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Article
Publication date: 6 February 2023

Yuqi Liu, Junqiang Su, Xinyu Li and Guoqing Jin

The garment industry will be one of the major beneficiaries of advances in smart manufacturing, as it is highly labor-intensive and heavily depends on labor force. Manipulating…

Abstract

Purpose

The garment industry will be one of the major beneficiaries of advances in smart manufacturing, as it is highly labor-intensive and heavily depends on labor force. Manipulating robots in human environments has made great strides in recent years. However, the main research has focused on rigid, solid objects and core capabilities such as grasping, placing remain a challenging problem when dealing with soft textiles. The experimental results indicate that adopting the proposed bionic soft finger will provide garment manufacturers with smart manufacturing capabilities. Then, the purpose of this paper is to utilize the flexibility of the soft finger to transfer fabric layer by layer without damage in garment automation.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a new way to separate layer by layer pieces of fabric has been inspired by the rise of soft robotics and their applications in automation. Fabric gripping is accomplished by wiping deformation and pinching the fabric. A single fabric piece is separated from cutting pile by the soft finger in four steps: making an arch by pressing, wiping deformation, grasping and separating, and placing.

Findings

The case study demonstrated that the soft finger arrangement for automated grasping of fabric pieces of a garment can be successfully applied to delicate fabric. A combination of cloth shape and weight determines the number of soft fingers. In addition, the soft finger was tested on different types of fabrics to determine its performance and application capabilities. The technology may be used to produce clothing intelligently in the future, such as intelligent stacking, intelligent transportation and intelligent packaging, to increase clothing industry productivity.

Originality/value

An industrial bionic soft finger gripping system is proposed in this paper for application in the field of fabric automatic manipulation. A piece of fabric could be picked up and released layer by layer from a stack by the proposed gripper without creating any damage to it. Soft grippers have the right proportion of softness and rigidity like a human being. A soft finger has a potential affinity for soft materials such as fabrics without damaging either their surface or their properties.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 50 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 April 2022

Yansheng Chen, Xiaotong Cai, Jie Li, Peng Lin, Huitong Song, Guoqing Liu, Dongming Cao and Xiaohui Ma

This paper aims to the perspective of stakeholders, from external variables of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) system, users, task flow, the nature of the development of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to the perspective of stakeholders, from external variables of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) system, users, task flow, the nature of the development of the execution process, organizational structure and policy impacts, that established a relationship among the internal concepts and intentions for the BIM application, individual or organizational differences, controlling interference factors and environmental constraints, discussed the combination of the values and barriers of BIM implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the co-occurrence statistics and genre analysis based on co-citation context analysis and constructs the common information that impacts the combination of values and barriers of BIM implementation. Then, the paper chose the expert database of the green construction and intelligent building branch of the China construction association, and obtained 104 sample data through modified snowball sampling, using exploratory factor analysis with factor load linear functions, combined factor variance contribution rate weights.actor variance contribution rate weights.

Findings

The results show that eight aspects can be defined as the values of BIM implementation (VI), and the barriers of BIM implementation (BI) mainly come from five aspects caused by insufficient cognition and two aspects of an uncertain value in China.

Originality/value

This research reflects a combined evaluation of the values of BIM implementation and barriers of BIM and highlights the significance of the sustainable development of BIM technology and the value of building future informatization applications.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2023

Guoqing Zhao, Jana Suklan, Shaofeng Liu, Carmen Lopez and Lise Hunter

In a competitive environment, eHealth small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) barriers to survival differ from those of large enterprises. Empirical research on barriers to…

Abstract

Purpose

In a competitive environment, eHealth small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) barriers to survival differ from those of large enterprises. Empirical research on barriers to eHealth SMEs in less prosperous areas has been largely neglected. This study fills this gap by employing an integrated approach to analyze barriers to the development of eHealth SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data through semi-structured interviews and conducted thematic analysis to identify 16 barriers, which were used as inputs into total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) to build interrelationships among them and identify key barriers. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) was then applied validate the TISM model and classify the 16 barriers into four categories.

Findings

This study makes significant contributions to theory by identifying new barriers and their interrelationships, distinguishing key barriers and classifying the barriers into four categories. The authors identify that transcultural problems are the key barrier and deserve particular attention. eHealth SMEs originating from regions with cultural value orientations, such as hierarchy and embeddedness, that differ from the UK’s affective autonomy orientation should strengthen their transcultural awareness when seeking to expand into UK markets.

