1,721,008 research outputs found
Pneumatic Soft Robotic System for Actuation and Sensing
Full text linkL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen
Advances in design and construction of leaf wetness sensors
Full text linkThe majority of fungal infections are caused by leaf wetness, due to excessive humidity, mist, rain or irrigation. Leaf wetness duration (LWD), the total number of hours per day in which water is present on the foliage, can be monitored through a leaf wetness sensor (LWS). In this paper, an innovative procedure to manufacture a precise, low power and low cost electronic sensor is proposed to provide a tool for agronomic exploitation. The measurement subsystem consists of a two-side capacitive leaf wetness sensor, where a water presence varies the dielectric constant of the surrounding medium. The data acquisition subsystem exploits a capacitance-to-digital converter. Experimental results in controlled and real environments confirm reliability
A Pneumatic HandHeld Device for Finger Active Tele-Rehabilitation
Full text linkThe objective of this paper is the development of a handheld, untethered device for active finger tele-rehabilitation. The device has the capacity to measure both hand and finger motion, and to provide multimodal haptic feedback on each user’s finger. The paper will present the system functional design, inspired by the recent trend and requirements for haptic devices. The final part of the paper will discuss the early prototyping of the system, addressing both hardware and software aspects aimed at utilizing the device both as a tool for rehabilitation and for collecting data to objectively quantify the rehabilitation status
Design and Prototyping of BiSoft.Q, A 3-D Printed Bi-directional Deformable Actuator
Full text linkThe paper presents the design guidelines and early prototyping of a 3-D printed pressure-driven deformable actuator that can actively contract and expand. The actuator is entirely realized through FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technologies and affordable materials. The basic working principle of the actuator is presented and its functional design is supported by preliminary considerations and final design guidelines. Additional information about the first prototype and a few practical details are provided
Optimal Positioning of Mobile Manipulators Using Closed Form Inverse Kinematics
Full text linkMobile manipulators have recently been subject to studies and researches thanks to their augmented mobility and interaction capability. In the precision agriculture field, the development and implementation of such systems can be advantageous in every aspect of the farm activities, e.g. harvesting, pruning, or trimming. This paper presents the implementation of a 7 degree of freedom manipulator upon a mobile rover prototype, designed for precision agriculture, in order to perform grape sampling tasks. While the redundancy of the arm is used to perform off-line collision avoidance with the environment and the mobile base itself, thanks to sampling based path planning methods, a closed form inverse kinematics solution allows to select the posture which maximizes the manipulability index of the manipulator. To do so, base mobility is used to reach the target and properly position the arm. The overall architecture was implemented on the real system and successfully validated through experimental tests
A bi-directional pneumatic actuator for sustainable robotic systems
No full textThis paper presents a novel soft pneumatic actuator that demonstrates a bi-directional linear behaviour when pressurized. The actuator design is based on the concept of antagonistic chambers and utilizes bellows and pleated geometries to achieve bidirectionality. A simplified analytical model with low computational cost is presented to estimate the actuator's behaviour in terms of stroke, exerted forces, and energy consumption. The model results are discussed to establish some design guidelines. An initial experimental phase is also discussed, aimed at prototyping using easily reproducible additive manufacturing techniques, including experimental results from isometric tests conducted on the actuator. The paper concludes with a comparison of the proposed solution with similar ones available in the literature and evaluates potential applications of the technology in the field of service robotics through a case study involving the development of an adaptive gripper mounted on a commercial robotic manipulator
PAL-HAND.Q: A Handheld Device for Bidirectional and Multimodal Haptic Interaction
No full textThis paper presents the design of a novel handheld device, named PAL-HAND.Q, that enables bidirectional and multimodal haptic interaction with a remote control unit. This device can receive inputs from the user and render both kinesthetic and tactile feedback on his fingers. This is achieved through a unique combination of deformable membranes filled with pressurized fluid and mini vibrating motors. These elements work in synergy with an integrated electro-pneumatic system which is used to control the kinesthetic feedback. These characteristics result in a compact, lightweight, and versatile device, that can be used, for instance, in rehabilitation, alternative forms of communication, and augmented/virtual reality scenarios. In conclusion, an early prototype is realized, and a few practical aspects are discussed as well
Development of a Novel Reconfigurable Omnidirectional Robot for Precision Agriculture in Greenhouses
No full textPrecision agriculture is a recent approach used in the primary sector aimed at optimizing agricultural production at various levels. This paper introduces the preliminary design of AGRIMARO, a novel omnidirectional mobile robot tailored for precision agriculture tasks in greenhouses or relatively small fields. The robot features three swerve-drive units, i.e., independently steered hub motors, for agile omnidirectional movement and incorporates a straight-line mechanism to enable the reconfiguration of the robot's footprint, allowing for adjustable track width between 800 mm and 1200 mm. This design, thanks to its flexible and modular architecture, facilitates versatile applications, making it suitable for diverse monitoring and agricultural tasks in protected crop cultivation
Design of a Novel Linkage for Electronic Parking Brake Transmission Systems
Full text linkThis paper presents a novel mechanical transmission for pulling-cable electronic parking brakes (EPBs). The system is interposed between the brake electric actuator and the brake pads, and it exploits a 2DOF planar linkage to provide the requested brake force and ensure the correct vehicle standstill. This paper describes the working principles and main component of the adopted architecture, and compares it with the EPB state of the art. Thereafter, the paper focuses on the system requirements and consequent functional design. A first prototype of the presented mechanical transmission is then presented to discuss the role of a mechanical engagement within the system to ensure its proper behavior. In conclusion, the EPB drive motor assessment is discussed on the basis of a simplified drive chain dynamic model
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