Navigation Input Research Articles

Celestial compass sensor mimics the insect eye for navigation under cloudy and occluded skies

Insects use the sun’s position (even when concealed) as a compass for navigation by filtering celestial light intensity and polarisation through their compound eyes. To replicate this functionality, we present a sensor that imitates essential aspects of insect eyes, particularly the fan-like arrangement of polarised light receptors in their dorsal rim area. Our sensor comprises a ring of eight pairs of photodiodes (evaluating two orthogonal orientations of polarised light) to analyse the skylight coming from different directions. Because the layout of our sensor aligns with the polarised light pattern in the sky, a circular-mean model that integrates information spatially across the analysers can estimate the solar azimuth. When using the same sensor design, our model achieves lower compass errors than alternative (and computationally more complex) algorithms, especially under cloudy and occluded skies. Thus, the morphology and processing of the insect celestial compass provide an efficient and robust directional input for navigation.

An artificial neural network explains how bats might use vision for navigation

Animals navigate using various sensory information to guide their movement. Miniature tracking devices now allow documenting animals’ routes with high accuracy. Despite this detailed description of animal movement, how animals translate sensory information to movement is poorly understood. Recent machine learning advances now allow addressing this question with unprecedented statistical learning tools. We harnessed this power to address visual-based navigation in fruit bats. We used machine learning and trained a convolutional neural network to navigate along a bat’s route using visual information that would have been available to the real bat, which we collected using a drone. We show that a simple feed-forward network can learn to guide the agent towards a goal based on sensory input, and can generalize its learning both in time and in space. Our analysis suggests how animals could potentially use visual input for navigation and which features might be useful for this purpose.

Lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle video object detection based on spatial‐temporal correlation

SummaryIntelligent unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are drawing more and more attention from industry to academia. UAV navigation plays an important role in the cooperative scenario where multiple UAVs are deployed, while image data that capture the information of the UAV area are often used as input for UAV navigation. Deep learning is a common and powerful technique for UAV image processing, but a complex model generated by deep learning technique is hardly suitable for the limited computing capacity of edge computing devices such as UAVs. Therefore, this paper designs an efficient deep learning model on UAVs to fit the restriction of low computational powers and low power consumption. Traditional UAV object detection methods mostly use static images as the basis for object recognition, or collect images for offline detection. Our method combines the existing fast single‐frame detection methods with the spatial‐temporal relationship of video sequences, to build an efficient end‐to‐end model. In addition, the convolutional LSTM module is used to propagate the temporal context of the video frame sequences. Based on the temporal context, we propose a module for calculating spatial correlation. At the same time, we establish our experimental dataset in our real application and conduct the experiment, which shows that the proposed method reduces the size of models and meanwhile maintains the detection rate. Compared with the existing static images approaches, our method is faster and more accurate. Inference speeds of nearly 20fps can be achieved while performing real‐time tasks.

Wheelchair driving strategies: A comparison between standard joystick and gaze-based control

ABSTRACT This paper aims to evaluate and compare the driving performances achieved with a power wheelchair using a standard joystick versus a novel gaze-based technology. The gaze-based interface, called RoboEYE, involves a novel paradigm of computer interaction that handles the receipt of information from an eye tracker, using it as a continuous input for wheelchair navigation. A pool of 36 subjects has tested both technologies in a circuit designed considering the Wheelchair Skill Test. The experimental analysis involved evaluations of specific metrics of motion and the submission of questionnaires to collect required information about perceived feelings and mental workload. The joystick proved to be the best driving interface. It turned out to be more accurate and efficient than the gaze-based solution. However, the latter achieved only small differences in driving kinematics. These differences can be considered negligible from an operational point of view, offering a driving experience similar to that achievable with the joystick. Testers reported no particular stress, fatigue, or frustration when switching from one interface to another. These elements suggest that the proposed gaze-based solution is an appropriate alternative for a technology transition driven by a pathological change in the user’s condition.

