Mobile Robot Path Planning in a 2-Dimentional Mesh

A topologically oriented neural network is very efficient for real-time path planning for a mobile robot in changing environments. When using a recurrent neural network for this purpose and with the combination of the partial differential equation of heat transfer and the distributed potential concept of the network, the problem of obstacle avoidance of trajectory planning for a moving robot can be efficiently solved. The related dimensional network represents the state variables and the topology of the robot's working space. In this paper two approaches to problem solution are proposed. The first approach relies on the potential distribution of attraction distributed around the moving target, acting as a unique local extreme in the net, with the gradient of the state variables directing the current flow toward the source of the potential heat. The second approach considers two attractive and repulsive potential sources to decrease the time of potential distribution. Computer simulations have been carried out to interrogate the performance of the proposed approaches.

Time-Derivative Estimation of Noisy Movie Data using Adaptive Control Theory

This paper presents an adaptive differentiator of sequential data based on the adaptive control theory. The algorithm is applied to detect moving objects by estimating a temporal gradient of sequential data at a specified pixel. We adopt two nonlinear intensity functions to reduce the influence of noises. The derivatives of the nonlinear intensity functions are estimated by an adaptive observer with σ-modification update law.

Vibration of Functionally Graded Cylindrical Shells under Effects Clamped-Clamped Boundary Conditions

Study of the vibration cylindrical shells made of a functionally gradient material (FGM) composed of stainless steel and nickel is important. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction of the shell according to volume fraction power law distribution. The objective is to study the natural frequencies, the influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of the FG cylindrical shell. The study is carried out using third order shear deformation shell theory. The governing equations of motion of FG cylindrical shells are derived based on shear deformation theory. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of clampedclamped boundary conditions.

A Study on Neural Network Training Algorithm for Multiface Detection in Static Images

This paper reports the study results on neural network training algorithm of numerical optimization techniques multiface detection in static images. The training algorithms involved are scale gradient conjugate backpropagation, conjugate gradient backpropagation with Polak-Riebre updates, conjugate gradient backpropagation with Fletcher-Reeves updates, one secant backpropagation and resilent backpropagation. The final result of each training algorithms for multiface detection application will also be discussed and compared.

Vibration of Functionally Graded Cylindrical Shells Under Effect Clamped-Free Boundary Conditions Using Hamilton's Principle

In the present work, study of the vibration of thin cylindrical shells made of a functionally gradient material (FGM) composed of stainless steel and nickel is presented. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction of the shell according to volume fraction power law distribution. The objective is to study the natural frequencies, the influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of the FG cylindrical shell. The study is carried out using third order shear deformation shell theory. The analysis is carried out using Hamilton's principle. The governing equations of motion of FG cylindrical shells are derived based on shear deformation theory. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of clamped-free boundary conditions

A Robust Method for Hand Tracking Using Mean-shift Algorithm and Kalman Filter in Stereo Color Image Sequences

Real-time hand tracking is a challenging task in many computer vision applications such as gesture recognition. This paper proposes a robust method for hand tracking in a complex environment using Mean-shift analysis and Kalman filter in conjunction with 3D depth map. The depth information solve the overlapping problem between hands and face, which is obtained by passive stereo measuring based on cross correlation and the known calibration data of the cameras. Mean-shift analysis uses the gradient of Bhattacharyya coefficient as a similarity function to derive the candidate of the hand that is most similar to a given hand target model. And then, Kalman filter is used to estimate the position of the hand target. The results of hand tracking, tested on various video sequences, are robust to changes in shape as well as partial occlusion.

Real-time Tracking in Image Sequences based-on Parameters Updating with Temporal and Spatial Neighborhoods Mixture Gaussian Model

Gaussian mixture background model is widely used in moving target detection of the image sequences. However, traditional Gaussian mixture background model usually considers the time continuity of the pixels, and establishes background through statistical distribution of pixels without taking into account the pixels- spatial similarity, which will cause noise, imperfection and other problems. This paper proposes a new Gaussian mixture modeling approach, which combines the color and gradient of the spatial information, and integrates the spatial information of the pixel sequences to establish Gaussian mixture background. The experimental results show that the movement background can be extracted accurately and efficiently, and the algorithm is more robust, and can work in real time in tracking applications.

A Comparison of First and Second Order Training Algorithms for Artificial Neural Networks

Minimization methods for training feed-forward networks with Backpropagation are compared. Feedforward network training is a special case of functional minimization, where no explicit model of the data is assumed. Therefore due to the high dimensionality of the data, linearization of the training problem through use of orthogonal basis functions is not desirable. The focus is functional minimization on any basis. A number of methods based on local gradient and Hessian matrices are discussed. Modifications of many methods of first and second order training methods are considered. Using share rates data, experimentally it is proved that Conjugate gradient and Quasi Newton?s methods outperformed the Gradient Descent methods. In case of the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is of special interest in financial forecasting.

