14 research outputs found

    Proceedings of the International Micro Air Vehicles Conference and Flight Competition 2017 (IMAV 2017)

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    The IMAV 2017 conference has been held at ISAE-SUPAERO, Toulouse, France from Sept. 18 to Sept. 21, 2017. More than 250 participants coming from 30 different countries worldwide have presented their latest research activities in the field of drones. 38 papers have been presented during the conference including various topics such as Aerodynamics, Aeroacoustics, Propulsion, Autopilots, Sensors, Communication systems, Mission planning techniques, Artificial Intelligence, Human-machine cooperation as applied to drones

    Gaze-Based Human-Robot Interaction by the Brunswick Model

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    We present a new paradigm for human-robot interaction based on social signal processing, and in particular on the Brunswick model. Originally, the Brunswick model copes with face-to-face dyadic interaction, assuming that the interactants are communicating through a continuous exchange of non verbal social signals, in addition to the spoken messages. Social signals have to be interpreted, thanks to a proper recognition phase that considers visual and audio information. The Brunswick model allows to quantitatively evaluate the quality of the interaction using statistical tools which measure how effective is the recognition phase. In this paper we cast this theory when one of the interactants is a robot; in this case, the recognition phase performed by the robot and the human have to be revised w.r.t. the original model. The model is applied to Berrick, a recent open-source low-cost robotic head platform, where the gazing is the social signal to be considered

    The occurrence and origin of salinity in non-coastal groundwater in the Waikato region

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    Aims The aims of this project are to describe the occurrence, and determine the origin of non-coastal saline groundwater in the Waikato region. High salinity limits the use of the water for supply and agricultural use. Understanding the origin and distribution of non-coastal salinity will assist with development and management of groundwater resources in the Waikato. Method The occurrence of non-coastal groundwater salinity was investigated by examining driller’s records and regional council groundwater quality information. Selected wells were sampled for water quality analyses and temperatures were profiled where possible. Water quality analyses include halogens such as chloride, fluoride, iodide and bromide. Ratios of these ions are useful to differentiate between geothermal and seawater origins of salinity (Hem, 1992). Other ionic ratio approaches for differentiating sources and influences on salinity such as those developed by Alcala and Emilio (2008) and Sanchez-Martos et al., (2002), may also be applied. Potential sources of salinity include seawater, connate water, geothermal and anthropogenic influences. The hydrogeologic settings of saline occurrence were also investigated, to explore the potential to predict further occurrence. Results Numerous occurrences of non-coastal saline groundwater have been observed in the Waikato region. Where possible, wells with relatively high total dissolved solids (TDS) were selected for further investigation. Several groundwater samples are moderately saline and exceed the TDS drinking water aesthetic guideline of 1,000 g m-3 (Ministry of Health, 2008). Selected ion ratios (predominantly halogens) were used to assist in differentiating between influences on salinity such as seawater and geothermal. Bromide to iodide ratios, in particular, infer a greater geothermal influence on salinity, although other ratios are not definitive. The anomalously elevated salinity observed appears natural but nevertheless has constrained localised groundwater resource development for dairy factory, industrial and prison water supply use. Further work may show some relationship with geology or tectonics, which could assist prediction of inland saline groundwater occurrence

    An Approach Based on Particle Swarm Optimization for Inspection of Spacecraft Hulls by a Swarm of Miniaturized Robots

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    The remoteness and hazards that are inherent to the operating environments of space infrastructures promote their need for automated robotic inspection. In particular, micrometeoroid and orbital debris impact and structural fatigue are common sources of damage to spacecraft hulls. Vibration sensing has been used to detect structural damage in spacecraft hulls as well as in structural health monitoring practices in industry by deploying static sensors. In this paper, we propose using a swarm of miniaturized vibration-sensing mobile robots realizing a network of mobile sensors. We present a distributed inspection algorithm based on the bio-inspired particle swarm optimization and evolutionary algorithm niching techniques to deliver the task of enumeration and localization of an a priori unknown number of vibration sources on a simplified 2.5D spacecraft surface. Our algorithm is deployed on a swarm of simulated cm-scale wheeled robots. These are guided in their inspection task by sensing vibrations arising from failure points on the surface which are detected by on-board accelerometers. We study three performance metrics: (1) proximity of the localized sources to the ground truth locations, (2) time to localize each source, and (3) time to finish the inspection task given a 75% inspection coverage threshold. We find that our swarm is able to successfully localize the present so

