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Copyright of China Mechanical Engineering is the property of Editorial Board of China Mechanical Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Reducing cumbersome mechanical control components is one of the trends of modern agricultural machinery towards a high degree of automation. Whether the control components of sugarcane harvesters can gradually be replaced by central control screens, similar to car cabins, is an unresolved question. At the level of human machine interaction, this involves comparing the efficiency between joystick and touch screen control. This paper conducts a simulated experiment to compare and study the efficiency and user experience of joystick and touch screen control in adjusting the topper and base cutter heights of sugarcane harvesters, aiming to provide a reasonable basis for the design of control interfaces in sugarcane harvester cabins. The electromyographic signals, experiment duration, and subjective cognitive evaluations of participants in both the topper and base cutter groups were analyzed. The results showed that the efficiency, learnability, and ease of use of different control methods varied under different operational tasks. For the topper that corresponds to the operating behavior and height transformation in real time, joystick control demonstrated superior ease of use and operational efficiency compared to touch screen control, with weaker learnability. There was no discernible difference in muscle activation levels between the two control methods. Consequently, joystick control is deemed more suitable for the height adjustment of the topper. Regarding the base cutter with non-real-time mapping of operating behavior and height changes, no significant disparity in ease of use and learnability was observed between the two control methods. Touch screen control yielded lower muscle activation levels and garners higher overall subjective cognitive scale ratings. Thus, touch screen control is considered more suitable for base cutter height adjustment. Lastly, the paper proposes the optimal combination of software and hardware for control components in sugarcane harvester cabins, and provides an objective and multidimensional experimental analysis method for future research on similar human machine interaction interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to compare motions of the laparoscope tip during a laparoscopic task in a training box using a recent joystick-guided robotic scope holder to those manipulated by human scopists. We hypothesized that laparoscopic manipulation could be positively affected by robotic scope holders due to the elimination of unintentional movement. Methods: Twelve surgeons participated as operators, and eight medical doctors participated in this study. Among the human scopists, five were trained surgeons and three were novices who had no experience with laparoscopic surgery. A validated laparoscopic task was used to evaluate the path length of the laparoscope tip using an optical position tracker and operative time. The operators performed the designated camera task under three different laparoscopic manipulations: using a joystick-guided robotic scope holder, expert human scopists, and novice scopists. Results: The median path lengths (cm) of the laparoscopic tip were 94.0, 110.0, and 122.2 in the robotic scope holder, expert, and novice groups, respectively. The path lengths in the robotic scope holder group were significantly shorter than those in the other groups (P <.01). The median operative times (seconds) were 136.6, 66.4, and 62.3 in the robotic scope holder, expert, and novice groups, respectively. The operative time of the robotic scope holder group was significantly longer than that of the other groups (P <.001). Conclusion: A robotic scope holder can provide shorter camera movement owing to the stable holding and intentional scope manipulation by the operator, although it requires a longer operative time than a human assistant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing cumbersome mechanical control components is one of the trends of modern agricultural machinery towards a high degree of automation. Whether the control components of sugarcane harvesters can gradually be replaced by central control screens, similar to car cabins, is an unresolved question. At the level of human machine interaction, this involves comparing the efficiency between joystick and touch screen control. This paper conducts a simulated experiment to compare and study the efficiency and user experience of joystick and touch screen control in adjusting the topper and base cutter heights of sugarcane harvesters, aiming to provide a reasonable basis for the design of control interfaces in sugarcane harvester cabins. The electromyographic signals, experiment duration, and subjective cognitive evaluations of participants in both the topper and base cutter groups were analyzed. The results showed that the efficiency, learnability, and ease of use of different control methods varied under different operational tasks. For the topper that corresponds to the operating behavior and height transformation in real time, joystick control demonstrated superior ease of use and operational efficiency compared to touch screen control, with weaker learnability. There was no discernible difference in muscle activation levels between the two control methods. Consequently, joystick control is deemed more suitable for the height adjustment of the topper. Regarding the base cutter with non-real-time mapping of operating behavior and height changes, no significant disparity in ease of use and learnability was observed between the two control methods. Touch screen control yielded lower muscle activation levels and garners higher overall subjective cognitive scale ratings. Thus, touch screen control is considered more suitable for base cutter height adjustment. Lastly, the paper proposes the optimal combination of software and hardware for control components in sugarcane harvester cabins, and provides an objective and multidimensional experimental analysis method for future research on similar human machine interaction interfaces.

