Automatic Modeling for Modular Reconfigurable Robotic Systems: Theory and Practice

A modular reconfigurable robot consists of a collection of individual link and joint components that can be assembled into a number of different robot ge-ometries. Compared to a conventional industrial robot with fixed geometry, such a system can provide flexibility to the user to cope with a wide spectru

iHAP – integrated haplotype analysis pipeline for characterizing the haplotype structure of genes

BACKGROUND: The advent of genotype data from large-scale efforts that catalog the genetic variants of different populations have given rise to new avenues for multifactorial disease association studies. Recent work shows that genotype data from the International HapMap Project have a high degree of transferability to the wider population. This implies that the design of genotyping studies on local populations may be facilitated through inferences drawn from information contained in HapMap populations. RESULTS: To facilitate analysis of HapMap data for characterizing the haplotype structure of genes or any chromosomal regions, we have developed an integrated web-based resource, iHAP. In addition to incorporating genotype and haplotype data from the International HapMap Project and gene information from the UCSC Genome Browser Database, iHAP also provides capabilities for inferring haplotype blocks and selecting tag SNPs that are representative of haplotype patterns. These include block partitioning algorithms, block definitions, tag SNP definitions, as well as SNPs to be "force included" as tags. Based on the parameters defined at the input stage, iHAP performs on-the-fly analysis and displays the result graphically as a webpage. To facilitate analysis, intermediate and final result files can be downloaded. CONCLUSION: The iHAP resource, available at , provides a convenient yet flexible approach for the user community to analyze HapMap data and identify candidate targets for genotyping studies

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Synthesis of deployable structural mechanism for engineering application

Deployable structures are structures whose shape can undergo large geometric transformation to meet the practical requirement. They are widely used in aerospace, civil and medical engineering. According to their mechanical properties, deployable structures can be classified as two types: deformable structures and structural mechanisms. The key advantage of the latter is that the deployment can be performed repeatedly and precisely and the entire process can be easily controlled. The objectives of this project are to develop a methodology in the synthesis of deployable structural mechanisms, to gene rate new configurations based on existing 3D overconstrained linkages with revolute joints, and to f abricate working prototypes in the chosen field of application. The use of 3D overconstrained linkages can provide extra stiffness to structures and the revolute joints are the most reliable and rugged among all kinematic pairs. This proposal represents a systematic study into the construction of deployable structural mechanisms and the results from this research could open up an entirely new field of endeavour. In addition, the synthesized new structural mechanisms will have potential application in many engineering fields.RG21/0

Research on magnetorheological fluid and its applications

In this thesis, the experimental results and modeling of the dynamic rheology of MR fluids and the mechanical properties of a MR damper under steady sinusoidal loading are presented.RG 63/9

Calibration of modular reconfigurable robot systems

This report describes both the theoretical and experimental aspects of robot kinematics calibration. The kinematics of the modular robot is established in a local coordinate description based on the Product-of-Exponentials formula, termed Local POE kinematics.RG 64/9

Measurement and calibration of a six-axis reconfigurable parallel robot system

A modular reconfigurable parallel robot system consists of standardized links and joint components that can be assembled into a particular geometry for specific tasks. The modular parallel robot can have numerous configurations. Here, the focus is on systematically identified and analyzed a class of three-legged non-redundant parallel robots. Such robots have symmetrical geometry, simple kinematics and desirable characteristics suitable for practical applications. The objectives of this project are to develop a configuration-independent kinematic calibration model and computational algorithms for the reconfigurable robot system, to experimentally validate the calibration model, and to design a portable stand-along robot calibration unit with real-time data acquisition, and processing functions

Surface modification of additive manufactured components by ultrasonic cavitation abrasive finishing

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is a group of powder-bed based layered Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques for direct fabrication of metal and metal alloys. Despite its advancements, the surface quality of as-built PBF components remains unsatisfactory. In this paper, a new post-process finishing technique, based on ultrasonic cavitation effects in a solid-liquid mixture, is introduced for PBF-built components. Trials were conducted on side surfaces of Inconel 625 manufactured by Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). Results have demonstrated that this technique improves Ra values of as-built Inconel 625 side surfaces by up to 45% after 30 min of processing time. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed that most small-sized partially melted powders were removed through heterogeneous cavitation nucleation on the specimens’ rough initial surface. A secondary fine-scale erosion mechanism by micro-abrasives, accelerated by cavitation bubble collapses, further depressed difficult-to-remove irregularities.NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore)Accepted versio

Gait Generation and Mechatronic Design of Planar Walker

Abstract. A surface walking/climbing robot is developed based on a simple planar 8-bar locomotion mechanism using four 2-way linear cylinders and four 2-way gripper modules. The robot may traverse a fixed distance or turn at a fixed angle after completing a series of repetitive cylinder and gripper actions termed gaits. Symmetric arrangement of the actuators decouples the translation and rotation of the robot. Hence the robot can swiftly change its direction of travel. Basic locomotion gaits are classified and modeled using finite state machines. Experiments on the real prototype are conducted to establish the repeatability and consistency of gait performances. Mechatronic design of the Planar Walker system is also described.