Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Artificial islands Design and construction'

Human balance and locomotion control is highly complex and not well understood. To understand how the nervous system controls balance and locomotion works, we test how the body responds to controlled perturbations, the results are analyzed, and control models are developed. However, to recreate this system of control there is a need for a robot with human-like kinematics. Unfortunately, such a robotic testbed does not exist despite the numerous applications such a design would have in mobile robotics, healthcare, and prosthetics. This thesis presents a robotic testbed model of human lower legs. By using MRI and CT scans, I designed joints that require lower force for actuation, are more wear resistant, and are less prone to catastrophic failure than a traditional revolute (or pinned) joints. The result of using this process is the design, construction, and performance analysis of a biologically inspired knee joint for use in bipedal robotics. For the knee joint, the design copies the condylar surfaces of the distal end of the femur and utilizes the same crossed four-bar linkage design the human knee uses. The joint includes a changing center of rotation, a screw-home mechanism, and patella; these are characteristics of the knee that are desirable to copy for bipedal robotics. The design was calculated to have an average sliding to rolling ratio of 0.079, a maximum moment arm of 2.7 inches and a range of motion of 151 degrees. This should reduce joint wear and have kinematics similar to the human knee. I also designed and constructed novel, adjustably-damped hip and ankle joints that use braided pneumatic actuators. These joints provide a wide range of motion and exhibit the same change in stiffness that human joints exhibit as flexion increases, increasing stability, adaptability, and controllability. The theoretical behaviors of the joints make them desirable for use in mobile robotics and should provide a lightweight yet mechanically strong connection that is resistant to unexpected perturbations and catastrophic failure. The joints also bridge the gap between completely soft robotics and completely rigid robotics. These joints will give researchers the ability to test different control schemes and will help to determine how human balance is achieved. They will also lead to robots that are lighter and have lower power requirements while increasing the adaptability of the robot. When applying these design principles to joints used for prosthetics, we reduce the discomfort of the wearer and reduce the effort needed to move. Both of which are serious issues for individuals who need to wear a prosthetic device.

El presente trabajo aborda la especificación, diseño e implementación de organizaciones abiertas de agentes. Se defiende que tales organizaciones pueden ser diseñadas e implementadas de manera efectiva como organizaciones electrónicas institucionalizadas (instituciones electrónicas) compuestas de un gran número de agentes heterogéneos (tanto humanos como software) adoptando diversos roles e interactuando por medio de ilocuciones. Adicionalmente postulamos que el diseño y la implementación de instituciones electrónicas deben ser guiadas por una metodología bien fundamentada. Es por ello que proponemos una especificación formal de instituciones electrónicas que fundamente su diseño, análisis e implementación
A continuación presentamos un modelo computacional que emerge de y fielmente captura la formalización resultante de la noción de institución electrónica. Nuestro modelo computacional se define y explota sobre la base de la noción de mediación para fundamentar la construcción de infraestructuras para instituciones electrónicas. Así, proponemos construir instituciones electrónicas a partir de agentes institucionales ---agentes en los que la institución delega sus servicios e interagentes ---agentes software autónomos dedicados a mediar la interacción entre cada agente y la sociedad de agentes en el marco de una institución electrónica. De esta manera las instituciones electrónicas son concebidas computacionalmente como instituciones electrónicas mediadas por agentes, ya que tanto los servicios institucionales como las interacciones son mediados por agentes.
Ilustramos la construcción práctica de instituciones electrónicas mediadas por agentes describiendo el desarrollo de una casa electrónica de subastas inspirada en las lonjas de pescado tradicionales donde agentes heterogéneos (humanos y software) pueden comerciar.
Finalmente presentamos la evolución de la casa de subastas electrónicas a una plataforma para la experimentación en escenarios de subasta. Mostramos cómo en tales escenarios agentes compradores y vendedores de diferentes complejidades participan en subastas definidas de acuerdo a unas condiciones de mercado estandarizadas, siendo evaluados en función de su rendimiento en el mercado. Desde nuestro punto de vista tales escenarios competitivos constituyen interesantes y ricos dominios en los que estudiar cuestiones generales relacionadas con arquitecturas de agentes que comercian y, más específicamente, con sus comportamientos estratégicos.
This thesis focuses on the specification, design and implementation of open agent organisations. We argue that open agent organisations can be effectively designed and implemented as institutionalised electronic organisations (electronic institutions) composed of a vast amount of heterogeneous (human and software) agents playing different roles and interacting by means of speech acts. Then we take the view that the design and development of electronic institutions must be guided by a principled methodology. For this purpose we propose a formal specification of electronic institutions that founds their design, analysis and development.
Next we present a computational model that arises from and fully captures the resulting formalisation of electronic institution. Our computational model strongly relies on and exploits the notion of mediation for founding the realisation of electronic institutions' infrastructures. Thus we propose how to fully realise an electronic institution based on institutional agents ---the agents to which the institution delegates its services--- and interagents ---autonomous software agents devoted to mediating the interaction between each agent and the agent society in the framework of an electronic institution. Therefore electronic institutions are computationally conceived as agent-mediated electronic institutions since both institutional services and interactions are mediated by agents.
We illustrate the practical realisation of agent-mediated electronic institutions by describing the development of an electronic auction house inspired by the age old institution of the fish market where heterogeneous (software and human) agents may trade.
Lastly we present the evolution of the electronic auction house into a test-bed for experimenting with auction-based trading scenarios. We show how in these scenarios trading agents of arbitrary complexity participate in auctions under a collection of standardised market conditions and are evaluated according to their actual market performance. We argue that such competitive situations constitute convenient problem domains in which to study issues related with trading agent architectures in general and agent-based trading strategies in particular.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis the design and testing of the baseband components of a modem intended for use as a telemetry and control link for a low earth orbit satellite is presented. This includes parts of the physical layer as well as a basic data-link layer. Binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) is used as the modulation scheme and is realised by making use of software defined radio on a standard x86 computer with digital to analogue and analogue to digital converters that use a universal serial bus (USB) connection. The data-link layer makes use of a basic framing scheme and provides bit synchronisation, an automatic repeat request (ARQ) system and Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem (BCH) forward error correction (FEC). The ARQ system ensures that data is delivered reliably and the FEC improves the system’s performance in noisy conditions. A prototype system was developed to test the performance of the individual layers as well as the system as a whole. For testing purposes the Linux Internet Protocol (IP) stack is used as higher network layers. Radio frequency hardware developed by Verschaeve [1] modulates the signal away from baseband, transmits it over the air and receives it.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis word die ontwerp en toetsing van die basisband komponente van ‘n modem, bedoel vir gebruik op ‘n satelliet in ‘n lae-aarde wentelbaan, bespreek. Die ontwerp sluit dele van die fisiese vlak sowel as ‘n verbindingsvlak in. Binêre faseskuifsleuteling word gebruik as die modulasieskema en word verwesenlik deur gebruik te maak van sagteware gedefinieerde radio. Dit voer uit op ’n standaard x86 rekenaar wat deur middel van USB gekoppel is aan ’n digitaal-na-analoog- en ’n analoog-na-digitaal-omsetter. Die verbindingsvlak het ‘n eenvoudige ramingskema. Dit voorsien bis sinkronisasie, die hersending van verlore rame en Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem (BCH) voorwaartse foutverbetering. Die hersending van verlore rame verseker dat data betroubaar oorgedra kan word en foutverbetering verbeter die stelsel se vermoëns in ruiserige toestande. ‘n Prototipe stelsel is ontwikkel om die vermoëns van die individuele vlakke, sowel as die stelsel as ’n geheel, te toets. Tydens toetsing is die Linux Internet Protokol stapel gebruik vir die hoër netwerk vlakke. Radio komponente wat deur Verschaeve [1] ontwikkel was is gebruik om die sein uit te saai en te ontvang.

