This paper deals with the design of multi-axis force (also known as force/torque) sensors, as considered within the framework of optimal design theory. The principal goal of this paper is to identify a mathematical objective function, whose minimization corresponds to the optimization of sensor accuracy. The methodology employed is derived from linear algebra and analysis of numerical stability. The problem of optimizing the number of basic transducers employed in a multi-component sensor is also addressed. Finally, applications of the proposed method to the design of a simple sensor as well as to the optimization of a novel, 6-axis miniaturized sensor are discussed.

This dissertation presents contact force sensors that are based on an emerging fibre-optic sensing technology, the in-fibre Bragg grating (FBG), for contact force measurements between cartilage surfaces in the human hip. There are two main motivations for force measurement in hips (and other joints). First, there is clinical evidence that suggests excessive force magnitude and duration can cause painful degeneration of joints. Second, insights from ex vivo force measurements during simulated physiologic loading are the basis of the rationale for corrective surgeries meant to halt degeneration and restore proper joint function by restoring natural joint mechanics. The current standard tools for force measurements in joints are force/stress sensitive films. There are problems associated with inserting these films into joints that affect the force/stress measurements. To insert the films, the joint must be dissected of surrounding soft tissues and, ultimately, the joint must be taken apart (disarticulated). Following disarticulation, films are fixed to cartilage surfaces, and the joint is re-assembled so that physiologic loads can be applied. The negative consequence of dissection and disarticulation is that the natural mechanics of the intact joint are permanently lost and, therefore, film measurements do not indicate the actual joint mechanics. Moreover, covering cartilage surfaces with rigid films alters the natural contact mechanics of the joint. The force sensors presented in this dissertation are designed for local force measurement over the region of the optical fibre containing the FBG and address limitations of force/stress sensitive films. The FBG force sensors are extremely small (major diameters ranging from 0.165 mm to 0.24 mm) and can be inserted into joint spaces without dissection of soft tissues and disarticulation thereby allowing the joint to remain intact. Theoretical and experimental results indicate that FBG sensor measurements are less affected by the mechanical properties of cartilage than are film sensors. The sensors presented in this dissertation also address limitations with previous FBG based force sensors and are the first application of FBGs in intact human hips. The sensors are smaller, and therefore less invasive, and insensitive to orientation, axial strain and temperature, unlike other FBG sensors presented in the literature. / Graduate

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Physics / Bret N. Flanders / Directed electrochemical nanowire assembly (DENA) is a method for fabricating nano-structured materials via electrochemical dendritic solidification. This thesis presents two new applications of nano-structured materials that are fabricated via the DENA methodology: cellular force sensors to probe adhesive sites on living cells and single-crystalline metallic dendrites as surface coating materials. Fast migrating cells like D. discoideum, leukocytes, and breast cancer cells migrate by attachment and detachment of discrete adhesive contacts, known as actin foci, to the substrate where the cell transmits traction forces. Despite their importance in migration, the physics by which actin foci bind and release substrates is poorly understood. This gap is largely due to the compositional complexity of actin foci in living cells and to a lack of technique for directly probing these sub-cellular structures. Recent theoretical work predicts these adhesive structures to depend on the density of adhesion receptors in the contact sites, the receptor-substrate potential, and cell-medium surface tension. This thesis describes the fabrication of sub-microscopic force sensors composed of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) fibers that can interface directly with sub-cellular targets such as actin foci. The spring constants of these fibers are in the range of 0.07-430 nN m-1. These fibers were used to characterize the strength and lifetime of adhesion between the single adhesive contacts of D. discoideum cells and the fibers, finding an average force of 3.1 ± 2.7 nN and lifetime of 23.4 ± 18.5 s. This capability is significant because direct measurement of these properties will be necessary to measure the cell-medium surface tension and to characterize the receptor-substrate potential in the next (future) stage of this project. The fabrication of smart materials that are capable of the high dynamic range structural reconfiguration would lead to their use to confer hydrophobic, lipophobic, and anti-corrosive character to substrates in a regenerative manner. As a step towards this goal, we have extended the DENA method to enable repetitive growth and dissolution of metallic dendrites to substrates. The experimental parameters that control this process are the frequency and duty cycle of the alternating voltage signal that initiates the dendritic growth.

Breathing Stabilization System is a new idea and method. The purpose of this system is to produce a device to control a patient's breathing for gated radiotherapy. This thesis focuses on building a simple Breathing Stabilization System that includes five solenoids, a power supply and five force sensors to build up the whole system. Significantly, this thesis will introduce the modeling of solenoids in detail that include how to build a mathematical model of the solenoids. The simulation of the electromagnetic in professional multi-physics software COMSOL will also be explained. To drive the solenoid system, a voltage-to-current converter is used. This part will be introduced as well as the operational amplifier circuit used by the force sensors.

