Embedded fuzzy logic controller for positive and negative pressure control in pneumatic soft robots

A key challenge in soft robotics is controlling the large deformation experienced as a result of high compliance nature of soft robots. In this work, a software control strategy for regulating the amount of internal positive and negative air pressure inside pneumatic soft robots is presented. Since the air pressure has a direct effect on the amount of deformation, the position of the robot is controlled. Pressure control was implemented with a fuzzy logic controller, which is described with its performance shown. The approach can be integrated into any specified soft robotic actuator requiring pneumatic actuation e.g. bending, triangular and muscle actuators

Development of soft modular robotics

This thesis covers the development and validation of soft robots in providing upper limb assistive motion. The main purpose of this research is to develop highly compliant and resilient actuators that generate motion for elbow and shoulder movements. To accomplish the purpose of the study, the fabrication, geometric construction along with experimental data of pressure, torque and range of motion of all developed actuators are described. The main contribution of this thesis is the development of soft actuators that transfer force via elastic deformation in order to generate assistive motion; features such as flexibility and soft contact with the skin ensure excellent safety potential of the actuators. To reduce the instability phenomenon attributed to the elastic response of rubber under large deformations that leads to bulging, the implementation of a pleated network design and embedded braided mesh network is presented. Bulging was reduced and torque output was increased with the integration of braided mesh into the silicone rubber actuator. The soft actuators developed for elbow and shoulder motion was tested on ten healthy participants thereby demonstrating its comfort, ease of use, fitting and removal as well as its practicality as an assistive apparatus for stroke patients. The use of soft robotics to provide shoulder motion was also assessed by the integration of soft robotics with a gravity compensated exoskeleton. The developed soft actuators were powered with electro-pneumatic hardware components presented in a compact, embedded form. Positive and negative air pressure control was implemented by a piecewise linear control algorithm with the performance of the controller shown. The design of a novel muscle made entirely of silicone rubber that contract upon actuation was described together with the manufacturing procedure, design parameters and measurement results of performance of these muscles such as the velocity of shortening, isometric contraction and maximal obtainable muscle force (without shortening). The muscles are manufactured to mimic the skeletal muscles present in the human body. These muscles are composed of a number of wedge-like units in series, the number of these wedge units increase the contraction. The soft muscles were characterized in order to find optimum design parameters that results in more contraction and speed; the muscles were tested on a model hinge joint to execute flexion/extension of the forearm at the elbow. Aside from contracting, the muscle has an interesting capability of producing bidirectional bending by the regulation of internal positive and negative air pressure in each wedge unit. In order to measure performance data relating to range of motion from bending, rotary and muscle actuators, computer vision processing was made use of. Soft robots are made with materials that experience large deformations, the sensors used to obtain measurement data can either be through the use of embedded sensors or visual processing. The use of embedded sensors can be cumbersome, resulting in limitation of its performance. The visual processing algorithms implemented to measure performance data such as angle of motion, bending angle and contraction ratio in real-time using a Webcam is described. Visual processing concepts such as colour tracking, template matching, camera calibration were applied. The developed vision system was applied to execute vision based motion control which is able to move the soft robot to a desired position using high level vision control and lower level pressure control. The material described in the preceding paragraphs are presented in an interrelated format. A concise introduction to the thesis is presented in the first chapter. An extensive survey of the field of soft robotics including materials, manufacturing procedure, actuation principles, primary accomplishments, control and challenges are presented in the literature review chapter, together with a review of rehabilitation devices. Since this work focused on the use of silicone rubber as actuator material, a brief introduction to working with silicone rubber as an engineering material is presented in the third chapter. The conclusions of the work and suggestions for future research are provided at the last chapter of this thesis

A compact low-cost electronic hardware design for actuating soft robots

A low cost, compact embedded design approach for actuating soft robots is presented. The complete fabrication procedure and mode of operation was demonstrated, and the performance of the complete system was also demonstrated by building a microcontroller based hardware system which was used to actuate a soft robot for bending motion. The actuation system including the electronic circuit board and actuation components was embedded in a 3D-printed casing to ensure a compact approach for actuating soft robots. Results show the viability of the system in actuating and controlling siliconebased soft robots to achieve bending motions. Qualitative measurements of uniaxial tensile test, bending distance and pressure were obtained. This electronic design is easy to reproduce and integrate into any specified soft robotic device requiring pneumatic actuation

Development of a wearable assistive soft robotic device for elbow rehabilitation

The loss of motor function at the elbow joint can result as a consequence of stroke. Stroke is a clinical illness resulting in long lasting neurological deficits often affecting somatosensory and motor cortices. More than half of those that recover from a stroke survive with disability in their upper arm and need rehabilitation therapy to help in regaining functions of daily living. In this paper, we demonstrated a prototype of a low-cost, ultra-light and wearable soft robotic assistive device that could aid administration of elbow motion therapies to stroke patients. In order to assist the rotation of the elbow joint, the soft modules which consist of soft wedge-like cellular units was inflated by air to produce torque at the elbow joint. Highly compliant rotation can be naturally realised by the elastic property of soft silicone and pneumatic control of air. Based on the direct visual-actuation control, a higher control loop utilised visual processing to apply positional control, the lower control loop was implemented by an electronic circuit to achieve the desired pressure of the soft modules by Pulse Width Modulation. To examine the functionality of the proposed soft modular system, we used an anatomical model of the upper limb and performed the experiments with healthy participants

