[Map of the proposed enlargement and replanning of the Capitol grounds, Washington D.C.].

India ink on recto and orange wash on verso.

Multi-objective mission flight planning in civil unmanned aerial systems

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are emerging as an ideal platform for a wide range of civil applications such as disaster monitoring, atmospheric observation and outback delivery. However, the operation of UAVs is currently restricted to specially segregated regions of airspace outside of the National Airspace System (NAS). Mission Flight Planning (MFP) is an integral part of UAV operation that addresses some of the requirements (such as safety and the rules of the air) of integrating UAVs in the NAS. Automated MFP is a key enabler for a number of UAV operating scenarios as it aids in increasing the level of onboard autonomy. For example, onboard MFP is required to ensure continued conformance with the NAS integration requirements when there is an outage in the communications link. MFP is a motion planning task concerned with finding a path between a designated start waypoint and goal waypoint. This path is described with a sequence of 4 Dimensional (4D) waypoints (three spatial and one time dimension) or equivalently with a sequence of trajectory segments (or tracks). It is necessary to consider the time dimension as the UAV operates in a dynamic environment. Existing methods for generic motion planning, UAV motion planning and general vehicle motion planning cannot adequately address the requirements of MFP. The flight plan needs to optimise for multiple decision objectives including mission safety objectives, the rules of the air and mission efficiency objectives. Online (in-flight) replanning capability is needed as the UAV operates in a large, dynamic and uncertain outdoor environment. This thesis derives a multi-objective 4D search algorithm entitled Multi- Step A* (MSA*) based on the seminal A* search algorithm. MSA* is proven to find the optimal (least cost) path given a variable successor operator (which enables arbitrary track angle and track velocity resolution). Furthermore, it is shown to be of comparable complexity to multi-objective, vector neighbourhood based A* (Vector A*, an extension of A*). A variable successor operator enables the imposition of a multi-resolution lattice structure on the search space (which results in fewer search nodes). Unlike cell decomposition based methods, soundness is guaranteed with multi-resolution MSA*. MSA* is demonstrated through Monte Carlo simulations to be computationally efficient. It is shown that multi-resolution, lattice based MSA* finds paths of equivalent cost (less than 0.5% difference) to Vector A* (the benchmark) in a third of the computation time (on average). This is the first contribution of the research. The second contribution is the discovery of the additive consistency property for planning with multiple decision objectives. Additive consistency ensures that the planner is not biased (which results in a suboptimal path) by ensuring that the cost of traversing a track using one step equals that of traversing the same track using multiple steps. MSA* mitigates uncertainty through online replanning, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and tolerance. Each trajectory segment is modeled with a cell sequence that completely encloses the trajectory segment. The tolerance, measured as the minimum distance between the track and cell boundaries, is the third major contribution. Even though MSA* is demonstrated for UAV MFP, it is extensible to other 4D vehicle motion planning applications. Finally, the research proposes a self-scheduling replanning architecture for MFP. This architecture replicates the decision strategies of human experts to meet the time constraints of online replanning. Based on a feedback loop, the proposed architecture switches between fast, near-optimal planning and optimal planning to minimise the need for hold manoeuvres. The derived MFP framework is original and shown, through extensive verification and validation, to satisfy the requirements of UAV MFP. As MFP is an enabling factor for operation of UAVs in the NAS, the presented work is both original and significant.

Multi-objective four-dimensional vehicle motion planning in large dynamic environments

This paper presents Multi-Step A* (MSA*), a search algorithm based on A* for multi-objective 4D vehicle motion planning (three spatial and one time dimension). The research is principally motivated by the need for offline and online motion planning for autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). For UAVs operating in large, dynamic and uncertain 4D environments, the motion plan consists of a sequence of connected linear tracks (or trajectory segments). The track angle and velocity are important parameters that are often restricted by assumptions and grid geometry in conventional motion planners. Many existing planners also fail to incorporate multiple decision criteria and constraints such as wind, fuel, dynamic obstacles and the rules of the air. It is shown that MSA* finds a cost optimal solution using variable length, angle and velocity trajectory segments. These segments are approximated with a grid based cell sequence that provides an inherent tolerance to uncertainty. Computational efficiency is achieved by using variable successor operators to create a multi-resolution, memory efficient lattice sampling structure. Simulation studies on the UAV flight planning problem show that MSA* meets the time constraints of online replanning and finds paths of equivalent cost but in a quarter of the time (on average) of vector neighbourhood based A*.