Trajectory Estimation and Control of Vehicle using Neuro-Fuzzy Technique

Nonlinear system identification is becoming an important tool which can be used to improve control performance. This paper describes the application of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model for controlling a car. The vehicle must follow a predefined path by supervised learning. Backpropagation gradient descent method was performed to train the ANFIS system. The performance of the ANFIS model was evaluated in terms of training performance and classification accuracies and the results confirmed that the proposed ANFIS model has potential in controlling the non linear system.

Bayesian Inference for Phase Unwrapping Using Conjugate Gradient Method in One and Two Dimensions

We investigated statistical performance of Bayesian inference using maximum entropy and MAP estimation for several models which approximated wave-fronts in remote sensing using SAR interferometry. Using Monte Carlo simulation for a set of wave-fronts generated by assumed true prior, we found that the method of maximum entropy realized the optimal performance around the Bayes-optimal conditions by using model of the true prior and the likelihood representing optical measurement due to the interferometer. Also, we found that the MAP estimation regarded as a deterministic limit of maximum entropy almost achieved the same performance as the Bayes-optimal solution for the set of wave-fronts. Then, we clarified that the MAP estimation perfectly carried out phase unwrapping without using prior information, and also that the MAP estimation realized accurate phase unwrapping using conjugate gradient (CG) method, if we assumed the model of the true prior appropriately.

A New Time Discontinuous Expanded Mixed Element Method for Convection-dominated Diffusion Equation

In this paper, a new time discontinuous expanded mixed finite element method is proposed and analyzed for two-order convection-dominated diffusion problem. The proofs of the stability of the proposed scheme and the uniqueness of the discrete solution are given. Moreover, the error estimates of the scalar unknown, its gradient and its flux in the L1( ¯ J,L2( )-norm are obtained.

Scatterer Density in Edge and Coherence Enhancing Nonlinear Anisotropic Diffusion for Medical Ultrasound Speckle Reduction

This paper proposes new enhancement models to the methods of nonlinear anisotropic diffusion to greatly reduce speckle and preserve image features in medical ultrasound images. By incorporating local physical characteristics of the image, in this case scatterer density, in addition to the gradient, into existing tensorbased image diffusion methods, we were able to greatly improve the performance of the existing filtering methods, namely edge enhancing (EE) and coherence enhancing (CE) diffusion. The new enhancement methods were tested using various ultrasound images, including phantom and some clinical images, to determine the amount of speckle reduction, edge, and coherence enhancements. Scatterer density weighted nonlinear anisotropic diffusion (SDWNAD) for ultrasound images consistently outperformed its traditional tensor-based counterparts that use gradient only to weight the diffusivity function. SDWNAD is shown to greatly reduce speckle noise while preserving image features as edges, orientation coherence, and scatterer density. SDWNAD superior performances over nonlinear coherent diffusion (NCD), speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD), adaptive weighted median filter (AWMF), wavelet shrinkage (WS), and wavelet shrinkage with contrast enhancement (WSCE), make these methods ideal preprocessing steps for automatic segmentation in ultrasound imaging.

Segmentation of Cardiac Images by the Force Field Driven Speed Term

The class of geometric deformable models, so-called level sets, has brought tremendous impact to medical imagery. In this paper we present yet another application of level sets to medical imaging. The method we give here will in a way modify the speed term in the standard level sets equation of motion. To do so we build a potential based on the distance and the gradient of the image we study. In turn the potential gives rise to the force field: F~F(x, y) = P ∀(p,q)∈I ((x, y) - (p, q)) |ÔêçI(p,q)| |(x,y)-(p,q)| 2 . The direction and intensity of the force field at each point will determine the direction of the contour-s evolution. The images we used to test our method were produced by the Univesit'e de Sherbrooke-s PET scanners.

A Clock Skew Minimization Technique Considering Temperature Gradient

The trend of growing density on chips has increases not only the temperature in chips but also the gradient of the temperature depending on locations. In this paper, we propose the balanced skew tree generation technique for minimizing the clock skew that is affected by the temperature gradients on chips. We calculate the interconnect delay using Elmore delay equation, and find out the optimal balanced clock tree by modifying the clock trees generated through the Deferred Merge Embedding(DME) algorithm. The experimental results show that the distance variance of clock insertion points with and without considering the temperature gradient can be lowered below 54% and we confirm that the skew is remarkably decreased after applying the proposed technique.

