Review of Vision-Based Environmental Perception for Lower-Limb Exoskeleton Robots

The exoskeleton robot is a wearable electromechanical device inspired by animal exoskeletons. It combines technologies such as sensing, control, information, and mobile computing, enhancing human physical abilities and assisting in rehabilitation training. In recent years, with the development of visual sensors and deep learning, the environmental perception of exoskeletons has drawn widespread attention in the industry. Environmental perception can provide exoskeletons with a certain level of autonomous perception and decision-making ability, enhance their stability and safety in complex environments, and improve the human-machine-environment interaction loop. This paper provides a review of environmental perception and its related technologies of lower-limb exoskeleton robots. First, we briefly introduce the visual sensors and control system. Second, we analyze and summarize the key technologies of environmental perception, including related datasets, detection of critical terrains, and environment-oriented adaptive gait planning. Finally, we analyze the current factors limiting the development of exoskeleton environmental perception and propose future directions.

Is Walk Score Associated With Physical Activity and Screen Time in Brazilian Older Adults?

This study aimed to examine the relationship between Walk Score index with walking to commuting, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and screen time in older adults. Georeferenced addresses were entered into the Walk Score platform. Walking to commute and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and categorized according to the World Health Organization recommendations. Screen time was analyzed through self-reported time watching television/being on the computer. We used binary logistic regression to estimate the association between variables. Older adults who lived in places with higher Walk Score had a higher prevalence of walking to commuting (odds ratio = 1.73; 95% confidence interval [1.18, 2.55]) and engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (odds ratio = 1.76; 95% confidence interval [1.05, 2.98]). A relationship also was observed between higher Walk Score and more time in screen time (odds ratio = 1.67; 95% confidence interval [1.19, 2.34]). The results showed that residing in a more walkable neighborhood increased the chances of the older adults spending 3 hr or more in front of a screen.

A New Semantic Segmentation Framework Based on UNet

This paper discusses a semantic segmentation framework and shows its application in agricultural intelligence, such as providing environmental awareness for agricultural robots to work autonomously and efficiently. We propose an ensemble framework based on the bagging strategy and the UNet network, using RGB and HSV color spaces. We evaluated the framework on our self-built dataset (Maize) and a public dataset (Sugar Beets). Then, we compared it with UNet-based methods (single RGB and single HSV), DeepLab V3+, and SegNet. Experimental results show that our ensemble framework can synthesize the advantages of each color space and obtain the best IoUs (0.8276 and 0.6972) on the datasets (Maize and Sugar Beets), respectively. In addition, including our framework, the UNet-based methods have faster speed and a smaller parameter space than DeepLab V3+ and SegNet, which are more suitable for deployment in resource-constrained environments such as mobile robots.

Trajectory Planner for UAVs Based on Potential Field Obtained by a Kinodynamic Gene Regulation Network

Quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) often encounter intricate environmental and dynamic limitations in real-world applications, underscoring the significance of proficient trajectory planning for ensuring both safety and efficiency during flights. To tackle this challenge, we introduce an innovative approach that harmonizes sophisticated environmental insights with the dynamic state of a UAV within a potential field framework. Our proposition entails a quadrotor trajectory planner grounded in a kinodynamic gene regulation network potential field. The pivotal contribution of this study lies in the amalgamation of environmental perceptions and kinodynamic constraints within a newly devised gene regulation network (GRN) potential field. By enhancing the gene regulation network model, the potential field becomes adaptable to the UAV's dynamic conditions and its surroundings, thereby extending the GRN into a kinodynamic GRN (K-GRN). The trajectory planner excels at charting courses that guide the quadrotor UAV through intricate environments while taking dynamic constraints into account. The amalgamation of environmental insights and kinodynamic constraints within the potential field framework bolsters the adaptability and stability of the generated trajectories. Empirical results substantiate the efficacy of our proposed methodology.

