Objective:To assess the safety and effectiveness of urological tumor surgeries using the hinotori^(TM)Surgical Robot System(hinotori)in a real-world clinical setting.Methods:All surgeries including robot-assisted radi...Objective:To assess the safety and effectiveness of urological tumor surgeries using the hinotori^(TM)Surgical Robot System(hinotori)in a real-world clinical setting.Methods:All surgeries including robot-assisted radical prostatectomy(RARP),robot-assisted partial nephrectomy(RAPN),robot-assisted radical nephrectomy(RARN),robot-assisted nephroureterectomy(RANU),robot-assisted adrenalectomy(RAA),and robot-assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion(RARC+ICUD)for urological tumors with the hinotori and da Vinci surgical system(da Vinci)from January 2022 to September 2023 were enrolled.We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of surgeries using the hinotori compared with those using the da Vinci.Results:Robotic surgeries using the hinotori were performed in a total of 91 cases,comprising 42 cases of RARP,18 cases of RAPN,six cases of RARN,10 cases of RANU,13 cases of RAA,and two cases of RARC+ICUD;no major intraoperative complications were observed in any of the cases using the hinotori;no major postoperative complications occurred in any of the cases;no case experienced an unrecoverable equipment error during surgery.Meanwhile,robotic surgeries using the da Vinci were performed in a total of 277 cases,comprising 126 cases of RARP,94 cases of RAPN,12 cases of RARN,10 cases of RANU,20 cases of RAA,and 15 cases of RARC+ICUD;major intraoperative complications occurred in two cases;major postoperative complications occurred in seven cases;seven cases required transfusion;one case underwent conversion to open surgery;during the study period,no case experienced an unrecoverable equipment error.Surgical outcomes for cases with the hinotori were comparable to those with the da Vinci.Conclusion:This study demonstrated that the hinotori is a safe and feasible tool for robotic surgeries in the field of urology.展开更多
Single-cell biomechanics and electrophysiology measuring tools have transformed biological research over the last few decades,which enabling a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of cellular behavior and function....Single-cell biomechanics and electrophysiology measuring tools have transformed biological research over the last few decades,which enabling a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of cellular behavior and function.Despite their high-quality information content,these single-cell measuring techniques suffer from laborious manual processing by highly skilled workers and extremely low throughput(tens of cells per day).Recently,numerous researchers have automated the measurement of cell mechanical and electrical signals through robotic localization and control processes.While these efforts have demonstrated promising progress,critical challenges persist,including human dependency,learning complexity,in-situ measurement,and multidimensional signal acquisition.To identify key limitations and highlight emerging opportunities for innovation,in this review,we comprehensively summarize the key steps of robotic technologies in single-cell biomechanics and electrophysiology.We also discussed the prospects and challenges of robotics and automation in biological research.By bridging gaps between engineering,biology,and data science,this work aims to stimulate interdisciplinary research and accelerate the translation of robotic single-cell technologies into practical applications in the life sciences and medical fields.展开更多
Underwater pipeline inspection plays a vital role in the proactive maintenance and management of critical marine infrastructure and subaquatic systems.However,the inspection of underwater pipelines presents a challeng...Underwater pipeline inspection plays a vital role in the proactive maintenance and management of critical marine infrastructure and subaquatic systems.However,the inspection of underwater pipelines presents a challenge due to factors such as light scattering,absorption,restricted visibility,and ambient noise.The advancement of deep learning has introduced powerful techniques for processing large amounts of unstructured and imperfect data collected from underwater environments.This study evaluated the efficacy of the You Only Look Once(YOLO)algorithm,a real-time object detection and localization model based on convolutional neural networks,in identifying and classifying various types of pipeline defects in underwater settings.YOLOv8,the latest evolution in the YOLO family,integrates advanced capabilities,such as anchor-free detection,a cross-stage partial network backbone for efficient feature extraction,and a feature pyramid network+path aggregation network neck for robust multi-scale object detection,which make it particularly well-suited for complex underwater environments.Due to the lack of suitable open-access datasets for underwater pipeline defects,a custom dataset was captured using a remotely operated vehicle in a controlled environment.This application has the following assets available for use.Extensive experimentation demonstrated that YOLOv8 X-Large consistently outperformed other models in terms of pipe defect detection and classification and achieved a strong balance between precision and recall in identifying pipeline cracks,rust,corners,defective welds,flanges,tapes,and holes.This research establishes the baseline performance of YOLOv8 for underwater defect detection and showcases its potential to enhance the reliability and efficiency of pipeline inspection tasks in challenging underwater environments.展开更多
