Navigation Elements Research Articles

Learning Autonomous Navigation in Unmapped and Unknown Environments.

Autonomous decision-making is a hallmark of intelligent mobile robots and an essential element of autonomous navigation. The challenge is to enable mobile robots to complete autonomous navigation tasks in environments with mapless or low-precision maps, relying solely on low-precision sensors. To address this, we have proposed an innovative autonomous navigation algorithm called PEEMEF-DARC. This algorithm consists of three parts: Double Actors Regularized Critics (DARC), a priority-based excellence experience data collection mechanism, and a multi-source experience fusion strategy mechanism. The algorithm is capable of performing autonomous navigation tasks in unmapped and unknown environments without maps or prior knowledge. This algorithm enables autonomous navigation in unmapped and unknown environments without the need for maps or prior knowledge. Our enhanced algorithm improves the agent's exploration capabilities and utilizes regularization to mitigate the overestimation of state-action values. Additionally, the priority-based excellence experience data collection module and the multi-source experience fusion strategy module significantly reduce training time. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method excels in navigating the unmapped and unknown, achieving effective navigation without relying on maps or precise localization.

Радиолокационный метод оценивания углового положения летательного аппарата на основе использования векторных свойств зондирующих сигналов

The radar monopulse method of determining the bearing and roll angles of an aircraft using a passive radio beacon with specified polarization scattering characteristics is considered, in which the reflected radio pulse contains complete information about the navigation elements of the aircraft flight. The passive beacon is two spatially separated in the horizontal plane radar polarization-anisotropic trihedral corner reflectors with horizontal and vertical natural polarizations, respectively. To determine the bearing and roll angles of an aircraft, probing pulse signals are used, the linear plane of polarization of which makes an angle π/4 with the horizontal plane. The bearing of the aircraft is estimated in this plane by a single reflected radio pulse at the output of a two-channel receiving device according to the measured phase difference between the horizontal and vertical polarized components of the received signal. The roll angle is estimated from the measured ratio of the amplitudes of the orthogonally linearly polarized components. Analytical expressions for determining the bearing and roll angles of the aircraft are obtained.

Towards sensory substitution and augmentation: Mapping visual distance to audio and tactile frequency.

Multimodal perception is the predominant means by which individuals experience and interact with the world. However, sensory dysfunction or loss can significantly impede this process. In such cases, cross-modality research offers valuable insight into how we can compensate for these sensory deficits through sensory substitution. Although sight and hearing are both used to estimate the distance to an object (e.g., by visual size and sound volume) and the perception of distance is an important element in navigation and guidance, it is not widely studied in cross-modal research. We investigate the relationship between audio and vibrotactile frequencies (in the ranges 47-2,764 Hz and 10-99 Hz, respectively) and distances uniformly distributed in the range 1-12 m. In our experiments participants mapped the distance (represented by an image of a model at that distance) to a frequency via adjusting a virtual tuning knob. The results revealed that the majority (more than 76%) of participants demonstrated a strong negative monotonic relationship between frequency and distance, across both vibrotactile (represented by a natural log function) and auditory domains (represented by an exponential function). However, a subgroup of participants showed the opposite positive linear relationship between frequency and distance. The strong cross-modal sensory correlation could contribute to the development of assistive robotic technologies and devices to augment human perception. This work provides the fundamental foundation for future assisted HRI applications where a mapping between distance and frequency is needed, for example for people with vision or hearing loss, drivers with loss of focus or response delay, doctors undertaking teleoperation surgery, and users in augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) environments.

The Use of Vertical Gardens as a Network of Urban Navigation Elements with a Positive Impact on Biodiversity and Microclimate in a Dense Urban Environment

Abstract Horizontal green areas are becoming valuable, yet extruded spots, and their constant elimination at the expense of commercial and housing developments is disrupting green infrastructure. Interlocked existing urban structures seldom allow for the creation of parks and larger green open spaces, which could provide a habitat for a wide range of insects, birds, and other small animals. The lack of green spaces causes urban heat islands (UHI) over the cities. Vertical gardens are alternative solutions for urban areas, where it is not possible to increase biodiversity by creating new horizontal green areas. They effectively utilise surfaces that would otherwise be unused and transform them into effective green infrastructure elements. Using the example of the historical city district of Bratislava, i.e., Old Town (Staré Mesto) in Slovakia, we present an alternative approach for resolving the lack of green areas. A case study was conducted to create a map of all the potentially suitable areas for the construction of vertical gardens. We divided these spots into three groups, i.e., walls, columns, and free-standing structures and proposed construction methods for each type. Regarding the placement of potentially suitable areas along the roads connecting important transport hubs with the city centre, we created an original proposal for a district-wide network of vertical gardens as orientation elements for tourists and residents with significant aesthetic merit as well as ecological and hygienic values.

