An Optimization of Orbital Transfer for Spacecrafts with Finite-thrust Based on Legendre Pseudospectral Method

This paper presents the use of Legendre pseudospectral method for the optimization of finite-thrust orbital transfer for spacecrafts. In order to get an accurate solution, the System-s dynamics equations were normalized through a dimensionless method. The Legendre pseudospectral method is based on interpolating functions on Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto (LGL) quadrature nodes. This is used to transform the optimal control problem into a constrained parameter optimization problem. The developed novel optimization algorithm can be used to solve similar optimization problems of spacecraft finite-thrust orbital transfer. The results of a numerical simulation verified the validity of the proposed optimization method. The simulation results reveal that pseudospectral optimization method is a promising method for real-time trajectory optimization and provides good accuracy and fast convergence.

2D Spherical Spaces for Face Relighting under Harsh Illumination

In this paper, we propose a robust face relighting technique by using spherical space properties. The proposed method is done for reducing the illumination effects on face recognition. Given a single 2D face image, we relight the face object by extracting the nine spherical harmonic bases and the face spherical illumination coefficients. First, an internal training illumination database is generated by computing face albedo and face normal from 2D images under different lighting conditions. Based on the generated database, we analyze the target face pixels and compare them with the training bootstrap by using pre-generated tiles. In this work, practical real time processing speed and small image size were considered when designing the framework. In contrast to other works, our technique requires no 3D face models for the training process and takes a single 2D image as an input. Experimental results on publicly available databases show that the proposed technique works well under severe lighting conditions with significant improvements on the face recognition rates.

Porous Particles Drying in a Vertical Upward Pneumatic Conveying Dryer

A steady two-phase flow model has been developed to simulate the drying process of porous particle in a pneumatic conveying dryer. The model takes into account the momentum, heat and mass transfer between the continuous phase and the dispersed phase. A single particle model was employed to calculate the evaporation rate. In this model the pore structure is simplified to allow the dominant evaporation mechanism to be readily identified at all points within the duct. The predominant mechanism at any time depends upon the pressure, temperature and the diameter of pore from which evaporating is occurring. The model was validated against experimental studies of pneumatic transport at low and high speeds as well as pneumatic drying. The effects of operating conditions on the dryer parameters are studied numerically. The present results show that the drying rate is enhanced as the inlet gas temperature and the gas flow rate increase and as the solid mass flow rate deceases. The present results also demonstrate the necessity of measuring the inlet gas velocity or the solid concentration in any experimental analysis.

Seamless Flow of Voluminous Data in High Speed Network without Congestion Using Feedback Mechanism

Continuously growing needs for Internet applications that transmit massive amount of data have led to the emergence of high speed network. Data transfer must take place without any congestion and hence feedback parameters must be transferred from the receiver end to the sender end so as to restrict the sending rate in order to avoid congestion. Even though TCP tries to avoid congestion by restricting the sending rate and window size, it never announces the sender about the capacity of the data to be sent and also it reduces the window size by half at the time of congestion therefore resulting in the decrease of throughput, low utilization of the bandwidth and maximum delay. In this paper, XCP protocol is used and feedback parameters are calculated based on arrival rate, service rate, traffic rate and queue size and hence the receiver informs the sender about the throughput, capacity of the data to be sent and window size adjustment, resulting in no drastic decrease in window size, better increase in sending rate because of which there is a continuous flow of data without congestion. Therefore as a result of this, there is a maximum increase in throughput, high utilization of the bandwidth and minimum delay. The result of the proposed work is presented as a graph based on throughput, delay and window size. Thus in this paper, XCP protocol is well illustrated and the various parameters are thoroughly analyzed and adequately presented.

Fractal Dimension: An Index to Quantify Parameters in Genetic Algorithms

Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are direct searching methods which require little information from design space. This characteristic beside robustness of these algorithms makes them to be very popular in recent decades. On the other hand, while this method is employed, there is no guarantee to achieve optimum results. This obliged designer to run such algorithms more than one time to achieve more reliable results. There are many attempts to modify the algorithms to make them more efficient. In this paper, by application of fractal dimension (particularly, Box Counting Method), the complexity of design space are established for determination of mutation and crossover probabilities (Pm and Pc). This methodology is followed by a numerical example for more clarification. It is concluded that this modification will improve efficiency of GAs and make them to bring about more reliable results especially for design space with higher fractal dimensions.

