Heat Waves and Broomrape Are the Major Constraints for Lentil Cultivation in Southern Spain

There is potential for expanding lentil cultivation to dry and warm Mediterranean rain-fed environments at low altitudes, where early sowings are recommended to profit from winter rains and escape drought and excessive heat at the grain filling stage. In cooler areas, frost might be a problem in the early sowings, however, in warmer areas such as our low altitude warm southern Spanish environments the most detrimental factor on lentil seed yield appeared to be high temperatures at grain-filling stage, particularly heat waves of more than 5 days with Tmax > 30 ◦C. This was followed by broomrape infection, the combination of both being dramatic. We detected variation for stress tolerance, with S17 and R7 accessions outstanding for all stress indexes used, followed by S23, Nsir, S6, and S12. Broomrape infection ranked second risk in the area. No complete resistance to broomrape was identified, but there was a significant variation in the level of infection, with accessions S14 and R17 being the more resistant across environments. This offers prospects for combining heat tolerance and broomrape resistance by breedingThis research was funded by the Junta de Andalucía grant P20_00986 and to Agencia Española de Investigación (AEI) grant PID2020-11468RB-100. Authors are deeply indebted to ICARDA for providing nurseries from which the studied accessions were selecte

Multibody model of the collaborative human-inspired robot charmie

With the worldwide ageing of population, domestic robots can provide important aid by assisting elderly persons with mobility limitations, increasing their autonomy, while reducing caretaker fatigue. Currently, a human-like mobile system, called CHARMIE, is being assembled, which can be applied for those situations. For this purpose, a full multibody model has been developed, which allows for the assessment of the robot’s performance as well as its structural analysis and actuators’ selection. The robot multibody model consists of 40 rigid bodies, interconnected by 34 ideal revolute joints, 10 translational joints, and three rigid joints, resulting in a total of 21 degrees of freedom, namely three for the locomotion, two for the hip, seven for each arm and two for the neck. The system is driven by four linear actuators and 17 motors. The multibody dynamic simulations use an in-house software structured around two approaches: a recursive forward kinematics algorithm based on Euler angles, and a recursive Newton-Euler formulation for solving inverse dynamics. For implementing these approaches, the robot has been modelled as three serial kinematic chains, all starting from its base and finishing in the left end-effector, right end-effector, and head respectively. This work focuses on the model developed for the motion simulation of CHARMIE. The proposed methodology includes seven main steps: (i) identify the main bodies and kinematic chains; (ii) convert the body properties into the required software inputs; (iii) analyze the geometry of the indirectly actuated joints; (iv) model the kinematics of the main bodies with the first recursive algorithm; (v) determine the kinematics of additional bodies; (vi) solve the inverse dynamics of the main bodies with the second recursive algorithm; (vii) manually compute the dynamics of the closed and overconstrained loops. The overall outcomes produced have been validated against those obtained by a commercial software

Development of a multibody simulator to study the CHARMIE robot

[Excerpt] 1. INTRODUCTION The Laboratory of Automation and Robotics of the University of Minho has developed CHARMIE, a human-inspired robot designed to assist humans in domestic tasks [1] (See Figure 1). One of the challenges in developing a complex mobile manipulator robot is testing and optimizing its control. Damages to the physical prototype, or possible hazardous situations, can be avoided by testing control solutions in a virtual environment. This is even more relevant when using Reinforcement Learning as a control strategy, where the neural network requires testing a set of inaccurate and inadequate solutions before the reward function allows the system to converge into more optimal strategies. This work deals with the development of a multibody simulator that represents the key kinematics and dynamics of CHARMIE’s bodies and joints.[...]This work has been supported by the Laboratory of Automation and Robotics (LAR) of University of Minho, and the ALGORITMI and CMEMS research centers. The first and second authors received funding through a doctoral scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [grant numbers SFRH/BD/145993/2019 and SFRH/BD/06944/2020], with funds from the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and the European Social Fund through the Programa Operacional do Capital Humano (POCH). This work has been supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. This work has also been supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the national support to R&D units grant, with the reference projects UIDB/04436/2020 and UIDP/04436/2020

Dynamic modeling of a human-inspired robot based on a Newton-Euler approach

This work deals with the modeling process of a new three dimensional human-like robot for an inverse dynamic analysis. This robot intends to be utilized by caregivers to assist persons with reduced mobility (such as the elderly). The model under analysis is composed by 24 rigid bodies: 3 to represent the robot’s base and locomotion, 4 for the lower limbs and torso, 7 for each arm, and 3 for the head. The resulting multibody system has 19 degrees-of-freedom driven by 4 linear actuators and 15 revolute motors. The proposed approach was implemented using an in-house computational code, and validated against a commercial software for a general spatial motion. The outcomes achieved show that the proposed formulation is computationally effective both in terms of efficiency and accuracy. The general findings of this study are promising and useful for the mechanical design and construction of a real human-like robot prototype

Impact damage prediction in carbon fiber-reinforced laminated composite using the matrix-reinforced mixing theory

The impact damage tolerance of fiber-reinforced laminated composite materials is a source of concern, mainly due to internal induced damage which causes large reductions on the strength and stability of the structure. This paper presents a procedure based on a finite element formulation that can be used to perform numerical predictions of the impact induced internal damage in composite laminates. The procedure is based on simulating the composite performance using a micro-mechanical approach named matrix-reinforced mixing theory, a simplified version of the serial/parallel mixing theory that does not require neither the iterative procedure nor the calculation of the tangent stiffness tensor. The numerical formulation uses continuum mechanics to simulate the phenomenon of initiation and propagation of interlaminar damage with no need to formulate interface elements, resulting in a computationally less demanding formulation. To demonstrate the capability of numerical procedure when applied to a low-velocity impact problem, numerical results are compared with the experimental ones obtained in a test campaign performed on 44 laminates specimens subjected to an out-of-plane and concentrated impact event, according to ASTM test method. Results are in good agreement with experimental data in terms of delamination onset and the internal spatial distribution of induced damage

