A framework for digitisation of manual manufacturing task knowledge using gaming interface technology

Intense market competition and the global skill supply crunch are hurting the manufacturing industry, which is heavily dependent on skilled labour. Companies must look for innovative ways to acquire manufacturing skills from their experts and transfer them to novices and eventually to machines to remain competitive. There is a lack of systematic processes in the manufacturing industry and research for cost-effective capture and transfer of human skills. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop a framework for digitisation of manual manufacturing task knowledge, a major constituent of which is human skill. The proposed digitisation framework is based on the theory of human-workpiece interactions that is developed in this research. The unique aspect of the framework is the use of consumer-grade gaming interface technology to capture and record manual manufacturing tasks in digital form to enable the extraction, decoding and transfer of manufacturing knowledge constituents that are associated with the task. The framework is implemented, tested and refined using 5 case studies, including 1 toy assembly task, 2 real-life-like assembly tasks, 1 simulated assembly task and 1 real-life composite layup task. It is successfully validated based on the outcomes of the case studies and a benchmarking exercise that was conducted to evaluate its performance. This research contributes to knowledge in five main areas, namely, (1) the theory of human-workpiece interactions to decipher human behaviour in manual manufacturing tasks, (2) a cohesive and holistic framework to digitise manual manufacturing task knowledge, especially tacit knowledge such as human action and reaction skills, (3) the use of low-cost gaming interface technology to capture human actions and the effect of those actions on workpieces during a manufacturing task, (4) a new way to use hidden Markov modelling to produce digital skill models to represent human ability to perform complex tasks and (5) extraction and decoding of manufacturing knowledge constituents from the digital skill models

Study of stress relaxation and strain recovery in elastomeric compounds used in pipe seals

Elastomer compounds have been used in pipe seals for many decades, with their main problem, the stress relaxation due to various mechanisms. In these applications, a service life of more than fifty years is expected- and obtained. The purpose of the programme was to establish mathematical models to enable longevity of seals to be predicted from laboratory measurements. It seemed that stress relaxation in compression, together with strain recovery measurements, would provide a basis for such an investigation. Accordingly, such tests were carried out with up to 23 rubber compounds, at temperatures of 5°, 23°, 40°, 70°, 100° and and 125° C, with environments of air, mains water and town gas. The work outlined above is the main thrust of the programme, the data obtained being the raw material for the development and assessment of mathematical models associated with the viscoelasticity of the various rubbers. This work has been supported by supplementary investigations, including: effect of loading rate step changes in temperature inclusion (or not) of mechanical working of the specimen before testing use of solid phase lubricant changing the dimensions of the specimen comparison of air environment with water immersion, and town gas comparison of air environment with vacuum and nitrogen An important facet of the work has been the comparison of tensile behaviour with the bulk of the work carried out in uniaxial compression. A comparatively novel property has been introduced in this work: strain recovery after compression. This has proved to be a property related to 'permanent-set', yet more amenable to interpretation and correlation, recovery data are now available for most of the conditions in the stress relaxation programme whilst additional results have been obtained from compression set equipments. The other objective of this programme is to investigate short comings of BS 2494-1986, the current rubber seal specification, and to suggest new techniques such as strain recovery. Finally, the behaviour of seals in simulated service has been investigated to compare with the data generated in the main programme

Digitisation of a moving assembly operation using multiple depth imaging sensors

Several manufacturing operations continue to be manual even in today’s highly automated industry because the complexity of such operations makes them heavily reliant on human skills, intellect and experience. This work aims to aid the automation of one such operation, the wheel loading operation on the trim and final moving assembly line in automotive production. It proposes a new method that uses multiple low-cost depth imaging sensors, commonly used in gaming, to acquire and digitise key shopfloor data associated with the operation, such as motion characteristics of the vehicle body on the moving conveyor line and the angular positions of alignment features of the parts to be assembled, in order to inform an intelligent automation solution. Experiments are conducted to test the performance of the proposed method across various assembly conditions, and the results are validated against an industry standard method using laser tracking. Some disadvantages of the method are discussed, and suggestions for improvements are suggested. The proposed method has the potential to be adopted to enable the automation of a wide range of moving assembly operations in multiple sectors of the manufacturing industry

Remote Real-Time Collaboration Platform enabled by the Capture, Digitisation and Transfer of Human-Workpiece Interactions

In this highly globalised manufacturing ecosystem, product design and verification activities, production and inspection processes, and technical support services are spread across global supply chains and customer networks. Therefore, a platform for global teams to collaborate with each other in real-time to perform complex tasks is highly desirable. This work investigates the design and development of a remote real-time collaboration platform by using human motion capture technology powered by infrared light based depth imaging sensors borrowed from the gaming industry. The unique functionality of the proposed platform is the sharing of physical contexts during a collaboration session by not only exchanging human actions but also the effects of those actions on the task environment. This enables teams to remotely work on a common task problem at the same time and also get immediate feedback from each other which is vital for collaborative design, inspection and verifications tasks in the factories of the future

Radio over multimode fiber using VCSELS

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Remote real-time collaboration through synchronous exchange of digitised human-workpiece interactions

