Fabricating Ir/C Nanofiber Networks as Free‐Standing Air Cathodes for Rechargeable Li‐CO2 Batteries

Li‐CO₂ batteries are promising energy storage systems by utilizing CO₂ at the same time, though there are still some critical barriers before its practical applications such as high charging overpotential and poor cycling stability. In this work, iridium/carbon nanofibers (Ir/CNFs) are prepared via electrospinning and subsequent heat treatment, and are used as cathode catalysts for rechargeable Li‐CO₂ batteries. Benefitting from the unique porous network structure and the high activity of ultrasmall Ir nanoparticles, Ir/CNFs exhibit excellent CO₂ reduction and evolution activities. The Li‐CO₂ batteries present extremely large discharge capacity, high coulombic efficiency, and long cycling life. Moreover, free‐standing Ir/CNF films are used directly as air cathodes to assemble Li‐CO₂ batteries, which show high energy density and ultralong operation time, demonstrating great potential for practical applications.     

复杂背景下跌落试验件的图像测试技术研究

为实现复杂背景条件下跌落试验件运动姿态参数的自动测试,采用数字图像处理技术提取复杂背景中的试验件特征图像,并利用计算机分析提取后的特征图像,实现了试验件姿态参数的计算机自动识别;实践表明,文中研究的图像处理方法可有效提取复杂背景下的目标试验件,此研究是计算机图像处理技术在武器工程自动化测试领域应用的有益尝试。     

Influence of smartphone use styles on typing performance and biomechanical exposure

Twenty-seven subjects completed 2-min typing tasks using four typing styles: right-hand holding/typing (S-thumb) and two-hand typing at three heights (B-low, B-mid and B-high). The styles had significant effects on typing performance, neck and elbow flexion and muscle activities of the right trapezius and several muscles of the right upper limb (p < 0.0001 by repeated-measure analysis of variance). The subjects typed the fewest words (error-adjusted characters per minute: 78) with the S-thumb style. S-thumb style resulted in similar flexion angles of the neck, elbow and wrist, but significantly increased muscle activities in all tested muscles compared with the B-mid style. Holding the phone high or low reduced the flexion angles of the neck and right elbow compared with the B-mid style, but the former styles increased the muscle activity of the right trapezius. Right-hand holding/typing was not a preferable posture due to high muscle activities and slow typing speed.

Practitioner Summary: Right-hand holding/typing was not favoured, due to increased muscle activities and slower typing speed. Holding the phone high or low reduced the flexion angles of the neck and right elbow, but the former styles increased the muscle activity of the right trapezius compared with holding the phone at chest level.     

Development of ergonomic posture recognition technique based on 2D ordinary camera for construction hazard prevention through view-invariant features in 2D skeleton motion

Outdoor tasks operated by construction workers are physically demanding, requiring awkward postures leading to pain, injury, accident, or permanent disability. Ergonomic posture recognition (EPR) technique could be a novel solution for ergonomic hazard monitoring and assessment, yet non-intrusiveness and applicability in complex outdoor environment are always critical considerations for device selection in construction site. Thus, we choose RGB camera to capture skeleton motions, which is non-intrusive for workers compared with wearable sensors. It is also stable and widely used in an outdoor construction site considering various light conditions and complex working areas. This study aims to develop an ergonomic posture recognition technique based on 2D ordinary camera for construction hazard prevention through view-invariant features in 2D skeleton motion. Based on captured 2D skeleton motion samples in the test-run, view-invariant features as classifier inputs were extracted to ensure the learned classifier not sensitive to various camera viewpoints and distances to a worker. Three posture classifiers regarding human back, arms, and legs were employed to ensure three postures to be recognized simultaneously in one video frame. The average accuracies of three classifiers in 5-fold cross validation were as high as 95.0%, 96.5%, and 97.6%, respectively, and the overall accuracies tested by three new activities regarding ergonomic assessment scores captured from different camera heights and viewpoints were 89.2%, 88.3%, and 87.6%, respectively. The developed EPR-aided construction accident auto-prevention technique demonstrated robust accuracy to support on-site postural ergonomic assessment for construction workers’ safety and health assurance.     

