Detection of Water Hazards for Autonomous Robotic Vehicles

Four methods of detection of bodies of water are under development as means to enable autonomous robotic ground vehicles to avoid water hazards when traversing off-road terrain. The methods involve processing of digitized outputs of optoelectronic sensors aboard the vehicles. It is planned to implement these methods in hardware and software that would operate in conjunction with the hardware and software for navigation and for avoidance of solid terrain obstacles and hazards. The first method, intended for use during the day, is based on the observation that, under most off-road conditions, reflections of sky from water are easily discriminated from the adjacent terrain by their color and brightness, regardless of the weather and of the state of surface waves on the water. Accordingly, this method involves collection of color imagery by a video camera and processing of the image data by an algorithm that classifies each pixel as soil, water, or vegetation according to its color and brightness values (see figure). Among the issues that arise is the fact that in the presence of reflections of objects on the opposite shore, it is difficult to distinguish water by color and brightness alone. Another issue is that once a body of water has been identified by means of color and brightness, its boundary must be mapped for use in navigation. Techniques for addressing these issues are under investigation. The second method, which is not limited by time of day, is based on the observation that ladar returns from bodies of water are usually too weak to be detected. In this method, ladar scans of the terrain are analyzed for returns and the absence thereof. In appropriate regions, the presence of water can be inferred from the absence of returns. Under some conditions in which reflections from the bottom are detectable, ladar returns could, in principle, be used to determine depth. The third method involves the recognition of bodies of water as dark areas in short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) images. This method is based on the fact, well known among experts in remote sensing, that water bodies of any appreciable depth appear very dark in near-infrared, overhead imagery. Even under a thick layer of marine fog, SWIR illumination is present. Hence, this method may work even in the presence of clouds, though it is unlikely to work at night. Snow and ice also exhibit very strong absorption at wavelengths greater than about 1.4 m. Hence, the wavelength range of about 1.5 to 1.6 m might be useable in this method for recognizing water, snow, and ice. One notable drawback of this method is that useful look-ahead distance could be limited by surface reflections. The fourth method, intended for use at night, involves the contrast between water and terrain in thermal-infrared (medium-wavelength infrared) imagery. This method is based on the fact that at night, water is usually warmer than the adjacent terrain. Look-ahead distance could be limited in this method because, for reasons not yet fully understood, water appears to darken in the thermal infrared with increasing distance

Strategic analysis for the MER Cape Verde approach

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has recently completed a two year campaign studying Victoria Crater. The campaign culminated in a close approach of Cape Verde in order to acquire high resolution imagery of the exposed stratigraphy in the cliff face. The close approach to Cape Verde provided significant challenges for every subsystem of the rover as the rover needed to traverse difficult, un-characterised terrain and approach a cliff face with the potential of blocking out solar energy and communications with Earth. In this paper we describe the strategic analyses performed by the science and engineering teams so that we could successfully achieve the science objectives while keeping the rover safe

Report on Italy

The right to take part personally in criminal proceedings, although not expressly provided at a Constitutional level, is an expression of the principle of a fair trial upheld by Article 6 of the ECHR and translated into Article 111 of the Italian Constitution. In the course of years, the CCP, also following some condemnations by the Strasbourg Court, underwent several modifications aimed at implementing principles and conditions affirmed by the ECHR that can legitimate proceedings in absentia of a defendant. This study is structured into different parts. In the first, an analysis of national rules concerning the participation of a defendant and other private parties at each stage of proceedings is provided. It reveals that the right to participation is less guaranteed in proceedings – such as proceedings in front of the Supreme Court – where the technical character of questions involved do not require the personal contribution of parties, the activity of a defence lawyer being sufficient. A matter of concern is the recent reform regarding participation by means of videoconference: according to our legislators “video” participation should become a rule for certain categories of defendants, therefore undermining the right to self-defence. In the second part, the structure of in absentia proceedings, following a reform introduced in 2014, is examined. Notwithstanding good intentions of legislators, it remains possible to celebrate proceedings in absentia also in cases where it is not certain that a defendant has received notice of the request for committal to trial. In this regard, the remedy is appreciable, introduced by the same legislators, and recently modified, which works after a conviction against an inculpable absent has become res judicata, by which judgment is quashed and the case file is forwarded to the first instance judge, with the possibility to request special proceedings (such as a summary trial and an application of penalty upon request of the parties). In the third part, the right to participation in the field of transnational criminal justice is analysed, where new instruments adopted at EU level, such as the EIO, recently implemented in Italy, represent a lost opportunity in order to make effective the principle of equality of harms, from the perspective of the defence

