The most widely adopted method for diagnosing respiratory infectious diseases is to conduct polymerase chain reaction(PCR)assays on patients’respiratory specimens,which are collected through either nasal or oropharyn...The most widely adopted method for diagnosing respiratory infectious diseases is to conduct polymerase chain reaction(PCR)assays on patients’respiratory specimens,which are collected through either nasal or oropharyngeal swabs.The manual swab sampling process poses a high risk to the examiner and may cause false-negative results owing to improper sampling.In this paper,we propose a pneumatically actuated soft end-effector specifically designed to achieve all of the tasks involved in swab sampling.The soft end-effector utilizes circumferential instability to ensure grasping stability,and exhibits several key properties,including high load-to-weight ratio,error tolerance,and variable swab-tip stiffness,leading to successful automatic robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling,from loosening and tightening the transport medium tube cap,holding the swab,and conducting sampling,to snapping off the swab tail and sterilizing itself.Using an industrial collaborative robotic arm,we integrated the soft end-effector,force sensor,camera,lights,and remote-control stick,and developed a robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling system.Using this swab sampling system,we conducted oropharyngeal swab-sampling tests on 20 volunteers.Our Digital PCR assay results(RNase P RNA gene absolute copy numbers for the samples)revealed that our system successfully collected sufficient numbers of cells from the pharyngeal wall for respiratory disease diagnosis.In summary,we have developed a pharyngeal swab-sampling system based on an“enveloping”soft actuator,studied the sampling process,and imple-mented whole-process robotic oropharyngeal swab-sampling.展开更多
An end-effector for a flexible drilling robot is designed, and a novel four-point algorithm of normal attitude regulation for this end-effector is presented. Four non-coplanar points can define a unique sphere tangent...An end-effector for a flexible drilling robot is designed, and a novel four-point algorithm of normal attitude regulation for this end-effector is presented. Four non-coplanar points can define a unique sphere tangent to them in spatial geometry, and the center point of the sphere and the radius can be calculated. The shape of a workpiece surface in the machining area is approximately regarded as such a sphere. A vector from the machining point to the center point is thus approximately regarded as a normal vector to the workpiece surface. By this principle, the algorithm first measures four coordinates on the curve in the drilling region using four sensors and calculates the normal vector at the drilling point, then calculates the error between the normal vector and the axis of the spindle. According to this error, the algorithm further figures out the angles of two revolving axes on the end- effector and the displacements of three linear axes on the robot main body, thus it implements the function of adjusting the spindle to be perpendicular to the curve at the drilling point. Simulation results of two kinds of curved surfaces show that accuracy and efficiency can be realized using the proposed algorithm.展开更多
The end-effector of the large space manipulator is employed to assist the manipulator in handling and manipulating large payloads on orbit.Currently,there are few researches about the end-effector,and the existing end...The end-effector of the large space manipulator is employed to assist the manipulator in handling and manipulating large payloads on orbit.Currently,there are few researches about the end-effector,and the existing end-effectors have some disadvantages,such as poor misalignment tolerance capability and complex mechanical components.According to the end positioning errors and the residual vibration characters of the large space manipulators,two basic performance requirements of the end-effector which include the capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture are proposed.And the end-effector should accommodate the following misalignments of the mechanical interface.The translation misalignments in axial and radial directions and the angular misalignments in roll,pitch and yaw are ±100 mm,100 mm,±10°,±15°,±15°,respectively.Seven end-effector schemes are presented and the capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture are analyzed elementarily.The three fingers-three petals end-effector and the steel cable-snared end-effector are the most feasible schemes among the seven schemes,and they are designed in detail.The capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture are validated and evaluated,through the experiment on the micro-gravity simulating device and the dynamic analysis in ADAMS software.The results show that the misalignment tolerance capabilities of these two schemes could satisfy the requirement.And the translation misalignment tolerances in axial and radial directions and the angular misalignment tolerances in roll,pitch and yaw of the steel cable-snared end-effector are 30mm,15mm,6°,3° and 3° larger than those of the three fingers-three petals end-effector,respectively.And the contact force of the steel cable-snared end-effector is smaller and smoother than that of the three fingers-three petals end-effector.The end-effector schemes and research methods are beneficial to the developments of the large space manipulator end-effctor and the space docking mechanism.展开更多
