On the Design, Analysis, and Experimental Validation of Pneumatically-Actuated, Soft Robotic, Telescopic Structures

2025-10-19

Soft robotics leverages highly elastic, deformable materials to enable sensitive human-centered applications in medicine, rehabilitation, and assistance, as well as industrial applications like robotic grasping and load-bearing. One particular type of soft robotic actuator - the pneumatically-actuated, soft robotic, telescopic structure (PASTS) - is a relatively new concept that utilises compliant material and geometry reminiscent of traditional telescopes to produce linear motion and force exertion. Previous works on telescopic soft actuators have focused on specific applications rather than fundamental mechanics, creating a clear knowledge gap in understanding their design, dynamics, and dependencies. This paper provides an in-depth study of the fundamental design parameters of soft telescopic actuators, and examines the impacts of certain critical dimensions and geometries on the physical behaviour and capabilities of these soft actuators. It revolves around the exploration of the influence of telescopic structure’s length, wall thickness and number of rings on its inflation and deflation behaviour, lifting and lowering speed, and motion smoothness. By experimentally verifying these relationships using several design variations, it demonstrates that telescopic structures are capable of repeatable linear extension within 0.85 mm of precision. It also determines the varying degrees±by which each critical parameter affects the desirable properties of the actuator, allowing for telescopic structures to be tailored and optimised for specific applications.

SOL: A Compact, Portable, Telescopic, Soft-Robotic Sun-Tracking Mechanism for Improved Solar Power Production

2024 · 1 citations

• Computer Science
• Computer Science
• Aerospace engineering

Solar power is becoming an increasingly popular option for energy production in commercial and private applications. While installing solar panels (photovoltaic cells) in a stationary configuration is simple and inexpensive, such a setup fails to maximise their potential solar energy production. Single- and dual-axis sun trackers automatically adjust the tilt angle of photovoltaic cells so as to directly face towards sun, but these also come with their own drawbacks such as increased cost and weight. This paper presents SOL, a soft-robotic, dual-axis, sun-tracking mechanism for improved solar panel efficiency. The proposed design was built to be compact, portable, and lightweight, and it utilises closed-loop control for the intelligent actuation of a set of soft telescopic structures that raise and tilt the solar panels in the direction of the sun. The performance of the proposed solar tracking platform was experimentally validated in terms of its maximum elevation at different azimuths and its ability to balance different loads. The result is a device that provides solar panel users with an accessible, affordable, and convenient means of increasing the efficiency of their solar energy system.

169P Tumour microenvironment in glioblastoma: A single-cell perspective on macrophage dynamics and T cell exhaustion

ESMO Open · 2024

• Computer Science
• Cancer research
• Biology

The tumour microenvironment (TME) in glioblastoma includes tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs), with microglia-derived (Mig-TAMs) being pro-inflammatory and monocyte-derived (Mon-TAMs) being tolerogenic (Atunes et al, 2021). This study uses single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to explore TAM dynamics and T cell exhaustion in newly diagnosed (ndGBM) and recurrent GBM (rGBM), aiming to uncover distinct TME profiles.

Governance System Impact on the Performance of Public Universities Utilizing the Centralized/Decentralized Framework

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal · 2023-12-23 · 1 citations

This qualitative study sought to understand how centralized and decentralized governance systems impacted the performance of public universities through the perceptions of senior university administrators. Five research questions sought insights from the personal experiences of the nine participants from two governance systems, who currently hold a range of positions. The research questions were: 1) How does the administrative governance system impact the faculty and staff of the institution? 2) How does the administrative governance system impact the financial resources of the institution? 3) How does the administrative governance system impact the administrators through its policymaking function? 4) How does the administrative governance system impact student outcomes and satisfaction? 5) How does the administrative governance system monitor or evaluate the institution’s performance? Interviews of the nine participants shed light on boards engagement with universities, advocacy, shared governance, impact of board polices and institutional performance. The findings showed the need for boards to listen to all stakeholders, autonomy of institutions administrators, faculty and the need for boards to have members who understand the intricacies of the academy

Ten simple rules to cultivate belonging in collaborative data science research teams

PLoS Computational Biology · 2022-11-03 · 13 citations

Does gum chewing improve the postoperative return of bowel function?

Evidence-Based Practice · 2020

• Medicine
• General surgery
• Traditional medicine

Saint Louis University Southwest Illinois Family Medicine Residency, O'Fallon, IL The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

What is the best treatment of traveler's diarrhea?

Evidence-Based Practice · 2019-05-01

Saint Louis University (Southwest Illinois) FMR, Saint Louis, MO The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Assessing Impact

2017-01-01

Disruptive Thinking, Creativity and Social Innovation

2017-01-01 · 1 citations

Thinking Internationally

2017-01-01