A brief review of affordance in robotic manipulation research

Abstract

This paper presents a brief review of affordance research in robotics, with special concentrations on its applications in grasping and manipulation of objects. The concept of affordance could be a key to realize human-like advanced manipulation intelligence. First, we discuss the concept of affordance while associating with the applications in robotics. Then, we intensively explore the studies that utilize affordance for robotic manipulation applications, such as object recognition, grasping, and object manipulation including tool-use. They obtain and use affordance by several ways like learning from human, using simulation, and real-world execution. Moreover, we show our current work, which is a cloud database for advanced manipulation intelligence. The database accumulates various data related to manipulation task execution and will be an open platform to leverage various affordance techniques.     

Variable use of standards-based IOS enabling technologies in Australian SMEs: an examination of deliberate and emergent decision making processes

Use of inter-organizational systems (IOS) is widely recognized as pivotal to organizational success. However, the nature of decision making processes regarding the adoption and use of IOS-enabling technologies has received little research attention. The authors explore approaches to decision making relating to SMEs’ use of these technologies and outline the drivers and implications of such decision making. Data were collected through two crosssectional surveys and multiple case studies. The surveys allowed for the identification of two groups of three SMEs each—the first group increased and the second group decreased the use of IOS-enabling technologies over time. This identification provided the context of strategic change or transition in the use of these technologies over time. The study’s results challenge widely held assumptions about the performance benefits of higher-level, deliberate planning over functional-level, emergent decision making regarding SMEs’ technological choices. Results also show that SME managers mainly use flexible IOS technology adoption and implementation strategies to promote organizational performance. Further, two main factors drive flexible decision making: a lack of managerial power and a lack of financial resources. Overall, the study offers insights into the link between IOS-enabling technology use and organizational strategy, and advances research concerning the contingencies influencing SMEs’ decision making in this context.     

Stability of 10 mg/mL cefuroxime solution for intracameral injection in commonly used polypropylene syringes and new ready-to-use cyclic olefin copolymer sterile vials using the LC-UV stability-indicating method

Context: Injecting intracameral cefuroxime has been found beneficial in reducing the risk of postoperative endophthalmitis but its use has been limited through a lack of approved marketing and of ready-to-use single-units as well as the problem of aseptic compounding.

Objective: Our aim was to assess a new automated primary packaging system which should ensure a higher level of sterility, thanks to its closed, sterile, ready-to-use polymer vial called “Crystal® vial”. The chemical stability of a 10?mg/mL cefuroxime solution was compared in 1?mL Crystal® vials and 1?mL Luer-lock polypropylene syringes (actual reference) to eliminate any potential and specific interactions with its cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) body and elastomer stopper.

Methods: Cefuroxime solution was introduced into vials and syringes and stored at ?20?°C, +5?°C and +25°C/60% Relative Humidity. Cefuroxime concentration and the relative amount of the main degradation product (descarbamoyl-cefuroxime) were both determined by an HPLC/UV method indicating stability. Solutions were considered steady if the concentration remained at over 90% of the initial value. In the adapted storage conditions, the evolution of osmolality, pH and sterility was assessed.

Results: Stability profiles were identical between vials and syringes in all storage and temperature conditions. The solution was stable (cefuroxime concentration, pH and osmolality) and still sterile for 365 days at ?20°C. The concentration fell below 90% after 21 days at +5?°C and after 16?h at +25°C/60%s relative humidity.

Conclusions: The COC and thermoplastic elastomer of the vials had no impact on the degradation process confirming its possible use for a ready-to-use cefuroxime solution single-unit dose.     

