Case Studies & Research Papers

A Soft Variable Stiffness Gripper with Magneto-rheological Fluids for Robust and Reliable Grasping

Extract: “This letter describes a new type of soft robotic grippers with variable stiffness to grasp efficiently a wide variety of objects. The gripper includes two sections, a pneumatic chamber for actuation and a tipping section for adjusting stiffness and shape adaptation. The tipping section consists of Magneto-rheological (MR) fluid, a magnetic source, and a tactile sensor….”

Authors: A. Pagoli, M. Alkhatib and Y. Mezouar

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 4519-4526

Published Date: May 2024

 

Soft Robotic Glove Modulating Joint Torque Through Novel Passive Extensor Mechanisms

Extract: “Soft robotic gloves have been widely researched to enhance the quality of life of people who cannot use their hands freely. Despite significant advancements in this field, most existing solutions have not adequately addressed adaptability to various individuals and tasks. Our robot overcomes these challenges through a novel passive extension mechanism, which enables adjustment of assistance torque for each finger joint adequately to various situations….”

Authors: H. Choi, K. B. Kim, S. Cheon, J. -H. Shin and K. -J. Cho

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 3227-3234

Published Date: April 2024

The influence of eyelid pressure and eye contour factors on rigid corneal contact lens fitting

Extract: “This study aimed to investigate the impact of eyelid pressure (ELP) and eye contour factors on rigid corneal contact lens fitting.”

Authors: Hongqing Ma, Meng Lin, Jian Zhao, Yijie Xu, Lijie Miao, Xueli Shao, Zhiqiang Xu, Jia Qu, Fan Lu, Liang Hu

PPS Sensor Used: Digitact

Publication: Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, Volume 47, Issue 2, 2024, 102120, ISSN 1367-0484

Published Date: April 2024

Modelling of Modular Soft Robots: From a Single to Multiple Building Blocks

Extract: “Despite the advances in soft robots, their modelling is still one of the research challenges due to the complexity and non-linearity of their soft nature. A novel design of reconfigurable soft robots was recently introduced to bring more maturity to the field of soft robots. Here, a modelling study of the building blocks and the assembled soft robot is developed for a deeper understanding of the system and for predicting their behaviours….”

Authors: Mohamed G.B. Atia, Abdelkhalick Mohammad, Andres Gameros, Dragos Axinte, Iain Wright

Publication: Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Volume 174, 104622, 2024, 104622, ISSN 0921-8890

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Published Date: April 2024

Objective Evaluation of Pulse Width Using an Array Pulse Diagram

Extract: “Pulse width, which can reflect qi, blood excess, and deficiency, has been used for diagnosing diseases and determining the prognosis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This study aimed to devise an objective method to measure the pulse width based on an array pulse diagram for objective diagnosis...”

Authors: Bi Z-J, Cui J, Yao X-H

PPS Sensor Used: Digitact

Publication: Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine. 2024;29.

Published Date: March 2024

Skin-Inspired Triple Tactile Sensors Integrated on Robotic Fingers for Bimanual Manipulation in Human-Cyber-Physical Systems

Extract: “Collaborative robots are predicted to interact physically with humans in human-cyber-physical systems (HCPSs). Robotic hands are able to record force and temperature simultaneously through soft and conformable sensors applied over finger surfaces and conforming to the complex curved geometries of automatic machines with tactile perception....”

Authors: S. Zhao, Z. Li, H. Xia and R. Cui

PPS Sensor Used: FingerTPSII

Publication: IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 10.1109/TASE.2023.3320710

Published Date: October 2023

Development of a novel wrist pulse system for early diagnosis of pathogenic bacterial infections using optimized feature selection with machine learning approaches

Extract: “Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and urinary tract infections (UTI) are two Pathogenic bacterial infections. PID affects the female reproductive system, whereas UTI affects the urine system. Females are more vulnerable to both forms of illnesses and challenging to detect simultaneously due to similar symptoms. Many Clinical procedures have previously been used to diagnose the diseases, but they are painful, costly, prone to radiation, and invasive…”

Authors: Sachin Kumar, Karan Veer, Sanjeev Kumar

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, Volume 87, Part B, 2024, 105503, ISSN 1746-8094

