CAGIGAS MUÑIZ , Daniel

In this paper a new hierarchical extension of the D ∗ algorithm for robot path planning is introduced. The hierarchical D ∗ algorithm uses a down-top strategy and a set of precalculated paths (materialization of path costs) in order to improve performance. This on-line path planning algorithm allows optimality and specially lower computational...

In this paper a contribution to the practice of path planning using a new hierarchical extension of the D ∗ algorithm is introduced. A hierarchical graph is stratified into several abstraction levels and used to model environments for path planning. The hierarchical D∗ algorithm uses a downtop strategy and a set of pre-calculated trajectories...

In this paper, the off-line path planner module of a smart wheelchair aided navigation system is described. Environmental information is structured into a hierarchical graph (H-graph) and used either by the user interface or the path planner module. This information structure facilitates efficient path search and easier information access and...

The IMS-Learning Design has been developed to support the creation of reusable and pedagogically neutral learning scenarios and content. Although it is especially suitable for eLearning, there is a lot of interest on using it in higher education blended learning scenarios. However there are some related key issues which must be managed such as...

TetraNauta is an on-going R&D project1 aimed to develop a controller for standard electric powered wheelchairs that permits users with very severe mobility restrictions (such as people with tetraplegy) to easily navigate in closed environments (home, hospital, school, etc.). This project intends to design a non-expensive guidance system to...

En los últimos años se ha dedicado un gran esfuerzo a mejorar la velocidad de comunicación que se logra cuando se utilizan dispositivos de ayuda a la comunicación. Gracias a ello las personas que, debido a diversas discapacidades, tienen dificultades de comunicación oral, pueden comunicarse mediante dichos dispositivos de una manera...

Smart wheelchairs are designed for severely motor impaired people that have difficulties to drive standard -manual or electric poweredwheelchairs. Their goal is to automate driving tasks as much as possible in order to minimize user intervention. Nevertheless, human involvement is still necessary to maintain high level task control. Therefore...

Este trabajo trata los problemas asociados al diseño de la interfaz de usuario del sistema de navegación asistida de una silla de ruedas de tracción eléctrica dentro del entorno TetraNauta* . El diseño se ajusta a las restricciones impuestas por las características del sistema (móvil, empotrado, de tamaño reducido y de bajo coste...

A shared control method, called Shared Control Dynamic Window Approach, is presented. It is inspired in the Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) for autonomous mobile robots. It takes user commands by means of the control interface and provide the most suitable and kinodinamically feasible trajectory that guarantees obstacle avoidance. It provides...

Nowadays, the limitations of robot embedded hardware (which cannot be upgraded easily) make difficult to perform computationally complex tasks such as those of high level artificial vision. However, instead of disposing these "out-dated" embedded systems, Cloud technologies for computation offloading can be used. In this paper we present and...

The use of Cloud Computing for computation offloading in the robotics area has become a field of interest today. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the viability of cloud offloading in a low level and intensive computing task: a vision-based navigation assistance of a service mobile robot. In order to do so, a prototype, running over a...

Anxiety and fear related to dentistry interventions have been identified as problems affecting children. This reduces their quality of life and may have a negative impact on aspects such as sleep, self –esteem, mood, social relationships, and other psychological issues.The ARCADE project aims to design and develop a technological solution to...

Dentistry interventions cause common anxiety and fear problems in children (6-11 years), and according to scientific evidence, this causes a decrease in their quality of life. Therapies mediated by IT-based tools have been shown to positively influence children's mood based on distraction as well as relaxing activities, but there is no evidence...

Los actuales retos de reducir drásticamente las emisiones de efecto invernadero exigen cambiar la forma de diseñar los edificios. En este contexto, los proyectos ODISEA y BIM-Zen han desarrollado una herramienta integrada en Building Information Modelling (BIM) denominada SMART BIM3LCA ENVELOPE, para la selección automatizada de elementos que...

Today, the availability of inexpensive, low power hardware including CMOS cameras and wireless devices make it possible to deploy a wireless sensor network (WSN) with nodes equipped with cameras for a variety of applications. In this paper, we discuss the use of one of these WSNs as a navigation aid for wheelchairs. Instead of having...

Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) can be used as convenient hardware accelerators to speed up Cellular Automata (CA) simulations, which are employed in many scientific areas. However, an important set of CA have performance constraints due to GPU memory bandwidth. Few studies have fully explored how CA implementations can take advantage of...

A Cellular Automaton is a bio-inspired discrete model of computation with multiple applications, consisting of a regular grid of cells that have different states a long time. Our research group at the University of Seville(Spain)collaborated in the past with Prof. Mohammad S. Obaidat in the fusion of Cellular Automata(CA) with another...

The environmental crisis requires the immediate implementation of accurate and robust sustainable solutions throughout the building life cycle. Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is a scientifically recognised method that integrates the triple dimensions of the life cycle approach, and thereby enabling the evaluation of the performance...

The TetraNauta project is a low cost, fully open steering system to allow people with heavy motor impairments to move in a known environments (hospitals, schools, home, etc.). It minimizes the steering effort, especially in long paths, while caring for user safety. Every TetraNauta wheelchair has a general map of the environment wherein it...

We propose a dynamic instruction scheduler that does not need any kind of wakeup logic, as all the instructions are "programmed" on issue stage to be executed in pre-calculated cycles. The scheduler is composed of two similar levels, each one composed of simple "stations", where the timing information is recorded. The first level is aimed to...