Multi-command Tactile Brain Computer Interface: A Feasibility Study

The study presented explores the extent to which tactile stimuli delivered to the ten digits of a BCI-naive subject can serve as a platform for a brain computer interface (BCI) that could be used in an interactive application such as robotic vehicle operation. The ten fingertips are used to evoke somatosensory brain responses, thus defining a tactile brain computer interface (tBCI). Experimental results on subjects performing online (real-time) tBCI, using stimuli with a moderately fast inter-stimulus-interval (ISI), provide a validation of the tBCI prototype, while the feasibility of the concept is illuminated through information-transfer rates obtained through the case study.Comment: Haptic and Audio Interaction Design 2013, Daejeon, Korea, April 18-19, 2013, 15 pages, 4 figures, The final publication will be available at link.springer.co

Formation experiments of CO2 hydrate chimney in a pressure cell

Experimental investigations were conducted to understand the formation process of CO_2 hydrate the chimney structure by using a gas bubble emission technique in water within a pressure cell. The detailed process was video-recorded and analyzed to study the initiation and growth behavior of hydrate chimney while the cell pressure was increased and gas supply rate decreased gradually with time. In the initial stage of chimney growth, a hydrate crystal started to form in a cup shape at the gas nozzle and ascended together with gas bubbles due to mechanical weakness of the hydrate/nozzle contact. Growth of hydrate chimney occurred with supercooling of 3K(overpressure of 0.60MPa) or more, and continued until the top end was closed completely by hydrate

Emission image of X-ray-irradiated CR-39 stick doped with methylviologen-encapsulated silica nanocapsules using LED light

Light-emitting diode (LED)-light-excited emission images of 6 MeV-X-ray (10 Gy)-irradiated CR-39 doped with methylviologen-encapsulated silica nanocapsules (MV @SiO2 NCs) were observed using an iPhone 5S for the first time. The excitation and fluorescence spectra were also observed, and the emission peak at 580 nm produced by the X-ray irradiation was confirmed. Emission intensities of 80 kV-X-ray (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 Gy)-irradiated CR-39 doped with MV @ SiO2 NCs could be measured using a portable fluorometer (FC-1), and a good linear relationship between their emission intensity and dose was clearly observed

Cloudy band observations for annual layer counting on the GRIP and NGRIP, Greenland, deep ice core samples (scientific note)

Cloudy band stratigraphy was observed in the GRIP and NGRIP, Greenland ice cores. Gray value profiles obtained from the photographic recording were analyzed to extract annual layer signals. Simple counting of gray value peaks is effective enough when annual layer thickness is relatively small (smaller than approximately 20 mm), but smoothing of the gray value profile is needed when annual layer thickness is larger. Smoothing can be done by adopting a running mean over a range of half of annual layer thickness estimated from ice flow modeling. A comparison of the DEP profile with the gray value profile revealed that the DEP profile seems to reflect the seasonal variation in general, but not exactly