Design Of Robot Research Articles

Understanding Human-Robot Interactions with a Humanoid Robot

Human responses towards robots vary from excitement and acceptance to complete rejection, and as robots become more prevalent in personal and public spaces, understanding the factors that elicit those responses is important. This research explores the factors influencing these responses, specifically in the context of human-robot collaborative tasks. Under mechatronics and robotics, the study focuses on identifying behavioural features (like triggers or positive/negative eliciting actions) and human-designed robot algorithms that elicit different human reactions. It also examines how these features interact to shape human behaviour and emotions in stressful and calm situations. I developed a study in a simulated medical setting where participants are tasked with developing dialogue scripts for a social robot. The study utilizes the NAO robot and a programmable platform called the Robot Management System developed by RobotLab. Participants will program NAO to interact with a patient, perform a checkup, and decide on actions like writing a prescription or referring the patient to medical professionals. The experiment is designed to observe how the participant interacts with the robot to complete tasks and how the robot’s design impacts the participants' perception and interaction following and during tasks. While no experimental data has been collected due to pending ethics approval, the research will provide insights into human-robot interaction, including algorithm design. This study aims to enhance our understanding of human-robot relationships, contributing to developing robotic systems that can be effectively integrated into social environments, such as healthcare settings or similar environments. These insights may inform the design and deployment of robots to ensure they support rather than disrupt social dynamics.

Design and Validation of an Ambulatory User Support Gait Rehabilitation Robot: NIMBLE

Relearning to walk requires progressive training in real scenarios—overground—along with assistance in basic tasks, such as balancing. In addition, user ability must be maximized through compliant robotic assistance as needed. Despite decades of research, gait rehabilitation robotic devices yield controversial results. This article presents the conceptual design of a novel walking assistance and rehabilitation robot, the NIMBLE robot, aimed at providing ambulatory, bodyweight-supported gait training, assisting the user’s center of mass trajectory to aid weight transfer and dynamic balance during walking. NIMBLE consists of a robotic mobile frame, a partial bodyweight support (PBWS) system, an ambulatory lower-limb exoskeleton (Exo-H3) and a cable-driven pelvis-assisting robot. Designed as a modular structure, it differentiates hierarchical communication levels through a Robot Operating System (ROS) 2 network. We present the mechatronic design and experimental results assessing the impact of the mechatronic coupling between the robotic modules on the walking kinematics and the frame movement control performance. The robotic frame hardly affects the walking kinematics up to 2 degrees in both the sagittal and frontal planes, making it feasible for lateral balance and weight translation training. Moreover, it successfully tracks and follows user trajectories. The NIMBLE robotic frame assessment shows promising results for ambulatory gait rehabilitation.

Research on the Jet Distance Enhancement Device for Blueberry Harvesting Robots Based on the Dual-Ring Model

In China, most blueberry varieties are characterized by tightly clustered fruits, which pose challenges for achieving precise and non-destructive automated harvesting. This complexity limits the design of robots for this task. Therefore, this paper proposes adding a jetting step during harvesting to separate fruit clusters and increase the operational space for mechanical claws. First, a combined approach of flow field analysis and pressure-sensitive experiments was employed to establish design criteria for the number, diameter, and inclination angle parameters of two types of nozzles: flat tip and round tip. Furthermore, fruit was introduced, and a fluid–structure coupling method was employed to calculate the deformation of fruit stems. Simultaneously, a mechanical analysis was conducted to quantify the relationship between jet characteristics and separation gaps. Simulation and pressure-sensitive experiments show that as the number of holes increases and their diameter decreases, the nozzle’s convergence becomes stronger. The greater the inclination angle of the circular nozzle holes, the more the gas diverges. The analysis of the output characteristics of the working section indicates that the 8-hole 40° round nozzle is the optimal solution. At an air compressor working pressure of 0.5 MPa, force analysis and simulation results both show that it can increase the picking space for the mechanical claw by about 5–7 mm without damaging the blueberries in the jet area. The final field experiments show that the mean distance for Type I (mature fruit) is 5.41 mm, for Type II (red fruit) is 6.42 mm, and for Type III (green fruit) is 5.43 mm. The short and curved stems of the green fruit are less effective, but the minimum distance of 4.71 mm is greater than the claw wall thickness, meeting the design requirements.

