A fuzzy logic map matching for wheelchair navigation

Global Positioning System (GPS) plays a central role in solving the location-based needs of wheelchair users and efficient route guidance. An essential process in wheelchair navigation is matching the position obtained from GPS or other sensors on a sidewalk network. This process of map matching in turn assists in making decisions under uncertainty. However, GPS-based wheelchair navigation systems have difficulties in tracking wheelchairs in urban areas due to poor satellite availability. To overcome this, a fuzzy logic-based algorithm is applied to effectively perform matching wheelchair movements on sidewalks. Fuzzy logic, based on fuzzy reasoning concepts, in many circumstances can take noisy and imprecise input to yield numerically accurate output. Experiments on a university campus validate it practicable.     

In situ study of the $$ R\overline{3} c \to R\overline{3} m $$ orientational disorder in calcite

The temperature dependences of the crystal structure and intensities of the (113) and (211) reflections in calcite, CaCO₃, were studied using Rietveld structure refinements based on synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data. Calcite transforms from to at about T _c = 1,240 K. A CO₃ group occupies, statistically, two positions with equal frequency in the disordered phase, but with unequal frequency in the partially ordered phase. One position for the CO₃ group is rotated by 180° with respect to the other. The unequal occupancy of the two orientations in the partially ordered phase is obtained directly from the occupancy factor, x, for the O1 site and gives rise to the order parameter, S = 2x − 1. The a cell parameter shows a negative thermal expansion at low T, followed by a plateau region at higher T, then a steeper contraction towards T _c, where the CO₃ groups disorder in a rapid process. Using a modified Bragg–Williams model, fits were obtained for the order parameter S, and for the intensities of the (113) and (211) reflections. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Bar structure in an arid ephemeral stream

This study describes the structure of gravel bars in Nahal Zin, an ephemeral stream in the Negev desert. The internal structure of the bars was examined along trenches and in shallow pits. Gravel sheets and unit bars form during transporting flow events in the main channel, on intra-bar channels and near bar heads. Unit bars are dominated by the Go facies. Compound bars develop from accretion around, and modification of, unit bars. Compound bars are active under the current flow regime and the average depth of the fill layer is about 35 cm. The structure of compound bars is dominated by Gm (massive), containing large amounts of sand. The second most common facies is clast-supported, openwork, and well sorted sediments of the Go (pebbles) facies. Bar formation, and the development of the range of facies evident in the bars is controlled by sediment supply, particularly the high volumes of sand-sized sediment, the passage of gravel sheets and bedforms during floods, and the lateral and vertical instability of the channel. Repeated scour and fill events have produced a diverse arrangement of facies, with numerous erosional contacts between depositional units. Lateral and downstream shifts in the pattern of scour and fill due to flow and antecedent conditions shape the channel morphology and bar internal structure. Ephemeral river bars differ from those of humid and proglacial rivers in terms of the dominant facies present, the arrangement of the facies within the bars, and the sedimentary structures developed within the depositional units and on the bar surface.     

Gaussian Process Emulators for Computer Experiments with Inequality Constraints

Physical phenomena are observed in many fields (science and engineering) and are often studied by time-consuming computer codes. These codes are analyzed with statistical models, often called emulators. In many situations, the physical system (computer model output) may be known to satisfy inequality constraints with respect to some or all input variables. The aim is to build a model capable of incorporating both data interpolation and inequality constraints into a Gaussian process emulator. By using a functional decomposition, a finite-dimensional approximation of Gaussian processes such that all conditional simulations satisfy the inequality constraints in the entire domain is proposed. To show the performance of the proposed model, some conditional simulations with inequality constraints such as boundedness, monotonicity or convexity conditions in one and two dimensions are given. A simulation study to investigate the efficiency of the method in terms of prediction is included.     

Saghro Group in the Ougnat Massif (Morocco), an evidence for a continuous Cadomian basin along the northern West African Craton

The Saghro Group (SG) is a folded, low-grade volcano-sedimentary series up to 8 km thick that crops out within and to the north of the Pan-African suture zone in the central and eastern Anti-Atlas. Here we describe the SG of the Ougnat inliers that are exposed in the easternmost Anti-Atlas beneath the unconformable, Late Ediacaran Ouarzazate Group (OZG) volcanic rocks. The Ougnat SG mostly consists of volcaniclastic greywackes accumulated in a peritidal-to-shallow basin. The basin infilling was deformed by NNE-trending, mostly upright folds with axial-planar slaty cleavage and low-grade metamorphism. The deformed SG rocks were intruded by the ～550 Ma Mellab hypovolcanic granodiorite. The latter also crosscuts the lowest OZG rocks that are dated to 574–571 Ma in the western Saghro region. The SG rocks that form the Siroua and Saghro inliers have an oldest age of 620–610 Ma and were folded at ～610–580 Ma at the onset of the Cadomian orogenic events. We show that the SG rocks are similar to the “Série verte” (SV) rocks that are exposed in the Ougarta and western Hoggar east of the Pan-African suture. We infer that the SG and SV rocks accumulated in a same, continuous basin that was bounding the West African Craton to the north and the east. This strongly subsiding basin formed close to a volcanic arc and was folded during the last Pan-African synmetamorphic events. Fold orientation and age of folding differ however along the edge of the West African Craton. The orogenic greywackes that form the remnants of the SG-SV basin thus constitute a precious record of the diachronic Cadomian event s.l. along the West African Craton northern margin.     

