Human-Robot Teaming: Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fong, Terry

2017-01-01

In this talk, I will describe how NASA Ames has been studying how human-robot teams can increase the performance, reduce the cost, and increase the success of a variety of endeavors. The central premise of our work is that humans and robots should support one another in order to compensate for limitations of automation and manual control. This principle has broad applicability to a wide range of domains, environments, and situations. At the same time, however, effective human-robot teaming requires communication, coordination, and collaboration -- all of which present significant research challenges. I will discuss some of the ways that NASA Ames is addressing these challenges and present examples of our work involving planetary rovers, free-flying robots, and self-driving cars.

Nasa's Ant-Inspired Swarmie Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leucht, Kurt W.

2016-01-01

As humans push further beyond the grasp of earth, robotic missions in advance of human missions will play an increasingly important role. These robotic systems will find and retrieve valuable resources as part of an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) strategy. They will need to be highly autonomous while maintaining high task performance levels. NASA Kennedy Space Center has teamed up with the Biological Computation Lab at the University of New Mexico to create a swarm of small, low-cost, autonomous robots to be used as a ground-based research platform for ISRU missions. The behavior of the robot swarm mimics the central-place foraging strategy of ants to find and collect resources in a previously unmapped environment and return those resources to a central site. This talk will guide the audience through the Swarmie robot project from its conception by students in a New Mexico research lab to its robot trials in an outdoor parking lot at NASA. The software technologies and techniques used on the project will be discussed, as well as various challenges and solutions that were encountered by the development team along the way.

Human-Robot Teaming for Hydrologic Data Gathering at Multiple Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peschel, J.; Young, S. N.

2017-12-01

The use of personal robot-assistive technology by researchers and practitioners for hydrologic data gathering has grown in recent years as barriers to platform capability, cost, and human-robot interaction have been overcome. One consequence to this growth is a broad availability of unmanned platforms that might or might not be suitable for a specific hydrologic investigation. Through multiple field studies, a set of recommendations has been developed to help guide novice through experienced users in choosing the appropriate unmanned platforms for a given application. This talk will present a series of hydrologic data sets gathered using a human-robot teaming approach that has leveraged unmanned aerial, ground, and surface vehicles over multiple scales. The field case studies discussed will be connected to the best practices, also provided in the presentation. This talk will be of interest to geoscience researchers and practitioners, in general, as well as those working in fields related to emerging technologies.

Pre-Schoolers' Interest and Caring Behaviour around a Humanoid Robot

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ioannou, Andri; Andreou, Emily; Christofi, Maria

2015-01-01

This exploratory case study involved a humanoid robot, NAO, and four pre-schoolers. NAO was placed in an indoor playground together with other toys and appeared as a peer who played, talked, danced and said stories. Analysis of video recordings focused on children's behaviour around NAO and how the robot gained children's attention and…

Are You Talking to Me? Dialogue Systems Supporting Mixed Teams of Humans and Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dowding, John; Clancey, William J.; Graham, Jeffrey

2006-01-01

This position paper describes an approach to building spoken dialogue systems for environments containing multiple human speakers and hearers, and multiple robotic speakers and hearers. We address the issue, for robotic hearers, of whether the speech they hear is intended for them, or more likely to be intended for some other hearer. We will describe data collected during a series of experiments involving teams of multiple human and robots (and other software participants), and some preliminary results for distinguishing robot-directed speech from human-directed speech. The domain of these experiments is Mars-analogue planetary exploration. These Mars-analogue field studies involve two subjects in simulated planetary space suits doing geological exploration with the help of 1-2 robots, supporting software agents, a habitat communicator and links to a remote science team. The two subjects are performing a task (geological exploration) which requires them to speak with each other while also speaking with their assistants. The technique used here is to use a probabilistic context-free grammar language model in the speech recognizer that is trained on prior robot-directed speech. Intuitively, the recognizer will give higher confidence to an utterance if it is similar to utterances that have been directed to the robot in the past.

Robotic insects: Manufacturing, actuation, and power considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Robert

2015-12-01

As the characteristic size of a flying robot decreases, the challenges for successful flight revert to basic questions of fabrication, actuation, fluid mechanics, stabilization, and power - whereas such questions have in general been answered for larger aircraft. When developing a robot on the scale of a housefly, all hardware must be developed from scratch as there is nothing "off-the-shelf" which can be used for mechanisms, sensors, or computation that would satisfy the extreme mass and power limitations. With these challenges in mind, this talk will present progress in the essential technologies for insect-like robots with an emphasis on multi-scale manufacturing methods, high power density actuation, and energy-efficient power distribution.

Robots with AI: A retrospective on the AAAI robot competitions and exhibitions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bonasso, P.; Dean, T.

1996-12-31

There have been five years of robot competitions and exhibitions since the inception of this annual event in 1992. Since that first show we have seen 30 different teams compete and almost that many more exhibit their robots. These teams ranged from universities to industry and government research labs to one or two inventors working out of garages. Their composition ranged from seasoned AI researchers to eager undergraduates, and they hailed from the United States, Canada, Europe and the Far East. Despite the concerns of some about the relevance and even the appropriateness of such an event, the robots havemore » become a key attraction of the national and international conferences. In this talk, we look back on the form and function of the five years of exhibitions and competitions and attempt to draw some lessons in retrospect as well as future implications for the AI community and our society at large.« less

Automation and Robotics for Space-Based Systems, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Robert L., II (Editor)

1992-01-01

The purpose of this in-house workshop was to assess the state-of-the-art of automation and robotics for space operations from an LaRC perspective and to identify areas of opportunity for future research. Over half of the presentations came from the Automation Technology Branch, covering telerobotic control, extravehicular activity (EVA) and intra-vehicular activity (IVA) robotics, hand controllers for teleoperation, sensors, neural networks, and automated structural assembly, all applied to space missions. Other talks covered the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) active damping augmentation, space crane work, modeling, simulation, and control of large, flexible space manipulators, and virtual passive controller designs for space robots.

Robotic Mining Competition - Media Day

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-05-25

NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, at right, talks with Ken Kremer, Universe Today, during media day at the agency's 8th Annual Robotic Mining Competition at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Cabana shared his thoughts about the competition and the progress made to make Kennedy a multi-user spaceport. Teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. used their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, and participated in other competition requirements, May 22-26. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's Journey to Mars.

Robotic Mining Competition - Media Day

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-05-25

NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, at right, talks with Kurt Leucht, event emcee, during media day at the agency's 8th Annual Robotic Mining Competition at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. At the mining arena, Cabana shared his thoughts about the competition and the progress made to make Kennedy a multi-user spaceport. Teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. used their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, and participated in other competition requirements, May 22-26. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's Journey to Mars.

Robotics, Ethics, and Nanotechnology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganascia, Jean-Gabriel

It may seem out of character to find a chapter on robotics in a book about nanotechnology, and even more so a chapter on the application of ethics to robots. Indeed, as we shall see, the questions look quite different in these two fields, i.e., in robotics and nanoscience. In short, in the case of robots, we are dealing with artificial beings endowed with higher cognitive faculties, such as language, reasoning, action, and perception, whereas in the case of nano-objects, we are talking about invisible macromolecules which act, move, and duplicate unseen to us. In one case, we find ourselves confronted by a possibly evil double of ourselves, and in the other, a creeping and intangible nebula assails us from all sides. In one case, we are faced with an alter ego which, although unknown, is clearly perceptible, while in the other, an unspeakable ooze, the notorious grey goo, whose properties are both mysterious and sinister, enters and immerses us. This leads to a shift in the ethical problem situation: the notion of responsibility can no longer be worded in the same terms because, despite its otherness, the robot can always be located somewhere, while in the case of nanotechnologies, myriad nanometric objects permeate everywhere, disseminating uncontrollably.

Intraoperative tumor localization and tissue distinction during robotic adrenalectomy using indocyanine green fluorescence imaging: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Sound, Sara; Okoh, Alexis K; Bucak, Emre; Yigitbas, Hakan; Dural, Cem; Berber, Eren

2016-02-01

To investigate the feasibility of a method for intraoperative tumor localization and tissue distinction during robotic adrenalectomy (RA) via indocyanine green (ICG) imaging under near-infrared light. Ten patients underwent RA. After exposure of the retroperitoneal space, but before adrenal dissection was started, ICG was given intravenously (IV). Fluorescence Firefly™ imaging was performed at 1-, 5-, 10-, and 20-min time points. The precision with which the borders of the adrenal tissue were distinguished with ICG imaging was compared to that with the conventional robotic view. The number and the total volume of injections for each patient were recorded. There were six male and four female patients. Diagnosis was primary hyperaldosteronism in four patients and myelolipoma, adrenocortical neoplasm, adrenocortical hyperplasia, Cushing's syndrome, pheochromocytoma, and metastasis in one patient each. Procedures were done through a robotic lateral transabdominal approach in nine and through a robotic posterior retroperitoneal approach in one patient. Dose per injection ranged between 2.5 and 6.3 mg and total dose per patient 7.5-18.8 mg. The adrenal gland took up the dye in 1 min, with contrast between adrenal mass and surrounding retroperitoneal fat becoming most distinguished at 5 min. Fluorescence of adrenal tissue lasted up to 20 min after injection. Overall, ICG imaging was felt to help with the conduct of operation in 8 out of 10 procedures. There were no conversions to open or morbidity. There were no immediate or delayed adverse effects attributable to IV ICG administration. In this pilot study, we demonstrated the feasibility and safety of ICG imaging in a small group of patients undergoing RA. We described a method that enabled an effective fluorescence imaging to localize the adrenal glands and guide dissection. Future research is necessary to study how this imaging affects perioperative outcomes.

Green Supercomputing at Argonne

ScienceCinema

Pete Beckman

2017-12-09

Pete Beckman, head of Argonne's Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) talks about Argonne National Laboratory's green supercomputing—everything from designing algorithms to use fewer kilowatts per operation to using cold Chicago winter air to cool the machine more efficiently.

Robots: Fantasy and Reality

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grossman, David

A irreverent non-technical review of the history of surprisingly animate machines, from ancient Egypt to current times. Areas include teleoperators for hazardous environments, assembly systems, medical applications, entertainment, and science fiction. The talk has over 100 slides, covering such varied topics as Memnon son of Dawn, Droz's automata, Vaucanson's duck, cathedral clocks, Von Kempelen's chess player, household robots, Asimov's laws, Disneyland, dinosaurs, and movie droids and cyborgs.

Robots with language.

PubMed

Parisi, Domenico

2010-01-01

Trying to understand human language by constructing robots that have language necessarily implies an embodied view of language, where the meaning of linguistic expressions is derived from the physical interactions of the organism with the environment. The paper describes a neural model of language according to which the robot's behaviour is controlled by a neural network composed of two sub-networks, one dedicated to the non-linguistic interactions of the robot with the environment and the other one to processing linguistic input and producing linguistic output. We present the results of a number of simulations using the model and we suggest how the model can be used to account for various language-related phenomena such as disambiguation, the metaphorical use of words, the pervasive idiomaticity of multi-word expressions, and mental life as talking to oneself. The model implies a view of the meaning of words and multi-word expressions as a temporal process that takes place in the entire brain and has no clearly defined boundaries. The model can also be extended to emotional words if we assume that an embodied view of language includes not only the interactions of the robot's brain with the external environment but also the interactions of the brain with what is inside the body.

Suitability of healthcare robots for a dementia unit and suggested improvements.

PubMed

Robinson, Hayley; MacDonald, Bruce A; Kerse, Ngaire; Broadbent, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

To investigate the suitability of a new eldercare robot (Guide) for people with dementia and their caregivers compared with one that has been successfully used before (Paro), and to generate suggestions for improved robot enhanced dementia care. Cross-sectional study. A researcher demonstrated both robots in a random order to each staff member alone, or to each resident together with his/her relative(s). The researcher encouraged the participants to interact with each robot and asked staff and relatives a series of open ended questions about each robot. A secure dementia residential facility in Auckland, New Zealand. Ten people with dementia and 11 of their relatives, and five staff members. Each robot interaction was video-taped and coded for the number of times the resident looked at, smiled, touched, and talked to and about each robot, as well as relative interactions with the resident. Qualitative analysis was used to code the open ended questions. Residents smiled, touched and talked to Paro significantly more than Guide. Paro was found to be more acceptable to family members, staff, and residents, although many acknowledged that Guide had the potential to be useful if adapted for this population in terms of ergonomics and simplification. Healthcare robots in dementia settings have to be simple and easy to use as well as stimulating and entertaining. This research highlights how eldercare robots may be adapted to have the best effects in dementia settings. It is concluded that Paro's sounds could be modified to be more acceptable to this population. The ergonomic design of Guide could be reviewed and the software application could be simplified and targeted to people with dementia. Copyright © 2013 American Medical Directors Association, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The psychosocial effects of a companion robot: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Robinson, Hayley; Macdonald, Bruce; Kerse, Ngaire; Broadbent, Elizabeth

2013-09-01

To investigate the psychosocial effects of the companion robot, Paro, in a rest home/hospital setting in comparison to a control group. Randomized controlled trial. Residents were randomized to the robot intervention group or a control group that attended normal activities instead of Paro sessions. Sessions took place twice a week for an hour over 12 weeks. Over the trial period, observations were conducted of residents' social behavior when interacting as a group with the robot. As a comparison, observations were also conducted of all the residents during general activities when the resident dog was or was not present. A residential care facility in Auckland, New Zealand. Forty residents in hospital and rest home care. Residents completed a baseline measure assessing cognitive status, loneliness, depression, and quality of life. At follow-up, residents completed a questionnaire assessing loneliness, depression, and quality of life. During observations, behavior was noted and collated for instances of talking and stroking the dog/robot. In comparison with the control group, residents who interacted with the robot had significant decreases in loneliness over the period of the trial. Both the resident dog and the seal robot made an impact on the social environment in comparison to when neither was present. Residents talked to and touched the robot significantly more than the resident dog. A greater number of residents were involved in discussion about the robot in comparison with the resident dog and conversation about the robot occurred more. Paro is a positive addition to this environment and has benefits for older people in nursing home care. Paro may be able to address some of the unmet needs of older people that a resident animal may not, particularly relating to loneliness. Copyright © 2013 American Medical Directors Association, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Astronaut David Brown talks to FIRST team members

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Astronaut David Brown talks with FIRST team members, Baxter Bomb Squad, from Mountain Home High School, Mountain Home, Ariz., during the FIRST competition. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Green Supercomputing at Argonne

ScienceCinema

Beckman, Pete

2018-02-07

Pete Beckman, head of Argonne's Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) talks about Argonne National Laboratory's green supercomputing—everything from designing algorithms to use fewer kilowatts per operation to using cold Chicago winter air to cool the machine more efficiently. Argonne was recognized for green computing in the 2009 HPCwire Readers Choice Awards. More at http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2009/news091117.html Read more about the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility at http://www.alcf.anl.gov/

Straight talk with... Eric Green. Interview by Erica Westly.

PubMed

Green, Eric

2010-01-01

Eric Green, the new head of the US National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), has been involved with genomics since the term was first coined in the 1980s. He started at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a postdoc and was a key contributor to the Human Genome Project. Nearly a decade ago, when Green was part of a team that produced one of the first human genome sequences, the potential for genomics-related medical applications seemed limitless. But most disorders have proved to be too complex to benefit from our current understanding of genomics, and some critics have argued that researchers have put too much emphasis on uncovering the genetic underpinnings of diseases. Recent demand for comparative effectiveness research in medicine has further complicated the debate, leading former head of NHGRI Francis Collins to worry that genomic differences could get "lost in the wash." Erica Westly spoke with Green about where he sees the genomics field heading and what role he thinks the NHGRI should have in the American health care system.

Strategy for robot motion and path planning in robot taping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Qilong; Chen, I.-Ming; Lembono, Teguh Santoso; Landén, Simon Nelson; Malmgren, Victor

2016-06-01

Covering objects with masking tapes is a common process for surface protection in processes like spray painting, plasma spraying, shot peening, etc. Manual taping is tedious and takes a lot of effort of the workers. The taping process is a special process which requires correct surface covering strategy and proper attachment of the masking tape for an efficient surface protection. We have introduced an automatic robot taping system consisting of a robot manipulator, a rotating platform, a 3D scanner and specially designed taping end-effectors. This paper mainly talks about the surface covering strategies for different classes of geometries. The methods and corresponding taping tools are introduced for taping of following classes of surfaces: Cylindrical/extended surfaces, freeform surfaces with no grooves, surfaces with grooves, and rotational symmetrical surfaces. A collision avoidance algorithm is introduced for the robot taping manipulation. With further improvements on segmenting surfaces of taping parts and tape cutting mechanisms, such taping solution with the taping tool and the taping methodology can be combined as a very useful and practical taping package to assist humans in this tedious and time costly work.

NASA hosts FIRST Robotics kickoff for regional schools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Master of ceremonies Steve Culivan, an employee of Penn State University and aerospace education specialist at NASA's Stennis Space Center, talked to a crowd of more than 300 who attended the Jan. 5 kickoff of the 2008 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition season. The students, coaches and mentors from three states who attended also watched a live broadcast from FIRST's Manchester, N.H., headquarters that revealed this year's competition challenge, and received parts kits from which they built robots to meet the challenge.

NASA hosts FIRST Robotics kickoff for regional schools

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-01-05

Master of ceremonies Steve Culivan, an employee of Penn State University and aerospace education specialist at NASA's Stennis Space Center, talked to a crowd of more than 300 who attended the Jan. 5 kickoff of the 2008 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition season. The students, coaches and mentors from three states who attended also watched a live broadcast from FIRST's Manchester, N.H., headquarters that revealed this year's competition challenge, and received parts kits from which they built robots to meet the challenge.

The Color Green: A "Go" for Peace Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Ruth A.

2009-01-01

This article talks about the "Green Approach" to peace education. This approach to early childhood education is not only good for the environment but also good for young children and society, as "going green" gives children many opportunities to experience and practice peace in a way that matches their level of development. Caring for simple…

A 2.5D Map-Based Mobile Robot Localization via Cooperation of Aerial and Ground Robots

PubMed Central

Nam, Tae Hyeon; Shim, Jae Hong; Cho, Young Im

2017-01-01

Recently, there has been increasing interest in studying the task coordination of aerial and ground robots. When a robot begins navigation in an unknown area, it has no information about the surrounding environment. Accordingly, for robots to perform tasks based on location information, they need a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) process that uses sensor information to draw a map of the environment, while simultaneously estimating the current location of the robot on the map. This paper aims to present a localization method based in cooperation between aerial and ground robots in an indoor environment. The proposed method allows a ground robot to reach accurate destination by using a 2.5D elevation map built by a low-cost RGB-D (Red Green and Blue-Depth) sensor and 2D Laser sensor attached onto an aerial robot. A 2.5D elevation map is formed by projecting height information of an obstacle using depth information obtained by the RGB-D sensor onto a grid map, which is generated by using the 2D Laser sensor and scan matching. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for its accuracy in location recognition and computing speed. PMID:29186843

A 2.5D Map-Based Mobile Robot Localization via Cooperation of Aerial and Ground Robots.

PubMed

Nam, Tae Hyeon; Shim, Jae Hong; Cho, Young Im

2017-11-25

Recently, there has been increasing interest in studying the task coordination of aerial and ground robots. When a robot begins navigation in an unknown area, it has no information about the surrounding environment. Accordingly, for robots to perform tasks based on location information, they need a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) process that uses sensor information to draw a map of the environment, while simultaneously estimating the current location of the robot on the map. This paper aims to present a localization method based in cooperation between aerial and ground robots in an indoor environment. The proposed method allows a ground robot to reach accurate destination by using a 2.5D elevation map built by a low-cost RGB-D (Red Green and Blue-Depth) sensor and 2D Laser sensor attached onto an aerial robot. A 2.5D elevation map is formed by projecting height information of an obstacle using depth information obtained by the RGB-D sensor onto a grid map, which is generated by using the 2D Laser sensor and scan matching. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for its accuracy in location recognition and computing speed.

Biomimetics and the Development of Humanlike Robots as the Ultimate Challenge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2011-01-01

Evolution led to effective solutions to nature's challenges and they were improved over millions of years. Humans have always made efforts to use nature as a model for innovation and problems solving. These efforts became more intensive in recent years where systematic studies of nature are being made towards better understanding and applying more sophisticated capabilities. Making humanlike robots, including the appearance, functions and intelligence, poses the ultimate challenges to biomimetics. For many years, making such robots was considered science fiction, but as a result of significant advances in biologically inspired technologies, such robots are increasingly becoming an engineering reality. There are already humanlike robots that walk, talk, interpret speech, make eye-contact and facial expressions, as well as perform many other humanlike functions. In this paper, the state-of-the-art of humanlike robots, potential applications and issues of concern will be reviewed.

A robotic voice simulator and the interactive training for hearing-impaired people.

PubMed

Sawada, Hideyuki; Kitani, Mitsuki; Hayashi, Yasumori

2008-01-01

A talking and singing robot which adaptively learns the vocalization skill by means of an auditory feedback learning algorithm is being developed. The robot consists of motor-controlled vocal organs such as vocal cords, a vocal tract and a nasal cavity to generate a natural voice imitating a human vocalization. In this study, the robot is applied to the training system of speech articulation for the hearing-impaired, because the robot is able to reproduce their vocalization and to teach them how it is to be improved to generate clear speech. The paper briefly introduces the mechanical construction of the robot and how it autonomously acquires the vocalization skill in the auditory feedback learning by listening to human speech. Then the training system is described, together with the evaluation of the speech training by auditory impaired people.

Evolving technologies in robotic surgery for minimally invasive treatment of gynecologic cancers.

PubMed

Levinson, Kimberly L; Auer, Melinda; Escobar, Pedro F

2013-09-01

Since the introduction of robotic technology, there have been significant changes to the field of gynecologic oncology. The number of minimally invasive procedures has drastically increased, with robotic procedures rising remarkably. With recent evidence suggesting that minimally invasive techniques should be the standard of care for early endometrial and cervical cancers, the push for new technology and advancements has continued. Several emerging robotic technologies have significant potential in the field of gynecologic oncology. The single-site robotic platform enables robotic surgery through a single incision; the Firefly camera detects the fluorescent dye indocyanine green, which may improve sensitivity in sentinel lymph node biopsy; and a robotic vessel-sealing device and stapler will continue to improve efficiency of the robotic surgeon.

Indocyanine green for intraoperative localization of ureter.

PubMed

Siddighi, Sam; Yune, Junchan Joshua; Hardesty, Jeffrey

2014-10-01

Intraurethral injection of indocyanine green (ICG; Akorn, Lake Forest, IL) and visualization under near-infrared (NIR) light allows for real-time delineation of the ureter. This technology can be helpful to prevent iatrogenic ureteral injury during pelvic surgery. Patients were scheduled to undergo robot-assisted laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy. Before the robotic surgery started, the tip of a 6-F ureteral catheter was inserted into the ureteral orifice. Twenty-five milligrams of ICG was dissolved in 10-mL of sterile water and injected through the open catheter. The same procedure was repeated on the opposite side. The ICG reversibly stained the inside lining of the ureter by binding to proteins on urothelial layer. During the course of robotic surgery, the NIR laser on the da Vinci Si surgical robot (Intuitive Surgical, Inc, Sunnyvale, CA) was used to excite ICG molecules, and infrared emission was captured by the da Vinci filtered lens system and electronically converted to green color. Thus, the ureter fluoresced green, which allowed its definitive identification throughout the entire case. In all cases of >10 patients, we were able to visualize bilateral ureters with this technology, even though there was some variation in brightness that depended on the depth of the ureter from the peritoneal surface. For example, in a morbidly obese patient, the ureters were not as bright green. There were no intraoperative or postoperative adverse effects attributable to ICG administration for up to 2 months of observation. In our experience, this novel method of intraurethral ICG injection was helpful to identify the entire course of ureter and allowed a safe approach to tissues that were adjacent to the urinary tract. The advantage of our technique is that it requires the insertion of just the tip of ureteral catheter. Despite our limited cohort of patients, our findings are consistent with previous reports of the excellent safety profile of intravenous and intrabiliary ICG

Deploying the ODIS robot in Iraq and Afghanistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smuda, Bill; Schoenherr, Edward; Andrusz, Henry; Gerhart, Grant

2005-05-01

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown the importance of robotic technology as a force multiplier and a tool for moving soldiers out of harms way. Situations on the ground make soldiers performing checkpoint operations easy targets for snipers and suicide bombers. Robotics technology reduces risk to soldiers and other personnel at checkpoints. Early user involvement in innovative and aggressive development and acquisition strategies are the key to moving robotic and associated technology into the hands of the user. This paper updates activity associated with rapid development of the Omni-Directional Inspection System (ODIS) robot for under vehicle inspection and reports on our field experience with robotics in Iraq and Afghanistan. In February of 2004, two TARDEC Engineers departed for a mission to Iraq and Afghanistan with ten ODIS Robots. Six robots were deployed in the Green Zone in Baghdad. Two Robots were deployed at Kandahar Army Airfield and two were deployed at Bagram Army Airfield in Afghanistan. The TARDEC Engineers who performed this mission trained the soldiers and provided initial on site support. They also trained Exponent employees assigned to the Rapid Equipping Force in ODIS repair. We will discuss our initial deployment, lessons learned and future plans.

Green Flight Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-10-03

Pipistrel-USA Team Lead Jack Langelaan talks after his team won the 2011 Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google, on Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 at the NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif. The all electric Taurus G4 aircraft achieved the equivalency of more than 400 miles per gallon. NASA and CAFE Foundation held the challenge to advance technologies in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions with cleaner renewable fuels and electric aircraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Fluorescence-enhanced robotic radical cystectomy using unconjugated indocyanine green for pelvic lymphangiography, tumor marking, and mesenteric angiography: the initial clinical experience.

PubMed

Manny, Ted B; Hemal, Ashok K

2014-04-01

To describe the initial feasibility of fluorescence-enhanced robotic radical cystectomy (FERRC) using real-time cystoscopic injection of unconjugated indocyanine green (ICG) for tumor marking and identification of sentinel lymphatic drainage with additional intravenous injection for mesenteric angiography. Ten patients with clinically localized high-grade bladder cancer underwent FERRC. Before robot docking, rigid cystoscopy was performed, during which a 2.5-mg/mL ICG solution was injected in the bladder submucosa and detrusor circumferentially around the tumor. After robot docking, parameters describing the time course of tissue fluorescence and pelvic lymphangiography were systematically recorded. Lymphatic packets containing fluorescent lymph nodes were considered the sentinel drainage. Eight patients underwent intracorporeal ileal conduit urinary diversion, during which an additional 2-mL ICG solution was given intravenously for mesenteric angiography, allowing maximal preservation of bowel vascularity to the conduit and remaining bowel segments. Bladder tumor marking and identification of sentinel drainage were achieved in 9 of 10 (90%) patients. The area of bladder tumor was identified at a median of 15 minutes after injection, whereas sentinel drainage was visualized at a median of 30 minutes. Mesenteric angiography was successful in 8 of 8 (100%) patients at a median time of <1 minutes after intravenous injection and enabled identification of bowel arcades before intracorporeal bowel stapling. FERRC using combined cystoscopic and intravenous injection of ICG is safe and feasible. FERRC allows for reliable bladder tumor marking, identification of sentinel lymphatic drainage, and identification of mesenteric vasculature in most patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Applications of NASA Mission Technologies to the Greening of Human Impact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, Michael H.

2009-01-01

I will give an overview talk about flight software systems, robotics technologies and modeling for energy minimization as applied to vehicles and buildings infrastructures. A dominant issue in both design and operations of robotic spacecraft is the minimization of energy use. In the design and building of spacecraft increased power is acquired only at the cost of additional mass and volumes and ultimately cost. Consequently, interplanetary spacecrafts are designed to have the minimum essential power and those designs often incorporate careful timing of all power use. Operationally, the availability of power is the most influential constraint for the use of planetary surface robots, such as the Mars Exploration Rovers. The amount of driving done, the amount of science accomplished and indeed the survivability of the spacecraft itself is determined by the power available for use. For the Mars Exploration Rovers there are four tools which are used: (1) models of the rover and it s thermal and power use (2) predictive environmental models of power input and thermal environment (3) fine grained manipulation of power use (4) optimization modeling and planning tools. In this talk I will discuss possible applications of this methodology to minimizing power use on Earth, especially in buildings.

Green Flight Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-25

CAFE Foundation Weights Chief Wayne Cook, left, talks with the e-Genius aircraft crew about their weigh-in during the 2011 Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google, at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Monday, Sept. 26, 2011. NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation are having the challenge with the goal to advance technologies in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions with cleaner renewable fuels and electric aircraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Let's Talk about Talking: Accountable Talk and Participatory Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huss, John A.

2007-01-01

Middle-grade students like to talk. This natural "gift of gab" may at times be suppressed by teachers who prefer to impart knowledge rather than allow students to participate in its development. Intelligence is a social practice. Students become adept at socializing their intelligence if they are encouraged to talk in meaningful and constructive…

Talking Black.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrahams, Roger D.

This book contains essays which focus on the systems of communication that operate within and between various social segments of Afro-American communities in the United States. The essays are presented under the following headings: (1) "Getting Into It: Black Talk, Black Life and the Academic," (2) "'Talking My Talk': Black Talk Varieties and…

Automated Kinematics Equations Generation and Constrained Motion Planning Resolution for Modular and Reconfigurable Robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pin, Francois G.; Love, Lonnie L.; Jung, David L.

2004-03-29

Contrary to the repetitive tasks performed by industrial robots, the tasks in most DOE missions such as environmental restoration or Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) can be characterized as ''batches-of-one'', in which robots must be capable of adapting to changes in constraints, tools, environment, criteria and configuration. No commercially available robot control code is suitable for use with such widely varying conditions. In this talk we present our development of a ''generic code'' to allow real time (at loop rate) robot behavior adaptation to changes in task objectives, tools, number and type of constraints, modes of controls or kinematics configuration. Wemore » present the analytical framework underlying our approach and detail the design of its two major modules for the automatic generation of the kinematics equations when the robot configuration or tools change and for the motion planning under time-varying constraints. Sample problems illustrating the capabilities of the developed system are presented.« less

Using a robot to personalise health education for children with diabetes type 1: a pilot study.

PubMed

Blanson Henkemans, Olivier A; Bierman, Bert P B; Janssen, Joris; Neerincx, Mark A; Looije, Rosemarijn; van der Bosch, Hanneke; van der Giessen, Jeanine A M

2013-08-01

Assess the effects of personalised robot behaviours on the enjoyment and motivation of children (8-12) with diabetes, and on their acquisition of health knowledge, in educational play. Children (N=5) played diabetes quizzes against a personal or neutral robot on three occasions: once at the clinic, twice at home. The personal robot asked them about their names, sports and favourite colours, referred to these data during the interaction, and engaged in small talk. Fun, motivation and diabetes knowledge was measured. Child-robot interaction was observed. Children said the robot and quiz were fun, but this appreciation declined over time. With the personal robot, the children looked more at the robot and spoke more. The children mimicked the robot. Finally, an increase in knowledge about diabetes was observed. The study provides strong indication for how a personal robot can help children to improve health literacy in an enjoyable way. Children mimic the robot. When the robot is personal, they follow suit. Our results are positive and establish a good foundation for further development and testing in a larger study. Using a robot in health care could contribute to self-management in children and help them to cope with their illness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Green Flight Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-27

The e-Genius pilots talk with a fellow team member prior to their takeoff for the miles per gallon (MPG) flight during the 2011 Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google, at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011. NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation are having the challenge with the goal to advance technologies in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions with cleaner renewable fuels and electric aircraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A Green Robotic Observatory for Astronomy Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, Vishnu; Archer, K.

2008-09-01

With the development of robotic telescopes and stable remote observing software, it is currently possible for a small institution to have an affordable astronomical facility for astronomy education. However, a faculty member has to deal with the light pollution (observatory location on campus), its nightly operations and regular maintenance apart from his day time teaching and research responsibilities. While building an observatory at a remote location is a solution, the cost of constructing and operating such a facility, not to mention the environmental impact, are beyond the reach of most institutions. In an effort to resolve these issues we have developed a robotic remote observatory that can be operated via the internet from anywhere in the world, has a zero operating carbon footprint and minimum impact on the local environment. The prototype observatory is a clam-shell design that houses an 8-inch telescope with a SBIG ST-10 CCD detector. The brain of the observatory is a low draw 12-volt harsh duty computer that runs the dome, telescope, CCD camera, focuser, and weather monitoring. All equipment runs of a 12-volt AGM-style battery that has low lead content and hence more environmental-friendly to dispose. The total power of 12-14 amp/hrs is generated from a set of solar panels that are large enough to maintain a full battery charge for several cloudy days. This completely eliminates the need for a local power grid for operations. Internet access is accomplished via a high-speed cell phone broadband connection or satellite link eliminating the need for a phone network. An independent observatory monitoring system interfaces with the observatory computer during operation. The observatory converts to a trailer for transportation to the site and is converted to a semi-permanent building without wheels and towing equipment. This ensures minimal disturbance to local environment.

Teaching Human Poses Interactively to a Social Robot

PubMed Central

Gonzalez-Pacheco, Victor; Malfaz, Maria; Fernandez, Fernando; Salichs, Miguel A.

2013-01-01

The main activity of social robots is to interact with people. In order to do that, the robot must be able to understand what the user is saying or doing. Typically, this capability consists of pre-programmed behaviors or is acquired through controlled learning processes, which are executed before the social interaction begins. This paper presents a software architecture that enables a robot to learn poses in a similar way as people do. That is, hearing its teacher's explanations and acquiring new knowledge in real time. The architecture leans on two main components: an RGB-D (Red-, Green-, Blue- Depth) -based visual system, which gathers the user examples, and an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system, which processes the speech describing those examples. The robot is able to naturally learn the poses the teacher is showing to it by maintaining a natural interaction with the teacher. We evaluate our system with 24 users who teach the robot a predetermined set of poses. The experimental results show that, with a few training examples, the system reaches high accuracy and robustness. This method shows how to combine data from the visual and auditory systems for the acquisition of new knowledge in a natural manner. Such a natural way of training enables robots to learn from users, even if they are not experts in robotics. PMID:24048336

Teaching human poses interactively to a social robot.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Pacheco, Victor; Malfaz, Maria; Fernandez, Fernando; Salichs, Miguel A

2013-09-17

The main activity of social robots is to interact with people. In order to do that, the robot must be able to understand what the user is saying or doing. Typically, this capability consists of pre-programmed behaviors or is acquired through controlled learning processes, which are executed before the social interaction begins. This paper presents a software architecture that enables a robot to learn poses in a similar way as people do. That is, hearing its teacher's explanations and acquiring new knowledge in real time. The architecture leans on two main components: an RGB-D (Red-, Green-, Blue- Depth) -based visual system, which gathers the user examples, and an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system, which processes the speech describing those examples. The robot is able to naturally learn the poses the teacher is showing to it by maintaining a natural interaction with the teacher. We evaluate our system with 24 users who teach the robot a predetermined set of poses. The experimental results show that, with a few training examples, the system reaches high accuracy and robustness. This method shows how to combine data from the visual and auditory systems for the acquisition of new knowledge in a natural manner. Such a natural way of training enables robots to learn from users, even if they are not experts in robotics.

Feasibility and optimal dosage of indocyanine green fluorescence for sentinel lymph node detection using robotic single-site instrumentation: preclinical study.

PubMed

Levinson, Kimberly L; Mahdi, Haider; Escobar, Pedro F

2013-01-01

The present study was performed to determine the optimal dosage of indocyanine green (ICG) to accurately differentiate the sentinel node from surrounding tissue and then to test this dosage using novel single-port robotic instrumentation. The study was performed in healthy female pigs. After induction of anesthesia, all pigs underwent exploratory laparotomy, dissection of the bladder, and colpotomy to reveal the cervical os. With use of a 21-gauge needle, 0.5 mL normal saline solution was injected at the 3- and 9-o'clock positions as control. Four concentrations of ICG were constituted for doses of 1000, 500, 250, and 175 μg per 0.5 mL. ICG was then injected at the 3- and 9-o'clock positions on the cervix. The SPY camera was used to track ICG into the sentinel nodes and to quantify the intensity of light emitted. SPY technology uses an intensity scale of 1 to 256; this scale was used to determine the difference in intensity between the sentinel node and surrounding tissues. The optimal dosage was tested using single-port robotic instrumentation with the same injection techniques. A sentinel node was identified at all doses except 175 μg, at which ICG stayed in the cervix and vasculature only. For both the 500- and 250-μg doses, the sentinel node was identified before reaching maximum intensity. At maximum intensity, the difference between the surrounding tissue and the node was 207 (251 vs 44) for the 500-μg dose and 159 (251 vs 92) for the 250-μg dose. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy was successfully performed using single-port robotic technology with both the 250- and 500-μg doses. For SLN detection, the dose of ICG is related to the ability to differentiate the sentinel node from the surrounding tissue. An ICG dose of 250 to 500 μg enables identification of a SLN with more distinction from the surrounding tissues, and this procedure is feasible using single-port robotics instrumentation. Copyright © 2013 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

Green Flight Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-27

Pipistrel-USA Pilots Robin Reid, left, and David Morss, talk on their cell phones shortly after participating in the miles per gallon (MPG) flight in their Taurus G4 aircraft during the 2011 Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google, at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011. NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation are having the challenge with the goal to advance technologies in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions with cleaner renewable fuels and electric aircraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Green Flight Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-27

CAFE Foundation Security Chief and Event Manager Bruno Mombrinie, left, talks with CAFE Foundation eCharging Chief Alan Soule as flight crews prepare for the miles per gallon (MPG) flight during the 2011 Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google, at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011. NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation are having the challenge with the goal to advance technologies in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions with cleaner renewable fuels and electric aircraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

MODEL2TALK: An Intervention to Promote Productive Classroom Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Veen, Chiel; van der Wilt, Femke; van Kruistum, Claudia; van Oers, Bert; Michaels, Sarah

2017-01-01

This article describes the MODEL2TALK intervention, which aims to promote young children's oral communicative competence through productive classroom talk. Productive classroom talk provides children in early childhood education with many opportunities to talk and think together. Results from a large-scale study show that productive classroom talk…

Talking About Antismoking Campaigns: What Do Smokers Talk About, and How Does Talk Influence Campaign Effectiveness?