At present,energy consumption is one of the main bottlenecks in autonomous mobile robot development.To address the challenge of high energy consumption in path planning for autonomous mobile robots navigating unknown ...At present,energy consumption is one of the main bottlenecks in autonomous mobile robot development.To address the challenge of high energy consumption in path planning for autonomous mobile robots navigating unknown and complex environments,this paper proposes an Attention-Enhanced Dueling Deep Q-Network(ADDueling DQN),which integrates a multi-head attention mechanism and a prioritized experience replay strategy into a Dueling-DQN reinforcement learning framework.A multi-objective reward function,centered on energy efficiency,is designed to comprehensively consider path length,terrain slope,motion smoothness,and obstacle avoidance,enabling optimal low-energy trajectory generation in 3D space from the source.The incorporation of a multihead attention mechanism allows the model to dynamically focus on energy-critical state features—such as slope gradients and obstacle density—thereby significantly improving its ability to recognize and avoid energy-intensive paths.Additionally,the prioritized experience replay mechanism accelerates learning from key decision-making experiences,suppressing inefficient exploration and guiding the policy toward low-energy solutions more rapidly.The effectiveness of the proposed path planning algorithm is validated through simulation experiments conducted in multiple off-road scenarios.Results demonstrate that AD-Dueling DQN consistently achieves the lowest average energy consumption across all tested environments.Moreover,the proposed method exhibits faster convergence and greater training stability compared to baseline algorithms,highlighting its global optimization capability under energy-aware objectives in complex terrains.This study offers an efficient and scalable intelligent control strategy for the development of energy-conscious autonomous navigation systems.展开更多
In this study,we present a small,integrated jumping-crawling robot capable of intermittent jumping and self-resetting.Compared to robots with a single mode of locomotion,this multi-modal robot exhibits enhanced obstac...In this study,we present a small,integrated jumping-crawling robot capable of intermittent jumping and self-resetting.Compared to robots with a single mode of locomotion,this multi-modal robot exhibits enhanced obstacle-surmounting capabilities.To achieve this,the robot employs a novel combination of a jumping module and a crawling module.The jumping module features improved energy storage capacity and an active clutch.Within the constraints of structural robustness,the jumping module maximizes the explosive power of the linear spring by utilizing the mechanical advantage of a closed-loop mechanism and controls the energy flow of the jumping module through an active clutch mechanism.Furthermore,inspired by the limb movements of tortoises during crawling and self-righting,a single-degree-of-freedom spatial four-bar crawling mechanism was designed to enable crawling,steering,and resetting functions.To demonstrate its practicality,the integrated jumping-crawling robot was tested in a laboratory environment for functions such as jumping,crawling,self-resetting,and steering.Experimental results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed integrated jumping-crawling robot.展开更多
BACKGROUND Median sternotomy has been considered the gold standard approach for anterior mediastinal tumor resection.However,recent advances in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and robotic-assisted thoracoscopic s...BACKGROUND Median sternotomy has been considered the gold standard approach for anterior mediastinal tumor resection.However,recent advances in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with carbon dioxide insufflation have allowed minimally invasive approaches even for large and locally invasive tumors of the upper-anterior mediastinum.The subxiphoid robotic optical approach is a recently developed technique for accessing the mediastinum.The trans-subxiphoid technique offers excellent exposure of the surgical field,reduces postoperative pain,facilitates specimen retrieval even for large tumors,and potentially improves early surgical outcomes.AIM To evaluate the safety,feasibility,and outcomes of a robotic subxiphoid approach for the resecting of large/invasive mediastinal tumors.METHODS Between July 2024 and September 2025,12 patients underwent subxiphoid robotic mediastinal resection.The diameter of the operated lesions ranged from 30 mm to 70 mm.A 3 cm subxiphoid incision was made at the subxiphoid level for GelPort placement,allowing for optical port access.Two operating ports were placed at the sixth intercostal space bilaterally.Carbon dioxide insufflations(8-10 mmHg)enlarged the surgical field,improving visualization of critical anatomical landmarks,such as the internal mammary arteries and phrenic nerves.This approach allowed complete resection of large or invasive tumors,preserving thoracic stability and reducing the risk of postoperative myasthenic crisis.RESULTS The mean operating time was 170.2 minutes,and the median hospital stay was 3.5 days.No major postoperative complications occurred.Two conversions were necessary:One with a lateral robotic approach due to previous abdominal surgery,and one with a sternotomy for tumor invasion of the aortic arch.Histopathological analysis identified nine thymomas and one solitary fibrous tumor.CONCLUSION Subxiphoid robotic approach is a safe,effective technique for extended thymectomy,fulfilling both oncological and myasthenia gravis surgical objectives.展开更多
In recent years,the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence(AI)has fostered deep integration between large AI models and robotic technology.Robots such as robotic dogs capable of carrying heavy loads on mountaino...In recent years,the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence(AI)has fostered deep integration between large AI models and robotic technology.Robots such as robotic dogs capable of carrying heavy loads on mountainous terrain or performing waste disposal tasks and humanoid robots that can execute high-precision component installations have gradually reached the public eye,raising expectations for embodied intelligent robots.展开更多
Dear Editor,This letter considers the formation control of multiple mobile robot systems(MMRS)that only relies on the local observation information.A new distributed finite-time observer is proposed for MMRS under dir...Dear Editor,This letter considers the formation control of multiple mobile robot systems(MMRS)that only relies on the local observation information.A new distributed finite-time observer is proposed for MMRS under directed graph to estimate the relative information between each follower robot and the leader robot.Then the formation control problem is transformed into the tracking problem and a finite-time tracking controller is proposed based on the robot model feature.展开更多
