Implementation and Reconfiguration of Robot Operating System on Human Follower Transporter Robot

Robotic Operation System (ROS) is an im- portant platform to develop robot applications. One area of applications is for development of a Human Follower Transporter Robot (HFTR), which can be considered as a custom mobile robot utilizing differential driver steering method and equipped with Kinect sensor. This study discusses the development of the robot navigation system by implementing Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM)

Scanning electron microscopy analyses of CTR (A) and MLCK^IKO (B–F) mice.

<p>(A) CTR mice show normal hair bundles in one row of IHCs and three rows of OHCs on the basilar membrane (BM). (B–F) In MLCK^IKO mice, several ball-like structures were observed around the hair bundles of the IHCs (arrows). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D) or 2 µm (E–F).</p

Volume alteration of isolated IHCs upon hypoosmotic treatment.

<p>(A) The morphology of IHCs isolated from 4-month-old CTR (a, c, e) and MLCK^IKO mice (g, i, k) in isosmotic D-Hank's solution. CTR (b, d, f) and MLCK^IKO (h, j, l) IHCs were also imaged after treatment with hypoosmotic solution (a mixture of D-Hank's solution and water at a ratio of 1∶2) for 10 min. Scale bars: 10 µm. (B) Quantification of the change in IHC volume induced by hypoosmotic treatment. (C) The ratio of the changes in the cell body volume induced by hypoosmotic treatment. The error bars represent means ± S.E., *P<0.05, **P<0.01.</p

The actin cytoskeleton in the basilar epithelium of the organ of Corti.

<p>(A) In the cochleae of MLCK^IKO mice, staining with phalloidin reveals decreased F-actin formation in the cytoplasm and cell membrane of IHCs, whereas its expression in pillar cells (PCs) and OHCs remains strong in comparison with that of CTR mice. The nuclei were stained (blue) with Topro. Scale bars: 20 µm. (B) Representative waveforms of F-actin fluorescence signals in CTR and MLCK^IKO inner hair cells, captured by a LOYMUPS FLUOVIEW Ver.1.7.a Viewer. (C) Quantification of the relative intensity of the F-actin fluorescence signals in CTR (solid symbol, n = 10) and MLCK^IKO inner hair cells (open symbol, n = 13). The bars represent the means ± S.E., *Significant difference compared with CTR. ***<i>P</i><0.001.</p

MLCK expression in mouse cochleae.

<p>(A) Upper panel: Western blot analyses demonstrate that S-MLCK (short MLCK) is expressed in mouse cochleae. Samples of 25 µg of cochlear protein were separated on 5% SDS-PAGE. The K36 antibody was used as the primary antibody. The results showed one band of approximately 130–140 kD (short MLCK should be 108 kD). Lower panel: Quantitative analysis of <i>Mylk</i> gene expression in MLCK^IKO (solid symbol) and CTR (open symbol) mice. The bars represent the means of IOD_S-MLCK/IOD_βactin ±SD (integral optical density, IOD). The * symbols denote statistical significance at the level of P<0.05 <i>vs</i> CTR. (B) Whole-mount <i>in situ</i> hybridization for <i>Mylk</i> RNA in the inner ear. <i>Mylk</i> mRNA is expressed predominantly in the stria vascularis (arrowhead) and is moderately expressed in the organ of Corti (arrow). (C) Immunochemistry of K36 (red) in cross-sections of cochleae from wild-type mice. The nuclei were stained (blue) with Topro. (D) High-magnification view of the organ of Corti. S-MLCK: short MLCK; CO, the organ of Corti; SV, scala vestibuli; SM, scala media; ST, scala tympani; IHC, inner hair cell.</p

Disruption of the <i>Mylk</i> gene in IHCs and ABR threshold analyses.

<p>(A) Generation of knockout mice with deletion of <i>Mylk</i> in the IHCs (schematic). The 1.4-kb genomic DNA fragment contains <i>Mylk</i> exons 23–25 (<i>Mylk</i> accession number: NC_000082), which encode the adenosine triphosphate-binding site of the kinase. Mice containing the floxed allele were crossed with IHC-Cre mice to generate <i>Mylk^flox/+</i> (CTR) and <i>Mylk^flox/flox;IHC-Cre</i> (MLCK^IKO) mice. The locations of PCR primers <i>a</i> and <i>b</i> are indicated by arrows. (B) DNA isolated from CTR and MLCK^IKO mice IHCs and OHCs was analyzed by PCR; the 1.4-kb and 308-bp products represent CTR and mutated MLCK, respectively. (C) Representative ABR waveforms measured in CTR and MLCK^IKO knockout mice at 4–6 months in age measured in response to click stimuli of the indicated intensities. *ABR threshold. (D) Summary of the ABR thresholds for click and tone stimuli in 4- to 6-month-old control (filled circles) (n = 13) and MLCK-null mice (open circles) (n = 18). Averaged data (means ± S.E.) are shown for the click and tone stimuli. *Significant difference compared with control mice are shown. *, <i>P</i><0.05; **, <i>P</i><0.01.</p

ABR waveform analyses in CTR and MLCK^IKO mice.

<p>(A) The ABR amplitudes of wave I in wild-type mice (filled circles) and MLCK^IKO mice (open circles) at the indicated click intensities. Averaged data (means ± SEM) are shown for tone (16-kHz) stimuli, n = 13 and 18 for wild-type and MLCK^IKO mice, respectively. *Significant difference compared with wild-type mice are shown. *, <i>P</i><0.05. (B) The amplitude ratios of ABR wave I/wave II and wave I/wave III shown for each mouse. No significant difference was observed.</p

Immunohistochemistry of phospho-MLC2 and myosin VIIa in the basilar epithelium.

<p>In MLCK^IKO mouse cochleae, the phospho-MLC2 signal (red) (asterisks and arrowhead) in 60–70% of IHCs was weaker than that of the CTR IHCs, whereas myosin VIIa staining (green) was similar in both CTR and MLCK^IKO IHCs. The nuclei were stained (blue) with Topro. Scale bars: 10 µm.</p