For people with amputated lower limbs, it is imperative to make high-performance prostheses that reproduce, as accurately as possible, the functions of the amputated limb. In this case, a preliminary study of the lower limbs from a kinematic and dynamic point of view is necessary. This paper proposes a prosthesis design and a system for acquiring the information needed to determine the stepping phase kinematic and dynamic parameters of the legs. This system consists of a sensory system attached to the legs and a acquisition data unit built around a microcontroller. The sensory system is based on a sensory system for determining the weight distribution on the sole, made of resistive pressure sensors. The sensory system will be subjected to measurement repeatability and homogeneity tests to evaluate and validate the accuracy and error of the proposed solution. The data obtained by the sensory system is transmitted in real-time, via wi-fi, to a computer system for interpretation. After processing and interpreting the data using standard data sets for comparison, the position of the legs, the type of gait and the phase of movement can be determined. Constructively, the system is configurable and can be adapted to any person, male or female, regardless of shoe size.
In recent decades, the field of physical rehabilitation, with the help of robotic systems that aid the population of any age with locomotor difficulties, has been evolving rapidly. Several robotic exoskeleton systems of the lower limbs have been proposed in the patent literature and some are even commercially available. Given the above, we are asking ourselves at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic: how much has this pandemic affected both the publication of patents and the application of new ones? How has new patents’ publication volume or application in robotic exoskeleton systems changed? We hypothesize that this pandemic has caused a reduction in the volume of new applications and possibly publications. We compare pandemic analysis and the last decade’s analysis to answer these questions. In this study, we used a set of statistical tests to see if there were any statistically significant changes. Our results show that the pandemic had at least one effect on applying for new patents based on the information analyzed from the three databases examined.
The pick and place mechatronic structures have a wide use in the industrial world. From semi finished positioning systems, to planting parts, to welding systems, engraving systems, cutting machining, or 3D printers. In this paper the authors have proposed to create a complete pick and place system, with a low price, able to reconfigure the entire mechatronic system by using an HMI interface, developed by the authors, through a minimal intervention on the adaptation of the z axis to the specific application. Thus, the system can be set up via the HMI interface to support a drawing, cutting, laser engraving or 3D printer. Such a structure is extremely useful in training, with every engine being tracked via the HMI interface for the developed torque, speed, current and voltage absorbed in real time but also to service-providing Small and Medium Enterprises through its versatility and low cost.
20 May 2025 in Annals of the University of Craiova Mathematics and Computer Science Series
The paper proposes an application that integrates an artificial intelligence model and is intended for the television production environment. This uses a pre-trained model, capable of quickly and accurately identifying relevant video files in a vast archive. This process involves the automatic analysis of metadata and audio-visual content to detect the information sought in each file, resulting in a list of files that match the selection criteria made with the help of implemented YOLO-type algorithms. The application is powered by an artificial intelligence model that can be customized and continuously created through additional training, using input data provided by users. Thus, an efficient and adaptable solution is created, which optimizes archive management and improves the production flow. The proposed application aims to eliminate the time spent identifying audio-video material necessary for editing.
19 December 2023 in BRAIN. BROAD RESEARCH IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROSCIENCE
In the current context, the labor market volatility in the information and communications technology sector (ICT), the challenges faced by companies in identifying and hiring these specialists, as well as the challenges faced by specialists in this field in terms of employment and job retention, necessitate a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the ICT labor market developments in close correlation with the current trends of digitalization of the economy. On this premise, the research presented in this article seeks to examine data about European firms that have engaged or tried to hire ICT specialists in the period 2014-2020, as well as the trends for the period 2021-2030. The purpose of the research will be to provide, on the one hand, the development of the selected variables for research during the analysis period and, on the other hand, the trends related to the ICT labor market for the categories of enterprises under study. The study aim will serve as the basis for the development of research questions and hypotheses, which will be tested using two types of methodological techniques, namely linear analysis and linear regression-based predictions.
The increasing complexity of cyber–physical manufacturing systems demands simulation architectures that scale with the physical plant without a proportional growth in engineering effort. This paper introduces a formal, symmetry-based framework for behavioral reuse in arbitrary cyber–physical manufacturing systems, implemented within the Siemens NX Mechatronic Concept Designer (MCD), version NX 2506, environment. Symmetry is treated rigorously, as an equivalence relation induced by a symmetry-group action over the set of plant components, and three exploitable classes are defined on this basis: structural symmetry, arising from replicated kinematic configurations; functional symmetry, arising from shared behavioral specifications across instances of a common component class; and temporal symmetry, arising from synchronized cyclic behavior across concurrent actors. From these definitions, a four-condition behavioral inheritance protocol is derived, specifying the prerequisites under which a single behavioral library template is correctly instantiated across an arbitrary number of interchangeable components. The framework is demonstrated on a production cell comprising ten conveyor sections, nine CNC machining centers (5-axis, X/Y/Z/A/B/SP), and two COMAU NJ420-3.0 manipulators—each a 6-axis articulated arm extended by an external linear rail to seven controlled axes—governed through Siemens Sinumerik RunMyRobot/Direct Control and exercised in a co-simulation environment that integrates a Create MyVirtual Machine (CMVM) Software-in-the-Loop (SiL) controller, a Simit Model-in-the-Loop (MiL) communication layer, and MCD for kinematic and behavioral emulation. Using the number of independent behavioral configuration operations as the effort metric, the symmetry-driven approach reduces machining-center configuration effort by 88.9% (from nine independent configurations to one template instantiated nine times) and robot behavioral configuration effort by 100% (both manipulators inherit from a single seven-axis library entry), while preserving full kinematic and signal-level fidelity. The inheritance mechanism is shown to tolerate heterogeneous kinematic substitution: a COMAU NJ420-3.0 may be replaced by any kinematically equivalent 6-axis manipulator in the RunMyRobot database without behavioral reconfiguration. The component and capability mapping matrix (CCMM) introduced in prior work is extended with a symmetry-annotation layer that explicitly encodes instance relationships and inheritance chains, providing a structured input to automated behavioral-deployment workflows. The results establish symmetry-based modular simulation as a principled and scalable methodology for industrial digital-twin development in multi-robot manufacturing environments.