Fine Texture Detection Based on a Solid-Liquid Composite Flexible Tactile Sensor Array.

Surface texture information plays an important role in the cognition and manipulation of an object. Vision and touch are the two main methods for extracting an object's surface texture information. However, vision is often limited since the viewing angle is uncertain during manipulation. In this article, we propose a fine surface texture detection method based on a stochastic resonance algorithm through a novel solid-liquid composite flexible tactile sensor array. A thin flexible layer and solid-liquid composite conduction structure on the sensor effectively reduce the attenuation of the contact force and enhance the sensitivity of the sensor. A series of ridge texture samples with different heights (0.9, 4, 10 µm), different widths (0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1 mm), but the same spatial period (2 mm) of ridges were used in the experiment. The experimental results prove that the stochastic resonance algorithm can significantly improve the signal characteristic of the output signal of the sensor. The sensor has the capability to detect fine ridge texture information. The mean relative error of the estimation for the spatial period was 1.085%, and the ridge width and ridge height, respectively, have a monotonic mapping relationship with the corresponding model output parameters. The sensing capability to sense a fine texture of tactile senor surpasses the limit of human fingers.

Discrimination of Object Curvature Based on a Sparse Tactile Sensor Array.

Object curvature plays an important role in grasping and manipulation. To be more exact, local curvature is a more useful information for grasping practically. Vision and touch are the two main methods to extract surface curvature of an object, but vision is often limited since the complete contact area is invisible during manipulation. In this paper, the authors propose an object curvature estimation method based on an artificial neural network algorithm through a lab-developed sparse tactile sensor array. The compliant layer covering on the sensor is indispensable for fitting the curved surface. Three types (plane, convex sphere, and convex cylinder) of sample and each type of sample including 30 different radiuses (1 mm to 30 mm) were used in the experiment. The overall classification accuracy was 93.1%. The average curvature radius estimating error based on an artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm was 1.87 mm. When the radius of curvature was bigger than 5 mm, the average relative error was smaller than 20%. As a comparison, the sensor array density we used in this paper was less than 9/cm2, which was smaller than the density of human SAII receptors, but the discrimination result was close to the SAII receptors. Comparison with the curvature discrimination ability of the human body showed that this method has a promising application prospect.

A novel way to establish fertilization recommendations based on agronomic efficiency and a sustainable yield index for rice crops.

A simpler approach for establishing fertilizer recommendations for major crops is urgently required to improve the application efficiency of commercial fertilizers in China. To address this need, we developed a method based on field data drawn from the China Program of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) rice experiments and investigations carried out in southeastern China during 2001 to 2012. Our results show that, using agronomic efficiencies and a sustainable yield index (SYI), this new method for establishing fertilizer recommendations robustly estimated the mean rice yield (7.6 t/ha) and mean nutrient supply capacities (186, 60, and 96 kg/ha of N, P2O5, and K2O, respectively) of fertilizers in the study region. In addition, there were significant differences in rice yield response, economic cost/benefit ratio, and nutrient-use efficiencies associated with agronomic efficiencies ranked as high, medium and low. Thus, ranking agronomic efficiency could strengthen linear models relating rice yields and SYI. Our results also indicate that the new method provides better recommendations in terms of rice yield, SYI, and profitability than previous methods. Hence, we believe it is an effective approach for improving recommended applications of commercial fertilizers to rice (and potentially other crops).

Straw mulching reduces the harmful effects of extreme hydrological and temperature conditions in citrus orchards.

Extreme weather conditions with negative impacts can strongly affect agricultural production. In the Danjiangkou reservoir area, citrus yields were greatly influenced by cold weather conditions and drought stress in 2011. Soil straw mulching (SM) practices have a major effect on soil water and thermal regimes. A two-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate whether the SM practices can help achieve favorable citrus fruit yields. Results showed that the annual total runoff was significantly (P<0.05) reduced with SM as compared to the control (CK). Correspondingly, mean soil water storage in the top 100 cm of the soil profile was increased in the SM as compared to the CK treatment. However, this result was significant only in the dry season (Jan to Mar), and not in the wet season (Jul to Sep) for both years. Interestingly, the SM treatment did not significantly increase citrus fruit yield in 2010 but did so in 2011, when the citrus crop was completely destroyed (zero fruit yield) in the CK treatment plot due to extremely low temperatures during the citrus overwintering stage. The mulch probably acted as an insulator, resulting in smaller fluctuations in soil temperature in the SM than in the CK treatment. The results suggested that the small effects on soil water and temperature changes created by surface mulch had limited impact on citrus fruit yield in a normal year (e.g., in 2010). However, SM practices can positively impact citrus fruit yield in extreme weather conditions.

