Search results for: wearable robotics.
135 An Inflatable and Foldable Knee Exosuit Based on Intelligent Management of Biomechanical Energy
Authors: Jing Fang, Yao Cui, Mingming Wang, Shengli She, Jianping Yuan
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Wearable robotics is a potential solution in aiding gait rehabilitation of lower limbs dyskinesia patients, such as knee osteoarthritis or stroke afflicted patients. Many wearable robots have been developed in the form of rigid exoskeletons, but their bulk devices, high cost and control complexity hinder their popularity in the field of gait rehabilitation. Thus, the development of a portable, compliant and low-cost wearable robot for gait rehabilitation is necessary. Inspired by Chinese traditional folding fans and balloon inflators, the authors present an inflatable, foldable and variable stiffness knee exosuit (IFVSKE) in this paper. The pneumatic actuator of IFVSKE was fabricated in the shape of folding fans by using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fabric materials. The geometric and mechanical properties of IFVSKE were characterized with experimental methods. To assist the knee joint smartly, an intelligent control profile for IFVSKE was proposed based on the concept of full-cycle energy management of the biomechanical energy during human movement. The biomechanical energy of knee joints in a walking gait cycle of patients could be collected and released to assist the joint motion just by adjusting the inner pressure of IFVSKE. Finally, a healthy subject was involved to walk with and without the IFVSKE to evaluate the assisting effects.
Keywords: Biomechanical energy management, gait rehabilitation, knee exosuit, wearable robotics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1165134 From Research to Teaching: Integrating Social Robotics in Engineering Degrees
Authors: Yolanda Bolea, Antoni Grau, Alberto Sanfeliu
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When industrial robotics subject is taught in a degree in robotics, social and humanoid robotics concepts are rarely mentioned because this field of robotics is not used in industry. In this paper, an educational project related with industrial robotics is presented which includes social and humanoid robotics. The main motivations to realize this research are: i) humanoid robotics will be appearing soon in industry, the experience, based on research projects, indicates their deployment sooner than expected; ii) its educational interest, technology is shared with industrial robotics; iii) it is very attractive, students are interested in this part of the subject and thus they are interested in the whole subject. As a pedagogical methodology, the use of the problem-based learning is considered. Those concepts are introduced in a seminar during the last part of the subject and developed as a set of practices in the laboratory.Keywords: Higher education in robotics, humanoid robotics, problem-based learning, social robotics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1657133 On the Design of Wearable Fractal Antenna
Authors: Amar Partap Singh Pharwaha, Shweta Rani
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This paper is aimed at proposing a rhombus shaped wearable fractal antenna for wireless communication systems. The geometrical descriptors of the antenna have been obtained using bacterial foraging optimization (BFO) for wide band operation. The method of moment based IE3D software has been used to simulate the antenna and observed that miniaturization of 13.08% has been achieved without degrading the resonating properties of the proposed antenna. An analysis with different substrates has also been done in order to evaluate the effectiveness of electrical permittivity on the presented structure. The proposed antenna has low profile, light weight and has successfully demonstrated wideband and multiband characteristics for wearable electronic applications.Keywords: BFO, bandwidth, electrical permittivity, fractals, wearable antenna.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2843132 Integrating Wearable Devices in Real-Time Computer Applications of Petrochemical Systems
Authors: Paul B. Stone, Subhashini Ganapathy, Mary E. Fendley, Layla Akilan
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As notifications become more common through mobile devices, it is important to understand the impact of wearable devices for improved user experience of man-machine interfaces. This study examined the use of a wearable device for a real-time system using a computer simulated petrochemical system. The key research question was to determine how using information provided by the wearable device can improve human performance through measures of situational awareness and decision making. Results indicate that there was a reduction in response time when using the watch and there was no difference in situational awareness. Perception of using the watch was positive, with 83% of users finding value in using the watch and receiving haptic feedback.
