While neurocognitive data provide clear evidence for the involvement of the motor system in speech perception, its precise role and the way motor information is involved in perceptual decision remain unclear. In this paper, we discuss some recent experimental results in light of COSMO, a Bayesian perceptuo-motor model of speech communication. COSMO enables us to model both speech perception and...

We address the problem of recognizing 3D rigid freeform objects using dense range data when the objects can be imaged from arbitrary viewpoints and the objects vary in shape and complexity. We propose a multi-level matching strategy that employs shape spectral analysis and features derived from the COSMOS representations of free-form objects for fast and efficient recognition. We demonstrate th...

A new technology was recently developed for municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash stabilization, based on the employment of all waste and byproduct materials. In particular, the proposed method is based on the use of amorphous silica contained in rice husk ash (RHA), an agricultural byproduct material (COSMOS-RICE project). The obtained final inert can be applied in several applicat...

The aim of this study is to perform a thorough comparison of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) techniques and their dependence on the assumptions made. The compared methodologies were: two iterative single orientation methodologies minimizing the l2, l1TV norm of the prior knowledge of the edges of the object, one over-determined multiple orientation method (COSMOS) and a newly proposed...

20 M A X P L A N C K R E S E A R C H 1 / 2 0 0 9 Nature shuns perfect symmetry. If it didn’t, the universe would contain no matter – only radiation. For half a century now, physicists have been searching for the reason behind this minor yet, for humans, essential departure from perfection. Three Nobel Prizes have already been awarded for partial successes, the last one in 2008. At the MAX PLANC...

Abstract I briefly discuss some attempts to construct a consistent modification to General Relativity (GR) that might explain the observed late-time acceleration of the universe and provide an alternative to dark energy. I mention the issues facing extensions to GR, illustrate these with two specific examples, and discuss the resulting observational and theoretical obstacles. This article compr...