Environment for teaching and development of mobile robot systems

Using robots for teaching is one approach that has gathered good results on Middle-School, High-School and Universities. Robotics gives chance to experiment concepts of a broad range of disciplines, principally those from Engineering courses and Computer Science. However, there are not many kits that enables the use of robotics in classroom. This article describes the methodologies to implement tools which serves as test beds for the use of robotics to teach Computer Science and Engineering. Therefore, it proposes the development of a flexible, low cost hardware to integrate sensors and control actuators commonly found on mobile robots, the development of a mobile robot device whose sensors and actuators allows the experimentation of different concepts, and an environment for the implementation of control algorithms through a computer network. This paper describes each one of these tools and discusses the implementation issues and future works. © 2010 IEEE.

O papel dos sistemas visual, vestibular, somatosensorial e auditivo para o controle postural

The maintenance of a given body orientation is obtained by the complex relation between sensory information and muscle activity. Therefore, this study purpose was to review the role of visual, somatosensory, vestibular and auditory information in the maintenance and control of the posture. Method. a search by papers for the last 24 years was done in the PubMed and CAPES databases. The following keywords were used: postural control, sensory information, vestibular system, visual system, somatosensory system, auditory system and haptic system. Results. the influence of each sensory system and its integration were analyzed for the maintenance and control of the posture. Conclusion. the literature showed that there is information redundancy provided by sensory channels. Thus, the central nervous system chooses the main source for the posture control.

Networked control system for the guidance of a four-wheel steering agricultural robotic platform

A current trend in the agricultural area is the development of mobile robots and autonomous vehicles for precision agriculture (PA). One of the major challenges in the design of these robots is the development of the electronic architecture for the control of the devices. In a joint project among research institutions and a private company in Brazil a multifunctional robotic platform for information acquisition in PA is being designed. This platform has as main characteristics four-wheel propulsion and independent steering, adjustable width, span of 1,80m in height, diesel engine, hydraulic system, and a CAN-based networked control system (NCS). This paper presents a NCS solution for the platform guidance by the four-wheel hydraulic steering distributed control. The control strategy, centered on the robot manipulators control theory, is based on the difference between the desired and actual position and considering the angular speed of the wheels. The results demonstrate that the NCS was simple and efficient, providing suitable steering performance for the platform guidance. Even though the simplicity of the NCS solution developed, it also overcame some verified control challenges in the robot guidance system design such as the hydraulic system delay, nonlinearities in the steering actuators, and inertia in the steering system due the friction of different terrains. Copyright © 2012 Eduardo Pacincia Godoy et al.

Gesture-based teleoperation using a holonomic robot

This work presents the development and integration of an user interface (UI) framework based on various current input devices that take advantage of our ergonomics. The purpose is to teleoperate a holonomic robot using upper member gestures and postures for studying the suitable of such interfaces when programming and interacting with a mobile robot. As performance vary from UI to UI the framework is focused to be used as a complementary industrial or didactic tool thus, changing how inexperience users tackle their first impressions when working with mobile robots while performing simple gesture-based teleoperation tasks. © 2012 ICROS.

Influence of visual feedback sampling on obstacle crossing behavior in people with Parkinson's disease

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the role of visual information on gait control in people with Parkinson's disease as they crossed over obstacles. Twelve healthy individuals, and 12 patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease, walked at their preferred speeds along a walkway and stepped over obstacles of varying heights (ankle height or half-knee height), under three visual sampling conditions: dynamic (normal lighting), static (static visual samples, similar to stroboscopic lighting), and voluntary visual sampling. Subjects wore liquid crystal glasses for visual manipulation. In the static visual sampling condition only, the patients with Parkinson's disease made contact with the obstacle more often than did the control subjects. In the successful trials, the patients increased their crossing step width in the static visual sampling condition as compared to the dynamic and voluntary visual sampling conditions; the control group maintained the same step width for all visual sampling conditions. The patients showed lower horizontal mean velocity values during obstacle crossing than did the controls. The patients with Parkinson's disease were more dependent on optic flow information for successful task and postural stability than were the control subjects. Bradykinesia influenced obstacle crossing in the patients with Parkinson's disease. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

