Towards the development of a smart flying sensor: illustration in the field of precision agriculture

Sensing is an important element to quantify productivity, product quality and to make decisions. Applications, such as mapping, surveillance, exploration and precision agriculture, require a reliable platform for remote sensing. This paper presents the first steps towards the development of a smart flying sensor based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The concept of smart remote sensing is illustrated and its performance tested for the task of mapping the volume of grain inside a trailer during forage harvesting. Novelty lies in: (1) the development of a position-estimation method with time delay compensation based on inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors and image processing; (2) a method to build a 3D map using information obtained from a regular camera; and (3) the design and implementation of a path-following control algorithm using model predictive control (MPC). Experimental results on a lab-scale system validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology

The LifeCycle Project-EU Child Cohort Network : a federated analysis infrastructure and harmonized data of more than 250,000 children and parents

Early life is an important window of opportunity to improve health across the full lifecycle. An accumulating body of evidence suggests that exposure to adverse stressors during early life leads to developmental adaptations, which subsequently affect disease risk in later life. Also, geographical, socio-economic, and ethnic differences are related to health inequalities from early life onwards. To address these important public health challenges, many European pregnancy and childhood cohorts have been established over the last 30 years. The enormous wealth of data of these cohorts has led to important new biological insights and important impact for health from early life onwards. The impact of these cohorts and their data could be further increased by combining data from different cohorts. Combining data will lead to the possibility of identifying smaller effect estimates, and the opportunity to better identify risk groups and risk factors leading to disease across the lifecycle across countries. Also, it enables research on better causal understanding and modelling of life course health trajectories. The EU Child Cohort Network, established by the Horizon2020-funded LifeCycle Project, brings together nineteen pregnancy and childhood cohorts, together including more than 250,000 children and their parents. A large set of variables has been harmonised and standardized across these cohorts. The harmonized data are kept within each institution and can be accessed by external researchers through a shared federated data analysis platform using the R-based platform DataSHIELD, which takes relevant national and international data regulations into account. The EU Child Cohort Network has an open character. All protocols for data harmonization and setting up the data analysis platform are available online. The EU Child Cohort Network creates great opportunities for researchers to use data from different cohorts, during and beyond the LifeCycle Project duration. It also provides a novel model for collaborative research in large research infrastructures with individual-level data. The LifeCycle Project will translate results from research using the EU Child Cohort Network into recommendations for targeted prevention strategies to improve health trajectories for current and future generations by optimizing their earliest phases of life.Peer reviewe

XVI International Congress of Control Electronics and Telecommunications: "Techno-scientific considerations for a post-pandemic world intensive in knowledge, innovation and sustainable local development"

Este título, sugestivo por los impactos durante la situación de la Covid 19 en el mundo, y que en Colombia lastimosamente han sido muy críticos, permiten asumir la obligada superación de tensiones sociales, políticas, y económicas; pero sobre todo científicas y tecnológicas. Inicialmente, esto supone la existencia de una capacidad de la sociedad colombiana por recuperar su estado inicial después de que haya cesado la perturbación a la que fue sometida por la catastrófica pandemia, y superar ese anterior estado de cosas ya que se encontraban -y aún se encuentran- muchos problemas locales mal resueltos, medianamente resueltos, y muchos sin resolver: es decir, habrá que rediseñar y fortalecer una probada resiliencia social existente - producto del prolongado conflicto social colombiano superado parcialmente por un proceso de paz exitoso - desde la tecnociencia local; como lo indicaba Markus Brunnermeier - economista alemán y catedrático de economía de la Universidad de Princeton- en su libro The Resilient Society…La cuestión no es preveerlo todo sino poder reaccionar…aprender a recuperarse rápido.This title, suggestive of the impacts during the Covid 19 situation in the world, and which have unfortunately been very critical in Colombia, allows us to assume the obligatory overcoming of social, political, and economic tensions; but above all scientific and technological. Initially, this supposes the existence of a capacity of Colombian society to recover its initial state after the disturbance to which it was subjected by the catastrophic pandemic has ceased, and to overcome that previous state of affairs since it was found -and still is find - many local problems poorly resolved, moderately resolved, and many unresolved: that is, an existing social resilience test will have to be redesigned and strengthened - product of the prolonged Colombian social conflict partially overcome by a successful peace process - from local technoscience; As Markus Brunnermeier - German economist and professor of economics at Princeton University - indicates in his book The Resilient Society...The question is not to foresee everything but to be able to react...learn to recover quickly.Bogot