Investigation of musculoskeletal symptoms, work postures, quantification of muscle activity, and estimation of grip/push forces among sonographers

AbstractDue to the physical nature of their work, sonographers are exposed to many musculoskeletal disorder risk factors, including awkward posture, repetitive movements, forceful manual exertion, and static muscle contractions, especially in the upper limbs. The current study is an investigation of musculoskeletal disorders among sonographers, caused by various occupational risk factors via different sonographic scan types. During the first phase of this study, the musculoskeletal symptoms and work postures of 29 subjects were investigated. During the second phase, muscle activity was quantified, and grip/push forces were estimated using the data obtained from 10 volunteer sonographers. 82% of sonographers experienced musculoskeletal symptoms. Based on the final scores and action levels obtained via rapid upper limb assessment, while performing scans of left regions; ergonomic changes and interventions were found necessary, to relieve stress on the sonographer's body. The results of muscular activity per muscle and scan type, showed that the mean muscle activity of the middle deltoid muscle was significantly higher during the right abdominal scan (17.64% maximum voluntary contraction [MVC]), compared to those of thyroid (12.54% MVC) and left abdominal (7.32% MVC) scans. Additionally, mean grip and push forces during both abdominal scans were significantly higher than those during the thyroid scan. Despite an injury risk during all scans, risk factor impact was different among scan types. This groundbreaking study represents the first that captures and measures both grip and push forces simultaneously, which may prove helpful while investigating corrective interventions or optimizing design of sonography robots and ergonomic probes in future studies.

Mechanism design and mechanical analysis of pipeline inspection robot

Purpose This study aims to address the issues of limited pipe diameter adaptability and low inspection efficiency of current pipeline inspection robots, a new type of pipeline inspection robot capable of adapting to various pipe diameters was designed. Design/methodology/approach The diameter-changing mechanism uses a multilink elastic telescopic structure consisting of telescopic rods, connecting rods and wheel frames, driven by a single motor with a helical drive scheme. A geometric model of the position relationships of the hinge points was established based on the two extreme positions of the diameter-changing mechanism. Findings A pipeline inspection robot was designed using a simple linkage agency, which significantly reduced the weight of the robot and enhanced its adaptive pipe diameter ability. The analysis determined that the robot could accommodate pipe diameters ranging from 332 mm to 438 mm. A static equilibrium equation was established for the robot in the hovering state, and the minimum pressing force of the wheels against the pipe wall was determined to be 36.68 N. After experimental testing, the robots could successfully pass a height of 15 mm, demonstrating the good obstacle capacity of the robot. Practical implications This paper explores and proposes a new type of multilink elastic telescopic variable diameter pipeline inspection robot, which has the characteristics of strong adaptability and flexible operation, which makes it more competitive in the field of pipeline inspection robots and has great potential market value. Originality/value The robot is characterized by the innovative design of a multilink elastic telescopic structure and the use of a single motor to drive the wheel for spiral motion. On the basis of reducing the weight of the robot, it has good pipeline adaptability, climbing ability and obstacle-crossing ability.

Development of a Novel Retinal Surgery Robot Based on Spatial Variable Remote Center-of-Motion Mechanism

Abstract This article reports the design, modeling, and experiments of a novel retinal surgery robot based on spatial variable remote center-of-motion (RCM) mechanism. The general design criteria for parallel mechanisms are proposed, and the planar five-bar mechanisms are evaluated and selected. The planar-spatial evolution process, including the parallel connection of the planar mechanism and the equivalent substitution of joints, is adopted to develop a spatial variable RCM mechanism and then the robot. The mobility and singularity of the robot are analyzed, and the forward/inverse kinematics and workspace are modeled. Dimension optimization is conducted based on a comprehensive performance indicator that characterizes the motion range of linear actuators and the global dexterity performance index of robot. The prototyped robot is fabricated and assembled, and the kinematic calibration is performed. The position error of end-effector is within 34 μm, and both the position error and deviation of the RCM point are within 23 μm. The robot is demonstrated to reach the desired position and execute the RCM motion with high precision simultaneously.

