Quantitative Investigation of Hand Grasp Functionality: Thumb Grasping Behavior Adapting to Different Object Shapes, Sizes, and Relative Positions

This paper is the first in the two-part series quantitatively modelling human grasp functionality and understanding the way human grasp objects. The aim is to investigate the thumb movement behavior influenced by object shapes, sizes, and relative positions. Ten subjects were requested to grasp six objects ( 3 shapes × 2 sizes ) in 27 different relative positions ( 3 X deviation × 3 Y deviation × 3 Z deviation ). Thumb postures were investigated to each specific joint. The relative position ( X , Y , and Z deviation) significantly affects thumb opposition rotation (Rot) and flexion (interphalangeal (IP) and metacarpo-phalangeal (MCP)), while the object property (object shape and size) significantly affects thumb abduction/adduction (ABD) motion. Based on the F value, the Y deviation has the primary effects on thumb motion. When the Y deviation changing from proximal to distal, thumb opposition rotation (Rot) and flexion (IP and MCP joint) angles were increased and decreased, respectively. For principal component analysis (PCA) results, thumb grasp behavior can be accurately reconstructed by first two principal components (PCs) which variance explanation ratio reached 93.8% and described by the inverse and homodromous coordination movement between thumb opposition and IP flexion. This paper provides a more comprehensive understanding of thumb grasp behavior. The postural synergies can reproduce the anthropomorphic motion, reduce the robot hardware, and control dimensionality. All of these provide a more accurate and general basis for the design and control of the bionic thumb and novel wearable assistant robot, thumb function assessment, and rehabilitation.

A Scan-to-BIM Methodology Applied to Stone Pavements in Archaeological Sites

The transition from Building Information Modelling (BIM) to Heritage Building Information Modelling (H-BIM) is intended to pursue an adequate knowledge of the artefact that is to be preserved, progressively replacing the traditional methods of restoration and structural reinforcement projects with new tools for the management of both existing information and new interventions. The aim of the paper is to show the application of the H-BIM method to a stone pavement road located in the Archaeological Site of Pompeii. In detail, starting from a laser scanner-based survey, juxtaposed with coordinated points georeferenced through a total station, point clouds were handled by means of several BIM-based tools to perform the road design process, starting from the digital elevation model (DEM) and proceeding to the corridor representation. Subsequently, a visual programming application based on Python language was adopted to update the corridor information by means of the object property set. As preliminary results, a tool, complete with graphical and non-graphical information, is proposed to be used in conservation, maintenance and restoration projects.

Modeling of Passenger Transport Logistics Based on Intelligent Computational Techniques

The paper describes the analysis of the application of classic and optimized triangular norms in the hierarchical structure of weighted fuzzy Petri nets on the example of passenger transport logistics. The research is presented in a scheme with several levels of tasks. Each task includes some knowledge sets which were previously given by the experts and set into tables of “Object–property” type. It leads to the creation of a hierarchical structure of weighted fuzzy Petri net model which includes 125 possible combinations of triples of functions for calculation processing. A classic triple of functions (ZtN, GtN, ZsN) is tested and compared with an optimized triple (ZtN, ZtN, LsN). Additional verification methods are applied to confirm the practical usefulness of these triples. These techniques imply the use of additional triples which can be associated with each other along with practically efficient mathematical calculations.

Toward a systematic conflict resolution framework for ontologies

Background The ontology authoring step in ontology development involves having to make choices about what subject domain knowledge to include. This may concern sorting out ontological differences and making choices between conflicting axioms due to limitations in the logic or the subject domain semantics. Examples are dealing with different foundational ontologies in ontology alignment and OWL 2 DL’s transitive object property versus a qualified cardinality constraint. Such conflicts have to be resolved somehow. However, only isolated and fragmented guidance for doing so is available, which therefore results in ad hoc decision-making that may not be the best choice or forgotten about later. Results This work aims to address this by taking steps towards a framework to deal with the various types of modeling conflicts through meaning negotiation and conflict resolution in a systematic way. It proposes an initial library of common conflicts, a conflict set, typical steps toward resolution, and the software availability and requirements needed for it. The approach was evaluated with an actual case of domain knowledge usage in the context of epizootic disease outbreak, being avian influenza, and running examples with COVID-19 ontologies. Conclusions The evaluation demonstrated the potential and feasibility of a conflict resolution framework for ontologies.

