Medical reverse engineering applications and methods

Understanding, controlling and manipulation of patient data as well as shape, geometry and structure of the biomedical objects are important for developing Biomedical Engineering (BME) applications. Medical Reverse Engineering (MRE) is aimed to use the Reverse Engineering (RE) technology to reconstruct 3D models of the anatomical structures and biomedical objects for design and manufacturing of medical products as well as BME research and development. This paper presents the state of the art applications and methods about MRE. Different concepts and methodologies are provided to understand fundamentally the MRE processes and workflow. The key MRE applications are presented, including personalised implants for bone reconstruction, dental implants and simulations, surgical tools, medical training, vision science and optometry, orthopedics, ergonomics, orthosis, prosthesis, and tissue engineering. The current challenges as well as the hardware and software for MRE application development and research are discussed

A framework for practically effective creation of postprocessors for 5-axis CNC machines with all possible configurations and working mechanisms

The 5-axis CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining plays an important role in manufacturing, especially in making parts of complex shapes such as turbine or propeller blades. However, there are always challenges of generating 5-axis CNC machining programs when working with different 5-axis CNC machines of various structures; and 5-axis CNC programs must be automatically generated by CNC postprocessors which calculate the inverse kinematics and convert the Cutter Location data to the CNC programs that are used for operating 5-axis CNC machines. Since the family of 5-axis CNC machines has a wide spectrum of machine configurations, with hundreds of mechanisms of 5 degrees of freedom, it is therefore practically challenging for engineers and CNC machine operators to create CNC postprocessors for specific 5-axis CNC machines. It is more challenging to create CNC postprocessors if engineers or CNC operators do not have strong backgrounds and professional skills in mathematical modeling and kinematics of machines. This paper presents a universal and intuitive framework and practical guidance to create CNC postprocessors for all 5-axis CNC machines, with the focus on a novel mathematical formulation of inverse kinematics of three main groups of 5-axis CNC machines. The case studies of creating CNC postprocessors with the commercially available 5-axis CNC machines were successfully demonstrated, in which the simulation scenarios and experiments were implemented to verify the created CNC postprocessors. The proposed frameworks and guides for generating CNC postprocessors can be conveniently and effectively applied in industrial practices, without the required strong backgrounds and skills for engineers or CNC operators in mathematical modeling and kinematics of machines, especially mathematical modeling of multibody systems

Innovative development of a flying robot with a flexible manipulator for aerial manipulations

This paper presents an innovative development of a flying robot or an aerial robot, with a flexible manipulator, called the Dexterous Aerial Robotic System (DFTS), for aerial manipulations, especially for inspections and reparations of various structures such as wind turbines, power lines and open gas pipelines, decorations and painting of high industrial chimneys and walls of high buildings, as well as transport and delivery of courier shipments, relocation and manipulation of assemblies and units in inaccessible or dangerous environments. The proposed DFTS consists of two independent but interconnected systems or functional units, which have two main separate functions respectively, including a basic carrying function, and a precise positioning and stabilization function. The system with a basic carrying function is actually the main flying system, the un-manned aerial vehicle (UAV); it is remotely controlled and piloted. Meanwhile, the aerial manipulation platform, called the vertical take-off and landing platform VTOL, which is an active flying platform with 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) is used for positioning and stabilization; and it is attached to the UAV via the soft link. With the use of a long soft link, the problems which are caused by the air turbulent flows generated by the UAV are minimized, and the aerial manipulations of objects are safely controlled and operated. The VTOL which is equipped with a grasping mechanism was successfully developed, prototyped and tested. The experimental results showed that, the developed VTOL can self-stabilize with the inclination angle of being up to 8 degrees

Development of a smart system for early detection of forest fires based on unmanned aerial vehicles

The naturally occurring wildfires and the people-related forest fires are events, which in many cases have significant impact on the environment, the wildlife and the human population. The most devastating among these events usually start in unpopulated remote areas, which are difficult to inspect or are not constantly being monitored or observed. This gives the local small-sized fires enough time to evolve into full-scale wide-area disasters, which in turn makes their suppression and extinguishing very difficult. In this paper, we present an autonomous system for early detection of forest fires, named THEASIS-M. The presented system represents a solution that is based on a combination of innovative technologies, including computer vision algorithms, artificial intelligence and unmanned aerial vehicles. In the first part of the study, we provide an overview on the present applications of the UAVs in the forestry domain. The paper then introduces the general architecture of the THEASIS-M system and its components. The system itself is fully autonomous and is based on several different types of UAVs, including a fixed-wing drone, which provides the overall forest monitoring capabilities of the proposed solution, and a rotary-wing UAV that is used for confirmation and monitoring of the detected fire event. The widely used technologies for computer vision and image processing, which are used for the detection of fire and smoke in the real-time video streams sent from the UAVs to the ground control station, are highlighted in the next section of this study. Finally, the experimental tests and demonstrations of the proposed THEASIS-M system are presented and briefly discussed

A case-based reasoning based framework for developing computer aided remanufacturing process planning systems

