Training a Convolutional Neural Network for Appearance-Invariant Place Recognition

Place recognition is one of the most challenging problems in computer vision, and has become a key part in mobile robotics and autonomous driving applications for performing loop closure in visual SLAM systems. Moreover, the difficulty of recognizing a revisited location increases with appearance changes caused, for instance, by weather or illumination variations, which hinders the long-term application of such algorithms in real environments. In this paper we present a convolutional neural network (CNN), trained for the first time with the purpose of recognizing revisited locations under severe appearance changes, which maps images to a low dimensional space where Euclidean distances represent place dissimilarity. In order for the network to learn the desired invariances, we train it with triplets of images selected from datasets which present a challenging variability in visual appearance. The triplets are selected in such way that two samples are from the same location and the third one is taken from a different place. We validate our system through extensive experimentation, where we demonstrate better performance than state-of-art algorithms in a number of popular datasets

The Institutions-Innovation Dilemma: the Case of Coastal Fisheries

This paper explores into the relationship between institutions and innovations at coastal fishing activities. It is said that institutions favor innovation because they give rise to the necessary stability for fluid knowledge exchanges and learning processes. Nevertheless, at the same time, innovation implies breaking or altering routines and behaviors, i.e. to alter institutions. We try to clarify in which conditions existing institutions may foster innovation or, on the contrary, hinder it. For this purpose we have analyzed the case of a natural resource based sector, the coastal fishing sector in Galicia (Spain). Our findings indicate that a given institutional arrangement can give rise at the same time to positive and negative factors affecting innovation. Moreover, when dealing with major innovations, not only the institutions shaping production relationships must be altered but also the way the sector organizes innovation, i.e. the innovation system itself must change

Mixing in convective thermal fluxes in unsteady nonhomogeneous flows generating complex three dimensional vorticity patterns

Diffusion and scaling of the velocity and vorticity in a thermoelectric driven heating and cooling experimental device is presented in order to map the different patterns and transitions between two and three dimensional convection in an enclosure with complex driven flows. The size of the water tank is of 0.2 x 0.2 x 0.1 m and the heat sources or sinks can be regulated both in power and sign [1-3]. The thermal convective driven flows are generated by means of Peltier effects in 4 wall extended positions of 0.05 x 0.05 cm each. The parameter range of convective cell array varies strongly with the Topology of the boundary conditions. Side heat and momentum fluxes are a function of Rayleigh, Peclet and Nusselt numbers, [4-6] Visualizations are performed by PIV, Particle tracking and shadowgraph. The structure of the flow is shown by setting up a convective flow generated by buoyant heat fluxes. The experiments described here investigate high Prandtl number mixing using brine and fresh water in order to form a density interface and low Prandtl number mixing with temperature gradients. The evolution of the mixing fronts are compared and the topological characteristics of the merging of the convective structures are examined for different configurations. Based on two dimensional Vorticity spectral analysis, new techniques can be very useful to determine the evolution of scales considering the multi-fractal structure of the convective flows.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Multiscaling properties on sequences of turbulent plumes images

A multifractal analysis on a finite-range-scale of the plume concentration images at different experimental conditions (the height of the source Ho), where the measure is the grey value of the image (from 0 to 255), was applied to study its structure through time. The multifractal spectrum showed the characteristic inverse U-shape and a similar evolution in all Ho. The variation of the Hölder exponent (¿a) presented different amplitudes at different moments and increased with time. The symmetry of the spectrum (¿f) decreased with time achieving negative values (from left hand asymmetry evolving to right asymmetry). We show the different behaviour of axial velocity (W) with ¿a and ¿f. There is a linear relation of entrainment coefficient (ae) and the entropy dimension (a1). Therefore, the multifractal spectrum and the derived parameters can be used as markers of plume evolution as well as to study the effect of experimental conditions.Postprint (published version

