Innovative Projects Realized

Augmented Reality (AR) Toys Computing Management

A toy is a product that is intended for use by a child in learning or play. The toy industry is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing dolls, toys and games. Referring to the Toy Industry Association in the United States, the sales volume of toys worldwide was $78.1B in 2007, growing by 7% over five years to reach $84.1B in 2012. The world’s leading toy manufacturers include Hasbro, Mattel, JAKKS Pacific, LEGO and Namco Bandai, and their combined revenue amounted to approximately $20B in 2011. In 2010, an average of $317 and $284 was spent on toys per child in the United States and Canada, respectively. The top ten worldwide markets by toy retail sales are the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Brazil, India, Australia, and Canada. The growing market demand for toys offers a unique opportunity for Canadian universities to train highly qualified personnel in support of the Canadian toy industry in entering overseas markets and enhancing their competitive advantages. Based on the reporting from the 110th Annual American International Toy Fair, toy manufacturers are increasingly incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) technologies into their products. AR is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device. With respect to toys, this allows the user to enhance the physical world as they play. For example, Disney Dream Play is an interactive music toy that employs AR technologies providing the user with an enhanced experience as they interact with various Disney characters. With the growing numbers of mobile technology users worldwide, toy companies are employing AR technologies to tap into these new markets. However, there are many computing challenges with respect to AR toys that are yet to be overcome before the AR toy market becomes more prevalent in Canada. More specifically, the Canadian toy companies are confronted with the challenge of better understanding the AR consumer needs and building business models that will successfully market the AR toys. Toy makers usually take 18 to 24 months to develop a product thereby implying that the development process of AR toys may be much more costly, lengthy, and difficult due to the technological challenges. Another exacerbating issue is that a computing management model with technological standards for AR toys has not yet been established within the toy industry worldwide. The AR toy life cycle includes imagination, design, knowledge modelling, computing management, engineering management and marketing knowledge modelling. This proposed project focuses on the research and development of computing management model based on a real AR toy called TekRecon which is cooperated with a Canadian toy company called Tech 4 Kids Inc. in Ontario.

Video Analytics to Rescue: Privacy Preserving Video Surveillance

Video surveillance is ubiquitous, which has severe implications for an individual’s privacy and personal freedom. Consequently there is an increasing interest to design video surveillance systems with built-in privacy protections. This is part of the larger “privacy by design” initiative led by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. This project specifically focuses on event-driven video encryption and decryption. The encrypted footage can only be decrypted and viewed with proper legal authorization. The project will employ existing developments in video analytics to automatically obtain authorization & decrypt the video if an event of interest is happening in the scene, thereby allowing the security personnel to get real time information about the scene. Within the context of video surveillance, such systems, we believe, strike a balance between an individuals need of safety and security and his right to anonymity and privacy.

Rational design of a red fluorescent protein displaying increased quantum yield

The longer emission wavelengths of red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) make them useful for whole-body imaging because cells are more transparent to red light. However, RFPs are typically less bright than other types of fluorescent proteins that emit at shorter wavelengths due to their lower quantum yields. The goal of this project is to increase the quantum yield of RFPs by rational design. We hypothesized that restricting the conformational flexibility of the RFP chromophore would decrease radiationless decay, thereby resulting in
higher quantum yields. To test this hypothesis, we will increase the packing around the RFP chromophore by sandwiching it between two aromatic residues in a triple decker motif. In order to predict which mutations are needed to introduce the desired pi-stacking interactions, we have used computational protein design (CPD)
algorithms to identify mutations in six residues surrounding the chromophore of mCherry, a widely used monomeric RFP. These mutations, which are predicted to stabilize the chromophore while not destabilizing the protein fold, will be introduced into mCherry using combinatorial mutagenesis, resulting in a mutant library containing ~200 variants, a compromise between ease of screening and sufficient sequence diversity. This library will be expressed in E. coli and screened for fluorescence intensity using a 96-well plate fluorimetric
assay that we have developed. Variants displaying increased brightness will be expressed and purified, and their spectral properties, including quantum yield, will de determined.

