关键词： Precision Agriculture   PRI   Plant water potential   Proximal sensing   Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV)  

摘要： The purpose of this research is deploying a proximal sensing solution using non-invasive and cost-effective sensors onboard an Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV) as a feasible way for building high-resolution maps of water potential in vineyards. The final objective is offering growers a practical system to make decisions about water management, especially for arid climatic conditions. The monitoring AGV was entirely developed within this research context, and as a result, it is a machine specifically designed to endure off-road conditions and harsh environments. The autonomous vehicle served as a massive, non-invasive, and on-the-go data collector robotic platform. The sensors used for measuring the relevant field variables were two spectral reflectance sensors (SRS), an infrared radiometer, and an on-board weather sensor. The collected data were displayed on comprehensible grid maps using the Local Tangent Plane (LTP) coordinate system. The proposed model has a coefficient of determination R-2 of 0.69, and results from combining six parameters: the canopy and air temperatures (as the temperature difference), the relative humidity, the altitude difference, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI). The strongest relationships found in this study were between the temperature difference and PRI, with an R-2 of 0.75, and the temperature difference with the leaf water potential with an R-2 of 0.61. The practical use of these high-resolution maps includes irrigation scheduling and harvest zoning for sorting grape quality, with a further use as inputs to complex artificial intelligence algorithms considering larger areas or complementing airborne data. Future improvements to make the models more robust and versatile will entail considering additional variables, locations, or grapevine cultivars, and even other crops grown in vertical trellis systems.

关键词： educational robotics   STEAM education  

摘要： In recent years we have observed a clear trend for the transformation and evolution of teaching practices using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and in particular educational robotics. As modern society gives great importance to scientific and technological literacy and new technologies, the educational process must play a central role in the development of the respective skills. Thus, the training of future teachers in corresponding fields is especially important. In this paper, we present the curriculum design of a course named "S.T.E.A.M Teaching Scenarios using Educational Robotics" implemented for undergraduate pre-service teachers at the Elementary Education Department of the University of Western Macedonia in Florina, Greece. The objectives of the course include the development of critical and computational thinking, familiarity with robots, and the process of their integration in curricula focusing on interdisciplinary practices facilitated by embodied learning affordances.

关键词： technology   navigation   robotics   total hip arthroplasty   patient-reported outcome measures   outcomes  

摘要： Background: The use of technology such as navigation and robotic systems may improve the accuracy of component positioning in total hip arthroplasty (THA), but its impact on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate the association between the use of intraoperative technology and PROMS in patients who underwent primary THA. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of patients who underwent primary THA between 2016 and 2020 and answered PROM questionnaires. Patients were separated into 3 groups depending on intraoperative technology utilization: computer-assisted navigation, robotic-assisted, or no technology (conventional) THA. Forgotten Joint Score-12 and Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Joint Replacemen scores were collected at various time points. Demographic differences were assessed with chi-square and analysis of variance. Mean scores between groups were compared using univariate analysis of covariance, controlling for all significant demographic differences. Results: Of the 1960 cases identified, 896 used navigation, 135 used robotics, and 929 used no technology. There were significant statistical differences in one-year Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Joint Replacement scores (85.23 vs 85.95 vs 86.76, respectively;P = .014) and two-year Forgotten Joint Score-12 scores (64.72 vs 73.35 vs 74.63, respectively;P = .004) between the 3 groups. However, these differences did not exceed the mean clinically important differences. Length of stay was statistically longest for patients who underwent conventionally performed THA versus navigation and robotics (2.22 vs 1.46 vs 1.91, respectively;P < .001). Surgical time was significantly longer for cases performed using robotics versus navigation and conventionally (119.61 vs 90.35 vs 95.35, respectively;P < .001). Conclusion: Statistical differences observed between all modalities are not likely to be clinically meaningful wit

关键词： Robotic surgery   children   UPJO   Lich Gregoire procedure   ICG fluorescence  

摘要： Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has represented the main innovation in the field of pediatric surgery and urology over the last 30 years. Pediatric MIS is a wide field, ranging from the standard laparoscopic surgery using 3-mm ports to robotics mainly adopted for pediatric urology indications. The aim of this paper was to summarize the current status of robotic surgery in pediatric urology and to evaluate possible future technical developments for this technique. In pediatric urology, many procedures are challenged by the narrow working space available in smaller children, the difficulty to perform complex and long suture lines to repair complex urinary malformations, and the challenge to remove renal or adrenal tumors. The main characteristic of robotic surgery is that the robotic instruments inserted into the abdominal cavity are remotely controlled by the surgeon, who is sitting at a console next to the patient or even far away, avoiding human tremor during complex suturing. Due to the magnification of the operative field view and the six degrees of freedom of the robotic instruments compared to conventional laparoscopic instruments, providing enhanced 3D vision and improved surgeon ergonomics, robot-assisted surgery appears to be beneficial over conventional MIS, especially in complex reconstructive procedures. Currently, there are two robotic systems available on the market and certified for robotic surgery in children: the DaVinci (Intuitive Surgical, since 2001) and Senhance (Transenterix, since 2020). However, almost the totality of papers published in the international literature are focused on robotic procedures using the DaVinci platform. Analyzing the current literature, there is no evidence about the indications where robotics are preferable to conventional MIS approaches. Currently, the main indications of robotic surgery in pediatric urology are: pyeloplasty for ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO), ureteral reimplantation according to Lich Greg

