General Sensory System Research Articles

Smart Building Surveillance System as Shared Sensory System for Localization of AGVs

The objective of this study is to extend the possibilities of robot localization in a known environment by using the pre-deployed infrastructure of a smart building. The proposed method demonstrates a concept of a Shared Sensory System for the automated guided vehicles (AGVs), when already existing camera hardware of a building can be utilized for position detection of marked devices. This approach extends surveillance cameras capabilities creating a general sensory system for localization of active (automated) or passive devices in a smart building. The application is presented using both simulations and experiments for a common corridor of a building. The advantages and disadvantages are stated. We analyze the impact of the captured frame’s resolution on the processing speed while also using multiple cameras to improve the accuracy of localization. The proposed methodology in which we use the surveillance cameras in a stand-alone way or in a support role for the AGVs to be localized in the environment has a huge potential utilization in the future smart buildings and cities. The available infrastructure is used to provide additional features for the building control unit, such as awareness of the position of the robots without the need to obtain this data directly from the robots, which would lower the cost of the robots themselves. On the other hand, the information about the location of a robot may be transferred bidirectionally between robots and the building control system to improve the overall safety and reliability of the system.

Sensory capacity: An information theoretical measure of the performance of a sensor.

For a general sensory system following an external stochastic signal, we introduce the sensory capacity. This quantity characterizes the performance of a sensor: sensory capacity is maximal if the instantaneous state of the sensor has as much information about a signal as the whole time series of the sensor. We show that adding a memory to the sensor increases the sensory capacity. This increase quantifies the improvement of the sensor with the addition of the memory. Our results are obtained with the framework of stochastic thermodynamics of bipartite systems, which allows for the definition of an efficiency that relates the rate with which the sensor learns about the signal with the energy dissipated by the sensor, which is given by the thermodynamic entropy production. We demonstrate a general trade-off between sensory capacity and efficiency: if the sensory capacity is equal to its maximum 1, then the efficiency must be less than 1/2. As a physical realization of a sensor we consider a two-component cellular network estimating a fluctuating external ligand concentration as signal. This model leads to coupled linear Langevin equations that allow us to obtain explicit analytical results.

Morphometric and Functional Correlation of Human Neuronal Somata: Pyramidal Motor, Special Sensory and General Sensory Systems

Using an ideal tissue preparation method, we found a definite correlation between various human neuronal somata from the view point of accurate morphometry and functional evaluations. We believe this study may be of value, or even indispensable in the correct understanding of neurological symptomatology and phenomenology.

Odor and Taste Interaction on Brain Responses in Humans

Central neural integration of sensory input from different modalities is a prerequisite for flavor perception. Chemosensory information as part of flavor perception is mediated by (i) specific and (ii) general sensory systems. The mouth and the nose are areas housing specific sensory systems, i.e. the gustatory and the olfactory systems. In the gustatory and olfactory systems, as well as in the vomeronasal organ, information is mediated by chemoreceptors. In the somatosensory system, which is classified here as the general sensory system, chemoreceptors are mainly nociceptors. But there are other modalities present as well, such as mechanoand thermoreceptors. It is commonly accepted that there are plenty of opportunities for the above-mentioned systems to interact. This can happen at several levels of the information processing before reaching the cortical level and even peripheral interactions seem possible. In the psychophysical literature there are numerous demonstrations of taste/smell interactions. However, our understanding of the CNS mechanisms and detailed characteristics thereof are rather limited. In humans, some experiments have recently been published addressing this phenomenon by using imaging technologies (Small et al., 1997, 2004; Cerf-Ducastel et al., 2001; de Araujo et al., 2003; Cerf-Ducastel and Murphy, 2004). We wanted to know if the method of event-related potential (ERP) recording could be a useful tool for the investigation of taste and smell interactions. The reason for this approach is that ERPs have the highest possible time resolution compared to most imaging techniques except magnetic source imaging (MSI). Although we do not report any results here, it has now become possible to obtain information about areas of activation by applying electrical source localization methods based on ERPs. In addition, we have demonstrated that ERP components, namely the N1/P2 portion of the ERP, are generated in the insular cortex (Kettenmann et al., 1997) and also postulated that this area might play a crucial role in integrating taste and smell information. This assumption has been recently supported by Fu et al. (2004).

Morphological Characteristics of Nerve Cells in the Human General Sensory System

We conducted a study to compare morphological characteristics of various nerve cells in the sensory system. This sort of evaluation is indispensable for a better understanding of the nervous system in relation to clinical physiology and neurology.

Response characteristics and probable behavioural roles for abdominal vibration receptors of some cockroaches

Abdominal vibration receptors (AVR's) of Periplaneta americana (L.) respond to cuticular vibrations induced by either transient or sustained mechanical events. The three different-sized spikes in the response are the basis of the code for providing information about the vibration duration, repetition rate, acceleration rise and fall time, and acceleration amplitude. The AVR's appear incapable of providing information for frequency discrimination. Electrophysiological evidence is presented for the existence of AVR's in Nauphoeta cinerea (Oliv.) and Leucophaea maderae (F.), with discussion on their probable existence in Blatta orientalis L. and Blattella germanica (L.). The AVR's of the above-mentioned species are believed to function as female position detectors during courtship and provide part or all of the necessary information to induce backing movements and copulatory thrusts by males when the female palpates his tergites during courtship (precopulation) behaviour. Also, the AVR could be involved with regulation of ventilatory movements during respiration and may serve as a general sensory system for environmental analysis through contact.