Recent Advances in Bipedal Walking Robots: Review of Gait, Drive, Sensors and Control Systems.

Currently, there is an intensive development of bipedal walking robots. The most known solutions are based on the use of the principles of human gait created in nature during evolution. Modernbipedal robots are also based on the locomotion manners of birds. This review presents the current state of the art of bipedal walking robots based on natural bipedal movements (human and bird) as well as on innovative synthetic solutions. Firstly, an overview of the scientific analysis of human gait is provided as a basis for the design of bipedal robots. The full human gait cycle that consists of two main phases is analysed and the attention is paid to the problem of balance and stability, especially in the single support phase when the bipedal movement is unstable. The influences of passive or active gait on energy demand are also discussed. Most studies are explored based on the zero moment. Furthermore, a review of the knowledge on the specific locomotor characteristics of birds, whose kinematics are derived from dinosaurs and provide them with both walking and running abilities, is presented. Secondly, many types of bipedal robot solutions are reviewed, which include nature-inspired robots (human-like and birdlike robots) and innovative robots using new heuristic, synthetic ideas for locomotion. Totally 45 robotic solutions are gathered by thebibliographic search method. Atlas was mentioned as one of the most perfect human-like robots, while the birdlike robot cases were Cassie and Digit. Innovative robots are presented, such asslider robot without knees, robots with rotating feet (3 and 4 degrees of freedom), and the hybrid robot Leo, which can walk on surfaces and fly. In particular, the paper describes in detail the robots' propulsion systems (electric, hydraulic), the structure of the lower limb (serial, parallel, mixed mechanisms), the types and structures of control and sensor systems, and the energy efficiency of the robots. Terrain roughness recognition systems using different sensor systems based on light detection and ranging or multiple cameras are introduced. A comparison of performance, control and sensor systems, drive systems, and achievements of known human-like and birdlike robots is provided. Thirdly, for the first time, the review comments on the future of bipedal robots in relation to the concepts of conventional (natural bipedal) and synthetic unconventional gait. We critically assess and compare prospective directions for further research that involve the development of navigation systems, artificial intelligence, collaboration with humans, areas for the development of bipedal robot applications in everyday life, therapy, and industry.

Cubic Lattice Structures of Ti6Al4V under Compressive Loading: Towards Assessing the Performance for Hard Tissue Implants Alternative.

Porous Lattice Structure (PLS) scaffolds have shown potential applications in the biomedical domain. These implants' structural designs can attain compatibility mechanobiologically, thereby avoiding challenges related to the stress shielding effect. Different unit cell structures have been explored with limited work on the fabrication and characterization of titanium-based PLS with cubic unit cell structures. Hence, in the present paper, Ti6Al4V (Ti64) cubic PLS scaffolds were analysed by finite element (FE) analysis and fabricated using selective laser melting (SLM) technique. PLS of the rectangular shape of width 10 mm and height 15 mm (ISO: 13314) with an average pore size of 600-1000 µm and structure porosity percentage of 40-70 were obtained. It has been found that the maximum ultimate compressive strength was found to be 119 MPa of PLS with a pore size of 600 µm and an overall relative density (RD) of 57%. Additionally, the structure's failure begins from the micro-porosity formed during the fabrication process due to the improper melting along a plane inclined at 45 degree.

Extrusion-Based 3D Printing of Ceramic Pastes: Mathematical Modeling and In Situ Shaping Retention Approach.

Extrusion-based three-dimensional (3D) printing methods are preferred and emerging approaches for freely digital fabrication of ceramics due to ease of use, low investment, high utilization of materials, and good adaptability to multi-materials. However, systematic knowledge still lacks an explanation for what is their 3D printability. Moreover, some uncontrollable factors including extrudate shape retention and nonuniform drying inevitably limit their industrial applications. The purpose of this research was to present a new shaping retention method based on mathematical synthesis modeling for extrusion-based 3D-printing of ceramic pastes. Firstly, the steady-state equilibrium equation of the extrusion process was derived to provide clearer theoretical indications than purely experimental methods. Furthermore, a mathematical description framework was synthesized to better understand the extrusion-based 3D-printing of ceramic pastes from several realms: pastes rheology, extrudability, shape-holdability, and drying kinetics. Secondly, for eliminating shaping drawbacks (e.g., deformation and cracks) originating from non-digital control factors, we put forward a digital shape-retention technology inspired by the generalized drying kinetics of porous materials, which was different from existing retention solutions, e.g., freezing retention, thermally induced gelation, and using removable support structures. In addition, we developed an in situ hot air flow drying device easily attached to the nozzle of existing 3D printers. Confirmatory 3D-printing experiments of thin-walled cone-shape benchmark parts and the fire arrowhead-like object clearly demonstrated that the presented shape-retention method not only upgraded layer-by-layer forming capability but also enabled digital control of extrudate solidification. In addition, many more experimental results statistically showed that both fully solid parts and purely thin-wall parts had higher dimensional accuracy and better surface quality than the offline drying method. The 3D printed ceramic products with complex profiled surfaces conceivably demonstrated that our improved extrusion-based 3D-printing process of ceramic pastes has game-changing potentials beyond the traditional craftsmanship capacity.

