12.1‐in. WXGA AMOLED display driven by InGaZnO thin‐film transistors

Abstract— A full‐color 12.1‐in.WXGA active‐matrix organic‐light‐emitting‐diode (AMOLED) display was, for the first time, demonstrated using indium‐gallium‐zinc oxide (IGZO) thin‐film transistors (TFTs) as an active‐matrix backplane. It was found that the fabricated AMOLED display did not suffer from the well‐known pixel non‐uniformity in luminance, even though the simple structure consisting of two transistors and one capacitor was adopted as the unit pixel circuit, which was attributed to the amorphous nature of IGZO semiconductors. The n‐channel a‐IGZO TFTs exhibited a field‐effect mobility of 17 cm²/V‐sec, threshold voltage of 1.1 V, on/off ratio >10⁹, and subthreshold gate swing of 0.28 V/dec. The AMOLED display with a‐IGZO TFT array is promising for large‐sized applications such as notebook PCs and HDTVs because the a‐IGZO semiconductor can be deposited on large glass substrates (larger than Gen 7) using the conventional sputtering system.     

Human tracking and silhouette extraction for human–robot interaction systems

In this study, we propose a new integrated computer vision system designed to track multiple human beings and extract their silhouette with a pan-tilt stereo camera, so that it can assist in gesture and gait recognition in the field of Human–Robot Interaction (HRI). The proposed system consists of three modules: detection, tracking and silhouette extraction. These modules are robust to camera movements, and they work interactively in near real-time. Detection was performed by camera ego-motion compensation and disparity segmentation. For tracking, we present an efficient mean shift-based tracking method in which the tracking objects are characterized as disparity weighted color histograms. The silhouette was obtained by two-step segmentation. A trimap was estimated in advance and then effectively incorporated into the graph-cut framework for fine segmentation. The proposed system was evaluated with respect to ground truth data, and it was shown to detect and track multiple people very well and also produce high-quality silhouettes.

Design and Implementation of a Ubiquitous Robotic Space

This paper describes a concerted effort to design and implement a robotic service framework. The proposed framework is comprised of three conceptual spaces: physical, semantic, and virtual spaces, collectively referred to as a ubiquitous robotic space. We implemented a prototype robotic security application in an office environment, which confirmed that the proposed framework is an efficient tool for developing a robotic service employing IT infrastructure, particularly for integrating heterogeneous technologies and robotic platforms.     

Gait planning for quadruped robot based on dynamic stability: landing accordance ratio

In this article, the method for increasing dynamic stability of quadruped robot is proposed. Previous researches on dynamic walking of quadruped robots have used only walking pattern called central pattern generator (CPG). In this research, different from walking generation with only CPG, a instinctive stability measure called landing accordance ratio, is proposed and used for increasing dynamic stability. In addition, dynamic balance control and control to adjust walking trajectory for increasing dynamic stability measure is also proposed. Proposed methods are verified with dynamic simulation and a large number of experiments with quadruped robot platform.     

Integrin-dependent translational control: Implication in cancer progression

The importance of translational control in cancer progression has been underscored by a number of recent studies. However, little is known how cancer cells maintain their high efficiency of translation. Here, we summarize studies that support the role of integrins in translational control, especially at the initiation step, and discuss the various mechanisms by which integrins regulate the recruitment of translational machinery. This review also examines the hypothesis that integrins contribute to various aspects of cancer progression such as proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, and invasion through translational control.     

Necessary and sufficient stability condition of fractional-order interval linear systems

This paper establishes a necessary and sufficient stability condition of fractional-order interval linear systems. It is supposed that the system matrix A is an interval uncertain matrix and fractional commensurate order belongs to 1≤α<2. Using the existence condition of Hermitian P=P^∗ for a complex Lyapunov inequality, we prove that the fractional-order interval linear system is robust stable if and only if there exists Hermitian matrix P=P^∗ such that a certain type of complex Lyapunov inequality is satisfied for all vertex matrices. The results are directly extended to the robust stability condition of fractional-order interval polynomial systems.     

