Navegación de un robot móvil sobre terreno irregular con contacto de su brazo con el suelo

En esta tesis se aborda el problema de la navegabilidad de robots móviles sobre terrenos irregulares, los cuales poseen diferentes inclinaciones y variedad de obstáculos. Este tema constituye actualmente una línea de investigación activa dirigida al desarrollo de nuevos robots y, adicionalmente, enfocada al desarrollo de estrategias de navegación eficientes y con el mínimo riesgo de inutilización. En primer lugar se desarrolló el robot móvil Lázaro para navegar en este tipo de terrenos, el cual posee un brazo articulado con una rueda como efector final. Esta rueda le permite al brazo mantener un punto de contacto adicional con el suelo que puede ayudar al robot a compensar situaciones de inestabilidad y sobrepasar algunos obstáculos que pudieran presentarse en estos entornos. Posteriormente, se desarrollaron tres medidas cuantitativas que permiten evaluar la navegabilidad de cualquier robot móvil cuando transita sobre terreno irregular. Estas tres medidas son: un índice de estabilidad, el cual evalúa la propensión al vuelco; un índice de direccionamiento, el cual evalúa la disponibilidad del robot para direccionarse y seguir una trayectoria dada y, por último, un índice de deslizamiento, el cual evalúa la propensión del robot a deslizarse hacia abajo cuando se desplaza sobre superficies inclinadas. Finalmente, se definieron un conjunto de maniobras que puede ejecutar Lázaro y que están dirigidas a garantizar la navegación cuando el robot se desplaza sobre superficies inclinadas o cuando debe sobrepasar obstáculos tales como escalones, rampas o zanjas. Todas las estrategias diseñadas se fundamentan en el uso del brazo como herramienta adicional que posee el robot para mejorar su navegabilidad.

ViDRILO: The Visual and Depth Robot Indoor Localization with Objects information dataset

In this article we describe a semantic localization dataset for indoor environments named ViDRILO. The dataset provides five sequences of frames acquired with a mobile robot in two similar office buildings under different lighting conditions. Each frame consists of a point cloud representation of the scene and a perspective image. The frames in the dataset are annotated with the semantic category of the scene, but also with the presence or absence of a list of predefined objects appearing in the scene. In addition to the frames and annotations, the dataset is distributed with a set of tools for its use in both place classification and object recognition tasks. The large number of labeled frames in conjunction with the annotation scheme make this dataset different from existing ones. The ViDRILO dataset is released for use as a benchmark for different problems such as multimodal place classification and object recognition, 3D reconstruction or point cloud data compression.

Proyecto de investigación la construcción irregular acercamiento a sus causas y efectos. Análisis en un determinado sector de la ciudad de Cuenca

El análisis de las construcciones irregulares en la ciudad de Cuenca es importante para entender el fenómeno entre lo que la norma urbanística permite en el ámbito de la construcción y la necesidad del propietario. Es necesario considerar dos panoramas: los asentamientos informales en zonas no permitidas, situación que no se ha visibilizado aún en gran magnitud; y las edificaciones que se han modificado incumpliendo las normas urbanísticas. Se analizarán construcciones en las que se establece que entre las posibles razones para su modificación están la necesidad de mejorar la funcionalidad de la misma o generar desarrollo económico familiar, originando probablemente afectaciones al paisaje urbano e inclusive el deterioro de la calidad de vida de los vecinos. El proyecto de investigación consiste en localizar las edificaciones en el área de actuación que infringen las ordenanzas vigentes en el Cantón Cuenca, con la finalidad de generar soluciones en busca de la homogeneidad del sector.

Investigation of un-American propaganda activities in the United States : Hearings before a Special Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Seventy-fifth Congress, third session-Seventy-eighth Congress, second session, on H. Res. 282, to investigate (1) the extent, character, and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States, (2) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American propaganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitution, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in any necessary remedial legislation.

Martin Dies, chairman.

Libs in cultural heritage: recognition and identification of objects in an underwater archaeological shipwreck

