Event-based visual guidance inspired by honeybees in a 3D tapered tunnel

International audience— In view of neuro-ethological findings on honeybees and our previously developed vision-based autopilot, in-silico experiments were performed in which a " simulated bee " was make to travel along a doubly tapering tunnel including for the first time event-based controllers. The " simulated bee " was equipped with: • a minimalistic compound eye comprising 10 local motion sensors measuring the optic flow magnitude, • two optic flow regulators updating the control signals whenever specific optic flow criteria changed, • and three event-based controllers taking into account the error signals, each one in charge of its own translational dynamics. A MORSE/Blender based simulator-engine delivered what each of 20 " simulated photoreceptors " saw in the tunnel lined with high resolution natural 2D images. The " simulated bee " managed to travel safely along the doubly tapering tunnel without requiring any speed or distance measurements, using only a Gibsonian point of view, by: • concomitantly adjusting the side thrust, vertical lift and forward thrust whenever a change was detected on the optic flow-based signal errors, • avoiding collisions with the surface of the doubly tapering tunnel and decreasing or increasing its speed, depending on the clutter rate perceived by motion sensors

Increasing the Number of Thyroid Lesions Classes in Microarray Analysis Improves the Relevance of Diagnostic Markers

BackgroundGenetic markers for thyroid cancers identified by microarray analysis have offered limited predictive accuracy so far because of the few classes of thyroid lesions usually taken into account. To improve diagnostic relevance, we have simultaneously analyzed microarray data from six public datasets covering a total of 347 thyroid tissue samples representing 12 histological classes of follicular lesions and normal thyroid tissue. Our own dataset, containing about half the thyroid tissue samples, included all categories of thyroid lesions. Methodology/Principal Findings Classifier predictions were strongly affected by similarities between classes and by the number of classes in the training sets. In each dataset, sample prediction was improved by separating the samples into three groups according to class similarities. The cross-validation of differential genes revealed four clusters with functional enrichments. The analysis of six of these genes (APOD, APOE, CLGN, CRABP1, SDHA and TIMP1) in 49 new samples showed consistent gene and protein profiles with the class similarities observed. Focusing on four subclasses of follicular tumor, we explored the diagnostic potential of 12 selected markers (CASP10, CDH16, CLGN, CRABP1, HMGB2, ALPL2, ADAMTS2, CABIN1, ALDH1A3, USP13, NR2F2, KRTHB5) by real-time quantitative RT-PCR on 32 other new samples. The gene expression profiles of follicular tumors were examined with reference to the mutational status of the Pax8-PPARγ, TSHR, GNAS and NRAS genes. Conclusion/Significance We show that diagnostic tools defined on the basis of microarray data are more relevant when a large number of samples and tissue classes are used. Taking into account the relationships between the thyroid tumor pathologies, together with the main biological functions and pathways involved, improved the diagnostic accuracy of the samples. Our approach was particularly relevant for the classification of microfollicular adenomas

The culture history of Madagascar

Madagascar's culture is a unique fusion of elements drawn from the western, northern, and eastern shores of the Indian Ocean, and its past has fascinated many scholars, yet systematic archaeological research is relatively recent on the island. The oldest traces of visitors are from the first century AD. Coastal settlements, with clear evidence of ties to the western Indian Ocean trading network, were established in several places over the next millennium. Important environmental changes of both plant and animal communities are documented over this period, including the extinctions of almost all large animal species. Urban life in Madagascar began with the establishment of the entrepôt of Mahilaka on the northwest coast of the island in the twelfth century. At about the same time, communities with ties to the trade network were established around the island's coasts. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, social hierarchies developed in several regions of the island. During the succeeding two centuries, Madagascar saw the development of state polities.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45256/1/10963_2004_Article_BF00997802.pd

Indoor and outdoor in-flight odometry based solely on optic flows with oscillatory trajectories

International audienceEstimating distance traveled is a frequently arising problem in robotic applications designed for use in environments where GPS is only intermittently or not at all available. In UAVs, the presence of weight and computational power constraints makes it necessary to develop odometric strategies based on minimilastic equipment. In this study, a hexarotor was made to perform up-and-down oscillatory movements while flying forward in order to test a self-scaled optic flow based odometer. The resulting self-oscillatory trajectory generated series of contractions and expansions in the optic flow vector field, from which the flight height of the hexarotor could be estimated using an Extended Kalman Filter. For the odometry, the downward translational optic flow was scaled by this current visually estimated flight height before being mathematically integrated to obtain the distance traveled. Here we present three strategies based on sensor fusion requiring no, precise or rough prior knowledge of the optic flow variations generated by the sinusoidal trajectory. The “rough prior knowledge” strategy is based on the shape and timing of the variations in the optic flow. Tests were performed first in a flight arena, where the hexarotor followed a circular trajectory while oscillating up and down over a distance of about [Formula: see text] m under illuminances of [Formula: see text] lux and [Formula: see text] lux. Preliminary field tests were then performed, in which the hexarotor followed a longitudinal bouncing [Formula: see text]-long trajectory over an irregular pattern of grass

Indoor and outdoor in-flight odometry based solely on optic flows with oscillatory trajectories

International audienceEstimating distance traveled is a frequently arising problem in robotic applications designed for use in environments where GPS is only intermittently or not at all available. In UAVs, the presence of weight and computational power constraints makes it necessary to develop odometric strategies based on minimilastic equipment. In this study, a hexarotor was made to perform up-and-down oscillatory movements while flying forward in order to test a self-scaled optic flow based odometer. The resulting self-oscillatory trajectory generated series of contractions and expansions in the optic flow vector field, from which the flight height of the hexarotor could be estimated using an Extended Kalman Filter. For the odometry, the downward translational optic flow was scaled by this current visually estimated flight height before being mathematically integrated to obtain the distance traveled. Here we present three strategies based on sensor fusion requiring no, precise or rough prior knowledge of the optic flow variations generated by the sinusoidal trajectory. The “rough prior knowledge” strategy is based on the shape and timing of the variations in the optic flow. Tests were performed first in a flight arena, where the hexarotor followed a circular trajectory while oscillating up and down over a distance of about [Formula: see text] m under illuminances of [Formula: see text] lux and [Formula: see text] lux. Preliminary field tests were then performed, in which the hexarotor followed a longitudinal bouncing [Formula: see text]-long trajectory over an irregular pattern of grass

sj-pdf-1-mav-10.1177_17568293221148380 - Supplemental material for Indoor and outdoor in-flight odometry based solely on optic flows with oscillatory trajectories

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-mav-10.1177_17568293221148380 for Indoor and outdoor in-flight odometry based solely on optic flows with oscillatory trajectories by L Bergantin, C Coquet, J Dumon, A Negre, T Raharijaona, N Marchand and F Ruffier in International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles</p