INSPEX: Make environment perception available as a portable system

International audienceObstacle avoidance systems for autonomous vehicles combine multiple sensing technologies (i.e. LiDAR, Radar, Ultrasound and Visual) to detect different types of obstacles across the full range of lighting and weather conditions. Sensor data are fused with vehicle orientation (obtained for instance from an Inertial Measurement Unit and/or compass) and navigation subsystems. Power hungry, they require powerful computational capability, which limits their use to high-end vehicles and robots. 2 INSPEX ambition The H2020 INSPEX project plans to make obstacle detection capabilities available as a personal portable multi-sensors, miniaturised, low power device. This device will detect, locate and warn of obstacles under different environmental conditions, in indoor/outdoor environments, with static and mobile obstacles. Potential applications range from safer human navigation in reduced visibility conditions (e.g. for first responders and fire brigades), small robot/drone obstacle avoidance systems to navigation for the visually and mobility impaired people. As primary demonstrator (Fig.1), we will plug the INSPEX device on a white cane (see Fig. 1) for Visually Impaired and Blind (VIB) people to detect obstacle over the whole person height, provide audio feedback about harmful obstacles, improve their mobility confidence and reduce injuries, especially at waist and head levels [1]. The device will offer a "safety cocoon" to its user

Association of 12 serum biochemical markers of angiogenesis, tumour invasion and bone turnover with bone metastases from breast cancer: a crossectional and longitudinal evaluation

Complex biological pathways including angiogenesis, invasion, osteoclastic activation and bone matrix degradation are involved in the formation of bone metastasis (BM). The aim of our study was to investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of a panel of 12 serum biochemical markers reflecting biological pathways underlying BM development. In a cross-sectional study, we investigated 29 patients with primary breast carcinoma without BM (BC/BM−), 28 patients with breast carcinoma and BM (BC/BM+) and 15 healthy women. In longitudinal analyses, we investigated 34 patients for whom serum was obtained a two different time points: at the time of primary BC diagnosis and after a median time of 3 years. During this follow-up, 15 patients developed BM, whereas the other 19 remained free of BM. In patients who developed BM, the second samples were obtained before BM was documented by bone scan. The cross-sectional analyses have shown all biochemical markers to be significantly elevated in patients with BM, when compared to the patients without BM and healthy controls, except TGFβ1 that was significantly decreased. Multivariable analyses showed that only the bone resorption markers TRACP 5b, CTX and ICTP, and the marker of angiogenesis VEGF were independently associated with BM. Those markers correctly distinguished 85% of BC patients with or without BM from normal individuals. Longitudinal analyses showed that patients with primary BC who developed BM during follow-up had higher levels of TRACP5b (+95%, P=0.08) at the time of primary diagnosis, those patients had also a higher increases of ICTP (P=0.006), MMP-7 (P=0.004) and TIMP-1 (P=0.017) during follow-up than patients who did not progress toward bone metastasis. This study provides evidence of increase and interrelationship of circulating markers of angiogenesis, invasion and bone resorption in patients with BC with and without BM. Markers of bone resorption have the highest independent diagnostic value for detecting and potentially predicting BM in breast carcinoma patients

INSPEX: Make environment perception available as a portable system

Obstacle avoidance systems for autonomous vehicles combine multiple sensing technologies (i.e. LiDAR, Radar, Ultrasound and Visual) to detect different types of obstacles across the full range of lighting and weather conditions. Sensor data are fused with vehicle orientation (obtained for instance from an Inertial Measurement Unit and/or compass) and navigation subsystems. Power hungry, they require powerful computational capability, which limits their use to high-end vehicles and robots

INSPEX: Integrated portable multi-sensor obstacle detection device. Application to navigation for visually impaired people

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Very High Cycle Fatigue for single phase ductile materials: slip band appearance criterion

The DISFAT project is a French project financially supported by the French National Agency for Research (ANR). It aims at a deeper understanding of mechanisms leading to crack initiation in metals and alloys under Very High Cycle Fatigue loading (VHCF). The VHCF regime is associated with stress magnitudes lower than the conventional fatigue limit and as a result, numbers of cycles higher than 109. Tests were carried out using an ultrasonic technique at loading frequency of 20 kHz. In the case of pure copper polycrystals, we previously showed that slip band (SB) activity and intrinsic dissipation were closely related.Dissipation and slip band amount increased with the number of cycles. At very small stress amplitudes, no slip band appeared at the specimen surface up to 108 cycles but the material was found to dissipate energy. These results revealed that the material never reached a steady state and so could break at higher number of cycles. In this paper, the morphology and the location of slip bands were characterized. Different types of slip bands depending on the stress amplitudes appeared at the specimen surface. The stress amplitude required to show the first slip bands decreases with the number of cycles. It is twice lower than the stress amplitude required to break the specimen for the same number of cycles. At the smallest stress amplitudes, slip bands were mostly found at twin boundaries. Quasi 3D finite element simulations taking into account the polycrystalline nature of the material emphasized the key role of the elastic anisotropy in slip band initiation. A criterion for slip band appearance was finally proposed

Morphology-induced percolation in crosslinked AMPS/Fluorolink for fuel cell membrane application

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Sol-gel route: An original strategy to chemically stabilize proton exchange membranes for fuel cell

International audienceWe present the elaboration, via a Sol-Gel (SG) route, of a new generation of hybrid membranes for PEMFC applications, in order to improve their performances and durability. The strategy was to create, within a commercial sPEEK membrane, a reactive SG phase able to reduce the oxidative species generated during FC operation and to improve the proton conductivity. The SG content is adjusted by tuning the SG precursors/sPEEK ratio used for the impregnation step. Raman analyses show that a uniform distribution of the SG phase in the membrane section is obtained when NMR analyses demonstrate its high extent of condensation, and reveal the structuring effect of the sPEEK membrane on the SG phase at the nanoscale. The membranes exhibit a better liquid water uptake and proton conductivity than pristine sPEEK membrane up to a SG uptake of 18%, with a gas permeability slightly higher than sPEEK but still lower than the benchmark Nafion. H2O2 accelerated aging tests evidenced the ability of the SG phase to prevent the oxidative degradation of sPEEK. Finally, the FC operability tests showed better and more durable performances for the hybrid membranes, without any increase of the gas permeability during operation