PubMed

Brennan, Emily; Durkin, Sarah J; Wakefield, Melanie A; Kashima, Yoshihisa

2016-01-01

Campaign-stimulated conversations have been shown to increase the effectiveness of antismoking campaigns. In order to explore why such effects occur, in the current study we coded the content of naturally occurring conversations. We also examined whether the short-term effects of talking, and of different types of talk, on quitting intentions were mediated through intrapersonal message responses. Using the Natural Exposure(SM) methodology, we exposed 411 smokers to 1 of 6 antismoking advertisements while they were watching television at home. Responses to the advertisement-conversation participation and content, emotional responses, personalized perceived effectiveness, and changes in intentions to quit-were measured within 3 days of exposure. Conversations were coded for appraisal of the advertisement (favorable, neutral, or unfavorable) and the presence of quitting talk and emotion talk. Mediation analyses indicated that the positive effects of talking on intention change were mediated through personalized perceived effectiveness and that the positive effects were driven by conversations that contained a favorable appraisal and/or quitting talk. Conversely, conversations that contained an unfavorable appraisal of the advertisement were negatively associated with campaign effectiveness. These findings highlight the importance of measuring interpersonal communication when evaluating campaigns and the need for further research to identify the message characteristics that predict when smokers talk and when they talk only in desirable ways.

Geometric mechanics for modelling bioinspired robots locomotion: from rigid to continuous (soft) systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyer, Frederic; Porez, Mathieu; Renda, Federico

This talk presents recent geometric tools developed to model the locomotion dynamics of bio-inspired robots. Starting from the model of discrete rigid multibody systems we will rapidly shift to the case of continuous systems inspired from snakes and fish. To that end, we will build on the model of Cosserat media. This extended picture of geometric locomotion dynamics (inspired from fields' theory) will allow us to introduce models of swimming recently used in biorobotics. We will show how modeling a fish as a one-dimensional Cosserat medium allows to recover and extend the Large Amplitude Elongated Body theory of J. Lighthill and to apply it to an eel-like robot. In the same vein, modeling the mantle of cephalopods as a two dimensional Cosserat medium will build a basis for studying the jet propelling of a soft octopus like robot.

Effect of a human-type communication robot on cognitive function in elderly women living alone.

PubMed

Tanaka, Masaaki; Ishii, Akira; Yamano, Emi; Ogikubo, Hiroki; Okazaki, Masatsugu; Kamimura, Kazuro; Konishi, Yasuharu; Emoto, Shigeru; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi

2012-09-01

Considering the high prevalence of dementia, it would be of great value to develop effective tools to improve cognitive function. We examined the effects of a human-type communication robot on cognitive function in elderly women living alone. In this study, 34 healthy elderly female volunteers living alone were randomized to living with either a communication robot or a control robot at home for 8 weeks. The shape, voice, and motion features of the communication robot resemble those of a 3-year-old boy, while the control robot was not designed to talk or nod. Before living with the robot and 4 and 8 weeks after living with the robot, experiments were conducted to evaluate a variety of cognitive functions as well as saliva cortisol, sleep, and subjective fatigue, motivation, and healing. The Mini-Mental State Examination score, judgement, and verbal memory function were improved after living with the communication robot; those functions were not altered with the control robot. In addition, the saliva cortisol level was decreased, nocturnal sleeping hours tended to increase, and difficulty in maintaining sleep tended to decrease with the communication robot, although alterations were not shown with the control. The proportions of the participants in whom effects on attenuation of fatigue, enhancement of motivation, and healing could be recognized were higher in the communication robot group relative to the control group. This study demonstrates that living with a human-type communication robot may be effective for improving cognitive functions in elderly women living alone.

Quantifying athlete self-talk.

PubMed

Hardy, James; Hall, Craig R; Hardy, Lew

2005-09-01

Two studies were conducted. The aims of Study 1 were (a) to generate quantitative data on the content of athletes' self-talk and (b) to examine differences in the use of self-talk in general as well as the functions of self-talk in practice and competition settings. Differences in self-talk between the sexes, sport types and skill levels were also assessed. Athletes (n = 295, mean age = 21.9 years) from a variety of sports and competitive levels completed the Self-Talk Use Questionnaire (STUQ), which was developed specifically for the study. In Study 1, single-factor between-group multivariate analyses of variance revealed significant differences across sex and sport type for the content of self-talk. Mixed-model multivariate analyses of variance revealed overall greater use of self-talk, as well as increased use of the functions of self-talk, in competition compared with practice. Moreover, individual sport athletes reported greater use of self-talk, as well as the functions of self-talk, than their team sport counterparts. In Study 2, recreational volleyball players (n = 164, mean age = 21.5 years) completed a situationally modified STUQ. The results were very similar to those of Study 1. That the content of athlete self-talk was generally positive, covert and abbreviated lends support to the application of Vygotsky's (1986) verbal self-regulation theory to the study of self-talk in sport. Researchers are encouraged to examine the effectiveness of self-talk in future studies.

2014 NASA Centennial Challenges Sample Return Robot Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-14

Members of team Mountaineers pose with officials from the 2014 NASA Centennial Challenges Sample Return Robot Challenge on Saturday, June 14, 2014 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Team Mountaineer was the only team to complete the level one challenge this year. Team Mountaineer members, from left (in blue shirts) are: Ryan Watson, Marvin Cheng, Scott Harper, Jarred Strader, Lucas Behrens, Yu Gu, Tanmay Mandal, Alexander Hypes, and Nick Ohi Challenge judges and competition staff (in white and green polo shirts) from left are: Sam Ortega, NASA Centennial Challenge program manager; Ken Stafford, challenge technical advisor, WPI; Colleen Shaver, challenge event manager, WPI. During the competition, teams were required to demonstrate autonomous robots that can locate and collect samples from a wide and varied terrain, operating without human control. The objective of this NASA-WPI Centennial Challenge was to encourage innovations in autonomous navigation and robotics technologies. Innovations stemming from the challenge may improve NASA's capability to explore a variety of destinations in space, as well as enhance the nation's robotic technology for use in industries and applications on Earth. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Converging the capabilities of EAP artificial muscles and the requirements of bio-inspired robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, David F.; White, Victor

2004-07-01

The characteristics of Electro-actuated polymers (EAP) are typically considered inadequate for applications in robotics. But in recent years, there has been both dramatic increases in EAP technological capbilities and reductions in power requirements for actuating bio-inspired robotics. As the two trends continue to converge, one may anticipate that dramatic breakthroughs in biologically inspired robotic actuation will result due to the marraige of these technologies. This talk will provide a snapshot of how EAP actuator scientists and roboticists may work together on a common platform to accelerate the growth of both technologies. To demonstrate this concept of a platform to accelerate this convergence, the authors will discuss their work in the niche application of robotic facial expression. In particular, expressive robots appear to be within the range of EAP actuation, thanks to their low force requirements. Several robots will be shown that demonstrate realistic expressions with dramatically decreased force requirements. Also, detailed descriptions will be given of the engineering innovations that have enabled these robotics advancements-most notably, Structured-Porosity Elastomer Materials (SPEMs). SPEM manufacturing techniques create delicate cell-structures in a variety of elastomers that maintain the high elongation characteristics of the mother material, but because of the porisity, behave as sponge-materials, thus lower the force required to emulate facial expressions to levels output by several extant EAP actuators.

Object schemas for grounding language in a responsive robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsiao, Kai-Yuh; Tellex, Stefanie; Vosoughi, Soroush; Kubat, Rony; Roy, Deb

2008-12-01

An approach is introduced for physically grounded natural language interpretation by robots that reacts appropriately to unanticipated physical changes in the environment and dynamically assimilates new information pertinent to ongoing tasks. At the core of the approach is a model of object schemas that enables a robot to encode beliefs about physical objects in its environment using collections of coupled processes responsible for sensorimotor interaction. These interaction processes run concurrently in order to ensure responsiveness to the environment, while co-ordinating sensorimotor expectations, action planning and language use. The model has been implemented on a robot that manipulates objects on a tabletop in response to verbal input. The implementation responds to verbal requests such as 'Group the green block and the red apple', while adapting in real time to unexpected physical collisions and taking opportunistic advantage of any new information it may receive through perceptual and linguistic channels.

Multi-scale monitoring of a remarkable green roof: the Green Wave of Champs-sur-Marne

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanic, Filip; Versini, Pierre-Antoine; Schertzer, Daniel; Delage, Pierre; Tchiguirinskaia, Ioulia; Cui, Yu-Jun; Baudoin, Genevieve

2017-04-01

The installation of green infrastructures on existing or new roofs has become very popular in recent years (more than 2 km2 of green roofs is implemented each year in France) for many reasons. Among all of the green roofs' advantages, those related to storm water management are often pushed forward, since it has been pointed out that urban runoff peak can be significantly reduced and delayed thanks to the green roofs' retention and detention capabilities. Microclimate can also be affected by decreasing the temperature in the surrounding green area. However, dynamic physical processes involved in green roofs are highly non linear and variable. In order to accurately assess their performances, detailed monitoring experiments are required, both in situ and in the lab, so as to better understand the thermo-hydric behaviour of green roofs and to capture the related spatio-temporal variability at different scales. Based on these considerations, the 1 ha area wavy-form green roof of a section of the Bienvenüe building, called the Green Wave, is currently being monitored in Champs-sur-Marne (France), in front of Ecole des Ponts ParisTech. Initiated in the "Blue Green Dream" European project, detailed measurements systems have been implemented for studying all components of the water balance. Among others, a wireless network of water content and temperature sensors has been especially installed for characterizing spatial and temporal variability of infiltration, retention and evapotranspiration processes. In parallel, some laboratory tests have been conducted to better characterize the hydro-mechanical properties of the substrate. Moreover, at the Green Wave scale, some discharge measurements are carried out in the storm-water pipes that are collecting drained water, to determine runoff flow. This talk will present the current monitoring campaigns and analyze the data collected in the Universal Multifractal framework. This work represents the initial stage for developing a

Environmental Education: Going Green Is a Library-Wide Effort

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helmer, Jodi

2010-01-01

Going green is a hot topic. Everyone from Hollywood to the White House is talking about the need to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Often, the messages are targeted to making changes at home: taking canvas bags to the supermarket, installing low flow showerheads and starting a compost pile. While these changes can make a big difference, such…

Soft robotics: a review and progress towards faster and higher torque actuators (presentation video)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shepherd, Robert

2014-03-01

Last year, nearly 160,000 industrial robots were shipped worldwide—into a total market valued at 26 Bn (including hardware, software, and peripherals).[1] Service robots for professional (e.g., defense, medical, agriculture) and personal (e.g., household, handicap assistance, toys, and education) use accounted for 16,000 units, 3.4 Bn and 3,000,000 units, $1.2 Bn respectively.[1] The vast majority of these robotic systems use fully actuated, rigid components that take little advantage of passive dynamics. Soft robotics is a field that is taking advantage of compliant actuators and passive dynamics to achieve several goals: reduced design, manufacturing and control complexity, improved energy efficiency, more sophisticated motions, and safe human-machine interactions to name a few. The potential for societal impact is immense. In some instances, soft actuators have achieved commercial success; however, large scale adoption will require improved methods of controlling non-linear systems, greater reliability in their function, and increased utility from faster and more forceful actuation. In my talk, I will describe efforts from my work in the Whitesides group at Harvard to prove sophisticated motions in these machines using simple controls, as well capabilities unique to soft machines. I will also describe the potential for combinations of different classes of soft actuators (e.g., electrically and pneumatically actuated systems) to improve the utility of soft robots. 1. World Robotics - Industrial Robots 2013, 2013, International Federation of Robotics.

The MVACS Robotic Arm Camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keller, H. U.; Hartwig, H.; Kramm, R.; Koschny, D.; Markiewicz, W. J.; Thomas, N.; Fernades, M.; Smith, P. H.; Reynolds, R.; Lemmon, M. T.; Weinberg, J.; Marcialis, R.; Tanner, R.; Boss, B. J.; Oquest, C.; Paige, D. A.

2001-08-01

The Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) is one of the key instruments newly developed for the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor payload of the Mars Polar Lander. This lightweight instrument employs a front lens with variable focus range and takes images at distances from 11 mm (image scale 1:1) to infinity. Color images with a resolution of better than 50 μm can be obtained to characterize the Martian soil. Spectral information of nearby objects is retrieved through illumination with blue, green, and red lamp sets. The design and performance of the camera are described in relation to the science objectives and operation. The RAC uses the same CCD detector array as the Surface Stereo Imager and shares the readout electronics with this camera. The RAC is mounted at the wrist of the Robotic Arm and can characterize the contents of the scoop, the samples of soil fed to the Thermal Evolved Gas Analyzer, the Martian surface in the vicinity of the lander, and the interior of trenches dug out by the Robotic Arm. It can also be used to take panoramic images and to retrieve stereo information with an effective baseline surpassing that of the Surface Stereo Imager by about a factor of 3.

Potassium-titanyl-phosphate laser assisted robotic partial nephrectomy in a porcine model: can robotic assistance optimize the power needed for effective cutting and hemostasis?

PubMed

Boris, Ronald S; Eun, Daniel; Bhandari, Akshay; Lyall, Kathryn; Bhandari, Mahendra; Rogers, Craig; Alassi, Osama; Menon, Mani

2007-01-01

A potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser through robotic endo-wrist instrument has been evaluated as an ablative and hemostatic tool in robotic assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RALPN). Ten RALPN were performed in five domestic female pigs. The partial nephrectomies were performed with bulldog clamping of the pedicle. Flexible glass fiber carrying 532-nm green light laser was used through a robotic endowrist instrument in two cases. Power usage from 4 to 10 W was tested. The laser probe was explored both as a cutting knife and for hemostasis. The pelvicalyceal system was closed with a running suture. Partial nephrectomies using KTP laser were performed without complications. Mean operative times and warm ischemia times for laser cases were 96 and 18 min, respectively. Mean estimated blood loss was 60 ml compared with 50 ml for non-laser cases. Complete hemostasis with the laser alone could be achieved with a power of 4 W and was found to be effective. In our hands the laser fiber powered up to 10 W was not effective as a quick cutting agent. Histopathologic analysis of the renal remnant revealed a cauterized surface effect with average laser penetration depth less than 1 mm and minimal surrounding cellular injury. The new robotic endowrist instrument carrying flexible glass fiber transmitting 532-nm green light laser is a useful addition to the armamentarium of the robotic urologic setup. Its control by the console surgeon enables quicker and more complete hemostasis of the cut surface in renal sparing surgery using a porcine model. Histologically proven lased depth of less than 1 mm suggests minimal parenchyma damage in an acute setting. Laser application as a cutting agent, however, requires further investigation with interval power settings beyond the limits of this preliminary study. We estimate that effective cutting should be possible with a setting lower than traditionally recommended for solid organs.

Images of Animals: Interpreting Three-Dimensional, Life-Sized 'Representations' of Animals--Zoo, Museum and Robotic Animals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tunnicliffe, Sue Dale

A visit to the natural history museum is part of many pupils' educational program. One way of investigating what children learn about animals is to examine the mental models they reveal through their talk when they come face to face with animal representations. In this study, representations were provided by: (1) robotic models in a museum; (2)…

Let's Talk... Analytics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oblinger, Diana G.

2012-01-01

Talk about analytics seems to be everywhere. Everyone is talking about analytics. Yet even with all the talk, many in higher education have questions about--and objections to--using analytics in colleges and universities. In this article, the author explores the use of analytics in, and all around, higher education. (Contains 1 note.)

Why Talk Is Important

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Douglas

2010-01-01

In this brief retrospective essay, the value of a particular kind of classroom talk is extolled--not the kind of talk that simply feeds back information, but rather talk that has the power to shape knowledge through participant engagement with a range of processes: hypothesising, exploration, debate and synthesis. This kind of talk is the…

A Sea of Talk.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwyer, John, Ed.

Arguing that talk has an important place in the English language arts curriculum and across the whole curriculum, this book presents examples of children and teachers talking together, talking about what they are doing "here and now," and talking about what they know and feel about events shaping the world beyond the classroom. Chapter…

Talking, Listening, Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myhill, Debra; Jones, Susan; Hopper, Rosemary

2005-01-01

This book looks at an issue which is at the heart of every classroom, the role that talk plays in children's learning. Drawing on a substantial research base, the book provides useful suggestions to facilitate successful talk between teachers and children to improve learning and raise standards. Through analysing the talk that goes on in primary…

Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popov, E. P.; Iurevich, E. I.

The history and the current status of robotics are reviewed, as are the design, operation, and principal applications of industrial robots. Attention is given to programmable robots, robots with adaptive control and elements of artificial intelligence, and remotely controlled robots. The applications of robots discussed include mechanical engineering, cargo handling during transportation and storage, mining, and metallurgy. The future prospects of robotics are briefly outlined.

[Sleep talking].

PubMed

Challamel, M J

2001-11-01

Sleep talking is very common in the general population. Its prevalence remains stable from childhood through adulthood. Sleep talking is often associated with other parasomnias: sleep walking, sleep terrors or REM sleep behavior disorders. It may arise from either REM or non REM sleep, when associated with REM sleep it is more comprehensible and often associated with clear sentences and recall of sleep mentation. Sleep talking is a benign entity and does not require any treatment; however an exceptional organic cause or psychopathology should be suspected if the onset is late (after 25 years); if the mental content is too violent or too emotional.

Let's Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodard, Carol; Haskins, Guy; Schaefer, Grace; Smolen, Linda

2004-01-01

This article presents the Let's Talk project as a different approach to oral language development. This approach was based on observations of classrooms in the Netherlands where children talked at large tables while playing with miniature figures representing people and objects they were familiar with in their daily lives. It was also influenced…

Talking Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shwartz, Yael; Weizman, Ayelet; Fortus, David; Sutherland, LeeAnn; Merrit, Joi; Krajcik, Joe

2009-01-01

Science is a social process--one that involves particular ways of talking, reasoning, observing, analyzing, and writing, which often have meaning only when shared within the scientific community. Discussions are one of the best ways to help students learn to "talk science" and construct understanding in a social context. Since inquiry is an…

Robot and robot system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Behar, Alberto E. (Inventor); Marzwell, Neville I. (Inventor); Wall, Jonathan N. (Inventor); Poole, Michael D. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A robot and robot system that are capable of functioning in a zero-gravity environment are provided. The robot can include a body having a longitudinal axis and having a control unit and a power source. The robot can include a first leg pair including a first leg and a second leg. Each leg of the first leg pair can be pivotally attached to the body and constrained to pivot in a first leg pair plane that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body.

Robotic kidney autotransplantation in a porcine model: a procedure-specific training platform for the simulation of robotic intracorporeal vascular anastomosis.

PubMed

Tiong, Ho Yee; Goh, Benjamin Yen Seow; Chiong, Edmund; Tan, Lincoln Guan Lim; Vathsala, Anatharaman

2018-03-31

graft was assessed using intraoperative indocyanine green imaging and monitoring urine output after unclamping. This training platform demonstrates adequate face and content validity. With practice, arterial anastomotic time could be improved, showing its construct validity. This porcine training model can be useful in providing training for robotic intracorporeal vascular anastomosis and may facilitate confident translation into a transplant human recipient.

Which Individual Therapist Behaviors Elicit Client Change Talk and Sustain Talk in Motivational Interviewing?

PubMed

Apodaca, Timothy R; Jackson, Kristina M; Borsari, Brian; Magill, Molly; Longabaugh, Richard; Mastroleo, Nadine R; Barnett, Nancy P

2016-02-01

To identify individual therapist behaviors which elicit client change talk or sustain talk in motivational interviewing sessions. Motivational interviewing sessions from a single-session alcohol intervention delivered to college students were audio-taped, transcribed, and coded using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (MISC), a therapy process coding system. Participants included 92 college students and eight therapists who provided their treatment. The MISC was used to code 17 therapist behaviors related to the use of motivational interviewing, and client language reflecting movement toward behavior change (change talk), away from behavior change (sustain talk), or unrelated to the target behavior (follow/neutral). Client change talk was significantly more likely to immediately follow individual therapist behaviors [affirm (p=.013), open question (p<.001), simple reflection (p<.001), and complex reflection (p<.001)], but significantly less likely to immediately follow others (giving information (p<.001) and closed question (p<.001)]. Sustain talk was significantly more likely to follow therapist use of open questions (p<.001), simple reflections (p<.001), and complex reflections (p<.001), and significantly less likely to occur following therapist use of therapist affirm (p=.012), giving information (p<.001), and closed questions (p<.001). Certain individual therapist behaviors within motivational interviewing can either elicit both client change talk and sustain talk or suppress both types of client language. Affirm was the only therapist behavior that both increased change talk and also reduced sustain talk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploratorium: Robots.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brand, Judith, Ed.

2002-01-01

This issue of Exploratorium Magazine focuses on the topic robotics. It explains how to make a vibrating robotic bug and features articles on robots. Contents include: (1) "Where Robot Mice and Robot Men Run Round in Robot Towns" (Ray Bradbury); (2) "Robots at Work" (Jake Widman); (3) "Make a Vibrating Robotic Bug" (Modesto Tamez); (4) "The Robot…

PREFACE: Progress in Nonequilibrium Green's Functions V (PNGF V)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Leeuwen, Robert; Tuovinen, Riku; Bonitz, Michael

2013-03-01

(The PDF contains: an obituary and in memoriam for David C. Langreth, a list of the conference participants, a complete list of the conference talks and posters and several photographs taken during the conference. ) The fifth interdisciplinary conference 'Progress in Nonequilibrium Green's Functions' (PNGF5) was held at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, on 27--31 August 2012. The conference continued the successful tradition of its predecessors (Rostock 1999, Dresden 2002, Kiel 2005 and Glasgow 2009) to bring together different communities for an interdisciplinary exchange of recent results and theoretical concepts. The conference focused on recent developments, current challenges and future perspectives in nonequilibrium Green's functions theory in various fields of physics but included also other many-body methods. Roughly 20 invited talks were given by some of the top scientists in the field, accompanied by 10 contributed talks. (Slides of several presentations can be found online at www.jyu.fi/physics/pngf5.) Also a poster session was set up to enhance scientific discussions, building up new collaborations and enriching views and ideas. As at the previous meetings, the atmosphere was interactive and stimulating, benefitting both experienced scientists and young researchers and students. The present volume contains 14 articles based on works presented at this conference. The articles partly have review character so they should be of use for an interdisciplinary community working or interested in nonequilibrium Green's functions. All papers were refereed according to high scientific standards. The conference would not have been possible without financial support from the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and Nanoscience Center of the university of Jyväskylä which are greatly acknowledged. The local organizing committee is also grateful to the administration personnel, Marjut Hilska and Riitta-Liisa Kuittinen

On talking-as-dreaming.

PubMed

Ogden, Thomas H

2007-06-01

Many patients are unable to engage in waking-dreaming in the analytic setting in the form of free association or in any other form. The author has found that "talking-as-dreaming" has served as a form of waking-dreaming in which such patients have been able to begin to dream formerly undreamable experience. Such talking is a loosely structured form of conversation between patient and analyst that is often marked by primary process thinking and apparent non sequiturs. Talking-as-dreaming superficially appears to be "unanalytic" in that it may seem to consist "merely" of talking about such topics as books, films, etymology, baseball, the taste of chocolate, the structure of light, and so on. When an analysis is "a going concern," talking-as-dreaming moves unobtrusively into and out of talking about dreaming. The author provides two detailed clinical examples of analytic work with patients who had very little capacity to dream in the analytic setting. In the first clinical example, talking-as-dreaming served as a form of thinking and relating in which the patient was able for the first time to dream her own (and, in a sense, her father's) formerly unthinkable, undreamable experience. The second clinical example involves the use of talking-as-dreaming as an emotional experience in which the formerly "invisible" patient was able to begin to dream himself into existence. The analyst, while engaging with a patient in talking-as-dreaming, must remain keenly aware that it is critical that the difference in roles of patient and analyst be a continuously felt presence; that the therapeutic goals of analysis be firmly held in mind; and that the patient be given the opportunity to dream himself into existence (as opposed to being dreamt up by the analyst).

Robotic surgery

MedlinePlus

Robot-assisted surgery; Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery; Laparoscopic surgery with robotic assistance ... computer station and directs the movements of a robot. Small surgical tools are attached to the robot's ...

Improving spinning disk confocal microscopy by preventing pinhole cross-talk for intravital imaging

PubMed Central

Shimozawa, Togo; Yamagata, Kazuo; Kondo, Takefumi; Hayashi, Shigeo; Shitamukai, Atsunori; Konno, Daijiro; Matsuzaki, Fumio; Takayama, Jun; Onami, Shuichi; Nakayama, Hiroshi; Kosugi, Yasuhito; Watanabe, Tomonobu M.; Fujita, Katsumasa; Mimori-Kiyosue, Yuko

2013-01-01

A recent key requirement in life sciences is the observation of biological processes in their natural in vivo context. However, imaging techniques that allow fast imaging with higher resolution in 3D thick specimens are still limited. Spinning disk confocal microscopy using a Yokogawa Confocal Scanner Unit, which offers high-speed multipoint confocal live imaging, has been found to have wide utility among cell biologists. A conventional Confocal Scanner Unit configuration, however, is not optimized for thick specimens, for which the background noise attributed to “pinhole cross-talk,” which is unintended pinhole transmission of out-of-focus light, limits overall performance in focal discrimination and reduces confocal capability. Here, we improve spinning disk confocal microscopy by eliminating pinhole cross-talk. First, the amount of pinhole cross-talk is reduced by increasing the interpinhole distance. Second, the generation of out-of-focus light is prevented by two-photon excitation that achieves selective-plane illumination. We evaluate the effect of these modifications and test the applicability to the live imaging of green fluorescent protein-expressing model animals. As demonstrated by visualizing the fine details of the 3D cell shape and submicron-size cytoskeletal structures inside animals, these strategies dramatically improve higher-resolution intravital imaging. PMID:23401517

Improving spinning disk confocal microscopy by preventing pinhole cross-talk for intravital imaging.

PubMed

Shimozawa, Togo; Yamagata, Kazuo; Kondo, Takefumi; Hayashi, Shigeo; Shitamukai, Atsunori; Konno, Daijiro; Matsuzaki, Fumio; Takayama, Jun; Onami, Shuichi; Nakayama, Hiroshi; Kosugi, Yasuhito; Watanabe, Tomonobu M; Fujita, Katsumasa; Mimori-Kiyosue, Yuko

2013-02-26

A recent key requirement in life sciences is the observation of biological processes in their natural in vivo context. However, imaging techniques that allow fast imaging with higher resolution in 3D thick specimens are still limited. Spinning disk confocal microscopy using a Yokogawa Confocal Scanner Unit, which offers high-speed multipoint confocal live imaging, has been found to have wide utility among cell biologists. A conventional Confocal Scanner Unit configuration, however, is not optimized for thick specimens, for which the background noise attributed to "pinhole cross-talk," which is unintended pinhole transmission of out-of-focus light, limits overall performance in focal discrimination and reduces confocal capability. Here, we improve spinning disk confocal microscopy by eliminating pinhole cross-talk. First, the amount of pinhole cross-talk is reduced by increasing the interpinhole distance. Second, the generation of out-of-focus light is prevented by two-photon excitation that achieves selective-plane illumination. We evaluate the effect of these modifications and test the applicability to the live imaging of green fluorescent protein-expressing model animals. As demonstrated by visualizing the fine details of the 3D cell shape and submicron-size cytoskeletal structures inside animals, these strategies dramatically improve higher-resolution intravital imaging.

Socially intelligent robots: dimensions of human-robot interaction.

PubMed

Dautenhahn, Kerstin

2007-04-29

Social intelligence in robots has a quite recent history in artificial intelligence and robotics. However, it has become increasingly apparent that social and interactive skills are necessary requirements in many application areas and contexts where robots need to interact and collaborate with other robots or humans. Research on human-robot interaction (HRI) poses many challenges regarding the nature of interactivity and 'social behaviour' in robot and humans. The first part of this paper addresses dimensions of HRI, discussing requirements on social skills for robots and introducing the conceptual space of HRI studies. In order to illustrate these concepts, two examples of HRI research are presented. First, research is surveyed which investigates the development of a cognitive robot companion. The aim of this work is to develop social rules for robot behaviour (a 'robotiquette') that is comfortable and acceptable to humans. Second, robots are discussed as possible educational or therapeutic toys for children with autism. The concept of interactive emergence in human-child interactions is highlighted. Different types of play among children are discussed in the light of their potential investigation in human-robot experiments. The paper concludes by examining different paradigms regarding 'social relationships' of robots and people interacting with them.

Eliciting Student-Talk.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudder, Michael E.

1999-01-01

The communicative approach to language instruction emphasizes ways to increase student-talk and decrease teacher-talk. It necessitates including the production or performance stage in lesson plans to give students the opportunity to use the new language in simulated real-life situations. (Author/VWL)

Towards green loyalty: the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chrisjatmiko, K.

2018-01-01

The paper aims to present a comprehensive framework for the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction to green loyalty. The paper also seeks to account explicitly for the differences in green perceived risk, green image, green trust, green satisfaction and green loyalty found among green products customers. Data were obtained from 155 green products customers. Structural equation modeling was used in order to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings show that green image, green trust and green satisfaction has positive effects to green loyalty. But green perceived risk has negative effects to green image, green trust and green satisfaction. However, green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction also seems to be a good device to gain green products customers from competitors. The contributions of the paper are, firstly, a more complete framework of the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction to green loyalty analyses simultaneously. Secondly, the study allows a direct comparison of the difference in green perceived risk, green image, green trust, green satisfaction and green loyalty between green products customers.

Talk about Talk with Young Children: Pragmatic Socialization in Two Communities in Norway and the US

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aukrust, Vibeke Grover

2004-01-01

Recent studies have suggested that cultures vary in subtle ways in the talk about talk that children hear and learn to produce. Twenty-two three-year-old children and their families in respectively Oslo, Norway and Cambridge, Massachusetts were observed during mealtime with the aim of identifying talk-focused talk. The analysis distinguished talk…

How to give a good talk.

PubMed

Alon, Uri

2009-10-23

We depend on talks to communicate our work, and we spend much of our time as audience members in talks. However, few scientists are taught the well-established principles of giving good talks. Here, I describe how to prepare, present, and answer questions in a scientific talk. We will see how a talk prepared with a single premise and delivered with good eye contact is clear and enjoyable.

Robotic Lobectomy Utilizing the Robotic Stapler.

PubMed

Pearlstein, Daryl Phillip

2016-12-01

A drawback of robotic lobectomy is the inability of the operating surgeon to perform stapler division of the pulmonary vessels and bronchi. With the advent of the robotic stapler, the surgeon is able to control this instrument from the console. The robotic stapler presents certain challenges. This article outlines techniques to use the robotic stapler for the safe and predictable performance of lobectomies. Copyright © 2016 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Systematic analysis of video data from different human-robot interaction studies: a categorization of social signals during error situations.

PubMed

Giuliani, Manuel; Mirnig, Nicole; Stollnberger, Gerald; Stadler, Susanne; Buchner, Roland; Tscheligi, Manfred

2015-01-01

Human-robot interactions are often affected by error situations that are caused by either the robot or the human. Therefore, robots would profit from the ability to recognize when error situations occur. We investigated the verbal and non-verbal social signals that humans show when error situations occur in human-robot interaction experiments. For that, we analyzed 201 videos of five human-robot interaction user studies with varying tasks from four independent projects. The analysis shows that there are two types of error situations: social norm violations and technical failures. Social norm violations are situations in which the robot does not adhere to the underlying social script of the interaction. Technical failures are caused by technical shortcomings of the robot. The results of the video analysis show that the study participants use many head movements and very few gestures, but they often smile, when in an error situation with the robot. Another result is that the participants sometimes stop moving at the beginning of error situations. We also found that the participants talked more in the case of social norm violations and less during technical failures. Finally, the participants use fewer non-verbal social signals (for example smiling, nodding, and head shaking), when they are interacting with the robot alone and no experimenter or other human is present. The results suggest that participants do not see the robot as a social interaction partner with comparable communication skills. Our findings have implications for builders and evaluators of human-robot interaction systems. The builders need to consider including modules for recognition and classification of head movements to the robot input channels. The evaluators need to make sure that the presence of an experimenter does not skew the results of their user studies.

Systematic analysis of video data from different human–robot interaction studies: a categorization of social signals during error situations

PubMed Central

Giuliani, Manuel; Mirnig, Nicole; Stollnberger, Gerald; Stadler, Susanne; Buchner, Roland; Tscheligi, Manfred

2015-01-01

Human–robot interactions are often affected by error situations that are caused by either the robot or the human. Therefore, robots would profit from the ability to recognize when error situations occur. We investigated the verbal and non-verbal social signals that humans show when error situations occur in human–robot interaction experiments. For that, we analyzed 201 videos of five human–robot interaction user studies with varying tasks from four independent projects. The analysis shows that there are two types of error situations: social norm violations and technical failures. Social norm violations are situations in which the robot does not adhere to the underlying social script of the interaction. Technical failures are caused by technical shortcomings of the robot. The results of the video analysis show that the study participants use many head movements and very few gestures, but they often smile, when in an error situation with the robot. Another result is that the participants sometimes stop moving at the beginning of error situations. We also found that the participants talked more in the case of social norm violations and less during technical failures. Finally, the participants use fewer non-verbal social signals (for example smiling, nodding, and head shaking), when they are interacting with the robot alone and no experimenter or other human is present. The results suggest that participants do not see the robot as a social interaction partner with comparable communication skills. Our findings have implications for builders and evaluators of human–robot interaction systems. The builders need to consider including modules for recognition and classification of head movements to the robot input channels. The evaluators need to make sure that the presence of an experimenter does not skew the results of their user studies. PMID:26217266

The smart-talk trap.

PubMed

Pfeffer, J; Sutton, R I

1999-01-01

In today's business world, there's no shortage of know-how. When companies get into trouble, their executives have vast resources at their disposal: their own experiences, colleagues' ideas, reams of computer-generated data, thousands of publications, and consultants armed with the latest managerial concepts and tools. But all too often, even with all that knowledge floating around, companies are plagued with an inertia that comes from knowing too much and doing too little--a phenomenon the authors call the knowing-doing gap. The gap often can be traced to a basic human propensity: the willingness to let talk substitute for action. When confronted with a problem, people act as though discussing it, formulating decisions, and hashing out plans for action are the same as actually fixing it. And after researching organizations of all shapes and sizes, the authors concluded that a particular kind of talk is an especially insidious inhibitor of action: "smart talk." People who can engage in such talk generally sound confident and articulate; they can spout facts and may even have interesting ideas. But such people often exhibit the less benign aspects of smart talk as well: They focus on the negative, and they favor unnecessarily complex or abstract language. The former lapses into criticism for criticism's sake; the latter confuses people. Both tendencies can stop action in its tracks. How can you shut the smart-talk trap and close the knowing-doing gap? The authors lay out five methods that successful companies employ in order to translate the right kind of talk into intelligent action.

Generic robot architecture

DOEpatents

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID; Few, Douglas A [Idaho Falls, ID

2010-09-21

The present invention provides methods, computer readable media, and apparatuses for a generic robot architecture providing a framework that is easily portable to a variety of robot platforms and is configured to provide hardware abstractions, abstractions for generic robot attributes, environment abstractions, and robot behaviors. The generic robot architecture includes a hardware abstraction level and a robot abstraction level. The hardware abstraction level is configured for developing hardware abstractions that define, monitor, and control hardware modules available on a robot platform. The robot abstraction level is configured for defining robot attributes and provides a software framework for building robot behaviors from the robot attributes. Each of the robot attributes includes hardware information from at least one hardware abstraction. In addition, each robot attribute is configured to substantially isolate the robot behaviors from the at least one hardware abstraction.

Gravitational radiation during plunge - a Green's function approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nampalliwar, Sourabh; Price, Richard; Khanna, Gaurav

2015-04-01

During the merger of binary compact objects, an important stage is the plunge. A short part of the Gravitational waveform, it marks the end of early inspiral and determines the quasinormal ringing (QNR) of the final product of the merger. In this talk, we describe the approach of using the Fourier domain Green's function in the particle perturbation approximation to understand the excitation of QNR. We show that the resulting understanding is successful in explaining QNR in toy models and in the Schwarzschild background.

Molecular Robots Obeying Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.

PubMed

Kaminka, Gal A; Spokoini-Stern, Rachel; Amir, Yaniv; Agmon, Noa; Bachelet, Ido

2017-01-01

Asimov's three laws of robotics, which were shaped in the literary work of Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) and others, define a crucial code of behavior that fictional autonomous robots must obey as a condition for their integration into human society. While, general implementation of these laws in robots is widely considered impractical, limited-scope versions have been demonstrated and have proven useful in spurring scientific debate on aspects of safety and autonomy in robots and intelligent systems. In this work, we use Asimov's laws to examine these notions in molecular robots fabricated from DNA origami. We successfully programmed these robots to obey, by means of interactions between individual robots in a large population, an appropriately scoped variant of Asimov's laws, and even emulate the key scenario from Asimov's story "Runaround," in which a fictional robot gets into trouble despite adhering to the laws. Our findings show that abstract, complex notions can be encoded and implemented at the molecular scale, when we understand robots on this scale on the basis of their interactions.

Talk at Mealtimes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Christina

2013-01-01

This short report explores how many young people sit down with their family at mealtimes, how often they talk with their family when they do and the relationship between mealtime talk and young people's confidence in and attitudes towards communication skills. Using data from the latest annual survey of 34,910 children and young people, it shows…

Therapy Talk: Analyzing Therapeutic Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leahy, Margaret M.

2004-01-01

Therapeutic discourse is the talk-in-interaction that represents the social practice between clinician and client. This article invites speech-language pathologists to apply their knowledge of language to analyzing therapy talk and to learn how talking practices shape clinical roles and identities. A range of qualitative research approaches,…

Robotics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waddell, Steve; Doty, Keith L.

1999-01-01

"Why Teach Robotics?" (Waddell) suggests that the United States lags behind Europe and Japan in use of robotics in industry and teaching. "Creating a Course in Mobile Robotics" (Doty) outlines course elements of the Intelligent Machines Design Lab. (SK)

Extreme Mechanics in Soft Pneumatic Robots and Soft Microfluidic Electronics and Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majidi, Carmel

2012-02-01

In the near future, machines and robots will be completely soft, stretchable, impact resistance, and capable of adapting their shape and functionality to changes in mission and environment. Similar to biological tissue and soft-body organisms, these next-generation technologies will contain no rigid parts and instead be composed entirely of soft elastomers, gels, fluids, and other non-rigid matter. Using a combination of rapid prototyping tools, microfabrication methods, and emerging techniques in so-called ``soft lithography,'' scientists and engineers are currently introducing exciting new families of soft pneumatic robots, soft microfluidic sensors, and hyperelastic electronics that can be stretched to as much as 10x their natural length. Progress has been guided by an interdisciplinary collection of insights from chemistry, life sciences, robotics, microelectronics, and solid mechanics. In virtually every technology and application domain, mechanics and elasticity have a central role in governing functionality and design. Moreover, in contrast to conventional machines and electronics, soft pneumatic systems and microfluidics typically operate in the finite deformation regime, with materials stretching to several times their natural length. In this talk, I will review emerging paradigms in soft pneumatic robotics and soft microfluidic electronics and highlight modeling and design challenges that arise from the extreme mechanics of inflation, locomotion, sensor operation, and human interaction. I will also discuss perceived challenges and opportunities in a broad range of potential application, from medicine to wearable computing.

