Battery Exchange Research Articles

Truly autonomous robots: hardware design for an energy trophallactic robot

This article describes the mechanical and electrical design of a mobile robot called the CISSbot. CISSbot is abbreviated from our center’s name in Danish: Center for Indlejrede Software Systemer. The robots are designed toward truly autonomous robots in large populations through energy trophallaxes. Unlike present mobile robots, the CISSbots are energetically autonomous robots because they are not able not only to autonomously refuel by picking up batteries at a charging station, but also to share energy by exchanging batteries with other robots. The CISSbots basically consist of their own processing power, sensors, and actuators. However, to achieve the capability of battery exchange, the CISSbots need a special design of battery exchange mechanism. In this paper, we present the realization of the design in both the mechanics and the electronics of the CISSbot. Details of the battery exchange technique and power management are clarified. Finally, the article gives an outline of our future work on the CISSbots.

Pacemaker infection with propionibacterium and a nephritic sediment

Like any other implanted foreign body, the different parts of pacemakers (pulse generator pocket, epicardial or transvenous leads) can become infected. Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci are the causative organisms in most of the cases (65 â 75%), propionibacterium is described to be involved in only 1% of cases. This report describes a case of nephritic sediment in a young female patient with a pacemaker implantation 9 years ago because of a third degree atrioventricular block, in which a battery exchange was necessary 2.5 years ago. This young patient was referred from a nephrologist for renal biopsy because of a nephritic sediment and diffuse complaints including low-grade fever with a suspected underlying autoimmune disease. The laboratory examinations were all negative with the exception of a diminished C3 complement level. Blood cultures were positive for propionibacterium, but the microbiologists were considering it as a contamination. 11 more blood cultures collected thereafter were all positive and a transesophageal ultrasound revealed a small vegetation at 1 of the transvenous electrodes of the pacemaker. Because of a penicillin allergy she was treated with clindamycin, and the blood cultures were negative after a few days. After a full course (7 weeks) of antibiotic treatment the C3 complement level normalized and a series of 10 blood cultures remained negative 10 â 15 days after discontinuation of antibiotic therapy. Discussing all the differential diagnoses of a nephritic sediment combined with hypocomplementemia, positive blood cultures and a vegetation on a pacemaker electrode in the transesophageal ultrasound, the diagnosis of an immune complex glomerulonephritis due to a propionibacterium pacemaker infection needs no confirmation by renal biopsy.

First Case Report in Japan of Left Ventricular Pacing via a Coronary Vein in a Patient With a Mechanical Tricuspid Valve

Transvenous endocardial pacemaker implantation is contraindicated in patients after prosthetic tricuspid valve replacement. A 65-year-old woman underwent both replacement of the mitral and tricuspid valves and pacemaker implantation with epicardial lead for bradycardia with chronic atrial fibrillation. At 2 years after this operation, the pacemaker's battery became low, and she was admitted for a battery exchange. To avoid frequent battery exchanges because of high stimulation thresholds, a left ventricular pacing lead was implanted via a coronary vein. There were no complications and the stimulation thresholds were stable. Coronary vein leads enable a minimally invasive approach, improve safety, and give effective stimulation for patients with a prosthetic tricuspid valve. This is the first case report in Japan of left ventricular pacing in such a patient.

Development of a Battery Support System for the Prolonged Activity of Mobile Robots

The majority of traditional power supply solutions for prolonged activity of mobile robots have involved work robots returning to a charge station for charging or exchanging batteries. These methods have problems such as the interruption of a task in process and the limitation of robot's activity range. As a new approach to solve these problems, we have developed a battery support system that includes an exclusive robot to deliver fresh batteries. The battery support system is made up of a work robot, a support robot, a battery charge station, and a server PC to manage the entire system. The work robot in the system monitors its own battery power and location continuously while implementing tasks assigned by the server PC. If its battery power falls below a certain threshold, the server PC commands the support robot to help the work robot. After the support robot approaches and docks with the work robot, the two robots exchange batteries using the attached battery exchange mechanism. In the present paper, the details of each mechanisms of the system and the performance of the battery support system integrated with the practical mechanics are described, and experimental results are presented.

Sociable Robots Through Self-Maintained Energy

Research of autonomous mobile robots has mostly emphasized interaction and coordination that are natually inspired from biological behavior of birds, insects, and fish: flocking, foraging, collecting, and sharing. However, most research has been only focused on autonomous behaviors in order to perform robots like animals, whereas it is lacked of determinant to those behaviours: energy. Approaching to clusted amimal and the higher, collective and sharing food among individuals are major activity to keep society being. This paper issues an approach to sociable robots using self-maintained energy in cooperative mobile robots, which is dominantly inspired from swarm behavior of collecting and sharing food of honey-bee and ant. Autonomous mobile robots are usually equipped with a finite energy, thus they can operate in a finite time. To overcome the finitude, we describe practical deployment of mobile robots that are capable of carrying and exchanging fuel to other robots. Mechanism implementation including modular hardware and control architecture to demonstrate the capabicities of the approach is presented. Subsequently, the battery exchange algorithm basically based on probabilistic modeling of total energy on each robot located in its local vicinity is described. The paper is concluded with challenging works of chain of mobile robots, rescue, repair, and relation of heterogeneous robots.

