Digital Twin Technology of Human-Machine Integration in Cross-Belt Sorting System

The Chinese express delivery industry processes nearly 110 billion items in 2022,averaging an annual growth rate of 200%.Among the various types of sorting systems used for handling express items,cross-belt sorting systems stand out as the most crucial.However,despite their high degree of automation,the workload for operators has intensified owing to the surging volume of express items.In the era of Industry 5.0,it is imperative to adopt new technologies that not only enhance worker welfare but also improve the efficiency of cross-belt systems.Striking a balance between efficiency in handling express items and operator well-being is challenging.Digital twin technology offers a promising solution in this respect.A realization method of a human-machine integrated digital twin is proposed in this study,enabling the interaction of biological human bodies,virtual human bodies,virtual equipment,and logistics equipment in a closed loop,thus setting an operating framework.Key technologies in the proposed framework include a collection of heterogeneous data from multiple sources,construction of the relationship between operator fatigue and operation efficiency based on physiological measurements,virtual model construction,and an online optimization module based on real-time simulation.The feasibility of the proposed method was verified in an express distribution center.

Deep Learning for EMG-based Human-Machine Interaction:A Review

Electromyography(EMG)has already been broadly used in human-machine interaction(HMI)applications.Determining how to decode the information inside EMG signals robustly and accurately is a key problem for which we urgently need a solution.Recently,many EMG pattern recognition tasks have been addressed using deep learning methods.In this paper,we analyze recent papers and present a literature review describing the role that deep learning plays in EMG-based HMI.An overview of typical network structures and processing schemes will be provided.Recent progress in typical tasks such as movement classification,joint angle prediction,and force/torque estimation will be introduced.New issues,including multimodal sensing,inter-subject/inter-session,and robustness toward disturbances will be discussed.We attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of current research by discussing the advantages,challenges,and opportunities brought by deep learning.We hope that deep learning can aid in eliminating factors that hinder the development of EMG-based HMI systems.Furthermore,possible future directions will be presented to pave the way for future research.

Reliable Space Pursuing for Reliability-based Design Optimization with Black-box Performance Functions

Reliability-based design optimization （RBDO） is intrinsically a double-loop procedure since it involves an overall optimization and an iterative reliability assessment at each search point. Due to the double-loop procedure, the computational expense of RBDO is normally very high. Current RBDO research focuses on problems with explicitly expressed performance functions and readily available gradients. This paper addresses a more challenging type of RBDO problem in which the performance functions are computation intensive. These computation intensive functions are often considered as a ＂black-box＂ and their gradients are not available or not reliable. On the basis of the reliable design space （RDS） concept proposed earlier by the authors, this paper proposes a Reliable Space Pursuing （RSP） approach, in which RDS is first identified and then gradually refined while optimization is performed. It fundamentally avoids the nested optimization and probabilistic assessment loop. Three well known RBDO problems from the literature are used for testing and demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed RSP method.

Fully Fabric-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators as Self-Powered Human-Machine Interactive Keyboards

Combination flexible and stretchable textiles with self-powered sensors bring a novel insight into wearable functional electronics and cyber security in the era of Internet of Things.This work presents a highly flexible and self-powered fully fabric-based triboelectric nanogenerator(F-TENG)with sandwiched structure for biomechanical energy harvesting and real-time biometric authentication.The prepared F-TENG can power a digital watch by low-frequency motion and respond to the pressure change by the fall of leaves.A self-powered wearable keyboard(SPWK)is also fabricated by integrating large-area F-TENG sensor arrays,which not only can trace and record electrophysiological signals,but also can identify individuals’typing characteristics by means of the Haar wavelet.Based on these merits,the SPWK has promising applications in the realm of wearable electronics,self-powered sensors,cyber security,and artificial intelligences.

Human-machine compatibility and dynamic analysis of a novel unpowered and self-adaptive shoulder rehabilitation exoskeleton

To reduce the complexity of the configuration and control strategy for shoulder rehabilitation exoskeleton,a 2R1R1P2R serial of shoulder exoskeleton based on gravity balance is proposed.Based on three basic rotatory shoulder joints,an exact kinematic constraint system can be formed between the exoskeleton and the upper arm by introducing a passive sliding pair and a center of glenohumeral(CGH)unpowered compensation mechanism,which realizes the human-machine kinematic compatibility.Gravity balance is used in the CGH compensation mechanism to provide shoulder joint support.Meanwhile,the motion of the compensation mechanism is pulled by doing reverse leading through the arm to realize the kinematic self-adaptive,which decreases control complexity.Besides,a simple and intuitive spring adjustment strategy is proposed to ensure the gravity balance of any prescribed quality.Furthermore,according to the influencing factors analysis of the scapulohumeral rhythm,the kinematic analysis of CGH mechanism is performed,which shows that the mechanism can fit the trajectory of CGH under various conditions.Finally,the dynamic simulation of the mechanism is carried out.Results indicate that the compensation torques are reduced to below 0.22 N·m,and the feasibility of the mechanism is also verified.

