Multi-Sensor Localization and Navigation for Remote Manipulation in Smoky Areas

Abstract When localizing mobile sensors and actuators in indoor  environments  laser  meters,  ultrasonic  meters  or  even image processing techniques are usually used. On  the  other  hand,  in  smoky  conditions,  due  to  a  fire  or  building collapse, once the smoke or dust density grows,  optical  methods  are  not  efficient  anymore.  In  these  scenarios  other  type  of  sensors  must  be  used,  such  as  sonar,  radar  or  radiofrequency  signals.  Indoor  localization in low‐visibility  conditions due to  smoke is  one of the EU GUARDIANS [1] project goals.   The developed method aims to position a robot in front  of doors, fire extinguishers and other points of interest  with  enough  accuracy  to  allow  a  human  operator  to  manipulate the robot’s arm in order to actuate over the  element.  In  coarse‐grain  localization,  a  fingerprinting technique  based  on  ZigBee  and  WiFi  signals  is  used,  allowing  the robot  to  navigate  inside  the  building  in  order  to  get  near  the  point  of  interest  that  requires  manipulation.  In  fine‐grained  localization  a  remotely  controlled  programmable  high  intensity  LED  panel  is  used, which acts as a reference to the system in smoky  conditions.  Then,  smoke  detection  and  visual  fine‐ grained localization are used to position the robot with  precisely in the manipulation point (e.g., doors, valves,  etc.)

CompaRob: the shopping cart assistance robot

Technology has recently been developed which offers an excellent opportunity to design systems with the ability to help people in their own houses. In particular, assisting elderly people in their environments is something that can significantly improve their quality of life. However, helping elderly people outside their usual environment is also necessary, to help them to carry out daily tasks like shopping. In this paper we present a person-following shopping cart assistance robot, capable of helping elderly people to carry products in a supermarket. First of all, the paper presents a survey of related systems that perform this task, using different approaches, such as attachable modules and computer vision. After that, the paper describes in detail the proposed system and its main features. The cart uses ultrasonic sensors and radio signals to provide a simple and effective person localization and following method. Moreover, the cart can be connected to a portable device like a smartphone or tablet, thus providing ease of use to the end user. The prototype has been tested in a grocery store, while simulations have been done to analyse its scalability in larger spaces where multiple robots could coexist.This work was partly supported by Spanish Ministry under Grant DPI2014-57746-C3 (MERBOTS Project) and by Universitat Jaume I Grants P1-1B2015-68 and PID2010-12

Adquisición de competencias genéricas con el apoyo de proyectos: Una experiencia práctica

La actual sociedad solicita cada vez más que los titulados tengan agilidad de resolución de problemas y capacidad de trabajar y dirigir equipos. Por ello, un grupo de profesores de la titulación de informática hemos coordinado las materias que impartimos modificando la metodología docente y el sistema de evaluación de las mismas, de forma que el alumno adquiera de forma práctica, con el apoyo de proyectos (ABP), las competencias genéricas de las asignaturas. Esto mejorará tanto sus competencias específicas como transversales en su futuro laboral. En los últimos dos años hemos aplicado estos métodos a diversas asignaturas. Aquí exponemos la aplicación a una asignatura de Redes de Computadores de segundo curso en una titulación de Informática detallando los resultados de satisfacción obtenidos, tanto de los alumnos como del profesorad

Underwater radio frequency image sensor using progressive image compression and region of interest

The increasing demand for underwater robotic intervention systems around the world in several application domains requires more versatile and inexpensive systems. By using a wireless communication system, supervised semi-autonomous robots have freedom of movement; however, the limited and varying bandwidth of underwater radio frequency (RF) channels is a major obstacle for the operator to get camera feedback and supervise the intervention. This paper proposes the use of progressive (embedded) image compression and region of interest (ROI) for the design of an underwater image sensor to be installed in an autonomous underwater vehicle, specially when there are constraints on the available bandwidth, allowing a more agile data exchange between the vehicle and a human operator supervising the underwater intervention. The operator can dynamically decide the size, quality, frame rate, or resolution of the received images so that the available bandwidth is utilized to its fullest potential and with the required minimum latency. The paper focuses first on the description of the system, which uses a camera, an embedded Linux system, and an RF emitter installed in an OpenROV housing cylinder. The RF receiver is connected to a computer on the user side, which controls the camera monitoring parameters, including the compression inputs, such as region of interest (ROI), size of the image, and frame rate. The paper focuses on the compression subsystem and does not attempt to improve the communications physical media for better underwater RF links. Instead, it proposes a unified system that uses well-integrated modules (compression and transmission) to provide the scientific community with a higher-level protocol for image compression and transmission in sub-sea robotic interventions

Fitting primitive shapes in point clouds: a practical approach to improve autonomous underwater grasp specification of unknown objects

This article presents research on the subject of autonomous underwater robot manipulation. Ongoing research in underwater robotics intends to increase the autonomy of intervention operations that require physical interaction in order to achieve social benefits in fields such as archaeology or biology that cannot afford the expenses of costly underwater operations using remote operated vehicles. Autonomous grasping is still a very challenging skill, especially in underwater environments, with highly unstructured scenarios, limited availability of sensors and adverse conditions that affect the robot perception and control systems. To tackle these issues, we propose the use of vision and segmentation techniques that aim to improve the specification of grasping operations on underwater primitive shaped objects. Several sources of stereo information are used to gather 3D information in order to obtain a model of the object. Using a RANSAC segmentation algorithm, the model parameters are estimated and a set of feasible grasps are computed. This approach is validated in both simulated and real underwater scenarios.This research was partly supported by Spanish Ministry of Research and Innovation DPI2011-27977-C03 (TRITON Project), by Foundation Caixa Castelló Bancaixa PI-1B2011-17, by Universitat Jaume I PhD grants PREDOC/2012/47 and PREDOC/ 2013/46, and by Generalitat Valenciana PhD grant ACIF/2014/298

