Shape and function from motion in biomedical imaging: part 3.

This third and last paper in this series is devoted to biological imaging, e.g nano and micro imaging. Although a number of concerns are shared when going to these scales, the conditions of observation, the objects under study and the problems to address make this research very challenging by the cautions that must be taken to control the experiments, a mandatory condition to get conclusive results and to infer sound conclusions

Children, Humanoid Robots and Caregivers

This paper presents developmental learning on a humanoid robot from human-robot interactions. We consider in particular teaching humanoids as children during the child's Separation and Individuation developmental phase (Mahler, 1979). Cognitive development during this phase is characterized both by the child's dependence on her mother for learning while becoming awareness of her own individuality, and by self-exploration of her physical surroundings. We propose a learning framework for a humanoid robot inspired on such cognitive development

Deep Affordance-grounded Sensorimotor Object Recognition

It is well-established by cognitive neuroscience that human perception of objects constitutes a complex process, where object appearance information is combined with evidence about the so-called object "affordances", namely the types of actions that humans typically perform when interacting with them. This fact has recently motivated the "sensorimotor" approach to the challenging task of automatic object recognition, where both information sources are fused to improve robustness. In this work, the aforementioned paradigm is adopted, surpassing current limitations of sensorimotor object recognition research. Specifically, the deep learning paradigm is introduced to the problem for the first time, developing a number of novel neuro-biologically and neuro-physiologically inspired architectures that utilize state-of-the-art neural networks for fusing the available information sources in multiple ways. The proposed methods are evaluated using a large RGB-D corpus, which is specifically collected for the task of sensorimotor object recognition and is made publicly available. Experimental results demonstrate the utility of affordance information to object recognition, achieving an up to 29% relative error reduction by its inclusion.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, dataset link included, accepted to CVPR 201

Some Aspects of Vibration Isolation and Feedback Control for Interferometric Gravitational Radiation Detectors

Gravitational radiation, first predicted by Einstein in his General Theory of Relativity (1916), remains undetected despite considerable effort by researchers over the past few decades. Direct observation of gravitational radiation would not only provide a test of Einstein's theory, but would yield information on the astrophysical sources and processes involved in its production. Gravitational radiation is quadrupole in nature and it gives rise to a tidal strain in space. However its interaction with matter is very weak making it extremely difficult to detect. The prototype detector developed at Glasgow University is designed in such a way that it exploits the quadrupole nature of gravitational radiation by attempting to measure the differential change in length between two resonant cavities making up the orthogonal arms of an interferometer. Similar laser interferometric detectors are currently under development at various sites worldwide. Development of the 10m prototype detector at Glasgow was initiated about 13 years ago and plans are now well under way for the development of a more sensitive detector of 3km arm length (the GEO project) in collaboration with various other research groups including a group at the University of Wales (College of Cardiff) and one at the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany. Chapter 1 is a general introduction to the nature of gravitational radiation and the astrophysical sources likely to produce detectable levels of this radiation at the Earth. The main features of the two most promising types of detector currently being developed -resonant bar detectors and laser interferometric detectors - are described. The ultimate sensitivity of any gravitational wave detector is limited by various sources of noise and the dominant noise sources which degrade the performance of interferometric detectors are discussed in some detail. It is shown here that the sensitivity of such detectors is likely to be severely limited by the effects of seismic noise at low frequencies (below about 100Hz). The test masses forming the arms of an interferometric gravitational wave detector must be isolated from all external influences, particularly the seismic background, and must be 'free' to move under the influence of a gravitational wave. Furthermore, in order to operate an interferometric detector efficiently the position and orientation of the test masses must be controlled to a very high degree of accuracy. In Chapter 2 the level of seismic noise expected at a typical detector site is discussed. Some of the methods commonly used to seismically isolate the test masses in interferometric detectors are then described. A brief introduction to the concept of feedback control and the methods of analysis available for designing feedback systems is then presented. Finally, preliminary experimental investigations into the position control of a test mass suspended as a simple pendulum are described. In order to achieve the required level of seismic isolation of the test masses in the planned 3km detector (GEO) (an isolation factor of ~10e10 at ~100Hz) it is proposed to use double pendulum suspensions in conjunction with five-layer vibration isolation stacks and air mounts. Chapter 3 gives an account of various theoretical investigations carried out into feedback control and damping of a test mass suspended as a double pendulum. Experimental investigations into feedback control and damping of various double pendulum systems were also conducted and the results from these are presented. On applying feedback control and damping signals to an isolated test mass it is important to avoid re-introducing displacement noise. Chapter 4 describes a novel design of double pendulum suspension system with frequency selective (split) feedback control. This system was designed specifically to attempt to reduce the level of displacement noise occurring at the test mass due to the application of the feedback signals. Two different split feedback control systems were designed and their perfomance was tested experimentally. A finite element model was generated to predict the levels of isolation in the horizontal and vertical directions achievable with the double pendulum system described in Chapter 4. The horizontal isolation was measured experimentally to compare it with the theoretically predicted isolation. The theoretical and experimental results are presented in Chapter 5. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

