Bionic Research Articles

Disabled or Cyborg? How Bionics Affect Stereotypes Toward People With Physical Disabilities.

According to the Stereotype Content Model that construes attributions of warmth and competence as the core dimensions of stereotypes, people with physical disabilities are generally perceived as warm-but-incompetent, i.e., are faced with paternalistic stereotypes. We argue that the increasing proliferation of bionic technologies (e.g., bionic arm and leg prostheses, exo-skeletons, retina implants, etc.) has the potential to change stereotypes toward people with physical disabilities: The portrayal of people who use such devices in the media and popular culture is typically characterized by portraying them as competent - sometimes even more competent than able-bodied individuals. We thus propose that people with physical disabilities who use bionic prostheses are perceived as more competent than people with physical disabilities in general. We also propose that they can be seen as more competent than able-bodied individuals. We further propose that this increase in perceived competence may be associated with a decrease in warmth such that people who use bionic prostheses are perceived as less warm than people with physical disabilities in general and as able-bodied people. Based on labeling theory, we also propose that using the label “cyborg” for people who use bionic prostheses exacerbates these effects and that they are driven by the technicality of the bionic devices. The first of two online studies (n = 314) revealed mixed support for the hypotheses: People with physical disabilities who use bionic prostheses are seen as more competent than people with physical disabilities in general, but not as more competent than able-bodied individuals. They are perceived as even warmer than able-bodied individuals. On the contrary, cyborgs were perceived as competent-but cold, i.e., as threatening. With the second study (n = 87), we tested whether the perceived technicality of bionic technology drives some of the observed effects. Technicality only had marginal effects on competence perceptions and no effects on perceptions of warmth. We discuss potential implications and highlight that despite being somewhat mixed, these findings show that technology can affect stereotypes and interpersonal perceptions.

Toward Brain-Actuated Mobile Platform

ABSTRACTThis study presents a brain–computer interface (BCI) system aimed at providing disabled patients with mobile solutions for practical use. The proposed system employs an omnidirectional chassis and a bionic robot arm to construct a multi-functional mobile platform. In addition, the system is equipped with a Kinect and 12 ultrasonic sensors to capture environment information. Based on artificial intelligence technology, the mobile system can understand the environment and smartly completes certain tasks. A hybrid BCI combined with movement imagery paradigm and asynchronous P300 paradigm is designed to translate human intent to computer commands. The users interact with the system in a flexible way: on the one hand, the user issues commands to drive the system directly; on the other hand, the system searches for predefined operable targets and reports the results to the user. Once the user confirms the target, the system will automatically complete the associated operation. To evaluate the system’s performance, a testing environment with a small room, aisle, and an elevator was built to simulate the mobile tasks in the daily scene. Participants were instructed to operate the mobile system in the room, aisle, and using the elevator to go outdoors. In this study, four subjects participated in the test, and all of them completed the task.

Development of agricultural bionic mechanisms: Investigation of the effects of joint angle and pressure on the stability of goats moving on sloping lands

The use of small-scale agricultural machinery becomes prevalent as it provides the stability of agricultural machinery research ideas. To lay the theoretical foundation for the research and design of agriculture walking mechanism, the Phantom Camera Control software was used to measure the anterior and posterior joint angle of a goat walking on different slopes. Foot pressure was measured by the film pressure sensor. The result of joint motion sequence, range of motion, and change of range showed that the fitting degree of the measured value was accurate. As the goat walking speed increased, the level of the hind limb angle changed to ensure itself stability. When the goat is walking, the forelimbs bear more weight than the hind limbs due to the different static and physiological structures of the front and rear legs. The key parameters of gait on different slopes were analyzed. The curve of angle change of legs was measured and analyzed when the goat is walking in slope. The results showed that, with the increase of the slope gradient, the anterior hip angle ranges from 83.3° to 117.1°, the posterior hip angle ranges at 120.3°-173.1°, the left knee angle ranges from 91.3° to 170.1°, the right knee angle is roughly the same as its range of variation. When the slope increased, the pressure change of left hind foot was consistent with that of the right anterior foot, and the pressure change of right hind foot was consistent with that of the left anterior foot. This demonstrated the theory of diagonal gait. Meanwhile, with the change of the slope, the plantar pressure of the limbs changes periodically. The research results verified the rationality of the four-legged bionic mechanism under various parameters, which can provide a theoretical basis for the design of agricultural walking mechanism to adapt different slopes in the hilly and mountainous areas. Keywords: bionic mechanisms, goat, slope, joint angle, pressure, stability DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181103.3633 Citation: Zhang F, Zheng L M, Wang W, Wang Y F, Wang J J. Development of agricultural bionic mechanisms: Investigation of the effects of joint angle and pressure on the stability of goats moving on sloping lands. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(3): 35–41.

