Search results for "DIRECTION"

Combining omnidirectional vision with polarization vision for robot navigation

2012

Polarization is the phenomenon that describes the oscillations orientations of the light waves which are restricted in direction. Polarized light has multiple uses in the animal kingdom ranging from foraging, defense and communication to orientation and navigation. Chapter (1) briefly covers some important aspects of polarization and explains our research problem. We are aiming to use a polarimetric-catadioptric sensor since there are many applications which can benefit from such combination in computer vision and robotics specially robot orientation (attitude estimation) and navigation applications. Chapter (2) mainly covers the state of art of visual based attitude estimation.As the unpol…

Orientation Adaptive Minimal Learning Machine for Directions of Atomic Forces

2021

Machine learning (ML) force fields are one of the most common applications of ML in nanoscience. However, commonly these methods are trained on potential energies of atomic systems and force vectors are omitted. Here we present a ML framework, which tackles the greatest difficulty on using forces in ML: accurate prediction of force direction. We use the idea of Minimal Learning Machine to device a method which can adapt to the orientation of an atomic environment to estimate the directions of force vectors. The method was tested with linear alkane molecules. peerReviewed

Wireless Charging Systems for Electric Vehicle Batteries

A Bidirectional Converter for the Integration of LiFePO4 Batteries with RES-based Generators Part I: Revising and Finalizing Design

2014

This paper presents a device for controlling and connecting combined Renewable Energy Sources (RES)-based generators and electric storage systems to the supply utility grid. The device is a bidirectional converter that can be controlled in order to facilitate the interface between the low voltage grid and small generators combined with lithium-ion LiFePO4 batteries, contemporary addressing the requirements of the reference technical standards for users connection and providing different ancillary services. The paper describes the revising and finalizing activities carried out by the DEIM of the University of Palermo and ENEA during 2013.

AN ANALYSIS OF CONTINENT-WIDE PATTERNS OF SEXUAL SELECTION IN A PASSERINE BIRD

2006

Patterns of selection are widely believed to differ geographically, causing adaptation to local environmental conditions. However, few studies have investigated patterns of phenotypic selection across large spatial scales. We quantified the intensity of selection on morphology in a monogamous passerine bird, the barn swallow Hirundo rustica, using 6495 adults from 22 populations distributed across Europe and North Africa. According to the classical Darwin-Fisher mechanism of sexual selection in monogamous species, two important components of fitness due to sexual selection are the advantages that the most attractive males acquire by starting to breed early and their high annual fecundity. W…

On GPU-accelerated fast direct solvers and their applications in image denoising

2015

Improving IEEE 802.11 Performance in Chain Topologies through Distributed Polling and Network Coding

2009

Wireless multi-hop networks often rely on the use of IEEE 802.11 technology. Despite of the robustness of the IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) for working in various network scenarios, it has been proven that critical inefficiencies can arise in the case of multi-hop packet forwarding. In this paper, we propose a MAC scheme, based on the virtualization of the Point Coordination Function, optimized for working on chain topologies with bidirectional traffic flows. Our scheme is based on a token-like access mechanism coupled with network coding. The basic idea is the use of multiple Point Coordinators (PCs) along the node chain, which are elected by passing special token fra…

Evaluating the user experience of omnidirectional VR walking simulators

2020

Abstract Omnidirectional treadmills (ODTs) have been traditionally proposed as a promising solution for users’ navigation in large-scale virtual environments. These mechanical devices enable users to perform locomotive motion with 360-deg freedom, while keeping their position fixed in the physical world. However, most locomotion approaches based on omnidirectional treadmills have presented either high acquisition or maintenance costs, being the capabilities of the general public, or a limited reliability. In this paper, we present a comparative usability and acceptance study with real users evaluating the two most common approaches for the development of this type of Virtual Reality (VR) wa…

Optical flow estimation from multichannel spherical image decomposition

2011

The problem of optical flow estimation is largely discussed in computer vision domain for perspective images. It was also proven that, in terms of optical flow analysis from these images, we have difficulty distinguishing between some motion fields obtained with little camera motion. The omnidirectional cameras provided images with large filed of view. These images contain global information about motion and allow to remove the ambiguity present in perspective case. Nevertheless, these images contain significant radial distortions that is necessary to take into account when treating these images to estimate the motion. In this paper, we shall describe new way to compute efficient optical fl…

Ultraviolet radiation protection by a beach umbrella.

2010

A beach umbrella intercepts all direct UV irradiance, but only part of the diffuse component. Using a simple sky view factor model, we have determined the fraction of the hemispheric diffuse irradiance that is not intercepted by the umbrella. Assuming a sensor at the surface and close to the center of the umbrella, isotropic diffuse irradiance and for an umbrella of 80 cm radius and 100 cm high, our results show that approximately 34% of the incident horizontal irradiance is not intercepted by the umbrella. These results agree with irradiance measurements conducted with and without the umbrella. The model is next extended to examine receipt of UV radiation by a human figure in a vertical po…