V04-04 CLINICAL APPLICATION OF 3D ANATOMICAL MODELING SOFTWARE (IRIS TM ) DURING ROBOT-ASSISTED PARTIAL NEPHRECTOMY (RAPN) FOR COMPLEX RENAL MASSES

You have accessJournal of UrologyAdrenal & Renal Oncology I (Nephron Sparing Surgery) (V04)1 Sep 2021V04-04 CLINICAL APPLICATION OF 3D ANATOMICAL MODELING SOFTWARE (IRISTM) DURING ROBOT-ASSISTED PARTIAL NEPHRECTOMY (RAPN) FOR COMPLEX RENAL MASSES Ahmed Ghazi, Tyler Holler, Thomas Frye, William Tabayoyong, Jonathan Bloom, Hani Rashid, and Jean Joseph Ahmed GhaziAhmed Ghazi More articles by this author , Tyler HollerTyler Holler More articles by this author , Thomas FryeThomas Frye More articles by this author , William TabayoyongWilliam Tabayoyong More articles by this author , Jonathan BloomJonathan Bloom More articles by this author , Hani RashidHani Rashid More articles by this author , and Jean JosephJean Joseph More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002000.04AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: IRISTM is an interactive three dimensional (3D) anatomic modeling software allowing functional manipulation of anatomical models for the surgical planning of renal masses. The software represents converted DICOM files of CT images to 3D virtual anatomical models, viewed on an iOS device during preoperative surgical planning and the da Vinci surgical system TilePro input for intraoperative navigation. The objective of this video is to demonstrate the clinical utility and application of IRISTM as a preoperative planning and intraoperative navigation tool during RAPN in two patients with highly complex renal masses. METHODS: The first case is a 73 year old male patient with a 2.7 cm right, completely endophytic hilar renal mass. Nephrometry score was 10h. The second case was a 45 years old male presenting with a 7.8 by 7.6 cm, exophytic, left hilar posterior renal mass with a nephrometry score of 11p. Preoperative planning was completed utilizing axial imaging and IRIS on an iOS device and a surgical plan put forth. Intraoperative navigation was via the da Vinci surgical system TilePro input. Perioperative and intraoperative patient data was collected. RESULTS: In the first case, IRIS helped visualize the resection cavity exposing the surrounding vascular branches that could be injured during tumor resection, identifying the feeding vessels perfusing the tumor and predicting structures encountered during suturing at the base of the resection bed during renoprraphy. Estimated Blood loss (EBL) was 100cc, Warm ischemia time (WIT) 17 minutes, with minimal change in postoperative renal function. Final pathology was positive for an Oncocytoma with negative margins. In the second case with an exophytic tumor, the transparency function allowed for identification of vital structures that would be encountered at the resection base. In this case a large portion of the pelvicaliceal system (PCS) abutting the tumor base and a feeding branch to the tumor from the renal artery were accurately localized by altering parenchyma and tumor transparency in the IRIS model. EBL was 60cc, WIT 28 minutes and renal function was maintained postoperatively. Pathology was positive for clear cell carcinoma with negative margins. CONCLUSIONS: IRISTM technology with its interactive features, offered valuable preoperative and intraoperative information not attainable by standard axial imaging in the robotic approach for surgical management of complex renal masses. Source of Funding: Inuititive Inc. Clinical trial © 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 206Issue Supplement 3September 2021Page: e292-e292 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Ahmed Ghazi More articles by this author Tyler Holler More articles by this author Thomas Frye More articles by this author William Tabayoyong More articles by this author Jonathan Bloom More articles by this author Hani Rashid More articles by this author Jean Joseph More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Loading ...

Multisensory integration supports configural learning of a home refuge in the whip spider Phrynus marginemaculatus.

Whip spiders (Amblypygi) reside in structurally complex habitats and are nocturnally active yet display notable navigational abilities. From the theory that uncertainty in sensory inputs should promote multisensory representations to guide behavior, we hypothesized that their navigation is supported by a multisensory and perhaps configural representation of navigational inputs, an ability documented in a few insects and never reported in arachnids. We trained Phrynus marginemaculatus to recognize a home shelter characterized by both discriminative olfactory and tactile stimuli. In tests, subjects readily discriminated between shelters based on the paired stimuli. However, subjects failed to recognize the shelter in tests with either of the component stimuli alone. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that the terminal phase of their navigational behavior, shelter recognition, can be supported by the integration of multisensory stimuli as an enduring, configural representation. We hypothesize that multisensory learning occurs in the whip spiders' extraordinarily large mushroom bodies, which may functionally resemble the hippocampus of vertebrates.

Cognitive and Affective Assessment of Navigation and Mobility Tasks for the Visually Impaired via Electroencephalography and Behavioral Signals.

