1,720,994 research outputs found
The state of the art in biomimetics
No full textBiomimetics is a research field that is achieving particular prominence through an explosion of new discoveries in biology and engineering. The field concerns novel technologies developed through the transfer of function from biological systems. To analyze the impact of this field within engineering and related sciences, we compiled an extensive database of publications for study with network-based information analysis techniques. Criteria included publications by year and journal or conference, and subject areas judged by popular and common terms in titles. Our results reveal that this research area has expanded rapidly from less than 100 papers per year in the 1990s to several thousand papers per year in the first decade of this century. Moreover, this research is having impact across a variety of research themes, spanning robotics, computer science and bioengineering. In consequence, biomimetics is becoming a leading paradigm for the development of new technologies that will potentially lead to significant scientific, societal and economic impact in the near future
Wasp-inspired needle insertion with low net push force
Get PDFThis paper outlines the development of a four-part needle prototype inspired by the ovipositor of parasitic wasps. In the wasp ovipositor, three longitudinal segments called valves move reciprocally to gain depth in the substrate. It has been suggested that serrations located along the wasp ovipositor induce a friction difference between moving and anchoring valves that is needed for this reciprocal motion. Such an anchoring mechanism may not be desired in a medical setting, as serrations can induce tissue damage. Our aim was to investigate whether a multipart needle can penetrate tissue phantom material with near-zero net push force while using needle parts devoid of surface gripping textures or serrations. Accordingly, a four-part needle prototype was developed and tested in gelatine substrates. The performance of the prototype was assessed in terms of the degree of slipping of the needle with respect to the gelatine, with less slip implying better performance. Slip decreased with decreasing gelatine concentration and increasing offset between the needle parts. Motion through gelatine was achieved with a maximum push force of 0.035 N. This study indicates the possibility of needle propagation into a substrate with low net push force and without the need of serrations on the needle surface.Accepted Author ManuscriptMedical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technolog
Bio-inspired design of an artificial muscular hydrostat unit for soft robotic systems
No full textThe octopus arms totally lack of rigid skeleton, and show unique motor and manipulation capabilities thanks to the skill of varying and controlling the stiffness. To take inspiration for the design of innovative technological actuators for soft robotic systems, we investigated the architecture of the muscle fibers in the octopus arm, and we measured their mechanical performance in vivo. The key features "extracted" from the octopus arm have been "translated" into engineering specifications, and the identified requirements have been used to design an artificial muscular hydrostat unit, obtaining an actuating component with controllable stiffness capabilities and various applications for a novel generation of soft-bodied robots
Towards a framework for tactile perception in social robotics
Get PDFThe first step for building reliable humanoid systems is to provide them with perceptual mechanisms that have human attributes, such as the skill development, social interaction, environmental embodiment and sensorial integration. Despite tactile perception being one of the most important elements for human interaction with the world, its implementation within artificial systems has been tardy, principally because it requires a complete integration with the motor systems and an environmental coupling to extract comprehensible information [1]. Thus, this work aims to generate a platform based on haptic information, allowing humanoids to perceive and represent surrounding objects using concepts fully grounded in the sensorial data
Texture classification through tactile sensing
No full textTo perform tasks in human-centric environments, humanoid robots should have the ability to interact with and learn from their environment through the sense of touch. In humans, the loss of this capability can be catastrophic - for instance, the absence of a proprioception sense of limb movement can result in a dramatic loss of the precision and speed of hand movements. Furthermore, not only humans but also animals use tactile sensing to explore their environment, with one notable example being the tapping exploration known as whisking performed by rats with their long facial vibrissae. The movement of tactile sensors against an object surface to generate tactile information is known as active tactile sensing because it relies on actively moving the sensor to generate the tactile sensations. Humans make use of different exploratory procedures (EPs) to extract key information of the objects (e.g. tapping, contour following). It is of great interest how humans and animals develop and select these EPs [6], which motivates the present study into integrating these biomimetic properties within a robotic system. © 2012 Springer-Verlag
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