Adaptive dynamic path re-planning RRT algorithms with game theory for UAVs

The main aim of this paper is to describe an adaptive re-planning algorithm based on a RRT and Game Theory to produce an efficient collision free obstacle adaptive Mission Path Planner for Search and Rescue (SAR) missions. This will provide UAV autopilots and flight computers with the capability to autonomously avoid static obstacles and No Fly Zones (NFZs) through dynamic adaptive path replanning. The methods and algorithms produce optimal collision free paths and can be integrated on a decision aid tool and UAV autopilots.

Selecting Robust Strategies in RTS Games via Concurrent Plan Augmentation

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2015

Dynamic task allocation and coordination in cooperative multi-agent environments

La coordinació i assignació de tasques en entorns distribuïts ha estat un punt important de la recerca en els últims anys i aquests temes són el cor dels sistemes multi-agent. Els agents en aquests sistemes necessiten cooperar i considerar els altres agents en les seves accions i decisions. A més a més, els agents han de coordinar-se ells mateixos per complir tasques complexes que necessiten més d'un agent per ser complerta. Aquestes tasques poden ser tan complexes que els agents poden no saber la ubicació de les tasques o el temps que resta abans de que les tasques quedin obsoletes. Els agents poden necessitar utilitzar la comunicació amb l'objectiu de conèixer la tasca en l'entorn, en cas contrari, poden perdre molt de temps per trobar la tasca dins de l'escenari. De forma similar, el procés de presa de decisions distribuït pot ser encara més complexa si l'entorn és dinàmic, amb incertesa i en temps real. En aquesta dissertació, considerem entorns amb sistemes multi-agent amb restriccions i cooperatius (dinàmics, amb incertesa i en temps real). En aquest sentit es proposen dues aproximacions que permeten la coordinació dels agents. La primera és un mecanisme semi-centralitzat basat en tècniques de subhastes combinatòries i la idea principal es minimitzar el cost de les tasques assignades des de l'agent central cap als equips d'agents. Aquest algoritme té en compte les preferències dels agents sobre les tasques. Aquestes preferències estan incloses en el bid enviat per l'agent. La segona és un aproximació d'scheduling totalment descentralitzat. Això permet als agents assignar les seves tasques tenint en compte les preferències temporals sobre les tasques dels agents. En aquest cas, el rendiment del sistema no només depèn de la maximització o del criteri d'optimització, sinó que també depèn de la capacitat dels agents per adaptar les seves assignacions eficientment. Addicionalment, en un entorn dinàmic, els errors d'execució poden succeir a qualsevol pla degut a la incertesa i error de accions individuals. A més, una part indispensable d'un sistema de planificació és la capacitat de re-planificar. Aquesta dissertació també proveeix una aproximació amb re-planificació amb l'objectiu de permetre als agent re-coordinar els seus plans quan els problemes en l'entorn no permeti la execució del pla. Totes aquestes aproximacions s'han portat a terme per permetre als agents assignar i coordinar de forma eficient totes les tasques complexes en un entorn multi-agent cooperatiu, dinàmic i amb incertesa. Totes aquestes aproximacions han demostrat la seva eficiència en experiments duts a terme en l'entorn de simulació RoboCup Rescue.