In this thesis, a new approach combining neural networks and genetic algorithms is presented for microwave design. In this method, an accurate neural network model is developed from the experimental data. This neural network model is used to perform sensitivity analysis and derive response surfaces. An innovative technique is then applied in which genetic algorithms are coupled with the neural network model to assist in synthesis and optimization. The proposed method is used for modeling and analysis of circuit parameters for flip chip interconnects up to 35 GHz, as well as for design of multilayer inductors and capacitors at 1.9 GHz and 2.4 GHz. The method was also used to synthesize mm wave low pass filters in the range of 40-60 GHz. The devices obtained from layout parameters predicted by the neuro-genetic design method yielded electrical response close to the desired value (95% accuracy). The proposed method also implements a weighted priority scheme to account for tradeoffs in microwave design. This scheme was implemented to synthesize bandpass filters for 802.11a and HIPERLAN wireless LAN applications in the range of 5-6 GHz. This research also develops a novel neuro-genetic design centering methodology for yield enhancement and design for manufacturability of microwave devices and circuits. A neural network model is used to calculate yield using Monte Carlo methods. A genetic algorithm is then used for yield optimization. The proposed method has been used for yield enhancement of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor and mm wave voltage-controlled oscillator. It results in significant yield enhancement of the SiGe HBTs (from 25 % to 75 %) and VCOs (from 8 % to 85 %). The proposed method is can be extended for device, circuit, package, and system level integrated co-design since it can handle a large number of design variables without any assumptions about the component behavior. The proposed algorithm could be used by microwave community for design and optimization of microwave circuits and systems with greater accuracy while consuming less computational time.

The overall objective of this thesis is to build an integrated, inexpensive, human-sized humanoid robot from scratch that looks and behaves like a human. More specifically, my goal is to build an android robot called Marie Curie robot that can act like a human actor in the Portland Cyber Theater in the play Quantum Debate with a known script of every robot behavior. In order to achieve this goal, the humanoid robot need to has degrees of freedom (DOF) similar to human DOFs. Each part of the Curie robot was built to achieve the goal of building a complete humanoid robot. The important additional constraints of this project were: 1) to build the robot from available components, 2) to minimize costs, and 3) to be simple enough that the design can be replicated by non-experts, so they can create robot theaters worldwide. Furthermore, the robot appears lifelike because it executes two main behaviors like a human being. The first behavior is tracking where the humanoid robot uses a tracking algorithm to follow a human being. In other words, the tracking algorithm allows the robot to control its neck using the information taken from the vision system to look at the nearest human face. In addition, the robot uses the same vision system to track labeled objects. The second behavior is grasping where the inverse kinematics (IK) is calculated so the robot can move its hand to a specific coordinate in the surrounding space. IK gives the robot the ability to move its end-effector (hand) closer to how humans move their hands.