The rapid evolution of industrial robots from automation tools to intelligent systems marks a pivotal shift in manufacturing practices within the framework of Industry 4.0.Industrial robots,once limited to repetitive ...The rapid evolution of industrial robots from automation tools to intelligent systems marks a pivotal shift in manufacturing practices within the framework of Industry 4.0.Industrial robots,once limited to repetitive tasks on assembly lines,are now increasingly powered by advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence(AI),machine learning,and the Internet of Things(IoT),enabling them to perform complex,adaptive tasks in real-time.This paper explores the technological advancements that have transformed industrial robots,highlighting the integration of AI,smart sensors,and autonomous systems.Furthermore,it examines the implications of this paradigm shift for industries,human-robot collaboration,and the workforce.While intelligent robots promise greater efficiency,flexibility,and safety in manufacturing,challenges regarding implementation,economic impact,and ethical considerations remain significant.The paper concludes by looking at the future trends in robotics and their potential to reshape the global industrial landscape.展开更多
Rollover accidents involving agricultural wheeled robots,accompanied by severe mechanical impacts,pose serious threats to operational safety and reduce functional efficiency.To address this issue,an active rollover pr...Rollover accidents involving agricultural wheeled robots,accompanied by severe mechanical impacts,pose serious threats to operational safety and reduce functional efficiency.To address this issue,an active rollover prevention strategy is proposed,utilizing a single‐gimbal control moment gyro(SGCMG),to stabilize typical agricultural robots and prevent potential rollovers.To match the free oscillation of the pivot front axle,a novel recovery torque model of the coupled robot‐SGCMG system is established,in which two patterns are introduced to refine the rollover process with uncertain parameters.Additionally,a lateral stability index is adopted and analyzed to assess the hazard level of potential rollovers.Aimed at handling uncertain parameters and hazard levels,an adaptive backstepping control strategy is developed for real‐time anti‐rollover implementation.Within this strategy,control gains are adaptively tuned based on theoretical derivations,thereby suppressing rollover tendency while minimizing tuning effort.For verification,a scaled experimental platform,designed according to similarity theory,is constructed to ensure safety of personnel and equipment.Experimental results show that the proposed method can precisely regulate the output torque of the gyro,rapidly and effectively mitigating the risk of imminent rollover.This method provides a promising solution for wheeled robot stability and a theoretical basis for advanced safety control in agricultural robotics.展开更多
Insect-scale flapping wing aerial robots actuated by piezoelectric materials—known for their high power density and rapid frequency response—have recently garnered increasing attention.However,the limited output dis...Insect-scale flapping wing aerial robots actuated by piezoelectric materials—known for their high power density and rapid frequency response—have recently garnered increasing attention.However,the limited output displacement of piezoelectric actuators results in complex transmission methods that are challenging to assemble.Furthermore,high piezoelectric coefficient materials capable of large displacements for direct wing actuation are fragile,costly,and relatively bulky.This article presents a novel design for minimalist insect-scale aerial robots,where piezoelectric bimorph PZT actuators directly drive two pairs of wings,thus eliminating complex transmission mechanisms and reducing fabrication complexity.These robots demonstrate high liftoff speeds and favorable lift-to-weight ratios,and they can achieve vertical ascent under uncontrolled open-loop conditions.The piezoelectric direct-driven twowing insect-scale aerial robot,based on this approach,features an 8 cm wingspan and a prototype weight of 140 mg,successfully achieving takeoff under unconstrained conditions with an external power source.To further enhance insect-scale aerial robot performance,we optimized the wing-to-actuator ratio and wing arrangement.We propose a biaxial aerial robot with an X-shaped structure,a 2:1 wing-toactuator ratio,a 70 mm wingspan,and a total mass of 160 mg.This structure demonstrates a high lift-to-weight ratio of 2.8:1.During free flight,when powered externally,it attains a maximum takeoff speed exceeding 1 m/s and achieves a vertical takeoff height surpassing 80 cm under uncontrolled conditions.Consequently,it ranks among the fastest prototypes in the milligram-scale weight category.展开更多
Human-robot safety is an important topic in wearable robotics,especially in supernumerary robotic limbs(SRLs).The proposal of flexible joint improves human-robot safety strategy,which allows physical contact between h...Human-robot safety is an important topic in wearable robotics,especially in supernumerary robotic limbs(SRLs).The proposal of flexible joint improves human-robot safety strategy,which allows physical contact between human and robots,rather than strictly limiting the human-robot motion.However,most researchers focus on the variable stiffness features of flexible joints,but few evaluate the performance of the flexible joint in the human-robot collision.Therefore,the performance of two typical flexible joints,including the series elastic joint(SEJ)and the passive variable stiffness joint(PVSJ),are compared through dynamic collision experiments.The results demonstrate that the SEJ absorbs 40.7%-58.7%of the collision force and 34.2%-45.2%of the collision torque in the driven-torque below 4 N·m and driven-speed of 3-7(°)/s,which is more stable than PVSJ.In addition,the stiffness error of SEJ is measured at 5.1%,significantly lower than the 23.04%measured in the PVSJ.The huge stiffness error of PVSJ leads to its unreliability in buffering collision.Furthermore,we analyze results and confirm that SEJ has a more stable human-robot safety performance in buffering dynamic collision.Consequently,the SEJ is suitable in SRLs for human-robot safety in our scenario.展开更多
