We report a novel mode of quasi-static oscillatory crack propagation when a cutting tool is driven through a thin polymer film [6,7]. In our experiments, for tools with a large enough width, the crack tip follows a highly periodic path, leaving behind a striking oscillatory pattern. Taking into account the separation of the film's bending and stretching energies and using classical fracture the...

In this paper, we investigate the robust stability problem of a class of LTI discrete uncertain singularly perturbed time-delay systems. If the singular perturbation parameter of these systems is sufficiently small, they can be separated into two reduced-order subsystems, the slow subsystem and fast subsystem. Two stability criteria for the slow and fast subsystem of the uncertain system are th...

Advances in the field of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and their uses now offer unique opportunities in the design of ultrasensitive analytical tools. The analytical community continues to search for cost-effective, reliable, and even portable analytical techniques that can give reliable and fast response results for a variety of chemicals and biomolecules. Microcantilevers (MCLs) hav...

Wearable computing is a form of ubiquitous computing that offers flexible and useful tools for users. Specifically, glove-based systems have been used in the last 30 years in a variety of applications, but mostly focusing on sensing people's attributes, such as finger bending and heart rate. In contrast, we propose in this work a novel flexible and reconfigurable instrumentation platform in the...

Robots promise to enhance minimally-invasive surgery, but flexion of the thin instrument shaft introduces error into models of the robot kinematics. Visual or electromagnetic tracking of the instrument tip provides correct forward kinematics, but uncertainty in shaft bending and port location leaves residual errors in inverse kinematics. These errors can cause incorrect motions that preclude th...

Self-action effects such as self-defocusing and self-bending are well-known nonlinear optical phenomenon dating back to the 1960s. Until recently the so-called blooming or lensing effect of a symmetric beam has been a main topic of investigation. A smaller number of experiments using asymmetric beams were reported (see, for example Khoo, Golub, and Swartzlander.) Whereas many early experiments ...

Most digital waveguide models of woodwind instruments to date have provided only basic control parameters such as frequency, breath pressure, and vibrato. It is clear that if these models are to gain popularity as real-time performance synthesizers or as composition tools, more flexibility is necessary. This paper discusses the implementation of expressive controls for flutter tonguing, growlin...

The distribution of curvature and of bending speed along the cell's growing region are studied during steady state phototropic bending. At the start, elemental bending speed parallels the known axial distribution of growth rate. Hence regional phototropic sensitivity is initially determined by the local growth rate, and unilateral visible light acts proportionally at all levels of the growth zo...

The hoes are widely used in the farms and home gardens in the United States. Many existing hoes are not ergonomically designed because they require a lot of back bending and wrist bending during use. Back bending often causes lower back injuries, and wrist bending often causes carpal tunnel syndrome. It can be very expensive to cure these injuries. The objective of this project is to reduce bac...