Keywords: computer applications, haptic feedback, petrochemical systems, situational awareness, wearable technology
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 574131 The Integration of Patient Health Record Generated from Wearable and Internet of Things Devices into Health Information Exchanges
Authors: Dalvin D. Hill, Hector M. Castro Garcia
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A growing number of individuals utilize wearable devices on a daily basis. The usage and functionality of these wearable devices vary from user to user. One popular usage of said devices is to track health-related activities that are typically stored on a device’s memory or uploaded to an account in the cloud; based on the current trend, the data accumulated from the wearable device are stored in a standalone location. In many of these cases, this health related datum is not a factor when considering the holistic view of a user’s health lifestyle or record. This health-related data generated from wearable and Internet of Things (IoT) devices can serve as empirical information to a medical provider, as the standalone data can add value to the holistic health record of a patient. This paper proposes a solution to incorporate the data gathered from these wearable and IoT devices, with that a patient’s Personal Health Record (PHR) stored within the confines of a Health Information Exchange (HIE).
Keywords: Electronic health record, health information exchanges, Internet of Things, personal health records, wearable devices, wearables.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1761130 Wearable Sensing Application- Carbon Dioxide Monitoring for Emergency Personnel Using Wearable Sensors
Authors: Tanja Radu, Cormac Fay, King Tong Lau, Rhys Waite, Dermot Diamond
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The development of wearable sensing technologies is a great challenge which is being addressed by the Proetex FP6 project (www.proetex.org). Its main aim is the development of wearable sensors to improve the safety and efficiency of emergency personnel. This will be achieved by continuous, real-time monitoring of vital signs, posture, activity, and external hazards surrounding emergency workers. We report here the development of carbon dioxide (CO2) sensing boot by incorporating commercially available CO2 sensor with a wireless platform into the boot assembly. Carefully selected commercially available sensors have been tested. Some of the key characteristics of the selected sensors are high selectivity and sensitivity, robustness and the power demand. This paper discusses some of the results of CO2 sensor tests and sensor integration with wireless data transmission
Keywords: Proetex, gas sensing, wireless, wearable sensors, carbon dioxide
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1579129 A Compact Wearable Slot Antenna for LTE and WLAN Applications
Authors: Haider K. Raad
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In this paper, a compact wide-band, ultra-thin and flexible slot antenna intended for wearable applications is presented. The presented antenna is designed to provide Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity. The presented design exhibits a relatively wide bandwidth (1600-3500 MHz below -6 dB impedance bandwidth limit). The antenna is positioned on a 33 mm x 30 mm flexible substrate with a thickness of 50 µm. Antenna properties, such as the far-field radiation patterns, scattering parameter S11 are provided. The presented compact, thin and flexible design along with excellent radiation characteristics are deemed suitable for integration into flexible and wearable devices.Keywords: Wearable Electronics, Slot Antenna, LTE, WLAN.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1193128 Achieving Shear Wave Elastography by a Three-element Probe for Wearable Human-machine Interface
Authors: Jipeng Yan, Xingchen Yang, Xiaowei Zhou, Mengxing Tang, Honghai Liu
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Shear elastic modulus of skeletal muscles can be obtained by shear wave elastography (SWE) and has been linearly related to muscle force. However, SWE is currently implemented using array probes. Price and volumes of these probes and their driving equipment prevent SWE from being used in wearable human-machine interfaces (HMI). Moreover, beamforming processing for array probes reduces the real-time performance. To achieve SWE by wearable HMIs, a customized three-element probe is adopted in this work, with one element for acoustic radiation force generation and the others for shear wave tracking. In-phase quadrature demodulation and 2D autocorrelation are adopted to estimate velocities of tissues on the sound beams of the latter two elements. Shear wave speeds are calculated by phase shift between the tissue velocities. Three agar phantoms with different elasticities were made by changing the weights of agar. Values of the shear elastic modulus of the phantoms were measured as 8.98, 23.06 and 36.74 kPa at a depth of 7.5 mm respectively. This work verifies the feasibility of measuring shear elastic modulus by wearable devices.Keywords: Shear elastic modulus, skeletal muscle, ultrasound, wearable human-machine interface.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 791127 Robotics, Education and Economy
Authors: David G. Maxínez, Francisco Javier Sánchez Rangel, Guillermo Castillo Tapia, Petra Baldovinos Noyola, M. Antonieta García Galván, Moisés G Sierra
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Describes the current situation of educational Robotics "the State of the art" its concept, its evolution their niches of opportunity, academic and business and the importance of education and academic outreach. It shows that the development of high-tech automated educational materials influence the teaching-learning process and that communication between machines and humans is a reality.Keywords: Education, robotics, robots, technology, innovation, educational constructivism
