Reducing the Barrier to Entry of Complex Robotic Software: a MoveIt! Case Study

Developing robot agnostic software frameworks involves synthesizing the disparate fields of robotic theory and software engineering while simultaneously accounting for a large variability in hardware designs and control paradigms. As the capabilities of robotic software frameworks increase, the setup difficulty and learning curve for new users also increase. If the entry barriers for configuring and using the software on robots is too high, even the most powerful of frameworks are useless. A growing need exists in robotic software engineering to aid users in getting started with, and customizing, the software framework as necessary for particular robotic applications. In this paper a case study is presented for the best practices found for lowering the barrier of entry in the MoveIt! framework, an open-source tool for mobile manipulation in ROS, that allows users to 1) quickly get basic motion planning functionality with minimal initial setup, 2) automate its configuration and optimization, and 3) easily customize its components. A graphical interface that assists the user in configuring MoveIt! is the cornerstone of our approach, coupled with the use of an existing standardized robot model for input, automatically generated robot-specific configuration files, and a plugin-based architecture for extensibility. These best practices are summarized into a set of barrier to entry design principles applicable to other robotic software. The approaches for lowering the entry barrier are evaluated by usage statistics, a user survey, and compared against our design objectives for their effectiveness to users

Development of a Rapid SPME/GC-MS Method for the Detection and Quantification of Synthetic Cathinones in Oral Fluid

The recent emergence and widespread abuse of new classes of compounds on the designer drug market as “legal” alternatives to scheduled drugs such as Ecstasy has prompted interest in the development of analytical methods for their detection and characterization. Synthetic cathinones, which are structurally similar to amphetamines, are commonly advertised as a “legal highs” or “herbal highs,” and are marketed under names such as “bath salts” and “plant food.” To avoid drug abuse legislation, a “not for human consumption” warning is typically printed on the label. Their ready availability on the Internet and in “head” shops, convenience stores, and even gas stations has spurred the popularity and abuse of these drugs for their euphoric/stimulant effects. The dramatic increase since 2009 in U.S. drug seizures involving cathinones, coupled with a significant rise in calls to poison control centers, emergency room visits, and even deaths due to synthetic cathinone intoxication, have prompted 37 states to ban these substances. In October 2011 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency exercised its emergency scheduling authority to temporarily designate three synthetic cathinones as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act. The current study explores the development of an analytical method based on headspace and direct immersion solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME and DI-SPME, respectively) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the rapid laboratory confirmation of synthetic cathinones in oral fluid. Target analytes included butylone, diethylpropion, flephedrone, mephedrone, methedrone, MDPV, methylone, and naphyrone. Results of method optimization experiments designed to maximize SPME recoveries of cathinones from oral fluid are presented. Parameters investigated include incubation/extraction temperature, sample pH and salting out effects. In-matrix derivatization with ethylchloroformate and 2,2,2-trichloroethylchloroformate was explored. The mass spectrometric fragmentation of the alkylchloroformate derivatives was characterized and selectivity advantages were summarized. An internal standard calibration method was developed using matrix-matched calibrators and deuterated analogs of the target drugs as internal standards. Validation data including limit of detection, limit of quantification, and accuracy of quantification in oral fluid are presented

Optimized landscape plans for bio-oil production

A network flow linear programming model is designed to optimize feedstock landscapes for bio-oil production in Iowa

Revitalizing the Urban Cemetery: The Waters at Holy Rood

The American urban cemetery is an anachronism both as a typology and as an ideal. Between the decay of the physical cemetery infrastructure and that of the ideal of the American cemetery the typology is ripe for revitalization. The potential exists to take the site of the urban cemetery and reanimate it with people and activity while creating a place of reverence and respect. Water proves to be a powerful element with which to create a series of experiential spaces that can frame the site and prepare the visitor for the reinvigorated cemetery beyond. A procession that leads the visitor through a series of spaces, culminating in a contemporary bath building, creates both a physical and emotional transformation in the visitor. Once prepared, the visitor enters the cemetery space with a renewed appreciation for the memory inherent to the site. By invigorating the site with new meaning, one can simultaneously repair a blighted urban space, the memories of the forgotten souls therein

Diversity and flexibility in sustainable supply chain design

Sustainable supply chain management is a growing field, and one that is currently looking for new design principles. In this dissertation, diversity and flexibility are conceptually explored and then tested empirically in a bioeconomy context

Experience-Based Planning with Sparse Roadmap Spanners

We present an experienced-based planning framework called Thunder that learns to reduce computation time required to solve high-dimensional planning problems in varying environments. The approach is especially suited for large configuration spaces that include many invariant constraints, such as those found with whole body humanoid motion planning. Experiences are generated using probabilistic sampling and stored in a sparse roadmap spanner (SPARS), which provides asymptotically near-optimal coverage of the configuration space, making storing, retrieving, and repairing past experiences very efficient with respect to memory and time. The Thunder framework improves upon past experience-based planners by storing experiences in a graph rather than in individual paths, eliminating redundant information, providing more opportunities for path reuse, and providing a theoretical limit to the size of the experience graph. These properties also lead to improved handling of dynamically changing environments, reasoning about optimal paths, and reducing query resolution time. The approach is demonstrated on a 30 degrees of freedom humanoid robot and compared with the Lightning framework, an experience-based planner that uses individual paths to store past experiences. In environments with variable obstacles and stability constraints, experiments show that Thunder is on average an order of magnitude faster than Lightning and planning from scratch. Thunder also uses 98.8% less memory to store its experiences after 10,000 trials when compared to Lightning. Our framework is implemented and freely available in the Open Motion Planning Library.Comment: Submitted to ICRA 201

The economics of corn on corn

This article discusses some of the important factors to consider when contemplating corn on corn. Only the factors that apply to the individual producer will be discussed. There are a number of environmental and societal costs and benefits that are important; however, space does not permit going into that discussion here. The biggest factor in comparing the different rotations is the yield differences. Research has shown that there is a yield drag of approximately 5 to 15 percent for second-year corn relative to first-year corn. This yield difference varies by soil and location. The yield penalty is most prevalent in bad weather years

Recovery of the Wide-Field Infrared Explorer Spacecraft

The Wide Field Infrared Explorer was developed to perform astronomy using a cryogenically cooled infrared telescope. Shortly after launch, rapid venting of the cryogen, caused by an untimely cover removal, sent the spacecraft into an uncontrollable spin which exceeded 60 revolutions per minute. Over the next week, the WIRE team developed a plan and successfully executed the procedures necessary to de-spin the spacecraft and gain attitude control, but the cryogen for cooling the instrument was depleted. The recovery of the spacecraft enabled a thorough checkout of most of the subsystems, including the validation of several new technologies. Although the primary science mission was lost, WIRE is making breakthrough astroseismology measurements using its star tracker. This paper describes the recovery of the WIRE spacecraft and the performance of its key technologies, including the two-stage solidhydrogen cryostat, an all-bonded graphite-composite structure with K-1100 radiator panels, composite support struts, a dual-junction gallium arsenide solar array module, a concentrator solar array module, and a 300 Mbyte solid-state recorder