Characterization and study of the primitive dynamic movements required to bi-manipulate a box

Automating the action of finding the opening side of a box is not possible if the robot is not capable of reaching and evaluating all of its sides. To achieve this goal, in this paper, three different movement strategies to bi-manipulate a box are studied: overturning, lifting, and spinning it over a surface. First of all, the dynamics involved in each of the three movement strategies are studied using physics equations. Then, a set of experiments are conducted to determine if the real response of the humanoid robot, TEO, to a box is consistent with the expected answer based on theoretical calculus. After the dynamics validation, the information on the forces and the position in the end effectors is used to characterize these movements and create its primitives. These primitive movements will be used in the future to design a hybrid position–force control in order to adapt the movements to different kinds of boxes. The structure of this control is also presented in this pape

Gaze-based Human-Robot Interaction System for Object Manipulation

[Resumen] En este artículo, se presenta una solución completa de interacción humano-robot basada en la mirada para ayudar al usuario en tareas de manipulación de objetos. El usuario utiliza unas gafas de seguimiento ocular y se detecta la intención en su mirada de coger un objeto entre varios situados sobre una mesa. El robot, una vez identificado el objeto seleccionado, procede a recogerlo y se lo acerca al usuario. Nuestra solución se compone de diferentes componentes, como la estimación de forma y posición de los objetos utilizando supercuádricas en el sistema de referencia del robot, la identificación y selección del objeto coincidente en la imagen del robot mediante redes siamesas, y un proceso adicional que permite al robot recoger el objeto seleccionado por el usuario de manera efectiva. Esta solución proporciona una forma innovadora y efectiva de interacción para realizar tareas asistenciales de manipulación, sin necesidad de marcadores ni posiciones predefinidas de los objetos, mejorando la fluidez en la comunicación y facilitando la interacción natural entre el usuario y el robot.[Abstract] In this article, we present a complete solution for gaze-based human-robot interaction to assist the user in object manipulation tasks. The user wears eye-tracking glasses, and their intention to pick up an object among several placed on a table is detected through their gaze. Once the selected object is identified, the robot proceeds to grasp it and bring it closer to the user. Our solution consists of various components, including the estimation of object shape and position using superquadrics in the robot’s reference frame, the identification and selection of the matching object in the robot’s image using Siamese networks, and an additional process that enables the robot to pick-up the object selected by the user. This solution offers an innovative and effective way of interaction to perform assistive manipulation tasks, without the need for markers or predefined object positions, enhancing communication fluency and facilitating natural interaction between the user and the robot.Comunidad de Madrid; Y2020/NMT-6660Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad; PID2020-13194GBI0

Evaluación de cuatro híbridos de tomate (Solanum lycopersicum L.) en cultivo protegido en el cantón Santa Ana

En las últimas décadas el rendimiento del cultivo de tomate en Manabi – Ecuador, ha disminuido probablemente debido a problemas como: inadecuada selección de híbridos, uso de semillas recicladas, labores culturales inadecuadas y cultivo al aire libre. El objetivo de la investigación fue la evaluación de cuatro híbridos de tomate bajo sistema de cultivo protegido. Se utilizó un diseño de bloques completos al azar (DBCA), con cuatro tratamientos y cuatro repeticiones para cada hibrido de tomate. Los resultados de esta investigación arrojaron que el hibrido Miramar fue el más precoz para floración y fructificación presentó el menor valor 23 días. En los días a floración y fructificación el híbrido Acerado HA3059 fue el más tardío, registró el mayor valor con 25 días y en relación al hibrido Pietro que registró más precocidad a fructificación con 34.25 días. Pero en los días a cosecha el más tardío fue Margo con 73 días. El hibrido Acerado HA3059 necesito la acumulación de 546.18 grados día y en la fructificación 79° grados día y la cosecha con el hibrido Margo registró 1 498.92 grados días de acumulación, mientras que, en las variables agronómicas, altura de planta, diámetro del tallo, número de racimos florales, flores por racimo, flores secundarias por racimo, frutos por racimo, no comerciales por racimo, diámetro del fruto (cm) y peso promedio de fruto (g) no reportaron diferencias estadísticas