O aconselhamento linguageiro como forma de intervenção e formação docente

Essa pesquisa visa encontrar maneiras de melhorar a formação em serviço de professores de inglês que atuam na rede pública de ensino no interior do Estado do Pará. Para tanto, utilizo o aconselhamento linguageiro (AL) que é uma forma de suporte de língua que, por meio de conversas, visa promover o aprendizado autodirecionado (GARDNER; MILLER, 1999; MOZZON-McPHERSON, 2007; RILEY, 1997; VIEIRA, 2007). Para realizá-la apóiome nos estudos de Vygotsky (1984), que versa sobre o desenvolvimento humano e a construção do saber; Benson (2001), que trata do processo de autonomização; e Mozzon- McPherson (2001), que discorre sobre o aconselhamento linguageiro. A metodologia de pesquisa adotada enquadra-se no método de pesquisa qualitativa uma vez que se trata de uma pesquisa-ação. A sequência de procedimentos apoiou-se no projeto coordenado por Magno e Silva (2013), no qual primeiramente, analisou-se a experiência pessoal de aprendizagem de LE do aconselhado e identificou-se uma área de preocupação pessoal; em seguida, planejou-se pró-ativamente, visando a área de preocupação pessoal; o terceiro passo foi exercer uma intervenção monitorada; por fim, como última etapa, se deu a avaliação e o replanejamento. Para a realização dessa pesquisa utilizou-se como instrumentos de coleta de dados narrativas de aprendizagem, questionário de análise de necessidades e relatórios de sessões de aconselhamento. Posteriormente, os dados obtidos por meio desses instrumentos foram sistematizados e analisados à luz da teoria levantada. Os resultados apresentados evidenciam que o AL pode ajudar na formação de professores em exercício favorecendo o desenvolvimento da autonomia desses profissionais, uma vez que o período de aconselhamento permitiu que os professores-aconselhados refletissem sobre seus conhecimentos de língua, suas crenças, dificuldades e estratégias para superar essas dificuldades, levando esses professores a realizarem ações em busca de seu aperfeiçoamento linguístico e profissional.

Sviluppo di un metodo di radioterapia adattativa tramite immagini portali e Cone-Beam CT

Il presente lavoro, svolto presso il servizio di Fisica Sanitaria dell’Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria di Parma, consiste nello sviluppo di un metodo innovativo di radioterapia adattativa. Il metodo è stato applicato a pazienti affetti da varie patologie, trattati con tecnica VMAT, (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy), altamente conformata al target. Il metodo sviluppato si compone di due fasi: nella prima fase vengono effettuate due analisi su immagini portali, di ricostruzione della dose all'isocentro e l'analisi gamma 2D. Se almeno una di queste fallisce, si interviene con la seconda fase, che vede l'acquisizione della CBCT del paziente e la taratura in densità elettronica della stessa. Si calcola dunque il piano su CBCT, previa operazione di contouring da parte del medico e, infine, si esegue l'analisi gamma 3D sulle matrici di dose calcolate sulla CT e sulla CBCT del paziente, quantificando gli indici gamma sulle strutture PTV, CTV e OAR di interesse clinico. In base ai risultati, se necessario, si può intervenire sul piano di trattamento. Le analisi gamma 2D e 3D sono state svolte avvalendosi di un software toolkit chiamato GADD-23 (Gamma Analysis on 2D and 3D Dose Distributions) implementato e sviluppato appositamente in ambiente Matlab per questo lavoro di tesi; in particolare, la realizzazione di GADD-23 è stata resa possibile grazie all'interazione con due software di tipo open-source, Elastix e CERR, specifici per l’elaborazione e la registrazione di immagini mediche. I risultati ottenuti mostrano come il metodo sviluppato sia in grado di mettere in luce cambiamenti anatomici che alcuni pazienti hanno subìto, di tipo sistematico, in cui è possibile prendere in considerazione una ripianificazione del trattamento per correggerli, o di tipo casuale, sui quali può essere utile condurre l'attenzione del medico radioterapista, sebbene non sia necessario un replanning.

O ensino por investigação: construindo possibilidades na formação continuada do professor de ciências a partir da ação-reflexão

