Design and implementation of robot gripper interface

This thesis presents a design for an asynchronous interface to Robotiq adaptive gripper s-model. Designed interface is a communication layer that works on top of modbus layer. The design contains function definitions, finite state machine and exceptions. The design was not fully implemented but enough was so that it can be used. The implementation was done with c++ in linux environment. Additionally to the implementation a simple demo program was made to show the interface is used. Also grippers closing speed and force were measured. There is also a brief introduction into robotics and robot grasping.

Enterprise applications migration to the cloud: risks and opportunities

Millions of enterprises move their applications to a cloud every year. According to Forrester Research “the global cloud computing market will grow from a $40.7 billion in 2011 to $241 billion in 2020”. Due to increased interests and demand broad range of providers and solutions have appeared in the market. It is vital to be able to predict possible problems correctly and to classify and mitigate risks associated with the migration process. The study will show the main criteria that should be taken into consideration while making decision of moving enterprise applications to the cloud and choosing appropriate vendor. The main goal of the research is to identify main problems during the migration to a cloud and propose a solution for their prevention and mitigation of consequences in case of occurrence. The research provides an overview of existing cloud solutions and deployment models for enterprise applications. It identifies decision drivers of an applications migration to a cloud and potential risks and benefits associated with this. Finally, the best practices for the successful enterprise-to-cloud migration based on the case studies analysis are formulated.

The materno-fetal interface in llama (Lama guanicoe glama)

Samples from 9 llamas (28 through 36 weeks of gestation) were collected and fixed in 4% buffered paraformaldehyde (light microscopy) and in 2.5% buffered glutaraldehyde (transmission and scanning electron microscopy). The material was processed in paraplast and slides (5mm) were stained with HE, PAS, Masson-Trichrome, acid phosphatase and Perl's. The uteroferrin was immunolocalized. The results show that llama placenta is chorioallantoic, diffuse, folded and epitheliochorial, and the fetus is covered with an epidermal membrane. The trophoblast cells have variable morphology: cubic, rounded and triangular cells, with cytoplasm containing PAS-positive granules. Binucleated cells with large cytoplasm and rounded nuclei, as well as giant trophoblastic cells with multiple nuclei were also observed. Numerous blood vessels were observed beneath the cells of the uterine epithelium and around the chorionic subdivided branches. Glandular activity was shown by PAS, Perl's, and acid phosphatase positive reactions in the cytoplasm and glandular lumen, and by immunolocalization of the uteroferrin in the glandular epithelium. The uterine glands open in spaces formed by the areoles, which are filled by PAS-positive material. The llama fetus was covered by the epidermal membrane, composed of stratified epithelium, with up to seven layers of mono-, bi- or trinucleated cells. The high level of maternal and fetal vascularization surfaces indicates an intense exchange of substances across both surfaces. The metabolic activity shown in the uterine glands suggests an adaptation of the gestation to the high altitudes of the natural habitat of this species.

Evaluation of resistance in a selected field strain of Haemonchus contortus to ivermectin and moxidectin using the Larval Migration on Agar Test

Haemonchus contortus is one of the most common and economically significant causes of disease in small ruminants worldwide, and the control programs of parasitic nematodes - including H. contortus - rely mostly on the use of anthelmintic drugs. The consequence of the use of this, as the sole sanitary strategy to avoid parasite infections, was the reduction of the efficacy of all chemotherapeutic products with a heavy selection for resistance. The widespread of anthelmintic resistance and the difficulty of its early diagnosis has been a major concern for the sustainable parasite management on farms. The objective of this research was to determine and compare the ivermectin (IVM) and moxidectin (MOX) effect in a selected field strain of H. contortus with a known resistance status, using the in vitro larval migration on agar test (LMAT). Third stage larvae of the selected isolate were obtained from faecal cultures of experimentally infected sheep and incubated in eleven increasing diluted concentrations of IVM and MOX (6, 12, 24, 48, 96, 192, 384, 768, 1536, 3072 and 6144µg/mL). The dose-response sigmoidal curves were obtained using the R² value of >0.90 and the lethal concentration (LC50) dose for the tested anthelmintic drugs using a four-parameter logistic model. The LC50 value for MOX was significantly lower than IVM (1.253µg/mL and 91.06µg/mL), identifying the H. contortus isolate as considerably less susceptible to IVM compared to MOX. Furthermore, the LMAT showed a high consistency (p<0.0001) and provided to be a useful diagnostic tool for monitoring the resistance status of IVM and MOX in H. contortus field isolate, as well as it may be used for official routine drug monitoring programs under the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) guidance.

Virtual technology and haptic interface solutions for design and control of mobile working machines

Commercially available haptic interfaces are usable for many purposes. However, as generic devices they are not the most suitable for the control of heavy duty mobile working machines like mining machines, container handling equipment and excavators. Alternative mechanical constructions for a haptic controller are presented and analysed. A virtual reality environment (VRE) was built to test the proposed haptic controller mechanisms. Verification of an electric motor emulating a hydraulic pump in the electro-hydraulic system of a mobile working machine is carried out. A real-time simulator using multi-body-dynamics based software with hardware-in-loop (HIL) setup was used for the tests. Recommendations for further development of a haptic controller and emulator electric motor are given.

