This letter presents a fully fabric-based bidirectional soft robotic glove designed to assist hand impaired patients in rehabilitation exercises and performing activities of daily living. The glove ...provides both active finger flexion and extension for hand assistance and rehabilitative training, through its embedded fabric-based actuators that are fabricated by heat press and ultrasonic welding of flexible thermoplastic polyurethane-coated fabrics. Compared to previous developed elastomeric-based actuators, the actuators are able to achieve smaller bend radius and generate sufficient force and torque to assist in both finger flexion and extension at lower air pressure. In this letter, experiments were conducted to characterize the performances of the glove in terms of its kinematic and grip strength assistances on five healthy participants. Additionally, we present a graphical-user interface that allows user to choose the desired rehabilitation exercises and control modes, which include button-controlled-assistive mode, cyclic movement training, intention-driven task-specific training, and bilateral rehabilitation training.
This article presents a versatile soft robotic gripper system whereby its fingers can be reconfigured into different poses such as scoop, pinch, and claw. This allows the gripper to efficiently and ...safely handle food samples of different shapes, sizes and stiffness such as uncooked tofu and broccoli floret. The 3D-printed fingers were tested to last up to 25 000 cycles without significant changes in the curvature profile and force output profile. A benchmark experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the gripper and state-of-the-art gripping solutions. Capability of versatile soft gripper was optimized by integrating vision and tactile sensing facilities. An object recognition system was developed to identify food samples such as potato, broccoli, and sausage. Position and orientation of food samples were identified and pick-and-place pathway was optimized to achieve the best gripping performance. Flexible tactile sensors were integrated into soft fingers and closed-loop force feedback control system was developed. This allowed the gripper to automatically explore and select the most stable grip pose for different food samples. Integration of vision and force feedback system ensure that objects detected by the system would be firmly gripped. The reconfigurable soft robotic gripper system has been demonstrated to perform high-speed pick-and-place tasks (∼3 s per item) with object recognition system, making it a potential solution to food and grocery supply chain needs.
Integration of robotic solutions in manufacturing sector is growing. However, it is still concentrated in certain industries (i.e., electronics and automotive) where standardization of product ...physical form is high. Current state‐of‐the‐art gripping solutions fall short when they need to accommodate items with high variability in physical form. This challenging scenario for automation can be found in a few industries (i.e., e‐commerce). Automation of pick‐and‐place processes in this area requires a more versatile gripping solution. To resolve this challenge, this article proposes a novel way to improve grip‐versatility by synergizing the mechanical and machine intelligence of a hybrid robotic gripper (HRG). Comparative analysis with commercial grippers shows that HRG can pick a more diverse range of items with success rate 94.78%. Visual perception‐based picking strategy is developed to automate the reconfiguration of HRG into a stable grasp pose for different objects. Using the proposed reconfigurable picking strategy, the efficacy of HRG in pick‐and‐place tasks is evaluated using three parameters—mean pick per hour (MPPH), successful execution over total attempts (SETA), and average cycle time (AVGCT). HRG can effectively pick items in cluttered workspace with MPPH of 98.54 ± 15.49, SETA of 0.93 ± 0.11, and AVGCT of 34.76 ± 3.31 s.
This article proposes a novel way to improve grip‐versatility by synergizing the mechanical and machine intelligence of a hybrid robotic gripper. Reconfigurable pick‐and‐place system with visual perception is developed. This improves its performance with mean pick per hour of 98.54 ± 15.49, successful execution over total attempts of 0.93 ± 0.11, and average cycle time of 34.76 ± 3.31 s.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper presents fabric-based soft robotic modules with primitive morphologies, which are analogous to basic geometrical polygons-trilateral and quadrilateral. The two modules are the inflatable ...beam (IB) and fabric-based rotary actuator (FRA). The FRA module is designed with origami-inspired V-shaped pleats, which creates a trilateral outline. Upon pressurization, the pleats unfold, which enables propagation of angular displacement of the FRA module. This allows the FRA module to be implemented as a mobility unit in the larger assembly of pneumatic structures. In the following, we examine various ways by which FRA modules can be connected to IB modules. We studied how different ranges of motion can be achieved by varying the design of the rotary joint of the assemblies. Using a state transition-based position control system, movement of the assembled modules could be controlled by regulating the pneumatic pressurization of the FRA module at the joint. These basic modules allow us to build different types of pneumatic structures. In this paper, using IB and FRA modules of various dimensions, we constructed a soft robotic limb with an end effector, which can be attached to wheelchairs to provide assistive grasping functions for users with disabilities.
This paper presents a hybrid tele-manipulation system, comprising of a sensorized 3-D-printed soft robotic gripper and a soft fabric-based haptic glove that aim at improving grasping manipulation and ...providing sensing feedback to the operators. The flexible 3-D-printed soft robotic gripper broadens what a robotic gripper can do, especially for grasping tasks where delicate objects, such as glassware, are involved. It consists of four pneumatic finger actuators, casings with through hole for housing the actuators, and adjustable base. The grasping length and width can be configured easily to suit a variety of objects. The soft haptic glove is equipped with flex sensors and soft pneumatic haptic actuator, which enables the users to control the grasping, to determine whether the grasp is successful, and to identify the grasped object shape. The fabric-based soft pneumatic haptic actuator can simulate haptic perception by producing force feedback to the users. Both the soft pneumatic finger actuator and haptic actuator involve simple fabrication technique, namely 3-D-printed approach and fabric-based approach, respectively, which reduce fabrication complexity as compared to the steps involved in a traditional silicone-based approach. The sensorized soft robotic gripper is capable of picking up and holding a wide variety of objects in this study, ranging from lightweight delicate object weighing less than 50 g to objects weighing 1100 g. The soft haptic actuator can produce forces of up to 2.1 N, which is more than the minimum force of 1.5 N needed to stimulate haptic perception. The subjects are able to differentiate the two objects with significant shape differences in the pilot test. Compared to the existing soft grippers, this is the first soft sensorized 3-D-printed gripper, coupled with a soft fabric-based haptic glove that has the potential to improve the robotic grasping manipulation by introducing haptic feedback to the users.
