Journal of the Indian Institute of Science最新文献

Soil pollution continues to be a significant environmental problem that poses a danger to public health, the vitality of ecosystems, and worldwide economic growth. To tackle this problem, effective planning is required that covers the identification of pollutants, assessing the risks involved, setting targets for remediation, choosing suitable remediation technologies, and evaluating the results of the remediation process within a sustainable framework. This study introduces a comprehensive framework for the restoration of polluted soils, highlighting on systematic investigation, soil screening levels (SSLs), remediation techniques, and concepts of sustainability. The review begins by providing a comprehensive introduction to the typical origins and categories of soil pollutants. It next presents a systematic approach for conducting environmental site evaluations, which includes the use of sophisticated methods for identifying and measuring contaminants. The formulation of SSLs is essential for assessing the pollution level and establishing the limits for remedial action. An analysis of traditional and novel techniques for remediation, such as bioremediation, phytoremediation, thermal treatment, and chemical stabilization, offers valuable information on their suitability, effectiveness, and impact on the environment. The article emphasizes the significance of implementing a sustainable strategy to remediation by including environmental, economic, and social factors into the decision-making process. It highlights the need of adaptive management and continual improvement in accomplishing remediation goals. This study provides a comprehensive plan for effectively cleaning up contaminated soils in a way that is sustainable. It aims to improve environmental management practices by restoring soil health and protecting ecosystems from pollution.

Soft Robotics is an emerging field with the potential to address real-world problems with newer possibilities and safer human–robot interactions. Generally, soft robots comprise materials with moduli ranging from 10⁴ to 10⁹ Pa. The significant characteristics of soft robots include their high flexibility, compatibility, and superior environmental adaptability. Despite the several advantages of soft robots, many physical limitations exist due to their structural compliance and the viscoelastic behaviour of the material which leads to non-linear deformations in the material. This very reason necessitates sophisticated and novel sensing, actuation and non-linear control methods for soft robots. This review paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the advancements in soft robots and finally outlines the gaps in this field, currently limiting their usage in several applications. The pros and cons of the various technologies are discussed, and possible strategies for the superior performance of soft robots and their prospects are outlined in this paper.

In this article, we consider a multi-agent path planning problem in a stochastic environment. The environment, which can be an urban road network, is represented by a graph where the travel time for selected road segments (impeded edges) is a random variable because of traffic congestion. An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) wishes to travel from a starting location to a destination while minimizing the arrival time at the destination. UGV can traverse through an impeded edge but the true travel time is only realized at the end of that edge. This implies that the UGV can potentially get stuck in an impeded edge with high travel time. A support vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is simultaneously deployed from its starting position to assist the UGV by inspecting and realizing the true cost of impeded edges. With the updated information from UAV, UGV can efficiently reroute its path to the destination. The UGV does not wait at any time until it reaches the destination. The UAV is permitted to terminate its path at any vertex. The goal is then to develop an online algorithm to determine efficient paths for the UGV and the UAV based on the current information so that the UGV reaches the destination in minimum time. We refer to this problem as stochastic assisted path planning (SAPP). We present dynamic k-shortest path planning (D*KSPP) algorithm for the UGV planning and rural postman problem (RPP) formulation for the UAV planning. Due to the scalability challenges of RPP, we also present a heuristic based priority assignment algorithm for the UAV planning. Computational results are presented to corroborate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm to solve SAPP.

Combining local magnetic actuation with fluorescence imaging modalities promises to introduce significant advances in microrobotic-guided procedures. This review presents the advantages and challenges of this approach, emphasizing the need for careful design considerations to optimize performance and compatibility. Traditional microrobotic actuation systems rely on bulky electromagnets, which are unsuitable for clinical use due to high power requirements and limited operational workspace. In contrast, miniaturized electromagnets can be integrated into surgical instruments, offering low power consumption and high actuation forces at the target site. Fluorescence imaging modalities have been explored in microrobotics, showcasing spatiotemporal resolution and the capability to provide information from biological entities. However, limitations, such as shallow penetration depth and out-of-focus fluorescence, have motivated the development of advanced techniques such as two-photon microscopy. The potential of two-photon microscopy to overcome these limitations is highlighted, with supporting evidence from previous studies on rat tissue samples. Current challenges in optical penetration depth, temporal resolution, and field of view are also addressed in this review. While integrating miniaturized electromagnets with fluorescence imaging modalities holds the potential for microrobotic-guided procedures, ongoing research and technological advancements are essential to translating this approach into clinical practice.

A survey of the analysis of the workspace of manipulators is presented with the aim of outlining fundamental characteristics still of current interest and source of research, also referring to the direct experiences of the author. The topic, which began with the advent of industrial robotics in the early 1970s, received a period of great attention both at practical and research levels in the following two decades in order to determine analysis procedures for design algorithms for robotic manipulators with serial kinematic architecture. In the last two decades, interest diminished, although research activities have made the manipulator workspace useful for functional characterization and design of parallel manipulators with problems and open issues.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has proven advantageous over open surgery in reducing patient trauma, complications, and time in the hospital. However, the small incisions required for MIS inhibit maneuverability and access to the surgical site. Dexterous robotic instruments are a promising area of research to overcome these challenges in MIS. Tendon-driven continuum robots have shown potential to expand surgeon capabilities for operating within confined spaces and with minimal injury to the patient. For many procedures, miniaturized devices on the micro- and meso-scale are desired to access confined areas within the body and enable sufficient maneuverability. These robots are a topic of active research, and the fabrication of such miniaturized mechanisms remains challenging. To address these challenges, this paper provides a tutorial which outlines and evaluates various methods for attaching tendons in micro-and meso-scale robotic joints. Attachment techniques including bonding and plate mechanisms are used to assemble nitinol and tungsten tendons within both micro- and meso-scale samples. For micro-scale robots, samples less than 1 mm in diameter are used to evaluate the strength, repeatability, and actuation within a continuum robotic guidewire. For meso-scale robots, such as 1.93 mm diameter neuroendoscope tools, tendon placement is achieved using stainless steel and 3D-printed plates. Furthermore, the effects of solder and epoxy knot reinforcement are studied. Detailed procedures for attachment methods are provided, and the strengths and limitations of the tendon materials and attachment methods studied in this paper are highlighted for specific applications.

Poor strength of soils under dynamic loading conditions can trigger catastrophic failures during earthquakes, which are manifested in the form of landslides, lateral spreading of sloped ground and ground failure. Collapse of structures founded on such soils leads to loss of life and damage to infrastructure. Such conditions can be tackled through mechanical, physical, chemical, hydraulic or thermal treatment of the soils. Many of the conventional ground improvement methods like grouting or deep soil mixing involve addition or injection of cement or lime into the soil. Recent strides in developing bio-based sustainable ground improvement methods showed great promise in providing effective improvement under diverse loading scenarios. Though several bio-based ground improvement methods are being researched, the long-term and large-scale applications of many of these methods need further investigations. This paper presents a critical assessment of existing biobased-sustainable approaches geared toward enhancing the strength of soils to withstand dynamic loads.

This article presents three newer areas where robots are being used. The choice of areas is purely that of the author as there are numerous other areas where robots are being increasingly used. The article is an overview and attempts to present the science and technology behind these newer robotic applications.