Eddy current damper for the labshare remote laboratory shake table rig

The design and performance of an eddy current damper for the Labshare remotely operated "Shake Table" multi-storey building vibration rig is described. The damper comprises stationary E-cores on either side of a copper plate attached to each storey. An approximate formula for the damper retarding force F is derived, of the form F = -kuI2 for plate velocity u and E-core current I, and a criterion for its validity is established in terms of the magnetic Reynolds number. A close fit to measurements of the force using a load cell is obtained for k = 0.401 N/(ms-1A2). This was about 12% lower than the force determined by three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) using ANSYS 12.1, but the error can be attributed to manufacturing imperfections. Students can use the force formula in their investigation of closed-loop control of the Shake Table vibration. More generally, a formula for the force constant k can be used for the approximate design of any similar E-core damper

A preliminary investigation on computer vision for telemedicine systems using OpenCV

OpenCV is typically, an open source vision library suitable for computer vision programs. In this paper, we present some of our preliminary investigation experiences of developing Computer Vision programs using OpenCV for robotic telemedicine cluster system, within the practice based ICTD subject within the undergraduate Software Engineering Program at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Firstly, it discusses our shared experiences in designing and implementing Computer Vision subsystem and discusses successes, as well as common problems both experienced and anticipated in adaptation of OpenCV framework and then justifies its purpose building a robotic system for telemedicine. Finally, it attempts to bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge of design and programming with the practical side of software reuse and modularization when designing and implementing a robotic system for medical applications. © 2010 IEEE