The application of technology makes a lot of things easier, but for individuals with disability, it makes things possible. Rehabilitation robotics aims at providing robotic devices, which can act as functional extensions of the user, while performing basic activities. Providing a well-designed gripper as its end-effector can greatly enhance the performance of a rehabilitation robot. The gripper performs simple tasks like picking up objects and manipulating objects, which help in performing activities of daily living. This thesis describes the development of a prototype gripper for a wheelchair mounted robot. The pre-development surveys conducted before the development of commercialized robotic assistive devices were analyzed and user task priorities were understood. The role of the gripper as an object-grasping device was focused upon. The size and weight parameters, which the gripper should effectively grasp, were decided. Based on these parameters, a prototype was developed. Force sensors were used to monitor the gripping forces. The data was acquired using a Data Acquisition System. The gripping forces were measured using a Labview program that utilized the force-voltage relationship for the sensor. This relationship was obtained by performing calibration experiments. The performance of the prototype was tested using objects that are used in everyday environment and was analyzed by conducting a set of experiments. A relay circuit was designed that would stop the motors once the gripping forces exceeded a threshold value for a given object. This avoided any damage to the object during the gripping process. The gripping forces measured were found to be in close agreement to the theoretically calculated force values.

Ultrathin, semi-permeable membranes are not only essential in natural systems (membranes of cells or organelles) but they are also important for applications (separation, filtering) in miniaturized devices. <br> Membranes, integrated as diffusion barriers or filters in micron scale devices need to fulfill equivalent requirements as the natural systems, in particular mechanical stability and functionality (e.g. permeability), while being only tens of nm in thickness to allow fast diffusion times. Promising candidates for such membranes are polyelectrolyte multilayers, which were found to be mechanically stable, and variable in functionality.<br> In this thesis two concepts to integrate such membranes in larger scale structures were developed. The first is based on the directed adhesion of polyelectrolyte hollow microcapsules. As a result, arrays of capsules were created. These can be useful for combinatorial chemistry or sensing. This concept was expanded to couple encapsulated living cells to the surface. The second concept is the transfer of flat freestanding multilayer membranes to structured surfaces. We have developed a method that allows us to couple mm2 areas of defect free film with thicknesses down to 50 nm to structured surfaces and to avoid crumpling of the membrane. We could again use this technique to produce arrays of micron size. The freestanding membrane is a diffusion barrier for high molecular weight molecules, while small molecules can pass through the membrane and thus allows us to sense solution properties. We have shown also that osmotic pressures lead to membrane deflection. That could be described quantitatively. / Die Entwicklung von “Labors auf einem Chip” hat in den vergangenen Jahren großes Interesse hervorgerufen. Diese Chips ermöglichen schnelle vor Ort Analytik, wie sie beispielsweise in Arztpraxen oder bei der Schadstoff Überwachung wünschenswert wäre. Die Entwicklung solcher Systeme stellt große Herausforderungen an Forscher verschiedenster Disziplinen. <br> Ein großer Vorteil solcher Systeme sind die verkürzten Reaktionszeiten durch die Verkleinerung der Dimensionen. Membranen, die als Diffusionsbarrieren oder Filter in solche Systeme integriert werden sollen, müssen den Ansprüchen an mechanische Stabilität, Funktionalität (z.B. Permeabilität) bei einer Dicke von einigen 10 nm genügen. Die Reduktion der Membrandicke ist erforderlich um die Diffusionszeiten durch die Membran zu minimieren. Polyelektrolyte sind vielversprechende Kandidaten für solche Membranen, da sie sowohl mechanisch stabil sind, als auch variabel in ihrer Funktionalität In dieser Arbeit werden zwei Konzepte zur Integration solcher Membranen vorgestellt. Das erste Konzept basiert auf der selektiven Adhäsion von Polyelektrolytkapseln auf strukturierten Oberflächen. Für das gewählte Kapselsystem konnte bereits eine große Stabilität und eine breite Funktionalität gezeigt werden. Die Strukturierung wird durch Mikrokontaktdrucken erzielt und führt. zu attraktiven und repulsiven Bereichen auf der Oberfläche. Die Kapesladhäsion findet auf den attraktiven Bereichen statt. Auf diese Weise werden die Kapseln 2-dimensional auf der Oberfläche angeordnet. Die definierte laterale Position der Kapseln ermöglicht Anwendungen in der kombinatorischen Chemie oder der Sensorik.<br> Der makroskopische Transfer von bis zu 50 nm dünnen Polyelektrolytmembranen auf microstrukturierte Substrate ist das zweite präsentierte Konzept zur Integration freistehender Membranen. Dabei entsteht ein großflächiger Bereich (mm2) von Millionen von Hohlräumen mit einem Volumen in der Größe von pL (10-12l). Diese Holräume können mit Reagenzien gefüllt werden. Diese reagieren durch die Membran auf Änderungen in der umgebenden Flüssigkeit. Von besonderem Interesse ist der Aspekt, daß nicht nur eingekapselte Reagenzien als Sensormaterial fungieren können, sondern auch durch die Deformation der Membran Änderungen im osmotischen Druck der Umgebung quantitativ erfaßt werden können.

