human robot collaborative reconfigurable platform for surface finishing processes

n/

Integration of Topology Optimisation and Design Variants Selection for Additive Manufacturing-Based Systematic Product Redesign

The development of additive manufacturing allows the transformation of technological processes and the redesign of products. Among the most used methods to support additive manufacturing, the design can be optimised through the integration of topology optimisation techniques, allowing for creating complex shapes. However, there are critical issues (i.e., definition of product and process parameters, selection of redesign variants, optimised designs interpretation, file exchange and data management, etc.) in identifying the most appropriate process and set-ups, as well as in selecting the best variant on a functional and morphological level. Therefore, to fully exploit the technological potentials and overcome the drawbacks, this paper proposes a systematic redesign approach based on additive manufacturing technologies that integrate topology optimisation and a tool for selecting design variants based on the optimisation of both product and process features. The method leads to the objective selection of the best redesigned configuration in accordance with the key performance indicators (KPIs) (i.e., functional and production requirements). As a case study, the redesign of a medical assistive device is proposed, previously developed in fused filament fabrication and now optimised for being 3D printed with selective laser melting

Investigation on the Actual Robustness of GNSS-based Timing Distribution Under Meaconing and Spoofing Interferences

Long-term stability and accurate time synchronization are at the core of timing network facilities in several critical infrastructures, such as in telecommunication networks. In these applications, timing signals disciplined by Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers, i.e., One Pulse-per-Second (1-PPS), complement Primary Reference Time Clocks (PRTCs) by compensating for long-term drifts of their embedded atomic clocks. However, GNSS receivers may expose timing distribution networks to Radio Frequency (RF) vulnerabilities being the cause of possible degraded or disrupted synchronization among the nodes. This paper presents a test methodology assessing the resilience of new GNSS timing receivers to different classes of intentional RF interferences. The analysis of the results compares the effects of practicable spoofing and meaconing attacks on the 1-PPS generated by three Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) GNSS timing receivers, currently employed in timing applications. On one hand, the results emphasised the robustness of State-of-the-Art (SoA) mitigation technologies compared to previous generations’ devices. On the other hand, the vulnerability of SoA receivers to meaconing attacks highlights the limits of such mitigation solutions that may turn to severe effects on telecommunication networks’ performance

Drug-drug interactions in the treatment for alcohol use disorders: A comprehensive review

Abstract Drug interactions are one of the most common causes of side effects in polypharmacy. Alcoholics are a category of patients at high risk of pharmacological interactions, due to the presence of comorbidities, the concomitant intake of several medications and the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interferences of ethanol. However, the data available on this issue are limited. These reasons often frighten clinicians when prescribing appropriate pharmacological therapies for alcohol use disorder (AUD), where less than 15% of patients receive an appropriate treatment in the most severe forms. The data available in literature regarding the relevant drug–drug interactions of the medications currently approved in United States and in some European countries for the treatment of AUD (benzodiazepines, acamprosate, baclofen, disulfiram, nalmefene, naltrexone and sodium oxybate) are reviewed here. The class of benzodiazepines and disulfiram are involved in numerous pharmacological interactions, while they are not conspicuous for acamprosate. The other drugs are relatively safe for pharmacological interactions, excluding the opioid withdrawal syndrome caused by the combination of nalmefene or naltrexone with an opiate medication. The information obtained is designed to help clinicians in understanding and managing the pharmacological interactions in AUDs, especially in patients under multi-drug treatment, in order to reduce the risk of a negative interaction and to improve the treatment outcomes

Robotic implementation of the slide method for measurement of the thermal emissivity of building elements

A significant interest exists in measuring the thermal emissivity of building surfaces since high values combined with high solar reflectance allow rejecting solar energy absorbed by irradiated surfaces, whereas intermediate or low values permit to limit condensation of humidity, heat loss to the sky, or heat transfer through airspaces. The most used measurement method is probably that described by the ASTM C1371 Standard, which correlates the thermal emissivity to the radiative heat flux exchanged in the infrared between the sample surface, kept at ambient temperature, and the bottom surface of a hot emissometer head. With samples showing a low thermal conductivity, the 'slide method' modification is generally used: the hot head is allowed to slide above the sample in order to prevent this from warming up. The slide movement, however, is carried out by hand and time is needed to achieve a stabilized output, therefore the measurement may be time-consuming and also affected by the operator. In order to solve both problems, an automated approach is proposed here, in which the head is moved by the arm of a robot. This manages either the slide movement or the calibration with reference samples, interacting with a computerized data acquisition system that monitors the emissometer output

Data from GNSS-Based Passive Radar to Support Flood Monitoring Operations

Signals transmitted by Global Navigation Satellite Systems can be exploited as signals of opportunity for remote sensing applications. Satellites can be seen as spread sources of electromagnetic radiation, whose signals reflected back from ground can be processed to detect and monitor geophysical properties of the Earth’s surface. In the past years, several experiments of GNSS-based passive radars have been demonstrated successfully, mainly from piloted aircraft. Then, the proliferation of small UAVs enabled new applications where GNSS-based passive radars can provide useful geospatial information for environmental monitoring. Thanks to the availability of commercial Radio Frequency front ends and the enhanced processing capabilities of embedded platforms, it is possible to develop GNSS-based passive radars at moderated cost. These can be mounted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and be used to support the sensing of environmental parameters. This paper presents the results of an experimental campaign based on the use of a UAV for GNSS reflectometry, tailored to the detection of the presence of water on ground after floods. The work is part of wider project, which intends to develop solutions to support rescuers and decision makers to manage operations after natural disasters, through the integration and modelling of geospatial data coming from multiple sources

A Geometrical-Statistical Approach to Outlier Removal for TDOA Measurements

The curse of outlier measurements in estimation problems is a well-known issue in a variety of fields. Therefore, outlier removal procedures, which enables the identification of spurious measurements within a set, have been developed for many different scenarios and applications. In this paper, we propose a statistically motivated outlier removal algorithm for time differences of arrival (TDOAs), or equivalently range differences (RD), acquired at sensor arrays. The method exploits the TDOA-space formalism and works by only knowing relative sensor positions. As the proposed method is completely independent from the application for which measurements are used, it can be reliably used to identify outliers within a set of TDOA/RD measurements in different fields (e.g., acoustic source localization, sensor synchronization, radar, remote sensing, etc.). The proposed outlier removal algorithm is validated by means of synthetic simulations and real experiments