This paper presents a navigation method for a mobile robot in urban environments. The navigation method employs a socalled Polar Traversability Index (PTI) to evaluate terrain traversal property along a specific direction and guide the robot’s motion. In the navigation system, a 2-D Laser Rangefinder (LRF) is used to produce terrain maps in various formats, such as 3-D point-cloud map, 2.5 D el...

We have investigated the cellular mechanisms by which changes in intracellular calcium (Ca2+) can differentially regulate gene expression. Two Ca2+ paradigms, involving prolonged and transient Ca2+ increases, were used. As a starting point, we studied the slow, prolonged elevation of Ca2+ caused by activation of 5-HT1 receptors. We had previously shown that 5-HT1 agonists inhibit calcitonin gen...

Flooding is one of the most devastating natural disasters occurring annually in the Philippines. A call for a solution for this malady is very challenging as well as crucial to be addressed. Mapping flood hazard is an effective tool in determining the extent and depth of floods associated with hazard level in specified areas that need to be prioritized during flood occurrences. Precedent to the...

(b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) Figure 6. Edge, texture, and shape features: (a) edges extracted from image 5a; (b) edges extracted from image 5b; (c) simple texture measure applied to image 5b; (d) thresholded texture measure yields a blob corresponding to the ordnance ; (e) left image of a stereo pair of the totally exposed ordnance; (f) range image from the stereo pair; (g) elevation map from th...

To perform planetary exploration without human supervision, a complete autonomous rover must be able to model its environment while exploring its surroundings. We present a new algorithm to construct a geometric terrain representation from a single range image. The form of the representation is an elevation map that includes uncertainty, unknown areas, and local features. By virtue of working i...