Use Of Robots Research Articles

Preclinical evaluation of a surgical assistant robot for use in minimally invasive abdominal surgeries

Preclinical evaluation of a surgical assistant robot for use in minimally invasive abdominal surgeries

Soft Robots: Computational Design, Fabrication, and Position Control of a Novel 3-DOF Soft Robot

This paper presents the computational design, fabrication, and control of a novel 3-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) soft parallel robot. The design is inspired by a delta robot structure. It is engineered to overcome the limitations of traditional soft serial robot arms, which are typically low in structural stiffness and blocking force. Soft robotic systems are becoming increasingly popular due to their inherent compliance match to that of human body, making them an efficient solution for applications requiring direct contact with humans. The proposed soft robot consists of three soft closed-loop kinematic chains, each of which includes a soft actuator and a compliant four-bar arm. The complex nonlinear dynamics of the soft robot are numerically modeled, and the model is validated experimentally using a 6-DOF electromagnetic position sensor. This research contributes to the growing body of literature in the field of soft robotics, providing insights into the computational design, fabrication, and control of soft parallel robots for use in a variety of complex applications.

Nuclear power plant pipeline detection robot based on a new radiation-proof material

Soft robots are gradually gaining recognition in recent years for their ability to work in extreme environments. However, radiation shielding is a major issue when designing soft robots for use in nuclear environments. In this paper we present an effective soft robot design and develop new radiation shielding materials that enable the robot to perform a variety of tasks in the complex pipelines of a nuclear power plant while being sufficiently radiation shielded. To achieve this, we used a mixture of silicone and lead powder with excellent radiation shielding capabilities and designed and built a soft robot prototype consisting of multiple pneumatic actuators and a resin frame. It is capable of moving through complex pipelines and performing inspection tasks, while also providing radiation shielding for the internal components of the robot. Finite element simulations and prototype experiments were then carried out to evaluate the robot's performance in various scenarios. Simulation results show that the soft robot is able to perform inspection of nuclear power plant pipelines efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, the radiation shielding provided by the radiation-proof material is effective in protecting the internal components of the robot from radiation exposure. In conclusion, we have successfully developed a soft robot prototype that is capable of performing pipeline inspections in extreme environments such as nuclear power plants, while providing adequate radiation shielding. The proposed approach can be extended to other soft robotics applications in the nuclear environment and has the potential to improve the safety and efficiency of nuclear power plant operations.

Optimizing the performance of a wheeled mobile robots for use in agriculture using a linear-quadratic regulator

Use of wheeled mobile robot systems could be crucial in addressing some of the future issues facing agriculture. However, robot systems on wheels are currently unstable and require a control mechanism to increase stability, resulting in much research requirement to develop an appropriate controller algorithm for wheeled mobile robot systems. Proportional, integral, derivative (PID) controllers are currently widely used for this purpose, but the PID approach is frequently inappropriate due to disruptions or fluctuations in parameters. Other control approaches, such as linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) control, can be used to address some of the issues associated with PID controllers. In this study, a kinematic model of a four-wheel skid-steering mobile robot was developed to test the functionality of LQR control. Three scenarios (control cheap, non-zero state expensive; control expensive, non-zero state cheap; only non-zero state expensive) were examined using the characteristics of the wheeled mobile robot. Peak time, settling time, and rising time for cheap control based on these scenarios was found to be 0.1 s, 7.82 s, and 4.39 s, respectively.

Development of a low-cost upper-body rehabilitation robot for home use.

The inability to use one's hands or arms greatly restricts the ability to perform daily activities. After a developmental or acquired injury, the intensity and frequency of rehabilitation exercises are essential. To alleviate the burden on the healthcare system, robotic systems have been developed to support clinicians' interventions. However, these systems are often bulky and expensive, limiting their use to specific clinical settings and making them impractical for home use. This paper presents the development of an affordable and easy to install 2-DOF five-bar linkage robot designed to be used at home. This work aims to reduce the cost of the robot through actuation optimization, mechanical optimization and 3D printing. The architecture and links length are chosen to optimize the robot's performance in the required workspace. Using sensor feedback, impedance control algorithms and multiple types of exercise such as virtual walls guidance are implemented. Finally, a user interface was programmed to facilitate the robot's use.

