Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems

An autonomous robot using symbolic reasoning, sensing and acting in a real environment needs the ability to create and maintain the connection between symbols representing ob- jects in the world and the corresponding perceptual repre- sentations given by its sensors. This ...

Abstract: The most common use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is to collect environmental data from a specific area, and to channel it to a central processing node for on-line or off-line analysis. The WSN technology, however, can be used for much more ambitious goals. We claim that merging the concepts and technology of WSN with the concepts and technology of distributed robotics and multi-agent systems can open new ways to design systems able to provide intelligent services in our homes and working ...

The standard imaging procedure for a patient presenting with renal colic is unenhanced computed tomography (CT). The CT measured size has a close correlation to the estimated prognosis for spontaneous passage of a ureteral calculus. Size estimations of urinary calculi in CT images are still based on two-dimensional (2D) reformats. To develop and validate a calculus oriented three-dimensional (3D) method for measuring the length and width of urinary calculi and to compare the calculus oriented measurements of the length and width with corresponding 2D measurements obtained in axial and coronal reformats. Fifty unenhanced CT examinations demonstrating urinary calculi were included. A 3D symmetric segmentation algorithm was validated against reader size estimations. The calculus oriented size from the segmentation was then compared to the estimated size in axial and coronal 2D reformats. The validation showed 0.1 ± 0.7 mm agreement against reference measure. There was a 0.4 mm median bias for 3D estimated calculus length compared to 2D (P < 0.001), but no significant bias for 3D width compared to 2D. The length of a calculus in axial and coronal reformats becomes underestimated compared to 3D if its orientation is not aligned to the image planes. Future studies aiming to correlate calculus size with patient outcome should use a calculus oriented size estimation.

Abstract— The field of ubiquitous robotics is burgeoning, and different brands of massively distributed heterogeneous robotic systems are being proposed and applied to several domains. The strong added value of these systems comes from their potential ability to dynamically ...

Olfaction is a challenging new sensing modality for intelligent systems. With the emergence of electronic noses (e- noses) it is now possible to train a system to detect and recognise a range of differ- ent odours. In this work, we integrate the electronic nose on a multi-sensing mo- bile robotic platform. We plan for per- ceptual actions and examine when,