Submaximal cardiopulmonary thresholds on a robotics-assisted tilt table, a cycle and a treadmill: a comparative analysis

BACKGROUND: The robotics-assisted tilt table (RATT), including actuators for tilting and cyclical leg movement, is used for rehabilitation of severely disabled neurological patients. Following further engineering development of the system, i.e. the addition of force sensors and visual bio-feedback, patients can actively participate in exercise testing and training on the device. Peak cardiopulmonary performance parameters were previously investigated, but it also important to compare submaximal parameters with standard devices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the RATT for estimation of submaximal exercise thresholds by comparison with a cycle ergometer and a treadmill. METHODS: 17 healthy subjects randomly performed six maximal individualized incremental exercise tests, with two tests on each of the three exercise modalities. The ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT) and respiratory compensation point (RCP) were determined from breath-by-breath data. RESULTS: VAT and RCP on the RATT were lower than the cycle ergometer and the treadmill: oxygen uptake (V'O2) at VAT was [mean (SD)] 1.2 (0.3), 1.5 (0.4) and 1.6 (0.5) L/min, respectively (p < 0.001); V'O2 at RCP was 1.7 (0.4), 2.3 (0.8) and 2.6 (0.9) L/min, respectively (p = 0.001). High correlations for VAT and RCP were found between the RATT vs the cycle ergometer and RATT vs the treadmill (R on the range 0.69-0.80). VAT and RCP demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability for all three devices (ICC from 0.81 to 0.98). Mean differences between the test and retest values on each device were close to zero. The ventilatory equivalent for O2 at VAT for the RATT and cycle ergometer were similar and both were higher than the treadmill. The ventilatory equivalent for CO2 at RCP was similar for all devices. Ventilatory equivalent parameters demonstrated fair-to-excellent reliability and repeatability. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to use the RATT for estimation of submaximal exercise thresholds: VAT and RCP on the RATT were lower than the cycle ergometer and the treadmill, but there were high correlations between the RATT vs the cycle ergometer and vs the treadmill. Repeatability and test-retest reliability of all submaximal threshold parameters from the RATT were comparable to those of standard devices.

Investigation of robotics-assisted tilt table technology for cardiopulmonary exercise testing in stroke patients

Due to the lack of exercise testing devices that can be employed in stroke patients with severe disability, the aim of this PhD research was to investigate the clinical feasibility of using a robotics-assisted tilt table (RATT) as a method for cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and exercise training in stroke patients. For this purpose, the RATT was augmented with force sensors, a visual feedback system and a work rate calculation algorithm. As the RATT had not been used previously for CPET, the first phase of this project focused on a feasibility study in 11 healthy able-bodied subjects. The results demonstrated substantial cardiopulmonary responses, no complications were found, and the method was deemed feasible. The second phase was to analyse validity and test-retest reliability of the primary CPET parameters obtained from the RATT in 18 healthy able-bodied subjects and to compare the outcomes to those obtained from standard exercise testing devices (a cycle ergometer and a treadmill). The results demonstrated that peak oxygen uptake (V'O2peak) and oxygen uptake at the submaximal exercise thresholds on the RATT were ̴20% lower than for the cycle ergometer and ̴30% lower than on the treadmill. A very high correlation was found between the RATT vs the cycle ergometer V'O2peak and the RATT vs the treadmill V'O2peak. Test-retest reliability of CPET parameters obtained from the RATT were similarly high to those for standard exercise testing devices. These findings suggested that the RATT is a valid and reliable device for CPET and that it has potential to be used in severely impaired patients. Thus, the third phase was to investigate using the RATT for CPET and exercise training in 8 severely disabled stroke patients. The method was technically implementable, well tolerated by the patients, and substantial cardiopulmonary responses were observed. Additionally, all patients could exercise at the recommended training intensity for 10 min bouts. Finally, an investigation of test-retest reliability and four-week changes in cardiopulmonary fitness was carried out in 17 stroke patients with various degrees of disability. Good to excellent test-retest reliability and repeatability were found for the main CPET variables. There was no significant difference in most CPET parameters over four weeks. In conclusion, based on the demonstrated validity, reliability and repeatability, the RATT was found to be a feasible and appropriate alternative exercise testing and training device for patients who have limitations for use of standard devices.

