A task control architecture for autonomous robots

An architecture is presented for controlling robots that have multiple tasks, operate in dynamic domains, and require a fair degree of autonomy. The architecture is built on several layers of functionality, including a distributed communication layer, a behavior layer for querying sensors, expanding goals, and executing commands, and a task level for managing the temporal aspects of planning and achieving goals, coordinating tasks, allocating resources, monitoring, and recovering from errors. Application to a legged planetary rover and an indoor mobile manipulator is described

Dynamic Aerosol In-Situ Imager (DAISI)

Transverse confocal imaging with pulsed laser illumination enables real-time parameter chanclerization of individual aerosol particles Independent values for size, dynamics, and cross-section enable enhanced PM speciation

Getting to Rights: Treaty Ratification, Constitutional Convergence, and Human Rights Practice

This Article examines the adoption of rights in national constitutions in the post-World War II period in light of claims of global convergence. Using a comprehensive database on the contents of the world’s constitutions, we observe a qualified convergence on the content of rights. Nearly every single right has increased in prevalence since its introduction, but very few are close to universal. We show that international rights documents, starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have shaped the rights menu of national constitutions in powerful ways. These covenants appear to coordinate the behavior of domestic drafters, whether or not the drafters’ countries are legally committed to the agreements (though commitment enhances the effect). Our particular focus is on the all-important International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, whose ratification inclines countries towards rights they, apparently, would not otherwise adopt. This finding confirms the complementary relationship between treaty ratification and domestic constitutional norms, and suggests that one important channel of treaty efficacy may be through domestic constitutions.Governmen

Nuptial gifts fail to resolve a sexual conflict in an insect

Background Because of the potential benefits to individuals of saving investment for future mating opportunities, there is conflict between mates over most aspects of reproduction. Males of many species transfer compounds in the ejaculate that manipulate female reproductive physiology to increase male reproductive success. These seminal compounds are often associated with direct and/or indirect costs to females. In contrast, in some species ejaculates also contain nutrients used by females for somatic maintenance and increased reproductive output. In general, the extent to which male seminal components are detrimental or beneficial to females is poorly understood, and interactions between seminal compounds with different effects have been almost completely neglected. Here we examine the impact of male receptivity-suppressing factors and nutrient donations on female longevity and lifetime reproductive output in the bushcricket Requena verticalis. Results We show that receiving multiple ejaculates reduces longevity in female R. verticalis, indicating a cost of male derived receptivity-suppressing compounds. Consumption of male nutrient donations does not appear to ameliorate this longevity cost, and there was no effect of nutrient provisioning on female lifetime fecundity. Conclusion These results indicate that nutrient provisioning does not provide a resolution to sexual conflict over female receptivity in this bushcricket species

Mediating tacit knowledges: a visual and sonic essay

Crafting Futures is an ongoing British Council funded project which addresses the global threat to intangible heritage; as researchers in the School of Communication, RCA, our role has been to co-create methods for knowing with, not knowing about, the largely tacit community knowledge of craft and its surrounding networks of meaning; From 2019 we have worked with craftspeople within Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to generate visual and sonic narratives; at the centre of our research methodology is the imperative of countering and moving beyond naturalised colonial assumptions about what counts as knowledge. The project methods arose from discussions and image/sound making workshops with craft leaders, practitioners and intergenerational craftspeople. We have found the ideas of De Santos (2018, 2016) and Appadurai (2006), useful in bringing mindfulness to the assumptions, power relations and biases of our backgrounds, the idea of Knowing With (de Sousa Santos, 2018, 15) not knowing about, has informed the way we have co-designed, framed and run the workshops and discussions which we will present in the proposed visual and sonic essay. As Appadurai (2006) states, research risks remaining an elite process and is ‘normally seen as a high-end, technical activity, available by training and class background to specialists in education, the sciences and related professional fields. It is rarely seen as a capacity with democratic potential, much less as belonging to the family of rights’ (Appadurai, 2006). We have aimed to prioritise the Right to Research (Appadurai, 2006) for all those we have worked with. At the same time, we are acutely aware of the dangers of idealising our own methodology, and the construct of participatory practice. We are anxious, therefore, not to frame the actions and discussions we have held with participants as ‘data’ to be harvested. Our visual/sonic essay will present that work and its processes while also addressing key questions: + How was this knowledge generated and for whom? + How does the role of community affect the generation of knowledge? + How can communities counter cultural & economic isolation and foster new networks of knowledge