Design Optimization of a Hybrid-Driven Soft Surgical Robot with Biomimetic Constraints.

The current study investigated the geometry optimization of a hybrid-driven (based on the combination of air pressure and tendon tension) soft robot for use in robot-assisted intra-bronchial intervention. Soft robots, made from compliant materials, have gained popularity for use in surgical interventions due to their dexterity and safety. The current study aimed to design a catheter-like soft robot with an improved performance by minimizing radial expansion during inflation and increasing the force exerted on targeted tissues through geometry optimization. To do so, a finite element analysis (FEA) was employed to optimize the soft robot's geometry, considering a multi-objective goal function that incorporated factors such as chamber pressures, tendon tensions, and the cross-sectional area. To accomplish this, a cylindrical soft robot with three air chambers, three tendons, and a central working channel was considered. Then, the dimensions of the soft robot, including the length of the air chambers, the diameter of the air chambers, and the offsets of the air chambers and tendon routes, were optimized to minimize the goal function in an in-plane bending scenario. To accurately simulate the behavior of the soft robot, Ecoflex 00-50 samples were tested based on ISO 7743, and a hyperplastic model was fitted on the compression test data. The FEA simulations were performed using the response surface optimization (RSO) module in ANSYS software, which iteratively explored the design space based on defined objectives and constraints. Using RSO, 45 points of experiments were generated based on the geometrical and loading constraints. During the simulations, tendon force was applied to the tip of the soft robot, while simultaneously, air pressure was applied inside the chamber. Following the optimization of the geometry, a prototype of the soft robot with the optimized values was fabricated and tested in a phantom model, mimicking simulated surgical conditions. The decreased actuation effort and radial expansion of the soft robot resulting from the optimization process have the potential to increase the performance of the manipulator. This advancement led to improved control over the soft robot while additionally minimizing unnecessary cross-sectional expansion. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the optimization methodology for refining the soft robot's design and highlights its potential for enhancing surgical interventions.

A Virtual Mecanum Wheeled Robot ROS Simulator for Multi-view and Self-Following Motion Capture

Motion capture (Mocap) on the go based on a mobile platform is valuable for clinical studies and rehabilitation. For multi-view gait analysis, Mecanum wheeled robots offer advantages over traditional differential drive robots. However, control issues in multi-view human tracking using Mecanum robots remain unexplored and lack a suitable virtual environment. This paper introduces a virtual Robot Operating System (ROS) environment with a Gazebo simulator as a research tool for multi-view human tracking on a Mecanum wheeled robot. The simulation incorporates a Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID) controller and Kalman filter to maintain expected positional distance and relative viewing angles to the target. Our case study presents a quantitative evaluation of results obtained from the virtual environment for two specific tracking modes on a Mecanum wheeled robot: back-view following and side-view following with and without Kalman filtering. By optimizing the system, we decreased the distance error in backward following from 0.22 m to 0.12 m, and the angle error from 12.2° to 5.3°. Similarly, for side following, the distance error decreased from 0.32 m to 0.14 m, and the angle error reduced from 13.4° to 6.2°. These experimental results demonstrate that our approach enhances the accuracy of both tracking methods by over 50%. This work provides a necessary steppingstone for the development of human-tracking Mecanum wheeled robots for use in a clinical setting, providing a virtual environment for algorithmic development thereby eliminating wear on the hardware to be used in the clinical setting.

XBot2D: towards a robotics hybrid cloud architecture for field robotics.

