Lateral & Steering Dynamics Estimation for Single Track Vehicle: Experimental Tests * *This work is supported by National Agency of Research under the framework VIROLO++.

International audienceThis paper deals with lateral and steering dynamics estimation of powered two-wheeled (PTW) vehicles. It presents an experimental validation of the Unknown Input Observer (UIO) addressed in Damon et al. (2016). A small scooter equipped with a multi-sensor architecture used to performed the test is introduced. A mathematical model of the scooter is derived using measured parameters on a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model. Then the main design steps of the UIO are shortly remind. Finally, an urban driving scenario is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed observer to estimate the lateral dynamics and the rider's action in real riding scenario

Image-Based Lateral Position, Steering Behavior Estimation, and Road Curvature Prediction for Motorcycles

International audienceThis letter presents an image-based approach to simultaneously estimate the lateral position of a powered-two-wheeled vehicle on the road, its steering behavior and predict the road curvature ahead of the motorcycle. This letter is based on the inverse perspective mapping technique combined with a road lanes detection algorithm capable of detecting straight and curved lanes. Then, a clothoid model is used to extract pertinent information from the detected road markers. Finally, the performance of the proposed approach is illustrated through simulations carried out with the well-known motorcycle simulator “BikeSim.” The results are very promising since the algorithm is capable of estimating, in real time, the road geometry and the vehicle location with a better accuracy than the one given by the commercial GPS

Powered Two-Wheeled Vehicles Steering Behavior Study: Vision-Based Approach

International audienceThis paper presents a vision-based approach to prevent dangerous steering situations when riding a motorcycle in turn. In other words, the proposed algorithm is capable of detecting under, neutral or over-steering behavior using only a conventional camera and an inertial measurement unit. The inverse perspective mapping technique is used to reconstruct a bird-eye-view of the road image. Then, filters are applied to keep only the road markers which are, afterwards, approximated with the well-known clothoid model. That allows to predict the road geometry such that the curvature ahead of the motorcycle. Finally, from the predicted road curvature, the measures of the Euler angles and the vehicle speed, the proposed algorithm is able to characterize the steering behavior. To that end, we propose to estimate the steering ratio and we introduce new pertinent indicators such that the vehicle relative position dynamics to the road. The method is validated on the advanced simulator BikeSim during a steady turn

Inverse Perspective Mapping Roll Angle Estimation for Motorcycles

International audienceThis paper presents an image-based approach to estimate the motorcycle roll angle. The algorithm estimates directly the absolute roll to the road plane by means of a basic monocular camera. This means that the estimated roll angle is not affected by the road bank which is often a problem for vehicle observation and control purposes. For each captured image, the algorithm uses a numeric roll loop based on some simple knowledge of the road geometry. For each iteration, a bird-eye-view of the road is generated with the inverse perspective mapping technique. Then, a road marker filter associated with the well-known clothoid model are used respectively to track the road separation lanes and approximate them with mathematical functions. Finally, the algorithm computes two distinct areas between the two-road separation lanes. Its performances are tested by means of the motorcycle simulator BikeSim. This approach is very promising since it does not require any vehicle or tire model and is free of restrictive assumptions on the dynamics

Rider weight consideration for observer design with an application to the estimation of the lateral motorcycle dynamics and rider's action

International audienceThis paper highlights the necessity of the rider weight consideration during observer's design for motorcycle dynamics estimation or control. It presents a novel approach using a linear parameter varying (LPV) model associated with the well-know Takagi-Sugeno (TS) methods to derive a robust observer regarding the rider weight uncertainty. Then the proposed solution is illustrated with an application to a proposed observer in our previous works by comparing results of estimation between a nominal, a heavier and a lighter rider. Finally, a complete simulation scenario shows the ability of the proposed method to estimate the lateral motorcycle dynamic states considering an uncertain rider weight

Présentation

Le thème de la cooccurrence en sciences du langage et en analyse du discours, s’il plonge ses racines beaucoup plus haut, a attendu les dernières années du xxe siècle pour s’imposer, à travers notamment l’approche statistique exploratoire. C’est d’un véritable foisonnement qu’il s’agit aujourd’hui, au sein duquel il a paru utile d’entreprendre de mettre de l’ordre sans dévitaliser les démarches. Historiquement, c’est dans la « London School of linguistics » et dans l’immédiat après-guerre que..