Benchmarking of Whole Exome Sequencing and Ad Hoc Designed Panels for Genetic Testing of Hereditary Cancer

Next generation sequencing panels have been developed for hereditary cancer, although there is some debate about their cost-effectiveness compared to exome sequencing. The performance of two panels is compared to exome sequencing. Twenty-four patients were selected: ten with identified mutations (control set) and fourteen suspicious of hereditary cancer but with no mutation (discovery set). TruSight Cancer (94 genes) and a custom panel (122 genes) were assessed alongside exome sequencing. Eightythree genes were targeted by the two panels and exome sequencing. More than 99% of bases had a read depth of over 30x in the panels, whereas exome sequencing covered 94%. Variant calling with standard settings identified the 10 mutations in the control set, with the exception of MSH6 c.255dupC using TruSight Cancer. In the discovery set, 240 unique non-silent coding and canonic splice-site variants were identified in the panel genes, 7 of them putatively pathogenic (in ATM, BARD1, CHEK2, ERCC3, FANCL, FANCM, MSH2). The three approaches identified a similar number of variants in the shared genes. Exomes were more expensive than panels but provided additional data. In terms of cost and depth, panels are a suitable option for genetic diagnostics, although exomes also identify variants in non-targeted genes

Benchmarking of Whole Exome Sequencing and Ad Hoc Designed Panels for Genetic Testing of Hereditary Cancer

Acknowledgements: We thank all patients who contributed to this study. The work was supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII, MINECO) (operating grants: PI13/00285 and RD12/0036/0008 awarded to C.L. and PIE13/00022 and RD12/0036/0031 awarded to G.C.) and confunded by FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - a way to Build Europe-"// FONDOS FEDER "una manera de hacer Europa", the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia) (operating grant 2014SGR338, awarded to G.C.) and the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (operating grants, 2010 Grupos Estables, awarded to G.C.). J.B. received a Spanish Society of Medical Oncology grant. This activity is sponsored by the ISCIII Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PT13/0001/0044).Next generation sequencing panels have been developed for hereditary cancer, although there is some debate about their cost-effectiveness compared to exome sequencing. The performance of two panels is compared to exome sequencing. Twenty-four patients were selected: ten with identified mutations (control set) and fourteen suspicious of hereditary cancer but with no mutation (discovery set). TruSight Cancer (94 genes) and a custom panel (122 genes) were assessed alongside exome sequencing. Eightythree genes were targeted by the two panels and exome sequencing. More than 99% of bases had a read depth of over 30x in the panels, whereas exome sequencing covered 94%. Variant calling with standard settings identified the 10 mutations in the control set, with the exception of MSH6 c.255dupC using TruSight Cancer. In the discovery set, 240 unique non-silent coding and canonic splice-site variants were identified in the panel genes, 7 of them putatively pathogenic (in ATM, BARD1, CHEK2, ERCC3, FANCL, FANCM, MSH2). The three approaches identified a similar number of variants in the shared genes. Exomes were more expensive than panels but provided additional data. In terms of cost and depth, panels are a suitable option for genetic diagnostics, although exomes also identify variants in non-targeted genes

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

LA EDUCACIÓN SEXUAL EN LOS ADOLESCENTES

La educación para la sexualidad es uno de los objetivos del trabajo educacional y se encuentra dirigida a la preparación estudiantil relacionada con el encuentro feliz, pleno y responsable con su sexualidad, en correspondencia con sus necesidades y las de su contexto. Con el fin de resolver las carencias que poseen los docentes y la familia en su preparación para orientar a los adolescentes en el desarrollo de su educación para la sexualidad y de forma particular en la asunción de los cambios psicosexuales que se operan en su personalidad con una visión integral, las autoras de este trabajo proponen un sistema de acciones para la educación de la sexualidad en los adolescentes.educación sexual, sexualidad, salud sexual