Originality/value

By employing an integrated approach to analyze barriers that impede the development of eHealth SMEs in a less prosperous area of the UK, this study raises entrepreneurs’ awareness of running businesses in places with different cultural value orientations.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 June 2023

Guoqing Chen and Jun Wei

The extant literature on self-verification striving has primarily focused on employee recruitment and positive organizational outcomes, but there is insufficient research on its…

Abstract

Purpose

The extant literature on self-verification striving has primarily focused on employee recruitment and positive organizational outcomes, but there is insufficient research on its influence mechanism and boundary conditions. With taking charge as the mediating variable and authentic leadership as the moderating variable, this study aims to explore the relationship between self-verification striving and creative performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected 358 questionnaires from China. Linear regression was used to explore the influence mechanism and boundary conditions. Groups were classified by latent profile analysis, and differences among different groups were compared.

Findings

First, self-verification striving was significantly positively correlated with creative performance, and taking charge played a significant mediating role between them. Second, authentic leadership significantly positively moderated the relationship between self-verification striving and taking charge. Third, based on the willingness and action of self-verification striving, it was found that the taking charge and creative performance of the double high group was significantly higher than the high-medium group, while the double low group was significantly lower than the high-medium group.

Originality/value

First, this study makes up for the lack of influencing mechanism and inconsistency of research results between self-verification striving and employee outcomes. Second, the moderating effect of authentic leadership was proposed and verified, which enriched the universality of self-verification theory in Chinese context. Third, we found the differences in behaviors and outcomes among different groups, verified the uniqueness of self-verification striving in the Chinese context. It helps to explore the deep relationships that cannot be revealed by variables alone.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 44 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2023

Shufeng Tang, Renjie Huang, Guoqing Zhao and Guoqing Wang

The purpose of this paper is that the modular mobile robots reformed the multimachine joint mode to achieve obstacle-crossing, climbing and other multifunctional inspection in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is that the modular mobile robots reformed the multimachine joint mode to achieve obstacle-crossing, climbing and other multifunctional inspection in unstructured environment under the connection of the cone–hole docking mechanism.

Design/methodology/approach

An arc-shaped docking cone head with a posture-maintaining spring and two arc-shaped connecting rods that formed a ring round hole were designed to achieve large tolerance docking. Before active locking, the coordination between structures was used to achieve passive locking, which mitigated the docking impact of modular robots in unstructured environment. Using the locking ring composed of the two arc-shaped connecting rods, open-loop and closed-loop motion characteristics were obtained through the mutual motion of the connecting rod and the sliding block to achieve active locking, which not only ensured high precision docking, but also achieved super docking stability.

Findings

The cone–hole docking mechanism had the docking tolerance performance of position deviation of 6mm and pitch deviation of 8° to achieve docking of six degrees of freedom (6-DOF), which had a load capacity of 230 N to achieve super docking stability. Under the connection of the cone–hole docking mechanism, the modular mobile robots reformed the multimachine joint mode to achieve obstacle-crossing, climbing and other multifunctional inspection in unstructured environment.

Originality/value

Based on mechanical analysis of universal models, a cone–hole docking mechanism combining active and passive functions, six-dimensional constraints could be implemented, was proposed in this paper. The characteristics of the posture-maintaining spring in the cone docking head and the compression spring at the two ends of two arc-shaped connecting rods were used to achieve docking with large tolerance. Passive locking and active locking modules were designed, mitigating impact load and the locking did not require power to maintain, which not only ensured high precision docking, but also achieved super docking stability.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 50 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2022

Shutian Wang, Yan Lin, Yejin Yan and Guoqing Zhu

This study explores the direct relationship between social media user-generated content (UGC), online search traffic and offline light vehicle sales of different models.

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the direct relationship between social media user-generated content (UGC), online search traffic and offline light vehicle sales of different models.

Design/methodology/approach

The long-run equilibrium relationship and short-run dynamic effects between the valence and volume of UGC, online search traffic and offline car sales are analyzed by applying the autoregressive distribution lag (ARDL) model.

Findings

The study found the following. (1) In the long-run relationship, the valence of online reviews on social media platforms is significantly negatively correlated with the sales of all models. However, in the short-run, the valence of online reviews has a significant positive correlation with all models in different lag periods. (2) The volume of online reviews is significantly positively correlated with the sales of all models in the long run. However, in the short run, the relationship between the volume of online reviews and the sales of lower-sales-volume cars is uncertain. There is a significant positive correlation between the volume of reviews and the sales of higher-sales-volume cars. (3) Online search traffic has a significantly negative correlation with the sales of all models in the long run. However, in the short run, there is no consistent conclusion on the relationship between online search traffic and car sales.