关键词： Robots   Educational robots   Mechanical engineering   Robot sensing systems   Education   Programming profession   Thermal engineering   Curriculum development   department of robotics   educational programs   STEM   undergraduate curricula  

摘要： Contribution: The information described in this study provides a starting point for discussing an effective robotics curriculum offered by any engineering university or institute. Background: Robotics is a multidisciplinary field that includes mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, and computer science. Several universities have established departments of robotics to teach their students robotics education;however, a comprehensive curriculum to deliver robotics education has not yet been fully developed. Research Questions: What are the significant component courses offered by existing departments of robotics? Methodology: This article investigates component courses among departments of robotics through a title-based aggregation of existing courses and textual analyses. Findings: From a title-based aggregation of robotics curricula from 19 departments established by 2018, control engineering, programming, technical drawing/design, and electronic engineering/electronic circuits were found to be the core courses. From textual analyses of the curricula, robotics departments' course titles were similar to those of mechanical engineering departments.

关键词： benign hysterectomy   da Vinci   laparoscopy   robotics   Senhance  

摘要： Objectives Comparison of retrospective, learning curve benign hysterectomy cost and case time data from Senhance total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) cases with similar da Vinci robot cases and laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) cases. Methods Instrument costs, console time, and case time analysis from six surgeons at four U.S. and European hospitals compared with retrospective, sequential da Vinci TLH and standard laparoscopic LAVH cases extracted from the CAVAlytics database. Results Senhance Gyn surgeons in their learning curve when compared to da Vinci learning curve Gyn surgeons achieved lower median instrument costs ($559 vs. $1393, respectively, p < 0.001) with comparable console times (91.5 vs. 96 min, p = 0.898);Senhance and LAVH case costs were comparable ($559 vs. $498, p = 0.336). Conclusion In benign hysterectomy, the Senhance system may present a lower-cost approach with equivalent case times compared with similar da Vinci robotic cases.

关键词： Soft robotics   Robot organisms   Biodegradable robots   Avogadro's number of robots  

摘要： Soft Robotics has come to the fore in the last decade as a new way of conceptualising, designing and fabricating robots. Soft materials empower robots with locomotion, manipulation, and adaptability capabilities beyond those possible with conventional rigid robots. Soft robots can also be made from biological, biocompatible and biodegradable materials. This offers the tantalising possibility of bridging the gap between robots and organisms. Here, we discuss the properties of soft materials and soft systems that make them so attractive for future robots. In doing so, we consider how future robots can behave like, and have abilities akin to, biological organisms. These include huge numbers, finite lifetime, homeostasis and minimal-and even positive-environmental impact. This paves the way for future robots, not as machines, but as robotic organisms.

关键词： Friction   Force   Robots   Lead   Fasteners   Dynamics   Mathematical model   Contact modeling   direct   inverse dynamics formulation   dynamics   sliding transmission systems  

摘要： This article presents a unified mathematical approach for modeling, identifying, and solving the friction-inclusive dynamics of robotic mechanisms driven by sliding contact transmission systems. This approach is applied to the most common industrial screw-based drives: 1) the worm drive, 2) the simple lead screw drive, and 3) the antibacklash lead screw drive. The resulting dynamics, handily transferable to single and multiple degree of freedom (DoF) manipulators, are complemented with an algorithm for the solution of the forward dynamics problem as well as a framework for friction identification based on nonlinear optimization. The presented theory is experimentally tested on single-DoF screw-based drives for a variety of payloads and at different operation speeds. Simulation and parameter identification results using the classical Coulomb model, the Coulomb model with Stribeck friction, and the Armstrong model with Stribeck friction, rising static friction, and frictional memory are compared with experimental data, showcasing the effectiveness of the presented approach toward framing the concepts of friction and motion transmission into a robotics setting.

关键词： Active learning   Robotics   Robot control   Learning theory   Perception and sensing   Artificial intelligence  

摘要： Active learning is a decision-making process. In both abstract and physical settings, active learning demands both analysis and action. This is a review of active learning in robotics, focusing on methods amenable to the demands of embodied learning systems. Robots must be able to learn efficiently and flexibly through continuous online deployment. This poses a distinct set of control-oriented challenges-one must choose suitable measures as objectives, synthesize real-time control, and produce analyses that guarantee performance and safety with limited knowledge of the environment or robot itself. In this work, we survey the fundamental components of robotic active learning systems. We discuss classes of learning tasks that robots typically encounter, measures with which they gauge the information content of observations, and algorithms for generating action plans. Moreover, we provide a variety of examples - from environmental mapping to nonparametric shape estimation - that highlight the qualitative differences between learning tasks, information measures, and control techniques. We conclude with a discussion of control-oriented open challenges, including safety-constrained learning and distributed learning.