Learning in the forest: environmental perception of Brazilian teenagers

The idea of separation between person and nature, accentuated by current production and consumption models, has generated unthinkable impacts, causing an unprecedented loss and degradation of the global environment. Occupying 13% of the Brazilian territory, the Atlantic Forest is the second-largest tropical rainforest on the American continent; however, it is one of the most threatened biomes in the world, with only 12% of the original cover. In this study, we consider that enabling young people to experience direct contact with nearby natural environments can positively influence their knowledge and feelings about the biodiversity that occurs there, contributing to its protection and conservation for current and future generations. In this study, we explore how teenagers (n = 17) aged between 13 and 17 years old describe and perceive the nearby natural environment before and after an interpretive trail in Una, Bahia, Brazil. Participants were asked to draw the Atlantic Forest with colored pencils on white paper and, based on the drawing, they answered the following questions: "What is in your drawing? and "What is happening in your drawing?," in addition to other information such as the title of the drawing, difficulty of the activity, and sociodemographic aspects. Content analysis was used to analyze the information collected. From the drawings and responses of the participants, categories related to knowledge, experiences, and types of relationships with the visited place emerged. We count the frequency of drawing elements before and after the visit, together with a qualitative analysis of the descriptions of their feelings and meanings attributed to the visit, highlighting the different elements and their relationships. The results showed that, after the trail, the participants manifested bonds of proximity with the visited environment and the organisms protected there, evidencing expressive changes in their perceptions of the person-nature interaction, in the specific knowledge of the visited ecosystem, and in the different forms of relationship provided by the visitation itinerary.

Analysis of the Impact of Environmental Perception on the Health Status of Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Study Based on CFPS 2020 Data

Health risks and hazards caused by the environment have long been one of the most important public issues of concern to the state, society, and the public. At the same time, population aging is becoming a global issue, and residents' health is the most important component of people's livelihood, and residents can only pursue other rights and interests if they can protect their own health. Therefore, based on the micro data from the fifth round of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper uses binary logistic regression with propensity score matching (PSM) to analyze the effect of environmental perception on the health status (including mental health and physical health) of middle-aged and older adults. It was found that environmental perceptions significantly affect the depressive state and sickness status of middle-aged and older adults. Among them, middle-aged and older adults who were female, of rural households, with low education and relatively low income were more affected by environmental shocks on their health. Therefore, we should pay attention to the mental and physical health of middle-aged and older adults and change the existing design concept of aging policy: the government should formulate effective policies and increase corresponding social support; and society and families should also give corresponding care and encourage middle-aged and older adults to exercise more and provide reasonable psychological guidance.

Sleep - the guarantee of health! Does the environmental perception characteristics of urban residential areas affect residents' sleep quality?

A complex urban living environment and residents' sleep quality are intrinsically linked. Nonetheless, there is little evidence that the residential environment affects sleep quality. Based on the results of subjective questionnaires, this study uses the multiple regression combined with mediation analysis to construct a mechanical model of the impact of urban residential environmental perception characteristics on residents' sleep quality. Moreover, the differences among the influence intensities of the significant factors are compared and the results show that (1) in low-density environments (FAR < 2) and lower floors (4-6), residents sleep longer and have better sleep quality; (2) the environmental quality and service facilities of the physical environment and the sense of safety in the social environment have a significant impact on residents' sleep quality; and (3) the mental health of residents play a significant intermediary role in the relationship between social environment and sleep quality, with the highest effect accounting for 33.88%. The influence mechanisms of various environmental factors in a residential area on sleep quality were revealed and a more refined design basis for a healthy urban living environment, community renewal, and renovation was provided.

Design and Calibration of Plane Mirror Setups for Mobile Robots with a 2D-Lidar

Lidar sensors are widely used for environmental perception on autonomous robot vehicles (ARV). The field of view (FOV) of Lidar sensors can be reshaped by positioning plane mirrors in their vicinity. Mirror setups can especially improve the FOV for ground detection of ARVs with 2D-Lidar sensors. This paper presents an overview of several geometric designs and their strengths for certain vehicle types. Additionally, a new and easy-to-implement calibration procedure for setups of 2D-Lidar sensors with mirrors is presented to determine precise mirror orientations and positions, using a single flat calibration object with a pre-aligned simple fiducial marker. Measurement data from a prototype vehicle with a 2D-Lidar with a 2 m range using this new calibration procedure are presented. We show that the calibrated mirror orientations are accurate to less than 0.6° in this short range, which is a significant improvement over the orientation angles taken directly from the CAD. The accuracy of the point cloud data improved, and no significant decrease in distance noise was introduced. We deduced general guidelines for successful calibration setups using our method. In conclusion, a 2D-Lidar sensor and two plane mirrors calibrated with this method are a cost-effective and accurate way for robot engineers to improve the environmental perception of ARVs.