La détection tactile et la détection de glissement jouent un rôle important en permettant la manipulation robotique dextre des objets. Ainsi, le développement d'un système de capteur tactile entièrement intégré à haute résolution présente un intérêt certain. Ces travaux traitent de la conception et de la mise en place d'un système tactile intrinsèque basé sur un ensemble de capteurs MEMs de force à 3 axes et la détection du glissement avec ce système. Afin de créer un système tactile, les capteurs de force à 3 axes sont protégés par un revêtement, une étude sur le revêtement est réalisée. Deux systèmes intrinsèques différents basés sur un ensemble de capteurs de force à 3 axes sont développés, le premier est utilisé comme test de faisabilité de ce type de système. Le deuxième système intrinsèque est adapté à un doigt robotique à surface souple. Les systèmes proposés mesurent trois composants de force, le couple normal à la surface de contact et la position du centre de contact appliqué sur sa surface sensible. Les deux systèmes sont caractérisés et testés. La détection du glissement avec un système tactile intrinsèque est testée également. La détection du glissement est faite par l'application de la théorie de la surface limite et du modèle de contact viscoélastique. / Tactile sensing and slip detection plays an important role in enabling robotic dexterous object manipulation. Thus developing a high-resolution fully integrated tactile sensor system is of great interest. This work deals the design and implementation of an intrinsic tactile sensing system based on a set of 3-axis force MEMs sensors and the detection of slippage with such system. In order to create a tactile system the 3-axis force sensors are protected by a coating, a study about the coating is made. Two different intrinsic systems based on an array of 3-axis force sensors are developed, the first one is used a feasibility test of this kind of system. The second intrinsic system is adapted to a robotic finger with soft surface. The proposed systems measures three-force components, the normal torque to the contact surface, and the position of the contact centroid applied to its sensitive surface. Both systems are characterized and tested. The detection of slippage with an intrinsic tactile system is tested. The application of the limit surface theory and the viscoelastic model of contact make the detection of slippage.