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1894126 Investigating Activity Recognition Using 9-Axis Sensors and Filters in Wearable Devices
Authors: Jun Gil Ahn, Jong Kang Park, Jong Tae Kim
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In this paper, we analyze major components of activity recognition (AR) in wearable device with 9-axis sensors and sensor fusion filters. 9-axis sensors commonly include 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis magnetometer. We chose sensor fusion filters as Kalman filter and Direction Cosine Matrix (DCM) filter. We also construct sensor fusion data from each activity sensor data and perform classification by accuracy of AR using Naïve Bayes and SVM. According to the classification results, we observed that the DCM filter and the specific combination of the sensing axes are more effective for AR in wearable devices while classifying walking, running, ascending and descending.Keywords: Accelerometer, activity recognition, directional cosine matrix filter, gyroscope, Kalman filter, magnetometer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1674125 Earphone Style Wearable Device for Automatic Guidance Service with Position Sensing
Authors: Dawei Cai
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This paper describes a design of earphone style wearable device that may provide an automatic guidance service for visitors. With both position information and orientation information obtained from NFC and terrestrial magnetism sensor, a high level automatic guide service may be realized. To realize the service, a algorithm for position detection using the packet from NFC tags, and developed an algorithm to calculate the device orientation based on the data from acceleration and terrestrial magnetism sensors called as MEMS. If visitors want to know some explanation about an exhibit in front of him, what he has to do is only move to the object and stands for a moment. The identification program will automatically recognize the status based on the information from NFC and MEMS, and start playing explanation content about the exhibit. This service should be useful for improving the understanding of the exhibition items and bring more satisfactory visiting experience without less burden.Keywords: Wearable device, MEMS sensor, NFC, ubiquitous computing, guide system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 975124 Fabrication of Wearable Antennas through Thermal Deposition
Authors: Jeff Letcher, Dennis Tierney, Haider Raad
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Antennas are devices for transmitting and/or receiving signals which make them a necessary component of any wireless system. In this paper, a thermal deposition technique is utilized as a method to fabricate antenna structures on substrates. Thin-film deposition is achieved by evaporating a source material (metals in our case) in a vacuum which allows vapor particles to travel directly to the target substrate which is encased with a mask that outlines the desired structure. The material then condenses back to solid state. This method is used in comparison to screen printing, chemical etching, and ink jet printing to indicate advantages and disadvantages to the method. The antenna created undergoes various testing of frequency ranges, conductivity, and a series of flexing to indicate the effectiveness of the thermal deposition technique. A single band antenna that is operated at 2.45 GHz intended for wearable and flexible applications was successfully fabricated through this method and tested. It is concluded that thermal deposition presents a feasible technique of producing such antennas.Keywords: Thermal deposition, wearable antennas, Bluetooth technology, flexible electronics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1379123 Educational Robotics Constructivism and Modeling of Robots using Reverse Engineering
Authors: David G. Maxínez, A. Ferreyra Ramírez, Ismael Echenique Álvarez, Francisco Javier Sánchez Rangel, Guillermo Castillo Tapia, Petra Baldivia Noyola, María Antonieta García Galván
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The project describes the modeling of various architectures mechatronics specifically morphologies of robots in an educational environment. Each structure developed by students of pre-school, primary and secondary was created using the concept of reverse engineering in a constructivist environment, to later be integrated in educational software that promotes the teaching of educational Robotics in a virtual and economic environment.Keywords: Modeling, constructivist, engineering, reverse, robotics education, virtual, morphology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1787122 Proposing Robotics Challenge Centered on Material Transportation in Smart Manufacturing
Authors: Brehme D’napoli Reis de Mesquita, Marcus Vin´ıcius de Souza Almeida, Caio Vin´ıcius Silva do Carmo
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Educational robotics has emerged as a pedagogical tool, utilizing technological artifacts to engage students’ curiosity and interest. It fosters active learning of STEM education competencies while also cultivating essential behavioral skills. Robotic competitions provide students with platforms to collaboratively devise diverse solutions to shared problems, fostering experience exchange, collaboration, and personal growth. Despite the prevalence of current robotic competitions, especially in Brazil, simulating real-world challenges like natural disasters, there is a notable absence of industry-related tasks. This article presents an educational robotics initiative centered around material transportation within smart manufacturing using automated guided vehicles. The proposed robotics challenge was executed in a competition held in Ac¸ailˆandia city, Maranh˜ao, Brazil, yielding satisfactory results and inspiring teams to develop time-limited solution strategies.