O Uso da informação visual global e local no controle da postura e do timing durante a tarefa de agarrar um objeto em aproximação

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Revista Careta: um estudo sobre humor visual no Estado Novo (1937-1945)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Comparação entre a inspeção visual, radiografia interproximal e a fluorescência a laser em relação ao diagnóstico de lesões cariosas oclusais e a determinação do plano de tratamento

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Informação visual no controle postural de crianças: efeito das características do estímulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Controle postural de idosos: efeito da perturbação visual com o uso do sistema âncora

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Investigação do potencial cortical provocado visual para padrão reverso em pacientes diagnosticados com epilepsia parcial e generalizada

Este trabalho avaliou o potencial cortical provocado visual de crianças com história de epilepsia com o objetivo de identificar marcadores eletrofisiológicos que indicassem alterações corticais em epilepsia. Foram estudados 34 sujeitos com história de epilepsia (18 sujeitos com epilepsia parcial e 16 com epilepsia generalizada). O grupo controle foi composto por 19 sujeitos sem história de crises epilépticas com faixa etária semelhante aos pacientes. Os componentes do potencial cortical provocado visual transiente para apresentação por padrão reverso de tabuleiros de xadrez foram avaliados quanto à amplitude, tempo implícito e razões de amplitude entre os componentes. Foi observado que os pacientes com epilepsia generalizada apresentaram componente N75 com amplitude maior que os demais grupos, enquanto as razões de amplitude N75/P100 e P100/N135foram menores em pacientes com epilepsia parcial que em outros grupos. Houve fraca correlação linear entre os parâmetros do potencial cortical provocado visual e a idade de início das crises epilépticas ou tempo de utilização das medicações antiepilépticas. Conclui-se que o componente N75 e as razões de amplitude N75/P100 e P100/N135 podem ser bons indicadores eletrofisiológicos para alterações funcionais corticais em epilepsia.

Acuidade visual e matriz extracelular no córtex visual primário: alterações associadas à privação monocular precoce e ao enriquecimento ambiental

O objetivo do presente trabalho e analisar a influencia do enriquecimento ambiental sobre a acuidade visual e a distribuição das redes perineuronais (RPNs) no córtex visual primário de camundongos submetidos a privação monocular durante o período critico pos-natal. Camundongos suíços albinos fêmeas foram submetidos a sutura da pálpebra direita no 10o dia pos-natal (M, n=16), enquanto que os animais do grupo binocular não foram submetidos a nenhum procedimento cirúrgico (B, n=16). Ao completarem 21 dias, os animais foram subdivididos em: ambiente padrão e ambiente enriquecido, constituindo os grupos M.AP, M.AE, B.AP e B.AE. Após três meses, os animais foram submetidos ao teste de acuidade visual, perfundidos e secções coronais de seus cérebros processadas para histoquímica da lectina Wisteria floribunda e posterior quantificação através do método estereologico do fracionador óptico. Os animais do grupo B.AP apresentaram acuidade visual de 0.48 ciclos/grau, enquanto que aqueles alojados em ambiente enriquecido (B.AE) apresentaram um melhor desempenho do teste, atingindo 0.996 ciclos/grau. A acuidade visual foi significantemente menor nos animais submetidos a privação monocular (M.AP 0.18 ciclos/grau; M.AE 0.4 ciclos/grau). Os resultados estereologicos revelaram que o ambiente enriquecido aumenta o numero de RPNs tipo 1 e de RPNs total nas camadas supragranular e granular em ambos os hemisférios nos camundongos submetidos a privação monocular (ANOVA dois critérios, p<0.05), sendo que essa diferença na camada granular e decorrente principalmente do aumento das redes perineuronais da matriz extracelular no hemisfério direito. Na camada infragranular, os animais do grupo M.AE apresentaram um aumento apenas no numero de RPNs tipo 1.

Action of rain on the efficiency of herbicides applied post-emergence in the control of Senna obtusifolia

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Sleep deprivation affects sensorimotor coupling in postural control of young adults

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of saccadic eye movements on postural control stabilization

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)