Representation of manipulation-relevant object properties and actions for surprise-driven exploration

Abstract—We propose a framework for the sensor-based estimation of manipulation-relevant object properties and the abstraction of known actions in a learning setup from the observation of humans. The descriptors consists of an object-centric representation of manipulation constraints and a scene-specific action graph. The graph spans between the typical places, where objects are placed. This framework allows to abstract the strongly varying actions of a human operator and to monitor unexpected new actions, that require a modification of the knowledge stored in the system. The usage of an abstract, object-centric structure enables not only the application of knowledge in the same situation, but also the transfer to similar environments. Furthermore, the information can be derived from different sensing modalities. The proposed system builds up the representation of manipulation-relevant properties and actions. The properties, which are directly related to the object, are stored in the Object Container. The Functionality Map links the actions with the typical action areas in the environment. We present experimental results on real human actions, showing the quality of the results, that can be obtained with our system. I

Humanoid Robots

For many years, the human being has been trying, in all ways, to recreate the complex mechanisms that form the human body. Such task is extremely complicated and the results are not totally satisfactory. However, with increasing technological advances based on theoretical and experimental researches, man gets, in a way, to copy or to imitate some systems of the human body. These researches not only intended to create humanoid robots, great part of them constituting autonomous systems, but also, in some way, to offer a higher knowledge of the systems that form the human body, objectifying possible applications in the technology of rehabilitation of human beings, gathering in a whole studies related not only to Robotics, but also to Biomechanics, Biomimmetics, Cybernetics, among other areas. This book presents a series of researches inspired by this ideal, carried through by various researchers worldwide, looking for to analyze and to discuss diverse subjects related to humanoid robots. The presented contributions explore aspects about robotic hands, learning, language, vision and locomotion

Rendering Differentials: Introjective Architecture In The Age Of The Digital

Abstract This paper begins by probing the ambivalent and frequently conflicting relation between “architecture” and “picture”. The polemic of forms and techniques of representation imposing its order upon the nature of architectural production is debated in relation to forces of technological transformations driven by more profound cultural imperatives. There had been a persistent divide between the projective and the pictorial in the discipline of architecture in Western tradition from C15th to late C20th. The divide is still evident at the time of the spread of digital technology in design practice since 1980s, when vector graphics took on the task of projective elaboration and raster graphics dealt with pictorial manipulation. However, by the turn of the C21st, a particular capability of digital inter-convertibility led to the incidental dissolution of the divide and the end of the projective dominance. Rendering technology returns the visualising process to the perception-based “image of substance”. And at the same time the experimentation of force-dependent animate form is hinged upon the ability of visualizise differential calculations rapidly. The final part speculates on growing tendencies of pictorial materialisation and effect engineering as part of a different model of architectural production which can be called “introjective”.  Resumen Este ensayo inicia investigando la relación ambivalente y conflictiva entre la “arquitectura” y la “pintura.” La controversia en las formas y las técnicas de representación, que imponen sus ordenes sobre la naturaleza de la producción arquitectónica, se discute en relación con las fuerzas de las transformaciones tecnológicas accionadas por imperativos culturales más profundos. En la tradición occidental de la disciplina de la arquitectura, del siglo XV al siglo XX, ha existido una persistente división entre lo proyectual y lo pictórico. La división es todavía evidente en el momento de la propagación de la tecnología digital en la práctica de diseño desde los ochentas, cuando los gráficos vectoriales se hicieron cargo de la elaboración proyectual, y los gráficos en raster lidiaron con la manipulación pictórica. Sin embargo, hacia inicios del siglo XXI, una capacidad particular de inter-convertibilidad digital condujo a la disolución incidental de la división y al fin de la preponderancia de lo proyectual. La tecnología del renderizado hace que el proceso de visualizar retorne a la percepción de la “imagen de una sustancia.” Y, al mismo tiempo, la experimentación en forma animada dependiente de fuerzas, está supeditada a la habilidad para visualizar cálculos diferenciales rápidamente. En el final del texto se especula sobre las crecientes tendencias en la materialización pictórica y en la ingeniería de efectos como parte de un modelo diferente de producción arquitectónica, al que puede llamarse “introyectivo.