Bioinspired nanomaterials for wearable sensing and human–machine interfacing

The inculcation of bioinspiration in sensing and human–machine interface(HMI)technologies can lead to distinctive characteristics such as conformability,low power consumption,high sensitivity,and unique properties like self-healing,self-cleaning,and adaptability.Both sensing and HMI are fields rife with opportunities for the application of bioinspired nanomaterials,particularly when it comes to wearable sensory systems where biocompatibility is an additional requirement.This review discusses recent development in bioinspired nanomaterials for wearable sensing and HMIs,with a specific focus on state-of-the-art bioinspired capacitive sensors,piezoresistive sensors,piezoelectric sensors,triboelectric sensors,magnetoelastic sensors,and electrochemical sensors.We also present a comprehensive overview of the challenges that have hindered the scientific advancement in academia and commercialization in the industry.

Novel Biological Based Method for Robot Navigation and Localization

The capability and reliability are crucial characteristics of mobile robots while navigating in complex environments. These robots are expected to perform many useful tasks which can improve the quality of life greatly. Robot localization and decisionmaking are the most important cognitive processes during navigation. However, most of these algorithms are not efficient and are challenging tasks while robots navigate through complex environments. In this paper,we propose a biologically inspired method for robot decision-making, based on rat’s brain signals. Rodents accurately and rapidly navigate in complex spaces by localizing themselves in reference to the surrounding environmental landmarks. Firstly, we analyzed the rats’ strategies while navigating in the complex Y-maze, and recorded local field potentials(LFPs), simultaneously.The recorded LFPs were processed and different features were extracted which were used as the input in the artificial neural network(ANN) to predict the rat’s decision-making in each junction. The ANN performance was tested in a real robot and good performance is achieved. The implementation of our method on a real robot, demonstrates its abilities to imitate the rat’s decision-making and integrate the internal states with external sensors, in order to perform reliable navigation in complex maze.

Applications of Carbon Nanotubes in the Internet of Things Era

The post-Moore's era has boosted the progress in carbon nanotube-based transistors.Indeed,the 5 G communication and cloud computing stimulate the research in applications of carbon nanotubes in electronic devices.In this perspective,we deliver the readers with the latest trends in carbon nanotube research,including high-frequency transistors,biomedical sensors and actuators,brain–machine interfaces,and flexible logic devices and energy storages.Future opportunities are given for calling on scientists and engineers into the emerging topics.

Analysis of Design Directions for Ground Control Station (GCS)

This study is a preparation phase for integrated visualization of battlefield situation. To develop the ground control station for unmanned systems, many factors have to be considered from the design stages, such as layout, information component, representation scheme, and human operation methods. Considering such many factors can be very difficult, hence we conducted an in-depth investigation of design factors from major UAV stations around the world. We analyzed the design characteristics and the specifics. In conclusion, we were able to derive some common aspects of design characteristics, which lead to the successful design approach.

OPEN ARCHITECTURE CNC SYSTEM HITCNC AND KEY TECHNOLOGY

Aiming at the characteristics of modularity and reconfigurable in open architecture computer numerical control （CNC） system, the open architecture CNC system, Harbin Institute of Tech- nology computer numerical control （HITCNC）, is researched and manufactured based on the interface standards. The system＇s external interfaces are coincident with the corresponding international standards, and the internal interfaces follow the open modular architecture controller （OMAC） agreement. In the research and manufacturing process, object-oriented technology is used to ensure the openness of the HITCNC, and static programming is applied in the CNC system according to the idea of modularization disassembly. The HITCNC also actualizes real-time and unreal-time modules adopting real-time dynamical linked library （RTDLL） and component object model （COM）. Finite state ma- chine （FSM） is adopted to do dynamically modeling of HITCNC. The complete separation between the software and the hardware is achieved in the HITCNC by applying the SoftSERCANS technique. The application of the above key techniques decreases the programming workload greatly, and uses software programs replacing hardware functions, which offers plenty technique ensures for the openness of HITCNC. Finally, based on the HITCNC, a three-dimensional milling system is established. On the system, series experiments are done to validate the expandability and interchangeability of HITCNC. The results of the experiments show that the established open architecture CNC system HITCNC is correct and feasible, and has good openness.

Analysis of Design Approach for Navy Weapon System Operation Environment

This study is a preparation phase for visualization of utilized information using ergonomic user interface and standardization of elements for anti-air weapon system. Therefore, we investigated the instances of Navy Weapon System operation environment for defense advanced country. Based on the collected data, we compared and analyzed the weapon system operation environment design. Ultimately, it is essential to share a variety of battle field conditions such as enemy threat, enemy/friendly information, terrain information that can be effectively recognized. In this paper, we conduct case study for ergonomically development of Operation Environment. It is expected that this research improves the situational awareness and reduces the operator’s task load.