Contents of consciousness change over time. However, the study of dynamics in consciousness has been largely neglected. Aru and Bachmann have recently brought to the attention of scientists dealing with consciousness the relevance of making inquiries about its temporal evolution. Importantly, they also pointed out several experimental questions as guidelines for researchers interested in studying the temporal evolution of consciousness, including the phases of formation and dissolution of content. They also suggested that these two phases could be characterized by asymmetric inertia. The main objective of the present investigation was to approximate the dynamics of these two phases in the context of conscious face perception. To this aim, we tested the time course of content transitions during a binocular rivalry task using face stimuli and asked participants to map their subjective experience of transitions from one content to the other through a joystick. We then computed metrics of joystick velocity linked to content transitions as proxies of the formation and dissolution phases. We found a general phase effect such that the formation phase was slower than the dissolution phase. Furthermore, we observed an effect specific to happy facial expressions, such that their contents were slower to form and dissolve than that of neutral expressions. We further propose to include a third phase of stabilization of conscious content between formation and dissolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Human Factors in Design is the property of Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper describes a multi-secret steganographic system for the Internet-of-Things. It uses two user-friendly sensors for data input: thumb joystick and touch sensor. These devices are not only easy to use, but also allow hidden data entry. The system conceals multiple messages into the same container, but with different algorithms. The embedding is realized with two methods of video steganography that work on mp4 files, namely, videostego and metastego. These methods were chosen because of their low complexity so that they may operate smoothly in environments with limited resources. It is possible to replace the suggested sensors with others that offer similar functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is interested in how to remotely control the industrial robot with a joystick. Thus, a robotic remote control system was designed. The developed system solved two key problems. One is to realize the information exchange between robot operating system (ROS) and control cabinet. A new application program interface (API) was developed to carry out the secondary development of industrial robots. Ethernet connection was used to exchange system data and the communication delay is less than 10 ms. The other is to improve the robot operation efficiency. Because of the joystick's unique operation mode, the robot motion operation can be realized efficiently and reliably through a joystick as an external input device of ROS. Finally, the validating experiments were carried out to compare the work efficiency of robot manipulation using joystick, jogging keys and 6D Mouse. The comparison results demonstrates that the operation efficiency using joystick can be increased by at least 20% compared to using jogging keys and 6D Mouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is an agricultural nation where 70% of the people depend on successful agriculture. However, as the population grows, farms are distributed among families; as a result, the average Indian farmer holds just two acres of land. The system addresses the innovative idea of the Joystick based system in all farming systems. By implementing this project, we can eliminate many difficulties in agriculture. The system runs on solar energy, which is the cleanest energy in the world. Cultivators are very popular these days. The most common machines are used to trim soft grass. As part of our project, Joystick based solar cultivator, seeding and watering system is developed for use and construction. It is placed in a suitable machine structure. The motor has 1000 rpm and is connected to the power source by a coil of wire. The engine revolutions increased with the help of the gears. The electric switch controlled motor makes it easy to use. The machine is controlled by a smartphone. The system is like a mobile robot with four wheels and a cultivator attached to the back of the robot. The seeding system is installed on the robot. The water pump and water tank are installed in the system and can be controlled wirelessly. These characteristics make the system ideal for farming. The aim of the project is to design and develop a complete system that can be used as a cultivator, seeding, irrigation system and mower. The system cultivates the field, sows the seeds and also has an irrigation system for the crops. The entire system is solar powered and controlled by a Joystick smartphone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents of consciousness change over time. However, the study of dynamics in consciousness has been largely neglected. Aru and Bachmann have recently brought to the attention of scientists dealing with consciousness the relevance of making inquiries about its temporal evolution. Importantly, they also pointed out several experimental questions as guidelines for researchers interested in studying the temporal evolution of consciousness, including the phases of formation and dissolution of content. They also suggested that these two phases could be characterized by asymmetric inertia. The main objective of the present investigation was to approximate the dynamics of these two phases in the context of conscious face perception. To this aim, we tested the time course of content transitions during a binocular rivalry task using face stimuli and asked participants to map their subjective experience of transitions from one content to the other through a joystick. We then computed metrics of joystick velocity linked to content transitions as proxies of the formation and dissolution phases. We found a general phase effect such that the formation phase was slower than the dissolution phase. Furthermore, we observed an effect specific to happy facial expressions, such that their contents were slower to form and dissolve than that of neutral expressions. We further propose to include a third phase of stabilization of conscious content between formation and dissolution.