Forces study during dual arm lifting and translation tasks of a load

[Resumen] En este artículo se aborda el estudio de las fuerzas que afectan a la hora de realizar la tarea de “pick and place” de cajas. A través de los experimentos presentados se persigue conocer el comportamiento del sistema desde el punto de vista de las fuerzas de fricción y de presión que se deben ejercer para realizar el agarre de la caja, como desde el punto de vista de cómo afecta el peso del cuerpo que se va a elevar y desplazar de un punto a otro. El objetivo final es adquirir el conocimiento necesario para saber cómo le afectan al robot estos estímulos para poder realizar la tarea de bimanipulación sin necesidad de conocer el peso de la caja de forma previa.[Abstract] In this paper a study of the forces involved in a “pick and place” task is done. The experiments presented in this article seek to understand the behaviour of the system from the point of view of the friction and pressure forces that must be exerted to grip the box, as well as from the point of view of how the weight of the body to be lifted and moved from one point to another affects it. The final objective is to acquire the necessary knowledge of how these stimuli affect the robot in order to be able to carry out the task of bimanipulation without the need to know the weight of the box beforehand.Comunidad de Madrid; S2018/NMT-4331La investigación que ha conducido a estos resultados ha recibido financiación del proyecto SOFIA: Articulación blanda inteligente con capacidades de reconfiguración y modularidad para plataformas robóticas, con referencia PID2020-13194GB-I00, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, y del proyecto RoboCity2030-DIHCM, Madrid Robotics Digital Innovation Hub, S2018/NMT-4331, financiado por "Programas de ActividadesI+D en la Comunidad de Madrid'' y cofinanciado por Fondos Estructurales de la UE

Comparison of inverted pendulum models and its application to the humanoids TEO and REEM-C

[Resumen] La alta dimensionalidad y no linealidad hacen del modelado y el control del equilibrio de un robot humanoide bípedo un proceso complejo y difícil. Para controlar el robot en tiempo real se necesitan modelos cinemáticos y dinámicos simplificados. El modelo del Péndulo Invertido Lineal (LIPM) es uno de los modelos simples más utilizados en el control del equilibro. Sin embargo, este modelo introduce errores de aproximación que se añaden a las imprecisiones inherentes del robot. Este trabajo presenta un nuevo modelo basado en el LIPM, llamado modelo Dinámico del Péndulo Invertido Lineal (DLIPM), que minimiza el error y reduce las oscilaciones. Esto es debido a que planifica el comportamiento del robot con respecto a cambios en el estado del equilibro dado por el Punto de Momento Cero (ZMP). Además, se han realizado experimentos que consisten en perturbaciones en el equilibrio utilizando ambos modelos de péndulo invertido para dos robots distintos: TEO, de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid y REEM-C, de PAL Robotics. Los resultados muestran que las respuestas ante perturbaciones de equilibro utilizando el modelo DLIPM son más precisas y muestran menos oscilaciones en ambos robots.[Abstract] Due to the high dimensionality and nonlinearity, modeling and balance control design of a humanoid biped robot is a complex and challenging process. Real-time control requires simplified kinematic and Dynamic models. The Linear Inverted Pendulum Model (LIPM) is one of the most used simplified models for balance control. However, this model adds approximation errors to the inherent inaccuracies of the robot. The Dynamic Linear Inverted Pendulum Model (DLIPM) reduces the error and minimizes the oscillations since it plans the robot’s behavior to changes in the balance status given by the Zero Moment Point (ZMP). In this work, TEO, from Univerisity Carlos III, and REEM-C from PAL Robotics have been subjected to balance perturbations using both inverted pendulum models. Results show that the responses of both robots with respect to balance perturbations are more precise and have fewer oscillations using the DLIPM model.La investigación que ha conducido a estos resultados ha recibido financiación del proyecto SOFIA: Articulación blanda inteligente con capacidades de reconfiguración y modularidad para plataformas robóticas, con referencia PID2020-13194GB-I00, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, y del proyecto RoboCity2030-DIH-CM, Madrid Robotics Digital Innovation Hub, S2018/NMT-4331, financiado por ”Programas de Actividades I+D en la Comunidad de Madrid” y cofinanciado por Fondos Estructurales de la UE.Comunidad de Madrid; S2018/NMT-433