Mechanisms of Human Arm Motion Planning in the Presence of Multiple Solutions

How do humans choose their movement and what are the mechanisms involved in motion planning? This thesis explores the interaction of the central nervous system (CNS) and the external environment, focusing on mechanism it employs for successful execution of fast, complex hand movements. Previous studies have generally assumed that the motion results from the optimisation of a cost function with single optimum. However, this task, similar to many day-to-day tasks, can be performed by more than just one solution. An environment was created that allowed for investigation of complex fast movements. Initially the subjects had to navigate through number of target confi gurations and their respective orientations. The results indicated that the subjects generally utilise multiple plans to achieve the same task. Further experiments presented subjects with alternative trajectories. The results show that the memory of previous motor exploration influences the choice of particular trajectory for explored and unexplored orientations, providing evidence for a motor plan. Analysis of solutions in diff erent directions shows that the choice of a plan depends on previous experience as well as characteristics of motion execution. This choice can be modelled as a Markov process that describes CNS' selection process and how exploration affects it. Considering the results, a computational model was developed, incorporating a set of patterns, which allow generation of successful movements despite large motor variability. A sequence of patterns, a plan, is first prepared and when the movement is executed, accuracy is realised by online prediction of the motion through forward model that utilises derived families of strokes for each pattern. The model takes the visual feedback and by interpolating the corresponding pattern strokes onto the completed trajectory predicts the future trajectory, applying corrective movements if necessary. Despite the feedback delay the outputs demonstrate successful recreation of the observed experimental results

Challenges and Solutions to Criminal Liability for the Actions of Robots and AI

Civil liability legislation is currently being developed, but little attention has been paid to the issue of criminal liability for the actions of robots. The study describes the generations of robots and points out the concerns about robots’ autonomy. The more autonomy robots obtain, the greater capacity they have for self-learning, yet the more difficulty in proving the failure foreseeability when designing and whether culpability or the elements of a specific crime can be considered. In this study, the tort liability depending on the category of robots is described, and the possible solutions are analyzed. It is shown that there is no need to introduce new criminal law constructions, but to focus on the process of proof. Instead of changing the legal system, it is necessary to create the most detailed audit trail telling about the robot’s actions and surroundings or to have a digital twin of the robot

Monitoring soil erosion and vegetation pattern related to microclimatic conditions in Icelandic and Fennoscandian tundra

The Arctic tundra, a key regulator of the global carbon cycle that stores nearly half of the world's below-ground organic carbon, is increasingly threatened by soil erosion driven by climate change and anthropogenic activity. Topography moderates these impacts on small spatial scales by creating microclimates that shape biogeomorphological processes and the distribution of barren and vegetated areas. Seasonal variations further influence these dynamics, adding to the complexity of monitoring and assessing landscape resilience under growing environmental pressures. This research addresses two key questions: How can we best monitor tundra environments? Where and how will different tundra environments respond to changing climatic conditions? Fieldwork was conducted in Svalbarðshreppur, Iceland and Kilpisjärvi, Finland during the growing seasons of 2021-2023. Methods included remote sensing data from multispectral uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys, optical satellites (Landsat, Sentinel-2, PlanetScope) and digital elevation models derived from UAV, aerial LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and ArcticDEM. Soil moisture and temperature sensors were deployed along mesotopographic transects, together with vegetation surveys, to provide ground-level information. Findings revealed limitations of common satellite systems for soil erosion monitoring due to spectral confusion caused by shrub expansion. The Shannon Evenness Index was introduced to identify suitable spatial resolutions for environmental monitoring, revealing that a resolution of <3 m is necessary in Iceland to minimise excessive mixed pixels. Seasonal microclimatic conditions and topographic position influenced the distribution of land cover and plant structure. In summer, soil moisture impacted plant species richness and distribution, with increased water stress observed on ridge positions. In winter, snow cover duration (SCD), associated with thermal insulation and wind protection, was a determining factor on the distribution of barren and vegetated areas. In Finland, an SCD of approximately 155 days was identified as a tipping point, beyond which snow cover shifts from benefiting vegetation to suppressing it."The PhD was funded by the St Andrews World Leading Scholarship. The research visit and fieldwork conducted in Finland was funded by the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment & Society (SAGES) Saltire Award (2022). Santander Research Mobility award supported a field trip to Iceland (2022). Smaller grant schemes from Scottish Arctic Network (ScAN) and SAGES provided financial support for conferences."--Fundin

Arctic tundra shrubification can obscure increasing levels of soil erosion in NDVI assessments of land cover derived from satellite imagery

This research was supported by the St Andrews World Leading Scholarship.Monitoring soil erosion in the Arctic tundra is complicated by the highly fragmentated nature of the landscape and the limited spatial resolution of even high-resolution satellite data. The expansion of shrubs across the Arctic has led to substantial changes in vegetation composition that alter the spectral reflectance and directly affect vegetation indices such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is widely applied for environmental monitoring. This change can mask soil erosion if datasets with too coarse spatial resolutions are used, as increases in NDVI driven by shrub expansion can obscure concurrent increases in barren land cover. Here we created land cover maps from a multispectral uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and land cover survey and assessed satellite imagery from PlanetScope, Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 for several areas in north-eastern Iceland. Additionally, we used a novel application of the Shannon evenness index (SHEI) to evaluate levels of pixel mixing. Our results show that shrub expansion can lead to spectral confusion, which can obscure soil erosion processes and emphasize the importance of considering spatial resolution when monitoring highly fragmented landscapes. We demonstrate that remote sensing data with a resolution < 3 m greatly improves the amount of information captured in an Icelandic tundra environment. The spatial resolution of Landsat data (30 m) is inadequate for environmental monitoring in our study area. We found that the best platform for monitoring tundra land cover is Sentinel-2 when used in combination with multispectral UAV acquisitions for validation. Our study has the potential to improve environmental monitoring capabilities by introducing the use of SHEI to assess pixel mixing and determine optimal spatial resolutions. This approach combined with comparing remote sensing imagery of different spatial and time scales significantly advances our comprehension of land cover changes, including greening and soil degradation, in the Arctic tundra.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Dynamic Biometric Signature - an Effective Alternative for Electronic Authentication