Voce: Prelievi e analisi di campioni

Con la legge 30.6.2009 n. 85 l'Italia ha ratificato l'adesione al Trattato di Pr\ufcm, in vista del rafforzamento della cooperazione tra Stati nella lotta al terrorismo, alla criminalit\ue0 transfrontaliera e alla migrazione illegale, tramite lo scambio di informazioni genetiche. La novit\ue0 pi\uf9 saliente che l'adesione al Trattato ha importato nell'ordinamento interno concerne l'introduzione di un'inedita disciplina dei prelievi coattivi di materiale biologico, volta alla tutela dei diritti individuali nell'impiego processuale di strumenti tecnico-scientifici che consentano di non disperdere il materiale probatorio relativo ad un fatto criminoso. Il tema rievoca la tradizionale distinzione che attribuisce all'imputato la duplice funzione di \u201corgano\u201d ed \u201coggetto\u201d nella formazione della prova, a seconda del contributo attivo o passivo che lo stesso apporti alla vicenda processuale. Questi \ue8 considerato \u201corgano\u201d di prova nell'espletamento di attivit\ue0 che costituiscono esercizio del diritto di difesa, nelle due componenti, positiva e negativa, del diritto di difendersi provando e del diritto al silenzio. Viceversa, si parla di imputato come \u201coggetto\u201d di prova allorquando gli sia richiesto un mero pati rispetto all'attivit\ue0 di istruzione probatoria, come accade nelle ispezioni, nelle perquisizioni, nelle ricognizioni personali, nonch\ue9, pi\uf9 in generale, negli accertamenti che si espletano sul corpo del giudicabile, il quale viene in rilievo non come parte processuale, ma come mera entit\ue0 fisica. Il regime di nuovo conio \ue8 intervenuto a colmare la lacuna normativa lasciata dalla sentenza n. 238 del 1996 con cui la Corte costituzionale aveva dichiarato l'illegittimit\ue0 dell'art. 224, comma 2, c.p.p. nella parte in cui consentiva interventi peritali sul corpo della persona, in violazione del principio di riserva di legge che presidia, ex art. 13 Cost., la libert\ue0 personale. La pronuncia ha individuato un \u201cnocciolo duro\u201d rappresentato dalla libert\ue0 corporale, indissolubilmente legata ai principi di libert\ue0 morale, integrit\ue0 psico-fisica e salute della persona, non comprimibili a fini processuali. La Carta fondamentale prevede un'unica ipotesi di lesione del diritto alla salute nell'ambito dei trattamenti sanitari obbligatori, per finalit\ue0 estranee all'accertamento penale; la libert\ue0 morale, peraltro, rappresenta il quid pluris che sopravvive alla compressione del potere statale, persino durante la pi\uf9 intensa restrizione della libert\ue0 personale. Se questo \ue8 il quadro costituzionale di riferimento, \ue8 evidente come il previgente regime in materia di prelievi biologici coattivi abbia disatteso le indicazioni provenienti dalla Consulta. Difatti, a distanza di quasi un decennio dal monito del Giudice delle leggi, il legislatore intervenne (con la legge 31 luglio 2005, n. 155) \uabin un modo persino pi\uf9 imbarazzante dell'inerzia sino ad allora mantenuta\ubb, attribuendo un potere di intrusione corporale (attraverso il prelievo di capelli o saliva nel corso delle indagini) alla polizia giudiziaria, previa autorizzazione - anche orale, purch\ue9 confermata per iscritto - del pubblico ministero, a soli fini identificativi e purch\ue9 sussistesse il pericolo di alterazione o dispersione della res. Non era contemplato il potere giudiziale di disporre un prelievo biologico a fini peritali e l\u2019esclusivo orientamento teleologico dell\u2019atto d\u2019indagine ne limitava fortemente l\u2019utilit\ue0. Veniva, pertanto, inopinatamente elusa la doppia riserva, di legge e di giurisdizione, che presidia la materia. La riforma realizza una netta soluzione di continuit\ue0 rispetto alla normativa precedente, attraverso l'individuazione nell'organo giurisdizionale del baricentro del micro-sistema normativo dedicato ai prelievi biologici coattivi. Se la libert\ue0 personale pu\uf2 subire restrizioni per atto motivato dell'autorit\ue0 giudiziaria, pertanto anche del pubblico ministero, l'intrusione nella sfera corporale esige l'egida di un soggetto super partes, indifferente rispetto all'esito del processo. Il legislatore ha costruito una disciplina minuziosa, concernente sia l'an che il quomodo dei prelievi, in ossequio alla riserva di legge dettagliata (nei \u201cmodi\u201d e nei \u201ccasi\u201d) imposta dalla Consulta. Ne \ue8 derivato un apparato \uabmulti-livello\ubb, calibrato sulla sistematica del codice e diversificato in base all'orientamento teleologico dell'accertamento \u2013istituzionale, probatorio, investigativo o identificativo-, in cui ogni tipologia \ue8 rigidamente separata dalle altre