• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.401-415
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• 2021

Soft robots are promising devices for applications in drug delivery, sensing, and manufacturing. Traditional hard robotics are manufactured with rigid materials and their degrees of motion are constrained by the orientation of the joints. In contrast to rigid counterpart, soft robotics, employing soft and stretchable materials that easily deforms in shape, can realize complex motions (i.e., locomotion, swimming, and grappling) with a simple structure, and easily adapt to dynamic environment. Among them, the magnetic actuators exhibit unique characteristics such as rapid and accurate motion control, biocompatibility, and facile remote controllability, which make them promising candidates for the next-generation soft robots. Especially, the magnetic actuators instantly response to the stimuli, and show no-hysteresis during the recovery process, essential for continuous motion control. Here, we present the state-of-the-art fabrication process of magnetically controllable nano-/micro-composites, magnetically aligning process of the composites, and 1-dimensional/multi-dimensional multimodal motion control for the nextgeneration soft actuators.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2006

In this paper, the new method that estimates a sensing ability of smart sensor will be proposed. A study is estimation method that evaluates sensing ability about smart sensor respectively. According to acceleration(g) and displacement changing, we estimated sensing ability of smart sensor using SAI(Sensing Ability Index) method respectively. Smart sensors was made fer experiment. The types of smart sensor are two types(hard and soft smart sensor). Smart sensors developed for recognition of material. Experiment and analysis are executed for estimate the SAI method. In develop a smart sensor, the SAI method will be useful for finding optical design condition of smart sensor that can sense a material. And then dynamic characteristics of smart sensors(frequency changing, acceleration changing, critical point, etc.) are evaluated respectively through new method(SAI) that use the power spectrum density. Dynamic characteristic of sensor is evaluated with SAI method relatively. We can use the SAI for finding critical point of smart sensor, too.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.509-517
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• 2021

Smart materials capable of changing their characteristics in response to stimuli such as light, heat, pH, and electric and magnetic fields are promising for application to flexible electronics, soft robotics, and biomedicine. Compared with conventional rigid materials, these materials are typically composed of soft materials that improve the biocompatibility and allow for large and dynamic deformations in response to external environmental stimuli. Among them, smart magnetic materials are attracting immense attention owing to their fast response, remote actuation, and wide penetration range under various conditions. In this review, we report the material design and fabrication of smart magnetic materials. Furthermore, we focus on recent advances in their typical applications, namely, soft magnetic actuators, sensors for self-assembly, object manipulation, shape transformation, multimodal robot actuation, and tactile sensing.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.172-182
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• 2014

In this paper, we investigate the fundamental performance limits of the cooperative sensing using energy detection by considering the unlimited number of sensing nodes. Although a lot of cognitive radio research so far proposed various uses of energy detection because of its simplicity, the performance limits of energy detection have not been studied when a large number of sensing nodes exist. First, we show that when the sensing nodes see the independent and identically distributed channel conditions, then as the number of sensing nodes N goes to infinity, the OR rule of hard decision achieves zero of false alarm Pf for any given target probability of detection $\bar{P_d}$ irrespective of the non-zero received primary user signal to noise ratio ${\gamma}$. Second, we show that under the same condition, when the AND rule of hard decision is used, there exists a lower bound of $P_f$. Interestingly, however, for given $\bar{P_d}$, $P_f$ goes to 1 as N goes to infinity. Third, we show that when the soft decision is used, there exists a way of achieving 100% utilization of secondary user, i.e., the sensing time overhead ratio goes to zero so does $P_f$.We verify our analyses by performing extensive simulations of the proposed unlimited cooperative sensing. Finally, we suggest a way of incorporating the unlimited cooperative sensing into a practical cellular system such as long term evolutionadvanced by exploiting the existing frame structure of absolute blank subframe to implement the in-band sensing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.398-401
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• 2011

This paper presents a high-efficiency CMOS PWM DC-DC buck converter. It generates a constant output voltage(1-2.8V), from an input voltage(3.4-3.9V). Inductor-based type is chosen and inductor current is controlled with PWM operation. The designed circuit consists of power switch, Pulse Width Generation, Buffer, Zero Current Sensing, Current Sensing Circuit, Clock & Ramp generation, V-I Converter, Soft Start, Compensator and Modulator. Switching Frequency is 1MHz, It operates in CCM when the load current is more than 40mA, and the maximum efficiency is 98.71% at 100mA. Output voltage ripple is 0.98mV(input voltage:3.5V, output voltage:2.5V). The performance of the designed circuit has been verified through extensive simulation using a CMOS $0.18{\mu}m$ technology.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.35-39
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• 2007

