The Applied Dynamics and Control Lab at Exeter wishes you and your family to have a happy Christmas and all the best for the next year 2022! Fingers crossed that the pandemic could get better after this Omicron wave, and hopefully, we could meet in-person soon in 2022!

Applied Dynamics and Control lab in Exeter (ADCE) has been awarded Bronze Award in recognition of the actions undertaken to improve sustainability practices as part of the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) in 2021.

Our special issue on “Self-Propelled Robots: from Theory to Applications” is open for your submission now in Meccanica.

https://www.springer.com/journal/11012/updates/18961440

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• Modelling of the self-propelled robots, including mathematical modelling and robot-environment interaction modelling
• Characterization of the nonlinear dynamic response of the robotsAnalytical and numerical techniques to study the nonlinear dynamics of the robots
• Nonlinear dynamic phenomena and interactions in these robots
• Dynamic stability of these robots due to multiphysic interaction
• Experimental studies of observed nonlinear dynamic phenomena
• Control of the self-propelled robots including time delay
• Bifurcations and chaos in self-propelled robots
• Non-smooth dynamical systems
• Numerical and analytical techniques for non-smooth dynamical systems
• Micro-robots and their applications
• Biomechanics of self-propelled robots

The second year PhD student of ADCE, Jiyuan Tian, at the University of Exeter, has been awarded the Ali H. Nayfeh Award at the Second International Nonlinear Dynamics Conference held in 16-19 February 2021. His paper title is “Finite Element Modelling of a Vibro-Impact Capsule Moving in the Small Intestine“.

The paper aims to study a finite element (FE) model to depict the nonlinear dynamics of a vibro-impact capsule moving in the small intestine for controllable capsule endoscopy. FE results were compared with the simulation results calculated using non-smooth differential equations and experimental results conducted at the ADCE lab. It was found that the FE model can provide a more realistic prediction of the system in the complex intestinal environment in terms of capsule’s tilted motion and asymmetric distribution of capsule-intestine contact pressure.

ADCE has successfully organised two symposia on Biocapsule Robots at the Second International Nonlinear Dynamics Conference (NODYCON 2021) in 17-18 February 2021. Both symposia aimed at presenting recent advances and discussing future trends in the self-propulsion techniques for gastrointestinal capsule endoscopy.

A summary of the ADCE lab facilities can be found from PPT Yang Liu.

ADCE has presented two posters at the 4th Annual IEEE UK and Ireland RAS Chapter Conference in Manchester on 22 Jan 2020. Congratulations to our PhD student, Miss Jiajia Zhang who has won the first place award in the poster competition for her poster presentation entitled “Self-Propelled Capsule Robot for Small-Bowel Endoscopy”.