Visually-Guided Manipulation Techniques for Robotic Autonomous Underwater Panel Interventions

The long term of this ongoing research has to do with increasing the autonomy levels for underwater intervention missions. Bearing in mind that the speci c mission to face has been the intervention on a panel, in this paper some results in di erent development stages are presented by using the real mechatronics and the panel mockup. Furthermore, some details are highlighted describing two methodologies implemented for the required visually-guided manipulation algorithms, and also a roadmap explaining the di erent testbeds used for experimental validation, in increasing complexity order, are presented. It is worth mentioning that the aforementioned results would be impossible without previous generated know-how for both, the complete developed mechatronics for the autonomous underwater vehicle for intervention, and the required 3D simulation tool. In summary, thanks to the implemented approach, the intervention system is able to control the way in which the gripper approximates and manipulates the two panel devices (i.e. a valve and a connector) in autonomous manner and, results in di erent scenarios demonstrate the reliability and feasibility of this autonomous intervention system in water tank and pool conditions.This work was partly supported by Spanish Ministry of Research and Innovation DPI2011-27977-C03 (TRITON Project) and DPI2014-57746-C3 (MERBOTS Project), by Foundation Caixa Castell o-Bancaixa and Universitat Jaume I grant PID2010-12, by Universitat Jaume I PhD grants PREDOC/2012/47 and PREDOC/2013/46, and by Generalitat Valenciana PhD grant ACIF/2014/298. We would like also to acknowledge the support of our partners inside the Spanish Coordinated Projects TRITON and MERBOTS: Universitat de les Illes Balears, UIB (subprojects VISUAL2 and SUPERION) and Universitat de Girona, UdG (subprojects COMAROB and ARCHROV)

Potencial de pressão antrópica na região Nordeste Paraense, Brasil

The intensification of agriculture in the Amazon threatens the maintenance of biodiversity, interferes with water cycling and carbon stocks, altering biogeochemical cycles on a local and regional scale. Recently, in the Amazon, public policies have been created to promote sustainable development, as observed with the National Plan for the Production and Use of Biodiesel (PNPB) in 2005 and the Sustainable Palm Oil Production Program (PPSOP) in 2010, facilitating the entry of some municipalities in the northeast of Pará to the oil palm productive chain (oil palm - Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). Thus, the objective is to quantify the vegetation cover and land use to assess the environmental quality of the municipality of Mãe do Rio in Pará for the years 2008 and 2016. The methodology includes bibliographic review, spatial/temporal analysis of the coverage and use of land, and the Anthropic Transformation Index (ITA). The results show that the main changes that occurred in 2008 and 2016 are: i. the continuous deforestation of primary forests, while the secondary forest increases in area; ii. the gradual expansion of oil palm over agricultural areas; iii. the increase in the area of exposed soil indicates a high turnover in land use and coverage; iv. in 2008 and 2016, the indexes are 7.56 and 7.64 respectively, considered “potentially unsustainable,” due to the continuous suppression of primary, degraded and campinaranas forests, favoring the loss of biodiversity in the region, a condition that justifies support for oil palm.A intensificação da agropecuária na Amazônia ameaça a manutenção da biodiversidade, interfere na ciclagem da água e nos estoques de carbono, alterando os ciclos biogeoquímicos em escala local e regional. Recentemente, na Amazônia, políticas públicas têm sido criadas para promover o desenvolvimento sustentável, tal como observado com o Plano Nacional de Produção e uso do Biodiesel (PNPB) em 2005, e o Programa de Produção Sustentável de Óleo de Palma (PPSOP) em 2010, facilitando a entrada de alguns municípios do nordeste paraense na cadeia produtiva da palma de óleo (dendê - Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é quantificar a cobertura vegetal e o uso da terra para avaliar a qualidade ambiental do município de Mãe do Rio no Pará, para os anos de 2008 e 2016. A metodologia inclui revisão bibliográfica, análise espacial/temporal da cobertura e uso da terra e o Índice de Transformação Antrópica (ITA). Os resultados demonstram que as principais mudanças ocorridas em 2008 e 2016 são: i. o desmatamento contínuo das florestas primárias, enquanto a floresta secundária aumenta em área; ii. a expansão gradual dos dendezeiros sobre as áreas de agropecuária; iii. o aumento da área de solo exposto indica uma alta rotatividade do uso e cobertura da terra; iv. em 2008 e 2016, os índices são 7,56 e 7,64 respectivamente, considerados “potencialmente insustentáveis”, devido à continua supressão de floresta primária, degradada e campinaranas, favorecendo a perda da biodiversidade na região, condição que justifica o apoio à política da dendeicultura

Development of a Cyclic Voltammetry-Based Method for the Detection of Antigens and Antibodies as a Novel Strategy for Syphilis Diagnosis

54/2017). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.The improvement of laboratory diagnosis is a critical step for the reduction of syphilis cases around the world. In this paper, we present the development of an impedance-based method for detecting T. pallidum antigens and antibodies as an auxiliary tool for syphilis laboratory diagnosis. We evaluate the voltammetric signal obtained after incubation in carbon or gold nanoparticle-modified carbon electrodes in the presence or absence of Poly-L-Lysine. Our results indicate that the signal obtained from the electrodes was sufficient to distinguish between infected and non-infected samples immediately (T0′) or 15 min (T15′) after incubation, indicating its potential use as a point-of-care method as a screening strategy.publishersversionpublishe