Bionic Person for Issuing of RTO License

Bionic Person for Issuing of RTO License

Development of Surface-EMG Based Single Finger Movement Identification and Control for a Bionic Arm

Bionic arm is a robotic arm that offers many of human arm features such as hand grasp and release, flexionextension, elbow flexion-extension, supination-pronation etc. which is integrated with the nervous system and controlled by Electromyogram signals. Invasive and non-invasive methods are used to collect the EMG signal from amputees. In spite of difficulty caused by invasive methods, non-invasive methods are being opted in today's recent Bionic Arms. To overcome the some drawbacks of non-invasive methods proper classification algorithms has to be chosen for controlling individual finger movements in Bionic Arm. In this paper, initially various feature extraction; reduction and classification algorithms are implemented on EMG data of different subjects which is available from Ninapro database. From the results obtained, MAV algorithm for feature extraction, PCA algorithm for feature reduction and KNN algorithm for feature classification are chosen since they gave more accuracy compared to others after implementing on EMG data of different subjects. By employing this algorithms 95% accuracy is achieved for controlling individual finger movements in Bionic Arm. Response time between grasp and release actions of fingers in Bionic Arm obtained after implementing on processor is less than 1ms.

Bionic building of a super-hydrophobic structure of Chinese rose on a bamboo surface

To overcome defects such as cracks and deformation caused by moisture absorption of bamboo, a super-hydrophobic micro-nano structure of Chinese rose was built on bamboo surfaces through soft lithography using fresh Chinese rose petals as the template and polydimethylsiloxane for a seal. Scanning electron microscopy was used for the analysis. Results of the scanning electron microscopy and water contact angle (WCA) showed that the prepared Chinese-rose-like bamboo samples had a papillary micro structure and a groove shaped nanometer structure with rough surfaces like Chinese rose petals. The WCA of the replicated bamboo surface was 153.5° which was close to that of Chinese rose petals (157.5°), thereby expressing a super-hydrophobic property. At the same time, water droplets could be firmly attached to the surface of the bamboo. Even if the bamboo surfaces were turned 90° and 180°, water droplets did not roll off the bamboo, which showed favorable adhesion. Thus, the bamboo was super-hydrophobic with high adhesion similar to Chinese rose petals; in addition, the super-hydrophobic sample improved in adhesion with coatings.

Bionic eye will send images direct to the brain to restore sight

Abstract not availableBangladesh Med J. 2016 Sep; 45 (3): 178-179

Human mimetic forearm mechanism towards bionic arm.

The paper presents a mechanical forearm mechanism to extend the pronation and supination (P/S) movement of the trans-radial amputee when he/she is able to conduct the P/S motion partially with his/her remaining forearm. The P/S motions of the existing prostheses and robotic arms developed till now are completely different from those of the human. When we are to develop the robotic prostheses for the amputees, two important issues should be considered such as cosmetic issue to look like normal arm and motion harmony issue between robotic prosthesis and the amputated living arm. Most prostheses do not realize the human-like P/S motion, but the simple rotational motion at the wrist by using the electric motor. In this paper, the well-known spatial four-bar mechanism is adopted in order to mimic human P/S motion as if the person does, because it is one of the best candidates to describe actual human forearm movement. To obtain the design parameters of the mechanism, first, 3D data of the amputated arm as well as the opposite side non-amputated arm are captured by using MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and 3D scanner. The design parameters such as link lengths, joint locations, and volumetric shape are determined from the measured data. Second, mathematical analysis is performed to simulate one degree-of-freedom P/S motion realized from the spatial four-bar mechanism, and the simulation results are suggested to confirm whether or not it acts like the relative movement between human ulnar and radius bones. Finally the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism is verified through two ADL (activities of daily living) tests.