Making the Most of Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilles, Carol

2010-01-01

Research supports what many teachers have long known: talk is a valuable tool for learning. But how can we incorporate talk and still keep students on task, thinking collectively and deeply? Gillis offers a solid theoretical foundation for incorporating talk throughout the curriculum, and then provides practical help for implementing it, with…

Robotics: An Introduction to Today’s Robot and Future Trends.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

trial applications." What qualities define a machine as a robot? The Robot Institute of Amer- ica defines a robot as follows: "A robot is a reprogrammable ...manufactures a robot with a spin- ning wrist. Second, and this is the key feature, robots are reprogrammable and hence versatile. An automatic lathe is not...robot spot-welds an automobile frame. In Figure 8, a single robot transferring a transmission case is shown, but a total of eight robots are

Modelling of industrial robot in LabView Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banas, W.; Cwikła, G.; Foit, K.; Gwiazda, A.; Monica, Z.; Sekala, A.

2017-08-01

Currently can find many models of industrial systems including robots. These models differ from each other not only by the accuracy representation parameters, but the representation range. For example, CAD models describe the geometry of the robot and some even designate a mass parameters as mass, center of gravity, moment of inertia, etc. These models are used in the design of robotic lines and sockets. Also systems for off-line programming use these models and many of them can be exported to CAD. It is important to note that models for off-line programming describe not only the geometry but contain the information necessary to create a program for the robot. Exports from CAD to off-line programming system requires additional information. These models are used for static determination of reachability points, and testing collision. It’s enough to generate a program for the robot, and even check the interaction of elements of the production line, or robotic cell. Mathematical models allow robots to study the properties of kinematic and dynamic of robot movement. In these models the geometry is not so important, so are used only selected parameters such as the length of the robot arm, the center of gravity, moment of inertia. These parameters are introduced into the equations of motion of the robot and motion parameters are determined.

Soft Robotics: New Perspectives for Robot Bodyware and Control

PubMed Central

Laschi, Cecilia; Cianchetti, Matteo

2014-01-01

The remarkable advances of robotics in the last 50 years, which represent an incredible wealth of knowledge, are based on the fundamental assumption that robots are chains of rigid links. The use of soft materials in robotics, driven not only by new scientific paradigms (biomimetics, morphological computation, and others), but also by many applications (biomedical, service, rescue robots, and many more), is going to overcome these basic assumptions and makes the well-known theories and techniques poorly applicable, opening new perspectives for robot design and control. The current examples of soft robots represent a variety of solutions for actuation and control. Though very first steps, they have the potential for a radical technological change. Soft robotics is not just a new direction of technological development, but a novel approach to robotics, unhinging its fundamentals, with the potential to produce a new generation of robots, in the support of humans in our natural environments. PMID:25022259

Soft Robotics.

PubMed

Whitesides, George M

2018-04-09

This description of "soft robotics" is not intended to be a conventional review, in the sense of a comprehensive technical summary of a developing field. Rather, its objective is to describe soft robotics as a new field-one that offers opportunities to chemists and materials scientists who like to make "things" and to work with macroscopic objects that move and exert force. It will give one (personal) view of what soft actuators and robots are, and how this class of soft devices fits into the more highly developed field of conventional "hard" robotics. It will also suggest how and why soft robotics is more than simply a minor technical "tweak" on hard robotics and propose a unique role for chemistry, and materials science, in this field. Soft robotics is, at its core, intellectually and technologically different from hard robotics, both because it has different objectives and uses and because it relies on the properties of materials to assume many of the roles played by sensors, actuators, and controllers in hard robotics. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Robotic surgery.

PubMed

Stoianovici, D

2000-09-01

The industrial revolution demonstrated the capability of robotic systems to facilitate and improve manufacturing. As a result, robotics extended to various other domains, including the delivery of health care. Hence, robots have been developed to assist hospital staff, to facilitate laboratory analyses, to augment patient rehabilitation, and even to advance surgical performance. As robotics lead usefulness and gain wider acceptance among the surgical community, the urologist should become familiar with this new interdisciplinary field and its "URobotics" subset: robotics applied to urology. This article reviews the current applications and experience, issues and debates in surgical robotics, and highlights future directions in the field.

Robotic liver surgery: technical aspects and review of the literature

PubMed Central

Bianco, Francesco Maria; Daskalaki, Despoina; Gonzalez-Ciccarelli, Luis Fernando; Kim, Jihun; Benedetti, Enrico

2016-01-01

Minimally invasive surgery for liver resections has a defined role and represents an accepted alternative to open techniques for selected cases. Robotic technology can overcome some of the disadvantages of the laparoscopic technique, mainly in the most complex cases. Precise dissection and microsuturing is possible, even in narrow operative fields, allowing for a better dissection of the hepatic hilum, fine lymphadenectomy, and biliary reconstruction even with small bile ducts and easier bleeding control. This technique has the potential to allow for a greater number of major resections and difficult segmentectomies to be performed in a minimally invasive fashion. The implementation of near-infrared fluorescence with indocyanine green (ICG) also allows for a more accurate recognition of vascular and biliary anatomy. The perspectives of this kind of virtually implemented imaging are very promising and may be reflected in better outcomes. The overall data present in current literature suggests that robotic liver resections are at least comparable to both open and laparoscopic surgery in terms of perioperative and postoperative outcomes. This article provides technical details of robotic liver resections and a review of the current literature. PMID:27500143

Talk to Your Kids about Sex

MedlinePlus

... Topic En español Talk to Your Kids about Sex Browse Sections The Basics Overview Bodies and Puberty ... healthy expectations for their relationships. Talk about opposite-sex and same-sex relationships. When you talk about ...

Eclipse of the Floating Orbs: Controlling Robots on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, D. W.

2017-01-01

I will describe the Control Station for a free-flying robot called Astrobee. Astrobee will serve as a mobile camera, sensor platform, and research testbed when it is launched to the International Space Station (ISS)in 2017. Astronauts on the ISS as well as ground-based users will control Astrobee using the Eclipse-based Astrobee Control Station. Designing theControl Station for use in space presented unique challenges, such as allowing the intuitive input of 3D information without a mouse or trackpad. Come to this talk to learn how Eclipse is used in an environment few humans have the chance to visit.

Talking to the Pharmacist (For Parents)

MedlinePlus

... for Educators Search English Español Talking to the Pharmacist KidsHealth / For Parents / Talking to the Pharmacist What's ... and families privately. Reasons to Talk to the Pharmacist Pharmacists cannot diagnose medical conditions. But they can ...

Miniature in vivo robotics and novel robotic surgical platforms.

PubMed

Shah, Bhavin C; Buettner, Shelby L; Lehman, Amy C; Farritor, Shane M; Oleynikov, Dmitry

2009-05-01

Robotic surgical systems, such as the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, California), have revolutionized laparoscopic surgery but are limited by large size, increased costs, and limitations in imaging. Miniature in vivo robots are being developed that are inserted entirely into the peritoneal cavity for laparoscopic and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgical (NOTES) procedures. In the future, miniature camera robots and microrobots should be able to provide a mobile viewing platform. This article discusses the current state of miniature robotics and novel robotic surgical platforms and the development of future robotic technology for general surgery and urology.

Cooperating mobile robots

DOEpatents

Harrington, John J.; Eskridge, Steven E.; Hurtado, John E.; Byrne, Raymond H.

2004-02-03

A miniature mobile robot provides a relatively inexpensive mobile robot. A mobile robot for searching an area provides a way for multiple mobile robots in cooperating teams. A robotic system with a team of mobile robots communicating information among each other provides a way to locate a source in cooperation. A mobile robot with a sensor, a communication system, and a processor, provides a way to execute a strategy for searching an area.

Fluorescence-enhanced robotic radical prostatectomy using real-time lymphangiography and tissue marking with percutaneous injection of unconjugated indocyanine green: the initial clinical experience in 50 patients.

PubMed

Manny, Ted B; Patel, Manish; Hemal, Ashok K

2014-06-01

Pilot studies have demonstrated the utility of indocyanine green (ICG) sentinel lymphadenectomy for prostate cancer. Prior work has used ICG with radiocontrast agents injected at a separate procedure and relied on assistant-controlled fluorescence systems, making the technique costly and cumbersome. To describe the initial optimization and feasibility of fluorescence-enhanced robotic radical prostatectomy (FERRP) using real-time injection of ICG for tissue marking and identification of sentinel lymphatic drainage visualized by a fully integrated surgeon-controlled system. Patients with clinically localized prostate cancer at a tertiary referral center were offered FERRP. Ten patients participated in a pilot arm in which ICG dosing and injection technique were optimized. Fifty consecutive patients then underwent FERRP. After development of the space of Retzius, 0.4 ml of a 2.5 mg/ml ICG solution were injected into each lobe of the prostate using a robotically guided percutaneous needle. After ICG was allowed to travel through the pelvic lymphatics, lymphadenectomy was performed from the endopelvic fascia to the aortic bifurcation. Parameters describing the time course of tissue fluorescence and pelvic lymphangiography were systematically recorded. Lymphatic packets containing fluorescent nodes were considered sentinel. Percutaneous, robotic-guided ICG injection proved superior to cystoscope or transrectal delivery. Tissue marking was achieved in all patients, positively identifying the prostate with uniform fluorescence relative to the obturator nerve, seminal vesicles, vas deferens, and neurovascular pedicles at a mean time of 10 min postinjection. Sentinel nodes were identified in 76% of patients at a mean time of 30 min postinjection and had 100% sensitivity, 75.4% specificity, 14.6% positive predictive value, and 100% negative predictive value for the detection of nodal metastasis. FERRP is safe, feasible, and allows for reliable prostate tissue marking and

[Robotics].

PubMed

Bier, J

2000-05-01

Content of this paper is the current state of the art of robots in surgery and the ongoing work on the field of surgical robotics at the Clinic for Maxillofacial Surgery at the Charité. Robots in surgery allows the surgeon to transform the accuracy of the imaging systems directly during the intervention and to plan an intervention beforehand. In this paper firstly the state of the art is described. Subsequently the scientific work at the clinic is described in detail. The paper closes with a outlook for future applications of robotics systems in maxillofacial surgery.

Robot-Aided Neurorehabilitation: A Robot for Wrist Rehabilitation

PubMed Central

Krebs, Hermano Igo; Volpe, Bruce T.; Williams, Dustin; Celestino, James; Charles, Steven K.; Lynch, Daniel; Hogan, Neville

2009-01-01

In 1991, a novel robot, MIT-MANUS, was introduced to study the potential that robots might assist in and quantify the neuro-rehabilitation of motor function. MIT-MANUS proved an excellent tool for shoulder and elbow rehabilitation in stroke patients, showing in clinical trials a reduction of impairment in movements confined to the exercised joints. This successful proof of principle as to additional targeted and intensive movement treatment prompted a test of robot training examining other limb segments. This paper focuses on a robot for wrist rehabilitation designed to provide three rotational degrees-of-freedom. The first clinical trial of the device will enroll 200 stroke survivors. Ultimately 160 stroke survivors will train with both the proximal shoulder and elbow MIT-MANUS robot, as well as with the novel distal wrist robot, in addition to 40 stroke survivor controls. So far 52 stroke patients have completed the robot training (ongoing protocol). Here, we report on the initial results on 36 of these volunteers. These results demonstrate that further improvement should be expected by adding additional training to other limb segments. PMID:17894265

Robot-aided neurorehabilitation: a robot for wrist rehabilitation.

PubMed

Krebs, Hermano Igo; Volpe, Bruce T; Williams, Dustin; Celestino, James; Charles, Steven K; Lynch, Daniel; Hogan, Neville

2007-09-01

In 1991, a novel robot, MIT-MANUS, was introduced to study the potential that robots might assist in and quantify the neuro-rehabilitation of motor function. MIT-MANUS proved an excellent tool for shoulder and elbow rehabilitation in stroke patients, showing in clinical trials a reduction of impairment in movements confined to the exercised joints. This successful proof of principle as to additional targeted and intensive movement treatment prompted a test of robot training examining other limb segments. This paper focuses on a robot for wrist rehabilitation designed to provide three rotational degrees-of-freedom. The first clinical trial of the device will enroll 200 stroke survivors. Ultimately 160 stroke survivors will train with both the proximal shoulder and elbow MIT-MANUS robot, as well as with the novel distal wrist robot, in addition to 40 stroke survivor controls. So far 52 stroke patients have completed the robot training (ongoing protocol). Here, we report on the initial results on 36 of these volunteers. These results demonstrate that further improvement should be expected by adding additional training to other limb segments.

Get Them Talking! Using Student-Led Book Talks in the Primary Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, Alida K.

2016-01-01

This teaching tip details one teacher's implementation of student-led book talks in her primary-grade classroom. The author describes a simple gradual-release method that she has successfully used with her students in order to get them talking about the books that they are reading independently. She found that when used in the readers' workshop…

Classroom Talk: Co-Constructing a "Difficult Student"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graff, Nelson

2009-01-01

Background: Research on teacher-student relationships has focused logically on classroom talk. Investigations of classroom talk range from broad consideration of the structures of such talk to a somewhat narrower focus on the interpersonal dimensions of such talk, and their consequences for student achievement and motivation. Purpose: This study…

Birth talk in second stage labor.

PubMed

Bergstrom, Linda; Richards, Lori; Proctor, Adele; Avila, Leticia Bohrer; Morse, Janice M; Roberts, Joyce E

2009-07-01

In this secondary analysis of videotape data, we describe birth talk demonstrated by caregivers to women during the second stage of labor. Birth talk is a distinctive verbal register or a set of linguistic features that are used with particular behaviors during specific situations, has a particular communication purpose, and is characterized by distinctive language features. Birth talk is found cross-culturally among speakers of diverse languages. Our findings show that birth talk occurred mainly during contractions and co-occurred with two general styles of caregiving: "directed toward forced bearing down" and "supportive of physiologic bearing down." We also describe talk that occurred during rest periods, which was similar across the two styles. Caregivers' use of language tended to be either procedural (giving directions, instructions) or comfort related (encouraging and supporting). Linguistic features of the talk consisted of utterances of short duration, level pitch patterns with no sudden pitch shifts, and a restricted pitch range.

Robotic intelligence kernel

DOEpatents

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID

2009-11-17

A robot platform includes perceptors, locomotors, and a system controller. The system controller executes a robot intelligence kernel (RIK) that includes a multi-level architecture and a dynamic autonomy structure. The multi-level architecture includes a robot behavior level for defining robot behaviors, that incorporate robot attributes and a cognitive level for defining conduct modules that blend an adaptive interaction between predefined decision functions and the robot behaviors. The dynamic autonomy structure is configured for modifying a transaction capacity between an operator intervention and a robot initiative and may include multiple levels with at least a teleoperation mode configured to maximize the operator intervention and minimize the robot initiative and an autonomous mode configured to minimize the operator intervention and maximize the robot initiative. Within the RIK at least the cognitive level includes the dynamic autonomy structure.

Hack the Planet: What we Talk About When we Talk About Geoengineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kintisch, E.

2010-12-01

Hack the Planet (Wiley, 2010) explores how an idea once basically anathema to meetings like AGU has, in the space of a few years, become part of the geoscience mainstream. Through chapters involving researchers like David Battisti, Stephen Salter, Edward Teller and Brent Constanz the book documents the roots of this shift and how scientists are breaking new ground in the controversial field. And it shows how trying to engineer the planet's climate or manage its carbon poses novel scientific, geopolitical and moral risks and rewards. This session will cover how the topic of climate engineering has moved from something geoscientists don't talk about to something geoscientists can talk about, to something, in my view, that geoscientists must talk about.

Novel Cause of 'Black Thyroid': Intraoperative Use of Indocyanine Green.

PubMed

Chernock, Rebecca D; Jackson, Ryan S

2017-09-01

The antibiotic minocycline is virtually pathognomonic for brown-black discoloration of the thyroid gland referred to as 'black thyroid'. Black thyroid' is an incidental finding in patients taking the drug who undergo thyroid surgery for another indication and is not of known clinical significance. However, its recognition is important so as not to raise concern for a disease process. Here, we present the first case of 'black thyroid' attributable to the iodine-containing compound indocyanine green. Intraoperative indocyanine green was administered as part of a research protocol transoral robotic-assisted surgery for a base of tongue cancer in a 44-year-old man. Hemithyroidectomy was subsequently performed during the same operation for further evaluation of an indeterminate thyroid nodule. The resected thyroid lobe was dark, nearly black in color, and histologically showed extensive brown pigment deposition in the follicular epithelial cells and colloid, mimicking minocycline-induced 'black thyroid'. In this case, however, the patient was not taking minocycline; instead the 'black thyroid' was attributed to the iodine-containing compound indocyanine green. Indocyanine green is a hereto unreported cause of 'black thyroid' with histopathologic features that are remarkably similar to that induced by minocycline. Indocyanine green should be included the differential diagnosis of 'black thyroid'. Clinical history is important so as not to raise concern for a disease process.

The climbing crawling robot (a unique cable robot for space and Earth)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerley, James J.; May, Edward; Eklund, Wayne

1991-01-01

Some of the greatest concerns in robotic designs have been the high center of gravity of the robot, the irregular or flat surface that the robot has to work on, the weight of the robot that has to handle heavy weights or use heavy forces, and the ability of the robot to climb straight up in the air. This climbing crawling robot handles these problems well with magnets, suction cups, or actuators. The cables give body to the robot and it performs very similar to a caterpillar. The computer program is simple and inexpensive as is the robot. One of the important features of this system is that the robot can work in pairs or triplets to handle jobs that would be extremely difficult for single robots. The light weight of the robot allows it to handle quite heavy weights. The number of feet give the robot many roots where a simple set of feet would give it trouble.

Robotic surgery: new robots and finally some real competition!

PubMed

Rao, Pradeep P

2018-04-01

For the last 20 years, the predominant robot used in laparoscopic surgery has been Da Vinci by Intuitive Surgical. This monopoly situation has led to rising costs and relatively slow innovation. This article aims to discuss the two new robotic devices for laparoscopic surgery which have received regulatory approval for human use in different parts of the world. A short description of the Senhance Surgical Robotic System and the REVO-I Robot Platform and their pros and cons compared to the Da Vinci system is presented. A discussion about the differences between the three robotic systems now in the market is presented, as well as a short review of the present state of robotic assistance in surgery and where we are headed.

Classroom Talk in Bilingual Class Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puasa, Kuran; Asrifan, Andi; Chen, Yan

2017-01-01

This study reveals how the classroom talk was in the bilingual classroom interaction. The classroom talk comprises teacher and pupil talk--in which they cover teacher's explanation, teacher's question, teacher's feedback, and modification to teacher's speech; as well as pupil's responses and pupil's questions. The research findings show that the…

Real Talk, Real Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Maria

2014-01-01

What happens in classrooms when we create the time and space for authentic talk about texts? Extended, collaborative conversations that allow understanding to unfold over time can be messy and dynamic. As students wrestle with complex texts and ideas, talk can become lively--and predictable problems can arise. In this article, Marie Nichols uses…

Flexible robotic actuators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morin, Stephen A.; Shepherd, Robert F.; Stokes, Adam

Systems and methods for providing flexible robotic actuators are disclosed. Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include a soft robot capable of providing a radial deflection motions; a soft tentacle actuator capable of providing a variety of motions and providing transportation means for various types of materials; and a hybrid robotic system that retains desirable characteristics of both soft robots and hard robots. Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter also include methods for operating the disclosed robotic systems.

Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms

MedlinePlus

... Y Z Test Your Knowledge Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms Designed to help learners at any level ... in a reference paper. The Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms The Human Genome Defined by Professionals at ...

Multi-robot control interface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bruemmer, David J; Walton, Miles C

Methods and systems for controlling a plurality of robots through a single user interface include at least one robot display window for each of the plurality of robots with the at least one robot display window illustrating one or more conditions of a respective one of the plurality of robots. The user interface further includes at least one robot control window for each of the plurality of robots with the at least one robot control window configured to receive one or more commands for sending to the respective one of the plurality of robots. The user interface further includes amore » multi-robot common window comprised of information received from each of the plurality of robots.« less

Martian Soil Ready for Robotic Laboratory Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander scooped up this Martian soil on the mission's 11th Martian day, or sol, after landing (June 5, 2008) as the first soil sample for delivery to the laboratory on the lander deck.

The material includes a light-toned clod possibly from crusted surface of the ground, similar in appearance to clods observed near a foot of the lander.

This approximately true-color view of the contents of the scoop on the Robotic Arm comes from combining separate images taken by the Robotic Arm Camera on Sol 11, using illumination by red, green and blue light-emitting diodes on the camera.

The scoop loaded with this sample was poised over an open sample-delivery door of Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer at the end of Sol 11, ready to be dumped into the instrument on the next sol.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Robot-assisted Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy with intrathoracic robot-sewn anastomosis.

PubMed

Jin, Runsen; Xiang, Jie; Han, Dingpei; Zhang, Yajie; Li, Hecheng

2017-11-01

This video clip demonstrated a performance of robot-assisted Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy with intrathoracic robot-sewn anastomosis. The patient had an esophageal mass located approximately 33 cm away from incisor, and robot-assisted Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy was applied for him. Importantly, a double-layer esophago-gastric anastomosis was made by robotic hand-sewn suture. Our early experience demonstrated that the robot-sewn intrathoracic anastomosis is feasible and safe with a lower complication rate and the absence of anastomotic leakage.

Assessing the accuracy of self-reported self-talk

PubMed Central

Brinthaupt, Thomas M.; Benson, Scott A.; Kang, Minsoo; Moore, Zaver D.

2015-01-01

As with most kinds of inner experience, it is difficult to assess actual self-talk frequency beyond self-reports, given the often hidden and subjective nature of the phenomenon. The Self-Talk Scale (STS; Brinthaupt et al., 2009) is a self-report measure of self-talk frequency that has been shown to possess acceptable reliability and validity. However, no research using the STS has examined the accuracy of respondents’ self-reports. In the present paper, we report a series of studies directly examining the measurement of self-talk frequency and functions using the STS. The studies examine ways to validate self-reported self-talk by (1) comparing STS responses from 6 weeks earlier to recent experiences that might precipitate self-talk, (2) using experience sampling methods to determine whether STS scores are related to recent reports of self-talk over a period of a week, and (3) comparing self-reported STS scores to those provided by a significant other who rated the target on the STS. Results showed that (1) overall self-talk scores, particularly self-critical and self-reinforcing self-talk, were significantly related to reports of context-specific self-talk; (2) high STS scorers reported talking to themselves significantly more often during recent events compared to low STS scorers, and, contrary to expectations, (3) friends reported less agreement than strangers in their self-other self-talk ratings. Implications of the results for the validity of the STS and for measuring self-talk are presented. PMID:25999887

Exploring TED Talks as Linked Data for Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taibi, Davide; Chawla, Saniya; Dietze, Stefan; Marenzi, Ivana; Fetahu, Besnik

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present the TED Talks dataset which exposes all metadata and the actual transcripts of available TED talks as structured Linked Data. The TED talks collection is composed of more than 1800 talks, along with 35?000 transcripts in over 30 languages, related to a wide range of topics. In this regard, TED talks metadata available in…

Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Steven

2010-01-01

In this diverse collection, editors Killoran and Pendleton Jimenez bring together an important collection of chapters that tackle homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism. From the hallways and classrooms of elementary and secondary schools to the lecture halls of postsecondary institutions, "Unleashing the Unpopular: Talking About Sexual…

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Students from Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Fla., participants in FIRST Robotics, show off their robots' capabilities at the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Robotic virtual reality simulation plus standard robotic orientation versus standard robotic orientation alone: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Vaccaro, Christine M; Crisp, Catrina C; Fellner, Angela N; Jackson, Christopher; Kleeman, Steven D; Pavelka, James

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of virtual reality simulation training plus robotic orientation versus robotic orientation alone on performance of surgical tasks using an inanimate model. Surgical resident physicians were enrolled in this assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial. Residents were randomized to receive either (1) robotic virtual reality simulation training plus standard robotic orientation or (2) standard robotic orientation alone. Performance of surgical tasks was assessed at baseline and after the intervention. Nine of 33 modules from the da Vinci Skills Simulator were chosen. Experts in robotic surgery evaluated each resident's videotaped performance of the inanimate model using the Global Rating Scale (GRS) and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills-modified for robotic-assisted surgery (rOSATS). Nine resident physicians were enrolled in the simulation group and 9 in the control group. As a whole, participants improved their total time, time to incision, and suture time from baseline to repeat testing on the inanimate model (P = 0.001, 0.003, <0.001, respectively). Both groups improved their GRS and rOSATS scores significantly (both P < 0.001); however, the GRS overall pass rate was higher in the simulation group compared with the control group (89% vs 44%, P = 0.066). Standard robotic orientation and/or robotic virtual reality simulation improve surgical skills on an inanimate model, although this may be a function of the initial "practice" on the inanimate model and repeat testing of a known task. However, robotic virtual reality simulation training increases GRS pass rates consistent with improved robotic technical skills learned in a virtual reality environment.

Evolutionary Developmental Robotics: Improving Morphology and Control of Physical Robots.

PubMed

Vujovic, Vuk; Rosendo, Andre; Brodbeck, Luzius; Iida, Fumiya

2017-01-01

Evolutionary algorithms have previously been applied to the design of morphology and control of robots. The design space for such tasks can be very complex, which can prevent evolution from efficiently discovering fit solutions. In this article we introduce an evolutionary-developmental (evo-devo) experiment with real-world robots. It allows robots to grow their leg size to simulate ontogenetic morphological changes, and this is the first time that such an experiment has been performed in the physical world. To test diverse robot morphologies, robot legs of variable shapes were generated during the evolutionary process and autonomously built using additive fabrication. We present two cases with evo-devo experiments and one with evolution, and we hypothesize that the addition of a developmental stage can be used within robotics to improve performance. Moreover, our results show that a nonlinear system-environment interaction exists, which explains the nontrivial locomotion patterns observed. In the future, robots will be present in our daily lives, and this work introduces for the first time physical robots that evolve and grow while interacting with the environment.

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Students gather to watch as a DARwin-OP miniature humanoid robot from Virginia Tech Robotics demonstrates its soccer abilities at the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A child gets an up-close look at Charli, an autonomous walking robot developed by Virginia Tech Robotics, during the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Put Your Robot In, Put Your Robot Out: Sequencing through Programming Robots in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Bers, Marina Umaschi

2014-01-01

This article examines the impact of programming robots on sequencing ability in early childhood. Thirty-four children (ages 4.5-6.5 years) participated in computer programming activities with a developmentally appropriate tool, CHERP, specifically designed to program a robot's behaviors. The children learned to build and program robots over three…

Why do women engage in fat talk? Examining fat talk using Self-Determination Theory as an explanatory framework.

PubMed

Guertin, Camille; Barbeau, Kheana; Pelletier, Luc; Martinelli, Gabrielle

2017-03-01

This study used Self-Determination Theory to examine the motivational processes involved in individuals' engagement in fat talk and its association with unhealthy eating behaviors. Female undergraduate students (N=453) completed an online questionnaire, which assessed general and contextual motivation, importance placed on goals, fat talk, and unhealthy eating behaviors. Structural equation modeling revealed that being generally non-self-determined and placing more importance on extrinsic goals, such as thinness, was associated with fat talk. Fat talk was further associated with non-self-determined motivation for eating regulation, which in turn was associated with unhealthy eating. General self-determination and placing more importance on intrinsic goals, such as health, were not associated with fat talk, but instead, were associated with more adaptive forms of eating regulation and diet quality. Findings further current knowledge on the respective roles of motivation and goals on the engagement in fat talk, and its consequences on eating regulation and behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A miniature humanoid robot known as DARwin-OP, from Virginia Tech Robotics, plays soccer with a red tennis ball for a crowd of students at the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Talking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosen, Connie; Rosen, Harold

1974-01-01

Excepts from THE LANGUAGE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN (Penguin, 1973), which evolved from a project initiated by the English Committee of the Schools Council of England and conducted under the direction of Mrs. Connie Rosen; focuses on the talk of primary school children in the presence of a teacher. (Author/JM)

Conversations of Family and Primary School Groups at Robotic Dinosaurs in a Museum? What Do They Talk about?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tunnicliffe, Sue Dale

2008-01-01

The story from the museum may not be read by visitors, who come with their own knowledge and understanding and read a different story in the animals. The visitors read a story which makes sense to them and builds on what they already know and interests them. Increasingly, robotics models are being used in natural history museums, science centers,…

Robot-sewn ileoileal anastomosis during robot-assisted cystectomy.

PubMed

Loertzer, P; Siemer, S; Stöckle, M; Ohlmann, C H

2018-07-01

To analyze the feasibility and perioperative results of patients undergoing robot-assisted cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion and robot-sewn ileoileal anastomosis. This is a mono-centric analysis of perioperative data from 48 consecutive patients undergoing robot-assisted cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion and robot-sewn ileoileal anastomosis. Data include the preoperative variables, operative and postoperative course and complication rates related to bowel anastomosis. End points were time spent for anastomosis and intra- and postoperative complication rates. Median operating time was 23.0 (13-60) min for the ileoileal anastomosis. Median overall operating time was 295 (200-780) min, with a median of 282 (200-418) min and 414.0 (225-780) min for the ileum conduit (N = 35) and ileal neobladder (N = 13). Two patients developed paralytic ileus; in another patient acute peritonitis occurred, but was caused by urinary leakage and therefore unrelated to the bowel anastomosis. No anastomotic leakage was noticed. Costs for the robot-sewn anastomosis was 8€ compared to 1250€ for a stapled anastomosis which was performed in previous cases. Limitations are the non-comparative nature of the analysis and the limited number of patients. Robot-sewn ileoileal anastomosis is feasible with low complication rates. Compared to the stapled anastomosis, a robot-sewn ileoileal anastomosis may serve as an alternative and cost-saving approach.

Talking the Talk: Translating Research to Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grifenhagen, Jill F.; Barnes, Erica M.; Collins, Molly F.; Dickinson, David K.

2017-01-01

Decades of research have identified features of classrooms and teachers' talk that are associated with children's language growth. Unfortunately, much of this work has not yet translated to widespread practice in early childhood classrooms. Given the important contributions that early language development makes to later academic achievement,…

Hopping robot

DOEpatents

Spletzer, Barry L.; Fischer, Gary J.; Marron, Lisa C.; Martinez, Michael A.; Kuehl, Michael A.; Feddema, John T.

2001-01-01

The present invention provides a hopping robot that includes a misfire tolerant linear actuator suitable for long trips, low energy steering and control, reliable low energy righting, miniature low energy fuel control. The present invention provides a robot with hopping mobility, capable of traversing obstacles significant in size relative to the robot and capable of operation on unpredictable terrain over long range. The present invention further provides a hopping robot with misfire-tolerant combustion actuation, and with combustion actuation suitable for use in oxygen-poor environments.

Can We Talk through a Robot As if Face-to-Face? Long-Term Fieldwork Using Teleoperated Robot for Seniors with Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Kuwamura, Kaiko; Nishio, Shuichi; Sato, Shinichi

2016-01-01

This work presents a case study on fieldwork in a group home for the elderly with dementia using a teleoperated robot called Telenoid. We compared Telenoid-mediated and face-to-face conditions with three residents with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The result indicates that two of the three residents with moderate AD showed a positive reaction to Telenoid. Both became less nervous while communicating with Telenoid from the time they were first introduced to it. Moreover, they started to use more body gestures in the face-to-face condition and more physical interactions in the Telenoid-mediated condition. In this work, we present all the results and discuss the possibilities of using Telenoid as a tool to provide opportunities for seniors to communicate over the long term.

Reliability on ISS Talk Outline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Misiora, Mike

2015-01-01

1. Overview of ISS 2. Space Environment and it effects a. Radiation b. Microgravity 3. How we ensure reliability a. Requirements b. Component Selection i. Note: I plan to stay away from talk about Rad Hardened components and talk about why we use older processors because they are less susceptible to SEUs. c. Testing d. Redundancy / Failure Tolerance e. Sparing strategies 4. Operational Examples a. Multiple MDM Failures on 6A due to hard drive failure In general, my plan is to only talk about data that is currently available via normal internet sources to ensure that I stay away from any topics that would be Export Controlled, ITAR, or NDA-controlled. The operational example has been well-reported on in the media and those are the details that I plan to cover. Additionally I am not planning on using any slides or showing any photos during the talk.

Robot Wars: US Empire and geopolitics in the robotic age

PubMed Central

Shaw, Ian GR

2017-01-01

How will the robot age transform warfare? What geopolitical futures are being imagined by the US military? This article constructs a robotic futurology to examine these crucial questions. Its central concern is how robots – driven by leaps in artificial intelligence and swarming – are rewiring the spaces and logics of US empire, warfare, and geopolitics. The article begins by building a more-than-human geopolitics to de-center the role of humans in conflict and foreground a worldly understanding of robots. The article then analyzes the idea of US empire, before speculating upon how and why robots are materializing new forms of proxy war. A three-part examination of the shifting spaces of US empire then follows: (1) Swarm Wars explores the implications of miniaturized drone swarming; (2) Roboworld investigates how robots are changing US military basing strategy and producing new topological spaces of violence; and (3) The Autogenic Battle-Site reveals how autonomous robots will produce emergent, technologically event-ful sites of security and violence – revolutionizing the battlespace. The conclusion reflects on the rise of a robotic US empire and its consequences for democracy. PMID:29081605

Robot Wars: US Empire and geopolitics in the robotic age.

PubMed

Shaw, Ian Gr

2017-10-01

How will the robot age transform warfare? What geopolitical futures are being imagined by the US military? This article constructs a robotic futurology to examine these crucial questions. Its central concern is how robots - driven by leaps in artificial intelligence and swarming - are rewiring the spaces and logics of US empire, warfare, and geopolitics. The article begins by building a more-than-human geopolitics to de-center the role of humans in conflict and foreground a worldly understanding of robots. The article then analyzes the idea of US empire, before speculating upon how and why robots are materializing new forms of proxy war. A three-part examination of the shifting spaces of US empire then follows: (1) Swarm Wars explores the implications of miniaturized drone swarming; (2) Roboworld investigates how robots are changing US military basing strategy and producing new topological spaces of violence; and (3) The Autogenic Battle-Site reveals how autonomous robots will produce emergent, technologically event-ful sites of security and violence - revolutionizing the battlespace. The conclusion reflects on the rise of a robotic US empire and its consequences for democracy.

INL Multi-Robot Control Interface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2005-03-30

The INL Multi-Robot Control Interface controls many robots through a single user interface. The interface includes a robot display window for each robot showing the robot’s condition. More than one window can be used depending on the number of robots. The user interface also includes a robot control window configured to receive commands for sending to the respective robot and a multi-robot common window showing information received from each robot.

Basic Robotics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mullen, Frank

This curriculum outline consists of instructional materials and information concerning resources for use in teaching a course in robotics. Addressed in the individual sections of the outline are the following topics: the nature of an industrial robot; the parts of an industrial robot (the manipulator, the power structure, and the control system);…

Industrial Robots.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Dean; Harden, Thomas K.

Robots are mechanical devices that can be programmed to perform some task of manipulation or locomotion under automatic control. This paper discusses: (1) early developments of the robotics industry in the United States; (2) the present structure of the industry; (3) noneconomic factors related to the use of robots; (4) labor considerations…

Mobile robot knowledge base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heath Pastore, Tracy; Barnes, Mitchell; Hallman, Rory

2005-05-01

Robot technology is developing at a rapid rate for both commercial and Department of Defense (DOD) applications. As a result, the task of managing both technology and experience information is growing. In the not-to-distant past, tracking development efforts of robot platforms, subsystems and components was not too difficult, expensive, or time consuming. To do the same today is a significant undertaking. The Mobile Robot Knowledge Base (MRKB) provides the robotics community with a web-accessible, centralized resource for sharing information, experience, and technology to more efficiently and effectively meet the needs of the robot system user. The resource includes searchable information on robot components, subsystems, mission payloads, platforms, and DOD robotics programs. In addition, the MRKB website provides a forum for technology and information transfer within the DOD robotics community and an interface for the Robotic Systems Pool (RSP). The RSP manages a collection of small teleoperated and semi-autonomous robotic platforms, available for loan to DOD and other qualified entities. The objective is to put robots in the hands of users and use the test data and fielding experience to improve robot systems.

Self-Reconfigurable Robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HENSINGER, DAVID M.; JOHNSTON, GABRIEL A.; HINMAN-SWEENEY, ELAINE M.

2002-10-01

A distributed reconfigurable micro-robotic system is a collection of unlimited numbers of distributed small, homogeneous robots designed to autonomously organize and reorganize in order to achieve mission-specified geometric shapes and functions. This project investigated the design, control, and planning issues for self-configuring and self-organizing robots. In the 2D space a system consisting of two robots was prototyped and successfully displayed automatic docking/undocking to operate dependently or independently. Additional modules were constructed to display the usefulness of a self-configuring system in various situations. In 3D a self-reconfiguring robot system of 4 identical modules was built. Each module connects to its neighborsmore » using rotating actuators. An individual component can move in three dimensions on its neighbors. We have also built a self-reconfiguring robot system consisting of 9-module Crystalline Robot. Each module in this robot is actuated by expansion/contraction. The system is fully distributed, has local communication (to neighbors) capabilities and it has global sensing capabilities.« less

Robot geometry calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayati, Samad; Tso, Kam; Roston, Gerald

1988-01-01

Autonomous robot task execution requires that the end effector of the robot be positioned accurately relative to a reference world-coordinate frame. The authors present a complete formulation to identify the actual robot geometric parameters. The method applies to any serial link manipulator with arbitrary order and combination of revolute and prismatic joints. A method is also presented to solve the inverse kinematic of the actual robot model which usually is not a so-called simple robot. Experimental results performed by utilizing a PUMA 560 with simple measurement hardware are presented. As a result of this calibration a precision move command is designed and integrated into a robot language, RCCL, and used in the NASA Telerobot Testbed.

TED Talks and Leadership Education: Ideas Worth Sharing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raffo, Deana M.

2016-01-01

TED Talks are short videos of experts talking about a variety of topics. This paper outlines six TED Talks that connect with the leadership literature and topics commonly taught with an explanation of how they enhance teaching about a corresponding leadership topic. The researcher shares how introducing TED talks related to leadership can…

An overview of artificial intelligence and robotics. Volume 2: Robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gevarter, W. B.

1982-01-01

This report provides an overview of the rapidly changing field of robotics. The report incorporates definitions of the various types of robots, a summary of the basic concepts, utilized in each of the many technical areas, review of the state of the art and statistics of robot manufacture and usage. Particular attention is paid to the status of robot development, the organizations involved, their activities, and their funding.

