Humanoid robot control of complex postural tasks based on learning from demostration

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorThis thesis addresses the problem of planning and controlling complex tasks in a humanoid robot from a postural point of view. It is motivated by the growth of robotics in our current society, where simple robots are being integrated. Its objective is to make an advancement in the development of complex behaviors in humanoid robots, in order to allow them to share our environment in the future. The work presents different contributions in the areas of humanoid robot postural control, behavior planning, non-linear control, learning from demonstration and reinforcement learning. First, as an introduction of the thesis, a group of methods and mathematical formulations are presented, describing concepts such as humanoid robot modelling, generation of locomotion trajectories and generation of whole-body trajectories. Next, the process of human learning is studied in order to develop a novel method of postural task transference between a human and a robot. It uses the demonstrated action goal as a metrics of comparison, which is codified using the reward associated to the task execution. As an evolution of the previous study, this process is generalized to a set of sequential behaviors, which are executed by the robot based on human demonstrations. Afterwards, the execution of postural movements using a robust control approach is proposed. This method allows to control the desired trajectory even with mismatches in the robot model. Finally, an architecture that encompasses all methods of postural planning and control is presented. It is complemented by an environment recognition module that identifies the free space in order to perform path planning and generate safe movements for the robot. The experimental justification of this thesis was developed using the humanoid robot HOAP-3. Tasks such as walking, standing up from a chair, dancing or opening a door have been implemented using the techniques proposed in this work.Esta tesis aborda el problema de la planificación y control de tareas complejas de un robot humanoide desde el punto de vista postural. Viene motivada por el auge de la robótica en la sociedad actual, donde ya se están incorporando robots sencillos y su objetivo es avanzar en el desarrollo de comportamientos complejos en robots humanoides, para que en el futuro sean capaces de compartir nuestro entorno. El trabajo presenta diferentes contribuciones en las áreas de control postural de robots humanoides, planificación de comportamientos, control no lineal, aprendizaje por demostración y aprendizaje por refuerzo. En primer lugar se desarrollan un conjunto de métodos y formulaciones matemáticas sobre los que se sustenta la tesis, describiendo conceptos de modelado de robots humanoides, generación de trayectorias de locomoción y generación de trayectorias del cuerpo completo. A continuación se estudia el proceso de aprendizaje humano, para desarrollar un novedoso método de transferencia de una tarea postural de un humano a un robot, usando como métrica de comparación el objetivo de la acción demostrada, que es codificada a través del refuerzo asociado a la ejecución de dicha tarea. Como evolución del trabajo anterior, se generaliza este proceso para la realización de un conjunto de comportamientos secuenciales, que son de nuevo realizados por el robot basándose en las demostraciones de un ser humano. Seguidamente se estudia la ejecución de movimientos posturales utilizando un método de control robusto ante imprecisiones en el modelado del robot. Para analizar, se presenta una arquitectura que aglutina los métodos de planificación y el control postural desarrollados en los capítulos anteriores. Esto se complementa con un módulo de reconocimiento del entorno y extracción del espacio libre para poder planificar y generar movimientos seguros en dicho entorno. La justificación experimental de la tesis se ha desarrollado con el robot humanoide HOAP-3. En este robot se han implementado tareas como caminar, levantarse de una silla, bailar o abrir una puerta. Todo ello haciendo uso de las técnicas propuestas en este trabajo.Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y AutomáticaPresidente: Manuel Ángel Armada Rodríguez.- Secretario: Luis Santiago Garrido Bullón.- Vocal: Sylvain Calino

Fractional Control of a Humanoid Robot Reduced Model with Model Disturbances

There is an open discussion between those who defend mass-distributed models for humanoid robots and those in favor of simple concentrated models. Even though each of them has its advantages and disadvantages, little research has been conducted analyzing the control performance due to the mismatch between the model and the real robot, and how the simplifications affect the controller's output. In this article we address this problem by combining a reduced model of the humanoid robot, which has an easier mathematical formulation and implementation, with a fractional order controller, which is robust to changes in the model parameters. This controller is a generalization of the well-known proportional-integral-derivative (PID) structure obtained from the application of Fractional Calculus for control, as will be discussed in this article. This control strategy guarantees the robustness of the system, minimizing the effects from the assumption that the robot has a simple mass distribution. The humanoid robot is modeled and identified as a triple inverted pendulum and, using a gain scheduling strategy, the performances of a classical PID controller and a fractional order PID controller are compared, tuning the controller parameters with a genetic algorithm.The research leading to these results has received funding from the ARCADIA project DPI2010-21047- C02-01, funded by CICYT project grant on behalf of Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and from the RoboCity2030-II-CM project (S2009/DPI-1559), funded by the Research and Development Work Programme of the Community of Madrid and cofunded by Structural Funds of the EU.Publicad

