This paper presents a gripper module for a snakelike robot to perform search and rescue tasks in a narrow space. The proposed gripper module has three features: (1) It can accommodate the fingers inside its body. (2) It has three fingers that can grip objects with irregular surfaces stably. (3) One of the fingers is equipped with a camera on the fingertip to search in a narrow space. To implement the above features in a small, light, and compact gripper module, we propose a novel design of a gripper module with three fingers and eight degrees of freedom. The joint configuration of the proposed gripper is unique compared with a general-type gripper. A prototype of the proposed gripper module has been integrated into a snake-like robot to demonstrate its capability of performing rescue tasks in a collapsed environment. The three features of the proposed gripper module are experimentally verified: it is light (0.4kg), small (less than 68mm in diameter), and powerful (grasping force = 2.48kgf).
Welding is one of the most fundamental and necessary work in the industry that demand sophistication of skilled workers. This study is to introduce welding simulator as a training tool, to verify its effectiveness and to measure satisfaction of the trainees. A group of freshman students at a Korea Polytechnics College in their twenties with less experience of welding participated in the study. They were divided into two groups and took a traditional training course (comparison group) and a training course with welding simulator applied reality/haptic technology (experimental group) for same hours respectively. To evaluate training effect, a national certificate test and a survey based on Phillips' ROI (Return on Investment) methodology were conducted by the students and the college respectively. And satisfaction survey among the students based on Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Evaluation Model was also carried out. The results showed that all students in the experimental group passed the national certificate test and the ROI of the experimental group for five years were 110% higher than the comparison group. Furthermore, 25% more students in the experimental group replied "very satisfied" about the overall training course and 75% more students in the same group found that the simulation was very similar to the real welding.
Teleoperation, in which humans and robots work together to improve work performance, is growing explosively. However, the work performance of teleoperation is not yet excellent. Master–slave systems with different kinematics and workspaces need space-transformation control techniques. These techniques cause psychological fatigue to an operator with poor manipulation skills. In this study, we propose an intuitive master design that focuses on fatigue. Large workspaces reduce mental fatigue; however, they lead to physical fatigue problems. To solve this problem, we reflect the role of actuators in the design, through functional separation using movement and gravity compensation. This study proposes the design and prototype fabrication of an intuitive master K-handler to improve remote-work performance. The K-handler features six degrees of freedom (DoF), an anthropomorphic structure, and a lightweight nature. It has a reach long enough to cover the workspace of the human arm to reduce mental fatigue. In addition, gravity compensation, which can reduce the operator’s physical fatigue during operation, is possible in all workspace areas.
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