Challenges and Opportunities in Robotic Food Handling: A Review

Despite developments in robotics and automation technologies, several challenges need to be addressed to fulfill the high demand for automating various manufacturing processes in the food industry. In our opinion, these challenges can be classified as: the development of robotic end-effectors to cope with large variations of food products with high practicality and low cost, recognition of food products and materials in 3D scenario, better understanding of fundamental information of food products including food categorization and physical properties from the viewpoint of robotic handling. In this review, we first introduce the challenges in robotic food handling and then highlight the advances in robotic end-effectors, food recognition, and fundamental information of food products related to robotic food handling. Finally, future research directions and opportunities are discussed based on an analysis of the challenges and state-of-the-art developments.

Simultaneous control of natural and extra degrees of freedom by isometric force and electromyographic activity in the muscle-to-force null space

Objective. Muscle activation patterns in the muscle-to-force null space, i.e., patterns that do not generate task-relevant forces, may provide an opportunity for motor augmentation by allowing to control additional end-effectors simultaneously to natural limbs. Here we tested the feasibility of muscular null space control for augmentation by assessing simultaneous control of natural and extra degrees of freedom. Approach. We instructed eight participants to control translation and rotation of a virtual 3D end-effector by simultaneous generation of isometric force at the hand and null space activity extracted in real-time from the electromyographic signals recorded from 15 shoulder and arm muscles. First, we identified the null space components that each participant could control more naturally by voluntary co-contraction. Then, participants performed several blocks of a reaching and holding task. They displaced an ellipsoidal cursor to reach one of nine targets by generating force, and simultaneously rotated the cursor to match the target orientation by activating null space components. We developed an information-theoretic metric, an index of difficulty defined as the sum of a spatial and a temporal term, to assess individual null space control ability for both reaching and holding. Main Results. On average, participants could reach the targets in most trials already in the first block (72%) and they improved with practice (maximum 93%) but holding performance remained lower (maximum 43%). As there was a high inter-individual variability in performance, we performed a simulation with different spatial and temporal task conditions to estimate those for which each individual participants would have performed best. Significance. Muscular null space control is feasible and may be used to control additional virtual or robotics end-effectors. However, decoding of motor commands must be optimized according to individual null space control ability.

Mitochondrial Channels and their Role in Cardioprotection

Mitochondria play a pivotal role in cardioprotection. The major cardioprotective mechanism is ischemic preconditioning (IpreC), through which short periods of ischemia protect a subsequent prolonged acute ischemic episode. Mitochondria channels, particularly the potassium channels (mitoK) such as ATP-dependent and calcium-activated potassium channels, have been suggested as trigger or end effectors in IpreC. Activators of mitoK are promising therapeutic agents for the treatment of the myocardial injury due to ischemic episodes. In this chapter, we are summarizing our current knowledge on the physiology function of different mitochondrial channels with a focus on the potassium channels and their mechanism in cardioprotection. Furthermore, the currently under development therapy by targeting the mitochondrial channels for the treatment of heart failure are also discussed.

An overview of pruning and harvesting manipulators

Purpose The motivation for robotics research in the agricultural field has sparked in consequence of the increasing world population and decreasing agricultural labor availability. This paper aims to analyze the state of the art of pruning and harvesting manipulators used in agriculture. Design/methodology/approach A research was performed on papers that corresponded to specific keywords. Ten papers were selected based on a set of attributes that made them adequate for review. Findings The pruning manipulators were used in two different scenarios: grapevines and apple trees. These manipulators showed that a light-controlled environment could reduce visual errors and that prismatic joints on the manipulator are advantageous to obtain a higher reach. The harvesting manipulators were used for three types of fruits: strawberries, tomatoes and apples. These manipulators revealed that different kinematic configurations are required for different kinds of end-effectors, as some of these tools only require movement in the horizontal axis and others are required to reach the target with a broad range of orientations. Originality/value This work serves to reduce the gap in the literature regarding agricultural manipulators and will support new developments of novel solutions related to agricultural robotic grasping and manipulation.

Design of Laparoscopic Executive Instruments for Robots

The main objective of this work is focused on improving some technical deficiencies of existing laparoscopic executive instruments to robots. For this reason two main problems have been overtaken: i) to perform a kinematic-structural analysis of existing executive instruments by structural and kinematic criteria, to estimate their engineering characteristics, motivating the need to develop new ones and ii) to develop functionally operating model of an executive tool, with simplified kinematics of actuation of end-effectors, with higher reliability and easier support of the sterility of the instrument. In contrast to daVinchi robot system which includes structures with three orthogonal rotations this study describes other decision with combination of perpendicular and parallel rotations. The design is simplified, no additional transmission mechanisms of the executive links are required, which in turn facilitates the process of control of the device and proved higher reliability.

Telemedical percussion: objectifying a fundamental clinical examination technique for telemedicine

Purpose While demand for telemedicine is increasing, patients are currently restricted to tele-consultation for the most part. Fundamental diagnostics like the percussion still require the in person expertize of a physician. To meet today’s challenges, a transformation of the manual percussion into a standardized, digital version, ready for telemedical execution is required. Methods In conjunction with a comprehensive telemedical diagnostic system, in which patients can get examined by a remote-physician, a series of three robotic end-effectors for mechanical percussion were developed. Comprising a motor, a magnetic and a pneumatic-based version, the devices strike a pleximeter to perform the percussion. Emitted sounds were captured using a microphone-equipped stethoscope. The 84 recordings were further integrated into a survey in order to classify lung and non-lung samples. Results The study with 21 participants comprised physicians, medical students and non-medical-related raters in equal parts. With 71.4% correctly classified samples, the ventral motorized device prevailed. While the result is significantly better compared to a manual or pneumatic percussion in this very setup, it only has a small edge over the magnetic devices. In addition, for all ventral versions non-lung regions were rather correctly identified than lung regions. Conclusion The overall setup proves the feasibility of a telemedical percussion. Despite the fact, that produced sounds differ compared to today’s manual technique, the study shows that a standardized mechanical percussion has the potential to improve the gold standard’s accuracy. While further extensive medical evaluation is yet to come, the system paves the way for future uncompromised remote examinations.