In this highly globalised manufacturing ecosystem, product design and verification activities, production and inspection processes, and technical support services are spread across global supply chains and customer networks. Therefore, collaborative infrastructures that enable global teams to collaborate with each other in real-time in performing complex manufacturing-related tasks is highly desirable. This work demonstrates the design and implementation of a remote real-time collaboration platform by using human motion capture technology powered by infrared light based depth imaging sensors and a synchronous data transfer protocol from computer networks. The unique functionality of the proposed platform is the sharing of physical contexts during a collaboration session by not only exchanging human actions but also the effects of those actions on the workpieces and the task environment. Results show that this platform could enable teams to remotely work on a common engineering problem at the same time and also get immediate feedback from each other making it valuable for collaborative design, inspection and verifications tasks in the factories of the future. An additional benefit of the implemented platform is its use of low cost off the shelf equipment thereby making it accessible to SMEs that are connected to larger organisations via complex supply chains

An acute experimental study to evaluate the effect of gatifloxacin on blood sugar levels in diabetic and non-diabetic rabbits

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a condition characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and disturbance of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism associated with absolute or relative deficiencies in insulin secretion and/or insulin action. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of gatifloxacin on blood sugar levels in non-diabetic rabbits and alloxan induced diabetic rabbits.Methods: Animals were fasted for 20 hours. Blood was collected for baseline investigations. After giving single oral dose of 2% gum acacia blood samples were drawn at 1, 2 and 4 hours for estimation of glucose and serum insulin. After 2 days a repeat blood sample for baseline was collected after 20 hours fasting and single oral dose of gatifloxacin 25 mg/kg was given. Samples of blood were taken at 1, 2 and 4 hours. After a wash out period of 7 days injection alloxan 140 mg/kg was given slowly intravenously to induce diabetes in the animals. On day 3 after alloxan induction, blood samples were taken from the animals (fasting 20 hours), for baseline investigations. Same procedure of blood collection and timing was followed as done before diabetes induction. The animals were given a single dose of gatifloxacin 25 mg/kg with blood samples drawn at 1, 2 and 4 hours for FBS and serum insulin.Results: In non-diabetic rabbits, the effect of control and gatifloxacin on FBS levels at 1, 2 and 4 hours after administration was 100.3, 101.35, 102.89 mg/dl and 73.83, 73.04, 82.11 mg/dl respectively, on serum insulin levels at 2 hours interval was 3.62 and 4.16 μ IU/ml respectively. 48 hours after alloxan induction FBS and insulin levels were 219.13 and 1.19 μ IU/ml. After alloxan induction, FBS levels at 1, 2, 4 hours for control and gatifloxacin are 221.01, 224.13, 228 and 218.60, 218.53, 220.01 respectively. At 2 hours interval serum insulin levels were 1.15 and 1.21 μ IU/ml for control and gatifloxacin.Conclusions: This study is in line with previous reports that gatifloxacin causes increased release of insulin leading to hypogycemia. The fall in blood sugar levels following a single oral dose of gatifloxacin is not limited to diabetic states alone and is more marked in non-diabetic rabbits

Thermoelectric properties of co-doped (Bi0.98In0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3 / reduced graphene oxide composites prepared by solid-state reaction

The thermoelectric properties of co-doped (Bi0.98In0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3/reduced graphene oxide composites between 10 - 325 K are presented. X-ray diffraction confirms that the composites adopt a rhombohedral structure with space group R3¯m. Field emission scanning electron microscopy reveals an interface structure of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). N-type conducting behaviour is observed for all the samples, as ascertained by Hall effect and Seebeck coefficient measurements, with a carrier concentration of 1025/m3. The thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of (Bi0.98In0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3/0.02 wt% reduced graphene oxide composite is found to decrease by 1.6 and 10 times respectively in comparison with that of (Bi0.98In0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3. The power factor is enhanced by 7 times for (Bi0.98In0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3/0.01 wt% rGO compared to that of (Bi0.98In0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3

Drug utilization study and prescribing patterns in psychiatry patients at a tertiary care hospital

Background: The Drug utilization research (DUR) compares drug use between different countries and regions and is used to assess the rationality of prescribing pattern of the drug therapy. With this background we decided to evaluate antipsychotic drugs prescribing pattern in the psychiatric patients in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: The study was carried out at Department of Psychiatry, DSMCH. It was open label, cross - sectional, prescribed Documents based study. Duration of the study was one month (May-2017). Out-Patient number, age, sex, diagnosis, prescribed generic name, brand name, dose, route of administration, duration of therapy obtained from the Prescription register of Out - Patient Department of the Psychiatry.Results: The clinical experiences of the Psychiatrist I, II and III were 17 years, 35 years and 10 years respectively. The Psychiatrist I, II and III prescribed treatment for 36 (31.9%), 61 (54%) and 16 (14.2%) patients respectively. Among overall (n=113) patients (average age 38.9 years), male n=56 (49.6%) and female=57 (50.4%) were treated by all the three psychiatrists. The percentage of prescription of various drugs used were: Escitalopram (15.7%), Clonazepam (14.6%), Sertraline (8.7%), Risperidone (7.5%), Propranolol (6.7%), Olanzapine (6.3%), Quetiapine (5.9%), Trihexyphenidyl (5.5%), Amitriptyline (5.1%) and Other prescribed drugs, were between (0.4 to 2.8%).Conclusions: From this study, it can conclude that rational usage of drugs were followed in this study. All three prescribers (Psychiatrist I, II, and III) prescriptions were found to be rationale