This paper presents a Lagrangian formulation for studying the dynamics and control of the proposed Space Station based Mobile Servicing System (MSS) for a particular case of in plane libration and maneuvers. The simplified case is purposely considered to help focus on the effects of structural and joint flexibility parameters of the MSS on the complex interactions between the station and manipulator dynamics during slewing and translational maneuvers. The response results suggest that under critical combinations of parameters, the system can become unstable. During maneuvers, the deflection of the MSS can become excessive, leading to positioning error of the payload. At the same time the libration error can also be significant. A linear quadratic regulator is designed to control the deflection of the manipulator and maintain the station at its operating configuration.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, Department of
Graduate

The work reported in this thesis is motivated by the need for wireless powering of a miniaturized implantable device for neurophysiological research and possible clinical applications. The antenna used in such applications must be studied in the context of biological tissue media. In this thesis, we perform a preliminary study of antenna behaviour in the complex tissue environment. Our test cases are the wire dipole antenna chosen for its structural simplicity and the spiral antenna, selected for its wide bandwidth. The simulation tool SEMCAD-X, is based on the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method and is used throughout this work. To have an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of different solvers implemented in SEMCAD-X and relevant for our applications, we first simulate the antenna structures in the free-space region using both SEMCAD-X and HFSS (a Finite-Element Method (FEM) simulation software). The cross-platform comparison between these two simulation tools helps us identify the advantages of using conformal FDTD solver over the conventional staircase FDTD solver in SEMCAD-X. We then embed the antennas in tissue-like non-homogeneous lossy media to observe the terminal voltages induced by an impinging plane-wave. These numerical experiments will help us with the assessment of the following: variations of antenna properties with the in-tissue locations, and more importantly the dependence of the induced voltage on the depth of the implant.

In today's nanoscale era, scaling down to even smaller feature sizes poses a significant challenge in the device fabrication, the circuit, and the system design and integration. On the other hand, nanoscale technology has also led to novel materials and devices with unique properties. The memristor is one such emergent nanoscale device that exhibits non-linear current-voltage characteristics and has an inherent memory property, i.e., its current state depends on the past. Both the non-linear and the memory property of memristors have the potential to enable solving spatial and temporal pattern recognition tasks in radically different ways from traditional binary transistor-based technology. The goal of this thesis is to explore the use of memristors in a novel computing paradigm called "Reservoir Computing" (RC). RC is a new paradigm that belongs to the class of artificial recurrent neural networks (RNN). However, it architecturally differs from the traditional RNN techniques in that the pre-processor (i.e., the reservoir) is made up of random recurrently connected non-linear elements. Learning is only implemented at the readout (i.e., the output) layer, which reduces the learning complexity significantly. To the best of our knowledge, memristors have never been used as reservoir components. We use pattern recognition and classification tasks as benchmark problems. Real world applications associated with these tasks include process control, speech recognition, and signal processing. We have built a software framework, RCspice (Reservoir Computing Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis), for this purpose. The framework allows to create random memristor networks, to simulate and evaluate them in Ngspice, and to train the readout layer by means of Genetic Algorithms (GA). We have explored reservoir-related parameters, such as the network connectivity and the reservoir size along with the GA parameters. Our results show that we are able to efficiently and robustly classify time-series patterns using memristor-based dynamical reservoirs. This presents an important step towards computing with memristor-based nanoscale systems.

