Sharif Digital Repository

The aim of this paper is the design and development of a novel user interface to interact with a meta system. Our focus is rather on interacting with Ambient Intelligence as a whole, which would for example enable users to influence the overall behaviors and attributes of dynamic device compositions. We call such interfaces Meta User Interfaces. The design details of a proposed user interface as well as a cognitive walkthrough evaluation are presented in this paper  

With the increasing trend toward Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) procedures, the need to develop new robotic systems to facilitate such surgeries is more and more recognized. This paper describes the design and development of a 4 DOF force-reflective master robot (RoboMaster1) for haptic telesurgery applications. A two-double parallelogram robot is introduced including a novel mechanism at the base for producing and control of the end effector's linear motion. This eliminates the deficiencies caused due to suspending massive actuators at the end effector or cabling from the base. The kinematics and work space of the system were analyzed and a prototype was developed for primary practical... 

The main purpose of this study is to generate optimal transition trajectories for an aerial tail sitter that uses cross-coupled thrust-vectoring control. A transition maneuver is most challenging for such configurations due to coupling of the forces and moments with instability in the most critical low-speed flight phases. Based on the classical Cauchy method, an improved gradient-based algorithm is developed in a collaborative process in order to find transition trajectories and increase the convergence rate. The cost function is defined in terms of minimum time in transition from hover to cruise and minimum altitude variations from cruise to hover. In addition, physical constraints are... 

Robot-mediated rehabilitation is a rapidly advancing discipline that seeks to develop improved treatment procedures using new technologies, e.g., robotics, coupled with modern theories in neuroscience and rehabilitation. A robotic device was designed and developed for rehabilitation of upper limbs of post stroke patients. A novel force feedback bimanual working mode provided real-time dynamic sensation of the paretic hand. Results of the preliminary clinical tests revealed a quantitative evaluation of the patient's level of paresis and disability. ©2009 IEEE  

This paper will focus on the design and development of a new gait training robotic device (LOKOIRAN) for patients with balance and locomotion disorders. The process of rehabilitation in this system is based on partial weight bearing system and programmable foot-plate training. The system consisted of several subsystems following: Driving and transmission system, back supporting system, leg exoskeleton, body weight support system and control system. A virtual reality environment was also designed and integrated to the system in order to motivate patients during rehabilitation protocol. The experimental tests on healthy subjects were performed to evaluate the performances of mechanical and... 

In this paper, a mobile manipulator is developed and studied in order to manipulate the complicated objects and navigate in an indoor environment. The arm consists of an actuator that makes the first linkage to move in two degrees of freedom in the first step of the task. In the next mode of the task, another actuator causes the second linkage to move in the third degree of freedom. In addition, the arm contains a gripper that grabs a variety of objects such as a screw. Therefore, the robotic arm can manipulate objects, and the mobile robot connected to the arm can detect, classify and track targets in its surrounding. Results carried out that the manufactured robot is able to manipulate and... 

In the past decades, Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) have been increasingly developed. Providing secure and efficient communication is essential in VANETs. One of most important challenges in the secure and efficient communications is proposing an appropriate authentication scheme. In this paper, we suggest an efficient and novel authentication scheme for VANETs. In the proposed scheme, vehicles authenticate each other without any limitation such as need for group of signers, online Road Side Units (RSUs), a set of pseudo identities and tamper-proof devices. Moreover, our simulation shows that the proposed scheme is well designed and efficient. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC  

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) have been introduced to significantly reduce the temperature and thermal stresses on structures at severe thermal loading. Design and development of FGMs as the heat treatable and energy-absorbing materials for high-temperature and thermal protection systems requires understanding of exact temperature and thermal stress distribution, in order to optimize their resistance to failure. In this study, transient temperature and associated thermal stresses in a functionally graded slab symmetrically heated on both sides are determined by separation of the variables scheme. This method is applied to the heat conduction equation in terms of heat flux for... 

A robotic system was designed and developed to perform the camera handling task during laparoscopic surgery. The system employs an effective low cost mechanism, with a minimum number of actuated DOFs, enabling spherical movement around a remote centre of motion positioned at the the insertion point of the laparoscopic stem. Kinematic analysis showed a high manipulability measure for the system, with the left/right movements directly governed by rotation of the first rotary actuator, and zoom and up/down movements by the simultaneous motions of the linear and second rotary actuators. A prototype of the robot was developed for practical use in an operating room environment. Hands-free operator... 

Design and development of biodegradable scaffolds with highly uniform and controlled internal structure that stimulate tissue regeneration are the focus of many studies. The aim of this work is to apply a modified three-dimensional (3D) printing process to fabricate polymer-matrix composites with controlled internal architecture. Computationally-designed plaster molds with various pore sizes in the range of 300-800. μm were prepared by employing 3D printing of a water-based binder. The molds were converted to ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) and PCL/bioactive glass (BG) composite scaffolds by solvent casting and freeze drying methods. Optical and electron microscopy studies revealed that the pore... 

Nanotechnology is gaining more attention in biotechnological applications as a research area with a huge potential. Nanoparticles (NPs)can influence the rate of anaerobic digestion (AD)as the nano-sized structures, with specific physicochemical properties, interact with substrate and microorganisms. The present work has classified the various types of additives used to improve the AD processes. Nanomaterials as new additives in AD process are classified into four categories: Zero-valent metallic NPs, Metal oxide NPs, Carbon based nanomaterials, and Multi-compound NPs. In the following, application of nanomaterials in AD process is reviewed and negative and positive effects of these materials... 

The design and development of efficient approaches for water–oil separation have had widespread interest. Most previously introduced techniques and materials used for development of the successful separation of oily wastewater could not answer all the desired demands, such as being efficient and environmentally and economically friendly. Therefore, in seeking a novel method capable of answering these expectations, surfaces with special wettability were introduced. A novel, reusable, and recyclable superhydrophilic and superoleophobic poly(Vsim-Vim)@PFOA@SiO2 nanocomposite-coated stainless steel mesh was synthesized through a facile preparation process. Since the most important factors of... 

The design and development of efficient approaches for water–oil separation have had widespread interest. Most previously introduced techniques and materials used for development of the successful separation of oily wastewater could not answer all the desired demands, such as being efficient and environmentally and economically friendly. Therefore, in seeking a novel method capable of answering these expectations, surfaces with special wettability were introduced. A novel, reusable, and recyclable superhydrophilic and superoleophobic poly(Vsim-Vim)@PFOA@SiO2 nanocomposite-coated stainless steel mesh was synthesized through a facile preparation process. Since the most important factors of... 

The stability and integrity of structures under indeterminant external loadings, particularly earthquakes, is a vital issue for the design and safe operation of marine and offshore structures. Over the past decades, many structural control systems, such as viscous-based systems, have been developed and embedded in marine and offshore structures, particularly oil platforms to maintain the stability and mitigate the seismic hazards. Rapid improvement in intelligent materials, including shape memory alloys (SMAs) and Magnetorheological fluid (MRF), have led to the design and development of efficient structural control elements. The present work aims to establish a framework for the structural... 

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the cross-coupled responses of a coupled rotor-fuselage flight dynamic simulation model, including a finite-state inflow aerodynamics and a coupled flap-lag and torsion flexible blade structure. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology is laid out based on model development for an articulated main rotor, using the theories of aeroelastisity, finite element and finite-state inflow formulation. The finite-state inflow formulation is based on a 3D unsteady Euler-based concepts presented in the time domain. The most advantages of the model are the capability of modeling dynamic wake effects, tip losses and skewed wake aerodynamics. This is,...