    Proceedings of the 9th Conference on Autonomous Robot Systems and Competitions

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    Welcome to ROBOTICA 2009. This is the 9th edition of the conference on Autonomous Robot Systems and Competitions, the third time with IEEE‐Robotics and Automation Society Technical Co‐Sponsorship. Previous editions were held since 2001 in Guimarães, Aveiro, Porto, Lisboa, Coimbra and Algarve. ROBOTICA 2009 is held on the 7th May, 2009, in Castelo Branco , Portugal. ROBOTICA has received 32 paper submissions, from 10 countries, in South America, Asia and Europe. To evaluate each submission, three reviews by paper were performed by the international program committee. 23 papers were published in the proceedings and presented at the conference. Of these, 14 papers were selected for oral presentation and 9 papers were selected for poster presentation. The global acceptance ratio was 72%. After the conference, eighth papers will be published in the Portuguese journal Robótica, and the best student paper will be published in IEEE Multidisciplinary Engineering Education Magazine. Three prizes will be awarded in the conference for: the best conference paper, the best student paper and the best presentation. The last two, sponsored by the IEEE Education Society ‐ Student Activities Committee. We would like to express our thanks to all participants. First of all to the authors, whose quality work is the essence of this conference. Next, to all the members of the international program committee and reviewers, who helped us with their expertise and valuable time. We would also like to deeply thank the invited speaker, Jean Paul Laumond, LAAS‐CNRS France, for their excellent contribution in the field of humanoid robots. Finally, a word of appreciation for the hard work of the secretariat and volunteers. Our deep gratitude goes to the Scientific Organisations that kindly agreed to sponsor the Conference, and made it come true. We look forward to seeing more results of R&D work on Robotics at ROBOTICA 2010, somewhere in Portugal

    Proceedings of the 8th Annual Summer Conference: NASA/USRA Advanced Design Program

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    Papers presented at the 8th Annual Summer Conference are categorized as Space Projects and Aeronautics projects. Topics covered include: Systematic Propulsion Optimization Tools (SPOT), Assured Crew Return Vehicle Post Landing Configuration Design and Test, Autonomous Support for Microorganism Research in Space, Bioregenerative System Components for Microgravity, The Extended Mission Rover (EMR), Planetary Surface Exploration MESUR/Autonomous Lunar Rover, Automation of Closed Environments in Space for Human Comfort and Safety, Walking Robot Design, Extraterrestrial Surface Propulsion Systems, The Design of Four Hypersonic Reconnaissance Aircraft, Design of a Refueling Tanker Delivering Liquid Hydrogen, The Design of a Long-Range Megatransport Aircraft, and Solar Powered Multipurpose Remotely Powered Aircraft

    Task Allocation in Foraging Robot Swarms:The Role of Information Sharing

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    Autonomous task allocation is a desirable feature of robot swarms that collect and deliver items in scenarios where congestion, caused by accumulated items or robots, can temporarily interfere with swarm behaviour. In such settings, self-regulation of workforce can prevent unnecessary energy consumption. We explore two types of self-regulation: non-social, where robots become idle upon experiencing congestion, and social, where robots broadcast information about congestion to their team mates in order to socially inhibit foraging. We show that while both types of self-regulation can lead to improved energy efficiency and increase the amount of resource collected, the speed with which information about congestion flows through a swarm affects the scalability of these algorithms

    Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

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    The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen

    The LANDSAT Tutorial Workbook: Basics of Satellite Remote Sensing

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    Most of the subject matter of a full training course in applying remote sensing is presented in a self-teaching mode in this how-to manual which combines a review of basics, a survey of systems, and a treatment of the principles and mechanics of image analysis by computers, with a laboratory approach for learning to utilize the data through practical experiences. All relevant image products are included
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