mechatronic robotics

When science imitates nature

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mechatronic robotics

Till now, researchers have developed robots able to hear, to move, to see, to think… Imitating the sense of touch is still a challenge. However, good news come from the research community, as an artificial skin is developed that is capable of feeling pain, heat and pressure like real skin, perfect for prosthetics or robotics.

Unquestionably, the fields of robotics and prosthetics have met great and rapid evolution recently. The latter allow us to imagine of a not so far future where artificial limbs will be completely similar to natural ones, giving hope to disabled people.

One of the inventions made, that could help make this vision a reality is a new skin that developed in the laboratories of RMIT University in Melbourne. The invention has been presented on the pages of Advanced Intelligent Systems journal.

The prototypes produced by the researchers, led by Professor Madhu Bhaskaran, faithfully reproduce the characteristics of the most extensive organ of the human body. Changes in temperature and pressure are “felt” via elastic electronic components. The variation of the electronic parameters is then transmitted to the body that interprets them as tactile sensations, giving the sense of pain.

“We’ve essentially created the first electronic somatosensors replicating the key features of the body’s complex system of neurons, neural pathways and receptors that drive our perception of sensory stimuli” said PhD Ataur Rahman. “While some existing technologies have used electrical signals to mimic different levels of pain, these new devices can react to real mechanical pressure, temperature and pain, and deliver the right electronic response. It means our artificial skin knows the difference between gently touching a pin with your finger or accidentally stabbing yourself with it, a critical distinction that has never been achieved before electronically”.

 

Source: https://www.thepatent.news/2020/09/03/new-electronic-leather-reproduces-touch/

 

Conference as a “one-day MOOC”

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mechatronic, vet, ket, industry 4.0

In the 2020 everything is different. This year on the 23rd of September 2020 the traditional FH JOANNEUM eLearning Day, which has been for 18 years enabling the online community to meet face-to-face once a year locally, will be for the first time held online as a “one-day MOOC”.

The organizers of this year’s event entitled “Innovation & Reflection” Jutta Pauschenwein from ZML-Innovative Learning Scenarios and the organizer Elmar Krainz, degree course “Mobile Software Development” faced the challenge how to transfer the diverse program into  a cool online event. Although the originally planned program cannot be transferred one to one into the online space, the different formats, such as poster presentations, workshops, lectures, etc. will still find their place in this “one-day MOOC” format. All the recent experience of online learning especially intensified due to the last six months of online teaching will be incorporated into the new format of this eLearning Day.

The theme of “innovation and reflection” fits perfectly, because when it comes to developing something new, be it a new course of study, a new course or an app, one should always pause and reflect – what has been learned along the way so far, whether the direction is still right and what will be relevant in the future. Innovation in teaching can be found in the content, the forms of work, the target groups, the programs, and is influenced by reflected handling of media and content, self-reflection and joint reflection in the group of learners.

Expectations and experiences in online learning is the title of the paper authored by Maja Pivec and Anika Kronberger from the Institute of Design and Communication at FH JOANNEUM. The paper will be presented at the E-Learning Day event and published under the OER license.

The paper reports on the research findings from the ongoing project NewMetro and recently finished project Lets Learn Innovative Logistics (LLiL – https://llil.eu/main.php). Striving to improve and optimise a learning platform for innovation designers and innovation executors and to adapt learning content and offered teaching format, an anonymous survey was conducted. The questionnaire on various aspects about online learning brought 192 answers from all over Europe and concluding expectations from students are tabled in this paper.  Furthermore, with the aim to identify competencies needed in the Industry 4.0 companies today and related training needs in the field of mechatronics, a second Europe-wide survey was launched. Based on these results a novel curriculum and flexible learning delivery model is currently under development.

E-Learning Day program can be downloaded here

https://cdn.fh-joanneum.at/media/2020/04/ProgrammELT20_09.07.20.pdf

More Information about the E-Learning Day can be found at:

https://www.fh-joanneum.at/blog/der-e-learning-tag-2020-als-mooc/

https://www.fh-joanneum.at/presse/call-zum-19-e-learning-tag-2020/

Tinsmith(1)

Immersive Job Taste VR apps offer Virtual Internship

by News

Many young people in today’s labor market are out of work, and youth unemployment is a serious problem in many countries. Can virtual reality (VR) help to mitigate this problem? The technology potentially has wider possibilities to engage and be accepted by the youth.

The Virtual Internship project is developing a concept of “Immersive Job Taste”, an interactive VR experience of a workplace that aims to give a feeling of going through an average workday of a professional with elements of basic training. Instead of simply presenting information about jobs and professions, this is directly conveyed by getting the inside experience of being a trainee at a workplace. It is important to note that Immersive Job Taste is different from workplace training as it only provides a ‘peek’ into a certain profession without necessarily covering all the details and specifics.

The main target audiences of the project are young job seekers who can be aided in selecting a career path at school or a welfare center, choosing the first or a new occupation, often after a period of being unemployed. 

The catalogue of the Immersive Job Taste apps includes VR experiences of a wind turbine electrician, car mechanic, road construction worker, fishery worker, and tinsmith. Each VR app includes such components as a presentation of a workplace, several typical tasks, feedback on performance, gamification, and advice on applying for jobs in the specific industry.

The project is implemented by a partnership between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration. The scenarios and the typical workplace tasks for each profession are being developed in collaboration with local industry and professional societies. The virtual internship apps and room-scale VR equipment have been installed and used in a test mode at selected career centers in Norway since 2019.

For more information see:
https://www.ntnu.edu/imtel/virtual-internship

https://news.media-and-learning.eu/type/featured-articles/vr-facilitating-youth-employment/

KYTION: Precision agriculture with a robot’s help

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It is an aerial system suitable for use in open and greenhouse crops.

Two graduate electrical engineers from the University of Patras, Dionysios Bitas and Nikos – Kyriakos Papastavros, wanted to provide solution to problems of agriculture, creating a robotic system of Precision agriculture, named KYTION, which means box.

KYTION is an aerial system for measuring microclimate conditions and disease prediction, suitable for use in open and greenhouse crops and is addressed to producers, agronomists and agricultural consultants, who want to improve the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the crop.

It replaces the expensive and hard to install grid sensors with a small “box”, which can manage the irrigation and the hydro-lubrication using neural networks. It offers spectroscopic disease prediction and performs useful telemetry. Among others it collects, manages and evaluates data through a graphical environment, which use does not require special technological knowledge.

The quality and quantity of production increases, while improving the income of its users, whilst the engagement time of the grower is reduced.

Source: https://www.in.gr/2020/08/21/plus/ta-nea-tis-agoras/kytion-georgia-akriveias-ti-voitheia-enos-rompot/