Over seven million Americans suffer from Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI), a painful and debilitating disease that affects the superficial and deep veins of the legs. Problems associated with CVI include varicose veins, bleeding, ulcerations, severe swelling, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism, which may lead to death. The presence of CVI results from damaged (incompetent) one-way vein valves in leg veins. These valves normally allow forward flow of blood to the heart, and prevent blood from pooling at the feet. However, incompetent valves allow reflux of blood, causing clinical problems. There are few effective clinical therapies for treating CVI. Vein valve transplantation is a surgical option for treatment. However, it is often difficult to find suitable donor valves. Very few prosthetic valves developed in the past have demonstrated sufficient clinical or mechanical functionality. Persistent problems include thrombus formation, leaking valves, and valves that do not open at physiologic pressure gradient. The primary objective of this research was to develop a clinically relevant functional prosthetic vein valve. The novel prosthetic valve is flexible, biocompatible, has low thrombogenecity, and is easy to manufacture. It was designed to address well-defined consumer needs and functional design requirements. The valve was required to 1) withstand 300 mmHg of backpressure with leakage less than 1.0 mL/min, 2) open with a pressure gradient less than 5 mmHg, and 3) meet criteria 1 and 2 after 500,000 cycles of operation. The valve met these design requirements in bench testing. The valve can open with a pressure gradient of 2.6 0.7 mmHg, and can withstand 300 mmHg with leakage less than 0.5 mL/min. The valve remained functional after opening and closing over 500,000 times. The valve presented in this research is operationally functional, and is a potential solution for treating venous incompetence in CVI patients.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the part of computer science concerned with designing computer systems, that is, systems that exhibit the characteristics we associate with intelligence in human behavior--understanding language, learning, reasoning, solving problems, and so on. Many believe that insights into the nature of the mind can be gained by studying the operation of such programs. The AI concept has formed the basis for developing the computer-assisted creativity techniques called The Computer Consultant (TCC), and The Idea Machine (TIM). TIM has, so far, been applied to topics in the engineering and "hard sciences" fields. In this study these techniques are presented/reviewed in detail and the research concentrated on the expansion/development of a methodology for computer—assisted creativity. This research will help in further evolution of TIM into a richer process for idea generation and general problem solving, and in enhancing the application capabilities. This is done by: (1) expanding the conceptual and ideas data bases from which analogies can be drawn; (2) conducting comprehensive trials with TIM to establish its strengths and limitations; and (3) doing research on techniques for the screening and packaging of ideas techniques. Rural road projects are an important part of rural development programs in the Third World countries. For some years the construction of such road projects, funded in part by international donor agencies, has been a subject of some controversy. Most policy makers in the developing or underdeveloped countries support the practice of expanding the rural dirt (unpaved) roads rather than spending limited resources on maintenance. Some donor agencies are now inclined to only support maintenance-biased road projects. A similar situation arose in Pakistan where the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) proposed to fund a road resources development project in the Sind Province. This real life situation is selected as a basis for developing a road resources management model, and generating ideas using TIM. These ideas are screened and packaged to be used in revising the model for further trials. The application of TIM to this problem from the civil engineering field results in some useful outputs. This study provides a good basis for further enhancing TIM capabilities.
Ph. D.

This thesis presents a design to route the spikes in a cognitive computing project called Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE). SyNAPSE is a DARPA-funded program to develop electronic neuromorphic ma- chine technology that scales to biological levels. The basic computational block in the SyNAPSE system is the asynchronous spike processor (ASP) chip. This analog core contains the neurons and synapses in a neural fabric and performs the neural and synaptic computations.An ASP takes asynchronous pulses (spikes) as inputs and after some small delay produces asyn- chronous pulses as outputs.The ASP chips are organized in a nxn (where n [approximately equal to] 10) 2-dimensional grid with a dedicated node for each chip. This interconnected network is called Digital Fabric(DF) and the node is called Digital Fabric Node (DFN). The DF is a packet network that routes pulse (AER - Address event rep- resentation) packets between ASP's. This thesis also presents a technique for design implementation on a FPGA, perfor- mance testing of the network and validation of the network using various tools.

This project focuses on a prototype system architecture which integrates features of an event-driven gate-level simulator and features of the multiple expert system architecture, HEARSAY-II. Combining artificial intelligence and simulation techniques, a knowledge-based simulator was designed and constructed to model non-standard circuit behavior. This non-standard circuit behavior is amplified by advances in integrated circuit technology. Currently available digital circuit simulators can not simulate this behavior. Circuit designer expertise on behavioral phenomena is used in the expert system to guide the base simulator by manipulating its events to achieve the desired behavior.

Aquest treball de tesi proposa aportar una infraestructura de programari per donar suport a nous tipus de metodologies i recursos d'aprenentatge col·laboratiu augmentats pedagògicament i a través d'una plataforma d'aplicació innovadora anomenada Plataforma de Virtualització de Sessions Col·laboratives (VCSF de l'angles Virtualized Collaborative Sessions Framework). El VCSF ajuda a satisfer els requisits pedagògics exigents de l'aprenentatge col·laboratiu en línia d’avui en dia, com ara augmentar la participació de l'estudiant i millorar el rendiment de l'aprenentatge durant la col·laboració. Al seu torn, l'aplicació sistemàtica de la plataforma VCSF, enriquida amb tecnologies semàntiques, permet als desenvolupadors d'e-learning aprofitar experiències d'aprenentatge col·laboratiu prèvies a través de la reutilització de programari, estalviant temps de desenvolupament i esforç. La plataforma ha sigut prototipada i provada amb èxit en entorns reals, el que demostra la capacitat de reutilització del programari i els beneficis pedagògics de l'enfocament VCSF.
Este trabajo de tesis propone aportar una infraestructura de software para apoyar a nuevos tipos de metodologías y recursos de aprendizaje colaborativo aumentados pedagógicamente ya través de una plataforma de aplicación innovadora llamada Plataforma de Virtualización de Sesiones Colaborativa (VCSF del inglés Virtualized Collaborative Sessions Framework). El VCSF ayuda a satisfacer los requisitos pedagógicos exigentes del aprendizaje colaborativo en línea de hoy en día, tales como aumentar la participación del estudiante y mejorar el rendimiento del aprendizaje durante la colaboración. A su vez, la aplicación sistemática de la plataforma VCSF, enriquecida con tecnologías semánticas, permite a los desarrolladores de e-learning aprovechar experiencias de aprendizaje colaborativo previas a través de la reutilización de software, ahorrando tiempo de desarrollo y esfuerzo. La plataforma ha sido prototipada y probada con éxito en entornos reales, lo que demuestra la capacidad de reutilización del software y los beneficios pedagógicos del enfoque VCSF.
This thesis project aims to provide a software infrastructure to support new types of pedagogically augmented collaborative learning methodologies and resources by means of an innovative application framework called Virtualized Collaborative Sessions Framework (VCSF). The VCSF helps meet challenging pedagogical requirements in online collaborative learning, such as increasing students' engagement and learning performance during the collaboration. In turn, the systematic application of the VCSF platform, enriched with semantic technologies, enables e-learning developers to leverage successful collaborative learning experiences through software reuse, saving in both development time and effort. The framework has been prototyped and successfully tested in real environments, thus showing the software reuse capability and the pedagogical benefits of the VCSF approach.

