scholarly journals Estimating Rooftop Areas of Poultry Houses Using UAV and Satellite Images

Drones ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
A. Bulent Koc ◽  
Patrick T. Anderson ◽  
John P. Chastain ◽  
Christopher Post
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Images ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Poultry Production ◽  
Climate Control ◽  
Mean Error ◽  
Poultry Houses ◽  
The Mean

Poultry production requires electricity for optimal climate control throughout the year. Demand for electricity in poultry production peaks during summer months when solar irradiation is also high. Installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the rooftops of poultry houses has potential for reducing the energy costs by reducing the electricity demand charges of utility companies. The objective of this research was to estimate the rooftop areas of poultry houses for possible PV installation using aerial images acquired with a commercially available low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Overhead images of 31 broiler houses were captured with a UAV to assess their potential for solar energy applications. Building plan dimensions were acquired and building heights were independently measured manually. Images were captured by flying the UAV in a double grid flight path at a 69-m altitude using an onboard 4K camera at an angle of −80° from the horizon with 70% and 80% overlaps. The captured images were processed using Agisoft Photoscan Professional photogrammetry software. Orthophotos of the study areas were generated from the acquired 3D image sequences using structure from motion (SfM) techniques. Building rooftop overhang obscured building footprint in aerial imagery. To accurately measure building dimensions, 0.91 m was subtracted from building roof width and 0.61 m was subtracted from roof length based on blueprint dimensions of the poultry houses. The actual building widths and lengths ranged from 10.8 to 184.0 m and the mean measurement error using the UAV-derived orthophotos was 0.69% for all planar dimensions. The average error for building length was 1.66 ± 0.48 m and the average error for widths was 0.047 ± 0.13 m. Building sidewall, side entrance and peak heights ranged from 1.9 to 5.6 m and the mean error was 0.06 ± 0.04 m or 1.2%. When compared to the horizontal accuracy of the same building measurements taken from readily available satellite imagery, the mean error in satellite images was −0.36%. The average length error was −0.46 ± 0.49 m and −0.44 ± 0.14 m for building widths. The satellite orthomosaics were more accurate for length estimations and the UAV orthomosaics were more accurate for width estimations. This disparity was likely due to the flight altitude, camera field of view, and building shape. The results proved that a low-cost UAV and photogrammetric SfM can be used to create digital surface models and orthomosaics of poultry houses without the need for survey-grade equipment or ground control points.

scholarly journals Pupil Size Prediction Techniques Based on Convolution Neural Network

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 4965
Author(s):  
Allen Jong-Woei Whang ◽  
Yi-Yung Chen ◽  
Wei-Chieh Tseng ◽  
Chih-Hsien Tsai ◽  
Yi-Ping Chao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Data Augmentation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Convolution Neural Network ◽  
Mean Error ◽  
Convolution Filter ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Prediction Techniques

The size of one’s pupil can indicate one’s physical condition and mental state. When we search related papers about AI and the pupil, most studies focused on eye-tracking. This paper proposes an algorithm that can calculate pupil size based on a convolution neural network (CNN). Usually, the shape of the pupil is not round, and 50% of pupils can be calculated using ellipses as the best fitting shapes. This paper uses the major and minor axes of an ellipse to represent the size of pupils and uses the two parameters as the output of the network. Regarding the input of the network, the dataset is in video format (continuous frames). Taking each frame from the videos and using these to train the CNN model may cause overfitting since the images are too similar. This study used data augmentation and calculated the structural similarity to ensure that the images had a certain degree of difference to avoid this problem. For optimizing the network structure, this study compared the mean error with changes in the depth of the network and the field of view (FOV) of the convolution filter. The result shows that both deepening the network and widening the FOV of the convolution filter can reduce the mean error. According to the results, the mean error of the pupil length is 5.437% and the pupil area is 10.57%. It can operate in low-cost mobile embedded systems at 35 frames per second, demonstrating that low-cost designs can be used for pupil size prediction.