Amorphous piezoresistive and piezoelectric sensors for robotics applications

Ultrasonic transducers have often been used in the development of sensory systems for robotics applications. In most cases, these sensory systems are based on the determination of times of flight for signals from every transducer. In this work we have used piezoresistive and piezoelectric materials to measure the instant and position collision in metallic structures by using the difference of the times of propagation of an acoustic wave when it is produced over a ferromagnetic (iron, steel or another material) based structure. An immediate application of the proposed method is the detection and location of impacts over the metallic links of an industrial robot or the collision position in a metallic structure for an automated inspection

A modelling language for the resilience assessment of networked systems of systems

Systems of Systems (SoS) present challenging features and existing tools result often inadequate for their analysis, especially for heteregeneous networked infrastructures. Most accident scenarios in networked systems cannot be addressed by a simplistic black or white (i.e. functioning or failed) approach. Slow deviations from nominal operation conditions may cause degraded behaviours that suddenly end up into unexpected malfunctioning, with large portions of the network affected. In this paper,we present a language for modelling networked SoS. The language makes it possible to represent interdependencies of various natures, e.g. technical, organizational and human. The representation of interdependencies is based on control relationships that exchange physical quantities and related information. The language also makes it possible the identification of accident scenarios, by representing the propagation of failure events throughout the network. The results can be used for assessing the effectiveness of those mechanisms and measures that contribute to the overall resilience, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. The presented modelling methodology is general enough to be applied in combination with already existing system analysis techniques, such as risk assessment, dependability and performance evaluation

The morphofunctional approach to emotion modelling in robotics

In this conceptual paper, we discuss two areas of research in robotics, robotic models of emotion and morphofunctional machines, and we explore the scope for potential cross-fertilization between them. We shift the focus in robot models of emotion from information-theoretic aspects of appraisal to the interactive significance of bodily dispositions. Typical emotional phenomena such as arousal and action readiness can be interpreted as morphofunctional processes, and their functionality may be replicated in robotic systems with morphologies that can be modulated for real-time adaptation. We investigate the control requirements for such systems, and present a possible bio-inspired architecture, based on the division of control between neural and endocrine systems in humans and animals. We suggest that emotional epi- sodes can be understood as emergent from the coordination of action control and action-readiness, respectively. This stress on morphology complements existing research on the information-theoretic aspects of emotion.

ARGoS: a modular, multi-engine simulator for heterogeneous swarm robotics

We present ARGoS, a novel open source multi-robot simulator. The main design focus of ARGoS is the real-time simulation of large heterogeneous swarms of robots. Existing robot simulators obtain scalability by imposing limitations on their extensibility and on the accuracy of the robot models. By contrast, in ARGoS we pursue a deeply modular approach that allows the user both to easily add custom features and to allocate computational resources where needed by the experiment. A unique feature of ARGoS is the possibility to use multiple physics engines of different types and to assign them to different parts of the environment. Robots can migrate from one engine to another transparently. This feature enables entirely novel classes of optimizations to improve scalability and paves the way for a new approach to parallelism in robotics simulation. Results show that ARGoS can simulate about 10,000 simple wheeled robots 40% faster than real-time.

Resilience analysis of networked systems-of-systems based on structural and dynamic interdependencies

Critical infrastructures support everyday activities in modern societies, facilitating the exchange of services and quantities of various nature. Their functioning is the result of the integration of diverse technologies, systems and organizations into a complex network of interconnections. Benefits from networking are accompanied by new threats and risks. In particular, because of the increased interdependency, disturbances and failures may propagate and render unstable the whole infrastructure network. This paper presents a methodology of resilience analysis of networked systems of systems. Resilience generalizes the concept of stability of a system around a state of equilibrium, with respect to a disturbance and its ability of preventing, resisting and recovery. The methodology provides a tool for the analysis of off-equilibrium conditions that may occur in a single system and propagate through the network of dependencies. The analysis is conducted in two stages. The first stage of the analysis is qualitative. It identifies the resilience scenarios, i.e. the sequence of events, triggered by an initial disturbance, which include failures and the system response. The second stage is quantitative. The most critical scenarios can be simulated, for the desired parameter settings, in order to check if they are successfully handled, i.e recovered to nominal conditions, or they end into the network failure. The proposed methodology aims at providing an effective support to resilience-informed design.

Introduction: Ontology Engineering in a Networked World

While ontology engineering is rapidly entering the mainstream, expert ontology engineers are a scarce resource. Hence, there is a need for practical methodologies and technologies, which can assist a variety of user types with ontology development tasks. To address this need, this book presents a scenario-based methodology, the NeOn Methodology, which provides guidance for all main activities in ontology engineering. The context in which we consider these activities is that of a networked world, where reuse of existing resources is commonplace, ontologies are developed collaboratively, and managing relationships between ontologies becomes an essential aspect of the ontological engineering process. The description of both the methodology and the ontology engineering activities is grounded in a comprehensive software environment, the NeOn Toolkit and its plugins, which provides integrated support for all the activities described in the book. Here we provide an introduction for the whole book, while the rest of the content is organized into 4 parts: (1) the NeOn Methodology Framework, (2) the set of ontology engineering activities, (3) the NeOn Toolkit and plugins, and (4) three use cases. Primary goals of this book are (a) to disseminate the results from the NeOn project in a structured and comprehensive form, (b) to make it easier for students and practitioners to adopt ontology engineering methods and tools, and (c) to provide a textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on ontology engineering.