On the outlier Detection in Nonlinear Regression

The detection of outliers is very essential because of their responsibility for producing huge interpretative problem in linear as well as in nonlinear regression analysis. Much work has been accomplished on the identification of outlier in linear regression, but not in nonlinear regression. In this article we propose several outlier detection techniques for nonlinear regression. The main idea is to use the linear approximation of a nonlinear model and consider the gradient as the design matrix. Subsequently, the detection techniques are formulated. Six detection measures are developed that combined with three estimation techniques such as the Least-Squares, M and MM-estimators. The study shows that among the six measures, only the studentized residual and Cook Distance which combined with the MM estimator, consistently capable of identifying the correct outliers.

Design and Characteristics of New Test Facility for Flat Plate Boundary Layer Research

Preliminary results for a new flat plate test facility are presented here in the form of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), flow visualisation, pressure measurements and thermal anemometry. The results from the CFD and flow visualisation show the effectiveness of the plate design, with the trailing edge flap anchoring the stagnation point on the working surface and reducing the extent of the leading edge separation. The flow visualization technique demonstrates the two-dimensionality of the flow in the location where the thermal anemometry measurements are obtained. Measurements of the boundary layer mean velocity profiles compare favourably with the Blasius solution, thereby allowing for comparison of future measurements with the wealth of data available on zero pressure gradient Blasius flows. Results for the skin friction, boundary layer thickness, frictional velocity and wall shear stress are shown to agree well with the Blasius theory, with a maximum experimental deviation from theory of 5%. Two turbulence generating grids have been designed and characterized and it is shown that the turbulence decay downstream of both grids agrees with established correlations. It is also demonstrated that there is little dependence of turbulence on the freestream velocity.

Theoretical Calculation of Electrical and Optical Properties of BaZrO3

In this project electrical and optical properties of BaZrO3 have been accomplished through the full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) by applying Wein2k software. In this study band structure, density of state, gap energy, refractive index and optical conduction have been studied. The results of calculations show that BaZrO3 is an insulator with an indirect gap in which 3.2 ev and studied refractive index equal 2.07. These results are in accordance with the ones obtained in experimental researches.

New Hybrid Method to Correct for Wind Tunnel Wall- and Support Interference On-line

Because support interference corrections are not properly understood, engineers mostly rely on expensive dummy measurements or CFD calculations. This paper presents a method based on uncorrected wind tunnel measurements and fast calculation techniques (it is a hybrid method) to calculate wall interference, support interference and residual interference (when e.g. a support member closely approaches the wind tunnel walls) for any type of wind tunnel and support configuration. The method provides with a simple formula for the calculation of the interference gradient. This gradient is based on the uncorrected measurements and a successive calculation of the slopes of the interference-free aerodynamic coefficients. For the latter purpose a new vortex-lattice routine is developed that corrects the slopes for viscous effects. A test case of a measurement on a wing proves the value of this hybrid method as trends and orders of magnitudes of the interference are correctly determined.

Effect of Geometrical Parameters on Natural Frequencies of FGM Cylindrical shell with Holes Under Various Boundary Conditions

In the recent years, functionally gradient materials (FGMs) have gained considerable attention in the high temperature environment applications. In this paper, free vibration of thin functionally graded cylindrical shell with hole composed of stainless steel and zirconia is studied. The mechanical properties vary smoothly and continuously from one surface to the other according to a volume fraction power-law distribution. The Influence of shell geometrical parameters, variations of volume fractions and boundary conditions on natural frequency is considered. The equations of motion are based on strains-displacement relations from Love-s shell theory and Rayleigh method. The results have been obtained for natural frequencies of cylindrical shell with holes for different shape, number and location in this paper.

Mechanical Behavior of Deep-Drawn Cups with Aluminum/Duralumin Multi-Layered Clad Structures

This study aims to investigate mechanical behavior of deep-drawn cups consisting of aluminum (A1050)/ duralumin (A2017) multi-layered clad structures with micro- and macro-scale functional gradients. Such multi-layered clad structures are possibly used for a new type of crash-boxes in automobiles to effectively absorb the impact forces generated when automobiles having collisions. The effect of heat treatments on microstructure, compositional gradient, micro hardness in 2 and 6-layered aluminum/ duralumin clad structures, which were fabricated by hot rolling, have been investigated. Impact compressive behavior of deep-drawn cups consisting of such aluminum/ duralumin clad structures has been also investigated in terms of energy absorption and maximum force. Deep-drawn cups consisting of 6-layerd clad structures with microand macro-scale functional gradients exhibit superior properties in impact compressive tests.