Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: robotics
- All Subjects: Polymers--Deterioration.
Description
The world’s population is currently 9% visually impaired. Medical sciences do not have a biological fix that can cure this visual impairment. Visually impaired people are currently being assisted with biological fixes or assistive devices. The current assistive devices are limited in size as well as resolution. This thesis presents the development and experimental validation of a control system for a new vibrotactile haptic display that is currently in development. In order to allow the vibrotactile haptic display to be used to represent motion, the control system must be able to change the image displayed at a rate of at least 30 frames/second. In order to achieve this, this thesis introduces and investigates the use of three improvements: threading, change filtering, and wave libraries. Through these methods, it is determined that an average of 40 frames/second can be achieved.
ContributorsKIM, KENDRA (Author) / Sodemann, Angela (Thesis advisor) / Robertson, John (Committee member) / Bansal, Ajay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The field of robotics is rapidly expanding, and with it, the methods of teaching and introducing students must also advance alongside new technologies. There is a challenge in robotics education, especially at high school levels, to expose them to more modern and practical robots. One way to bridge this gap is human-robot interaction for a more hands-on and impactful experience that will leave students more interested in pursuing the field. Our project is a Robotic Head Kit that can be used in an educational setting to teach about its electrical, mechanical, programming, and psychological concepts. We took an existing robot head prototype and further advanced it so it can be easily assembled while still maintaining human complexity. Our research for this project dove into the electronics, mechanics, software, and even psychological barriers present in order to advance the already existing head design. The kit we have developed combines the field of robotics with psychology to create and add more life-like features and functionality to the robot, nicknamed "James Junior." The goal of our Honors Thesis was to initially fix electrical, mechanical, and software problems present. We were then tasked to run tests with high school students to validate our assembly instructions while gathering their observations and feedback about the robot's programmed reactions and emotions. The electrical problems were solved with custom PCBs designed to power and program the existing servo motors on the head. A new set of assembly instructions were written and modifications to the 3D printed parts were made for the kit. In software, existing code was improved to implement a user interface via keypad and joystick to give students control of the robot head they construct themselves. The results of our tests showed that we were not only successful in creating an intuitive robot head kit that could be easily assembled by high school students, but we were also successful in programming human-like expressions that could be emotionally perceived by the students.
ContributorsRathke, Benjamin (Co-author) / Rivera, Gerardo (Co-author) / Sodemann, Angela (Thesis director) / Itagi, Manjunath (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
With the growing popularity of 3d printing in recreational, research, and commercial enterprises new techniques and processes are being developed to improve the quality of parts created. Even so, the anisotropic properties is still a major hindrance of parts manufactured in this method. The goal is to produce parts that mimic the strength characteristics of a comparable part of the same design and materials created using injection molding. In achieving this goal the production cost can be reduced by eliminating the initial investment needed for the creation of expensive tooling. This initial investment reduction will allow for a wider variant of products in smaller batch runs to be made available. This thesis implements the use of ultraviolet (UV) illumination for an in-process laser local pre-deposition heating (LLPH). By comparing samples with and without the LLPH process it is determined that applied energy that is absorbed by the polymer is converted to an increase in the interlayer temperature, and resulting in an observed increase in tensile strength over the baseline test samples. The increase in interlayer bonding thus can be considered the dominating factor over polymer degradation.
ContributorsKusel, Scott Daniel (Author) / Hsu, Keng (Thesis advisor) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Kannan, Arunachala M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This is a report on an experiment that examines if the principles of multimedia learning outlined in Richard E. Mayer’s journal article, “Using multimedia for e-learning”, located in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning would apply to haptic feedback used for haptic robotic operation. This was tested by developing and using a haptic robotic manipulator known as the Haptic Testbed (HTB). The HTB is a manipulator designed to emulate human hand movement for haptic testing purposes and features an index finger and thumb for the right hand. Control is conducted through a Leap Motion Controller, a visual sensor that uses infrared lights and cameras to gather various data about hands it can see. The goal of the experiment was to have test subjects complete a task where they shifted objects along a circuit of positions where they were measured on time to complete the circuit as well as accuracy in reaching the individual points. Analysis of subject responses to surveys as well as performance during the experiment showed haptic feedback during training improving initial performance of individuals as well as lowering mental effort and mental demand during said training. The findings of this experiment showed support for the hypothesis that Mayer’s principles do apply to haptic feedback in training for haptic robotic manipulation. One of the implications of this experiment would be the possibility for haptics and tactile senses to be an applicable sense for Mayer’s principles of multimedia learning as most of the current work in the field is mostly focused on visual or auditory senses. If the results of the experiment were replicated in a future experiment it would provide support to the hypothesis that the principles of multimedia learning can be utilized to improve the training of haptic robotic operation.