Keywords: Educational robotics, STEM education, robotic competitions, material transportation, smart manufacturing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 293121 Enhancing Seamless Communication Through a user Co-designed Wearable Device
Authors: A. Marcengo, A. Rapp, E. Guercio
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This work aims to describe the process of developing services and applications of seamless communication within a Telecom Italia long-term research project, which takes as central aim the design of a wearable communication device. In particular, the objective was to design a wrist phone integrated into everyday life of people in full transparency. The methodology used to design the wristwatch was developed through several subsequent steps also involving the Personas Layering Framework. The data collected in this phases have been very useful for designing an improved version of the first two concepts of wrist phone going to change aspects related to the four critical points expressed by the users.Keywords: Design, Interaction, User Centred Design, Wristphone.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1277120 Acquiring Contour Following Behaviour in Robotics through Q-Learning and Image-based States
Authors: Carlos V. Regueiro, Jose E. Domenech, Roberto Iglesias, Jose L. Correa
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In this work a visual and reactive contour following behaviour is learned by reinforcement. With artificial vision the environment is perceived in 3D, and it is possible to avoid obstacles that are invisible to other sensors that are more common in mobile robotics. Reinforcement learning reduces the need for intervention in behaviour design, and simplifies its adjustment to the environment, the robot and the task. In order to facilitate its generalisation to other behaviours and to reduce the role of the designer, we propose a regular image-based codification of states. Even though this is much more difficult, our implementation converges and is robust. Results are presented with a Pioneer 2 AT on a Gazebo 3D simulator.Keywords: Image-based State Codification, Mobile Robotics, ReinforcementLearning, Visual Behaviour.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1604119 Investigation of a Wearable Textile Monopole Antenna on Specific Absorption Rate at 2.45 GHz
Authors: Hasliza A. Rahim, Fareq Malek, Ismahayati Adam, Ahmad Sahadah, Nur B. M. Hashim, Nur A. M. Affendi, Azuwa Ali, Norshafinash Saudin, Latifah Mohamed
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This paper discusses the investigation of a wearable textile monopole antenna on specific absorption rate (SAR) for bodycentric wireless communication applications at 2.45 GHz. The antenna is characterized on a realistic 8 x 8 x 8 mm3 resolution truncated Hugo body model in CST Microwave Studio software. The result exhibited that the simulated SAR values were reduced significantly by 83.5% as the position of textile monopole was varying between 0 mm and 15 mm away from the human upper arm. A power absorption reduction of 52.2% was also noticed as the distance of textile monopole increased.Keywords: Monopole antenna, specific absorption rate, textile antenna.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2127118 Electrodermal Activity Measurement Using Constant Current AC Source
Authors: Cristian Chacha, David Asiain, Jesús Ponce de León, José Ramón Beltrán
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This work explores and characterizes the behavior of the AFE AD5941 in impedance measurement using an embedded algorithm that allows using a constant current AC source. The main aim of this research is to improve the exact measurement of impedance values for their application in EDA-focused wearable devices. Through comprehensive study and characterization, it has been observed that employing a measurement sequence with a constant current source produces results with increased dispersion but higher accuracy and a more linear behavior with respect to error. As a result, this approach leads to a more accurate system for impedance measurement.
