Contributions to deconfliction advanced U-space services for multiple unmanned aerial systems including field tests validation

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) will become commonplace, the number of UAS flying in European airspace is expected to increase from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands by 2050. To prepare for this approaching, national and international organizations involved in aerial traffic management are now developing new laws and restructuring the airspace to incorporate UAS into civil airspace. The Single European Sky ATM Research considers the development of the U-space, a crucial step to enable the safe, secure, and efficient access of a large set of UAS into airspace. The design, integration, and validation of a set of modules that contribute to our UTM architecture for advanced U-space services are described in this Thesis. With an emphasis on conflict detection and resolution features, the architecture is flexible, modular, and scalable. The UTM is designed to work without the need for human involvement, to achieve U-space required scalability due to the large number of expected operations. However, it recommends actions to the UAS operator since, under current regulations, the operator is accountable for carrying out the recommendations of the UTM. Moreover, our development is based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) and is open source. The main developments of the proposed Thesis are monitoring and tactical deconfliction services, which are in charge of identifying and resolving possible conflicts that arise in the shared airspace of several UAS. By limiting the conflict search to a local search surrounding each waypoint, the proposed conflict detection method aims to improve conflict detection. By splitting the issue down into smaller subproblems with only two waypoints, the conflict resolution method tries to decrease the deviation distance from the initial flight plan. The proposed method for resolving potential threats is based on the premise that UAS can follow trajectories in time and space properly. Therefore, another contribution of the presented Thesis is an UAS 4D trajectory follower that can correct space and temporal deviations while following a given trajectory. Currently, commercial autopilots do not offer this functionality that allows to improve the airspace occupancy using time as an additional dimension. Moreover, the integration of onboard detect and avoid capabilities, as well as the consequences for U-space services are examined in this Thesis. A module capable of detecting large static unexpected obstacles and generating an alternative route to avoid the obstacle online is presented. Finally, the presented UTM architecture has been tested in both software-in-theloop and hardware-in-the-loop development enviroments, but also in real scenarios using unmanned aircraft. These scenarios were designed by selecting the most relevant UAS operation applications, such as the inspection of wind turbines, power lines and precision agriculture, as well as event and forest monitoring. ATLAS and El Arenosillo were the locations of the tests carried out thanks to the European projects SAFEDRONE and GAUSS.Los sistemas aéreos no tripulados (UAS en inglés) se convertirán en algo habitual. Se prevé que el número de UAS que vuelen en el espacio aéreo europeo pase de unos pocos miles a cientos de miles en 2050. Para prepararse para esta aproximación, las organizaciones nacionales e internacionales dedicadas a la gestión del tráfico aéreo están elaborando nuevas leyes y reestructurando el espacio aéreo para incorporar los UAS al espacio aéreo civil. SESAR (del inglés Single European Sky ATM Research) considera el desarrollo de U-space, un paso crucial para permitir el acceso seguro y eficiente de un gran conjunto de UAS al espacio aéreo. En esta Tesis se describe el diseño, la integración y la validación de un conjunto de módulos que contribuyen a nuestra arquitectura UTM (del inglés Unmanned aerial system Traffic Management) para los servicios avanzados del U-space. Con un énfasis en las características de detección y resolución de conflictos, la arquitectura es flexible, modular y escalable. La UTM está diseñada para funcionar sin necesidad de intervención humana, para lograr la escalabilidad requerida por U-space debido al gran número de operaciones previstas. Sin embargo, la UTM únicamente recomienda acciones al operador del UAS ya que, según la normativa vigente, el operador es responsable de las operaciones realizadas. Además, nuestro desarrollo está basado en el Sistema Operativo de Robots (ROS en inglés) y es de código abierto. Los principales desarrollos de la presente Tesis son los servicios de monitorización y evitación de conflictos, que se encargan de identificar y resolver los posibles conflictos que surjan en el espacio aéreo compartido de varios UAS. Limitando la búsqueda de conflictos a una búsqueda local alrededor de cada punto de ruta, el método de detección de conflictos pretende mejorar la detección de conflictos. Al dividir el problema en subproblemas más pequeños con sólo dos puntos de ruta, el método de resolución de conflictos intenta disminuir la distancia de desviación del plan de vuelo inicial. El método de resolución de conflictos propuesto se basa en la premisa de que los UAS pueden seguir las trayectorias en el tiempo y espacio de forma adecuada. Por tanto, otra de las aportaciones de la Tesis presentada es un seguidor de trayectorias 4D de UAS que puede corregir las desviaciones espaciales y temporales mientras sigue una trayectoria determinada. Actualmente, los autopilotos comerciales no ofrecen esta funcionalidad que permite mejorar la ocupación del espacio aéreo utilizando el tiempo como una dimensión adicional. Además, en esta Tesis se examina la capacidad de integración de módulos a bordo de detección y evitación de obstáculos, así como las consecuencias para los servicios de U-space. Se presenta un módulo capaz de detectar grandes obstáculos estáticos inesperados y capaz de generar una ruta alternativa para evitar dicho obstáculo. Por último, la arquitectura UTM presentada ha sido probada en entornos de desarrollo de simulación, pero también en escenarios reales con aeronaves no tripuladas. Estos escenarios se diseñaron seleccionando las aplicaciones de operación de UAS más relevantes, como la inspección de aerogeneradores, líneas eléctricas y agricultura de precisión, así como la monitorización de eventos y bosques. ATLAS y El Arenosillo fueron las sedes de las pruebas realizadas gracias a los proyectos europeos SAFEDRONE y GAUSS