The purpose of this paper is to design a control algorithm for a 2-DoF rotary joystick model. Firstly, the structure of the joystick, which composes of two magneto-rheological fluid actuators (shorten MRFA) with optimal configuration coupled perpendicularly by the gimbal mechanism to generate the friction torque for each independent rotary movement, is introduced. The control strategy of the designed joystick is then suggested. Really, because of two independent rotary movements, it is necessary to design two corresponding controllers. Due to hysteresis and nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the MRFA, controllers based an accurate dynamic model are difficult to realize. Hence, to release this issue, the proposed controller (named self-turning fuzzy controllers-STFC) will be built through the fuzzy logic algorithm in which the parameters of controllers are learned and trained online by Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm. Finally, an experimental apparatus will be constructed to assess the effectiveness of the force feedback controls. Herein, three experimental cases are performed to compare the control performance of open-loop and close-loop control method, where the former is done through relationship between the force at the knob and the current supplied to coil while the latter is realized based on the proposed controller and PID controller. The experimental results provide strongly the ability of the proposed controller, meaning that the STFC is robust and tracks well the desirable force with high accuracy compared with both the PID controller and the open-loop control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holding still and aiming reaches to spatial targets may depend on distinct neural circuits. Using automated homecage training and a sensitive joystick, we trained freely moving mice to contact a joystick, hold their forelimb still, and then reach to rewarded target locations. Mice learned the task by initiating forelimb sequences with clearly resolved submillimeter-scale micromovements followed by millimeter-scale reaches to learned spatial targets. Hundreds of thousands of trajectories were decomposed into millions of kinematic submovements, while photoinhibition was used to test roles of motor cortical areas. Inactivation of both caudal and rostral forelimb areas preserved the ability to produce aimed reaches, but reduced reach speed. Inactivation specifically of contralateral caudal forelimb area (CFA) additionally impaired the ability to aim corrective submovements to remembered locations following target undershoots. Our findings show that motor cortical inactivations reduce the gain of forelimb movements but that inactivation specifically of contralateral CFA impairs corrective movements important for reaching a target location. NEW & NOTEWORTHY To test the role of different cortical areas in holding still and reaching to targets, this study combined home-cage training with optogenetic silencing as mice engaged in a learned center-out-reach task. Inactivation specifically of contralateral caudal forelimb area (CFA) impaired corrective movements necessary to reach spatial targets to earn reward.

This paper describes a multi-secret steganographic system for the Internet-of-Things. It uses two user-friendly sensors for data input: thumb joystick and touch sensor. These devices are not only easy to use, but also allow hidden data entry. The system conceals multiple messages into the same container, but with different algorithms. The embedding is realized with two methods of video steganography that work on mp4 files, namely, videostego and metastego. These methods were chosen because of their low complexity so that they may operate smoothly in environments with limited resources. It is possible to replace the suggested sensors with others that offer similar functionality.

The paper presents the research methodology and the analysis of the results of the comparison test of two methods of controlling the exoskeleton of the upper limb using signals of muscle activity and manual control devices. The results show the advantage of the joystick method over EMG in terms of usability, task execution time, ease of use and comfort.

