Abstract: Above Elbow Prosthesis is one of the most commonly
amputated or missing limbs. The research is done for modelling
techniques of upper limb prosthesis and design of high torque, light
weight and compact in size elbow actuator. The purposed actuator
consists of a DC motor, planetary gear set and a harmonic drive. The
calculations show that the actuator is good enough to be used in real
life powered prosthetic upper limb or rehabilitation exoskeleton.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to study the electrical
resistivity complexity between field and laboratory measurement, in
order to improve the effectiveness of data interpretation for
geophysical ground resistivity survey. The geological outcrop in
Penang, Malaysia with an obvious layering contact was chosen as the
study site. Two dimensional geoelectrical resistivity imaging were
used in this study to maps the resistivity distribution of subsurface,
whereas few subsurface sample were obtained for laboratory
advance. In this study, resistivity of samples in original conditions is
measured in laboratory by using time domain low-voltage technique,
particularly for granite core sample and soil resistivity measuring set
for soil sample. The experimentation results from both schemes are
studied, analyzed, calibrated and verified, including basis and
correlation, degree of tolerance and characteristics of substance.
Consequently, the significant different between both schemes is
explained comprehensively within this paper.
Abstract: In this paper, transversal vibration of buried pipelines
during loading induced by underground explosions is analyzed. The
pipeline is modeled as an infinite beam on an elastic foundation, so
that soil-structure interaction is considered by means of transverse
linear springs along the pipeline. The pipeline behavior is assumed to
be ideal elasto-plastic which an ultimate strain value limits the plastic
behavior. The blast loading is considered as a point load, considering
the affected length at some point of the pipeline, in which the
magnitude decreases exponentially with time. A closed-form solution
for the quasi-static problem is carried out for both elastic and elasticperfect
plastic behaviors of pipe materials. At the end, a comparative
study on steel and polyethylene pipes with different sizes buried in
various soil conditions, affected by a predefined underground
explosion is conducted, in which effect of each parameter is
discussed.
Abstract: This paper presents a compact thermoelectric power generator system based on temperature difference across the element. The system can transfer the burning heat energy to electric energy directly. The proposed system has a thermoelectric generator and a power control box. In the generator, there are 4 thermoelectric modules (TEMs), each of which uses 2 thermoelectric chips (TEs) and 2 cold sinks, 1 thermal absorber, and 1 thermal conduction flat board. In the power control box, there are 1 storing energy device, 1 converter, and 1 inverter. The total net generating power is about 11W. This system uses commercial portable gas stoves or burns timber or the coal as the heat source, which is easily obtained. It adopts solid-state thermoelectric chips as heat inverter parts. The system has the advantages of being light-weight, quite, and mobile, requiring no maintenance, and havng easily-supplied heat source. The system can be used a as long as burning is allowed. This system works well for highly-mobilized outdoors situations by providing a power for illumination, entertainment equipment or the wireless equipment at refuge. Under heavy storms such as typhoon, when the solar panels become ineffective and the wind-powered machines malfunction, the thermoelectric power generator can continue providing the vital power.
Abstract: The issue of unintentional islanding in PV grid
interconnection still remains as a challenge in grid-connected
photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper discusses the overview of
popularly used anti-islanding detection methods, practically applied
in PV grid-connected systems. Anti-islanding methods generally can
be classified into four major groups, which include passive methods,
active methods, hybrid methods and communication base methods.
Active methods have been the preferred detection technique over the
years due to very small non-detected zone (NDZ) in small scale
distribution generation. Passive method is comparatively simpler
than active method in terms of circuitry and operations. However, it
suffers from large NDZ that significantly reduces its performance.
Communication base methods inherit the advantages of active and
passive methods with reduced drawbacks. Hybrid method which
evolved from the combination of both active and passive methods
has been proven to achieve accurate anti-islanding detection by many
researchers. For each of the studied anti-islanding methods, the
operation analysis is described while the advantages and
disadvantages are compared and discussed. It is difficult to pinpoint a
generic method for a specific application, because most of the
methods discussed are governed by the nature of application and
system dependent elements. This study concludes that the setup and
operation cost is the vital factor for anti-islanding method selection in
order to achieve minimal compromising between cost and system
quality.
Abstract: This paper proposes a method, combining color and
layout features, for identifying documents captured from lowresolution
handheld devices. On one hand, the document image color
density surface is estimated and represented with an equivalent
ellipse and on the other hand, the document shallow layout structure
is computed and hierarchically represented. The combined color and
layout features are arranged in a symbolic file, which is unique for
each document and is called the document-s visual signature. Our
identification method first uses the color information in the
signatures in order to focus the search space on documents having a
similar color distribution, and finally selects the document having the
most similar layout structure in the remaining search space. Finally,
our experiment considers slide documents, which are often captured
using handheld devices.