New Solutions for the Automatic Early Detection of Diseases in Vineyards Through Ground Sensing Approaches Integrating Lidar and Optical Sensors

Flavescence doree and Esca are two of the most important diseases that can affect grapevine. These diseases, if not properly treated in time, are the cause of vegetative stress or death of the attacked plant, with the consequence of losses in production as well as a rising risk of propagation to the closer grapevines. Nowadays, the detection of Flavescence doree and Esca is carried out manually through visual surveys usually done by agronomists. These activities require enormous amount of time. Up to now, a solution for a fast and early disease detection of these bacterial and fungal attack was not yet developed. Aim of this research was to test if the use of sensors typically employed in precision agriculture and robotics, mounted on different vehicles, can be a useful tool for crop monitoring purposes, principally for the recognition of disease symptoms. Therefore, two prototypes of a mobile laboratory, the ByeLab (Bionic eye laboratory) and the ATV- LAB, equipped with sensors, were tested on vineyards. The ByeLab is a remote controlled tracked vehicle, able to move between vineyards rows in an easy way also in case of difficult terrain conditions (such as slope or mud). An aluminum frame, specifically designed, was installed on the Byelab. Here, two Lidar sensors (one on the top and the other on the bottom) and six multispectral sensors (three per side, placed at different height) are fixed, respectively on frontal and lateral sides. Thanks to these sensors, the volume of the monitored grapevines and their NDVI were assessed. All the collected values are geo-localized thanks to the presence of a RTK-GNSS receiver, mounted on the top of the frame. Indeed, on the ATV-LAB only two multispectral sensors, one per side and positioned at the same height, and a RTK-GNSS receiver were installed on a support placed frontally. Both vehicles were equipped with a data-logger, in order to store all the collected data. With the aim to identify the grapevine diseases with these two solutions, a visive survey was also conducted to obtain a reference for a comparison. Through this survey, the presence of Flavescence doree and Esca were assessed and classified according to the stage of the infection. Also the empty spaces along the row, due to missing plants or to the presence of rootstocks, were monitored. From the comparison among manual survey and the assessed NDVI collected by the ByeLab and by the ATV- LAB, the preliminary results show a capability of these systems to detect respectively 80% and 40% of the low vigor condition, as well as diseases and plant absence. From these preliminary results, the ByeLab shows a pretty good capability to identify the presence of low vigor condition along the row.

Brain Computer Interface and its Applications – A Review

Brain Computer Interface(BCI) is a emerging research topic nowadays for researchers. Its significant addition ranging from medical applications to education, research area , marketing, games and entertainment etc. BCI provides a channel between brain of living creature and external machine. It is a process in which brain accepts a mechanical device either by invasive method or non-invasive method as its natural part and by processing of signals, various applications are evolved and created. This paper shows the system of BCI, hardware and software components of BCI with its huge applications like wheelchair, bionic eye, honda’s robot etc. At the end of this paper future work in BCI are discussed.

Influence of microRNA-28-3p on biological behariors of giant cell tumors of bone

Objective To determine the expression of microRNA (miRNA, miR)-28-3p in giant cell tumor of bone and its effect on the neoplasm biological behaviors. Methods The samples including tumor and adjacent normal tissues from 20 patients with giant cell tumor of bone were harvested. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) with Taqman probe technique and fluorescence in situ hybridization were applied to ascertain miR-28-3p expression in tumor tissue and adjacent normal tissues. Primary bone giant cell tumor stromal cells (GCTSCs) were used as target cells were transfected with miR-28-3p bionic agent and inhibitor, and microscopic observation and methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) test were applied to evaluate the influence of miR-28-3p on proliferative activity of GCTSCs. Results The real-time PCR tests showed that miR-28-3p expression in tumor tissue was significantly lower than that in peri-tumorous normal tissues (0.98±0.11 vs. 3.27±0.65, P=0.003). Fluorescence in situ hybridization showed lower fluorescence value inside tumor than that in adjacent normal tissues. After transfection of GCTSCs with miR-28 agomir, the cell proliferation activity and the cell counts were significantly reduced as compared with those in control group (0.63±0.12 vs. 1.02±0.14, P=0.024). On the contrary, after transfection GCTSCs with miR-28 antagomir, the cell proliferation activity and the cell counts were significantly increased as compared with those in control group (1.73±0.14 vs. 0.97±0.14, P=0.002). Conclusion MiR-28-3p is down-regulated in bone giant cell tumor, suggesting its antitumor effect. Key words: MicroRNA-28-3p; Giant cell tumor of bone; Gene expression

