Flexible joint robot (FJR) manipulators can offer many attractive features over rigid manipulators, including light weight, safe operation, and high power efficiency. However, the tracking control of the FJR is challenging due to its inherent problems, such as underactuation, coupling, nonlinearities, uncertainties, and unknown external disturbances. In this article, a terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) is proposed for the FJR system to guarantee the finite-time convergence of the systems output, and to achieve the total robustness against the lumped disturbance and estimation error. By using two coordinate transformations, the FJR dynamics is turned into a canonical form. A cascaded finite-time sliding mode observer (CFTSMO) is construct

The flexible joint robot (FJR) typically experiences parametric variations, nonlinearities, underactuation, noise propagation, and external disturbances which seriously degrade the FJR tracking. This article proposes an adaptive integral sliding mode controller (AISMC) based on a singular perturbation method and two state observers for the FJR to achieve high performance. First, the underactuated FJR is modeled into two simple second-order fast and slow subsystems by using Olfati transformation and singular perturbation method, which handles underactuation while reducing noise amplification. Then, the AISMC is proposed to effectively accomplish the desired tracking performance, in which the integral sliding surface is designed to reduce cha

    The context of multibiometric plays a pivotal role in enhancing an identification system, since a biometric system is  now  the most physical way of identifying and verifying individuals. The feature of multibiometric could be merged to produce  identification information. However, unimodal biometric systems suffer from different types of breaching. Thus, mixing biometrics with cryptography leads to overcome small variations existing between diverse acquisitions of the same biometric in order to produce the  robust system.  In this paper, a new robust multibiometric system is proposed to create a random key from person multibiometric, facial and fingerprint images which are used simultaneously to produce this key. Several man

This paper reports experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling studies to investigate the effect of the swirl intensity on the heat transfer characteristics of conventional and swirl impingement air jets at a constant nozzle-to-plate distance ( L = 2 D). The experiments were performed using classical twisted tape inserts in a nozzle jet with three twist ratios ( y = 2.93, 3.91, and 4.89) and Reynolds numbers that varied from 4000 to 16000. The results indicate that the radial uniformity of Nusselt number (Nu) of swirl impingement air jets (SIJ) depended on the values of the swirl intensity and the air Reynolds number. The results also revealed that the SIJ that was fitted with an insert of y = 4.89, which correspo

Background. “Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)” is a biocompatible, high-strength polymer that is well-suited for use in dental applications due to its unique properties. However, achieving good adhesion between PEEK and hydrophilic materials such as dental adhesives or cement can be challenging. Also, this hydrophobicity may affect the use of PEEK as an implant material. Surface treatment or conditioning is often necessary to improve surface properties. The piranha solution is the treatment of choice to be explored for this purpose. Methods. PEEK disks of 10 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness were used in this study. Those samples were divided into five groups (each group has five samples). The first is the control group, in which no