Abstract: This paper presents a simplified version of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) - a conventional approach to evaluating the performance and ranking of competitive objects characterized by two groups of factors acting in opposite directions: inputs and outputs. DEA with a Perfect Object (DEA PO) augments the group of actual objects with a virtual Perfect Object - the one having greatest outputs and smallest inputs. It allows for obtaining an explicit analytical solution and making a step to an absolute efficiency. This paper develops this approach further and introduces a DEA model with Partially Perfect Objects. DEA PPO consecutively eliminates the smallest relative inputs or greatest relative outputs, and applies DEA PO to the reduced collections of indicators. The partial efficiency scores are combined to get the weighted efficiency score. The computational scheme remains simple, like that of DEA PO, but the advantage of the DEA PPO is taking into account all of the inputs and outputs for each actual object. Firm evaluation is considered as an example.
Abstract: This paper presents a new steganography approach suitable for Arabic texts. It can be classified under steganography feature coding methods. The approach hides secret information bits within the letters benefiting from their inherited points. To note the specific letters holding secret bits, the scheme considers the two features, the existence of the points in the letters and the redundant Arabic extension character. We use the pointed letters with extension to hold the secret bit 'one' and the un-pointed letters with extension to hold 'zero'. This steganography technique is found attractive to other languages having similar texts to Arabic such as Persian and Urdu.
Abstract: Sharing the manufacturing facility through remote
operation and monitoring of a machining process is challenge for
effective use the production facility. Several automation tools in term
of hardware and software are necessary for successfully remote
operation of a machine. This paper presents a prototype of workpiece
holding attachment for remote operation of milling process by self
configuration the workpiece setup. The prototype is designed with
mechanism to reorient the work surface into machining spindle
direction with high positioning accuracy. Variety of parts geometry
is hold by attachment to perform single setup machining. Pin type
with array pattern additionally clamps the workpiece surface from
two opposite directions for increasing the machining rigidity.
Optimum pins configuration for conforming the workpiece geometry
with minimum deformation is determined through hybrid algorithms,
Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).
Prototype with intelligent optimization technique enables to hold
several variety of workpiece geometry which is suitable for
machining low of repetitive production in remote operation.
Abstract: Electrospinning is a broadly used technology to obtain
polymeric nanofibers ranging from several micrometers down to
several hundred nanometers for a wide range of applications. It offers
unique capabilities to produce nanofibers with controllable porous
structure. With smaller pores and higher surface area than regular
fibers, electrospun fibers have been successfully applied in various
fields, such as, nanocatalysis, tissue engineering scaffolds, protective
clothing, filtration, biomedical, pharmaceutical, optical electronics,
healthcare, biotechnology, defense and security, and environmental
engineering. In this study, polyurethane nanofibers were obtained
under different electrospinning parameters. Fiber morphology and
diameter distribution were investigated in order to understand them
as a function of process parameters.
Abstract: An optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FFPI) is
proposed and demonstrated for dynamic measurements in a
mechanical vibrating target. A polishing metal with a low reflectance
value adhered to a mechanical vibrator was excited via a function
generator at various excitation frequencies. Output interference
fringes were generated by modulating the reference and sensing
signal at the output arm. A fringe-counting technique was used for
interpreting the displacement information on the dedicated computer.
The fiber interferometer has been found the capability of the
displacement measurements of 1.28 μm – 96.01 μm. A commercial
displacement sensor was employed as a reference sensor for
investigating the measurement errors from the fiber sensor. A
maximum percentage measurement error of approximately 1.59 %
was obtained.
Abstract: This paper reports a case study on how a conceptual
and analytical thinking approach was used in Art and Design Department at Multimedia University (Malaysia) in addressing the
issues of one nation and its impact in the society through artworks. The art project was designed for students to increase the know-how
and develop creative thinking in design and communication. Goals of the design project were: (1) to develop creative thinking in design
and communication, (2) to increase student understanding on the
process of problem solving for design work, and (3) to use design
elements and principles to generate interest, attention and emotional responses. An exhibition entitled "One Nation" was showcased to
local and international viewers consisting of the general public, professionals, academics, artists and students. Findings indicate that the project supported several visual art standards, as well as
generated awareness in the society. This project may be of interest to
current and future art educators and others interested in the potential
of utilizing global issues as content for art, community and environment studies for the purpose of educational art.
Abstract: This paper introduces a temporal epistemic logic
CBCTL that updates agent-s belief states through communications
in them, based on computational tree logic (CTL). In practical
environments, communication channels between agents may not be
secure, and in bad cases agents might suffer blackouts. In this study,
we provide inform* protocol based on ACL of FIPA, and declare the
presence of secure channels between two agents, dependent on time.
