Design of a biologically inspired navigation system for the Psikharpax rodent robot

This work presents the development and implementation of a biologically inspired navigation system on the autonomous Psikharpax rodent robot. Our system comprises two independent navigation strategies: a taxon expert and a planning expert. The presented navigation system allows the robot to learn the optimal strategy in each situation, by relying upon a strategy selection mechanism

Descripteur local d'image invariant aux transformations affines

National audienceCet article présente une technique de description locale de l'image. Le descripteur s'appuie sur un histogramme de gradients orientés et un domaine d'exploration adaptif (obtenu par le biais d'un tenseur de structure ou d'une analyse de Fourier), afin de gérer les invariances aux transformations affines

A biologically inspired meta-control navigation system for the Psikharpax rat robot

A biologically inspired navigation system for the mobile rat-like robot named Psikharpax is presented, allowing for self-localization and autonomous navigation in an initially unknown environment. The ability of parts of the model (e. g. the strategy selection mechanism) to reproduce rat behavioral data in various maze tasks has been validated before in simulations. But the capacity of the model to work on a real robot platform had not been tested. This paper presents our work on the implementation on the Psikharpax robot of two independent navigation strategies (a place-based planning strategy and a cue-guided taxon strategy) and a strategy selection meta-controller. We show how our robot can memorize which was the optimal strategy in each situation, by means of a reinforcement learning algorithm. Moreover, a context detector enables the controller to quickly adapt to changes in the environment-recognized as new contexts-and to restore previously acquired strategy preferences when a previously experienced context is recognized. This produces adaptivity closer to rat behavioral performance and constitutes a computational proposition of the role of the rat prefrontal cortex in strategy shifting. Moreover, such a brain-inspired meta-controller may provide an advancement for learning architectures in robotics

Measuring the scattering coefficient of turbid media from two-photon microscopy

International audienceIn this paper, we propose a new and simple method based on two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) microscopy to measure the scattering coefficient μs of thick turbid media. We show, from Monte Carlo simulations, that μs can be derived from the axial profile of the ratio of the TPEF signals epi-collected by the confocal and the non-descanned ports of a scanning microscope, independently of the anisotropy factor g and of the absorption coefficient μa of the medium. The method is validated experimentally on tissue-mimicking optical phantoms, and is shown to have potential for imaging the scattering coefficient of heterogeneous medi

UV-induced formation of the thymine-thymine pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproduct - a DFT study of the oxetane intermediate ring opening

International audienceThe mechanism by which the hypothetical oxetane/azetidine intermediate formed during the photochemical process leading to pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproducts when DNA is submitted to UV radiation opens is investigated computationally by DFT using a 5′-TT-3′ dinucleoside monophosphate as a structural model. First, the feasibility of an intramolecular mechanism involving one proton transfer inducing opening of the oxetane ring is examined. It results in a very high Gibbs energy of activation (+166 kJ mol−1) and quite a low Gibbs energy of reaction (−35 kJ mol−1). The protonation state of the phosphate group is shown to have little effect while the bulk effect of an aqueous environment modeled by the Polarizable Continuum Model method lowers slightly the activation barrier (by about 10-20 kJ mol−1), not enough to explain the fact that the oxetane intermediate is not observed experimentally. Then the catalytic effect of water molecules on the reaction pathway is studied by including either 1 or 2 assisting water molecules in the chemical system. The resulting activation barrier is considerably lowered and in the most favorable situation - a phosphate group deprotonated and 2 assisting water molecules - the Gibbs energy activation is as low as +44 kJ mol−1 and the Gibbs energy of reaction is quite favorable: −79 kJ mol−1, suggesting that in biological systems the oxetane ring opening process proceeds with explicit intervention of water molecules from the environment

A simulation system for behaviour evaluation of off-road mobile robots

International audienceThis study deals with optimization of planetary rover traversability over challenging outdoor terrains. In this aim, it is necessary to simulate rover behaviour on soft soil with a high degree of realism. The paper describes a simulation system for mobile robots evolving on natural and unstructured surfaces. This simulator integrates the whole dynamics of the multibody systems and complex interactions with soft ground as well as control schemes.HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés

A robust collagen scoring method for human liver fibrosis by second harmonic microscopy.

International audienceSecond Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy offers the opportunity to image collagen of type I without staining. We recently showed that a simple scoring method, based on SHG images of histological human liver biopsies, correlates well with the Metavir assessment of fibrosis level (Gailhouste et al., J. Hepatol., 2010). In this article, we present a detailed study of this new scoring method with two different objective lenses. By using measurements of the objectives point spread functions and of the photomultiplier gain, and a simple model of the SHG intensity, we show that our scoring method, applied to human liver biopsies, is robust to the objective's numerical aperture (NA) for low NA, the choice of the reference sample and laser power, and the spatial sampling rate. The simplicity and robustness of our collagen scoring method may open new opportunities in the quantification of collagen content in different organs, which is of main importance in providing diagnostic information and evaluation of therapeutic efficiency

Towards an advanced mobility of wheeled robots on difficult terrain

International audienc