Crafting futures: Scoping visit reports and proposals for pilot projects in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

'Crafting Futures creates new networks and opportunities for shared learning between the UK and other countries around the globe. The programme supports research and education in craft, ensuring projects are relevant and the quality of creative practice is preserved and continues to develop. Crafting Futures offers designers and artisans access to knowledge and expertise, new markets and new audiences, ensuring the value of craft is appreciated more broadly and knowledge can continue to be shared within the sector.’ (design.britishcouncil.org). RCA researchers Tom Simmons and Eleanor Dare visited Kyrgyzstan in November 2019; Peter Oakley visited Kazakhstan with Martin Quinn (University of Leicester) in October 2019; and Marta Gasparin and Steve Conway (University of Leicester) visited Uzbekistan in November 2019. This report summarises the visits and includes an analysis of opportunities for future collaborations

Soil water and available nitrogen during cover crop growth

A field trial in Ely, Cambridgeshire was set up to investigate the soil moisture and nitrogen dynamics of a frost sensitive cover crop compared to a control of an over winter stubble. Cover crops were established in late summer following wheat harvest and a summer tillage operation. Soil and aboveground biomass sampling commenced in September 2017 was continued at 2–3 week intervals until May 2018. The results highlight the fast growth of cover crops which rapidly reduced the total oxides of nitrogen present in the soil by late autumn. During winter a gradual increase in total oxides of nitrogen is measured as the cover crop residue is mineralized. The use of the frost sensitive cover crop permitted ease of management and termination, though it is not completely reliable and termination times can vary from year to year

Do cover crops give short term benefits for soil health?

Cover crop use in the UK is increasing with establishment often before spring cereal crops. Therefore trials were implemented to assess two different cover crop mixtures for i) their ability to remediate soil compaction, ii) aid water management and iii) increase earthworm numbers. Two cover crop mixtures; frost sensitive (black oats, oil radish and mustard) and winter hardy (forage rye, oil radish and berseem clover) were compared to control plots. This replicated trial was based at G’s Growers on an organo-mineral soil with a cover crop sown between wheat harvested in August 2016 and maize sown in May 2017. The results suggest that in the short term there are small differences in soil physical characteristics. Notably at a depth of 10–20 cm there is a reduction in soil strength as measured by the penetrologger and shear vane following the frost sensitive cover crop mix. Juvenile earthworm population was significantly greater in the control treatment compared to the frost sensitive cover crop treatment. In May 2017 maize was established across all plots

The use of cover crops in the UK: a survey

A sustainable soil management survey targeting UK arable farmers was distributed via online platforms throughout the winter of 2016–2017. The main focus of the survey was the use and management of cover crops along with tillage practice and aspects of soil health. Following harvest in 2016 two-thirds of participants used a cover crop, with 56% of those using a cover crop having 3 years or less experience. There is evidence that the species selected as a cover crop is linked to soil type whilst the benefits to soil structure is related to the extent of farmer experience. Of the participants using cover crops 81% used herbicide to terminate the cover crop. Participants provided suggestions for improvements to ecological focus area rules (based on the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme) for cover and catch crops with 70% of participants suggesting they are not suitable

Polyandrous females avoid costs of inbreeding

Why do females typically mate with more than one male? Female mating patterns have broad implications for sexual selection, speciation and conflicts of interest between the sexes, and yet they are poorly understood. Matings inevitably have costs, and for females, the benefits of taking more than one mate are rarely obvious. One possible explanation is that females gain benefits because they can avoid using sperm from genetically incompatible males, or invest less in the offspring of such males. It has been shown that mating with more than one male can increase offspring viability, but we present the first clear demonstration that this occurs because females with several mates avoid the negative effects of genetic incompatibility. We show that in crickets, the eggs of females that mate only with siblings have decreased hatching success. However, if females mate with both a sibling and a non-sibling they avoid altogether the low egg viability associated with sibling matings. If similar effects occur in other species, inbreeding avoidance may be important in understanding the prevalence of multiple mating