Système coopératif de perception et de communication pour la protection des usagers vulnérables

Cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS) have the opportunity to enhance road safety, especially the safety of vulnerable road users (VRU), e.g., pedestrians and cyclists. Road accidents are mainly due to vehicles' and VRUs' inability to detect the danger before a collision cannot be avoided.We introduce a perception system based on laser and camera sensors to estimate the state of VRUs located around the vehicle. A multi-class classification of road obstacles based on laser data has been developed using statistical machine learning and Bayesian estimation.We propose an architecture for vehicles-to-pedestrians (V2P) communication which considers the weak energy resources of the devices carried by pedestrians such as smartphones. Our solution is relying on the standards defined by ETSI ITS architecture for vehicular communication and proposes geographical dissemination for V2P communication.A cooperative perception/communication system can deal with scenarios which are becoming more and more complex by combining the ability of perception to estimate the dynamic state of detected obstacles and the ability of communication to exchange a rich content between distant users. We introduce a multi-hypotheses fusion between perception and communication information and a smartphone application dedicated to protect VRUs from road danger.The solutions proposed during this thesis are evaluated on real data. We carried out real experiments on INRIA campus demonstrating the assets of a cooperative system for the protection of vulnerable road users.Les systèmes de transports intelligents coopératifs (C-ITS) offrent des opportunités pour améliorer la sécurité routière et particulièrement la sécurité des usagers vulnérables (VRU), e.g., piétons et cyclistes. La principale source d'accidents provient de l'incapacité des usagers, véhicules et VRUs, à détecter le danger avant qu'une collision soit inévitable. Nous introduisons un système de perception qui s'appuie sur les données des capteurs laser et caméra pour estimer l'état des VRUs entourant le véhicule. Une technique de classification multi-classes des obstacles routiers à partir de données laser a été développée en utilisant une méthode d'apprentissage statistique et une estimation bayésienne. Nous proposons une architecture de communication véhicules-piétons (V2P) qui prend en compte les faibles ressources énergétiques des smartphones transportés par les piétons. Notre solution s'appuie sur les standards définis dans l'architecture de communication véhiculaire ETSI ITS et propose une dissémination géographique pour la communication V2P. Un système coopératif perception/communication a le potentiel de gérer des scénarios de plus en plus complexes en combinant la capacité de la perception à estimer l'état dynamique des obstacles détectés et la capacité de la communication à échanger un contenu riche entre des usagers éloignés. Nous introduisons une fusion multi-hypothèses entre les informations de perception et de communication et une application pour smartphone destinée à protéger les VRUs des dangers de la route. Les solutions proposées au cours de la thèse sont évaluées sur des données réelles. Nous avons mené des expérimentations sur le campus d'INRIA démontrant les atouts d'un système coopératif de protection des usagers vulnérables

Study on Perception and Communication Systems for Safety of Vulnerable Road Users

International audience—The existing R&D efforts for protecting vulnerable road users (VRU) are mainly based on perception techniques, which aim to detect VRUs utilizing vehicle embedded sensors. The efficiency of such a technique is largely affected by the sensor's visibility condition. Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) communication can also contribute to the VRU safety by allowing vehicles and pedestrians to exchange information. This solution is, however, largely affected by the reliability of the exchanged information, which most generally is the GPS data. Since perception and communication have complementary features, we can expect that a combination of such approaches can be a solution to the VRU safety. This is the motivation of the current work. We develop theoretical models to present the characteristics of perception and communications systems. Experimental studies are conducted to compare the performances of these techniques in real-world environments. Our results show that the perception system reliably detects pedestrians and other objects within 50 m of range in the line-of-sight (LOS) condition. In contrast, the V2P communication coverage is approximately 340 and 200 meters in LOS and non-LOS (NLOS) conditions, respectively. However, the communication-based system fails to correctly position the VRU w.r.t the vehicle, preventing the system from meeting the safety requirement. Finally, we propose a cooperative system that combines the outputs of the communication and perception systems

Fusion of Perception and V2P Communication Systems for Safety of Vulnerable Road Users

