The paper presents the results of a research project aimed at developing an innovative system for modeling industrial products based on haptic technology. The system consists of a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system enhanced with intuitive designer-oriented interaction tools and modalities. The system integrates innovative six degrees of freedom (DOF) haptic tools for modeling digital shapes, with sweep operators applied to class-A surfaces and force computation models based on chip formation models. The system aims at exploiting designers’ existing skills in modeling products, improving the products design process by reducing the necessity of building several physical models for evaluating and testing the product designs. The system requirements have been defined obser-ving designers during their daily work and translating the way they model shapes using hands and craft tools into specifications for the modeling system and the haptic tool. The system prototype has been tested by designers who have found it intuitive and ef-fective to use.

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A load bearing apparatus is presented in the form of a passive exoskeleton whereby a load may be placed on the passive exoskeleton and thereby weight of the load from the passive exoskeleton is transferred to a ground surface. The passive exoskeleton is made of a rigid body member for attaching proximate a portion of a user’s body; a sliding rod attached with the body member; a ground surface engage-able foot analog attached with the sliding rod; a rocker pivotally attached with the body member; a load pin attached with the sliding rod and operably attached with the rocker; and a bias block attached with the body member for engaging with the rocker. As a user walks, the bias block pivots the rocker to aid the load pin in transferring weight to the rocker and thereafter through the sliding rod to the foot analog and ground surface.

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A wearable action-assist device includes a biosignal detection unit detecting a biosignal from a wearer, an action-assist wearing tool having a drive source supplying a torque acting on the wearer around each joint of the wearer as an axis of rotation, a control unit controlling the drive source to generate the torque according to the detected biosignal, a drive torque estimation unit estimating a drive torque generated by the drive source, a joint-angle detection unit detecting an angular displacement of the joint, and a parameter identification unit identifying kinetics parameters concerned by substituting the estimated drive torque and the detected angular displacement into an equation of motion of an entire system including kinetics parameters intrinsic to the wearer. The control unit is configured to control the drive source according to a predetermined control method based on the equation of motion into which the identified parameters are substituted.

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A method for controlling movement using an active powered device including an actuator, joint position sensor, muscle stress sensor, and control system. The device provides primarily muscle support although it is capable of additionally providing joint support (hence the name “active muscle assistance device”). The device is designed for operation in several modes to provide either assistance or resistance to a muscle for the purpose of enhancing mobility, preventing injury, or building muscle strength. The device is designed to operate autonomously or coupled with other like device(s) to provide simultaneous assistance or resistance to multiple muscles.

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Energetic autonomy of a hydraulic-based mobile robot requires a power source capable of both hydraulic and electrical power generation. The hydraulic power is used for locomotion and the electric power is used for the control computer, sensors and other peripherals. In addition, the power source must be lightweight and quiet. This study presents several designs of internal combustion engine-based power units. Each power unit is evaluated with a Ragone plot which shows its performance over a wide range of operation times. The best-performing design of the hydraulic-electric power units (HEPU), based upon the Ragone plot analysis, is described in detail. This HEPU produces constant pressure hydraulic power and constant voltage electric power. The pressure and voltage are controlled on board the power unit by a computer. A novel characteristic of this power unit is its cooling system in which hydraulic fluid is used to cool the engine cylinders. The prototype power unit weighs 27 kg and produces 2.3 kW (3.0 hp) hydraulic power at 6.9 MPa (1000 psi) and 220 W of electric power at 15 VDC.

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