HardwareXPub Date : 2024-06-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00536
Luis Vincent Tejada Martinez, Jean-François Witz, Denis Najjar, Xavier Boidin, François Lesaffre, Vincent Martin, Sophie Badin, Emmanuel Berte
{"title":"Hybrid FFF/CNC: An open source hardware & software system","authors":"Luis Vincent Tejada Martinez, Jean-François Witz, Denis Najjar, Xavier Boidin, François Lesaffre, Vincent Martin, Sophie Badin, Emmanuel Berte","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper presents a low-cost milling system composed of spindle mountable on a multi tool 3D printer equipped with maxwell kinematic coupling (E3D “ToolChanger” in this article) as well as two open-source software solutions for implementing a hybrid FFF/CNC manufacturing process. The first solution is the use of a traditional CAM software (FreeCad) for machining programming through the development of a dedicated post-processor. The second is an automatic layer-by-layer hybridization enabled by the software “SuperSlicer”. This method requires no machining knowledge but only allows contouring operations. Results of experiments show that the spindle presented in this work is capable of successfully carrying out a hybrid process that significantly improves the surface roughness parameters, with an improvement factor of 10 for most parameters. An uniformization of surface roughness parameters was also observed in the construction direction and in the deposition/machining direction. The layer-by-layer hybridization yields the better results in terms of surface roughness. This is because the reduced depth of cut (equivalent to a printed layer) minimizes stress and temperature rise, resulting in highly favorable cutting conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000300/pdfft?md5=f078743e8d874da471e4b84c36f947be&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000300-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141037446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-05-31DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00539
Maximiliano E. Véliz , Gustavo E. Real , Alejandro D. Otero
{"title":"Flexible and configurable embedded electrical energy measurement system to acquire and process high-frequency features","authors":"Maximiliano E. Véliz , Gustavo E. Real , Alejandro D. Otero","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00539","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00539","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A novel High-Frequency Electric Energy Metering System to inspect non-conventional features that may be relevant for studying real-time energy disaggregation and control of household appliances is presented. Integration of a data acquisition and control board, designed and built to be assembled with an Arduino Due, with the M90E36A Demo Board, allows for flexible and configurable electrical energy measurements. A key feature is that up to 4 current channels can be measured synchronously. On the one hand, samples can be obtained and processed by the M90E36A IC internal Digital Signal Processor at 3 Hz in the time domain and 2 Hz in the frequency domain. On the other hand, the M90E36A IC direct access memory mode can be operated, allowing 8 kHz pure voltage and current signals to be obtained. Finally, integration with Raspberry Pi allows to design and incorporate a custom signal processor into the study. Additionally, in this article, an application example is presented where the variation of the residual harmonic components of a household appliance is obtained.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000336/pdfft?md5=5383ad6a8021ef063f65406138ebdde9&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000336-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141285983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-05-23DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00538
Louis J. Dankovich IV , Janell S. Joyner , William He , Ahmad Sesay , Monifa Vaughn-Cooke
{"title":"CogWatch: An open-source platform to monitor physiological indicators for cognitive workload and stress","authors":"Louis J. Dankovich IV , Janell S. Joyner , William He , Ahmad Sesay , Monifa Vaughn-Cooke","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00538","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00538","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cognitive workload is a measure of the mental resources a user is dedicating to a given task. Low cognitive workload produces boredom and decreased vigilance, which can lead to an increase in response time. Under high cognitive workload the information processing burden of the user increases significantly, thereby compromising the ability to effectively monitor their environment for unexpected stimuli or respond to emergencies.</p><p>In cognitive workload and stress monitoring research, sensors are used to measure applicable physiological indicators to infer the state of user. For example, electrocardiography or photoplethysmography are often used to track both the rate at which the heart beats and variability between the individual heart beats. Photoplethysmography and chest straps are also used in studies to track fluctuations in breathing rate. The Galvanic Skin Response is a change in sweat rate (especially on the palms and wrists) and is typically measured by tracking how the resistance of two probes at a fixed distance on the subject's skin changes over time. Finally, fluctuations in Skin Temperature are typically tracked with thermocouples or infrared light (IR) measuring systems in these experiments. While consumer options such a smartwatches for health tracking often have the integrated ability to perform photoplethysmography, they typically perform significant processing on the data which is not transparent to the user and often have a granularity of data that is far too low to be useful for research purposes. It is possible to purchase sensor boards that can be added to Arduino systems, however, these systems generally are very large and obtrusive. Additionally, at the high end of the spectrum there are medical tools used to track these physiological signals, but they are often very expensive and require specific software to be licensed for communication. In this paper, an open-source solution to create a physiological tracker with a wristwatch form factor is presented and validated, using conventional off-the-shelf components. The proposed tool is intended to be applied as a cost-effective solution for research and educational settings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000324/pdfft?md5=a9ada6c7aec66d774a1852211bc2ae5e&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000324-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141135791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-05-07DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00537