How reliable is the lacrimal scintigraphy report? An interobserver agreement and reliability study

AIM: To assess the inter-observer agreement and reliability as well as intra-observer repeatability for lacrimal scintigraphy(LS) reports with and without considering the irrigation test results.METHODS: A prospective, observational, cross sectional study. Two masked clinicians(lacrimal surgeon and nuclear medicine specialist) independently reported 100 LS images(50 patients of >6 years of age with unilateral anophthalmic socket) in a university hospital. The lacrimal surgeon performed a diagnostic irrigation test and repeated the report of the same LS images 2 y after the first report(intra-observer agreement). A weighted Kappa analysis was performed to determine inter-observer agreement and reliability as well as intra-observer repeatability for the type(normal, partial and complete obstruction) and location(presac, preduct, and intraduct) of the obstruction. Subgroup analysis was also performed with consideration of irrigation test results. RESULTS: A significantly moderate agreement was found between lacrimal surgeon and nuclear medicine specialist for both the type(Kappa=0.55) and location(Kappa=0.48) of obstruction. Agreement values were higher for the type(Kappa=0.61 vs 0.41) and location(Kappa=0.56 vs 0.31) of obstruction in cases with normal than abnormal irrigation test. Strong and significant intraobserver(lacrimal surgeon) repeatability was found for both the type(Kappa=0.66) and location(Kappa=0.69) of obstruction. LS showed no to slight reliability based on irrigation test.CONCLUSION: A moderate agreement is found between lacrimal surgeon and nuclear medicine specialist regarding the interpretation of LS suggesting the importance ofconsensus groups among nuclear medicine specialists and lacrimal surgeons to create a common language for interpretation of LS. Intra-observer repeatability is strong for the lacrimal surgeon.

Web GIS Human-Machine Interactive Interface Design with VISI

The fusion of VlSI （visual identity system Internet）, digital maps and Web GIS is presented. Web GIS interface interactive design with VISI needs to consider more new factors. VISI can provide the design principle, elements and contents for the Web GIS. The design of the Wuhan Bus Search System is fulfilled to confirm the validity and practicability of the fusion.

Probabilistic back-analysis of rainfall-induced landslides for slope reliability prediction with multi-source information

Probabilistic back-analysis is an important means to infer the statistics of uncertain soil parameters,making the slope reliability assessment closer to the engineering reality.However,multi-source information(including test data,monitored data,field observation and slope survival records)is rarely used in current probabilistic back-analysis.Conducting the probabilistic back-analysis of spatially varying soil parameters and slope reliability prediction under rainfalls by integrating multi-source information is a challenging task since thousands of random variables and high-dimensional likelihood function are usually involved.In this paper,a framework by integrating a modified Bayesian Updating with Subset simulation(mBUS)method with adaptive Conditional Sampling(aCS)algorithm is established for the probabilistic back-analysis of spatially varying soil parameters and slope reliability prediction.Within this framework,the high-dimensional probabilistic back-analysis problem can be easily tackled,and the multi-source information(e.g.monitored pressure heads and slope survival records)can be fully used in the back-analysis.A real Taoyuan landslide case in Taiwan,China is investigated to illustrate the effectiveness and performance of the established framework.The findings show that the posterior knowledge of soil parameters obtained from the established framework is in good agreement with the field observations.Furthermore,the updated knowledge of soil parameters can be utilized to reliably predict the occurrence probability of a landslide caused by the heavy rainfall event on September 12,2004 or forecast the potential landslides under future rainfalls in the Fuhsing District of Taoyuan City,Taiwan,China.

BLIND SPEECH SEPARATION FOR ROBOTS WITH INTELLIGENT HUMAN-MACHINE INTERACTION

Speech recognition rate will deteriorate greatly in human-machine interaction when the speaker's speech mixes with a bystander's voice. This paper proposes a time-frequency approach for Blind Source Seperation (BSS) for intelligent Human-Machine Interaction(HMI). Main idea of the algorithm is to simultaneously diagonalize the correlation matrix of the pre-whitened signals at different time delays for every frequency bins in time-frequency domain. The prososed method has two merits: (1) fast convergence speed; (2) high signal to interference ratio of the separated signals. Numerical evaluations are used to compare the performance of the proposed algorithm with two other deconvolution algorithms. An efficient algorithm to resolve permutation ambiguity is also proposed in this paper. The algorithm proposed saves more than 10% of computational time with properly selected parameters and achieves good performances for both simulated convolutive mixtures and real room recorded speeches.

