Webots-based Simulator for Biped Navigation in Human-living Environments

Navigation is one of the key issues of biped robot, especially in complicated and uncertain human-living environment. There have been challenges for ensuring the stability, efficiency and security of the biped navigation system. In this paper, a framework utilizing sampling-based footstep planner is proposed for the simulation of the biped navigation. Sensor fusion method is adopted to process and generate the correlated environment information for footstep planning. Two specific experiments have been conducted to validate the functionality and performance of the proposed framework

Collided path replanning in dynamic environments using RRT and Cell decomposition algorithms

The motion planning is an important part of robots’ models. It is responsible for robot’s movements. In this work, the cell decomposition algorithm is used to find a spatial path on preliminary static workspaces, and then, the rapidly exploring random tree algorithm (RRT) is used to validate this path on the actual workspace. Two methods have been proposed to enhance the omnidirectional robot’s navigation on partially changed workspace. First, the planner creates a RRT tree and biases its growth toward the path’s points in ordered form. The planner reduces the probability of choosing the next point when a collision is detected, which in turn increases the RRT’s expansion on the free space. The second method uses a straight planner to connect path’s points. If a collision is detected, the planner places RRTs on both sides of the collided segment. The proposed methods are compared with the others approaches, and the simulation shows better results in term of efficiency and completeness.Plánování pohybu robota je důležitou součástí modelování funkcí robotů. Plán řídí pohyby robota. V této práci se algoritmus rozkladu na buňky používá k nalezení cesty pracovní plochou a algoritmus prozkoumání náhodného stromu (RRT) k ověření cesty skutečným prostorem. Byly navrženy dvě metody ke zlepšení navigace všesměrové pohyblivého robota částečně změněnou pracovní plochou. Za prvé, plánovač vytvoří RRT strom a vychyluje jeho růst směrem k bodu na cestě. Plánovač snižuje pravděpodobnost výběru dalšího bodu, když je detekována kolize, což zase zvyšuje expanzi RRT na volném prostoru. Druhá metoda používá shodný plánovač pro napojení bodů cesty. Pokud je detekována kolize, plánovač upravuje RRT na obou stranách kolizního segmentu. Navrhované metody jsou porovnávány s dalšími používanými přístupy, přečemž simulace ukazuje lepší výsledky z hlediska účinnosti a úplnosti plánování cesty.The motion planning is an important part of robots’ models. It is responsible for robot’s movements. In this work, the cell decomposition algorithm is used to find a spatial path on preliminary static workspaces, and then, the rapidly exploring random tree algorithm (RRT) is used to validate this path on the actual workspace. Two methods have been proposed to enhance the omnidirectional robot’s navigation on partially changed workspace. First, the planner creates a RRT tree and biases its growth toward the path’s points in ordered form. The planner reduces the probability of choosing the next point when a collision is detected, which in turn increases the RRT’s expansion on the free space. The second method uses a straight planner to connect path’s points. If a collision is detected, the planner places RRTs on both sides of the collided segment. The proposed methods are compared with the others approaches, and the simulation shows better results in term of efficiency and completeness

Urban green infrastructure planning as a contribution to the smart ‘green’ city

The urban green infrastructure is getting due to the strong growth of the City of Vienna under increasing pressure. A foresighted planning of green and open spaces is necessary to obtain the different "Ecosytem Services" - provision-related services, regulatory services, cultural services and support services (MEA 2005). Additionally an increase in the number of hot days and thus an increase of the heat load in the city is predicted for Vienna (ZAMG 2012). Again, making a foresighted planning of green and open spaces is a significant contribution to meet these climatic challenges (Kuffner A. 2012, Hagen et al. 2010). Based on the concept of "green infrastructure" (Pauleit et al. 2011) and the ecosystem services of these, it is shown which contribution - in particular to reduce the heating of the city - they can make to the Smart City concept

Northern Star Coral (Astrangia poculata)

Life history characteristics of Northern Star Coral (Astrangia poculata) in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA

