Stiffness-tuneable limb segment with flexible spine for malleable robots

Robotic arms built from stiffness-adjustable, con-tinuously bending segments serially connected with revolutejoints have the ability to change their mechanical architectureand workspace, thus allowing high flexibility and adaptation todifferent tasks with less than six degrees of freedom, a conceptthat we call malleable robots. Known stiffening mechanismsmay be used to implement suitable links for these novel roboticmanipulators; however, these solutions usually show a reducedperformance when bending due to structural deformation. Byincluding an inner support structure this deformation can beminimised, resulting in an increased stiffening performance.This paper presents a new multi-material spine-inspired flexiblestructure for providing support in stiffness-controllable layer-jamming-based robotic links of large diameter. The proposedspine mechanism is highly movable with type and range ofmotions that match those of a robotic link using solely layerjamming, whilst maintaining a hollow and light structure. Themechanics and design of the flexible spine are explored, anda prototype of a link utilising it is developed and comparedwith limb segments based on granular jamming and layerjamming without support structure. Results of experimentsverify the advantages of the proposed design, demonstratingthat it maintains a constant central diameter across bendingangles and presents an improvement of more than 203% ofresisting force at 180°

A continuum manipulator for open-source surgical robotics research and shared development

Many have explored the application of continuum robot manipulators for minimally invasive surgery, and have successfully demonstrated the advantages their flexible design provides—with some solutions having reached commercialisation and clinical practice. However, the usual high complexity and closed-nature of such designs has traditionally restricted the shared development of continuum robots across the research area, thus impacting further progress and the solution of open challenges. In order to close this gap, this paper introduces ENDO, an open-source 3-segment continuum robot manipulator with control and actuation mechanism, whose focus is on simplicity, affordability, and accessibility. This robotic system is fabricated from low cost off-the-shelf components and rapid prototyping methods, and its information for implementation (and that of future iterations), including CAD files and source code, is available to the public on the https://github.com/OpenSourceMedicalRobots’s repository on GitHub, with the control library also available directly from Arduino. Herein, we present details of the robot design and control, validate functionality by experimentally evaluating its workspace, and discuss possible paths for future development

Systematic object-invariant in-hand manipulation via reconfigurable underactuatuation: introducing the RUTH gripper

We introduce a reconfigurable underactuated robot hand able to perform systematic prehensile in-hand manipulations regardless of object size or shape. The hand utilises a two-degree-of-freedom five-bar linkage as the palm of the gripper, with three three-phalanx underactuated fingers—jointly controlled by a single actuator—connected to the mobile revolute joints of the palm. Three actuators are used in the robot hand system in total, one for controlling the force exerted on objects by the fingers through an underactuated tendon system, and two for changing the configuration of the palm and thus the positioning of the fingers. This novel layout allows decoupling grasping and manipulation, facilitating the planning and execution of in-hand manipulation operations. The reconfigurable palm provides the hand with a large grasping versatility, and allows easy computation of a map between task space and joint space for manipulation based on distance-based linkage kinematics. The motion of objects of different sizes and shapes from one pose to another is then straightforward and systematic, provided the objects are kept grasped.This is guaranteed independently and passively by the underactuated fingers using a custom tendon routing method, which allows no tendon length variation when the relative finger base positions change with palm reconfigurations. We analyse the theoretical grasping workspace and grasping and manipulation capability of the hand, present algorithms forcomputing the manipulation map and in-hand manipulation planning, and evaluate all these experimentally. Numericaland empirical results of several manipulation trajectories with objects of different size and shape clearly demonstrate the viability of the proposed concept

Janus Configurations, Chern-Simons Couplings, And The Theta-Angle in N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory

We generalize the half-BPS Janus configuration of four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills theory to allow the theta-angle, as well as the gauge coupling, to vary with position. We show that the existence of this generalization is closely related to the existence of novel three-dimensional Chern-Simons theories with N=4 supersymmetry. Another closely related problem, which we also elucidate, is the D3-NS5 system in the presence of a four-dimensional theta-angle.Comment: 66 p

Music preference, social identity, and collective self-esteem

Aims: Previous research suggests there may be links between people’s self-esteem and their musical preferences, although this evidence is inconsistent and inconclusive. The present study aimed to re-examine these links using measures of collective self-esteem, whilst also taking into account factors that are likely to moderate these links (i.e., age, gender, and personality). Method: One hundred and thirty-nine young adults completed an online questionnaire assessing their musical preferences, collective self-esteem, and personality. Findings: Participants’ musical preferences were found to be linked to their self-reported collective self-esteem. When controlling for the effects of age, gender, and personality, scores on the private collective self-esteem sub-scale were found to positively predict preference for “intense and rebellious” music (i.e., hard rock, heavy metal, punk). Scores on the importance to identity subscale, however, were found to negatively predict participants’ preference for “reflective and complex” music (e.g., blues, classical music, folk). Conclusions: These findings suggest that collective self-esteem might play a role in how our musical preferences develop and offer further evidence for the idea that our music preferences are somehow linked to our sense of identity

