STORM: Slot-based Task-aware Object-centric Representation for robotic Manipulation

Visual foundation models provide strong perceptual features for robotics, but their dense representations lack explicit object-level structure, limiting robustness and contractility in manipulation tasks. We propose STORM (Slot-based Task-aware Object-centric Representation for robotic Manipulation), a lightweight object-centric adaptation module that augments frozen visual foundation models with a small set of semantic-aware slots for robotic manipulation. Rather than retraining large backbones, STORM employs a multi-phase training strategy: object-centric slots are first stabilized through visual–semantic pretraining using language embeddings, then jointly adapted with a downstream manipulation policy. This staged learning prevents degenerate slot formation and preserves semantic consistency while aligning perception with task objectives. Experiments on object discovery benchmarks and simulated manipulation tasks show that STORM improves generalization to visual distractors, and control performance compared to directly using frozen foundation model features or training object-centric representations end-to-end. Our results highlight multi-phase adaptation as an efficient mechanism for transforming generic foundation model features into task-aware object-centric representations for robotic control

A Cahn--Hilliard--Willmore phase field model for non-oriented interfaces

International audienceWe investigate a new phase field model for representing non-oriented interfaces, approximating their area and simulating their area-minimizing flow. Our contribution is related to the approach proposed in arXiv:2105.09627 that involves ad hoc neural networks. We show here that, instead of neural networks, similar results can be obtained using a more standard variational approach that combines a Cahn-Hilliard-type functional involving an appropriate non-smooth potential and a Willmore-type stabilization energy. We show some properties of this phase field model in dimension $1$ and, for radially symmetric functions, in arbitrary dimension. We propose a simple numerical scheme to approximate its $L^2$-gradient flow. We illustrate numerically that the new flow approximates fairly well the mean curvature flow of codimension $1$ or $2$ interfaces in dimensions $2$ and $3$

Planar pulsating traveling wave solutions of non-cooperative Fisher--KPP systems in space-time periodic media

International audienceNon-cooperative Fisher-KPP systems with space-time periodic coefficients are motivated for instance by models for structured populations evolving in periodic environments. This paper is concerned with entire solutions describing the invasion of open space by a persistent population at constant speed. These solutions are important in the understanding of long-time behaviors for the Cauchy problem. Adapting methods developed for scalar equations satisfying the comparison principle as well as methods developed for systems with homogeneous coefficients, we prove, in each spatial direction, the existence of a critical speed such that: there exists no almost planar generalized transition waves with a smaller speed; if the direction is rational, each rational speed not smaller than the critical speed is the speed of a planar pulsating traveling wave with time and transverse space periodicity; if the coefficients are homogeneous in space, each speed not smaller than the critical speed is the speed of a planar pulsating traveling wave with time periodicity

Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of IES TM-30 Indices for the Color Preference of Landscape Oil Paintings

International audienceANSI/IES TM-30-24 Annex E provides guidelines for evaluating the color rendition performance of interior lighting, which is incorporated in the latest ANSI/IES RP-30-20 standard as a guide for museum lighting designers. However, one general guideline may not be suitable for all types of museum exhibitions. This study investigates the relationship between TM-30 indices and preference for landscape oil paintings, assesses the applicability of TM-30 color preference criteria, and examines whether the results depend on the painting color composition. Nine 3000 K lighting spectra were systematically generated with varying Rf, Rg, and best-fit ellipse rotation angles ψ on the color vector graph. Through a two-alternative-forced-choice paired comparison, the preference of 18 participants for six landscape oil paintings with various colors was evaluated. Their choices were converted to quantitative interval scores for each spectrum. Based on the statistical difference between scores, the preference criteria were adjusted by lowering Rf thresholds and dividing the most preferred level into two levels. The less-strict Rf requirement might be attributed to the lack of memory color for unfamiliar paintings. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that the six paintings can be classified into two groups of three paintings: a high-Rcs,h1-preferred group and a high-Rg-preferred group. Quantitative answers from participants to questionnaires provided potential methods for categorizing paintings into these groups. This study concludes with three recommendations for narrowing the selection of luminaires for landscape oil paintings: one for each group, and the adjusted preference criteria for paintings that cannot be clearly classified into either group

A coclustering and computational intelligence-based approach for internet-of-things services composition

International audienceThe Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm aims at interconnecting heterogeneous devices, called smart objects and seamlessly offering a multitude of services tailored to the user requirements. With the extremely rapid growth of the number of connected objects, the IoT services composition process becomes an NP-hard challenge due to the very high increase of the number of services offering similar functionalities but that may differ in their Quality of Service (QoS) parameter values. Various approaches have been proposed in the literature to obtain compositions with suboptimal QoS in a reasonable computation time. However, when the number of services and QoS parameters increases, the performance of these approaches is limited in terms of the composition time and/or the QoS utility of the composition. To address these limitations, a coclustering-based approach for QoS-constrained services composition (CoQSC) is proposed to reduce the composition space and improve the composition time as well as the composition utility. Unlike existing services composition algorithms where the composition space is reduced only in terms of the number of candidate services, the CoQSC approach exploits a coclustering method to reduce both the number of candidate services and the number of QoS parameters to be considered in the composition process. This reduction allows the composition process to find suboptimal compositions in a reduced computation time using eight among the most representative and recent computational intelligence (CI) techniques in the literature separately. The formulation of the CoQSC approach is complemented by a complexity analysis. Simulation scenarios show that the CoQSC approach significantly improves the QoS utility of composition and substantially decreases the composition time compared to recent and representative state-of-the-art composition approaches, making it suitable for large-scale IoT service environments

Hydrodynamic limit for an open facilitated exclusion process with slow and fast boundaries