Nowadays, robotics applications requiring the execution of complex tasks in real-world scenarios are still facing many challenges related to highly unstructured and dynamic environments in domains such as emergency response and search and rescue where robots have to operate for prolonged periods trading off computational performance with increased power autonomy and vice versa. In particular, there is a crucial need for robots capable of adapting to such settings while at the same time providing robustness and extended power autonomy. A possible approach to overcome the conflicting demand of a computational performing system with the need for long power autonomy is represented by cloud robotics, which can boost the computational capabilities of the robot while reducing the energy consumption by exploiting the offload of resources to the cloud. Nevertheless, the communication constraint due to limited bandwidth, latency, and connectivity, typical of field robotics, makes cloud-enabled robotics solutions challenging to deploy in real-world applications. In this context, we designed and realized the XBot2D software architecture, which provides a hybrid cloud manager capable of dynamically and seamlessly allocating robotics skills to perform a distributed computation based on the current network condition and the required latency, and computational/energy resources of the robot in use. The proposed framework leverage on the two dimensions, i.e., 2D (local and cloud), in a transparent way for the user, providing support for Real-Time (RT) skills execution on the local robot, as well as machine learning and A.I. resources on the cloud with the possibility to automatically relocate the above based on the required performances and communication quality. XBot2D implementation and its functionalities are presented and validated in realistic tasks involving the CENTAURO robot and the Amazon Web Service Elastic Computing Cloud (AWS EC2) infrastructure with different network conditions.

Global trends and hotspots in the digital therapeutics of autism spectrum disorders: a bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2022.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that has become a major cause of disability in children. Digital therapeutics (DTx) delivers evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients that are driven by software to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease. This study objectively analyzed the current research status of global DTx in ASD from 2002 to 2022, aiming to explore the current global research status and trends in the field. The Web of Science database was searched for articles about DTx in ASD from January 2002 to October 2022. CiteSpace was used to analyze the co-occurrence of keywords in literature, partnerships between authors, institutions, and countries, the sudden occurrence of keywords, clustering of keywords over time, and analysis of references, cited authors, and cited journals. A total of 509 articles were included. The most productive country and institution were the United States and Vanderbilt University. The largest contributing authors were Warren, Zachary, and Sarkar, Nilanjan. The most-cited journal was the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The most-cited and co-cited articles were Brian Scarselati (Robots for Use in Autism Research, 2012) and Ralph Adolphs (Abnormal processing of social information from faces in autism, 2001). "Artificial Intelligence," "machine learning," "Virtual Reality," and "eye tracking" were common new and cutting-edge trends in research on DTx in ASD. The use of DTx in ASD is developing rapidly and gaining the attention of researchers worldwide. The publications in this field have increased year by year, mainly concentrated in the developed countries, especially in the United States. Both Vanderbilt University and Yale University are very important institutions in the field. The researcher from Vanderbilt University, Warren and Zachary, his dynamics or achievements in the field is also more worth our attention. The application of new technologies such as virtual reality, machine learning, and eye-tracking in this field has driven the development of DTx on ASD and is currently a popular research topic. More cross-regional and cross-disciplinary collaborations are recommended to advance the development and availability of DTx.

A novel 10 kV high-voltage cable stripping robot’s mechanism design and analysis

AbstractA 10 kV distribution network is critical for ensuring power supply to residents and factories. The number of power maintenance operations is rapidly increasing, and aerial cable stripping is a significant branch of these routine maintenances. High-voltage cable stripping, on the other hand, is mostly done manually, which is inefficient and poses serious security risks. As a result, this paper proposes an automatic wire stripping robot for use in a 10 kV power grid. The mechanical structure of the stripping robot is designed for installation on the insulating rod based on the working environment of 10 kV overhead cables. The robot was subjected to electromagnetic field simulation, modal analysis, and rigid-flexible coupling analysis. Finally, the robot prototype is built, and the PID controller is designed. Stripping tests are performed on a cable with a cross-sectional area of 95, 120, 150, 240, and 300 mm2, and the results are satisfactory.

Preclinical evaluation of the Versius surgical system: A next-generation surgical robot for use in minimal access prostate surgery.