Model-View-Controller architectural pattern and its evolution in graphical user interface frameworks

Model-View-Controller (MVC) is an architectural pattern used in software development for graphical user interfaces. It was one of the first proposed solutions in the late 1970s to the Smart UI anti-pattern, which refers to the act of writing all domain logic into a user interface. The original MVC pattern has since evolved in multiple directions, with various names and may confuse many. The goal of this thesis is to present the origin of the MVC pattern and how it has changed over time. Software architecture in general and the MVC’s evolution within web applications are not the primary focus. Fundamen- tal designs are abstracted, and then used to examine the more recent versions. Prob- lems with the subject and its terminology are also presented.

Fluid dynamic modelling and simulation of circulating fluidized bed reactors: importance of the interface turbulence transfer

The main objective of this work is to analyze the importance of the gas-solid interface transfer of the kinetic energy of the turbulent motion on the accuracy of prediction of the fluid dynamic of Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) reactors. CFB reactors are used in a variety of industrial applications related to combustion, incineration and catalytic cracking. In this work a two-dimensional fluid dynamic model for gas-particle flow has been used to compute the porosity, the pressure, and the velocity fields of both phases in 2-D axisymmetrical cylindrical co-ordinates. The fluid dynamic model is based on the two fluid model approach in which both phases are considered to be continuous and fully interpenetrating. CFB processes are essentially turbulent. The model of effective stress on each phase is that of a Newtonian fluid, where the effective gas viscosity was calculated from the standard k-epsilon turbulence model and the transport coefficients of the particulate phase were calculated from the kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF). This work shows that the turbulence transfer between the phases is very important for a better representation of the fluid dynamics of CFB reactors, especially for systems with internal recirculation and high gradients of particle concentration. Two systems with different characteristics were analyzed. The results were compared with experimental data available in the literature. The results were obtained by using a computer code developed by the authors. The finite volume method with collocated grid, the hybrid interpolation scheme, the false time step strategy and SIMPLEC (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations - Consistent) algorithm were used to obtain the numerical solution.

Unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite as an oral implant abutment material: Experimental studies of E-glass fiber/BisGMA-TEGDMA polymer in vitro

Fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs) are a new group of non-metallic biomaterials showing a growing popularity in many dental and medical applications. As an oral implant material, FRC is biocompatible in bone tissue environment. Soft tissue integration to FRC polymer material is unclear. This series of in vitro studies aimed at evaluating unidirectional E-glass FRC polymer in terms of mechanical, chemical, and biological properties in an attempt to develop a new non-metallic oral implant abutment alternative. Two different types of substrates were investigated: (a) Plain polymer (BisGMA 50%–TEGDMA 50%) and (b) Unidirectional FRC. The mechanical behavior of high fiber-density FRCs was assessed using a three-point bending test. Surface characterization was performed using scanning electron and spinning disk confocal microscopes. The surface wettability/energy was determined using sessile drop method. The blood response, including blood-clotting ability and platelet morphology was evaluated. Human gingival fibroblast cell responses - adhesion kinetics, adhesion strength, and proliferation activity - were studied in cell culture environment using routine test conditions. A novel tissue culture method was developed and used to evaluate porcine gingival tissue graft attachment and growth on the experimental composite implants. The analysis of the mechanical properties showed that there is a direct proportionality in the relationship between E-glass fiber volume fraction and toughness, modulus of elasticity, and load bearing capacity; however, flexural strength did not show significant improvement when high fiber-density FRC is used. FRCs showed moderate hydrophilic properties owing to the presence of exposed glass fibers on the polymer surface. Blood-clotting time was shorter on FRC substrates than on plain polymer. The FRC substrates also showed higher platelet activation state than plain polymer substrates. Fibroblast cell adhesion strength and proliferation rate were highly pronounced on FRCs. A tissue culture study revealed that gingival epithelium and connective tissue established an immediate close contact with both plain polymer and FRC implants. However, FRC seemed to guide epithelial migration outwards from the tissue/implant interface. Due to the anisotropic and hydrophilic nature of FRC, it can be concluded that this material enhances biological events related with soft tissue integration on oral implant surface.

Distributed document migration between ERP systems by means of messaging and event sourcing

This bachelor’s thesis, written for Lappeenranta University of Technology and implemented in a medium-sized enterprise (SME), examines a distributed document migration system. The system was created to migrate a large number of electronic documents, along with their metadata, from one document management system to another, so as to enable a rapid switchover of an enterprise resource planning systems inside the company. The paper examines, through theoretical analysis, messaging as a possible enabler of distributing applications and how it naturally fits an event based model, whereby system transitions and states are expressed through recorded behaviours. This is put into practice by analysing the implemented migration systems and how the core components, MassTransit, RabbitMQ and MongoDB, were orchestrated together to realize such a system. As a result, the paper presents an architecture for a scalable and distributed system that could migrate hundreds of thousands of documents over weekend, serving its goals in enabling a rapid system switchover.

Designing a user interface for game developers to enter game specific information

Designing user interfaces for novel software systems can be challenging since the usability preferences of the users are not well known. This thesis presents a usability study conducted for the development of a user interface for game developers to enter game specific information. By conducting usability testing, the usability preferences of game developers were explored and the design was shaped according to their needs. An assessment of the overall usability of the final design is provided together with the main findings that include the usability preferences and design recommendations. The results showed that the most valuable usability preferences are quickness, error tolerance and the ability to constantly inspect the entered information.

Reusing repository data: migration of data between repositories

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

DSpace REST API: an Interface for Reusing DSpace Content, and Practical Applications

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Mirage 2: A responsive user interface for DSpace

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014