Human-robot teams are invaluable for mapping unknown environments, exploring difficult-to-reach areas, and manipulating inaccessible equipment. However, guiding autonomous robots requires dealing with these dynamic domains while synthesizing a significant amount of data and balancing competing objectives. Current mission planning methods often involve manually specifying low-level parameters of the mission, such...
Operating autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) near shore is challenging—heavy shipping traffic and other hazards threaten AUV safety at the surface, and strong ocean currents impede navigation when underwater. Predictive models of ocean currents have been shown to improve navigation accuracy, but these forecasts are typically noisy, making it challenging to...
Since the 1970s, tendon-transfer surgeries have been routinely performed for a variety of conditions such as stroke, paralysis, spinal atrophy, trauma, and birth defects. The surgery involves rerouting a tendon from a disabled muscle and directly suturing it to a functioning muscle in order to partially restore hand function. This...
Mukti Ashram is a rehabilitation center in north India that works with ex-child laborer boys. Fieldwork completed at the ashram in 1997-98 centered around the issue of the organization's attempt to enact social change through the engineering of community within the ashram's walls. Several fundamental processes that contribute to this...
Deep learning has recently revolutionized robot perception in many canonical robotic applications, such as autonomous driving. However, a similar transformation has yet to occur in more harsh environments including underwater and underground. This is due in part to the difficulty in deploying robots in these environments, which lack large real...
Emerging applications for robotic data collection include ocean monitoring, emergency response and urban search and rescue. At the core of these applications is a robot's ability to make informed decisions on incomplete data. This dissertation addresses this problem by developing novel techniques for modeling and estimating structured environments using deep...
A growth chamber experiment was conducted to determine the
rate of S-urea mineralization and effect of S-urea on the yield of
ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) grown in Steiwer soil as influenced
by soil temperature (60, 75, and 90° F) and soil moisture stress
(0. 10, 0.35, and 2.50 bars). Plant yield,...
Includes 1922 Summer School Graduates.
In the following pages the information, so far as it has been possible to obtain it, is given in the following order for each alumnus: Name, year in which the degree was conferred, degree, course, present occupation, and present mailing address.
Performing autonomous robotic tasks in the field, such as ocean monitoring and aerial surveillance, requires planning and executing paths in dynamic environments. In these uncertain and changing environments, it is not uncommon to see a large difference between the path planned by the robotic vehicle and the path that the...