Offre multimédia en bibliothèque jeunesse (L\u27)

La Petite Bibliothèque Ronde s’est intéressée à l’offre numérique de 12 bibliothèques en milieu urbain en France, souvent citées pour leur offre innovante. L’étude a été réalisée par Nicolas Perisse et Jérôme Rivière à partir d’entretiens et de visites auprès des responsables multimédia de leurs EPN (espaces publics numériques). Ces espaces ont été comparés selon quatre critères : le matériel (nombre de postes, caractéristiques et qualité), le fonctionnement (temps d\u27utilisation et âge minimal requis pour y accéder), les contenus proposés aux enfants (logiciels, CD-Rom, internet, sitothèques...). Enfin la question de l’accès à internet et de ses restrictions a été examinée, question importante dans le cadre d’une offre s’adressant à un public enfant

Ordered Minimum Distance Bag-of-Words Approach for Aerial Object Identification

Detecting potential aerial threats like drones with computer vision is at the paramount of interest for the protection of critical locations.This type of a system should prevent efficiently the false alarms caused by non-malign objects such as birds, which intrude the image plane. In this paper, we propose an improved version of a previously presented Speeded-up Robust Feature Transform (SURF) based algorithm, referred as Ordered Minimum Distance Bag-of-Words (omidBoW) to discriminate drones, birds and background from the patches, using an extended histogram set. We show that a SURF based object recognition can be well integrated to this context and this improved algorithm can increase accuracy up to 16% compared to regular bag-ofwords approach

Generic Fourier Descriptors for Autonomous UAV Detection

With increasing number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) -also known as drones- in our lives, safety and privacy concerns have arose. Especially, strategic locations such as governmental buildings, nuclear power stations etc. are under direct threat of these publicly available and easily accessible gadgets. Various methods are proposed as counter-measure, such as acoustics based detection, RF signal interception, micro-doppler RADAR etc. Computer vision based approach for detecting these threats seems as a viable solution due to various advantages. We envision an autonomous drone detection and tracking system for the protection of strategic locations. In this work, 2-dimensional scale, rotation and translation invariant Generic Fourier Descriptor (GFD) features (which are analyzed with a neural network) are used for classifying aerial targets as a drone or bird. For the training of this system, a large dataset composed of birds and drones is gathered from open sources. We have achieved up to 85.3% overall correct classification rate

Using Shape Descriptors for UAV Detection

The rapid development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology, -also known as drones- has raised concerns on the safety of critical locations such as governmental buildings, nuclear stations, crowded places etc. Computer vision based approach for detecting these threats seems as a viable solution due to various advantages. We envision an autonomous drone detection and tracking system for the protection of strategic locations. It has been reported numerous times that, one of the main challenges for aerial object recognition with computer vision is discriminating birds from the targets. In this work, we have used 2-dimensional scale, rotation and translation invariant Generic Fourier Descriptor (GFD) features and classified targets as a drone or bird by a neural network. For the training of this system, a large dataset composed of birds and drones is gathered from open sources. We have achieved up to 85.3% overall correct classification rate

Laminar free-surface flow around emerging obstacles: Role of the obstacle elongation on the horseshoe vortex

International audienceAn emerging rectangular obstacle placed in a laminar boundary layer developing under a free-surface generates three vortical structures: a horseshoe vortex (HSV) in front of the obstacle, a wake downstream and two lateral recirculation zones at its sides. The present work investigates, through PIV measurements, the effect of the obstacle elongation (length over width ratio L/W) on the HSV, which is partly indirect through the modification of the two other vortical structures. Horizontal velocity fields in the near-bottom region show that an increase of the obstacle elongation leads to a higher adverse pressure gradient in front of the obstacle, and in consequence, to the longitudinal extension of the HSV. This modification of geometry, in turn, impacts the vortex dynamics of the HSV. On top of that, maps of spectra and oscillation direction obtained from velocity fields indicate that each of the three structures (HSV, wake and lateral recirculation zones) exhibits a proper oscillation frequency. As the oscillation associated to the wake is energetically dominant and is strong enough to travel upstream, it impacts the HSV dynamics for sufficiently short obstacles

Smoother than smooth: increasing the flow conveyance of an open-channel flow by using drag reduction methods

International audienceThe drag reduction method using polymer additives is a common strategy to minimize friction losses when carrying fluids (water, oil, or slurries) in pipes over long distances. Previous studies showed that the interactions between the polymer and turbulent structures of the flow tend to modify the streamwise velocity profile close to the walls by adding a so-called elastic sublayer between the classical viscous and log layers. The gain in linear head losses can reach up to 80% depending on the roughness of the walls and the concentration of polymers. The application of this technique to sewers and the subsequent gain in discharge capacity motivated this work to quantitatively measure the drag reduction in classical open-channel flows. Three measurement campaigns were performed in a dedicated long flume for several water discharges and several polymer concentrations: backwater curves over smooth and rough channel walls (including velocity and turbulent shear-stress profiles) and flows around emerging obstacles. The addition of polymers, even in limited concentrations, allowed a high friction decrease with the typical Darcy-Weisbach coefficient reduced by factors of 2 and 1.5, respectively, in smooth and rough walls configurations without obstacles, but without strong modifications of the nondimensional velocity profiles. In contrast, when adding emerging obstacles, the flow was unaffected by the inclusion of polymers, in agreement with the prediction of the literature. The drag reduction method by addition of small concentrations of polymers thus appears to be a promising technique to increase flow conveyance in open-channel flows