Keywords: Electrodermal Activity, constant current AC source, wearable, precision, accuracy, impedance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 86117 Analysis of Design Structuring and Performance of CPW Fed UWB Antenna in Presence of Human Arm Model
Authors: Narbada Prasad Gupta, Mithilesh Kumar
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A compact Ultra Wide Band (UWB) antenna with coplanar waveguide feed has been designed and results are verified in this paper. The antenna has been designed on FR4 substrate with dielectric constant (εr) of 4.4 and dimensions of 32mm x 26mm x 0.8mm. The presented antenna shows return loss characteristics in the band of 3.1 to 10.6 GHz as prescribed by FCC, USA. Parametric studies have been done and results thus obtained have been presented. Simulated results have been verified on Rohde & Swartz VNA. The measured results are in good agreement with simulated results which make the presented antenna suitable to be used for wearable applications. Performance analysis of antenna has also been shown in the presence of three layered Human Arm model. Results obtained in presence of Human Arm model has been compared with that in free space.Keywords: CPW feed, Human Arm model, UWB, wearable antenna.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1507116 Directionally-Sensitive Personal Wearable Radiation Dosimeter
Authors: Hai Huu Le, Paul Junor, Moshi Geso, Graeme O’Keefe
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In this paper, the authors propose a personal wearable directionally-sensitive radiation dosimeter using multiple semiconductor CdZnTe detectors. The proposed dosimeter not only measures the real-time dose rate but also provide the direction of the radioactive source. A linear relationship between radioactive source direction and the radiation intensity measured by each detectors is established and an equation to determine the source direction is derived by the authors. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed dosimeter is verified by simulation using Geant4 package. Results have indicated that in a measurement duration of about 7 seconds, the proposed dosimeter was able to estimate the direction of a 10μCi 137/55Cs radioactive source to within 2 degrees.Keywords: Dose rate, Geant4 package, radiation detectors, radioactive source direction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1192115 Real-Time Episodic Memory Construction for Optimal Action Selection in Cognitive Robotics
Authors: Deon de Jager, Yahya Zweiri, Dimitrios Makris
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The three most important components in the cognitive architecture for cognitive robotics is memory representation, memory recall, and action-selection performed by the executive. In this paper, action selection, performed by the executive, is defined as a memory quantification and optimization process. The methodology describes the real-time construction of episodic memory through semantic memory optimization. The optimization is performed by set-based particle swarm optimization, using an adaptive entropy memory quantification approach for fitness evaluation. The performance of the approach is experimentally evaluated by simulation, where a UAV is tasked with the collection and delivery of a medical package. The experiments show that the UAV dynamically uses the episodic memory to autonomously control its velocity, while successfully completing its mission.