Improvement in Workers' Performance through Feedback of Information on System Performance

1976 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor M. Catano
Keyword(s):  
Error Rate ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Routine Procedure ◽  
Mean Error ◽  
Average Error Rate ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Made In

Two groups of helicopter technicians filled out data forms after completing maintenance and repairs as routine procedure. When information stating what changes had been made in the system as a result of data collected from the forms was given to the experimental group, the mean error-rate in completing the forms fell significantly from 58.2% to 46.5%. The experimental group had a significantly lower average error-rate (24.6%) than the control (50.6%). The control group's performance was not different from pre-experimental levels.

scholarly journals The Globe Thermometer in Studies of Heating and Ventilation

1934 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 458-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Bedford ◽  
C. G. Warner
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Radiation Intensity ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Air Velocity ◽  
Mean Error ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Effects Of Radiation

The effects of radiation and convection on the globe thermometer have been studied.Equations have been obtained, and alignment charts constructed, for the calculation of mean radiation intensity and of equivalent temperature from readings of the globe thermometer, air temperature and air velocity.The accuracy of these methods has been tested on observations made under industrial conditions. Taking direct thermopile observations as the standard, the mean radiation intensity values calculated from globe thermometer readings had an average error of 1·2 B.Th.U. per sq. ft. per hour. With eupatheoscope readings as standard, equivalent temperature estimates had a mean error of 1·2°.It is concluded that, while globe thermometer readings alone are unreliable as indications of the effects of the thermal environment, valuable results can be obtained by using the instrument along with an ordinary thermometer and a silvered kata-thermometer.

Pilonidal Sinus: How to Choose Between Excision and Open Granulation Versus Excision and Primary Closure?

Swiss Surgery ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 255-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perruchoud ◽  
Vuilleumier ◽  
Givel
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Stay ◽  
Pilonidal Sinus ◽  
Primary Closure ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Length Of Hospital Stay ◽  
Healing Time ◽  
Incision And Drainage ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Primary Healing

Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate excision and open granulation versus excision and primary closure as treatments for pilonidal sinus. Subjects and methods: We evaluated a group of 141 patients operated on for a pilonidal sinus between 1991 and 1995. Ninety patients were treated by excision and open granulation, 34 patients by excision and primary closure and 17 patients by incision and drainage, as a unique treatment of an infected pilonidal sinus. Results: The first group, receiving treatment of excision and open granulation, experienced the following outcomes: average length of hospital stay, four days; average healing time; 72 days; average number of post-operative ambulatory visits, 40; average off-work delay, 38 days; and average follow-up time, 43 months. There were five recurrences (6%) in this group during the follow-up period. For the second group treated by excision and primary closure, the corresponding outcome measurements were as follows: average length of hospital stay, four days; average healing time, 23 days; primary healing failure rate, 9%; average number of post-operative ambulatory visits, 6; average off-work delay, 21 days. The average follow-up time was 34 months, and two recurrences (6%) were observed during the follow-up period. In the third group, seventeen patients benefited from an incision and drainage as unique treatment. The mean follow-up was 37 months. Five recurrences (29%) were noticed, requiring a new operation in all the cases. Discussion and conclusion: This series of 141 patients is too limited to permit final conclusions to be drawn concerning significant advantages of one form of treatment compared to the other. Nevertheless, primary closure offers the advantages of quicker healing time, fewer post-operative visits and shorter time off work. When a primary closure can be carried out, it should be routinely considered for socio-economical and comfort reasons.

Measurements of the excess volume of benzene-methanol, benzene-acetonitrile and methanol-acetonitrile mixtures by a vibrating-tube densimeter

1979 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Cibulka ◽  
Vladimír Hynek ◽  
Robert Holub ◽  
Jiří Pick
Keyword(s):  
Excess Volume ◽  
Density Measurement ◽  
Indirect Measurement ◽  
Measuring System ◽  
Mean Error ◽  
Shaped Tube ◽  
Underlying Principle ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Vibrating Tube Densimeter

A digital vibrating-tube densimeter was constructed for measuring the density of liquids at several temperatures. The underlying principle of the apparatus is the measurement of the period of eigen-vibrations of a V-shaped tube; the second power of the period of the vibrations is proportional to the density of the liquid in the tube. The temperature of the measuring system is controlled by an electronic regulator. The mean error in the density measurement is approximately ±1 . 10-5 g cm-3 at 25 °C and ±2 . 10-5 g cm-3 at 40 °C. The apparatus was used for an indirect measurement of the excess volume, tested with the benzene-cyclohexane system and further used for determining the excess volume of the benzene-methanol, benzene-acetonitrile and methanol-acetonitrile systems at 25 and 40 °C.

scholarly journals Utility-Scale PV-Battery versus CSP-Thermal Storage in Morocco: Storage and Cost Effect under Penetration Scenarios

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4675
Author(s):  
Ayat-allah Bouramdane ◽  
Alexis Tantet ◽  
Philippe Drobinski
Keyword(s):  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Storage Duration ◽  
Maximum Cost ◽  
Pv Inverter ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Variance Portfolio ◽  
Utility Scale