Objective:Since the introduction of the Da Vinci®robotic system,robot-assisted colon resection has gained popularity because of its the potential technical advantages.Recently,two new CE-marked platforms have bec...Objective:Since the introduction of the Da Vinci®robotic system,robot-assisted colon resection has gained popularity because of its the potential technical advantages.Recently,two new CE-marked platforms have become available in Europe:Hugo™RAS and Versius®.We present the firstprospective case series comparing these three robotic systems.Methods:This exploratory,prospective study enrolled 45 consecutive adult patients undergoing robotic colon resection between February and December 2024,as part of the COMPAR trial.Two experienced colorectal surgeons performed all procedures across two surgical units.Each robotic platform was used in 15 cases.The primary outcomes were conversion to laparoscopy or open surgery and intra-operative complications.The secondary outcomes included post-operative recovery,oncological results,and platform-specifictechnical parameters.Results:The mean age was 66.8 years and 68.9%of patients underwent surgery for colon cancer.No conversions occurred in the Da Vinci group,whereas 2 and 3 conversions to laparoscopy were recorded with Hugo™RAS and Versius®,respectively.One intra-operative instrument malfunction occurred with Hugo™RAS,and one surgical complication was reported in each group.No significantdifferences emerged in post-operative recovery or oncological outcomes.Versius®cases required more frequent use of laparoscopic energy devices(p<0.001).Hugo™RAS was associated with a longer total operating room time(p=0.022)and longer incision length(p=0.005).Conclusion:Robotic colorectal surgery with all three platforms is feasible when performed by expert surgeons.While early outcomes are encouraging,larger comparative trials are needed to confirmdifferences in recovery and oncological efficacy.展开更多
Laparoscopic rectal surgery has demonstrated its superiority over the open approach,however it still has some technical limitations that lead to the development of robotic platforms.Nevertheless the literature on this...Laparoscopic rectal surgery has demonstrated its superiority over the open approach,however it still has some technical limitations that lead to the development of robotic platforms.Nevertheless the literature on this topic is rapidly expanding there is still no consensus about benefits of robotic rectal cancer surgery over the laparoscopic one.For this reason a review of all the literature examining robotic surgery for rectal cancer was performed.Two reviewers independently conducted a search of electronic databases(Pub Med and EMBASE)using the key words"rectum","rectal","cancer","laparoscopy","robot".After the initial screen of 266 articles,43 papers were selected for review.A total of 3013 patients were included in the review.The most commonly performed intervention was low anterior resection(1450 patients,48.1%),followed by anterior resections(997 patients,33%),ultra-low anterior resections(393 patients,13%)and abdominoperineal resections(173 patients,5.7%).Robotic rectal surgery seems to offer potential advantages especially in low anterior resections with lower conversions rates and better preservation of the autonomic function.Quality of mesorectum and status of and circumferential resection margins are similar to those obtained with conventional laparoscopy even if robotic rectal surgery is undoubtedly associated with longer operative times.This review demonstrated that robotic rectal surgery is both safe and feasible but there is no evidence of its superiority over laparoscopy in terms of postoperative,clinical outcomes and incidence of complications.In conclusion robotic rectal surgery seems to overcome some of technical limitations of conventional laparoscopic surgery especially for tumors requiring low and ultralow anterior resections but this technical improvement seems not to provide,until now,any significant clinical advantages to the patients.展开更多
Supernumerary robotic limbs(SRLs) are a new type of wearable human auxiliary equipment, which is currently a hot research topic in the world. SRLs have broad applications in many fields, and will provide a reference a...Supernumerary robotic limbs(SRLs) are a new type of wearable human auxiliary equipment, which is currently a hot research topic in the world. SRLs have broad applications in many fields, and will provide a reference and technical support for the realization of human-robot collaboration and integration,while playing an important role in improving social security and public services. In this paper, representative SRLs are summarized from the aspects of related literature analysis,research status, ontology structure design, control and driving,sensing and perception, and application fields. This paper also analyzes and summarizes the current technical challenges faced by SRLs, and reviews development progress and key technologies,thus giving a prospect of future technical development trends.展开更多
The advent of parametric design has resulted in a marked increase in the complexity of building.Unfortunately,traditional construction methods make it difficult to meet the needs.Therefore,construction robots have bec...The advent of parametric design has resulted in a marked increase in the complexity of building.Unfortunately,traditional construction methods make it difficult to meet the needs.Therefore,construction robots have become a pivotal production tool in this context.Since the arm span of a single robot usually does not exceed 3 meters,it is not competent for producing large-scale building components.Accordingly,the extension of the robot,s working range is often achieved by external axes.Nevertheless,the coupling control of external axes and robots and their kinematic solution have become key challenges.The primary technical difficulties include customized construction robots,automatic solutions for external axes,fixed axis joints,and specific motion mode control.This paper proposes solutions to these difficulties,introduces the relevant basic concepts and algorithms in detail,and encapsulates these robotics principles and algorithm processes into the Grasshopper plug-in commonly used by architects to form the FURobot software platform.This platform effectively solves the above problems,lowers the threshold for architects,and improves production efficiency.The effectiveness of the algorithm and software in this paper is verified through simulation experiments.展开更多