Analysis of Lane-Changing Decision-Making Behavior of Autonomous Vehicles Based on Molecular Dynamics

Along with the rapid development of autonomous driving technology, autonomous vehicles are showing a trend of practicality and popularity. Autonomous vehicles perceive environmental information through sensors to provide a basis for the decision making of vehicles. Based on this, this paper investigates the lane-changing decision-making behavior of autonomous vehicles. First, the similarity between autonomous vehicles and moving molecules is sought based on a system-similarity analysis. The microscopic lane-changing behavior of vehicles is analyzed by the molecular-dynamics theory. Based on the objective quantification of the lane-changing intention, the interaction potential is further introduced to establish the molecular-dynamics lane-changing model. Second, the relationship between the lane-changing initial time and lane-changing completed time, and the dynamic influencing factors of the lane changing, were systematically analyzed to explore the influence of the microscopic lane-changing behavior on the macroscopic traffic flow. Finally, the SL2015 lane-changing model was compared with the molecular-dynamics lane-changing model using the SUMO platform. SUMO is an open-source and multimodal traffic experimental platform that can realize and evaluate traffic research. The results show that the speed fluctuation of autonomous vehicles under the molecular-dynamics lane-changing model was reduced by 15.45%, and the number of passed vehicles was increased by 5.93%, on average, which means that it has better safety, stability, and efficiency. The molecular-dynamics lane-changing model of autonomous vehicles takes into account the dynamic factors in the traffic scene, and it reasonably shows the characteristics of the lane-changing behavior for autonomous vehicles.

Does Water Quality Matter for Life Quality? A Study of the Impact of Water Quality on Well-being in a Coastal Community

Most studies of life quality are concentrated on a country-level scale, while local differences within a country or area are less studied. Thus, the effect of the environment on life quality on a local scale remains understudied and is often represented by one generalized common factor. In this study, we investigated the effect of an objectively measured environmental quality variable and subjective reflections of this (perceptions of environmental quality) in relation to life quality in a coastal community. Hence, we tested the effect of objective and subjective water quality measures using a model, accounting for other traditional variables (e.g., income and health) that predict life quality variations. Our findings indicate that perceptions of the environment are strongly associated with life quality, whereas objectively measured environmental quality is associated with life quality to a lesser extent. Thus, our results suggest that the impact of the environment on life quality is mediated via the way the environment is perceived (psychological effects) and less by the actual conditions of the environment.

Relations among Pro-Environmental Behavior, Environmental Knowledge, Environmental Perception, and Post-Materialistic Values in China

During the economic boom, China’s government was mainly concerned with economic development; however, numerous environmental problems have arisen. Evidence suggests that Chinese individuals’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) is at a low level in Asia. However, it does not match their high-quality environmental knowledge. In this paper, the database of the Chinese General Social Survey was used to explore the correlation between environmental knowledge and PEB in a broader context. Subsequently, environmental perception and post-materialistic values (PMV) were taken as the mediator and moderator into structural equation modeling, and every variable kept robust and consistent through exploratory factor analysis. The empirical results indicated that: (i) individuals with higher environmental knowledge always show higher passion to PEB; (ii) environmental perception plays a partially mediating role between environmental knowledge and PEB; (iii) PMV moderate the formation of environmental behavior systematically; and (iv) compared with public counterpart, the relation between environmental knowledge and PEB is significantly higher in private environmental behavior. The study results could become the basis for the Chinese government and environmental NGOs to effectively spread environmental knowledge, advocate a post-materialistic lifestyle, and improve the authenticity of online media reports on environmental issues.

Emotional Responses to the Visual Patterns of Urban Streets: Evidence from Physiological and Subjective Indicators

Despite recent progress in the research of people's emotional response to the environment, the built-rather than natural-environment's emotional effects have not yet been thoroughly examined. In response to this knowledge gap, we recruited 26 participants and scrutinized their emotional response to various urban street scenes through an immersive exposure experiment using virtual reality. We utilized new physiological monitoring technologies that enable synchronized observation of the participants' electroencephalography, electrodermal activity, and heart rate, as well as their subjective indicators. With the newly introduced measurement for the global visual patterns of the built environment, we built statistical models to examine people's emotional response to the physical element configuration and color composition of street scenes. We found that more diverse and less fragmented scenes inspired positive emotional feelings. We also found (in)consistency among the physiological and subjective indicators, indicating a potentially interesting neural-physiological interpretation for the classic form-function dichotomy in architecture. Besides the practical implications on promoting physical environment design, this study combined objective physiology-monitoring technology and questionnaire-based research techniques to demonstrate a better approach to quantify environment-emotion relationships.