Im Rahmen des Artikels wird ein Ansatz für einen 'intellektuellen Konstruktionsassistenten' auf der Basis digitalisierter Erfahrung vorgeschlagen. Diese an die analytischen und numerischen Verfahren anknüpfenden Assistenten werden unter Verwendung von Methoden der Künstlichen Intelligenz erzeugt. Sie sollen bereits bekannte Wissenselemente und Erfahrungen aufnehmen und durch eine fortgesetzte Spiegelung an der Realität fortschreiben, ohne dass eine aufwendige Algorithmenbildung und zeitraubende Numerik den Transfer neuer, oftmals inhärenter Erkenntnisse in die tägliche Praxis und damit das Qualitätsmanagement behindert. Wissensunterschiede zwischen Abteilungen können auf diese Weise schnell beseitigt und Bildungsunterschiede zwischen Mitarbeitern ausgeglichen werden. Andererseits kann hiermit in den Unternehmen aber auch die Abbildung besonderer Stärken durch einen automatischen Abgleich gleichgelagerter Konstruktionen vorangetrieben werden. [... aus der Einleitung]

Next generation wireless systems have an IP-based infrastructure with the support of heterogeneous access technologies. One research challenge for next generation all-IP based wireless systems is to design intelligent mobility management techniques that take advantage of IP-based technologies to achieve global roaming between various access networks. To support global roaming, next generation wireless systems require the integration and interoperation of heterogeneous mobility management techniques. Mobility in a hierarchical structure or multilayered environment should be supported. The objective of this study is to develop new mobility management techniques for global roaming support in next generation all-IP based wireless systems. More specifically, new schemes for location management and paging in Mobile IP for network layer mobility support, and new schemes for location management and handoff management in heterogeneous overlay networks for link layer mobility support are proposed and evaluated. For network layer mobility support, a distributed and dynamic regional location management mechanism for Mobile IP is proposed. Under the proposed scheme, the signaling burden is evenly distributed and the regional network boundary is dynamically adjusted according to the up-to-date mobility and traffic load for each terminal. Next, a user independent paging scheme based on last-known location and mobility rate information for Mobile IP is proposed. The proposed scheme takes the aggregated behavior of all mobile users as the basis for paging. For link layer mobility support, an IP-based system architecture for the integration of heterogeneous mobility management techniques is proposed. Three location management schemes under this IP-based architecture are proposed. All the three schemes support user preference call delivery which is a very important feature of next generation wireless communications. A threshold-based enhancement method is also proposed to further improve the system performance. Finally, a hybrid resource allocation scheme for handoff management in wireless overlay networks is proposed. Under this scheme, the overall system resources can be optimally allocated when mobile users are covered by multiple overlay networks.

La evolución de los planteamientos arquitectónicos tras el Barroco derivó, tras un complejo periodo de análisis, en una nueva arquitectura apoyada en unos condicionantes absolutamente nuevos. Criterios revisionistas, historicistas, técnicos o simplemente apoyados en la intencionalidad estética o expresiva dieron lugar a un nuevo estilo de difícil y, desde luego, amplia definición. A finales del XIX, también como respuesta a un largo periodo de indefinición y dogmatismos, surge el Art Nouveau.La ciudad de Cartagena presenta algunas notables singularidades en este último periodo que la hacen especialmente interesante en el campo de la ornamentación y estética arquitectónica. Sus condiciones económicas, geográficas y la personalidad de algunos de los arquitectos afincados, determinaron el desarrollo de un eclecticismo y modernismo singulares que acabaron por fundirse, generando a partir de los primeros años del siglo XX, un panorama estético digno de análisis.
The evolution of architectural approaches after the Baroque period resulted, after a complex period of analysis, in a new architecture supported by some entirely new constrains. Revisionism, historicist, technical or simply based on a aesthetic or expressive intentions criteria led to a new kind of style which was difficult to define. In the late nineteenth century, partly in response to a long period of uncertainty and dogmatism, emerged the Art Nouveau.In this period, the city of Cartagena presents some remarkable peculiarities which makes especially interesting in the field of aesthetic and architectural ornamentation. Its economic and geographic conditions, together with the personality of some of the architects settled, determined the development of a unique eclecticism and modernism that eventually merged, resulting, from the early twentieth century, in an aesthetic landscape worthy of analysis.