Rifky Ismail , Mochammad Ariyanto , Joga D. Setiawan , Taufik Hidayat , Paryanto , Limbang K. Nuswantara
{"title":"Design and testing of fabric-based portable soft exoskeleton glove for hand grasping assistance in daily activity","authors":"Rifky Ismail , Mochammad Ariyanto , Joga D. Setiawan , Taufik Hidayat , Paryanto , Limbang K. Nuswantara","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00537","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00537","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Hand exoskeleton robots have been developed as rehabilitation robots and assistive devices. Based on the material used, they can be soft or hard exoskeletons. Soft materials such as fabric can be used as a component of the wearable robot to increase comfortability. In this paper, we proposed an affordable soft hand exoskeleton based on fabric and motor-tendon actuation for hand flexion/extension motion assistance in daily activities. On-off control and PI compensator were implemented to regulate finger flexion and extension of the soft exoskeleton. The controllers were embedded into a microcontroller using Simulink software. The input signal command comes from the potentiometer and electromyography (EMG) sensor to drive the flexion/extension movement. Based on the experiments, the proposed controller successfully controlled the exoskeleton hand to facilitate a user in grasping various objects. The proposed soft hand exoskeleton is lightweight, comfortable, portable, and affordable, making it easily manufactured using available hardware and open-source code. The developed soft exoskeleton is a potential assistive device for a person who lost the ability to grasp objects.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000312/pdfft?md5=690594c946e9381c7ab64d4066230c14&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000312-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141053899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00533
Brian T. Le , Katherine M. Auer , David A. Lopez , Justin P. Shum , Brian Suarsana , Ga-Young Kelly Suh , Per Niklas Hedde , Siavash Ahrar
{"title":"Orthogonal-view microscope for the biomechanics investigations of aquatic organisms","authors":"Brian T. Le , Katherine M. Auer , David A. Lopez , Justin P. Shum , Brian Suarsana , Ga-Young Kelly Suh , Per Niklas Hedde , Siavash Ahrar","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00533","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Microscopes are essential for the biomechanical and hydrodynamical investigation of small aquatic organisms. We report a prototype of a do-it-yourself microscope that enables the visualization of organisms from two orthogonal imaging planes — top and side views. Compared to conventional imaging systems, this approach provides a comprehensive visualization strategy of organisms, which could have complex shapes and morphologies. The microscope was constructed by combining custom 3D-printed parts and off-the-shelf components. The system is designed for modularity and reconfigurability. Open-source design files and build instructions are provided in this report. Additionally, proof-of-use experiments (particularly with <em>Hydra</em>) and other organisms that combine the imaging with an analysis pipeline were demonstrated to highlight the system’s utility. Beyond the applications demonstrated, the system can be used or modified for various imaging applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000270/pdfft?md5=55e0824a1f3787ceeb3013bbbcfb05fd&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000270-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140815359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-04-19DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00528
Eduardo Orozco , Paulo C. Cárdenas , Jesús A. López , Cinthia K. Rodriguez
{"title":"Low-cost desktop learning factory to support the teaching of artificial intelligence","authors":"Eduardo Orozco , Paulo C. Cárdenas , Jesús A. López , Cinthia K. Rodriguez","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00528","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The following document details low-cost hardware and open-source available software tools that can be combined to support active teaching methodologies like Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and incorporate work-oriented technological skills in students. This proposal presents a prototype of Open Educational Resources (OER) that integrates software and hardware tools for the specific purpose of facilitating instruction in Artificial Intelligence. The hardware consists of affordable electronic devices, including an Arduino board, servo motors, sensors, a relay and a motor, all integrated into a scaled conveyor belt. On the other hand, open software was used to implement an image classification program with different features (shape, color, size, among others). The exact construction steps, circuits, and code are presented in detail and should encourage other scientists to replicate the experimental setup, especially if they are looking for experimental teaching of artificial intelligence, since the system allows object classification using the machine learning paradigm to facilitate the teaching of artificial intelligence concepts with computer vision concepts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000221/pdfft?md5=cf72d8e603173aa07407ee10178b240c&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000221-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140643331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-04-18DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00531
Frederik-Willem Fourie Fred , Kobus Langedock , Roeland Develter , Harold Loop , Christopher J. Peck , Leandro Ponsoni , Hans Pirlet , Wieter Boone
