Swabbing tests have proved to be an effective method of diagnosis for a wide range of diseases. Potential occupational health hazards and reliance on healthcare workers during traditional swabbing procedures can be mitigated by self-administered swabs. Hence, we report possible methods to apply closed kinematic chain theory to develop a self-administered viral swab to collect respiratory specimens. The proposed sensorized swab models utilizing hollow polypropylene tubes possess mechanical compliance, simple construction, and inexpensive components. In detail, the adaptation of the slider-crank mechanism combined with concepts of a deployable telescopic tubular mechanical system is explored through four different oral swab designs. A closed kinematic chain on suitable material to create a developable surface allows the translation of simple two-dimensional motion into more complex multi-dimensional motion. These foldable telescopic straws with multiple kirigami cuts minimize components involved in the system as the characteristics are built directly into the material. Further, it offers a possibility to include soft stretchable sensors for realtime performance monitoring. A variety of features were constructed and tested using the concepts above, including 1) tongue depressor and cough/gag reflex deflector; 2) changing the position and orientation of the oral swab when sample collection is in the process; 3) protective cover for the swabbing bud; 4) a combination of the features mentioned above.

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Solar energy is the most abundant and constant source available, across the surface of the Earth. A Solar panel or PV module is an essential component that is being used for the conversion of sunlight directly into direct current (DC) electricity. A major drawback of solar panel system is its extremely low efficiency of conversion of light energy to electrical energy and its further drop when there is laxity of care and maintenance of the panels. This project is focused on designing and developing a sensor-based street light solar panel cleaning mechanism which can be added as a retrofit and requires minimal human interference to operate. The water-based system with a pair of wiper blades is mounted on a pair of lead screws which are rotated by a pair of servo motors which are powered by current drawn directly from the panel. The water is supplied by a tank fixed on the underside of the panel and a catchment dugout at the bottom end of the panel allows the run-off water to get collected after the cleaning operation. The system operates based on the information collected from a timer, voltage sensor, current sensor, and humidity sensor. The operational frequency of the system is based on the information provided by the sensor and varies based on the accumulation rate of particulate matter on the panel and the reduction in transmittance because of the same.