In recent years,robotic arm grasping has become a pivotal task in the field of robotics,with applications spanning from industrial automation to healthcare.The optimization of grasping strategies plays a crucial role ...In recent years,robotic arm grasping has become a pivotal task in the field of robotics,with applications spanning from industrial automation to healthcare.The optimization of grasping strategies plays a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness,efficiency,and reliability of robotic systems.This paper presents a novel approach to optimizing robotic arm grasping strategies based on deep reinforcement learning(DRL).Through the utilization of advanced DRL algorithms,such as Q-Learning,Deep Q-Networks(DQN),Policy Gradient Methods,and Proximal Policy Optimization(PPO),the study aims to improve the performance of robotic arms in grasping objects with varying shapes,sizes,and environmental conditions.The paper provides a detailed analysis of the various deep reinforcement learning methods used for grasping strategy optimization,emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm.It also presents a comprehensive framework for training the DRL models,including simulation environment setup,the optimization process,and the evaluation metrics for grasping success.The results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly enhances the accuracy and stability of the robotic arm in performing grasping tasks.The study further explores the challenges in training deep reinforcement learning models for real-time robotic applications and offers solutions for improving the efficiency and reliability of grasping strategies.展开更多
The 2025 World Robot Conference,held in Beijing from August 8 to 12,offered a vivid glimpse into the future of the global robotics industry,where breakthroughs in artificial intelligence(AI)are injecting new momentum ...The 2025 World Robot Conference,held in Beijing from August 8 to 12,offered a vivid glimpse into the future of the global robotics industry,where breakthroughs in artificial intelligence(AI)are injecting new momentum into growth.Drawing ove r 1.3 million attendees.展开更多
文摘Objective:To assess the safety and effectiveness of urological tumor surgeries using the hinotori^(TM)Surgical Robot System(hinotori)in a real-world clinical setting.Methods:All surgeries including robot-assisted radical prostatectomy(RARP),robot-assisted partial nephrectomy(RAPN),robot-assisted radical nephrectomy(RARN),robot-assisted nephroureterectomy(RANU),robot-assisted adrenalectomy(RAA),and robot-assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion(RARC+ICUD)for urological tumors with the hinotori and da Vinci surgical system(da Vinci)from January 2022 to September 2023 were enrolled.We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of surgeries using the hinotori compared with those using the da Vinci.Results:Robotic surgeries using the hinotori were performed in a total of 91 cases,comprising 42 cases of RARP,18 cases of RAPN,six cases of RARN,10 cases of RANU,13 cases of RAA,and two cases of RARC+ICUD;no major intraoperative complications were observed in any of the cases using the hinotori;no major postoperative complications occurred in any of the cases;no case experienced an unrecoverable equipment error during surgery.Meanwhile,robotic surgeries using the da Vinci were performed in a total of 277 cases,comprising 126 cases of RARP,94 cases of RAPN,12 cases of RARN,10 cases of RANU,20 cases of RAA,and 15 cases of RARC+ICUD;major intraoperative complications occurred in two cases;major postoperative complications occurred in seven cases;seven cases required transfusion;one case underwent conversion to open surgery;during the study period,no case experienced an unrecoverable equipment error.Surgical outcomes for cases with the hinotori were comparable to those with the da Vinci.Conclusion:This study demonstrated that the hinotori is a safe and feasible tool for robotic surgeries in the field of urology.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China[62525301,62127811,62433019]the New Cornerstone Science Foundation through the XPLORER PRIZEthe financial support by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation[GZB20240797].
文摘Single-cell biomechanics and electrophysiology measuring tools have transformed biological research over the last few decades,which enabling a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of cellular behavior and function.Despite their high-quality information content,these single-cell measuring techniques suffer from laborious manual processing by highly skilled workers and extremely low throughput(tens of cells per day).Recently,numerous researchers have automated the measurement of cell mechanical and electrical signals through robotic localization and control processes.While these efforts have demonstrated promising progress,critical challenges persist,including human dependency,learning complexity,in-situ measurement,and multidimensional signal acquisition.To identify key limitations and highlight emerging opportunities for innovation,in this review,we comprehensively summarize the key steps of robotic technologies in single-cell biomechanics and electrophysiology.We also discussed the prospects and challenges of robotics and automation in biological research.By bridging gaps between engineering,biology,and data science,this work aims to stimulate interdisciplinary research and accelerate the translation of robotic single-cell technologies into practical applications in the life sciences and medical fields.
文摘Underwater pipeline inspection plays a vital role in the proactive maintenance and management of critical marine infrastructure and subaquatic systems.However,the inspection of underwater pipelines presents a challenge due to factors such as light scattering,absorption,restricted visibility,and ambient noise.The advancement of deep learning has introduced powerful techniques for processing large amounts of unstructured and imperfect data collected from underwater environments.This study evaluated the efficacy of the You Only Look Once(YOLO)algorithm,a real-time object detection and localization model based on convolutional neural networks,in identifying and classifying various types of pipeline defects in underwater settings.YOLOv8,the latest evolution in the YOLO family,integrates advanced capabilities,such as anchor-free detection,a cross-stage partial network backbone for efficient feature extraction,and a feature pyramid network+path aggregation network neck for robust multi-scale object detection,which make it particularly well-suited for complex underwater environments.Due to the lack of suitable open-access datasets for underwater pipeline defects,a custom dataset was captured using a remotely operated vehicle in a controlled environment.This application has the following assets available for use.Extensive experimentation demonstrated that YOLOv8 X-Large consistently outperformed other models in terms of pipe defect detection and classification and achieved a strong balance between precision and recall in identifying pipeline cracks,rust,corners,defective welds,flanges,tapes,and holes.This research establishes the baseline performance of YOLOv8 for underwater defect detection and showcases its potential to enhance the reliability and efficiency of pipeline inspection tasks in challenging underwater environments.