Religion in the Media: Canada and Brazil

This project will focus on the following research questions:
1) How do the mainstream media (specifically newspapers) in Canada and Brazil portray and represent majority and minority religions in secular context?
2) Are there key areas of controversy in which such portrayals and representations are focused, and do these differ in the two countries?
3) Can common methodological resources and comparable data sets be developed to allow comparison to be undertaken?

The main objective of this project will be to develop a data set on religion and the media in Brazil that will then be compared to a data set being developed under an ongoing research initiative within the Religion and Diversity Project that examines religion and the media in Canada.
Over the past two years under the Religion and Diversity Project, researchers at the universities of Ottawa, Dalhousie and Montréal have developed a database of media representations of religious identities and diversity within Canadian media. Although still in progress, this data base has a defined set of search terms, a particular set of date parameters, and clear research questions which have been developed drawing on research from our sister teams in Sweden and England. To date, our plans for comparative analysis have included those countries, however we would like to extend our comparison to Brazil, which will, we believe, provide us with a unique opportunity to better understand the varieties of ways that the media constructs religion.

The MITACS Globalink opportunity would provide an additional point of comparison for the existing project on media and religion by integrating media files from Brazilian news sources. Although vastly different in many ways, there is much to be learned about diversity and its negotiation by bringing these two countries into comparative focus. Despite their differences, both countries confront the basic question of how to make room for religious identity and diversity within a national framework, in a manner that is fair and helps to minimize conflict. Canada and Brazil have both struggled to develop legislation and policy that addresses religious diversity and both countries face the problem of balancing these efforts in terms of individuals, groups and the pursuit of a national identity. Both countries also struggle with the majority-minority structure as a way of realizing genuine equality between religious groups, as this structure problematically assumes the dominance of a particular community but also seems to be indispensable in safeguarding the rights of non-dominant religious groups.
Media coverage of religion is increasingly being scrutinized in light of misconceptions of religious groups and identity, and additionally with an eye to sensationalism and moral panics. The first step is to expand the media database to include Brazilian news coverage. This will lay foundation for future analysis regarding understanding, misconceptions and management of diversity and the relationship of media to national debates about religious diversity and accommodation. The data sets resulting from this collaboration will be made available through the Religion and Diversity Project website, www.religionanddiversity.ca, allowing other researchers access to the media collections that will be produced through this initiative.

3D Printing and Domestic Use

The current discourse around the widespread adoption and particularly domestic use of 3D printing is focused on the notion that this technology will give users access to customized or highly specific objects/parts (which might otherwise be difficult to obtain) when the need arises.
The goal of this research will be to examine the validity of this claim by examining how 3D printing is currently being used to produce toys, tools, and repair parts. These three areas of use were selected because they are often cited as examples of the promise of 3D printing, as well as, showing the potential consumer applications of the technology.

• Toys: New, copied, modified, or customized toys are created using 3D printers. The complexity of the toys can range from the simple (e.g. a top or building block) to the intricate (e.g. a highly detailed action figure/doll).
• Tools: One current use is to print custom tools for specific purposes or for reduced costs. Recent examples include the development of a specialized pickup tool for use by scientists doing stem cell research, vacuum formers for shaping thermoplastic, Dremel-powered centrifuges, and custom machining jigs.
• Repairs: 3D printers are used to create replacement parts for consumer goods. Examples include hard to source retaining pins and clamps and replacement knobs for kitchen appliances.

The major deliverables for this project will be the following: 1) case studies reviewing current state of the art and examples from each area; 2) the development of best practices and tool chains for each of the three areas based upon case studies; 3) interface design and user testing with the aim of offering a way forward in the development of consumer facing technologies and processes for 3D printing.