Effect of Street Performance (Busking) on the Environmental Perception of Public Space

This is the first experimental study testing the effect of street performance (aka busking) on the subjective environmental perception of public space. It is generally believed that street performance can enhance people’s experience of public space, but studies advocating such a view have not used a control group to explicitly verify the effect of street performance. In response to this methodological limitation, we conducted two studies using experimental design. Study 1 (N = 748) was an online computer-based study where research participants evaluated the extent to which the presence vs. absence of street performance could change their perception of public space. Study 2 (N = 162) was a between-group quasi-experiment in an actual public space where people physically present in the space evaluated the perception of the space with vs. without street performance. Overall, we found converging results that street performance could make public space more visitable, more restorative, and more preferable. The current findings not only fill in a gap in the literature on street performance, but they also inform the policy making and regulations of street performance.

Assessing Comfort in Urban Public Spaces: A Structural Equation Model Involving Environmental Attitude and Perception

The research of comfort in urban public spaces has become increasingly important for improving environmental quality and encouraging people spend more time in outdoor activities. Among numerous approaches to understand comfort perception, the rational indices based on heat balance theory have prevailed to guide the research and practice in urban planning, design, and management. The limitations of a solely rational index-based approach reveal the necessity for a more comprehensive understanding of comfort by considering a wider range of influential factors from both individual and environmental perspectives during the assessing process. This study conceptualizes individuals’ comfort in urban public spaces as a latent construct, which is measured by indicators regarding perceptions on multifarious meteorological variables. The conceptual framework has been introduced involving hypothetical relationships among individuals’ comfort, attitudes, and environmental perceptions in urban public spaces. A series of field work including microclimate measurements and questionnaire-based surveys were carried out in two public squares in Changsha, China. Based on the dataset derived from 372 questionnaires and related meteorological measurements, this paper examines the relationships between the physical microclimatic variables, individuals’ socio-demographical characteristics and environmental attitudes and perceptions, and outdoor comfort assessment. The estimation results of the structural equation model quantitatively verified the conceptual framework at large, as many hypothetical relationships are identified, which indicates the importance of individuals’ role and the psychological factors in modeling comfort perception. This approach improves the understanding of comfort assessment, contributes to improving the quality of urban environment and the practices of urban planning and management.

Are Changes in Walking for Transportation in Brazilian Older Adults Associated With Attributes of the Neighborhood Environment?

This study aims to examine the association between neighborhood environment attributes and changes in walking for transportation among older adults. Longitudinal analysis was performed considering a population-based study (EpiFloripa Idoso), carried out in 2009-2010 with follow-up in 2013-2014. Changes in walking, obtained with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire during both waves were associated with data from the environment perception, evaluated using individual items from the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (baseline only) performing multinomial logistic regression. A total of 1,162 older adults (65.2% women, mean age = 73.7 years) participated. Those who reported the presence of parks and squares (OR = 2.44, 95% confidence interval [CI; 1.70, 3.51]), sidewalks (OR = 1.66, 95% CI [1.03, 2.70]), crosswalks (OR = 1.69, 95% CI [1.05, 2.72]), illuminated streets (OR = 2.80, 95% CI [1.24, 6.33]), and safety for day walks (OR = 1.93, 95% CI [1.14, 3.24]) were more likely to remain active or become active when commuting (≥150 min/week). Older adults are more active in neighborhoods that present more favorable attributes regarding walking for transportation.

Collective Perception: A Safety Perspective

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is seen as one of the main enabling technologies for automated vehicles. Collective perception is especially promising, as it allows connected traffic participants to "see through the eyes of others" by sharing sensor-detected objects via V2X communication. Its benefit is typically assessed in terms of the increased object update rate, redundancy, and awareness. To determine the safety improvement thanks to collective perception, the authors introduce new metrics, which quantify the environmental risk awareness of the traffic participants. The performance of the V2X service is then analyzed with the help of the test platform TEPLITS, using real traffic traces from German highways, amounting to over 100 h of total driving time. The results in the considered scenarios clearly show that collective perception not only contributes to the accuracy and integrity of the vehicles' environmental perception, but also that a V2X market penetration of at least 25% is necessary to increase traffic safety from a "risk of serious traffic accidents" to a "residual hypothetical risk of collisions without minor injuries" for traffic participants equipped with non-redundant 360° sensor systems. These results support the ongoing worldwide standardization efforts of the collective perception service.