Active and thermal imaging performance under bad weather conditions

Thermal imaging cameras are widely used in military contexts for their night vision capabilities and their observation range; there are based on passive infrared sensors (e.g. MWIR or LWIR range). Under bad weather conditions or when the target is partially hidden (e.g. foliage, military camouflage) they are more and more complemented by active imaging systems, a key technology to perform target identification at long range. The 2D flash imaging technique is based on a high powered pulsed laser source that illuminates the entire scene and a fast gated camera as the imaging system. Both technologies are well experienced under clear meteorological conditions; models including atmospheric effects such as turbulence are able to predict accurately their performances. However, under bad weather conditions such as rain, haze or snow, these models are not relevant. This paper introduces new models to predict performances under bad weather conditions for both active and infrared imaging systems. We first establish an enumeration of these “bad” atmospheric conditions, depending on their occurrence rate. Then we develop physical models to describe their intrinsic characteristics and their impact on the imaging system performances. Finally, we approximate these models to have a “first order” model easy to deploy for industrial applications. This theoretical work will be validated on real active and infrared data

Specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of PEEK/Ag nanoparticles composites determined by Modulated-Temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry

The thermal conductivity accurate measurement of polymer based composites is a challenge: it would allow us to understand the mechanisms of thermal transport in such materials. Silver nanoparticles were introduced in Polyetheretherketone matrix and their influence on thermal properties was studied. Thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of composites were determined by Modulated-Temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry and analysed as a function of particles volume content and temperature. The specific heat capacity of the composites decreases with increasing silver particles content below the electrical percolation threshold. Above the electrical percolation threshold the specific heat capacity decreases more slowly and converge toward the specific heat capacity of compressed silver nanoparticles. The evolution of the thermal conductivity with filler content exhibits a non-linear profile. Experimental data are coherent with the Maxwell model suggesting continuity of the polymer matrix and a contribution of the silver particles to the effective thermal conductivity greater than volume effect. The temperature dependence of the composites thermal conductivity is characteristic of amorphous phase, while a transition from vitreous-like to crystalline-like behaviour of the specific heat capacity is observed with the introduction of metallic particles

Experiments and Models of Active and Thermal Imaging Under Bad Weather Conditions

Thermal imaging cameras are widely used in military contexts for their night vision capabilities and their observation range; there are based on passive infrared sensors (e.g. MWIR or LWIR range). Under bad weather conditions or when the target is partially hidden (e.g. foliage, military camouflage) they are more and more complemented by active imaging systems, a key technology to perform target identification at long range. The 2D flash imaging technique is based on a high powered pulsed laser source that illuminates the entire scene and a fast gated camera as the imaging system. Both technologies are well experienced under clear meteorological conditions; models including atmospheric effects such as turbulence are able to predict accurately their performances. However, under bad weather conditions such as rain, haze or snow, these models are not relevant. This paper introduces new models to predict performances under bad weather conditions for both active and infrared imaging systems. We point out their effects on controlled physical parameters (extinction, transmission, spatial resolution, thermal background, speckle, turbulence). Then we develop physical models to describe their intrinsic characteristics and their impact on the imaging system performances. Finally, we approximate these models to have a “first order” model easy to deploy for industrial applications. This theoretical work will be validated on real active and infrared data

Continental hydrosystem modelling: the concept of nested stream–aquifer interfaces

International audienceCoupled hydrological-hydrogeological models, emphasising the importance of the stream–aquifer interface, are more and more used in hydrological sciences for pluri-disciplinary studies aiming at investigating environmental is-sues. Based on an extensive literature review, stream–aquifer interfaces are described at five different scales: local [10 cm– ∼ 10 m], intermediate [∼ 10 m–∼ 1 km], watershed [10 km 2 – ∼ 1000 km 2 ], regional [10 000 km 2 –∼ 1 M km 2 ] and conti-nental scales [> 10 M km 2 ]. This led us to develop the con-cept of nested stream–aquifer interfaces, which extends the well-known vision of nested groundwater pathways towards the surface, where the mixing of low frequency processes and high frequency processes coupled with the complexity of geomorphological features and heterogeneities creates hy-drological spiralling. This conceptual framework allows the identification of a hierarchical order of the multi-scale con-trol factors of stream–aquifer hydrological exchanges, from the larger scale to the finer scale. The hyporheic corridor, which couples the river to its 3-D hyporheic zone, is then identified as the key component for scaling hydrological pro-cesses occurring at the interface. The identification of the hy-porheic corridor as the support of the hydrological processes scaling is an important step for the development of regional studies, which is one of the main concerns for water practi-tioners and resources managers. In a second part, the modelling of the stream–aquifer in-terface at various scales is investigated with the help of the conductance model. Although the usage of the temperature as a tracer of the flow is a robust method for the assess-ment of stream–aquifer exchanges at the local scale, there is a crucial need to develop innovative methodologies for as-sessing stream–aquifer exchanges at the regional scale. After formulating the conductance model at the regional and inter-mediate scales, we address this challenging issue with the de-velopment of an iterative modelling methodology, which en-sures the consistency of stream–aquifer exchanges between the intermediate and regional scales. Finally, practical recommendations are provided for the study of the interface using the innovative methodology MIM (Measurements–Interpolation–Modelling), which is graphi-cally developed, scaling in space the three pools of methods needed to fully understand stream–aquifer interfaces at vari-ous scales. In the MIM space, stream–aquifer interfaces that can be studied by a given approach are localised. The ef-ficiency of the method is demonstrated with two examples. The first one proposes an upscaling framework, structured around river reaches of ∼ 10–100 m, from the local to the wa-tershed scale. The second example highlights the usefulness of space borne data to improve the assessment of stream– aquifer exchanges at the regional and continental scales. We conclude that further developments in modelling and field measurements have to be undertaken at the regional scale to enable a proper modelling of stream–aquifer exchanges from the local to the continental scale