In this study, we examine how Battery Storage (BES) and Thermal Storage (TES) combined with solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies with an increased storage duration and rental cost together with diversification would influence the Moroccan mix and to what extent the variability (i.e., adequacy risk) can be reduced; this is done using recent (2013) cost data and under various penetration scenarios. To do this, we use MERRA-2 climate reanalysis to simulate hourly demand and capacity factors (CFs) of wind, solar PV and CSP without and with increasing storage capabilities—as defined by the CSP Solar Multiple (SM) and PV Inverter Loading Ratio (ILR). We adjust these time series to observations for the four Moroccan electrical zones over the year 2018. Our objective is to maximize the renewable (RE) penetration and minimize the imbalances between RE production and consumption considering three optimization strategies. We analyze mixes along Pareto fronts using the Mean-Variance Portfolio approach—implemented in the E4CLIM model—in which we add a maximum-cost constraint to take into account the different rental costs of wind, PV and CSP. We propose a method to calculate the rental cost of storage and production technologies taking into account the constraints on storage associated with the increase of SM and ILR in the added PV-BES and CSP-TES modules, keeping the mean solar CFs fixed. We perform some load bands-reduction diagnostics to assess the reliability benefits provided by each RE technology. We find that, at low penetrations, the maximum-cost budget is not reached because a small capacity is needed. The higher the ILR for PV, the larger the share of PV in the mix compared to wind and CSP without storage is removed completely. Between PV-BES and CSP-TES, the latter is preferred as it has larger storage capacity and thus stronger impact in reducing the adequacy risk. As additional BES are installed, more than TES, PV-BES is favored. At high penetrations, optimal mixes are impacted by cost, the more so as CSP (resp., PV) with high SM (resp., ILR) are installed. Wind is preferably installed due to its high mean CF compared to cost, followed by either PV-BES or CSP/CSP-TES. Scenarios without or with medium storage capacity favor CSP/CSP-TES, while high storage duration scenarios are dominated by low-cost PV-BES. However, scenarios ignoring the storage cost and constraints provide more weight to PV-BES whatever the penetration level. We also show that significant reduction of RE variability can only be achieved through geographical diversification. Technological complementarity may only help to reduce the variance when PV and CSP are both installed without or with a small amount of storage. However, the diversification effect is slightly smaller when the SM and ILR are increased and the covariances are reduced as well since mixes become less diversified.

scholarly journals Groups and Individuals: Optical Flow Patterns of Broiler Chicken Flocks Are Correlated with the Behavior of Individual Birds

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 568
Author(s):  
Sabine G. Gebhardt-Henrich ◽  
Ariane Stratmann ◽  
Marian Stamp Dawkins
Keyword(s):  
Optical Flow ◽  
Broiler Chicken ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Water Test ◽  
Mean And Variance ◽  
The Mean

Group level measures of welfare flocks have been criticized on the grounds that they give only average measures and overlook the welfare of individual animals. However, we here show that the group-level optical flow patterns made by broiler flocks can be used to deliver information not just about the flock averages but also about the proportion of individuals in different movement categories. Mean optical flow provides information about the average movement of the whole flock while the variance, skew and kurtosis quantify the variation between individuals. We correlated flock optical flow patterns with the behavior and welfare of a sample of 16 birds per flock in two runway tests and a water (latency-to-lie) test. In the runway tests, there was a positive correlation between the average time taken to complete the runway and the skew and kurtosis of optical flow on day 28 of flock life (on average slow individuals came from flocks with a high skew and kurtosis). In the water test, there was a positive correlation between the average length of time the birds remained standing and the mean and variance of flock optical flow (on average, the most mobile individuals came from flocks with the highest mean). Patterns at the flock level thus contain valuable information about the activity of different proportions of the individuals within a flock.

scholarly journals Economic Burden of Colorectal Cancer: A Case of Fars, Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 107327482110099
Author(s):  
Abdosaleh Jafari ◽  
Peyman Mehdi Alamdarloo ◽  
Mehdi Dehghani ◽  
Peivand Bastani ◽  
Ramin Ravangard
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Economic Burden ◽  
Purchasing Power Parity ◽  
Annual Cost ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Fars Province ◽  
Power Parity ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
The Mean