MMW Radar-Based Technologies in Autonomous Driving: A Review

With the rapid development of automated vehicles (AVs), more and more demands are proposed towards environmental perception. Among the commonly used sensors, MMW radar plays an important role due to its low cost, adaptability In different weather, and motion detection capability. Radar can provide different data types to satisfy requirements for various levels of autonomous driving. The objective of this study is to present an overview of the state-of-the-art radar-based technologies applied In AVs. Although several published research papers focus on MMW Radars for intelligent vehicles, no general survey on deep learning applied In radar data for autonomous vehicles exists. Therefore, we try to provide related survey In this paper. First, we introduce models and representations from millimeter-wave (MMW) radar data. Secondly, we present radar-based applications used on AVs. For low-level automated driving, radar data have been widely used In advanced driving-assistance systems (ADAS). For high-level automated driving, radar data is used In object detection, object tracking, motion prediction, and self-localization. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges and future development direction of related studies.

Scale Development for Environmental Perception of Public Space

We developed a psychometric scale for measuring the subjective environmental perception of public spaces. In the scale development process, we started with an initial pool of 85 items identified from the literature that were related to environmental perception. A total of 1,650 participants rated these items on animated images of 12 public spaces through an online survey. Using principal component analyses and confirmatory factor analyses, we identified two affective factors (comfort and activity) with 8 items and six cognitive factors (legibility, enclosure, complexity, crime potential, wildlife, and lighting) with 22 items. These eight factors represent the core attributes underlying environmental perception of public spaces. Practicality of the scale and limitations of the study are also discussed.

Business Environment and Entrepreneurial Motivations of Urban Students

College students’ perceptions of entrepreneurial environments exert significant influence on their entrepreneurial motivations. With China’s increased focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, an increasing number of college students have embarked on a journey of self-employment and entrepreneurship. Due to disparities in the urban entrepreneurial environments, however, their entrepreneurial ventures in urban spaces are characterized by extreme phenomena such as entrepreneurial clusters and human capital flight, thus constraining economic development. This study sampled 244 college students from Wenzhou, China, and analyzed their opinions on the relationship between their perceptions of the entrepreneurial environment and associated motivations. We concluded that college students’ entrepreneurial motivations are significantly and positively affected by their perception of socio-economic conditions, education and training, and availability of financial and non-financial support, and insignificantly affected by their perceptions of the favorability of government policies as related to entrepreneurial development.

Lighting Control in Patient Rooms: Understanding Nurses' Perceptions of Hospital Lighting Using Qualitative Methods

PURPOSE

This study differs in its methodological approach from previously published research by interpreting qualitative results against existing literature to understand how nurses conceptualize medical-surgical patient rooms as productive settings in relation to lighting, as well as the ways in which nurses believe these spaces could be enhanced for patient satisfaction.

METHODS

Content analysis was used to interpret themes emerging from nurses' subjective responses to open-ended items. Three of the facilities had older, traditional lighting systems; one had a contemporary framework.

RESULTS

A theme of environmental control over both overhead and task lighting emerged from data from all items. Although controllability was among the "best" lighting attributes, more refinement is necessary for optimal staff productivity and patient satisfaction. Daylighting was also considered to be among the best attributes. Control over light level via additional dimming capability for patients, as well as additional light sources, was prominent across the four hospitals. Unique to the more modern facility, trespassing of light was problematic for nurses considering the experiences of patients-even where modern models exist, more attention can be paid to the ways in which window shades, and light sources outside of rooms, penetrate spaces and affect users.

CONCLUSION

The finding that nurses and patients desire greater control over the lighting in patient rooms is consistent with Ulrich's theory of supportive design for healthcare and coincides with advances in lighting technology. Despite differences in the level of sophistication in lighting among the four facilities, control continues to be a primary concern for nurses.

Nurses' Satisfaction With Patient Room Lighting Conditions: A Study of Nurses in Four Hospitals With Differences in the Environment of Care

PURPOSE

The present study aims to contribute to current knowledge about nurses' perceived importance of lighting in patient rooms and to compare these perceptions across different ages, work shifts, (day and night), and environments of care (traditional and contemporary).

BACKGROUND

Creating an environment of care in patient rooms that successfully balances energy efficiency concerns with the holistic needs of patients, families, and caregivers poses a major challenge for future lighting systems. This study adds to a growing evidence base on the effects of lighting on nurses' job performance, job satisfaction, and overall perceptions of the environment.

METHOD

Survey responses from 138 participants working in medical-surgical units in four hospitals were analyzed using a mixed-methods approach, with three of the hospitals having lighting systems characterized as providing a traditional environment of care (TEC) and the other hospital having lighting systems characterized as providing a contemporary environment of care (CEC).

