Novel Bioengineered Biomaterials and Tissue Culture Models to Understand Mucus Clearance Dysfunction in Asthma

Airway mucus acts as a protective barrier and vehicle of clearance for inhaled pathogens, providing the lungs with a robust defense mechanism called mucociliary clearance. Airway mucus is composed of two gel-forming mucins, MUC5B and MUC5AC that form a hydrogel that maintains functional clearance in health. However, in asthma, mucus is produced with abnormal properties that result in impaired mucociliary clearance contributing to mucus accumulation and airway obstruction. Recent evidence from clinical studies revealed that mucus obtained from individuals with asthma possesses altered mucin composition as a function of disease severity with a significant shift from MUC5B to MUC5AC as the predominant mucin. However, how these changes alter the functional properties of mucus is not yet fully understood. The overall objective of this dissertation is to understand how an imbalance in the ratio of MUC5B and MUC5AC contributes to abnormal function of mucus in asthma. The central hypothesis is that relative increases in MUC5AC enhances viscoelasticity of the mucus gel, which contributes to the functional defects of mucus. To study this, we engineered two novel approaches: (i) mucin-based biomaterials with tunable mucin composition and (ii) genetically engineered in-vitro systems with targeted knock-out (KO) of each gel-forming mucin. In our first approach, we systematically varied the mucin composition of mucin-based biomaterials and found that a rise in MUC5AC, as observed in asthma, results in increased viscoelasticity, reduced transportability, and impaired barrier function against influenza A virus. Using our second approach, we found that MUC5AC gels produced from MUC5B-KO cultures resulted in impaired mucus clearance, whereas MUC5B gels produced from MUC5AC-KO cultures lacked spatial coordination. Together, these studies suggest that elevated levels of MUC5AC contribute to enhanced viscoelastic properties, while being the key driver of impaired mucociliary clearance in asthma. This work also offers new insight into the contribution of each gel-forming mucin on the dynamic control of mucus transport and flow alignment. This work was motivated by providing a path towards developing new therapeutic targets aimed at normalizing mucus function and improving airway patency in asthma

Snake Robot with Driving Assistant Mechanism

Snake robots are composed of multiple links and joints and have a high degree of freedom. They can perform various motions and can overcome various terrains. Snake robots need additional driving algorithms and sensors that acquire terrain data in order to overcome rough terrains such as grasslands and slopes. In this study, we propose a driving assistant mechanism (DAM), which assists locomotion without additional driving algorithms and sensors. In this paper, we confirmed that the DAM prevents a roll down on a slope and increases the locomotion speed through dynamic simulation and experiments. It was possible to overcome grasslands and a 27 degrees slope without using additional driving controllers. In conclusion, we expect that a snake robot can conduct a wide range of missions well, such as exploring disaster sites and rough terrain, by using the proposed mechanism. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. T.1