Nowadays, one of the most important areas of interest in archeology is the characterization of the submersed cultural heritage. Mediterranean Sea is rich in archaeological findings due to storms, accidents and naval battles since prehistoric times. Chemical analysis of submerged materials is an extremely valuable source of information on the origin and precedence of the wrecks, and also the raw materials employed during the manufacturing of the objects found in these sites. Nevertheless, sometimes it is not possible to extract the archaeological material from the marine environment due to size of the sample, the legislation or preservation purposes. In these cases, the in-situ analysis turns into the only alternative for obtaining information. In spite of this demand, no analytical techniques are available for the in-situ chemical characterization of underwater materials. The versatility of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been successfully tested in oceanography 1. Advantages such as rapid and in situ analysis with no sample preparation make LIBS a suitable alternative for field measurements. To further exploit the inherent advantages of the technology, a mobile fiber-based LIBS platform capable of performing remote measurements up to 50 meters range has been designed for the recognition and identification of artworks in underwater archaeological shipwrecks. The LIBS prototype featured both single-pulse (SP-LIBS) and multi-pulse excitation (MP-LIBS) 2. The use of multi-pulse excitation allowed an increased laser beam energy (up to 95 mJ) transmitted through the optical fiber. This excitation mode results in an improved performance of the equipment in terms of extended range of analysis (to a depth of 50 m) and a broader variety of samples to be analyzed (i.e., rocks, marble, ceramics and concrete). In the present work, the design and construction considerations of the instrument are reported and its performance is discussed on the basis of the spectral response, the remote irradiance achieved upon the range of analysis and its influence on plasma properties, as well as the effect of the laser pulse duration and purge gas to the LIBS signal. Also, to check the reliability and reproducibility of the instrument for field analysis several robustness tests were performed outside the lab. Finally, the capability of this instrument was successfully demonstrated in an underwater archaeological shipwreck (San Pedro de Alcántara, Malaga).

Simplified Chinese lacquer techniques and Nanban style decoration on Luso-Asian objects from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries

The meeting of multiple cultures and their mutual influence during the Portuguese expansion in Asia led to the emergence of different types of fusion styles in objects commissioned by the settlers, merchants, and religious orders present in Portuguese India. The east-Asian lacquer coatings of modestly sized wooden objects of various types dating from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries have been analyzed as part of the research for a doctoral thesis that aims to establish their cultural and geographical attribution within the context of the Getty Conservation Institute’s lacquer research project. Among the objects were three seventeenthcentury lacquered trays from Portuguese museums and private collections that had previously been classified as Japanese Nanban, Chinese or Ryukyuan lacquers or even as Indo-Portuguese artifacts. The materials and techniques that were identified show close similarities with Chinese techniques mentioned in historic accounts — the only existing Ming Chinese Treatise on lacquering Xiushi lu and the eighteenth-century memoirs of the Jesuit priest d’Incarville. These nearly 400-year-old artifacts are among the first lacquered objects commissioned by Europeans and probably the first of Chinese origin. Their detailed technical study contributes to international lacquer research and complements existing knowledge and perceptions of the lacquering processes that were applied in response to an early European demand for exotic items.

A second order control-volume finite-element least-squares strategy for simulating diffusion in strongly anisotropic media

An unstructured mesh �nite volume discretisation method for simulating di�usion in anisotropic media in two-dimensional space is discussed. This technique is considered as an extension of the fully implicit hybrid control-volume �nite-element method and it retains the local continuity of the ux at the control volume faces. A least squares function recon- struction technique together with a new ux decomposition strategy is used to obtain an accurate ux approximation at the control volume face, ensuring that the overall accuracy of the spatial discretisation maintains second order. This paper highlights that the new technique coincides with the traditional shape function technique when the correction term is neglected and that it signi�cantly increases the accuracy of the previous linear scheme on coarse meshes when applied to media that exhibit very strong to extreme anisotropy ratios. It is concluded that the method can be used on both regular and irregular meshes, and appears independent of the mesh quality.

here/there/then/now

here/there/then/now was a practice-led research project that brought together 10 independent artists in dance, music, theatre and visual/media arts to create a site-specific program within the walls of the Brisbane Powerhouse. The purpose was to explore how to best conceive flexible performance platforms, theatricalise site-specific work and engage new audiences through forms of promenade experience that could provide open choices on how and where to view it. The sold out season of 6 performances, which took place 14-19 May 2002, presented three discrete performance installations set in intimate parts of the building, each with their own aesthetic and communicative intention, culminating in a fourth in-theatre installation, where memories of the first three coalesced and were reinterrogated. Each site thereby investigated meaning-making via the moving body and its critical relationship with space and objects, in a dramatic re-contextualisation of traditional solo dance forms, now re-articulated through interdisciplinary practices. The benefit of this approach was the creation of a layered and multimodal experience that could be both shared and subsequently critiqued by performers and audience alike.