To evaluate the Versius surgical system for robot-assisted prostatectomy in a preclinical cadaveric model using varying system setups and collect surgeon feedback on the performance of the system and instruments, in line with IDEAL-D recommendations. Procedures were performed in cadaveric specimens by consultant urological surgeons to evaluate system performance in completing the surgical steps required for a prostatectomy. Procedures were conducted using either a 3-arm or 4-arm bedside unit (BSU) setup. Optimal port placements and BSU layouts were determined and surgeon feedback collected. Procedure success was defined as the satisfactory completion of all steps of the procedure, according to the operating surgeon. All four prostatectomies were successfully completed; two were completed with a 3-arm BSU setup and two using a 4-arm BSU setup. Small adjustments were made to the port and BSU positioning, according to surgeon preference, in order to complete the surgical steps. The surgeons noted some instrument difficulties with the Monopolar Curved Scissor tip and the Needle Holders, which were subsequently refined between the first and second sessions of the study, in line with surgeon feedback. Three cystectomies were also successfully completed, demonstrating the capability of the system to perform additional urological procedures. This study provides a preclinical assessment of a next-generation surgical robot for prostatectomies. All procedures were completed successfully, and port and BSU positions were validated, thus supporting the progression of the system to further clinical development according to the IDEAL-D framework.

Development of a percussion inspection mechanism for a Residential Inspection Robot for use in narrow spaces.

Development of a percussion inspection mechanism for a Residential Inspection Robot for use in narrow spaces.

Humanoid robotic system for grasping and manipulation in decontamination tasks

Abstract The disposal of nuclear waste poses a long-standing problem, which has been conventionally handled by human workers. This includes carrying heavy objects, exposure to radiation, and decontamination in full-body protective suits. To improve the working conditions and safety of the workers, robot systems can contribute to tackling some of these problems. So far, most robots in use are manually teleoperated and lack autonomy. To this end, we propose a fully autonomous decontamination setup with the humanoid robot ARMAR-6 [T. Asfour, M. Wächter, L. Kaul, et al., “ARMAR-6: a high-performance humanoid for human-robot collaboration in real world scenarios,” IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag., vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 108–121, 2019] that can manipulate unknown objects as a first important step of decontamination without the need for human intervention.

Adoption of autonomous robots in the soft fruit sector: Grower perspectives in the UK

The effects of changing geopolitics, demographic change, and COVID-19 have caused significant disruption to labour in the agricultural sector around the world. In the UK, the challenges to free movement of labour and safe working conditions caused by COVID-19 have exacerbated the labour shortage caused by Brexit. In these circumstances, the use of autonomous robots in those sectors hardest hit by labour shortages, such as soft fruit, is being considered as a potential solution. Autonomous robots for use in the high value crop sector, including soft fruit, are at varying stages of technology readiness with robots for disease treatment, packhouse, and logistic support already commercially used and robots for picking approaching a demonstration phase. However, the pathway to implementation is not determined by technology readiness alone, but rather by the intention and ability of growers to adopt. To date, there has been limited investigation of the views of soft fruit growers towards the introduction of autonomous robots in the sector. We used a mixed methods approach, utilising a grower survey and qualitative interviews conducted in the UK, to explore the factors affecting adoption of autonomous robots on soft fruit farms. In general, the survey shows that growers are optimistic about the prospects of autonomous robots on soft fruit farms, although not necessarily in the short-term and there are several factors affecting uptake, particularly cost and infrastructure, as well as issues such as data ownership, cybersecurity, skills, and trust. We reflect on our findings in the context of existing research on technology adoption by growers and make a series of industry and policy recommendations which have global relevance.