A -based layout design for gratings allocation

In the design process of gratings, the grating layout design is the most important activity influencing manufacturing cost. In the grating layout design, the key to saving manufacturing cost is to find a design with a minimal number of cutting operations. This paper presents an application of the A^* algorithm in grating layout design. The design problem is represented as the space search problem of design alternatives. A^* explores the feasible alternatives within the space, until an optimal solution is obtained.     

Effects of morphologies of (Cd+Te) powders on the properties of sintered CdS/CdTe solar cells

Polycrystalline CdS/CdTe solar cells have been prepared by coating and sintering a CdS slurry and a (Cd+Te) slurry. CdS layers were first formed on borosilicate glass substrates at 600°C in nitrogen and then CdTe layers were formed on the sintered CdS layers at 625°C in nitrogen. The (Cd+Te) slurry contained (Cd+Te) powders mixed in a ball mill for 12–220 h instead of more expensive CdTe powders. The shape of cadmium particles changed from spherical to plate-like and the diameter of the plate-shaped particles became smaller as the ball-milling time increased. In addition, a compound CdTe started to form during a long milling time. The sintered CdTe layers were more compact as the diameter of plate-shaped cadmium particles decreased. However, cracks developed in the sintered CdTe layer when the diameter was small ( 2 m). The efficiency of sintered CdS/CdTe solar cells increased with decreasing particle diameter and then decreased with further decrease in particle diameter. The highest efficiency of 12.1% was achieved using a mixture of (Cd+Te) powders which had plate-shaped cadmium particles with a diameter of 5 m. The results suggest that high-efficiency sintered CdS/CdTe solar cells can be fabricated by using CdTe slurry from the mixture of (Cd+Te) powders with an inexpensive ball-milling process.     

Latch Applicator for Efficient Delivery of Dissolving Microneedles Based on Rapid Release of Elastic Strain Energy by Thumb Force (Adv. Funct. Mater. 11/2023)

Dissolving microneedle (DMN) is an attractive alternative to parenteral and enteral drug administration owing to its painless self-administration and safety due to non-generation of medical waste. For reproducible and efficient DMN administration, various DMN application methods, such as weights, springs, and electromagnetic devices, have been studied. However, these applicators have complex structures that are complicated to use and high production costs. In this study, a latch applicator that consists of only simple plastic parts and operates via thumb force without any external complex device is developed. Protrusion-shaped latches and impact distances are designed to accumulate thumb force energy through elastic deformation and to control impact velocity. The optimized latch applicator with a pressing force of 25 N and an impact velocity of 5.9 m s⁻¹ fully inserts the drug-loaded tip of the two-layered DMN into the skin. In an ovalbumin immunization test, DMN with the latch applicator shows a significantly higher IgG antibody production rate than that of intramuscular injection. The latch applicator, which provides effective DMN insertion and a competitive price compared with conventional syringes, has great potential to improve delivery of drugs, including vaccines.     

Skin-like Omnidirectional Stretchable Platform with Negative Poisson's Ratio for Wearable Strain–Pressure Simultaneous Sensor

Conventional elastomeric polymers used as substrates for wearable platforms have large positive Poisson's ratios (≈0.5) that cause a deformation mismatch with human skin that is multidirectionally elongated under bending of joints. This causes practical problems in elastomer-based wearable devices, such as delamination and detachment, leading to poorly reliable functionality. To overcome this issue, auxetic-structured mechanical reinforcement with glass fibers is applied to the elastomeric film, resulting in a negative Poisson's ratio (NPR), which is a skin-like stretchable substrate (SLSS). Several parameters for determining the materials and geometrical dimensions of the auxetic-structured reinforcing fillers are considered to maximize the NPR. Based on numerical simulation and digital image correlation analysis, the deformation tendencies and strain distribution of the SLSS are investigated and compared with those of the pristine elastomeric substrate. Owing to the strain-localization characteristics, an independent strain-pressure sensing system is fabricated using SLSS with a Ag-based elastomeric ink and a carbon nanotube-based force-sensitive resistor. Finally, it is demonstrated that the SLSS-based sensor platform can be applied as a wearable device to monitor the physical burden on the wrist in real time.