Robot Rescue

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morring, Frank, Jr.

2004-01-01

Tests with robots and the high-fidelity Hubble Space Telescope mockup astronauts use to train for servicing missions have convinced NASA managers it may be possible to maintain and upgrade the orbiting observatory without sending a space shuttle to do the job. In a formal request last week, the agency gave bidders until July 16 to sub-mit proposals for a robotic mission to the space telescope before the end of 2007. At a minimum, the mission would attach a rocket motor to deorbit the telescope safely when its service life ends. In the best case, it would use state-of-the- art robotics to prolong its life on orbit and install new instruments. With the space shuttle off-limits for the job under strict post-Columbia safety policies set by Administrator Sean O'Keefe, NASA has designed a "straw- man" robotic mission that would use an Atlas V or Delta N to launch a 20,ooO-lb. "Hubble Robotic Vehicle" to service the telescope. There, a robotic arm would grapple it, much as the shuttle does.

Advanced robot locomotion.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neely, Jason C.; Sturgis, Beverly Rainwater; Byrne, Raymond Harry

This report contains the results of a research effort on advanced robot locomotion. The majority of this work focuses on walking robots. Walking robot applications include delivery of special payloads to unique locations that require human locomotion to exo-skeleton human assistance applications. A walking robot could step over obstacles and move through narrow openings that a wheeled or tracked vehicle could not overcome. It could pick up and manipulate objects in ways that a standard robot gripper could not. Most importantly, a walking robot would be able to rapidly perform these tasks through an intuitive user interface that mimics naturalmore » human motion. The largest obstacle arises in emulating stability and balance control naturally present in humans but needed for bipedal locomotion in a robot. A tracked robot is bulky and limited, but a wide wheel base assures passive stability. Human bipedal motion is so common that it is taken for granted, but bipedal motion requires active balance and stability control for which the analysis is non-trivial. This report contains an extensive literature study on the state-of-the-art of legged robotics, and it additionally provides the analysis, simulation, and hardware verification of two variants of a proto-type leg design.« less

A Robotics-Based Approach to Modeling of Choice Reaching Experiments on Visual Attention

PubMed Central

Strauss, Soeren; Heinke, Dietmar

2012-01-01

The paper presents a robotics-based model for choice reaching experiments on visual attention. In these experiments participants were asked to make rapid reach movements toward a target in an odd-color search task, i.e., reaching for a green square among red squares and vice versa (e.g., Song and Nakayama, 2008). Interestingly these studies found that in a high number of trials movements were initially directed toward a distractor and only later were adjusted toward the target. These “curved” trajectories occurred particularly frequently when the target in the directly preceding trial had a different color (priming effect). Our model is embedded in a closed-loop control of a LEGO robot arm aiming to mimic these reach movements. The model is based on our earlier work which suggests that target selection in visual search is implemented through parallel interactions between competitive and cooperative processes in the brain (Heinke and Humphreys, 2003; Heinke and Backhaus, 2011). To link this model with the control of the robot arm we implemented a topological representation of movement parameters following the dynamic field theory (Erlhagen and Schoener, 2002). The robot arm is able to mimic the results of the odd-color search task including the priming effect and also generates human-like trajectories with a bell-shaped velocity profile. Theoretical implications and predictions are discussed in the paper. PMID:22529827

Human-Robot Interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandor, Aniko; Cross, E. Vincent, II; Chang, Mai Lee

2015-01-01

Human-robot interaction (HRI) is a discipline investigating the factors affecting the interactions between humans and robots. It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces affect the human's ability to perform tasks effectively and efficiently when working with a robot. By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed to appropriately support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for the design of robotic systems. For efficient and effective remote navigation of a rover, a human operator needs to be aware of the robot's environment. However, during teleoperation, operators may get information about the environment only through a robot's front-mounted camera causing a keyhole effect. The keyhole effect reduces situation awareness which may manifest in navigation issues such as higher number of collisions, missing critical aspects of the environment, or reduced speed. One way to compensate for the keyhole effect and the ambiguities operators experience when they teleoperate a robot is adding multiple cameras and including the robot chassis in the camera view. Augmented reality, such as overlays, can also enhance the way a person sees objects in the environment or in camera views by making them more visible. Scenes can be augmented with integrated telemetry, procedures, or map information. Furthermore, the addition of an exocentric (i.e., third-person) field of view from a camera placed in the robot's environment may provide operators with the additional information needed to gain spatial awareness of the robot. Two research studies investigated possible mitigation approaches to address the keyhole effect: 1) combining the inclusion of the robot chassis in the camera view with augmented reality overlays, and 2) modifying the camera

Methods and Strategies: Talk Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shea, Lauren M.; Shanahan, Therese B.

2011-01-01

This article discusses how to promote oral language development through science. The authors describe how they incorporate academic "talk strategies" into science lessons in a nonintrusive and meaningful manner. These talk strategies are adapted from the "Avenues" (2007) curriculum for English learners (ELs), which gives examples of cooperative…

Number Talks Build Numerical Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parrish, Sherry D.

2011-01-01

"Classroom number talks," five- to fifteen-minute conversations around purposefully crafted computation problems, are a productive tool that can be incorporated into classroom instruction to combine the essential processes and habits of mind of doing math. During number talks, students are asked to communicate their thinking when presenting and…

Human-Robot Interaction: Does Robotic Guidance Force Affect Gait-Related Brain Dynamics during Robot-Assisted Treadmill Walking?

PubMed Central

Knaepen, Kristel; Mierau, Andreas; Swinnen, Eva; Fernandez Tellez, Helio; Michielsen, Marc; Kerckhofs, Eric; Lefeber, Dirk; Meeusen, Romain

2015-01-01

In order to determine optimal training parameters for robot-assisted treadmill walking, it is essential to understand how a robotic device interacts with its wearer, and thus, how parameter settings of the device affect locomotor control. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of different levels of guidance force during robot-assisted treadmill walking on cortical activity. Eighteen healthy subjects walked at 2 km.h-1 on a treadmill with and without assistance of the Lokomat robotic gait orthosis. Event-related spectral perturbations and changes in power spectral density were investigated during unassisted treadmill walking as well as during robot-assisted treadmill walking at 30%, 60% and 100% guidance force (with 0% body weight support). Clustering of independent components revealed three clusters of activity in the sensorimotor cortex during treadmill walking and robot-assisted treadmill walking in healthy subjects. These clusters demonstrated gait-related spectral modulations in the mu, beta and low gamma bands over the sensorimotor cortex related to specific phases of the gait cycle. Moreover, mu and beta rhythms were suppressed in the right primary sensory cortex during treadmill walking compared to robot-assisted treadmill walking with 100% guidance force, indicating significantly larger involvement of the sensorimotor area during treadmill walking compared to robot-assisted treadmill walking. Only marginal differences in the spectral power of the mu, beta and low gamma bands could be identified between robot-assisted treadmill walking with different levels of guidance force. From these results it can be concluded that a high level of guidance force (i.e., 100% guidance force) and thus a less active participation during locomotion should be avoided during robot-assisted treadmill walking. This will optimize the involvement of the sensorimotor cortex which is known to be crucial for motor learning. PMID:26485148

Human-Robot Interaction: Does Robotic Guidance Force Affect Gait-Related Brain Dynamics during Robot-Assisted Treadmill Walking?

PubMed

Knaepen, Kristel; Mierau, Andreas; Swinnen, Eva; Fernandez Tellez, Helio; Michielsen, Marc; Kerckhofs, Eric; Lefeber, Dirk; Meeusen, Romain

2015-01-01

In order to determine optimal training parameters for robot-assisted treadmill walking, it is essential to understand how a robotic device interacts with its wearer, and thus, how parameter settings of the device affect locomotor control. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of different levels of guidance force during robot-assisted treadmill walking on cortical activity. Eighteen healthy subjects walked at 2 km.h-1 on a treadmill with and without assistance of the Lokomat robotic gait orthosis. Event-related spectral perturbations and changes in power spectral density were investigated during unassisted treadmill walking as well as during robot-assisted treadmill walking at 30%, 60% and 100% guidance force (with 0% body weight support). Clustering of independent components revealed three clusters of activity in the sensorimotor cortex during treadmill walking and robot-assisted treadmill walking in healthy subjects. These clusters demonstrated gait-related spectral modulations in the mu, beta and low gamma bands over the sensorimotor cortex related to specific phases of the gait cycle. Moreover, mu and beta rhythms were suppressed in the right primary sensory cortex during treadmill walking compared to robot-assisted treadmill walking with 100% guidance force, indicating significantly larger involvement of the sensorimotor area during treadmill walking compared to robot-assisted treadmill walking. Only marginal differences in the spectral power of the mu, beta and low gamma bands could be identified between robot-assisted treadmill walking with different levels of guidance force. From these results it can be concluded that a high level of guidance force (i.e., 100% guidance force) and thus a less active participation during locomotion should be avoided during robot-assisted treadmill walking. This will optimize the involvement of the sensorimotor cortex which is known to be crucial for motor learning.

A history of robots: from science fiction to surgical robotics.

PubMed

Hockstein, N G; Gourin, C G; Faust, R A; Terris, D J

2007-01-01

Surgical robotics is an evolving field with great advances having been made over the last decade. The origin of robotics was in the science-fiction literature and from there industrial applications, and more recently commercially available, surgical robotic devices have been realized. In this review, we examine the field of robotics from its roots in literature to its development for clinical surgical use. Surgical mills and telerobotic devices are discussed, as are potential future developments.

Promoting water hydraulics in Malaysia: A green educational approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusof, Ahmad Anas; Zaili, Zarin Syukri; Hassan, Siti Nor Habibah; Tuan, Tee Boon; Saadun, Mohd Noor Asril; Ibrahim, Mohd Qadafie

2014-10-01

In promoting water hydraulics in Malaysia, this paper presents research development of water hydraulics educational training system for secondary and tertiary levels in Malaysia. Water hydraulics trainer with robotic attachment has been studied in order to promote the usefulness of such educational tools in promoting sustainability and green technology in the country. The trainer is being developed in order to allow constructive curriculum development and continuous marketing research for the effectiveness and usefulness of using water in hydraulic power trainer. The research on water-based hydraulic trainer is now possible with the current development in water hydraulics technology.

Robot Deception and Squirrel Behavior: A Case Study in Bio-inspired Robotics

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

employed by doctors/ nurses among others. It is important to focus on this aspect when we consider a robot’s deceptive capabilities in human- robot ... Robot Deception and Squirrel Behavior: A Case Study in Bio-inspired Robotics Jaeeun Shim and Ronald C. Arkin Mobile Robot ...Abstract A common behavior in animals and human beings is deception. Deceptive behavior in robotics is potentially beneficial in several domains

Robotic Surgery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning, or AESOP, was developed by Computer Motion, Inc. under a SBIR contract from the Jet Propulsion Lab. AESOP is a robotic endoscopic positioning system used to control the motion of a camera during endoscopic surgery. The camera, which is mounted at the end of a robotic arm, previously had to be held in place by the surgical staff. With AESOP the robotic arm can make more precise and consistent movements. AESOP is also voice controlled by the surgeon. It is hoped that this technology can be used in space repair missions which require precision beyond human dexterity. A new generation of the same technology entitled the ZEUS Robotic Surgical System can make endoscopic procedures even more successful. ZEUS allows the surgeon control various instruments in its robotic arms, allowing for the precision the procedure requires.

Multigait soft robot

PubMed Central

Shepherd, Robert F.; Ilievski, Filip; Choi, Wonjae; Morin, Stephen A.; Stokes, Adam A.; Mazzeo, Aaron D.; Chen, Xin; Wang, Michael; Whitesides, George M.

2011-01-01

This manuscript describes a unique class of locomotive robot: A soft robot, composed exclusively of soft materials (elastomeric polymers), which is inspired by animals (e.g., squid, starfish, worms) that do not have hard internal skeletons. Soft lithography was used to fabricate a pneumatically actuated robot capable of sophisticated locomotion (e.g., fluid movement of limbs and multiple gaits). This robot is quadrupedal; it uses no sensors, only five actuators, and a simple pneumatic valving system that operates at low pressures (< 10 psi). A combination of crawling and undulation gaits allowed this robot to navigate a difficult obstacle. This demonstration illustrates an advantage of soft robotics: They are systems in which simple types of actuation produce complex motion. PMID:22123978

Talking Circles Promote Equitable Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hung, Marcus

2015-01-01

Teachers facilitate math talk in the classroom, but introducing a structured discussion format called the "talking circle" can influence opportunities for equitable student participation. Drawing on his reflections over the 2013-14 academic year and reviewing his detailed teaching notes and lesson plans, Marcus Hung takes a close look at…

Robotics in endoscopy.

PubMed

Klibansky, David; Rothstein, Richard I

2012-09-01

The increasing complexity of intralumenal and emerging translumenal endoscopic procedures has created an opportunity to apply robotics in endoscopy. Computer-assisted or direct-drive robotic technology allows the triangulation of flexible tools through telemanipulation. The creation of new flexible operative platforms, along with other emerging technology such as nanobots and steerable capsules, can be transformational for endoscopic procedures. In this review, we cover some background information on the use of robotics in surgery and endoscopy, and review the emerging literature on platforms, capsules, and mini-robotic units. The development of techniques in advanced intralumenal endoscopy (endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection) and translumenal endoscopic procedures (NOTES) has generated a number of novel platforms, flexible tools, and devices that can apply robotic principles to endoscopy. The development of a fully flexible endoscopic surgical toolkit will enable increasingly advanced procedures to be performed through natural orifices. The application of platforms and new flexible tools to the areas of advanced endoscopy and NOTES heralds the opportunity to employ useful robotic technology. Following the examples of the utility of robotics from the field of laparoscopic surgery, we can anticipate the emerging role of robotic technology in endoscopy.

TROTER's (Tiny Robotic Operation Team Experiment): A new concept of space robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Su, Renjeng

1990-01-01

In view of the future need of automation and robotics in space and the existing approaches to the problem, we proposed a new concept of robots for space construction. The new concept is based on the basic idea of decentralization. Decentralization occurs, on the one hand, in using teams of many cooperative robots for construction tasks. Redundancy and modular design are explored to achieve high reliability for team robotic operations. Reliability requirement on individual robots is greatly reduced. Another area of decentralization is manifested by the proposed control hierarchy which eventually includes humans in the loop. The control strategy is constrained by various time delays and calls for different levels of abstraction of the task dynamics. Such technology is needed for remote control of robots in an uncertain environment. Thus, concerns of human safety around robots are relaxed. This presentation also introduces the required technologies behind the new robotic concept.

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Andrew Nick of Kennedy Space Center's Swamp Works shows off RASSOR, a robotic miner, at the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Integrating robotic partial nephrectomy to an existing robotic surgery program.

PubMed

Yuh, Bertram; Muldrew, Shantel; Menchaca, Anita; Yip, Wesley; Lau, Clayton; Wilson, Timothy; Josephson, David

2012-04-01

As more centers develop robotic proficiency, progressing to a successful robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) program depends on a number of factors. We describe our technique, results, and analysis of program setup for RAPN. Between 2005 and 2011, 92 RAPNs were performed following maturation of a robotic prostatectomy program. Operating rooms and supply rooms were outfitted for efficient robotic throughput. Tilepro and intraoperative ultrasound were used for all cases. Training and experiential learning for surgeons, anesthesia and nursing staff was a high priority. An onsite robotic technician helped troubleshoot, prepare the room and staff prior to starting surgery, and provide assistance with different robotic models. Average operative time decreased over time from 235 min to 199 min (p = .03). Warm ischemia time decreased from 26 minutes to 23 minutes (p = .02) despite an increased complexity of tumors and operations on multiple tumors. Median estimated blood loss was 150 mL. Average length of hospital stay was 3 days (range 1-9). Average size of lesions was 2.7 cm (range 0.7-8.6). Final pathology demonstrated 71 (77%) malignant lesions and 21 (23%) benign lesions. The addition of a robot-assisted partial nephrectomy program to an institutional robotic program can be coordinated with several key steps. Outcomes from an operational, oncologic, and renal functional standpoint are acceptable. Despite increased complexity of tumors and treatment of multiple lesions, operative and warm ischemia times showed a decrease over time. An organizational model that involves the surgeons, anesthesia, nursing staff, and possibly a robotic technical specialist helps to overcome the learning curve.

Robotic equipment malfunction during robotic prostatectomy: a multi-institutional study.

PubMed

Lavery, Hugh J; Thaly, Rahul; Albala, David; Ahlering, Thomas; Shalhav, Arieh; Lee, David; Fagin, Randy; Wiklund, Peter; Dasgupta, Prokar; Costello, Anthony J; Tewari, Ashutosh; Coughlin, Geoff; Patel, Vipul R

2008-09-01

Robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) is growing in popularity as a treatment option for prostate cancer. As a new technology, little is known regarding the reliability of the da Vinci robotic system. Intraoperative robotic equipment malfunction may force the surgeon to convert the procedure to an open or pure laparoscopic procedure, or possibly even abort the procedure. We report the first large-scale, multi-institutional review of robotic equipment malfunction. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate the rate of perioperative robotic malfunction during RALP. High-volume, experienced surgeons were asked to complete this evaluation based on the analysis of their data. Questions included the overall number of RALPs performed, the number of equipment malfunctions, the number of procedures that had to be converted or aborted, and the part of the robotic system that malfunctioned. Eleven institutions participated in the study with a median surgeon volume of 700 cases, accounting for a total case volume of 8240. Critical failure occurred in 34 cases (0.4%) leading to the cancellation of 24 cases prior to the procedure, and the conversion to two laparoscopic and eight open procedures. The most common components of the robot to malfunction were the arms and optical system. Critical robotic equipment malfunction is extremely rare in institutions that perform high volumes of RALPs, with a nonrecoverable malfunction rate of only 0.4%.

Robotic surgery update.

PubMed

Jacobsen, G; Elli, F; Horgan, S

2004-08-01

Minimally invasive surgical techniques have revolutionized the field of surgery. Telesurgical manipulators (robots) and new information technologies strive to improve upon currently available minimally invasive techniques and create new possibilities. A retrospective review of all robotic cases at a single academic medical center from August 2000 until November 2002 was conducted. A comprehensive literature evaluation on robotic surgical technology was also performed. Robotic technology is safely and effectively being applied at our institution. Robotic and information technologies have improved upon minimally invasive surgical techniques and created new opportunities not attainable in open surgery. Robotic technology offers many benefits over traditional minimal access techniques and has been proven safe and effective. Further research is needed to better define the optimal application of this technology. Credentialing and educational requirements also need to be delineated.

Dialogic Talk in Diverse Physical Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Dale L.; Lelliott, Anthony D.

2015-01-01

Dialogic talk, in which different ideas are considered, promotes conceptual understanding in science, and is in line with South Africa's school curriculum. The problem is that dialogic talk is difficult to facilitate and may run counter to cultural norms. As a result, classroom talk is often not dialogic. This paper reports on the nature of…

[Robots and intellectual property].

PubMed

Larrieu, Jacques

2013-12-01

This topic is part of the global issue concerning the necessity to adapt intellectual property law to constant changes in technology. The relationship between robots and IP is dual. On one hand, the robots may be regarded as objects of intellectual property. A robot, like any new machine, could qualify for a protection by a patent. A copyright may protect its appearance if it is original. Its memory, like a database, could be covered by a sui generis right. On the other hand, the question of the protection of the outputs of the robot must be raised. The robots, as the physical embodiment of artificial intelligence, are becoming more and more autonomous. Robot-generated works include less and less human inputs. Are these objects created or invented by a robot copyrightable or patentable? To whom the ownership of these IP rights will be allocated? To the person who manufactured the machine ? To the user of the robot? To the robot itself? All these questions are worth discussing.

Evolution of robotic arms.

PubMed

Moran, Michael E

2007-01-01

The foundation of surgical robotics is in the development of the robotic arm. This is a thorough review of the literature on the nature and development of this device with emphasis on surgical applications. We have reviewed the published literature and classified robotic arms by their application: show, industrial application, medical application, etc. There is a definite trend in the manufacture of robotic arms toward more dextrous devices, more degrees-of-freedom, and capabilities beyond the human arm. da Vinci designed the first sophisticated robotic arm in 1495 with four degrees-of-freedom and an analog on-board controller supplying power and programmability. von Kemplen's chess-playing automaton left arm was quite sophisticated. Unimate introduced the first industrial robotic arm in 1961, it has subsequently evolved into the PUMA arm. In 1963 the Rancho arm was designed; Minsky's Tentacle arm appeared in 1968, Scheinman's Stanford arm in 1969, and MIT's Silver arm in 1974. Aird became the first cyborg human with a robotic arm in 1993. In 2000 Miguel Nicolalis redefined possible man-machine capacity in his work on cerebral implantation in owl-monkeys directly interfacing with robotic arms both locally and at a distance. The robotic arm is the end-effector of robotic systems and currently is the hallmark feature of the da Vinci Surgical System making its entrance into surgical application. But, despite the potential advantages of this computer-controlled master-slave system, robotic arms have definite limitations. Ongoing work in robotics has many potential solutions to the drawbacks of current robotic surgical systems.

[History of robotics: from archytas of tarentum until Da Vinci robot. (Part II)].

PubMed

Sánchez-Martín, F M; Jiménez Schlegl, P; Millán Rodríguez, F; Salvador-Bayarri, J; Monllau Font, V; Palou Redorta, J; Villavicencio Mavrich, H

2007-03-01

Robotic surgery is a reality. In order to to understand how new robots work is interesting to know the history of ancient (see part i) and modern robotics. The desire to design automatic machines imitating humans continued for more than 4000 years. Archytas of Tarentum (at around 400 a.C.), Heron of Alexandria, Hsieh-Fec, Al-Jazari, Bacon, Turriano, Leonardo da Vinci, Vaucanson o von Kempelen were robot inventors. At 1942 Asimov published the three robotics laws. Mechanics, electronics and informatics advances at XXth century developed robots to be able to do very complex self governing works. At 1985 the robot PUMA 560 was employed to introduce a needle inside the brain. Later on, they were designed surgical robots like World First, Robodoc, Gaspar o Acrobot, Zeus, AESOP, Probot o PAKI-RCP. At 2000 the FDA approved the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical Inc, Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a very sophisticated robot to assist surgeons. Currently urological procedures like prostatectomy, cystectomy and nephrectomy are performed with the da Vinci, so urology has become a very suitable speciality to robotic surgery.

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A visitor to the Robot Rocket Rally takes an up-close look at RASSOR, a robotic miner developed by NASA Kennedy Space Center's Swamp Works. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Students observe as Otherlab shows off a life-size, inflatable robot from its "" program. The demonstration was one of several provided during the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

SSVEP-based Experimental Procedure for Brain-Robot Interaction with Humanoid Robots.

PubMed

Zhao, Jing; Li, Wei; Mao, Xiaoqian; Li, Mengfan

2015-11-24

Brain-Robot Interaction (BRI), which provides an innovative communication pathway between human and a robotic device via brain signals, is prospective in helping the disabled in their daily lives. The overall goal of our method is to establish an SSVEP-based experimental procedure by integrating multiple software programs, such as OpenViBE, Choregraph, and Central software as well as user developed programs written in C++ and MATLAB, to enable the study of brain-robot interaction with humanoid robots. This is achieved by first placing EEG electrodes on a human subject to measure the brain responses through an EEG data acquisition system. A user interface is used to elicit SSVEP responses and to display video feedback in the closed-loop control experiments. The second step is to record the EEG signals of first-time subjects, to analyze their SSVEP features offline, and to train the classifier for each subject. Next, the Online Signal Processor and the Robot Controller are configured for the online control of a humanoid robot. As the final step, the subject completes three specific closed-loop control experiments within different environments to evaluate the brain-robot interaction performance. The advantage of this approach is its reliability and flexibility because it is developed by integrating multiple software programs. The results show that using this approach, the subject is capable of interacting with the humanoid robot via brain signals. This allows the mind-controlled humanoid robot to perform typical tasks that are popular in robotic research and are helpful in assisting the disabled.

SSVEP-based Experimental Procedure for Brain-Robot Interaction with Humanoid Robots

PubMed Central

Zhao, Jing; Li, Wei; Mao, Xiaoqian; Li, Mengfan

2015-01-01

Brain-Robot Interaction (BRI), which provides an innovative communication pathway between human and a robotic device via brain signals, is prospective in helping the disabled in their daily lives. The overall goal of our method is to establish an SSVEP-based experimental procedure by integrating multiple software programs, such as OpenViBE, Choregraph, and Central software as well as user developed programs written in C++ and MATLAB, to enable the study of brain-robot interaction with humanoid robots. This is achieved by first placing EEG electrodes on a human subject to measure the brain responses through an EEG data acquisition system. A user interface is used to elicit SSVEP responses and to display video feedback in the closed-loop control experiments. The second step is to record the EEG signals of first-time subjects, to analyze their SSVEP features offline, and to train the classifier for each subject. Next, the Online Signal Processor and the Robot Controller are configured for the online control of a humanoid robot. As the final step, the subject completes three specific closed-loop control experiments within different environments to evaluate the brain-robot interaction performance. The advantage of this approach is its reliability and flexibility because it is developed by integrating multiple software programs. The results show that using this approach, the subject is capable of interacting with the humanoid robot via brain signals. This allows the mind-controlled humanoid robot to perform typical tasks that are popular in robotic research and are helpful in assisting the disabled. PMID:26650051

Robotics for Human Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fong, Terrence; Deans, Mathew; Bualat, Maria

2013-01-01

Robots can do a variety of work to increase the productivity of human explorers. Robots can perform tasks that are tedious, highly repetitive or long-duration. Robots can perform precursor tasks, such as reconnaissance, which help prepare for future human activity. Robots can work in support of astronauts, assisting or performing tasks in parallel. Robots can also perform "follow-up" work, completing tasks designated or started by humans. In this paper, we summarize the development and testing of robots designed to improve future human exploration of space.

The Tactile Ethics of Soft Robotics: Designing Wisely for Human-Robot Interaction.

PubMed

Arnold, Thomas; Scheutz, Matthias

2017-06-01

Soft robots promise an exciting design trajectory in the field of robotics and human-robot interaction (HRI), promising more adaptive, resilient movement within environments as well as a safer, more sensitive interface for the objects or agents the robot encounters. In particular, tactile HRI is a critical dimension for designers to consider, especially given the onrush of assistive and companion robots into our society. In this article, we propose to surface an important set of ethical challenges for the field of soft robotics to meet. Tactile HRI strongly suggests that soft-bodied robots balance tactile engagement against emotional manipulation, model intimacy on the bonding with a tool not with a person, and deflect users from personally and socially destructive behavior the soft bodies and surfaces could normally entice.

Tandem robot control system and method for controlling mobile robots in tandem

DOEpatents

Hayward, David R.; Buttz, James H.; Shirey, David L.

2002-01-01

A control system for controlling mobile robots provides a way to control mobile robots, connected in tandem with coupling devices, to navigate across difficult terrain or in closed spaces. The mobile robots can be controlled cooperatively as a coupled system in linked mode or controlled individually as separate robots.

Robot-assisted general surgery.

PubMed

Hazey, Jeffrey W; Melvin, W Scott

2004-06-01

With the initiation of laparoscopic techniques in general surgery, we have seen a significant expansion of minimally invasive techniques in the last 16 years. More recently, robotic-assisted laparoscopy has moved into the general surgeon's armamentarium to address some of the shortcomings of laparoscopic surgery. AESOP (Computer Motion, Goleta, CA) addressed the issue of visualization as a robotic camera holder. With the introduction of the ZEUS robotic surgical system (Computer Motion), the ability to remotely operate laparoscopic instruments became a reality. US Food and Drug Administration approval in July 2000 of the da Vinci robotic surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA) further defined the ability of a robotic-assist device to address limitations in laparoscopy. This includes a significant improvement in instrument dexterity, dampening of natural hand tremors, three-dimensional visualization, ergonomics, and camera stability. As experience with robotic technology increased and its applications to advanced laparoscopic procedures have become more understood, more procedures have been performed with robotic assistance. Numerous studies have shown equivalent or improved patient outcomes when robotic-assist devices are used. Initially, robotic-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy was deemed safe, and now robotics has been shown to be safe in foregut procedures, including Nissen fundoplication, Heller myotomy, gastric banding procedures, and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. These techniques have been extrapolated to solid-organ procedures (splenectomy, adrenalectomy, and pancreatic surgery) as well as robotic-assisted laparoscopic colectomy. In this chapter, we review the evolution of robotic technology and its applications in general surgical procedures.

Combined Partial Penectomy With Bilateral Robotic Inguinal Lymphadenectomy Using Near-infrared Fluorescence Guidance.

PubMed

Sávio, Luís Felipe; Panizzutti Barboza, Marcelo; Alameddine, Mahmoud; Ahdoot, Michael; Alonzo, David; Ritch, Chad R

2018-03-01

To describe our novel technique for performing a combined partial penectomy and bilateral robotic inguinal lymphadenectomy using intraoperative near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence guidance with indocyanine green (ICG) and the DaVinci Firefly camera system. A 58-year-old man presented status post recent excisional biopsy of a 2-cm lesion on the left coronal aspect of the glans penis. Pathology revealed "invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the penis with multifocal positive margins." His examination was suspicious for cT2 primary and his inguinal nodes were cN0. He was counseled to undergo partial penectomy with possible combined vs staged bilateral robotic inguinal lymphadenectomy. Preoperative computed tomography scan was negative for pathologic lymphadenopathy. Before incision, 5 mL of ICG was injected subcutaneously beneath the tumor. Bilateral thigh pockets were then developed simultaneously and a right, then left robotic modified inguinal lymphadenectomy was performed using NIR fluorescence guidance via the DaVinci Firefly camera. A partial penectomy was then performed in the standard fashion. The combined procedure was performed successfully without complication. Total operative time was 379 minutes and total robotic console time was 95 minutes for the right and 58 minutes to the left. Estimated blood loss on the right and left were 15 and 25 mL, respectively. A total of 24 lymph nodes were retrieved. This video demonstrates a safe and feasible approach for combined partial penectomy and bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy with NIR guidance using ICG and the DaVinci Firefly camera system. The combined robotic approach has minimal morbidity and avoids the need for a staged procedure. Furthermore, use of NIR guidance with ICG during robotic inguinal lymphadenectomy is feasible and may help identify sentinel lymph nodes and improve the quality of dissection. Further studies are needed to confirm the utility of NIR guidance for robotic sentinel lymph node

Robot Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Martin Marietta Aero and Naval Systems has advanced the CAD art to a very high level at its Robotics Laboratory. One of the company's major projects is construction of a huge Field Material Handling Robot for the Army's Human Engineering Lab. Design of FMR, intended to move heavy and dangerous material such as ammunition, was a triumph in CAD Engineering. Separate computer problems modeled the robot's kinematics and dynamics, yielding such parameters as the strength of materials required for each component, the length of the arms, their degree of freedom and power of hydraulic system needed. The Robotics Lab went a step further and added data enabling computer simulation and animation of the robot's total operational capability under various loading and unloading conditions. NASA computer program (IAC), integrated Analysis Capability Engineering Database was used. Program contains a series of modules that can stand alone or be integrated with data from sensors or software tools.

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A visitor to the Robot Rocket Rally tries his hand at virtual reality in a demonstration of the Oculus Rift technology, provided by the Open Source Robotics Foundation. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Principles of robotics: regulating robots in the real world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boden, Margaret; Bryson, Joanna; Caldwell, Darwin; Dautenhahn, Kerstin; Edwards, Lilian; Kember, Sarah; Newman, Paul; Parry, Vivienne; Pegman, Geoff; Rodden, Tom; Sorrell, Tom; Wallis, Mick; Whitby, Blay; Winfield, Alan

2017-04-01

This paper proposes a set of five ethical principles, together with seven high-level messages, as a basis for responsible robotics. The Principles of Robotics were drafted in 2010 and published online in 2011. Since then the principles have influenced, and continue to influence, a number of initiatives in robot ethics but have not, to date, been formally published. This paper remedies that omission.

Supersmart Robots: The Next Generation of Robots Has Evolutionary Capabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simkins, Michael

2008-01-01

Robots that can learn new behaviors. Robots that can reproduce themselves. Science fiction? Not anymore. Roboticists at Cornell's Computational Synthesis Lab have developed just such engineered creatures that offer interesting implications for education. The team, headed by Hod Lipson, was intrigued by the question, "How can you get robots to be…

Fundamentals of soft robot locomotion

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Soft robotics and its related technologies enable robot abilities in several robotics domains including, but not exclusively related to, manipulation, manufacturing, human–robot interaction and locomotion. Although field applications have emerged for soft manipulation and human–robot interaction, mobile soft robots appear to remain in the research stage, involving the somehow conflictual goals of having a deformable body and exerting forces on the environment to achieve locomotion. This paper aims to provide a reference guide for researchers approaching mobile soft robotics, to describe the underlying principles of soft robot locomotion with its pros and cons, and to envisage applications and further developments for mobile soft robotics. PMID:28539483

Fundamentals of soft robot locomotion.

PubMed

Calisti, M; Picardi, G; Laschi, C

2017-05-01

Soft robotics and its related technologies enable robot abilities in several robotics domains including, but not exclusively related to, manipulation, manufacturing, human-robot interaction and locomotion. Although field applications have emerged for soft manipulation and human-robot interaction, mobile soft robots appear to remain in the research stage, involving the somehow conflictual goals of having a deformable body and exerting forces on the environment to achieve locomotion. This paper aims to provide a reference guide for researchers approaching mobile soft robotics, to describe the underlying principles of soft robot locomotion with its pros and cons, and to envisage applications and further developments for mobile soft robotics. © 2017 The Author(s).

Exploring TeleRobotics: A Radio-Controlled Robot

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deal, Walter F., III; Hsiung, Steve C.

2007-01-01

Robotics is a rich and exciting multidisciplinary area to study and learn about electronics and control technology. The interest in robotic devices and systems provides the technology teacher with an excellent opportunity to make many concrete connections between electronics, control technology, and computers and science, engineering, and…

Advancing the Strategic Messages Affecting Robot Trust Effect: The Dynamic of User- and Robot-Generated Content on Human-Robot Trust and Interaction Outcomes.

PubMed

Liang, Yuhua Jake; Lee, Seungcheol Austin

2016-09-01

Human-robot interaction (HRI) will soon transform and shift the communication landscape such that people exchange messages with robots. However, successful HRI requires people to trust robots, and, in turn, the trust affects the interaction. Although prior research has examined the determinants of human-robot trust (HRT) during HRI, no research has examined the messages that people received before interacting with robots and their effect on HRT. We conceptualize these messages as SMART (Strategic Messages Affecting Robot Trust). Moreover, we posit that SMART can ultimately affect actual HRI outcomes (i.e., robot evaluations, robot credibility, participant mood) by affording the persuasive influences from user-generated content (UGC) on participatory Web sites. In Study 1, participants were assigned to one of two conditions (UGC/control) in an original experiment of HRT. Compared with the control (descriptive information only), results showed that UGC moderated the correlation between HRT and interaction outcomes in a positive direction (average Δr = +0.39) for robots as media and robots as tools. In Study 2, we explored the effect of robot-generated content but did not find similar moderation effects. These findings point to an important empirical potential to employ SMART in future robot deployment.

Talking to Your Kids about Sex

MedlinePlus

... Safety Injury Rehabilitation Emotional Well-Being Mental Health Sex and Birth Control Sex and Sexuality Birth Control Family Health Infants and ... Kids and Teens Talking to Your Kids About Sex Talking to Your Kids About Sex Share Print ...

Next-generation robotic surgery--from the aspect of surgical robots developed by industry.

PubMed

Nakadate, Ryu; Arata, Jumpei; Hashizume, Makoto

2015-02-01

At present, much of the research conducted worldwide focuses on extending the ability of surgical robots. One approach is to extend robotic dexterity. For instance, accessibility and dexterity of the surgical instruments remains the largest issue for reduced port surgery such as single port surgery or natural orifice surgery. To solve this problem, a great deal of research is currently conducted in the field of robotics. Enhancing the surgeon's perception is an approach that uses advanced sensor technology. The real-time data acquired through the robotic system combined with the data stored in the robot (such as the robot's location) provide a major advantage. This paper aims at introducing state-of-the-art products and pre-market products in this technological advancement, namely the robotic challenge in extending dexterity and hopefully providing the path to robotic surgery in the near future.

Humanlike robots: the upcoming revolution in robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2009-08-01

Humans have always sought to imitate the human appearance, functions and intelligence. Human-like robots, which for many years have been a science fiction, are increasingly becoming an engineering reality resulting from the many advances in biologically inspired technologies. These biomimetic technologies include artificial intelligence, artificial vision and hearing as well as artificial muscles, also known as electroactive polymers (EAP). Robots, such as the vacuum cleaner Rumba and the robotic lawnmower, that don't have human shape, are already finding growing use in homes worldwide. As opposed to other human-made machines and devices, this technology raises also various questions and concerns and they need to be addressed as the technology advances. These include the need to prevent accidents, deliberate harm, or their use in crime. In this paper the state-of-the-art of the ultimate goal of biomimetics, the development of humanlike robots, the potentials and the challenges are reviewed.

Humanlike Robots - The Upcoming Revolution in Robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2009-01-01

Humans have always sought to imitate the human appearance, functions and intelligence. Human-like robots, which for many years have been a science fiction, are increasingly becoming an engineering reality resulting from the many advances in biologically inspired technologies. These biomimetic technologies include artificial intelligence, artificial vision and hearing as well as artificial muscles, also known as electroactive polymers (EAP). Robots, such as the vacuum cleaner Rumba and the robotic lawnmower, that don't have human shape, are already finding growing use in homes worldwide. As opposed to other human-made machines and devices, this technology raises also various questions and concerns and they need to be addressed as the technology advances. These include the need to prevent accidents, deliberate harm, or their use in crime. In this paper the state-of-the-art of the ultimate goal of biomimetics, the development of humanlike robots, the potentials and the challenges are reviewed.

Flex Robotic System in transoral robotic surgery: The first 40 patients.

PubMed

Mattheis, Stefan; Hasskamp, Pia; Holtmann, Laura; Schäfer, Christina; Geisthoff, Urban; Dominas, Nina; Lang, Stephan

2017-03-01

The Flex Robotic System is a new robotic device specifically developed for transoral robotic surgery (TORS). We performed a prospective clinical study, assessing the safety and efficacy of the Medrobotics Flex Robotic System. A total of 40 patients required a surgical procedure for benign lesions (n = 30) or T1 and T2 carcinomas (n = 10). Access and visualization of different anatomic subsites were individually graded by the surgeon. Setup times, access and visualization times, surgical results, as well as adverse events were documented intraoperatively. The lesions could be exposed and visualized properly in 38 patients (95%) who went on to have a surgical procedure performed with the Flex Robotic System, which were intraoperatively evaluated as successful. No serious adverse events occurred. Lesions in the oropharynx, hypopharynx, or supraglottic larynx could be successfully resected using the Flex Robotic System, thus making the system a safe and effective tool in transoral robotic surgery. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 471-475, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Inverse kinematic solution for near-simple robots and its application to robot calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayati, Samad A.; Roston, Gerald P.