Development of a Low-Cost System for 3D Orchard Mapping Integrating UGV and LiDAR

Growing evaluation in the early stages of crop development can be critical to eventual yield. Point clouds have been used for this purpose in tasks such as detection, characterization, phenotyping, and prediction on different crops with terrestrial mapping platforms based on laser scanning. 3D model generation requires the use of specialized measurement equipment, which limits access to this technology because of their complex and high cost, both hardware elements and data processing software. An unmanned 3D reconstruction mapping system of orchards or small crops has been developed to support the determination of morphological indices, allowing the individual calculation of the height and radius of the canopy of the trees to monitor plant growth. This paper presents the details on each development stage of a low-cost mapping system which integrates an Unmanned Ground Vehicle UGV and a 2D LiDAR to generate 3D point clouds. The sensing system for the data collection was developed from the design in mechanical, electronic, control, and software layers. The validation test was carried out on a citrus crop section by a comparison of distance and canopy height values obtained from our generated point cloud concerning the reference values obtained with a photogrammetry method. A 3D crop map was generated to provide a graphical view of the density of tree canopies in different sections which led to the determination of individual plant characteristics using a Python-assisted tool. Field evaluation results showed plant individual tree height and crown diameter with a root mean square error of around 30.8 and 45.7 cm between point cloud data and reference values

Development of a Low-Cost System for 3D Orchard Mapping Integrating UGV and LiDAR

Growing evaluation in the early stages of crop development can be critical to eventual yield. Point clouds have been used for this purpose in tasks such as detection, characterization, phenotyping, and prediction on different crops with terrestrial mapping platforms based on laser scanning. 3D model generation requires the use of specialized measurement equipment, which limits access to this technology because of their complex and high cost, both hardware elements and data processing software. An unmanned 3D reconstruction mapping system of orchards or small crops has been developed to support the determination of morphological indices, allowing the individual calculation of the height and radius of the canopy of the trees to monitor plant growth. This paper presents the details on each development stage of a low-cost mapping system which integrates an Unmanned Ground Vehicle UGV and a 2D LiDAR to generate 3D point clouds. The sensing system for the data collection was developed from the design in mechanical, electronic, control, and software layers. The validation test was carried out on a citrus crop section by a comparison of distance and canopy height values obtained from our generated point cloud concerning the reference values obtained with a photogrammetry method. A 3D crop map was generated to provide a graphical view of the density of tree canopies in different sections which led to the determination of individual plant characteristics using a Python-assisted tool. Field evaluation results showed plant individual tree height and crown diameter with a root mean square error of around 30.8 and 45.7 cm between point cloud data and reference values

Desarrollo e implementación de un sistema autónomo de detección y repulsión de aves en un cultivo de fresas mediante el uso de un dron comercial

El presente documento, correspondiente al proyecto de grado para la carrera de Ingeniería Mecatrónica de los autores de este. En el presente documento se propone una forma de resolver el problema de las aves en los cultivos de fresas con el uso de un sistema de visión artificial; se comparan diferentes métodos para la detección de las aves con el uso de una base de datos tomada directamente en el terreno de implementación. Además, se explica el proceso de preprocesamiento para el algoritmo de detección de aves basado en diferencias de imágenes, y el de entrenamiento para el sistema de visión artificial basado en YOLOV3; por consiguiente, se mencionan los pasos para la implementación del proceso de detección seleccionado y su uso para dirigir el dron a repeler las aves dentro del cultivo. Posteriormente, se expone el proceso de desarrollo del algoritmo capaz de detectar y guiar el dron a la estación de aterrizaje. Y, se evidencian los resultados obtenidos luego de la implementación de lo mencionado en el terreno de pruebas previamente seleccionado; donde se determina que el sistema es capaz de ejecutar todo el proceso sin intervención humana dentro de una autonomía de aproximadamente 2 horas.The current paper, which corresponds to the project for the mechatronic engineering degree of the authors of this one. This paper proposes a way to solve the problem of birds in strawberry crops with the use of an artificial vision system, comparing different methods for the detection of birds based on a database taken directly in the field of implementation. In addition, the pre-processing process for the bird detection algorithm based on image differences, and the training process for the YOLOV3-based machine vision system are explained; accordingly, the steps for the implementation of the selected detection process and its use to guide the drone to repel birds within the crop are mentioned. Subsequently, the development process of the algorithm capable of detecting and guiding the drone to the landing station is explained. And, the results obtained after the implementation of the above mentioned are evidenced in the previously selected test field; where it is determined that the system can execute the whole process without human intervention within an autonomy of approximately 2 hours

Synthetic wood elaboration starting from lignin extracted from low rank coal, modified by UV radiation and lignolitic enzymes action.

