Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with visual sensors are widely used in area coverage missions. Guaranteeing full coverage coupled with camera footprint is one of the most challenging tasks, thus, in the presented novel approach a coverage path planner for the inspection of 2D areas is established, a 3 Degree of Freedom (DoF) camera movement is considered and the shortest path from the taking off to the landing station is generated, while covering the target area. The proposed scheme requires a priori information about the boundaries of the target area and generates the paths in an offline process. The efficacy and the overall performance of the proposed method has been experimentally evaluated in multiple indoor inspection experiments with convex and non convex areas. Furthermore, the image streams collected during the coverage tasks were post-processed using image stitching for obtaining a single overview of the covered scene.

Assessment of sensorimotor function is crucial during the rehabilitation process of various physical disorders, including impairments of the hand. While moment performance can be accurately assessed in movement science laboratories involving highly specialized personnel and facilities there is a lack of feasible objective methods for the general clinic. This paper describes a novel approach to sensorimotor assessment using an intuitive test and a specifically tailored image processing pipeline for the quantification of the test. More specifically the test relies on the patient being instructed on following a zig-zag pattern using a handled laser pointer. The movement of the pointer is tracked using image processing algorithm capable of automating the whole procedure. The method has potential for feasible objective clinical assessment of the hand and other body parts

In this article a data driven approach for the classification of simultaneously occurring faults in an induction motor is presented. The problem is treated as a multi-label classification problem with each label corresponding to one specific fault, using the power-set approach. The faulty conditions examined, include the existence of a broken bar fault and the presence of mixed eccentricity with various degrees of static and dynamic eccentricity. For the feature extraction stage, the time-frequency representation, resulting from the application of the short time Fourier transform of the start-up current is exploited. The proposed approach is validated using simulation data with promising results.

Background

Sensorimotor disturbances of the hand such as altered neuromuscular control and reduced proprioception have been reported for various musculoskeletal disorders. This can have major impact on daily activities such as dressing, cooking and manual work, especially when involving high demands on precision and therefore needs to be considered in the assessment and rehabilitation of hand disorders. There is however a lack of feasible and accurate objective methods for the assessment of movement behavior, including proprioception tests, of the hand in the clinic today. The objective of this observational cross- sectional study was to develop and conduct preliminary validation testing of a new method for clinical assessment of movement sense of the wrist using a laser pointer and an automatic scoring system of test results.

Methods

Fifty physiotherapists performed a tracking task with a hand-held laser pointer by following a zig-zag pattern as accurately as possible. The task was performed with left and right hand in both left and right directions, with three trials for each hand movement. Each trial was video recorded and analysed with a specifically tailored image processing pipeline for automatic quantification of the test. The main outcome variable was Acuity, calculated as the percent of the time the laser dot was on the target line during the trial.

Results

The results showed a significantly better Acuity for the dominant compared to non-dominant hand. Participants with right hand pain within the last 12 months had a significantly reduced acuity (p < 0.05), and although not significant there was also a similar trend for reduced Acuity also for participants with left hand pain. Furthermore, there was a clear negative correlation between Acuity and Speed indicating a speed-accuracy trade off commonly found in manual tasks. The repeatability of the test showed acceptable intra class correlation (ICC_2.1) values (0.68-0.81) and standard error of measurement values ranging between 5.0–6.3 for Acuity.

Conclusions

The initial results suggest that the test may be a valid and feasible test for assessment of the movement sense of the hand. Future research should include assessments on different patient groups and reliability evaluations over time and between testers.

Evaluation of cardiotocogram (CTG) is a standard approach employed during pregnancy and delivery. But, its interpretation requires high level expertise to decide whether the recording is Normal, Suspicious or Pathological. Therefore, a number of attempts have been carried out over the past three decades for development automated sophisticated systems. These systems are usually (multiclass) classification systems that assign a category to the respective CTG. However most of these systems usually do not take into consideration the natural ordering of the categories associated with CTG recordings. In this work, an algorithm that explicitly takes into consideration the ordering of CTG categories, based on binary decomposition method, is investigated. Achieved results, using as a base classifier the C4.5 decision tree classifier, prove that the ordinal classification approach is marginally better than the traditional multiclass classification approach, which utilizes the standard C4.5 algorithm for several performance criteria.

