Predictive Context-Based Adaptive Compliance for Interaction Control of Robot Manipulators

In classical industrial robotics, robots are concealed within structured and well-known environments performing highly-repetitive tasks. In contrast, current robotic applications require more direct interaction with humans, cooperating with them to achieve a common task and entering home scenarios. Above all, robots are leaving the world of certainty to work in dynamically-changing and unstructured environments that might be partially or completely unknown to them. In such environments, controlling the interaction forces that appear when a robot contacts a certain environment (be the environment an object or a person) is of utmost importance. Common sense suggests the need to leave the stiff industrial robots and move towards compliant and adaptive robot manipulators that resemble the properties of their biological counterpart, the human arm. This thesis focuses on creating a higher level of intelligence for active compliance control methods applied to robot manipulators. This work thus proposes an architecture for compliance regulation named Predictive Context-Based Adaptive Compliance (PCAC) which is composed of three main components operating around a 'classical' impedance controller. Inspired by biological systems, the highest-level component is a Bayesian-based context predictor that allows the robot to pre-regulate the arm compliance based on predictions about the context the robot is placed in. The robot can use the information obtained while contacting the environment to update its context predictions and, in case it is necessary, to correct in real time for wrongly predicted contexts. Thus, the predictions are used both for anticipating actions to be taken 'before' proceeding with a task as well as for applying real-time corrective measures 'during' the execution of a in order to ensure a successful performance. Additionally, this thesis investigates a second component to identify the current environment among a set of known environments. This in turn allows the robot to select the proper compliance controller. The third component of the architecture presents the use of neuroevolutionary techniques for selecting the optimal parameters of the interaction controller once a certain environment has been identified

Cooperative learning of requirements engineering through an international educational scenario enabled by the MOY programme

The International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research of the Region of Murcia, and the Mediterranean Office for Youth (MOY) programme are new initiatives that offer opportunities for designing educational activities in which can take part international students enrolled in academic degrees at different universities. Besides, a significant rise in distributed and collaborative software development has been observed in recent years (Global Software Development, GSD), which involves space, time and socio-cultural distances and requires new techniques, tools and practices to meet new challenges and opportunities. In addition, poor requirements are one of the most common causes of project failure in any domain. Projects which devote more resources to Requirements Engineering (RE) result in lower costs and lower deviations of their planning. Therefore, the relevance of education and training the future systems and software professionals in RE activities and techniques, in particular in GSD environments, must be stressed. We have conducted an educational innovation activity based on teaching RE in co-located and GSD contexts. This activity has been carried out in the form of an experiment with students. This paper presents the scenario in which this educational activity is framed as well as some preliminary results of this experiment

Design and Development of a Mobile App for Accessible Beach Tourism Information for People with Disabilities

The global increase in the proportion of the population with disabilities has caused a greater awareness toward guaranteeing their use of public services. In particular, there is emphasis on the accessibility and inclusivity of tourism resources, to improve the enjoyment and well-being for people with motor disabilities. This paper presents a case study on accessibility to beaches in the Region of Murcia, Spain, which is one of the main tourist areas in the country. First, the most important elements that allow for the accessible use of beaches are analyzed and exposed in detail. Then, an extensive field-work in the area of interest has been carried out and its results are evaluated. Finally, the development of a new mobile app is described. The objective of this tool is to provide updated, accurate, and reliable accessibility information regarding the beaches. As a result, more than a third of the beaches analyzed had a high level of accessibility, while almost another third are totally inaccessible. The proposed application is a valuable tool, not only to help people with physical and motor disabilities, but also to raise awareness among local authorities to create and improve accessible services.This work was supported by the Spanish MICINN, as well as European Commission FEDER funds, under grants RTI2018-098156-B-C53 and RTI2018-098309-B-C33. The authors thank Manuel García-Hernández and Salvador Parada-Sarabia for their participation in the collection of data of the study, Khalil Merzouki for the contribution in the software development of the proposed system, and the Federation of Associations of People with Physical and Organic Disability of Murcia (FAMDIF) for the extensive support in carrying out this work

Aprendiendo enfermería médico-quirúrgica en un entorno web: una experiencia piloto