This paper presented the assessment of cognitive load (as an effective real-time index of task difficulty) and the level of brain activation during an experiment in which eight visually impaired subjects performed two types of tasks while using the white cane and the Sound of Vision assistive device with three types of sensory input—audio, haptic, and multimodal (audio and haptic simultaneously). The first task was to identify object properties and the second to navigate and avoid obstacles in both the virtual environment and real-world settings. The results showed that the haptic stimuli were less intuitive than the audio ones and that the navigation with the Sound of Vision device increased cognitive load and working memory. Visual cortex asymmetry was lower in the case of multimodal stimulation than in the case of separate stimulation (audio or haptic). There was no correlation between visual cortical activity and the number of collisions during navigation, regardless of the type of navigation or sensory input. The visual cortex was activated when using the device, but only for the late-blind users. For all the subjects, the navigation with the Sound of Vision device induced a low negative valence, in contrast with the white cane navigation.

Safe and Robust Mobile Robot Navigation in Uneven Indoor Environments

Complex environments pose great challenges for autonomous mobile robot navigation. In this study, we address the problem of autonomous navigation in 3D environments with staircases and slopes. An integrated system for safe mobile robot navigation in 3D complex environments is presented and both the perception and navigation capabilities are incorporated into the modular and reusable framework. Firstly, to distinguish the slope from the staircase in the environment, the robot builds a 3D OctoMap of the environment with a novel Simultaneously Localization and Mapping (SLAM) framework using the information of wheel odometry, a 2D laser scanner, and an RGB-D camera. Then, we introduce the traversable map, which is generated by the multi-layer 2D maps extracted from the 3D OctoMap. This traversable map serves as the input for autonomous navigation when the robot faces slopes and staircases. Moreover, to enable robust robot navigation in 3D environments, a novel camera re-localization method based on regression forest towards stable 3D localization is incorporated into this framework. In addition, we utilize a variable step size Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) method which can adjust the exploring step size automatically without tuning this parameter manually according to the environment, so that the navigation efficiency is improved. The experiments are conducted in different kinds of environments and the output results demonstrate that the proposed system enables the robot to navigate efficiently and robustly in complex 3D environments.

Constrained optimal multi-phase lunar landing trajectory with minimum fuel consumption

A Legendre pseudo spectral philosophy based multi-phase constrained fuel-optimal trajectory design approach is presented in this paper. The objective here is to find an optimal approach to successfully guide a lunar lander from perilune (18km altitude) of a transfer orbit to a height of 100m over a specific landing site. After attaining 100m altitude, there is a mission critical re-targeting phase, which has very different objective (but is not critical for fuel optimization) and hence is not considered in this paper. The proposed approach takes into account various mission constraints in different phases from perilune to the landing site. These constraints include phase-1 (‘braking with rough navigation’) from 18km altitude to 7km altitude where navigation accuracy is poor, phase-2 (‘attitude hold’) to hold the lander attitude for 35sec for vision camera processing for obtaining navigation error, and phase-3 (‘braking with precise navigation’) from end of phase-2 to 100m altitude over the landing site, where navigation accuracy is good (due to vision camera navigation inputs). At the end of phase-1, there are constraints on position and attitude. In Phase-2, the attitude must be held throughout. At the end of phase-3, the constraints include accuracy in position, velocity as well as attitude orientation. The proposed optimal trajectory technique satisfies the mission constraints in each phase and provides an overall fuel-minimizing guidance command history.

Visual Narrative Flow: Exploring Factors Shaping Data Visualization Story Reading Experiences

AbstractMany factors can shape the flow of visual data‐driven stories, and thereby the way readers experience those stories. Through the analysis of 80 existing stories found on popular websites, we systematically investigate and identify seven characteristics of these stories, which we name “flow‐factors,” and we illustrate how they feed into the broader concept of “visual narrative flow.” These flow‐factors are navigation input, level of control, navigation progress, story layout, role of visualization, story progression, and navigation feedback. We also describe a series of studies we conducted, which shed initial light on how different visual narrative flows impact the reading experience. We report on two exploratory studies, in which we gathered reactions and preferences of readers for stepper‐ vs. scroller‐driven flows. We then report on a crowdsourced study with 240 participants, in which we explore the effect of the combination of different flow‐factors on readers’ engagement. Our results indicate that visuals and navigation feedback (e.g., static vs. animated transitions) have an impact on readers’ engagement, while level of control (e.g., discrete vs. continuous) may not.