Published Date: October 2023

Interpretable and accurate curve-fitting method for arterial pulse wave modeling and decomposition

Extract: “Arterial pulse waveforms contain a wealth of information about the cardiovascular system. There is a lack of physical meaning in the mathematical model of arterial pulse waves, while the physical model fails to offer individuality as too many assumptions are involved. In this article, we focus on promoting the interpretability of the arterial pulse mathematical model…”

Authors: Zhendong Chen, Bo Peng, Yuqi Zhou, Yinan Hao, Xiaohua Xie

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray

Publication: Internation Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering 2023; 39(12):e3775

Published Date: September 2023

Tactile Gloves Predict Load Weight During Lifting With Deep Neural Networks

Extract: “Overexertion in lifting tasks is one of the leading causes of occupational injuries. The load weight is the key information required to evaluate the risk of a lifting task. However, weight varies across different objects and is unknown in many circumstances. Existing methods of estimating the load weight without manual weighing focused on analyzing body kinematics or muscle activations, which either utilize indirect indicators or require intrusive sensors. This study proposed using tactile gloves as a new modality to predict the load weight…”

Authors: G. Zhou, M. -L. Lu and D. Yu

PPS Sensor Used: TactileGlove

Publication: IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 23, no. 16, pp. 18798-18809

Published Date: August 2023

Automotive Aerodynamics Sensing Using Low-Profile Pressure Sensor Strip

Extract: “Measuring aerodynamics is crucial in the automotive industry as it helps engineers to optimize designs to improve vehicles' stability and performance. Pressure sensors are widely used to measure aerodynamics. The sensors measure the pressure differences around the vehicle, as well as the pressure distribution around it. These measurements can help to determine the aerodynamic drag and lift forces acting upon the vehicle…”

Authors: Dayi Zhang, Senthilkumar Subramanian, Rory Hampson, William Jackson, Konstantinos Kontis

PPS Sensor Used: Aerostrip

Publication: IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, vol. 72, pp. 1-9, 2023, Art no. 2005809

Published Date: July 2023

Measures of Maximal Tactile Pressures during a Sustained Grasp Task Using a TactArray Device Have Satisfactory Reliability and Concurrent Validity in People with Stroke

Extract: “Sensor-based devices can record pressure or force over time during grasping and therefore offer a more comprehensive approach to quantifying grip strength during sustained contractions. The objectives of this study were to investigate the reliability and concurrent validity of measures of maximal tactile pressures and forces during a sustained grasp task using a TactArray device in people with stroke…”

Authors: Urvashy Gopaul, Derek Laver, Leeanne Carey, Thomas Matyas, Paulette van Vliet, and Robin Callister.

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray

Publication: Sensors. 2023; 23(6):3291

Published Date: March 2023

Identification of Adaptive Driving Style Preference through Implicit Inputs in SAE L2 Vehicles

Extract: “key factor to optimal acceptance and comfort of automated vehicle features is the driving style. Mismatches between the automated and the driver preferred driving styles can make users take over more frequently or even disable the automation features. This work proposes identification of user driving style preference with multimodal signals, so the vehicle could match user preference in a continuous and automatic way…”

Authors: Zhaobo Zheng, Kumar Akash, Teruhisa Misu, Vidya Krishnamoorthy, Miaomiao Dong, Yuni Lee, and Gaojian Huang

PPS Sensor Used: TactileGlove

Publication: In Proceedings of the 2022 International Conference on Multimodal Interaction (ICMI '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 468–475.

Published Date: November 2022

2D effect of static or rolling load on a granular platform above a soft soil reinforced by rigid inclusions

Extract: “The effect of static or rolling loads on a thin load transfer platform installed on a soft soil reinforced by rigid inclusions is investigated in a 2D geometry. The centrifuge model, scaled at 1/10th , consists of a sandy layer, an analog polystyrene soft soil and spaced vertical metal plates. A strongbox with a transparent face allows image analysis during loading. At a g-level of 10, this model was subjected to static vertical loading of a shallow foundation, and to mobile loading. Few round-trip cycles were carried out to simulate linear traffic…”

