324 Results Found

In this paper, the prototype of the assistive suit for lower limbs was developed. The prototype was based on an assist method with joint stiffness and antagonized angle control. The assist method comprises a system consisting of a pneumatic artificia...

Power assistive devices have been developed in recent years. To detect the wearer’s motion, conventional devices require users to wear sensors. However, wearing many sensors increases the wearing time, and usability of the device will become wo...

Concerning the biomechanics and energy consumption of the lower limbs, a soft exoskeleton for the powered plantar flexion of the ankle, named A-Suit, was developed to improve walking endurance in the lower limbs and reduce metabolic consumption. The...

A soft exoskeleton for the hip flexion, named H-Suit, is developed to improve the walking endurance of lower limbs, delay muscle fatigue and reduce the activation level of hip flexors. Based on the kinematics and biomechanics of the hip joints, the e...

In this work, we describe the implementation of an infrastructure of conversational chatbots by using natural language processing and training within the Rasa framework. We use this infrastructure to create a chatbot assistant for the users of a bioi...

Japanese agriculture is facing a decrease in agricultural workers. Mechanization, both to save time and reduce physical input, is essential to solving this issue. Recent worldwide progress in Internet-of-things technology has enabled the application...

Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) or Services (AAS) may cause stress in participating dogs, making the selection of suitable individuals essential to prevent strain. Different non-standardized approaches currently exist to assess dogs’ suita...

As a walking assistive device for elderly persons, one of the major aims should be to improve and rehabilitate gait characteristics after long-term repeated use of the device. However, most of the existing research on walking assistive devices only e...

The population in the world is aging dramatically, and therefore, the economic and social effort required to maintain the quality of life is being increased. Assistive technologies are progressively expanding and present great opportunities; however,...

Background: The aims of this study are as follows: (1) to investigate the level and probability of bacterial contamination on scrub suits over time for medical personnel working inside and/or outside the operating room (OR) area; (2) to discuss the p...

Smart mobile devices, due to their ubiquitous nature and high level penetration in everyday life, can be a key component of an Ambient Assisted Living system to improve the quality of life of older people. This paper presents the development and eval...

The present study aims to evaluate the advantages of a master-slave robotic rehabilitation therapy in which the patient is assisted in real-time by a therapist. We have also explored if this type of strategy is applicable in a tele-rehabilitation env...

Early in the 1990s, recommender systems emerged to assist users in dealing with the cognitive overload caused by the internet. Since then, similar systems have expanded into many more capacities, such as assisting users in exploration, enhancing deci...

Xenotransplantation of pig organs receives substantial attention for being comparable to human’s. However, compatibility constraints involving hyper-acute rejection (HAR) still block clinical applications. Transgenesis of human complement regulatory...

Industrial assistive systems result from a multidisciplinary effort that integrates IoT (and Industrial IoT), Cognetics, and Artificial Intelligence. This paper evaluates the Prediction by Partial Matching algorithm as a component of an assembly assi...

In order to further improve performance of the Slime Mould Algorithm, the Enhanced Multi-Strategy Slime Mould Algorithm (EMSMA) is proposed in this paper. There are three main modifications to SMA. Firstly, a leader covariance learning strategy is pr...

Fitness and sport have drawn significant attention in wearable and persuasive computing. Physical activities are worthwhile for health, well-being, improved fitness levels, lower mental pressure and tension levels. Nonetheless, during high-power and...

Despite rapid growth in the body of research on ankle exoskeletons, we have so far not seen their massive adoption in clinical rehabilitation. We foresee that an ankle exo best suited to rehabilitation use should possess the power generation capabili...

Manual test case generation is an exhaustive and time-consuming process. However, automated test data generation may reduce the efforts and assist in creating an adequate test suite embracing predefined goals. The quality of a test suite depends on i...

Coastal protection, an important coral reef ecosystem service, is threatened by increasing coral mortality, exacerbated by global climate change. Nature-based solutions in the form of coral restoration, while not perfect, can assist in rebuilding ree...

This paper presents different prediction methods based on decision tree and ensemble learning to suggest possible next assembly steps. The predictor is designed to be a component of a sensor-based assembly assistance system whose goal is to provide s...

DNA sequence analysis is undertaken in many biological research laboratories. The workflow consists of several steps involving the bioinformatic processing of biological data. We have developed a suite of web-based online bioinformatic tools to assis...

This journal review article focuses on the use of assistive and rehabilitative exoskeletons as a new opportunity for individuals with diminished mobility. The article aims to identify gaps and inconsistencies in state-of-the-art assistive and rehabil...

A solvent-free, microwave-assisted approach for the ring-opening reactions of phenyl glycidyl ether with a series of commercially available imidazoles and pyrazoles is described. Microwave irradiation allows reactions to proceed rapidly. This straigh...

Assessing executive functions in individuals with disorders or clinical conditions can be challenging, as they may lack the abilities needed for conventional test formats. The use of more personalized test versions, such as adaptive assessments, migh...