44 pagesInternational audienceWe study the symmetric facilitated exclusion process (FEP) on the finite one-dimensional lattice {1, . . . , N − 1} when put in contact with boundary reservoirs, whose action is subject to an additional kinetic constraint in order to enforce ergodicity, and whose speed is of order N^{−θ} for some parameter θ. We derive its hydrodynamic limit as N goes to infinity, in the diffusive space-time scaling, when the initial density profile is supercritical. More precisely, the macroscopic density of particles evolves in the bulk according to a fast diffusion equation as in the periodic case, which is now subject to boundary conditions that can be of Dirichlet, Robin or Neumann type depending on the parameter θ. In the Dirichlet case, the FEP exhibits a very peculiar behaviour: unlike for the classical SSEP, and due to the two-phased nature of FEP, the reservoirs impose boundary densities which do not coincide with their equilibrium densities. The proof is based on the classical entropy method, but requires significant adaptations to account for the FEP’s non-product stationary states and to deal with the non-equilibrium settin

Review of Prognosis Approaches Applied to Power SiC MOSFETs for Health State and Remaining Useful Life Prediction

International audienceThe use of Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs significantly improves converter performance by increasing efficiency and reducing costs, to the detriment of electro-magnetic emission and reliability. Implementing a predictive maintenance strategy based on a prognosis tool can mitigate this limitation. This literature review offers a methodological synthesis of prognosis design tools for SiC MOSFETs, while also encompassing studies on IGBTs and silicon-based power MOSFETs where these approaches are transferable. The analysis focuses on wear-out prognosis under nominal operating conditions of standard package device, excluding environmental constraints. Articles published up to 2025 were identified in the OpenAlex database using a keyword-based search and manually filtered according to the study scope. Most reviewed works rely on Data-Based prognosis methods, mostly based on neural networks, though out-of-sample validation remains uncommon. Our study also highlights the dependence of Data-Based prognosis performance on the shape of degradation indicator trends. Moreover, the estimation of prediction uncertainty is rarely addressed in the reviewed literature. Despite notable methodological advances, ensuring the reliability of prognosis tools for SiC MOSFETs remains an ongoing research challenge

Rejecting Arguments Based on Doubt in Structured Bipolar Argumentation

International audienceThis paper develops a new approach to computational argumentation that is informed by philosophical and linguistic views. Namely, it takes into account two ideas that have received little attention in the literature on computational argumentation: First, an agent may rationally reject an argument based on mere doubt, thus not all arguments they could defend must be accepted; and, second, that it is sometimes more natural to think in terms of which individual sentences or claims an agent accepts in a debate, rather than which arguments. In order to incorporate these two ideas into a computational approach, we first define the notion of structured bipolar argumentation frameworks (SBAFs), where arguments consist of sentences and we have both an attack and a support relation between them. Then, we provide semantics for SBAFs with two features: (1) Unlike with completeness-based semantics, our semantics do not force agents to accept all defended arguments. (2) In addition to argument extensions, which give acceptable sets of arguments, we also provide semantics for language extensions that specify acceptable sets of sentences. These semantics represent reasonable positions an agent might have in a debate. Our semantics lie between the admissible and complete semantics of abstract argumentation. Further, our approach can be used to provide a new perspective on existing approaches. For instance, we can specify the conditions under which an agent can ignore support between arguments (i.e. under which the use of abstract argumentation is warranted) and we show that deductive support semantics is a special case of our approach

Shear mechanical properties measurements at the surface scale: Enhanced performances of the micro-shear compression specimen

International audienceAn intensive study combining experimental tests and numerical simulations was carried out to improve the understanding of the micro-shear test using the Micro-shear Compression Specimen (MCS). The results demonstrated good data reliability in the elastic regime up to the yield stress. However, the study also revealed that friction between the flat punch and the MCS significantly affects the plastic regime, and must therefore be accounted for to accurately extract shear mechanical properties. To overcome this limitation, two alternative methods were developed. The first one consists in compressing a new type of micro-shear compression specimen, featuring two perpendicular gauges forming a cross geometry (X-MCS). The second consists of applying multicycle loading to the conventional MCS. Both approaches successfully eliminated friction dependence in the plastic regime, in contrast to the classical method. Finally, the X-MCS geometry was applied to very high strain rate testing on fused silica. Thanks to the small gauge height of the X-MCS, it was possible to measure shear mechanical properties at a strain rate of 104 s−1, which was not achieved using conventional micropillar compression with our micromechanical setup. These methods provide a new pathway for extracting shear mechanical properties, which are critical in the field of tribology, where surfaces are subjected to intense shear deformation

Measuring mechanical fields in tribology: physical quantities, methods, and insights

Contact interfaces are inherently heterogeneous across various length scales. Capturing the interface behaviour therefore requires not only macroscopic force and displacement measurements, but also local measurements along the interface. Such a refined view of the interface offers a unique opportunity to identify the elementary mechanisms that take place along the contact. It also provides highly constraining data to validate or falsify models. In this Chapter, we give an overview of the interface-related mechanical quantities whose spatial distribution can be experimentally measured. For each quantity, we describe the principal measurement techniques, illustrate their applications through examples and highlight some of the tribological insights that were obtained thanks to those local measurements. The accessible quantities include contact area, slip, gap, forces/stresses, stiffness and strains. We distinguish direct interfacial measurements and bulk measurements, based on methods spanning direct imaging, molecular probes, particle tracking velocimetry, digital image correlation, fluorescent liquids, interferences, Raman spectroscopy, ultrasound, X-ray computed tomography, photoelasticimetry and various local sensors. This overview aims to serve as a guide for selecting the appropriate techniques and interpreting local measurements in tribological contacts.</div