Path planning for an autonomous mobile robot considering a region with a velocity constraint in a real environment

Recently, many research projects and competitions have attempted to find an autonomous mobile robot that can drive in the real world. In this article, we consider a path-planning method for an autonomous mobile robot that would be safe in a real environment. In such a case, it is very important for the robot to be able to identify its own position and orientation in real time. Therefore, we applied a localization method based on a particle filter. Moreover, in order to improve the safety of such autonomous locomotion, we improved the path-planning algorithm and the generation of the trajectory so that it can consider a region with a limited maximum velocity. In order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method, we participated in the Real World Robot Challenge 2010. The experimental results are given.     

Region with velocity constraints: map information and its usage for safe motion planning of a mobile robot in a public environment

Recently, various autonomous mobile robots have been developed for practical use. To support the coexistence of robots and humans in real environments, we propose a concept named ‘Region with Velocity Constraints (RVC),’ which is set around hazardous areas. RVCs are regions where the velocities of the robot are constrained to predefined values. Inside the RVCs, the robot has to reduce its translational velocity to avoid predicted hazards such as collisions with obstacles, and to reduce its rotational velocity to prevent undesirable motions such as sharp turns. We also propose a motion planning method for navigating the mobile robot in an environment with RVCs based on the Navigation Function and Global Dynamic Window Approach. Our method generates a trajectory satisfying both translational and rotational velocity constraints to be compatible with the surroundings. Moreover, to demonstrate the validity of our method, we performed numerical simulations and experiments.     

Wedged multilayer Laue lens

A multilayer Laue lens (MLL) is an x-ray focusing optic fabricated from a multilayer structure consisting of thousands of layers of two different materials produced by thin-film deposition. The sequence of layer thicknesses is controlled to satisfy the Fresnel zone plate law and the multilayer is sectioned to form the optic. An improved MLL geometry can be created by growing each layer with an in-plane thickness gradient to form a wedge, so that every interface makes the correct angle with the incident beam for symmetric Bragg diffraction. The ultimate hard x-ray focusing performance of a wedged MLL has been predicted to be significantly better than that of a nonwedged MLL, giving subnanometer resolution with high efficiency. Here, we describe a method to deposit the multilayer structure needed for an ideal wedged MLL and report our initial deposition results to produce these structures.     

Stereocomplex formation between enantiomeric poly(lactic acid). VIII. Complex fibers spun from mixed solution of poly(D-lactic acid) and poly(L-lactic acid)

To obtain poly(lactic acid) (PLA) complex fibers, spinning was performed by wet and dry methods from 5–10 g/dL chloroform solutions of poly(D-lactic acid) (PDLA) and poly(L-lactic), both with a viscosity-average molecular weight of 3 × 10⁵. The dope was extruded from a monohole nozzle into coagulation baths from ethanol and chloroform for wet spinning and into a drying column kept at 60°C for dry spinning. Scanning electron microscopic observation of the as-spun fibers showed that the surface of the wet-spun fiber had large basins with diameters of 50–100 μm and many pores with diameters from sub μm to 10 μm, whereas the surface of dry-spun fiber had a microporous structure with the pore diameter of 1–3 μm. The tensile strength of the wet-spun complex fiber was very low and could not be drawn at high temperatures, in contrast to the dry-spun fiber. The tensile strength of dry-spun complex fiber increased upon hot drawing and showed the tensile strength of 94 kg/mm² by drawing at 160°C to the draw ratio of 13. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that the complex fibers contained both the stereocomplex crystallites (racemic crystallites) and the crystallites of the single polymers, PDLA and PLLA, regardless of the spinning methods. The ratio of the racemic crystallites to the single-polymer crystallites increased with the draw ratio of the complex fiber. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Visual perception of Fourier rainbow holographic display

The rainbow hologram provides views of reconstruction with rainbow color within a large viewing zone. In our recent paper, a Fourier rainbow holographic display using diffraction grating and a white‐light LED source was introduced. In this technique, the rainbow effect is realized by the dispersion of white‐light source on diffraction grating, while the slit is implemented numerically by reducing the demands of the space‐bandwidth product of the display. This paper presents a novel analysis on the visual perception of the Fourier rainbow holographic display using Wigner distribution. The view‐dependent appearance of the image, including multispectral field of view and viewing zone, is investigated considering the observer and the display parameters. The resolution of the holographic view is also investigated. For this, a new quantitative assessment for image blur is introduced using Wigner distribution analysis. The analysis is supported with numerical simulations and experimentally captured optical reconstructions for the holograms of the computer model and real object generated with different slit size, reconstruction distance, and different observation conditions.     

Molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging based on the anti-aging mechanism of calorie restriction

Accumulating evidence strongly suggests that oxidative stress underlies aging processes. Research provides consistent evidence that calorie restriction (CR) reduces age-related oxidative stress and has anti-inflammatory properties. However, information is lacking on the molecular mechanism that would better define the interrelation of reactive oxygen species and nitrogen species and the pro-inflammatory states of the aging process. In this review, the biochemical and molecular bases of the inflammatory process in the aging process are analyzed to delineate the molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging. The key players involved in the proposed hypothesis are the age-related upregulation of NF-kappa B, IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNFalpha, cyclooxygenase-2, and inducible NO synthase, all of which are attenuated by CR. Furthermore, age-related NF kappa B activation is associated with phosphorylation by I kappa B kinase/NIK and MAPKs, while CR blocked these activation processes. The modulation of these factors provides molecular insights of the anti-inflammatory action of CR in relation to the aging process. Based on available finding and our recent supporting evidence, we prefer to use "molecular inflammation" to emphasize the importance of the molecular reaction mechanisms and their aberrance, predisposing to fully expressed chronic inflammatory phenomena. It was further proposed that CR's major force of the regulation of redox-sensitive inflammation may well be its life-prolonging action.     

Semantic passage segmentation based on sentence topics for question answering

We propose a semantic passage segmentation method for a Question Answering (QA) system. We define a semantic passage as sentences grouped by semantic coherence, determined by the topic assigned to individual sentences. Topic assignments are done by a sentence classifier based on a statistical classification technique, Maximum Entropy (ME), combined with multiple linguistic features. We ran experiments to evaluate the proposed method and its impact on application tasks, passage retrieval and template-filling for question answering. The experimental result shows that our semantic passage retrieval method using topic matching is more useful than fixed length passage retrieval. With the template-filling task used for information extraction in the QA system, the value of the sentence topic assignment method was reinforced.     

DS-SS code acquisition based on simultaneous search andverification

A double-dwell acquisition system that can simultaneously operate search and verification processes, by employing two correlation blocks, is proposed. The search block continuously looks for threshold-crossing instants, and at those instants, the verification block is reset and reinitiated. The threshold is time varying and updated depending on the partial correlation. Computer simulation results indicate that the proposed technique can perform better than existing double-dwell systems which alternate between search and verification modes     

Combined salience based person re-identification

Human eye perceives an object as the entity with global information and local information. Human salience is distinctive local information in matching pedestrians across disjoint camera views, and matching on overall foreground guarantees reliable and robust identification. In this paper, we propose a strategy for the matching of mean salience to identify pedestrians. Also, we consider that person re-identification based on the local single directional matching suffers from the variations of pose, illumination and overlapping, and propose a global bi-directional matching to solve the challenging problems of person re-identification. Furthermore, our matching of mean salience is tightly combined with the global bi-directional matching. Patch matching is utilized to handle the misalignment problem in pedestrian images. We test our feature and matching approaches in person re-identification scenario. Experimental results demonstrate that the mean salience and the global bi-directional matching have promising discriminative capability in comparison with other ones.     

Tunable 3D Nanoresonators for Gas‐Sensing Applications

The detection of gas species with high sensitivity is a significant task for fundamental sciences as well as for industrial applications. Similarly, the ongoing trend for device miniaturization brings new challenges for advanced fabrication including on‐demand functionality tuning. Following this motivation, here the additive, direct‐write fabrication of freestanding 3D nanoarchitectures is introduced, which can be brought into mechanical resonance via electric AC fields. Specifically, this study focuses on the 3D nanostructure synthesis, the subsequent determination of Young's modulus, and demonstrates a postgrowth procedure, which can precisely tune the material modulus. As‐fabricated resonators reveal a Young's modulus of 9–13 GPa, which can be increased by a factor greater than 5. Next, the electric readout of the resonance behavior is demonstrated via electric current measurement as an essential element for the resonance sensor applications. Finally, the implications of gas‐physisorption and gas‐chemisorption on the resonance frequencies are studied, representing a proof‐of‐principle for sensing applications by the here presented approach.