Effects of Aging on Conditional Visuomotor Learning for Grasping and Lifting Eccentrically Weighted Objects

Explicit knowledge of object center of mass or CM location fails to guide anticipatory scaling of digit forces necessary for dexterous manipulation. We previously showed that allowing young adults to choose where to grasp the object entailed an ability to use arbitrary color cues about object CM location to gradually minimize object tilt across several trials. This conditional learning was achieved through accurate anticipatory modulation of digit position using the color cues. However, it remains unknown how aging affects the ability to use explicit color cues about object CM location to modulate digit placement for dexterous manipulation. We instructed healthy older and young adults to learn a manipulation task using arbitrary color cues about object CM location. Subjects were required to exert clockwise, counterclockwise, or no torque on the object according to the color cue and lift the object while minimizing its tilt. Older adults produced larger torque error during conditional learning trials, resulting in a slower rate of learning than young adults. Importantly, older adults showed impaired anticipatory modulation of digit position when information of the CM location was available via explicit color cues. The older adults also did not modulate their digit forces to compensate for this impairment. Interestingly, however, anticipatory modulation of digit position was intact in the same individuals when information of object CM location was implicitly conveyed from trial-to-trial. We discuss our findings in relation to age-dependent changes in processes and neural network essential for learning dexterous manipulation using arbitrary color cue about object property.

Kalman observer design for marine craft models represented in frequency domain

В статье описывается предложенный авторами новый подход к построению стационарного оптимального наблюдателя Калмана по частотной характеристике линейного динамического объекта. Предложенный подход может иметь множество практических применений в задачах управления и анализа состояния морских судов так как различные частные виды движений судов описываются линейными динамическими стационарными моделями представленными изначально именно в частотной области. В частности в работе рассматривается задача оценки состояния системы курсового автопилота, использующего только измерения компаса. Для достижения цели работы – построения соотношений для определения наблюдателя Калмана по частотной характеристике объекта, использовался один из методов поиска решения стабилизирующего решения алгебраического уравнения Риккати – метод резольвенты. Модификация метода резольвенты позволила осуществить целевое построение с привлечением дополнительного условия на свойство линейного динамического объекта, сужающего область применения предложенного подхода до только полностью наблюдаемых объектов. A new approach which constructs a steady-state optimal Kalman observer by frequency response of a linear dynamic object is proposed in the paper. The proposed approach tend to have many practical applications in the area of control and state analysis of sea vessels problems, since various particular ship movements types described by linear dynamic stationary models presented initially in the frequency domain. In particular, the paper considers the problem of assessing the state of the system of the course autopilot using only compass measurements. To achieve the goal of the work - constructing relations for determining the Kalman observer by the object frequency characteristic, one of the algebraic Riccati equation solution method was improved. It was the resolvent method. The proposed resolvent method modification allows reaching the paper goal under one additional auxiliary condition to the linear dynamic object property. The condition narrows the scope of the proposed approach to only completely observable objects.

Semantic Potential of the Speech Pattern not exactly..., but in the Context of Expressing Opinion

