Humanoid robots have a large number of degrees of freedom (DoFs), therefore motor learning by such robots which explore the optimal parameters of behaviors is one of the most serious issues in humanoid robotics. In contrast, it has been suggested that humans can solve such a problem by synchronizing many body parts in the early stage of learning, and then desynchronizing their movements to opti...

The force-moment capabilities of redundantlyactuated planar-parallel manipulator (PPM) architectures are investigated. A previously developed explicit methodology for generating the force-moment capabilities of redundantly-actuated PPMs is used on three different architectures. The results for the 3-RRR, 3-RPR, 3-PRR layouts, where the underline denotes the actuated joints, are presented and di...

BACKGROUND The performance of nebulizers varies with the design type as well as the breathing patterns of various age groups. The present study quantified aerosol delivery using spontaneously breathing parameters of a small child (2-4 years) by a lung simulator to determine the influence of nebulizer type, actuation mechanisms, and pediatric aerosol masks. METHODS Three types of nebulizer (c...

Fluidic larger-scale integration (LSI) resides at the heart of comprehensive sample-to-answer automation and parallelization assay panels for frequent ubiquitous bioanalytical testing in decentralized point-of-use/point-of-care settings. This paper develops a novel “digital twin” strategy with an emphasis on rotational, centrifugo-pneumatic flow control. The underlying model systematically conn...

Timing diagrams are useful for capturing temporal specifications in which all mentioned events are required to occur. We first show that translating timing diagrams with both partial orders on events and don’t-care regions to LTL potentially yields exponentially larger formulas containing several non-localized terms corresponding to the same event. This raises a more fundamental question: which...

the root endophytic fungus, piriformospora indica, colonizes roots of a large number of plant species including cereals and brasicaceae. there are several reports indicating that p. indica protects roots from different path-ogens. in the present study, rice plants were pre-inoculated with p. indica and were subsequently infected with fusarium proliferatum, as the causal agent of root rot and cr...

This paper investigates the key problem of walking with both fully actuated and underactuated phases. The studied robot is planar, bipedal, and fully actuated in the sense that it has feet with revolute, actuated ankles. The desired walking motion is assumed to consist of three successive phases: a fullyactuated phase where the stance foot is flat on the ground, an underactuated phase where the...

We present a design for a miniature self-priming peristaltic pump actuated with a single linear actuator, and which can be manufactured using conventional materials and methods. The pump is tolerant of bubbles and particles and can pump liquids, foams, and gases. We explore designs actuated by a motor (in depth) and a shape memory alloy (briefly); and briefly present a manually actuated version...

in recent years, underactuated nonlinear dynamic systems trajectory tracking, such as space robots and manipulators with structural flexibility, has become a major field of interest due to the complexity and high computational load of these systems. hierarchical sliding mode control has been investigated recently for these systems; however, the instability phenomena will possibly occur, especia...