A Study on Spent Nuclear Fuel Inspection System and the Methods

Nuclear Robot, SNF inspection, Spent Nuclear Fuel, AutomationThis paper deals with the system development and its process of automatically inspecting spent nuclear fuel (SNF) located in water. This automated inspection systems were named 'SCV (Sent Fuel Check Vehicle). The SCV needed several functions to perform its inspecting operation. We selected three essential functions to perform the mission: the ability for the robot to find a target, the ability to move to a target, and the ability to create a path. To find the target, we developed an algorithm that can extract the target using a camera mounted on the robot. To make move robot system, we designed position controller that can make move robot to exact position. Thus, To inspect all of target efficiently, we implemented a path planning algorithm that can generate path. These implemented functions have been made into each node that the system can use. Each node was applied to the system and experimented. For the experiment, the experimental environ-ment was built using a model target, such as the shape of the nuclear fuel currently used.prohibitionⅠ. Introduction 1 ⅠI. Antecedent Research of Nuclear Field Robotics 2 2.1 Reactor field 2 2.2 Facility monitoring field 2 2.3 Spent nuclear fuel managing field 3 2.4 Disaster respond field 5 2.5 Emerging field 6 IIⅠ. Major Robot Technology 7 3.1 Sensor technology 7 3.1.1 Image sensor 7 3.1.2 LiDAR 8 3.1.3 Ultrasonic sensor 9 3.1.4 IMU (Inertia Measurement Unit) sensor 10 3.2 Actuator technology 11 3.3 Platform technology 11 ⅠV. Goal and Selected Technology 12 V. Developed Robot, SCV 14 VⅠ. Implemented Method 17 6.1 Target extraction method 17 6.2 System control method 21 6.3 Path planning method 26 6.3.1 Zig-Zag inspection mode 27 6.3.2 Step inspection mode 27 6.3.3 Discover inspection mode 28 6.4 Path plan batch 29 VⅠI. Experiment 31 VⅠII. Conclusion 36본 논문은 수중에 위치한 사용 후 핵 연료(SNF)를 자동으로 검사하는 시스템 개발과 그 과정에 대해 다룬다. 이러한 자동 검사 시스템을 ‘SCV (Spent fuel Check Vehicle)’라고 명명했다. SCV가 임무를 수행하기 위해서 여러 기능들이 필요했다. 우리는 임무를 수행하기 위해서 필수적인 기능을 로봇이 Target을 찾는 기능, Target으로 이동하기 위한 기능, 경로를 생성하는 기능으로 3가지를 선정했다. Target을 찾기 위해 로봇에 장착된 카메라를 이용해서 Target을 추출할 수 있는 알고리즘을 개발했다. 로봇이 판별된 Target으로 이동할 수 있도록 시스템 위치 제어기를 설계했다. 또, Target을 효율적으로 검사하기 위해서 경로를 생성할 수 있는 Path planning 알고리즘도 구현했다. 위와 같이 구현된 기능들을 시스템이 사용할 수 있는 각각의 Node로 만들었다. 각각의 Node를 시스템에 적용하고 실험을 진행했다. 실험을 위해서 현재 사용되고 있는 핵 연료 모양과 같은 모형 Target을 이용해서 실험 환경을 구축했다.MasterdCollectio

Depth-adaptive controller for spent nuclear fuel inspections

The IAEA held the IAEA Robotics Challenge 2017 (IRC2017) to protect workers during inspections of spent nuclear fuel and to improve work efficiency and accuracy rates. To this end, we developed an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) system called the spent fuel check vehicle (SCV). The SCV extracts and tracks the target through image processing, and it is necessary to find suitable parameters for the SNF storage environment in advance. This preliminary work takes time. It is also difficult to prepare the environment in which the work will proceed. In addition, if the preliminary work does not proceed as planned, the system will not move at the proper speed and will become unstable, with yawing and overshoot. To solve this problem, we developed a controller with a camera that can extract the depth at which the target is stored and allow distance-adaptive control. This controller is able to attenuate system instability factors such as yawing and overshoot better than existing controllers by continuously changing system operation parameters according to the depth. In addition, the time required for preliminary work during inspections can be shortened. © 2020 Korean Nuclear Society1

Study on the Compact Balance Control Mechanism for Guinea Fowl Jumping Robot

We developed a guinea fowl jumping robot with a one-axis momentum wheel mechanism with a passive hallux model. The Guinea fowl jumping robot was able to perform stable vertical jumping due to the linkage structure designed as a passive hallux model. Furthermore, we used the one-axis momentum wheel mechanism in the jumping robot for making the compact balance control mechanism that can control the body angle of the robot. Through the experiment, the conventional jumping robot uses the inertial tail to adjust the body angle in the air for stable landing and jumping. However, in the case of an inertial tail, it has a large volume and has a disadvantage in that stability is highly reduced when it collides with obstacles due to the shape of the inertial tail. Moreover, we performed a theoretical analysis, simulation, and experiment to verify the performance of the momentum wheel mechanism, and we confirmed that the passive hallux structure contributed to the jumping stability. Besides, we proved that the momentum wheel could adequately land on the ground by adjusting the body angle after vertical jumping. In addition, we demonstrated that the stability of the momentum wheel is higher than the inertial tail through collision simulation

Study on the Compact Balance Control Mechanism for Guinea Fowl Jumping Robot

We developed a guinea fowl jumping robot with a one-axis momentum wheel mechanism with a passive hallux model. The Guinea fowl jumping robot was able to perform stable vertical jumping due to the linkage structure designed as a passive hallux model. Furthermore, we used the one-axis momentum wheel mechanism in the jumping robot for making the compact balance control mechanism that can control the body angle of the robot. Through the experiment, the conventional jumping robot uses the inertial tail to adjust the body angle in the air for stable landing and jumping. However, in the case of an inertial tail, it has a large volume and has a disadvantage in that stability is highly reduced when it collides with obstacles due to the shape of the inertial tail. Moreover, we performed a theoretical analysis, simulation, and experiment to verify the performance of the momentum wheel mechanism, and we confirmed that the passive hallux structure contributed to the jumping stability. Besides, we proved that the momentum wheel could adequately land on the ground by adjusting the body angle after vertical jumping. In addition, we demonstrated that the stability of the momentum wheel is higher than the inertial tail through collision simulation.TRU