The essential requirements of the end-effector of large space manipulator are capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture.According to these requirements,an end-effector prototype combining the tendon-shea...The essential requirements of the end-effector of large space manipulator are capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture.According to these requirements,an end-effector prototype combining the tendon-sheath transmission system with steel cable snaring mechanism was manufactured.An analysis method based on the coordinate transformation and the projection of key points of the mechanical interface was proposed,and it was a guideline of the end-effector design.Furthermore,the tendon-sheath transmission system was employed in the capture subassembly to reduce the inertia of the capture mechanism and enlarge the capture space.The capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture were validated through the dynamic simulation in ADAMS software.The results of the capture simulation and experiment show that the end-effector has outstanding capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture.The translation misalignments in radial directions are±100 mm,and angular misalignments about pitch and yaw are±15°.展开更多
In order to achieve large tolerance capture and high stiffness connection for space payload operations,a Chinese large-scale space end-effector (EER) was developed.Three flexible steel cables were adopted to capture t...In order to achieve large tolerance capture and high stiffness connection for space payload operations,a Chinese large-scale space end-effector (EER) was developed.Three flexible steel cables were adopted to capture the payload with large capture allowance.Ball screw transmission mechanism and plane shape-constraint four bar linkage mechanism were utilized to connect the payload with high stiffness.The experiments show that capture tolerances in X,Y,Z,Pitch,Yaw,Roll directions are 100 mm,100 mm,120 mm,10.5°,10.5°,12°,respectively.The maximum connection stiffness is 4 800 N·m.The end-effector could meet the requirements for space large tolerance capture and high stiffness connection in the future.展开更多
Background: Vitiligo is a common autoimmune inflammatory skin disease, where there are different surgical techniques for treatment of stable patches of vitiligo .Objective: To find non-costly, minimally invasive, simp...Background: Vitiligo is a common autoimmune inflammatory skin disease, where there are different surgical techniques for treatment of stable patches of vitiligo .Objective: To find non-costly, minimally invasive, simple technique by direct melanocytes transplant by spade needle technique in treatment of vitiligo. Patients and Methods: This interventional, therapeutic, comparative study was done in Department of Dermatology, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq from April 2014-March 2015. Twenty patients with localized, generalized and segmental vitiligo were included. Full history and examination for each patient was done with 4 (20%) males and 16 (80%) females and their ages ranged from 9 - 40 (23.15 ± 11.44) years. Forty one patches in 20 patients treated by spade grafting technique and the donor and recipient sites were demarcated and anesthesia done by xylocaine 2% with adrenalin 1:100,000. Transplantation was started by using disposable needle gauge 18 (the sharp end of needle was cut by a scissor to make it a spade like) with medical syringe 5 ml supplied with normal saline. The micro-pieces were taken from donor site and transplanted directly, easily and rapidly into dermis of recipient site and followed by pushing normal saline and the procedure was repeated to cover all recipient sites with 5 mm distance between injection points. The surface area of the lesions was calculated and the reduction rate was estimated every month till the end of the 4th month period of the treatment. Results: Including 41 patches in 20 patients with the surface area of the patches ranged from 1.5 - 90 cm<sup>2</sup> (13.78 ± 17.57) cm<sup>2</sup>. The mean ±SD of surface area of lesions was decreased from 13.78 ± 17.57 cm<sup>2</sup> at baseline visit to 13.61 ± 17.48 cm<sup>2</sup> at the second visit (after 2 weeks ) which was statistically significant (p value ≤ 0.001). The mean surface area continued to be reduced till reaching 12.20 ± 15.68 cm<sup>2</sup> at the third visit and 12.01 ± 15.55 cm<sup>2</sup> at the fourth visit. All were statistically significant when compared to baseline visit. There was reduction in surface area 1.1% at two weeks, 9.93%, and 12.5% at the 2nd, 4th months respectively. Conclusions: Intradermal injection of melanocytes in patients with vitiligo by spade like needle was very quick and simple non-costly technique, and gave 12.5% reduction which could be repeated at different times until satisfactory re-pigmentation of vitiligenous skin is achieved.展开更多