The trustworthy and acceptable HRI checklist (TA-HRI): questions and design recommendations to support a trust-worthy and acceptable design of human-robot interaction

This contribution to the journal Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) presents a checklist of questions and design recommendations for designing acceptable and trustworthy human-robot interaction (HRI). In order to extend the application scope of robots towards more complex contexts in the public domain and in private households, robots have to fulfill requirements regarding social interaction between humans and robots in addition to safety and efficiency. In particular, this results in recommendations for the design of the appearance, behavior, and interaction strategies of robots that can contribute to acceptance and appropriate trust. The presented checklist was derived from existing guidelines of associated fields of application, the current state of research on HRI, and the results of the BMBF-funded project RobotKoop. The trustworthy and acceptable HRI checklist (TA-HRI) contains 60 design topics with questions and design recommendations for the development and design of acceptable and trustworthy robots. The TA-HRI Checklist provides a basis for discussion of the design of service robots for use in public and private environments and will be continuously refined based on feedback from the community.

Concept of Human-like Welfare Meal Assistance Robot System

An increase in the number of elderly population and caregiver shortage due to the aging population and declining birthrate is one of the social issues that need solutions nowadays. It causes a decline in the quality of the nursing home as well. One of the essential services in nursing homes is meal assistance. Caregivers often serve meals to patients or elderly people. There are also other scenes where elderly people need help in everyday life. These years, with the pandemic of new viruses, Outbreaks in crowded places have been known as a significant social problem. Particularly in nursing homes, caregivers must get close to elderly people to take care of them. It can be a cause of a disruption in the nursing home environment. For these reasons, the issue we mentioned above needs to be resolved. In this study, we attempted the development of an automatic meal-assistance robot for use in nursing homes. Instead of caregivers, it serves contactless meal service to elderly people. The automated meal-assistance robot’s arm has a simple robotic structure. And the robot system has functions to detect swallowing, serve drinking water, and other features which control the robot to work safely for elderly people, as caregivers do for their services. The meal-assistance robot systematically assists nursing services for elderly people. The robot system provides a safe meal-assistance service that helps elderly people and caregivers with contactless meal services. This robot automates meal-assistance services. It is effective in the shortage of caregivers and the pandemic of new viruses in nursing homes.

Trajectory Tracking of Autonomous Driving Tricycle Robot with Fuzzy Control

Autonomous-driving mobile robots are currently the subject of extensive studies. Trajectory tracking, one of the most critical tasks in mobile robotics, has found many applications in industry, transportation, and other fields. The present work focuses on application of autonomous driving of tricycle robots for use in Precision Agriculture (PA). Employment of autonomous robots in agriculture helps to optimize inputs and increase cropping management efficiency while protecting resources and environment. This paper aims to develop a fuzzy control method for guidance of a tricycle robot according to a trajectory prescription. Firstly, a kinematic model of a tricycle robot was designed and implemented using a fuzzy logic algorithm for control of the robot navigation. Finally, the model has been tested in MATLAB Simulink to show its performance in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Results showed that is possible to maintain the tracking error at 0.2 m by carrying out a straight-line displacement of the robot.

