93887 research outputs found
Sort by
In-Hand Singulation, Scooping, and Cable Untangling with a 5-Dof Tactile-Reactive Gripper
Get PDFManipulation tasks often require a high degree of dexterity, typically necessitating grippers with multiple degrees of freedom (DOF). While a robotic hand equipped with multiple fingers can execute precise and intricate manipulation tasks, the inherent redundancy stemming from its high-DOF often adds complexity that may not be required. In this paper, we introduce the design of a tactile sensor-equipped gripper with two fingers and five-DOF. We present a novel design integrating a GelSight tactile sensor, enhancing sensing capabilities and enabling finer control during specific manipulation tasks. To evaluate the gripper\u27s performance, we conduct experiments involving three challenging tasks: 1) retrieving, singularizing, and classification of various objects buried within granular media, 2) executing scooping manipulations of a 3D-printed credit card in confined environments to achieve precise insertion, and 3) sensing entangled cable states with only tactile perception and executing manipulations to achieve two-cable untangling. Our results demonstrate the versatility of the proposed gripper across these tasks, with a high success rate of 84% for singulation task, a 100% success rate for scooping and inserting credit cards, and successful cable untangling. Videos are available at https://yuhochau.github.io/5_dof_gripper/
Ripples of Change: Middle School Students Navigating the Future of our Watershed through Eco-STEM
Get PDFRipples of Change is an eco-STEM unit designed to address Indiana’s environmental education goals by fostering environmental literacy and informed decision-making among middle school students. By engaging students in community-based learning activities that empower students to address watershed issues, this eco-STEM unit promotes culturally sustaining integrated STEM education. Preliminary findings indicate increased student awareness and responsibility for their impact on local ecosystems using evidence-based reasoning, highlighting the potential for Ripples of Change to inspire global citizenship in students and scalable eco-STEM approaches
Leveraging Algebraic Thinking in STEM Education to Equip the Next Generation of Problem Solvers
Get PDFAlgebraic thinking is a critical skill in mathematics education, involving pattern recognition, generalization, symbolic manipulation, and problem-solving. It is essential for success in STEM fields and should be developed throughout education, starting in early grades. This literature review synthesizes research on algebraic thinking, focusing on problem-based learning. The review indicates that incorporating algebraic thinking into problem-based learning with non-routine activities enhances students\u27 understanding and real-world problem-solving in STEM
Palestinian Prisoners: Smuggling Freedom, Writing from Captivity
Get PDFThis article discusses writings by Palestinian political prisoners and the broader body of prison literature situating them as practices of ‘smuggling freedom’ from Israel’s carceral regime, shedding light onto their political and social meaning. Through discussing writings by prisoners, the article points to a long history through which Palestinian prisoners confronted the Israeli regime’s torture and violent practices, and its broader project of eliminating the political nature of captivity. The article argues that prisoners’ writings reveal much about the dynamics of carceral power and violence, and the logic behind the confrontation practices used by prisoners in Palestine and beyond. These writings inform the practice of sumud, where prisoners not only confront the carceral regime but invite others to reject defeat and resist against Israeli violence and settler-colonialism. By articulating Palestinian prisoners’ cultural productions as instances of a smuggled freedom, the article highlights the political nature of prisoners’ varied responses to power and violence conceptualizing them as modes of ‘politics in-the-making’. Palestinian prisoners’ long history of cultural productions, along with the processes of smuggling them out of captivity, point to an emancipatory politics in-the-making which dreams, and works for, a liberated geography
Financial Impacts of Postdrought Beef Cow Herd Rebuilding through Debt Financing
Get PDFDrought conditions in much of the western United States have improved, leading to opportunities for cow-calf producers to rebuild beef cow herds. Given lower beef cow herds, many producers will need to borrow funds to purchase replacement heifers. We investigate how financial positions are impacted by leveraged replacement heifer purchases. The results are useful to producers and bankers. We suggest alternatives for financially struggling producers, including delay rebuilding to avoid significantly increased financial stres