Abstract: This paper proposes an adaptive sliding mode
controller which combines adaptive control and sliding
mode control to control a nonlinear robotic manipulator
with uncertain parameters. We use an adaptive algorithm
based on the concept of sliding mode control to alleviate the
chattering phenomenon of control input. Adaptive laws are
developed to obtain the gain of switching input and the
boundary layer parameters. The stability and convergence
of the robotic manipulator control system are guaranteed
by applying the Lyapunov theorem. Simulation results
demonstrate that the chattering of control input can be
alleviated effectively. The proposed controller scheme can
assure robustness against a large class of uncertainties and
achieve good trajectory tracking performance.
Abstract: Web-based systems have become increasingly
important due to the fact that the Internet and the World Wide Web
have become ubiquitous, surpassing all other technological
developments in our history. The Internet and especially companies
websites has rapidly evolved in their scope and extent of use, from
being a little more than fixed advertising material, i.e. a "web
presences", which had no particular influence for the company's
business, to being one of the most essential parts of the company's
core business.
Traditional software engineering approaches with process models
such as, for example, CMM and Waterfall models, do not work very
well since web system development differs from traditional
development. The development differs in several ways, for example,
there is a large gap between traditional software engineering designs
and concepts and the low-level implementation model, many of the
web based system development activities are business oriented (for
example web application are sales-oriented, web application and
intranets are content-oriented) and not engineering-oriented.
This paper aims to introduce Increment Iterative extreme
Programming (IIXP) methodology for developing web based
systems. In difference to the other existence methodologies, this
methodology is combination of different traditional and modern
software engineering and web engineering principles.
Abstract: Rotor Flux based Model Reference Adaptive System
(RF-MRAS) is the most popularly used conventional speed
estimation scheme for sensor-less IM drives. In this scheme, the
voltage model equations are used for the reference model. This
encounters major drawbacks at low frequencies/speed which leads to
the poor performance of RF-MRAS. Replacing the reference model
using Neural Network (NN) based flux estimator provides an
alternate solution and addresses such drawbacks. This paper
identifies an NN based flux estimator using Single Neuron Cascaded
(SNC) Architecture. The proposed SNC-NN model replaces the
conventional voltage model in RF-MRAS to form a novel MRAS
scheme named as SNC-NN-MRAS. Through simulation the proposed
SNC-NN-MRAS is shown to be promising in terms of all major
issues and robustness to parameter variation. The suitability of the
proposed SNC-NN-MRAS based speed estimator and its advantages
over RF-MRAS for sensor-less induction motor drives is
comprehensively presented through extensive simulations.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present a new
three-dimensional proportional-pursuit coupled (PP) guidance law to
track highly maneuverable aircraft. Utilizing a 3-D polar coordinate frame, the PP guidance law is formed by collecting proportional
navigation guidance in Z-R plane and pursuit guidance in X-Y plane.
Feedback linearization control method to solve the guidance
accelerations is used to implement PP guidance. In order to
compensate the actuator time delay, the time delay compensated
version of PP guidance law (CPP) was derived and proved the
effectiveness of modifying the problem of high acceleration in the final
phase of pursuit guidance and improving the weak robustness of
proportional navigation. The simulation results for intercepting Max G
turn situation show that the proposed proportional-pursuit coupled
guidance law guidance law with actuator delay compensation (CPP)
possesses satisfactory robustness and performance.
Abstract: Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is an essential tool before an information system project implementation. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects definitely require the standardization and fixation of business processes from customer order to shipment. Therefore, ERP implementations are well proven to be coupled with BPR, although the extend and timing of BPR with respect to ERP implementation differ. This study aims at analyzing the effects of BPR on ERP implementation success. Basing on two Turkish ERP implementations in pharmaceutical sector, a comparative study is performed. One of the ERP implementations took place after a BPR implementation, whereas the other implementation was without a prior BPR application. Both implementations have been realized with the same consultant team, the case with prior BPR implementation going live first. The results of the case study reveal that if business processes are not optimized and improved before an ERP implementation, ERP live system would face with disharmony problems of processes and processes automated by ERP. This suggests a definite precedence relationship between BPR and ERP applications
Abstract: This paper discusses a new heavy tailed distribution based data hiding into discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of image, which provides statistical security as well as robustness against steganalysis attacks. Unlike other data hiding algorithms, the proposed technique does not introduce much effect in the stegoimage-s DCT coefficient probability plots, thus making the presence of hidden data statistically undetectable. In addition the proposed method does not compromise on hiding capacity. When compared to the generic block DCT based data-hiding scheme, our method found more robust against a variety of image manipulating attacks such as filtering, blurring, JPEG compression etc.