There is an emerging need for developing Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) systems for rapid retrieval and effective reuse of remanufacturing solutions, especially in the trend of sustainable and smart manufacturing. This paper proposes a framework based on Case-based Reasoning (CBR) for knowledge management to develop CAPP systems for remanufacturing applications, in which the lessons learned during the implementation of CAPP are viewed as a knowledge resource in decision making

A case-based reasoning based framework for developing computer aided remanufacturing process planning systems

There is an emerging need for developing Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) systems for rapid retrieval and effective reuse of remanufacturing solu-tions, especially in the trend of sustainable and smart manufacturing. This paper proposes a framework based on Case-based Reasoning (CBR) for knowledge management to develop CAPP systems for remanufacturing applications, in which the lessons learned during the implementation of CAPP are viewed as a knowledge resource in decision making

Personalised medical product development: Methods, challenges and opportunities

Personalised health care in general and personalised medical productsin particular aim to provide the optimal diagnosis and treatment with the use of the right medicine, tools and devices to the right patient at the right time in order to meet well technical and clinical requirements as well as individual characteristics of each patient. It offers the increased effectiveness and better patient safety, and finally to obtain the best diagnosis and treatment quality. In this paper, the area of personalised medical product design and development is emphasised with the focus on design and manufacturing of implants, surgical tools, medical devices, orthotics and prostheses . State of the art technologies, methods and resources for developing personalised medical products are presented in which challenges and opportunities are addressed and discusse

Industry 4.0 and beyond. Present trends, emerging solutions and future technologies in the area of the industrial automation

The constant development of new technologies and production methods and their integration in the various fabrication and manufacturing processes has fuelled several waves of novelties and innovations in the industrial domain, which are also known as the industrial revolutions. These transformative processes have changed humanity forever and have shifted the economic models and the manufacturing methods of our societies - from the hand-based farming and manual production of goods to the total utilization of information systems, machines and robots for the large-scale fabrication of high-quality products and the delivery of modern services. The industrial revolutions have led to increased production volumes, higher manufacturing efficiency, lower prices, better working conditions, improved salaries and to significant improvements of the infrastructure, the railroad and the road networks. The recent technological advancements and the development of novel paradigms for the use of autonomous robots, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence algorithms, quantum computing and nanotechnologies are slowly changing the overall landscape and are pushing humanity towards the next wave of Industrial revolutions. While these innovations are offer significant benefits, they are also presenting a new set of challenges for the companies and their staff. In this paper we present and discuss the present trends, emerging solutions and future technologies in the area of the Industrial Automation. The Introduction section of the paper provides a brief overview of the past and present Industrial revolutions and highlights the advantages and the disadvantages of their underlying technologies. The next chapter of the paper presents in more details the trending technologies and the solutions of the present-day Industrial Automation domain. The paper continues with discussions about the emerging Industry 5.0 technologies and solutions. The next chapter of the manuscript is dedicated to the potential future Industrial Automation technologies, which will most likely constitute the Industry 6.0 paradigm. Last, but not least, we conclude the paper with some discussions about the automation technologies and the main challenges, opportunities and needs of the Industrial sector

A framework for practically effective creation of postprocessors for 5-axis CNC machines with all possible configurations and working mechanisms

The 5-axis CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining plays an important role in manufacturing, especially in making parts of complex shapes such as turbine or propeller blades. However, there are always challenges of generating 5-axis CNC machining programs when working with different 5-axis CNC machines of various structures; and 5-axis CNC programs must be automatically generated by CNC postprocessors which calculate the inverse kinematics and convert the Cutter Location data to the CNC programs that are used for operating 5-axis CNC machines. Since the family of 5-axis CNC machines has a wide spectrum of machine configurations, with hundreds of mechanisms of 5 degrees of freedom, it is therefore practically challenging for engineers and CNC machine operators to create CNC postprocessors for specific 5-axis CNC machines. It is more challenging to create CNC postprocessors if engineers or CNC operators do not have strong backgrounds and professional skills in mathematical modeling and kinematics of machines. This paper presents a universal and intuitive framework and practical guidance to create CNC postprocessors for all 5-axis CNC machines, with the focus on a novel mathematical formulation of inverse kinematics of three main groups of 5-axis CNC machines. The case studies of creating CNC postprocessors with the commercially available 5-axis CNC machines were successfully demonstrated, in which the simulation scenarios and experiments were implemented to verify the created CNC postprocessors. The proposed frameworks and guides for generating CNC postprocessors can be conveniently and effectively applied in industrial practices, without the required strong backgrounds and skills for engineers or CNC operators in mathematical modeling and kinematics of machines, especially mathematical modeling of multibody systems

A conceptual model of Digital Twin for potential applications in healthcare

Digital Twin (DT) is one of the important enabling technologies for Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, with a huge potential for many impactful applications in healthcare and industries. This paper presents a conceptual model of a DT system, with a proof-of-concept (POC) prototype of a robot for demonstrations and further investigations of DT applications in telehealth and in-home healthcare. The successfully developed POC prototype were tested to evaluate time delay, and possible errors when operating and controlling the virtual and physical models of a robot. The proposed conceptual model of a DT system can be used for demonstrations about DT, with further developments for potential applications in healthcare and industries, especially when it is integrated with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, smart sensors, augmented reality and virtual reality