Among cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Some studies have shown that the incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing in Iran and in Fars province. The present study aimed to determine the economic burden of colorectal cancer in patients referred to the referral centers affiliated to Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2019 from the patients’ perspective. This is a partial economic evaluation and a cost-of-illness study conducted cross-sectionally in 2019. All the patients with colorectal cancer who had been referred to the referral centers affiliated to Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, and had medical records were studied through the census method (N = 96). A researcher-made data collection form was used to collect the cost data. The prevalence-based and bottom-up approaches were also used in this study. The human capital approach was applied to calculate indirect costs. The mean annual cost per patient with colorectal cancer in the present study was $10930.98 purchasing power parity (PPP) (equivalent to 5745.29 USD), the main part of which was the medical direct costs (74.86%). Also, among the medical direct costs per patient, the highest were those of surgeries (41.7%). In addition, the mean annual cost per patient with colorectal cancer in the country was $ 116917762 PPP (equivalent to 61451621.84 USD) in 2019. Regarding the considerable economic burden of colorectal cancer and in order to reduce the costs, these suggestions can be made: increasing the number of specialized beds through the cooperation of health donors, establishing free or low-cost accommodation centers for patients and their companions near the medical centers, using the Internet and cyberspace technologies to follow up the treatment of patients, and increasing insurance coverage and government drug subsidies on drug purchase.

SateLoc: A Virtual Fingerprinting Approach to Outdoor LoRa Localization Using Satellite Images

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Yuxiang Lin ◽  
Wei Dong ◽  
Yi Gao ◽  
Tao Gu
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Tracking Error ◽  
Location Based Services ◽  
Distance Constraint ◽  
Combination Strategy ◽  
Land Cover Types ◽  
High Resolution Satellite Images

With the increasing relevance of the Internet of Things and large-scale location-based services, LoRa localization has been attractive due to its low-cost, low-power, and long-range properties. However, existing localization approaches based on received signal strength indicators are either easily affected by signal fading of different land-cover types or labor intensive. In this work, we propose SateLoc, a LoRa localization system that utilizes satellite images to generate virtual fingerprints. Specifically, SateLoc first uses high-resolution satellite images to identify land-cover types. With the path loss parameters of each land-cover type, SateLoc can automatically generate a virtual fingerprinting map for each gateway. We then propose a novel multi-gateway combination strategy, which is weighted by the environmental interference of each gateway, to produce a joint likelihood distribution for localization and tracking. We implement SateLoc with commercial LoRa devices without any hardware modification, and evaluate its performance in a 227,500-m urban area. Experimental results show that SateLoc achieves a median localization error of 43.5 m, improving more than 50% compared to state-of-the-art model-based approaches. Moreover, SateLoc can achieve a median tracking error of 37.9 m with the distance constraint of adjacent estimated locations. More importantly, compared to fingerprinting-based approaches, SateLoc does not require the labor-intensive fingerprint acquisition process.

scholarly journals New Methodology for Computing the Aircraft’s Position Based on the PPP Method in GPS and GLONASS Systems

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2525
Author(s):  
Kamil Krasuski ◽  
Damian Wierzbicki
Keyword(s):  
Linear Combination ◽  
Research Method ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Weighting Scheme ◽  
Measurement Technology ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Weighted Mean ◽  
Mean Error ◽  
The Mean

In the field of air navigation, there is a constant pursuit for new navigation solutions for precise GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning of aircraft. This study aims to present the results of research on the development of a new method for improving the performance of PPP (Precise Point Positioning) positioning in the GPS (Global Positioning System) and GLONASS (Globalnaja Nawigacionnaja Sputnikovaya Sistema) systems for air navigation. The research method is based on a linear combination of individual position solutions from the GPS and GLONASS systems. The paper shows a computational scheme based on the linear combination for geocentric XYZ coordinates of an aircraft. The algorithm of the new research method uses the weighted mean method to determine the resultant aircraft position. The research method was tested on GPS and GLONASS kinematic data from an airborne experiment carried out with a Seneca Piper PA34-200T aircraft at the Mielec airport. A dual-frequency dual-system GPS/GLONASS receiver was placed on-board the plane, which made it possible to record GNSS observations, which were then used to calculate the aircraft’s position in CSRS-PPP software. The calculated XYZ position coordinates from the CSRS-PPP software were then used in the weighted mean model’s developed optimization algorithm. The measurement weights are a function of the number of GPS and GLONASS satellites and the inverse of the mean error square. The obtained coordinates of aircraft from the research model were verified with the RTK-OTF solution. As a result of the research, the presented solution’s accuracy is better by 11–87% for the model with a weighting scheme as a function of the inverse of the mean error square. Moreover, using the XYZ position from the RTKLIB program, the research method’s accuracy increases from 45% to 82% for the model with a weighting scheme as a function of the inverse of the square of mean error. The developed method demonstrates high efficiency for improving the performance of GPS and GLONASS solutions for the PPP measurement technology in air navigation.

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