The authors present general considerations and simple models for the operation of isothermal motors at small scales, in asymmetric environments. Their work is inspired by recent observations on the behavior of molecular motors in the biological realm, where chemical energy is converted into mechanical energy. A generic Onsager-like description of the linear (close to equilibrium) regime is pres...

Planar linear motors, e.g. Sawyer motors, operate in an open-loop stepping manner. This mode of operation makes them i) susceptible to loss of steps, ii) unable to reject external disturbances, iii) unable to provide controlled forces, and iv) unable to provide high stiiness. These limitations, in turn, restrict their usefulness in a wide range of robotic applications. Suitable position sensing...

Glove-based tactile interfaces are used for augmented reality, rehabilitation, teaching, and consumer electronics control. Yet questions remain regarding perception of tactile stimuli on the hands. In an effort to inform the design of such tactile interfaces, we investigate participants’ abilities to sense vibration on the hands. First, we examine the effect of stimulus location on recognition ...

Linear molecular motors have recently attracted considerable interest. In this paper we use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the structural and energetic properties of neutral and oxidized [2]rotaxane motors. We first consider a neutral structure to identify the stable configuration of a bistable [2]rotaxane whose ring component is on the tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) recognition site, ...

We discuss a theoretical model for bidirectional cargo transport in biological cells, which is driven by teams of molecular motors and subject to thermal fluctuations. The model describes explicitly the directed motion of the molecular motors on the filament. The motor-cargo coupling is implemented via linear springs. By means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations we show that the model describe...

We study a Markov random process describing a muscle molecular motor behavior. Every motor is either bound up with a thin filament or unbound. In the bound state the motor creates a force proportional to its displacement from the neutral position. In both states the motor spend an exponential time depending on the state. The thin filament moves at its velocity proportional to average of all dis...

It has been proven that fuzzy controllers are capable of controlling non-linear systems where it is cumbersome to develop conventional controllers based on mathematical modeling. This paper describes designing fuzzy controllers for an AC motor run mechanism. It also compares performance of two controllers designed based on Mamdani and Takagi-Sugeno with the conventional control scheme in a shor...

It has been proven that fuzzy controllers are capable of controlling non-linear systems where it is cumbersome to develop conventional controllers based on mathematical modeling. This chapter describes designing fuzzy controllers for an AC motor run mechanism. It also compares performance of two controllers designed based on Mamdani and Takagi-Sugeno with the conventional control scheme in a sh...

Single-molecule observation and manipulation have come of age. With the advent of optical tweezers and other methods for probing and imaging single molecules, investigators have circumvented the model-dependent extrapolation from ensemble assays that has been the hallmark of classical biochemistry and biophysics. In recent years, there have been important advances in the understanding of how mo...

This thesis presents the design of two magnetically levitated high precision positioning systems based on permanent magnet linear synchronous motors (PMLSMs). Magnetic levitation based on PMLSMs requires the motors to operate with a variable airgap length but previous research in the field has studied mainly motors fastened by bearings; therefore, this work first models a motor with free normal...