Brett Kennedy, Avi Okon, Hrand Aghazarian, Mircea Badescu, Xiaoqi Bao, Yoseph Bar‐Cohen, Zensheu Chang, Borna E. Dabiri, Mike Garrett, Lee Magnone and Stewart Sherrit
Introduces the Lemur IIb robot which allows the investigation of the technical hurdles associated with free climbing in steep terrain. These include controlling the distribution…
Abstract
Purpose
Introduces the Lemur IIb robot which allows the investigation of the technical hurdles associated with free climbing in steep terrain. These include controlling the distribution of contact forces during motion to ensure holds remain intact and to enable mobility through over‐hangs. Efforts also can be applied to further in‐situ characterization of the terrain, such as testing the strength of the holds and developing models of the individual holds and a terrain map.
Design/methodology/approach
A free climbing robot system was designed and integrated. Climbing end‐effector were investigated and operational algorithms were developed.
Findings
A 4‐limbed robotic system used to investigate several aspects of climbing system design including the mechanical system (novel end‐effectors, kinematics, joint design), sensing (force, attitude, vision), low‐level control (force‐control for tactile sensing and stability management), and planning (joint trajectories for stability). A new class of Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC) end‐effectors capable of creating “holds” in rock and soil as well as sampling those substrates.
Practical implications
Planetary exploration of cliff faces. Search and rescue in steep terrain. Robotic scouting and surveillance in natural environments.
Originality/value
The technologies developed on this platform will be used to build an advanced system that will climb slopes up to and including vertical faces and overhangs and be able to react forces to maintain stability and do useful work (e.g. sample acquisition/instrument placement).
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Raj Aggarwal, J. Edward and Louise E. Mellen
Justifying new manufacturing technology is usually very difficult since the most important benefits are often strategic and difficult to quantify. Traditional capital budgeting…
Abstract
Justifying new manufacturing technology is usually very difficult since the most important benefits are often strategic and difficult to quantify. Traditional capital budgeting procedures that rely on return measures based on direct cost savings and incremental future cash flows do not normally capture the strategic benefits of higher quality, faster responses to wider ranges of customer needs, and the options for future growth made available by flexible manufacturing technology. Adding to these limitations is the difficulty of using traditional cost accounting systems to generate the information necessary for justifying new manufacturing investments. This paper reviews these problems and recommends procedures useful for assessing investments in flexible manufacturing technology.
‘CONDITION MONITORING.’ No, this isn't hospital jargon for an intensive care unit; the term actually refers to a specialized Garrett Airline Services Division (GASD) program to…
Abstract
‘CONDITION MONITORING.’ No, this isn't hospital jargon for an intensive care unit; the term actually refers to a specialized Garrett Airline Services Division (GASD) program to determine the ‘health’ of Garrett auxiliary power units and environmental control systems installed on airline aircraft.
Westland Technologies company, Normalair‐Garrett (NGL) has appointed Dr Michael Tutcher, executive director (Customer Support).
Charlotte A. Sharp, Mike Bresnen, Lynn Austin, Jillian McCarthy, William G. Dixon and Caroline Sanders
Developing technological innovations in healthcare is made complex and difficult due to effects upon the practices of professional, managerial and other stakeholders. Drawing upon…
Abstract
Purpose
Developing technological innovations in healthcare is made complex and difficult due to effects upon the practices of professional, managerial and other stakeholders. Drawing upon the concept of boundary object, this paper explores the challenges of achieving effective collaboration in the development and use of a novel healthcare innovation in the English healthcare system.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study is presented of the development and implementation of a smart phone application (app) for use by rheumatoid arthritis patients. Over a two-year period (2015–2017), qualitative data from recorded clinical consultations (n = 17), semi-structured interviews (n = 63) and two focus groups (n = 13) were obtained from participants involved in the app's development and use (clinicians, patients, researchers, practitioners, IT specialists and managers).
Findings
The case focuses on the use of the app and its outputs as a system of inter-connected boundary objects. The analysis highlights the challenges overcome in the innovation's development and how knowledge sharing between patients and clinicians was enhanced, altering the nature of the clinical consultation. It also shows how conditions surrounding the innovation both enabled its development and inhibited its wider scale-up.
Originality/value
By recognizing that technological artefacts can simultaneously enable and inhibit collaboration, this paper highlights the need to overcome tensions between the transformative capability of such healthcare innovations and the inhibiting effects simultaneously created on change at a wider system level.
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Bingbing Zhang and Mike Schmierbach
Social media platforms offer users the opportunity to engage with fact-checking posts aimed at countering misinformation surrounding political figures. However, limited research…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media platforms offer users the opportunity to engage with fact-checking posts aimed at countering misinformation surrounding political figures. However, limited research considers how the efficacy of fact-checking messages hinges on individuals’ perceptions and acceptance of the information, with user comments and individuals’ pre-existing partisan viewpoints both presenting possible barriers to positive reception of fact-checking messages.
Design/methodology/approach
To bridge this research gap, this study conducted a 2 (misinformation exposure types: partisan worldview-consistent misinformation vs partisan worldview-inconsistent misinformation) × 4 (correction exposure types: a fact-checking post with no comments vs a fact-checking post with negative comments vs a fact-checking post with positive comments vs no fact-checking post) between-subject online experiment.
Findings
We found significant main effects of user comments and partisan worldview on political misbelief and political attitudes. Importantly, among participants exposed to worldview-inconsistent misinformation, negative comments significantly decreased voting support compared to positive comments or no comments.
Research limitations/implications
This research is significant for the theoretical examination of the interaction between user comments and partisan worldview in influencing the effectiveness of political fact-checking messages. In addition, it has practical implications for fact-checking organizations and comment moderation in the fight against political misinformation.
Originality/value
This study presents original research examining the impact of social media user comments beneath a fact-checking post on beliefs in misinformation and evaluations of political candidates. While prior research has demonstrated how partisan worldview affects the effectiveness of corrections, the interaction between social media user comments and partisan worldview has not yet been explored.
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IT is no idle claim that, outside of airframe and engines, the biggest supplier of equipment for the Tornado is Westland Technology of Yeovil, Somerset. The Normalair‐Garrett…
Abstract
IT is no idle claim that, outside of airframe and engines, the biggest supplier of equipment for the Tornado is Westland Technology of Yeovil, Somerset. The Normalair‐Garrett company provides a wide variety of life support and environmental control systems with associated valves, rotating machinery and sensitive regulation and control equipment for the aerospace industry. The Services tend to regard time expired or unserviceable pieces of such equipment as unrepairable or as throw‐away items, to be replaced when necessary by new units direct from stores. But with the need to place greater reliance on outside contractors the RAF has found out that some equipment it used to treat as disposable has come back from the product support organisations as good as new.
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Air Seychelles has become the latest addition to the Rolls‐Royce customer family by selecting an RB211‐535 powered Boeing 757 to increase the versatility of its fleet.