NIR-II light-encoded 4D-printed magnetic shape memory composite for real-time reprogrammable soft actuator

For the intelligent 4D-printed actuators, the excellent performance, including quickly reversible spatial-shape transformation and locking, digital and precise shape manipulation in real-time, and remote actuation in special spaces or harsh environments, is significantly desirable but still challenging. Here, using a UV-curable system containing the shape memory polymer (SMP) and NdFeB particles, namely the magSMP composite, we fabricate a real-time reprogrammable soft actuator via high-resolution Digital Light Processing (DLP)-based 4D printing. The printed structure is composed of an array of physical binary magSMP composite elements (m-bits), analogous to digital bits. Owing to the NdFeB's photothermal effect, each m-bit can be independently and reversibly switched between unlocking or locking states (allowing or prohibiting responsive shape-morphing) in response to the on/off state of NIR-II light. Through projecting NIR-II light patterns for encoding a set of binary instructions onto 4D-printed actuators, the real-time light-programmed deformations are induced precisely under an actuation magnetic field due to the NdFeB's huge coercivity. Thus, the synergistic magnetic and light field-manipulated multimodal deformations of actuators, including mimosa shape changing, grasping, and wire guiding, are achieved. This study shines lights on the fabrication of soft structures of arbitrary sizes and provides their future perspectives in soft robot design.

Finger Multi-Joint Trajectory Measurement and Kinematics Analysis Based on Machine Vision

A method for measuring multi-joint finger trajectories is proposed using MediaPipe. In this method, a high-speed camera is used to record finger movements. Subsequently, the recorded finger movement data are input into MediaPipe, where the system automatically extracts the coordinate data of the key points in the finger movements. From this, we obtain data pertaining to the trajectory of the finger movements. In order to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of this experimental method, we compared it with the DH method and the Artificial keypoint alignment method in terms of metrics such as MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error), maximum distance error, and the time taken to process 500 images. The results demonstrated that our method can detect multiple finger joints in a natural, efficient, and accurate manner. Then, we measured posture for three selected hand movements. We determined the position coordinates of the joints and calculated the angular acceleration of the joint rotation. We observed that the angular acceleration can fluctuate significantly over a very short period of time (less than 100 ms), in some cases increasing to more than ten times the initial acceleration. This finding underscores the complexity of finger joint movements. This study can provide support and reference for the design of finger rehabilitation robots and dexterous hands.

Robot para la educación inclusiva

This study focuses on the design, development and evaluation of an educational mobile robot, called Robot-T2, to be used in educational activities within a technical school. The main objective was to create a versatile platform that allows students to explore programming, engineering and science concepts in a practical and collaborative way. The methodology included an iterative design and testing approach, incorporating feedback from students and teachers to continually improve the functionality of the robot. The tests covered autonomous navigation, line following and object manipulation, using the OnBotJava programming software and the Control-Hub as the main interface. The results demonstrated that the Robot-T2 is highly efficient and adaptable in various educational contexts, showing remarkable precision in navigation and manipulation of objects. The design iterations significantly improved the robot's performance, enriching the educational experience and promoting active learning. In conclusion, educational robotics, represented by the Robot-T2, has great potential to enrich the teaching and learning process in technical schools, promoting teamwork, problem solving and the integration of technology in the classroom. It is hoped that this project will inspire future developments in educational robotics.

Design and Development of a Wall-Pressed Robot for In-Pipe Inspection

Design and Development of a Wall-Pressed Robot for In-Pipe Inspection

Multifunctional double network hydrogel with multi-directional actuation and high-precision sensing

