A lava flow simulation model for the development of volcanic hazard maps for Mount Etna (Italy)

Volcanic hazard assessment is of paramount importance for the safeguard of the resources exposed to volcanic hazards. In the paper we present ELFM, a lava flow simulation model for the evaluation of the lava flow hazard on Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy), the most important active volcano in Europe. The major contributions of the paper are: (a) a detailed specification of the lava flow simulation model and the specification of an algorithm implementing it; (b) the definition of a methodological framework for applying the model to the specific volcano. For what concerns the former issue, we propose an extended version of an existing stochastic model that has been applied so far only to the assessment of the volcanic hazard on Lanzarote and Tenerife (Canary Islands). Concerning the methodological framework, we claim model validation is definitely needed for assessing the effectiveness of the lava flow simulation model. To that extent a strategy has been devised for the generation of simulation experiments and evaluation of their outcomes.     

工业机器人技术的现状及其展望

"综合技术"是现代科学技术发展的一大特点.机器人就是综合技术的典型代表.它是自 动化技术高度发展的产物,也是控制论、仿生学、计算机科学以及运动学、动力学的研究目标之 一.本文全面介绍并分析了目前国外工业机器人技术,特别是工业机器人的传动机构及其控 制技术的现状、存在问题及近后的研究课题.同时也对未来机器人作了预测与展望.     

How far away is “artificial man”

The authors claim that a careful examination of robotics science and technology from its origins in the 1950s to its current status reveals that such progress, albeit very important, profitable, and with a strong impact on society, was basically the “side activities” to the ever-existing and continuous desire of mankind to build and realize humanoid robots, artificial men equipped uith proper intelligence capable of operating autonomously, thus replacing trained individuals for dexterous jobs. They consider such a humanoid robot through the realistic tasks/jobs it will most probably do. It is postulated that this humanoid robot be considered as a personal helper (a home robot or personal robot). Given the present level of technology, the question is posed: are we ready to move towards personal robotics, and what might be the first step? A possible answer to this question is given through a discussion of the human-like characteristics a personal robot must have; namely, human-like motion, human-like intelligence, and human-like communication     

Calibration of an smt robot assembly cell

A new calibration method for an assembly robot cell is described. The proposed method is a combination of a model-free, numerical, relative robot calibration procedure and a procedure for the robot periphery calibration. Two important simplifications based on the study of an assembly process are introduced into the calibration strategy. A robot is calibrated in a task (Cartesian) space. The robot workspace and the number of calibrated degrees of freedom (dof) in the task space are reduced in accordance with the difficulty measure of the task. An automatic measurement system for measuring the relative robot accuracy was developed. An original principle of transforming the robot endpoint approach distance into the one-dimensional position displacement error is introduced. The accuracy errors of each particular calibrated dof in the task space is measured separately. The error tables are used in a direct robot calibration procedure that is based on the linear interpolation of the discrete position-error functions. An iterative inverse calibration algorithm used in a particular robot cell is described. An efficient sensor-based system for an additional simultaneous robot periphery calibration is presented. The implementation of the proposed calibration methodology in the pick-and-place robot cell for Surface Mount Technology (SMT) is presented. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Learning from designing the RoboFesta—Blue Peter robots

Can children and adults learn anything from building robots? In 2001 we ran a robot design competition with the BBC TelevisionBlue Peter, program. Some 32 000 children, aged between 5 and 16 years, submitted paper designs. We built prototypes of the four winners' robots for a Robot Design MasterClass at the London Science Museum. It is widely believed that across the curriculum, robotics is a powerful force in motivating education. We ask what the children learned from the robot design process. Our answer is that they learned many things, both inside and outside the science and technology curriculum.     

蒙山景区生态旅游与可持续发展初探

本文从景观设计的角度,阐述了蒙山风景名胜区生态旅游的发展,分析了蒙山风景名胜区发展生态旅游的有利条件和存在的问题,并在此基础上提出生态旅游可持续发展的对策与建议。     

Technical note: Lineament detection on Mount Cameroon during the 1999 volcanic eruptions using Landsat ETM

A study of the active Mount Cameroon volcano, located south west along the Cameroon Volcanic Line, was carried out during the 1999 volcanic eruption, using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) imagery. It investigated geologic deformations expressed as faults, cracks and lineaments resulting from the eruption. Various image processing techniques were tested and compared in order to detect the most effective output. Principal Component Analysis was found to be useful to determine the extent of deformations caused during the 1999 volcanic eruptions. Landsat ETM revealed the formation of faults and lineaments with proximity to eruption vents. The interpretation obtained from satellite imagery was cross checked with field and ground truthing data. This paper identifies the dimensions and orientations of the newly formed geologic features.     