Studies and reflections about the current trends on teaching Science show us the importance of include in the teaching practice, activities with a investigative and problematic approach, that allow to the learners to understand and to apply concepts and phenomena scientifics. On this perspective, the teacher continuing education is essential to effect the practice of this approach in the classroom. Therefore, this research has as an objective to contribute with Science teacher continuing formation in the basic education, in the use of the investigative approach, with a view to overcoming obstacles and making change in pedagogical practice using this research elements. For this, a qualitative research with science teachers of basic schools in the city of Natal/ RN/ Brazil was held, who attended the training course on teaching by investigation in 2012, through the project entitled "Em Busca de Novos Talentos para a Ciência: uma intervenção no ensino público" (Searching New Talents for Science: an intervention in public education).The research was conducted in four stages: Diagnosis of the conceptions of education for research and incorporation into practice after the New Talents course; projection of the intervention, intervention and evaluation. To obtain the data it was made a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, group studies, written records and participant observation. It was analyzed that the course had significant contributions to the participating teachers to promote the approach and the motivation for incorporation of the investigative approach in practice. The permanence of weaknesses related to the theoretical basis was found, the wear resistance, difficulty in planning activities and the change in practice, diagnosed the previous course of this research. It was also noticed certain lack of domain of teaching principles of investigation by the teachers, who despite being well understood in theory, reveal gaps in practice. Despite not having been exploited the full potential of investigative activity is apparent that the inclusion of activities with an investigative approach to science and biology classes is essential for an active, critical and reflective posture of the students as well as the interest in learning about science. It was demonstrated that intervention with moments of reflection, engagement, knowledge exchange, it was effective in overcoming difficulties identified at baseline as well as providing greater motivation to face the innovations and changes in education, suggesting an important format to considered in the course of continuing education. This is because the planning and replanning allow teachers to reflect and evaluate their practice, contributing to overcoming difficulties of teachers on a daily basis.

O ensino por investigação: construindo possibilidades na formação continuada do professor de ciências a partir da ação-reflexão

Studies and reflections about the current trends on teaching Science show us the importance of include in the teaching practice, activities with a investigative and problematic approach, that allow to the learners to understand and to apply concepts and phenomena scientifics. On this perspective, the teacher continuing education is essential to effect the practice of this approach in the classroom. Therefore, this research has as an objective to contribute with Science teacher continuing formation in the basic education, in the use of the investigative approach, with a view to overcoming obstacles and making change in pedagogical practice using this research elements. For this, a qualitative research with science teachers of basic schools in the city of Natal/ RN/ Brazil was held, who attended the training course on teaching by investigation in 2012, through the project entitled "Em Busca de Novos Talentos para a Ciência: uma intervenção no ensino público" (Searching New Talents for Science: an intervention in public education).The research was conducted in four stages: Diagnosis of the conceptions of education for research and incorporation into practice after the New Talents course; projection of the intervention, intervention and evaluation. To obtain the data it was made a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, group studies, written records and participant observation. It was analyzed that the course had significant contributions to the participating teachers to promote the approach and the motivation for incorporation of the investigative approach in practice. The permanence of weaknesses related to the theoretical basis was found, the wear resistance, difficulty in planning activities and the change in practice, diagnosed the previous course of this research. It was also noticed certain lack of domain of teaching principles of investigation by the teachers, who despite being well understood in theory, reveal gaps in practice. Despite not having been exploited the full potential of investigative activity is apparent that the inclusion of activities with an investigative approach to science and biology classes is essential for an active, critical and reflective posture of the students as well as the interest in learning about science. It was demonstrated that intervention with moments of reflection, engagement, knowledge exchange, it was effective in overcoming difficulties identified at baseline as well as providing greater motivation to face the innovations and changes in education, suggesting an important format to considered in the course of continuing education. This is because the planning and replanning allow teachers to reflect and evaluate their practice, contributing to overcoming difficulties of teachers on a daily basis.

A cloud-based system for measuring radiation treatment plan similarity

PURPOSE: Radiation therapy is used to treat cancer using carefully designed plans that maximize the radiation dose delivered to the target and minimize damage to healthy tissue, with the dose administered over multiple occasions. Creating treatment plans is a laborious process and presents an obstacle to more frequent replanning, which remains an unsolved problem. However, in between new plans being created, the patient's anatomy can change due to multiple factors including reduction in tumor size and loss of weight, which results in poorer patient outcomes. Cloud computing is a newer technology that is slowly being used for medical applications with promising results. The objective of this work was to design and build a system that could analyze a database of previously created treatment plans, which are stored with their associated anatomical information in studies, to find the one with the most similar anatomy to a new patient. The analyses would be performed in parallel on the cloud to decrease the computation time of finding this plan. METHODS: The system used SlicerRT, a radiation therapy toolkit for the open-source platform 3D Slicer, for its tools to perform the similarity analysis algorithm. Amazon Web Services was used for the cloud instances on which the analyses were performed, as well as for storage of the radiation therapy studies and messaging between the instances and a master local computer. A module was built in SlicerRT to provide the user with an interface to direct the system on the cloud, as well as to perform other related tasks. RESULTS: The cloud-based system out-performed previous methods of conducting the similarity analyses in terms of time, as it analyzed 100 studies in approximately 13 minutes, and produced the same similarity values as those methods. It also scaled up to larger numbers of studies to analyze in the database with a small increase in computation time of just over 2 minutes. CONCLUSION: This system successfully analyzes a large database of radiation therapy studies and finds the one that is most similar to a new patient, which represents a potential step forward in achieving feasible adaptive radiation therapy replanning.