Thus, the belief state of each agent is updated along with the progress
of time. We show a prover, that is a reasoning system for a given
formula in a given a situation of an agent ; if it is directly provable
or if it could be validated through the chains of communications, the
system returns the proof.
Abstract: Software Development Risks Identification (SDRI),
using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), is a proposed technique to identify
not only the risk factors but also the causes of the appearance of the
risk factors in software development life cycle. The method is based
on analyzing the probable causes of software development failures
before they become problems and adversely affect a project. It uses
Fault tree analysis (FTA) to determine the probability of a particular
system level failures that are defined by A Taxonomy for Sources of
Software Development Risk to deduce failure analysis in which an
undesired state of a system by using Boolean logic to combine a
series of lower-level events. The major purpose of this paper is to use
the probabilistic calculations of Fault Tree Analysis approach to
determine all possible causes that lead to software development risk
occurrence
Abstract: Software estimation accuracy is among the greatest
challenges for software developers. This study aimed at building and
evaluating a neuro-fuzzy model to estimate software projects
development time. The forty-one modules developed from ten
programs were used as dataset. Our proposed approach is compared
with fuzzy logic and neural network model and Results show that the
value of MMRE (Mean of Magnitude of Relative Error) applying
neuro-fuzzy was substantially lower than MMRE applying fuzzy
logic and neural network.
Abstract: The authors present an algorithm for order reduction of linear dynamic systems using the combined advantages of stability equation method and the error minimization by Genetic algorithm. The denominator of the reduced order model is obtained by the stability equation method and the numerator terms of the lower order transfer function are determined by minimizing the integral square error between the transient responses of original and reduced order models using Genetic algorithm. The reduction procedure is simple and computer oriented. It is shown that the algorithm has several advantages, e.g. the reduced order models retain the steady-state value and stability of the original system. The proposed algorithm has also been extended for the order reduction of linear multivariable systems. Two numerical examples are solved to illustrate the superiority of the algorithm over some existing ones including one example of multivariable system.
Abstract: Conventionally the selection of parameters depends
intensely on the operator-s experience or conservative technological
data provided by the EDM equipment manufacturers that assign
inconsistent machining performance. The parameter settings given by
the manufacturers are only relevant with common steel grades. A
single parameter change influences the process in a complex way.
Hence, the present research proposes artificial neural network (ANN)
models for the prediction of surface roughness on first commenced
Ti-15-3 alloy in electrical discharge machining (EDM) process. The
proposed models use peak current, pulse on time, pulse off time and
servo voltage as input parameters. Multilayer perceptron (MLP) with
three hidden layer feedforward networks are applied. An assessment
is carried out with the models of distinct hidden layer. Training of the
models is performed with data from an extensive series of
experiments utilizing copper electrode as positive polarity. The
predictions based on the above developed models have been verified
with another set of experiments and are found to be in good
agreement with the experimental results. Beside this they can be
exercised as precious tools for the process planning for EDM.
Abstract: Analytical solution of the first-order and third-order
shear deformation theories are developed to study the free vibration
behavior of simply supported functionally graded plates. The
material properties of plate are assumed to be graded in the thickness
direction as a power law distribution of volume fraction of the
constituents. The governing equations of functionally graded plates
are established by applying the Hamilton's principle and are solved
by using the Navier solution method. The influence of side-tothickness
ratio and constituent of volume fraction on the natural
frequencies are studied. The results are validated with the known
data in the literature.
Abstract: The paper proposes an approach using genetic algorithm for computing the region based image similarity. The image is denoted using a set of segmented regions reflecting color and texture properties of an image. An image is associated with a family of image features corresponding to the regions. The resemblance of two images is then defined as the overall similarity between two families of image features, and quantified by a similarity measure, which integrates properties of all the regions in the images. A genetic algorithm is applied to decide the most plausible matching. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated using examples from an image database of general-purpose images, and is shown to produce good results.
Abstract: In this paper we compare the response of linear and
nonlinear neural network-based prediction schemes in prediction of
received Signal-to-Interference Power Ratio (SIR) in Direct
Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS/CDMA) systems. The
nonlinear predictor is Multilayer Perceptron MLP and the linear
predictor is an Adaptive Linear (Adaline) predictor. We solve the
problem of complexity by using the Minimum Mean Squared Error
(MMSE) principle to select the optimal predictors. The optimized
Adaline predictor is compared to optimized MLP by employing
noisy Rayleigh fading signals with 1.8 GHZ carrier frequency in an
urban environment. The results show that the Adaline predictor can
estimates SIR with the same error as MLP when the user has the
velocity of 5 km/h and 60 km/h but by increasing the velocity up-to
120 km/h the mean squared error of MLP is two times more than
Adaline predictor. This makes the Adaline predictor (with lower
complexity) more suitable than MLP for closed-loop power control
where efficient and accurate identification of the time-varying
inverse dynamics of the multi path fading channel is required.