An Integrated Platform for In Vivo Electrophysiology in Spatial Cognition Experiments.

Spatial cognition research requires behavioral paradigms that can distinguish between different navigational elements, such as allocentric (map-like) navigation and egocentric (e.g., body centered) navigation. To fill this need, we developed a flexible experimental platform that can be quickly modified without the need for significant changes to software and hardware. In this paper, we present this inexpensive and flexible behavioral platform paired with software which we are making freely available. Our behavioral platform serves as the foundation for a range of experiments, and although developed for assessing spatial cognition, it also has applications in the nonspatial domain of behavioral testing. There are two components of the software platform, "Maze" and "Stim Trigger." While intended as a general platform, presently both programs can work in conjunction with Neuralynx and Open Ephys electrophysiology acquisition systems, allowing for precise time stamping of neural events. The Maze program includes functionality for automatic reward delivery based on user defined zones. "Stim Trigger" permits control of brain stimulation via any equipment that can be paired with an Arduino board. We seek to share our software and leverage the potential by expanding functionality in the future to meet the needs of a larger community of researchers.

3D Indoor Mapping and BIM Reconstruction Editorial

This Special Issue gathers papers reporting research on various aspects of the use of low-cost photogrammetric and lidar sensors for indoor building reconstruction. It includes contributions presenting improvements in the alignment of mobile mapping systems with and without a prior 3D BIM model, the interpretation of both imagery and lidar data of indoor scenery and finally the reconstruction and enrichment of existing 3D point clouds and meshes with BIM information. Concretely, the publications showcase methods and experiments for the Reconstruction of Indoor Navigation Elements for Point Cloud of Buildings with Occlusions and Openings by Wall Segment Restoration from Indoor Context Labeling, Two-Step Alignment of Mixed Reality Devices to Existing Building Data, Pose Normalization of Indoor Mapping Datasets Partially Compliant with the Manhattan World Assumption, A Robust Rigid Registration Framework of 3D Indoor Scene Point Clouds Based on RGB-D Information, 3D Point Cloud Semantic Augmentation for Instance Segmentation of 360° Panoramas by Deep Learning Techniques and the Symmetry-Based Coarse Registration of Smartphone’s Colorful Point Clouds with CAD Drawings (RegARD) for Low-Cost Digital Twin Buildings.

Исследование характеристик алгоритма корреляционно-экстремальной навигации для летательного аппарата

Correlation-extremal navigation and guidance systems are widely used in controlling the moving objects. The paper considers the aircraft correlation-extreme navigation algorithm designed for the aviation complexes. This algorithm provides radio identification and guidance for long-range detection of the enemy objects, as well as guidance of the destruction and interception weaponry against it. Classification of methods of the correlation-extreme navigation is presented, and each of the methods is being considered separately. Using the example of an airfield identified from the air, the error between the current and the reference images is determined as the distance between two points in the original image pixel coordinate system. When moving, the object image could be distorted by geometric, luminance and noise transformations. Using the found image, error dependencies on alterations in brightness, rotation angle and noise level of the image fragment, as well as the error dependencies on the selected navigation element, are investigated. Results are presented in the form of graphs. It is shown that the phase correlation method is more resistant to brightness and noise distortions of the image fragment, and the gradient correlation method is more resistant to the geometric transformations. It was found that navigation of heterogeneous and diverse navigation elements (cities) is better than the monotonous and homogeneous ones (roads and forests).

MS Parma, Biblioteca Palatina, Parm. 3852

MS Parma (Italy), Biblioteca Palatina, Parm. 3852, is a twentieth century manuscript comprising a collection of texts related to Saint King Lālibalā, known as the Gadla Lālibalā collection. This manuscript was produced by a scribe named Walda Giyorgis, who was probably a member of the Catholic Church of the Ethiopian Rite. This paper focuses on a single page from that manuscript, f. 118v, which displays a set of elements consisting of ‘titles’—navigational elements that help to structure liturgical readings. The introductory part was developed from an earlier manuscript bearing the same content, produced at the end of the seventeenth century for the church of Golgotā in Roha-Lālibalā in Lasta, Ethiopia. That manuscript was part of a cultural project aimed at strengthening local identity, and which chose Lālibalā as a patron of the region despite the fact that he had been dubbed a usurper by the ruling dynasty. The manuscript contains navigational elements common in Ethiopic manuscripts, but it is unique because it was produced between 1939 and 1940, when Italy declared the Impero, the Africa Orientale Italiana.