Autonomous 3D Exploration of Large Structures Using an UAV Equipped with a 2D LIDAR

This paper addressed the challenge of exploring large, unknown, and unstructured industrial environments with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The resulting system combined well-known components and techniques with a new manoeuvre to use a low-cost 2D laser to measure a 3D structure. Our approach combined frontier-based exploration, the Lazy Theta* path planner, and a flyby sampling manoeuvre to create a 3D map of large scenarios. One of the novelties of our system is that all the algorithms relied on the multi-resolution of the octomap for the world representation. We used a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HitL) simulation environment to collect accurate measurements of the capability of the open-source system to run online and on-board the UAV in real-time. Our approach is compared to different reference heuristics under this simulation environment showing better performance in regards to the amount of explored space. With the proposed approach, the UAV is able to explore 93% of the search space under 30 min, generating a path without repetition that adjusts to the occupied space covering indoor locations, irregular structures, and suspended obstaclesUnión Europea Marie Sklodowska-Curie 64215Unión Europea MULTIDRONE (H2020-ICT-731667)Uniión Europea HYFLIERS (H2020-ICT-779411

El cuadro de mando integral aplicado a las estrategias de desarrollo regional de la Region del Maule

223 p.Este trabajo pretendía proponer un modelo de implementación de las Estrategias Regionales de Desarrollo (ERD) de la región del Maule, basándose en el Cuadro de Mando Integral (CMI). También, pretendía aplicar este modelo a la ERD Maule 2000 para evaluar cuanto le contribuyó Ia distribución del Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Regional (FNDR) y a la ERD Maule 2000-2006 para mejorar esta contribución. Finalmente, pretendía conocer y mejorar la compensación territorial de esta distribución. Inicialmente, se considero que el modelo de cuadro de mando propuesto por Kaplan y Norton para las agencias del sector publico1 era adecuado, por lo que se trato de aplicar a la ERD Maule 2000. Para evitar algunos inconvenientes, se modifico este modelo. Los resultados obtenidos al aplicar el modelo modificado fueron pésimos. La experiencia obtenida al aplicar el CMI a la ERD Maule 2000, llevo a la convicción de que se requería un cambio significativo en el modelo de cuadro de mando utilizado. Es así como se propone un nuevo modelo de cuadro de mando especifico para las ERD. Este nuevo modelo se aplico a la ERD Maule 2000-2006, con resultados muy satisfactorios Por otra parte, no fue posible evaluar la contribución del FNDR a la ERD Maule 2000 usando el cuadro de mando construido para esta estrategia, por los defectos de este cuadro de mando. En otras palabras, la evaluación anterior se hizo con total independencia del CMI. Para mejorar la contribución del FNDR a la ERD Maule 2000-2006 se proponen mejoras al actual proceso de distribución de dicho fondo, basadas en la utilización del CMI. Finalmente, para conocer la compensación territorial del FNDR, se usaron métodos estadísticos que no dependen en modo alguno del CMI. Los cambios propuestos al proceso de distribución del FNDR para mejorar la compensación territorial tampoco dependen del CMI. Este trabajo permite concluir que el CMI puede ser aplicado a las ERD, aunque con algunas consideraciones. También, permite concluir que el FNDR contribuyo significativamente a la ERD Maule 2000 y, en el mismo periodo en que esta se ejecuto, que casi no contribuyo a la compensación territorial. Finalmente, se concluye que el CMI puede utilizarse para intentar mejorar la contribución del FNDR a la ERD Maule 2000-2006, pero que su use no es obligatorio para mejorar la compensación territorial

Optimización del raleo en plantaciones de pinus caribaea mediante un modelo matemático