This study investigates the necessity for space robots to independently exchange their end-effectors due to the contradiction that exists between the requirements of various robots in space missions and the payload ca...This study investigates the necessity for space robots to independently exchange their end-effectors due to the contradiction that exists between the requirements of various robots in space missions and the payload capacity limits of rockets. The results of this study summarize the system requirements for a new end-effector exchange mechanism, including compact size, misalignment tolerance, and regolith tolerance. This is followed by the development of a prototype model with a set of test apparatus. Then the function of the prototype is verified, the prototype is optimized, and the relation between docking force and misalignment is examined through operation tests.展开更多
Detumbling operation toward a rotating target with nutation is meaningful for debris removal but challenging. In this study, a deformable end-effector is first designed based on the requirements for contacting the nut...Detumbling operation toward a rotating target with nutation is meaningful for debris removal but challenging. In this study, a deformable end-effector is first designed based on the requirements for contacting the nutating target. A dual-arm robotic system installed with the deformable end-effectors is modeled and the movement of the end-tips is analyzed. The complex operation of the contact toward a nutating target places strict requirements on control accuracy and controller robustness. Thus, an improvement of the tracking error transformation is proposed and an adaptive sliding mode controller with prescribed performance is designed to guarantee the fast and precise motion of the effector during the contact detumbling.Finally, by employing the proposed effector and the controller,numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the contact detumbling toward a nutating target.展开更多
针对针式末端执行器夹持移栽后穴孔内基质残留较多的问题,设计了一种指铲式末端执行器,通过增大指铲与苗钵基质的接触面积,减少穴孔内基质的残留。通过静力学分析找出末端执行器提取苗钵后基质残留的原因:基质间的最大内聚力小于由基质...针对针式末端执行器夹持移栽后穴孔内基质残留较多的问题,设计了一种指铲式末端执行器,通过增大指铲与苗钵基质的接触面积,减少穴孔内基质的残留。通过静力学分析找出末端执行器提取苗钵后基质残留的原因:基质间的最大内聚力小于由基质与穴盘间的粘附力和苗钵重力合成的总阻力时,苗钵出现破裂,基质塌陷。基于离散单元法,通过EDEM(Enhanced discrete element method)仿真分析了指铲式末端执行器对土壤基质的抓取过程,发现随着土壤基质内聚力的提高基质残留的现象得到改善;将基质配比和含水率条件作为主要影响因素,通过组合测盘试验测量在不同基质配比和含水率试验条件下的粘附力和内聚力变化,寻找内聚力大于粘附力的基质配比和含水率条件。试验表明,当相对含水率为60%、基质配比为6∶3∶1(泥炭∶蛭石∶珍珠岩)时,内聚压强和粘附压强的差值最大,在该条件下,指铲式末端执行器对劣质苗钵穴孔基质的平均剔净率达到70.8%,优于其他作业条件,可剔除穴孔内大部分基质。展开更多
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52222502,92048302,and 51975306)Research Project of State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration of China(Grant No.MSV201904)Emergency Research Project for COVID-19 from Institute for Precision Medicine of Tsinghua University of China.
文摘The most widely adopted method for diagnosing respiratory infectious diseases is to conduct polymerase chain reaction(PCR)assays on patients’respiratory specimens,which are collected through either nasal or oropharyngeal swabs.The manual swab sampling process poses a high risk to the examiner and may cause false-negative results owing to improper sampling.In this paper,we propose a pneumatically actuated soft end-effector specifically designed to achieve all of the tasks involved in swab sampling.The soft end-effector utilizes circumferential instability to ensure grasping stability,and exhibits several key properties,including high load-to-weight ratio,error tolerance,and variable swab-tip stiffness,leading to successful automatic robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling,from loosening and tightening the transport medium tube cap,holding the swab,and conducting sampling,to snapping off the swab tail and sterilizing itself.Using an industrial collaborative robotic arm,we integrated the soft end-effector,force sensor,camera,lights,and remote-control stick,and developed a robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling system.Using this swab sampling system,we conducted oropharyngeal swab-sampling tests on 20 volunteers.Our Digital PCR assay results(RNase P RNA gene absolute copy numbers for the samples)revealed that our system successfully collected sufficient numbers of cells from the pharyngeal wall for respiratory disease diagnosis.In summary,we have developed a pharyngeal swab-sampling system based on an“enveloping”soft actuator,studied the sampling process,and imple-mented whole-process robotic oropharyngeal swab-sampling.