Between-the-Holes Cryogenic Cooling of the Tool in Hole-Making of Ti-6Al-4V and CFRP.

Lightweight materials are finding plentiful applications in various engineering sectors due to their high strength-to-weight ratios. Hole-making is an inevitable requirement for their structural applications, which is often marred by thermal damages of the drill causing unacceptable shortening of tool life. Efficient cooling of the tool is a prime requirement for enhancing the process viability. The current work presents a novel technique of cooling only the twist drill between drilling of holes with no effect of the applied cryogenic coolant transferred to the work material. The technique is applied in the drilling of two commonly used high-strength lightweight materials: carbon fibers reinforced polymer (CFRP) and an alloy of titanium (Ti-6Al-4V). The efficacy of the cooling approach is compared with those of conventionally applied continuous cryogenic cooling and no-cooling. The effectiveness is quantified in terms of tool wear, thrust force, hole quality, specific cutting energy, productivity, and consumption of the cryogenic fluid. The experimental work leads to a finding that between-the-holes cryogenic cooling possesses a rich potential in curbing tool wear, reducing thrust force and specific energy consumption, and improving hole quality in drilling of CFRP. Regarding the titanium alloy, it yields a much better surface finish and lesser consumption of specific cutting energy.

Performance Assessment of Minimum Quantity Castor-Palm Oil Mixtures in Hard-Milling Operation.

The necessity to progress towards sustainability has inspired modern researchers to examine the lubrication and cooling effects of vegetable oils on conventional metal cutting operations. Consequently, as an eco-friendly vegetable product, castor oil can be the right choice as Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) base fluid. Nonetheless, the high viscosity of castor oil limits its flowability and restricts its industrial application. Conversely, palm oil possesses superior lubricity, as well as flowability characteristics. Hence, an attempt has been made to improve the lubrication behavior of castor oil. Here, six castor-palm mixtures (varying from 1:0.5-1:3) were utilized as MQL-fluid, and the values of machining responses viz. average surface roughness, specific cutting energy, and tool wear were evaluated. Furthermore, an integrated Shannon's Entropy-based Technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) framework was employed for selecting the most suitable volume ratio of castor-palm oil mixture. The rank provided by the TOPSIS method confirmed that 1:2 was the best volume ratio for castor-palm oil mixture. Afterward, a comparative analysis demonstrated that the best castor-palm volume fraction resulted in 8.262 and 16.146% lowering of surface roughness, 5.459 and 7.971% decrement of specific cutting energy, 2.445 and 3.155% drop in tool wear compared to that of castor and palm oil medium, respectively.

A Review of Indirect Tool Condition Monitoring Systems and Decision-Making Methods in Turning: Critical Analysis and Trends.

The complex structure of turning aggravates obtaining the desired results in terms of tool wear and surface roughness. The existence of high temperature and pressure make difficult to reach and observe the cutting area. In-direct tool condition, monitoring systems provide tracking the condition of cutting tool via several released or converted energy types, namely, heat, acoustic emission, vibration, cutting forces and motor current. Tool wear inevitably progresses during metal cutting and has a relationship with these energy types. Indirect tool condition monitoring systems use sensors situated around the cutting area to state the wear condition of the cutting tool without intervention to cutting zone. In this study, sensors mostly used in indirect tool condition monitoring systems and their correlations between tool wear are reviewed to summarize the literature survey in this field for the last two decades. The reviews about tool condition monitoring systems in turning are very limited, and relationship between measured variables such as tool wear and vibration require a detailed analysis. In this work, the main aim is to discuss the effect of sensorial data on tool wear by considering previous published papers. As a computer aided electronic and mechanical support system, tool condition monitoring paves the way for machining industry and the future and development of Industry 4.0.

High-Accuracy 3D Optical Profilometry for Analysis of Surface Condition of Modern Circulated Coins.

The article shows that noncontact measurement techniques can be an important support to X-ray-based methods when examining the surface condition of modern circulated coins. The forms and degrees of wear of such coins, affecting their utility values, qualifying them as a legal tender in a given country, can be measured and analyzed, among other things, using advanced high-accuracy optical profilometry methods. The authors presented four analyses carried out for reverses and obverses of round coins (1 zloty, 1 franc, 50 bani, 5 pens) characterized by different degrees of surface wear. All of the coins were measured using 3D optical profilometers (Talysurf CLI 2000 and S neox) representing two generations of these types of systems. The obtained results confirm the validity of the applied high-accuracy measurement systems in conjunction with dedicated software in the presented applications. Examples of the analyses carried out can be a significant source of information on the condition of coins in the context of maintaining their functional properties (selection of appropriate wear-resistant alloys and correctness of the production process).

Assessment of CVD- and PVD-Coated Carbides and PVD-Coated Cermet Inserts in the Optimization of Surface Roughness in Turning of AISI 1045 Steel.

