Low Acceleration Overload Catapult Technique for Throwing the Small Scout Robot

The small scout robot is generally thrown into the war zone by soldier. The short thrown distance and the danger of soldier exposed to the enemy limit the application of the small scout robot. So this paper presents a type of low acceleration overload catapult device of no flash, no smoke and no sound. It can throw the small scout robot covertly to long distances with low acceleration overload, and avoid the danger that soldier be exposed to the enemy when artificial throwing. The high and low pressure chambers of the catapult device achieve the low acceleration overload launching, and eliminate the risk of robot damaged by huge acceleration overload. The covert launching of no flash, no smoke and no sound is achieved by the piston to seal the gun propellant gas in barrel. Based on the interior ballistic model, the interior ballistic performance is calculated. The experiment for measuring the acceleration overload of the projectile is achieved by using the catapult device prototype and the measurement system developed by authors. The simulation and test results show that this catapult device can meet the requirement to throw the small scout robot into the war zone

Cu^{2+}-Chelating Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Synergistic Chemotherapy/Chemodynamic Therapy

In this study, a pH-responsive controlled-release mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) formulation was developed. The MSNs were functionalized with a histidine (His)-tagged targeting peptide (B3int) through an amide bond, and loaded with an anticancer drug (cisplatin (CP)) and a lysosomal destabilization mediator (chloroquine (CQ)). Cu2+ was then used to seal the pores of the MSNs via chelation with the His-tag. The resultant nanoparticles showed pH-responsive drug release, and could effectively target tumor cells via the targeting effect of B3int. The presence of CP and Cu2+ permits reactive oxygen species to be generated inside cells; thus, the chemotherapeutic effect of CP is augmented by chemodynamic therapy. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that the nanoparticles are able to effectively kill tumor cells. An in vivo cancer model revealed that the nanoparticles increase apoptosis in tumor cells, and thereby diminish the tumor volume. No off-target toxicity was noted. It thus appears that the functionalized MSNs developed in this work have great potential for targeted, synergistic anticancer therapies

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Pupil and Glint Detection Using Wearable Camera Sensor and Near-Infrared LED Array

This paper proposes a novel pupil and glint detection method for gaze tracking system using a wearable camera sensor and near-infrared LED array. A novel circular ring rays location (CRRL) method is proposed for pupil boundary points detection. Firstly, improved Otsu optimal threshold binarization, opening-and-closing operation and projection of 3D gray-level histogram are utilized to estimate rough pupil center and radius. Secondly, a circular ring area including pupil edge inside is determined according to rough pupil center and radius. Thirdly, a series of rays are shot from inner to outer ring to collect pupil boundary points. Interference points are eliminated by calculating gradient amplitude. At last, an improved total least squares is proposed to fit collected pupil boundary points. In addition, the improved total least squares developed is utilized for the solution of Gaussian function deformation to calculate glint center. The experimental results show that the proposed method is more robust and accurate than conventional detection methods. When interference factors such as glints and natural light reflection are located on pupil contour, pupil boundary points and center can be detected accurately. The proposed method contributes to enhance stability, accuracy and real-time quality of gaze tracking system

2D Gaze Estimation Based on Pupil-Glint Vector Using an Artificial Neural Network

Gaze estimation methods play an important role in a gaze tracking system. A novel 2D gaze estimation method based on the pupil-glint vector is proposed in this paper. First, the circular ring rays location (CRRL) method and Gaussian fitting are utilized for pupil and glint detection, respectively. Then the pupil-glint vector is calculated through subtraction of pupil and glint center fitting. Second, a mapping function is established according to the corresponding relationship between pupil-glint vectors and actual gaze calibration points. In order to solve the mapping function, an improved artificial neural network (DLSR-ANN) based on direct least squares regression is proposed. When the mapping function is determined, gaze estimation can be actualized through calculating gaze point coordinates. Finally, error compensation is implemented to further enhance accuracy of gaze estimation. The proposed method can achieve a corresponding accuracy of 1.29°, 0.89°, 0.52°, and 0.39° when a model with four, six, nine, or 16 calibration markers is utilized for calibration, respectively. Considering error compensation, gaze estimation accuracy can reach 0.36°. The experimental results show that gaze estimation accuracy of the proposed method in this paper is better than that of linear regression (direct least squares regression) and nonlinear regression (generic artificial neural network). The proposed method contributes to enhancing the total accuracy of a gaze tracking system

China Satellite Navigation Conference

China Satellite Navigation Conference (CSNC) 2013 Proceedings presents selected research papers from CSNC2013, held on 15-17 May in Wuhan, China. The theme of CSNC2013 is: BeiDou Application: Opportunities and Challenges. These papers discuss the technologies and applications of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and the latest progress made in the China BeiDou system especially. They are divided into 9 topics to match the corresponding sessions in CSNC2013, which broadly covered key topics in GNSS. Readers can learn about the BeiDou system and keep abreast of the latest advances in GNSS techniques and applications. SUN Jiadong is the Chief Designer of the Compass/BeiDou system, and the Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); JIAO Wenhai is a researcher at China Satellite Navigation Office; WU Haitao is a professor at Navigation Headquarters, CAS; SHI Chuang is a professor at Wuhan University

ANTI-DROPPING TECHNOLOGY OF MICRO FLIPPABLE STAIR-CLIMBING ROBOT

Stair-climbing function of Micro Mobile Robot（ MMR） conflict with their portability. The Beijing Institute of Technology has developed a four-wheeled MMR which can climb stairs by flipping chassis. This robot weights 2. 5kg,so it is portable and can be deployed by throwing in short distance. In allusion to that robot,three concerns as well as assessments in dropping process have been put forward. The hyperelastic model of rubber and elastic-plastic model considering strain rate of metals were established,and a finite element model（ FEM） was established with ABAQUS furthermore. The FEM was tested on three typical working conditions of dropping horizontally,vertically and side-vertically by 1m height. Problems of the original structure were discussed and optimization measures were put forward,concerning tire,shell and motor shaft and so on.Simulation experiments have been done to confirm the validity of those measures. The results show that the dropping resistance is improved,and the optimized structure can sustain drops of 3 m