Conductive hydrogels have gained great attention for applications in flexible electronics, electronic skins, and as human-machine interfaces. However, poor environmental tolerance of traditional hydrogels and defects in hydrogel actuator make them unfit for use in certain environments. Herein, a small natural molecule, proline (ZP), was introduced into the PAA/CS dual network system to prepare multifunctional hydrogel materials with high concentration of physically crosslinked metal coordination points. The elongation at break and mechanical strength of the hydrogel with optimized structure were 1277 % and 202 kPa, respectively. The effect of ZP on the destruction of hydrogen bonds of free water in the hydrogel provided the hydrogel with excellent temperature resistance. Multiple reversible interactions endowed the PAA/CS/Al0.5/ZP8 hydrogel with excellent self-healing properties at room temperature and even at −40 ℃. The PAA/CS/Al0.5/ZP8 hydrogel sensor with excellent comprehensive performance could be applied for the monitoring of a variety of human motions, small shape changes of flexible objects, and detection of vibrations in rigid pipes. The interactions between Fe3+, ascorbic acid, and -COOH groups on the hydrogel surface were used to record information and erase it repeatedly at low temperature and showed excellent shape memory. Based on the self-healing property, the hydrogel with gradients of swelling rates and water loss rates was assembled into a double-layer actuator, which could complete the actuation process in opposite directions in air and also underwater. This work provides a new idea for the design of soft robots and intelligent switches.

Kresling Origami With Differentiation Flaw Design for Multidirectional Crawling Robot

Kresling Origami With Differentiation Flaw Design for Multidirectional Crawling Robot

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND HYBRID IMPEDANCE CONTROL OF AN ANKLE REHABILITATION ROBOT

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND HYBRID IMPEDANCE CONTROL OF AN ANKLE REHABILITATION ROBOT

Methodology for Design of Hydrogen Robot for Medical Needs

The paper examines the concept of creating a Collaborative Service Robot powered by a Hydrogen Fuel Cell designed to assist in medical facilities. The characteristics of this robot are analyzed and its advantages are highlighted, from the point of view of ecological operation and long life during the patient service activities in a hospital facility. Some key features and benefits of Hydrogen Fuel Cell-powered robots are compared to battery-powered robots and the positives in this comparison are shown. The advantages of modern Collaborative Robots used as Service Robots in inpatient service processes in a hospital are presented. It shows the possibility, based on the competence and expertise of the authors in the field of Service Mobile Collaborative Robots, to create and implement one for the needs of human service in medical facilities, which will be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The main characteristics of the created mobile collaborative service robots of the ``AnRI'' series (Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence) are briefly indicated, where ``AnRI-1'' is equipped with a manipulator with a three-finger gripper, and ``AnRI-2'' is an information robot equipped with a large screen on top. The article analyzes the process of creating these collaborative robots, realizing several important elements of the control system, such as its development with elements of Artificial Intelligence. The advantages of hydrogen power and increased reliability of the general complex of systems in these Collaborative Mobile Robots and their possibility to be used effectively in the realization of medical care are emphasized.

A Military Application Robot (Design and Implementation) that Works as a Mine and Gas Detector

A Military Application Robot (Design and Implementation) that Works as a Mine and Gas Detector

Plant Movement Response to Environmental Mechanical Stimulation Toward Understanding Predator Defense.

Plants are fascinating living systems, possessing starkly different morphology to mammals, yet they have still evolved ways to defend themselves, consume prey, communicate, and in the case of plants like Mimosa pudica even move in response to a variety of stimuli. The complex physiological pathways driving this are of great interest, though many questions remain. In this work, a known responsive plant, M. pudica is mechanically stimulated, in terms of wounding via removal of pinnae, nonwounding mechanical poking, and nonwounding pulses of air through a designed small nozzle approach. Removal of clusters called pinnae resulted in rapid, asymmetric response in the adjacent pinnae, while mechanical poking and air pulse responses are slower and more localized. Additionally, while the response from poking propagated across the plant, wind stimuli consistently resulted in the actuation of only the leaflets directly stimulated, suggesting unique sensing mechanisms. Mechanical damage may imply a potential predator, while mechanical stimulation from airflow may be processed as wind, which is of little danger. These findings demonstrate an intricate, stimulant-dependent mechanical sensing process, which is important in plant physiology, mechanobiology, and future biohybrid soft robotic designs.