Analysis of the ergonomics of e-commerce websites

The following paper includes research about ergonomics of e-commerce web applications. Main purpose of experiment was to compare existing application of Morele.net shop and developed prototype of application using eyetracking examination and survey. The study carried out on a group of 40 students provided heat maps, scan paths, number of fixations and saccades, times to the first fixation in area of interest, task completion times, assessments of both applications in the form of WUP indicators. Based on the qualitative and quantitative analysis, conclusions were drawn confirming the hypothesis put forward in the work that there is an impact of ergonomic placement of navigation elements on the accessibility and usability of the application, as well as the time of performing tasks in it.

Highly Integrated Multifunctional Antenna for Global Navigation Satellite System

This communication proposes a new highly integrated multifunctional global navigation satellite system (GNSS) antenna used for navigation or surveying high-precision area, the fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication, and short-distance wireless communication. The antenna consists of four elements, saying: 1) a low-profile navigation element on one substrate covering all the GNSS bands and 2) two long-term evolution multiple-input–multiple-output (LTE-MIMO) elements and one Wi-Fi element uniformly distributed on the edge of the substrate. This symmetrical configuration ensures the navigation element’s low axial ratio (AR) and radiation pattern symmetry, as well as navigation accuracy. In addition, to enhance the isolation between the GNSS element and other three elements under high integration, these three elements are designed to avoid resonating within the GNSS bands. The measured peak gains of the GNSS element are 6.0 dBi from 1.16 to 1.28 GHz and 6.5 dBi from 1.52 to 1.62 GHz. The −6 dB impedance bandwidth of the LTE-MIMO elements can cover 840–960, 1800–2200, and 2500–2700 MHz. The distance communication of the Wi-Fi element is 80 m. The experimental results indicate that the proposed multifunctional antenna features low profile, high integration, and wideband, implying potential application in the multifunctional satellite navigation system.

Integral Ecology As Theosemiotic: A Case For A Pragmatist Theological Ethics

Integral Ecology As Theosemiotic: A Case For A Pragmatist Theological Ethics

Reconstruction of Indoor Navigation Elements for Point Cloud of Buildings with Occlusions and Openings by Wall Segment Restoration from Indoor Context Labeling

Indoor 3D reconstruction and navigation element extraction with point cloud data has become a research focus in recent years, which has important application in community refinement management, emergency rescue and evacuation, etc. Aiming at the problem that the complete wall surfaces cannot be obtained in the indoor space affected by the occluded objects and the existing methods of navigation element extraction are over-segmented or under-segmented, we propose a method to automatically reconstruct indoor navigation elements from unstructured 3D point cloud of buildings with occlusions and openings. First, the outline and occupancy information provided by the horizontal projection of the point cloud was used to guide the wall segment restoration. Second, we simulate the scanning process of a laser scanner for segmentation. Third, we use projection statistical graphs and given rules to identify missing wall surfaces and “hidden doors”. The method is tested on several building datasets with complex structures. The results show that the method can detect and reconstruct indoor navigation elements without viewpoint information. The means of deviation in the reconstructed models is between 0–5 cm, and the completeness and correction are greater than 80%. However, the proposed method also has some limitations for the extraction of “thick doors” with a large number of occluded, non-planar components.

Autonomous Navigation of Indoor Service Robot with Object Recognition using Deep Learning

Abstract: Indoor Service robots are becoming popular day by day. The task of service robot is to perform some predefined tasks originally done by human in houses, schools, offices etc. This paper proposes an autonomous indoor service robot system integrated with multi-sensors such as Lidar and Kinect for the smooth functioning of indoor service robots. Firstly, a map of the environment is created using Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), a commonly used technique for creating map and positioning the robot at the same. In this paper different Lidar-based SLAM are compared and the best SLAM is chosen for creating 3D map for this system. For autonomous navigation, path planning plays a key role for fulfilling the task. A* algorithm is incorporated with this system to plan a global path. But global path planning algorithm fails to complete its task if any new or dynamic objects come to its path of navigation. To overcome such situations, a local path planning algorithm called Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) is added to this system. Another inevitable element in autonomous navigation is localization of robots in the map. Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization (AMCL) is the technique applied in the proposed system to localize the robot for the effective navigation of indoor service robot. To enhance the performance of service robot, YOLOv5 model is integrated with this system for real time object detection. The entire system is simulated in an open-source framework called Robot Operating System (ROS).