Modeling and Simulation of the Humanoid Robot HOAP-3 in the OpenHRP3 Platform

The aim of this work is to model and simulate the humanoid robot HOAP-3 in the OpenHRP3 platform. Our purpose is to create a virtual model of the robot so that different motions and tasks can be tested in different environments. This will be the first step before testing the motion patterns in the real HOAP-3. We use the OpenHRP3 platform for the creation and validation of the robot model and tasks. The procedure followed to reach this goal is detailed in this article. In order to validate our experience, different walking motions are tested and the simulation results are compared with the experimental ones.This work has been supported by the Comunidad de Madrid Project S2009/DPI-1559/ROBOCITY2030 II, the CYCIT Project PI2004-00325 and the European Project Robot@CWE FP6-2005-IST-5

Procesos de interacción materia-energia a partir de la masa equivalente de los fotones

Utilizando el principio de equivalencia masa-energía de la teoría especial de la relatividad construimos un modelo para describir la interacción de la materia con la energía.Utilizamos este esquema para estudiar el efecto fotoeléctrico y la dispersión de Compton, obteniendo los mismos resultados predichos por la teoría cuántica antigua y la electrodinámica cuántica.AbstractUsing the principle of mass-energy equivalence based on the special theory of relativity we built a model to describe the interaction of matter with energy.We used this scheme to study the photoelectric effect and the Compton dispersion, obtaining the same results found in the old quantum theory and quantum electrodynamics

Utilización del concepto de símil en la óptica geométrica

Usamos el concepto de símil para deducir la ley de Snell de la óptica geométrica a partir del principio de Fermat y del principio de mínima acción.AbstractWe use the concept of “simile” to deduce the Snell law of geometrical Optics, starting from the principle of Fermat and the principle of minimum action

Sustainable approach of high-pressure agave bagasse pretreatment for ethanol production

ABSTRACT: Agave bagasse is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic residues readily available for valorization. The agave bagasse was pretreated by applying high-pressure CO2–H2O mixture at temperatures ranging from 150 to 190 °C for a residence time varying from 10 to 50 min. Subsequently, solid phase obtained from pretreatment was subject to enzymatic hydrolysis at high solid loadings. Under optimal conditions, the process integrating pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis yielded 75.8 mol% of the polysaccharides present in the biomass converted into oligo- or monosaccharides, providing 110.5 g/L of reducing sugars. The monosaccharides present in the obtained hydrolysate were successfully fermented into ethanol, demonstrating the feasibility of performing its biological conversion to commercial biofuels or biochemicals. Thereby, the present study has demonstrated the proof of concept of use of more sustainable high-pressure CO2–H2O pretreatment in the context of lignocellulosic residual biomass valorization based on the biochemical sugar platform.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

El informe de arbitraje según la recomendación de publicación y la productividad de los evaluadores

El informe de arbitraje de artículos de investigación es un género en el que se cristaliza una parte del proceso colectivo de construcción del conocimiento. Debido a su carácter confidencial, existen muy pocos trabajos que aborden empíricamente este género. A su vez, esos pocos estudios tienen una serie de limitantes, como la falta de definición de la unidad de análisis y la falta de integración de los datos discursivos con los datos sociales de quienes los producen. En este trabajo, presentamos un modelo que busca superar limitantes. Aplicamos este modelo para describir cómo varía el informe de arbitraje según dos atributos extralingüísticos, la recomendación de publicación (aceptar, condicionar o rechazar) y el número de artículos publicados por los evaluadores. Los resultados muestran que ambos atributos extralingüísticos se asocian a cambios específicos del discurso de este género, siendo la recomendación de publicación más determinante que la productividad de los evaluadores.The referee report of research articles is a discursive genre in which a part of the collective process of building knowledge is crystalized. Given its confidentiality, there is little empirical work on this genre. Among these few contributions, a series of limitations can be identified, such as the lack of definition of the unit of analysis or the lack of integration between discursive and sociometric data. In this article, we present a model that contributes to overcoming these limitations. The model was applied with the purpose of analyzing the variation of referee reports according to two extralinguistic variables, i.e., publication recommendation (accepted, conditioned, rejected) and referee's number of published articles. The results showed that both extralinguistic attributes were associated with specific discourse variations, of which publication recommendation was more decisive than referee's academic productivity

E-Cadherin gene expression in oral cancer : clinical and prospective data

Low protein expression of E-cadherin in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has been associated with clinical and histopathological traits such as metastases, recurrence, low survival and poor tumor differentiation, and it is considered a high-risk marker of malignancy. However, it is still unknown whether low expression of E-cadherin is also present at the mRNA level in OSCC cases. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare E-cadherin mRNA expression in OSCC patients and controls and to correlate the expression with clinical and prospective characteristics. Forty patients and 40 controls were enrolled. E-cadherin mRNA expression was evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction using TaqMan probes. E-cadherin mRNA expression was significantly decreased in OSCC patients compared to that of controls (p<0.001). Whereas no significant association between clinical parameters and E-cadherin expression levels was observed, we noted lower E-cadherin expression levels in patients with positive lymph node metastasis. E-cadherin mRNA expression was markedly diminished in OSCC, in agreement with previous results that examined E-cadherin expression at the protein level. E-cadherin is downregulated in the early clinical stages of OSCC, and its mRNA levels do not change significantly in the advanced stages, suggesting that there is limited usefulness of this parameter for predicting disease progression

Nuevas consideraciones en torno a la señalética y el color para incrementar el bienestar en los espacios hospitalarios.

