PURPOSE Inverse planning simulated annealing (IPSA) optimized brachytherapy treatment plans are characterized with large isolated dwell times at the first or last dwell position of each catheter. The potential of catheter shifts relative to the target and organs at risk in these plans may lead to a more significant change in delivered dose to the volumes of interest relative to plans with more ...

Haptic devices allow the user to feel the reaction forces and torques that arise when the virtual object attached to the user-manipulated probe touches the other objects in the virtual environment. Additionally, the user may feel some guiding constraints and forces that aid him in the completion of a virtual task. Also, haptic devices are used as master devices in teleoperation tasks and may in...

This paper presents a path planning technique for a mobile manipulator whose end-effector path is imposed by a given task. The planning is done decoupling the kinematics of the mobile platform and the manipulator, and planning for the former as a normal mobile robot. Two criteria for planning the path were implemented, one minimizing the need to turn the mobile robot and the other minimizing th...

Microgrids are expected to become part of the next electric power system evolution, not only in rural and remote areas but also in urban communities. Since microgrids are expected to coexist with traditional power grids (such as district heating does with traditional heating systems), their planning process must be addressed to economic feasibility, as a long-term stability guarantee. Planning ...

This paper presents a terrain mapping and path planning techniques for a planetary exploration rover. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) is employed in this work to obtain a point cloud data of the terrain feature. A terrain map converted from the point cloud data is represented with a sector-shaped reference grid, resulting in a digital elevation map with the cylindrical coordinate, called ...

Integrated resource planning (IRP) is a new way for utilities and state regulatory commissions to consistently assess a variety of demand and supply resources to cost-effectively meet customer energy-service needs. This paper reviews recent progress in IRP and identifies the need for additional work by utilities, regulatory commissions, and other organizations. Kevwords: demand-side management,...

A planning technique for six-legged walking robot is presented in this thesis along with a terrain modelling approach that allows to exploit possible supporting footholds of the surface. The proposed approach for merging measurements provided by a depth camera sensor allows to reconstruct the robot surrounding. Based on the measurements of the environment, a grid based elevation map is construc...

Sampling-based path planning algorithms are powerful tools for computing disassembly motions. This paper presents a variant of the RRT algorithm particularly devised for the disassembly of objects with articulated parts. Configuration parameters generally play two different roles in this type of problems: some of them are essential for the disassembly task, while others only need to move if the...

Planning has been one of the main research areas in AI. For about three decades AI researchers explore alternative paths to build intelligent agents with advanced planning capabilities. However, the classical AI planning techniques suffer from inapplicability to real world domains, due to several assumptions adopted to facilitate research. Attempts to apply planning into real domains must addre...

Robots moving about in complex environments must be capable of determining and performing difficult motion sequences to accomplish tasks. As the tasks become more complicated, robots with greater dexterity are required. An increase in the number of degrees of freedom and a desire for autonomy in uncertain environments with real-time requirements leaves much room for improvement in the current p...