Figure 1: Our biomechanical simulation and control framework can model the human hand performing tasks such as writing (a-b), and typing on a keyboard (c). We can also simulate clinical conditions such as boutonniére deformity (d) by cutting a tendon insertion.
AbstractThe tendons of the hand and other biomechanical systems form a complex network of sheaths, pulleys, and branches. By modeling these anatomical structures, we obtain realistic simulations of coordination and dynamics that were previously not possible. First, we introduce Eulerian-on-Lagrangian discretization of tendon strands, with a new selective quasistatic formulation that eliminates unnecessary degrees of freedom in the longitudinal direction, while maintaining the dynamic behavior in transverse directions. This formulation also allows us to take larger time steps. Second, we introduce two control methods for biomechanical systems: first, a general-purpose learning-based approach requiring no previous system knowledge, and a second approach using data extracted from the simulator. We use various examples to compare the performance of these controllers.
An Intelligent Real Time Design (IRTD) methodology is presented for component selection applications under the reality of uncertain and incomplete information. A decision analytic approach is developed with the goal of assisting designers in making decisions that balance the cost of the limited resources consumed during the design process, such as the designer’s time, against the benefit to be derived from the utilization of those resources in terms of expectations of an improved design. This approach is shown to complement other formal methods for design based on interval arithmetic and qualitative optimization, and a general methodology is proposed for performing component selection utilizing a combination of these methods. An example application to the selection of rolling element bearings is presented to clarify the methodology and demonstrate its effectiveness in providing guidance to designers when selecting elements from a component database.
We derive bounds on the eigenvalues of a generic form of double saddle-point matrices. The bounds are expressed in terms of extremal eigenvalues and singular values of the associated block matrices. Inertia and algebraic multiplicity of eigenvalues are considered as well. The analysis includes bounds for preconditioned matrices based on block diagonal preconditioners using Schur complements, and it is shown that in this case the eigenvalues are clustered within a few intervals bounded away from zero. Analysis for approximations of Schur complements is included. Some numerical experiments validate our analytical findings.
In this paper, strategies appropriate for the computer support of engineering catalog selection are presented for selection problems involving multiple objectives. Problems with and without random and uncertain parameters are considered, and appropriate computer-assisted methods for their solution developed. Special attention is paid to the question of when the generation of a utility function using the methods of multi-attribute utility analysis is a useful part of the selection method. Motor catalog selection examples are used to clarify the concepts.
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