Automated External Bone Fixation Robot Design and Orthopedic Analysis

Background: Bone external fixation technology is an important therapeutic approach for limb correction, primarily involving a class of external fixation correction mechanisms. It has achieved good results in limb lengthening and correcting deformities to restore limb function. In clinical practice, existing correction mechanisms face challenges such as high resistance between components, complex installation procedures, and high precision requirements for installation, requiring manual adjustment by physicians, which limits precise control and quantification of correction parameters. Objective: To address these issues, an automated correction bone external fixation robot was designed based on traditional Ilizarov external fixation devices(TIEFD). Methods: By increasing the number of unidirectional hinge connections, the robot can effectively reduce motion resistance. Subsequently, the robot was combined with the tibia for correction motion simulation, obtaining the motion parameters θ of the deformed bones during the correction process based on the trajectory of the tibia's point mass. Finally, correction motion experiments and finite element analysis(FEA) were conducted on the robot combined with a control system. Results: The results showed that the robot could precisely control correction parameters, with the error range for rotational correction not exceeding 0.5 radians and the error range for traction correction not exceeding 0.2 mm. FAE, based on corrective force data, concluded that compared to (TIEFD), the robot could reduce bone stress by 16 MPa during the correction process. Conclusion: The robot effectively reduces patient discomfort, this provides a reliable theoretical basis for bone external fixation technology and holds positive significance for the treatment of skeletal deformities.

From “Made In” to Mukokuseki: Exploring the Visual Perception of National Identity in Robots

People read human characteristics into the design of social robots, a visual process with socio-cultural implications. One factor may be nationality, a complex social characteristic that is linked to ethnicity, culture, and other factors of identity that can be embedded in the visual design of robots. Guided by social identity theory (SIT), we explored the notion of “mukokuseki,” a visual design characteristic defined by the absence of visual cues to national and ethnic identity in Japanese cultural exports. In a two-phase categorization study (n=212), American (n=110) and Japanese (n=92) participants rated a random selection of nine robot stimuli from America and Japan, plus multinational Pepper. We found evidence of made-in and two kinds of mukokuseki effects. We offer suggestions for the visual design of mukokuseki robots that may interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Our findings have implications for robots and social identity, the viability of robotic exports, and the use of robots internationally.

User-centered Social Interaction Design in Intelligent Personal Assistants and Social Robots

User-centered design practices are used to develop the social interaction characteristics of intelligent personal assistants and social robots. In this approach, developers establish characteristics favored by the majority of users. However, catering to target users may negate the benefits in user experience and use intention achieved from matching a product’s characteristics to the preferences of individual users. The present study examines differences between target versus individual user based approaches to user-centered design. Specifically, a framework is presented on how to develop a product to meet individual user preferences. Results show that individual user preferences, while similar to the target user preferences, can vary significantly from the baseline. Machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches should be employed to help adjust social interaction approaches from a baseline to individual user preferences.

Investigation of axis-fitting-based measurement and identification techniques for kinematic parameters in multi-joint industrial robots

To improve the positioning accuracy of industrial robots and meet the requirements of industrial applications, this study begins with the structural design of multi-jointed industrial robots and proposes a kinematic calibration method based on axis fitting. The proposed method introduces an axis fitting technique based on circle fitting. Utilizing the results of the axis fitting, a method for establishing link coordinate systems by referencing the Modified Denavit-Hartenberg (MD-H) model is presented. Subsequently, a kinematic parameter identification method is proposed. This study primarily investigates the impact of joint rotation angles on the accuracy of axis fitting. The study reveals that when the rotation angle is greater than or equal to 20°, the circularity of the circle fitting is less than 0.008 mm, and the planarity is less than 0.01 mm, indicating that the proposed fitting algorithm meets the required precision for small angle rotations. Finally, the positioning accuracy of the target robot is verified according to ISO 9283:1998. After calibration, the positioning accuracy at point P1 improves from 1.64 mm to 0.46 mm, an enhancement of 71.95 %, which is the most significant improvement. At point P2, the positioning accuracy improves from 1.75 mm to 0.69 mm, an enhancement of 60.5 %, which is the least improvement. The advantage of this method lies in its ability to identify kinematic parameters that align with the actual structure of the robot using a simple measurement method, thereby improving the robot's positioning accuracy.