文摘At present,energy consumption is one of the main bottlenecks in autonomous mobile robot development.To address the challenge of high energy consumption in path planning for autonomous mobile robots navigating unknown and complex environments,this paper proposes an Attention-Enhanced Dueling Deep Q-Network(ADDueling DQN),which integrates a multi-head attention mechanism and a prioritized experience replay strategy into a Dueling-DQN reinforcement learning framework.A multi-objective reward function,centered on energy efficiency,is designed to comprehensively consider path length,terrain slope,motion smoothness,and obstacle avoidance,enabling optimal low-energy trajectory generation in 3D space from the source.The incorporation of a multihead attention mechanism allows the model to dynamically focus on energy-critical state features—such as slope gradients and obstacle density—thereby significantly improving its ability to recognize and avoid energy-intensive paths.Additionally,the prioritized experience replay mechanism accelerates learning from key decision-making experiences,suppressing inefficient exploration and guiding the policy toward low-energy solutions more rapidly.The effectiveness of the proposed path planning algorithm is validated through simulation experiments conducted in multiple off-road scenarios.Results demonstrate that AD-Dueling DQN consistently achieves the lowest average energy consumption across all tested environments.Moreover,the proposed method exhibits faster convergence and greater training stability compared to baseline algorithms,highlighting its global optimization capability under energy-aware objectives in complex terrains.This study offers an efficient and scalable intelligent control strategy for the development of energy-conscious autonomous navigation systems.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51375383).
文摘In this study,we present a small,integrated jumping-crawling robot capable of intermittent jumping and self-resetting.Compared to robots with a single mode of locomotion,this multi-modal robot exhibits enhanced obstacle-surmounting capabilities.To achieve this,the robot employs a novel combination of a jumping module and a crawling module.The jumping module features improved energy storage capacity and an active clutch.Within the constraints of structural robustness,the jumping module maximizes the explosive power of the linear spring by utilizing the mechanical advantage of a closed-loop mechanism and controls the energy flow of the jumping module through an active clutch mechanism.Furthermore,inspired by the limb movements of tortoises during crawling and self-righting,a single-degree-of-freedom spatial four-bar crawling mechanism was designed to enable crawling,steering,and resetting functions.To demonstrate its practicality,the integrated jumping-crawling robot was tested in a laboratory environment for functions such as jumping,crawling,self-resetting,and steering.Experimental results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed integrated jumping-crawling robot.
文摘BACKGROUND Median sternotomy has been considered the gold standard approach for anterior mediastinal tumor resection.However,recent advances in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with carbon dioxide insufflation have allowed minimally invasive approaches even for large and locally invasive tumors of the upper-anterior mediastinum.The subxiphoid robotic optical approach is a recently developed technique for accessing the mediastinum.The trans-subxiphoid technique offers excellent exposure of the surgical field,reduces postoperative pain,facilitates specimen retrieval even for large tumors,and potentially improves early surgical outcomes.AIM To evaluate the safety,feasibility,and outcomes of a robotic subxiphoid approach for the resecting of large/invasive mediastinal tumors.METHODS Between July 2024 and September 2025,12 patients underwent subxiphoid robotic mediastinal resection.The diameter of the operated lesions ranged from 30 mm to 70 mm.A 3 cm subxiphoid incision was made at the subxiphoid level for GelPort placement,allowing for optical port access.Two operating ports were placed at the sixth intercostal space bilaterally.Carbon dioxide insufflations(8-10 mmHg)enlarged the surgical field,improving visualization of critical anatomical landmarks,such as the internal mammary arteries and phrenic nerves.This approach allowed complete resection of large or invasive tumors,preserving thoracic stability and reducing the risk of postoperative myasthenic crisis.RESULTS The mean operating time was 170.2 minutes,and the median hospital stay was 3.5 days.No major postoperative complications occurred.Two conversions were necessary:One with a lateral robotic approach due to previous abdominal surgery,and one with a sternotomy for tumor invasion of the aortic arch.Histopathological analysis identified nine thymomas and one solitary fibrous tumor.CONCLUSION Subxiphoid robotic approach is a safe,effective technique for extended thymectomy,fulfilling both oncological and myasthenia gravis surgical objectives.
文摘In recent years,the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence(AI)has fostered deep integration between large AI models and robotic technology.Robots such as robotic dogs capable of carrying heavy loads on mountainous terrain or performing waste disposal tasks and humanoid robots that can execute high-precision component installations have gradually reached the public eye,raising expectations for embodied intelligent robots.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(62073113,62003122,62303148)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(MCCSE2023A01,JZ2023HGTA0201,JZ2023HGQA0109)the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation(2308085QF204)
文摘Dear Editor,This letter considers the formation control of multiple mobile robot systems(MMRS)that only relies on the local observation information.A new distributed finite-time observer is proposed for MMRS under directed graph to estimate the relative information between each follower robot and the leader robot.Then the formation control problem is transformed into the tracking problem and a finite-time tracking controller is proposed based on the robot model feature.