An adaptive framework for spectral-spatial classification based on a combination of pixel-based and object-based scenarios

Remotely sensed image analysis using spectral-spatial information plays a key role in modern remote sensing applications. This article presents a new semi-automatic framework for spectral-spatial classification of hyperspectral images. The proposed framework benefits from a combination of pixel-based and object-based classification scenarios in which the main parameters are adaptively tuned. In order to reduce the complexity of the method, an unsupervised band selection technique is used as well. Meanwhile, the wavelet thresholding is applied in order to smooth the selected bands. The classification results after applying the proposed method to well-known standard hyperspectral datasets are better than those of the most of the other state-of-the-art approaches. As an example, the overall classification accuracy achieved by applying the proposed semi-automatic spectral-spatial classification framework to the Salinas dataset is more than 99% for 10% training samples per class. Moreover, the vital parameters are adaptively set in our approach.     

Spatial patterns of submerged macrophytes and heavy metals in the hypertrophic, contaminated, shallow reservoir Lake Qattieneh/Syria

Our investigation on macrophytes in Lake Qattieneh, a large, shallow reservoir in western Syria, is a first assessment of ecological status of this lake. We studied spatial distribution patterns of aquatic macrophyte vegetation and heavy metal concentrations to determine if they can be used as indicators of point sources of pollution. Industrial and municipal point sources at the lake shore increase nutrient load and contamination by heavy metals. Water analyses revealed high concentrations of some heavy metals at some littoral sites: Ni 88.7 μg L⁻¹, Cr 49.99 μg L⁻¹, Co 14.38 μg L⁻¹, and Cu 11.65 μg L⁻¹. Despite hypertrophic conditions and high heavy metal contamination, we recorded several submerged macrophyte species with heterogeneous spatial distribution patterns. Whereas Potamogeton pectinatus L. dominates in the eastern part of the lake, near industrial point sources, both Myriophyllum spicatum L. and Potamogeton lucens L. form extended patches in the western part of the lake. The shallow, littoral areas near villages are dominated by Ranunculus trichophyllus Chaix in Villars and Ceratophyllum demersum L. The west-east gradient in nutrient and heavy metal concentrations in waters and sediments are reflected by the spatial distribution of submersed species. While the heavy metal concentrations of the water body vary considerably in different seasons, the contents in submersed macrophytes integrate seasonal variations of longer time periods. Spatial distribution and tissue accumulation of littoral macrophyte species reflect the environmental conditions at respective sites such as heavy metal contents in water and sediment.     

Multiple-point geostatistical simulation using enriched pattern databases

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment - This study presents a new approach of generating a set of alternative training images (ATI) to use in patch-based multiple-point simulation....     

Video‐based gravel transport measurements with a flume mounted light table

The study of bedload transport processes is constrained by an inability to monitor the mass, volume and grain size distribution of sediment in transport at high temporal frequencies. Building upon a previously published design, we have integrated a high‐resolution (1392 × 1024 pixels) video camera with a light table to continuously capture images of 2–181 mm material exiting a flume. The images are continuously recorded at a rate of 15 to 20 frames per second and are post‐processed using LabView^(?) software, yielding continuous grain‐size‐specific transport information on a per second basis. The video capture rate is sufficient to record multiple images of each grain leaving the flume so that particle velocities can be measured automatically. No manual image processing is required. After calibration the method is accurate and precise for sediment in the 2 mm through to 45 mm grain size classes compared with other means of measuring bedload. Based on a set of validation samples, no statistically significant difference existed between the D₁₀, D₁₆, D₂₅, D₅₀, D₇₅, D₈₄, D₉₀ and D₉₅ determined by sieving captured samples and the D_i values determined with the system. On average the system overpredicted transport by 4 per cent (n = 206, SD = 42%). This error can be corrected easily by simply weighing the mass of sediment that leaves the flume. The technology is relatively inexpensive and provides high‐resolution data on coarse sediment transport out of a flume. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.