Modified Q-learning with distance metric and virtual target on path planning of mobile robot

Path planning is an essential element in mobile robot navigation. One of the popular path planners is Q-learning – a type of reinforcement learning that learns with little or no prior knowledge of the environment. Despite the successful implementation of Q-learning reported in numerous studies, its slow convergence associated with the curse of dimensionality may limit the performance in practice. To solve this problem, an Improved Q-learning (IQL) with three modifications is introduced in this study. First, a distance metric is added to Q-learning to guide the agent moves towards the target. Second, the Q function of Q-learning is modified to overcome dead-ends more effectively. Lastly, the virtual target concept is introduced in Q-learning to bypass dead-ends. Experimental results across twenty types of navigation maps show that the proposed strategies accelerate the learning speed of IQL in comparison with the Q-learning. Besides, performance comparison with seven well-known path planners indicates its efficiency in terms of the path smoothness, time taken, shortest distance and total distance used.

САЙТ БІБЛІОТЕКИ ЯК ЗАСІБ ІНФОРМУВАННЯ ПРО МІЖНАРОДНУ ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ

<p class="1"><strong><em>The purpose </em></strong><em>of the study</em><em> is to identify the features of the means of reporting on international activities of the library on its website. The tasks, respectively, are to analyze the library’s website to determine its type, internal structure, navigation elements; to outline specifics of the media which are the type of content, the usage of links and peculiarities of customer relationship management.</em></p><p class="1"><strong><em>Research methodology.</em></strong><em> Scientific work was carried out mainly through the use of content analysis as a special scientific method of research in the field of social communications, as well as a number of general scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, induction.</em></p><p class="1"><strong><em>Results. </em></strong><em>The author’s attention is focused on the research of library website, particularly its means of reporting on the international activities. It was established, that according to the functional aim, website belongs to the information portal. It was found that the home page contains all the standard components required by web communication: header, frame placement of content blocks, site menu, footer. Active links and visualization are its main features.</em></p><p class="1"><em>Information on the priority areas of the library activity is given in the section «About the library». Within the framework of international cooperation, the Hub «Window on America» Zaporizhzhia Window on America & Makerspace abd Hub «Language. Culture. Germany». The context is informative, contains factual evidence of active international cooperation. However, there is no multimedia, active links and interactivity. </em></p><p class="1"><em>The publications from the section «Events» are characterized by interactivity (possibility of commenting, evaluation), active links (internal linking is available).</em></p><p class="1"><em>The library website differs in a full set of media: context, navigation and interactive elements.</em></p><p class="1"><strong><em>Novelty. </em></strong><em>It was made an attempt to analyze the library website, in particular its media, as well as to highlight the features of their use in reporting on the international activities of the institution.</em></p><p class="1"><strong><em>Practical significance. </em></strong><em>The results can be used in further researches. Some aspects will be useful for students majoring in «Journalism» and «Information, Library and Archives».</em></p><p class="1"><strong><em>Key words: </em></strong><em>library website, means of reporting, information portal, international activity, library.</em></p>

Evaluation of UAJY Learning Management System’s Usability using USE Questionnaire and Eye-tracking

One of the influential learning resources utilized today is a web-based learning management system. The web-based e-learning’s usability is also influenced by the user interface. In measuring usability, eye-tracking technology can be employed to examine eye gaze of an individual when looks at a specific point at a certain time. The use of eye-tracking is beneficial in obtaining objective data. This study aims to evaluate the usability of UAJY Learning Management System website interface and examine the user's interaction with the website interface. Thirty-five participants were recruited in a usability testing experiment. Participants were asked to do three tasks related to the use of e-learning features while their eye movements were recorded. The USE Questionnaire and task-related question data were processed using statistical descriptive methods and eye movement data generated into heatmaps. The Usefulness, Ease of Use, Ease of Learn, and Satisfaction aspects of the UAJY LMS gains more than 80% feasibility percentage. Overall results of feasibility categorized the UAJY LMS as Very Feasible. There was no difference found in usability aspects between gender, faculty background, and eye condition groups. Heatmaps results show that navigational elements in the LMS are utilized properly and successfully help participants in performing tasks.