A Damage Estimation Method for Packaging Systems Based on Power Spectrum Densities Using Spectral Moments

Packaging systems always endure some type of damage during transportation, and Wöhler curves are typically used to determine the mechanical wear evolution of a packaging system. Damage estimations can be performed using a Rainflow method, but continuous stress recording is required. However, this recording is not always possible, so global transportation vibrations are represented by the power spectral density (PSD). In this paper, the damage of a system according to the Wöhler curve was studied. The Basquin model was used to determine the mechanical wear evolution of the system, and the mechanical behaviour was established by extracting the Basquin coefficient b and the constant system C from the Wöhler curves. A Wöhler curve was further realized for a packaging system, and its Basquin coefficient b and system constant C were also extracted. Damage is estimated by the accumulation of the stress cycles using the Palmgren–Miner rules. In this paper, the maximum peaks of the cycle were detected in a signal. The density probability of the maximum stress apparition was also constructed from a multivariate Gaussian model. PSDs have the same statistical properties as the corresponding temporal events, so these statistical properties were extracted by the spectral moment method. Furthermore, a damage equation was proposed using the PSD, and the damage induced by different PSDs was determined from the damage equation and compared with the actual duration on a vibration table.     

De‐embedding of filters in multiplexers via rational approximation and interpolation

In this article, we present a method to recover electrical parameters of filters embedded in a multiplexer for which scattering measurements are given. Unlike other approaches proposed for this problem, this method does not require a priori knowledge of the scattering parameters of the junction. This feature renders the procedure well suited for tuning purposes or for fault diagnosis. Technically, the algorithm starts with a rational approximation step, to derive a rational representation of certain scattering parameters of the multiplexer. This representation is then used in a second step to identify an electrical model of each filter. This second step relies on a rational interpolation technique used to extract the filter's responses. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:647–654, 2015.     

Magnetic Nanoparticle Chains in Gelatin Ferrogels: Bioinspiration from Magnetotactic Bacteria

Inspired by chains of ferrimagnetic nanocrystals (NCs) in magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), the synthesis and detailed characterization of ferrimagnetic magnetite NC chain‐like assemblies is reported. An easy green synthesis route in a thermoreversible gelatin hydrogel matrix is used. The structure of these magnetite chains prepared with and without gelatin is characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy, including electron tomography (ET). These structures indeed bear resemblance to the magnetite assemblies found in MTB, known for their mechanical flexibility and outstanding magnetic properties and known to crystallographically align their magnetite NCs along the strongest <111> magnetization easy axis. Using electron holography (EH) and angular dependent magnetic measurements, the magnetic interaction between the NCs and the generation of a magnetically anisotropic material can be shown. The electro‐ and magnetostatic modeling demonstrates that in order to precisely determine the magnetization (by means of EH) inside chain‐like NCs assemblies, their exact shape, arrangement and stray‐fields have to be considered (ideally obtained using ET).     

Shape from interaction

We present “shape from interaction” (SfI), an approach to the problem of acquiring 3D representations of rigid objects through observing the activity of a human who handles a tool. SfI relies on the fact that two rigid objects cannot share the same physical space. The 3D reconstruction of the unknown object is achieved by tracking the known 3D tool and by carving out the space it occupies as a function of time. Due to this indirection, SfI reconstructs rigid objects regardless of their material and appearance properties and proves particularly useful for the cases of textureless, transparent, translucent, refractive and specular objects for which there exists no practical vision-based 3D reconstruction method. Additionally, object concavities that are not directly observable can also be reconstructed. The 3D tracking of the tool is formulated as an optimization problem that is solved based on visual input acquired by a multicamera system. Experimental results from a prototype implementation of SfI support qualitatively and quantitatively the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

De‐embedding response of filters from diplexer measurements

In this article, we present two methods to de‐embed the filters' responses from a diplexer whose junction is known. A weak identification problem is here described by means of a dual‐state junction and can be applied for general diagnosis of prototype diplexers. A strong identification problem based on rationality of the filters is also introduced here and is suited for a real‐time tuning process. This technique is based on a polynomial approximation derived analytically from the algebraic structure of the diplexer's response. Additional unknown delays violating the rational assumption can be moreover detected and estimated. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2013.