In this study, an experimental and statistic investigation approach based on analysis of variance (ANOVA) and response surface methodology (RSM) techniques was performed to find the significant main effects and two-factor interaction effects and to determine how the controllable factors such as cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut (DOC), tool nose radius, substrate and coating method of cutting tools influence surface quality in turning of AISI 1045 steel. The first optimal or near-optimal conditions for the quality of the generated surface and the second ones, including maximum material removal rate, were established using the proposed regression equations. The group mean roughness of the turned workpieces was lower from using chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-coated carbide inserts than the group means of other types of inserts; however they could not achieve the specific lowest roughness. The physical vapor deposition (PVD)-coated carbide and cermet inserts achieved the best surface quality when the specific combinations within the range interval of controllable factors were used in the experiment, showing that they may be applied to finish turning processes or even to particular high material removal rate conditions associated with the lowest roughness.

Modeling of Cutting Parameters and Tool Geometry for Multi-Criteria Optimization of Surface Roughness and Vibration via Response Surface Methodology in Turning of AISI 5140 Steel.

AISI 5140 is a steel alloy used for manufacturing parts of medium speed and medium load such as gears and shafts mainly used in automotive applications. Parts made from AISI 5140 steel require machining processes such as turning and milling to achieve the final part shape. Limited research has been reported on the machining vibration and surface roughness during turning of AISI 5140 in the open literature. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to conduct a systematic study to determine the optimum cutting conditions, analysis of vibration and surface roughness under different cutting speeds, feed rates and cutting edge angles using response surface methodology (RSM). Prediction models were developed and optimum turning parameters were obtained for averaged surface roughness (Ra) and three components of vibration (axial, radial and tangential) using RSM. The results demonstrated that the feed rate was the most affecting parameter in increasing the surface roughness (69.4%) and axial vibration (65.8%) while cutting edge angle and cutting speed were dominant on radial vibration (75.5%) and tangential vibration (64.7%), respectively. In order to obtain minimum vibration for all components and surface roughness, the optimum parameters were determined as Vc = 190 m/min, f = 0.06 mm/rev, κ = 60° with high reliability (composite desirability = 90.5%). A good agreement between predicted and measured values was obtained with the developed model to predict surface roughness and vibration during turning of AISI 5140 within a 10% error range.

Optimization and Analysis of Surface Roughness, Flank Wear and 5 Different Sensorial Data via Tool Condition Monitoring System in Turning of AISI 5140.

Optimization of tool life is required to tune the machining parameters and achieve the desired surface roughness of the machined components in a wide range of engineering applications. There are many machining input variables which can influence surface roughness and tool life during any machining process, such as cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. These parameters can be optimized to reduce surface roughness and increase tool life. The present study investigates the optimization of five different sensorial criteria, additional to tool wear (VB) and surface roughness (Ra), via the Tool Condition Monitoring System (TCMS) for the first time in the open literature. Based on the Taguchi L9 orthogonal design principle, the basic machining parameters cutting speed (vc), feed rate (f) and depth of cut (ap) were adopted for the turning of AISI 5140 steel. For this purpose, an optimization approach was used implementing five different sensors, namely dynamometer, vibration, AE (Acoustic Emission), temperature and motor current sensors, to a lathe. In this context, VB, Ra and sensorial data were evaluated to observe the effects of machining parameters. After that, an RSM (Response Surface Methodology)-based optimization approach was applied to the measured variables. Cutting force (97.8%) represented the most reliable sensor data, followed by the AE (95.7%), temperature (92.9%), vibration (81.3%) and current (74.6%) sensors, respectively. RSM provided the optimum cutting conditions (at vc = 150 m/min, f = 0.09 mm/rev, ap = 1 mm) to obtain the best results for VB, Ra and the sensorial data, with a high success rate (82.5%).

Design and control of system for elbow rehabilitation: Preliminary findings.

BACKGROUND: The use of an exoskeleton elbow is considered an effective treatment in several pathologies, including post-stroke complications, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI), as well as in patients with neurodegenerative disorders. The effectiveness of rehabilitation is closely linked to a suitably chosen therapy. The treatment can be performed only by specialized personnel, significantly supported by the use of automated devices. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to present a novel exoskeleton for elbow rehabilitation without a complicated control system. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) solution in constructing the prototype of an elbow exoskeleton for rehabilitation purposes has been applied. The simplicity of the actuation mechanism was set as one of the priorities in the design; thus, a single-axis stepper motor with a controller was found to be adequate for providing a reliable and precise source of motion for the exoskeleton. RESULTS: Technological development may provide novel solutions, such as an exoskeleton - a wearable, external structure which supports or (in selected applications) even replaces the muscle actuation in the patient. The reported advantages of the proposed exoskeleton reflect current state-of-the-art. The proposed control strategy relies on closed-loop position control, performance, low manufacturing cost, and predicted performance in a rehabilitation scenario. All these factors play an important role in establishing the directions for further research, e.g., an integrated force sensor in the device, measurements of torque interactions on the elbow joint, and assessment and response to an overload of articulation. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests not only the clinical but also the possible economic and logistical advantages offered by the portability of the system, and its effective support for therapists applying an elbow exoskeleton.