Originality/value

This study provides a reference for managers to use in their efforts to improve offline high-involvement product sales using online information.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 52 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Disaster, Displacement and Resilient Livelihoods: Perspectives from South Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-449-4

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2024

Shufeng Tang, Yongsheng Kou, Guoqing Zhao, Huijie Zhang, Hong Chang, Xuewei Zhang and Yunhe Zou

The purpose of this paper is to design a climbing robot connected by a connecting rod mechanism to achieve multi-functional tasks such as obstacles crossing and climbing of power…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a climbing robot connected by a connecting rod mechanism to achieve multi-functional tasks such as obstacles crossing and climbing of power transmission towers.

Design/methodology/approach

A connecting rod type gripper has been designed to achieve stable grasping of angle steel. Before grasping, use coordination between structures to achieve stable docking and grasping. By using the alternating movements of two claws and the middle climbing mechanism, the climbing and obstacle crossing of the angle steel were achieved.

Findings

Through a simple linkage mechanism, a climbing robot has been designed, greatly reducing the overall mass of the robot. It can also carry a load of 1 kg, and the climbing mechanism can perform stable climbing. The maximum step distance of the climbing robot is 543 mm, which can achieve the crossing of angle steel obstacles.

Originality/value

A transmission tower climbing mechanism was proposed by analyzing the working environment. Through the locking ability of the screw nut, stable clamping of the angle steel is achieved, and a pitch mechanism is designed to adjust the posture of the hand claw.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 November 2023

Kuncheng Zhang, Shi-Zheng Tian, Yong Wu, Jiale Wu, Na Liu and Donghai Wang

This research establishes an evaluation index system and calculation method for the China's maritime power construction index (CMPCI). It has conducted practical tests on the…

Abstract

Purpose

This research establishes an evaluation index system and calculation method for the China's maritime power construction index (CMPCI). It has conducted practical tests on the progress of China's maritime power construction since the 12th–13th Five-Year Plans. This paper conducts a phased study on the construction of China's maritime power based on the CMPCI evaluation results; it expands the relevant achievements in the research field of quantitative research in China's maritime power construction. The verification results are consistent with the actual situation.

Design/methodology/approach

Fully reflect the guiding role of national marine policies in the new development stage, guide the transformation of China's marine management model. The CMPCI is a quantitative evaluation of the overall development level of China's maritime power construction over a certain period of time. The CMPCI in this article aims to comprehensively reflect the changes in the construction of China's maritime power, strives to cover various fields it encompasses. This study focuses on objective statistical data analysis, supplemented by multisource data, to objectively and fairly measure the level of CMPCI.

Findings

Originality/value

It fully reflects the highlights of marine science and technology, social democracy and strategic emerging industries. This research dynamically quantifies the trajectory of China's maritime power construction, synthetic reflecting the country's macroeconomic policy guiding function. Guiding the transformation of the marine resources utilization, marine economy development, marine scientific research and marine rights and interests maintenance and effectively serving the decision-making needs of the government.

Details

Marine Economics and Management, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-158X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 August 2023

Yiru Zha and Jiawei Jin

This study aims to investigate how environmentalism in photovoltaic (PV) substitution and nationalism in PV rivalry with the USA are associated with the trade-offs made by young…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how environmentalism in photovoltaic (PV) substitution and nationalism in PV rivalry with the USA are associated with the trade-offs made by young consumers in Lanzhou when selecting Chinese brand portable solar power banks.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the choice-based conjoint survey was conducted to investigate mobile power bank consumers aged 18–28 in Lanzhou urban districts. A total of 2,004 valid questionnaires were collected and 1,813 sample was used in analyses. Logit and ordinary least squares regression models were run for empirical analyses.

Findings

The research results show that consumers tend to sacrifice certain levels of affordability for moderate technological capability, a reputable brand, better portability and advanced charging functions or sacrifice certain levels of technological capabilities for a moderate price. Consumers with stronger environmentalism in PV substitution tend to prioritize median price levels, larger battery capacity and better portability, while being less sensitive to brand and showing less preference for advanced charging functions. Consumers with stronger nationalism in PV rivalry tend to prioritize reasonably higher prices, bigger brands, enhanced portability, more solar panels and advanced charging functions.

Practical implications

This research sheds light on consumer trade-offs between price, brand, portability, technological capability and charging function. It also explores how environmentalism and nationalism sentiments are associated with consumer decision-making. These insights carry valuable policy implications for fostering product innovation, supporting brand-building initiatives for small and medium-size enterprises, promoting market competition and preventing the weaponization of consumer nationalism.

Originality/value

As an emerging solar power product, the portable solar power bank holds significant potential for widespread adoption as a means to drive energy transition. Within the current context, two notable sentiments have surfaced: environmentalism, which pertains to the adoption of PV technology as a substitute for conventional energy sources and nationalism, which manifests in the PV rivalry between China and the USA. This research aims to investigate consumer preference related to this emerging product, specifically focusing on its relationship with these two sentiments.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

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