一种用于精密铸造工艺的树脂模具高效多功能固化设备的开发与应用

开发了一种基于stereo lithography appearance(SLA)光固化增材制造技术的、用于精密铸造领域树脂模具制作的后处理高效多功能固化设备。通过对核心机械结构的全新设计和加工工艺的深入探究,实现了可变循环散热、可变紫外功率、可变速固化、可变固化时间、舱门互锁等多项新功能。以programmable logic controller(PLC)和human machine interface(HMI)为中央控制器和人机交互平台,通过图形化界面编程实现了一键固化、个性化参数匹配、温差限值安全锁定等控制功能。最后通过多组目标件测试及数据对比,验证了设备具有固化目标高质量、固化过程高效率、界面操作简便、使用过程高安全等特性。其作为高效多功能的SLA光固化树脂模具后处理核心设备,具有很高的使用和推广价值。

Technology acceptance comparison between on-road dynamic message sign and on-board human machine interface for connected vehicle-based variable speed limit in fog area

Purpose–Connected vehicle-based variable speed limit(CV-VSL)systems in fog area use multi-source detection data to indicate drivers to make uniform change in speed when low visibility conditions suddenly occur.The purpose of the speed limit is to make the driver’s driving behavior more consistent,so as to improve traffic safety and relieve traffic congestion.The on-road dynamic message sign(DMS)and on-board human–machine interface(HMI)are two types of warning technologies for CV-VSL systems.This study aims to analyze drivers’acceptance of the two types of warning technologies in fog area and its influencing factors.Design/methodology/approach–This study developed DMS and on-board HMI for the CV-VSL system in fog area on a driving simulator.The DMS and on-board HMI provided the driver with weather and speed limit information.In all,38 participants participated in the experiment and completed questionnaires on drivers’basic information,perceived usefulness and ease of use of the CV-VSL systems.Technology acceptance model(TAM)was developed to evaluate the drivers’acceptance of CV-VSL systems.A variance analysis method was used to study the influencing factors of drivers’acceptance including drivers’characteristics,technology types and fog density.Findings–The results showed that drivers’acceptance of on-road DMS was significantly higher than that of on-board HMI.The fog density had no significant effect on drivers’acceptance of on-road DMS or on-board HMI.Drivers’gender,age,driving year and driving personality were associated with the acceptance of the two CV-VSL technologies differently.This study is beneficial to the functional improvement of on-road DMS,on-board HMI and their market prospects.Originality/value–Previous studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of CV-VSL systems.However,there were rare studies focused on the drivers’attitude toward using which was also called as acceptance of the CV-VSL systems.Therefore,this research calculated the drivers’acceptance of two normally used CV-VSL systems including on-road DMS and on-board HMI using TAM.Furthermore,variance analysis was conducted to explore whether the factors such as drivers’characteristics(gender,age,driving year and driving personality),technology types and fog density affected the drivers’acceptance of the CV-VSL systems.

A surface electromyography controlled steering assistance interface

Purpose–Two-handed automobile steering at low vehicle speeds may lead to reduced steering ability at large steering wheel angles and shoulder injury at high steering wheel rates(SWRs).As afirst step toward solving these problems,this study aims,firstly,to design a surface electromyography(sEMG)controlled steering assistance interface that enables hands-free steering wheel rotation and,secondly,to validate the effect of this rotation on path-following accuracy.Design/methodology/approach–A total of 24 drivers used biceps brachii sEMG signals to control the steering assistance interface at a maximized SWR in three driving simulator scenarios:U-turn,908 turn and 458 turn.For comparison,the scenarios were repeated with a slower SWR and a game steering wheel in place of the steering assistance interface.The path-following accuracy of the steering assistance interface would be validated if it was at least comparable to that of the game steering wheel.Findings–Overall,the steering assistance interface with a maximized SWR was comparable to a game steering wheel.For the U-turn,908 turn and 458 turn,the sEMG-based human–machine interface(HMI)had median lateral errors of 0.55,0.3 and 0.2 m,respectively,whereas the game steering wheel,respectively,had median lateral errors of 0.7,0.4 and 0.3 m.The higher accuracy of the sEMG-based HMI was statistically significant in the case of the U-turn.Originality/value–Although production automobiles do not use sEMG-based HMIs,and few studies have proposed sEMG controlled steering,the results of the current study warrant further development of a sEMG-based HMI for an actual automobile.