V07-12 INDOCYANINE GREEN ANGIOGRAPHY FOR USE IN ROBOTIC SPERMATIC CORD DENERVATION

You have accessJournal of UrologySexual Dysfunction & Transgender (V07)1 Sep 2021V07-12 INDOCYANINE GREEN ANGIOGRAPHY FOR USE IN ROBOTIC SPERMATIC CORD DENERVATION Alan Makedon, Jeffrey Morrison, and Granville Lloyd Alan MakedonAlan Makedon More articles by this author , Jeffrey MorrisonJeffrey Morrison More articles by this author , and Granville LloydGranville Lloyd More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002034.12AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Chronic orchialgia continues to be a challenge for urologists to treat and for patients to live with. Currently, conservative treatment (rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, antidepressants) is the first line therapy for men struggling with chronic orchialgia. However, when these approaches fail, alternative therapies are required. Before resorting to orchiectomy, microsurgical spermatic cord denervation (MSCD) has been shown to significantly decrease pain with few side effects for the correctly-selected patient. Accurate microsurgical technique and especially avoidance of arterial injury is critical, especially for novice surgeons as well as in cases with aberrant anatomy. In this video presentation, we describe the novel use of indocyanine green (ICG) angiography in correlation with Doppler during robotic MSCD for the purpose of arterial localization and verification of preservation. METHODS: Robotic MSCD was performed in 10 cases of chronic orchialgia following failed conservative treatment and after a successful anesthetic cord block in the office. The procedure consists of a few distinct steps: division of the cremasteric muscle, isolation of the vas deferens and division of the central adipose tissue. ICG was injected twice in each procedure: to identify the testicular artery during central dissection and to confirm preservation of the artery at conclusion. Micro-doppler was used adjunctly to confirm findings. RESULTS: In all 10 patients, ICG angiography successfully identified the location and course of the testicular artery, including in cases of aberrant and re-operative anatomy. Doppler assessment confirmed this. CONCLUSIONS: ICG angiography during robotic MSCD is a novel technique to clarify spermatic cord arterial anatomy and is especially useful in the setting of prior surgery and developmental abnormality. This technique is a valuable adjunct to this procedure for novice surgeons, as well as producing visual documentation of successful arterial preservation, without adding significant time or complication. Source of Funding: None © 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 206Issue Supplement 3September 2021Page: e554-e554 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Alan Makedon More articles by this author Jeffrey Morrison More articles by this author Granville Lloyd More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Loading ...

Atividades de robótica como prática de transformação social

The general objective of this article is to present the importance of robotics as well as the development of robots for use by elementary and middle students. In addition to discussing pedagogical mediation in this context. The reason for the development of this work centers on the need for studies on Robotics in the educational environment and its networks of relations with a focus on learning of students and on the need for a change in the culture of the school. The methodology of this work is based on the cartographic method of research and intervention that, instead of seeking a result or conclusion, seeks to follow the process, seeking to establish relationships. Thus, we began mapping the pedagogical mediation between the teachers and students of the municipal schools of Viamão, EMEF Residencial Figueira and EMEF Sergeant Manoel Raymundo Soares. In order to understand the pedagogical mediation of the inventive robot robotics activities for the competitions of the II Municipal Robotics Exhibition of the Viamão Municipality - Rio Grande do Sul. From the results, we can highlight that the students seek to improve their knowledge in related areas, such as in physics, mathematics, electronics, programming and mechanics. Assuming an inventive and active stance, it also enables students to build not only concepts, skills, but also values and ideals in order to contribute to society. Making them autonomous, independent and responsible citizens.

Before, Between, and After: Enriching Robot Communication Surrounding Collaborative Creative Activities.

Research in creative robotics continues to expand across all creative domains, including art, music and language. Creative robots are primarily designed to be task specific, with limited research into the implications of their design outside their core task. In the case of a musical robot, this includes when a human sees and interacts with the robot before and after the performance, as well as in between pieces. These non-musical interaction tasks such as the presence of a robot during musical equipment set up, play a key role in the human perception of the robot however have received only limited attention. In this paper, we describe a new audio system using emotional musical prosody, designed to match the creative process of a musical robot for use before, between and after musical performances. Our generation system relies on the creation of a custom dataset for musical prosody. This system is designed foremost to operate in real time and allow rapid generation and dialogue exchange between human and robot. For this reason, the system combines symbolic deep learning through a Conditional Convolution Variational Auto-encoder, with an emotion-tagged audio sampler. We then compare this to a SOTA text-to-speech system in our robotic platform, Shimon the marimba player.We conducted a between-groups study with 100 participants watching a musician interact for 30 s with Shimon. We were able to increase user ratings for the key creativity metrics; novelty and coherence, while maintaining ratings for expressivity across each implementation. Our results also indicated that by communicating in a form that relates to the robot’s core functionality, we can raise likeability and perceived intelligence, while not altering animacy or anthropomorphism. These findings indicate the variation that can occur in the perception of a robot based on interactions surrounding a performance, such as initial meetings and spaces between pieces, in addition to the core creative algorithms.