基金National Science and Technology Major Project(No.2009ZX04014-023)
文摘An end-effector for a flexible drilling robot is designed, and a novel four-point algorithm of normal attitude regulation for this end-effector is presented. Four non-coplanar points can define a unique sphere tangent to them in spatial geometry, and the center point of the sphere and the radius can be calculated. The shape of a workpiece surface in the machining area is approximately regarded as such a sphere. A vector from the machining point to the center point is thus approximately regarded as a normal vector to the workpiece surface. By this principle, the algorithm first measures four coordinates on the curve in the drilling region using four sensors and calculates the normal vector at the drilling point, then calculates the error between the normal vector and the axis of the spindle. According to this error, the algorithm further figures out the angles of two revolving axes on the end- effector and the displacements of three linear axes on the robot main body, thus it implements the function of adjusting the spindle to be perpendicular to the curve at the drilling point. Simulation results of two kinds of curved surfaces show that accuracy and efficiency can be realized using the proposed algorithm.
基金supported by National Hi-tech Research and Development Program of China(863 Program,Grant No. 2006AA04Z228)
文摘The end-effector of the large space manipulator is employed to assist the manipulator in handling and manipulating large payloads on orbit.Currently,there are few researches about the end-effector,and the existing end-effectors have some disadvantages,such as poor misalignment tolerance capability and complex mechanical components.According to the end positioning errors and the residual vibration characters of the large space manipulators,two basic performance requirements of the end-effector which include the capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture are proposed.And the end-effector should accommodate the following misalignments of the mechanical interface.The translation misalignments in axial and radial directions and the angular misalignments in roll,pitch and yaw are ±100 mm,100 mm,±10°,±15°,±15°,respectively.Seven end-effector schemes are presented and the capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture are analyzed elementarily.The three fingers-three petals end-effector and the steel cable-snared end-effector are the most feasible schemes among the seven schemes,and they are designed in detail.The capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture are validated and evaluated,through the experiment on the micro-gravity simulating device and the dynamic analysis in ADAMS software.The results show that the misalignment tolerance capabilities of these two schemes could satisfy the requirement.And the translation misalignment tolerances in axial and radial directions and the angular misalignment tolerances in roll,pitch and yaw of the steel cable-snared end-effector are 30mm,15mm,6°,3° and 3° larger than those of the three fingers-three petals end-effector,respectively.And the contact force of the steel cable-snared end-effector is smaller and smoother than that of the three fingers-three petals end-effector.The end-effector schemes and research methods are beneficial to the developments of the large space manipulator end-effctor and the space docking mechanism.
基金Project(2006AA04Z228) supported by National Hi-tech Research and Development Program of China
文摘The essential requirements of the end-effector of large space manipulator are capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture.According to these requirements,an end-effector prototype combining the tendon-sheath transmission system with steel cable snaring mechanism was manufactured.An analysis method based on the coordinate transformation and the projection of key points of the mechanical interface was proposed,and it was a guideline of the end-effector design.Furthermore,the tendon-sheath transmission system was employed in the capture subassembly to reduce the inertia of the capture mechanism and enlarge the capture space.The capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture were validated through the dynamic simulation in ADAMS software.The results of the capture simulation and experiment show that the end-effector has outstanding capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture.The translation misalignments in radial directions are±100 mm,and angular misalignments about pitch and yaw are±15°.
基金Project(2006AA04Z228) supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China
文摘In order to achieve large tolerance capture and high stiffness connection for space payload operations,a Chinese large-scale space end-effector (EER) was developed.Three flexible steel cables were adopted to capture the payload with large capture allowance.Ball screw transmission mechanism and plane shape-constraint four bar linkage mechanism were utilized to connect the payload with high stiffness.The experiments show that capture tolerances in X,Y,Z,Pitch,Yaw,Roll directions are 100 mm,100 mm,120 mm,10.5°,10.5°,12°,respectively.The maximum connection stiffness is 4 800 N·m.The end-effector could meet the requirements for space large tolerance capture and high stiffness connection in the future.