Design and Control of Bio-Inspired Micro-Swimming Robots

This project involves the design and control of micro-scale swimmers inspired by living micro-scale organisms. In 3D, swimming can be executed by several types of motion. At the micro-scale low-Re environment, fluid flows are classified as ‘creep’ or Stokes flows, and thus are speed-independent. To create forward motion, symmetry must be broken in the swimming motion. Thus, any back-and-forth oscillations will not create forward motion. Thus, bio-inspired flapping cilia and rotating flagella have been used to create motion. As an alternative, wave-like deformation could be used to create forward propulsion. This type of deformation would be difficult for traditional microrobotics actuation techniques, but could be well suited for ‘soft micro-robotics’ with distributed programmable deformation.

Such micro-swimming robots have potential application in microfluidics, healthcare and in the creation of micro-scale factories. This project focuses on the creation of sub-mm size swimmers which are controlled by rotating and oscillating magnetic fields. Magnetic actuation has been a major driving scheme for untethered microrobotics in recent years. Advantages include long-range remote actuation and the ability to apply controllable forces and torques independently.

The research involves study of fluid flow, magnetic actuation, micro-fabrication and controls. It will focus on creating efficient swimming micro-robots which can operate in a wide range of liquid media with high speed and precision.

Analysis and optimisation of aircraft ice protection system / Analyse et optimisation des systèmes de protection contre le givre pour avion (Nouveau)

An aircraft can fly in icing conditions if it has proper ice protection systems. Often, these systems use heat to remove ice on critical aircraft part, such as anti-icing system using hot bleed air from engines. The design challenge is to use the less energy possible to heat the surface while keeping the aircraft safe to fly in icing conditions. The main objective of our research is to apply design of experiment (DoE) tools and optimisation tools to numerical study of aircraft anti-icing devices. The long term goal is to propose the most efficient methodologies for the design of ice protection systems for new aircraft.

Various softwares are used for the CFD studies: FENSAP-ICE, ANSYS CFX, OpenFoam as well as in house code. For the DoE and optimisation part, Matlab tools are used. The numerical simulations are carried out using the BOREAS Cluster. The study are carried out on various geometry, ranging from academic geometry such as hot air impinging jets on flat plate to complex industrial geometry.

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Un avion peut voler dans des conditions givrantes si il est équipé de systèmes de protection contre le givre. Souvent, ces systèmes utiilsent la chaleur pour enlever la glace sur les parties critiques de l’avion, comme les systèmes anti-givre qui utilisent l’air chaud des moteurs. Le défi est d’utiliser le moins d’énergie possible pour chauffer la surface tout en gardant l’avion sécuritaire lorsqu’il vole dans des conditions givrantes. L’objectif de nos recherches est d’appliqué des outils de conception de plan d’expérience et des outils d’optimisation pour étudier numériquement les systèmes anti-givre. Le but à long terme est de proposer les méthodologies les plus efficaces pour concevoir des systèmes de protection contre le givre pour les nouveaux avions.

Plusieurs logiciels sont utilisés pour les études CFD: FENSAP-ICE, ANSYS CFX, Open FOAM et un code de simulation maison. Pour la partir plan d’expérience, les outils Matlab sont utilisés. Les simulations numériques sont réalisées sur le cluster Boreas. Les études portent sur différentes géométries, de la géométrie académique, comme des jets d’air chaud frappant une surface, à la géométrie industrielle.

Physical and cognitive ergonomic of aircraft de-icing on ground and in-fligh

The de-icing of aircraft wings is done on ground by specialised technicians highly constrained in time and in-flight by the pilots who activate the de-icing system.

Many incidents occurred in the past because of communication problems. Typically, incidents occur when aircrafts collide with workers or de-icing trucks. The aim of the research project is to study the communications between the pilot and the de-icing workers and to propose possible improvement.

Mutiphysics simulation for inelastic materials

Development and use of compuational methods for the simulation of full coupling between stress solid and pore fluid diffuion in dam embakments.
Soils are porous media which behave inelastically under loads. The presence of water and air has a great impact on the stress and strain developments; and overall on the structure safety. Numerical methods such as the Finite Element method is used to solve the mathematical model.