Human-robot interactions during the robot-assisted urban search and rescue response at the World Trade Center

The World Trade Center (WTC) rescue response provided an unfortunate opportunity to study the human-robot interactions (HRI) during a real unstaged rescue for the first time. A post-hoc analysis was performed on the data collected during the response, which resulted in 17 findings on the impact of the environment and conditions on the HRI: the skills displayed and needed by robots and humans, the details of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task, the social informatics in the USAR domain, and what information is communicated at what time. The results of this work impact the field of robotics by providing a case study for HRI in USAR drawn from an unstaged USAR effort. Eleven recommendations are made based on the findings that impact the robotics, computer science, engineering, psychology, and rescue fields. These recommendations call for group organization and user confidence studies, more research into perceptual and assistive interfaces, and formal models of the state of the robot, state of the world, and information as to what has been observed.     

Comparative study of performance indices for fundamental robot manipulators

In this paper, conventional global and local indices–structural length index, manipulability measure, condition number and Global Conditioning Index (GCI)–have been examined for the workspace optimization of the sixteen fundamental robot manipulators classified by B. Huang and V. Milenkovic [Kinematics of major robot linkages, Robotics International of SME 2 (1983) 16–31]. To find the optimum link length and volumes of these robot manipulators, two design objectives have been used: maximize the workspace area covered by the robot manipulator and maximize the local indices. As an example, a three-link robot manipulator has been studied based on the above design objectives. Also, optimization results of the sixteen robot manipulators have been compared to each other and summarized in tables.     

Distributed stereo vision‐based 6D localization and mapping for multi‐robot teams

Joint simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) constitutes the basis for cooperative action in multi‐robot teams. We designed a stereo vision‐based 6D SLAM system combining local and global methods to benefit from their particular advantages: (1) Decoupled local reference filters on each robot for real‐time, long‐term stable state estimation required for stabilization, control and fast obstacle avoidance; (2) Online graph optimization with a novel graph topology and intra‐ as well as inter‐robot loop closures through an improved submap matching method to provide global multi‐robot pose and map estimates; (3) Distribution of the processing of high‐frequency and high‐bandwidth measurements enabling the exchange of aggregated and thus compacted map data. As a result, we gain robustness with respect to communication losses between robots. We evaluated our improved map matcher on simulated and real‐world datasets and present our full system in five real‐world multi‐robot experiments in areas of up 3,000 m² (bounding box), including visual robot detections and submap matches as loop‐closure constraints. Further, we demonstrate its application to autonomous multi‐robot exploration in a challenging rough‐terrain environment at a Moon‐analogue site located on a volcano.     

Perception of safe robot speed in virtual and real industrial environments

The purpose of this project was to study the influences of dynamic virtual objects in an Internet‐based virtual industrial environment. The main objectives of this study were to investigate perception of safe robot speed and perception of acceptability. Virtual industrial environments were designed and developed to conduct the experiment. The hypotheses specifying the relationships between perceptions of the robot size, type, different robot starting speed conditions, and gender were tested through data collected from 32 participants. The results indicated that the perception of safe speed was significantly different depending on robot sizes and the initial robot speed conditions. This was consistent with results shown in previous literature for tests in a real industrial environment. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 16: 369–383, 2006.     

Teaching science for the workplace? An analysis of Canadian science curriculum documents

Abstract

This article reports on the analysis of 108 science curriculum documents from the 13 Canadian provinces and territories exploring the explicit links that the science curriculum makes with the world of work. The document analysis was undertaken to examine the extent to which the contemporary Canadian provincial and territorial science curriculum documents represent objectives and goals that relate to science in the workplace. Because Canadian curriculum documents are reviewed periodically, the research was timed so that it captured the moment at which a significant number of these policy documents had been revised and released: December 2004. The article begins with a review of the nature of the knowledge or New Economy. Then previous document analysis research on science curriculum policy is discussed. The present study's findings suggest that curriculum policy makers are generally inattentive to the world of work and, in particular, to the demands of the New Economy. Implications of the research include the need to review the purposes of science education in Canada. Questions we might ask include, ‘To what extent might school science attempt to bridge the worlds of school and work?’ and ‘How might the bridge be built to this large part of life after school?’     

Robot soccer in education

The educational experiences from using robot soccer in computer science courses are outlined. The educational approach can be termed guided constructionism and it differs from traditional (pure) constructionism, which can be termed unguided constructionism, by combining hands-on experience with lecturing and guidance. We believe that some essential arguments need to be taught through lecturing and guidance, but also find it essential for the students to actively participate in our robot soccer competitions when the aim is to educate the students to be able to produce real-world applications when graduating from the university. In the computer science courses, the students were taught to work with robot soccer players with pre-defined robot morphology, with modifiable robot morphology and with robot team play. This should allow the students to learn (i) to manage the non-deterministic characteristics of the real environment, (ii) to integrate hardware and software solutions, and (iii) to manage collective and distributed systems. Indeed, with this knowledge, the students were able to win a number of international robot soccer tournaments.     