Hail the hybrid [hybrid energy source

This paper describes a new hybrid energy source configuration being pioneered by UK researchers that could resolve the technical challenges that exist when incorporating these systems into vehicles. A team of UK researchers launched the Zestful Project, which aims to investigate the best way to use a hybrid energy source to extend the driving range of a 2.5t London taxi. The energy source comprises a high energy dense Zebra battery and hydrogen proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack, which together are smaller and cheaper than primary power fuel cell systems. The project also aims to develop novel power conversion techniques and controllers suitable for interfacing with dual- or multi-source systems that can interface with a high voltage, high energy traction battery and low voltage hydrogen PEM fuel cell system.

Hot rocks and hydrogen

Iceland is beginning a national experiment to develop a hydrogen energy system. The authors outline the plans. The joint venture company Icelandic New Energy plans include: an experiment with hydrogen buses; the construction of a hydrogen production, compression and storage site; a fishing vessel that runs on hydrogen; and the exchange of batteries and diesel generators with fuel cells. The first large hydrogen demonstration project, the Ecological City Transport System (ECTOS), was announced in March 2001. For two years three fuel cell buses will operate within Reykjavik's public transport system. This means 4% of the of the city's public bus fleet will be powered by hydrogen. The aim is to test performance of a completely new technology in difficult seasonal conditions. INE intends to use the outcomes of the ECTOS project to form the basis for the further hydrogenisation of the Icelandic economy. The cost of hydrogen will undoubtedly play a major role in the acceptance and speed of adoption.

Battery exchange system for electric vehicles

An integrated electric vehicle service station system for managing the exchange of heavy and bulky battery assemblies in electric vehicles. The battery exchange system includes a battery platform for supporting an assembly of batteries for the vehicle, a vehicle platform support structure within an electric vehicle for receiving and supporting the battery platform, and a mechanized vehicle service station facility for exchanging recharged battery platforms with spent platforms mounted on-board electric vehicles. The battery platform is of a simple modular shape that may be used with the large variety of sizes and shapes of electric vehicles that may be expected in the future. The battery platform support structure is a correspondingly simple structure that may readily be included in electric vehicles of widely differing designs. The service station facility includes two general service substations--an exchange substation where the spent battery platform is removed from the vehicles and replaced with a fully charged platform, and a staging substation where the battery platforms are stored, re-charged, serviced, and staged for insertion into a waiting vehicle at the exchange substation. The exchange substation is such that the exchange of a battery platform for an electric vehicle positioned at the exchange substation is able to proceed automatically and rapidly with a minimum of operator assistance so as to minimize the inconvenience to the vehicle operator.

New approaches to the collection of scrap batteries

Lead/acid batteries are by far the largest use of lead and they continue to grow in importance, both as a proportion of total lead use and in actual tonnage terms. They are also well suited to recycling and represent the major source of recoverable lead. As such, they are collected and recycled in large numbers in most countries. Unfortunately, the economics of recycling are not always favourable and recycling rates are therefore prone to fluctuation, tending to fall at times of low lead price and rise when prices are firmer. On top of this, tightening environmental standards are imposing additional costs on those involved in battery collection and recovery and are discouraging some traditional participants from continuing involvement in the process. As a result, considerable attention is being paid to ways of ensuring consistently high rates of battery recovery. Various approaches have been considered, both voluntary and compulsory, and several have been put into practice. Two main collection routes are used: the battery distribution network and the scrap-metal trade. A range of different measures are employed including acceptance of scrap batteries by retailers, compulsory exchange of old batteries for new, prohibitions on disposal of scrap batteries with household waste, returnable deposits on battery sales, and environmental levies. In all cases, the schemes are backed by education campaigns to ensure their effectiveness. The paper examines the principles behind the various approaches and describes several of the schemes that have been piloted or introduced in different countries.

Artificial heart and assist devices: directions, needs, costs, societal and ethical issues.

A Working Group appointed by the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) has reviewed the current status of mechanical circulatory support systems (MCSS), and has examined the potential need for such devices, their cost, and certain societal and ethical issues related to their use. The media have reported the limited clinical investigative use of pneumatically energized total artificial hearts (which actually replace the patient's heart) and left ventricular assist devices (which support or replace the function of the left ventricle by pumping blood from the left heart to the aorta with the patient's heart in place). However, electrically energized systems, which will allow full implantation, permit relatively normal everyday activity, and involve battery exchange or recharge two or three times a day, are currently approaching long-term validation in animals prior to clinical testing. Such long-term left ventricular assist devices have been the primary goal of the NHLBI targeted artificial heart program. Although the ventricular assist device is regarded as an important step in the sequence of MCSS development, the Working Group believes that a fully implantable, long-term, total artificial heart will be a clinical necessity and recommends that the mission of the targeted program include the development of such systems. Past estimates of the potential usage of artificial hearts have been reviewed in the context of advances in medical care and in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In addition, a retrospective analysis of needs was carried out within a defined population. The resulting projection of 17,000-35,000 cases annually, in patients below age 70, falls within the general range of earlier estimates, but is highly sensitive to many variables. In the absence of an actual base of data and experience with MCSS, projection of costs and prognoses was carried out using explicit sets of assumptions. The total cost of a left ventricular assist device, its implantation and maintenance for a projected average of 4 1/2 years of survival might be approximately $150,000 (in 1983 dollars). The gross annual cost to society could fall in the range of $2.5-$5 billion. Ethical issues associated with use of the artificial heart are not unique. For individual patients these relate primarily to risk-benefit, informed consent, patient selection, and privacy. However, for society as a whole, the larger concern relates to the distribution of national resources.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)