Design and analysis of a mobile robot with novel caster mechanism for high step-overcoming capability.

The mobile robot market is experiencing rapid growth, playing a pivotal role in various human-centric environments like restaurants, offices, hotels, hospitals, apartments, and factories. However, current differential-driven mobile robots, employing conventional casters and wheel motors, encounter limitations in surmounting uneven surfaces and high steps due to constraints caused by wheel and caster dimensions. While some robots address these challenges by incorporating optimized wheel shapes and additional motors, this invariably leads to an increase in both size and cost.

Experimental design of 4-point supported belt robot for sanding large convex surfaces.

In general, sanding robots that move as if drawing a line along a surface are mainly used when sanding objects with a large area; however, they require a long working time, and it is difficult to secure a uniform sanded area. This study focuses on large-area sanding robots, such as those for ships, storage tanks, and tank lorries, and proposes an adaptive belt tension robot equipped with a 4-point supported belt mechanism capable of sanding variable curved surfaces. In addition, a sanding normal force prediction formula is proposed to describe the sanding performance of the contact surface.

The stiffness adjustable wheel mechanism based on compliant spoke deformation.

This study proposes a variable-stiffness mechanism for non-pneumatic tires such that can actively adapt to various environments. Non-pneumatic tire is a compliant wheel structure that offers superior robustness and adaptability compared to pneumatic tires. However, the tire designed for certain terrain exhibits relatively high rolling resistance and inadequate suspension.

2 DOF transformable wheel design based on geared 8 bar parallel linkage mechanism.

This paper introduces a novel design and static optimization for a two-degrees-of-freedom transformable wheel based on a geared linkage mechanism. Overcoming obstacles, including stairs, with small wheels is a major challenge in the field of mobile robotics research. Among various robots, the transformable wheel, which can change the shape of the wheel to overcome steps and optimize the path, was presented and has undergone many improvements.

Slip considered path planning of a novel angled-spoke based robot in a terrain mixture of granular media and rigid support.

Navigation in terrains mixture of rigid support and granular media is associated with slippage. It is important to find the optimal path because slippage implies the possibility of a mobile robot being stuck in the sand. This research introduce concept of effective distance which consider effect of slippage to present a path planning algorithm.

Examining the mechanics of rope bending over a three-dimensional edge in ascending robots.

This paper presents the analysis of ropes' bending on three-dimension edges by ascending robots. A rope ascending robot (RAR) is a type of exterior wall-working robot that utilizes a synthetic rope to traverse the outer surface of a building. Rope-based façade cleaning robots demonstrate effective performance in well-structured buildings.

Honeycomb Artifact Removal Using Convolutional Neural Network for Fiber Bundle Imaging.

We present a new deep learning framework for removing honeycomb artifacts yielded by optical path blocking of cladding layers in fiber bundle imaging. The proposed framework, HAR-CNN, provides an end-to-end mapping from a raw fiber bundle image to an artifact-free image via a convolution neural network (CNN). The synthesis of honeycomb patterns on ordinary images allows conveniently learning and validating the network without the enormous ground truth collection by extra hardware setups.

Empirical optimization of an angled spoke paddling wheel with self-rotating mechanism.

The development of the maritime industry has led to a corresponding increase in maritime accidents. Maritime accidents are major events that are costly to recover and can cause casualties. Moreover, individuals who are brought to the scene for recovery or rescue are at risk.

Design exploration and comparative analysis of tail shape of tri-wheel-based stair-climbing robotic platform.

Stair climbing is one of the most important capabilities of mobile robots. Therefore, stair-climbing mobile robots have become a field of study and diverse stair-climbing mobile robots have been developed. Although tri-wheel-based stair-climbing robotic platforms were developed to overcome the challenges posed by stair climbing, they have shown limitations such as impact during locomotion and damage owing to friction with the nosing of the stairs.

Design optimization of a linkage-based 2-DOF wheel mechanism for stable step climbing.

