Collaborative Collective Algorithms to Coordinate UGVs

Sentel/Brilliant Innovations has developed autonomous UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles) capable of generating a map of an unknown location through exploration using local software and the power of Google Tango technology. This project was tasked with developing an efficient and capable map-stitching solution allowing multiple UGVs to coordinate their movements and share information in order to greatly improve the speed at which these drones can be used to generate maps. The solution utilizes the processing power of a Raspberry Pi to pull maps from a Redis server and stitch them together. Once stitched, the maps are redistributed via the Redis server back through the network, providing every UGV the opportunity to obtain the global map. All of this stitching is performed on a single UGV, freeing the other drones to focus on generating and uploading their own unique maps to the server. The drones can use this new information to better inform their next move to prevent multiple drones from generating a map of the same location. In the future, Sentel/Brilliant Innovations hopes to take this technology and attach more advanced sensors to the drones, allowing them to add greater detail of the environment to the map rather than simply drawing boundaries. These drones have many potential applications, such as search and rescue, seeking out potential hazards, and intelligence for military and civil use.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1187/thumbnail.jp

Does Size Matter? School Consolidation Policy Issues in Arkansas

Providing a reasonable education for all students in Arkansas is a legal responsibility explicitly mandated by the state’s constitution. Consistent with the long-standing American tradition of “grassroots” control of education, public schools in all states are funded and managed first and foremost at the local level. The federal government can and does enact legislation with which schools must conform. Directly or indirectly, federal mandates provide significant amounts of monies to support particular types of school services and programming. But ultimate responsibility for financing and operating schools devolves on state government. In Arkansas, it has been held, the state must provide “a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools” (Lakeview v. Huckabee, 2001)

Contact and the expression of negation

This chapter presents an overview of developments in the expression of negation in Arabic and a number of its contact languages, focusing on clausal negation, with some remarks also on indefinites in the scope of negation. For most of the developments discussed in this chapter, it is not possible to say for certain that they are contact-induced. But evidence is presented which, cumulatively, points to widespread contact-induced change in this domain being the most plausible interpretation of the data

Rainfall Variability along the Southern Flank of the Bambouto Mountain(West-Cameroon)

This paper presents the rainfall variability along the southern flank of the Bambouto mountain. Data were collected from rain gauges, while spatial variability was estimated through daily recorded data. Monthly and annual data were used to draw isohyetes via the triangular method, with linear interpolations between observation points. Results show that rainfall is highly variable along the slope. Daily rainfall amounts range from 0.1 mm to 120 mm. Mean yearly rainfall is 1918.1 mm. Rainfall amount does not have a linear relationship with altitude. Dschang is characterised by abnormally high rainfall. Following a North-South direction, rainfall decreases from Dschang to a Melang-Loung-Djuttitsa axis. From this axis, the gradient reverses as rainfall increases rapidly towards the Mélétan mountain. The existence of the relatively dry zone within the hillside seems to be due to the influence of two air masses. The first is cold and very wet which moves from the Mamfe basin to the summit zone where it starts to warm up as it flows towards Melang and Loung where temperature increases. The second comes from the south to south-east monsoon which is also impoverished during the ascension to higher altitudes. It is also likely that a third air mass from the dry harmattan is involved depending on the position of the ITCZ

The Impact Of Telemedicine On Teamwork And Communication, Workload, And Clinical Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Telemedicine can be used to provide specialty care to critically ill patients in rural and community hospital settings. However, the effects of this technology on quality of care are unclear. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of a telepresent team leader on teamwork and communication, workload, and quality of care during a simulated pediatric resuscitation, and to explore provider perspectives on the use of telemedicine during resuscitations. Twenty standardized teams (lead MD + bedside MD + two confederate clinical team members) were randomized to have a telepresent or an in-person leader. Telepresent leaders were connected via videoconference from a remote location and displayed on a screen at the bedside. All teams participated in a standardized, pre-programmed 20-minute simulated resuscitation with a scripted parent actor present. Simulations were video recorded and scored on teamwork and communication as well as clinical performance metrics using the validated STAT instrument. After each case, team members completed demographic, workload (NASA rTLX), and teamwork and communication (TeamMonitor) surveys. Post-simulation debriefings were scripted to collect qualitative data from participants regarding utility, effectiveness, and acceptability of telepresence. There was no difference in STAT teamwork and communication scores (73 v 66; p=0.118), TeamMonitor scores (91 v 94; p=0.251), or teamwork and communication global rating scores (91 v 77; p=0.143). There was no difference in rTLX workload scores compared between team leaders (51 v 55; p=0.983) or between junior team members (44 v 59; p=0.123). Similarly, no difference was found in STAT clinical performance scores (72 v 64; p=0.168) or in time-to-defibrillation (238 sec v 253 sec; p=0.762). Participating providers shared perspectives on the use of telepresence during resuscitation and expressed varying levels of comfort using the modality. Providers also highlighted strategies for the effective use of telepresence in the acute care setting, including enhanced verbal communication, role delineation, and mutual trust in clinical acumen of each provider involved. Telepresence did not significantly impact teamwork and communication, workload, or clinical performance. Participating providers shared perspectives on the impacts of telepresence as well as strategies for effective use of telepresence in the acute care setting. Together, these data may inform future implementation of telepresence technology in emergency settings

This Isn\u27t for You, This Is for Me : Women in Cosplay and Their Experiences Combatting Harassment and Stigma

In the past two decades, cosplay, or “costume play,” has become increasingly popular among fans of anime, manga, and video games. Despite the community’s nature of embracing social difference, problems persist with regard to gender discrimination and breaching of consent boundaries. Discussion in the extant literature on cosplay has yet to address the views of women in the community, specifically the idea of cosplay and popular culture conventions being a “boys’ club.” The principle research questions of this study are: (1) What are the lived experiences of women cosplayers at anime conventions? (2) To what degree have they had to endure stigmatization, unwelcome attention, and sexual harassment from fellow convention attendees? (3) What coping mechanisms have they developed to help them navigate this maledominated space? Using a theoretical framework combining Goffman’s dramaturgy and stigma theories with Butler’s gender performance theories, I address these questions through two qualitative methods: participant-observation and in-depth interviews. Traveling to three anime conventions in West Virginia, Virginia, and Ohio, I observed events at all three conventions and interviewed 30 women cosplayers about their convention and cosplay experiences. Findings suggest that women find deep personal connection to the character and to themselves through the performance of cosplay, that women cope with stigma through community attachments, and that subjugation by men is a rare and often unnoticed phenomenon