Champlain clay micropaleontology and micrography

The Champlain Sea, an inland sea, invaded the Saint Lawrence River valley in Southern Quebec at the end of the last glaciation, from 12 000 to 10 000 years ago. During this marine transgression, thick clay deposits were emplaced in Southern Quebec. The thickness of these Champlain clay deposits can reach 100 m at the center of the basin.

In the 10 000 years that followed the withdrawal of the Champlain Sea, the saline pore water in the clay was replaced by fresh water. This leaching rendered the clay structure metastable. It resulted in clay sensitivity, a reduction of the clay remoulded shear strength.

Other than the current pore water salinity, several parameters are known to influence the degree of sensitivity resulting from salt leaching. For example, models describing the formation of sensitive clays often include the influence of monovalent and divalent cation concentrations, grain size distribution and mineralogy. The salinity of the clay pore water at the time of deposition is also inferred to have an impact on clay sensitivity, but it is difficult to estimate. Nevertheless, the Champlain Sea salinity is known to have varied in both time and space. Clay deposited in saline water is expected to become more sensitive with leaching than clay deposited in brackish water.

The study of microfossil assemblages in clay specimens is one of the few methods that allow the pore water salinity during deposition to be estimated. By comparing microfossil assemblages found in Champlain clays with assemblages in modern environments, the salinity at the time of deposition can be estimated. During the summer of 2013, microfossils were concentrated from 28 clay specimens from the Lachenaie area, Quebec. The main tasks for the intern would be to participate in the microfossil identification and inventory, and to document the identification process with a scanning electron microscope.

This research project is part of a series of projects on the Lachenaie clay deposit. Since 2006, data have been gathered for the clay geotechnical and geochemical properties. The main objectives of these research projects was to model the geochemical evolution of the clay pore water since the end of the last glaciation and to relate the clay geotechnical properties with its geology and the geochemistry of its pore water. The main results for the micropaleontology study will be initial salinity profiles for the Lachenaie clay deposit. These profiles will be used to define the initial conditions for a numerical model of the pore water geochemical evolution since the Champlain Sea episode. The initial salinity data will also be added in our clay property database to model the influence of deposition salinity on clay sensitivity.

The sensitivity of Champlain clays is responsible for the large flow-type landslides that occur periodically in the Saint Lawrence River valley. These landslides have claimed more than 70 lives since the beginning of the 20th century. A better understanding of the formation of sensitive clay would help anticipate large landslides and identifythe most sensitive parts of Champlain clay deposits.

Proprioceptive control of a self-adaptive hand prosthesis / Commande proprioceptive d’une prothèse de main adaptative (Nouveau)

Robotic grasping devices are commonly used in many fields to perform tasks in place of humans, such as assembly lines, spatial missions and surgical operations. Moreover, they can be used as prosthetics for amputees. While robotic prosthetics are not currently adequate for reasons of both cost and weight, many groups are working to solve these problems. One possible avenue lies with underactuated mechanisms. Underactuated hands have the ability to mechanically adapt themselves to objects using only one actuator and several compliant elements, having more degrees of freedom than actuators.

This first project is about the modelling, design and fabrication of a robotic prosthetic hand based on an underactuated architecture with only one actuator. The general objective is to obtain a prosthesis capable of providing tactile feedback to the user while being controlled simply by natural biological signals from the human body (acquired with EMG). The tactile feedback will be computed without any tactile sensors, which are usually applied on the fingers phalanges, but with proprioceptive sensors and dedicated algorithms. Proprioceptive sensors are internal sensors that measure phenomenon independent from the environment. The project is divided in several stages, starting in the choice and the optimization of the mechanical architecture to obtain the desired characteristics, which is currently underway. In the next months, the robotic hand will be fabricated and the actuation system chosen. Finally, the control system and the user interface will be designed to obtain a functional prototype at the end of the project.