Differences in crenate broomrape parasitism dynamics on three legume crops using a thermal time model

Root parasitic weeds are a major limiting production factor in a number of crops, and control is difficult. Genetic resistance and chemical control lead the fight, but without unequivocal success. Models that help to describe and even predict the evolution of parasitism underground are a valuable tool for herbicide applications, and even could help in breeding programs. Legumes are heavily affected by Orobanche crenata (crenate broomrape) in the Mediterranean basin. This work presents a descriptive model based on thermal time and correlating growing degree days (GDD) with the different developmental stages of the parasite. The model was developed in three different legume crops (faba bean, grass pea and lentil) attacked by crenate broomrape. The developmental stages of the parasite strongly correlated with the GDD and differences were found depending on the host crop. [This Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. it is reproduced with permission.

Trends in the control of hexapod robots: a survey

The static stability of hexapods motivates their design for tasks in which stable locomotion is required, such as navigation across complex environments. This task is of high interest due to the possibility of replacing human beings in exploration, surveillance and rescue missions. For this application, the control system must adapt the actuation of the limbs according to their surroundings to ensure that the hexapod does not tumble during locomotion. The most traditional approach considers their limbs as robotic manipulators and relies on mechanical models to actuate them. However, the increasing interest in model-free models for the control of these systems has led to the design of novel solutions. Through a systematic literature review, this paper intends to overview the trends in this field of research and determine in which stage the design of autonomous and adaptable controllers for hexapods is.The first author received funding through a doctoral scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (Grant No. SFRH/BD/145818/2019), with funds from the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and the European Social Fund through the Programa Operacional Regional Norte. This work has been supported by the FCT national funds, under the national support to R&D units grant, through the reference project UIDB/04436/2020 and UIDP/04436/2020

Hexapod posture control for navigation across complex environments

Hexapod locomotion in unstructured environments relies on an efficient posture adjustment with the terrain topology. This paper presents a strategy to adapt the hexapod torso orientation through ground plane estimation. With an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and the robot kinematic model, the current supporting feet coordinates are calculated, and the relative inclination between the ground and the torso angular position can be obtained. This information is used to adjust the novel foothold positions, in order to ensure the hexapod posture remains stable. The torso height is also controlled to avoid collisions with the ground asperities and decrease its deviation during motion. The proposed method is evaluated in a complex terrain made of 0.1×0.1 m blocks with variable height, causing different slopes across the field. Through result analysis, a significant behavior improvement is observed, due to the reduction of the torso posture oscillation and the increase of its locomotion efficiency.The first author received funding through a doctoral scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (Grant No. SFRH/BD/145818/2019), with funds from the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and the European Social Fund through the Programa Operacional Regional Norte. This work has been supported by FCT within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020, UIDB/04436/2020 and UIDP/04436/2020

Manual de operaciones enfocado a la seguridad industrial y productividad en el área de material remolcado en los talleres de Fenoco S A

Debido a la constante manipulación de maquinaria pesada y el uso de procesos no técnicos, se empiezan a presentar muchos factores de riesgos que pueden ocasionar graves accidentes en los talleres de FENOCO S.A Santa Marta Magdalena. Una manera de regular o controlar estos factores de riesgos profesionales, es haciéndole control a través del acto individualizado de cualquier tarea: el procedimiento y consigo las operaciones. Así se logra garantizar que no halla condiciones inseguras, ni actos inseguros; los cuales son las bases necesarias para cualquier accidente. Todos los trabajos u operaciones son producto de una secuencia de pasos a seguir con un objetivo definido, que al final arrojan como resultado un producto terminado, y no necesariamente es el fin del ciclo, es decir, que puede ser un componente de una parte del trabajo o puede ser una condición necesaria para la materialización de otras tareas Un manual de procedimientos enfocado a la seguridad, busca de manera clara y sencilla establecer cuáles son los pasos a seguir durante la ejecución de tareas de diversa índole, con el fin de evitar que se den condiciones y/o actos subestandar que podrían desencadenar accidentes y/o incidentes con consecuencias nefastas para las personas que realizan dichas actividades e incluso para las que no, es decir, aquellas personas que se pueden ver afectadas indirectamente producto del suceso repentino. Para tal fin se hace necesario hacer un estudio detallado de las operaciones que se llevan a cabo dentro del taller y de las bases mecánicas que rigen dichas operaciones. Además del estudio de la normatividad nacional e internacional que rige para dicho tipo de vehículos. Una vez ha sido obtenida y estudiada la información necesaria, se establecen de manera general procedimientos en los cuales se dictan lineamientos a seguir con el fin de hacer la labor productiva y la vez segura, es decir, que la tarea que se vaya a llevar a cabo cumpla con parámetros establecidos que se rijan por principios de calidad y de seguridad

Study of the locomotion of a hexapod using CoppeliaSim and ROS

Generating adaptive locomotion has seen a growing interest for the design of hexapods due to improving the autonomy of these robots, allowing them to execute tasks in more demanding environments. Data from the robot’s surrounding must be acquired and processed to adjust the locomotion, and aid with the actuation of the six limbs. This paper aims at using force sensors placed on the feet of a hexapod to control the changes of the gait phase of each limb. These sensors also assist in the search of new footholds when no contact forces are established with the ground. The system is tested in a smooth irregular terrain with obstacles, steps, and ramps, using CoppeliaSim and ROS (Robot Operating System), to dynamically evaluate the behavior of the hexapod.(undefined