Space-borne BDS receiver for LING QIAO satellite: design, implementation and preliminary in-orbit experiment results

Known as China's first low earth orbit (LEO) mobile communication experimental satellite, the LING QIAO satellite was launched on September 4, 2014. In addition to the two global positioning system (GPS) receivers on board, which are the main navigation receivers supporting the synchronized LEO communication payload and other systems that require navigation input, a BeiDou navigation system (BDS) receiver is also installed on board as an experimental payload. We present the system design and preliminary in-orbit experiment results of the BDS receiver of the LING QIAO satellite. The results show that: (1) The root-mean-square positioning error of the BDS receiver is 13 m, while the GPS error is 1 m; (2) the in-orbit traced service area of BDS is from 55°S to 55°N, 70°E to 150°E, which matches the official announced service area; (3) for industrial-level chips and devices of the BDS payload which are vulnerable to space radiations, the single-event effect monitoring and combating measures, as presented in this work, have been effective for LING QIAO satellite.

Effect of viewing mode on pathfinding in immersive Virtual Reality.

The use of Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) to view Virtual Reality Environments (VREs) has received much attention recently. This paper reports on the difference between actual humans' navigation in a VRE viewed through an HMD compared to that in the same VRE viewed on a laptop PC display. A novel Virtual Reality (VR) Navigation input device (VRNChair), designed by our team, was paired with an Oculus Rift DK2 Head-Mounted Display (HMD). People used the VRNChair to navigate a VRE, and we analyzed their navigational trajectories with and without the HMD to investigate plausible differences in performance due to the display device. It was found that people's navigational trajectories were more accurate while wearing the HMD compared to viewing an LCD monitor; however, the duration to complete a navigation task remained the same. This implies that increased immersion in VR results in an improvement in pathfinding. In addition, motion sickness caused by using an HMD can be reduced if one uses an input device such as our VRNChair. The VRNChair paired with an HMD provides vestibular stimulation as one moves in the VRE, because movements in the VRE are synchronized with movements in the real environment.

One rhinophore probably provides sufficient sensory input for odour-based navigation by the nudibranch mollusc Tritonia diomedea.

Tritonia diomedea (synonymous with Tritonia tetraquetra) navigates in turbulent odour plumes, crawling upstream towards prey and downstream to avoid predators. This is probably accomplished by odour-gated rheotaxis, but other possibilities have not been excluded. Our goal was to test whether T. diomedea uses odour-gated rheotaxis and to simultaneously determine which of the cephalic sensory organs (rhinophores and oral veil) are required for navigation. In a first experiment, slugs showed no coherent responses to streams of odour directed at single rhinophores. In a second experiment, navigation in prey and predator odour plumes was compared between animals with unilateral rhinophore lesions, denervated oral veils, or combined unilateral rhinophore lesions and denervated oral veils. In all treatments, animals navigated in a similar manner to that of control and sham-operated animals, indicating that a single rhinophore provides sufficient sensory input for navigation (assuming that a distributed flow measurement system would also be affected by the denervations). Amongst various potential navigational strategies, only odour-gated positive rheotaxis can produce the navigation tracks we observed in prey plumes while receiving input from a single sensor. Thus, we provide strong evidence that T. diomedea uses odour-gated rheotaxis in attractive odour plumes, with odours and flow detected by the rhinophores. In predator plumes, slugs turned downstream to varying degrees rather than orienting directly downstream for crawling, resulting in greater dispersion for negative rheotaxis in aversive plumes. These conclusions are the first explicit confirmation of odour-gated rheotaxis as a navigational strategy in gastropods and are also a foundation for exploring the neural circuits that mediate odour-gated rheotaxis.

Design and Application of a Novel Virtual Reality Navigational Technology (VRNChair).

This paper presents a novel virtual reality navigation (VRN) input device, called the VRNChair, offering an intuitive and natural way to interact with virtual reality (VR) environments. Traditionally, VR navigation tests are performed using stationary input devices such as keyboards or joysticks. However, in case of immersive VR environment experiments, such as our recent VRN assessment, the user may feel kinetosis (motion sickness) as a result of the disagreement between vestibular response and the optical flow. In addition, experience in using a joystick or any of the existing computer input devices may cause a bias in the accuracy of participant performance in VR environment experiments. Therefore, we have designed a VR navigational environment that is operated using a wheelchair (VRNChair). The VRNChair translates the movement of a manual wheelchair to feed any VR environment. We evaluated the VRNChair by testing on 34 young individuals in two groups performing the same navigational task with either the VRNChair or a joystick; also one older individual (55 years) performed the same experiment with both a joystick and the VRNChair. The results indicate that the VRNChair does not change the accuracy of the performance; thus removing the plausible bias of having experience using a joystick. More importantly, it significantly reduces the effect of kinetosis. While we developed VRNChair for our spatial cognition study, its application can be in many other studies involving neuroscience, neurorehabilitation, physiotherapy, and/or simply the gaming industry.