En la investigación se elaboró un modelo de programación lineal para maximizar el rendimiento de las plantaciones de Pinus caribaea var caribaea Barret y Golfari de la Unidad Silvícola San Juan y Martínez, perteneciente a la Empresa Forestal Integral Pinar del Río. Se determinaron los rodales que debían recibir tratamiento silvicultural (raleo I, II ó III), considerando las restricciones de presupuesto asignado y disponibilidad de combustible. Para resolver el modelo se aplicó el programa QSB, se trabajó con el registro de Ordenación Forestal del año 2006 con la información sobre las áreas, recursos económicos, planes de producción y parámetros a tener en cuenta. El modelo permitió obtener soluciones eficientes desde el punto de vista económico e identificar, de forma ordenada, el rodal que debe recibir tratamiento, muestra el tipo de raleo y el orden en que se debe ejecutar, de manera tal que al final del turno se obtengan los rendimientos deseados

An aerial robot path follower based on the ’Carrot chasing’ algorithm

This paper presents a three-dimensional path follower implementation for an aerial robot based on the carrot-chasing algorithm. The main objective was to improve the performance of the position controller of the PX4 autopilot when following a list of waypoints. This autopilot is widely used in the aerial robotics community, but we needed to improve its performance for navigation in cluttered environments. Different simulations have been carried out under the ROS (Robotic Operating System) environment for the comparison between the position controller of the PX4 and the proposed path follower. In addition, we have implemented different modes to generate the path from the input list of waypoints that are also analyzed in our simulation environment

Use of video games in Physical Education and self-concept development in adolescence: sex-based differences

Adolescence is the period of growth where major changes occur in all the dimensions that make up the human being. Also, the great current use of new technologies should be considered, specifically for this age group, the video games. The main aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the use of a video game in the field of Physical Education and the development of self-concept in adolescents, taking into account differences by sex. In addition, the effect of the video game used in the practice of the individual technique in basketball was analyzed. The analyses revealed that there was no improvement in self-concept in either the experimental or the control group, but that there were differences between sexes. Girls showed a greater improvement in physical and emotional self-concept than boys. In the case of basketball, there were improvements in individual basketball technique in both groups as well as by sex. In this way, it can be concluded that the use of video games in adolescence can positively influence the improvement of the individual basketball technique and the self-concept of girls.La adolescencia es el periodo de crecimiento donde se producen mayores cambios en todas las dimensiones que componen al ser humano. A este hecho hay que sumarle el gran uso actual de las nuevas tecnologías, concretamente para este grupo de edad, los videojuegos. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue explorar la relación entre el uso de un videojuego en el ámbito de Educación Física y el desarrollo del autoconcepto en adolescentes atendiendo a las diferencias por sexos. Además, se analizó el efecto del videojuego utilizado en la práctica de la técnica individual en baloncesto. Los análisis revelaron que no hay mejoras en el autoconcepto ni en el grupo experimental ni en el grupo control, pero que sí hubo diferencias entre sexos. Tras la intervención se observó una mejora en el autoconcepto físico y emocional mayor en las chicas que en los chicos. En el caso del baloncesto, sí se produjeron mejoras en la técnica individual del baloncesto en ambos grupos como por sexo. De este modo, se puede concluir que el uso de videojuegos en la adolescencia puede influir positivamente en la mejora de la técnica individual del baloncesto y en el autoconcepto de las chicas

Wheat Straw Open Burning: Emissions and Impact on Climate Change

The state of Baja California, Mexico, is the second national wheat producer. Mexicali, the capital of Baja California, is the primary wheat producer, and it represents the most significant crop in the valley, with 90,609 ha of a cultivated surface by 2015; it leads to a wheat production of 585,334 t and a generation of 661,446 t of wheat straw as agricultural residue. The 15% of this waste has various uses. The 85% of wheat straw is open burnt in situ to prepare the farmland for the next agricultural cycle. Through the development of an emissions and energy model on iThink®, the emissions of 6,185 t of PM, 35,983 t of CO, and 1,125 t of CH4 considering a headfire burning or 3,373 t of PM, 30,360 t of CO, and 731 t of CH4 by backfire burning were estimated. Also, the wheat straw wasted energy was estimated at 8.15 PJ by 2015, with a lower heating value of 14.50 MJ/kg determined experimentally. The results highlight that for each hectare of harvested wheat, 6.205 t of wheat straw are generated and burnt. It represents the emission of pollutants and 89,972.50 MJ of wasted energy

Non-conventional vascular accesses for the management of superior vena cava syndrome in patients with Intestinal Failure: case series and systematic review

