Vision-based interaction within a multimodal framework

Our contribution is to the field of video-based interaction techniques and is integrated in the home environment of the EMBASSI project. This project addresses innovative methods of man-machine interaction achieved through the development of intelligent assistance and anthropomorphic user interfaces. Within this project, multimodal techniques represent a basic requirement, especially considering those related to the integration of modalities. We are using a stereoscopic approach to allow the natural selection of devices via pointing ges-tures. The pointing hand is segmented from the video images and the 3D position and orientation of the forefinger is calculated. This modality has a subsequent integration with that of speech, in the context of a multimodal interaction infrastructure. In a first phase, we use semantic fusion with amodal input, considering the modalities in a so-called late fusion state

Coordinate-space solution of the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov equations within spherical symmetry. The program HFBRAD (v1.0)

We describe the first version (v1.00) of the code HFBRAD which solves the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock or Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov equations in the coordinate representation within the spherical symmetry. A realistic representation of the quasiparticle wave functions on the space lattice allows for performing calculations up to the particle drip lines. Zero-range density-dependent interactions are used in the pairing channel. The pairing energy is calculated by either using a cut-off energy in the quasiparticle spectrum or the regularization scheme proposed by A. Bulgac and Y. Yu.Comment: 39 pages, 9 figure

Generalized routhian calculations within the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approximation

We consider here variational solutions in the Hartree-Fock approximation upon breaking time reversal and axial symmetries. When decomposed on axial harmonic oscillator functions, the corresponding single particle triaxial eigenstates as functions of the usual cylindrical coordinates (r, $\theta$, z) are evaluated on a mesh in r and z to be integrated within Gauss-Hermite and Gauss-Laguerre approaches and as Fourier decompositions in the angular variable $\theta$. Using an effective interaction of the Skyrme type, the Hartree-Fock hamiltonian is also obtained as a Fourier series allowing a two dimensional calculation of its matrix elements. This particular choice is shown to lead in most cases to shorter computation times compared to the usual decomposition on triaxial harmonic oscillator states. We apply this method to the case of the semi-quantal approach of large amplitude collective motion corresponding to a generalized routhian formalism and present results in the A=150 superdeformed region for the coupling of global rotation and intrinsic vortical modes in what is known after Chandrasekhar as the S-ellipsoid coupling case.Comment: LaTeX using elsart, 32 pages, 4 included figures, submitted to Nuclear Physics A (revised version

Solution of the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock equations in the Cartesian deformed harmonic oscillator basis. (I) The method

We describe a method of solving the nuclear Skyrme-Hartree-Fock problem by using a deformed Cartesian harmonic oscillator basis. The complete list of expressions required to calculate local densities, total energy, and self-consistent fields is presented, and an implementation of the self-consistent symmetries is discussed. Formulas to calculate matrix elements in the Cartesian harmonic oscillator basis are derived for the nuclear and Coulomb interactions.Comment: 26 LaTeX pages, submitted to Computer Physics Communication

Bulk properties of rotating nuclei and the validity of the liquid drop model at finite angular momenta

Out of self-consistent semi-classical calculations performed within the so-called Extended Thomas-Fermi approach for 212 nuclei at all even angular momentum values I ranging between 0 and 80 \hbar and using the Skyrme SkM* effective force, the I-dependence of associated liquid drop model parameters has been studied. The latter have been obtained trough separate fits of the calculated values of the strong interaction as well as direct and exchange Coulomb energies. The theoretical data basis so obtained, has allowed to make a rough quantitative assessment of the variation with I of the usual volume and surface energy parameters up to spin of \sim 30-40 \hbar. As a result of the combined variation of the surface and Coulomb energies, it has been shown that this I-dependence results in a significant enhancement of the fission stability of very heavy nuclei, balancing thus partially the well-known instability due to centrifugal forces.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX (elsart) with 13 embeded postscript figure

Dissolving the Dichotomies Between Online and Campus-Based Teaching: a Collective Response to The Manifesto for Teaching Online (Bayne et al. 2020)

This article is a collective response to the 2020 iteration of The Manifesto for Teaching Online. Originally published in 2011 as 20 simple but provocative statements, the aim was, and continues to be, to critically challenge the normalization of education as techno-corporate enterprise and the failure to properly account for digital methods in teaching in Higher Education. The 2020 Manifesto continues in the same critically provocative fashion, and, as the response collected here demonstrates, its publication could not be timelier. Though the Manifesto was written before the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the responses gathered here inevitably reflect on the experiences of moving to digital, distant, online teaching under unprecedented conditions. As these contributions reveal, the challenges were many and varied, ranging from the positive, breakthrough opportunities that digital learning offered to many students, including the disabled, to the problematic, such as poor digital networks and access, and simple digital poverty. Regardless of the nature of each response, taken together, what they show is that The Manifesto for Teaching Online offers welcome insights into and practical advice on how to teach online, and creatively confront the supremacy of face-to-face teaching

Roadmap for a sustainable circular economy in lithium-ion and future battery technologies

The market dynamics, and their impact on a future circular economy for lithium-ion batteries (LIB), are presented in this roadmap, with safety as an integral consideration throughout the life cycle. At the point of end-of-life (EOL), there is a range of potential options—remanufacturing, reuse and recycling. Diagnostics play a significant role in evaluating the state-of-health and condition of batteries, and improvements to diagnostic techniques are evaluated. At present, manual disassembly dominates EOL disposal, however, given the volumes of future batteries that are to be anticipated, automated approaches to the dismantling of EOL battery packs will be key. The first stage in recycling after the removal of the cells is the initial cell-breaking or opening step. Approaches to this are reviewed, contrasting shredding and cell disassembly as two alternative approaches. Design for recycling is one approach that could assist in easier disassembly of cells, and new approaches to cell design that could enable the circular economy of LIBs are reviewed. After disassembly, subsequent separation of the black mass is performed before further concentration of components. There are a plethora of alternative approaches for recovering materials; this roadmap sets out the future directions for a range of approaches including pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, short-loop, direct, and the biological recovery of LIB materials. Furthermore, anode, lithium, electrolyte, binder and plastics recovery are considered in order to maximise the proportion of materials recovered, minimise waste and point the way towards zero-waste recycling. The life-cycle implications of a circular economy are discussed considering the overall system of LIB recycling, and also directly investigating the different recycling methods. The legal and regulatory perspectives are also considered. Finally, with a view to the future, approaches for next-generation battery chemistries and recycling are evaluated, identifying gaps for research. This review takes the form of a series of short reviews, with each section written independently by a diverse international authorship of experts on the topic. Collectively, these reviews form a comprehensive picture of the current state of the art in LIB recycling, and how these technologies are expected to develop in the future