A Novel Architecture for Wavelet based Image Fusion

In this paper, we focus on the fusion of images from different sources using multiresolution wavelet transforms. Based on reviews of popular image fusion techniques used in data analysis, different pixel and energy based methods are experimented. A novel architecture with a hybrid algorithm is proposed which applies pixel based maximum selection rule to low frequency approximations and filter mask based fusion to high frequency details of wavelet decomposition. The key feature of hybrid architecture is the combination of advantages of pixel and region based fusion in a single image which can help the development of sophisticated algorithms enhancing the edges and structural details. A Graphical User Interface is developed for image fusion to make the research outcomes available to the end user. To utilize GUI capabilities for medical, industrial and commercial activities without MATLAB installation, a standalone executable application is also developed using Matlab Compiler Runtime.

A Power Reduction Technique for Built-In-Self Testing Using Modified Linear Feedback Shift Register

A linear feedback shift register (LFSR) is proposed which targets to reduce the power consumption from within. It reduces the power consumption during testing of a Circuit Under Test (CUT) at two stages. At first stage, Control Logic (CL) makes the clocks of the switching units of the register inactive for a time period when output from them is going to be same as previous one and thus reducing unnecessary switching of the flip-flops. And at second stage, the LFSR reorders the test vectors by interchanging the bit with its next and closest neighbor bit. It keeps fault coverage capacity of the vectors unchanged but reduces the Total Hamming Distance (THD) so that there is reduction in power while shifting operation.

Testing Object-Oriented Framework Applications Using FIST2 Tool: A Case Study

An application framework provides a reusable design and implementation for a family of software systems. Frameworks are introduced to reduce the cost of a product line (i.e., a family of products that shares the common features). Software testing is a timeconsuming and costly ongoing activity during the application software development process. Generating reusable test cases for the framework applications during the framework development stage, and providing and using the test cases to test part of the framework application whenever the framework is used reduces the application development time and cost considerably. This paper introduces the Framework Interface State Transition Tester (FIST2), a tool for automated unit testing of Java framework applications. During the framework development stage, given the formal descriptions of the framework hooks, the specifications of the methods of the framework-s extensible classes, and the illegal behavior description of the Framework Interface Classes (FICs), FIST2 generates unitlevel test cases for the classes. At the framework application development stage, given the customized method specifications of the implemented FICs, FIST2 automates the use, execution, and evaluation of the already generated test cases to test the implemented FICs. The paper illustrates the use of the FIST2 tool for testing several applications that use the SalesPoint framework.

Visualization and Indexing of Spectral Databases

On-line (near infrared) spectroscopy is widely used to support the operation of complex process systems. Information extracted from spectral database can be used to estimate unmeasured product properties and monitor the operation of the process. These techniques are based on looking for similar spectra by nearest neighborhood algorithms and distance based searching methods. Search for nearest neighbors in the spectral space is an NP-hard problem, the computational complexity increases by the number of points in the discrete spectrum and the number of samples in the database. To reduce the calculation time some kind of indexing could be used. The main idea presented in this paper is to combine indexing and visualization techniques to reduce the computational requirement of estimation algorithms by providing a two dimensional indexing that can also be used to visualize the structure of the spectral database. This 2D visualization of spectral database does not only support application of distance and similarity based techniques but enables the utilization of advanced clustering and prediction algorithms based on the Delaunay tessellation of the mapped spectral space. This means the prediction has not to use the high dimension space but can be based on the mapped space too. The results illustrate that the proposed method is able to segment (cluster) spectral databases and detect outliers that are not suitable for instance based learning algorithms.