The second project consists in designing, fabricating and testing another version of a prototype underactuated gripper for laparoscopic surgery that was designed in the past in our laboratory. The first version of this novel tool can be seen at http://www.polymtl.ca/labrobot/en/recherche/index.php (second picture down) and comprises a hand-held actuation unit driving the teleoperated gripper. This unit houses the required actuators and provide a haptic (force) feedback to the user. We have recently developed another version of the gripper as well as acquiring new technologies to manufacture the latter and would like to design a new version of the actuation unit dedicated to this new gripper. This new version is also aimed at been fully portable (all electronics included) and if possible autonomous (all electronics+batteries included).

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Les préhenseurs robotiques sont communément utilisés dans de nombreux domaines tels que les lignes d’assemblage, la téléopération en milieu hostile (spatial, chirurgical, etc.). De plus, ces systèmes peuvent être utilisés comme prothèses pour les personnes amputées. Alors que la plupart des pinces ou mains robotiques actuelles ne sont pas adaptées à la prosthétique pour des raisons de coût, poids et esthétique, plusieurs groupes de recherche travaillent à solutionner ces problèmes. Une des techniques les plus prometteuses proposée ces dernières années consiste à utiliser des mécanismes sous-actionnés. Les mains artificielles sous-actionnées possèdent la propriété de s’adapter mécaniquement à l’objet qu’elles saisissent en n’utilisant qu’un seul actionneur combiné à des éléments compliants. Le premier projet proposé ici consiste en la modélisation, la conception et la fabrication d’une main prosthétique sous-actionnée. L’objectif général est d’obtenir une prothèse capable de fournir une information tactile à l’utilisateur de la prothèse tout en étant contrôlé par des signaux biologiques à travers des électrodes de surface (EMG). L’information tactile sera calculée sans utiliser de capteurs tactiles à proprement parler mais en se basant sur des capteurs proprioceptifs attachés au moteur commandant la prothèse. Le projet est divisé en plusieurs étapes, commancant par le choix et l’optimisation de l’architecture mécanique de la prothèse. Ensuite, la main sera fabriquée et l’actionnement sélectionné. Finalement le système de contrôle et l’interface utilisateur seront concus pour obtenir un prototype fonctionnel.
Le second projet consiste à concevoir, fabriquer et tester une nouvelle version d’un préhenseur chirurgical sous-actionné qui a été développer au laboratoire. La première version de ce système peut se voir à http://www.polymtl.ca/labrobot/en/recherche/index.php (seconde image) et est composée d’un système d’actionnement portatif commandant la pince. Ce système accueille les actionneurs requis et fourni un retour d’effort (haptique) à l’utilisateur. Nous avons récemment développé une nouvelle version de la pince et souhaitons fabriquer une nouvelle version du système d’actionnement dédiée à cette nouvelle architecture. Cette nouvelle version devrait être aussi portable complètement, c’est-à-dire inclure toute l’électronique nécessaire et si possible autonome (inclure la batterie aussi).

Biomimetics of a Passively Morphing Wing

Because they seek to maximise their surface and height in order to capture the most sunlight, plants must rely on their flexibility to change form and reduce their drag when subjected to wind. We say that they reconfigure. This behavior is highly interesting for biomimetics because plants rely on passive reconfiguration and lack complex control systems. From what we have learned from studying plant reconfiguration, we seek to apply this bioinspiration to design a passively morphing wing.
The goal of the project will be to design, fabricate and test a wing that will reconfigure passively when subjected to flow. This will allow the wing to maximize its lift at low flow velocity and minimize its drag at high flow velocity. This morphing wing could have applications in miniature unmanned aerial vehicles, wind turbines or even Formula 1 racing.
To do this the student will design the wing structure, perform calculations to evaluate its reconfiguration when subjected to flow, fabricate the wing with soft polymers and test the wing in a closed loop wind tunnel we have at Polytechnique.