Like artists, important writers defy unequivocal interpretations. Gao Xingjian, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, is a cosmopolitan writer, deeply rooted in the Chinese past while influenced ...by paragons of Western Modernity. The present volume is less interested in a general discussion on the multitude of aspects in Gao's works and even less in controversies concerning their aesthetic value than in obtaining a response to the crucial issues of freedom and fate from a clearly defined angle. The very nature of the answer to the question of freedom and fate within Gao Xingjian's works can be called a polyphonic one: thereare affirmative as well as skeptical voices. But polyphony, as embodied by Gao, is an even more multifaceted phenomenon. Most important for our contention is the fact that Gao Xingjian's aesthetic experience embodies prose, theater, painting, and film. Taken together, they form a Gesamtkunstwerk whose diversity of voices characterizes every single one of them.
Despite an emerging interest in soft and rigid pneumatic lightweight robots, the pneumatic rotary actuators available to date either are unsuitable for servo pneumatic applications or provide a ...limited angular range. This study describes the functional principle, design, and manufacturing of a servo pneumatic rotary actuator that is suitable for continuous rotary motion and positioning. It contains nine radially arranged linear bellows actuators with rollers that push forward a cam profile. Proportional valves and a rotary encoder are used to control the bellows pressures in relation to the rotation angle. Introducing freely programmable servo pneumatic commutation increases versatility and allows the number of mechanical components to be reduced in comparison to state-of-the-art designs. The actuator presented is designed to be manufacturable using a combination of standard components, selective laser sintering, elastomer molding with novel multi-part cores and basic tools. Having a diameter of 110 mm and a width of 41 mm, our prototype weighs less than 500 g, produces a torque of 0.53 Nm at 1 bar pressure and a static positioning accuracy of 0.31° with no limit of angular motion. By providing a description of design, basic kinematic equations, manufacturing techniques, and a proof of concept, we enable the reader to envision and explore future applications.
State-of-the-art Additive Manufacturing processes such as three-dimensional (3D) inkjet printing are capable of producing geometrically complex multi-material components with integrated elastomeric ...features. Researchers and engineers seeking to exploit these capabilities must handle the complex mechanical behavior of inkjet-printed elastomers and expect a lack of suitable design examples. We address these obstacles using a pneumatic actuator as an application case. First, an inkjet-printable actuator design with elastomeric bellows structures is presented. While soft robotics research has brought forward several examples of inkjet-printed linear and bending bellows actuators, the rotary actuator described here advances into the still unexplored field of additively manufactured pneumatic lightweight robots with articulated joints. Second, we demonstrate that the complex structural behavior of the actuator’s elastomeric bellows structure can be predicted by Finite Element (FE) simulation. To this end, a suitable hyperviscoelastic material model was calibrated and compared to recently published models in a multiaxial-state-of-stress relaxation experiment. To verify the material model, Finite Element simulations of the actuator’s deformation behavior were conducted, and the results compared to those of corresponding experiments. The simulations presented here advance the materials science of inkjet-printed elastomers by demonstrating use of a hyperviscoelastic material model for estimating the deformation behavior of a prototypic robotic component. The results obtained contribute to the long-term goal of additively manufactured and pneumatically actuated lightweight robots.
Zusammenfassung
Ausgehend von bedeutenden Formen der chinesischen Divination befasst sich der Artikel mit Parallelen und Unterschieden zu vergleichbaren Phänomenen im Westen. Anhand von ...Konzeptualisierungen des freien Willens werden unterschiedliche Dimensionen der Theoretisierung von Vorhersage untersucht. Hinzu tritt eine Analyse der Affinität bestimmter Orakel zur Religion.
Ausgehend von bedeutenden Formen der chinesischen Divination befasst sich der Artikel mit Parallelen und Unterschieden zu vergleichbaren Phänomenen im Westen. Anhand von Konzeptualisierungen des ...freien Willens werden unterschiedliche Dimensionen der Theoretisierung von Vorhersage untersucht. Hinzu tritt eine Analyse der Affinität bestimmter Orakel zur Religion.
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