Soil nutrient assessment for urban ecosystems in Hubei, China.

Recent urban landscape vegetation surveys conducted in many cities in China identified numerous plant nutrient deficiencies, especially in newly developed cities. Soil nutrients and soil nutrient management in the cities of Hubei province have not received adequate attention to date. The aims of this study were to characterize the available nutrients of urban soils from nine cities in Hubei province, China, and to assess how soil nutrient status is related to land use type and topography. Soil nutrients were measured in 405 sites from 1,215 soil samples collected from four land use types (park, institutional [including government building grounds, municipal party grounds, university grounds, and garden city institutes], residential, and roadside verges) and three topographies (mountainous [142-425 m a.s.l], hilly [66-112 m a.s.l], and plain [26-30 m a.s.l]). Chemical analyses showed that urban soils in Hubei had high pH and lower soil organic matter, available nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), and available boron (B) concentrations than natural soils. Nutrient concentrations were significantly different among land use types, with the roadside and residential areas having greater concentrations of calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) that were not deficient against the recommended ranges. Topographic comparisons showed statistically significant effects for 8 of the 11 chemical variables (p < 0.05). Concentrations of N, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, and Mn in plain cities were greater than those in mountainous cities and show a negative correlation with city elevation. These results provide data on urban soils characteristics in land use types and topography, and deliver significant information for city planners and policy makers.

Carbon dioxide flux from rice paddy soils in central China: effects of intermittent flooding and draining cycles.

A field experiment was conducted to (i) examine the diurnal and seasonal soil carbon dioxide (CO(2)) fluxes pattern in rice paddy fields in central China and (ii) assess the role of floodwater in controlling the emissions of CO(2) from soil and floodwater in intermittently draining rice paddy soil. The soil CO(2) flux rates ranged from -0.45 to 8.62 µmol.m(-2).s(-1) during the rice-growing season. The net effluxes of CO(2) from the paddy soil were lower when the paddy was flooded than when it was drained. The CO(2) emissions for the drained conditions showed distinct diurnal variation with a maximum efflux observed in the afternoon. When the paddy was flooded, daytime soil CO(2) fluxes reversed with a peak negative efflux just after midday. In draining/flooding alternating periods, a sudden pulse-like event of rapidly increasing CO(2) efflux occured in response to re-flooding after draining. Correlation analysis showed a negative relation between soil CO(2) flux and temperature under flooded conditions, but a positive relation was found under drained conditions. The results showed that draining and flooding cycles play a vital role in controlling CO(2) emissions from paddy soils.

[Assessment of soil nutrient status in urban green space of main cities in Hubei Province, China].

According to the topography of the cities in Hubei Province, soil samples were collected from the urban green space in two mountainous cities (Enshi and Shiyan), three hilly cities (Jing-men, Xiangfan and Yichang), and five plain cities (Wuhan, Xiaogan, Xianning, Jingzhou, Suizhou and Huangshi). Within each city, subsoil samples were taken in accordance with four different types of land use, including park, residential, institutional (school, hospital and government, etc.), and roadside. In the main cities in Hubei, the soil pH of urban green space was averagely 7.9, being obviously higher than that of natural soils, while the soil organic matter content was rather low (6.8 g x kg(-1)). The soil available N and P contents were at a low level, while the soil available trace element (Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn and B) contents were moderate. Land use type had significant effects on the soil nutrient contents in plain cities. The soil pH in the residential green space was significantly higher than that in the park, roadside and institutional green space, while the contents of soil available trace elements (S, Cu, Mn and Zn) in roadside green space were significantly higher than those of green space in the other land use types. Park green space had the lowest soil nutrient contents. There existed significant differences in the soil nutrient contents among the cities with different topography. The soil organic matter, NH4-N, available K and P, and Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Cu and Mn contents were significantly higher in plain cities than in mountainous cities.