Abstract: Recently, most digital systems are designed as GALS (Globally Asynchronous Locally Synchronous) systems. Several architectures have been proposed as bus architectures for a GALS system : shared bus, segmented bus, ring bus, and so on. In this study, we propose a ring segmented bus architecture which is a combination of segmented bus and ring bus architecture with the aim of throughput enhancement. In a segmented bus architecture, segments are connected in series. By connecting the segments at the end of the bus and constructing the ring bus, it becomes possible to allocate a channel of the bus bidirectionally. The bus channel is allocated to the shortest path between segments. We consider a metastable operation caused by asynchronous communication between segments and a burst transfer between segments. According to the result of simulation, it is shown that the GALS system designed by the proposed method has the desired operations.
Abstract: Success is a European project that will implement several clean transport offers in three European cities and evaluate the environmental impacts. The goal of these measures is to improve urban mobility or the displacement of residents inside cities. For e.g. park and ride, electric vehicles, hybrid bus and bike sharing etc. A list of 28 criteria and 60 measures has been established for evaluation of these transport projects. The evaluation criteria can be grouped into: Transport, environment, social, economic and fuel consumption. This article proposes a decision support system based that encapsulates a hybrid approach based on fuzzy logic, multicriteria analysis and belief theory for the evaluation of impacts of urban mobility solutions. A web-based tool called DeSSIA (Decision Support System for Impacts Assessment) has been developed that treats complex data. The tool has several functionalities starting from data integration (import of data), evaluation of projects and finishes by graphical display of results. The tool development is based on the concept of MVC (Model, View, and Controller). The MVC is a conception model adapted to the creation of software's which impose separation between data, their treatment and presentation. Effort is laid on the ergonomic aspects of the application. It has codes compatible with the latest norms (XHTML, CSS) and has been validated by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). The main ergonomic aspect focuses on the usability of the application, ease of learning and adoption. By the usage of technologies such as AJAX (XML and Java Script asynchrones), the application is more rapid and convivial. The positive points of our approach are that it treats heterogeneous data (qualitative, quantitative) from various information sources (human experts, survey, sensors, model etc.).
Abstract: Video streaming over lossy IP networks is very
important issues, due to the heterogeneous structure of networks.
Infrastructure of the Internet exhibits variable bandwidths, delays,
congestions and time-varying packet losses. Because of variable
attributes of the Internet, video streaming applications should not
only have a good end-to-end transport performance but also have a
robust rate control, furthermore multipath rate allocation mechanism.
So for providing the video streaming service quality, some other
components such as Bandwidth Estimation and Adaptive Rate
Controller should be taken into consideration. This paper gives an
overview of video streaming concept and bandwidth estimation tools
and then introduces special architectures for bandwidth adaptive
video streaming. A bandwidth estimation algorithm – pathChirp,
Optimized Rate Controllers and Multipath Rate Allocation Algorithm
are considered as all-in-one solution for video streaming problem.
This solution is directed and optimized by a decision center which is
designed for obtaining the maximum quality at the receiving side.
Abstract: Job stress is one of the most important concepts for
the today-s corporate as well as institutional world. The current study
is conducted to identify the causes of faculty stress at Higher
Education in Pakistan. For the purpose, Public & Private Business
Schools of Punjab is selected as representative of Pakistan. A sample
of 300 faculty members (214 males, 86 females) responded to the
survey. Regression analysis shows that the Workload, Student
Related issues and Role Conflicts are the major sources contributing
significantly towards producing stress. The study also revealed that
Private sector faculty members experienced more stress as compared
to faculty in Public sector Business Schools. Moreover, females,
younger ages, lower designation & low qualification faculty
members experience more stress as compared to males, older ages,
higher designation and high qualification. The study yield many
significant results for the policy makers of Business Institutions.
Abstract: A robust still image face localization algorithm
capable of operating in an unconstrained visual environment is
proposed. First, construction of a robust skin classifier within a
shifted HSV color space is described. Then various filtering
operations are performed to better isolate face candidates and
mitigate the effect of substantial non-skin regions. Finally, a novel
Bhattacharyya-based face detection algorithm is used to compare
candidate regions of interest with a unique illumination-dependent
face model probability distribution function approximation.
Experimental results show a 90% face detection success rate despite
the demands of the visually noisy environment.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to propose a text mining
approach to evaluate companies- practices on affective management.
Affective management argues that it is critical to take stakeholders-
affects into consideration during decision-making process, along with
the traditional numerical and rational indices. CSR reports published
by companies were collected as source information. Indices were
proposed based on the frequency and collocation of words relevant to
affective management concept using text mining approach to analyze
the text information of CSR reports. In addition, the relationships
between the results obtained using proposed indices and traditional
indicators of business performance were investigated using
correlation analysis. Those correlations were also compared between
manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies. The results of this
study revealed the possibility to evaluate affective management
practices of companies based on publicly available text documents.