A highly sensitive magnetic sensor using the Giant MagnetoImpedance effect has been developed. The sensor performance is studied and estimated. The sensor circuitry consists of a square wave generator (driving source), a sensing element in a form of composite wire of a 25 $\mu$m copper core electrodeposited with a thin layer of soft magnetic material ($Ni_{80}Fe_{20}$), and two amplifier stages for improving the gain, switching mechanism, scaler circuit, an AC power source driving the permeability of the magnetic coating layer of the sensing element into a dynamic state, and a signal pickup LC circuit formed by a pickup coil and an capacitor. Experimental studies on sensor have been carried out to investigate the key parameters in relation to the sensor sensitivity and resolution. The results showed that for high sensitivity and resolution, the frequency and magnitude of the ac driving current through the sensing element each has an optimum value, the resonance frequency of the signal pickup LC circuit should be equal to or twice as the driving frequency on the sensing element, and the anisotropy of the magnetic coating layer of the sensing wire element should be longitudinal.

• KIEE International Transaction on Electrical Machinery and Energy Conversion Systems
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• v.5B no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2005

Electro-chemo-mechanical devices or artificial muscles based on conducting polymers (CP) are presented as bilayers, CP/adhesive polymer, or as triple layers, CP/adhesive polymer/CP. Those soft and wet materials, working in aqueous solutions of a salt, mimic the composition of most organs from animals. Under electrochemical control, so working as new electrical machines, they produce continuous, reverse and elegant bending movements, mimicking those produce by animal muscles. By means of the current a perfect controls of the movement rate is attained giving soft and continuous movements. Muscles able to sense the chemical and mechanical conditions of work or muscle having tactile sense, as will be presented here, are being developed. All of them are founded on the non-stoichiometric nature of the soft and wet materials.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.520-526
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• 2011

This paper presents a balanced soft-chopping circuit and a modified PI controller for a high speed 4/2 Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) with a 16 pulse per revolution encoder. The proposed balanced soft-chopping circuit can supply double the switching frequency in the fixed switching frequency of power devices to reduce current ripple. The modified PI controller uses maximum voltage, back-emf voltage and PI control modes to overcome the over-shoot current due to the time delay effect of current sensing. The maximum voltage mode can supply a fast excitation current with consideration of the hardware time delay. Then the back-emf voltage mode can suppress the current over-shoot with consideration of the feedback signal delay. Finally, the PI control mode can adjust the phase current to a desired value with a fast switching frequency due to the proposed balanced soft-chopping technology.

• The Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.220-220
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• 1999

This paper describes the high efficiency inverter ballast circuit using very cheap microprocessor, which has been developed by the author. A variety of soft-switching techniques have been proposed to reduce the switching losses and EMI problems that occur with higher switching frequencies in switched inverter ballast. The inverter ballast circuit, which employs a temperature sensing circuits has been also proposed to improve starting performance of the fluorescent lamps. That is, the inverter ballast circuit, which employs a soft-starting circuit and soft-switching techniques to implement the power factor correction and to mitigate of power-loss and increase a life time of the fluorescent lamps, has become an attractive performance for ballasting the fluorescent lamps. In this paper, the operation and the control of the inverter ballast are described in detail and experimental results are presented. As the experimental results, when environment temperature is at -40℃, the inverter ballast circuit has low THD(4.8%) of the input current and large power factor(98%) of the lamp current. The proposed improved ballast circuit appears to be a good performance for ballasting fluorescent lamps.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.815-826
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• 2014

An improved bridgeless interleaved boost power factor correction (PFC) rectifier to improve power efficiency and component utilization is proposed in this study. With combined conventional bridgeless PFC circuit and interleaved technology, the proposed rectifier consists of two interleaved and magnetic inter-coupling boost bridgeless converter cells. Each cell operates alternatively in the critical conduction mode, which can achieve the soft-switching characteristics of the switches and increase power capacity. Auxiliary blocking diodes are employed to eliminate undesired circulating loops and reduce current-sensing noise, which are among the serious drawbacks of a dual-boost PFC rectifier. Magnetic component utilization is improved by symmetrically coupling two inductors on a unique core, which can achieve independence from each other based on the auxiliary diodes. Through the interleaved approach, each switch can operate in the whole line cycle. A simple control scheme is employed in the circuit by using a conventional interleaved controller. The operation principle and theoretical analysis of the converter are presented. A 600 W experimental prototype is built to verify the theoretical analysis and feasibility of the proposed rectifier. System efficiency reaches 97.3% with low total harmonic distortion at full load.