文摘The rapid evolution of industrial robots from automation tools to intelligent systems marks a pivotal shift in manufacturing practices within the framework of Industry 4.0.Industrial robots,once limited to repetitive tasks on assembly lines,are now increasingly powered by advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence(AI),machine learning,and the Internet of Things(IoT),enabling them to perform complex,adaptive tasks in real-time.This paper explores the technological advancements that have transformed industrial robots,highlighting the integration of AI,smart sensors,and autonomous systems.Furthermore,it examines the implications of this paradigm shift for industries,human-robot collaboration,and the workforce.While intelligent robots promise greater efficiency,flexibility,and safety in manufacturing,challenges regarding implementation,economic impact,and ethical considerations remain significant.The paper concludes by looking at the future trends in robotics and their potential to reshape the global industrial landscape.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52175259)the 2115 Talent Development Program of China Agricultural University.
文摘Rollover accidents involving agricultural wheeled robots,accompanied by severe mechanical impacts,pose serious threats to operational safety and reduce functional efficiency.To address this issue,an active rollover prevention strategy is proposed,utilizing a single‐gimbal control moment gyro(SGCMG),to stabilize typical agricultural robots and prevent potential rollovers.To match the free oscillation of the pivot front axle,a novel recovery torque model of the coupled robot‐SGCMG system is established,in which two patterns are introduced to refine the rollover process with uncertain parameters.Additionally,a lateral stability index is adopted and analyzed to assess the hazard level of potential rollovers.Aimed at handling uncertain parameters and hazard levels,an adaptive backstepping control strategy is developed for real‐time anti‐rollover implementation.Within this strategy,control gains are adaptively tuned based on theoretical derivations,thereby suppressing rollover tendency while minimizing tuning effort.For verification,a scaled experimental platform,designed according to similarity theory,is constructed to ensure safety of personnel and equipment.Experimental results show that the proposed method can precisely regulate the output torque of the gyro,rapidly and effectively mitigating the risk of imminent rollover.This method provides a promising solution for wheeled robot stability and a theoretical basis for advanced safety control in agricultural robotics.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52475039)。
文摘Insect-scale flapping wing aerial robots actuated by piezoelectric materials—known for their high power density and rapid frequency response—have recently garnered increasing attention.However,the limited output displacement of piezoelectric actuators results in complex transmission methods that are challenging to assemble.Furthermore,high piezoelectric coefficient materials capable of large displacements for direct wing actuation are fragile,costly,and relatively bulky.This article presents a novel design for minimalist insect-scale aerial robots,where piezoelectric bimorph PZT actuators directly drive two pairs of wings,thus eliminating complex transmission mechanisms and reducing fabrication complexity.These robots demonstrate high liftoff speeds and favorable lift-to-weight ratios,and they can achieve vertical ascent under uncontrolled open-loop conditions.The piezoelectric direct-driven twowing insect-scale aerial robot,based on this approach,features an 8 cm wingspan and a prototype weight of 140 mg,successfully achieving takeoff under unconstrained conditions with an external power source.To further enhance insect-scale aerial robot performance,we optimized the wing-to-actuator ratio and wing arrangement.We propose a biaxial aerial robot with an X-shaped structure,a 2:1 wing-toactuator ratio,a 70 mm wingspan,and a total mass of 160 mg.This structure demonstrates a high lift-to-weight ratio of 2.8:1.During free flight,when powered externally,it attains a maximum takeoff speed exceeding 1 m/s and achieves a vertical takeoff height surpassing 80 cm under uncontrolled conditions.Consequently,it ranks among the fastest prototypes in the milligram-scale weight category.
基金supported by the Na⁃tional Natural Science Foundation of China(No.U22A20204)the Innovation Foundation from National Clinical Research Center for Orthopedics,Sports Medicine&Rehabilitation Foundation(No.23-NCRC-CXJJ-ZD3-8)。
文摘Human-robot safety is an important topic in wearable robotics,especially in supernumerary robotic limbs(SRLs).The proposal of flexible joint improves human-robot safety strategy,which allows physical contact between human and robots,rather than strictly limiting the human-robot motion.However,most researchers focus on the variable stiffness features of flexible joints,but few evaluate the performance of the flexible joint in the human-robot collision.Therefore,the performance of two typical flexible joints,including the series elastic joint(SEJ)and the passive variable stiffness joint(PVSJ),are compared through dynamic collision experiments.The results demonstrate that the SEJ absorbs 40.7%-58.7%of the collision force and 34.2%-45.2%of the collision torque in the driven-torque below 4 N·m and driven-speed of 3-7(°)/s,which is more stable than PVSJ.In addition,the stiffness error of SEJ is measured at 5.1%,significantly lower than the 23.04%measured in the PVSJ.The huge stiffness error of PVSJ leads to its unreliability in buffering collision.Furthermore,we analyze results and confirm that SEJ has a more stable human-robot safety performance in buffering dynamic collision.Consequently,the SEJ is suitable in SRLs for human-robot safety in our scenario.
