The medical robots

Hello! Welcome to my blog again. Currently, the industry of the robots is developing faster than even before. The world is on the threshold of the era of robotic revolution. The developers of robots always try to create smart robots that would exist in the human living as the assistant or friend. Currently it is already available to buy a robot-nurse, a robot for cleaning apartment and others that can perform certain programmed actions. The robots are becoming more useful in the medical, industrial and other areas. Due to a breachin the field of surgical technologies, the engineers invented a new surgicaldevice that gives an opportunity to carry out the most effective and leastinvasive surgical option of treatment. This is a robot Da Vinci.

The Da Vinci surgical system

In the past few years when a surgical intervention required, patients have only two choices: a traditional abdominal surgery with a large incision and scar after, or laparoscopy at which the incision is minimized. But now the surgeons can offer a minimally invasivemethod for the most complex operations using the robot Da Vinci. An apparatus Da Vinci is a new generation robot, which allows you to carry out the operation through small incisions using miniature manipulators and 3D cameras of high resolution, which gives the surgeon the most complete image of operation place. This is the only commercially available technology, which gives to the surgeon precision, dexterity and control of traditional abdominal surgery, while the surgery is performed through one or two centimeter incisions.

In the area of robotics, we usually concerned about the location of the objects in the three dimensional space. The location of these objects is described by two features: position and orientation. The structure of each robot is described bylinks and joints, which are manipulators of the robot. The robot Da Vinci has four manipulators: two of them work with tools and correspond to the right and left hand of the surgeon, the third controls the endoscope manipulator and the fourth performs additional tasks.  The movement of each robot is also described by the degree of freedom. The number of degree of freedom gives information about the number of independent movement that robots can perform. The Da Vinci robot uses instruments of EndoWrist®, which modeled on the human wrist, but with a large radius of movement. These instruments have seven degree of freedom, with the possibility to bend by 90 degrees. A human arm has also seven degree of freedom (DOF): a shoulder has three degree of freedom (can move up and down, to the side, and can rotate), a wrist has 3 DOF (can rotate, move up-down and to the side), and an elbow has 1 degree of freedom (open-close). The Da Vinci robot performs the same movement as human’s arm does. The range of the movement of the Da Vinci robot is very broad, it is 7 DOF and it can perform any task easily using its manipulators.

Reference list:

DavinciSurgery, “The da Vinci® Surgical System”. http://www.davincisurgery.com/da-vinci-surgery/da-vinci-surgical-system/ (accessed 24 October, 2014).

Roboticoncology, “Prostate Cancer Treatment - Da Vinci Robotic Surgery”. http://www.roboticoncology.com/da-vinci-robotic-prostatectomy/ (accessed 22 October, 2014).

Robots, “Intro to Solidworks – generator”. http://www.robots.com/faq/show/what-is-a-robot-manipulator (accessed 22 October, 2014).

The motion control systems of the robots

 Welcome to my blog! Recently, I have read news about the Dexmo F2 gadget, which allows feel objects in the virtual games. This invention not only allows manipulate with objects, and also allows feel a virtual object by hand in the real world. In the following post, I will try to explain how basic robots can manipulate within objects.

Recently, the industry of robots is very powerful. The robots are capable to perform different operations and tasks and comparing with humans they do not require common safety and comfort elements. Many companies try to design and construct robots based on human actions. We have seen that the humanoid robots try to mimic human motions and behavior, but it takes many resources and much effort to make a robot like a human. In this post I will try cover some basic introductory materials of the motion and control system of the robots and discuss some main types of elements to the motion system, such as, manipulators controllers, actuators and etc.

Dexmo F2

Components of the robots

The component of the robots consists of mechanical part and control system. The mechanical part of the robot is divided into manipulator system and the system of movement. An industrial robot manipulator is the multilink mechanism with a serial connection of links and kinematic joints.

The manipulator includes two types of movement joints: a prismatic joint, providing linear motion and a rotational joint, proving an angular motion. For the movement of joints electric, hydraulic or pneumatic actuators are used. The actuator receives signal from the controller about the movement of the links and joints. The controller is like our cerebellum, it does not have ability to make decision, but it controls our motions.

