A framework for robotic excavation and dry stone construction using on-site materials.

Automated building processes that enable efficient in situ resource utilization can facilitate construction in remote locations while simultaneously offering a carbon-reducing alternative to commonplace building practices. Toward these ends, we present a robotic construction pipeline that is capable of planning and building freeform stone walls and landscapes from highly heterogeneous local materials using a robotic excavator equipped with a shovel and gripper. Our system learns from real and simulated data to facilitate the online detection and segmentation of stone instances in spatial maps, enabling robotic grasping and textured 3D scanning of individual stones and rubble elements.

Patient-reported impact of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: protocol for a real-world digital lifestyle study.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a rare, chronic, progressive motor and sensory neuropathy affecting the peripheral nervous system. This study will explore the real-world impact of CMT. The trial is a digital study of approximately 2000 people in 6 countries with CMT ≥18 years.