文摘Background: Vitiligo is a common autoimmune inflammatory skin disease, where there are different surgical techniques for treatment of stable patches of vitiligo .Objective: To find non-costly, minimally invasive, simple technique by direct melanocytes transplant by spade needle technique in treatment of vitiligo. Patients and Methods: This interventional, therapeutic, comparative study was done in Department of Dermatology, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq from April 2014-March 2015. Twenty patients with localized, generalized and segmental vitiligo were included. Full history and examination for each patient was done with 4 (20%) males and 16 (80%) females and their ages ranged from 9 - 40 (23.15 ± 11.44) years. Forty one patches in 20 patients treated by spade grafting technique and the donor and recipient sites were demarcated and anesthesia done by xylocaine 2% with adrenalin 1:100,000. Transplantation was started by using disposable needle gauge 18 (the sharp end of needle was cut by a scissor to make it a spade like) with medical syringe 5 ml supplied with normal saline. The micro-pieces were taken from donor site and transplanted directly, easily and rapidly into dermis of recipient site and followed by pushing normal saline and the procedure was repeated to cover all recipient sites with 5 mm distance between injection points. The surface area of the lesions was calculated and the reduction rate was estimated every month till the end of the 4th month period of the treatment. Results: Including 41 patches in 20 patients with the surface area of the patches ranged from 1.5 - 90 cm<sup>2</sup> (13.78 ± 17.57) cm<sup>2</sup>. The mean ±SD of surface area of lesions was decreased from 13.78 ± 17.57 cm<sup>2</sup> at baseline visit to 13.61 ± 17.48 cm<sup>2</sup> at the second visit (after 2 weeks ) which was statistically significant (p value ≤ 0.001). The mean surface area continued to be reduced till reaching 12.20 ± 15.68 cm<sup>2</sup> at the third visit and 12.01 ± 15.55 cm<sup>2</sup> at the fourth visit. All were statistically significant when compared to baseline visit. There was reduction in surface area 1.1% at two weeks, 9.93%, and 12.5% at the 2nd, 4th months respectively. Conclusions: Intradermal injection of melanocytes in patients with vitiligo by spade like needle was very quick and simple non-costly technique, and gave 12.5% reduction which could be repeated at different times until satisfactory re-pigmentation of vitiligenous skin is achieved.
文摘This study investigates the necessity for space robots to independently exchange their end-effectors due to the contradiction that exists between the requirements of various robots in space missions and the payload capacity limits of rockets. The results of this study summarize the system requirements for a new end-effector exchange mechanism, including compact size, misalignment tolerance, and regolith tolerance. This is followed by the development of a prototype model with a set of test apparatus. Then the function of the prototype is verified, the prototype is optimized, and the relation between docking force and misalignment is examined through operation tests.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11972077,11672035)。
文摘Detumbling operation toward a rotating target with nutation is meaningful for debris removal but challenging. In this study, a deformable end-effector is first designed based on the requirements for contacting the nutating target. A dual-arm robotic system installed with the deformable end-effectors is modeled and the movement of the end-tips is analyzed. The complex operation of the contact toward a nutating target places strict requirements on control accuracy and controller robustness. Thus, an improvement of the tracking error transformation is proposed and an adaptive sliding mode controller with prescribed performance is designed to guarantee the fast and precise motion of the effector during the contact detumbling.Finally, by employing the proposed effector and the controller,numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the contact detumbling toward a nutating target.
文摘针对针式末端执行器夹持移栽后穴孔内基质残留较多的问题,设计了一种指铲式末端执行器,通过增大指铲与苗钵基质的接触面积,减少穴孔内基质的残留。通过静力学分析找出末端执行器提取苗钵后基质残留的原因:基质间的最大内聚力小于由基质与穴盘间的粘附力和苗钵重力合成的总阻力时,苗钵出现破裂,基质塌陷。基于离散单元法,通过EDEM(Enhanced discrete element method)仿真分析了指铲式末端执行器对土壤基质的抓取过程,发现随着土壤基质内聚力的提高基质残留的现象得到改善;将基质配比和含水率条件作为主要影响因素,通过组合测盘试验测量在不同基质配比和含水率试验条件下的粘附力和内聚力变化,寻找内聚力大于粘附力的基质配比和含水率条件。试验表明,当相对含水率为60%、基质配比为6∶3∶1(泥炭∶蛭石∶珍珠岩)时,内聚压强和粘附压强的差值最大,在该条件下,指铲式末端执行器对劣质苗钵穴孔基质的平均剔净率达到70.8%,优于其他作业条件,可剔除穴孔内大部分基质。