Image Retrieval: Techniques, Challenge, and Trend

This paper attempts to discuss the evolution of the retrieval techniques focusing on development, challenges and trends of the image retrieval. It highlights both the already addressed and outstanding issues. The explosive growth of image data leads to the need of research and development of Image Retrieval. However, Image retrieval researches are moving from keyword, to low level features and to semantic features. Drive towards semantic features is due to the problem of the keywords which can be very subjective and time consuming while low level features cannot always describe high level concepts in the users- mind.

Computer-Assisted Piston-Driven Ventilator for Total Liquid Breathing

Total liquid ventilation can support gas exchange in animal models of lung injury. Clinical application awaits further technical improvements and performance verification. Our aim was to develop a liquid ventilator, able to deliver accurate tidal volumes, and a computerized system for measuring lung mechanics. The computer-assisted, piston-driven respirator controlled ventilatory parameters that were displayed and modified on a real-time basis. Pressure and temperature transducers along with a lineal displacement controller provided the necessary signals to calculate lung mechanics. Ten newborn lambs (

Absorption of CO2 in EAF Reducing Slag from Stainless Steel Making Process by Wet Grinding

In the current study, we have conducted an experimental investigation on the utilization of electronic arc furnace (EAF) reducing slag for the absorption of CO2 via wet grinding method. It was carried out by various grinding conditions. The slag was ground in the vibrating ball mill in the presence of CO2 and pure water under ambient temperature. The reaction behavior was monitored with constant pressure method, and the changes of experimental systems volume as a function of grinding time were measured. It was found that the CO2 absorption occurred as soon as the grinding started. The CO2 absorption was significantly increased in the case of wet grinding compare to the dry grinding. Generally, the amount of CO2 absorption increased as the amount of water, weight of slag and initial pressure increased. However, it was decreased when the amount of water exceeds 200ml and when smaller balls were used. The absorption of CO2 occurred simultaneously with the start of the grinding and it stopped when the grinding was stopped. According to this research, the CO2 reacted with the CaO inside the slag, forming CaCO3.

Effect of Crude oil Intoxication on Antioxidant and Marker Enzymes of Tissue Damage in Liver of Rat

The objective of the present study was to examine the dose-response relationships between antioxidant parameters and liver contaminant levels of Kazakhstan light crude oil (KLCO) in albino rats. The animals were repeatedly exposed, by intraperitoneal injection, to low dosages (0.5–1.5 ml/kg) of KLCO. Rats exposed to these doses levels did not show any apparent symptoms of intoxication. Serum aminotransferases increased significantly (p

Measuring the Comprehensibility of a UML-B Model and a B Model

Software maintenance, which involves making enhancements, modifications and corrections to existing software systems, consumes more than half of developer time. Specification comprehensibility plays an important role in software maintenance as it permits the understanding of the system properties more easily and quickly. The use of formal notation such as B increases a specification-s precision and consistency. However, the notation is regarded as being difficult to comprehend. Semi-formal notation such as the Unified Modelling Language (UML) is perceived as more accessible but it lacks formality. Perhaps by combining both notations could produce a specification that is not only accurate and consistent but also accessible to users. This paper presents an experiment conducted on a model that integrates the use of both UML and B notations, namely UML-B, versus a B model alone. The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the comprehensibility of a UML-B model compared to a traditional B model. The measurement used in the experiment focused on the efficiency in performing the comprehension tasks. The experiment employed a cross-over design and was conducted on forty-one subjects, including undergraduate and masters students. The results show that the notation used in the UML-B model is more comprehensible than the B model.

Two-dimensional Analytical Drain Current Model for Multilayered-Gate Material Engineered Trapezoidal Recessed Channel(MLGME-TRC) MOSFET: a Novel Design

In this paper, for the first time, a two-dimensional (2D) analytical drain current model for sub-100 nm multi-layered gate material engineered trapezoidal recessed channel (MLGMETRC) MOSFET: a novel design is presented and investigated using ATLAS and DEVEDIT device simulators, to mitigate the large gate leakages and increased standby power consumption that arise due to continued scaling of SiO2-based gate dielectrics. The twodimensional (2D) analytical model based on solution of Poisson-s equation in cylindrical coordinates, utilizing the cylindrical approximation, has been developed which evaluate the surface potential, electric field, drain current, switching metric: ION/IOFF ratio and transconductance for the proposed design. A good agreement between the model predictions and device simulation results is obtained, verifying the accuracy of the proposed analytical model.