El presente análisis de la adecuación y funcionalidad del sistema señalético y del empleo del color en los hospitales públicos españoles tiene por objeto proponer una mejora en el confort y estado de ánimo de sus visitantes. Con frecuencia nos olvidamos que un buen diseño arquitectónico, más allá de su capacidad por organizar adecuadamente unos espacios, puede proporcionar bienestar a sus usuarios solo teniendo en cuenta una serie de medidas relacionadas con las percepciones sensoriales. Luz, color, relación visual entre el interior y el exterior, orientación y comodidad en los desplazamientos, o adecuación y proporcionalidad espacial en función de los usos, son algunos de los factores que inciden en la tranquilidad de los usuarios.The aim of the analysis about the suitability and functionality of the signaling system and the application of color in Spanish public healthcare facilities is to detect anomalies and, consequently, to propose improvements in the comfort and state of mind of its visitors. We often forget that a good architectural design, beyond its ability to properly organize spaces, can provide well-being to its users taking into account a series of measures related to sensory perceptions. Light, color, visual relationship between exterior and interior spaces, orientation and comfort in the displacements, or adequacy and spatial proportionality depending on the uses, are some of the factors that affect the tranquility of the users.Ministerio de Economía y Competitivida

ESTRÉS, ANSIEDAD Y DEPRESIÓN DE LOS PADRES Y MANIFESTACIONES ORALES DE SUS HIJOS CON SÍNDROME DE DOWN

RESUMENIntroducción: Los pacientes con síndrome de Down presentan regularmente una mala higiene oral y alta incidencia de enfermedad periodontal.  En los primeros años de desarrollo se observa que la presencia de dificultad de habilidad cognitiva, lingüística y de comportamiento, son contribuidas a los cambios de los niveles del estrés en las madres.  En el presente trabajo se analizó la relación de las manifestaciones orales, como el índice de higiene oral simplificado, así como los índices CPOD y CEOD de los pacientes  en relación al estrés,  ansiedad y depresión de la madre o padre. Metodología: Estudio observacional, analítico, descriptivo y transversal en pacientes con síndrome de Down menores de 17 años, se les realizó un examen bucodental a través de una ficha epidemiológica oral y la aplicación de cuestionarios de datos generales, ansiedad, estrés y depresión de los padres. Resultados: De los pacientes de 3 a 5 años, el 41.18% tienen buena higiene oral, con regular higiene oral el 57.14%. Existe relación entre la edad y la higiene oral de los pacientes (p=0.015). Se analizaron los niveles de estrés (p=0.342), ansiedad (p=0.796) y depresión (p=0.620) de los padres en relación a la higiene oral. No existe diferencia entre los niveles de ansiedad, estrés y depresión y la higiene oral de los pacientes con piezas temporales (p&gt;0.05) ni en piezas permanentes (p&gt;0.05). Conclusiones: La ansiedad, depresión y estrés de los padres no son factores relacionados con las manifestaciones orales de sus hijos con Síndrome Down.ABSTRACTIntroduction: Patients with Down syndrome have regularly poor oral hygiene and a high incidence of periodontal disease. In the early years of development of these patients, it is observed that the presence of difficulty of cognitive, language and behavioral skills, are contributed to changes in the levels of stress in mothers. In this paper, the relationship of oral manifestations, such as simplified oral hygiene index, the CPOD and CEOD rates of patients in relation to stress, anxiety and depression of the mother or father was analyzed. Methodology: An observational, analytical, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with Down syndrome under age 17 who underwent a dental examination through an oral epidemiological investigation and application of questionnaires of general data for the anxiety, stress and parental depression. Results: The group of 3 to 5 years of age have a good oral hygiene with an average of 41.18 %, while those who had regular oral hygiene, 57.14 % were in this same age group. It was possible to see that there is a relationship between age and oral hygiene of patients (p=0.015). Stress levels (p=0.342), anxiety (p=0.796) and depression (p=0.620) of parents regarding oral hygiene were analyzed . It also was determined that there is no difference between the levels of anxiety, stress and depression and oral hygiene of patients with temporal parts (p&gt;0.05) or permanent teeth (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion: Anxiety, depression and stress of parents are not factors related to oral manifestations of children with Down syndrome.Palabras claves: Manifestaciones orales, higiene oral, ansiedad, depresión, estrés, síndrome Down, Oral manifestations, oral hygiene, anxiety, depression, stress, Down syndrom