A simple robot with links and joints

Control System of the robot

In general, the motions of the robots are controlled under a special mean of computer or a smart device. These control devices provided within running some types of program, which allow change motion of the robots according to the command on the program. To do this, at first it is necessary to write an algorithm, and then convert it into the program language. To get an algorithm, the work place of the robot and location of the each joint should be specified. The workspace of the robot can be found by writing mathematically equation on the robot’s links and joints. This means if we know all configurations of the robot’s links and joints (i.e. length, angles), we can calculate a location, where we want to place or orientate our robot.

The kinematic equation of the manipulator on the matrix form

The kinematic analysis of the robots

The kinematic analysis of the manipulator is connections of the joints, which define the basic movements of the robot in the working place, and describes it on the coordinate system. In recent years, most often used method to solve the kinematic analysis is based on the transformation matrix of homogenous coordinates. Using this method we can get an algorithm for the software programming and applying this program we can get a motion of the robots.

Reference list:

Bit-tech, “Dexta Robotics unveils Dexmo F2 VR controller”. http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2014/10/02/dexmo-f2/1 (accessed 2 October, 2014).

OurEdu Blog, “Kinematics-forward and inverse analysis”. http://blog.oureducation.in/kinematics-forward-and-inverse-analysis/(accessed 4 October, 2014).

Ron Robotics, “Introduction to Robotics”.  http://www.rakeshmondal.info/Introduction-To-Robotics (accessed 2 October, 2014).

The Future of Human Evaluation, “Introduction to Robotics”. http://futurehumanevolution.com/introduction-to-robotics (accessed 4 October, 2014).

Computer-aided drawing SolidWorks

Welcome to my blog about computer aided drawing! My name is Nurlan Ospanov and I am currently a first year student at Nazarbayev University, majoring in Robotics-Mechatronics science. As a robotics student we usually have lab sessions related to the designing and construction of a three-dimensional solid objects. Recently, we are learning to design various types of infrastructural designs with SolidWorks program. I have always interested in the area of engineering construction, and this program has provided a deep understanding of the principles of modelling. In this post I will give general information about this SolidWorks program.

SolidWorks

A computer hardware becoming more powerful and faster every year, and gives an opportunity to work with high capable software programs. SolidWorks is one of the useful software program, aimed for a construction and modelling of a three-dimensional objects. This program allows to engineers to quickly represent their ideas in a sketch, to experiment elements and sizes, also helps to create models and detailed drawings. The main purpose of SolidWorks is providing a process of designing of engineering analysis and manufacture of products with any complexity and appointment, by including creation of interactive documentation and the exchange of data with other systems.

Instruments and possibilities of the base module

SolidWorks program is a computeraided design, which uses usual graphical interface of Microsoft Windows.

On the left side of the SolidWorks window displays information about Feature Manager, which contains parameters and configuration of the model of the creating object. Feature manager allowsmanage with the elements of the creation model and make changes on theconstruction of the part at any stage of the design. It contains all the necessary tools, such are required for the process of designing. For example, zoom and rotation of model, creation of analytical cuts, extruded boss, revolved boss etc.

Interface of SolidWorks program

The program is able to identify the length, mass characteristics, angles measurement of any a three-dimensional solid model.

A process of creating a model begins with the construction of a basic body, and then continues with adding or subtracting of material. For the construction of body, at first we will construct a sketch of the component on the plane, subsequently transform it to a solid body. SolidWorks contains the complete set of functions of geometrical constructions and editing operations: 

• lines, circles, splines
• trim and extend lines
• mirror display and copy the object
• do rounding and chamfer and etc.

Then transform it to a solid body. Tools for building three-dimensional solid elements:

• extruded boss/base: extrudes a sketch or selected contour in any direction
•  revolved boss/base: revolves a sketch around an axis to build a solid bady
• extruded cut: cuts a sketched region on a solid object
•  shell: create a thin-walled feature, by removing material from a solid body and etc.

This blog tried to give a general and basic information about this program and designing process and argued that it is conventional program to design any architectural and engineering projects.

Reference list:

GeneratorVermont, "Intro to Solidworks". http://generatorvermont.com/event/intro-to-solidworks/  (accessed 24 September, 2014).

Solidworks. "FeatureManager Design Tree Overview". 

http://help.solidworks.com/2014/English/SolidWorks/sldworks/c_featuremanager_design_tree_overview.htm (accessed 26 September, 2014).