Self-correcting Sun Compass, Spherical Geometry and Cue-transfers Predict Naïve Migratory Performance

Migratory orientation of many animals is inheritable, enabling naïve migrants to reach remote destinations independently following stepwise (often, nightly) geomagnetic or celestial cues. Which if any such “compass courses” can explain narrow-front trans-continental routes remains unresolved, and evident error-corrections by naïve migrants remain unexplained. We assessed robustness to errors among airborne compass courses and quantified inaugural migration performance globally, accounting for cue transfers (e.g., sun to star compass), in-flight cue maintenance, and previously-overlooked spherical-geometry (longitude) effects. We found (i) sun-compass courses partially self-correct, making them most robust between flight-steps, (ii) within nocturnal flight-steps, geomagnetic or star-compass headings outperform cue-transferred sun-compass steps, (iii) across diverse airborne migration routes, the relative favourability of sun-compass over other courses increases with increasing goal-area, required flight steps and a spherical-geometry factor. Our results can explain enhanced naïve migrant performance, observed diversity in compass-cue hierarchies, and sun-compass orientation being key to many long-distance inaugural migrations.

Imitation learning-based framework for learning 6-D linear compliant motions

We present a novel method for learning from demonstration 6-D tasks that can be modeled as a sequence of linear motions and compliances. The focus of this paper is the learning of a single linear primitive, many of which can be sequenced to perform more complex tasks. The presented method learns from demonstrations how to take advantage of mechanical gradients in in-contact tasks, such as assembly, both for translations and rotations, without any prior information. The method assumes there exists a desired linear direction in 6-D which, if followed by the manipulator, leads the robot’s end-effector to the goal area shown in the demonstration, either in free space or by leveraging contact through compliance. First, demonstrations are gathered where the teacher explicitly shows the robot how the mechanical gradients can be used as guidance towards the goal. From the demonstrations, a set of directions is computed which would result in the observed motion at each timestep during a demonstration of a single primitive. By observing which direction is included in all these sets, we find a single desired direction which can reproduce the demonstrated motion. Finding the number of compliant axes and their directions in both rotation and translation is based on the assumption that in the presence of a desired direction of motion, all other observed motion is caused by the contact force of the environment, signalling the need for compliance. We evaluate the method on a KUKA LWR4+ robot with test setups imitating typical tasks where a human would use compliance to cope with positional uncertainty. Results show that the method can successfully learn and reproduce compliant motions by taking advantage of the geometry of the task, therefore reducing the need for localization accuracy.

Goalpost Detection Using Omnidirectional Cameras on ERSOW Soccer Robots

The ERSOW robot is a soccer robot developed by Politeknik Elektronika Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia. One important ability of a soccer robot is the ability to find the goal in the field. Goal Post is often used as a sign by soccer robots in a match. The mark is a reference robot in the field to be used in determining the strategy. By knowing the location of the goal in a field, the soccer robot can make the decision to maneuver in the match to get the right goal kick. There are various methods of detecting goal. One of them is to detect goal post using vision. In this study the radial search lines method is used to detect the goalposts as markers. Image input is generated from an omnidirectional camera. The goal area that is detected is the front side of the goal area. With experiments from 10 robot position points in the field, only 1 position point cannot detect the goal. The robot cannot detect the goal because what is seen from the camera is the side of the goal, so the front side of the goal area is not visible.Keywords— omnidirectional camera, vision, radial search lines, goal detection, ersow soccer robot

Goalpost Detection Using Omnidirectional Cameras on ERSOW Soccer Robots

The ERSOW robot is a soccer robot developed by Politeknik Elektronika Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia. One important ability of a soccer robot is the ability to find the goal in the field. Goal Post is often used as a sign by soccer robots in a match. The mark is a reference robot in the field to be used in determining the strategy. By knowing the location of the goal in a field, the soccer robot can decide to maneuver in the match to get the right goal kick. There are various methods of detecting goals. One of them is to detect goal posts using vision. In this study, the radial search lines method is used to detect the goalposts as markers. Image input is generated from an omnidirectional camera. The goal area is detected on the front side of the goal area. With experiments from 10 robot position points in the field, only 1 position point cannot detect the goal. The robot cannot detect the goal because what is seen from the camera is the side of the goal, so the front side of the goal area is not visible.