El propósito de esta investigación fue determinar las condiciones óptimas de despolimerización de la lignina por acción UV y estudiar la viabilidad de un nuevo método de despolimerización mediante la acción de enzimas lignolíticas. Ambos métodos tienen como finalidad incrementar la reactividad de la lignina y con ella elaborar un producto maderable con buenas propiedades mecánicas. Para ello, este proyecto de investigación se dividió en tres etapas. La primera consistió en la extracción y caracterización de la lignina. En primer lugar, se recolectaron 3 muestras de carbón del municipio de Paipa, Boyacá, y se caracterizaron por análisis próximo, análisis último y por su poder calorífico. Todo esto se hizo con el fin de seleccionar la muestra que se clasificaba como carbón de bajo rango. Posteriormente, a partir de la muestra seleccionada se realizó la extracción de lignina por el método Sosa usando NaOH al 15%, y del extracto lignocelulósico obtenido, fue precipitada la lignina mediante hidrólisis ácida empleando H2SO4 (98%). La lignina purificada fue caracterizada junto con un estándar de lignina Kraft por espectroscopia IR, UV, análisis elemental y solubilidad. La segunda etapa consistió en modificar estructuralmente la lignina para aumentar su reactividad. Para ello se realizaron dos modificaciones por separado. En la primera de ellas, se despolimerizó la lignina por irradiación UV a 10, 12, 14, 16 y 18h de exposición, y posteriormente fue hidroximetilada con formaldehído por el método de El Mansouri [1], proceso que incorpora grupos hidroximetil a su estructura. El incremento de la reactividad de la lignina fue determinado por el aumento de los grupos OH, proceso que se verificó por análisis elemental y por espectroscopia IR. Respecto al segundo tipo de modificación, se estudió la posibilidad de despolimerizar la lignina mediante la acción de enzimas lignolíticas extraídas del Pleurotus Ostreatus. Para ello, se estandarizaron los métodos Siringaldazina y Guiaicol para medir la actividad de lacasas y peroxidasas, respectivamente, a partir de soluciones patrón de estas enzimas. Posteriormente, al extracto enzimático obtenido se le midió la actividad lacasa y peroxidasa por los métodos ya mencionados a partir del tercer día y durante una semana. A continuación se realizó una pre-purificación de las enzimas con sulfato de amonio y ultrafiltración. Finalmente, se realizaron 7 ensayos de despolimerización variando la concentración del extracto enzimático y empleando ácido sinápico como mediador. Cada muestra obtenida fue hidroximetilada con formaldehído y fue caracterizada por análisis elemental. La tercera etapa consistió en la elaboración de los productos maderables. Para ello se realizó un ensayo preliminar con la lignina modificada a 12h por radiación UV y se hizo reaccionar con melamina y cascarilla de arroz (empleando formaldehído como agente polimerizante) mediante dos condiciones distintas: en la primera, la reacción fue llevada a cabo a 80°C por 24h; mientras que la segunda, fue realizada en autoclave a 15 psi y 121°C durante 3.5h. Con base en esto, se elaboraron los demás productos maderables usando los siguientes tipos de lignina: lignina extraída sin modificar, estándar de lignina Kraft, lignina hidroximetilada (sin despolimerizar) y los 6 productos obtenidos de la modificación enzimática de la lignina. Finalmente, cada una de estas muestras fue caracterizada por su rugosidad empleando la técnica de Microscopía de Fuerza Atómica (AFM) y fueron comparadas con un fragmento de madera natural. Se obtuvo que la muestra 3 era la que presentaba las características de carbón de bajo rango. Su porcentaje de ácidos húmicos fue de 14,26 %. El porcentaje de extracción de la lignina fue del 28,02 %. La lignina extraída presentó características muy similares al del estándar de lignina Kraft, excepto porque esta última era un poco más polar. En cuanto a su modificación estructural, en la despolimerización por radiación UV se encontró que el tiempo óptimo de exposición era de 12h, donde se logró un incremento de oxígeno del 32,1%, y un aumento de la banda de grupos OH en el espectro IR, confirmando la incorporación de los grupos hidroximetil. Respecto a la modificación enzimática, se determinó que el extracto enzimático lignolítico sí presentó actividad Lacasa, y esta fue mayor en el día sexto (1.76 U/mL); por el contrario no se encontró ninguna actividad peroxidasa. Luego de la pre-purificación y ultrafiltración, el extracto enzimático presentó una actividad total de Lacasa de 38,66 U, y el porcentaje de purificación fue del 0.71%. Los % C obtenidos para las muestras en el análisis elemental, indicaron que el acoplamiento de oxígeno fue menor que por el método de despolimerización UV, por lo tanto, fueron muestras menos reactivas. Para la despolimerización enzimática, los mejores resultados se obtuvieron utilizando 8.40 U de actividad Lacasa por cada 500mg de lignina (Muestra 4). En cuanto a la elaboración de los productos maderables, el ensayo preliminar dio como resultado que la reacción de polimerización se optimizaba en las condiciones de la autoclave. El producto con mejores propiedades organolépticas, estructurales y de rugosidad fue el sintetizado con la lignina despolimerizada por radiación UV a 12h de exposición e hidroximetilada; siendo su valor de rugosidad muy cercano al de la madera natural. Se encontró también que la hidroximetilación de la lignina sin despolimerizar, genera un aumento significativo en su reactividad; de igual manera, se descubrió que el ácido sinápico era capaz de reaccionar con la lignina incrementando aún más su reactividad, sin necesidad del uso de enzimas, ya que la M6 generó el segundo mejor producto en cuanto