Estimation of breast height diameter and trunk curvature with linear and single-photon LiDARs

International audienceContext: Precision forestry together with new sensor technologies implies Digital Forest Inventories for estimation of volume and quality of trees in a stand.Aims: This study compared commercial LiDAR, new prototype SPAD LiDAR, and manual methods for measuring tree quality attributes, i.e., diameter at breast height (DBH) and trunk curvature in the forest stand.Methods: We measured 7 Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris) with commercial LiDAR (Zeb Horizon by GeoSLAM), prototype SPAD LiDAR, and manual devices. We compared manual measurements to the DBH and curvature values estimated based on LiDAR data. We also scanned a densely branched Picea abies to compare penetrability of the LiDARs and detectability of the obstructed trunk.Results: The DBH values deviated 1–3 cm correlating to the specified accuracies of the employed devices, showing close to acceptable results. The curvature values deviated 1–6 cm implying distorted range measurements from the top part of the trunks and inaccurate manual measurement method, leaving space for improvement. The most important finding was that the SPAD LiDAR outperformed conventional LiDAR in detecting tree stem of the densely branched spruce.Conclusion: These results represent preliminary but clear evidence that LiDAR technologies are already close to acceptable level in DBH measurements, but not yet satisfactory for curvature measurements. In addition, terrestrial SPAD LiDAR has a great potential to outperform conventional LiDARs in forest measurements of densely branched trees

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Author Correction:Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function

Christina M. Lill, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the article

Robot skills - Modeling and control aspects

This paper considers robot control and programming from modelling point of view: re-usable robot operations are modelled as skills, which integrate and synchronize robot actions and sensor data in a consistent way. We put focus on contact motions and their programming and have the basis on parametrized impedance control. The characteristic of impedance controlled motions, i.e., effects of speed and environment changes to resulting forces, are studied in details by modelling and practical tests. With appropriate parameter settings a variety of tasks and skills with contact motions can be established relying on the same force/torque control strategy.</p