ADans le domaine de la mécanique, en l'absence de modèles et de connaissances précises sur un phénomène physique, les activités de recherche et développement incluent très souvent des études expérimentales. Les applications sont nombreuses, aussi bien pour la mise au point que pour l'optimisation de procédés de fabrication et de produits. Dans ces différentes applications, l'expérimentation est motivée par l'obtention d'un modèle, tiré d'un nombre limité d'expériences, qui permet d'effectuer des prédictions ou une optimisation à l'intérieur du domaine expérimental. L'approche phénoménologique que nous présentons consiste à construire un modèle où, en entrée interviennent des facteurs contrôlés et maîtrisables supposés influents, et en sortie des réponses caractéristiques des phénomènes physiques étudiés. Nous étudions et mettons en oeuvre différentes méthodes issues de recherches en statistique (régression multilinéaire, approche bayésienne) et en intelligence artificielle (techniques d'apprentissage) qui permettent d'obtenir une modélisation du phénomène physique sur l'ensemble du domaine expérimental. Notre étude a pour objectif de minimiser l'influence des points d'essais sur la qualité et la précision de la modélisation expérimentale. La technique des plans d'expériences, en tant que technique de conduite et de campagne d'essais, fondée sur l'optimisation des techniques de régression linéaire, permet d'adopter une démarche formelle dans la définition des essais, et d'apprécier la confiance à accorder aux résultats. Nous avons développé un outil de conduite d'essais par plans d'expériences, construit autour d'une structure de données orientée objet, utilisant des techniques de programmation de l'intelligence artificielle, qui permet de construire des plans d'expériences orthogonaux et D-optimaux pouvant intégrer des essais existants et prendre en compte des contraintes sur le domaine d'etude, effectuer une analyse statistique et interpréter les résultats expérimentaux à l'aide d'outils graphiques. Cet outil prend en compte des outils statistiques dans le but d'estimer le degré de confiance et de précision de la modélisation expérimentale.

Thomas Kin Fong Lei.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-66).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
LIST OF FIGURES --- p.IV
Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 2 --- Model-based Control of SMA Wires --- p.3
Chapter 2.1 --- Model Identification of SMA Wires --- p.3
Chapter 2.1.1 --- Temperature-Current Relationship --- p.3
Chapter 2.1.2 --- Stress-Strain Relationship --- p.5
Chapter 2.1.3 --- Martensite Fraction-Temperature Relationship --- p.8
Chapter 2.2 --- Model-based Position Control of Two Linking SMA Wires --- p.9
Chapter 2.3 --- Summary --- p.12
Chapter 3 --- Neural-fuzzy-based Control of SMA Wires --- p.13
Chapter 3.1 --- Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) --- p.13
Chapter 3.1.1 --- ANFIS Architecture --- p.13
Chapter 3.1.2 --- Hybrid Learning Algorithm --- p.16
Chapter 3.2 --- Generalized Neural Network (GNN) --- p.20
Chapter 3.2.1 --- GNN Architecture --- p.20
Chapter 3.2.2 --- Approximation of the GNN --- p.22
Chapter 3.2.3 --- Backpropagation Training Algorithm --- p.24
Chapter 3.2.4 --- Complexity Reduction of the GNN --- p.25
Chapter 3.2.5 --- Error Bound of In-exact Reduction of the GNN --- p.29
Chapter 3.3 --- Neural-fuzzy-based Position Control of Four Linking SMA Wires --- p.32
Chapter 3.3.1 --- ANFIS-based Position Control of Four Linking SMA Wires --- p.32
Chapter 3.3.2 --- GNN-based Position Control of Four Linking SMA Wires --- p.35
Chapter 3.3.3 --- Performance Comparison of ANFIS and GNN Algorithms --- p.37
Chapter 3.4 --- Summary --- p.39
Chapter 4 --- SMA Actuated Artificial Face --- p.40
Chapter 4.1 --- Muscles of the Human Face --- p.40
Chapter 4.2 --- The Software Part: facial model --- p.41
Chapter 4.3 --- The Hardware Part: artificial face and peripheral interface --- p.43
Chapter 4.3.1 --- SMA Actuated Artificial Face --- p.43
Chapter 4.3.2 --- Peripheral Interface --- p.45
Chapter 4.4 --- Position Control on the Artificial Face --- p.47
Chapter 4.4.1 --- Model-based Position Control on Artificial Face --- p.48
Chapter 4.4.2 --- Neural-fuzzy-based Position Control on Artificial Face --- p.49
Chapter 4.4.3 --- Comparison of the Model-based and Reduced GNN Control of Artificial Face --- p.49
Chapter 4.5 --- Experimental Result --- p.50
Chapter 5 --- Conclusion --- p.52
Appendix1 --- p.53
Appendix2 --- p.55
Appendix3 --- p.56
Appendix4 --- p.58
Bibliography --- p.64

Yao, Yupei.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-60).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts also in Chinese.