a rugosidad. Finalmente, se demostró que la despolimerización enzimática no es un proceso viable para la elaboración del producto maderable, ya que la despolimerización con luz UV generó productos de mejor calidad, a menor tiempo y a menor inversión.The purpose of this research was to determine the optimal conditions for lignin depolymerization by UV action and study the viability of a new method of depolymerization by the action of lignolytic enzymes. Both methods aim to increase the reactivity of lignin to elaborate a product with good mechanical properties. To do this, this research project was divided into three stages. The first one involved the extraction and characterization of lignin. First, 3 coal samples of the municipality of Paipa, Boyaca were collected and characterized by proximate analysis, ultimate analysis and its calorific value. All this was done in order to select the sample that was classified as low-rank coal. Subsequently, from the selected sample, lignin extraction was performed by the method Sosa using 15% NaOH, and from the lignocellulosic material obtained, lignin was precipitated by acid hydrolysis using H2SO4 (98%). The purified lignin was characterized with a standard Kraft lignin by IR spectroscopy, UV, elemental analysis and solubility. The second stage was to structurally modify the lignin to increase its reactivity. For this, two modifications were made separately. In the first one, lignin was depolymerized by UV irradiation at 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18h of exposure, and subsequently hydroxymethylated with formaldehyde by the method of el Mansouri [1], a process which incorporates hydroxymethyl groups to lignin structure. The increased reactivity of lignin was determined by the increasing of OH groups, a process which was verified by elemental analysis and IR spectroscopy. Regarding the second type of modification, the possibility of depolymerizing lignin was studied by the action of lignolytic enzymes extracted from Pleurotus ostreatus. To this end, syringaldazine and Guiaicol methods were standardized to measure the activity of laccases and peroxidases, respectively, from standard solutions of these enzymes. Subsequently, the enzyme extract obtained was measured laccase and peroxidase activity by the methods mentioned above from the third day for a week. Then a pre-purification of enzymes with ammonium sulfate and ultrafiltration was performed. Finally, seven trials for depolymerization varying the concentration of enzyme extract and using sinapic acid as mediator were performed. Each sample obtained was hydroxymethylated with formaldehyde and was characterized by elemental analysis. The third stage was the development of wood products. It was made a preliminary test with the modified lignin at 12h by UV radiation and reacted with melamine and rice hulls (using formaldehyde as polymerizing agent) by two different conditions: first, the reaction was carried out at 80 ° C for 24h; while the second was performed by autoclaving at 15 psi and 121 ° C for 3.5h. Based on this, the other wood products were prepared using the following types of lignin: unmodified extracted lignin, standard Kraft lignin, hydroxymethylated lignin (without depolymerizing) and 6 products obtained from the enzymatic modification of lignin. Finally, each of these samples was characterized by its roughness using the technique of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and were compared with a sample of natural wood. The sample 3 was the one that had the characteristics of low rank coal. Percentage of humic acids was 14.26%. The percentage of lignin extraction was 28.02%. The extracted lignin presented very similar characteristics to the standard Kraft lignin except because the latter was slightly more polar. As regard of structural modification, for UV radiation depolymerization it was found that the optimal exposure time was 12h, where an increase of 32.1% oxygen and increased band OH groups was achieved in the spectrum IR confirming the addition of hydroxymethyl groups. For enzymatic modification, was determined that the lignolytic enzymatic extract showed Lacase activity itself, and this was higher on day six (1.76 U / mL); on the contrary no peroxidase activity was found. After pre-purification and ultrafiltration, the enzyme extract showed a total activity of 38.66 U Lacasa, and the purification percentage was 0.71%. C% for the samples obtained at the elemental analysis indicated that the coupling of oxygen was lower than the UV method depolymerization therefore were less reactive samples. For enzymatic depolymerization, the best results were obtained using 8.40 U of Lacase activity per 500mg lignin (Sample 4). As for the production of wood products, the preliminary test showed that the polymerization reaction was optimized in terms of the autoclave. The product with better organoleptic and structural properties roughness was synthesized with depolymerized lignin by UV radiation for 12h and hydroxymethylated; being its value very close to that of natural wood roughness. It was also found that the hydroxymethylation without depolymerizing lignin, generates a significant increase in its reactivity; Similarly, it was discovered that the sinapic acid could react with lignin further increasing its reactivity, without the use of enzymes as the M6 generated the second best product in terms of roughness. Finally, it was shown that enzymatic depolymerization is not a viable option for the development of wood products as depolymerization with UV light generated products of better quality, less time and less investment.Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoTecnoparque - SENA, Nodo Bogot