1986-01-01

This paper provides an inverse kinematic solution for a class of robot manipulators called near-simple manipulators. The kinematics of these manipulators differ from those of simple-robots by small parameter variations. Although most robots are by design simple, in practice, due to manufacturing tolerances, every robot is near-simple. The method in this paper gives an approximate inverse kinematics solution for real time applications based on the nominal solution for these robots. The validity of the results are tested both by a simulation study and by applying the algorithm to a PUMA robot.

Competencies Identification for Robotics Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Le D.

A study focused on the task of identifying competencies for robotics training. The level of robotics training was limited to that of robot technicians. Study objectives were to obtain a list of occupational competencies; to rank their order of importance; and to compare opinions from robot manufacturers, robot users, and robotics educators…

Fish and robots swimming together: attraction towards the robot demands biomimetic locomotion.

PubMed

Marras, Stefano; Porfiri, Maurizio

2012-08-07

The integration of biomimetic robots in a fish school may enable a better understanding of collective behaviour, offering a new experimental method to test group feedback in response to behavioural modulations of its 'engineered' member. Here, we analyse a robotic fish and individual golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas) swimming together in a water tunnel at different flow velocities. We determine the positional preference of fish with respect to the robot, and we study the flow structure using a digital particle image velocimetry system. We find that biomimetic locomotion is a determinant of fish preference as fish are more attracted towards the robot when its tail is beating rather than when it is statically immersed in the water as a 'dummy'. At specific conditions, the fish hold station behind the robot, which may be due to the hydrodynamic advantage obtained by swimming in the robot's wake. This work makes a compelling case for the need of biomimetic locomotion in promoting robot-animal interactions and it strengthens the hypothesis that biomimetic robots can be used to study and modulate collective animal behaviour.

Promoting Interactions Between Humans and Robots Using Robotic Emotional Behavior.

PubMed

Ficocelli, Maurizio; Terao, Junichi; Nejat, Goldie

2016-12-01

The objective of a socially assistive robot is to create a close and effective interaction with a human user for the purpose of giving assistance. In particular, the social interaction, guidance, and support that a socially assistive robot can provide a person can be very beneficial to patient-centered care. However, there are a number of research issues that need to be addressed in order to design such robots. This paper focuses on developing effective emotion-based assistive behavior for a socially assistive robot intended for natural human-robot interaction (HRI) scenarios with explicit social and assistive task functionalities. In particular, in this paper, a unique emotional behavior module is presented and implemented in a learning-based control architecture for assistive HRI. The module is utilized to determine the appropriate emotions of the robot to display, as motivated by the well-being of the person, during assistive task-driven interactions in order to elicit suitable actions from users to accomplish a given person-centered assistive task. A novel online updating technique is used in order to allow the emotional model to adapt to new people and scenarios. Experiments presented show the effectiveness of utilizing robotic emotional assistive behavior during HRI scenarios.

Evolution of robots throughout history from Hephaestus to Da Vinci Robot.

PubMed

Iavazzo, Christos; Gkegke, Xanthi-Ekaterini D; Iavazzo, Paraskevi-Evangelia; Gkegkes, Ioannis D

2014-01-01

Da Vinci robot is increasingly used for operations adding the advantages of robots to the favor of medicine. This is a historical article with the aim to present the evolution of robots in the medical area from the time of ancient myths to Renaissance and finally to the current revolutionary applications. We endeavored to collect several elegant narratives on the topic. The use of imagination could help the reader to find similarities. A trip from the Greek myths of Hephaestus through Aristotle and Leonardo Da Vinci to the robots of Karel Capek and Isaac Asimov and finally the invention of the medical robots is presented.

Exploratory Talk in the Early Years: Analysing Exploratory Talk in Collaborative Group Activities Involving Younger Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Eira Wyn

2018-01-01

Collaborative group work has the potential for providing rich opportunities for children to learn through talk with peers; however, in practice, little effective engagement in learning is observed within authentic learning contexts. Exploratory talk is associated with high levels of cognitive challenge within collaborative group work. Detailed…

[Rehabilitation and nursing-care robots].

PubMed

Hachisuka, Kenji

2016-04-01

In the extremely aged society, rehabilitation staff will be required to provide ample rehabilitation training for more stroke patients and more aged people with disabilities despite limitations in human resources. A nursing-care robot is one potential solution from the standpoint of rehabilitation. The nursing-care robot is defined as a robot which assists aged people and persons with disabilities in daily life and social life activities. The nursing-care robot consists of an independent support robot, caregiver support robot, and life support robot. Although many nursing-care robots have been developed, the most appropriate robot must be selected according to its features and the needs of patients and caregivers in the field of nursing-care.

Evidence for robots.

PubMed

Shenoy, Ravikiran; Nathwani, Dinesh

2017-01-01

Robots have been successfully used in commercial industry and have enabled humans to perform tasks which are repetitive, dangerous and requiring extreme force. Their role has evolved and now includes many aspects of surgery to improve safety and precision. Orthopaedic surgery is largely performed on bones which are rigid immobile structures which can easily be performed by robots with great precision. Robots have been designed for use in orthopaedic surgery including joint arthroplasty and spine surgery. Experimental studies have been published evaluating the role of robots in arthroscopy and trauma surgery. In this article, we will review the incorporation of robots in orthopaedic surgery looking into the evidence in their use. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017.

Evidence for robots

PubMed Central

Shenoy, Ravikiran; Nathwani, Dinesh

2017-01-01

Robots have been successfully used in commercial industry and have enabled humans to perform tasks which are repetitive, dangerous and requiring extreme force. Their role has evolved and now includes many aspects of surgery to improve safety and precision. Orthopaedic surgery is largely performed on bones which are rigid immobile structures which can easily be performed by robots with great precision. Robots have been designed for use in orthopaedic surgery including joint arthroplasty and spine surgery. Experimental studies have been published evaluating the role of robots in arthroscopy and trauma surgery. In this article, we will review the incorporation of robots in orthopaedic surgery looking into the evidence in their use. PMID:28534472

Hitchhiking Robots: A Collaborative Approach for Efficient Multi-Robot Navigation in Indoor Environments.

PubMed

Ravankar, Abhijeet; Ravankar, Ankit A; Kobayashi, Yukinori; Emaru, Takanori

2017-08-15

Hitchhiking is a means of transportation gained by asking other people for a (free) ride. We developed a multi-robot system which is the first of its kind to incorporate hitchhiking in robotics, and discuss its advantages. Our method allows the hitchhiker robot to skip redundant computations in navigation like path planning, localization, obstacle avoidance, and map update by completely relying on the driver robot. This allows the hitchhiker robot, which performs only visual servoing, to save computation while navigating on the common path with the driver robot. The driver robot, in the proposed system performs all the heavy computations in navigation and updates the hitchhiker about the current localized positions and new obstacle positions in the map. The proposed system is robust to recover from `driver-lost' scenario which occurs due to visual servoing failure. We demonstrate robot hitchhiking in real environments considering factors like service-time and task priority with different start and goal configurations of the driver and hitchhiker robots. We also discuss the admissible characteristics of the hitchhiker, when hitchhiking should be allowed and when not, through experimental results.

Learning to talk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messum, Piers

2004-05-01

Is imitation a necessary part of learning to talk? The faithful replication by children of such arbitrary phenomena of English as tense and lax vowel properties, ``rhythm,'' and context-dependent VOT's seems to insist that it is. But a nonimitative account of this is also possible. It relies on two principal mechanisms. First, basic speech sounds are learned by emulation: attempting to reproduce the results achieved by other speakers but without copying their actions to do so. The effectiveness of the output provides sufficient feedback to inform the child of the adequacy of its performance and to guide refinement. Second, phonetic phenomena such as those above appear through aerodynamic accommodation. Key elements of this are (a) that speech breathing is a complex motor skill which dominates other articulatory processes during acquisition and starts pulsatile before becoming smooth, and (b) that a child-scale production system imposes constraints on talking which do not operate in the adult speaker. Much of ``the terrible complexity of phonetic patterns'' [J. Pierrehumbert, Lang. Speech 46, 115-154 (2003)] then becomes epiphenomenal: appearing not as a result of young learners copying phonetic detail that is not linguistically significant, but of them reconciling conflicting production demands while just talking.

Engaging Talk: One Teacher's Scaffolding of Collaborative Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Ruth M. C.

2017-01-01

This paper reports on an ESRC and British Telecom funded study which explored the teaching of collaborative talk in the secondary English classroom. While research signals the crucial role of the teacher in promoting dialogic pedagogies, less specific attention has been given to how teacher discourse can shape the development of students'…

Educational Robotics as Mindtools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mikropoulos, Tassos A.; Bellou, Ioanna

2013-01-01

Although there are many studies on the constructionist use of educational robotics, they have certain limitations. Some of them refer to robotics education, rather than educational robotics. Others follow a constructionist approach, but give emphasis only to design skills, creativity and collaboration. Some studies use robotics as an educational…

Robotic vehicle

DOEpatents

Box, W.D.

1997-02-11

A robotic vehicle is described for travel through a conduit. The robotic vehicle includes forward and rear housings each having a hub portion, and each being provided with surface engaging mechanisms for selectively engaging the walls of the conduit such that the housings can be selectively held in stationary positions within the conduit. The surface engaging mechanisms of each housing includes a plurality of extendable appendages, each of which is radially extendable relative to the operatively associated hub portion between a retracted position and a radially extended position. The robotic vehicle also includes at least three selectively extendable members extending between the forward and rear housings, for selectively changing the distance between the forward and rear housings to effect movement of the robotic vehicle. 20 figs.

Robotic vehicle

DOEpatents

Box, W.D.

1998-08-11

A robotic vehicle is described for travel through a conduit. The robotic vehicle includes forward and rear housings each having a hub portion, and each being provided with surface engaging mechanisms for selectively engaging the walls of the conduit such that the housings can be selectively held in stationary positions within the conduit. The surface engaging mechanisms of each housing includes a plurality of extendible appendages, each of which is radially extendible relative to the operatively associated hub portion between a retracted position and a radially extended position. The robotic vehicle also includes at least three selectively extendible members extending between the forward and rear housings, for selectively changing the distance between the forward and rear housings to effect movement of the robotic vehicle. 20 figs.

Robotic vehicle

DOEpatents

Box, W. Donald

1998-01-01

A robotic vehicle for travel through a conduit. The robotic vehicle includes forward and rear housings each having a hub portion, and each being provided with surface engaging mechanisms for selectively engaging the walls of the conduit such that the housings can be selectively held in stationary positions within the conduit. The surface engaging mechanisms of each housing includes a plurality of extendable appendages, each of which is radially extendable relative to the operatively associated hub portion between a retracted position and a radially extended position. The robotic vehicle also includes at least three selectively extendable members extending between the forward and rear housings, for selectively changing the distance between the forward and rear housings to effect movement of the robotic vehicle.

Robotic vehicle

DOEpatents

Box, W. Donald

1997-01-01

A robotic vehicle for travel through a conduit. The robotic vehicle includes forward and rear housings each having a hub portion, and each being provided with surface engaging mechanisms for selectively engaging the walls of the conduit such that the housings can be selectively held in stationary positions within the conduit. The surface engaging mechanisms of each housing includes a plurality of extendable appendages, each of which is radially extendable relative to the operatively associated hub portion between a retracted position and a radially extended position. The robotic vehicle also includes at least three selectively extendable members extending between the forward and rear housings, for selectively changing the distance between the forward and rear housings to effect movement of the robotic vehicle.

Pancreatic two P domain K+ channels TALK-1 and TALK-2 are activated by nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species

PubMed Central

Duprat, F; Girard, C; Jarretou, G; Lazdunski, M

2005-01-01

This study firstly shows with in situ hybridization on human pancreas that TALK-1 and TALK-2, two members of the 2P domain potassium channel (K2P) family, are highly and specifically expressed in the exocrine pancreas and absent in Langherans islets. On the contrary, expression of TASK-2 in mouse pancreas is found both in the exocrine pancreas and in the Langherans islets. This study also shows that TALK-1 and TALK-2 channels, expressed in Xenopus oocytes, are strongly and specifically activated by nitric oxide (obtained with a mixture of sodium nitroprussate (SNP) and dithiothreitol (DTT)), superoxide anion (obtained with xanthine and xanthine oxidase) and singlet oxygen (obtained upon photoactivation of rose bengal, and with chloramine T). Other nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species (NOS and ROS) donors, as well as reducing conditions were found to be ineffective on TALK-1, TALK-2 and TASK-2 (sin-1, angeli's salt, SNP alone, tBHP, H2O2, and DTT). These results suggest that, in the exocrine pancreas, specific members of the NOS and ROS families could act as endogenous modulators of TALK channels with a role in normal secretion as well as in disease states such as acute pancreatitis and apoptosis. PMID:15513946

Hopping Robot with Wheels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barlow, Edward; Marzwell, Nevellie; Fuller, Sawyer; Fionni, Paolo; Tretton, Andy; Burdick, Joel; Schell, Steve

2003-01-01

A small prototype mobile robot is capable of (1) hopping to move rapidly or avoid obstacles and then (2) moving relatively slowly and precisely on the ground by use of wheels in the manner of previously reported exploratory robots of the "rover" type. This robot is a descendant of a more primitive hopping robot described in "Minimally Actuated Hopping Robot" (NPO- 20911), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 26, No. 11 (November 2002), page 50. There are many potential applications for robots with hopping and wheeled-locomotion (roving) capabilities in diverse fields of endeavor, including agriculture, search-and-rescue operations, general military operations, removal or safe detonation of land mines, inspection, law enforcement, and scientific exploration on Earth and remote planets. The combination of hopping and roving enables this robot to move rapidly over very rugged terrain, to overcome obstacles several times its height, and then to position itself precisely next to a desired target. Before a long hop, the robot aims itself in the desired hopping azimuth and at a desired takeoff angle above horizontal. The robot approaches the target through a series of hops and short driving operations utilizing the steering wheels for precise positioning.

Human-robot interaction tests on a novel robot for gait assistance.

PubMed

Tagliamonte, Nevio Luigi; Sergi, Fabrizio; Carpino, Giorgio; Accoto, Dino; Guglielmelli, Eugenio

2013-06-01

This paper presents tests on a treadmill-based non-anthropomorphic wearable robot assisting hip and knee flexion/extension movements using compliant actuation. Validation experiments were performed on the actuators and on the robot, with specific focus on the evaluation of intrinsic backdrivability and of assistance capability. Tests on a young healthy subject were conducted. In the case of robot completely unpowered, maximum backdriving torques were found to be in the order of 10 Nm due to the robot design features (reduced swinging masses; low intrinsic mechanical impedance and high-efficiency reduction gears for the actuators). Assistance tests demonstrated that the robot can deliver torques attracting the subject towards a predicted kinematic status.

"Eugenics talk" and the language of bioethics.

PubMed

Wilkinson, S

2008-06-01

In bioethical discussions of preimplantation genetic diagnosis and prenatal screening, accusations of eugenics are commonplace, as are counter-claims that talk of eugenics is misleading and unhelpful. This paper asks whether "eugenics talk", in this context, is legitimate and useful or something to be avoided. It also looks at the extent to which this linguistic question can be answered without first answering relevant substantive moral questions. Its main conclusion is that the best and most non-partisan argument for avoiding eugenics talk is the Autonomy Argument. According to this, eugenics talk per se is not wrong, but there is something wrong with using its emotive power as a means of circumventing people's critical-rational faculties. The Autonomy Argument does not, however, tell against eugenics talk when such language is used to shock people into critical-rational thought. These conclusions do not depend on unique features of eugenics: similar considerations apply to emotive language throughout bioethics.

Robot environment expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, J. L.

1985-01-01

The Robot Environment Expert System uses a hexidecimal tree data structure to model a complex robot environment where not only the robot arm moves, but also the robot itself and other objects may move. The hextree model allows dynamic updating, collision avoidance and path planning over time, to avoid moving objects.

Hazardous Environment Robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) developed video overlay calibration and demonstration techniques for ground-based telerobotics. Through a technology sharing agreement with JPL, Deneb Robotics added this as an option to its robotics software, TELEGRIP. The software is used for remotely operating robots in nuclear and hazardous environments in industries including automotive and medical. The option allows the operator to utilize video to calibrate 3-D computer models with the actual environment, and thus plan and optimize robot trajectories before the program is automatically generated.

Robot-Aided Neurorehabilitation

PubMed Central

Krebs, Hermano Igo; Hogan, Neville; Aisen, Mindy L.; Volpe, Bruce T.

2009-01-01

Our goal is to apply robotics and automation technology to assist, enhance, quantify, and document neurorehabilitation. This paper reviews a clinical trial involving 20 stroke patients with a prototype robot-aided rehabilitation facility developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, (MIT) and tested at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, White Plains, NY. It also presents our approach to analyze kinematic data collected in the robot-aided assessment procedure. In particular, we present evidence 1) that robot-aided therapy does not have adverse effects, 2) that patients tolerate the procedure, and 3) that peripheral manipulation of the impaired limb may influence brain recovery. These results are based on standard clinical assessment procedures. We also present one approach using kinematic data in a robot-aided assessment procedure. PMID:9535526

Coordinated Control Of Mobile Robotic Manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seraji, Homayoun

1995-01-01

Computationally efficient scheme developed for on-line coordinated control of both manipulation and mobility of robots that include manipulator arms mounted on mobile bases. Applicable to variety of mobile robotic manipulators, including robots that move along tracks (typically, painting and welding robots), robots mounted on gantries and capable of moving in all three dimensions, wheeled robots, and compound robots (consisting of robots mounted on other robots). Theoretical basis discussed in several prior articles in NASA Tech Briefs, including "Increasing the Dexterity of Redundant Robots" (NPO-17801), "Redundant Robot Can Avoid Obstacles" (NPO-17852), "Configuration-Control Scheme Copes With Singularities" (NPO-18556), "More Uses for Configuration Control of Robots" (NPO-18607/NPO-18608).

Greens of the European Green Capitals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cömertler, Seval

2017-10-01

Well established and maintained green areas have a key role on reaching the high quality of life and sustainability in urban environments. Therefore, green areas must be carefully accounted and evaluated in the urban planning affairs. In this context, the European Green Capitals, which attach a great importance to the green areas, have a great potential to act as a role model for both small and big cities in all around the world. These leading cities (chronologically, Stockholm, Hamburg, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Nantes, Copenhagen, Bristol, Ljubljana, Essen and Nijmegen) are inspiring for the other cities which seek to achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly places through green areas. From this point of view, the aim of this paper was to investigate the green areas of the European Green Capitals. The paper covered whole European Green Capitals, and the application form of each Green Capital was used as a primary data source. Consequently, the paper put forwarded that the European Green Capitals have considerably large amount and high proportion of green areas. Further, these cities provide an excellent access to the public green areas. As a result of abundant provision and proper distribution, the almost all citizens in most of the Green Capitals live within a distance of 300 meters to a green area. For further researches, the paper suggested that these green capitals should be investigated in terms of their efforts, measures, goals and plans, policies and implications to administer, to protect, to enhance and to expand the green areas.

Developing a successful robotics program.

PubMed

Luthringer, Tyler; Aleksic, Ilija; Caire, Arthur; Albala, David M

2012-01-01

Advancements in the robotic surgical technology have revolutionized the standard of care for many surgical procedures. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the important considerations in developing a new robotics program at a given healthcare institution. Patients' interest in robotic-assisted surgery has and continues to grow because of improved outcomes and decreased periods of hospitalization. Resulting market forces have created a solid foundation for the implementation of robotic surgery into surgical practice. Given proper surgeon experience and an efficient system, robotic-assisted procedures have been cost comparable to open surgical alternatives. Surgeon training and experience is closely linked to the efficiency of a new robotics program. Formally trained robotic surgeons have better patient outcomes and shorter operative times. Training in robotics has shown no negative impact on patient outcomes or mentor learning curves. Individual economic factors of local healthcare settings must be evaluated when planning for a new robotics program. The high cost of the robotic surgical platform is best offset with a large surgical volume. A mature, experienced surgeon is integral to the success of a new robotics program.

Talking to Your Kids about Virginity

MedlinePlus

... MusclesHuman Papillomavirus (HPV)Talking to Your Kids About Sex Home Family Health Kids and Teens Talking to Your Kids About Virginity ... by: familydoctor.org editorial staff Categories: Family Health, Kids and Teens, Sex and SexualityTags: child, teenager January 10, 2017 Copyright © ...

Hitchhiking Robots: A Collaborative Approach for Efficient Multi-Robot Navigation in Indoor Environments

PubMed Central

Ravankar, Abhijeet; Ravankar, Ankit A.; Kobayashi, Yukinori; Emaru, Takanori

2017-01-01

Hitchhiking is a means of transportation gained by asking other people for a (free) ride. We developed a multi-robot system which is the first of its kind to incorporate hitchhiking in robotics, and discuss its advantages. Our method allows the hitchhiker robot to skip redundant computations in navigation like path planning, localization, obstacle avoidance, and map update by completely relying on the driver robot. This allows the hitchhiker robot, which performs only visual servoing, to save computation while navigating on the common path with the driver robot. The driver robot, in the proposed system performs all the heavy computations in navigation and updates the hitchhiker about the current localized positions and new obstacle positions in the map. The proposed system is robust to recover from ‘driver-lost’ scenario which occurs due to visual servoing failure. We demonstrate robot hitchhiking in real environments considering factors like service-time and task priority with different start and goal configurations of the driver and hitchhiker robots. We also discuss the admissible characteristics of the hitchhiker, when hitchhiking should be allowed and when not, through experimental results. PMID:28809803

Stakeholders' perception of the possible implications of "green jobs" for health and safety at work in Italy.

PubMed

Valenti, Antonio; Buresti, Giuliana; Rondinone, Bruna Maria; Persechino, Benedetta; Boccuni, Fabio; Fortuna, Grazia; Iavicoli, Sergio

2015-01-01

Despite all the emphasis laid today on the green economy, occupational health and safety (OHS) issues have still been talked only limitedly, as already noted in previous studies and literature reviews. The Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene of the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL) has conducted a survey among some Italian stakeholders, social partners, institutions and "green" businesses to gather their perceptions of the potential effects of green jobs on OHS, particularly in the renewable energy sector. The survey involved a sample of 61 stakeholders in the following categories: institutions (11), trade unions (11), employers' organizations (13), businesses (11), research (15). Participation in this survey of national stakeholders who have a central role in the development and management of policies on renewable energy and OHS, allowed to analyze in depth the fundamental aspects for a fair transition towards green economy. Also, the good agreement among respondents brought to light quite clearly the main critical points as regards the OHS implications of green work in Italy, and pointed to the principal policies to be adopted to safeguard workers' health and safety.

Robotics in medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, D. N.; Syryamkin, V. I.

2015-11-01

Modern technologies play a very important role in our lives. It is hard to imagine how people can get along without personal computers, and companies - without powerful computer centers. Nowadays, many devices make modern medicine more effective. Medicine is developing constantly, so introduction of robots in this sector is a very promising activity. Advances in technology have influenced medicine greatly. Robotic surgery is now actively developing worldwide. Scientists have been carrying out research and practical attempts to create robotic surgeons for more than 20 years, since the mid-80s of the last century. Robotic assistants play an important role in modern medicine. This industry is new enough and is at the early stage of development; despite this, some developments already have worldwide application; they function successfully and bring invaluable help to employees of medical institutions. Today, doctors can perform operations that seemed impossible a few years ago. Such progress in medicine is due to many factors. First, modern operating rooms are equipped with up-to-date equipment, allowing doctors to make operations more accurately and with less risk to the patient. Second, technology has enabled to improve the quality of doctors' training. Various types of robots exist now: assistants, military robots, space, household and medical, of course. Further, we should make a detailed analysis of existing types of robots and their application. The purpose of the article is to illustrate the most popular types of robots used in medicine.

Evolution of robotics in surgery and implementing a perioperative robotics nurse specialist role.

PubMed

Francis, Paula

2006-03-01

Use of robotics is expanding rapidly in the medical arena. Not only are a growing number of facilities purchasing robotic systems, but the number of surgeons using them also is increasing, which creates many challenges (eg, cost, training, safety). The evolution of robotics in surgery is presented within the context of virtual reality, telepresence, telemanipulation, and passive (ie, master-slave) robotic surgical systems. A new perioperative nursing role, the robotics nurse specialist, was developed and implemented at one facility. The need for a robotics nurse specialist and how this role can help the entire surgical team promote positive patient and facility outcomes also is discussed.

Robot Handcontroller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The PER-Force robotic handcontroller provides a sense of touch or "feel" to an operator manipulating robots. The force simulation and wide range of motion greatly enhances the efficiency of robotic and computer operations. The handcontroller was developed for the Space Station by Cybernet Systems Corporation under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Commercial applications include underwater use, underground excavations, research laboratories, hazardous waste handling and in manufacturing operations in which it is unsafe or impractical for humans to work.

Inventing Japan's 'robotics culture': the repeated assembly of science, technology, and culture in social robotics.

PubMed

Sabanović, Selma

2014-06-01

Using interviews, participant observation, and published documents, this article analyzes the co-construction of robotics and culture in Japan through the technical discourse and practices of robotics researchers. Three cases from current robotics research--the seal-like robot PARO, the Humanoid Robotics Project HRP-2 humanoid, and 'kansei robotics' - show the different ways in which scientists invoke culture to provide epistemological grounding and possibilities for social acceptance of their work. These examples show how the production and consumption of social robotic technologies are associated with traditional crafts and values, how roboticists negotiate among social, technical, and cultural constraints while designing robots, and how humans and robots are constructed as cultural subjects in social robotics discourse. The conceptual focus is on the repeated assembly of cultural models of social behavior, organization, cognition, and technology through roboticists' narratives about the development of advanced robotic technologies. This article provides a picture of robotics as the dynamic construction of technology and culture and concludes with a discussion of the limits and possibilities of this vision in promoting a culturally situated understanding of technology and a multicultural view of science.

Effective Teacher Talk: A Threshold Concept in TESOL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, Barbara

2017-01-01

English language teachers are expected to use their talk, "teacher talk," effectively; however, teacher education courses do not always clarify how student teachers can achieve this. This article advocates that understanding and using effective teacher talk is crucial for successful ELT and as such is a "threshold concept" in…

ROBOTIC SURGERY: BIOETHICAL ASPECTS

PubMed Central

SIQUEIRA-BATISTA, Rodrigo; SOUZA, Camila Ribeiro; MAIA, Polyana Mendes; SIQUEIRA, Sávio Lana

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Introduction: The use of robots in surgery has been increasingly common today, allowing the emergence of numerous bioethical issues in this area. Objective: To present review of the ethical aspects of robot use in surgery. Method: Search in Pubmed, SciELO and Lilacs crossing the headings "bioethics", "surgery", "ethics", "laparoscopy" and "robotic". Results: Of the citations obtained, were selected 17 articles, which were used for the preparation of the article. It contains brief presentation on robotics, its inclusion in health and bioethical aspects, and the use of robots in surgery. Conclusion: Robotic surgery is a reality today in many hospitals, which makes essential bioethical reflection on the relationship between health professionals, automata and patients. PMID:28076489

Robotic arm

DOEpatents

Kwech, Horst

1989-04-18

A robotic arm positionable within a nuclear vessel by access through a small diameter opening and having a mounting tube supported within the vessel and mounting a plurality of arm sections for movement lengthwise of the mounting tube as well as for movement out of a window provided in the wall of the mounting tube. An end effector, such as a grinding head or welding element, at an operating end of the robotic arm, can be located and operated within the nuclear vessel through movement derived from six different axes of motion provided by mounting and drive connections between arm sections of the robotic arm. The movements are achieved by operation of remotely-controllable servo motors, all of which are mounted at a control end of the robotic arm to be outside the nuclear vessel.

Toward cognitive robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laird, John E.

2009-05-01

Our long-term goal is to develop autonomous robotic systems that have the cognitive abilities of humans, including communication, coordination, adapting to novel situations, and learning through experience. Our approach rests on the recent integration of the Soar cognitive architecture with both virtual and physical robotic systems. Soar has been used to develop a wide variety of knowledge-rich agents for complex virtual environments, including distributed training environments and interactive computer games. For development and testing in robotic virtual environments, Soar interfaces to a variety of robotic simulators and a simple mobile robot. We have recently made significant extensions to Soar that add new memories and new non-symbolic reasoning to Soar's original symbolic processing, which should significantly improve Soar abilities for control of robots. These extensions include episodic memory, semantic memory, reinforcement learning, and mental imagery. Episodic memory and semantic memory support the learning and recalling of prior events and situations as well as facts about the world. Reinforcement learning provides the ability of the system to tune its procedural knowledge - knowledge about how to do things. Mental imagery supports the use of diagrammatic and visual representations that are critical to support spatial reasoning. We speculate on the future of unmanned systems and the need for cognitive robotics to support dynamic instruction and taskability.

Robotic Follow Algorithm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2005-03-30

The Robotic Follow Algorithm enables allows any robotic vehicle to follow a moving target while reactively choosing a route around nearby obstacles. The robotic follow behavior can be used with different camera systems and can be used with thermal or visual tracking as well as other tracking methods such as radio frequency tags.

[Robotic surgery in gynecology].

PubMed

Csorba, Roland

2012-06-24

Minimally invasive surgery has revolutionized gynecological interventions over the past 30 years. The introduction of the da Vinci robotic surgery in 2005 has resulted in large changes in surgical management. The robotic platform allows less experienced laparoscopic surgeons to perform more complex procedures. It can be utilized mainly in general gynecology and reproductive gynecology. The robot is being increasingly used for procedures such as hysterectomy, myomectomy, adnexal surgery, and tubal anastomosis. In urogynecology, the robot is being utilized for sacrocolopexy as well. In the field of gynecologic oncology, the robot is being increasingly used for hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy in oncologic diseases. Despite the rapid and widespread adaption of robotic surgery in gynecology, there are no randomized trials comparing its efficacy and safety to other traditional surgical approaches. This article presents the development, technical aspects and indications of robotic surgery in gynecology, based on the previously published reviews. Robotic surgery can be highly advantageous with the right amount of training, along with appropriate patient selection. Patients will have less blood loss, less post-operative pain, faster recovery, and fewer complications compared to open surgery and laparoscopy. However, until larger randomized control trials are completed which report long-term outcomes, robotic surgery cannot be stated to have priority over other surgical methods.

Continuum limbed robots for locomotion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutlu, Alper

This thesis focuses on continuum robots based on pneumatic muscle technology. We introduce a novel approach to use these muscles as limbs of lightweight legged robots. The flexibility of the continuum legs of these robots offers the potential to perform some duties that are not possible with classical rigid-link robots. Potential applications are as space robots in low gravity, and as cave explorer robots. The thesis covers the fabrication process of continuum pneumatic muscles and limbs. It also provides some new experimental data on this technology. Afterwards, the designs of two different novel continuum robots - one tripod, one quadruped - are introduced. Experimental data from tests using the robots is provided. The experimental results are the first published example of locomotion with tripod and quadruped continuum legged robots. Finally, discussion of the results and how far this technology can go forward is presented.

Supporting Disciplinary Talk from the Start of School: Teaching Students to Think and Talk Like Scientists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Tanya S.; Gotwals, Amelia Wenk

2017-01-01

In this article, the authors first review the research literature to show why supporting talk from the start of school is important for students' long-term literacy development. The authors then define and describe disciplinary talk and argue that it is an important entry point into science and disciplinary literacy learning for young students.…

Ethylene and Hormonal Cross Talk in Vegetative Growth and Development.

PubMed

Van de Poel, Bram; Smet, Dajo; Van Der Straeten, Dominique

2015-09-01

Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone that most likely became a functional hormone during the evolution of charophyte green algae, prior to land colonization. From this ancient origin, ethylene evolved into an important growth regulator that is essential for myriad plant developmental processes. In vegetative growth, ethylene appears to have a dual role, stimulating and inhibiting growth, depending on the species, tissue, and cell type, developmental stage, hormonal status, and environmental conditions. Moreover, ethylene signaling and response are part of an intricate network in cross talk with internal and external cues. Besides being a crucial factor in the growth control of roots and shoots, ethylene can promote flowering, fruit ripening and abscission, as well as leaf and petal senescence and abscission and, hence, plays a role in virtually every phase of plant life. Last but not least, together with jasmonates, salicylate, and abscisic acid, ethylene is important in steering stress responses. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Space robotics in Japan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whittaker, William; Lowrie, James W.; Mccain, Harry; Bejczy, Antal; Sheridan, Tom; Kanade, Takeo; Allen, Peter

1994-01-01

Japan has been one of the most successful countries in the world in the realm of terrestrial robot applications. The panel found that Japan has in place a broad base of robotics research and development, ranging from components to working systems for manufacturing, construction, and human service industries. From this base, Japan looks to the use of robotics in space applications and has funded work in space robotics since the mid-1980's. The Japanese are focusing on a clear image of what they hope to achieve through three objectives for the 1990's: developing long-reach manipulation for tending experiments on Space Station Freedom, capturing satellites using a free-flying manipulator, and surveying part of the moon with a mobile robot. This focus and a sound robotics infrastructure is enabling the young Japanese space program to develop relevant systems for extraterrestrial robotics applications.

[Robotic laparoscopic cholecystectomy].

PubMed

Langer, D; Pudil, J; Ryska, M

2006-09-01

Laparoscopic approach profusely utilized in many surgical fields was enhanced by da Vinci robotic surgical system in range of surgery wards, imprimis in the United States today. There was multispecialized robotic centre program initiated in the Central Military Hospital in Prague in December 2005. Within the scope of implementing the da Vinci robotic system to clinical practice we executed robotic-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We have accomplished elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the da Vinci robotic surgical system. Operating working group (two doctors, two scrub nurses) had completed certificated foreign training. Both of the surgeons have many years experience of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Operator controlled instruments from the surgeon's console, assistant placed clips on ends of cystic duct and cystic artery from auxiliary port after capnoperitoneum installation. We evacuated gallbladder in plastic bag from abdominal cavity in place of original paraumbilical port. We were exploiting three working arms in all our cases, holding surgical camera, electrocautery hook and Cadiere forceps. We had been observing procedure time, technical complications connected with robotic system, length of hospital stay and complication incidence rate. We managed to finish all operations in laparoscopic way. Group of our patients formed 11 male patients (35.5%) and 20 women (64.5%), mean aged 52.5 years in range of 27 77 years. The average operation procedure lasted 100 minutes, in the group of last 11 patients only 69 minutes. We recorded paraumbilical wound infections in 3 (9.7 %) patients. We had not experienced any technical problems with robotic surgical system. Length of hospital stay was 3 days. Considering our initial experience with robotic lasparoscopic cholecystectomy we evaluate da Vinci robotic surgical system to be safe and sophisticated operating manipulator which however does not substitute the surgeon key-role of controlling position and

Mergeable nervous systems for robots.

PubMed

Mathews, Nithin; Christensen, Anders Lyhne; O'Grady, Rehan; Mondada, Francesco; Dorigo, Marco

2017-09-12

Robots have the potential to display a higher degree of lifetime morphological adaptation than natural organisms. By adopting a modular approach, robots with different capabilities, shapes, and sizes could, in theory, construct and reconfigure themselves as required. However, current modular robots have only been able to display a limited range of hardwired behaviors because they rely solely on distributed control. Here, we present robots whose bodies and control systems can merge to form entirely new robots that retain full sensorimotor control. Our control paradigm enables robots to exhibit properties that go beyond those of any existing machine or of any biological organism: the robots we present can merge to form larger bodies with a single centralized controller, split into separate bodies with independent controllers, and self-heal by removing or replacing malfunctioning body parts. This work takes us closer to robots that can autonomously change their size, form and function.Robots that can self-assemble into different morphologies are desired to perform tasks that require different physical capabilities. Mathews et al. design robots whose bodies and control systems can merge and split to form new robots that retain full sensorimotor control and act as a single entity.

Open Issues in Evolutionary Robotics.

PubMed

Silva, Fernando; Duarte, Miguel; Correia, Luís; Oliveira, Sancho Moura; Christensen, Anders Lyhne

2016-01-01

One of the long-term goals in evolutionary robotics is to be able to automatically synthesize controllers for real autonomous robots based only on a task specification. While a number of studies have shown the applicability of evolutionary robotics techniques for the synthesis of behavioral control, researchers have consistently been faced with a number of issues preventing the widespread adoption of evolutionary robotics for engineering purposes. In this article, we review and discuss the open issues in evolutionary robotics. First, we analyze the benefits and challenges of simulation-based evolution and subsequent deployment of controllers versus evolution on real robotic hardware. Second, we discuss specific evolutionary computation issues that have plagued evolutionary robotics: (1) the bootstrap problem, (2) deception, and (3) the role of genomic encoding and genotype-phenotype mapping in the evolution of controllers for complex tasks. Finally, we address the absence of standard research practices in the field. We also discuss promising avenues of research. Our underlying motivation is the reduction of the current gap between evolutionary robotics and mainstream robotics, and the establishment of evolutionary robotics as a canonical approach for the engineering of autonomous robots.

Evolving self-assembly in autonomous homogeneous robots: experiments with two physical robots.

PubMed

Ampatzis, Christos; Tuci, Elio; Trianni, Vito; Christensen, Anders Lyhne; Dorigo, Marco

2009-01-01

This research work illustrates an approach to the design of controllers for self-assembling robots in which the self-assembly is initiated and regulated by perceptual cues that are brought forth by the physical robots through their dynamical interactions. More specifically, we present a homogeneous control system that can achieve assembly between two modules (two fully autonomous robots) of a mobile self-reconfigurable system without a priori introduced behavioral or morphological heterogeneities. The controllers are dynamic neural networks evolved in simulation that directly control all the actuators of the two robots. The neurocontrollers cause the dynamic specialization of the robots by allocating roles between them based solely on their interaction. We show that the best evolved controller proves to be successful when tested on a real hardware platform, the swarm-bot. The performance achieved is similar to the one achieved by existing modular or behavior-based approaches, also due to the effect of an emergent recovery mechanism that was neither explicitly rewarded by the fitness function, nor observed during the evolutionary simulation. Our results suggest that direct access to the orientations or intentions of the other agents is not a necessary condition for robot coordination: Our robots coordinate without direct or explicit communication, contrary to what is assumed by most research works in collective robotics. This work also contributes to strengthening the evidence that evolutionary robotics is a design methodology that can tackle real-world tasks demanding fine sensory-motor coordination.