Authors: T. Dubreucq, L. Thorel, S. Lerat, A. Jagu & A. Néel

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray

Publication: 10th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics 2022 (ICPMG2022)

Published Date: September 2022

Understanding Embodiment: Connecting Ownership, Agency, and Peripersonal Space

Authors: Patrick Hau Don Trieu, Advisor(s): Jonathon Schofield

Extract: “Recent advances have allowed robotic prostheses to become increasingly sophisticated in the movements they perform and the functions they offer. However, these devices are still perceived by users as separate machines, rather than true limb replacements. Therefore, an important next step in the evolution of robotic prosthesis is to promote the sense that they are a part of the body. Here, the concept of embodiment represents a cognitive connection between the patient and their prosthesis…”

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: UC Davis. ProQuest ID: Trieu_ucdavis_0029M_21901. Merritt ID: ark:/13030/m5xm6cb8

Published Date: 2022

Visual 3D Perception for Interactive Robotic Tactile Data Acquisition

Extract: “In this paper, we present a novel approach for tactile saliency computation on 3D point clouds of unseen object instances, where we define salient points as those that provide informative tactile sensory information with robotic interaction. Our intuition is that the local 3D surface geometries of objects contain characteristic information both in terms of texture and shape which can provide important discriminating information for tactile interactions…”

Authors: Siddarth Jain, Radu Corcodel, Jeroen Baar

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray

Publication: IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE)

Published Date: August 2021

Measurement and Assessment of Touch Skills during Dementia Care Movements Using Tactile Gloves

Authors: Daiji Inoue, Qi An, Shoko Miyauchi, Akihiro Kawamura and Ryo Kurazume

Extract: “Humanitude is a dementia care technique and have attracted attention as a gentle care in recent years. To clarify touch skills in Humanitude, we measure the pressure distribution of a caregiver’s palm during care motions using tactile gloves, and apply LSTM to the time series pressure distribution to develop an assessment system for touch skills…”

PPS Sensor Used: TactileGlove

Publication: The 21st System Integration Division Lecture Meeting (SI2020)

Published Date: December 2020

Effect of Contacting Surface on the Performance of Thin-Film Force and Pressure Sensors

Authors: Tang, Ka Po Maggie, Kit Lun Yick, Pui Ling Li, Joanne Yip, King Hei Or, and Kam Hong Chau

Extract: “Flexible force and pressure sensors are important for assessing the wear comfort of tightly fitting apparel. Their accuracy and repeatability depend on the sensor itself and the contacting surface. Measurements of the contact pressure on soft surfaces like human skin tend to be erroneous, which could be due to incorrect sensor calibrations. This study aims to examine the effects of human body parameters such as the hardness and temperature of the contacting surface by using a custom-made calibration setup and investigating the incorporation of rigid discs on the sensor surface…”

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: Sensors 20, no. 23: 6863

Published Date: 2020

Development of a Novel Finger-Trigger Interface for Trigger Pull Measurement

Authors: Mohamed G.B. Atia, Abdelkhalick Mohammad, Andres Gameros, Dragos Axinte, Iain Wright

Extract: “Trigger pull is the force that needs to be exerted on the trigger to discharge a firearm. The measurement of trigger pull can assist in the evaluation of the safety, function, and manufacturing characteristics associated with a firearm during the forensic firearm examination process. Nonetheless, the accuracy and uncertainty of trigger pull measurements may be affected by the measuring device, test procedure, and environmental conditions. In this work, an innovative finger-trigger interface device was developed to facilitate accurate trigger pull measurements…”

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: Journal of Forensic Sciences, 65: 1954-1960

Published Date: August 2020

Clinical Utility of Pressure Feedback to Socket Design and Fabrication

Authors: Armitage L, Buller A, Rajan G, Prusty G, Simmons A, Kark L.

Extract: “The clinical utility of measuring pressure at the prosthetic socket-residual limb interface is currently unknown. This study aimed to identify whether measuring interface pressure during prosthetic design and fabrication results in closer agreement in pressure measurements between sockets made by different clinicians, and a reduction in pressure over areas of concern. It also investigated whether clinicians value knowing the interface pressure during the fabrication process…”

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: Prosthetics and Orthotics International. 2020;44(1):18-26.