Modelamiento del flujo de gas en la cámara de combustión del motor turbo EJE PT6T de la firma Pratt & Whitney Canadá utilizando fluent

Debido que los motores en la industria Aeronáutica se han venido desarrollando con gran rapidez y con este se ha creado diferentes software para su diseño, análisis y construcción, se ve la necesidad de utilizar estas nuevas tecnologías para desarrollos futuros y mejoras en producción existente, esta es la razón por lo cual se implementara el uso de software Fluent para simular el rendimiento en la cámara de combustión de un motor ya existente como lo es el PT6T, fabricado por Pratt and Whitney Canadá, dado que este es uno de los más usados en la industria aeronáutica a nivel mundial

Percepción del paciente en relación a la atención brindada por el estudiante de odontología en las clínicas de la facultad de odontología de la Universidad de Cartagena

Tesis (Odontólogo). -- Universidad de Cartagena. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Investigación, 2018La siguiente investigación tiene como fin conocer la percepción que poseen los usuarios de los servicios odontológicos respecto a la atención brindada por el estudiant

Low-Cost Alternative for the Measurement of Water Levels in Surface Water Streams

Flood risk management and water resources planning involve a deep knowledge of surface streams so that mitigation strategies and climate change adaptations can be implemented. Commercially, there is a wide range of technologies for the measurement of hydroclimatic variables; however, many of these technologies may not be affordable for institutions with limited budgets. This paper has two main objectives: 1) Present the design of an ultrasound-based water level measurement system, and 2) Propose a methodological alternative for the development of instruments, according to the needs of institutions conducting monitoring of surface waterbodies. To that end, the proposed methodology is based on selection processes defined according to the specific needs of each waterbody. The prototype was tested in real-world scale, with the potential to obtain accurate measurements. Lastly, we present the design of the ultrasound-based water level measurement instrument, which can be built at a low cost. Low-cost instruments can potentially contribute to the sustainable instrumental autonomy of environmental entities and help define measurement and data transmission standards based on the specific requirements of the monitoring