[SPA]Introducción: Este trabajo presenta los resultados de una experiencia piloto que propone un entorno web en el proceso de aprendizaje de la materia Enfermería Medico-Quirúrgica (EMQ) de una titulación universitaria de enfermería, en concreto en los seminarios prácticos. El objetivo es conocer la opinión de los alumnos que participan en el proyecto, valorando la carga que les puede suponer y en especial si les ha motivado y ayudado en el aprendizaje de los contenidos. Metodología: Se utilizó una herramienta web de evaluación automática llamada Mooshak, y un cuestionario según una escala de tipo Likert de 5 puntos, combinado con una lista de preguntas abiertas. Resultados: La muestra fue de 54 alumnos que participaron de forma voluntaria. Un total de 16 (28.57%) alumnos respondieron a una encuesta on-line, 15 de los cuales indicaron que la experiencia había sido satisfactoria o muy satisfactoria, obteniendo la actividad on-line una calificación media de 7.96 sobre 10. Conclusiones: la percepción que tienen de la tecnología los alumnos de enfermería como herramienta que les ayuda en 120 su aprendizaje es muy satisfactoria. Se ha demostrado que el enfoque favorece el aprendizaje autónomo, y los alumnos se sienten motivados y partícipes de su propio aprendizaje. [ENG]Introduction: This paper presents the results of a pilot project which proposes a web environment in the process of learning medical surgical nursing in an undergraduate nursing degree, particularly, practical seminars. The aim is to know the opinion of the students participating in the experience, by assessing the workload, motivation and performance of the learning outcome. Methodology: An automatic assessment tool called Mooshak and a five-scale Likert-type questionnaire combined with open questions were used. Results: The sample size was 54 students, all of which were voluntarily recruited. A total of 16 (28.57%) students completed an on-line survey, 15 of which evaluated positively or very positively the e-learning activities, achieving the on-line activity an average rating of 7.96 out 10. Conclusions: The perception that nursing students have about technology as a learning aid instrument is very satisfactory. Our approach promotes autonomous learning, motivates students to learn, and allows students to take charge of their own learning.Campus Mare Nostrum, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Universidad de Murcia, Región de Murcia

Applying electrical resistivity tomography in ornamental stone mining: challenges and solutions

In this study, the use of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) as a tool to guide ornamental stone extraction is investigated. ERT is not conventionally used in highly resistive environments, such as on rock faces, due to the high contact resistances that can impede current injection. Here, the challenges of conducting ERT in such environments are discussed and possible solutions suggested. For this, an example of the application of ERT in a deep and narrow marble quarry is used. The marble deposit is affected by fracturing and karstification. Due to the nature of these features, they present a significant resistivity contrast to the background resistivity of the marble and thus excellent targets to test the application of ERT. Their location was mapped using field observations and complementary ground penetrating radar data. By using an appropriate sensor deployment, a suitable resistivity meter, and advanced data processing routines, the derived 3D resistivity model is in good agreement with the independent observations. This shows that despite the challenges, ERT can be used as a non-invasive tool to obtain information on the stone properties prior to extraction. This will help in guiding quarry operations and will allow for a targeted, safe, and efficient extraction of high quality stone, thereby increasing sustainability and economical competitiveness

Energy efficiency in software: A case study on sustainability in personal health records

A personal health record is an eHealth technology in which users can observe their progress over time for a given condition. A research gap was identified in the literature concerning the study of the amount of energy that these systems need for their operation, and the energy efficiency that may be attained depending on their design. After the selection of five representative personal health records, a total of 20 tasks commonly done, and based on previous work, were performed with regard to two proposed scenarios, namely patient use and health personnel usage. The power consumption of the main components of a host machine was measured during the performance of the proposed duties. To that end, a hardware tool called the Energy Efficiency Tester was employed. The data collected were analyzed statistically, and significant differences were found in the respective consumption of the display (χ2 (4) = 23.782, p = 0.000), the processor (χ2 (4) = 29.018, p = 0.000) and the whole PC (χ2 (4) = 28.582, p = 0.000). For all of these components, NoMoreClipBoard was the personal health record that required the least energy (57.699 W for the display, 3.162 W for the processor and 181.113 W for the whole PC). A total of two strong correlations were found in the energy consumption between the hard disk and the graphics card (r = 0.791, p < 0.001), and the processor and the PC (r = 0.950, p < 0.001). Some features generated special amounts of power consumption, such as the news wall found on PatientsLikeMe, or the use of load icons that had an impact on most PC components. In addition, an in-depth analysis of the user interfaces was performed. A discussion was carried out on the design of the user interfaces, also taking into account recommendations drawn from the literature, checking for their implementation in the personal health records selected. With the aim of promoting sustainability among software developers, a best practice guideline on sustainable software design was proposed. Basic sustainability recommendations were collected for professionals to consider when developing a software system in general, and a personal health record in particular.Un registro de salud personal es una tecnología de salud electrónica en la que los usuarios pueden observar su progreso a lo largo del tiempo para una condición determinada. Se identificó un vacío de investigación en la literatura referente al estudio de la cantidad de energía que estos sistemas necesitan para su funcionamiento, y la eficiencia energética que se puede alcanzar dependiendo de su diseño. Después de la selección de cinco registros de salud personales representativos, se realizaron un total de 20 tareas comúnmente realizadas, y con base en trabajos previos, con respecto a dos escenarios propuestos, a saber, el uso del paciente y el uso del personal de salud. Se midió el consumo de energía de los principales componentes de una máquina host durante el desempeño de las tareas propuestas. Para ello, se empleó una herramienta de hardware denominada Energy Efficiency Tester. Los datos recopilados fueron analizados estadísticamente,2 (4) = 23.782, p = 0.000), el procesador (χ 2 (4) = 29.018, p = 0.000) y toda la PC (χ 2(4) = 28.582, p = 0.000). Para todos estos componentes, NoMoreClipBoard fue el registro de salud personal que requirió la menor cantidad de energía (57.699 W para la pantalla, 3.162 W para el procesador y 181.113 W para toda la PC). Se encontraron un total de dos fuertes correlaciones en el consumo de energía entre el disco duro y la tarjeta gráfica (r = 0.791, p < 0.001), y el procesador y la PC (r = 0.950, p < 0.001). Algunas características generaron cantidades especiales de consumo de energía, como el muro de noticias que se encuentra enpatientslikeme, o el uso de íconos de carga que tuvieron un impacto en la mayoría de los componentes de la PC. Además, se realizó un análisis en profundidad de las interfaces de usuario. Se realizó una discusión sobre el diseño de las interfaces de usuario, teniendo en cuenta también las recomendaciones extraídas de la literatura, comprobando su implantación en las historias clínicas personales seleccionadas. Con el objetivo de promover la sostenibilidad entre los desarrolladores de software, se propuso una guía de mejores prácticas sobre diseño de software sostenible. Se recopilaron recomendaciones básicas de sustentabilidad para que los profesionales las consideren al desarrollar un sistema de software en general y un registro de salud personal en particular