[Robotics in pediatric surgery].

PubMed

Camps, J I

2011-10-01

Despite the extensive use of robotics in the adult population, the use of robotics in pediatrics has not been well accepted. There is still a lack of awareness from pediatric surgeons on how to use the robotic equipment, its advantages and indications. Benefit is still controversial. Dexterity and better visualization of the surgical field are one of the strong values. Conversely, cost and a lack of small instruments prevent the use of robotics in the smaller patients. The aim of this manuscript is to present the controversies about the use of robotics in pediatric surgery.

Robotic Colorectal Surgery

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

Robotic colorectal surgery has gradually been performed more with the help of the technological advantages of the da Vinci® system. Advanced technological advantages of the da Vinci® system compared with standard laparoscopic colorectal surgery have been reported. These are a stable camera platform, three-dimensional imaging, excellent ergonomics, tremor elimination, ambidextrous capability, motion scaling, and instruments with multiple degrees of freedom. However, despite these technological advantages, most studies did not report the clinical advantages of robotic colorectal surgery compared to standard laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Only one study recently implies the real benefits of robotic rectal cancer surgery. The purpose of this review article is to outline the early concerns of robotic colorectal surgery using the da Vinci® system, to present early clinical outcomes from the most current series, and to discuss not only the safety and the feasibility but also the real benefits of robotic colorectal surgery. Moreover, this article will comment on the possible future clinical advantages and limitations of the da Vinci® system in robotic colorectal surgery. PMID:19108010

Toward a framework for levels of robot autonomy in human-robot interaction.

PubMed

Beer, Jenay M; Fisk, Arthur D; Rogers, Wendy A

2014-07-01

A critical construct related to human-robot interaction (HRI) is autonomy, which varies widely across robot platforms. Levels of robot autonomy (LORA), ranging from teleoperation to fully autonomous systems, influence the way in which humans and robots may interact with one another. Thus, there is a need to understand HRI by identifying variables that influence - and are influenced by - robot autonomy. Our overarching goal is to develop a framework for levels of robot autonomy in HRI. To reach this goal, the framework draws links between HRI and human-automation interaction, a field with a long history of studying and understanding human-related variables. The construct of autonomy is reviewed and redefined within the context of HRI. Additionally, the framework proposes a process for determining a robot's autonomy level, by categorizing autonomy along a 10-point taxonomy. The framework is intended to be treated as guidelines to determine autonomy, categorize the LORA along a qualitative taxonomy, and consider which HRI variables (e.g., acceptance, situation awareness, reliability) may be influenced by the LORA.

Fish and robots swimming together: attraction towards the robot demands biomimetic locomotion

PubMed Central

Marras, Stefano; Porfiri, Maurizio

2012-01-01

The integration of biomimetic robots in a fish school may enable a better understanding of collective behaviour, offering a new experimental method to test group feedback in response to behavioural modulations of its ‘engineered’ member. Here, we analyse a robotic fish and individual golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas) swimming together in a water tunnel at different flow velocities. We determine the positional preference of fish with respect to the robot, and we study the flow structure using a digital particle image velocimetry system. We find that biomimetic locomotion is a determinant of fish preference as fish are more attracted towards the robot when its tail is beating rather than when it is statically immersed in the water as a ‘dummy’. At specific conditions, the fish hold station behind the robot, which may be due to the hydrodynamic advantage obtained by swimming in the robot's wake. This work makes a compelling case for the need of biomimetic locomotion in promoting robot–animal interactions and it strengthens the hypothesis that biomimetic robots can be used to study and modulate collective animal behaviour. PMID:22356819

[Robot-aided training in rehabilitation].

PubMed

Hachisuka, Kenji

2010-02-01

Recently, new training techniques that involve the use of robots have been used in the rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegia and paraplegia. Robots used for training the arm include the MIT-MANUS, Arm Trainer, mirror-image motion enabler (MIME) robot, and the assisted rehabilitation and measurement (ARM) Guide. Robots that are used for lower-limb training are the Rehabot, Gait Trainer, Lokomat, LOPES Exoskeleton Robot, and Gait Assist Robot. Robot-aided therapy has enabled the functional training of the arm and the lower limbs in an effective, easy, and comfortable manner. Therefore, with this type of therapy, the patients can repeatedly undergo sufficient and accurate training for a prolonged period. However, evidence of the benefits of robot-aided training has not yet been established.

Current status of robotic simulators in acquisition of robotic surgical skills.

PubMed

Kumar, Anup; Smith, Roger; Patel, Vipul R

2015-03-01

This article provides an overview of the current status of simulator systems in robotic surgery training curriculum, focusing on available simulators for training, their comparison, new technologies introduced in simulation focusing on concepts of training along with existing challenges and future perspectives of simulator training in robotic surgery. The different virtual reality simulators available in the market like dVSS, dVT, RoSS, ProMIS and SEP have shown face, content and construct validity in robotic skills training for novices outside the operating room. Recently, augmented reality simulators like HoST, Maestro AR and RobotiX Mentor have been introduced in robotic training providing a more realistic operating environment, emphasizing more on procedure-specific robotic training . Further, the Xperience Team Trainer, which provides training to console surgeon and bed-side assistant simultaneously, has been recently introduced to emphasize the importance of teamwork and proper coordination. Simulator training holds an important place in current robotic training curriculum of future robotic surgeons. There is a need for more procedure-specific augmented reality simulator training, utilizing advancements in computing and graphical capabilities for new innovations in simulator technology. Further studies are required to establish its cost-benefit ratio along with concurrent and predictive validity.

Robotic follow system and method

DOEpatents

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID; Anderson, Matthew O [Idaho Falls, ID

2007-05-01

Robot platforms, methods, and computer media are disclosed. The robot platform includes perceptors, locomotors, and a system controller, which executes instructions for a robot to follow a target in its environment. The method includes receiving a target bearing and sensing whether the robot is blocked front. If the robot is blocked in front, then the robot's motion is adjusted to avoid the nearest obstacle in front. If the robot is not blocked in front, then the method senses whether the robot is blocked toward the target bearing and if so, sets the rotational direction opposite from the target bearing, and adjusts the rotational velocity and translational velocity. If the robot is not blocked toward the target bearing, then the rotational velocity is adjusted proportional to an angle of the target bearing and the translational velocity is adjusted proportional to a distance to the nearest obstacle in front.

An Examination of the Nature of Erotic Talk.

PubMed

Jonason, Peter K; Betteridge, Gabrielle L; Kneebone, Ian I

2016-01-01

Using a mixed-methods study, we provided the first systematic documentation and exploration of erotic talk. In Study 1 (N = 95), participants provided 569 erotic talk statements in an anonymous online survey, which we classified, using a modified thematic analysis, as being representative of eight themes. In Study 2 (N = 238), we quantified individual differences in these themes, subjected them to factor analysis, and examined the nomological network surrounding them with measures of relationship and sexual satisfaction, sociosexuality, and personality. The eight initial categories represented two higher order factors, which we call individualist talk and mutualistic talk. These factors were orthogonal in factor analysis and distinct in their nomological network. While the majority of people reported using erotic talk, we found few sex differences in its use.

Combined virtual and real robotic test-bed for single operator control of multiple robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sam Y.-S.; Hunt, Shawn; Cao, Alex; Pandya, Abhilash

2010-04-01

Teams of heterogeneous robots with different dynamics or capabilities could perform a variety of tasks such as multipoint surveillance, cooperative transport and explorations in hazardous environments. In this study, we work with heterogeneous robots of semi-autonomous ground and aerial robots for contaminant localization. We developed a human interface system which linked every real robot to its virtual counterpart. A novel virtual interface has been integrated with Augmented Reality that can monitor the position and sensory information from video feed of ground and aerial robots in the 3D virtual environment, and improve user situational awareness. An operator can efficiently control the real multi-robots using the Drag-to-Move method on the virtual multi-robots. This enables an operator to control groups of heterogeneous robots in a collaborative way for allowing more contaminant sources to be pursued simultaneously. The advanced feature of the virtual interface system is guarded teleoperation. This can be used to prevent operators from accidently driving multiple robots into walls and other objects. Moreover, the feature of the image guidance and tracking is able to reduce operator workload.

KC-135 materials handling robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Workman, Gary L.

1991-01-01

Robot dynamics and control will become an important issue for implementing productive platforms in space. Robotic operations will become necessary for man-tended stations and for efficient performance of routine operations in a manned platform. The current constraints on the use of robotic devices in a microgravity environment appears to be due to an anticipated increase in acceleration levels due to manipulator motion and for safety concerns. The objective of this study will be to provide baseline data to meet that need. Most texts and papers dealing with the kinematics and dynamics of robots assume that the manipulator is composed of joints separated by rigid links. However, in recent years several groups have begun to study the dynamics of flexible manipulators, primarily for applying robots in space and for improving the efficiency and precision of robotic systems. Robotic systems which are being planned for implementation in space have a number of constraints to overcome. Additional concepts which have to be worked out in any robotic implementation for a space platform include teleoperation and degree of autonomous control. Some significant results in developing a robotic workcell for performing robotics research on the KC-135 aircraft in preperation for space-based robotics applications in the future were generated. In addition, it was shown that TREETOPS can be used to simulate the dynamics of robot manipulators for both space and ground-based applications.

A Human-Robot Interaction Perspective on Assistive and Rehabilitation Robotics.

PubMed

Beckerle, Philipp; Salvietti, Gionata; Unal, Ramazan; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Rossi, Simone; Castellini, Claudio; Hirche, Sandra; Endo, Satoshi; Amor, Heni Ben; Ciocarlie, Matei; Mastrogiovanni, Fulvio; Argall, Brenna D; Bianchi, Matteo

2017-01-01

Assistive and rehabilitation devices are a promising and challenging field of recent robotics research. Motivated by societal needs such as aging populations, such devices can support motor functionality and subject training. The design, control, sensing, and assessment of the devices become more sophisticated due to a human in the loop. This paper gives a human-robot interaction perspective on current issues and opportunities in the field. On the topic of control and machine learning, approaches that support but do not distract subjects are reviewed. Options to provide sensory user feedback that are currently missing from robotic devices are outlined. Parallels between device acceptance and affective computing are made. Furthermore, requirements for functional assessment protocols that relate to real-world tasks are discussed. In all topic areas, the design of human-oriented frameworks and methods is dominated by challenges related to the close interaction between the human and robotic device. This paper discusses the aforementioned aspects in order to open up new perspectives for future robotic solutions.

Human-robot skills transfer interfaces for a flexible surgical robot.

PubMed

Calinon, Sylvain; Bruno, Danilo; Malekzadeh, Milad S; Nanayakkara, Thrishantha; Caldwell, Darwin G

2014-09-01

In minimally invasive surgery, tools go through narrow openings and manipulate soft organs to perform surgical tasks. There are limitations in current robot-assisted surgical systems due to the rigidity of robot tools. The aim of the STIFF-FLOP European project is to develop a soft robotic arm to perform surgical tasks. The flexibility of the robot allows the surgeon to move within organs to reach remote areas inside the body and perform challenging procedures in laparoscopy. This article addresses the problem of designing learning interfaces enabling the transfer of skills from human demonstration. Robot programming by demonstration encompasses a wide range of learning strategies, from simple mimicking of the demonstrator's actions to the higher level imitation of the underlying intent extracted from the demonstrations. By focusing on this last form, we study the problem of extracting an objective function explaining the demonstrations from an over-specified set of candidate reward functions, and using this information for self-refinement of the skill. In contrast to inverse reinforcement learning strategies that attempt to explain the observations with reward functions defined for the entire task (or a set of pre-defined reward profiles active for different parts of the task), the proposed approach is based on context-dependent reward-weighted learning, where the robot can learn the relevance of candidate objective functions with respect to the current phase of the task or encountered situation. The robot then exploits this information for skills refinement in the policy parameters space. The proposed approach is tested in simulation with a cutting task performed by the STIFF-FLOP flexible robot, using kinesthetic demonstrations from a Barrett WAM manipulator. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Intrepid Systems robot, foreground, and the University of Waterloo (Canada) robot, take to the practice field on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Robot teams will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Robotic-assisted repair of iatrogenic ureteral ligation following robotic-assisted hysterectomy.

PubMed

Kalisvaart, Jonathan F; Finley, David S; Ornstein, David K

2008-01-01

Ureteral injuries, while rare, do occur during gynecologic procedures. The expansion of laparoscopic and robotic pelvic surgical procedures increases the risk of ureteral injury from these procedures and suggests a role for minimally invasive approaches to the delayed repair of ureteral injuries. We present, to our knowledge, the first case of delayed robotic-assisted ureteral deligation and ureterolysis following iatrogenic ureteral injury occurring during a robotic abdominal hysterectomy. We present a case report and review of the literature. A 57-year-old female underwent a seemingly uncomplicated robotic-assisted laparoscopic total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy for symptomatic fibroids. On postoperative day 8, she presented with persistent right flank pain. Imaging studies revealed high-grade ureteral obstruction consistent with suture ligation of the right ureter. She underwent successful robotic-assisted ureteral deligation and ureterolysis. Her postoperative course was unremarkable, and she was discharged home on postoperative day 1 from the deligation. Robotic-assisted management of complications from urologic or gynecologic surgery is technically feasible. This can potentially preserve the advantages to the patient that are being seen from the initial less-invasive surgery.

A Survey of Space Robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedersen, L.; Kortenkamp, D.; Wettergreen, D.; Nourbakhsh, I.; Korsmeyer, David (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

In this paper we summarize a survey conducted by NASA to determine the state-of-the-art in space robotics and to predict future robotic capabilities under either nominal and intensive development effort. The space robotics assessment study examined both in-space operations including assembly, inspection, and maintenance and planetary surface operations like mobility and exploration. Applications of robotic autonomy and human-robot cooperation were considered. The study group devised a decomposition of robotic capabilities and then suggested metrics to specify the technical challenges associated with each. The conclusion of this paper identifies possible areas in which investment in space robotics could lead to significant advances of important technologies.

Lif and Raman Spectroscopy in Undergraduate Labs Using Green Diode-Pumped Solid-State Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Jeffrey A.

2015-06-01

Electronic spectroscopy of molecular iodine vapor has long been studied in undergraduate physical chemistry teaching laboratories, but the effectiveness of emission work has typically been limited by availability of instrumentation. This talk shows how to make inexpensive green diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers easily tunable for efficient, selective excitation of I2. Miniature fiber-optic spectrometers then enable rotationally resolved fluorescence spectroscopy up to v" = 42 near 900 nm with acquisition times of less than one minute. DPSS lasers are also versatile excitation sources for vibrational Raman spectroscopy, which is another common exercise that has been limited by lack of proper instrumentation in the teaching laboratory. This talk shows how to construct a simple accessory for commercial fluorimeters to record vibrational Raman spectra and depolarization ratios for CCl4 and C2Cl4 as part of a lab exercise featuring molecular symmetry.

Cross-Talk Limits of Highly Segmented Semiconductor Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pullia, Alberto; Weisshaar, Dirk; Zocca, Francesca; Bazzacco, Dino

2011-06-01

Cross-talk limits of monolithic highly-segmented semiconductor detectors for high-resolution X-gamma spectrometry are investigated. Cross-talk causes false signal components yielding amplitude losses and fold-dependent shifts of the spectral lines, which partially spoil the spectroscopic performance of the detector. Two complementary electrical models are developed, which describe quantitatively the inter-channel cross-talk of monolithic segmented detectors whose electrodes are read out by charge-sensitive preamplifiers. The first is here designated as Cross-Capacitance (CC) model, the second as Split-Charge (SC) model. The CC model builds around the parasitic capacitances Cij linking the preamplifier outputs and the neighbor channel inputs. The SC model builds around the finite-value of the decoupling capacitance CC used to read out the high-voltage detector electrode. The key parameters of the models are individuated and ideas are shown to minimize their impact. Using a quasi-coaxial germanium segmented detector it is found that the SC cross-talk becomes negligible for decoupling capacitances larger than 1 nF, where instead the CC cross-talk tends to dominate. The residual cross-talk may be reduced by minimization of stray capacitances Cij, through a careful design of the layout of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) where the input transistors are mounted. Cij can be made as low as 5 fF, but it is shown that even in such case the impact of the CC cross-talk on the detector performance is not negligible. Finally, an algorithm for cross-talk correction is presented and elaborated.

EPSRC Principles of Robotics: commentary on safety, robots as products, and responsibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boddington, Paula

2017-04-01

The EPSRC Principles of Robotics refer to safety. How safety is understood is relative to how tasks are characterised and identified. But the exact task(s) a robot plays within a complex system of agency may be hard to identify. If robots are seen as products, it is nonetheless vital that the safety and other implications of their use in situ must also be considered carefully, and they must be fit for purpose. The Principles identify humans as responsible, rather than robots. We must thus understand how the replacement of human agency by robotic agency may impact upon attributions of responsibility. The Principles seek to fit into existing systems of law and ethics. But these may need development, and in certain context, attention to more local regulations is also needed. A distinction between ethical issues related to the design of robotics, and to their use, may be needed in the Principles.

Service Oriented Robotic Architecture for Space Robotics: Design, Testing, and Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fluckiger, Lorenzo Jean Marc E; Utz, Hans Heinrich

2013-01-01

This paper presents the lessons learned from six years of experiments with planetary rover prototypes running the Service Oriented Robotic Architecture (SORA) developed by the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) at the NASA Ames Research Center. SORA relies on proven software engineering methods and technologies applied to space robotics. Based on a Service Oriented Architecture and robust middleware, SORA encompasses on-board robot control and a full suite of software tools necessary for remotely operated exploration missions. SORA has been eld tested in numerous scenarios of robotic lunar and planetary exploration. The experiments conducted by IRG with SORA exercise a large set of the constraints encountered in space applications: remote robotic assets, ight relevant science instruments, distributed operations, high network latencies and unreliable or intermittent communication links. In this paper, we present the results of these eld tests in regard to the developed architecture, and discuss its bene ts and limitations.

Urologic robots and future directions.

PubMed

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the daVinci system, but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this study is to review current urologic robots and present future development directions. Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks on the basis of medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for a remote system could be augmented in reality, with haptic feedback, size reduction, and development of new tools for natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image-guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift.

UROLOGIC ROBOTS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

PubMed Central

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Purpose of review Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the Da Vinci system but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this paper is to review current urologic robots and present future developments directions. Recent findings Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. Summary The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks based on medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for remote system could be augmented reality, haptic feed back, size reduction and development of new tools for NOTES surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to a clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift. PMID:19057227

Scientifically speaking: Identifying, analyzing, and promoting science talk in small groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holthuis, Nicole Inamine

In this dissertation I define, document, and analyze the nature of students' science talk as they work in cooperative learning groups. Three questions form the basis of this research. First, what is science talk? Second, how much and what kind of science talk did students do? And, third, what conditions help promote or inhibit students' science talk? This study was conducted in a total of six classrooms in three high schools. I videotaped and audiotaped students as they worked in small groups during the course of an ecology unit. I analyzed this videotape data and field notes using both quantitative and qualitative methods. I define science talk as talk that serves to move students along in terms of the science (both content and process) required or suggested by the activity. More specifically, I identified five epistemological characteristics that delineate what counts as scientific knowledge and, subsequently, science talk. From this definition, I developed an analytic framework and science talk observation instrument to document the quantity and level of student and teacher talk during groupwork. Analysis of the data from this instrument indicates that the overall level of students' science talk is considerable and students do significantly more science talk than school talk. I also found that while the overall level and type of science talk does not vary by class or by school, it does vary by activity type. Finally, my analysis suggests that science talk does not vary by gender composition of the group. I explored the classroom conditions that promote or inhibit science talk during groupwork. My findings suggest that, among other things, teachers can promote science talk by delegating authority to students, by emphasizing content and the big idea, by implementing open-ended tasks, and by modeling science talk. In conclusion, the findings described in this dissertation point teachers and researchers toward ways in which they may improve practice in order to

The Relationship Talk: Assessing Partner Commitment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelms, Bobbie Jo; Knox, David; Easterling, Beth

2012-01-01

"The talk" is culturally understood to mean a discussion whereby both partners in a relationship reveal their feelings about each other and their commitment to a future together. Typically, one partner feels a greater need to clarity the future and instigates "the talk." This study reports the analysis of a 15 item…

[History of robotics: from Archytas of Tarentum until da Vinci robot. (Part I)].

PubMed

Sánchez Martín, F M; Millán Rodríguez, F; Salvador Bayarri, J; Palou Redorta, J; Rodríguez Escovar, F; Esquena Fernández, S; Villavicencio Mavrich, H

2007-02-01

Robotic surgery is the newst technologic option in urology. To understand how new robots work is interesting to know their history. The desire to design machines imitating humans continued for more than 4000 years. There are references to King-su Tse (clasic China) making up automaton at 500 a. C. Archytas of Tarentum (at around 400 a.C.) is considered the father of mechanical engineering, and one of the occidental robotics classic referents. Heron of Alexandria, Hsieh-Fec, Al-Jazari, Roger Bacon, Juanelo Turriano, Leonardo da Vinci, Vaucanson o von Kempelen were robot inventors in the middle age, renaissance and classicism. At the XIXth century, automaton production underwent a peak and all engineering branches suffered a great development. At 1942 Asimov published the three robotics laws, based on mechanics, electronics and informatics advances. At XXth century robots able to do very complex self governing works were developed, like da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical Inc, Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a very sophisticated robot to assist surgeons.

Robotic hand with modular extensions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Salisbury, Curt Michael; Quigley, Morgan

A robotic device is described herein. The robotic device includes a frame that comprises a plurality of receiving regions that are configured to receive a respective plurality of modular robotic extensions. The modular robotic extensions are removably attachable to the frame at the respective receiving regions by way of respective mechanical fuses. Each mechanical fuse is configured to trip when a respective modular robotic extension experiences a predefined load condition, such that the respective modular robotic extension detaches from the frame when the load condition is met.

Industrial robots on the line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayres, R.; Miller, S.

1982-06-01

The characteristics, applications, and operational capabilities of currently available robots are examined. Designed to function at tasks of a repetitive, hazardous, or uncreative nature, robot appendages are controlled by microprocessors which permit some simple decision-making on-the-job, and have served for sample gathering on the Mars Viking lander. Critical developmental areas concern active sensors at the robot grappler-object interface, where sufficient data must be gathered for the central processor to which the robot is attached to conclude the state of completion and suitability of the workpiece. Although present robots must be programmed through every step of a particular industrial process, thus limiting each robot to specialized tasks, the potential for closed cells of batch-processing robot-run units is noted to be close to realization. Finally, consideration is given to methods for retraining the human workforce that robots replace

Robotics research projects report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsia, T.C.

The research results of the Robotics Research Laboratory are summarized. Areas of research include robotic control, a stand-alone vision system for industrial robots, and sensors other than vision that would be useful for image ranging, including ultrasonic and infra-red devices. One particular project involves RHINO, a 6-axis robotic arm that can be manipulated by serial transmission of ASCII command strings to its interfaced controller. (LEW)

Tool Changer For Robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voellmer, George M.

1992-01-01

Mechanism enables robot to change tools on end of arm. Actuated by motion of robot: requires no additional electrical or pneumatic energy to make or break connection between tool and wrist at end of arm. Includes three basic subassemblies: wrist interface plate attached to robot arm at wrist, tool interface plate attached to tool, and holster. Separate tool interface plate and holster provided for each tool robot uses.

Why Robots Should Be Social: Enhancing Machine Learning through Social Human-Robot Interaction.

PubMed

de Greeff, Joachim; Belpaeme, Tony

2015-01-01

Social learning is a powerful method for cultural propagation of knowledge and skills relying on a complex interplay of learning strategies, social ecology and the human propensity for both learning and tutoring. Social learning has the potential to be an equally potent learning strategy for artificial systems and robots in specific. However, given the complexity and unstructured nature of social learning, implementing social machine learning proves to be a challenging problem. We study one particular aspect of social machine learning: that of offering social cues during the learning interaction. Specifically, we study whether people are sensitive to social cues offered by a learning robot, in a similar way to children's social bids for tutoring. We use a child-like social robot and a task in which the robot has to learn the meaning of words. For this a simple turn-based interaction is used, based on language games. Two conditions are tested: one in which the robot uses social means to invite a human teacher to provide information based on what the robot requires to fill gaps in its knowledge (i.e. expression of a learning preference); the other in which the robot does not provide social cues to communicate a learning preference. We observe that conveying a learning preference through the use of social cues results in better and faster learning by the robot. People also seem to form a "mental model" of the robot, tailoring the tutoring to the robot's performance as opposed to using simply random teaching. In addition, the social learning shows a clear gender effect with female participants being responsive to the robot's bids, while male teachers appear to be less receptive. This work shows how additional social cues in social machine learning can result in people offering better quality learning input to artificial systems, resulting in improved learning performance.

Robot Tracer with Visual Camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jabbar Lubis, Abdul; Dwi Lestari, Yuyun; Dafitri, Haida; Azanuddin

2017-12-01

Robot is a versatile tool that can function replace human work function. The robot is a device that can be reprogrammed according to user needs. The use of wireless networks for remote monitoring needs can be utilized to build a robot that can be monitored movement and can be monitored using blueprints and he can track the path chosen robot. This process is sent using a wireless network. For visual robot using high resolution cameras to facilitate the operator to control the robot and see the surrounding circumstances.

Perspectives future space on robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lavery, Dave

1994-01-01

Last year's flight of the German ROTEX robot flight experiment heralded the start of a new era for space robotics. ROTEX is the first of at least 10 new robotic systems and experiments that will fly before 2000. These robots will augment astronaut on-orbit capabilities and extend virtual human presence to lunar and planetary surfaces. The robotic systems to be flown in the next five years fall into three categories: extravehicular robotic (EVR) servicers, science payload servicers, and planetary surface rovers. A description of the work on these systems is presented.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Intrepid Systems robot "MXR - Mark's Exploration Robot" takes to the practice field and tries to capture the white object in the foreground on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Intrepid Systems' robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Children visiting the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event try to catch basketballs being thrown by a robot from FIRST Robotics at Burncoat High School (Mass.) on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at WPI in Worcester, Mass. The TouchTomorrow event was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Intrepid Systems Team member Mark Curry, right, answers questions from 8th grade Sullivan Middle School (Mass.) students about his robot named "MXR - Mark's Exploration Robot" on Friday, June 15, 2012, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Curry's robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Family food talk, child eating behavior, and maternal feeding practices.

PubMed

Roach, Elizabeth; Viechnicki, Gail B; Retzloff, Lauren B; Davis-Kean, Pamela; Lumeng, Julie C; Miller, Alison L

2017-10-01

Families discuss food and eating in many ways that may shape child eating habits. Researchers studying how families talk about food have examined this process during meals. Little work has examined parent-child food-related interactions outside of mealtime. We assessed family food talk at home outside of mealtime and tested whether food talk was associated with obesogenic child eating behaviors, maternal feeding practices, or child weight. Preschool and school-aged mother-child dyads (n = 61) participated in naturalistic voice recording using a LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) recorder. A coding scheme was developed to reliably characterize different types of food talk from LENA transcripts. Mothers completed the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) to assess child eating behaviors and maternal feeding practices. Child weight and height were measured and body mass index z-score (BMIz) calculated. Bivariate associations among food talk types, as a proportion of total speech, were examined and multivariate regression models used to test associations between food talk and child eating behaviors, maternal feeding practices, and child BMIz. Proportion of child Overall Food Talk and Food Explanations were positively associated with CEBQ Food Responsiveness and Enjoyment of Food (p's < 0.05). Child food Desire/Need and child Prep/Planning talk were positively associated with CEBQ Enjoyment of Food (p < 0.05). Child Food Enjoyment talk and mother Overt Restriction talk were positively associated with CEBQ Emotional Over-Eating (p < 0.05). Mother Monitoring talk was positively associated with CFQ Restriction (p < 0.05). Mother Prep/Planning talk was negatively associated with child BMIz. Food talk outside of mealtimes related to child obesogenic eating behaviors and feeding practices in expected ways; examining food talk outside of meals is a novel way to consider feeding practices and child eating behavior

Guarded Motion for Mobile Robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2005-03-30

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has created codes that ensure that a robot will come to a stop at a precise, specified distance from any obstacle regardless of the robot's initial speed, its physical characteristics, and the responsiveness of the low-level motor control schema. This Guarded Motion for Mobile Robots system iteratively adjusts the robot's action in response to information about the robot's environment.

Robotic Thumb Assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor); Bridgwater, Lyndon (Inventor); Platt, Robert (Inventor); Wampler, II, Charles W. (Inventor); Goza, S. Michael (Inventor)

2013-01-01

An improved robotic thumb for a robotic hand assembly is provided. According to one aspect of the disclosure, improved tendon routing in the robotic thumb provides control of four degrees of freedom with only five tendons. According to another aspect of the disclosure, one of the five degrees of freedom of a human thumb is replaced in the robotic thumb with a permanent twist in the shape of a phalange. According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a position sensor includes a magnet having two portions shaped as circle segments with different center points. The magnet provides a linearized output from a Hall effect sensor.

Robotic hair restoration.

PubMed

Rose, Paul T; Nusbaum, Bernard

2014-01-01

The latest innovation to hair restoration surgery has been the introduction of a robotic system for harvesting grafts. This system uses the follicular unit extraction/follicular isolation technique method for harvesting follicular units, which is particularly well suited to the abilities of a robotic technology. The ARTAS system analyzes images of the donor area and then a dual-chamber needle and blunt dissecting punch are used to harvest the follicular units. The robotic technology is now being used in various locations around the world. This article discusses the use of the robotic system, its capabilities, and the advantages and disadvantages of the system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

30 Years of Robotic Surgery.

PubMed

Leal Ghezzi, Tiago; Campos Corleta, Oly

2016-10-01

The idea of reproducing himself with the use of a mechanical robot structure has been in man's imagination in the last 3000 years. However, the use of robots in medicine has only 30 years of history. The application of robots in surgery originates from the need of modern man to achieve two goals: the telepresence and the performance of repetitive and accurate tasks. The first "robot surgeon" used on a human patient was the PUMA 200 in 1985. In the 1990s, scientists developed the concept of "master-slave" robot, which consisted of a robot with remote manipulators controlled by a surgeon at a surgical workstation. Despite the lack of force and tactile feedback, technical advantages of robotic surgery, such as 3D vision, stable and magnified image, EndoWrist instruments, physiologic tremor filtering, and motion scaling, have been considered fundamental to overcome many of the limitations of the laparoscopic surgery. Since the approval of the da Vinci(®) robot by international agencies, American, European, and Asian surgeons have proved its factibility and safety for the performance of many different robot-assisted surgeries. Comparative studies of robotic and laparoscopic surgical procedures in general surgery have shown similar results with regard to perioperative, oncological, and functional outcomes. However, higher costs and lack of haptic feedback represent the major limitations of current robotic technology to become the standard technique of minimally invasive surgery worldwide. Therefore, the future of robotic surgery involves cost reduction, development of new platforms and technologies, creation and validation of curriculum and virtual simulators, and conduction of randomized clinical trials to determine the best applications of robotics.

Mechanochemically Active Soft Robots.

PubMed

Gossweiler, Gregory R; Brown, Cameron L; Hewage, Gihan B; Sapiro-Gheiler, Eitan; Trautman, William J; Welshofer, Garrett W; Craig, Stephen L

2015-10-14

The functions of soft robotics are intimately tied to their form-channels and voids defined by an elastomeric superstructure that reversibly stores and releases mechanical energy to change shape, grip objects, and achieve complex motions. Here, we demonstrate that covalent polymer mechanochemistry provides a viable mechanism to convert the same mechanical potential energy used for actuation in soft robots into a mechanochromic, covalent chemical response. A bis-alkene functionalized spiropyran (SP) mechanophore is cured into a molded poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) soft robot walker and gripper. The stresses and strains necessary for SP activation are compatible with soft robot function. The color change associated with actuation suggests opportunities for not only new color changing or camouflaging strategies, but also the possibility for simultaneous activation of latent chemistry (e.g., release of small molecules, change in mechanical properties, activation of catalysts, etc.) in soft robots. In addition, mechanochromic stress mapping in a functional robotic device might provide a useful design and optimization tool, revealing spatial and temporal force evolution within the robot in a way that might be coupled to autonomous feedback loops that allow the robot to regulate its own activity. The demonstration motivates the simultaneous development of new combinations of mechanophores, materials, and soft, active devices for enhanced functionality.

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Bruce Yost of NASA's Ames Research Center discusses a small satellite, known as PhoneSat, during the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Ron Diftler of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston demonstrates the leg movements of Robonaut 2 during the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Roboter in der Raumfahrt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirzinger, G.

(Robots in space)—The paper emphasizes the enormous automation impact in industry caused by microelectronics, a "byproduct" of space-technology. The evolutionary stages of robotic are outlined and it is shown that there are a lot of reasons for more automation, artificial intelligence and robotic in space, too. The telemanipulator concept is compared with the industrial robot concept, both showing up an increasing degree of similarity. The state of the art in sensory systems is discussed. By hand of the typical operations needed in space as rendezvous, assembly and docking the required robot skill is indicated. As a conclusion it is stated that the basic technologies available with industrial robots today could solve a lot of space problems. What remains to do—apart of course from ongoing research—is better integration and adaption of industrial techniques to the need of space technology.

Applying robotics to HAZMAT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welch, Richard V.; Edmonds, Gary O.

1994-01-01

The use of robotics in situations involving hazardous materials can significantly reduce the risk of human injuries. The Emergency Response Robotics Project, which began in October 1990 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is developing a teleoperated mobile robot allowing HAZMAT (hazardous materials) teams to remotely respond to incidents involving hazardous materials. The current robot, called HAZBOT III, can assist in locating characterizing, identifying, and mitigating hazardous material incidents without risking entry team personnel. The active involvement of the JPL Fire Department HAZMAT team has been vital in developing a robotic system which enables them to perform remote reconnaissance of a HAZMAT incident site. This paper provides a brief review of the history of the project, discusses the current system in detail, and presents other areas in which robotics can be applied removing people from hazardous environments/operations.

Robotic technology in urology

PubMed Central

Murphy, D; Challacombe, B; Khan, M S; Dasgupta, P

2006-01-01

Urology has increasingly become a technology‐driven specialty. The advent of robotic surgical systems in the past 10 years has led to urologists becoming the world leaders in the use of such technology. In this paper, we review the history and current status of robotic technology in urology. From the earliest uses of robots for transurethral resection of the prostate, to robotic devices for manipulating laparoscopes and to the current crop of master–slave devices for robotic‐assisted laparoscopic surgery, the evolution of robotics in the urology operating theatre is presented. Future possibilities, including the prospects for nanotechnology in urology, are awaited. PMID:17099094

Robotic systems in spine surgery.

PubMed

Onen, Mehmet Resid; Naderi, Sait

2014-01-01

Surgical robotic systems have been available for almost twenty years. The first surgical robotic systems were designed as supportive systems for laparoscopic approaches in general surgery (the first procedure was a cholecystectomy in 1987). The da Vinci Robotic System is the most common system used for robotic surgery today. This system is widely used in urology, gynecology and other surgical disciplines, and recently there have been initial reports of its use in spine surgery, for transoral access and anterior approaches for lumbar inter-body fusion interventions. SpineAssist, which is widely used in spine surgery, and Renaissance Robotic Systems, which are considered the next generation of robotic systems, are now FDA approved. These robotic systems are designed for use as guidance systems in spine instrumentation, cement augmentations and biopsies. The aim is to increase surgical accuracy while reducing the intra-operative exposure to harmful radiation to the patient and operating team personnel during the intervention. We offer a review of the published literature related to the use of robotic systems in spine surgery and provide information on using robotic systems.

Tandem mobile robot system

DOEpatents

Buttz, James H.; Shirey, David L.; Hayward, David R.

2003-01-01

A robotic vehicle system for terrain navigation mobility provides a way to climb stairs, cross crevices, and navigate across difficult terrain by coupling two or more mobile robots with a coupling device and controlling the robots cooperatively in tandem.

Systematic review of operative outcomes of robotic surgical procedures performed with endoscopic linear staplers or robotic staplers.

PubMed

Gutierrez, Mario; Ditto, Richard; Roy, Sanjoy

2018-05-09

A comprehensive review of operative outcomes of robotic surgical procedures performed with the da Vinci robotic system using either endoscopic linear staplers (ELS) or robotic staplers is not available in the published literature. We conducted a literature search to identify publications of robotic surgical procedures in all specialties performed with either ELS or robotic staplers. Twenty-nine manuscripts and six abstracts with relevant information on operative outcomes published from January 2011 to September 2017 were identified. Given the relatively recent market release of robotic staplers in 2014, comparative perioperative clinical outcomes data on the performance of ELS vs. robotic staplers in robotic surgery is very sparse in the published literature. Only three comparative studies of surgeries with the da Vinci robotic system plus ELS vs. da Vinci plus robotic staplers were identified; two in robotic colorectal surgery and the other in robotic gastric bypass surgery. These comparative studies illustrate some nuances in device design and usability, which may impact outcomes and cost, and therefore may be important to consider when selecting the appropriate stapling technologies/technique for different robotic surgeries. Comparative perioperative data on the use of ELS vs. robotic staplers in robotic surgery is scarce (three studies), and current literature identifies both types of devices as safe and effective. Given the longer clinical history of ELS and its relatively more robust evidence base, there may be trade-offs to consider before switching to robotic staplers in certain robotic procedures. However, this literature review may serve as an initial reference for future research.

The Emergence of Inclusive Exploratory Talk in Primary Students' Peer Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rajala, Antti; Hilppo, Jaakko; Lipponen, Lasse

2012-01-01

In this study, we examine a prominent type of classroom talk, exploratory talk, in primary school peer interactions. Exploratory talk has been shown to be productive in facilitating problem solving and fostering school achievement. However, within the growing body of research concerning exploratory talk, the relation between exploratory talk and…

Full autonomous microline trace robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Deer; Lu, Si; Yan, Yingbai; Jin, Guofan

2000-10-01

Optoelectric inspection may find applications in robotic system. In micro robotic system, smaller optoelectric inspection system is preferred. However, as miniaturizing the size of the robot, the number of the optoelectric detector becomes lack. And lack of the information makes the micro robot difficult to acquire its status. In our lab, a micro line trace robot has been designed, which autonomous acts based on its optoelectric detection. It has been programmed to follow a black line printed on the white colored ground. Besides the optoelectric inspection, logical algorithm in the microprocessor is also important. In this paper, we propose a simply logical algorithm to realize robot's intelligence. The robot's intelligence is based on a AT89C2051 microcontroller which controls its movement. The technical details of the micro robot are as follow: dimension: 30mm*25mm*35*mm; velocity: 60mm/s.

