Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance for Application of Human-Robot Cooperative Dispensing Medicines

For safety reasons,in the automated dispensing medicines process,robots and humans cooperate to accomplish the task of drug sorting and distribution.In this dynamic unstructured environment,such as a human-robot collaboration scenario,the safety of human,robot,and equipment in the environment is paramount.In this work,a practical and effective robot motion planning method is proposed for dynamic unstructured environments.To figure out the problems of blind zones of single depth sensor and dynamic obstacle avoidance,we first propose a method for establishing offline mapping and online fusion of multi-sensor depth images and 3D grids of the robot workspace,which is used to determine the occupation states of the 3D grids occluded by robots and obstacles and to conduct real-time estimation of the minimum distance between the robot and obstacles.Then,based on the reactive control method,the attractive and repulsive forces are calculated and transformed into robot joint velocities to avoid obstacles in real time.Finally,the robot's dynamic obstacle avoidance ability is evaluated on an experimental platform with a UR5 robot and two KinectV2 RGB-D sensors,and the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified.     

Direct resolution of the pitch of DNA on positively charged lipid bilayers by frequency-modulation AFM

High resolution structural studies of DNA and DNA binding proteins by atomic force microscopy (AFM) require well-bound samples on suitably flat substrates. Adsorbing the DNA onto a positively charged supported lipid bilayer has previously been shown to be a potentially effective strategy for structural studies with AFM. Here, using our home-built frequency-modulation AFM (FM-AFM), we show that these bilayer substrates are only maximally effective for high resolution AFM when the samples are short, linear DNA, compared with circular plasmid DNA. We find that, with the former sample, the measured width of the DNA is about 2 nm, the known DNA diameter, and there is a clear height modulation along the length of the DNA with a periodicity of about 3.4 nm, in excellent agreement with the known pitch of the double helix. This sample preparation strategy is expected to enable higher resolution studies of DNA and DNA binding proteins with FM-AFM than that can presently be achieved.     

Energy facility siting in the urban coastal zone: Compatible or not?

Abstract

Most federal and state coastal laws were framed with a distinct emphasis on preservation of rural/recreational areas. Yet in recent years a rural/urban coastal dichotomy has emerged. This has been especially prominent in the siting of energy facilities since these operations are often water dependent; power plants, for example, need huge amounts of cooling water, and offshore oil and gas extraction requires onshore support facilities. Recently, this issue has gained special prominence on the East Coast with the commencement of offshore oil and gas exploration. A case study was conducted in Hudson County, New Jersey, in New York harbor. In this area five oil‐related facility proposals were rejected from 1972 to 1976, primarily due to citizen opposition. Citizen activists now see the urban waterfront as a special place to which they want access and amenity uses rather than a continuation of past, almost exclusive industrial development. Hudson County citizens share the aspirations of those in several urban coastal areas which have experienced waterfront revitalization, including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New Haven, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. Innovative siting which utilizes inland, rather than coastal, locations is suggested as one way to lessen urban/rural siting tensions.     

Decision support for risk assessment of mid-air collisions via population-based measures

Specifying proximity warning functions for aircraft in managed airspace has received considerable attention. However, similar functions for aircraft operating in unmanaged airspace have received comparatively little analysis despite the fact that these functions are stressed to a greater physical degree, and perhaps more frequently, than in managed airspace. The mid-air collision hazard and its associated risk are re-examined from both an historical and a systematic engineering modelling viewpoint. Historic measures of this transport risk in managed airspace have been based on fatalities normalized by flight hours or flight movements. However some of these data may not be available in unmanaged airspace. Another approach to measurement directs attention to populations at risk where several measures are now well known: collective risk, individual risk and the frequency of occurrence of the hazards that give rise to such risk. A decision support methodology is presented that relates both transport and population-based approaches. A cohesive and consistent set of aspired goals for various stakeholder groups can be set taking into account the different stakeholder needs. A case study is drawn from historic mid-air collision data to illustrate the process. A consistent basis for national-level policy decisions harmonised with proactive engineering design requirements is achieved. The strengths, limitations and implications of this approach for engineering design purposes are discussed.     

Strategies to achieve deep reductions in metropolitan transportation GHG emissions: the case of Philadelphia

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates strategies that could achieve an 80% reduction in transportation emissions from current levels by 2050 in the City of Philadelphia. The baseline daily lifecycle emissions generated by road transportation in the Greater Philadelphia Region in 2012 were quantified using trip information from the 2012 Household Travel Survey (HTS). Emissions were projected to the year 2050 accounting for population growth and trends in vehicle technology for both the Greater Philadelphia Region and the City of Philadelphia. The impacts of vehicle technology and shifts in travel modes on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2050 were quantified using a scenario approach. The analysis of 12 different scenarios suggests that 80% reduction in emissions is technically feasible through a combination of active transportation, cleaner fuels for public transit vehicles, and a significant market penetration of battery-electric vehicles. The additional electricity demand associated with greater use of electric vehicles could amount to 10.8 TWh/year. The use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) shows promising results due to high reductions in GHG emissions at a potentially manageable cost.     

Traffic noise studies in a tropical environment

This paper reports upon a survey of traffic noise annoyance in three residential districts of Trinidad, West Indies. Householder perceptions were solicited by means of a questionnaire survey and direct measurements of traffic noise levels were taken. The results were compared with surveys elsewhere. It was concluded that household status had little effect on annoyance perception, that at L₁₀ levels greater than 70 dB(A) at a dwelling facade the noise level is unacceptable. L₁₀ levels less than 65 dB(A) at the building facade are not perceived as annoying in the environment considered.     

Plan implementation in the Florida keys through land acquisition

Abstract

The Florida Keys are an example of a fragile resource threatened by development. The early division of the area into small lots made conventional planning and regulation difficult. This paper describes the creation of a conservancy for the Keys—the history of development, the conditions necessitating a conservancy, and the political wrangling it took to implement the conservancy.     

The impact of married women's employment on household travel patterns: A Swedish example

As the number of married women working outside the home continues to grow, questions arise as to the impact of a wife's employment on household travel patterns. In this paper we examine the effects of a wife's employment status on her own travel activity pattern and on that of her husband. Using data from the Uppsala Household Travel Survey, in which sample-household members kept detailed travel diaries for 35 days, we first compare the travel patterns of married women employed full time with those of married women employed part time and married women not working outside the home. We then compare the travel patterns of the three corresponding groups of husbands. Measures of travel activity patterns that were used include indices of overall travel frequency for different purposes, amount of time spent and distances travelled for different purposes, indices of the level of variety in the individual's destination choice set, and measures of mode use. The results show that women employed full-time do reduce their participation in some non-work activities although their distances travelled to activity sites are not shorter than those travelled by the other women.Few significant intergroup differences distinguish the travel activity patterns of the three groups of men. The evidence suggests that a woman's full-time employment does bring significant changes to her own travel pattern but has little impact on that of her husband. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications and a review of several Swedish programs that could eventually result in greater similarity in the travel activity patterns of men and women.