1,720,988 research outputs found
Dispositivi e sistemi pneumatici inoovativi: ricerca MIUR 1999-2001
No full text2° seminario automazione e robotica: esperienze industriali e universitarie a confronto
Functional Design and Prototyping of a Novel Soft Fingertip with Variable Stiffness
Full text linkThe paper presents a novel soft fingertip for soft robotics application in greenhouses and protected cultivation. The system is designed to be easily adapted to different commercial end-effectors while not compromising their functionalities. The use of auxiliary vessels with combined air and liquid presence allows the adjustment of the fingertip stiffness to guarantee different values of exerted contact force and stiffness when compressed. A simplified design method to evaluate the influence of the membrane shape and the set-up parameters on the system behavior is reported. The method was compared with experimental measurements on a first system prototype
The Agri.q Mobile Robot: Preliminary Experimental Tests
Full text linkPrecision agriculture is a management strategy aimed at enhancing the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of agricultural production from incorporation of technological advances primarily developed for other industries. Among them, robotics is playing a leading role for it allows monitoring with unprecedented punctuality the number of factors affecting the production processes. In this scenario the researchers at Politecnico di Torino developed an innovative unmanned ground vehicle expressly featured for accomplishment of monitoring tasks, with particular focus on the vine cultivation industry which is peculiarly strong in the region. The rover, named Agri.q, is an eight-wheeled mobile robot whose conceptual design has been already presented to the scientific community. This paper presents the first experimental results gathered on the prototype under different conditions of use, in order to illustrate the actual performance of Agri.q in its work environment
eXoft, Innovative Soft-Rigid Exoskeleton for Smart Factory
Full text linkWork related musculo-skeletal disorders represent a relevant percentage
of occupational diseases in developed countries. Aside the laborers discomfort, they
also reflect on companies with relevant economic effects. Nonetheless, the spread of
exoskeletons for industrial applications is still limited. The reasons are to be sought
on how they are perceived by workers: for many of them, their reduced mobility and
not perfect adaptability to the kinematics of the human body make them more of
a nuisance than a real help. The spread of wearable devices in industrial scenarios
could bring advantages not only to jobs ergonomics and injuries assessment, but also
to safety and risk management. The exoskeletonsworn by labourers can be conceived
as tools able to share quantitative data about the user posture and position within
the working environment for active safety strategies and machines command. The
object of the eXoft project is an active exoskeleton with innovative mechanical and
actuation designs, conceived for integration in collaborative robotics environment.
The purpose is to improve the comfort and safety of labourer tasked with heavy or
repetitive jobs, while providing a tool for a safer integration of human-in-the-loop
workflows
Mechanism for the Locomotion Layout Reconfiguration of the Agri_q Mobile Robot
No full textThis paper deals with the design of a mechanism able to modify the locomotion layout of a novel UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle), named Agri_q, specifically designed for precision agriculture applications. Taking into account that it has to move over an irregular and loose soil, the rover is equipped with eight wheels, each couple supported by a rocker, which ensure a wide contact surface between the vehicle and the ground. A limit of this solution is the substantial lateral slithering occurring when the rover engages curved trajectories, which causes an increase of the needed driving torque. Therefore, reducing the number of ground contact points to compare the torque adsorption in different configurations, namely four, six or eight wheels, could be of interest. The designed mechanism has to lift one of the two wheels connected to the rocker providing at the same time a suspension system to reduce the vibrations transmitted to the sub-chassis. Having analyzed the system requirements, two possible functional solutions are proposed and compared. Finally, the synthesis of the chosen mechanism is presented
Rehabilitation machine for bariatric individuals
Full text linkObesity is known to be growing worldwide. TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) reports that obesity has tripled since 1975. In 2016, 39% of adults over 18 years old were overweight, and 13% were obese. Obesity is mostly preventable by adopting lifestyle improvements, enhancing diet quality, and doing physical exercise. The workload of the physical exercises should be proportionate to the patient's capabilities. However, it must be considered that obese people are not used to training; they may not endure physical exertion and, even more critically, they could have some psychological impediments to the workouts. Physical exercises and equipment must, therefore, guarantee comfort and prevent situations in which the bariatric individual may feel inadequate. For these reasons, this study aims to design an innovative system to approach simple physical activities, like leg and arm exercises, to bariatric users to enable them to recover mobility and muscle tone gradually. The leading feature of this architecture is the design of hidden exercise mechanisms to overcome the psychological barriers of the users toward these kinds of machines. This paper proposes the initial design of the main sub-systems composing the rehabilitation machine, namely the leg curl and leg extension mechanism and its control architecture, the upper body exercises system, and a series of regulation mechanisms required to accommodate a wide range of users. The proposed functional design will then lead to the development of a prototype to validate the machine
A 3D Printed Wearable Glove with Inflatable Chambers
Full text linkFor individuals with limited hand mobility due to injury or surgery,
active hand-rehabilitation is critical for regaining range of motion, flexibility,
and strength. This study presents a novel wearable glove designed to enhance
active hand rehabilitation therapy. The wearable glove, fabricated using threedimensional
printing (3D printing) with flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU
60) and durable tough polylactic acid (tough PLA), features adjustable inflatable
chambers targeting the torque applied to metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and proximal
interphalangeal (PIP) joints. These chambers enable personalized resistance
training by allowing therapists to adjust air pressure within the chambers. The variation
of stiffness and resistance force exerted by the chambers, as well as torsional
stiffness at the MCP and PIP joints during finger bending, are investigated. This
research contributes to the development of pressure-based personalized resistance
training for hand rehabilitation. Results indicate that the adjustable chambers in
the wearable device offer a promising approach to enhance hand rehabilitation
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