The use of dynamic biometric methods for the authentication of people provides significantly greater security than the use of the static ones. The variance of individual dynamic properties of a person, which protects biometric methods against attacks, can be the weak point of these methods at the same time.This paper summarizes the results of a long-term research, which shows that a DBS demonstrates practically absolute resistance to forging and that the stability of signatures provided by test subjects in various situations is high. Factors such as alcohol and stress have no influence on signature stability, either. The results of the experiments showed that the handwritten signature obtained through long practice and the consolidation of the dynamic stereotype, is so automated and stored so deep in the human brain, that its involuntary performance also allows other processes to take place in the cerebral cortex. The dynamic stereotype is composed of psychological, anatomical and motor characteristics of each person. It was also proven to be true that the use of different devices did not have a major impact on the stability of signatures, which is of importance in the case of a blanket deployment.The carried out experiments conclusively showed that the aspects that could have an impact on the stability of a signature did not manifest themselves in such a way that we could not trust these methods even used on commercially available devices. In the conclusion of the paper, the possible directions of research are suggested

Dynamic Biometric Signature - an Effective Alternative for Electronic Authentication

The use of dynamic biometric methods for the authentication of people provides significantly greater security than the use of the static ones. The variance of individual dynamic properties of a person, which protects biometric methods against attacks, can be the weak point of these methods at the same time. This paper summarizes the results of a long-term research, which shows that a DBS demonstrates practically absolute resistance to forging and that the stability of signatures provided by test subjects in various situations is high. Factors such as alcohol and stress have no influence on signature stability, either. The results of the experiments showed that the handwritten signature obtained through long practice and the consolidation of the dynamic stereotype, is so automated and stored so deep in the human brain, that its involuntary performance also allows other processes to take place in the cerebral cortex. The dynamic stereotype is composed of psychological, anatomical and motor characteristics of each person. It was also proven to be true that the use of different devices did not have a major impact on the stability of signatures, which is of importance in the case of a blanket deployment. The carried out experiments conclusively showed that the aspects that could have an impact on the stability of a signature did not manifest themselves in such a way that we could not trust these methods even used on commercially available devices. In the conclusion of the paper, the possible directions of research are suggested

Soil moisture, stressed vegetation and the spatial structure of soil erosion in a high latitude rangeland

Funding: Research was supported by a NERC PhD studentship (ref: NE/L002558/) to Polly Thompson and a World-Leading Scholarship, funded by St Leonard’s Postgraduate College, University of St Andrews, to Georg Kodl.Soil erosion has been a persistent problem in high-latitude regions and may worsen as climate change unfolds and encourages increased anthropogenic exploitation. We propose that soil moisture is likely to shape future erosion trends, as moisture stress reduces the capacity of vegetation cover to retard erosive processes. However, the spatial variability of soil moisture in high-latitude soils—and the ways in which this variability drives the spatial distribution of erosion features—is poorly understood. We addressed this knowledge gap with a study of andosol erosion in southern Iceland. Our study used a combination of high-resolution (10 m from eroded terrain. We found lower moisture availability close to existing erosion features: mean volumetric soil moisture content varied from 17% (proximal to erosion patch) to 36% (distal to erosion patch). We also found that variability in soil moisture decreased with distance from eroded areas: the coefficient of variation (CV) in soil moisture varied from 0.33 (proximal to erosion patch) to 0.13 (distal to erosion). Our findings indicate that the margins of erosion patches have a stressful soil environment due to exposure to the atmosphere. The vegetation in these locations grows less vigorously, and the exposed soil becomes more vulnerable to erosion, leading to erosion patch expansion and coalescence. If these conditions hold more generally, they may represent a feedback mechanism that facilitates the lateral propagation of soil erosion in high-latitude regions.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Muscleless Motor synergies and actions without movements : From Motor neuroscience to cognitive robotics

Emerging trends in neurosciences are providing converging evidence that cortical networks in predominantly motor areas are activated in several contexts related to ‘action’ that do not cause any overt movement. Indeed for any complex body, human or embodied robot inhabiting unstructured environments, the dual processes of shaping motor output during action execution and providing the self with information related to feasibility, consequence and understanding of potential actions (of oneself/others) must seamlessly alternate during goal-oriented behaviors, social interactions. While prominent approaches like Optimal Control, Active Inference converge on the role of forward models, they diverge on the underlying computational basis. In this context, revisiting older ideas from motor control like the Equilibrium Point Hypothesis and synergy formation, this article offers an alternative perspective emphasizing the functional role of a ‘plastic, configurable’ internal representation of the body (body-schema) as a critical link enabling the seamless continuum between motor control and imagery. With the central proposition that both “real and imagined” actions are consequences of an internal simulation process achieved though passive goal-oriented animation of the body schema, the computational/neural basis of muscleless motor synergies (and ensuing simulated actions without movements) is explored. The rationale behind this perspective is articulated in the context of several interdisciplinary studies in motor neurosciences (for example, intracranial depth recordings from the parietal cortex, FMRI studies highlighting a shared cortical basis for action ‘execution, imagination and understanding’), animal cognition (in particular, tool-use and neuro-rehabilitation experiments, revealing how coordinated tools are incorporated as an extension to the body schema) and pertinent challenges towards building cognitive robots that can seamlessly “act, interact, anticipate and understand” in unstructured natural living spaces