A help for assisting people based on a depth cameras system dedicated to elderly and dependent people

International audienceIn this paper, we propose a help to a comfort system development based on Kinect sensor to assist people commanding their own house by using only their gestures. The system uses a multi-sensors to detect the person, recognize her gestures and communicate through an IP/KNX gateway to act on actuators related to the home. Thus, a simple gesture is able to turn on/off the lights, to switch on/off the TV, to move up or down the shutters etc. We performed a test bed within the smart home of our University Institute of Technology in Blagnac

Edges detection in depth images for a gesture recognition application using a Kinect WSN

International audienceThe detection of persons in an image has been the subject of several studies. Most of these works were done on images taken by cameras in visible light (RGB). In this paper, we are interested in people contours detection on the Kinect 3D images. We investigate the application of Gradient approach and optimal filters on depth images. We also use this detection to monitor the person via her gestures. Results show that edge detection of Canny is good for people in both light condition but, the performance of Sobel algorithm was better for the images taken in the dark depths

Epitaxial Growth of Boron Carbide on 4H-SiC

In this work, the successful heteroepitaxial growth of boron carbide (BxC) on 4H-SiC(0001) 4° off substrate using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is reported. Towards this end, a two-step procedure was developed, involving the 4H-SiC substrate boridation under BCl3 precursor at 1200°C, followed by conventional CVD under BCl3 + C3H8 at 1600°C. Such a procedure allowed obtaining reproducibly monocrystalline (0001) oriented films of BxC with a step flow morphology at a growth rate of 1.9 µm/h. Without the boridation step, the layers are systematically polycrystalline. The study of the epitaxial growth mechanism shows that a monocrystalline BxC layer is formed after boridation but covered with a B- and Si-containing amorphous layer. Upon heating up to 1600°C, under pure H2 atmosphere, the amorphous layer was converted into epitaxial BxC and transient surface SiBx and Si crystallites. These crystallites disappear upon CVD growth

From modelling of a CDMA transceiver in indoor environment to an ASIC circuit synthesis, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2001, nr 3

This paper presents the study, design and simulation of a multi-flow radio frequency transceiver based on a direct sequence spread-spectrum with a 2.4 GHz carrier. First, the functional model of differential QPSK modulation for digital transmission, and the different parts making up spread spectrum function (spreader, despreader, tracking and synchronising devices) have been studied, implemented, simulated and validated in noisy multi-users and multi-path environment by using a unified language. The results obtained by taking into account the home automation running constraints have allowed to determine some critical parameter values and so to integrate the digital functions in an ASIC circuit

Epitaxial Growth of Boron Carbide on 4H-SiC

In this work, the successful heteroepitaxial growth of boron carbide (B x C) on 4HSiC(0001) 4{\textdegree} off substrate using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is reported. Towards this end, a two-step procedure was developed, involving the 4H-SiC substrate boridation under BCl 3 precursor at 1200{\textdegree}C, followed by conventional CVD under BCl 3 + C 3 H 8 at 1600{\textdegree}C. Such a procedure allowed obtaining reproducibly monocrystalline (0001) oriented films of B x C with a step flow morphology at a growth rate of 1.9 $\mu$m/h. Without the boridation step, the layers are systematically polycrystalline. The study of the epitaxial growth mechanism shows that a monocrystalline B x C layer is formed after boridation but covered with a B-and Si-containing amorphous layer. Upon heating up to 1600{\textdegree}C, under pure H 2 atmosphere, the amorphous layer was converted into epitaxial B x C and transient surface SiB x and Si crystallites. These crystallites disappear upon CVD growth

Interconnexion d'un réseau IP et d'un réseau domotique KNX pour l'aide au maintien à domicile intelligent

Notre thématique de recherche s'appuyant sur la maison intelligente de l'IUT de Blagnac, traite de l'aide au maintien à domicile de personnes âgées ou à mobilité réduite. Dans ce cadre, nous avons fait communiquer un noeud réseau IP sans fil équipé d'un capteur vidéo 3D (Kinect) avec des actionneurs présents sur le réseau domotique KNX. Sa mise en oeuvre au sein de la maison intelligente est une preuve de concept, et permet de commander la lumière avec des gestes, tout en pilotant une synthèse vocale de contrôle

Phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein STOP by calmodulin kinase II.: Phosphorylation of STOP by CaMKII

International audienceSTOP proteins are microtubule-associated, calmodulin-regulated proteins responsible for the high degree of stabilization displayed by neuronal microtubules. STOP suppression in mice induces synaptic defects affecting both short and long term synaptic plasticity in hippocampal neurons. Interestingly, STOP has been identified as a component of synaptic structures in neurons, despite the absence of microtubules in nerve terminals, indicating the existence of mechanisms able to induce a translocation of STOP from microtubules to synaptic compartments. Here we have tested STOP phosphorylation as a candidate mechanism for STOP relocalization. We show that, both in vitro and in vivo, STOP is phosphorylated by the multifunctional enzyme calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), which is a key enzyme for synaptic plasticity. This phosphorylation occurs on at least two independent sites. Phosphorylated forms of STOP do not bind microtubules in vitro and do not co-localize with microtubules in cultured differentiating neurons. Instead, phosphorylated STOP co-localizes with actin assemblies along neurites or at branching points. Correlatively, we find that STOP binds to actin in vitro. Finally, in differentiated neurons, phosphorylated STOP co-localizes with clusters of synaptic proteins, whereas unphosphorylated STOP does not. Thus, STOP phosphorylation by CaMKII may promote STOP translocation from microtubules to synaptic compartments where it may interact with actin, which could be important for STOP function in synaptic plasticity

Bmcc1s, a Novel Brain-Isoform of Bmcc1, Affects Cell Morphology by Regulating MAP6/STOP Functions

The BCH (BNIP2 and Cdc42GAP Homology) domain-containing protein Bmcc1/Prune2 is highly enriched in the brain and is involved in the regulation of cytoskeleton dynamics and cell survival. However, the molecular mechanisms accounting for these functions are poorly defined. Here, we have identified Bmcc1s, a novel isoform of Bmcc1 predominantly expressed in the mouse brain. In primary cultures of astrocytes and neurons, Bmcc1s localized on intermediate filaments and microtubules and interacted directly with MAP6/STOP, a microtubule-binding protein responsible for microtubule cold stability. Bmcc1s overexpression inhibited MAP6-induced microtubule cold stability by displacing MAP6 away from microtubules. It also resulted in the formation of membrane protrusions for which MAP6 was a necessary cofactor of Bmcc1s. This study identifies Bmcc1s as a new MAP6 interacting protein able to modulate MAP6-induced microtubule cold stability. Moreover, it illustrates a novel mechanism by which Bmcc1 regulates cell morphology