This thesis focused on the testing and design of an innovative Artificial Reef geometry, as part of the decision framework for the planning, design, construction, placement and subsequent monitoring of a Modular Artificial Reef (MAR). The MAR will be installed off the west coast of Portugal to promote fish biodiversity, increase biomass and to serve as a SCUBA diving point of interest for tourists. Through physical hydraulic flume testing, the Prototype Modular Artificial Reef (PMAR) underwent environmental scenarios to evaluate the current design. These environmental scenarios were designed to imitate both constant flow and wave energy environments. An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure flow velocities both upstream and downstream the PMAR to quantify the impact of the PMAR on water flow. After testing, digital photographs were used to create Digital Elevation Models which were overlaid on the original photographs to create an Orthomosaic image. This orthomosaic illustrated the sediment transportation changes in and around the PMAR throughout various testing scenarios. By studying areas of scour and erosion, it was possible to see the impact of the PMAR on sediment transportation. Through testing, sediment was transported along the water flow direction. Overall erosion and scoring increased when wave energy was added to the system. In general, there was erosion around the front end of the PMAR and deposition around the back end. This led to a sinking effect of the entire PMAR with a slight rotation in the same direction as the water flow. It is recommended that a baseplate be added to the design to ensure stability, minimize sinking and prevent the PMAR from overturning in high energy wave conditions. In addition, further testing with multiple modular pieces linked together is required to ensure that the modular design can withstand these environmental strains.
Esta tese teve como tema a idealização e ensaio de uma geometria inovadora de Recife Artificial, no contexto do desenvolvimento de um modelo de apoio à decisão para o planeamento, projeto, construção, colocação e monitorização subsequente de um Recife Artificial Modular (MAR). O MAR será instalado ao largo da costa oeste de Portugal para promover a biodiversidade de organismos marinhos, aumentar a biomassa e servir de ponto de interesse para o mergulho de mergulho recreativo e científico. Através do ensaio em canal hidráulico, o Protótipo Modular de Recife Artificial (PMRA) foi submetido a cenários ambientais para avaliar o seu comportamento estrutural e hidrodinâmico, assim como o desempenho do seu desenho atual. Esses cenários ambientais de teste foram idealizados para imitar tanto o fluxo constante quanto os ambientes de energia das ondas. Um Velocímetro Doppler Acústico (ADV) foi usado para medir as velocidades de fluxo antes e depois do PMRA para quantificar o seu impacto no fluxo de água. Fotografias digitais pós-teste foram usadas para criar modelos de elevação digital que foram sobrepostos nas fotografias originais para criar uma imagem ortomosaica. Este ortomosaico ilustrou as mudanças no transporte de sedimentos no local e em volta do PMRA ao longo de vários cenários de testes. Ao estudar áreas de deposição e erosão, foi possível estudar o impacto do PMRA no transporte de sedimentos. Os sedimentos foram transportados ao longo da direção do fluxo de água. A erosão geral e a deposição aumentaram quando a energia das ondas foi adicionada ao sistema. Em geral, houve erosão dianteira a montante do PMRA e deposição a jusante. Isso levou a um efeito de afundamento de todo o PMAR com uma ligeira rotação do mesmo na direção do fluxo de água. Recomenda-se adicionar uma placa de base ao conceito inicial para garantir a estabilidade, minimizar o afundamento e evitar que o PMAR seja derrubado em condições de ondas de alta energia. Além disso, são necessários testes adicionais com várias peças modulares ligadas entre si para garantir que o projeto modular possa suportar essas ações ambientais.