An introduction to swarm robotics

Swarm robotics is a field of multi-robotics in which large number of robots are coordinated in a distributed and decentralised way. It is based on the use of local rules, and simple robots compared to the complexity of the task to achieve, and inspired by social insects. Large number of simple robots can perform complex tasks in a more efficient way than a single robot, giving robustness and flexibility to the group. In this article, an overview of swarm robotics is given, describing its main properties and characteristics and comparing it to general multi-robotic systems. A review of different research works and experimental results, together with a discussion of the future swarm robotics in real world applications completes this work.

A cooperative multi-agent robotics system: design and modelling

This paper presents the development of the robotic multi-agent system SMART. In this system, the agent concept is applied to both hardware and software entities. Hardware agents are robots, with three and four legs, and an IP-camera that takes images of the scene where the cooperative task is carried out. Hardware agents strongly cooperate with software agents. These latter agents can be classified into image processing, communications, task management and decision making, planning and trajectory generation agents. To model, control and evaluate the performance of cooperative tasks among agents, a kind of PetriNet, called Work-Flow Petri Net, is used. Experimental results shows the good performance of the system.

Collaborative Evolution Strategies on Evolvable Hardware Networked Elements

Dynamic and Partial Reconfiguration allows systems to change some parts of their hardware at run time. This feature favours the inclusion of evolutionary strategies to provide optimised solutions to the same problem so that they can be mixed and compared in a way that only the best ones prevail. At the same time, distributed intelligence permits systems to work in a collaborative way to jointly improve their global capabilities. This work presents a combination of both approaches where hardware evolution is performed both at local and network level in order to improve an image filter application in terms of performance, robustness and providing the capacity of avoiding local minimums, which is the main drawback of some evolutionary approaches.

Networked Utopia : the Architecture and Urbanism of the Bata Shoe Company Satellite Cities = Utopia en red : arquitectura y urbanismo en las ciudades satélite de la Bata Shoe Company, 1930 al presente

From its humble beginnings as a small workshop established by Tomáš Baťa in 1874, the Bata Shoe Company became a gigantic concern in the 1920s, built on the principles of scientific management and welfare capitalism. The growth of the company engulfed Zlín (in today’s Czech Republic), its hometown, and transformed it into a modern industrial garden city satisfying the needs of both a growing industrial population, and those of the company itself. As a reaction to the aftermath of the crisis of 1929, the enterprise began a strategy of decentralization and international expansion characterized by the design and construction of a series of modern industrial towns that replicated the model of Zlín around the globe. This study is an exhaustive survey of these cities, their rationale, design, and their postindustrial conditions; it is a comparative work that has used field trips, photography, interviews, and archival material to explain the logics behind Bata’s project, to document the design and implementation of the model to multiple contexts and geographies, and to evaluate of the urban legacy of this undertaking. Finally, the research explores the question of what can the design disciplines, and other parties involved, learn from a full synthesis on the history and urbanism of the Bata satellite cities with regard to the re-imagination and sustainability of contemporary industry-sponsored interventions in developing geographies. RESUMEN Con origen en un humilde y pequeño taller fundado en 1874 por Tomáš Baťa, la Bata Shoe Company creció hasta convertirse en una gigantesca empresa en los anos 20, fundada en principios de control científico de la producción y capitalismo de bienestar. El crecimiento de la compañía se extendió por Zlín (en la actual República Checa), su pueblo de nacimiento, y la transformó en una moderna ciudad jardín industrial capaz de satisfacer las necesidades tanto de una población en alza como de la propia empresa. Como reacción a la crisis de 1929, Bata inició una estrategia de descentralización y expansión internacional caracterizada por el proyecto y construcción de modernas ciudades industriales que replicaron el modelo de Zlín por el mundo. Esta tesis es un estudio exhaustivo de estas ciudades: las razones detrás del proyecto, su diseño, y su condición post-industrial; es un estudio comparativo que se ha servido de trabajo de campo, documentación fotográfica, entrevistas y materiales de archivo para explicar la lógica detrás del proyecto de Bata, documentar el diseño e implementación de tal modelo en múltiples contextos y geografías, y valorar el legado urbano de esta empresa. Finalmente, la investigación evalúa qué podrían aprender las disciplinas del diseño y otras partes implicadas de una síntesis completa de la historia y el urbanismo de las ciudades satélite de Bata, en lo relativo a la reinvención y sostenibilidad de proyectos contemporáneos de la industria en geografías en desarrollo.

Robotic control systems based on bioinspired multi-agent systems: application of the principles of neuroscience to robotics

Robotics is a field that presents a large number of problems because it depends on a large number of disciplines, devices, technologies and tasks. Its expansion from perfectly controlled industrial environments toward open and dynamic environment presents a many new challenges, such as robots household robots or professional robots. To facilitate the rapid development of robotic systems, low cost, reusability of code, its medium and long term maintainability and robustness are required novel approaches to provide generic models and software systems who develop paradigms capable of solving these problems. For this purpose, in this paper we propose a model based on multi-agent systems inspired by the human nervous system able to transfer the control characteristics of the biological system and able to take advantage of the best properties of distributed software systems.