ContributorsGiam, Connor Dallas (Author) / Craig, Scotty (Thesis director) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Multi-material manufacturing combines multiple fabrication processes to produce individual parts that can be made up of several different materials. These processes can include both additive and subtractive manufacturing methods as well as embedding other components during manufacturing. This yields opportunities for creating single parts that can take the place of an assembly of parts produced using conventional techniques. Some example applications of multi-material manufacturing include parts that are produced using one process then machined to tolerance using another, parts with integrated flexible joints, or parts that contain discrete embedded components such as reinforcing materials or electronics.
Multi-material manufacturing has applications in robotics because, with it, mechanisms can be built into a design without adding additional moving parts. This allows for robot designs that are both robust and low cost, making it a particularly attractive method for education or research. 3D printing is of particular interest in this area because it is low cost, readily available, and capable of easily producing complicated part geometries. Some machines are also capable of depositing multiple materials during a single process. However, up to this point, planning the steps to create a part using multi-material manufacturing has been done manually, requiring specialized knowledge of the tools used. The difficulty of this planning procedure can prevent many students and researchers from using multi-material manufacturing.
This project studied methods of automating the planning of multi-material manufacturing processes through the development of a computational framework for processing 3D models and automatically generating viable manufacturing sequences. This framework includes solid operations and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing steps for multi-material models. This research is informing the development of a software planning tool which will simplify the planning needed by multi-material fabrication, making it more accessible for use in education or research.
In our paper, Voxel-Based Cad Framework for Planning Functionally Graded and Multi-Step Rapid Fabrication Processes, we present a new framework for representing and computing functionally-graded materials for use in rapid prototyping applications. We introduce the material description itself, low-level operations which can be used to combine one or more geometries together, and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing-compatible sequences. We then apply these techniques to several example scenarios. First, we demonstrate the use of a Gaussian blur to add graded material transitions to a model which can then be produced using a multi-material 3D printing process. Our second example highlights our solution to the problem of inserting a discrete, off-the-shelf part into a 3D printed model during the printing sequence. Finally, we implement this second example and manufacture two example components.
Multi-material manufacturing has applications in robotics because, with it, mechanisms can be built into a design without adding additional moving parts. This allows for robot designs that are both robust and low cost, making it a particularly attractive method for education or research. 3D printing is of particular interest in this area because it is low cost, readily available, and capable of easily producing complicated part geometries. Some machines are also capable of depositing multiple materials during a single process. However, up to this point, planning the steps to create a part using multi-material manufacturing has been done manually, requiring specialized knowledge of the tools used. The difficulty of this planning procedure can prevent many students and researchers from using multi-material manufacturing.
This project studied methods of automating the planning of multi-material manufacturing processes through the development of a computational framework for processing 3D models and automatically generating viable manufacturing sequences. This framework includes solid operations and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing steps for multi-material models. This research is informing the development of a software planning tool which will simplify the planning needed by multi-material fabrication, making it more accessible for use in education or research.
In our paper, Voxel-Based Cad Framework for Planning Functionally Graded and Multi-Step Rapid Fabrication Processes, we present a new framework for representing and computing functionally-graded materials for use in rapid prototyping applications. We introduce the material description itself, low-level operations which can be used to combine one or more geometries together, and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing-compatible sequences. We then apply these techniques to several example scenarios. First, we demonstrate the use of a Gaussian blur to add graded material transitions to a model which can then be produced using a multi-material 3D printing process. Our second example highlights our solution to the problem of inserting a discrete, off-the-shelf part into a 3D printed model during the printing sequence. Finally, we implement this second example and manufacture two example components.
ContributorsBrauer, Cole D (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05