Swing-Up Control for a 3-DOF Gymnastic Robot With Passive First Joint: Design and Analysis

This paper concerns a swing-up control problem for a three-link gymnastic planar robot in a vertical plane with its first joint being passive (unactuated) and the rest being active (actuated). The objectives of this paper are to: (1) design a controller under which the robot can be brought into any arbitrarily small neighborhood of the upright equilibrium point, where all three links of the robot remain in their upright positions; and (2) attain a global analysis of the motion of the robot under the controller. To tailor the energy-based control approach to achieve the aforementioned objectives, first, this paper considers the links 2 and 3 as a virtually composite link, and proposes a coordinate transformation of the angles of active joints. Second, this paper constructs a novel Lyapunov function based on the transformation, and devises an energy-based swing-up controller. Third, this paper carries out a global analysis of the motion of the robot under the controller, and establishes some conditions on control parameters for achieving the swing-up control objective. To validate the theoretical results obtained, this paper provides simulation results for a three-link robot with its mechanical parameters being obtained from a human gymnast.     

Science fiction reduces the eeriness of android robots: A field experiment

As suggested by the uncanny valley hypothesis, robots that resemble humans likely elicit feelings of eeriness. Based on the psychological model of meaning maintenance, we expected that the uncanny valley experience could be mitigated through a fictional story, due to the meaning-generating function of narratives. A field experiment was conducted, in which 75 participants interacted with the humanlike robot Telenoid. Prior to the interaction, they either read a short story, a non-narrative leaflet about the robot, or they received no preliminary information. Eeriness ratings were significantly lower in the science fiction condition than in both other conditions. This effect was mediated by higher perceived human-likeness of the robot. Our findings suggest that science fiction may provide meaning for otherwise unsettling future technologies.     

以选修课为载体开展服务机器人科普教育

随着技术发展和市场需求的快速增长，服务机器人在我国的发展前景广阔，有必要开展服务机器人科普教育。服务机器人科普教育可以分为三个层次，可以用选修课作为载体来开展。NAO机器人和ROS可以作为教学内容和实践教学平台。     

基于无线网络的云医疗机器人系统仿真

医疗机器人是一门集医学、仿生学、机械力学、材料学、计算机科学、运筹学、机器人学等学科于一体的新兴交叉学科。随着传感器技术、通信设备,尤其是云计算的发展,云医疗机器人应运而生。一个云医疗机器人只需要少量的硬件和软件配置,它所需的大部分资源和计算过程由连接的云端提供。云医疗机器人从计算或者资源配置密集型转化为效率和功能密集型,从而可以更高效地完成复杂任务。本文设计一种云医疗机器人系统平台,该平台由医疗云平台层和远程云机器人层组成。以系统平台为基础,利用无线网络技术设计2个云医疗机器人系统案例,并进行仿真。仿真结果表明,云医疗机器人系统具有效率高、成本低和应用性强等特点。     

Remote monitoring of Mount Erebus Volcano,Antarctica, using Polar Orbiters: Progress and Prospects

Mount Erebus (Antarctica) is a remote and inhospitable volcano, where field campaigns are possible only during the austral summer. In addition to continuously monitoring seismic instruments and video cameras, data from scanners flown aboard polar orbiting space-craft, such as the Thematic Mapper (TM) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), can contribute to continuous, year-round monitoring of this volcano. Together these data allow measurement of the temperature of, thermal and gas flux from, and mass flux to a persistently active lava lake at Erebus' summit. The monitoring potential of such polar-orbiting instruments is enhanced by the poleward convergence of sub-spacecraft ground-tracks at the Erebus latitudes, permitting more frequent return periods than at the equator. Ground-based observations show that the Erebus lava lake was active with an area of ～2800m2 and sulphur dioxide (SO2) flux of (230 +/- 90)td-1 prior to September 1984. AVHRR-based lake area and SO2 flux estimates are in good agreement with these measurements, giving (2320 +/- 1200)m2 and (190 +/- 100)td-1, respectively, during 1980. However during late-1984 the lava lake became buried, with TM data showing re-establishment of the lake, with a TM-derived surface temperature of 578-903 C, by January 1985. Following these events, ground-based lake area and SO2 flux measurements show that the lake area and SO2 flux was lower (180-630m2 and 9-91td-1, respectively). This is matched by a decline in the AVHRR- and TM-derived rate of magma supply to the lake from 330 167kgs-1 prior to 1984 to 30-76kgs-1 thereafter. Clearly, a reduction in magma supply to, and activity at, the lava lake occurred during 1984. We look forward to using data from such future polar-orbiting sensors as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER), Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) and Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AASTR) to contribute to high (once a day) temporal resolution measurement and monitoring of activity at this volcano. Such analyses will in turn contribute to a more complete understanding of how this volcano works.     

Robotics in the classroom

This article presents an integrated approach for incorporating robotics into secondary education with the objective of further engaging students through an exciting application of math, computers, and science. One of the principal objectives of this university-based outreach effort is to promote the creation of independent programs at the secondary-school level in New Mexico by providing a structured set of resources from which the schools may begin. These resources include an adaptable mobile robot kit with detailed do-it-your-self online instructions, various Web-based course offerings with material directed to both secondary students and teachers, and a personnel support structure, including college engineering faculty, secondary teachers, practicing engineers, undergraduate engineering students, and junior-high and high-school students. An outreach program to integrate robotics into secondary education.