Fog Robotics: An Introduction

Cloud Robotics (CR) is an emerging and successful approach to robotics. The number of robots or other IoT devices may increase drastically in the future which might need enormous bandwidth and there might be security concerns. If robots in CR are not secured then robots can even become surveillance bot by hackers. Moreover, if an internet connection is lost due to network hitches then in that crucial moment robot may not be available to complete its given task. For example, a robot assisting a person can stop working unexpectedly or work with the instructions from hacker. In order to address such problems, we propose a new approach to robotics - Fog Robotics (FR) in this paper, so a network of robots can be used more securely and efficiently as compared to CR

Azine polymers and process for preparing the same Patent

Synthesis of azine polymers for heat shields by azine-aromatic aldehyde reactio

Chemical Ecology of Marine Cyanobacterial Secondary Metabolites: a Mini-review

More than 300 nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites have been reported from the procaryotic marinecyanobacteria. A majority of these compounds are of the polypeptide or mixed polyketide-polypeptidestructural class and they are a potential source of novel pharmaceuticals. In spite of the chemical richnessof marine cyanobacteria, not much is known regarding their ecological functions. To date only a handful ofmarine cyanobacterial compounds have been examined for their involvement in predator-prey interactions.This mini-review surveys the various chemical ecology studies conducted on marine cyanobacterialcompounds. From these ecological studies, many marine cyanobacterial compounds are known to deterfeeding by several species of marine predators. Such chemical defense may be crucial in maintaining thepopulation of marine cyanobacterial bloom in nature. In addition, a series of ecological studies from ourlaboratory revealed the anti-settlement properties of a number of benthic marine cyanobacterialcompounds. These studies suggested marine cyanobacteria as a potential source of natural antifoulants forthe control of fouling organisms

Chemical Ecology of Marine Cyanobacterial Secondary Metabolites: a Mini-review

More than 300 nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites have been reported from the procaryotic marinecyanobacteria. A majority of these compounds are of the polypeptide or mixed polyketide-polypeptidestructural class and they are a potential source of novel pharmaceuticals. In spite of the chemical richnessof marine cyanobacteria, not much is known regarding their ecological functions. To date only a handful ofmarine cyanobacterial compounds have been examined for their involvement in predator-prey interactions.This mini-review surveys the various chemical ecology studies conducted on marine cyanobacterialcompounds. From these ecological studies, many marine cyanobacterial compounds are known to deterfeeding by several species of marine predators. Such chemical defense may be crucial in maintaining thepopulation of marine cyanobacterial bloom in nature. In addition, a series of ecological studies from ourlaboratory revealed the anti-settlement properties of a number of benthic marine cyanobacterialcompounds. These studies suggested marine cyanobacteria as a potential source of natural antifoulants forthe control of fouling organisms

The Effectiveness of Psychoeducation using the Picture Card Method on Understanding Natural Disaster of Landslides among 1st Grade Elementary School Students.

Natural disasters are events that cause traumatic experiences for every human being, but they affect each individual in different ways. This is especially true for young children. Young children tend to have more difficulty in coping with traumatic events due to their limited life experiences, problem-solving skills, and ability to express their feelings and needs. The purpose of this activity is to measure students' understanding of landslide disaster mitigation and their increased concern for the surrounding environment. The target of this activity is 15 first-grade students from Galengdowo 2 Elementary School in Galengdowo Village, Wonosalam District, Jombang Regency, East Java. This activity was conducted in the 1st grade classroom of Galengdowo 2 Elementary School. The method used was Psychoeducation with the picture card method, playing disaster response games, and demonstrating the use of posters as a medium to achieve the desired knowledge, skills, abilities, and expectations. The data was analyzed using a paired sample t-test. Based on the comparison of means, the pre- test and post-test results showed an increase in the average scores after the psychoeducation intervention. According to the test results, it can be concluded that Psychoeducation using picture cards is effective in enhancing understanding and fostering disaster responsiveness among students. Keywords: Picture Cards ; Posters Landslide ;Psychoeducatio