An empirical study of neural network-based audience response technology in a human anatomy course for pharmacy students.

This paper presents an empirical study of a formative neural network-based assessment approach, by using mobile technology to provide pharmacy students with intelligent diagnostic feedback. An unsupervised learning algorithm was integrated with an audience response system called SIDRA, in order to generate states that collect some commonality in responses to questions and add diagnostic feedback for guided learning. A total of 89 pharmacy students enrolled on a Human Anatomy course were taught using two different teaching methods. Forty-four students employed intelligent SIDRA (i-SIDRA), whereas 45 students received the same training but without using i-SIDRA. A statistically significant difference was found between the experimental group (i-SIDRA) and the control group (traditional learning methodology), with T (87)=6.598, p < 0.001. In four MCQs tests, the difference between the number of correct answers in the first attempt and in the last attempt was also studied. A global effect size of 0.644 was achieved in the meta-analysis carried out. The students expressed satisfaction with the content provided by i-SIDRA and the methodology used during the process of learning anatomy (M=4.59). The new empirical contribution presented in this paper allows instructors to perform post hoc analyses of each particular student's progress to ensure appropriate training

Planta de producción de ácido láctico

El presente proyecto trata sobre el diseño y el estudio de la viabilidad de construcción y funcionamiento de una planta para la producción de ácido láctico siguiendo las pertinentes normativas urbanísticas, sectoriales y medioambientales

TERASENSE: THz device technology laboratory: final summary

The use of THz frequencies, particularly W and G band allows reaching higher resolution and deeper penetration in emerging applications like imaging, sensing, etc. The development of those new applications lays on reliable technologies, background of expertise and know-how. The CDS2008-00068 TERASENSE CONSOLIDER project has given the opportunity to extent upwards in frequency the previous background of the microwaves research group partners. This article summarizes the developments of the TERASENSE work package “THz Device Technology Laboratory”.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 program reference CSD2008-00068 TERASENSE

High efficacy of Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir in a large cohort of Spanish cirrhotic patients infected with genotypes 1 and 4

[Abstract] Background and Aims. Hepatitis C (HCV) therapy with Sofosbuvir (SOF)/Simeprevir (SMV) in clinical trials and real‐world clinical practice, showed high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) in non‐cirrhotic genotype (GT)‐1 and GT‐4 patients. These results were slightly lower in cirrhotic patients. We investigated real‐life effectiveness and safety of SOF/SMV with or without ribavirin (RBV) in a large cohort of cirrhotic patients. Methods. This collaborative multicentre study included data from 968 patients with cirrhosis infected with HCV‐GT1 or 4, treated with SOF/SMV±RBV in 30 centres across Spain between January‐2014 and December‐2015. Demographic, clinical, virological and safety data were analysed. Results. Overall SVR was 92.3%; the majority of patients were treated with RBV (62%) for 12 weeks (92.4%). No significant differences in SVR were observed between genotypes (GT1a:94.3%; GT1b:91.7%; GT4:91.1%). Those patients with more advanced liver disease (Child B/C, MELD≥10) or portal hypertension (platelet count≤100×109/L, transient elastography≥21 Kpa) showed significantly lower SVR rates (84.4%‐91.9%) than patients with less advanced liver disease (93.8%‐95.9%, P<.01 in all cases). In the multivariate analysis, the use of RBV, female gender, baseline albumin≥35 g/L, MELD<10 and lack of exposure to a triple therapy regimen were independent predictors of SVR (P<.05). Serious adverse events (SAEs) and SAE‐associated discontinuation events occurred in 5.9% and 2.6%. Conclusions. In this large cohort of cirrhotic patients managed in the real‐world setting in Spain, SOF/SMV±RBV yielded to excellent SVR rates, especially in patients with compensated liver cirrhosis. In addition, this combination showed to be safe, with low rates of SAEs and early discontinuations.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI15/0015