Development of a Real-Time Hierarchical 3D Path Planning Algorithm for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) frequently operate in partially or entirely unknown environments. As the vehicle traverses the environment and detects new obstacles, rapid path replanning is essential to avoid collisions. This thesis presents a new algorithm called Hierarchical D* Lite (HD*), which combines the incremental algorithm D* Lite with a novel hierarchical path planning approach to replan paths sufficiently fast for real-time operation. Unlike current hierarchical planning algorithms, HD* does not require map corrections before planning a new path. Directional cost scale factors, path smoothing, and Catmull-Rom splines are used to ensure the resulting paths are feasible. HD* sacrifices optimality for real-time performance. Its computation time and path quality are dependent on the map size, obstacle density, sensor range, and any restrictions on planning time. For the most complex scenarios tested, HD* found paths within 10% of optimal in under 35 milliseconds.

Do planejamento ao replanejamento do trabalho docente no ensino superior: o que fazer quando os alunos não leem os textos indicados pelo professor?

The objective of this paper is to present an analysis of the planning and replanning of the teacher´s work in response to difficulties that occur in teacher-student interaction in the process of teaching and learning in and outside the classroom. The data was produced by means of the selfconfrontation method and the analysis is based on theoretical foundations coming from the ergonomics of teaching activity and from the clinic of activity. The results reveal that lack of reading on students´ part leads the teacher to replan the class at the very moment it is taking place, which, in spite of revealing the teacher´s experience with this kind of situation, ends up contributing to diminish the quality of the teaching and learning process.

REORDENAMIENTO VIAL E IMPACTO AMBIENTAL DEL TRANSPORTE EN LA CIUDAD DE HEREDIA

Este artículo aborda la problemática del reordenamiento vial en la ciudad de Heredia, Costa Rica, se parte de que la temática debe ser analizada dentro del contexto de la Gran Área Metropolitana. Se toman en cuenta aspectos como el volumen de tráfico en las calles y avenidas de la ciudad, las principales rutas de autobuses, las paradas y terminales, la ubicación de parqueos públicos y privados y la modalidad municipal de parqueos con boleta. Ante la imposibilidad de hacer ensanches en la ciudad, los pocos proyectos viales como la radial a Heredia, la construcción de un puente elevado en la Valencia y la utilización de la vía férrea con un tren moderno que una las cuatro ciudades más importantes del país, son las pocas alternativas que son posibles de realizar a corto y mediano plazo. Ante esa realidad es necesario optimizar las vías de la ciudad, mediante un reordenamiento vial. Se estima que de los problemas de tráfico que tienen las ciudades un 50% obedece a la falta de medidas de reordenamiento.   La utilización de indicadores de contaminación del aire y de contamina­ción sónica se usan como parámetros, como elementos que contribuyan al reordenamiento vial y no como un fin en sí mismo. ABSTRACT: This article analyzed the vial planning of Heredia city, Costa Rica and its environmental impact. This city is located in the main metropolitan región of Costa Rica and it is considered in this study such part of this important urban área. The study analyzed several factors such as; traffic volume of the main streets and avenues of the city, location of the public and private parking lot, and the use of the "boleta" (permission) from the Municipality. There are many factor has been considered in order to improved conditions of the street and avenues such as: to built a bright over the Valencia and the possibility to use the old train route with modern machine. There are not many option the short and medium time to overcome the traffic problem in Heredia city. For which reason, it is necessary to improved the street and avenues conditions by vial replanning due this is the cause of the 50% vial problems. In this study, the air and sonic pollution indicators are using as parameters and as element that support the making decision about vial planning.