Maria-Cristina Ciocci

Systems Overview of Ono

One of the major obstacles in the study of HRI (human-robot interaction) with social robots is the lack of multiple identical robots that allow testing with large user groups. Often, the price of these robots prohibits using more than a handful. A lot of the commercial robots do not possess all the necessary features to perform specific HRI experiments and due to the closed nature of the platform, large modifications are nearly impossible. While open source social robots do exist, they often use high-end components and expensive manufacturing techniques, making them unsuitable for easy reproduction. To address this problem, a new social robotics platform, named Ono, was developed. The design is based on the DIY mindset of the maker movement, using off-the-shelf components and more accessible rapid prototyping and manufacturing techniques. The modular structure of the robot makes it easy to adapt to the needs of the experiment and by embracing the open source mentality, the robot can be easily reproduced or further developed by a community of users. The low cost, open nature and DIY friendliness of the robot make it an ideal candidate for HRI studies that require a large user group.

Engineering meets creativity: a study on a creative tool to design new connections

Designers and engineers in practice can rely on a comprehensive assortment of physical connections such as bolts, adhesives, and snap joints to design a product. However, future materials, processes, and technologies lead to other requirements. Designers must be creative to find new solutions that meet the new requirements. The Design to Connect method presented in this paper was developed to support designers in the ideation of new connections in products. It provides inspiration to expand their design space and support them to generate more ideas. The tool contains 46 cards. Each card contains a heuristic and is illustrated with an inspirational example. Six design drivers can be used to select a subset of the most relevant inspiration cards for a specific context. The tool and the framework are both evaluated in an experimental setup with a relevant sample of novice designers with different educational backgrounds. The results demonstrate that the participants generate significantly higher number of ideas and explore a larger solution space when they apply the tool cards. Selecting a set of relevant inspiration cards in advance does not have a significant effect on the amount of ideas or the size of the solutions space. Furthermore, most participants prefer a less structured approach in their ideation and those with a more abstract level of education explored more ideas and a larger solution space compared to participants with a more practical education.

Unsaturated permeability and retention curve determination from in-flight weight measurements in a bench-scale centrifuge

Centrifuges have been used in many ways to determine permeabilities, as they can significantly shorten testing times in low-permeable soils. Typically equilibrium profiles are used, or inflow-outflow measurements, or direct measurements from inside the sample, like from tensiometers or radioactive decay. Recently weight measurements of the sample outside the centrifuge were used effectively in an adapted setup. We present the results of the possibilities offered by doing transient weight measurements of a soil-sample during rotation in the centrifuge. We present the set-up of such an experiment and how the unsaturated permeability and water retention curve can be recovered from it. This eliminates the overhead of doing measurements inside the sample.

Towards a Prototype of a Spherical Tippe Top

Among spinning objects, the tippe top exhibits one of the most bizarre and counterintuitive behaviours. The commercially available tippe tops basically consist of a section of a sphere with a rod. After spinning on its rounded body, the top flips over and continues spinning on the stem. The commonly used simplified mathematical model for the tippe top is a sphere whose mass distribution is axially but not spherically symmetric, spinning on a flat surface subject to a small friction force that is due to sliding. Three main different dynamical behaviours are distinguished: tipping, nontipping, hanging, that is, the top rises but converges to an intermediate state instead of rising all the way to the vertical state. Subclasses according to the stability of relative equilibria can further be distinguished. Our concern is the degree of confidence in the mathematical model predictions, we applied 3D printing and rapid prototyping to manufacture a “3-in-1 toy” that could catch the three main characteristics defining the three main groups in the classification of spherical tippe tops as mentioned above. We propose three designs. This “toy” is suitable to validate the mathematical model qualitatively and quantitatively.

An extended virtual location method for yarn cross-section construction

The first step in the evaluation of physical phenomena in yarns consists of creating a suitable representation of the yarn. Here, we focus on the creation of a realistic grid for the yarn cross-section, which is suitable for mass and heat transfer models. We extend and adapt the virtual location method (VLM) which allows the quick creation of a range of 2D yarn–fiber layouts. We overcome two of its main disadvantages: the presence of too much regularity, and the inability to produce yarn–fiber layouts when blends of fibers with different sizes are present. Our method is based on the standard ring configuration VLM, creating two sets of virtual locations per fiber type, which causes some overlap of the fibers. The overlap is removed with an iteration scheme based on induced movement. The final result is a realistic 2D cross-section of a yarn. A reference implementation is available, and it is shown how the layout can be used to create a grid.

The Diorama Project : development of a Tangible Medium to Foster STEAM Education Using Storytelling and Electronics

Children of the 21st century grow up in a world full of information and technology. Education should equip them with useful skills and competencies, allowing them to actively and effectively take part in a globalised society. Teachers feel the need for educational tools that support innovative teaching. To this end, this paper describes the development of The Diorama Project. This series of trans-disciplinary workshops combines familiar subjects, like language and art, with new topics such as programming and electronics, to foster valuable skills and knowledge in a more fun and tangible way. Pupils team up to write, record and tinker a story. Programmable electronics let their theatre plays come alive. An open source platform provides all the information for teachers to organise the workshops by themselves. They can use it to share their experience and knowledge with colleagues worldwide.