Miniature magnetically anchored and controlled camera system for trocar-less laparoscopy

AIM To design a miniature magnetically anchored and controlled camera system to reduce the number of trocars which are required for laparoscopy.METHODS The system consists of a miniature magnetically anchored camera with a 30° downward angle, an external magnetically anchored unit, and a vision output device. The camera weighs 12 g, measures Φ10.5 mm × 55 mm and has two magnets, a vision model, a light source, and a metal hexagonal nut. To test the prototype, the camera was inserted through a 12-mm conventional trocar in an ex vivo real liver laparoscopic training system. A trocar-less laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed 6 times using a 12-mm and a 5-mm conventional trocar. In addition, the same procedure was performed in four canine models.RESULTS Both procedures were successfully performed using only two conventional laparoscopic trocars. The cholecystectomy was completed without any major complication in 42 min(38-45 min) in vitro and in 50 min(45-53 min) using an animal model. This camera was anchored and controlled by an external unit magnetically anchored on the abdominal wall. The camera could generate excellent image. with no instrument collisions.CONCLUSION The camera system we designed provides excellent optics and can be easily maneuvered. The number of conventional trocars is reduced without adding technical difficulties.

Active Tracking with Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera

This paper intends to introduce the active vision system with autonomous robot competition in the background. It presents some characteristics of the human oculomotor system in active ma-chine vision svstem: smooth pursuit and saccade. Besides, zoom tracking is used to continuous ad-justment of a camera's focal length to keep a constant sized image of an object moving along the camera's optical axis. Experiments indicate the technology to be efficient for tracking the bail in the robot competition.

Investigation of condition-induced bubble size and distribution in electroflotation using a high-speed camera

In the flotation process, bubble is a key factor in studying bubble-particle interaction and fine particle flo- tation. Knowledge on size distribution of bubbles in a flotation system is highly important. In this study, bubble distributions in different reagent concentrations, electrolyte concentrations, cathode apertures, and current densities in electroflotation are determined using a high-speed camera. Average bubble sizes under different conditions are calculated using Image-Pro@ Plus （Media Cybernetics@, MD, USA） and SigmaScan@ Pro （Systat Software, CA, USA） software. Results indicate that the average sizes of bubbles, which were generated through 38, 50, 74, 150, 250, 420, and 1000 μm cathode apertures, are 20.2, 29.5, 44.6, 59.2, 68.7, 78.5, and 88.8 μm, respectively. The optimal current density in electroflotation is 20 A/m2. Reagent and electrolyte concentrations, current density, and cathode aperture are important factors in controlling bubble size and nucleation. These factors also contribute to the control of fine- Particle flotation.

A Stable Switch Method Based on Fusion in Uncalibrated Visual Servoing

Stable switch control between multiple cameras for uncalibrated visual servoing was studied. Switch images based on fusion were presented to get the continuous dynamic image Jacobian matrix among robots and distributed visual sensors. The designed fusion algorithm is suitable to have dynamically adjustable fusion weights, and the fusion structure was analyzed. Simulations and experiments without any knowledge of mobile robots and uncalibrated visual sensors show that the method has higher adaptability than the traditional instant switch control method. The method can enhance the system stability at the switching process.

Survey on path and view planning for UAVs

Background In recent decades,unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)have developed rapidly and been widely applied in many domains,including photography,reconstruction,monitoring,and search and rescue.In such applications,one key issue is path and view planning,which tells UAVs exactly where to fly and how to search.Methods With specific consideration for three popular UAV applications(scene reconstruction,environment exploration,and aerial cinematography),we present a survey that should assist researchers in positioning and evaluating their works in the context of existing solutions.Results/Conclusions It should also help newcomers and practitioners in related fields quickly gain an overview of the vast literature.In addition to the current research status,we analyze and elaborate on advantages,disadvantages,and potential explorative trends for each application domain.