Open Access

When thinking of textile interfaces, these are often imagined as being integrated into clothing. Whilethis is the most prominent use of fabric, we present a standalone interface that builds on the natural set of interactions a piece of fabric affords, and that is feasible for industrial production. By integrating stitched patterns made of conductive thread into a square piece of fabric, we are able to sense estab-lished connections within this pattern and map these to a model how the cloth is folded. An integratedmicrocontroller tracks these connections and communicates them as two-dimensional continuous value changes to a host application. We present the technical construction of our prototype, a particular clip-on technique to establish the connection between fabric and electronics, and first insights into recogniz-ing different grip gestures.

Regular resistive exercise programs have proven meaningful for rehabilitation from injury and for counteracting the loss of muscle mass due to ageing or wealth related diseases. A particular challenge of resistive exercise programs is to apply the desired stress for the muscle but avoid overloading of the surrounding biological tissues such as tendons, ligaments and cartilage. External forces, movement velocity and range of motion are commonly used to control the intensity of resistive exercise programs. However, it is well known that those measures do not sufficiently represent the loading of joints and muscles. Therefore, the objective of the current project is to quantify and visualize internal joint loadings in real-time to control the intensity of resistive exercises. A common leg extension exercise (leg press) was implemented on a robotic research platform. The patient’s leg movements were recorded with a motion capture system. External forces and moments were recorded with a force plate (AMTI, USA) mounted to the robotic arm. Based on the recorded data, joint loadings were calculated and output in real-time using an individualized biomechanical musculoskeletal model and the inverse kinematics and dynamics algorithms provided by OpenSim (SimTK, USA). This approach enables a direct visual feedback in a virtual three dimensional environment using Unity (Unity Technolo-gies, USA) for both the patient and physiotherapist throughout the exercise. The visualized contributions of the hip-, knee- and ankle extensor muscles and the knee joint moment in the frontal plane as indicator for tibiofemoral joint loadings should support patients to execute the exercise correctly and thus, should improve safety and effectiveness of resistive exercise programs. Besides biofeedback, the developed tool can provide parameters for control applications in rehabilitation.

Meitner-Auger-electron emitters have a promising potential for targeted radionuclide therapy of cancer because of their short range and the high linear energy transfer of Meitner-Auger-electrons (MAE). One promising MAE candidate is 197m/gHg with its half-life of 23.8 h and 64.1 h, respectively, and high MAE yield. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that are labelled with 197m/gHg could be a helpful tool for radiation treatment of glioblastoma multiforme when infused into the surgical cavity after resection to prevent recurrence. To produce such AuNPs, 197m/gHg was embedded into pristine AuNPs. Two different syntheses were tested starting from irradiated gold containing trace amounts of 197m/gHg. When sodium citrate was used as reducing agent, no 197m/gHg labelled AuNPs were formed, but with tannic acid, 197m/gHg labeled AuNPs were produced. The method was optimized by neutralizing the pH (pH = 7) of the Au/197m/gHg solution, which led to labelled AuNPs with a size of 12.3 ± 2.0 nm as measured by transmission electron microscopy. The labelled AuNPs had a concentration of 50 μg (gold)/mL with an activity of 151 ± 93 kBq/mL (197gHg, time corrected to the end of bombardment).

In the past, different training scenarios have been developed and implemented on robotic research platforms, but no systematic analysis and comparison have been done so far. This paper deals with the comparison of an isokinematic (motion with constant velocity) and an isotonic (motion against constant weight) training algorithm. Both algorithms are designed for a robotic research platform consisting of a 3D force plate and a high payload industrial robot, which allows leg extension training with arbitrary six-dimensional motion trajectories. In the isokinematic as well as the isotonic training algorithm, individual paths are defined i n C artesian s pace by sufficient s upport p oses. I n t he i sotonic t raining s cenario, the trajectory is adapted to the measured force as the robot should only move along the trajectory as long as the force applied by the user exceeds a minimum threshold. In the isotonic training scenario however, the robot’s acceleration is a function of the force applied by the user. To validate these findings, a simulative experiment with a simple linear trajectory is performed. For this purpose, the same force path is applied in both training scenarios. The results illustrate that the algorithms differ in the force dependent trajectory adaption.

The benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) are highly related to the usage of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products that can be easily implemented and customized by business units. But, how to find the best fitting RPA product for a specific situation that creates the expected benefits? This question is related to the general area of software evaluation and selection. In the face of more than 75 RPA products currently on the market, guidance considering those specifics is required. Therefore, this chapter proposes a criteria-based selection method specifically for RPA. The method includes a quantitative evaluation of costs and benefits as well as a qualitative utility analysis based on functional criteria. By using the visualization of financial implications (VOFI) method, an application-oriented structure is provided that opposes the total cost of ownership to the time savings times salary (TSTS). For the utility analysis a detailed list of functional criteria for RPA is offered. The whole method is based on a multi-vocal review of scientific and non-scholarly literature including publications by business practitioners, consultants, and vendors. The application of the method is illustrated by a concrete RPA example. The illustrated structures, templates, and criteria can be directly utilized by practitioners in their real-life RPA implementations. In addition, a normative decision process for selecting RPA alternatives is proposed before the chapter closes with a discussion and outlook.