In this paper, we address the problem of reducing the time for finding an object. We consider both the time taken by our software to generate a search plan and the expected time to find the object when the plan is executed. The object is sought with a 7 degrees of freedom mobile manipulator robot with an “eye-in-hand” sensor. The sensor is limited in both range and field of view. We propose two...

This article examines the relationship between environmental and cognitive structure. One of the key tasks for any agent interacting in the real world is the management of uncertainty; because of this the cognitive structures which interact with real environments, such as would be used in navigation, must effectively cope with the uncertainty inherent in a constantly changing world. Despite thi...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to evaluate whether the field-in-field (FIF) technique was more vulnerable to the impact of respiratory motion than irradiation using physical wedges (PWs). PATIENTS AND METHODS Ten patients with early stage breast cancer were enrolled. Computed tomography (CT) was performed during free breathing (FB). After the FB-CT data set acquisition, 2 additional CT scans wer...

System simulation may be used as a valuable exemplar of modeling in degree programs across a range of disciplines. This paper describes and discusses an approach to assessing learning in that domain, relating it to Bloom’s and Biggs’ taxonomies. It uses a mini-project, scenario concept, evaluated through oral examination. The scenario text and grading plan are included in the paper. The approac...

We present a perception system, called Artisan, that semi-automatically builds 3-D models of a robot’s workspace. Range images are acquired with a scanning laser rangefinder and then processed, based on a systematic sensor characterization, to remove noise and artifacts. Complex 3-D objects represented as surface meshes are subsequently recognized in the range images and inserted into a virtual...