<p>Detection and control of humidity is very important in our everyday life.<br />Humidity sensors are used in many areas, such as meteorology,<br />environmental protection, medicine, food industry, agriculture, etc.<br />Various transduction techniques, such as capacitive, resistive, acoustic,<br />optical and mechanical, have been adopted for the design of humidity<br />sensors.In the last two decades, carbon nanomaterials materials,<br />especially graphene, are taking their place in the production of humidity<br />sensors. In addition to graphene, graphene oxide (Graphene-oxide-GO)<br />is involved in many areas from electronics to sensors. Printed electronics<br />increasingly becomes the leading technology in the fabrication of<br />sensors. In addition to inexpensive manufacturing and additive processes<br />with reduced infrastructure, the benefits of printed technology are lowpower<br />components, flexible, transparent, thin, components that can be<br />embedded in/on clothes, as well as the production of a large number of<br />components. In the last few years, robots are more involved in human&rsquo;s<br />life, which has led to the need for advanced research in the field of<br />robotics. People communicate with the environment using four senses:<br />touch, hearing, sight and taste. The sense of touch allows people to grab<br />various objects, lift them, perform various tasks, etc. For this reason, it is<br />very important to develop touch sensors, that is, the sensors that will be<br />incorporated into robotic fingers. As one type of such sensor, Force<br />Sensing Resistors (FSR) are used. In these sensors, there is a change in<br />resistance if the sensor is affected by a certain force.</p> / <p>Детекција и контрола влажности су од суштинског значаја у нашем<br />свакодневном животу. Сензори влаге се користе у многим областима,<br />као што су метеорологија, заштита животне средине, медицина,<br />прехрамбена индустрија, пољопривреда, итд. За дизајн сензора влаге<br />углавном се користе капацитивне, резистивне, акустичне, механичке<br />или оптичке структуре. У посљедње двије деценије све више се користе<br />наноструктурни угљенични материјали, посебно графен. Поред графена<br />велику пажњу у многим областима од електронике до сензора је<br />привукао графен-оксид (Graphene-oxide - GO). Штампана електроника<br />све више постаје водећа технологија у изради сензора. Поред јефтине<br />израде и адитивних процеса са смањеном инфраструктуром, предности<br />штампане технологије су компоненте мале масе, савитљиве,<br />транспарентне, танке, компоненте које се могу уградити у/на гардеробу<br />и носити, као и производња великог броја компоненти. У последњих<br />неколико година роботи се све више укључују у људски живот, што је<br />довело до потребе за усавршавањем у области роботике. Људи са<br />окружењем комуницирају помоћу четири чула: додира, слуха, вида и<br />укуса. Чуло додира људима омогућава да дохвате различите предмете,<br />подигну их, обављају различите задатке, итд. Из тог разлога је развој<br />сензора додира, односно сензора који би се уградили у роботске прсте,<br />од веома великог значаја. Као једна врста таквих сензора су отпорнички<br />сензори силе (Force Sensing Resistors - FSR). Код ових сензора долази<br />до промјене отпорности уколико се на сенсор дјелује одређеном силом.</p> / <p>Detekcija i kontrola vlažnosti su od suštinskog značaja u našem<br />svakodnevnom životu. Senzori vlage se koriste u mnogim oblastima,<br />kao što su meteorologija, zaštita životne sredine, medicina,<br />prehrambena industrija, poljoprivreda, itd. Za dizajn senzora vlage<br />uglavnom se koriste kapacitivne, rezistivne, akustične, mehaničke<br />ili optičke strukture. U posljednje dvije decenije sve više se koriste<br />nanostrukturni ugljenični materijali, posebno grafen. Pored grafena<br />veliku pažnju u mnogim oblastima od elektronike do senzora je<br />privukao grafen-oksid (Graphene-oxide - GO). Štampana elektronika<br />sve više postaje vodeća tehnologija u izradi senzora. Pored jeftine<br />izrade i aditivnih procesa sa smanjenom infrastrukturom, prednosti<br />štampane tehnologije su komponente male mase, savitljive,<br />transparentne, tanke, komponente koje se mogu ugraditi u/na garderobu<br />i nositi, kao i proizvodnja velikog broja komponenti. U poslednjih<br />nekoliko godina roboti se sve više uključuju u ljudski život, što je<br />dovelo do potrebe za usavršavanjem u oblasti robotike. LJudi sa<br />okruženjem komuniciraju pomoću četiri čula: dodira, sluha, vida i<br />ukusa. Čulo dodira ljudima omogućava da dohvate različite predmete,<br />podignu ih, obavljaju različite zadatke, itd. Iz tog razloga je razvoj<br />senzora dodira, odnosno senzora koji bi se ugradili u robotske prste,<br />od veoma velikog značaja. Kao jedna vrsta takvih senzora su otpornički<br />senzori sile (Force Sensing Resistors - FSR). Kod ovih senzora dolazi<br />do promjene otpornosti ukoliko se na sensor djeluje određenom silom.</p>

No description available.

The advance of automation in industry has meant that in recent years companies have begun to look for other ways to improve the efficiency of their productivity. Automation is present in all types of activities in industry, however, there are certain activities that cannot be fully automated due to the difficulty to develop them. Therefore, this activity must be handled by the worker and their safety must always be considered. In this aspect, ergonomics is in charge of studying the comfort and safety of the workers. Numerous methods of studying ergonomics can be found today, but the one that this project will focus in is the Hand and Arm method (HARM) which nowadays is performed manually by ergonomists. This method requires a great deal of effort on the part of ergonomics professionals in order to obtain reliable and accurate results. In addition to this disadvantage, the time required to perform each evaluation is also high. As the HARM method is an observational evaluation method, the study must sometimes be made by more than one ergonomist to reach a valid conclusion. This project presents the development of a system that automates one such ergonomic evaluation method called the Hand-Arm Risk Assessment Method (HARM). For this purpose, high-precision sensors are used to measure the different motions of a user's joints, as well as pressure sensors that measure the forces exerted by a worker while performing an industrial activity. This project is presented as a solution that improves both accuracy and reliability and reduces the time needed to perform the HARM method evaluation. The created tool serves as a link between the ergonomist and the various hardware systems in use, and it features an intuitive user interface that enables both data collection and visual depiction of the evaluation's findings. The topic of sustainable development, which is being addressed as a result of the development of the tool, is another crucial aspect of this project. Some of the objectives outlined in the UN's sustainable development guidelines have been met as a result of the intimate relationship between ergonomics and sustainability. Among these goals are good health and well-being (Goal 3), work and economic growth (Goal 8), industry, innovation, and infrastructure (Goal 9), gender equality (Goal 5) and reduced inequalities (Goal 10). / <p>Utbytesstudenter, Universidad de Málaga, Spanien</p>