospitalisation at 6 months. Frailty was more common in women and was a predictor of poor prognosis. In men prefrailty also predicted a poor prognosis.Sin financiación3.813 JCR (2019) Q2, 47/138 Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems1.630 SJR (2019) Q1, 46/362 Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, 9/91 Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine, 208/2754 Medicine (miscellaneous)No data IDR 2019UE