Background: Type III Intestinal Failure (IF) is a devastating clinical condition.characterized by the inability of the gut to absorb necessary macronutrients, and/or water and electrolytes, requiring Parenteral Nutrition (PN) as chronic therapy. Long-term PN may lead to life-threatening complications; the loss of central venous access (LCVA) is the most frequent and challenging. To date, few studies in the literature have reported the relevance of Non-conventional Vascular Accesses (NCVA) in the management IF as part of the comprehensive multidisciplinary care. Methods: A retrospective analysis of a database collected from January 2006 to December 2019 was performed using SPSS v25.0 for statistical analysis, followed by a systematic review, using the PRISMA.methodology Results: From January 2006 to December 2019, 184 NCVA were placed in 71 patients with LCVA as IF-related complication; 173 were placed in 61 patients by interventional radiology (IR) and 11 NCVA were placed in 10 patients by the surgical team during the intestinal transplant (ITx) operation. From the 173 IR procedures 166 (95.9%) were successful with 3 ± 2.7 procedures/patient; average catheter permanence rate was 738.68 ± 997 days; complications related to the procedures occurred in 18/173 (10.4%), including two deaths. On the other hand, among the 11 NCVA implanted by the surgical team, 7 (64%) were successful and were safely withdrawn 30 days after ITx when were no longer needed; 2 (18%) catheters malfunctioned during the first week and could not be further used, and 1 was accidently removed; average catheter permanence rate was 26 ± 4 days. There was one complication (9%) requiring laparotomy; there was no mortality associated the procedure in this group. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the success and safety of NCVA as part of the treatment of HPN-related complications; from 337,542 papers, 14 studies were included. A total of 28 HPN-patients with LCVA received NCVA; 34 procedures were successfully performed, while procedure-related complications were reported in 11.7%, as well as one death. Conclusions: The data analyzed show that NCVAs may be successfully placed by expert teams, allowing to sustain long-term PN, as well as increasing the Intestinal Transplantation applicability for candidates in the extreme need of vascular access.Fil: Pérez Illidge, Luis Carlos. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Ramisch, Diego. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Valdivieso, León. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Guzman, Carlos. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Antoni, Diego. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Rumbo, Carolina. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Trentadue, Julio. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Solar, Héctor. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Gentilini, Maria Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional, Trasplante y Bioingeniería. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional, Trasplante y Bioingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Gondolesi, Gabriel Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional, Trasplante y Bioingeniería. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional, Trasplante y Bioingeniería; Argentin

Stability of milk from dual purpose cows with different types of feeding

Objective: to determinate stability of alcohol-proof milk in cows with different feeding strategy in tropical dairy system. Design/methodology/approach: Ten cows crosses Holstein x Zebu with high frequency to alcohol-positive milk were housed in individual pens and distributed into two groups. Experiment 1. T1: cows were fed dry Pangola (Digitaria eriantha) grass; T2: cows were fed green Maralfalfa (Pennisetum violaceum) grass. Forage was provided at libitum. Experiment 2. T1 cows were supplemented with a higher crude protein percentage and metabolizable energy concentrated than T2, this was gradually increased to 4 kg. Milk was subjected to alcohol test. Analysis of variance was performed under categorical data models. Results: Higher percentages of alcohol positive test cases were observed in cows fed with dry grass than those fed with green grass (P<0.05). Addition of concentrate to dry or green forage diets reduced the positive percentage cases. Implications: A balanced diet improves milk stability. Findings/conclusions: The improvement in the nutritional contribution of the cows decrease the percentage of alcohol-positive test.Objective: To establish milk stability using the alcohol test in cows with different feeding strategies in the tropical dairy system. Design/methodology/approach: Ten crossbred Holstein x Zebu cows whose milk frequently tested positive to the alcohol test were housed in individual yards and distributed into two groups. Experiment 1. T1: cows consumed dry Pangola grass (Digitaria eriantha); T2: cows consumed green Maralfalfa grass (Pennisetum violaceum). Forage was provided ad libitum. Experiment 2. T1 cows were supplemented with a concentrate with higher crude protein and metabolizable energy percentage than T2 cows; this percentage was gradually increased up to 4.0 kg. Milk was subjected to alcohol testing. Variance analyzes were performed under categorical data models. Results: Higher percentages of cases that tested positive for alcohol were observed in cows that consumed dry grass than in cows that consumed green grass (P<0.05). The concentrate addition to diets based on dry or green forage reduced the positive case percentage. Implications: A balanced diet improves milk stability. Findings/conclusions: The improvement in the cows’ nutritional value decreases the percentage of milk with positive results in the alcohol test