A Robotic Teleoperation System for Precise Robotic Manipulation by Human-Machine Interaction

Teleoperation is of great importance in the area of robotics,especially when people are unavailable in the robot workshop.It provides a way for people to control robots remotely using human intelligence.In this paper,a robotic teleoperation system for precise robotic manipulation is established.The data glove and the 7-degrees of freedom(DOFs)force feedback controller are used for the remote control interaction.The control system and the monitor system are designed for the remote precise manipulation.The monitor system contains an image acquisition system and a human-machine interaction module,and aims to simulate and detect the robot running state.Besides,a visual object tracking algorithm is developed to estimate the states of the dynamic system from noisy observations.The established robotic teleoperation systemis applied to a series of experiments,and high-precision results are obtained,showing the effectiveness of the physical system.

System Reliability Analysis Method Based on T-S FTA and HE-BN

For high-reliability systems in military,aerospace,and railway fields,the challenges of reliability analysis lie in dealing with unclear failure mechanisms,complex fault relationships,lack of fault data,and uncertainty of fault states.To overcome these problems,this paper proposes a reliability analysismethod based on T-S fault tree analysis(T-S FTA)and Hyper-ellipsoidal Bayesian network(HE-BN).The method describes the connection between the various systemfault events by T-S fuzzy gates and translates them into a Bayesian network(BN)model.Combining the advantages of T-S fault tree modeling with the advantages of Bayesian network computation,a reliability modeling method is proposed that can fully reflect the fault characteristics of complex systems.Experts describe the degree of failure of the event in the form of interval numbers.The knowledge and experience of experts are fused with the D-S evidence theory to obtain the initial failure probability interval of the BN root node.Then,the Hyper-ellipsoidal model(HM)constrains the initial failure probability interval and constructs a HE-BN for the system.A reliability analysismethod is proposed to solve the problem of insufficient failure data and uncertainty in the degree of failure.The failure probability of the system is further calculated and the key components that affect the system’s reliability are identified.The proposedmethod accounts for the uncertainty and incompleteness of the failure data in complex multi-state systems and establishes an easily computable reliability model that fully reflects the characteristics of complex faults and accurately identifies system weaknesses.The feasibility and accuracy of the method are further verified by conducting case studies.

Designing interactive glazing through an engineering psychology approach:Six augmented reality scenarios that envision future car human-machine interface

Background With an increasing number of vehicles becoming autonomous,intelligent,and connected,paying attention to the future usage of car human-machine interface with these vehicles should become more relevant.Several studies have addressed car HMI but were less attentive to designing and implementing interactive glazing for every day(autonomous)driving contexts.Methods Reflecting on the literature,we describe an engineering psychology practice and the design of six novel future user scenarios,which envision the application of a specific set of augmented reality(AR)support user interactions.Additionally,we conduct evaluations on specific scenarios and experiential prototypes,which reveal that these AR scenarios aid the target user groups in experiencing a new type of interaction.The overall evaluation is positive with valuable assessment results and suggestions.Conclusions This study can interest applied psychology educators who aspire to teach how AR can be operationalized in a human-centered design process to students with minimal pre-existing expertise or minimal scientific knowledge in engineering psychology.

Belief reliability:a scientific exploration of reliability engineering

This paper systematically introduces and reviews a scientific exploration of reliability called the belief reliability.Beginning with the origin of reliability engineering,the problems of present theories for reliability engineering are summarized as a query,a dilemma,and a puzzle.Then,through philosophical reflection,we introduce the theoretical solutions given by belief reliability theory,including scientific principles,basic equations,reliability science experiments,and mathematical measures.The basic methods and technologies of belief reliability,namely,belief reliability analysis,function-oriented belief reliability design,belief reliability evaluation,and several newly developed methods and technologies are sequentially elaborated and overviewed.Based on the above investigations,we summarize the significance of belief reliability theory and make some prospects about future research,aiming to promote the development of reliability science and engineering.

The Human-Machine Safety Design of Mechanical Toys for Children

In order to ensure the safety of children while using machineries and avoid harm caused by mechanical toys,this paper analyzes the types and detection standards of children’s toys,discusses the reasons for the harm caused by these toys,and proposes human-machine safety design strategies for children’s toys as reference.

On the relationship between imprint and reliability in Hf_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_(2) based ferroelectric random access memory

The detrimental effect of imprint,which can cause misreading problem,has hindered the application of ferroelectric HfO_(2).In this work,we present results of a comprehensive reliability evaluation of Hf_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_(2)-based ferroelectric random access memory.The influence of imprint on the retention and endurance is demonstrated.Furthermore,a solution in circuity is pro-posed to effectively solve the misreading problem caused by imprint.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Computer-Aided Uncertainty Modeling and Reliability Evaluation for Complex Engineering Structures

1 Summary With the advancement of science and technology,complex engineering structures are widely used in extreme environments[1].In equipment service,many uncertainty factors significantly affect safety and reliability[2–5].Therefore,ensuring high reliability of structures has become an important research direction in engineering design.At the same time,the importance of equipment health management of complex engineering structures is becoming increasingly prominent[6–8].Computer-aided uncertainty modeling and reliability assessment have become key tools,and finite element simulation and algorithmic innovation play a key role in the reliability analysis of complex equipment[9,10].These techniques can accurately simulate stress and damage accumulation under various operating environments,providing engineers with important decision support and optimization solutions.