International audienceWith cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS), vulnerable road users (VRU) safety can be enhanced by multiple means.On one hand, perception systems are based on embedded sensors to protect VRUs. However, such systems may fail due to the sensors' visibility conditions and imprecision. On the other hand, Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) communication can contribute to the VRU safety by allowing vehicles and pedestrians to exchange information. This solution is, however, largely affected by the reliability of the exchanged information, which most generally is the GPS data. Since perception and communication have complementary features, we can expect that a fusion between these two approaches can be a solution to the VRU safety. In this work, we propose a cooperative system that combines the outputs of communication and perception. After introducing theoretical models of both individual approaches, we develop a probabilistic association between perception and V2P communication information by means of multi-hypothesis tracking (MHT). Experimental studies are conducted to demonstrate the applicability of this approach in real-world environments. Our results show that the cooperative VRU protection system can benefit of the redundancy coming from the perception and communication technologies both in line-of-sight (LOS) and non-LOS (NLOS) conditions. We establish that the performances of this system are influenced by the classification performances of the perception system and by the accuracy of the GPS positioning transmitted by the communication system

Study and Evaluation of Laser-based Perception and Light Communication for a Platoon of Autonomous Vehicles

International audience— Visible Light Communication (VLC) is a new emerging technology that is being proposed as a reliable and supportive choice for short range communications in ITS. On the same context, Laser Range Finders (LRF) sensors are used for the vehicular environment perception. Compared to VLC, LRF can provide more coverage range and extended viewing angle. To take the full advantages of both technologies features, this paper studies and demonstrate the proposal of using VLC for information exchange among the platoon members and LRF for inter-vehicle distance estimation. A handover algorithm is proposed to manage the switching process for any failure occurrence by assessing LRF and VLC performance using three different metrics: LRF confidence value, vehicles angular orientation, and the VLC link latency. The evaluation of the proposed system is verified using VLC prototype and Pro-SiVIC Simulator driving platoon of two autonomous vehicles over different curvature scenarios. Our results show that the proposed combination are extending the VLC limitations and satisfying the platooning requirement. However, in the very sharp curvature, LRF was capable of driving the platoon except for the 90° curve scenario, the system experienced non-stable behaviour due to the LRF area of interest limitation

Intelligent vehicles: integration and issues

International audienceIn the process of building more and more intelligent vehicles, scientists and car makers are progressively integrating new tools that make the vehicle more independent from human action. However, when can a vehicle be considered as intelligent? In this paper, we first point out the necessity of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to collaborate. Indeed, AI is mainly used as a tool in robotics for different tasks such as perception and control. Thus, we show the lack of a supervision level in current vehicles. Finally, we provide some implementations from Rits going towards more intelligent perception by adding a supervision level, dealing with the uncertainties, using communications and managing the resources.Afin de construire des 'véhicules intelligents, scientifiques et constructeurs automobiles intègrent progressivement de nouveaux outils libérant les véhicules de l'action humaine. Cependant à quel moment peut-on considérer un 'véhicule comme intelligent ? Dans cet article, nous parlons tout d'abord du fossé entre les domaines de la robotique et de l'intelligence artificielle (IA), l'IA étant le principalement utilisé comme boite à outils bas niveau. Finalement, nous détaillons quelques implémentations de l'équipe Rits pour concevoir une perception intelligente grâce à l'ajout d'un niveau de supervision, la gestion des incertitudes, l'utilisation des communications, ainsi que la gestion des ressources

Sample preparation for an optimized extraction of localized metabolites in lichens: Application to Pseudevernia furfuracea

International audienceLichens are symbiotic organisms known for producing unique secondary metabolites with attractive cosmetic and pharmacological properties. In this paper, we investigated three standard methods of preparation of Pseudevernia furfuracea (blender grinding, ball milling, pestle and mortar). The materials obtained were characterized by electronic microscopy, nitrogen adsorption and compared from the point of view of extraction. Their microscopic structure is related to extraction efficiency. In addition, it is shown using thalline reactions and mass spectrometry mapping (TOF-SIMS) that these metabolites are not evenly distributed throughout the organism. Particularly, atranorin (a secondary metabolite of interest) is mainly present in the cortex of Pseudevernia furfuracea. Finally, using microwave assisted extraction (MAE) we obtained evidence that an appropriate preparation can increase the extraction efficiency of atranorin by a factor of fiv

The adoption of open access scholarly communication in Tanzanian public universities: some Influencing factors