Navigation Scenario Permutation Model for Training of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship Remote Operators

The development of autonomous ships has begun. Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to be partially responsible for navigation; nevertheless, the importance of human intervention is higher than ever. Human intervention in the control of an autonomous ship via the remote operator requires navigation proficiency. The education method for the remote operators that is presently considered is simulation training. However, the simulation training does not take long enough time for enabling trainees to develop their navigation proficiency equivalent to that of conventional ships navigators. In addition, the simulation training should contain various navigation scenarios to train the trainee properly. Therefore, this paper suggests the methods to generate the massive and practical navigation scenarios by extracting navigation elements’ distribution from actual ship trajectory data and applying them to the permutation of navigation elements. The results demonstrated the advantages of the proposed methods by comparing the sample navigation scenario and an example of an impractical navigation scenario. In conclusion, it is expected that the massive generation of practical navigation scenarios using the proposed permutation model will positively affect the simulation training of the maritime autonomous surface ship remote operators.

Visual Trends of the 21st Century in Graphic Design: Interpretation of Virtual Space Attributes

The article presents an attempt to characterize the graphic design transformation under the impact of virtual space with its unified elements. It has been established that the change of the graphic designer’s role in the system of modern information technologies development has caused the professional responsibility expansion at the intersection of real and virtual environments. The article aims to investigate the use of virtual space attributes (Internet page and mobile device interface elements) in uncharacteristic printed forms (for example, poster and packaging design) as a modern approach to graphic design that expands the designer’s visual language. The virtual environment elements, reproduced by graphic designers, are described, and their applications in print and “native” environments are compared. The groups selected for borrowing are as follows: system navigation elements, alert dialogs, menu bars, search bars, tags, and particular process progress indicator. The article highlights the imitation of raster in graphic design objects as digital images loading errors. It has been found that, first, the elements retain their recognizability and original meanings even beyond the context. Secondly, although virtual systems are structured, eliminating the number of unnecessary actions of the user, and possible errors, the incorrect program operation, in the form of alert windows, is the most attractive for copying. Third, borrowed elements are self-sufficient and their value approaches to the sign. The data of the article are of practical importance for graphic designers at the stage of project concept development.

Перспективи реалізації системи підтримки прийняття рішень для водія електромобіля

There has been proposed a way of implementing the decision-making support system for the driver of an electric car while driving it along the horizontal section of the road as well as on descent and ascent with different angles of the slope. The system was based on the synthesized the authors' mathematical models of the electric car's optimal movement by the criterion of the minimum consumption of the electric car power battery charge by its frequency-controlled induction motor which is traction in the drive system of an electric vehicle using Lagrange variational method and a mathematical model of the magnetization curve in the form of an inverted hyperbolic sine, which with high precision binds the current in the stator winding of an induction motor with a magnetic flux created by the field of this current and based on the mathematical models of determination of speeds values while the car with an internal combustion engine or electric car cornering not exceeding which makes it impossible to overturn or skid, which has been synthesized based on the balance equations of both kinematics and dynamics. Carried out the analysis of on-board electronic systems of modern cars, which are currently mandatory for passenger vehicles under the European Union norms and has been revealed that the available ones are quite sufficient for the implementation of decision-making support system for the driver of an electric car in the bound of the proposed concept. Determining the necessary angles of pitch and yaw of the car is possible with the help of sensors of the Electronic Stability Control. Determining electrical parameters of the electric drive - current, voltage, frequency, and mechanical - the position or speed of rotation of the electric drive shaft of an electric vehicle is possible from the engine control unit, which it receives from the relevant sensors through feedback. It is also has been proposed to extend the implementation of the proposed decision-making support system for the driver of an electric car while driving it by integrating navigation elements based on open source projects into it, which will allow defining and considering such additional parameters as road signs, road markings, etc.

Mathematical description of a hybrid quadrocopter for the purpose of computer simulation of controlled motion

The problem of constructing the most complete mathematical model of the movement of a hybrid-type quadcopter, which, in addition to electric motors, is also equipped with an internal combustion engine, is considered. The relevance of this development is due to the desire to create a control system for a quadcopter of relatively new design, and the feasibility of development is due to the desire to use integrated design, improving the design of the device and elements of navigation and control. The developed mathematical model of the motion of the center of mass of the quadcopter and around the center of mass includes control variables and takes into account the gyroscopic moments from the rotors of the engines - carriers of kinetic moments. This model can be used in the process of designing and debugging control algorithms for such aircraft. The main method of modeling is the numerical integration of the system of differential equations. The given modeling complex will allow to carry out researches on influence of perturbing factors and imperfection of elements of a control system; test and improve management laws; to modernize the design of the quadcopter to increase the efficiency of operation. The advantage of the model is its validity, openness, versatility, as it is easy to adapt to any other design of the quadcopter.