Tag: technology

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New and innovative science Public Engagement Science in the News

Robot suits put to use in countering radiation in Fukushima

Not many news stations talk about Fukushima any more. After the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Northeast Japan, I remember being glued to the computer for hours and hours trying to get the most recent news on the situation in Japan. What is happening now? A quick search turned up a news headline on robot suits in Fukushima. A robot suit that reads signals from the brain seems to be the most recent solution to Northeast Japan’s nuclear radiation problem.

 

How do robot suits tie into this event? A major concern still is the radiation leak from the Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima prefecture. To fix the damage done by the earthquake and tsunami, power plant workers and rescue teams need protective gear against the high levels of radiation around the plant. However, the required metal suit can weigh up to 15kg—a significant hindrance to movement. A solution to this problem was a “robot suit.” Just by thinking “walk,” the robot motor helps move the legs for you.

HAL assists walking for people with physically weakened limbs. Photo by Katsumi Kasahara.

 

The robot suit was actually invented three years ago at the University of Tsukuba in Tokyo. It was initially meant for elderly and handicapped people to assist in walking. They named it HAL, for “Hybrid Assistive Limb”. When the wearer tries to walk, nerve signals are sent to the leg muscles. Such signals are detected by the suit through the skin, and triggers the robot limb to move along with the leg. This battery-powered movement and firm structure of HAL enables it to offer extra support for movement.

After 3 years, further developments on HAL added support for the arms as well.

2011 Exhibition of HAL. Photo from Center for Cybernics Research.

This video from the International Forum on Cybernics 2011 introduces HAL.

 

 

Here are photos from the same event.

 

Researchers are now investigating a new application for this technology. Tsukuba University suggested that the robot will be useful not only for the disabled and care for the elderly, but also for heavy labor and rescue work. Last week, Japanese news station NHK (link to original Japanese news) reported the use of this novel technology to solve the problem of radiation in the earthquake-struck nuclear power plant in Fukushima.

Simulation of the use of HAL at the nuclear site. Photo from NHK.

Experimental tests showed that this robot suit could carry weights up to 60kg. The inventor, Dr. Yoshiyuki Sankai, hopes that implementing HAL at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant would make possible previously risky recovery work and allow longer hours of rescue efforts.

 

At the time I saw this news on NHK, I could not find information about this initiative in English. However, only two days later, the Telegraph picked up on this. Thought-controlled robots–what a way to bring back attention to Fukushima.

Categories
Environment Issues in Science New and innovative science Science in the News

A Step in the Right Direction: A New Power Generation Strategy

 
Figure 1: Demonstates potential incorporation of technology into existing sidewalks in populated areas.

The world today is constantly struggling to find new, environmentally friendly ways to generate energy. The major power sources today include oil, gas, coal, hydroelectric, and nuclear power. Until recently no one has thought to use everyday life to help generate usable energy.

Laurence Kembell-Cook, director of Pavegen Systems, has had the ingenious idea to harvest electrical energy from pedestrian’s footsteps. He is going to use sidewalk tiles that will be connected to a lithium battery to supply energy to electrically powered devices in the surrounding area. This could range from traffic lights to advertisement boards on sidewalks or supply energy to light up displays at the mall.

 

Figure 3:Simple schematic of Pavegen tile mechanism

The basic design is outlined in Figure 2 and a demonstration of the Pavegen tile system can be found online . The pedestrian will step on the tile, displayed in Figure 3, which will cause it to glow, just like the tiles in Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” music video. The five-millimeter compression will initiate a mechanism (unreleased to the public) which allows the kinetic energy to by converted to usable electricity. The tile can also store the energy for up to three days in an onboard battery. Each step on one of these tiles contributes 2.1 W per hour of electricity. Out of the energy the tile absorbs, only five percent goes into lighting up the tile leaving 95 percent of the energy to be used elsewhere. Personally, I believe the energy to light the tile is significant as it gives people a positive reinforcement,which may increase their participation. However,

Figure 3: The light up tile model to be used

it also could be argued that energy lighting the tile is wasting energy that could be used elsewhere which I also recognize. The tile itself is made of nearly 100 percent recycled materials, mostly consisting of rubber and some stainless steal which both contribute to its durability. These tiles are designed to be weather resistant, water-resistant, and are easily added to existing structures. The company claims the lifespan of each tile is approximately 5 years or 20 million steps.

 

 

 

Figure 4: Computer generated models of the applications of this technology on sidewalks in front of the Westfield Stratford City Mall.

The first commercial application will be placing 20 tiles across a very busy intersection in London between London’s Olympic stadium and the newly opened Westfield Stratford City mall. The opening of the mall alone is estimated to bring in around 30 million customers within the first year, that’s a lot of steps!

The aim of this project it to collect a small amount of energy from a large number of people. The growth of this technology will rely heavily on the tiles production costs. If this project gets approved the company hopes to introduce this technology into subway stations, malls, or any other high traffic areas. I believe this would be a fantastic venture for our society so we can finally take a stand, or a stroll, towards helping generate clean energy in the future.

Figure 5: Computer generated models of the applications of this technology in subway staircases.
Categories
New and innovative science

Combining body and machine. Science fiction? Maybe not.

Researchers led by John Rogers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed the world’s first flexible, stretchable, and skin-like monitor, which is capable of attaching to the epidermis of the skin by a process similar to applying a temporary tattoo. This wireless device can accurately collect data from the human body for up to 6 hours without irritating the skin.

 

Credit: John Rogers, University of Illinois

 

Inspired by the concept of telephone cords, this device features a netted S-shaped circuitry that can be greatly deformed without disturbing the function of the monitor. To make them even more durable, both sides are covered with protective layers of a polymer called polyimide. The device can be hidden under a tattoo to help it be concealed and remain attached longer. At the moment, long term use is limited because of surface skin cells sloughing off periodically.

 

Credit: John Rogers, University of Illinois

 

In its current form, the device would be most applicable in the medical field because of its ability to be seamlessly integrated into the skin of patients to monitor their activity constantly. By placing them in different locations on the body, medical staff could collect different electrical signals from the body such as brain waves, heart beats and skeletal muscle activity. This new technology is especially useful for premature babies because it could monitor their progress without any bulky electronics irritating their fragile skin.

 

Credit: John Rogers, University of Illinois

 

Aside from the medical community, security groups and intelligence agencies such as the CIA are also developing an interest in this technology; slight changes to this technology could enable agents to communicate silently with a patch hidden on their throats. This kind of patch would sense muscle movements in the throat and silently transmit the messages via wireless waves. With the initial prototype developed by Dr. Rogers’ team, many changes can be made to this technology to create a virtually infinite number of adaptations in the future.

 

Watch the Youtube video describing the epidermal electronic below: 

http://youtu.be/fl1VS_kONlQ

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