We have evaluated four locomotion interfaces, namely natural walking (NW), omnidirectional treadmill (OT), walk-in-place (WiP), and joystick (JS). In this within-group study, an avoidance movement task with a virtual character was performed by all participants for each examined interface. Our study considers that natural walking is the most realistic method for navigating in a virtual environment and explores the differences across the examined locomotion interfaces by collecting avoidance movement measurements (clearance distance, trajectory length, and trajectory curvature) and self-reported subjective ratings (simulation sickness, usefulness, satisfaction, ease of use, and task load). The results suggest that, despite the fact that the avoidance movement measurements of the WiP, JS, and NW interfaces share similarities, they, more often than not, differ from the measurements of the OT interface, which makes the OT interface unable to provide precise avoidance movement data for our participants. Moreover, the OT interface was rated lower by participants in terms of learning, usability, efficacy, satisfaction, physical demand, and effort. Our study shows that NW, OT, WiP, and JS as locomotion interfaces present several benefits and drawbacks concerning their application in avoidance movement behavior tasks with a virtual character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of robotic systems is correlated with the development of their software. Expanding robot implementation areas and attempts to replace more and more groups of activities carried out by people requires increasing the degrees of freedom, introducing robot interaction with the environment, and preparing software that manages over six degrees of freedom in a friendly, understandable, ergonomic, and functional manner. The authors proposed a method of programming a collaborative robot with the use of a joystick, created the necessary software, constructed elements of the system, obtaining an original, flexible, and intuitive solution. As part of the work, the proposed solution has been simulated and verified. Verification of the proposed solution was carried out on a real bench equipped with a cobot, Kawasaki duAro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Romanian Journal of Civil Engineering / Revista Română de Inginerie Civilă is the property of Matrix Rom and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Traumatic shoulder dislocation with proximal humerus fracture is a rare entity among children and treatment is always challenging. We present the case of a child with anterior dislocation of the shoulder associated with complete displaced proximal humerus metaphysis fracture. The fracture was treated by closed reduction using an innovative joystick technique and then fixation by two intramedullary K-wires. The dislocation was easily reduced after the fixation of the fracture. This method of treatment enables us to achieve excellent radiological and clinical results in a short time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent VR head-mounted displays for consumers feature 3-DOF or 6-DOF head tracking. However, position tracking (when available) is limited to a small area. Moreover, in small or cluttered physical spaces, users can safely experience VR only by staying in place, standing or seated. Different locomotion techniques have been proposed to allow users to explore virtual environments by staying in place. Two in-place locomotion techniques, frequently employed in the literature and in consumer applications, are based on joystick and teleport. Some authors explored leaning with the aim of proposing a more natural in-place locomotion technique. However, more research is needed to understand the effects of the three techniques, since no user study thoroughly compared them all together on a variety of fundamental aspects. Therefore, this paper presents a comparative evaluation with 75 users, assessing the effects of the three techniques on performance, sickness, presence, usability, and different aspects of comfort. Performance of teleport was better than the other techniques, and performance of leaning was better than joystick. Teleport also caused less nausea than the other techniques. Unexpectedly, no significant differences were found for presence. Teleport received a higher usability score than the other techniques. Finally, the techniques had different effects on comfort that we discuss in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Calcaneum fractures are nearly 2% of all adult fractures. Calcaneum is the main weight bearing bone in the foot. Mostly these fractures are caused by high energy trauma/fall from height leading to various patterns of fractures. There are various method of treating such fractures but due to high rate of complications by open reduction and internal fixation hence middle path regime shall be discovered for treating most important weight bearing bone. Inevitable malunion and arthritis due to conservative management can be avoided by percutaneous fixation. Material and Method: A prospective retrospective review of 12 patients with 16 calcaneal fractures who had percutaneous reduction and screw fixation between January 2019 to April 2020 was done at at Shalinitai Meghe Hospital and Research center Nagpur. These cases were managed with 3-4 percutaneous cancellous screws. Results: The results were assessed with Calcaneal fracture scoring system and Maryland foot scoring system and showed good to excellent functional results of complex intra-articular calcaneal fractures. Conclusion: Percutaneous method of fixation with Cancellous screws is a far superior modality of treatment of calcaneal fractures in order to get better functional outcome with minimal complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, diverse existing training environments help new users of electric powered wheelchairs (EPWs) learn how to drive, acquaint, and improve their abilities with these assistive devices. Several authors are developing such environments, and most of them use virtually simulated wheelchairs. Despite the similarities between virtual and real wheelchairs, it is easier to drive the real device, because representation of the wheelchair physical behavior is still a problem for virtual simulated environments. Concerning the driving methods, most of them are based on a joystick, which does not give the opportunity for users to test, practice, and acquaint themselves with new technology, such as driving through eye movements. This paper implements and tests a more realistic approach to a training environment dedicated to new users of EPW. The proposed system is based on a real EPW controlled by teleoperation, and it is flexible enough to attend to multiple driving methods. An architecture that allows a user to send command messages to control a real EPW through the Internet was implemented to test the system. The implemented driving methods used were conventional joystick, eye-tracker, and a generic human-machine interface. The experimental results suggest that new users can practice safely using a real EPW through the Internet, even in a situation with a communication delay of 130.2 ms (average). Furthermore, the proposed system have shown itself to be a potential tool for attending to new EPW users with different types of disabilities and to be a low-cost approach that could be applied in developing countries.