Effects of input method and display mode of situation map on early warning aircraft reconnaissance task performance with different information complexities

Early Warning Aircraft(EWA)are the main force for air detection and its Human-Machine Interface(HMI)should be designed to support task efficiency and safety.With the appli-cation of advanced input method and interface design in EWA,little is known about their actual usability in terms of human factors and ergonomics.The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the input method and display mode of the situation map on EWA reconnaissance task performance with different information complexities.Eighteen participants attended a three-factor within-subject design experiment with input method(touch screen and mouse),display mode of the situation map(color and grayscale),and information complexity(high and low)as the inde-pendent variables.Participant behavior performance,subjective workload,heart rate/heart rate variability,and eye movements were recorded as the dependent variables.The results suggest that a touch screen requires greater task completion time and has greater physical demands than mouse operation;however,it also facilitates information processing by reducing the average fixation time.Color mode significantly decreases saccade counts compared to grayscale mode and is considered more appropriate for target search tasks as it induces less visual search load.High information complexity produces significant negative effects on behavior performance and subjective workload.It also has significant interaction effects with input method on fixation and saccade counts.The findings have implications in the optimization design of Human–Machine Interface for EWA task systems.

Digitally programmable organic light‐emitting tetrodes

Limited to the structure of traditional light‐emitting devices,electronic devices that can directly convert machine language into human visual information without introducing any back‐end circuit are still not easy to achieve.Based on a specially designed three‐phase co‐planar electrode structure,a new type of three‐phase alternating current driven organic light‐emitting device with the integration of emission and control functions,full‐color tunability and simple device structure is demonstrated in this study.We integrate the light‐emitting function of color‐tunable light‐emitting devices and the switching of three triodes in a single three phase organic light‐emitting device.The state control of luminous color and luminance intensity merely requires the introduction of a kind of machine language,that is an easy‐to‐program 6‐bit binary number coded digital signals.The color adjustable area covers 66%of the color triangle of the National Television System Committee.Such simple and easy‐to‐integrate light‐emitting system has great potential applications in the next‐generation man‐machine interface.

Wearable sensors for activity monitoring and motion control:A review

Wearable sensors for activity monitoring currently are being designed and developed,driven by an increasing demand in health care for noninvasive patient monitoring and rehabilitation training.This article reviews state-of-the-art wearable sensors for activity monitoring and motion control.Different technologies,including electromechanical,bioelectrical,and biomechanical sensors,are reviewed,along with their broad applications.Moreover,an overview of existing commercial wearable products and the computation methods for motion analysis are provided.Future research issues are identified and discussed.

Toward Shared Control Between Automated Vehicles and Users

Technological developments in the domain of vehicle automation are targeted toward driver-less,or driver-out-of-the-loop driving.The main societal motivation for this ambition is that the majority of(fatal)accidents with manually driven vehicles are due to human error.However,when interacting with technology,users often experience the need to customize the technology to their personal preferences.This paper considers how this might apply to vehicle automation,by a conceptual analysis of relevant use cases.The analysis proceeds by comparing how handling of relevant situations is likely to differ between manual driving and automated driving.The results of the analysis indicate that full out-of-the-loop automated driving may not be acceptable to users of the technology.It is concluded that a technology that allows shared control between the vehicle and the user should be pursued.Furthermore,implications of this view are explored for the concrete temporal dynamics of shared control,and general characteristics of human machine interface that support shared control are proposed.Finally,implications of the proposed view and directions for further research are discussed.

A Case Study of a Force-myography Controlled Bionic Hand Mitigating Limb Position Effect

Force Myography （FMG）, which monitors pressure or radial deformation of a limb, has recently been proposed as a po- tential alternative for naturally controlling bionic robotic prostheses. This paper presents an exploratory case study aimed at evaluating how FMG behaves when a person with amputation uses a hand prosthetic prototype. One volunteer （transradial amputation） participated in this study, which investigated two experimental cases： static and dynamic. The static case considered forearm muscle contractions in a fixed elbow and shoulder positions whereas the dynamic case included movements of the elbow and shoulder. When considering eleven different hand grips, static data showed an accuracy over 99%, and dynamic data over 86% （within-trial analysis）. The across-trial analysis, that takes into account multiple trials in the same data collection set, showed a meaningful accuracy respectively of 81% and 75% only for the reduced six grips setup. While further research is needed to increase these accuracies, the obtained results provided initial evidence that this technology could represent an in- teresting alternative that is worth exploring for controlling prosthesis.