The article deals with the logical analysis of a syntactic Russian pattern ‘ne to chtoby..., no’ (“not exactly..., but”, “I would say … a sort of”), the turn widely used in the practical reasoning. Its usage is underpinned by two major reasons - dialogical nature of the speech activity as well as one’s desire to accentuate his or her position in the debate. But it is also related to one’s aspiration to rectify the assessment, to uncertainty in choosing adequate words, and sometimes the need to increase the expressiveness of the message. In its essence, the relationship between the two parts of the pattern separated by conjunction “no” (“but”) is dialogically polemical. The first conjunct signals an approximate character of the chosen nomination or qualification, it represents a kind of preliminary assessment marked by semantics of doubt, while the second makes the necessary adjustments so as to better characterize the subject of speech. This alternative, albeit not always exhaustive definition may belong to categories of knowledge, opinion or belief. Whatever were the subject of evaluation - object, property, state or action, - the “rectifying” description / nomination / qualification placed in the second part of the construction after the conjunction ‘no” (“but”) can be identified in all cases of use as the attitude for understanding a relative accuracy of its expression. Moreover, it is possible to establish how adequate the object’s qualification is in a given context of expressing opinion only within the framework of a given opinion setting, including what the subject of opinion thinks, what he is convinced of, or believes in. It is impossible to know in advance whether such an opinion is reliable or not from the objective point of view, but it is possible to assert its unconditional credibility within the accepted framework of a certain system of ideas, e.g. what should be in an “acceptable situation” properties, activities or states of the object of judgment to be assessed. In this context, it is not the denotatum that is actually brought into focus of attention, but rather its qualifications or characteristics (they is the meaning of the item) within the scope of the propositional attitude of opinion.

Heritage-BIM Workflow for Stone Pavements Digital Reproduction

The transition from Building Information Modelling (BIM) to Heritage Building Information Modelling (H-BIM) is intended to pursue an adequate knowledge of the artefact that is to be preserved, progressively replacing the traditional methods of the restoration and structural reinforcement projects with new tools for managing both existing information and new interventions. The aim of the paper is to show the application of the H-BIM method to a stone pavement road located in the Archaeological Site of Pompeii. In detail, starting from a Laser Scanner based survey, juxtaposed by coordinated points georeferenced through a total station, points clouds were handled by means of several BIM-based tools to perform the road design process, starting from the digital elevation model (DEM) to the corridor representation. Subsequently, a visual programming application based on Python language was adopted to update corridor information by means of the object property set. As preliminary results, a tool, complete with graphical and non-graphical information, is proposed to be used in conservation, maintenance and restoration project.

Inferring object properties from human interaction and transferring them to new motions

Humans regularly interact with their surrounding objects. Such interactions often result in strongly correlated motions between humans and the interacting objects. We thus ask: “Is it possible to infer object properties from skeletal motion alone, even without seeing the interacting object itself?” In this paper, we present a fine-grained action recognition method that learns to infer such latent object properties from human interaction motion alone. This inference allows us to disentangle the motion from the object property and transfer object properties to a given motion. We collected a large number of videos and 3D skeletal motions of performing actors using an inertial motion capture device. We analyzed similar actions and learned subtle differences between them to reveal latent properties of the interacting objects. In particular, we learned to identify the interacting object, by estimating its weight, or its spillability. Our results clearly demonstrate that motions and interacting objects are highly correlated and that related object latent properties can be inferred from 3D skeleton sequences alone, leading to new synthesis possibilities for motions involving human interaction. Our dataset is available at http://vcc.szu.edu.cn/research/2020/IT.html.

Implementation of an approach for variable data insertion procedures synthesis for structureindependent databases

The aim of this work is to implement an approach for the synthesis of variable data insertion procedures for structureindependent databases. This approach makes it possible to synthesize procedures for inserting data into databases, in which two types of inhomogeneities will be absent: inhomogeneities associated with various forms of representation of minimal structural units; semantic heterogeneities associated with the use of elements that are semantically heterogeneous to the elements of the structure of a structure-independent database. Due to the absence of these inhomogeneities, the productivity of the procedures will be increased in comparison with the initial one. The approbation is carried out on the example of a structure-independent database based on the Tenzer data model. As a result of the work carried out, the following were obtained: the minimum unit of data storage for the database, built on the basis of the Tenzer model; algorithm of action using the developed minimum data storage unit; procedure code. As the minimum data storage unit, a triple of the form <Object, Property, Value> was chosen, and checking the obtained algorithm of actions showed that all the elements present are homogeneous to the database structure based on the Tenzer data model, which indicates the successful testing of this approach.