Competitions for Benchmarking: Task and Functionality Scoring Complete Performance Assessment

Scientific experiments and robotic competitions share some common traits that can put the debate about developing better experimental methodologies and replicability of results in robotics research on more solid ground. In this context, the Robot Competitions Kick Innovation in Cognitive Systems and Robotics (RoCKIn) project aims to develop competitions that come close to scientific experiments, providing an objective performance evaluation of robot systems under controlled and replicable conditions. In this article, by further articulating replicability into reproducibility and repeatability and by considering some results from the 2014 first RoCKIn competition, we show that the RoCKIn approach offers tools that enable the replicability of experimental results

The RoCKIn@Home Challenge

RoCKIn is a EU-funded project aiming to foster scientific progress and innovation in cognitive systems and robotics through the design and implementation of competitions, to increase public awareness of the current state-of-the-art in robotics in Europe, and to demonstrate the innovation potential of robotics applications for solving societal challenges and improving the competitiveness of Europe in the global markets. RoCKIn develops two competitions, one for domestic service robots (RoCKIn@Home) and one for industrial robots in factories (RoCKIn@Work). The integration of benchmarking technology with the competition concept is one of the main objectives of RoCKIn

The RoCKIn@Work Challenge

RoCKIn is a EU-funded project aiming to foster scientific progress and innovation in cognitive systems and robotics through the design and implementation of competitions. An additional objective of RoCKIn is to increase public awareness of the current state-of-the-art in robotics in Europe and to demonstrate the innovation potential of robotics applications for solving societal challenges and improving the competitiveness of Europe in the global markets. In order to achieve these objectives, RoCKIn develops two competitions, one for domestic service robots (RoCKIn@Home) and one for industrial robots in factories (RoCKIn@Work). These competitions are designed around challenges that are based on easy-to-communicate and convincing user stories, which catch the interest of both the general public and the scientific community. The latter is in particular interested in solving open scientific challenges and to thoroughly assess, compare, and evaluate the developed approaches with competing ones. To allow this to happen, the competitions are designed to meet the requirements of benchmarking procedures and good experimental methods. The integration of benchmarking technology with the competition concept is one of the main objectives of RoCKIn

The nonmagnetic nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Knowledge of the magnetization of planetary bodies constrains their origin and evolution, as well as the conditions in the solar nebular at that time. On the basis of magnetic field measurements during the descent and subsequent multiple touchdown of the Rosetta lander Philae on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P), we show that no global magnetic field was detected within the limitations of analysis. The Rosetta Magnetometer and Plasma Monitor (ROMAP) suite of sensors measured an upper magnetic field magnitude of less than 2 nanotesla at the cometary surface at multiple locations, with the upper specific magnetic moment being <3.1 × 10^{−5} ampere–square meters per kilogram for meter-size homogeneous magnetized boulders. The maximum dipole moment of 67P is 1.6 × 10^{8} ampere–square meters. We conclude that on the meter scale, magnetic alignment in the preplanetary nebula is of minor importance

Body mass index and health-related quality of life among young Swiss men

BACKGROUND: Studies about the association between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are often limited, because they 1) did not include a broad range of health-risk behaviors as covariates; 2) relied on clinical samples, which might lead to biased results; and 3) did not incorporate underweight individuals. Hence, this study aims to examine associations between BMI (from being underweight through obesity) and HRQOL in a population-based sample, while considering multiple health-risk behaviors (low physical activity, risky alcohol consumption, daily cigarette smoking, frequent cannabis use) as well as socio-demographic characteristics. METHODS: A total of 5 387 young Swiss men (mean age = 19.99; standard deviation = 1.24) of a cross-sectional population-based study were included. BMI was calculated (kg/m2) based on self-reported height and weight and divided into 'underweight' (=30.0). Mental and physical HRQOL was assessed via the SF-12v2. Self-reported information on physical activity, substance use (alcohol, cigarettes, and cannabis) and socio-demographic characteristics also was collected. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to study the associations between BMI categories and below average mental or physical HRQOL. Substance use variables and socio-demographic variables were used as covariates. RESULTS: Altogether, 76.3 % were normal weight, whereas 3.3 % were underweight, 16.5 % overweight and 3.9 % obese. Being overweight or obese was associated with reduced physical HRQOL (adjusted OR [95 % CI] = 1.58 [1.18-2.13] and 2.45 [1.57-3.83], respectively), whereas being underweight predicted reduced mental HRQOL (adjusted OR [95 % CI] = 1.49 [1.08-2.05]). Surprisingly, obesity decreased the likelihood of experiencing below average mental HRQOL (adjusted OR [95 % CI] = 0.66 [0.46-0.94]). Besides BMI, expressed as a categorical variable, all health-risk behaviors and socio-demographic variables were associated with reduced physical and/or mental HRQOL. CONCLUSIONS: Deviations from normal weight are, even after controlling for important health-risk behaviors and socio-demographic characteristics, associated with compromised physical or mental HRQOL among young men. Hence, preventive programs should aim to preserve or re-establish normal weight. The self-appraised positive mental well-being of obese men noted here, which possibly reflects a response shift, might complicate such efforts