Background: Profiling the plant root architecture is vital for selecting resilient crops that can efficiently take up water and nutrients. The high-performance imaging tools available to study root-growth dynamics with the optimal resolution are costly and stationary. In addition, performing nondestructive high-throughput phenotyping to extract the structural and morphological features of roots remains challenging. Results: We developed the MultipleXLab: a modular, mobile, and cost-effective setup to tackle these limitations. The system can continuously monitor thousands of seeds from germination to root development based on a conventional camera attached to a motorized multiaxis-rotational stage and custom-built 3D-printed plate holder with integrated light-emitting diode lighting. We also developed an image segmentation model based on deep learning that allows the users to analyze the data automatically. We tested the MultipleXLab to monitor seed germination and root growth of Arabidopsis developmental, cell cycle, and auxin transport mutants non-invasively at high-throughput and showed that the system provides robust data and allows precise evaluation of germination index and hourly growth rate between mutants. Conclusion: MultipleXLab provides a flexible and user-friendly root phenotyping platform that is an attractive mobile alternative to high-end imaging platforms and stationary growth chambers. It can be used in numerous applications by plant biologists, the seed industry, crop scientists, and breeding companies.
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In order to design effective Persuasive Technology (PT) interventions, it is essential that designers understand the multitude of factors that lead to behavioral change, rather than guessing at a solution or imitating successful techniques without understanding why. The few available PT design frameworks solely distinguish behavioral determinants on an individual (micro) level (e.g., motivation), whereas successfully persuading a user is a multifaceted and complex task depending also on factors on a meso (e.g., available resources) and macro (e.g., social support and praise) level. We developed an analysis grid that enables PT designers to acknowledge the multifaceted character of determinants leading to behavioral change and select appropriate PT channels and strategies, preventing the failure of PT design. This analysis grid was validated in a case study in which we designed a PT intervention aimed at reporting minor crime incidents among citizens.
Met toestemming overgenomen uit Microniek, 2020, nr. 5 A stereo-vision system that was developed for application in mobile robots turned outto lack depth resolution in the background of the pictures. A simulator was built togain understanding of the parameters that influence depth estimation in stereo vision.In this article we will explain how these properties influence depth resolution andprovide a link to the webtool that was made to interactively observe and evaluate theresulting depth resolution when the parameters are varied. This tool makes it possibleto find the correct hardware that provides the resolution required, or to determinethe resolution for specific hardware.
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De overheid neemt steeds meer maatregelen in het kader van de veiligheid die tot gevolg hebben dat de privacy van burgers wordt ingeperkt. In hoeverre is de staat gelegitimeerd om dergelijke privacyinperkende maatregelen te nemen?Doel Het doel is om tot een afwegingsmodel te komen waarbij enerzijds wordt gekeken naar de waarde van privacy ten aanzien van de inperking en anderzijds wordt gekeken naar de verschillende factoren van veiligheid (Powell). Het model van Powell ten aanzien van de verschillende factoren van veiligheid is aangepast aan de context van het onderzoek. Daarnaast wordt de theorie van Dworkin ‘Rights as trumps’ gebruikt om tot een juiste afweging te komen. Resultaten Lees het artikel: The Value of Privacy and Surveillance Drones in the Public Domain: Scrutinizing the Dutch Flexible Deployment of Mobile Cameras Act in het Journal of Politics and Law Archives Vol. 10, No. 5 (2017) door Gerdo Kuiper en Quirine Eijkman. Looptijd 01 september 2012 - 01 augustus 2020 Aanpak De verschillende dimensies en waarde van privacy worden bekeken vanuit de geschiedenis van privacy in een Nederlandse en Amerikaanse context. Aan de hand van een historische- en een analytische beschouwing van het concept veiligheid wordt het model van Powell ten aanzien van de factoren veiligheid aangepast aan de context van dit onderzoek.
The demand for mobile agents in industrial environments to perform various tasks is growing tremendously in recent years. However, changing environments, security considerations and robustness against failure are major persistent challenges autonomous agents have to face when operating alongside other mobile agents. Currently, such problems remain largely unsolved. Collaborative multi-platform Cyber- Physical-Systems (CPSs) in which different agents flexibly contribute with their relative equipment and capabilities forming a symbiotic network solving multiple objectives simultaneously are highly desirable. Our proposed SMART-AGENTS platform will enable flexibility and modularity providing multi-objective solutions, demonstrated in two industrial domains: logistics (cycle-counting in warehouses) and agriculture (pest and disease identification in greenhouses). Aerial vehicles are limited in their computational power due to weight limitations but offer large mobility to provide access to otherwise unreachable places and an “eagle eye” to inform about terrain, obstacles by taking pictures and videos. Specialized autonomous agents carrying optical sensors will enable disease classification and product recognition improving green- and warehouse productivity. Newly developed micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor arrays will create 3D flow-based images of surroundings even in dark and hazy conditions contributing to the multi-sensor system, including cameras, wireless signatures and magnetic field information shared among the symbiotic fleet. Integration of mobile systems, such as smart phones, which are not explicitly controlled, will provide valuable information about human as well as equipment movement in the environment by generating data from relative positioning sensors, such as wireless and magnetic signatures. Newly developed algorithms will enable robust autonomous navigation and control of the fleet in dynamic environments incorporating the multi-sensor data generated by the variety of mobile actors. The proposed SMART-AGENTS platform will use real-time 5G communication and edge computing providing new organizational structures to cope with scalability and integration of multiple devices/agents. It will enable a symbiosis of the complementary CPSs using a combination of equipment yielding efficiency and versatility of operation.