RESULTS

No significant differences were found based on age or work shift, but several significant differences were found between participants working in the hospital with a CEC and those working in hospitals with a TEC. Participants from the hospital with a CEC lighting system consistently reported higher lighting quality, fewer patient complaints, and less need for supplemental lighting than the participants from the three hospitals with TEC lighting systems.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study provide evidence that innovative lighting approaches and technologies are worth considering as an investment by hospital administrators looking to improve perceptions of the patient room environment.

Designing Urban Green Spaces for Older Adults in Asian Cities

Elderly populations in Asian countries are expected to increase rapidly in the next few decades. Older adults, particularly in high-density cities, spend a considerable amount of time in urban green spaces (UGSs). The World Health Organization noted that UGSs are key to improving the age-friendliness of neighborhoods. Thus, it is necessary to design UGSs for the promotion of healthy ageing to enhance preventive healthcare and relieve medical burdens. This study conducted interviews using a questionnaire with a sample size of 326 participants in the cities of Hong Kong (China) and Tainan (Taiwan region). The inter-relationships among the design of UGSs (e.g., spatial distribution and accessibility, characteristics of plants and UGSs), older adults' perceptions on safety and aesthetics quality of UGSs, and their self-reported health conditions (assessed by the self-reported SF-12v2 Health Survey) were investigated with bivariate Spearman rank correlation tests. The results indicate that the duration of visits to UGSs was positively associated with mental health and social functioning, two subscales evaluating health-related quality of life in SF 12v2. The statistical model (moderation analysis) showed that such a correlation was especially significant in women and those with low social support and social capital. A positive relationship was found between the physical health subscale and perceived safety in UGSs. This relationship was stronger among older adults living alone (moderation analysis). Furthermore, the color of plants and maintenance condition of UGSs were significant aspects affecting the subjective assessment of aesthetic quality. This study provides useful information regarding how to plan and design urban green spaces with certain characteristics that could improve the accessibility and aesthetic quality, which are preferred by older adults.

Camera Stabilization in 360° Videos and Its Impact on Cyber Sickness, Environmental Perceptions, and Psychophysiological Responses to a Simulated Nature Walk: A Single-Blinded Randomized Trial

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) technology has emerged as a valuable tool to environmental psychology research in general, and specifically to studies of human–nature interactions. However, virtual reality is known to induce cyber sickness, which limits its application and highlights the need for scientific strategies to optimize virtual experiences. In this study, we assessed the impact of improved camera stability on cyber sickness, presence, and psychophysiological responses to a simulated nature walk. In a single-blinded trial, 50 participants were assigned to watch, using a head-mounted display, one of two 10-min 360° videos showing a first-person nature walk: one video contained small-magnitude scene oscillations associated with cameraman locomotion, while in the other video, the oscillations were drastically reduced thanks to an electric stabilizer and a dolly. Measurements of cyber sickness (in terms of both occurrence and severity of symptoms), perceptions of the IVE (presence and perceived environmental restorativeness), and indicators of psychophysiological responses [affect, enjoyment, and heart rate (HR)] were collected before and/or after the exposure. Compared to the low-stability (LS) condition, in the high-stability (HS) condition, participants reported lower severity of cyber sickness symptoms. The delta values for pre–post changes in affect for the LS video revealed a deterioration of participants’ affect profile with a significant increase in ratings of negative affect and fatigue, and decrease in ratings of positive affect. In contrast, there were no pre–post changes in affect for the HS video. No differences were found between the HS and LS conditions with respect to presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, enjoyment, and HR. Cyber sickness was significantly correlated with all components of affect and enjoyment, but not with presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, or HR. These findings demonstrate that improved camera stability in 360° videos is crucial to reduce cyber sickness symptoms and negative affective responses in IVE users. The lack of associations between improved stability and presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, and HR suggests that other aspects of IVE technology must be taken into account in order to improve virtual experiences of nature.

Fast Dynamic Vehicle Detection in Road Scenarios Based on Pose Estimation with Convex-Hull Model

Dynamic vehicle detection is of great significance for the safety of autonomous vehicles and the formulation of subsequent driving strategies. A pose-estimation algorithm, namely, the pose estimation with convex-hull model (PE-CHM), is proposed in this paper, and introduced in the dynamic vehicle detection system. In PE-CHM, the convex hull of the object’s point-clouds is first extracted and the most fitted bounding box is determined by a multifactor objective function. Next, the center position of the target is inferred according to the location and direction of the target. With the obtained bounding box and the position inference, the pose of the target is determined, which reduces the interference of the missing contour on pose estimation. Finally, three experiments were performed to validate the performance of the proposed PE-CHM method. Compared with several typical model-based methods, PE-CHM can implement dynamic vehicle detection faster, which reduces the amount of calculation on the basis of ensuring detection efficiency.