Keywords: Cognitive robotics, semantic memory, episodic memory, maximum entropy principle, particle swarm optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1635114 Alertness States Classification By SOM and LVQ Neural Networks
Authors: K. Ben Khalifa, M.H. Bédoui, M. Dogui, F. Alexandre
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Several studies have been carried out, using various techniques, including neural networks, to discriminate vigilance states in humans from electroencephalographic (EEG) signals, but we are still far from results satisfactorily useable results. The work presented in this paper aims at improving this status with regards to 2 aspects. Firstly, we introduce an original procedure made of the association of two neural networks, a self organizing map (SOM) and a learning vector quantization (LVQ), that allows to automatically detect artefacted states and to separate the different levels of vigilance which is a major breakthrough in the field of vigilance. Lastly and more importantly, our study has been oriented toward real-worked situation and the resulting model can be easily implemented as a wearable device. It benefits from restricted computational and memory requirements and data access is very limited in time. Furthermore, some ongoing works demonstrate that this work should shortly results in the design and conception of a non invasive electronic wearable device.Keywords: Electroencephalogram interpretation, artificialneural networks, vigilance states, hardware implementation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1475113 Lego Mindstorms as a Simulation of Robotic Systems
Authors: Miroslav Popelka, Jakub Nožička
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In this paper we deal with using Lego Mindstorms in simulation of robotic systems with respect to cost reduction. Lego Mindstorms kit contains broad variety of hardware components which are required to simulate, program and test the robotics systems in practice. Algorithm programming went in development environment supplied together with Lego kit as in programming language C# as well. Algorithm following the line, which we dealt with in this paper, uses theoretical findings from area of controlling circuits. PID controller has been chosen as controlling circuit whose individual components were experimentally adjusted for optimal motion of robot tracking the line. Data which are determined to process by algorithm are collected by sensors which scan the interface between black and white surfaces followed by robot. Based on discovered facts Lego Mindstorms can be considered for low-cost and capable kit to simulate real robotics systems.
Keywords: LEGO Mindstorms, PID controller, low-cost robotics systems, line follower, sensors, programming language C#, EV3 Home Edition Software.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3835112 2D-Modeling with Lego Mindstorms
Authors: Miroslav Popelka, Jakub Nožička
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The whole work is based on possibility to use Lego Mindstorms robotics systems to reduce costs. Lego Mindstorms consists of a wide variety of hardware components necessary to simulate, programme and test of robotics systems in practice. To programme algorithm, which simulates space using the ultrasonic sensor, was used development environment supplied with kit. Software Matlab was used to render values afterwards they were measured by ultrasonic sensor. The algorithm created for this paper uses theoretical knowledge from area of signal processing. Data being processed by algorithm are collected by ultrasonic sensor that scans 2D space in front of it. Ultrasonic sensor is placed on moving arm of robot which provides horizontal moving of sensor. Vertical movement of sensor is provided by wheel drive. The robot follows map in order to get correct positioning of measured data. Based on discovered facts it is possible to consider Lego Mindstorm for low-cost and capable kit for real-time modelling.
Keywords: LEGO Mindstorms, ultrasonic sensor, Real-time modeling, 2D object, low-cost robotics systems, sensors, Matlab, EV3 Home Edition Software.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3109111 How to Integrate Sustainability in Technological Degrees: Robotics at UPC
Authors: Antoni Grau, Yolanda Bolea, Alberto Sanfeliu
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Embedding Sustainability in technological curricula has become a crucial factor for educating engineers with competences in sustainability. The Technical University of Catalonia UPC, in 2008, designed the Sustainable Technology Excellence Program STEP 2015 in order to assure a successful Sustainability Embedding. This Program takes advantage of the opportunity that the redesign of all Bachelor and Master Degrees in Spain by 2010 under the European Higher Education Area framework offered. The STEP program goals are: to design compulsory courses in each degree; to develop the conceptual base and identify reference models in sustainability for all specialties at UPC; to create an internal interdisciplinary network of faculty from all the schools; to initiate new transdisciplinary research activities in technology-sustainability-education; to spread the know/how attained; to achieve international scientific excellence in technology-sustainability-education and to graduate the first engineers/architects of the new EHEA bachelors with sustainability as a generic competence. Specifically, in this paper authors explain their experience in leading the STEP program, and two examples are presented: Industrial Robotics subject and the curriculum for the School of Architecture.
Keywords: Sustainability, curricula improvement, robotics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1858110 Social Assistive Robots, Reframing the Human Robotics Interaction Benchmark of Social Success
Authors: Antonio Espingardeiro
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It is likely that robots will cross the boundaries of industry into households over the next decades. With demographic challenges worldwide, the future ageing populations will require the introduction of assistive technologies capable of providing, care, human dignity and quality of life through the aging process. Robotics technology has a high potential for being used in the areas of social and healthcare by promoting a wide range of activities such as entertainment, companionship, supervision or cognitive and physical assistance. However such close Human Robotics Interaction (HRI) encompass a rich set of ethical scenarios that need to be addressed before Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) reach the global markets. Such interactions with robots may seem a worthy goal for many technical/financial reasons but inevitably require close attention to the ethical dimensions of such interactions. This article investigates the current HRI benchmark of social success. It revises it according to the ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and justice aligned with social care ethos. An extension of such benchmark is proposed based on an empirical study of HRIs conducted with elderly groups.
