CoolBOT: a component-oriented programming framework for robotics

[EN] Programming software for controlling robotic systems in order to built working systems that perform adequately according to their design requirements remains being a task that requires an important development effort. Currently, there are no clear programming paradigms for programming robotic systems, and the programming techniques which are of common use today are not adequate to deal with the complexity associated with these systems. The work presented in this document describes a programming tool, concretely a framework, that must be considered as a first step to devise a tool for dealing with the complexity present in robotics systems. In this framework the software that controls a system is viewed as a dynamic network of units of execution inter-connected by means of data paths. Each one of these units of execution, called a component, is a port automaton which provides a given functionality, hidden behind an external interface specifying clearly which data it needs and which data it produces. Components, once defined and built, may be instantiated, integrated and used as many times as needed in other systems. The framework provides the infrastructure necessary to support this concept for components and the inter communication between them by means of data paths (port connections) which can be established and de-established dynamically. Moreover, and considering that the more robust components that conform a system are, the more robust the system is, the framework provides the necessary infrastructure to control and monitor the components than integrate a system at any given instant of time.

Assessment of the initial state of two reserves, Micro áreas Ecoturísticas Litorales (MAEL), in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

Máster en Oceanografía

Safety assessment of plant food supplements (PFS)

Botanicals and botanical preparations, including plant food supplements (PFS), are widely used in Western diets. The growing use of PFS is accompanied by an increasing concern because the safety of these PFS is not generally assessed before they enter the market. Regulatory bodies have become more aware of this and are increasing their efforts to ensure the safety of PFS. The present review describes an overview of the general framework for the safety assessment of PFS, focusing on the different approaches currently in use to assess the safety of botanicals and/or botanical compounds, including their history of safe use, the tiered approach proposed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) and the...