Virtual reality pre-prosthetic hand training with physics simulation and robotic force interaction

Virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation systems have been proposed to enable prosthetic hand users to perform training before receiving their prosthesis. Improving pre-prosthetic training to be more representative and better prepare the patient for prosthesis use is a crucial step forwards in rehabilitation. However, existing VR platforms lack realism and accuracy in terms of the virtual hand and the forces produced when interacting with the environment. To address these shortcomings, this work presents a VR training platform based on accurate simulation of an anthropomorphic prosthetic hand, utilising an external robot arm to render realistic forces that the user would feel at the attachment point of their prosthesis. Experimental results with non-disabled participants show that training with this platform leads to a significant improvement in Box and Block scores compared to training in VR alone and a control group with no prior training. Results performing pick-and-place tasks with a wider range of objects demonstrates that training in VR alone negatively impacts performance, whereas the proposed platform has no significant impact on performance. User perception results highlight that the platform is much closer to using a physical prosthesis in terms of physical demand and effort, however frustration is significantly higher during training

Response to novel objects and foraging tasks by common marmoset (Callithrix Jacchus) female Pairs

Many studies have shown that environmental enrichment can significantly improve the psychological well-being of captive primates, increasing the occurrence of explorative behavior and thus reducing boredom. The response of primates to enrichment devices may be affected by many factors such as species, sex, age, personality and social context. Environmental enrichment is particularly important for social primates living in unnatural social groupings (i.e. same-sex pairs or singly housed animals), who have very few, or no, benefits from the presence of social companions in addition to all the problems related to captivity (e.g. increased inactivity). This study analyses the effects of enrichment devices (i.e. novel objects and foraging tasks) on the behavior of common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) female pairs, a species that usually lives in family groups. It aims to determine which aspects of an enrichment device are more likely to elicit explorative behaviors, and how aggressive and stress-related behaviors are affected by its presence. Overall, the marmosets explored foraging tasks significantly longer than novel objects. The type of object, which varied in size, shape and aural responsiveness (i.e. they made a noise when the monkey touched them), did not affect the response of the monkeys, but they explored objects that were placed higher in the enclosure more than those placed lower down.Younger monkeys were more attracted to the enrichment devices than the older ones. Finally, stress-related behavior (i.e. scratching) significantly decreased when the monkeys were presented with the objects; aggressive behavior as unaffected. This study supports the importance of environmental enrichment for captive primates and shows that in marmosets its effectiveness strongly depends upon the height of the device in the enclosure and the presence of hidden food. The findings can be explained ifone considers the foraging behavior of wild common marmosets. Broader applications for the research findings are suggested in relation to enrichment

Conversational Agents for Health and Wellbeing

Conversational agents have increasingly been deployed in healthcare applications. However, significant challenges remain in developing this technology. Recent research in this area has highlighted that: i) patient safety was rarely evaluated; ii) health outcomes were poorly measured, and iii) no standardised evaluation methods were employed. The conversational agents in healthcare are lagging behind the developments in other domains. This one-day workshop aims to create a roadmap for healthcare conversational agents to develop standardised design and evaluation frameworks. This will prioritise health outcomes and patient safety while ensuring a high-quality user experience. In doing so, this workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners from HCI, healthcare and related speech and chatbot domains to collaborate on these key challenges

Systems chemistry: all in a spin

The authors thank the Leverhulme Trust for an award (RPG-2013-343) to support LC.A fundamental challenge in supramolecular systems chemistry is to engineer the emergence of complex behaviour. The collective structures of metal cyanide chains have now been interpreted in the same manner as the myriad of magnetic phases displayed by frustrated spin systems, highlighting a symbiotic approach between systems chemistry and magnetism.PostprintPeer reviewe

Hospital treatment -is it affordable? A structured cost analysis of vaginal deliveries and planned caesarean sections

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The analysis of cost effectiveness in hospitals is as difficult as treating the patients properly. We are yet not able to answer the simple question of what costs are caused by a certain diagnosis and its treatment during an average hospital stay.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To answer some issues of the global problem of cost effectiveness during hospitalisation, we analysed the costs and the cost structure of a normal obstetrical hospital stay during an uncomplicated vaginal delivery and a planned caesarean section. Cost data was collected and summarized from the patients file, the hospital's computer system gathering all cost centres, known material expenses and expenses of non obstetrical medical services.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For vaginal deliveries/planned caesareans we can calculate with a surplus of about 83 €/1432 €. About 45% of the summarized costs are calculated on a reliable database.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The introduction of the DRG based clearing system in Germany has aggravated the discussion on cost effectiveness. Our meticulous work-up of expenses excluded personal precautionary costs and personnel costs of documentation because no tools are described to depict such costs. If we would add these costs to the known expenses of our study, we strongly suspect that hospital treatment of vaginal deliveries or planned caesarean sections is not cost effective.</p