Robotic comfort zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Likhachev, Maxim; Arkin, Ronald C.

2000-10-01

The paper investigates how the psychological notion of comfort can be useful in the design of robotic systems. A review of the existing study of human comfort, especially regarding its presence in infants, is conducted with the goal being to determine the relevant characteristics for mapping it onto the robotics domain. Focus is place on the identification of the salient features in the environment that affect the comfort level. Factors involved include current state familiarity, working conditions, the amount and location of available resources, etc. As part of our newly developed comfort function theory, the notion of an object as a psychological attachment for a robot is also introduced, as espoused in Bowlby's theory of attachment. The output space of the comfort function and its dependency on the comfort level are analyzed. The results of the derivation of this comfort function are then presented in terms of the impact they have on robotic behavior. Justification for the use of the comfort function are then presented in terms of the impact they have on robotic behavior. Justification for the use of the comfort function in the domain of robotics is presented with relevance for real-world operations. Also, a transformation of the theoretical discussion into a mathematical framework suitable for implementation within a behavior-based control system is presented. The paper concludes with results of simulation studies and real robot experiments using the derived comfort function.

Rehabilitation robotics

PubMed Central

KREBS, H.I.; VOLPE, B.T.

2015-01-01

This chapter focuses on rehabilitation robotics which can be used to augment the clinician’s toolbox in order to deliver meaningful restorative therapy for an aging population, as well as on advances in orthotics to augment an individual’s functional abilities beyond neurorestoration potential. The interest in rehabilitation robotics and orthotics is increasing steadily with marked growth in the last 10 years. This growth is understandable in view of the increased demand for caregivers and rehabilitation services escalating apace with the graying of the population. We will provide an overview on improving function in people with a weak limb due to a neurological disorder who cannot properly control it to interact with the environment (orthotics); we will then focus on tools to assist the clinician in promoting rehabilitation of an individual so that s/he can interact with the environment unassisted (rehabilitation robotics). We will present a few clinical results occurring immediately poststroke as well as during the chronic phase that demonstrate superior gains for the upper extremity when employing rehabilitation robotics instead of usual care. These include the landmark VA-ROBOTICS multisite, randomized clinical study which demonstrates clinical gains for chronic stroke that go beyond usual care at no additional cost. PMID:23312648

Rehabilitation robotics.

PubMed

Krebs, H I; Volpe, B T

2013-01-01

This chapter focuses on rehabilitation robotics which can be used to augment the clinician's toolbox in order to deliver meaningful restorative therapy for an aging population, as well as on advances in orthotics to augment an individual's functional abilities beyond neurorestoration potential. The interest in rehabilitation robotics and orthotics is increasing steadily with marked growth in the last 10 years. This growth is understandable in view of the increased demand for caregivers and rehabilitation services escalating apace with the graying of the population. We provide an overview on improving function in people with a weak limb due to a neurological disorder who cannot properly control it to interact with the environment (orthotics); we then focus on tools to assist the clinician in promoting rehabilitation of an individual so that s/he can interact with the environment unassisted (rehabilitation robotics). We present a few clinical results occurring immediately poststroke as well as during the chronic phase that demonstrate superior gains for the upper extremity when employing rehabilitation robotics instead of usual care. These include the landmark VA-ROBOTICS multisite, randomized clinical study which demonstrates clinical gains for chronic stroke that go beyond usual care at no additional cost. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

"Talk What Others Think You Can't Talk": HIV/AIDS Clubs as Peer Education in Ugandan Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norton, Bonny; Mutonyi, Harriet

2007-01-01

In this article, we make the case that HIV/AIDS clubs in Ugandan schools provide valuable information to students who may not have easy access to health services. As one club motto suggests, the clubs "talk what others think you can't talk". The innovative peer education methods, which include drama, popular culture and community…

A Human–Robot Interaction Perspective on Assistive and Rehabilitation Robotics

PubMed Central

Beckerle, Philipp; Salvietti, Gionata; Unal, Ramazan; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Rossi, Simone; Castellini, Claudio; Hirche, Sandra; Endo, Satoshi; Amor, Heni Ben; Ciocarlie, Matei; Mastrogiovanni, Fulvio; Argall, Brenna D.; Bianchi, Matteo

2017-01-01

Assistive and rehabilitation devices are a promising and challenging field of recent robotics research. Motivated by societal needs such as aging populations, such devices can support motor functionality and subject training. The design, control, sensing, and assessment of the devices become more sophisticated due to a human in the loop. This paper gives a human–robot interaction perspective on current issues and opportunities in the field. On the topic of control and machine learning, approaches that support but do not distract subjects are reviewed. Options to provide sensory user feedback that are currently missing from robotic devices are outlined. Parallels between device acceptance and affective computing are made. Furthermore, requirements for functional assessment protocols that relate to real-world tasks are discussed. In all topic areas, the design of human-oriented frameworks and methods is dominated by challenges related to the close interaction between the human and robotic device. This paper discusses the aforementioned aspects in order to open up new perspectives for future robotic solutions. PMID:28588473

Multi-Robot Assembly Strategies and Metrics.

PubMed

Marvel, Jeremy A; Bostelman, Roger; Falco, Joe

2018-02-01

We present a survey of multi-robot assembly applications and methods and describe trends and general insights into the multi-robot assembly problem for industrial applications. We focus on fixtureless assembly strategies featuring two or more robotic systems. Such robotic systems include industrial robot arms, dexterous robotic hands, and autonomous mobile platforms, such as automated guided vehicles. In this survey, we identify the types of assemblies that are enabled by utilizing multiple robots, the algorithms that synchronize the motions of the robots to complete the assembly operations, and the metrics used to assess the quality and performance of the assemblies.

Multi-Robot Assembly Strategies and Metrics

PubMed Central

MARVEL, JEREMY A.; BOSTELMAN, ROGER; FALCO, JOE

2018-01-01

We present a survey of multi-robot assembly applications and methods and describe trends and general insights into the multi-robot assembly problem for industrial applications. We focus on fixtureless assembly strategies featuring two or more robotic systems. Such robotic systems include industrial robot arms, dexterous robotic hands, and autonomous mobile platforms, such as automated guided vehicles. In this survey, we identify the types of assemblies that are enabled by utilizing multiple robots, the algorithms that synchronize the motions of the robots to complete the assembly operations, and the metrics used to assess the quality and performance of the assemblies. PMID:29497234

Talking about Talk: Reviewing Oracy in English Primary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Deborah

2017-01-01

This paper provides a review of oracy in primary education (5-11) in England. It discusses the nature of talk, acknowledging it as integral to the learning and teaching process and traces the history and development of the place of oracy within the curriculum. The article provides a critique of related policy initiatives including various…

Intelligent Articulated Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyein, Aung Kyaw; Thu, Theint Theint

2008-10-01

In this paper, an articulated type of industrial used robot is discussed. The robot is mainly intended to be used in pick and place operation. It will sense the object at the specified place and move it to a desired location. A peripheral interface controller (PIC16F84A) is used as the main controller of the robot. Infrared LED and IR receiver unit for object detection and 4-bit bidirectional universal shift registers (74LS194) and high current and high voltage Darlington transistors arrays (ULN2003) for driving the arms' motors are used in this robot. The amount of rotation for each arm is regulated by the limit switches. The operation of the robot is very simple but it has the ability of to overcome resetting position after power failure. It can continue its work from the last position before the power is failed without needing to come back to home position.

Challenging fat talk: An experimental investigation of reactions to body disparaging conversations.

PubMed

Ambwani, Suman; Baumgardner, Megan; Guo, Cai; Simms, Lea; Abromowitz, Emily

2017-12-01

Although "fat talk" is associated with increased eating disorder risk, the predictors of fat talk engagement and viable alternatives to these pervasive conversations remain unclear. The current experiment examined responses to fat talk versus feminist-oriented challenging fat talk scenarios. Undergraduate women (N=283) completed baseline questionnaires assessing body dissatisfaction, fat talk engagement, and positive impression management. One week later, they were randomized to view one of the two scenarios, followed by assessment of mood, fat talk engagement, social acceptability, and social likeability. Results indicated that the challenging fat talk vignette (versus the fat talk vignette) yielded less negative affect and fat talk and was perceived as more socially attractive with a more likeable target character. Baseline body dissatisfaction, baseline fat talk tendencies, and momentary negative affect predicted post-exposure fat talk engagement. Current findings highlight possibilities for implementing feminist language and psychoeducation in fat talk prevention efforts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aerospace Medicine Talk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Richard S.

2015-01-01

The presentation is next Sunday, May 10th. It will be to the Civil Aviation Medical Association, for 2 hours at Disney World in Orlando. It is a high level talk on space medicine, including history, the role of my office, human health risks of space flight, general aspects of space medicine practice, human health risk management (including integrated activities of medical operations and the Human Research Program, and thoughts concerning health risks for long duration exploration class space missions. No proprietary data or material will be used, all is readily available in the public sector. There is also a short (30 min) talk on Monday at the CAMA lunch. There we will describe the Visual Impairment and Intracranial Pressure syndrome, with possible etiologies and plans for research (already selected studies). Again, nothing proprietary will be discussed.

Robot Rocket Rally

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two young visitors get an up-close look at an engineering model of Robonaut 2, complete with a set of legs, during the Robot Rocket Rally. The three-day event at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is highlighted by exhibits, games and demonstrations of a variety of robots, with exhibitors ranging from school robotics clubs to veteran NASA scientists and engineers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, left, listens as Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Robotics Resource Center Director and NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge Judge Ken Stafford points out how the robots navigate the playing field during the challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, right, listens as Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Robotics Resource Center Director and NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge Judge Ken Stafford points out how the robots navigate the playing field during the challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

University of Waterloo (Canada) Robotics Team members test their robot on the practice field one day prior to the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge, Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. Teams will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize to build an autonomous robot that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-14

A University of Waterloo Robotics Team member tests their robot on the practice field two days prior to the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge, Thursday, June 14, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. Teams will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize to build an autonomous robot that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Talking about Poetry--Using the Model of Language in Systemic Functional Linguistics to Talk about Poetic Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huisman, Rosemary

2016-01-01

Poetry is the art shaped through language; to talk about a poem we need at least to talk about its language--but what can be said will depend on the particular linguistic theory, with its particular modelling of language, which we bring to the description. This paper outlines the approach of SFL (Systemic Functional Linguistics), describing in…

Design-Oriented Enhanced Robotics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yilmaz, M.; Ozcelik, S.; Yilmazer, N.; Nekovei, R.

2013-01-01

This paper presents an innovative two-course, laboratory-based, and design-oriented robotics educational model. The robotics curriculum exposed senior-level undergraduate students to major robotics concepts, and enhanced the student learning experience in hybrid learning environments by incorporating the IEEE Region-5 annual robotics competition…

A conceptual cognitive architecture for robots to learn behaviors from demonstrations in robotic aid area.

PubMed

Tan, Huan; Liang, Chen

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a conceptual hybrid cognitive architecture for cognitive robots to learn behaviors from demonstrations in robotic aid situations. Unlike the current cognitive architectures, this architecture puts concentration on the requirements of the safety, the interaction, and the non-centralized processing in robotic aid situations. Imitation learning technologies for cognitive robots have been integrated into this architecture for rapidly transferring the knowledge and skills between human teachers and robots.

Survival of falling robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cameron, Jonathan M.; Arkin, Ronald C.

1992-02-01

As mobile robots are used in more uncertain and dangerous environments, it will become important to design them so that they can survive falls. In this paper, we examine a number of mechanisms and strategies that animals use to withstand these potentially catastrophic events and extend them to the design of robots. A brief survey of several aspects of how common cats survive falls provides an understanding of the issues involved in preventing traumatic injury during a falling event. After outlining situations in which robots might fall, a number of factors affecting their survival are described. From this background, several robot design guidelines are derived. These include recommendations for the physical structure of the robot as well as requirements for the robot control architecture. A control architecture is proposed based on reactive control techniques and action-oriented perception that is geared to support this form of survival behavior.

Survival of falling robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cameron, Jonathan M.; Arkin, Ronald C.

1992-01-01

As mobile robots are used in more uncertain and dangerous environments, it will become important to design them so that they can survive falls. In this paper, we examine a number of mechanisms and strategies that animals use to withstand these potentially catastrophic events and extend them to the design of robots. A brief survey of several aspects of how common cats survive falls provides an understanding of the issues involved in preventing traumatic injury during a falling event. After outlining situations in which robots might fall, a number of factors affecting their survival are described. From this background, several robot design guidelines are derived. These include recommendations for the physical structure of the robot as well as requirements for the robot control architecture. A control architecture is proposed based on reactive control techniques and action-oriented perception that is geared to support this form of survival behavior.

Basic Operational Robotics Instructional System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Todd, Brian Keith; Fischer, James; Falgout, Jane; Schweers, John

2013-01-01

The Basic Operational Robotics Instructional System (BORIS) is a six-degree-of-freedom rotational robotic manipulator system simulation used for training of fundamental robotics concepts, with in-line shoulder, offset elbow, and offset wrist. BORIS is used to provide generic robotics training to aerospace professionals including flight crews, flight controllers, and robotics instructors. It uses forward kinematic and inverse kinematic algorithms to simulate joint and end-effector motion, combined with a multibody dynamics model, moving-object contact model, and X-Windows based graphical user interfaces, coordinated in the Trick Simulation modeling environment. The motivation for development of BORIS was the need for a generic system for basic robotics training. Before BORIS, introductory robotics training was done with either the SRMS (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System) or SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) simulations. The unique construction of each of these systems required some specialized training that distracted students from the ideas and goals of the basic robotics instruction.

The Power of Educational Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cummings, Timothy

The purpose of this action research project was to investigate the impact a students' participation in educational robotics has on his or her performance in the STEM subjects. This study attempted to utilize educational robotics as a method for increasing student achievement and engagement in STEM subjects. Over the course of 12 weeks, an after-school robotics program was offered to students. Guided by the standards and principles of VEX IQ, a leading resource in educational robotics, students worked in collaboration on creating a design for their robot, building and testing their robot, and competing in the VEX IQ Crossover Challenge. Student data was gathered through a pre-participation survey, observations from the work they performed in robotics club, their performance in STEM subject classes, and the analysis of their end-of-the-year report card. Results suggest that the students who participate in robotics club experienced a positive impact on their performance in STEM subject classes.

Pediatric robotic urologic surgery-2014

PubMed Central

Kearns, James T.; Gundeti, Mohan S.

2014-01-01

We seek to provide a background of the current state of pediatric urologic surgery including a brief history, procedural outcomes, cost considerations, future directions, and the state of robotic surgery in India. Pediatric robotic urology has been shown to be safe and effective in cases ranging from pyeloplasty to bladder augmentation with continent urinary diversion. Complication rates are in line with other methods of performing the same procedures. The cost of robotic surgery continues to decrease, but setting up pediatric robotic urology programs can be costly in terms of both monetary investment and the training of robotic surgeons. The future directions of robot surgery include instrument and system refinements, augmented reality and haptics, and telesurgery. Given the large number of children in India, there is huge potential for growth of pediatric robotic urology in India. Pediatric robotic urologic surgery has been established as safe and effective, and it will be an important tool in the future of pediatric urologic surgery worldwide. PMID:25197187

When a robot is social: spatial arrangements and multimodal semiotic engagement in the practice of social robotics.

PubMed

Alac, Morana; Movellan, Javier; Tanaka, Fumihide

2011-12-01

Social roboticists design their robots to function as social agents in interaction with humans and other robots. Although we do not deny that the robot's design features are crucial for attaining this aim, we point to the relevance of spatial organization and coordination between the robot and the humans who interact with it. We recover these interactions through an observational study of a social robotics laboratory and examine them by applying a multimodal interactional analysis to two moments of robotics practice. We describe the vital role of roboticists and of the group of preverbal infants, who are involved in a robot's design activity, and we argue that the robot's social character is intrinsically related to the subtleties of human interactional moves in laboratories of social robotics. This human involvement in the robot's social agency is not simply controlled by individual will. Instead, the human-machine couplings are demanded by the situational dynamics in which the robot is lodged.

Referees check robots after qualifying match at regional robotic competition at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Referees check the robots on the floor of the playing field after a qualifying match of the 1999 Southeastern Regional robotic competition at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex . Thirty schools from around the country have converged at KSC for the event that pits gladiator robots against each other in an athletic-style competition. The robots have to retrieve pillow- like disks from the floor, as well as climb onto the platform (with flags) and raise the cache of pillows to a height of eight feet. KSC is hosting the event being sponsored by the nonprofit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, known as FIRST. The FIRST robotics competition is designed to provide students with a hands-on, inside look at engineering and other professional careers.

Robots: An Impact on Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blaesi, LaVon; Maness, Marion

1984-01-01

Provides background information on robotics and robots, considering impact of robots on the workplace and concerns of the work force. Discusses incorporating robotics into the educational system at all levels, exploring industry-education partnerships to fund introduction of new technology into the curriculum. New funding sources and funding…

Robotic Low Ligation of the Inferior Mesenteric Artery for Rectal Cancer Using the Firefly Technique.

PubMed

Bae, Sung Uk; Min, Byung Soh; Kim, Nam Kyu

2015-07-01

By integrating intraoperative near infrared fluorescence imaging into a robotic system, surgeons can identify the vascular anatomy in real-time with the technical advantages of robotics that is useful for meticulous lymphovascular dissection. Herein, we report our initial experience of robotic low ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) with real-time identification of the vascular system for rectal cancer using the Firefly technique. The study group included 11 patients who underwent a robotic total mesorectal excision with preservation of the left colic artery for rectal cancer using the Firefly technique between July 2013 and December 2013. The procedures included five low anterior resections and six ultra-low anterior resections with loop ileostomy. The median total operation time was 327 min (226-490). The low ligation time was 10 min (6-20), and the time interval between indocyanine green injection and division of the sigmoid artery was 5 min (2-8). The estimated blood loss was 200 mL (100-500). The median time to soft diet was 4 days (4-5), and the median length of stay was 7 days (5-9). Three patients developed postoperative complications; one patients developed anal stricture, one developed ileus, and one developed non-complicated intraabdominal fluid collection. The median total number of lymph nodes harvested was 17 (9-29). Robotic low ligation of the IMA with real-time identification of the vascular system for rectal cancer using the Firefly technique is safe and feasible. This technique can allow for precise lymph node dissection along the IMA and facilitate the identification of the left colic branch of the IMA.

Robots are not just tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prescott, Tony J.

2017-04-01

The EPSRC principles of robotics make a number of commitments about the ontological status of robots such as that robots are "just tools" or can give only "an impression or real intelligence". This commentary proposes that this assumes, all too easily, that we know the boundary conditions of future robotics development, and argues that progress towards a more useful set of principles could begin by thinking carefully about the ontological status of robots. Whilst most robots are currently little more than tools, we are entering an era where there will be new kinds of entities that combine some of the properties of tools with psychological capacities that we had previously thought were reserved for complex biological organisms such as humans. The ontological status of robots might be best described as liminal - neither living nor simply mechanical. There is also evidence that people will treat robots as more than just tools regardless of the extent to which their machine nature is transparent. Ethical principles need to be developed that recognise these ontological and psychological issues around the nature of robots and how they are perceived.

Hand-held medical robots.

PubMed

Payne, Christopher J; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2014-08-01

Medical robots have evolved from autonomous systems to tele-operated platforms and mechanically-grounded, cooperatively-controlled robots. Whilst these approaches have seen both commercial and clinical success, uptake of these robots remains moderate because of their high cost, large physical footprint and long setup times. More recently, researchers have moved toward developing hand-held robots that are completely ungrounded and manipulated by surgeons in free space, in a similar manner to how conventional instruments are handled. These devices provide specific functions that assist the surgeon in accomplishing tasks that are otherwise challenging with manual manipulation. Hand-held robots have the advantages of being compact and easily integrated into the normal surgical workflow since there is typically little or no setup time. Hand-held devices can also have a significantly reduced cost to healthcare providers as they do not necessitate the complex, multi degree-of-freedom linkages that grounded robots require. However, the development of such devices is faced with many technical challenges, including miniaturization, cost and sterility, control stability, inertial and gravity compensation and robust instrument tracking. This review presents the emerging technical trends in hand-held medical robots and future development opportunities for promoting their wider clinical uptake.

Future of robotic surgery.

PubMed

Lendvay, Thomas Sean; Hannaford, Blake; Satava, Richard M

2013-01-01

In just over a decade, robotic surgery has penetrated almost every surgical subspecialty and has even replaced some of the most commonly performed open oncologic procedures. The initial reports on patient outcomes yielded mixed results, but as more medical centers develop high-volume robotics programs, outcomes appear comparable if not improved for some applications. There are limitations to the current commercially available system, and new robotic platforms, some designed to compete in the current market and some to address niche surgical considerations, are being developed that will change the robotic landscape in the next decade. Adoption of these new systems will be dependent on overcoming barriers to true telesurgery that range from legal to logistical. As additional surgical disciplines embrace robotics and open surgery continues to be replaced by robotic approaches, it will be imperative that adequate education and training keep pace with technology. Methods to enhance surgical performance in robotics through the use of simulation and telementoring promise to accelerate learning curves and perhaps even improve surgical readiness through brief virtual-reality warm-ups and presurgical rehearsal. All these advances will need to be carefully and rigorously validated through not only patient outcomes, but also cost efficiency.

Toward a framework for levels of robot autonomy in human-robot interaction

PubMed Central

Beer, Jenay M.; Fisk, Arthur D.; Rogers, Wendy A.

2017-01-01

A critical construct related to human-robot interaction (HRI) is autonomy, which varies widely across robot platforms. Levels of robot autonomy (LORA), ranging from teleoperation to fully autonomous systems, influence the way in which humans and robots may interact with one another. Thus, there is a need to understand HRI by identifying variables that influence – and are influenced by – robot autonomy. Our overarching goal is to develop a framework for levels of robot autonomy in HRI. To reach this goal, the framework draws links between HRI and human-automation interaction, a field with a long history of studying and understanding human-related variables. The construct of autonomy is reviewed and redefined within the context of HRI. Additionally, the framework proposes a process for determining a robot’s autonomy level, by categorizing autonomy along a 10-point taxonomy. The framework is intended to be treated as guidelines to determine autonomy, categorize the LORA along a qualitative taxonomy, and consider which HRI variables (e.g., acceptance, situation awareness, reliability) may be influenced by the LORA. PMID:29082107

Human-Robot Planetary Exploration Teams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tyree, Kimberly

2004-01-01

The EVA Robotic Assistant (ERA) project at NASA Johnson Space Center studies human-robot interaction and robotic assistance for future human planetary exploration. Over the past four years, the ERA project has been performing field tests with one or more four-wheeled robotic platforms and one or more space-suited humans. These tests have provided experience in how robots can assist humans, how robots and humans can communicate in remote environments, and what combination of humans and robots works best for different scenarios. The most efficient way to understand what tasks human explorers will actually perform, and how robots can best assist them, is to have human explorers and scientists go and explore in an outdoor, planetary-relevant environment, with robots to demonstrate what they are capable of, and roboticists to observe the results. It can be difficult to have a human expert itemize all the needed tasks required for exploration while sitting in a lab: humans do not always remember all the details, and experts in one arena may not even recognize that the lower level tasks they take for granted may be essential for a roboticist to know about. Field tests thus create conditions that more accurately reveal missing components and invalid assumptions, as well as allow tests and comparisons of new approaches and demonstrations of working systems. We have performed field tests in our local rock yard, in several locations in the Arizona desert, and in the Utah desert. We have tested multiple exploration scenarios, such as geological traverses, cable or solar panel deployments, and science instrument deployments. The configuration of our robot can be changed, based on what equipment is needed for a given scenario, and the sensor mast can even be placed on one of two robot bases, each with different motion capabilities. The software architecture of our robot is also designed to be as modular as possible, to allow for hardware and configuration changes. Two focus

Dynamic photogrammetric calibration of industrial robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maas, Hans-Gerd

1997-07-01

Today's developments in industrial robots focus on aims like gain of flexibility, improvement of the interaction between robots and reduction of down-times. A very important method to achieve these goals are off-line programming techniques. In contrast to conventional teach-in-robot programming techniques, where sequences of actions are defined step-by- step via remote control on the real object, off-line programming techniques design complete robot (inter-)action programs in a CAD/CAM environment. This poses high requirements to the geometric accuracy of a robot. While the repeatability of robot poses in the teach-in mode is often better than 0.1 mm, the absolute pose accuracy potential of industrial robots is usually much worse due to tolerances, eccentricities, elasticities, play, wear-out, load, temperature and insufficient knowledge of model parameters for the transformation from poses into robot axis angles. This fact necessitates robot calibration techniques, including the formulation of a robot model describing kinematics and dynamics of the robot, and a measurement technique to provide reference data. Digital photogrammetry as an accurate, economic technique with realtime potential offers itself for this purpose. The paper analyzes the requirements posed to a measurement technique by industrial robot calibration tasks. After an overview on measurement techniques used for robot calibration purposes in the past, a photogrammetric robot calibration system based on off-the- shelf lowcost hardware components will be shown and results of pilot studies will be discussed. Besides aspects of accuracy, reliability and self-calibration in a fully automatic dynamic photogrammetric system, realtime capabilities are discussed. In the pilot studies, standard deviations of 0.05 - 0.25 mm in the three coordinate directions could be achieved over a robot work range of 1.7 X 1.5 X 1.0 m3. The realtime capabilities of the technique allow to go beyond kinematic robot

Robots As Intentional Agents: Using Neuroscientific Methods to Make Robots Appear More Social.

PubMed

Wiese, Eva; Metta, Giorgio; Wykowska, Agnieszka

2017-01-01

Robots are increasingly envisaged as our future cohabitants. However, while considerable progress has been made in recent years in terms of their technological realization, the ability of robots to interact with humans in an intuitive and social way is still quite limited. An important challenge for social robotics is to determine how to design robots that can perceive the user's needs, feelings, and intentions, and adapt to users over a broad range of cognitive abilities. It is conceivable that if robots were able to adequately demonstrate these skills, humans would eventually accept them as social companions. We argue that the best way to achieve this is using a systematic experimental approach based on behavioral and physiological neuroscience methods such as motion/eye-tracking, electroencephalography, or functional near-infrared spectroscopy embedded in interactive human-robot paradigms. This approach requires understanding how humans interact with each other, how they perform tasks together and how they develop feelings of social connection over time, and using these insights to formulate design principles that make social robots attuned to the workings of the human brain. In this review, we put forward the argument that the likelihood of artificial agents being perceived as social companions can be increased by designing them in a way that they are perceived as intentional agents that activate areas in the human brain involved in social-cognitive processing. We first review literature related to social-cognitive processes and mechanisms involved in human-human interactions, and highlight the importance of perceiving others as intentional agents to activate these social brain areas. We then discuss how attribution of intentionality can positively affect human-robot interaction by (a) fostering feelings of social connection, empathy and prosociality, and by (b) enhancing performance on joint human-robot tasks. Lastly, we describe circumstances under which

Robots As Intentional Agents: Using Neuroscientific Methods to Make Robots Appear More Social

PubMed Central

Wiese, Eva; Metta, Giorgio; Wykowska, Agnieszka

2017-01-01

Robots are increasingly envisaged as our future cohabitants. However, while considerable progress has been made in recent years in terms of their technological realization, the ability of robots to interact with humans in an intuitive and social way is still quite limited. An important challenge for social robotics is to determine how to design robots that can perceive the user’s needs, feelings, and intentions, and adapt to users over a broad range of cognitive abilities. It is conceivable that if robots were able to adequately demonstrate these skills, humans would eventually accept them as social companions. We argue that the best way to achieve this is using a systematic experimental approach based on behavioral and physiological neuroscience methods such as motion/eye-tracking, electroencephalography, or functional near-infrared spectroscopy embedded in interactive human–robot paradigms. This approach requires understanding how humans interact with each other, how they perform tasks together and how they develop feelings of social connection over time, and using these insights to formulate design principles that make social robots attuned to the workings of the human brain. In this review, we put forward the argument that the likelihood of artificial agents being perceived as social companions can be increased by designing them in a way that they are perceived as intentional agents that activate areas in the human brain involved in social-cognitive processing. We first review literature related to social-cognitive processes and mechanisms involved in human–human interactions, and highlight the importance of perceiving others as intentional agents to activate these social brain areas. We then discuss how attribution of intentionality can positively affect human–robot interaction by (a) fostering feelings of social connection, empathy and prosociality, and by (b) enhancing performance on joint human–robot tasks. Lastly, we describe circumstances under

RHOBOT: Radiation hardened robotics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, P.C.; Posey, L.D.

1997-10-01

A survey of robotic applications in radioactive environments has been conducted, and analysis of robotic system components and their response to the varying types and strengths of radiation has been completed. Two specific robotic systems for accident recovery and nuclear fuel movement have been analyzed in detail for radiation hardness. Finally, a general design approach for radiation-hardened robotics systems has been developed and is presented. This report completes this project which was funded under the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.

Robotic liver surgery

PubMed Central

Leung, Universe

2014-01-01

Robotic surgery is an evolving technology that has been successfully applied to a number of surgical specialties, but its use in liver surgery has so far been limited. In this review article we discuss the challenges of minimally invasive liver surgery, the pros and cons of robotics, the evolution of medical robots, and the potentials in applying this technology to liver surgery. The current data in the literature are also presented. PMID:25392840

Ethylene and Hormonal Cross Talk in Vegetative Growth and Development1

PubMed Central

Van de Poel, Bram; Smet, Dajo; Van Der Straeten, Dominique

2015-01-01

Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone that most likely became a functional hormone during the evolution of charophyte green algae, prior to land colonization. From this ancient origin, ethylene evolved into an important growth regulator that is essential for myriad plant developmental processes. In vegetative growth, ethylene appears to have a dual role, stimulating and inhibiting growth, depending on the species, tissue, and cell type, developmental stage, hormonal status, and environmental conditions. Moreover, ethylene signaling and response are part of an intricate network in cross talk with internal and external cues. Besides being a crucial factor in the growth control of roots and shoots, ethylene can promote flowering, fruit ripening and abscission, as well as leaf and petal senescence and abscission and, hence, plays a role in virtually every phase of plant life. Last but not least, together with jasmonates, salicylate, and abscisic acid, ethylene is important in steering stress responses. PMID:26232489

Vulnerable users: deceptive robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, Emily C.

2017-07-01

The Principles of Robotics were outlined by the EPSRC in 2010. They are aimed at regulating robots in the real world. This paper represents a response to principle number four which reads: "Robots are manufactured artefacts. They should not be designed in a deceptive way to exploit vulnerable users; instead their machine nature should be transparent". The following critique questions the principle's validity by asking whether it is correct as a statement about the nature of robots, and the relationship between robots and people. To achieve this, the principle is broken down into the following two main component statements: (1) "Robots should not be designed in a deceptive way to exploit vulnerable users", and, (2) "Machine nature should be transparent". It is argued that both of the component statements that make up this principle are fundamentally flawed because of the undefined nature of the critical terms: "deceptive", "vulnerable", and "machine nature", and that as such the principle as a whole is misleading.

Experiential Learning of Robotics Fundamentals Based on a Case Study of Robot-Assisted Stereotactic Neurosurgery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faria, Carlos; Vale, Carolina; Machado, Toni; Erlhagen, Wolfram; Rito, Manuel; Monteiro, Sérgio; Bicho, Estela

2016-01-01

Robotics has been playing an important role in modern surgery, especially in procedures that require extreme precision, such as neurosurgery. This paper addresses the challenge of teaching robotics to undergraduate engineering students, through an experiential learning project of robotics fundamentals based on a case study of robot-assisted…

GPS Enabled Semi-Autonomous Robot

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

equal and the goal has not yet been reached (i.e., any time the robot has reached a local minimum), and direct the robot to travel in a specific...whether the robot was turning or not. The challenge is overcome by ensuring the robot travels at its maximum speed at all times . Further research into...robot’s fixed reference frame was recalculated each time through the control loop. If the encoder data allows for the robot to appear to have travelled

Medical robotics.

PubMed

Ferrigno, Giancarlo; Baroni, Guido; Casolo, Federico; De Momi, Elena; Gini, Giuseppina; Matteucci, Matteo; Pedrocchi, Alessandra

2011-01-01

Information and communication technology (ICT) and mechatronics play a basic role in medical robotics and computer-aided therapy. In the last three decades, in fact, ICT technology has strongly entered the health-care field, bringing in new techniques to support therapy and rehabilitation. In this frame, medical robotics is an expansion of the service and professional robotics as well as other technologies, as surgical navigation has been introduced especially in minimally invasive surgery. Localization systems also provide treatments in radiotherapy and radiosurgery with high precision. Virtual or augmented reality plays a role for both surgical training and planning and for safe rehabilitation in the first stage of the recovery from neurological diseases. Also, in the chronic phase of motor diseases, robotics helps with special assistive devices and prostheses. Although, in the past, the actual need and advantage of navigation, localization, and robotics in surgery and therapy has been in doubt, today, the availability of better hardware (e.g., microrobots) and more sophisticated algorithms(e.g., machine learning and other cognitive approaches)has largely increased the field of applications of these technologies,making it more likely that, in the near future, their presence will be dramatically increased, taking advantage of the generational change of the end users and the increasing request of quality in health-care delivery and management.

Small Talk: A Big Communicative Function in the Organization?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Deborah Clark

Defining small talk as "superficial talk about matters of little concern," a study examined the role of small talk in the work place. Subjects, 51 white collar workers and clerical employees at three corporations, an Eastern state university, and two small businesses completed a questionnaire concerning the following questions: (1) What…

Robotics in reproductive medicine.

PubMed

Sroga, Julie; Patel, Sejal Dharia; Falcone, Tommaso

2008-01-01

In the past decade, robotic technology has been increasingly incorporated into various industries, including surgery and medicine. This chapter will review the history, development, current applications, and future of robotic technology in reproductive medicine. A literature search was performed for all publications regarding robotic technology in medicine, surgery, reproductive endocrinology, and its role in both surgical education and telepresence surgery. As robotic assisted surgery has emerged, this technology provides a feasible option for minimally invasive surgery, impacts surgical education, and plays a role in telepresence surgery.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from Case Western Reserve University pause with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from The University of Utah pause with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from The University of Alabama pause with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from New York University work on their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from York College CUNY are with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from the University of Arkansas pause with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Toward understanding social cues and signals in human-robot interaction: effects of robot gaze and proxemic behavior.

PubMed

Fiore, Stephen M; Wiltshire, Travis J; Lobato, Emilio J C; Jentsch, Florian G; Huang, Wesley H; Axelrod, Benjamin

2013-01-01

As robots are increasingly deployed in settings requiring social interaction, research is needed to examine the social signals perceived by humans when robots display certain social cues. In this paper, we report a study designed to examine how humans interpret social cues exhibited by robots. We first provide a brief overview of perspectives from social cognition in humans and how these processes are applicable to human-robot interaction (HRI). We then discuss the need to examine the relationship between social cues and signals as a function of the degree to which a robot is perceived as a socially present agent. We describe an experiment in which social cues were manipulated on an iRobot Ava(TM) mobile robotics platform in a hallway navigation scenario. Cues associated with the robot's proxemic behavior were found to significantly affect participant perceptions of the robot's social presence and emotional state while cues associated with the robot's gaze behavior were not found to be significant. Further, regardless of the proxemic behavior, participants attributed more social presence and emotional states to the robot over repeated interactions than when they first interacted with it. Generally, these results indicate the importance for HRI research to consider how social cues expressed by a robot can differentially affect perceptions of the robot's mental states and intentions. The discussion focuses on implications for the design of robotic systems and future directions for research on the relationship between social cues and signals.

Robotic aortic surgery.

PubMed

Duran, Cassidy; Kashef, Elika; El-Sayed, Hosam F; Bismuth, Jean

2011-01-01

Surgical robotics was first utilized to facilitate neurosurgical biopsies in 1985, and it has since found application in orthopedics, urology, gynecology, and cardiothoracic, general, and vascular surgery. Surgical assistance systems provide intelligent, versatile tools that augment the physician's ability to treat patients by eliminating hand tremor and enabling dexterous operation inside the patient's body. Surgical robotics systems have enabled surgeons to treat otherwise untreatable conditions while also reducing morbidity and error rates, shortening operative times, reducing radiation exposure, and improving overall workflow. These capabilities have begun to be realized in two important realms of aortic vascular surgery, namely, flexible robotics for exclusion of complex aortic aneurysms using branched endografts, and robot-assisted laparoscopic aortic surgery for occlusive and aneurysmal disease.

Industrial robots: Handbook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozyrev, Iu. G.

Topics covered include terms, definitions, and classification; operator-directed manipulators; autooperators as used in automated pressure casting; construction and application of industrial robots; and the operating bases of automated systems. Attention is given to adaptive and interactive robots; gripping mechanisms; applications to foundary production, press-forging plants, heat treatment, welding, and assembly operations. A review of design recommendations includes a determination of fundamental structural and technological indicators for industrial robots and a consideration of drive mechanisms.

The Summer Robotic Autonomy Course

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nourbakhsh, Illah R.

2002-01-01

We offered a first Robotic Autonomy course this summer, located at NASA/Ames' new NASA Research Park, for approximately 30 high school students. In this 7-week course, students worked in ten teams to build then program advanced autonomous robots capable of visual processing and high-speed wireless communication. The course made use of challenge-based curricula, culminating each week with a Wednesday Challenge Day and a Friday Exhibition and Contest Day. Robotic Autonomy provided a comprehensive grounding in elementary robotics, including basic electronics, electronics evaluation, microprocessor programming, real-time control, and robot mechanics and kinematics. Our course then continued the educational process by introducing higher-level perception, action and autonomy topics, including teleoperation, visual servoing, intelligent scheduling and planning and cooperative problem-solving. We were able to deliver such a comprehensive, high-level education in robotic autonomy for two reasons. First, the content resulted from close collaboration between the CMU Robotics Institute and researchers in the Information Sciences and Technology Directorate and various education program/project managers at NASA/Ames. This collaboration produced not only educational content, but will also be focal to the conduct of formative and summative evaluations of the course for further refinement. Second, CMU rapid prototyping skills as well as the PI's low-overhead perception and locomotion research projects enabled design and delivery of affordable robot kits with unprecedented sensory- locomotory capability. Each Trikebot robot was capable of both indoor locomotion and high-speed outdoor motion and was equipped with a high-speed vision system coupled to a low-cost pan/tilt head. As planned, follow the completion of Robotic Autonomy, each student took home an autonomous, competent robot. This robot is the student's to keep, as she explores robotics with an extremely capable tool in the

Enabling Interoperable Space Robots With the Joint Technical Architecture for Robotic Systems (JTARS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradley, Arthur; Dubowsky, Steven; Quinn, Roger; Marzwell, Neville

2005-01-01

Robots that operate independently of one another will not be adequate to accomplish the future exploration tasks of long-distance autonomous navigation, habitat construction, resource discovery, and material handling. Such activities will require that systems widely share information, plan and divide complex tasks, share common resources, and physically cooperate to manipulate objects. Recognizing the need for interoperable robots to accomplish the new exploration initiative, NASA s Office of Exploration Systems Research & Technology recently funded the development of the Joint Technical Architecture for Robotic Systems (JTARS). JTARS charter is to identify the interface standards necessary to achieve interoperability among space robots. A JTARS working group (JTARS-WG) has been established comprising recognized leaders in the field of space robotics including representatives from seven NASA centers along with academia and private industry. The working group s early accomplishments include addressing key issues required for interoperability, defining which systems are within the project s scope, and framing the JTARS manuals around classes of robotic systems.

