Monday 13 October 2014

Hubble Catches a Dusty Spiral in Virgo


This magnificent new image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows
 the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4206, located about 70 million light-years away from Earth
 in the constellation of Virgo. 


















Captured here are vast streaks of dust, some of which are obscuring the central bulge, which can just be made out in the center of the galaxy. Towards the edges of the galaxy, the scattered clumps, which appear blue in this image, mark areas where stars are being born. The bulge, on the other hand, is composed mostly of much older, redder stars, and very little star formation takes place.
NGC 4206 was imaged as part of a Hubble snapshot survey of nearby edge-on spiral galaxies to measure the effect that the material between the stars — known as the interstellar medium — has on light as it travels through it. Using its Advanced Camera for Surveys, Hubble can reveal information about the dusty material and hydrogen gas in the cold parts of the interstellar medium. Astronomers are then able to map the absorption and scattering of light by the material — an effect known as extinction — which causes objects to appear redder to us, the observers.
NGC 4206 is visible with most moderate amateur telescopes at 13th magnitude. It was discovered by Hanoverian-born British astronomer, William Herschel on April 17, 1784.
European Space Agency
Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Nick Rose

Robot saves lives on the Alps

Scientists at the University of Twente in the Netherlands are working on robots that are expected to save lives in calamity situations in the Alps. The emphasis within this SHERPA project is on cooperation between human rescue workers, the ground robot (‘ground rover’) with a robotic arm and flying robots. This week all the members of the SHERPA consortium will meet in Twente in order to harmonize their results and to experiment with the various parts of the robot platform.
It is because of scientific innovations that robots are increasingly being relocated from predictable environments such as factories, to locations where calamities can occur, such as the Alps. The robots of the SHERPA project provide rescue workers with support during their tasks, for instance, after an avalanche. In extreme, dangerous cases, these robots can even take over some aspects of the work of their human team-members by locating victims. SHERPA will greatly increase the chance of saving victims.
Humans and robots working together

What is unique about SHERPA is the cooperation between humans and robots, each with their own qualities, in order to achieve a common goal: saving lives. The emphasis with robots is on their autonomy, cognitive capacities, strategy for cooperation and in the interaction with their human colleagues’.  Together, humans and robots will form rescue teams that the Italian organization of rescue workers has stationed in the Alps.

The Twents robotic arm

On behalf of the University of Twente (UT), Raffaella Carloni and other members of the Robotics and Mechatronics group (CTIT institute) and the LEO Centre for Service Robotics are working on the mechanical design, the control mechanism and realizing the robotic arm. This arm is being developed and constructed in Twente and will be mounted onto the ground robot. Furthermore, the UT is focussing on technological support of the interaction between humans and robots. The robotic arm is capable of grasping the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), i.e., the flying robot, while it is airborne and placing it on the charger for the ground robot. This innovative robotic arm is unique because it rigidity can be adjusted to a task. In addition, the arm is more resilient to shocks and vibrations than the current generation of robotic arms.
Sensor on humans

In order to provide a rescue worker who is operating the airborne robot with the best possible technological support, he or she will be equipped with sensors and portable technology. This too is, in part, a ‘task of ’ the UT. The enormous advantage of this approach is that a rescue worker has optimum perception and can respond adequately to a possible calamity situation without actually having to be present at the site of the calamity. The Sensors measure the robot's dynamic movements, such as position, speed and resistance. Because of the robot's cognitive algorithms, the robot and human can jointly seek victims and determine their actions in order to save human lives.



Further informationThis link will take you to a YouTube-video of SHERPA-researchers who are carrying out a demo in Passo dello Stelvio in the Italian Alps.
Contact person
Jochem Vreeman, Science Communication Officer, tel +31 6 12 22 12 53