{"title":"Sonarlogger: Enabling long-term underwater sonar observations","authors":"Frederik-Willem Fourie Fred , Kobus Langedock , Roeland Develter , Harold Loop , Christopher J. Peck , Leandro Ponsoni , Hans Pirlet , Wieter Boone","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00531","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00531","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Coastal seas are under increasing pressure from extreme weather events and sea level rise, resulting in impacts such as changing hydrodynamic conditions, coastal erosion, and marine heat waves. To monitor changes in coastal marine habitats, such as reefs and macrophytes meadows, which add to the resilience of our coasts, consistent, medium- to long-term seafloor observations are needed. This project aims to deliver repeated, high-frequency sonar surveys on a stationary seabed mooring of a specific target area over a period of up to several months. A new stand-alone subsea system, the Sonarlogger, based on a battery pack, low-power logger and a high-resolution scanning sonar, was developed. It allows for long-term deployments with a customisable battery pack, WI-FI download and configurable sleep state. The system has been tested for over 130 days in dynamic coastal environments off the Belgian coast. Combined with auxiliary sensors, such as for measuring currents, waves and turbidity, this system enables comprehensive studies of morphologic changes and changing benthic ecosystems. Moreover, this system has the capacity to provide measurements of coastal environments during storms, where conventional systems may fall short, providing insights into event-based changes of the seafloor.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000257/pdfft?md5=0f171885d293edf27d1a8fa9ebe8c7b9&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000257-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140643330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-04-18DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00532
Jacob L. Vincent, Alicia M. Wilson
{"title":"Detecting changes in seafloor elevation in sandy coastal environments using low-cost opensource tooling","authors":"Jacob L. Vincent, Alicia M. Wilson","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00532","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00532","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Knowledge of sediment erosion and deposition can be useful for a variety of engineering, marine science, and environmental applications, but collecting detailed time-series measurements of the sediment–water interface can be challenging, particularly in coastal marine environments. We developed economical and open-source sediment level loggers to record sediment–water interface time-series data with accuracy up to 1 cm. The logger is composed of a programmable Circuit-Python (or Arduino) microcontroller and “breakout boards” that attach to a specially designed printed circuit board (PCB) and an array of evenly spaced photoresistors enclosed in a robust waterproof housing. These instruments were paired with temperature sensors in a study off the coast of Charleston, SC in the South Atlantic Bight where heat was used as a tracer to detect the flow of porewater in the permeable coastal sediments. This approach requires accurate knowledge of the depth of temperature sensors relative to the sediment–water interface. In this application, improved knowledge of the elevation of the sediment–water interface elevation data from the sediment level loggers reduced average root mean squared errors in modeling submarine groundwater discharge by as much as 25 %. The sediment level loggers can be easily installed, withstand long deployment times, and provide long-term recording abilities suitable for a range of environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000269/pdfft?md5=1fcb0ea1345d3a984274d8772c25fb5b&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000269-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140638263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HardwareXPub Date : 2024-04-18DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00535
Paula Gustin , Anamika Prasad
{"title":"EnduroBone: A 3D printed bioreactor for extended bone tissue culture","authors":"Paula Gustin , Anamika Prasad","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00535","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Studies of the effects of external stimuli on bone tissue, disease transmission mechanisms, and potential medication discoveries benefit from long-term tissue viability ex vivo. By simulating the in-vivo environment, bioreactors are essential for studying bone cellular activity throughout biological processes. We present the development of an automated 3D-printed bioreactor EnduroBone designed to sustain the ex-vivo viability of 10 mm diameter cancellous bone cores for an extended period. The device is supplied with two critical parameters for maintaining bone tissue viability: closed-loop continuous flow perfusion of 1 mL/min for nutrient diffusion and waste removal and direct mechanical stimulation with cyclic compression at 13.2 RPM (revolutions per minute) to promote cell viability which can lead to improved tissue stability during ex vivo culturing. The bioreactor addresses several limitations of existing systems and provides a versatile open-source platform for bone cancer research, orthopedic device testing, and other related applications. To validate the bioreactor, fresh swine samples were cultured ex-vivo, and their cell viability was determined to be maintained for up to 28 days. Periodic cell viability assessment through live/dead cell staining and confocal imaging at the start (0 days) and at several time points throughout the culture period (7, 14, 21, and 28 days) was used to demonstrate <em>EnduroBone</em> effectiveness in sustaining bone cell health for the extended period tested.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000294/pdfft?md5=9822e41beff57f1ca2489df3f963cb34&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000294-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140638265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optical fiber-based open source low cost portable spectrometer system","authors":"Gatis Tunens, Ernests Einbergs, Katrina Laganovska, Aleksejs Zolotarjovs, Karlis Vilks, Linards Skuja, Krisjanis Smits","doi":"10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00530","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00530","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article explores the development of a small, compact fiber-based spectrometer system designed to overcome the limitations of standard spectrometers, such as the high cost and restricted accessibility.</p><p>Operated by a Raspberry Pi, the fiber-based spectrometer system uses the increased computing power to provide versatile modes of operation and powerful data processing, while maintaining a small size. Specifically crafted for basic chemistry and biology lab setups, where fibers allow measurements in different conditions, and customization enables fluorescence, light scattering, and absorption measurements.</p><p>The system is adaptable and versatile, offering ease of modification and adaptation for a broad range of applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37503,"journal":{"name":"HardwareX","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000245/pdfft?md5=448a851c475a4bb8b043ec17db506d9b&pid=1-s2.0-S2468067224000245-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140631495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}