Mogok gem corundum samples from twelve localities were analyzed for trace element signatures (LA-ICP-MS method) and oxygen isotope values (δ18O, by laser fluorination). The study augmented earlier findings on Mogok gem suites that suggested the Mogo...

Information about forest cover and its characteristics are essential in national and international forest inventories, monitoring programs, and reporting activities. Two of the most common forest variables needed to support sustainable forest managem...

Pumps As Turbines (PATs) are a class of unconventional hydraulic turbines consisting of standard water pumps working in reverse mode as the prime mover. Such devices can be well suited for either in-pipe energy recovery or small-scale hydropower, but...

This article presents a new holistic multi-objective design approach for the optimization of Arctic Offshore Supply Vessels (OSVs) for cost- and eco-efficiency. The approach is intended to be used in the conceptual design phase of an Arctic OSV. It i...

The adoption of methodologies and practices from distance learning (MOOC) and gamification is a promising basis to facilitate the design of a new generation of MOOCs (massive online open courses) and well suited for XR-based immersive shared social s...

Risk stratification to assess healthcare outcomes among older people is challenging due to the interplay of multiple syndromes and conditions. Different short risk-screening tools can assist but the most useful instruments to predict responses and ou...

The Internet of Things (IoT) envisions billions of everyday objects sharing information. As new devices, applications and communication protocols are proposed for the IoT context, their evaluation, comparison, tuning and optimization become crucial a...

Since modern ambient assisted living solutions integrate a multitude of assisted-living functionalities, out of which some are safety critical, it is desirable that these systems are analyzed at their design stage to detect possible errors. To achiev...

Students with special needs should be empowered to use assistive technologies and services that suit their individual circumstances and environments to maximize their learning attainment. Fortunately, modern distributed computing paradigms, such as t...

Discrete event modeling and simulation and reinforcement learning are two frameworks suited for cyberphysical system design, which, when combined, can give powerful tools for system optimization or decision making process for example. This paper desc...

Due to demographic change, there is an increasing demand for professional care services, whereby this demand cannot be met by available caregivers. To enable adequate care by relieving informal and formal care, the independence of people with chronic...

(1) Background: An iterative learning control (ILC) strategy was developed for a “Muscle First” Motor-Assisted Hybrid Neuroprosthesis (MAHNP). The MAHNP combines a backdrivable exoskeletal brace with neural stimulation technology to enabl...

Neurorobotic augmentation (e.g., robotic assist) is now in regular use to support individuals suffering from impaired motor functions. A major unresolved challenge, however, is the excessive cognitive load necessary for the human–machine interf...

Flexibility and light weight have become the development trends in the field of exoskeleton research. With high movement flexibility, low movable inertia and excellent wearable comfort, such a type of system is gradually becoming an exclusive candida...

Regular physical exercise is essential for overall health; however, it is also crucial to mitigate the probability of injuries due to incorrect exercise executions. Existing health or fitness applications often neglect accurate full-body motion recog...

The accurate estimation of flow angles is crucial for enhancing flight performance and aircraft safety. Flow angles of fixed-wing small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) are more vulnerable due to their low airspeed. Current flow angle measurement dev...

The aim of this study was to valorize the oil recovery from red and white grape seeds (Vitis vinifera L.) that remains as by-product after the winemaking process. Oils were extracted by modern techniques, ultrasound assisted (UAE), microwave assisted...

Indonesia needs a daily monitoring system due to its frequent fires and, more importantly, to assist stakeholders in the field in taking action to mitigate disasters. Our method simplified the number of hotspots for field-based purposes and was verif...

With the ongoing research on soft robots, the performance of soft actuators needs to be enhanced for more wide robotic applications. Currently, most soft robots based on pneumatic actuation are capable of assisting small systems, but they are not ful...

The principal drivers of Grassland Biome conversion and degradation in South Africa include agricultural intensification, plantation forestry, urban expansion and mining, together with invasive non-native plants and insidious rural sprawl. This biome...

Stagnation remains a persistent challenge in optimization with metaheuristic algorithms (MAs), often leading to premature convergence and inefficient use of the remaining evaluation budget. This study introduces MsMA, a novel meta-level strategy that...

In this research article, a novel endoscopic system, which is suited to perform a digital inspection of the aircraft wing fuel tanks, is introduced. The aim of this work is to specifically design and develop an assisting system, called `Eeloscope’, t...

To fully leverage the benefits of augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR) in supporting users, it is crucial to establish a consistent and well-defined situated visualization (SV) model. SV encompasses visualizations that adapt based on context, consider...

In this study, parameter adaptation methods for differential evolution are automatically designed using a surrogate approach. In particular, Taylor series are applied to model the searched dependence between the algorithm’s parameters and value...

Sperm cryopreservation is a widely used assisted reproductive technology for canine species. The long-term storage of dog sperm is effective for the breeding of dogs living far apart, scheduling the time of artificial insemination that suits the fema...