A natural model for architecture : the nature of the evolutionary model 1995

John Frazer's architectural work is inspired by living and generative processes. Both evolutionary and revolutionary, it explores informatin ecologies and the dynamics of the spaces between objects. Fuelled by an interest in the cybernetic work of Gordon Pask and Norbert Wiener, and the possibilities of the computer and the "new science" it has facilitated, Frazer and his team of collaborators have conducted a series of experiments that utilize genetic algorithms, cellular automata, emergent behaviour, complexity and feedback loops to create a truly dynamic architecture. Frazer studied at the Architectural Association (AA) in London from 1963 to 1969, and later became unit master of Diploma Unit 11 there. He was subsequently Director of Computer-Aided Design at the University of Ulter - a post he held while writing An Evolutionary Architecture in 1995 - and a lecturer at the University of Cambridge. In 1983 he co-founded Autographics Software Ltd, which pioneered microprocessor graphics. Frazer was awarded a person chair at the University of Ulster in 1984. In Frazer's hands, architecture becomes machine-readable, formally open-ended and responsive. His work as computer consultant to Cedric Price's Generator Project of 1976 (see P84)led to the development of a series of tools and processes; these have resulted in projects such as the Calbuild Kit (1985) and the Universal Constructor (1990). These subsequent computer-orientated architectural machines are makers of architectural form beyond the full control of the architect-programmer. Frazer makes much reference to the multi-celled relationships found in nature, and their ongoing morphosis in response to continually changing contextual criteria. He defines the elements that describe his evolutionary architectural model thus: "A genetic code script, rules for the development of the code, mapping of the code to a virtual model, the nature of the environment for the development of the model and, most importantly, the criteria for selection. In setting out these parameters for designing evolutionary architectures, Frazer goes beyond the usual notions of architectural beauty and aesthetics. Nevertheless his work is not without an aesthetic: some pieces are a frenzy of mad wire, while others have a modularity that is reminiscent of biological form. Algorithms form the basis of Frazer's designs. These algorithms determine a variety of formal results dependent on the nature of the information they are given. His work, therefore, is always dynamic, always evolving and always different. Designing with algorithms is also critical to other architects featured in this book, such as Marcos Novak (see p150). Frazer has made an unparalleled contribution to defining architectural possibilities for the twenty-first century, and remains an inspiration to architects seeking to create responsive environments. Architects were initially slow to pick up on the opportunities that the computer provides. These opportunities are both representational and spatial: computers can help architects draw buildings and, more importantly, they can help architects create varied spaces, both virtual and actual. Frazer's work was groundbreaking in this respect, and well before its time.

Six Curses

This creative writing work was selected for publication in a bi-lingual anthology, published in China, as suitable to be culturally applicable to both Chinese and Australian social contexts. The poem raises six social/ethical issues and comments on them. It is based on research into Chinese traditional poetry that focuses on an image, and after each image this poem provides an ethical comment. It is based in the ethical hypothesis that moral evaluation of individual and social behaviour can not be achieved without ethical judgement which questions social norms. In particular, the poem questions the validity of fundamentalism – the belief in religious, scientific and moral absolutes. This is a key issue in contemporary research into the effect of religion on politics. It also draws on contemporary psychological theory, especially the concept of narcissism. The sociological basis of the work is in drawing parallels between eastern and western ethical issues, stressing similarity by inference. The imagery on which the poem is based selects objects such a single ‘stone’ that take on symbolic connotations common to both Australian and Chinese readers. This is innovative, since very little creative writing has been dome to address commonalities between Australian and Chinese ethical thinking, especially by adopting Chinese motifs.

Airwaves: 100 years of radio

Music composition using prominent broadcast speeches across the whole twentieth century in commemoration of the centenary of Marconi's first transatlantic radio transmission. The work is based on creating music from the found objects of melody derived from spoken intonation. Recordings of the speeches are accompanied throughout by live instrumental music.

Flop II

An installation of sculptural objects that combine references to the portrait bust, drapery and socle with quotidian and incidental objects from the artist's studio. The work form part of the artist's ongoing self-portrait project in which he enacts formal strategies for tempering the authority conveyed by the self-portrait as an artistic genre.

A new educational technology for media and communication studies : mapping media in Australia and Sweden

This chapter reports on Australian and Swedish experiences in the iterative design, development, and ongoing use of interactive educational systems we call ‘Media Maps.’ Like maps in general, Media Maps are usefully understood as complex cultural technologies; that is, they are not only physical objects, tools and artefacts, but also information creation and distribution technologies, the use and development of which are embedded in systems of knowledge and social meaning. Drawing upon Australian and Swedish experiences with one Media Map technology, this paper illustrates this three-layered approach to the development of media mapping. It shows how media mapping is being used to create authentic learning experiences for students preparing for work in the rapidly evolving media and communication industries. We also contextualise media mapping as a response to various challenges for curriculum and learning design in Media and Communication Studies that arise from shifts in tertiary education policy in a global knowledge economy.