文摘Objective:Since the introduction of the Da Vinci®robotic system,robot-assisted colon resection has gained popularity because of its the potential technical advantages.Recently,two new CE-marked platforms have become available in Europe:Hugo™RAS and Versius®.We present the firstprospective case series comparing these three robotic systems.Methods:This exploratory,prospective study enrolled 45 consecutive adult patients undergoing robotic colon resection between February and December 2024,as part of the COMPAR trial.Two experienced colorectal surgeons performed all procedures across two surgical units.Each robotic platform was used in 15 cases.The primary outcomes were conversion to laparoscopy or open surgery and intra-operative complications.The secondary outcomes included post-operative recovery,oncological results,and platform-specifictechnical parameters.Results:The mean age was 66.8 years and 68.9%of patients underwent surgery for colon cancer.No conversions occurred in the Da Vinci group,whereas 2 and 3 conversions to laparoscopy were recorded with Hugo™RAS and Versius®,respectively.One intra-operative instrument malfunction occurred with Hugo™RAS,and one surgical complication was reported in each group.No significantdifferences emerged in post-operative recovery or oncological outcomes.Versius®cases required more frequent use of laparoscopic energy devices(p<0.001).Hugo™RAS was associated with a longer total operating room time(p=0.022)and longer incision length(p=0.005).Conclusion:Robotic colorectal surgery with all three platforms is feasible when performed by expert surgeons.While early outcomes are encouraging,larger comparative trials are needed to confirmdifferences in recovery and oncological efficacy.
文摘Laparoscopic rectal surgery has demonstrated its superiority over the open approach,however it still has some technical limitations that lead to the development of robotic platforms.Nevertheless the literature on this topic is rapidly expanding there is still no consensus about benefits of robotic rectal cancer surgery over the laparoscopic one.For this reason a review of all the literature examining robotic surgery for rectal cancer was performed.Two reviewers independently conducted a search of electronic databases(Pub Med and EMBASE)using the key words"rectum","rectal","cancer","laparoscopy","robot".After the initial screen of 266 articles,43 papers were selected for review.A total of 3013 patients were included in the review.The most commonly performed intervention was low anterior resection(1450 patients,48.1%),followed by anterior resections(997 patients,33%),ultra-low anterior resections(393 patients,13%)and abdominoperineal resections(173 patients,5.7%).Robotic rectal surgery seems to offer potential advantages especially in low anterior resections with lower conversions rates and better preservation of the autonomic function.Quality of mesorectum and status of and circumferential resection margins are similar to those obtained with conventional laparoscopy even if robotic rectal surgery is undoubtedly associated with longer operative times.This review demonstrated that robotic rectal surgery is both safe and feasible but there is no evidence of its superiority over laparoscopy in terms of postoperative,clinical outcomes and incidence of complications.In conclusion robotic rectal surgery seems to overcome some of technical limitations of conventional laparoscopic surgery especially for tumors requiring low and ultralow anterior resections but this technical improvement seems not to provide,until now,any significant clinical advantages to the patients.
基金supported in part by theNational Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB1304600)the Natural Science Foundation of China (51775541)CAS Interdisciplinary Innovation Team (JCTD-2018-11)。
文摘Supernumerary robotic limbs(SRLs) are a new type of wearable human auxiliary equipment, which is currently a hot research topic in the world. SRLs have broad applications in many fields, and will provide a reference and technical support for the realization of human-robot collaboration and integration,while playing an important role in improving social security and public services. In this paper, representative SRLs are summarized from the aspects of related literature analysis,research status, ontology structure design, control and driving,sensing and perception, and application fields. This paper also analyzes and summarizes the current technical challenges faced by SRLs, and reviews development progress and key technologies,thus giving a prospect of future technical development trends.
基金National Key R&D Program of China(Nos.2023YFC3806900,2022YFE0141400)。
文摘The advent of parametric design has resulted in a marked increase in the complexity of building.Unfortunately,traditional construction methods make it difficult to meet the needs.Therefore,construction robots have become a pivotal production tool in this context.Since the arm span of a single robot usually does not exceed 3 meters,it is not competent for producing large-scale building components.Accordingly,the extension of the robot,s working range is often achieved by external axes.Nevertheless,the coupling control of external axes and robots and their kinematic solution have become key challenges.The primary technical difficulties include customized construction robots,automatic solutions for external axes,fixed axis joints,and specific motion mode control.This paper proposes solutions to these difficulties,introduces the relevant basic concepts and algorithms in detail,and encapsulates these robotics principles and algorithm processes into the Grasshopper plug-in commonly used by architects to form the FURobot software platform.This platform effectively solves the above problems,lowers the threshold for architects,and improves production efficiency.The effectiveness of the algorithm and software in this paper is verified through simulation experiments.
文摘In recent years,robotic arm grasping has become a pivotal task in the field of robotics,with applications spanning from industrial automation to healthcare.The optimization of grasping strategies plays a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness,efficiency,and reliability of robotic systems.This paper presents a novel approach to optimizing robotic arm grasping strategies based on deep reinforcement learning(DRL).Through the utilization of advanced DRL algorithms,such as Q-Learning,Deep Q-Networks(DQN),Policy Gradient Methods,and Proximal Policy Optimization(PPO),the study aims to improve the performance of robotic arms in grasping objects with varying shapes,sizes,and environmental conditions.The paper provides a detailed analysis of the various deep reinforcement learning methods used for grasping strategy optimization,emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm.It also presents a comprehensive framework for training the DRL models,including simulation environment setup,the optimization process,and the evaluation metrics for grasping success.The results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly enhances the accuracy and stability of the robotic arm in performing grasping tasks.The study further explores the challenges in training deep reinforcement learning models for real-time robotic applications and offers solutions for improving the efficiency and reliability of grasping strategies.
文摘The 2025 World Robot Conference,held in Beijing from August 8 to 12,offered a vivid glimpse into the future of the global robotics industry,where breakthroughs in artificial intelligence(AI)are injecting new momentum into growth.Drawing ove r 1.3 million attendees.