基于人体姿态检测的体感滑板控制系统设计

为改善电动滑板的易操纵性,设计了基于人体姿态检测的体感滑板控制系统.该系统由人体姿态检测与滑板主控两大部分组成.首先,通过实验,分析了人体以不同姿态驾驶滑板时MPU6050传感器采集到的加速度和角度的数据变化规律.在此基础上,确定了驾驶滑板时,识别人体姿态改变的方法.最后,制作了人体姿态检测与滑板控制电路,并编写了相应的控制程序.调试结果表明,该系统响应准确,达到了设计要求.     

The interaction between skill, postures, forces and back pain in wool handling

Wool handling is an important rural occupation where workers process 200 or more fleeces daily, separating them into various quality components. Loads and postures they experience carry substantial risk of low back pain (LBP). Although a formal skill training structure exists, interaction with loads and LBP is unknown. We examined whether skill and LBP influenced trunk postures and loads of 60 wool handlers representing 3 skill levels. LBP prevalence ranged from 20% for junior (lowest skill) to 45% for open class (highest skill) wool handlers. Open class wool handlers demonstrated increased lateral bend and more axially twisted postures, generating greater medio-lateral shear forces and lateral bend and axial twist moments. LBP was associated with open class wool handlers spending more time in severe axially twisted postures. These findings suggest that skill-based training needs to be reviewed to reduce the quantity of axially twisted posture which may help reduce the prevalence of LBP in this workforce.     

Indicators for choosing an optimal mix of major working postures

North American workers usually stand while working, and prolonged standing is associated with discomfort and cardiovascular problems. Since prolonged sitting is also associated with health problems, and standing postures differ as to mobility and access to seating, it is desirable to identify an optimal mix of postures. As a step towards this identification, it is desirable to develop indicators of potential health effects that respond to changes in work requirements. We observed 65 subjects who usually stood at work, in four types of workplaces. Pressure-pain threshold (PPT) recorded on the plantar surface was used as an indicator of discomfort and arterial blood pressure was used as an indicator of cardiovascular effects. PPT after work was significantly lower than that before work. Sitting for even a small part of the day appeared to be protective. The effects of static vs. dynamic work on PPT and arterial blood pressure may differ.     

Exploiting eye–hand coordination to detect grasping movements

Human beings are very skillful at reaching for and grasping objects under multiple conditions, even when faced with an object's wide variety of positions, locations, structures and orientations. This natural ability, controlled by the human brain, is called eye–hand coordination. To understand this behavior it is necessary to study both eye and hand movements simultaneously. This paper proposes a novel approach to detect grasping movements by means of computer vision techniques. This solution fuses two viewpoints, one viewpoint which is obtained from an eye-tracker capturing the user's perspective and a second viewpoint which is captured by a wearable camera attached to a user's wrist. Utilizing information from these two viewpoints it is possible to characterize multiple hand movements in conjunction with eye-gaze movements through a Hidden–Markov Model framework. This paper shows that combining these two sources makes it possible to detect hand gestures using only the objects contained in the scene even without markers on the surface of the objects. In addition, it is possible to detect which is the desired object before the user can actually grasp said object.     

Comparative analysis of the workload in seated and standing horizontal submaximal lifting tasks

The objective of the present laboratory study was to analyse physiological responses of horizontal lifting tasks when they were performed in sitting and standing positions. Heart rate and blood pressure were used as indices of circulatory strain. Lifting tasks were performed under four lifting positions: sitting-forward lift, sitting-twist lift, standing-forward lift, and standing-twist lift. The weights of the loads were 3, 5 and 7 kg and the frequencies of handling were 1, 4 and 6 lifts/min. This study supports the idea that heart rate is a sensitive measure for evaluating the effects of seated horizontal lifting tasks. The lifting positions and workload (frequency × load × distance) are important parameters in the design of these types of tasks. It appears that within the experimental values examined in this study, a seated position could be recommended while performing horizontal lifting tasks at workloads ≤4·6 kg.m.min ^?1;. The results are supported by smaller physiological responses.