Laboratory systems integration: robotics and automation.

PubMed

Felder, R A

1991-01-01

Robotic technology is going to have a profound impact on the clinical laboratory of the future. Faced with increased pressure to reduce health care spending yet increase services to patients, many laboratories are looking for alternatives to the inflexible or "fixed" automation found in many clinical analyzers. Robots are being examined by many clinical pathologists as an attractive technology which can adapt to the constant changes in laboratory testing. Already, laboratory designs are being altered to accommodate robotics and automated specimen processors. However, the use of robotics and computer intelligence in the clinical laboratory is still in its infancy. Successful examples of robotic automation exist in several laboratories. Investigators have used robots to automate endocrine testing, high performance liquid chromatography, and specimen transportation. Large commercial laboratories are investigating the use of specimen processors which combine the use of fixed automation and robotics. Robotics have also reduced the exposure of medical technologists to specimens infected with viral pathogens. The successful examples of clinical robotics applications were a result of the cooperation of clinical chemists, engineers, and medical technologists. At the University of Virginia we have designed and implemented a robotic critical care laboratory. Initial clinical experience suggests that robotic performance is reliable, however, staff acceptance and utilization requires continuing education. We are also developing a robotic cyclosporine which promises to greatly reduce the labor costs of this analysis. The future will bring lab wide automation that will fully integrate computer artificial intelligence and robotics. Specimens will be transported by mobile robots. Specimen processing, aliquotting, and scheduling will be automated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Frequency and Efficacy of Talk-Related Tasks in Primary Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braund, Martin; Leigh, Joanne

2013-04-01

Pupil talk and discussion are seen as having important social and cognitive outcomes. In science classes, pupils' collaborative talk supports the construction of meaning and helps examine the status of evidence, theory and knowledge. However, pupil interactive talk in groups is rare in science lessons. The research reported is part of a project to increase the amount of pupil-pupil talk in primary schools through a programme of teaching and professional development. Pupils' self-reports of the frequency and learning efficacies of talk related activities in science lessons were collected before and after a programme of teaching in 24 schools in one of the most socially and educationally deprived areas of England. Findings showed pupils valued talking about their ideas over listening to those of other pupils. Science talk frequency (STF) was closely correlated with science talk efficacy (STE) and both were positively correlated with pupils' attitudes to school science. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of the correlation of STF with STE showed values were independent of gender and ability but that school experience was a significant factor. After the teaching programme and, contrary to expectations, the frequency of talk activities in science lessons appeared to have decreased but varied according to class grades. The degree of correlation between STF and STE was stronger after the teaching in over half of the schools. Schools where STF/STE strengthened most as a result of teaching were those involved in an additional initiative to use modelled talk related to industrial contexts.

Measurement of the Robot Motor Capability of a Robot Motor System: A Fitts's-Law-Inspired Approach

PubMed Central

Lin, Hsien-I; George Lee, C. S.

2013-01-01

Robot motor capability is a crucial factor for a robot, because it affects how accurately and rapidly a robot can perform a motion to accomplish a task constrained by spatial and temporal conditions. In this paper, we propose and derive a pseudo-index of motor performance (pIp) to characterize robot motor capability with robot kinematics, dynamics and control taken into consideration. The proposed pIp provides a quantitative measure for a robot with revolute joints, which is inspired from an index of performance in Fitts's law of human skills. Computer simulations and experiments on a PUMA 560 industrial robot were conducted to validate the proposed pIp for performing a motion accurately and rapidly. PMID:23820745

Measurement of the robot motor capability of a robot motor system: a Fitts's-law-inspired approach.

PubMed

Lin, Hsien-I; Lee, C S George

2013-07-02

Robot motor capability is a crucial factor for a robot, because it affects how accurately and rapidly a robot can perform a motion to accomplish a task constrained by spatial and temporal conditions. In this paper, we propose and derive a pseudo-index of motor performance (pIp) to characterize robot motor capability with robot kinematics, dynamics and control taken into consideration. The proposed pIp provides a quantitative measure for a robot with revolute joints, which is inspired from an index of performance in Fitts's law of human skills. Computer simulations and experiments on a PUMA 560 industrial robot were conducted to validate the proposed pIp for performing a motion accurately and rapidly.

Robotics-inspired biology.

PubMed

Gravish, Nick; Lauder, George V

2018-03-29

For centuries, designers and engineers have looked to biology for inspiration. Biologically inspired robots are just one example of the application of knowledge of the natural world to engineering problems. However, recent work by biologists and interdisciplinary teams have flipped this approach, using robots and physical models to set the course for experiments on biological systems and to generate new hypotheses for biological research. We call this approach robotics-inspired biology; it involves performing experiments on robotic systems aimed at the discovery of new biological phenomena or generation of new hypotheses about how organisms function that can then be tested on living organisms. This new and exciting direction has emerged from the extensive use of physical models by biologists and is already making significant advances in the areas of biomechanics, locomotion, neuromechanics and sensorimotor control. Here, we provide an introduction and overview of robotics-inspired biology, describe two case studies and suggest several directions for the future of this exciting new research area. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

A judge for the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge follows a robot on the playing field during the challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Using Human-Machine Teamwork to Perform Disaster Response with a Humanoid Robot

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-01

DARPA ROBOTICS CHALLENGE (DRC) USING HUMAN-MACHINE TEAMWORK TO PERFORM DISASTER RESPONSE WITH A HUMANOID ROBOT FLORIDA INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN AND...AND SUBTITLE DARPA ROBOTICS CHALLENGE (DRC) USING HUMAN-MACHINE TEAMWORK TO PERFORM DISASTER RESPONSE WITH A HUMANOID ROBOT 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER...Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) from 2012-2016 through three phases of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge

Integration of Haptics in Agricultural Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kannan Megalingam, Rajesh; Sreekanth, M. M.; Sivanantham, Vinu; Sai Kumar, K.; Ghanta, Sriharsha; Surya Teja, P.; Reddy, Rajesh G.

2017-08-01

Robots can differentiate with open loop system and closed loop system robots. We face many problems when we do not have a feedback from robots. In this research paper, we are discussing all possibilities to achieve complete closed loop system for Multiple-DOF Robotic Arm, which is used in a coconut tree climbing and cutting robot by introducing a Haptic device. We are working on various sensors like tactile, vibration, force and proximity sensors for getting feedback. For monitoring the robotic arm achieved by graphical user interference software which simulates the working of the robotic arm, send the feedback of all the real time analog values which are produced by various sensors and provide real-time graphs for estimate the efficiency of the Robot.

A three-talk model for shared decision making: multistage consultation process

PubMed Central

Durand, Marie Anne; Song, Julia; Aarts, Johanna; Barr, Paul J; Berger, Zackary; Cochran, Nan; Frosch, Dominick; Galasiński, Dariusz; Gulbrandsen, Pål; Han, Paul K J; Härter, Martin; Kinnersley, Paul; Lloyd, Amy; Mishra, Manish; Perestelo-Perez, Lilisbeth; Scholl, Isabelle; Tomori, Kounosuke; Trevena, Lyndal; Witteman, Holly O; Van der Weijden, Trudy

2017-01-01

Objectives To revise an existing three-talk model for learning how to achieve shared decision making, and to consult with relevant stakeholders to update and obtain wider engagement. Design Multistage consultation process. Setting Key informant group, communities of interest, and survey of clinical specialties. Participants 19 key informants, 153 member responses from multiple communities of interest, and 316 responses to an online survey from medically qualified clinicians from six specialties. Results After extended consultation over three iterations, we revised the three-talk model by making changes to one talk category, adding the need to elicit patient goals, providing a clear set of tasks for each talk category, and adding suggested scripts to illustrate each step. A new three-talk model of shared decision making is proposed, based on “team talk,” “option talk,” and “decision talk,” to depict a process of collaboration and deliberation. Team talk places emphasis on the need to provide support to patients when they are made aware of choices, and to elicit their goals as a means of guiding decision making processes. Option talk refers to the task of comparing alternatives, using risk communication principles. Decision talk refers to the task of arriving at decisions that reflect the informed preferences of patients, guided by the experience and expertise of health professionals. Conclusions The revised three-talk model of shared decision making depicts conversational steps, initiated by providing support when introducing options, followed by strategies to compare and discuss trade-offs, before deliberation based on informed preferences. PMID:29109079

Authority as an Interactional Accomplishment through Whole-Class Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gatto, Lynn Astarita

2012-01-01

Talk is at the heart of classroom instruction and, according to the vast research on classroom talk, the teacher that does most of the talking. Thus, an asymmetry of power is created between teachers and students. These asymmetrical relationships are most obvious in urban elementary classrooms where test prep literacy curriculum has become the…

Talking with Kids: A Parent's Guide to Sex Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National PTA, Chicago, IL.

This guide is designed to help parents determine what is being taught to their children about sex education in school, offering tips on how to talk to children about these issues. The first section presents pointers from the "Talking with Kids" campaign: start early; initiate conversations; talk about sex and relationships; create an open…

Robust Software Architecture for Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aghazanian, Hrand; Baumgartner, Eric; Garrett, Michael

2009-01-01

Robust Real-Time Reconfigurable Robotics Software Architecture (R4SA) is the name of both a software architecture and software that embodies the architecture. The architecture was conceived in the spirit of current practice in designing modular, hard, realtime aerospace systems. The architecture facilitates the integration of new sensory, motor, and control software modules into the software of a given robotic system. R4SA was developed for initial application aboard exploratory mobile robots on Mars, but is adaptable to terrestrial robotic systems, real-time embedded computing systems in general, and robotic toys.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Wunderkammer Laboratory Team leader Jim Rothrock, left, answers questions from 8th grade Sullivan Middle School (Mass.) students about his robot named "Cerberus" on Friday, June 15, 2012, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Rothrock's robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

SpacePRIDE Team members Chris Williamson, right, and Rob Moore, second from right, answer questions from 8th grade Sullivan Middle School (Mass.) students about their robot on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. SpacePRIDE's robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Robot navigation research using the HERMIES mobile robot

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnett, D.L.

1989-01-01

In recent years robot navigation has attracted much attention from researchers around the world. Not only are theoretical studies being simulated on sophisticated computers, but many mobile robots are now used as test vehicles for these theoretical studies. Various algorithms have been perfected for navigation in a known static environment; but navigation in an unknown and dynamic environment poses a much more challenging problem for researchers. Many different methodologies have been developed for autonomous robot navigation, but each methodology is usually restricted to a particular type of environment. One important research focus of the Center for Engineering Systems Advanced researchmore » (CESAR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is autonomous navigation in unknown and dynamic environments using the series of HERMIES mobile robots. The research uses an expert system for high-level planning interfaced with C-coded routines for implementing the plans, and for quick processing of data requested by the expert system. In using this approach, the navigation is not restricted to one methodology since the expert system can activate a rule module for the methodology best suited for the current situation. Rule modules can be added the rule base as they are developed and tested. Modules are being developed or enhanced for navigating from a map, searching for a target, exploring, artificial potential-field navigation, navigation using edge-detection, etc. This paper will report on the various rule modules and methods of navigation in use, or under development at CESAR, using the HERMIES-IIB robot as a testbed. 13 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.« less

National CrossTalk. Volume 18, Number 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2010

2010-01-01

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

National CrossTalk. Volume 17, Number 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trombley, William, Ed.

2009-01-01

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

National CrossTalk. Volume 19, Number 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2011

2011-01-01

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

National CrossTalk. Volume 18, Number 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2010

2010-01-01

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

Environmental restoration and waste management: Robotics technology development program: Robotics 5-year program plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This plan covers robotics Research, Development, Demonstration, Testing and Evaluation activities in the Program for the next five years. These activities range from bench-scale R D to full-scale hot demonstrations at DOE sites. This plan outlines applications of existing technology to near-term needs, the development and application of enhanced technology for longer-term needs, and initiation of advanced technology development to meet those needs beyond the five-year plan. The objective of the Robotic Technology Development Program (RTDP) is to develop and apply robotics technologies that will enable Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (ER WM) operations at DOE sites to be safer,more » faster and cheaper. Five priority DOE sites were visited in March 1990 to identify needs for robotics technology in ER WM operations. This 5-Year Program Plan for the RTDP detailed annual plans for robotics technology development based on identified needs. In July 1990 a forum was held announcing the robotics program. Over 60 organizations (industrial, university, and federal laboratory) made presentations on their robotics capabilities. To stimulate early interactions with the ER WM activities at DOE sites, as well as with the robotics community, the RTDP sponsored four technology demonstrations related to ER WM needs. These demonstrations integrated commercial technology with robotics technology developed by DOE in support of areas such as nuclear reactor maintenance and the civilian reactor waste program. 2 figs.« less

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

First-time participants from Saginaw Valley State University pause with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from York College CUNY make adjustments to their robot miner for its turn in the mining arena on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, inside the RobotPits at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology pause with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Setup

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-14

On the first day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, set-up day on May 14, college team members work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Setup

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-14

On the first day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, set-up day on May 14, team members from Temple University work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from the University of Colorado Boulder work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

The Robotic Decathlon: Project-Based Learning Labs and Curriculum Design for an Introductory Robotics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cappelleri, D. J.; Vitoroulis, N.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a series of novel project-based learning labs for an introductory robotics course that are developed into a semester-long Robotic Decathlon. The last three events of the Robotic Decathlon are used as three final one-week-long project tasks; these replace a previous course project that was a semester-long robotics competition.…

Robots in Space -Psychological Aspects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sipes, Walter E.

2006-01-01

A viewgraph presentation on the psychological aspects of developing robots to perform routine operations associated with monitoring, inspection, maintenance and repair in space is shown. The topics include: 1) Purpose; 2) Vision; 3) Current Robots in Space; 4) Ground Based Robots; 5) AERCam; 6) Rotating Bladder Robot (ROBLR); 7) DART; 8) Robonaut; 9) Full Immersion Telepresence Testbed; 10) ERA; and 11) Psychological Aspects

Cooperative Autonomous Robots for Reconnaissance

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-06

REPORT Cooperative Autonomous Robots for Reconnaissance 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Collaborating mobile robots equipped with WiFi ...Cooperative Autonomous Robots for Reconnaissance Report Title ABSTRACT Collaborating mobile robots equipped with WiFi transceivers are configured as a mobile...equipped with WiFi transceivers are configured as a mobile ad-hoc network. Algorithms are developed to take advantage of the distributed processing

Review of emerging surgical robotic technology.

PubMed

Peters, Brian S; Armijo, Priscila R; Krause, Crystal; Choudhury, Songita A; Oleynikov, Dmitry

2018-04-01

The use of laparoscopic and robotic procedures has increased in general surgery. Minimally invasive robotic surgery has made tremendous progress in a relatively short period of time, realizing improvements for both the patient and surgeon. This has led to an increase in the use and development of robotic devices and platforms for general surgery. The purpose of this review is to explore current and emerging surgical robotic technologies in a growing and dynamic environment of research and development. This review explores medical and surgical robotic endoscopic surgery and peripheral technologies currently available or in development. The devices discussed here are specific to general surgery, including laparoscopy, colonoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and thoracoscopy. Benefits and limitations of each technology were identified and applicable future directions were described. A number of FDA-approved devices and platforms for robotic surgery were reviewed, including the da Vinci Surgical System, Sensei X Robotic Catheter System, FreeHand 1.2, invendoscopy E200 system, Flex® Robotic System, Senhance, ARES, the Single-Port Instrument Delivery Extended Research (SPIDER), and the NeoGuide Colonoscope. Additionally, platforms were reviewed which have not yet obtained FDA approval including MiroSurge, ViaCath System, SPORT™ Surgical System, SurgiBot, Versius Robotic System, Master and Slave Transluminal Endoscopic Robot, Verb Surgical, Miniature In Vivo Robot, and the Einstein Surgical Robot. The use and demand for robotic medical and surgical platforms is increasing and new technologies are continually being developed. New technologies are increasingly implemented to improve on the capabilities of previously established systems. Future studies are needed to further evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each robotic surgical device and platform in the operating suite.

Robot computer problem solving system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merriam, E. W.; Becker, J. D.

1973-01-01

A robot computer problem solving system which represents a robot exploration vehicle in a simulated Mars environment is described. The model exhibits changes and improvements made on a previously designed robot in a city environment. The Martian environment is modeled in Cartesian coordinates; objects are scattered about a plane; arbitrary restrictions on the robot's vision have been removed; and the robot's path contains arbitrary curves. New environmental features, particularly the visual occlusion of objects by other objects, were added to the model. Two different algorithms were developed for computing occlusion. Movement and vision capabilities of the robot were established in the Mars environment, using LISP/FORTRAN interface for computational efficiency. The graphical display program was redesigned to reflect the change to the Mars-like environment.

Walking Robot Locomotion System Conception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ignatova, D.; Abadjieva, E.; Abadjiev, V.; Vatzkitchev, Al.

2014-09-01

This work is a brief analysis on the application and perspective of using the walking robots in different areas in practice. The most common characteristics of walking four legs robots are presented here. The specific features of the applied actuators in walking mechanisms are also shown in the article. The experience of Institute of Mechanics - BAS is illustrated in creation of Spiroid and Helicon1 gears and their assembly in actuation of studied robots. Loading on joints reductors of robot legs is modelled, when the geometrical and the walking parameters of the studied robot are preliminary defined. The obtained results are purposed for designing the control of the loading of reductor type Helicon in the legs of the robot, when it is experimentally tested.

NASA's Intelligent Robotics Group

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-01-06

Shareable video highlighting the Intelligent Robotics Group's 25 years of experience developing tools to allow humans and robots to work as teammates. Highlights the VERVE software, which allows researchers to see a 3D representation of the robot's world and mentions how Nissan is using a version of VERVE in the autonomous vehicle research.

Robotics--The New Silent Majority: Engineering Robot Applications and Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimbler, D. L.

1984-01-01

The impact of robotics in education is discussed in terms of academic assistance to industry in robotics as well as academic problems in handling the demands put upon it. Some potential solutions that can have lasting impact on educational systems are proposed. (JN)

Vision servo of industrial robot: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yujin

2018-04-01

Robot technology has been implemented to various areas of production and life. With the continuous development of robot applications, requirements of the robot are also getting higher and higher. In order to get better perception of the robots, vision sensors have been widely used in industrial robots. In this paper, application directions of industrial robots are reviewed. The development, classification and application of robot vision servo technology are discussed, and the development prospect of industrial robot vision servo technology is proposed.

[Mobile autonomous robots-Possibilities and limits].

PubMed

Maehle, E; Brockmann, W; Walthelm, A

2002-02-01

Besides industrial robots, which today are firmly established in production processes, service robots are becoming more and more important. They shall provide services for humans in different areas of their professional and everyday environment including medicine. Most of these service robots are mobile which requires an intelligent autonomous behaviour. After characterising the different kinds of robots the relevant paradigms of intelligent autonomous behaviour for mobile robots are critically discussed in this paper and illustrated by three concrete examples of robots realized in Lübeck. In addition a short survey of actual kinds of surgical robots as well as an outlook to future developments is given.

Robotic assisted andrological surgery

PubMed Central

Parekattil, Sijo J; Gudeloglu, Ahmet

2013-01-01

The introduction of the operative microscope for andrological surgery in the 1970s provided enhanced magnification and accuracy, unparalleled to any previous visual loop or magnification techniques. This technology revolutionized techniques for microsurgery in andrology. Today, we may be on the verge of a second such revolution by the incorporation of robotic assisted platforms for microsurgery in andrology. Robotic assisted microsurgery is being utilized to a greater degree in andrology and a number of other microsurgical fields, such as ophthalmology, hand surgery, plastics and reconstructive surgery. The potential advantages of robotic assisted platforms include elimination of tremor, improved stability, surgeon ergonomics, scalability of motion, multi-input visual interphases with up to three simultaneous visual views, enhanced magnification, and the ability to manipulate three surgical instruments and cameras simultaneously. This review paper begins with the historical development of robotic microsurgery. It then provides an in-depth presentation of the technique and outcomes of common robotic microsurgical andrological procedures, such as vasectomy reversal, subinguinal varicocelectomy, targeted spermatic cord denervation (for chronic orchialgia) and robotic assisted microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (microTESE). PMID:23241637

Modularity in robotic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tesar, Delbert; Butler, Michael S.

1989-01-01

Most robotic systems today are designed one at a time, at a high cost of time and money. This wasteful approach has been necessary because the industry has not established a foundation for the continued evolution of intelligent machines. The next generation of robots will have to be generic, versatile machines capable of absorbing new technology rapidly and economically. This approach is demonstrated in the success of the personal computer, which can be upgraded or expanded with new software and hardware at virtually every level. Modularity is perceived as a major opportunity to reduce the 6 to 7 year design cycle time now required for new robotic manipulators, greatly increasing the breadth and speed of diffusion of robotic systems in manufacturing. Modularity and its crucial role in the next generation of intelligent machines are the focus of interest. The main advantages that modularity provides are examined; types of modules needed to create a generic robot are discussed. Structural modules designed by the robotics group at the University of Texas at Austin are examined to demonstrate the advantages of modular design.

Talking in Class: Remembering What Is Important about Classroom Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Peter H.; Ivey, Gay; Faulkner, Amy

2012-01-01

The writers describe how apparently ordinary decisions about what to say when talking with children can have substantial effects on their learning and development. The language we use with children influences, among other things, who they think they are, what they think they're doing, the relationships they have with others, the strategic…

Robotics FAQ Index

Science.gov Websites

faqs.org Robotics FAQ Index faqs.org faqs.org - Internet FAQ Archives Robotics FAQ Index [By Updates | Archive Stats | Search | Help] Internet RFC Index Usenet FAQ Index Other FAQs Documents Tools

Training in urological robotic surgery. Future perspectives.

PubMed

El Sherbiny, Ahmed; Eissa, Ahmed; Ghaith, Ahmed; Morini, Elena; Marzotta, Lucilla; Sighinolfi, Maria Chiara; Micali, Salvatore; Bianchi, Giampaolo; Rocco, Bernardo

2018-01-01

As robotics are becoming more integrated into the medical field, robotic training is becoming more crucial in order to overcome the lack of experienced robotic surgeons. However, there are several obstacles facing the development of robotic training programs like the high cost of training and the increased operative time during the initial period of the learning curve, which, in turn increase the operative cost. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy is the most commonly performed robotic surgery. Moreover, robotic surgery is becoming more popular among urologic oncologists and pediatric urologists. The need for a standardized and validated robotic training curriculum was growing along with the increased number of urologic centers and institutes adopting the robotic technology. Robotic training includes proctorship, mentorship or fellowship, telementoring, simulators and video training. In this chapter, we are going to discuss the different training methods, how to evaluate robotic skills, the available robotic training curriculum, and the future perspectives.

Robotic Precursor Missions for Mars Habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntsberger, Terry; Pirjanian, Paolo; Schenker, Paul S.; Trebi-Ollennu, Ashitey; Das, Hari; Joshi, Sajay

2000-01-01

Infrastructure support for robotic colonies, manned Mars habitat, and/or robotic exploration of planetary surfaces will need to rely on the field deployment of multiple robust robots. This support includes such tasks as the deployment and servicing of power systems and ISRU generators, construction of beaconed roadways, and the site preparation and deployment of manned habitat modules. The current level of autonomy of planetary rovers such as Sojourner will need to be greatly enhanced for these types of operations. In addition, single robotic platforms will not be capable of complicated construction scenarios. Precursor robotic missions to Mars that involve teams of multiple cooperating robots to accomplish some of these tasks is a cost effective solution to the possible long timeline necessary for the deployment of a manned habitat. Ongoing work at JPL under the Mars Outpost Program in the area of robot colonies is investigating many of the technology developments necessary for such an ambitious undertaking. Some of the issues that are being addressed include behavior-based control systems for multiple cooperating robots (CAMPOUT), development of autonomous robotic systems for the rescue/repair of trapped or disabled robots, and the design and development of robotic platforms for construction tasks such as material transport and surface clearing.

Robotics in percutaneous cardiovascular interventions.

PubMed

Pourdjabbar, Ali; Ang, Lawrence; Behnamfar, Omid; Patel, Mitul P; Reeves, Ryan R; Campbell, Paul T; Madder, Ryan D; Mahmud, Ehtisham

2017-11-01

The fundamental technique of performing percutaneous cardiovascular (CV) interventions has remained unchanged and requires operators to wear heavy lead aprons to minimize exposure to ionizing radiation. Robotic technology is now being utilized in interventional cardiology partially as a direct result of the increasing appreciation of the long-term occupational hazards of the field. This review was undertaken to report the clinical outcomes of percutaneous robotic coronary and peripheral vascular interventions. Areas covered: A systematic literature review of percutaneous robotic CV interventions was undertaken. The safety and feasibility of percutaneous robotically-assisted CV interventions has been validated in simple to complex coronary disease, and iliofemoral disease. Studies have shown that robotically-assisted PCI significantly reduces operator exposure to harmful ionizing radiation without compromising procedural success or clinical efficacy. In addition to the operator benefits, robotically-assisted intervention has the potential for patient advantages by allowing more accurate lesion length measurement, precise stent placement and lower patient radiation exposure. However, further investigation is required to fully elucidate these potential benefits. Expert commentary: Incremental improvement in robotic technology and telecommunications would enable treatment of an even broader patient population, and potentially provide remote robotic PCI.

Achievement Goals, Motivational Self-Talk, and Academic Engagement among Chinese Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Cen; Shim, Sungok Serena; Wolters, Christopher A.

2017-01-01

The present study investigated the mediating role of motivational self-talk strategies (i.e., mastery self-talk, extrinsic self-talk, and efficacy enhancement self-talk) in the relationships between achievement goals and academic engagement (i.e., involvement, withdrawal in the face of difficulties, avoidance of challenges, and disruptive…

Using insects to drive mobile robots - hybrid robots bridge the gap between biological and artificial systems.

PubMed

Ando, Noriyasu; Kanzaki, Ryohei

2017-09-01

The use of mobile robots is an effective method of validating sensory-motor models of animals in a real environment. The well-identified insect sensory-motor systems have been the major targets for modeling. Furthermore, mobile robots implemented with such insect models attract engineers who aim to avail advantages from organisms. However, directly comparing the robots with real insects is still difficult, even if we successfully model the biological systems, because of the physical differences between them. We developed a hybrid robot to bridge the gap. This hybrid robot is an insect-controlled robot, in which a tethered male silkmoth (Bombyx mori) drives the robot in order to localize an odor source. This robot has the following three advantages: 1) from a biomimetic perspective, the robot enables us to evaluate the potential performance of future insect-mimetic robots; 2) from a biological perspective, the robot enables us to manipulate the closed-loop of an onboard insect for further understanding of its sensory-motor system; and 3) the robot enables comparison with insect models as a reference biological system. In this paper, we review the recent works regarding insect-controlled robots and discuss the significance for both engineering and biology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transoral robotic supraglottic partial laryngectomy.

PubMed

Kayhan, Fatma Tülin; Kaya, Kamil Hakan; Altintas, Ahmet; Sayin, Ibrahim

2014-07-01

Transoral robotic supraglottic laryngectomy is a new surgical way to perform endolaryngeal resection of supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma. The aim of this report was to present our initial experience about transoral robotic supraglottic laryngectomy for early supraglottic cancer. Subjects with early squamous cell carcinoma (T1-T2) of supraglottic region who managed using transoral robotic surgery in a tertiary referral center were included in the study. The technique of robot-assisted resection, intraoperative blood loss, mean robotic operating time, pathologic margin status, postoperative extubation, need for a tracheotomy, and length of hospitalization, complications, duration of oral nutrition, and neck dissection and radiotherapy needs were evaluated. Thirteen subjects (12 men, 1 woman) with T1-T2 supraglottic carcinoma were successfully operated on with transoral robotic surgery. In all subjects, negative margins were obtained. The mean total robotic surgery time was 31.6 (SD, 16.2) minutes (range, 20-80 minutes). Mean total blood loss was less than 40 mL. Subjects started oral nutrition with a mean of 10.8 (SD, 8.9) days (range, 4-30 days) postoperatively. The mean hospitalization was 15.4 (SD, 10.4) days (range, 7-42 days). Transoral robotic supraglottic laryngectomy with the da Vinci robotic system can be regarded as a feasible, safe, and effective technique. Although short-term results seem discouraging, long-term results are needed to evaluate the oncologic safety.

Talking about GI Disorders

MedlinePlus

... Lifestyle Changes Strategies for Improving Bowel Habits Improving Sleep Quality Kids & Dietary Fiber Fruit Juice Surgery Laxatives Living with GI Disorders Talking About GI Disorders Personal Stories Social Security Benefits ...

Student teams maneuver robots in qualifying match at regional robotic competition at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

All four robots, maneuvered by student teams behind protective walls, converge on a corner of the playing field during qualifying matches of the 1999 Southeastern Regional robotic competition at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex . Thirty schools from around the country have converged at KSC for the event that pits gladiator robots against each other in an athletic-style competition. The robots have to retrieve pillow- like disks from the floor, as well as climb onto the platform (with flags) and raise the cache of pillows to a height of eight feet. KSC is hosting the event being sponsored by the nonprofit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, known as FIRST. The FIRST robotics competition is designed to provide students with a hands-on, inside look at engineering and other professional careers.

Insect-controlled Robot: A Mobile Robot Platform to Evaluate the Odor-tracking Capability of an Insect.

PubMed

Ando, Noriyasu; Emoto, Shuhei; Kanzaki, Ryohei

2016-12-19

Robotic odor source localization has been a challenging area and one to which biological knowledge has been expected to contribute, as finding odor sources is an essential task for organism survival. Insects are well-studied organisms with regard to odor tracking, and their behavioral strategies have been applied to mobile robots for evaluation. This "bottom-up" approach is a fundamental way to develop biomimetic robots; however, the biological analyses and the modeling of behavioral mechanisms are still ongoing. Therefore, it is still unknown how such a biological system actually works as the controller of a robotic platform. To answer this question, we have developed an insect-controlled robot in which a male adult silkmoth (Bombyx mori) drives a robot car in response to odor stimuli; this can be regarded as a prototype of a future insect-mimetic robot. In the cockpit of the robot, a tethered silkmoth walked on an air-supported ball and an optical sensor measured the ball rotations. These rotations were translated into the movement of the two-wheeled robot. The advantage of this "hybrid" approach is that experimenters can manipulate any parameter of the robot, which enables the evaluation of the odor-tracking capability of insects and provides useful suggestions for robotic odor-tracking. Furthermore, these manipulations are non-invasive ways to alter the sensory-motor relationship of a pilot insect and will be a useful technique for understanding adaptive behaviors.

Why Robots Should Be Social: Enhancing Machine Learning through Social Human-Robot Interaction

PubMed Central

de Greeff, Joachim; Belpaeme, Tony

2015-01-01

Social learning is a powerful method for cultural propagation of knowledge and skills relying on a complex interplay of learning strategies, social ecology and the human propensity for both learning and tutoring. Social learning has the potential to be an equally potent learning strategy for artificial systems and robots in specific. However, given the complexity and unstructured nature of social learning, implementing social machine learning proves to be a challenging problem. We study one particular aspect of social machine learning: that of offering social cues during the learning interaction. Specifically, we study whether people are sensitive to social cues offered by a learning robot, in a similar way to children’s social bids for tutoring. We use a child-like social robot and a task in which the robot has to learn the meaning of words. For this a simple turn-based interaction is used, based on language games. Two conditions are tested: one in which the robot uses social means to invite a human teacher to provide information based on what the robot requires to fill gaps in its knowledge (i.e. expression of a learning preference); the other in which the robot does not provide social cues to communicate a learning preference. We observe that conveying a learning preference through the use of social cues results in better and faster learning by the robot. People also seem to form a “mental model” of the robot, tailoring the tutoring to the robot’s performance as opposed to using simply random teaching. In addition, the social learning shows a clear gender effect with female participants being responsive to the robot’s bids, while male teachers appear to be less receptive. This work shows how additional social cues in social machine learning can result in people offering better quality learning input to artificial systems, resulting in improved learning performance. PMID:26422143

Experiments in autonomous robotics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamel, W.R.

1987-01-01

The Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) is performing basic research in autonomous robotics for energy-related applications in hazardous environments. The CESAR research agenda includes a strong experimental component to assure practical evaluation of new concepts and theories. An evolutionary sequence of mobile research robots has been planned to support research in robot navigation, world sensing, and object manipulation. A number of experiments have been performed in studying robot navigation and path planning with planar sonar sensing. Future experiments will address more complex tasks involving three-dimensional sensing, dexterous manipulation, and human-scale operations.

Three laws of robotics and surgery.

PubMed

Moran, Michael

2008-08-01

In 1939, Isaac Asimov solidified the modern science fiction genre of robotics in his short story "Strange Playfellow" but altered our thinking about robots in Runaround in 1942 by formulating the Three Laws. He took an engineer's perspective on advanced robotic technologies. Surgical robots by definition violate the first law, yet his discussions are poignant for our understanding of future potential of robotic urologic surgery. We sought to better understand Asimov's visions by reading his fiction and autobiography. We then sought to place his perceptions of science fact next to the Three Laws (he later added a fourth law, the zeroth). Asimov's Three Laws are often quoted in medical journals during discussions about robotic surgery. His First Law states: "A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. " This philosophy would directly conflict with the application in surgery. In fact, most of his robotic stories deal with robots that come into conflicts with the laws. Robots in his cleverly orchestrated works evolve unique solutions to complex hierarchical conflicts with these laws. Asimov anticipated the coming maelstrom of intelligent robotic technologies with prescient unease. Despite his scholarly intuitions, he was able to fathom medical/surgical applications in many of his works. These fictional robotic physicians were able to overcome the first law and aid in the care and management of the sick/injured. Isaac Asimov published over 500 books on topics ranging from Shakespeare to science. Despite his widespread influence, he refused to visit the MIT robotics laboratory to see current, state-of-the-art systems. He managed to lay the foundation of modern robotic control systems with a human-oriented safety mechanism in his laws. "If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them " (I Asimov).

The Level and Quality of Accountability Talk in the Science Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Motlhabane, Abraham

2016-01-01

Teachers are actively encouraged to plan their lessons such that there is maximum classroom talk, namely accountability talk. However, many lessons do not display sufficient accountability talk. This study attempted to better understand the level and quality of accountability talk in six science lessons. The study aimed to provide teachers with…

A project in Zambia: talking to children about AIDS.

PubMed

Baker, K

1988-09-01

Early in 1987, it became clear to this individual that children were a high priority group for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) education. Preparation for providing AIDS education in Zambia included reading as much as possible about AIDS and AIDS education in schools, contacting the Health Education Unit at the Ministry of Health for their permission and advice, and making posters and preparing a list of 10 basic questions about AIDS. The 1st talks were at a boys' technical school and a large girls' day school. Following an introduction of the subject, the format included: a 10-minute quiz with students writing down their answers; a 35-40 minute talk, using posters as visual aids; a 20-30 minute open question time; and a repeat of the same quiz as a form of "posttest." The students responded positively, and there was a substantial increase in the percentage of correct answers after each talk. Subsequently, talks were given in other Lusaka secondary schools. After the 1st few talks, the pretest and posttest was discontinued as it was considered preferable to spend more time answering the students' questions. The talks varied depending on the audience, but posters were always included as visual aids. Initially, this AIDS education effort was voluntary and unfunded. Subsequently, and as the work grew, NORAD funded the project, paying for duplicating and printing as well as a salary on an hourly basis. A booklet on AIDS for secondary schools has been written and duplicated and accepted by the Intersectorial Committee on AIDS Health Education with minor changes. Late in 1987, the booklet was rewritten totally and expanded, with numerous illustrations. Throughout the booklet, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is carefully differentiated from AIDS disease. Talks also have been initiated at the Upper Primary School level. The format has been altered somewhat for these younger children as they tend to be noisy and excited. The primary project planned for 1988 is

Honda humanoid robots development.

PubMed

Hirose, Masato; Ogawa, Kenichi

2007-01-15

Honda has been doing research on robotics since 1986 with a focus upon bipedal walking technology. The research started with straight and static walking of the first prototype two-legged robot. Now, the continuous transition from walking in a straight line to making a turn has been achieved with the latest humanoid robot ASIMO. ASIMO is the most advanced robot of Honda so far in the mechanism and the control system. ASIMO's configuration allows it to operate freely in the human living space. It could be of practical help to humans with its ability of five-finger arms as well as its walking function. The target of further development of ASIMO is to develop a robot to improve life in human society. Much development work will be continued both mechanically and electronically, staying true to Honda's 'challenging spirit'.

Robotic Mining Competition - Setup

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-14

On the first day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, set-up day on May 14, team members from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Setup

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-14

On the first day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, set-up day on May 14, team members from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Setup

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-14

On the first day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, set-up day on May 14, team members from Montana Tech of the University of Montana work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members from the University of Arkansas make adjustments to their robot miner for its turn in the mining arena on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. They are in the RobotPits inside the Educator Resource Center. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Setup

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-14

On the first day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, set-up day on May 14, team members from the Illinois Institute of Technology work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Setup

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-14

On the first day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, set-up day on May 14, team members from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte work on their robot miner in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Martian soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

Team members and their faculty advisor, far left, from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte pause with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Robotic Mining Competition - Activities

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-17

First-time participants from the University of Maine, along with their faculty advisor, at far right, are with their robot miner in the RobotPits on the fourth day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. are using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions.

Survey of robot lawn mowers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hicks, Rob W., II; Hall, Ernest L.

2000-10-01

Lawn mowing is considered by many to be one of the most boring and tiring routine household tasks. It is also one of the most promising personal robot applications. Several devices have not been invented and some manufactured products are available for lawn mowing. The purpose of this paper is to survey the state of the art in robotic lawn mowers to highlight the requirements and capabilities of current devices. A brief survey of available robot products, typical patents and some test bed prototypes are presented. Some enabling technologies which could make the devices more capable are also suggested. Some predictions indicate that the robot lawn mower will be the breakthrough device in robotics. The significance of this research lies in the presentation of an overview of a potential major market for personal robots.

The ROMPS robot in HitchHiker

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voellmer, George