Progress Toward a “Bionic Pancreas” for Type 1 Diabetics

Currently available devices that link insulin pumps to continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) still require patients with diabetes to check their blood

A Right To Rational Juries? How Jury Instructions Create The “Bionic Juror” In Criminal Proceedings Involving DNA Match Evidence

A Right To Rational Juries? How Jury Instructions Create The “Bionic Juror” In Criminal Proceedings Involving DNA Match Evidence

Plant nanotechnology: Bionic plant can sense explosives.

Plant nanotechnology: Bionic plant can sense explosives.

Design and Experiment of Bionic Discrete Devices Based on Corn Threshing System

To study the bionic discrete principle of beak, a discrete roller model was designed in this study. An orthogonal experiment was then conducted with different parameters and discrete roller levels. Discrete rate and damage rate are used as evaluation indexes, and the variance analysis method is used to analyze the influence of factors including discrete roller speed, differential roller speed and vertical clearance on the discrete effects of corn ear. The combination of parameters with superior performance is optimized as follows: 250 r/min discrete roller speed, 100 r/min differential roller speed and 47.5 mm vertical clearance. Based on the mechanical properties between corn kernels, the working process of discrete roller is analyzed by using high-speed photography. It is found that discrete roller has effective result for threshing corn ear and the damage is low. This research can provide a bionic thought for designing corn threshing system.

Stability Analysis of Eggshells Subjected to External Pressure

The subject of the work is 5 goose eggshells. These goose eggshells are chosen with egg-shaped index about 0.69. Counter size of each goose eggshell is measured, including counter shape, major axis and minor axis. Both axial compression testing and external radial pressure testing of each goose eggshell are conducted. Then thickness and density of each goose eggshell are measured carefully with the use of corresponding measuring apparatus. Finally, buckling and strength of each goose eggshell are numerically analyzed with using finite element methods. Results show that strength rather than buckling is the main factor resulting in instability of goose eggshells. The research on goose eggshell could provide efficient bionic information for pressure hulls application in deep-sea manned submersible.

The modification research of bionic silk fibroin nerve guidance conduits by silk sericin

Objective To explore the modification of bionic silk fibroin nerve conduits (SF-NCs) by silk sericin. Methods The innovative SS/SF blended-NCs was fabricated by a vertical sequential cooling thermal induced phase separation (TIPS) processing with SF solution added sericin in proportion, its morphology was observed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to detect its internal molecular structure. MTT assay was used to quantitatively analyzed the PC12 cells viability co-cultured with the innovative SS/SF-NCs, SEM was used to observe the adhesion and morphology of PC12 cells seeded into the innovative SS/SF, PC12 cells were used to assess the NGF bioactivity released from the SS/SF. Results The SEM results showed that the new fabricated SS/SF-NCs had linearly oriented lamellar-like multiple-channel which distributed evenly, got great changes on the channel microstructure and their mechanical properties had been greatly improved, compared to SF-NCs. The XRD and FTIR results showed that the SS/SF-NCs had the similar internal molecular structure with natural silk. The spaces between parallel lamellar-like channels, porosities and compressive strengths of the SS/SF-NCs decreased with decreasing Sequential freezing temperature. MTT assay results showed that the viability of PC12 cell was better than the control group (P < 0.05). The SEM observation indicated that PC12 cells showed good adhesion and differentiation with neuritis outgrowth during the period of co-culture with the SS/SF-NCs. NGF release from the innovative SS/SF-NCs was prolonged over 4 weeks, and remained bioactive. Conclusion The new fabricated SS/SF-NCs modified though silk sericin, which was highly bionic the structure of peripheral nerve fasciculus, had excellent mechanical properties and could be used as another alternative of artificial nerve conduits. Key words: Nerve guidance conduits (NCs); Silk sericin/silk fibroin (SS/SF) blended; Bionic; Modification; Peripheral nerve