A ringed pole-on outflow from DO Tauri revealed by ALMA

We present new ALMA Band 6 observations including the CO (2-1) line and 1.3 mmcontinuum emission from the surroundings of the young stellar object DO Tauri. TheALMA CO molecular data show three different series of rings at different radial ve-locities. These rings have radii around 220 au and 800 au. We make individual fits tothe rings and note that their centers are aligned with DO Tauri and its optical high-velocity jet. In addition, we notice that the velocity of these structures increases withthe separation from the young star. We discuss the data under the hypothesis that therings represent velocity cuts through three outflowing shells that are possibly drivenby a wide-angle wind, dragging the environment material along a direction close to theline of sight (i= 19◦). We estimate the dynamical ages, the mass, the momentum andthe energy of each individual outflow shell and those of the whole outflow. The resultsare in agreement with those found in outflows from Class II sources. We make a roughestimate for the size of the jet/wind launching region, which needs to be of.15 au.We report the physical characteristics of DO Tauri?s disk continuum emission (almostface-on and with a projected major axis in the north-south direction) and its velocitygradient orientation (north-south), indicative of disk rotation for a 1-2 Mcentral star.Finally we show an HST [SII] image of the optical jet and report a measurement of itsorientation in the plane of the sky.Fil: Fernandez Lopez, Manuel. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Zapata Gonzalez, Luis Alberto. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Instituto de Astronomia; MéxicoFil: Rodríguez, Luis F.. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Instituto de Astronomia; MéxicoFil: Vazzano, María Mercedes. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Guzman, Andrés E.. National Astronomical Observatory Of Japan; JapónFil: López, Rosario. Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Facultad de Física. Departamento Astronomía y Meteorología; Españ

Thermocapilarity and radiative heat flux oscillations

We present a detailled experimental study of the thermocapillary motion of an aniline drop in an stably stratified fluid sytem driven by a laser beam. The thermocapillary motion of drops is the result of the temperature dependence of the interfacial tension. If the surface of the drop is subject to thermal gradients, then non-equilibrium surface tension effects appear, which in some cases can move the drop. We measure some of the velocity induced fields , vorticity, oscilations and intermittency of this complex flow. The source of the no uniformity of the temperature of the surface can be, as is in this experiment, the non uniform heating of the floating drop by a laser beam. In recent years, the thermocapillary movement of bubbles and drops under the influence of laser radiation has received more experimental attention thanks to the improvement in the flow visualization techniques.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The Spanish cod fishing industry: Radical production changes without significant changes in the innovation system

This paper studies the changes which have occurred in the Spanish cod fishing industry in the last few years. We also aim to understand the dynamics of industrial change and its relation to institutions, understood here as both formal and informal rules and conventions. Our results suggest that sometimes industries, in order to maintain their competitive position, need something more than incremental changes in their products or in the technologies that they use. As we can see with the Spanish cod fishing industry, major changes are needed which affect the institutional set-up of their production system. Nevertheless, even when major changes happen in the production sphere, this does not mean that major alterations happen in the way companies innovate, i.e. in their innovation system

Effect of flocculation on lipid extraction from Chlorella vulgaris Utex 1803 using response surface methodology

Microalgae are an attractive source of metabolites, such as lipids, proteins, pigments and carbohydrates, of potential interest to the pharmaceutical, food and energy sectors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of flocculation on lipid extraction from Chlorella Vulgaris. A 3 3 experimental design was performed with STATISTICA 7.0 software in order to determine the effects of flocculant (AlCl 3 ) addition, pH and time. The best strategy of pH adjustment-flocculant addition was evaluated, followed by lipid extraction under optimal conditions. pH adjustment after the addition of flocculant provided higher flocculation efficiencies (87.2-98.9%) compared to adjustments made before adding the flocculant (67.8-85.9%). Experiments performed according to the experimental design led to a flocculation efficiency of 99.7% when 100 mg/L of AlCl 3 , pH 7 and a cultivation time of 18.3 days were used. The percentage of a lipid extract from the flocculated biomass was 2.7% and the flocculant did not affect the production of fatty acid methyl esters