86 research outputs found
The Hand-bot, a Robot Design for Simultaneous Climbing and Manipulation
We present a novel approach to mobile object manipulation for service in indoor environments. Current research in service robotics focus on single robots able to move, manipulate objects, and transport them to various locations. Our approach differs by taking a collective robotics perspective: different types of small robots perform different tasks and exploit complementarity by collaborating together. We propose a robot design to solve one of these tasks: climbing vertical structures and manipulating objects. Our robot embeds two manipulators that can grasp both objects or structures. To help climbing, it uses a rope to compensate for the gravity force. This allows it to free one of its manipulators to interact with an object while the other grasps a part of a structure for stabilization. Our robot can launch and retrieve the rope autonomously, allowing multiple ascents. We show the design and the implementation of our robot and demonstrate the successful autonomous retrieval of a book from a shelf
Workersâ Agency and Re-Working Power Relations in Cambodia's Garment Industry
This paper explores Cambodian garment factory workersâ collective voice and ability to negotiate a living wage. Workersâ agency is examined through a case study of a large-scale strike in September 2010 over national minimum wage negotiations, led by two Cambodian trade union federations. Analysis is centred on four structural impediments to workersâ wage demands. First, the Cambodian Peopleâs Party (CPP) consolidated power in 2008. As a result, space for independent trade unions and civil society is decreasing. Second, Cambodia is not deemed âcompetitiveâ as a global sourcing option in terms of price, quality and speed to market. As a result, low wages and a proliferation of unmonitored subcontract factories are increasingly becoming the industryâs competitive advantage vis-Ă -vis Bangladesh and Vietnam. Third, the proliferation of fixed-duration contracts in Cambodia means work is less secure, with attendant impacts on workers and unionsâ negotiating strength. And fourth, the unusually high number of plant-level and national trade union federations makes it difficult for âgenuineâ unions to promote the rights of their members, and workersâ agency potential is marginalized. The intersection of these four structural forces circumscribes workers and independent trade unionsâ ability to rework power relations with the employers association, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC). Despite the challenges, workers and independent unions recognize themselves as the agents who must shape key demands, including on wages
Legume phylogeny and the evolution of a unique contractile apparatus that regulates phloem transport
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