Renata Dwornicka

The studies of the Biomedical Engineering faculty combine technical and humanistic elements. The biomedical engineering itself is a combination of knowledge located at the intersection of engineering, medical and biological applications. Technical universities which offer training courses on Biomedical Engineering place greater emphasis on engineering education. It is apparent, however, that the majority of students of this course are graduates of high schools with humanistic knowledge and no technical preparation. Initial teaching of technical subjects must therefore be conducted in a language and format accessible to the “non-engineers”. Particularly, it is important to demonstrate and teach students the tools that will facilitate their further education.

One of the main weaknesses in the Laboratory of Distributed Control Systems at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow was students’ knowledge about connecting peripheral devices to industrial computers known also as PLCs. After participating in PLC laboratory course students were able to create advanced programs, control complicated mechatronic systems but they could not assemble even simple electrical circuits. It results from the fact that they worked on ready-made laboratory stands where all the electrical connections had already been set. The paper presents the building of eight laboratory stands for learning how to connect PLC inputs and outputs as the first step before proper programming.

The article summarizes research on a method used to improve tribological properties. The paper presents possibilities of using laser surface modification by means of EDM. The performed research confirmed that the concentrated laser beam stream can effectively modify the state of the ESD coating layer, WC-Cu and improve their usability. The work aims to assess the properties of coatings after laser treatment, based on the observation of the newly created structure of the material, the measurement of adhesion and microhardness measurement.

Applications of dielectric elastomer (DE) actuators are presented in this paper. Dielectric elastomers (a type of electroactive polymer) are one the most promising smart materials. They consist of two flexible electrodes and a dielectric film between them. After applying voltage (3–5 kV) to the electrodes, the thickness of the polymer layer lowers. Changes of the thickness can be indirectly measured , enabling the element to work as a sensor. A self-sensing and energy harvesting elements are also described. Two applications are described – an active orthosis and a force feedback device.

McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) allow for a proper representation of static and dynamic movement characteristics of biomechanical systems. These actuators have features similar to physiological muscles such as ability to generate high value of force in short time and elastic and damping properties. McKibben muscles have a nonlinear character – the value of a generated force depends not only on the pressure but also on the stroke. In the presented paper, the authors exemplify basic traits of these actuators and present drawn characteristics of a force to stroke at a constant pressure.