Three-dimensional scaffolds seeded with NeuroD1-modified neural stem cells for repair of spinal cord injury

Objective To investigate the role of three-dimensional scaffolds seeded with NeuroD1-modified neural stem cells (NSCs) for repair of spinal cord injury in rats. Methods A new three-dimensional bio-printer was used to make bionic spinal cord scaffolds. NSCs are transduced with retrovirus vectors encoding NeuroD1 to express transgenes in high levels. Forty healthy female SD rats were divided into control group, scaffold group, scaffold+ NSCs-green fluorescent protein (GFP) group and scaffold+ NSCs-NeuroD1 group with 10 rats per group, according to the random number table. Spinal cord injury in rats was induced using the electric controlled cortical impactor. A week later, the control group was excised 3 mm spinal cord at the injury site under microscope. RT-PCR was used to confirm the construction of NeuroD1 overexpressing NSCs. Survival and differentiation of transplanted NSCs were detected with fluorescent staining. Rat neurological motor function was evaluated with BBB score at postoperative 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. Rat electrophysiological changes were observed by monitoring motion evoked potential and sensory evoked potential at 8 weeks. Results RT-PCR results confirmed the successful reconstruction of NeuroD1-overexpressing NSCs. BBB score in scaffold+ NSCs-NeuroD1 group was the highest and had significant differences compared to other three groups (P<0.05). Electrophysiological results showed the motor and sensory in scaffold+ NSCs-NeuroD1 group had the shortest latencies and highest amplitudes, which revealed significant differences compared to other three groups (P<0.05). Immunofluorescence staining showed GFP cells in scaffold+ NSCs-NeuroD1 group at 8 weeks, which differentiated into neurons and astrocytes. GAP-43 was positively stained, and myelin formation was detected. Conclusion Three-dimensional scaffolds seeded with NeuroD1-modified NSCs can promote nerve loop reconstruction in spinal cord injury rats, and accelerate recovery of motor and sensory function. Key words: Spinal cord injuries; Neural stem cells; Bionic scaffold

Adsorption characteristics of droplets applied on non-smooth leaf surface of typical crops

To further understand the adsorption characteristics of different-type leaf surfaces adsorbing pesticide droplets and reveal the adsorption mechanism of pesticide droplets on non-smooth leaves, non-smooth leaves of 12 kinds of typical target plants were investigated in this study. The parameters of surface morphological characteristics were measured, which include contact angle between leaves and water droplets, water holding capacity surface tension, polar component, dispersion component and other quantitative range of indicators and variation by modern means. The relationships between the indicators and water holding capacity were investigated respectively. The experimental results show that the number of trichomes, epidermal wax, morphology and distribution characteristics have influences on adsorption characteristics of the water droplets. There is a negative correlation between free energy of obverse side and the water holding capacity (R=−0.447) while the free energy of reverse side and the water holding capacity show a positive correlation (R=0.212). Also, there is a negative correlation between polar component of obverse side and the water holding capacity (R=−0.357) while the polar component of reverse side and the water holding capacity in plant leaves show a positive correlation (R=0.149). The research can provide a scientific theory for reasonable spraying of pesticide in the agricultural production, and can be a reference for the development of pesticide adjuvants and bionic pesticides. Keywords: surface of plant leaves, adsorption characteristics, contact angle, water holding capacity, surface tension DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20160901.1022 Citation: Wang S J, Wang H J, Li C, Zhong X M, Huang H, Zhou Y J. Adsorption characteristics of droplets applied on non-smooth leaf surface of typical crops. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2016; 9(1): 35－41.

Bionic by Suzanne Weyn

Bionic by Suzanne Weyn