Human-Like Robot Sensing Mediated by Body Heat

This paper presents a novel robotic sensor system that can monitor volatile chemicals and airflow. The system is modelled on characteristics of the human body that are thought to have a significant influence on the human odour and airflow senses. In particular, the effect of buoyant airflow due to body heat acts to gather volatile chemicals over large areas of the human body and carry them to the nose. It is postulated that this effect increases the receptive area for human olfaction. In addition, the interaction between rising air heated by the body and external airflow produces a temperature distribution about head height that can be used to infer airflow direction and magnitude. A heated sensor system was constructed to investigate these effects and the resulting sensor was mounted on a mobile robot. The design of the sensor system is described. Results are presented which demonstrate its ability to measure airflow direction and detect chemical signals over a wider receptive field compared with an unheated sensor.

Technological,environmental and biological factors:referent variance values for infrared imaging of the bovine

Background： Despite its variety of potential applications, the wide implementation of infrared technology in cattle production faces technical, environmental and biological challenges similar to other indicators of metabolic state. Nine trials, divided into three classes （technological, environmental and biological factors） were conducted to illustrate the influence of these factors on body surface temperature assessed through infrared imaging. Results： Evaluation of technological factors indicated the following： measurements of body temperatures were strongly repeatable when taken within ]0 s; appropriateness of differing infrared camera technologies was influenced by distance to the target; and results were consistent when analysis of thermographs was compared between judges. Evaluation of environmental factors illustrated that wind and debris caused decreases in body surface temperatures without affecting metabolic rate; additionally, body surface temperature increased due to sunlight but returned to baseline values within minutes of shade exposure. Examination/investigation/exploration of animal factors demonstrated that exercise caused an increase in body surface temperature and metabolic rate. Administration of sedative and anti-sedative caused changes on body surface temperature and metabolic rate, and during late pregnancy a foetal thermal imprint was visible through abdominal infrared imaging. Conclusion： The above factors should be considered in order to standardize operational procedures for taking thermographs, thereby optimizing the use of such technology in cattle operations.

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF A CENTERED CONDUCTING BODY ON NATURAL CONVECTION AND HEAT TRANSFER IN AN ENCLOSURE

Numerical simulations are performed for laminar natural convection heat transfer from a centered conducting body enclosed in a square cavity. A high accuracy un steady numerical method is used, combining the unique condition of the pressure, the convergent solutions and the streamfunction value of the inside heat conducting body are given simultaneously. Two examples are simulated with this numerical method and compared with the experimental results. The results of the numerical solutions are consistent with the experimental results. It shows that the numerical method is valid and feasible.

High-sensitivity self-powered temperature/pressure sensor based on flexible Bi-Te thermoelectric film and porous microconed elastomer

Electronic skins are artificial skin-type multifunctional sensors,which hold great potentials in intelligent robotics,limb prostheses and human health monitoring.However,it is a great challenge to independently and accurately read various physical signals without power supplies.Here,a self-powered flexible temperature-pressure bimodal sensor based on high-performance thermoelectric films and porous microconed conductive elastic materials is presented.Through introducing flexible heat-sink design and harvesting body heat energy,the thin-film thermoelectric device could not only precisely sense temperature signal but also drive the pressure sensor for detecting external tactile stimulus.The integration of Bi-Te based thermoelectric film with high stability in wide temperature range enables the sensor to sense the ambient temperature with high resolution(<0.1 K)as well as excellent sensitivity(3.77 mV K^(-1)).Meanwhile,the porous microconed elastomer responds to pressure variation with low-pressure detection(16 Pa)and a high sensitivity of 37 kPa^(-1).Furthermore,the bimodal sensor could accurately and simultaneously monitor human wrist pulse and body temperature in real time,which demonstrates promising applications in self-powered electronic skins for human health monitoring systems.

Thermal design for the high-power LED lamp

This paper summarizes different kinds of heat sinks on the market for high power LED lamps. Analysis is made on the thermal model of LED, PCB and heat sink separately with a simplified mode provided. Two examples of simulation are illustrated as a demonstration for the thermal simulation as guidance for LED lamp design.