Published Date: February 2020

Development and Testing of a Prototype for 3D Radial Pulse Image Measurement and Compatible With 1D Pulse Wave Analysis

Authors: B. Peng, C. -H. Luo, W. Y. Chan, M. -D. Shieh, C. -J. Su and C. -C. Ta

Extract: “This study proposes the prototype of a wrist pulse acquisition device with three-dimensional pulse image (3DPI) obtained at the radial artery. The proposed prototype is designed with mechanical and electronic circuit hardware as well as the control and data acquisition software to have fourteen degrees of movement freedom against the sophisticated geometry of the wrist radial artery for accurate pulse-taking. Three robot fingers with nine degrees of movement freedom and a wrist fixer with two degrees of rotation freedom and one degree of manual movement freedom are designed to mimic the fine pulse-taking skill of a Chinese medicine physician…”

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray

Publication: IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 182846-182859, 2019

Published Date: December 2019

An evaluation of the contact forces on the fingers when squeezing a spherical rehabilitation ball

Authors: John Wu, Erik Sinsel, Christopher Warren, Daniel Welcome

Extract: “The rehabilitation squeeze ball is a popular device to help strengthen the hand, fingers and forearm muscles. The distributions of the contact pressure in the interface between the therapy ball and hand/fingers can affect the joint moment of each of the individual fingers, thereby affecting rehabilitation effects. In the current study, we evaluated the contact force distributions on the fingers when gripping a spherical object…”

PPS Sensor Used: FingerTPSII

Publication: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 629-639, 2018

Published Date: October 2018

Design and Integration of an Inexpensive Wearable Mechanotactile Feedback System for Myoelectric Prostheses

Authors: Schoepp KR, Dawson MR, Schofield JS, Carey JP, Hebert JS

Extract: “The aim of this paper was to demonstrate the functionality of an inexpensive mechanotactile sensory feedback system for transhumeral myoelectric prostheses. We summarize the development of a tactile-integrated prosthesis…”

PPS Sensor Used: SingleTact

Publication: IEEE J Transl Eng Health Med. 2018;6:2100711

Published Date: August 2018

Pressure Sensor: State of the Art, Design, and Application for Robotic Hand

Authors: Ahmed M. Almassri, W. Z. Wan Hasan, S. A. Ahmad, A. J. Ishak, A. M. Ghazali, D. N. Talib, Chikamune Wada

Extract: “We survey the state of the art in a variety of force sensors for designing and application of robotic hand. Most of the force sensors are examined based on tactile sensing. For a decade, many papers have widely discussed various sensor technologies and transducer methods which are based on microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and silicon used for improving the accuracy and performance measurement of tactile sensing capabilities especially for robotic hand applications…”

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray in Robotics

Publication: Journal of Sensors, vol. 2015, Article ID 846487, 12 pages

Published Date: July 2015

Control Framework for Dexterous Manipulation Using Dynamic Visual Servoing and Tactile Sensors’ Feedback

Authors: Jara CA, Pomares J, Candelas FA, Torres F

Extract: “Tactile sensors play an important role in robotics manipulation to perform dexterous and complex tasks. This paper presents a novel control framework to perform dexterous manipulation with multi-fingered robotic hands using feedback data from tactile and visual sensors. This control framework permits the definition of new visual controllers which allow the path tracking of the object motion taking into account both the dynamics model of the robot hand and the grasping force of the fingertips under a hybrid control scheme.”

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray in Robotics

Publication: Sensors. 2014; 14(1):1787-1804

Published Date: December 2014

Performance Analysis of Object Shape Classification and Matching from Tactile Images Using Wavelet Energy Features

Authors: Shreyasi Datta, Anwesha Khasnobish, Amit Konar, D.N. Tibarewala, R. Janarthanan

Extract: “Tactile images while grasping objects are acquired and wavelet based features are extracted for matching and classification. The performance of matching and classification is evaluated in terms of matching rate and classification accuracy along with the computation times. This comparison will help in determining the applicability of classification or matching in future works including real time applications...”

PPS Sensor Used: TactArray

Publication: Procedia Technology, Volume 10, 2013, Pages 805-812

Published Date: December 2013