Performance evaluation of the prospects and challenges of effective power generation and distribution in Nigeria

Effective Electric Power Generation and Distribution result in the overall increase in efficiency in an economy. Nigeria generates 4500 MW for a population of 200 million people; hence, more than 50% of the population has no electricity access, and those with access experience power outages. Inasmuch as Nigeria is blessed with a vast amount of renewable energy sources, the country heavily relies on Natural Gas for power Generation. With regards to Power Generation, it is seen that the Power Generated is not evacuated efficiently. The purpose of this study is to access the growth of the Nigerian Power Sector from 1898 till date. This is achieved by evaluating the Power Sector Reforms enacted by different government to analyze their effectiveness. Furthermore, the study reviews strategically research that have discussed the strengths and weakness of the Nigerian Power Sector to be able to suggest hidden opportunities and reveal threats to the attainment of sustainable energy for all in 2030. Some of the Challenges discovered were energy user challenges, financial challenges, and energy losses. Some solutions and opportunities are the use of distributed generation, smart meters and the implemented of a smart grid system. In the long run, the authors propose that viable renewable energy sources in each State of the federation be tapped for Power Generation this would enable each State to the self-reliant and contributors to the Nigerian Power Generation Pool. It is believed that this actions would promote economic, social and technological benefits for the every stakeholder

Development and construction of automatic three-phase power changeover control circuit with alarm

One primary reason for Nigeria economic underdevelopment is the inconsistency of power supply, and as a result of this fact, immediate attention is required. The criticality of an uninterrupted power supply cannot be overemphasised. Therefore, is this work, a new approach is applied to switch power from a three-phase source to another without human interference. This work presents an automatic three (3) phase power changeover circuit with an alarm that turns power supply from Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to a power generator at an instant of interruption or outage from PHCN. The signal is introduced to notify the user of the restoration of the PHCN supply and automatically carries out this process. This process is achieved by using logic control circuits, three-phase sequence monitors, phase(s) failure monitor, overload relay, and contacting relays for practical switching which takes approximate 30 seconds

Design and Implementation of a Low-Cost Cloud-Powered Home Automation System

synergy of these technologies such as intelligent lighting, entertainment (audio and video), security, heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the home for the automation of control and monitoring activities within that home is typically known as Home Automation today. The Home global home automation market size was approximated to be about USD 45.8 billion in just 2017 and is projected to reach as high as USD 114 Billion at the tail of 2025 with a compound annual growth rate of 12.1% in this forecast period [1]. North America is projected to emerge as the leading region in the global landscape during the forecast period, but West African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon are generally seen to have a much lower adoption rate when it comes to emerging technologies like these. The low adoption rate is due in part to the high cost of implementing a home Automation solution coupled with the general economic state of these developing countries. The interest and investment of the tech industry within the countries also play a role in this context. This paper explores the design and implementation of a relatively less costly cloud-based home automation architecture built partly on open-source technology and widely available resources. The solution was realized using a raspberry pi as the field gateway and primary controller. Arduino Uno microcontroller were used as the secondary controller. The highly robust Microsoft Azure cloud was used, enabling the representation, testing, deploying, and managing applications and systems and services on the cloud and at the edge. In demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed system, three systems were integrated: intelligent lighting, basic access security and remote monitoring. These would be monitored and controlled by a simple mobile app whose communication with the field devices is made possible through the Microsoft Azure IoT solution

Design and validation of exoskeleton actuated by soft modules towards neurorehabilitation - vision-based control for precise reaching motion of upper limb

We demonstrated the design, production, and functional properties of the Exoskeleton Actuated by the Soft Modules (EAsoftM). Integrating the 3D printed exoskeleton with passive joints to compensate gravity and with active joints to rotate the shoulder and elbow joints resulted in ultra-light system that could assist planar reaching motion by using the vision-based control law. The EAsoftM can support the reaching motion with compliance realised by the soft materials and pneumatic actuation. In addition, the vision-based control law has been proposed for the precise control over the target reaching motion within the millimeter scale. % Aiming at rehabilitation exercise for individuals, typically soft actuators have been developed for relatively small motions, such as grasping motion, and one of the challenges has been to extend their use for a wider range reaching motion. The proposed EAsoftM presented one possible solution for this challenge by transmitting the torque effectively along the anatomically aligned with a human body exoskeleton. % The proposed integrated systems will be an ideal solution for neurorehabilitation where affordable wearable and portable systems are required to be customised for individuals with specific motor impairments

Development of a Web-Based Complaint Management Platform for a University Community.

Complaint management has served as a unique and efficient method of assessing student and staff satisfaction in any university community. It has helped foster improvement and change in the way operations are carried out and ensure that the students and staff are served to the best of the University's ability. Although there have been massive improvements using complaint management, there is still a lack of efficiency when it comes to manual complaints management. This work is aimed at developing a web-based complaint management system for a University community with the use of JavaScript as the programming language and MongoDB server as the database, in order to improve the way complaints are handled and analyzed in the University. It was discovered from this research that students were genuinely interested in an online platform for submitting complaints as it helped to simplify the process. The web-based complaint management system is, however, subject to various improvements and developments as technology advances