This paper presents the design optimization of a linkage-based wheel mechanism with two degrees of freedom, for stable step climbing. The mechanism has seven rotational joints and one prismatic joint. Kinematic and dynamic analyses of the mechanism were performed.

Detection method for transparent window cleaning device, image processing approach.

Recent years, there has been an increase in the number of high-rise buildings, and subsequently, the interest in external wall cleaning methods has similarly increased. While a number of exterior wall cleaning robots are being developed, a method to detect contaminants on the exterior walls is still required. The exteriors of most high-rise buildings today take the form of a window curtain-wall made of translucent glass.

Real-time UVMS torque distribution algorithm based on weighting matrix.

This study presents a real-time algorithm for even distributing the torque burden on the parallel manipulator with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) through the cooperation of the AUV and manipulator. For the redundant resolution of the underwater vehicle manipulator system (UVMS), we used the weighting matrix of the weighted pseudo inverse for kinematic and dynamic modeling. We made dynamic and kinematic modeling using the force distribution characteristics of parallel manipulators.

Effects of body movement on yaw motion in bipedal running lizard by dynamic simulation.

Lizards run quickly and stably in a bipedal gait, with their bodies exhibiting a lateral S-shaped undulation. We investigate the relationship between a lizard's bipedal running and its body movement with the help of a dynamic simulation. In this study, a dynamic theoretical model of lizard is assumed as a three-link consisting of an anterior and posterior bodies, and a tail, with morphometrics based on Callisaurus draconoides.

Automated technique for high-pressure water-based window cleaning and accompanying parametric study.

The maintenance of buildings has become an important issue with the construction of many high-rise buildings in recent years. However, the cleaning of the outer walls of buildings is performed in highly hazardous environments over long periods, and many accidents occur each year. Various robots are being studied and developed to reduce these incidents and to relieve workers from hazardous tasks.

Switching PD-based sliding mode control for hovering of a tilting-thruster underwater robot.

This paper presents a switching PD-based sliding mode control (PD-SMC) method for the 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) hovering motion of the underwater robot with tilting thrusters. Four thrusters of robot can be tilted simultaneously in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the 6-DOF motion is achieved by switching between two thruster configurations. Therefore, the tilting speed of thruster becomes the most essential parameter to determine the stability of hovering motion.

The Numerical Study of the Hemodynamic Characteristics in the Patient-Specific Intracranial Aneurysms before and after Surgery.

The patient-specific pre- and postsurgery cerebral arterial geometries in the study were reconstructed from computed tomography angiography (CTA). Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics models were used to investigate the hemodynamic phenomena in the cerebral arteries before and after surgery of the aneurysm under realistic conditions. CFD simulations for laminar flow of incompressible Newtonian fluid were conducted by using commercial software, ANSYS v15, with the rigid vascular wall assumption.

Drug-Eluting Stent Design is a Determinant of Drug Concentration at the Endothelial Cell Surface.

Although drug-eluting stents (DES) have greatly reduced arterial restenosis, there are persistent concerns about stent thrombosis. DES thrombosis is attributable to retarded vascular re-endothelialization due to both stent-induced flow disturbance and the inhibition by the eluted drug of endothelial cell proliferation and migration. The present computational study aims to determine the effect of DES design on both stent-induced flow disturbance and the concentration of eluted drug at the arterial luminal surface.

Mathematical modeling of radiofrequency ablation for varicose veins.

We present a three-dimensional mathematical model for the study of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with blood flow for varicose vein. The model designed to analyze temperature distribution heated by radiofrequency energy and cooled by blood flow includes a cylindrically symmetric blood vessel with a homogeneous vein wall. The simulated blood velocity conditions are U = 0, 1, 2.

Computational study of fluid mechanical disturbance induced by endovascular stents.

Arterial restenosis following stent deployment may be influenced by the local flow environment within and around the stent. We have used computational fluid dynamics to investigate the flow field in the vicinity of model stents positioned within straight and curved vessels. Our simulations have revealed the presence of flow separation and recirculation immediately downstream of stents.