Abstract: When dealing with safety in structures, the connections between structural components play an important role. Robustness of a structure as a whole depends both on the load- bearing capacity of the structural component and on the structures capacity to resist total failure, even though a local failure occurs in a component or a connection between components. To avoid progressive collapse it is necessary to be able to carry out a design for connections. A connection may be executed with anchors to withstand local failure of the connection in structures built with prefabricated components. For the design of these anchors, a model is developed for connections in structures performed in prefabricated autoclaved aerated concrete components. The design model takes into account the effect of anchors placed close to the edge, which may result in splitting failure. Further the model is developed to consider the effect of reinforcement diameter and anchor depth. The model is analytical and theoretically derived assuming a static equilibrium stress distribution along the anchor. The theory is compared to laboratory test, including the relevant parameters and the model is refined and theoretically argued analyzing the observed test results. The method presented can be used to improve safety in structures or even optimize the design of the connections
Abstract: This paper presents a multi-objective formulation for
optimal siting and sizing of distributed generation (DG) resources in
distribution systems in order to minimize the cost of power losses
and energy not supplied. The implemented technique is based on
particle swarm optimization (PSO) and weight method that employed
to obtain the best compromise between these costs. Simulation
results on 33-bus distribution test system are presented to
demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed procedure.
Abstract: In this study, the performance of a high-frequency arc
welding machine including a two-switch inverter is analyzed. The
control of the system is achieved using two different control
techniques i- fuzzy logic control (FLC) ii- state space averaging
based sliding control. Fuzzy logic control does not need accurate
mathematical model of a plant and can be used in nonlinear
applications. The second method needs the mathematical model of
the system. In this method the state space equations of the system are
derived for two different “on" and “off" states of the switches. The
derived state equations are combined with the sliding control rule
considering the duty-cycle of the converter. The performance of the
system is analyzed by simulating the system using SIMULINK tool
box of MATLAB. The simulation results show that fuzzy logic
controller is more robust and less sensitive to parameter variations.
Abstract: The many feasible alternatives and conflicting
objectives make equipment selection in materials handling a
complicated task. This paper presents utilizing Monte Carlo (MC)
simulation combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to
evaluate and select the most appropriate Material Handling
Equipment (MHE). The proposed hybrid model was built on the base
of material handling equation to identify main and sub criteria critical
to MHE selection. The criteria illustrate the properties of the material
to be moved, characteristics of the move, and the means by which the
materials will be moved. The use of MC simulation beside the AHP
is very powerful where it allows the decision maker to represent
his/her possible preference judgments as random variables. This will
reduce the uncertainty of single point judgment at conventional AHP,
and provide more confidence in the decision problem results. A small
business pharmaceutical company is used as an example to illustrate
the development and application of the proposed model.
Abstract: This paper explain about analysis and design a business directory for micro-scale businesses, small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Business Directory, if implemented will facilitate and optimize the access of SMEs to ease suppliers access to marketing. Business Directory will be equipped with the power of geocoding, so each location can be easily viewed SMEs on the map. The map will be constructed by using the functionality of a webbased Google Maps API. The information presented in the form of multimedia that can be more interesting and interactive. The method used to achieve the goal are: observation; interviews; modeling and classifying business directory for SMEs.
Abstract: The strengthening of competitive advantage combined with the transformation of business strategy is necessary for the company to succeed in the time of market changes. And in this sense the innovation activities of the firm are exactly significanting. Virtual firms are a specific form of enterprise in which we can't suppose all regularities obtaining in other forms. The aim of the paper is to evaluate factors influencing the innovation activity of virtual firm with the determination of their importance and influences on the basis of selected metrics.
Abstract: The novelty proposed in this study is twofold and consists in the developing of a new color similarity metric based on the human visual system and a new color indexing based on a textual approach. The new color similarity metric proposed is based on the color perception of the human visual system. Consequently the results returned by the indexing system can fulfill as much as possibile the user expectations. We developed a web application to collect the users judgments about the similarities between colors, whose results are used to estimate the metric proposed in this study. In order to index the image's colors, we used a text indexing engine to facilitate the integration of visual features in a database of text documents. The textual signature is build by weighting the image's colors in according to their occurrence in the image. The use of a textual indexing engine, provide us a simple, fast and robust solution to index images. A typical usage of the system proposed in this study, is the development of applications whose data type is both visual and textual. In order to evaluate the proposed method we chose a price comparison engine as a case of study, collecting a series of commercial offers containing the textual description and the image representing a specific commercial offer.
Abstract: In the context of introduction of deregulatory policy measures and subsequent wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Indian corporate sector since 1991, the present paper attempts to examine the welfare implications of this wave. It is found that M&A do not have any significant impact on consumers- welfare. Instead, consumers- welfare is significantly influenced by exports intensity, imports intensity, advertising intensity, technology related efforts, and past profitability of the firms. While the industries with higher exports orientation or greater product differentiation or better financial performance experience greater loss in consumers- welfare, it is less in the industries with greater competition from imports or better technology. Hence, the wave of M&A in Indian manufacturing sector in the post-liberalization era may not be a matter of serious concern from consumers- welfare point of view. Instead, in many cases, M&A can help the firms in consolidating their business and enhancing competitiveness, and this may benefit the consumers in the form of greater efficiency and lower prices.