Interrater Reliability Estimation via Maximum Likelihood for Gwet’s Chance Agreement Model

Interrater reliability (IRR) statistics, like Cohen’s kappa, measure agreement between raters beyond what is expected by chance when classifying items into categories. While Cohen’s kappa has been widely used, it has several limitations, prompting development of Gwet’s agreement statistic, an alternative “kappa”statistic which models chance agreement via an “occasional guessing” model. However, we show that Gwet’s formula for estimating the proportion of agreement due to chance is itself biased for intermediate levels of agreement, despite overcoming limitations of Cohen’s kappa at high and low agreement levels. We derive a maximum likelihood estimator for the occasional guessing model that yields an unbiased estimator of the IRR, which we call the maximum likelihood kappa (κML). The key result is that the chance agreement probability under the occasional guessing model is simply equal to the observed rate of disagreement between raters. The κMLstatistic provides a theoretically principled approach to quantifying IRR that addresses limitations of previous κcoefficients. Given the widespread use of IRR measures, having an unbiased estimator is important for reliable inference across domains where rater judgments are analyzed.

Ultra Reliable Load-Aware Connection Management(LACM)Algorithm in WIA-FA Systems

The increasing demand for industrial automation and intelligence has put forward higher requirements for the reliability of industrial wireless communication technology.As an international standard based on 802.11,Wireless networks for Industrial Automation-Factory Automation(WIA-FA)greatly improves the reliability in factory automation scenarios by Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA).However,in ultra-dense WIA-FA networks with mobile users,the basic connection management mechanism is inefficient.Most of the handover and resource management algorithms are all based on frequency division multiplexing,not suitable for the TDMA in the WIA-FA network.Therefore,we propose Load-aware Connection Management(LACM)algorithm to adjust the linkage and balance the load of access devices to avoid blocking and improve the reliability of the system.And then we simulate the algorithm to find the optimal settings of the parameters.After comparing with other existing algorithms,the result of the simulation proves that LACM is more efficient in reliability and maintains high reliability of more than 99.8%even in the ultra-dense moving scenario with 1500 field devices.Besides,this algorithm ensures that only a few signaling exchanges are required to ensure load bal-ancing,which is no more than 5 times,and less than half of the best state-of-the-art algorithm.

Reliability Assessment of a New General Matching Composed Network

The reliability of a network is an important indicator for maintaining communication and ensuring its stable operation. Therefore, the assessment of reliability in underlying interconnection networks has become an increasingly important research issue. However, at present, the reliability assessment of many interconnected networks is not yet accurate,which inevitably weakens their fault tolerance and diagnostic capabilities. To improve network reliability,researchers have proposed various methods and strategies for precise assessment. This paper introduces a novel family of interconnection networks called general matching composed networks(gMCNs), which is based on the common characteristics of network topology structure. After analyzing the topological properties of gMCNs, we establish a relationship between super connectivity and conditional diagnosability of gMCNs. Furthermore, we assess the reliability of g MCNs, and determine the conditional diagnosability of many interconnection networks.

Saddlepoint Approximation Method in Reliability Analysis:A Review

The escalating need for reliability analysis(RA)and reliability-based design optimization(RBDO)within engineering challenges has prompted the advancement of saddlepoint approximationmethods(SAM)tailored for such problems.This article offers a detailed overview of the general SAM and summarizes the method characteristics first.Subsequently,recent enhancements in the SAM theoretical framework are assessed.Notably,the mean value first-order saddlepoint approximation(MVFOSA)bears resemblance to the conceptual framework of the mean value second-order saddlepoint approximation(MVSOSA);the latter serves as an auxiliary approach to the former.Their distinction is rooted in the varying expansion orders of the performance function as implemented through the Taylor method.Both the saddlepoint approximation and third-moment(SATM)and saddlepoint approximation and fourth-moment(SAFM)strategies model the cumulant generating function(CGF)by leveraging the initial random moments of the function.Although their optimal application domains diverge,each method consistently ensures superior relative precision,enhanced efficiency,and sustained stability.Every method elucidated is exemplified through pertinent RA or RBDO scenarios.By juxtaposing them against alternative strategies,the efficacy of these methods becomes evident.The outcomes proffered are subsequently employed as a foundation for contemplating prospective theoretical and practical research endeavors concerning SAMs.The main purpose and value of this article is to review the SAM and reliability-related issues,which can provide some reference and inspiration for future research scholars in this field.