NED-2 is a Windows-based system designed to improve project-level planning and decision making by providing useful and scientifically sound information to natural resource managers. Resources currently addressed include visual quality, ecology, forest health, timber, water, and wildlife. NED-2 expands on previous versions of NED applications by integrating treatment prescriptions, growth simulation, and alternative comparisons with evaluations of multiple resources across a management unit. The NED-2 system is adaptable for small private holdings, large public properties, or cooperative managernent across multiple ownerships. NED-2 implements a goal-driven decision process that ensures that all relevant goals are considered; the character and current condition of forestland are known; alternatives to manage the land are designed and tested; the future forest under each alternative is simulated; and the alternative selected achieves the owner's goals. NED-2 is designed to link with ' The computer programs described in this document are available with the understanding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture cannot assure their accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability for any purposes other than that reported. The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the infomation and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the U.

No abstract

This project focuses on building an autonomous vehicle as the test bed for the future development of an intelligent wheelchair, by proposing a framework for designing and implementing a mobile robot control program that is easily expandable and portable to other robotic platforms. Using a robot equipped with a minimal set of sensors such as a camera and infrared sensors, our multiagent based control system is built to tackle various problems encountered during corridor navigation. The control system consists of four agents: an agent responsible for handling sensor inputs, an agent which identifies a corridor using machine vision techniques, an agent which avoids collisions by applying fuzzy logic decision making to proximity data, and an agent responsible for locomotion. In the experiments, the robot's performance demonstrates the feasibility of a multi-agent approach.

No abstract

This paper describes the use of a tactile display, the Vibratactile Glove, which provides a wheelchair user who has severe visual impairment with essential information to operate a powered wheelchair, such as directions and spatial representation. In the absence of visual information, the user receives a series of vibration signals that indicate obstacles or desired directions in the environment. The vibration signals are conducted to the operator's skin through a 3-by-3 array of vibrating elements (also known as vibrotactor). The vibrotactor array is placed inside of a glove so as to face the back side of the hand. Using the vibrotactor array, sequences of aligned stimuli indicating directional guidance (vertical, horizontal, and diagonal) and points of stimuli indicating obstacles (vibration of any of eight periphery tactors) are generated. The haptic sensitivity of stimuli localization is reinforced by signal repetition with short inter-stimuli period. The preliminary results reveal the positive potential of the Vibrotactile Glove as an effective and robust tactile display that can convey essential information of wheelchair operation to a user with severe visual impairment.