Unusual metabolic characteristics in skeletal muscles of transgenic rabbits for human lipoprotein lipase

BACKGROUND: The lipoprotein lipase (LPL) hydrolyses circulating triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins. Thereby, LPL acts as a metabolic gate-keeper for fatty acids partitioning between adipose tissue for storage and skeletal muscle primarily for energy use. Transgenic mice that markedly over-express LPL exclusively in muscle, show increases not only in LPL activity, but also in oxidative enzyme activities and in number of mitochondria, together with an impaired glucose tolerance. However, the role of LPL in intracellular nutrient pathways remains uncertain. To examine differences in muscle nutrient uptake and fatty acid oxidative pattern, transgenic rabbits harboring a DNA fragment of the human LPL gene (hLPL) and their wild-type littermates were compared for two muscles of different metabolic type, and for perirenal fat. RESULTS: Analyses of skeletal muscles and adipose tissue showed the expression of the hLPL DNA fragment in tissues of the hLPL group only. Unexpectedly, the activity level of LPL in both tissues was similar in the two groups. Nevertheless, mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation rate, measured ex vivo using [1-(14)C]oleate as substrate, was lower in hLPL rabbits than in wild-type rabbits for the two muscles under study. Both insulin-sensitive glucose transporter GLUT4 and muscle fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) contents were higher in hLPL rabbits than in wild-type littermates for the pure oxidative semimembranosus proprius muscle, but differences between groups did not reach significance when considering the fast-twitch glycolytic longissimus muscle. Variations in both glucose uptake potential, intra-cytoplasmic binding of fatty acids, and lipid oxidation rate observed in hLPL rabbits compared with their wild-type littermates, were not followed by any modifications in tissue lipid content, body fat, and plasma levels in energy-yielding metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: Expression of intracellular binding proteins for both fatty acids and glucose, and their following oxidation rates in skeletal muscles of hLPL rabbits were not fully consistent with the physiology rules. The modifications observed in muscle metabolic properties might not be directly associated with any LPL-linked pathways, but resulted likely of transgene random insertion into rabbit organism close to any regulatory genes. Our findings enlighten the risks for undesirable phenotypic modifications in micro-injected animals and difficulties of biotechnology in mammals larger than mice

Policy analysis of the Victim Offender Restitution Program

Both the criminal justice and the juvenile justice systems have experienced increased strain due to criminal acts committed by juveniles. Many experts suggest that one way to ease the burden of the courts can be found in the theory of restorative justice. Most often the juvenile justice system is most concerned with the risk and needs of youthful offenders without significant consideration for the victims. A key component in the restorative justice theory is victim offender mediation which seeks to reduce the impact of crime on victims and the community. Clark County, Nevada has one such program, the Victim Offender Restitution Program (VORP). In this analysis we examine the VORP program to determine its value to the victim and community. In keeping with the philosophy of restorative justice the emphasis is on the victim. Further, benchmarking with similar programs will assist in illustrating areas of competency and those where changes may prove helpful. We found that the existing collected data were not sufficient to make a conclusive finding of victim satisfaction. We also found that the number of staff and number of cases completed were slightly inversely correlated. In terms of benchmarking, we found that most other agencies conducted programs geared for sex offenders and have major ties with private nonprofit entities. To the extent possible the Clark County program was benchmarked with others and proved to be on par with most in their methodology and outcomes. We submit that the VORP program should collect data at the onset, during and after program participation. The data collected needs to be identifiable as to whether it is victim or offender information. Additionally, methods to track offenders who successfully complete the program should be considered for comparison of recidivism rates and restitution to other county funded programs

Joint analysis of quantitative trait loci and major-effect causative mutations affecting meat quality and carcass composition traits in pigs

Background: Detection of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting meat quality traits in pigs is crucial for the design of efficient marker-assisted selection programs and to initiate efforts toward the identification of underlying polymorphisms. The RYR1 and PRKAG3 causative mutations, originally identified from major effects on meat characteristics, can be used both as controls for an overall QTL detection strategy for diversely affected traits and as a scale for detected QTL effects. We report on a microsatellite-based QTL detection scan including all autosomes for pig meat quality and carcass composition traits in an F2 population of 1,000 females and barrows resulting from an intercross between a Pietrain and a Large White-Hampshire-Duroc synthetic sire line. Our QTL detection design allowed side-by-side comparison of the RYR1 and PRKAG3 mutation effects seen as QTLs when segregating at low frequencies (0.03-0.08), with independent QTL effects detected from most of the same population, excluding any carrier of these mutations.[br/] Results: Large QTL effects were detected in the absence of the RYR1 and PRKGA3 mutations, accounting for 12.7% of phenotypic variation in loin colour redness CIE-a* on SSC6 and 15% of phenotypic variation in glycolytic potential on SSC1. We detected 8 significant QTLs with effects on meat quality traits and 20 significant QTLs for carcass composition and growth traits under these conditions. In control analyses including mutation carriers, RYR1 and PRKAG3 mutations were detected as QTLs, from highly significant to suggestive, and explained 53% to 5% of the phenotypic variance according to the trait.[br/] Conclusions: Our results suggest that part of muscle development and backfat thickness effects commonly attributed to the RYR1 mutation may be a consequence of linkage with independent QTLs affecting those traits. The proportion of variation explained by the most significant QTLs detected in this work is close to the influence of major-effect mutations on the least affected traits, but is one order of magnitude lower than effect on variance of traits primarily affected by these causative mutations. This suggests that uncovering physiological traits directly affected by genetic polymorphisms would be an appropriate approach for further characterization of QTLs