Needle guidance using handheld stereo vision and projection for ultrasound-based interventions.

With real-time instrument tracking and in-situ guidance projection directly integrated in a handheld ultrasound imaging probe, needle-based interventions such as biopsies become much simpler to perform than with conventionally-navigated systems. Stereo imaging with needle detection can be made sufficiently robust and accurate to serve as primary navigation input. We describe the low-cost, easy-to-use approach used in the Clear Guide ONE generic navigation accessory for ultrasound machines, outline different available guidance methods, and provide accuracy results from phantom trials.

Biosensor-Based Video Game Control for Physically Disabled Gamers

As it stands today, PC-based video games are commonly controlled through a combination of pointing device and keyboard input. Although this conventional type of interface has a long history of successful implementation, a small group of people remains excluded due to accessibility issues. This is unfortunate, because several studies have shown that virtual environment emersion can provide great benefits to people who suffer from temporary or permanent physical disabilities. This study is aimed at developing a novel interface system that will engage this group of users in video game play by addressing and eliminating the previously mentioned accessibility issues. Through the combined input from an eye-tracking device and a data glove, people suffering from physical limitations will be given the opportunity to experience and interact with virtual environments just like any other user. During interaction with this newly developed system, eye tracking signals will replace the mouse input for on-screen pointing, and a data-glove which will replace conventional keyboard input for in-game navigation and interaction. It is expected that gamers who suffer from previously limiting physical conditions will be able to interact effectively and pleasantly through the new gaming interface, thereby enabling them to overcome their disabilities and enjoy video games just like any other user.

Portable handset with integrated speaker

A portable wireless handset with enhanced acoustic functions is disclosed having a chamber gasket that has an opening sized to receive a speaker. When inserted into the opening, the speaker seals to the chamber gasket. The chamber gasket also seals to a support surface, so that a sealed acoustic chamber is created. The keypad has an opening in the user interface area for receiving a speaker, and a navigation input key may be positioned over the speaker. In this way, the speaker shares an area with the navigation key, and projects sounds through vents in the navigation key. With the speaker sealed to the keypad, and the keypad sealed to a printed circuit board, a sealed acoustic chamber is formed. Acoustic energy emitted from the back of the speaker is received into the sealed chamber, thereby improving the sound quality for sound projected from the front of the speaker.

Spatial input for temporal navigation in scientific visualizations.

Scientific-visualization tools can make time-varying simulations easier to understand. The growing efficiency of today's high-performance computers enables simulation of physical phenomena with a high temporal resolution. Consequently, visualization systems require efficient navigation in the temporal dimension. This 3D user interface employs direct-manipulation metaphors for temporal navigation in scientific visualizations. By interacting with objects using their 3D trajectory, users can navigate in time by specifying spatial inputs.

Spatial Input for Temporal Navigation in Scientific Visualizations

Spatial Input for Temporal Navigation in Scientific Visualizations

Initial Usability Testing of Navigation and Interaction Methods in Virtual Environments: Developing Usable Interfaces for Brain Injury Rehabilitation

It is speculated that virtual environments (VE) might be used as a training tool in brain injury rehabilitation. The rehabilitation process often involves practicing so-called instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as shopping, cooking, and using a telephone. If a brain injury patient is to practice such activities in a VE, the patient must be able to navigate the viewpoint and interact with virtual objects in an understandable way. People with brain injury may be less tolerant to a poor interface and a VE might therefore become unusable due to, for example, an unsuitable input device. In this paper we present two studies aimed to do initial usability testing of VE interaction methods on people without experience of 3D computer graphics. In the first study four navigation input device configurations were compared: the IntelliKeys keyboard and the Microsoft Sidewinder joystick, both programmed with two and three degrees of freedom (DOF). The purpose of the second study was to evaluate a method for interaction with objects, and to find a sufficiently usable input device for this purpose. The keyboard was found to be more suitable for navigation tasks in which the user wants to give the viewpoint a more advantageous position and orientation for carrying out a specific task. No big differences could be found between two and three DOFs. The method for interaction with objects was found to work sufficiently well. No difference in performance could be found between mouse and touch screen, but some evidence was found that they affect the usability of the VE interface in different ways.