The aim of this article is to present an example of a novel cloud computing infrastructure for big data analytics in the Process Control Industry. Latest innovations in the field of Process Analyzer Techniques (PAT), big data and wireless technologies have created a new environment in which almost all stages of the industrial process can be recorded and utilized, not only for safety, but also for real time optimization. Based on analysis of historical sensor data, machine learning based optimization models can be developed and deployed in real time closed control loops. However, still the local implementation of those systems requires a huge investment in hardware and software, as a direct result of the big data nature of sensors data being recorded continuously. The current technological advancements in cloud computing for big data processing, open new opportunities for the industry, while acting as an enabler for a significant reduction in costs, making the technology available to plants of all sizes. The main contribution of this article stems from the presentation for a fist time ever of a pilot cloud based architecture for the application of a data driven modeling and optimal control configuration for the field of Process Control. As it will be presented, these developments have been carried in close relationship with the process industry and pave a way for a generalized application of the cloud based approaches, towards the future of Industry 4.0

The steel industry involves energy-intensive processessuch as combustion processes whose accurate modellingvia first principles is both challenging and unlikely to leadto accurate models let alone cast time-varying dynamics anddescribe the inevitable wear and tear. In this paper we addressthe main objective which is the reduction of energy consumptionand emissions along with the enhancement of the autonomy ofthe controlled process by online modelling and uncertaintyawarepredictive control. We propose a risk-sensitive modelselection procedure which makes use of the modern theoryof risk measures and obtain dynamical models using processdata from our experimental setting: a walking beam furnaceat Swerea MEFOS. We use a scenario-based model predictivecontroller to track given temperature references at the threeheating zones of the furnace and we train a classifier whichpredicts possible drops in the excess of Oxygen in each heatingzone below acceptable levels. This information is then used torecalibrate the controller in order to maintain a high qualityof combustion, therefore, higher thermal efficiency and loweremissions

Exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD), is usually experienced in i) humans who have been physically inactive for prolonged periods of time and then begin with sudden training trials and ii) athletes who train over their normal limits. EIMD is not so easy to be detected and quantified, by means of commonly measurement tools and methods. Thermography has been used successfully as a research detection tool in medicine for the last 6 decades but very limited work has been reported on EIMD area. The main purpose of this research is to assess and characterize EIMD, using thermography and image processing techniques. The first step towards that goal is to develop a reliable segmentation technique to isolate the region of interest (ROI). A semi-automatic image processing software was designed and regions of the left and right leg based on superpixels were segmented. The image is segmented into a number of regions and the user is able to intervene providing the regions which belong to each of the two legs. In order to validate the image processing software, an extensive experimental investigation was carried out, acquiring thermographic images of the rectus femoris muscle before, immediately post and 24, 48 and 72 hours after an acute bout of eccentric exercise (5 sets of 15 maximum repetitions), on males and females (20-30 year-old). Results indicate that the semi-automated approach provides an excellent bench-mark that can be used as a clinical reliable tool

This paper presents a method for the diagnosis of induction machines faults. The proposed method is capable to detect the presence of both dynamic eccentricity and broken rotor bar faults. Several studies have attempted to model an induction machine with isolated faults and provide methods for detecting them. However, the challenge begins, with the occurrence of combined defects which produce fault signatures that are difficult to separate. The novel proposed method is based on the measured air-gap magnetic flux density spectrum, which allows for the detection of combined faults. A finite element method is used for modelling the induction machine under faulty conditions, where the faults of rotor bars are created by a deleting operation of the boundary condition which is added to the air-gap part. Then, the dynamic eccentricity is formed by the movements of the rotating rotor’s centre with different ratings. From a modelling perspective, the contribution of the current work is the establishment of the relation of the air-gap of the rotor for modelling this kind of eccentricity fault. In addition, the proposed model of the air-gap includes two parts; one related to the stator and another one to the rotor, called statoric air-gap and rotoric air-gap respectively. The rotoric air-gap is employed for the dynamic eccentricity modelling. Computer simulations are presented using the air-gap magnetic vector and the magnetic field in X and Y components, to confirm the robustness of the proposed technique. Finally, the air-gap magnetic flux density spectrum is used for the analysis of combined rotor faults.

Cardiotocography (CTG) is a standard tool for the assessment of fetal well-being during pregnancy and delivery. However, its interpretation is associated with high inter- and intra-observer variability. Since its introduction there have been numerous attempts to develop computerized systems assisting the evaluation of the CTG recording. Nevertheless these systems are still hardly used in a delivery ward. Two main approaches to computerized evaluation are encountered in the literature; the first one emulates existing guidelines, while the second one is more of a data-driven approach using signal processing and computational methods. The latter employs preprocessing, feature extraction/selection and a classifier that discriminates between two or more classes/conditions. These classes are often formed using the umbilical cord artery pH value measured after delivery. In this work an approach to Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) classification using pH is presented that could serve as a benchmark for reporting results on the unique open-access CTU-UHB CTG database, the largest and the only freely available database of this kind. The overall results using a very small number of features and a Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) classifier, are in accordance to the ones encountered in the literature and outperform the results of a baseline classification scheme proving the utility of using advanced data processing methods. Therefore the achieved results can be used as a benchmark for future research involving more informative features and/or better classification algorithms.