Open access is a means for free availability of scholarly content via the internet. It is an emerging opportunity for wider and unlimited access to scholarly literature. Scholarly communication, through open access journals and self-arching, are the two main approaches of open access publishing. However, this mode of scholarly communication is not widely utilised in developing countries such as Tanzania. This article discusses the factors that influence the adoption of open access for scholarly communication in Tanzanian public universities, based on a study conducted in 2008 using a survey questionnaire. A sample of 544 researchers, selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 1 088 researchers and 69 policymakers at six public universities in Tanzania, provided their views. It was evident from the findings that researchers’ internet usage skills and self-efficacy, social influence, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and the respondents’ general perceptions about open access were the positive factors likely to facilitate open access adoption. The current poor research conditions and researchers’ low internet self-efficacy (such as inadequate information search skills) were cited as the main hindrances for researchers to use open access outlets to access scholarly content. It is therefore recommended that university policies on scholarly communication should be revised to incorporate the use of open access publishing. Furthermore, universities should accelerate the establishment of institutional repositories, advocacy campaigns and training directed at researchers, policymakers, readers and information managers of scholarly content, and the improvement of internet speed through subscription to more bandwidth, so as to meet the demand from the scholarly communit

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Cooperative perception and communication system for the protection of vulnerable road users

Les systèmes de transports intelligents coopératifs (C-ITS) offrent des opportunités pour améliorer la sécurité routière et particulièrement la sécurité des usagers vulnérables (VRU), e.g., piétons et cyclistes. La principale source d'accidents provient de l'incapacité des usagers, véhicules et VRUs, à détecter le danger avant qu'une collision soit inévitable. Nous introduisons un système de perception qui s'appuie sur les données des capteurs laser et caméra pour estimer l'état des VRUs entourant le véhicule. Une technique de classification multi-classes des obstacles routiers à partir de données laser a été développée en utilisant une méthode d'apprentissage statistique et une estimation bayésienne. Nous proposons une architecture de communication véhicules-piétons (V2P) qui prend en compte les faibles ressources énergétiques des smartphones transportés par les piétons. Notre solution s'appuie sur les standards définis dans l'architecture de communication véhiculaire ETSI ITS et propose une dissémination géographique pour la communication V2P. Un système coopératif perception/communication a le potentiel de gérer des scénarios de plus en plus complexes en combinant la capacité de la perception à estimer l'état dynamique des obstacles détectés et la capacité de la communication à échanger un contenu riche entre des usagers éloignés. Nous introduisons une fusion multi-hypothèses entre les informations de perception et de communication et une application pour smartphone destinée à protéger les VRUs des dangers de la route. Les solutions proposées au cours de la thèse sont évaluées sur des données réelles. Nous avons mené des expérimentations sur le campus d'INRIA démontrant les atouts d'un système coopératif de protection des usagers vulnérables.Cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS) have the opportunity to enhance road safety, especially the safety of vulnerable road users (VRU), e.g., pedestrians and cyclists. Road accidents are mainly due to vehicles' and VRUs' inability to detect the danger before a collision cannot be avoided.We introduce a perception system based on laser and camera sensors to estimate the state of VRUs located around the vehicle. A multi-class classification of road obstacles based on laser data has been developed using statistical machine learning and Bayesian estimation.We propose an architecture for vehicles-to-pedestrians (V2P) communication which considers the weak energy resources of the devices carried by pedestrians such as smartphones. Our solution is relying on the standards defined by ETSI ITS architecture for vehicular communication and proposes geographical dissemination for V2P communication.A cooperative perception/communication system can deal with scenarios which are becoming more and more complex by combining the ability of perception to estimate the dynamic state of detected obstacles and the ability of communication to exchange a rich content between distant users. We introduce a multi-hypotheses fusion between perception and communication information and a smartphone application dedicated to protect VRUs from road danger.The solutions proposed during this thesis are evaluated on real data. We carried out real experiments on INRIA campus demonstrating the assets of a cooperative system for the protection of vulnerable road users

Implementing CAM Services in a Cross-border Environment Using a Dedicated 5G Network

Previously, transportation focused to overcome mainly physical barriers, at the present is concentrated in the technological ones. Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) services appeared to increase safety for all road users. These use notifications, messages, and warnings transferred across dedicated equipment in the road infrastructure, and Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), while Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) can be reached through mobile devices. As a result, use cases UC2.1, UC3.1 and UC3.3 are integrating CAM services to be tested in a cross-border environment between Latvia and Estonia using a 5G Network. This as a part of the 5G-Routes project to validate the latest 5G features and 3GPP specifications under realistic conditions to accelerate the deployment of 5G End-to-End (E2E) interoperable CAM ecosystems and services