Keywords: HRI, SARs, Social Success, Benchmark, Elderly care.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2048109 PYTHEIA: A Scale for Assessing Rehabilitation and Assistive Robotics
Authors: Yiannis Koumpouros, Effie Papageorgiou, Alexandra Karavasili, Foteini Koureta
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The objective of the present study was to develop a scale called PYTHEIA. The PYTHEIA is a self-reported measure for the assessment of rehabilitation and assistive robotics and other assistive technology devices. The development of PYTHEIA faced the absence of a valid instrument that can be used to evaluate the assistive robotic devices both as a whole, as well as any of their individual components or functionalities implemented. According to the results presented, PYTHEIA is a valid and reliable scale able to be applied to different target groups for the subjective evaluation of various assistive technology devices.
Keywords: Rehabilitation, assistive technology, assistive robots, rehabilitation robots, scale, psychometric test, assessment, validation, user satisfaction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1794108 Robot Task-Level Programming Language and Simulation
Authors: M. Samaka
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This paper presents the development of a software application for Off-line robot task programming and simulation. Such application is designed to assist in robot task planning and to direct manipulator motion on sensor based programmed motion. The concept of the designed programming application is to use the power of the knowledge base for task accumulation. In support of the programming means, an interactive graphical simulation for manipulator kinematics was also developed and integrated into the application as the complimentary factor to the robot programming media. The simulation provides the designer with useful, inexpensive, off-line tools for retain and testing robotics work cells and automated assembly lines for various industrial applications.Keywords: Robot programming, task-level programming, robot languages, robot simulation, robotics software.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3261107 Ubiquitous Life People Informatics Engine (U-Life PIE): Wearable Health Promotion System
Authors: Yi-Ping Lo, Shi-Yao Wei, Chih-Chun Ma
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Since Google launched Google Glass in 2012, numbers of commercial wearable devices were released, such as smart belt, smart band, smart shoes, smart clothes ... etc. However, most of these devices perform as sensors to show the readings of measurements and few of them provide the interactive feedback to the user. Furthermore, these devices are single task devices which are not able to communicate with each other. In this paper a new health promotion system, Ubiquitous Life People Informatics Engine (U-Life PIE), will be presented. This engine consists of People Informatics Engine (PIE) and the interactive user interface. PIE collects all the data from the compatible devices, analyzes this data comprehensively and communicates between devices via various application programming interfaces. All the data and informations are stored on the PIE unit, therefore, the user is able to view the instant and historical data on their mobile devices any time. It also provides the real-time hands-free feedback and instructions through the user interface visually, acoustically and tactilely. These feedback and instructions suggest the user to adjust their posture or habits in order to avoid the physical injuries and prevent illness.Keywords: Machine learning, user interface, user experience, Internet of things, health promotion.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1432106 A Simulator for Robot Navigation Algorithms
Authors: Michael A. Folcik, Bijan Karimi
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A robot simulator was developed to measure and investigate the performance of a robot navigation system based on the relative position of the robot with respect to random obstacles in any two dimensional environment. The presented simulator focuses on investigating the ability of a fuzzy-neural system for object avoidance. A navigation algorithm is proposed and used to allow random navigation of a robot among obstacles when the robot faces an obstacle in the environment. The main features of this simulator can be used for evaluating the performance of any system that can provide the position of the robot with respect to obstacles in the environment. This allows a robot developer to investigate and analyze the performance of a robot without implementing the physical robot.Keywords: Applications of Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networksin Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Embedded Systems, MobileRobots, Robot Navigation, Robotics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1756