Lidar–camera semi-supervised learning for semantic segmentation

In this work, we investigated two issues: (1) How the fusion of lidar and camera data can improve semantic segmentation performance compared with the individual sensor modalities in a supervised learning context; and (2) How fusion can also be leveraged for semi-supervised learning in order to further improve performance and to adapt to new domains without requiring any additional labelled data. A comparative study was carried out by providing an experimental evaluation on networks trained in different setups using various scenarios from sunny days to rainy night scenes. The networks were tested for challenging, and less common, scenarios where cameras or lidars individually would not provide a reliable prediction. Our results suggest that semi-supervised learning and fusion techniques increase the overall performance of the network in challenging scenarios using less data annotations

Level 4 commercial autonomous vehicle control system transition to an open-source solution

This paper introduces a novel approach for transferring the entire set of low-level control systems from one robot bus, i.e., an autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle, to another with distinct electronics and mechanical specifications. The research entails a series of experiments to assess the reliability and safety of the AV shuttle after integrating the critical control systems responsible for steering, accelerating, and braking into the target shuttle. The ultimate goal is to meet the necessary requirements for registering the target AV shuttle as a legal vehicle on the roads in Estonia. Consequently, several crucial tests of the shuttleâs low-level control system were conducted, e.g., intentionally disconnecting different subsystems to simulate sudden failures and evaluate whether the shuttle responds in accordance with the appropriate protocols. As a case study, the upgraded autonomous shuttle was tested on the streets of Tallinn. The most relevant findings are introduced in the second part of this paper. The outcomes of the study demonstrate the feasibility of seamlessly transferring low-level control systems between various models of autonomous shuttles, eliminating the risk of encountering safety or reliability issues

Learning Based High-Level Decision Making for Abortable Overtaking in Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are a growing technology that aims to enhance safety, accessibility, efficiency, and convenience through autonomous maneuvers ranging from lane change to overtaking. Overtaking is one of the most challenging maneuvers for autonomous vehicles, and current techniques for autonomous overtaking are limited to simple situations. This paper studies how to increase safety in autonomous overtaking by allowing the maneuver to be aborted. We propose a decision-making process based on a deep Q-Network to determine if and when the overtaking maneuver needs to be aborted. The proposed algorithm is empirically evaluated in simulation with varying traffic situations, indicating that the proposed method improves safety during overtaking maneuvers. Furthermore, the approach is demonstrated in real-world experiments using the autonomous shuttle iseAuto.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

Exercise training with dietary counselling increases mitochondrial chaperone expression in middle-aged subjects with impaired glucose tolerance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Insulin resistance and diabetes are associated with increased oxidative stress and impairment of cellular defence systems. Our purpose was to investigate the interaction between glucose metabolism, antioxidative capacity and heat shock protein (HSP) defence in different skeletal muscle phenotypes among middle-aged obese subjects during a long-term exercise and dietary intervention. As a sub-study of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS), 22 persons with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) taking part in the intervention volunteered to give samples from the <it>vastus lateralis </it>muscle. Subjects were divided into two sub-groups (IGTslow and IGTfast) on the basis of their baseline myosin heavy chain profile. Glucose metabolism, oxidative stress and HSP expressions were measured before and after the 2-year intervention.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Exercise training, combined with dietary counselling, increased the expression of mitochondrial chaperones HSP60 and glucose-regulated protein 75 (GRP75) in the <it>vastus lateralis </it>muscle in the IGTslow group and that of HSP60 in the IGTfast group. In cytoplasmic chaperones HSP72 or HSP90 no changes took place. In the IGTslow group, a significant positive correlation between the increased muscle content of HSP60 and the oxygen radical absorbing capacity values and, in the IGTfast group, between the improved VO_2maxvalue and the increased protein expression of GRP75 were found. Serum uric acid concentrations decreased in both sub-groups and serum protein carbonyl concentrations decreased in the IGTfast group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The 2-year intervention up-regulated mitochondrial HSP expressions in middle-aged subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. These improvements, however, were not correlated directly with enhanced glucose tolerance.</p

Remote Laboratory Portal for Robotic and Embedded System Experiments

Engineering education process is heavily relying on the practical hands-on experimentation. However, todayâ??s education is involving more and more e-learning aspects and learners expect to get most of the content and activity available over the Internet. Practical experiments is not trivial to carry out over the Internet, but using novel ICT technologies and integrated solution, it is possible to offer real experimentation over the Internet. This paper describes and presents the remote practical experiment system in robotic and embedded system domain

The International Cooperation on Remote Laboratories in the Framework of Engineering Didactics

In the present paper the interactive demonstration of remote laboratories conducted with engineering didactics for creating real conditions for teaching and learning engineering has been presented. The article is focusing on international cooperation, offering the wide range of tools and methodology for effective and interactive teaching of embedded systems and mechatronics as well as exploiting latest web technologies, and offering flexibility and freedom for students

The International Cooperation on Remote Laboratories in the Framework of Engineering Didactics

In the present paper the interactive demonstration of remote laboratories conducted with engineering didactics for creating real conditions for teaching and learning engineering has been presented. The article is focusing on international cooperation, offering the wide range of tools and methodology for effective and interactive teaching of embedded systems and mechatronics as well as exploiting latest web technologies, and offering flexibility and freedom for students

The International Cooperation on Remote Laboratories in the Framework of Engineering Didactics

In the present paper the interactive demonstration of remote laboratories conducted with engineering didactics for creating real conditions for teaching and learning engineering has been presented. The article is focusing on international cooperation, offering the wide range of tools and methodology for effective and interactive teaching of embedded systems and mechatronics as well as exploiting latest web technologies, and offering flexibility and freedom for students