Experimental Evaluation of a Team of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Cooperative Construction

This article presents a team of multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to perform cooperative missions for autonomous construction. In particular, the UAVs have to build a wall made of bricks that need to be picked and transported from different locations. First, we propose a novel architecture for multi-robot systems operating in outdoor and unstructured environments, where robustness and reliability play a key role. Then, we describe the design of our aerial platforms and grasping mechanisms to pick, transport and place bricks. The system was particularly developed for the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC), where Challenge 2 consisted of building a wall cooperatively with multiple UAVs. However, our approach is more general and extensible to other multi-UAV applications involving physical interaction, like package delivery. We present not only our results in the final stage of MBZIRC, but also our simulations and field experiments throughout the previous months to the competition, where we tuned our system and assessed its performance

Comparison of seven prognostic tools to identify low-risk pulmonary embolism in patients aged <50 years

publishersversionPeer reviewe

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Simulation framework for unmanned vessels and marine sensors

[Resumen] Existe un creciente interés en el empleo de embarcaciones no tripuladas, comúnmente denominadas USVs (Unmanned Surface Vessel/Vehicles). Dado el coste económico y complejidad de experimentar con embarcaciones reales, en este artículo se propone un entorno de simulación que permita validar diversos tipos de algoritmos en una fase temprana y en diferentes condiciones de navegación. Este entorno de simulación permite definir escenarios con varios USVs y diversos modelos realistas de barcos, así como combinar diferentes sensores de ámbito marino en cada USV, como son receptores AIS (Automatic Identificacion System), radar, LIDAR 3D y cámaras. Con este simulador se puede abordar la validación de algoritmos de fusión de sensores para detectar otras embarcaciones y objetos flotantes, así como algoritmos de evitación de colisiones compatibles con la normativa náutica, de forma que los USVs puedan coexistir con las embarcaciones pilotadas manualmente.[Abstract] There is a growing interest in the use of unmanned vessels, commonly referred to as USVs (Unmanned Surface Vessels). Given the economic cost and complexity of experimenting with real vessels, this paper proposes a simulation environment that allows the validation of various types of algorithms at an early stage and under different navigation conditions. This simulation environment allows defining scenarios with several USVs and several realistic ship models, as well as combining several marine sensors in each USV, such as AIS (Automatic Identification System) receivers, radar, 3D LIDAR, and cameras. With this simulator it is possible to address the validation of sensor fusion algorithms to detect other vessels and floating objects, as well as collision avoidance algorithms compatible with nautical regulations, so that USVs can coexist with manually piloted vessels.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; PID2020-119027RB-I00Junta de Andalucía; P20_0059

Localization System for Lightweight Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Inspection Tasks

This paper presents a localization system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) especially designed to be used in infrastructure inspection, where the UAVs have to fly in challenging conditions, such as relatively high altitude (e.g., 15 m), eventually with poor or absent GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signal reception, or the need for a BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operation in some periods. In addition, these infrastructure inspection applications impose the following requirements for the localization system: defect traceability, accuracy, reliability, and fault tolerance. Our system proposes a lightweight solution combining multiple stereo cameras with a robotic total station to comply with these requirements, providing full-state estimation (i.e., position, orientation, and linear and angular velocities) in a fixed and time-persistent reference frame. Moreover, the system can align and fuse all sensor measurements in real-time at high frequency. We have integrated this localization system in our aerial platform, and we have tested its performance for inspection in a real-world viaduct scenario, where the UAV has to operate with poor or absent GNSS signal at high altitude

Evaluation d’une nouvelle méthode de phénotypage de l’excrétion fécale ou de la digestibilité chez les ruminants : le Lipe®

Champ thématique : RessourcesIl est difficile et coûteux d’estimer l’ingestion individuelle des ruminants au pâturage ou la digestibilité individuelle d’un nombre important d’animaux alimentés à l’auge. Les marqueurs utilisés actuellement (alcanes et ytterbium) nécessitent un important travail de laboratoire. L’objectif de ce travail a été de déterminer la capacité du Lipe , une lignine purifiée d’eucalyptus dosable a priori par spectroscopie infrarouge (Saliba et al, 2006), à estimer correctement l’excrétion fécale chez la vache laitière, permettant ensuite de phénotyper ingestion ou digestibilité. Le Lipe a été distribué par droguage oral 2 fois par jour (500 mg Lipe / traite) à 6 vaches laitières alimentées à l’herbe (3 régimes comparés en double carré latin 3 × 3) au cours de 3 périodes de 14 jours (printemps 2014, UMR Pegase). Les mesures précises de l’herbe ingérée et des collectes fécales les 5 derniers jours de chaque période ont permis de quantifier quantité excrétée et digestibilité des rations (18 points). Par ailleurs, à partir de fèces des mêmes animaux et des mêmes fourrages ainsi qu’à partir du Lipe , une gamme entre 0 et 1027 mg de Lipe /kg MS de fèces (n=125) a été construite. Soixante dix-sept points de la gamme ont été saisis par spectroscopie dans le proche infrarouge (SPIR) tandis que 125 points de la gamme l’ont été par spectroscopie dans le moyen infrarouge (MIR). Les 18 échantillons de l’expérimentation ont aussi été saisis à la SPIR et à la spectroscopie MIR. A partir des échantillons des gammes, 3 approches ont été utilisées pour étalonner les données d’absorbance SPIR et MIR et la proportion de Lipe dans les échantillons de fèces : a) à partir des absorbances obtenues à la longueur d’onde de 1035 cm-1 selon la recommandation de Saliba et al., 2006. b) à partir du ratio des absorbances à des longueurs d’onde 1050/1650 cm-1 selon la recommandation de Saliba et al., 2006. c) à partir de l’information obtenue dans l’ensemble des spectres MIR et SPIR respectivement, en utilisant des méthodes chimiométriques. Les modèles obtenus ont été validés par la méthode de validation croisée et utilisés pour prédire le taux de récupération de Lipe à partir des spectres des 18 échantillons de fèces obtenus dans l’expérimentation in vivo

Faecal natural 15N abundance may sign the between-animal variation in diet digestibility of beef cattle

Session 6: Feed conversion efficiency towards productivity and reduction of excretaFaecal natural 15N abundance may sign the between-animal variation in diet digestibility of beef cattle. 10. International Symposium on the Nutrition of Herbivores (ISNH10