This paper introduces a new concept of building soft pneumatic structures by assembling modular units of fabric-based rotary actuators (FRAs) and beams. Upon pressurization, the inner folds of FRA ...would expand, which causes the FRA module to unfold, generating angular displacement. Hence, FRAs would enable mobility function of the structure and its range of motion. The modular nature of the actuator units enables customized configuration of pneumatic structures, which can be modified and scaled by selecting the appropriate modules. FRAs are also designed to be bladder-less, that is, they are made without an additional layer of inner bladder. Thus, a simple fabrication process can be used to prepare the actuators. In this paper, we studied how the performance of the FRA modules changes with their dimensions and demonstrated how a soft gripper can be constructed using these modules. The kinematic response of the actuator segments of the gripper was analyzed and a pressure control algorithm was developed to regulate the pneumatic pressure of the actuator. The modular based soft robotic gripper alone weighs about 140g. Yet, based on the grip tests, it is able to lift heavier objects (up to 2.4kg), achieving a high payload-to-weight ratio of about 1714%, which is higher than the value reported by previously developed soft pneumatic grippers using elastomeric materials. Lastly, we also demonstrated that the gripper is capable of performing two essential grasping modes, which are power grasping and fingertip grasping, for objects of various shapes.
Exploring beyond the conventional design methodology of soft robots, this project introduces fabric-based soft actuator modules with primitive morphologies, which are analogous of basic geometrical ...polygons – trilateral and quadrilateral. The two modules are Inflatable Beam (IB) module and Fabric-based Rotary Actuator (FRA) module. IB module is of rectangular block form, which is used to provide structural function. FRA module is designed with origami-inspired V-shaped pleats, which create a trilateral outline. Upon pressurization, the pleats unfold, which enables propagation of angular displacement of FRA module. This allows FRA module to be implemented as mobility unit in the larger assembly of pneumatic structures. These basic actuator modules allow us to build different types of structures. Using the IB and FRA modules of various dimensions, a soft pneumatic robotic limb with an end effector was developed. 2 versions of the Textile-based Robotic Arm (TERA) of variable DOFs were developed.
3D printed Soft Extension Actuator Chen, Chao-Yu; May, Khin Phone; Yeow, Chen-Hua
2021 IEEE 4th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft),
2021-April-12
Conference Proceeding
Soft robotics has been known for its compliant and deformable nature. In recent years, a surge of development in soft actuator has brought promising progress in the field of wearable device, surgical ...robot and industrial gripper. However, most of the adopted fabrication process require sophisticated and precise manual operation, which often leads to a substantial variability in quality. Therefore, this paper presents an optimized design of Soft Extension Actuator (SEA) by 3D printing technology. Having the weight of 48.04g, one single SEA is able to lift up 20 times heavier object with less than 100% of overall strain. The extension ratio reaches 600% at 70kPa. Lastly, the SEA is shown in a configuration for bidirectional bending as well as being configured with two hybrid grippers to showcase its ability to retrieve objects in tight spaces or reposition grippers for optimal grasping.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency may affect the clinical presentation of dengue due to the altered redox state in immune cells. We aimed to determine the association between G6PD ...deficiency and severity of dengue infection in paediatric patients in Myanmar. A cross-sectional study was conducted among paediatric patients aged 2-13 years with dengue in Yankin Children Hospital, Myanmar. One hundred and ninety-six patients positive for dengue infection, as determined via PCR or ELISA, were enrolled. Dengue severity was determined according to the 2009 WHO classification guidelines. Spectrophotometric assays determined G6PD levels. The adjusted median G6PD value of males in the study population was used to define various cut-off points according to the WHO classification guidelines. G6PD genotyping for Mahidol, Kaiping and Mediterranean mutations was performed for 128 out of 196 samples by real-time multiplex PCR. 51 of 196 (26.0%) patients had severe dengue. The prevalence of G6PD phenotype deficiency (< 60% activity) in paediatric patients was 14.8% (29/196), specifically, 13.6% (14/103) in males and 16.2% (15/93) in females. Severe deficiency (< 10% activity) accounted for 7.1% (14/196) of our cohort, occurring 11.7% (12/103) in males and 2.2% (2/93) in females. Among 128 samples genotyped, the G6PD gene mutations were detected in 19.5% (25/128) of patients, with 20.3% (13/ 64) in males and 18.8% (12/64) in females. The G6PD Mahidol mutation was 96.0% (24/25) while the G6PD Kaiping mutation was 4.0% (1/25). Severe dengue was not associated with G6PD enzyme deficiency or presence of the G6PD gene mutation. Thus, no association between G6PD deficiency and dengue severity could be detected. Trial registration: The study was registered following the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) on Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR) website, registration number # TCTR20180720001.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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