Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Ground Control Point Deployment

According to Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 77, all airports have imaginary approach surfaces which must remain clear of obstructions in order to ensure safe air travel. Threats of penetration to these imaginary surfaces include new construction, telephone poles and lines, and trees. While most potential threats analyzed remain relatively constant in size, objects such as trees which grow require annual analysis for change detection. A variety of methods are available for surveying these surfaces for potential obstructions, one being an aerial mapping from photogrammetric data. Aerial mapping for surveying purposes is a process which ties overlapping photographs together using computer software which detects similar points between the images. These images requires ground control points, also known as GCPs, to create a scale which allows for accurate measurement data. When ground control points with known GPS locations are placed throughout the mapping area all the points within the model can then be tied to their respective GPS coordinates in the longitudinal, latitudinal, and altitude directions. The placement of these markers is one of the most time-consuming but necessary tasks when creating an aerial map. The main objective of this project was for the team to design and produce a method of streamlining the ground control point deployment process. This report introduces a device which, when implemented, can reduce the number of resources and labor needed for this process. A mechanical release system was designed and built to be carried by a drone. Remote control between two XBee RF modules was implemented to activate the rotating notch release system, following user commands. A 90 degree rotation by the servo of the flange would align the flange with the keyslot in the GCP, allowing it to fall. The final design was successfully operated by one pilot and three GCP’s were deployed at various locations. An important factor in designing this system was developing lightweight, high contrast GCPs that would not impact the flight of the drone. The weight and balance of the final product were suitable for the small 3DR Solo drone used in the project. This accomplishment proves this system could be applied to drones with greater payloads and longer flight times for preparing large surveying areas in minimal time

Arms and armor of East and Southeast Asia.

This project, working in conjunction with the Higgins Armory Museum, created a web-based database for the museum's collection of artifacts from East and Southeast Asia, excluding Japan. It also documented the history, military history, and arms and armor of the region. Photographs were taken of the artifacts and linked with the database. The web-based database is searchable on multiple fields and contains the relevant information about the artifacts

Exploring the neuroimmunopharmacology of opioids: An integrative review of mechanisms of central immune signaling and their implications for opioid analgesia

Vastly stimulated by the discovery of opioid receptors in the early 1970s, preclinical and clinical research was directed at the study of stereoselective neuronal actions of opioids, especially those played in their crucial analgesic role. However, during the past decade, a new appreciation of the non-neuronal actions of opioids has emerged from preclinical research, with specific appreciation for the nonclassic and nonstereoselective sites of action. Opioid activity at Toll-like receptors, newly recognized innate immune pattern recognition receptors, adds substantially to this unfolding story. It is now apparent from molecular and rodent data that these newly identified signaling events significantly modify the pharmacodynamics of opioids by eliciting proinflammatory reactivity from glia, the immunocompetent cells of the central nervous system. These central immune signaling events, including the release of cytokines and chemokines and the associated disruption of glutamate homeostasis, cause elevated neuronal excitability, which subsequently decreases opioid analgesic efficacy and leads to heightened pain states. This review will examine the current preclinical literature of opioid-induced central immune signaling mediated by classic and nonclassic opioid receptors. A unification of the preclinical pharmacology, neuroscience, and immunology of opioids now provides new insights into common mechanisms of chronic pain, naive tolerance, analgesic tolerance, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, and allodynia. Novel pharmacological targets for future drug development are discussed in the hope that disease-modifying chronic pain treatments arising from the appreciation of opioid-induced central immune signaling may become practical.Mark R. Hutchinson, Yehuda Shavit, Peter M. Grace, Kenner C. Rice, Steven F. Maier, and Linda R. Watkin