Visual localisation in outdoor industrial building environments

This paper presents a vision-based method of vehicle localisation that has been developed and tested on a large forklift type robotic vehicle which operates in a mainly outdoor industrial setting. The localiser uses a sparse 3D edgemap of the environment and a particle filter to estimate the pose of the vehicle. The vehicle operates in dynamic and non-uniform outdoor lighting conditions, an issue that is addressed by using knowledge of the scene to intelligently adjust the camera exposure and hence improve the quality of the information in the image. Results from the industrial vehicle are shown and compared to another laser-based localiser which acts as a ground truth. An improved likelihood metric, using peredge calculation, is presented and has shown to be 40% more accurate in estimating rotation. Visual localization results from the vehicle driving an arbitrary 1.5km path during a bright sunny period show an average position error of 0.44m and rotation error of 0.62deg.

Building climate change resilience and adaptive capacity in Australia’s community sector using social media and technology innovation

Public and private sector organisations worldwide are putting strategies in place to manage the commercial and operational risks of climate change. However, community organisations are lagging behind in their understanding and preparedness, despite them being among the most exposed to the effects of climate change impacts and regulation. This poster presents a proposal for a multidisciplinary study that addresses this issue by developing, testing and applying a novel climate risk assessment methodology that is tailored to the needs of Australia’s community sector and its clients. Strategies to mitigate risks and build resilience and adaptive capacity will be identified including new opportunities afforded by urban informatics, social media, and technologies of scale making.

Building Indigenous research capacity : a personal perspective

The International Network of Indigenous Health Knowledge and Development (INIHKD) Conference was held from Monday 24 May to Friday 28 May 2010 at Kiana Lodge, Port Madison Indian Reservation, Suquamish Nation, Washington State, United States of America. The overall theme for the 4th Biennial Conference was ‘Knowing Our Roots: Indigenous Medicines, Health Knowledges and Best Practices’.

IT-enhanced communication protocols for building project management

Purpose – Building project management requires real time flow of information between all the project team members or the supply chain members. In the present scenario, when project participants are geographically separated, adoption of Information Communication Technology (ICT) enables such effective communication. But strategic adoption of ICT requires that all the supply chain members follow the accepted methods of communication or the communication protocols. The majority of the construction organizations are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This research, therefore, proposes to focus on developing IT-enhanced communication protocols for building project management by SMEs. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopts a sequential mixed methods approach, where data collection and analysis are conducted in both the quantitative and qualitative phases of research. Findings – The protocols are proposed as a “Strategic Model for Enhancing ICT Diffusion in Building Projects”. The framework for the model is discussed at three levels of study, i.e industry, organization, and people. Practical implications – While the research was conducted in an Indian context, the research outcome is envisaged to be widely applicable in other countries with due considerations. Originality/value – The developed framework has implications for national level bodies and academic institutions, organizations, people or project managers and is applicable at the international level after due considerations.

Advice-implicative interrogatives : building 'client-centered" support in a children's helpline

Interactional research on advice giving has described advice as normative and asymmetric. In this paper we examine how these dimensions of advice are softened by counselors on a helpline for children and young people through the use of questions. Through what we term ‘‘adviceimplicative interrogatives,’’ counselors ask clients about the relevance or applicability of a possible future course of action. The allusion to this possible action by the counselor identifies it as normatively relevant, and displays the counselor’s epistemic authority in relation to dealing with a client’s problems. However, the interrogative format mitigates the normative and asymmetric dimensions typical of advice sequences by orienting to the client’s epistemic authority in relation to their own lives, and delivering advice in a way that is contingent upon the client’s accounts of their experiences, capacities, and understandings. The demonstration of the use of questions in advice sequences offers an interactional specification of the ‘‘client-centered’’ support that is characteristic of prevailing counseling practice. More specifically, it shows how the values of empowerment and child-centered practice, which underpin services such as Kids Helpline, are embodied in specific interactional devices. Detailed descriptions of this interactional practice offer fresh insights into the use of interrogatives in counseling contexts, and provide practitioners with new ways of thinking about, and discussing, their current practices.