ACRL Board of Directors’ actions, June 2019: Highlights of the Board’s Annual Conference meetings

During the 2019 ALA Annual Conference Meeting in Washington, D.C., the ACRL Board of Directors met on June 22 and June 24. The Board met with the leaders of its four goal-area committees: Value of Academic Libraries, Student Learning and Information Literacy, Research and Scholarly Environment, and New Roles and Changing Landscapes to assess progress on the Plan for Excellence. With feedback from the Board, these committees will finalize their reports and develop their work plans for 2019–2020.

ACRL Board of Directors’ actions, January 2019: Highlights of the Board’s Midwinter meetings

During the 2019 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, the ACRL Board of Directors met on January 26 and January 28. The Board met with the leaders of its four goal-area committees—New Roles and Changing Landscapes, Research and Scholarly Environment, Student Learning and Information Literacy, and Value of Academic Libraries—to assess progress on the Plan for Excellence.

ACRL Board of Directors’ actions, June 2018: Highlights of the Board’s Annual Conference meetings

During the 2018 ALA Annual Conference Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, the ACRL Board of Directors met on June 23 and June 25. The Board met with the leaders of its four goal-area committees: Value of Academic Libraries, Student Learning and Information Literacy, Research and Scholarly Environment, and New Roles and Changing Landscapes to assess progress on the Plan for Excellence.

Offensive and Defensive Play in Handball in a 2-Year World Championship Cycle: Characteristics and Tendencies

Introduction. The analysis of players’ performance with respect to technical-tactical actions is becoming a key factor influencing the focus of training programmes and the contents of training units. It also provides important information which can be used to improve players’ efficiency during the game. The aim of the current study was to analyse the efficiency of technicaltactical offensive actions in positional attack as well as defensive actions performed by handball players participating in two consecutive World Men’s Handball Championships, held in Spain in 2013 and in Qatar in 2015. Material and methods. The material subjected to analysis was data describing the technical-tactical actions performed during the World Championships in Spain in 2013 and in Qatar in 2015. We analysed offensive and defensive actions, including with regard to the continent the teams represented. We performed an analysis of the documents available on the IHF website. The significance of the differences found was verified using analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA). Results. The study found a significantly lower number of offensive actions in positional attack (−7.5%) and turnovers (−26.4%), higher overall efficiency (+7.2%), as well as higher efficiency of 6-m shots (+9.5%), wing shots (+7.3%), and breakthrough shots (+11.4%) at the World Championship in Qatar compared to tournament in Spain. When it comes to defensive actions, there was a significantly higher number of 2-minute suspensions (+27.5%), with a simultaneous significant reduction in the number of steals (−55.7%) and shots defended (−13.3%). Conclusions. During a two-year cycle, there was a change in the concept of playing in positional attack. In 2015, there was a significantly greater number of actions leading to a shot in the region of the opponent’s goal area as well as a higher level of activity and more aggressive play on the part of defensive players. In addition, European teams had gained an advantage over teams from other continents in terms of the efficiency of the technical-tactical actions undertaken.

ACRL Board of Directors’ actions, February 2018

During the 2018 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver, the ACRL Board of Directors met on February 10 and February 12. The Board met with the leaders of its four goal-area committees: New Roles and Changing Landscapes, Research and Scholarly Environment, Student Learning and Information Literacy, and Value of Academic Libraries to assess progress on the Plan for Excellence.The Board also heard updates from ALA Treasurer Susan Hildreth and ALA CFO Mark Leon, the ALA Washington Office Associate Executive Director Kathi Kromer, as well as updates from representatives from the ACRL Diversity Alliance, ACRL Libraries Transform Implementation Task Force, Joint ACRL/LLAMA Interdivisional Committee on Building Resources, and ALA Council Committee on Legislation.

ACRL Board of Directors’ actions, June 2017: Highlights of the Board’s Annual Conference meetings

During the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, the ACRL Board of Directors met on June 24 and June 26. The Board met with the leaders of its four goal-area committees: Value of Academic Libraries, Student Learning and Information Literacy, Research and Scholarly Environment, and New Roles and Changing Landscapes to assess progress on the Plan for Excellence. With feedback from the Board, these committees will finalize their reports and develop their work plans for 2017–18.