Effect of Increasing Road Light Luminance on Night Driving Performance of Older Adults

The main objective of this study was to determine if a minimal increase in road light level (luminance) could lead to improved driving performance among older adults. Older, middleaged and younger adults were tested in a driving simulator following vision and cognitive screening. Comparisons were made for the performance of simulated night driving under two road light conditions (0.6 and 2.5 cd/m2). At each light level, the effects of self reported night driving avoidance were examined along with the vision/cognitive performance. It was found that increasing road light level from 0.6 cd/m2 to 2.5 cd/m2 resulted in improved recognition of signage on straight highway segments. The improvement depends on different driver-related factors such as vision and cognitive abilities, and confidence. On curved road sections, the results showed that driver-s performance worsened. It is concluded that while increasing road lighting may be helpful to older adults especially for sign recognition, it may also result in increased driving confidence and thus reduced attention in some driving situations.

2D-Modeling with Lego Mindstorms

The whole work is based on possibility to use Lego Mindstorms robotics systems to reduce costs. Lego Mindstorms consists of a wide variety of hardware components necessary to simulate, programme and test of robotics systems in practice. To programme algorithm, which simulates space using the ultrasonic sensor, was used development environment supplied with kit. Software Matlab was used to render values afterwards they were measured by ultrasonic sensor. The algorithm created for this paper uses theoretical knowledge from area of signal processing. Data being processed by algorithm are collected by ultrasonic sensor that scans 2D space in front of it. Ultrasonic sensor is placed on moving arm of robot which provides horizontal moving of sensor. Vertical movement of sensor is provided by wheel drive. The robot follows map in order to get correct positioning of measured data. Based on discovered facts it is possible to consider Lego Mindstorm for low-cost and capable kit for real-time modelling.

A Novel Low Power Digitally Controlled Oscillator with Improved linear Operating Range

In this paper, an ultra low power and low jitter 12bit CMOS digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) design is presented. Based on a ring oscillator implemented with low power Schmitt trigger based inverters. Simulation of the proposed DCO using 32nm CMOS Predictive Transistor Model (PTM) achieves controllable frequency range of 550MHz~830MHz with a wide linearity and high resolution. Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates that the time-period jitter due to random power supply fluctuation is under 31ps and the power consumption is 0.5677mW at 750MHz with 1.2V power supply and 0.53-ps resolution. The proposed DCO has a good robustness to voltage and temperature variations and better linearity comparing to the conventional design.

General Process Control for Intelligent Systems

Development of intelligent assembly cell conception includes new solution kind of how to create structures of automated and flexible assembly system. The current trend of the final product quality increasing is affected by time analysis of the entire manufacturing process. The primary requirement of manufacturing is to produce as many products as soon as possible, at the lowest possible cost, but of course with the highest quality. Such requirements may be satisfied only if all the elements entering and affecting the production cycle are in a fully functional condition. These elements consist of sensory equipment and intelligent control elements that are essential for building intelligent manufacturing systems. Intelligent behavior of the system as the control system will repose on monitoring of important parameters of the system in the real time. Intelligent manufacturing system itself should be a system that can flexibly respond to changes in entering and exiting the process in interaction with the surroundings.

Development and Assessment of the Competence Creativity Applied to Technical Drawing

The results obtained after incorporating the competence “creativity" to the subject Technical Drawing of the first course of the Degree in Forestry, Technical University of Madrid, are presented in this study.At first, learning activities which could serve two functions at the same time -developing students- creativity and developing other specific competences of the subject- were considered. Besides, changes in the assessment procedure were made and a method which analyzes two aspects of the assessment of the competence creativity was established. On the one hand, the products are evaluated by analyzing the outcomes obtained by students in the essays suggested and by establishing a parameter to assess the creativity expressed in those essays. On the other, an assessment of the student is directly carried out through a psychometric test which has been previously chosen by the team.Moreover, these results can be applied to similar or could be of general application.