Reflection Coefficient Estimation through the Modelling of Ultrasonic Transmission

In food industry, shortage of workers is one of a serious problem. Automation of food handling is a critical isSsue nowadays. To alleviate the damage caused by food picking operation by robotic hand, we propose non-contact acoustic impedance estimation with ultrasonic wave, which should be preceded before the picking for optimization of grasp stiffness. We have the assumption of the correlation between hardness and acoustic impedance. The impedance is calculated by the product of sonic velocity and density of a medium. From the point of view, the harder the medium is, the larger the impedance should be. We built up ultrasonic transmission model considering attenuation by ultrasonic reflection and absorption, then, made an experiment to estimate internal reflection of samples with two overwrapped media of different acoustic impedance.The 2022 International Conference on Artificial Life and Robotics (ICAROB 2022), January 20-23, 2022, on line, Oita, Japa

Acoustic Impedance Measurement through the Modelling of Ultrasonic Wave Transmission

In food industry, shortage of workers is a serious problem. Automation of food handling is a critical nowadays. To alleviate the damage during food picking by robotic hand, we propose non-contact acoustic impedance estimation with ultrasonic wave. We have the assumption of the correlation between hardness and acoustic impedance, and, built up ultrasonic transmission model considering attenuation by reflection and absorption, then, made an experiment to estimate the impedance. As the result, we succeeded in detecting acoustic impedance without contact.The 2021 International Conference on Artificial Life and Robotics (ICAROB 2021), January 21-24, 2021, Higashi-Hiroshima (オンライン開催に変更

Exercise on Environmental Monitoring and Control of Greenhouse by IoT Devices toward Smart Agriculture

As crops in greenhouses are widely distributed, IoT devices placed near the crops should be stand-alone and modular, and data from the devices are collected over the networks. Smart agriculture requires knowledge of a wide range of fields including electricity, information, and image processing. We have designed an AI and IoT technology exercise on environmental monitoring and control of a greenhouse where we have been preparing for grow up of tomatoes and other vegetables.The 2022 International Conference on Artificial Life and Robotics (ICAROB 2022), January 20-23, 2022, on line, Oita, Japa

Neuronal sFlt1 and Vegfaa determine venous sprouting and spinal cord vascularization

Formation of organ-specific vasculatures requires cross-talk between developing tissue and specialized endothelial cells. Here we show how developing zebrafish spinal cord neurons coordinate vessel growth through balancing of neuron-derived Vegfaa, with neuronal sFlt1 restricting Vegfaa-Kdrl mediated angiogenesis at the neurovascular interface. Neuron-specific loss of flt1 or increased neuronal vegfaa expression promotes angiogenesis and peri-neural tube vascular network formation. Combining loss of neuronal flt1 with gain of vegfaa promotes sprout invasion into the neural tube. On loss of neuronal flt1, ectopic sprouts emanate from veins involving special angiogenic cell behaviours including nuclear positioning and a molecular signature distinct from primary arterial or secondary venous sprouting. Manipulation of arteriovenous identity or Notch signalling established that ectopic sprouting in flt1 mutants requires venous endothelium. Conceptually, our data suggest that spinal cord vascularization proceeds from veins involving two-tiered regulation of neuronal sFlt1 and Vegfaa via a novel sprouting mode

Imaging of Accumulated Mechanical Stresses Using Self-Assembled Layered Conjugated Polymer

When mechanical stresses, such as tensile, compressive, and frictional stresses, are applied to objects by various motions, they are accumulated in materials. Conventional mechanoresponsive materials and sensors detect one-time applied stress. However, the accumulated stresses are not visualized or measured in previous works. The present study demonstrated imaging and sensing of not only one-time but also accumulated tensile, compressive, and frictional stresses. Polyurethane (PU) film was combined with 2D layered polydiacetylene (PDA), a stimuli-responsive color-changing polymer. PDA generally exhibits no color changes with the application of tensile and compression stresses because the molecular motion leading to the color change is not induced by such mechanical stresses. Here the versatile mechanoresponsiveness was achieved using a block copolymer guest partially intercalated in the layered PDA. As the interlayer and outerlayer segments interact with PDA and PU, respectively, the applied stresses to the film are transferred from PU to PDA via the block copolymer guest. The color changes of the film imaged and quantified the accumulated work depending on the number and strength of the applied multiple stresses such as tensile, compressive, and frictional stresses. The design strategy of materials and methodology of sensing can be applied to the development of new sensors for accumulated mechanical stresses in a wide range of length and strength scales

Arabidopsis phytochrome a is modularly structured to integrate the multiple features that are required for a highly sensitized phytochrome

Phytochrome is a red (R)/far-red (FR) light-sensing photoreceptor that regulates various aspects of plant development. Among the members of the phytochrome family, phytochrome A (phyA) exclusively mediates atypical phytochrome responses, such as the FR high irradiance response (FR-HIR), which is elicited under prolonged FR. A proteasome-based degradation pathway rapidly eliminates active Pfr (the FR-absorbing form of phyA) under R. To elucidate the structural basis for the phyA-specific properties, we systematically constructed 16 chimeric phytochromes in which each of four parts of the phytochrome molecule, namely, the N-terminal extension plus the Per/Arnt/Sim domain (N-PAS), the cGMP phosphodiesterase/adenyl cyclase/FhlA domain (GAF), the phytochrome domain (PHY), and the entire C-terminal half, was occupied by either the phyA or phytochrome B sequence. These phytochromes were expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana to examine their physiological activities. Consequently, the phyA N-PAS sequence was shown to be necessary and sufficient to promote nuclear accumulation under FR, whereas the phyA sequence in PHY was additionally required to exhibit FR-HIR. Furthermore, the phyA sequence in PHY alone substantially increased the light sensitivity to R. In addition, the GAF phyA sequence was important for rapid Pfr degradation. In summary, distinct structural modules, each of which confers different properties to phyA, are assembled on the phyA molecule