A micro snake-like robot for small pipe inspection

The goal of this research is development of a micro robot which can negotiate pipes whose diameter varies widely. The robot mechanism is based on &#34;snaking drive&#34;. First, in section 1 to 4, basic characteristics of the snaking drive are discussed: the principle of the snaking drive is shown, theoretical fundamental formulas are derived, and the motions of the robot are simulated. Second, in section 5, a micro robot was designed, fabricated and tested. And fundamental experiments of the robot are shown. Third, in section 6, two application experiments are shown: one is a stabilization of camera image, and the other is a robot steering at branches. The robot moved in pipes whose diameter varies between 18 mm to 100 mm with the maximum speed of 36 mm/s. And the robot could negotiate T-branches and L-bends of pipes.</p

Accessibility Service Utilization Rates in Android Applications Shared on Twitter

The number of malware detected has been increasing annually, and 4.12% of malware reported in 2018 attacked Android phones. Therefore, preventing attacks by Android malware is critically important. Several previous studies have investigated the percentage of apps that utilize accessibility services and are distributed from Google Play, that have been reportedly used by Android malware. However, the Social Networking Services (SNSs) that are used to spread malware have distributed apps not only from Google Play but also from other sources. Therefore, apps distributed from within and outside of Google Play must be investigated to capture malware trends. In this study, we collected apps shared on Twitter in 2018, which is a representative SNS, and created a Twitter shared apps dataset. The dataset consists of 32,068 apps downloaded from the websites of URLs collected on Twitter. We clarified the proportion of apps that contained malware and proportion of apps utilizing accessibility services. We found that both, the percentage of malware and percentage of total apps using accessibility services have been increasing. Notably, the percentages of malware and un-suspicious apps using accessibility services were quite similar. Therefore, this problem cannot be solved by automatically blocking all apps that use accessibility services. Hence, specific countermeasures against malware using accessibility services will be increasingly important for online security in the future

Cephalopods Between Science, Art, and Engineering: A Contemporary Synthesis

ABSTRACT Cephalopods are outstanding animals. For centuries, they have provided a rich source of inspiration to many aspects of human cultures, from art, history, media and spiritual beliefs to the most exquisite scientific curiosity. Given their high esthetical value and 'mysteriously' rich behavioral repertoire they have functioned as boundary objects (or subjects) connecting seemingly distinct thematic fields. Interesting aspects of their being span from the rapid camouflaging ability inspiring contemporary art practices, to their soft and fully muscular body that curiously enough inspired both gastronomy and (soft) robotics. The areas influenced by cephalopods include ancient mythology, art, behavioural science, neuroscience, genomics, camouflage technology and bespoken robotics. Although these might seem far related fields, in this manuscript we want to show how the increasing scientific and popular interest in this heterogeneous class of animals have indeed prompted a high level of integration between scientific, artistic and sub-popular culture. We will present an overview of the birth and life of cephalopod investigations from the traditional study of ethology, neuroscience, and biodiversity to the more recent and emerging field of genomics, material industry and soft robotics. Within this framework, we will attempt to capture the current interest and progress in cephalopod scientific research that lately met both the public interest and the 'liberal arts' curiosity