Semi-autonomous competency assessment of powered mobility device users

This paper describes a stand-alone sensor package and algorithms for aiding the assessment by an occupational therapist whether a person has the capacity to safely and effectively operate a powered mobility device such as a walking aid or a wheelchair. The sensor package employed consists of a laser range finder, an RGB camera and an inertial measurement unit that can be attached to any mobility device with minimal modifications. Algorithms for capturing the data received by the sensor package and for generating the map of the environment as well as the trajectory of the mobility device have been developed. Such information presents occupational therapists with the capability to provide a quantitative assessment of whether patients are ready to be safely deployed with mobile aids for their daily activities. Preliminary evaluation of the sensor package and associated algorithms based on experiments, conducted at the premises of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, are presented. © 2011 IEEE

Learning spatial correlations for Bayesian fusion in pipe thickness mapping

© 2014 IEEE. Pipe thickness maps are used to assess the condition in pipelines. Thickness maps are a 2.5D representation similar to elevation maps in robotics. Probabilistic frameworks, however, have barely been used in this context. This paper presents a general approach for generating probabilistic maps from heterogeneous sensor data. The key idea is to learn the spatial correlation of a sensor through Gaussian Process models and use it as priors for Bayesian fusion. This approach is applied to the novel application of pipe thickness mapping. Data from a 3D laser scanner on the outer surface of the pipe and thickness measurements from a contact ultrasonic sensor are fused into a single thickness map with associated uncertainty. Moreover, a dedicated algorithm to model the ultrasonic sensor using kernel density estimation is also proposed. The overall approach is evaluated using the full 3D profile (outer and inner surfaces) of the pipe section as ground truth

Background segmentation to enhance remote field eddy current signals

Pipe condition assessment is critical to avoid breakages. Remote Field Eddy Current (RFEC) is a commonly used technology to assess the condition of pipes. The nature of this technology induces some particular noise into its measurements. In this paper, we develop a 3D simulation based on the Finite Element Analysis to study the properties of this noise. Moreover, we propose a filtering process based on a modified version of graph-cuts segmentation method to remove the influence of this noise. Simulated data together with an experimental data-set obtained from a real RFEC inspection show the validity of the proposed approach

3D point cloud upsampling for accurate reconstruction of dense 2.5D thickness maps

This paper presents a novel robust processing methodology for computing 2.5D thickness maps from dense 3D collocated surfaces. The proposed pipeline is suitable to faithfully adjust data representation detailing as required, from preserving fine surface features to coarse interpretations. The foundations of the proposed technique exploit spatial point-based filtering, ray tracing techniques and the Robust Implicit Moving Least Squares (RIMLS) algorithm applied to dense 3D datasets, such as those acquired from laser scanners. The effectiveness of the proposed technique in overcoming traditional angular aliasing and corruption artifacts is validated with 3D ranging data acquired from internal and external surfaces of exhumed water pipes. It is shown that the resulting 2.5D maps can be more accurately and completely computed to higher resolutions, while significantly reducing the number of raytracing errors when compared with 2.5D thickness maps derived from our current approach

Diferenças entre migrantes e refugiados: uma análise do regime de proteção do direito internacional aplicado no Brasil: Differences between migrants and refugees: an analysis of the international law protection regime applied in Brazil

Este artigo propõe demonstrar as diferenças existentes entre migrantes e refugiados, bem como a atuação do direito internacional no direito brasileiro. Ressaltando os problemas que a autonomia do estado em conceder ou não o status refugiados pode trazer a sociedade. Para tanto, este artigo está dividido em seis tópicos. A primeira parte é a introdução a pesquisa. Logo em seguida falou-se da atuação do direito internacional e as diferenças que ele estipula ao migrante e refugiado, o tópico seguinte tratou sobre as normas internacionais no Brasil, o tópico cinco explicou a autonomia dos estados no recebimento dos sujeitos estrangeiros, por fim, a pesquisadora demonstrou os resultados alcançados e seus considerações finais sobre o estudo

Medicina y cirugia racional y espargirica, sin obra manual de hierro, ni fuego ... con su antidotario de raizes ... y farmacopea ...

Copia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2009-2010Sign.: [calderon]6, A-Z8, 2A-2D8, 2E2Port. orlad

Estudio cinético y mecanismos de reacciones en el proceso de depósito de aleaciones ternarias de Ni-P-Mo

Un depósito de Ni-P-Mo vía química genera un recubrimiento ingenieril empleado por su buena resistencia al desgaste y a la corrosión Los recubrimientos químicos Ni-P-Mo se obtienen por depósito auto catalítica empleando una solución de composición específica, en la que el sustrato cataliza la reacción. El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar la cinética de la reacción de depósito de recubrimientos autocatalíticos Ni-P-Mo de un baño de composición específica, a través de la determinación del consumo en reactivos, el incremento en peso del sustrato recubierto, el espesor y la microdureza del recubrimiento. Se encontró una velocidad media para el depósito de 1.61 mg.min-1cm-2, pero ésta es diferente para cada elemento. Durante la depósito, el factor determinante en la velocidad de depositación es el Mo debido a que (1) su depósito se inhibe por la presencia de fósforo en la solución que se codeposita con el níquel y (2) incrementos en la concentración de molibdato en la solución la hacen inestable. Los resultados obtenidos permiten proponer el mecanismo de codepósito Ni-P-Mo, a través del planteamiento de las reacciones que tienen lugar durante el proceso de depositación

Tree line dynamics in the tropical African highlands: identifying drivers and dynamics

Questions: What are the potential drivers of tree line change in the tropical African highlands? Are the temperature-sensitive tree lines in these highlands shifting as a result of climate change? Significance: The high-altitude forests provide important ecosystem services for the vulnerable environment of the tropical highlands. Climate change is expected to have pronounced effects on the tree line limit of these forests. Afro-alpine tropical tree lines are therefore potentially valuable as a proxy of climate change and the related response of ecosystems in the tropical highlands. Location: Tropical African highlands. Results: The influence of climatic factors in the African tropical highlands is significantly different compared to other regions. The potentially determining factors for tree line distribution in tropical Africa are temperature, precipitation and cloudiness, carbon balance, fire and anthropo-zoogenic impacts. Despite recent temperature increase, tree lines have not risen to higher altitudes in the tropical African highlands. Instead, high human pressure has caused stabilization and even recession of the tree lines below their natural climatic limit, particularly through livestock herding. But, even neglecting human pressure, there might be a lag in response time between temperature and tree line change. Conclusions: The actual drivers of tree line change in the African tropical highlands are mainly fire and anthropogenic pressure rather than climate change. But long-term drought periods can be a trigger for fire-induced deforestation of the tree line vegetation. Additionally, in volcanic active mountains, volcanic activity is also a potentially limiting factor for the tree line distribution. Tree line dynamics can thus not be used as a proxy of climate change for the African tropical highlands