Study on Guinea Fowl Mimicking Jumping Robot with Momentum Wheel Mechanism

Jumping robots with a balance control mechanism using an inertial tail have been actively studied to overcome various obstacles. However, there have been no studies to increase the stability of the jumping robot's legs, which move rapidly during jumping, and to reduce the volume of the tail mechanism. In this paper, we focus on a prototype of guinea fowl jumping robot to improve the stability during the rapid jumping motion, and we introduce a momentum wheel mechanism to reduce the occupied volume of the tail mechanism. In addition, we suggest a basic study to make continuous jumping motion by using the momentum wheel mechanism to change the jumping angle, jumping height, and jumping distance. A theoretical analysis, simulation, prototype fabrication, and experiment of a guinea fowl jumping robot with a 1-axis momentum wheel mechanism were carried out. Besides, we confirmed that the passive hallux structure contributed to the jumping stability, and we verified that the prototype model could properly land on the ground by controlling the posture after vertical jumping using the momentum wheel mechanism. © 2021 IEEE

PBIS: A Pre-Batched Inspection Strategy for spent nuclear fuel inspection robot

Nuclear power plants play a pivotal role in the global energy infrastructure, fulfilling a substantial share of the world's energy requirements in a sustainable way. The management of these facilities, especially the handling of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), necessitates meticulous inspections to guarantee operational safety and efficiency. However, the prevailing inspection methodologies lean heavily on human operators, which presents challenges due to the potential hazards of the SNF environment. This study introduces the design of a novel Pre-Batched Inspection Strategy (PBIS) that integrates robotic automation and image processing techniques to bolster the inspection process. This methodology deploys robotics to undertake tasks that could be perilous or time-intensive for humans, while image processing techniques are used for precise identification of SNF targets and regulating the robotic system. The implementation of PBIS holds considerable promise in minimizing inspection time and enhancing worker safety. This paper elaborates on the structure, capabilities, and application of PBIS, underlining its potential implications for the future of nuclear energy inspections

Snake Robot with Driving Assistant Mechanism

Snake robots are composed of multiple links and joints and have a high degree of freedom. They can perform various motions and can overcome various terrains. Snake robots need additional driving algorithms and sensors that acquire terrain data in order to overcome rough terrains such as grasslands and slopes. In this study, we propose a driving assistant mechanism (DAM), which assists locomotion without additional driving algorithms and sensors. In this paper, we confirmed that the DAM prevents a roll down on a slope and increases the locomotion speed through dynamic simulation and experiments. It was possible to overcome grasslands and a 27 degrees slope without using additional driving controllers. In conclusion, we expect that a snake robot can conduct a wide range of missions well, such as exploring disaster sites and rough terrain, by using the proposed mechanism

Review of the Latest Research on Snake Robots Focusing on the Structure, Motion and Control Method

Unlike other types of robots, the snake robot performs unique motions and can move on various terrains such as gravel, stairs, and pipes. Therefore, snake robots are used as exploration robots, rescue robots, and disaster robots. However, the snake robot requires to choose actuators, sensors, and controllers appropriately for overcoming the real environment by using various types of gait. In this paper, we summarized research trends of snake robots for understanding the state of the art technologies of snake robots. We focused on the various development of the snake robots based on previous snake robots' literature. To look more closely at these research trends, we introduced trends of motion, actuators, sensors, kinematic structure design, control method and application that are related with the snake robots. Snake robots can conduct several motions such as sine wave, side winding, rolling, and so on. These motions are generated by servo motors, DC motors, pneumatic actuators, and smart materials like SMA, IPMC, etc. Also, snake robots require certain data from sensors and proper kinematic structure design to achieve their purposes of operation. Sensors such as camera, force sensor, distance sensor, and kinematic structure design such as passive wheel and motorized wheel can be applied in snake robot for implementing the function or increasing the driving performance. Based on these physical components, the control method is important for operating the snake robot. Navigating algorithms and overcoming terrains with restrictions on movement have been studied with a various control methods. © 2022, ICROS, KIEE and Springer.FALS