Multi-Channel Convolutional Neural Network Based 3D Object Detection for Indoor Robot Environmental Perception

Environmental perception is a vital feature for service robots when working in an indoor environment for a long time. The general 3D reconstruction is a low-level geometric information description that cannot convey semantics. In contrast, higher level perception similar to humans requires more abstract concepts, such as objects and scenes. Moreover, the 2D object detection based on images always fails to provide the actual position and size of an object, which is quite important for a robot's operation. In this paper, we focus on the 3D object detection to regress the object's category, 3D size, and spatial position through a convolutional neural network (CNN). We propose a multi-channel CNN for 3D object detection, which fuses three input channels including RGB, depth, and bird's eye view (BEV) images. We also propose a method to generate 3D proposals based on 2D ones in the RGB image and semantic prior. Training and test are conducted on the modified NYU V2 dataset and SUN RGB-D dataset in order to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. We also carry out the actual experiments in a service robot to utilize the proposed 3D object detection method to enhance the environmental perception of the robot.

Illuminating for Safety: Investigating the Role of Lighting Appraisals on the Perception of Safety in the Urban Environment

In two studies, we took a prospect-refuge based perspective to investigate how lighting and other physical attributes (i.e., prospect, concealment, and entrapment) affect people's judgments of the safety of urban streets during nighttime. Both studies complement existing research, which predominantly use factorial designs, with more ecologically valid correlational research using a large and representative sample of urban streets as stimulus materials. Results from Study 1 corroborate existing research demonstrating that differences in prospect, concealment, and entrapment predicted, to a large extent, variation in the perceived safety of urban streets-thus demonstrating the utility of such environmental information for making safety judgments in real-life settings. Results from a mediation analysis conducted in Study 2 showed that the relation between appraisals of lighting quality and safety judgments was completely accounted for by co-occurring variation in appraisals of prospect and entrapment. Implications for theory and methodology are discussed.

Personal Audiovisual Aptitude Influences the Interaction Between Landscape and Soundscape Appraisal

It has been established that there is an interaction between audition and vision in the appraisal of our living environment, and that this appraisal is influenced by personal factors. Here, we test the hypothesis that audiovisual aptitude influences appraisal of our sonic and visual environment. To measure audiovisual aptitude, an auditory deviant detection experiment was conducted in an ecologically valid and complex context. This experiment allows us to distinguish between accurate and less accurate listeners. Additionally, it allows to distinguish between participants that are easily visually distracted and those who are not. To do so, two previously conducted laboratory experiments were re-analyzed. The first experiment focuses on self-reported noise annoyance in a living room context, whereas the second experiment focuses on the perceived pleasantness of using outdoor public spaces. In the first experiment, the influence of visibility of vegetation on self-reported noise annoyance was modified by audiovisual aptitude. In the second one, it was found that the overall appraisal of walking across a bridge is influenced by audiovisual aptitude, in particular when a visually intrusive noise barrier is used to reduce highway traffic noise levels. We conclude that audiovisual aptitude may affect the appraisal of the living environment.

Experiencing Nature through Immersive Virtual Environments: Environmental Perceptions, Physical Engagement, and Affective Responses during a Simulated Nature Walk

By combining physical activity and exposure to nature, green exercise can provide additional health benefits compared to physical activity alone. Immersive Virtual Environments (IVE) have emerged as a potentially valuable supplement to environmental and behavioral research, and might also provide new approaches to green exercise promotion. However, it is unknown to what extent green exercise in IVE can provide psychophysiological responses similar to those experienced in real natural environments. In this study, 26 healthy adults underwent three experimental conditions: nature walk, sitting-IVE, and treadmill-IVE. The nature walk took place on a paved trail along a large river. In the IVE conditions, the participants wore a head-mounted display with headphones reproducing a 360° video and audio of the nature walk, either sitting on a chair or walking on a manually driven treadmill. Measurements included environmental perceptions (presence and perceived environmental restorativeness - PER), physical engagement (walking speed, heart rate, and perceived exertion), and affective responses (enjoyment and affect). Additionally, qualitative information was collected through open-ended questions. The participants rated the IVEs with satisfactory levels of 'being there' and 'sense of reality,' but also reported discomforts such as 'flatness,' 'movement lag' and 'cyber sickness.' With equivalent heart rate and walking speed, participants reported higher perceived exertion in the IVEs than in the nature walk. The nature walk was associated with high enjoyment and enhanced affect. However, despite equivalent ratings of PER in the nature walk and in the IVEs, the latter were perceived as less enjoyable and gave rise to a poorer affect. Presence and PER did not differ between the two IVEs, although in the treadmill-IVE the negative affective responses had slightly smaller magnitude than in the sitting-IVE. In both the IVEs, the negative affective responses were mainly associated with cyber sickness, whereas PER was positively associated with enjoyment. From the qualitative analysis, it emerged that poor postural control and lack of a holistic sensory experience can also hinder immersion in the IVE. The results indicate that IVE technology might in future be a useful instrument in green exercise research and promotion, but only if image quality and cyber sickness can be addressed.

Evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome in ethnobotanical research

BACKGROUND

The shifting baseline syndrome is a concept from ecology that can be analyzed in the context of ethnobotanical research. Evidence of shifting baseline syndrome can be found in studies dealing with intracultural variation of knowledge, when knowledge from different generations is compared and combined with information about changes in the environment and/or natural resources.

METHODS

We reviewed 84 studies published between 1993 and 2012 that made comparisons of ethnobotanical knowledge according to different age classes. After analyzing these studies for evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome (lower knowledge levels in younger generations and mention of declining abundance of local natural resources), we searched within these studies for the use of the expressions "cultural erosion", "loss of knowledge", or "acculturation".

RESULTS

The studies focused on different groups of plants (e.g. medicinal plants, foods, plants used for general purposes, or the uses of specific important species). More than half of all 84 studies (57%) mentioned a concern towards cultural erosion or knowledge loss; 54% of the studies showed evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome; and 37% of the studies did not provide any evidence of shifting baselines (intergenerational knowledge differences but no information available about the abundance of natural resources).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The general perception of knowledge loss among young people when comparing ethnobotanical repertoires among different age groups should be analyzed with caution. Changes in the landscape or in the abundance of plant resources may be associated with changes in ethnobotanical repertoires held by people of different age groups. Also, the relationship between the availability of resources and current plant use practices rely on a complexity of factors. Fluctuations in these variables can cause changes in the reference (baseline) of different generations and consequently be responsible for differences in intergenerational knowledge. Unraveling the complexity of changes in local knowledge systems in relation to environmental changes will allow the identification of more meaningful information for resource conservation.

Capture and commercialization of blue land crabs ("guaiamum") Cardisoma guanhumi (Lattreille, 1825) along the coast of Bahia State, Brazil: an ethnoecological approach

BACKGROUND

Blue Land Crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) is one of the most important crustacean species captured and commercialized in Brazil. Although this species is not considered to be threatened with extinction, populations of C. guanhumi are known to be rapidly diminishing due to heavy harvesting pressures and degradation of their natural habitats, highlighting the necessity of developing and implanting management and protection strategies for their populations. There have been no ethnozoological publications that have focused specifically on C. guanhumi, in spite of importance of this type of information for developing efficient management plans of resource utilization. So, the present work describes the ethnoecological aspects of the capture and commercialization of C. guanhumi by a fishing community in northeastern Brazil.

METHODS

Field work was carried out in the municipality of Mucuri, Bahia in Brazil, between the months of January and March/2011 through the use of open semi-structured interviews with all of the crustacean harvesters in city who acknowledged their work in capturing this species, totaling 12 interviewees. The informants were identified through the use of the "snowball" sampling technique. In addition to the interviews themselves, the "guided tour" technique and direct observations was employed.

RESULTS

According all the interviewees, the C. guanhumi is popularly called "guaiamum" and is collected in "apicum" zones. They recognize sexual dimorphism in the species based on three morphological characteristics and the harvesters also pointed two stages in the reproductive cycle during the year and another phase mentioned by the interviewees was ecdysis. All of the interviewed affirmed that the size and the quantities C. guanhumi stocks in Mucuri have been diminishing. All of the interviewees agreed that the species and other mangrove resources constituted their principal source of income. The harvesters dedicated three to five days a week to collect Blue Land Crabs and the principal technique utilized for capturing is a trap called a "ratoeira" (rat-trap).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the present work demonstrated that the community retains a vast and important volume of knowledge about C. guanhumi that could subsidize both scientific studies and the elaboration of viable management and conservation strategies for this species.