Wong Wai.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-80).
Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 1.1. --- Specification Environment --- p.2
Chapter 1.2. --- Specification Analysis --- p.2
Chapter 1.3. --- Outline --- p.3
Chapter 2. --- Survey --- p.4
Chapter 2.1. --- Concurrence Specification --- p.4
Chapter 2.1.1. --- Sequential Approach --- p.5
Chapter 2.1.2. --- Mapping onto Concurrent Architecture --- p.6
Chapter 2.1.3. --- Automatic Concurrence Introduction --- p.7
Chapter 2.2. --- Specification Analysis --- p.8
Chapter 2.2.1. --- Motivation --- p.8
Chapter 2.2.2. --- Cyclic Dependency --- p.8
Chapter 3. --- The Design Tool --- p.11
Chapter 3.1. --- Specification Environment --- p.11
Chapter 3.1.1. --- Framework --- p.11
Chapter 3.1.1.1. --- Formal Neurons --- p.12
Chapter 3.1.1.2. --- Configuration --- p.12
Chapter 3.1.1.3. --- Control Neuron --- p.13
Chapter 3.1.2. --- Dataflow Specification --- p.14
Chapter 3.1.2.1. --- Absence of Control Information --- p.14
Chapter 3.1.2.2. --- Single-Valued Variables & Explicit Time Indices --- p.14
Chapter 3.1.2.3. --- Explicit Notations --- p.15
Chapter 3.1.3. --- User Interface --- p.15
Chapter 3.2. --- Specification Analysis --- p.16
Chapter 3.2.1. --- Data Dependency Analysis --- p.16
Chapter 3.2.2. --- Attribute Analysis --- p.16
Chapter 4. --- BP-Net Specification --- p.18
Chapter 4.1. --- BP-Net Paradigm --- p.18
Chapter 4.1.1. --- Neurons of a BP-Net --- p.18
Chapter 4.1.2. --- Configuration of BP-Net --- p.20
Chapter 4.2. --- Constant Declarations --- p.20
Chapter 4.3. --- Formal Neuron Specification --- p.21
Chapter 4.3.1. --- Mapping the Paradigm --- p.22
Chapter 4.3.1.1. --- Mapping Symbols onto Parameter Names --- p.22
Chapter 4.3.1.2. --- Mapping Neuron Equations onto Internal Functions --- p.22
Chapter 4.3.2. --- Form Entries --- p.23
Chapter 4.3.2.1. --- Neuron Type Entry --- p.23
Chapter 4.3.2.2. --- "Input, Output and Internal Parameter Entries" --- p.23
Chapter 4.3.2.3. --- Initial Value Entry --- p.25
Chapter 4.3.2.4. --- Internal Function Entry --- p.25
Chapter 4.4. --- Configuration Specification --- p.28
Chapter 4.4.1. --- Fonn Entries --- p.29
Chapter 4.4.1.1. --- Neuron Label Entry --- p.29
Chapter 4.4.1.2. --- Neuron Character Entry --- p.30
Chapter 4.4.1.3. --- Connection Pattern Entry --- p.31
Chapter 4.4.2. --- Characteristics of the Syntax --- p.33
Chapter 4.5. --- Control Neuron Specification --- p.34
Chapter 4.5.1. --- Form Entries --- p.35
Chapter 4.5.1.1. --- "Global Input, Output, Parameter & Initial Value Entries" --- p.35
Chapter 4.5.1.2. --- Input & Output File Entries --- p.36
Chapter 4.5.1.3. --- Global Function Entry --- p.36
Chapter 5. --- Data Dependency Analysis_ --- p.40
Chapter 5.1. --- Graph Construction --- p.41
Chapter 5.1.1. --- Simplification and Normalization --- p.41
Chapter 5.1.1.1. --- Removing Non-Esscntial Information --- p.41
Chapter 5.1.1.2. --- Removing File Record Parameters --- p.42
Chapter 5.1.1.3. --- Rearranging Temporal offset --- p.42
Chapter 5.1.1.4. --- Conservation of Temporal Relationship --- p.43
Chapter 5.1.1.5. --- Zero/Negative Offset for Determining Parameters --- p.43
Chapter 5.1.2. --- Internal Dependency Graphs (IDGs) --- p.43
Chapter 5.1.3. --- IDG of Control Neuron (CnIDG) --- p.45
Chapter 5.1.4. --- Global Dependency Graphs (GDGs) --- p.45
Chapter 5.2. --- Cycle Detection --- p.48
Chapter 5.2.1. --- BP-Net --- p.48
Chapter 5.2.2. --- Other Examples --- p.49
Chapter 5.2.2.1. --- The Perceptron --- p.50
Chapter 5.2.2.2. --- The Boltzmann Machinc --- p.51
Chapter 5.2.3. --- Number of Cycles --- p.52
Chapter 5.2.3.1. --- Different Number of Layers --- p.52
Chapter 5.2.3.2. --- Different Network Types --- p.52
Chapter 5.2.4. --- Cycle Length --- p.53
Chapter 5.2.4.1. --- Different Number of Layers --- p.53
Chapter 5.2.4.2. --- Comparison Among Different Networks --- p.53
Chapter 5.2.5. --- Difficulties in Analysis --- p.53
Chapter 5.3. --- Dependency Cycle Analysis --- p.54
Chapter 5.3.1. --- Temporal Index Analysis --- p.54
Chapter 5.3.2. --- Non-Temporal Index Analysis --- p.55
Chapter 5.3.2.1. --- A Simple Example --- p.55
Chapter 5.3.2.2. --- Single Parameter --- p.56
Chapter 5.3.2.3. --- Multiple Parameters --- p.57
Chapter 5.3.3. --- Combined Method --- p.58
Chapter 5.3.4. --- Scheduling --- p.58
Chapter 5.3.4.1. --- Algorithm --- p.59
Chapter 5.3.4.2. --- Schedule for the BP-Net --- p.59
Chapter 5.4. --- Symmetry in Graph Construction --- p.60
Chapter 5.4.1. --- Basic Approach --- p.60
Chapter 5.4.2. --- Construction of the BP-Net GDG --- p.61
Chapter 5.4.3. --- Limitation --- p.63
Chapter 6. --- Attribute Analysis__ --- p.64
Chapter 6.1. --- Parameter Analysis --- p.64
Chapter 6.1.1. --- Internal Dependency Graphs (IDGs) --- p.65
Chapter 6.1.1.1. --- Correct Properties of Parameters in IDGs --- p.65
Chapter 6.1.1.2. --- Example --- p.65
Chapter 6.1.2. --- Combined Internal Dependency Graphs (CIDG) --- p.66
Chapter 6.1.2.1. --- Tests on Parameters of CIDG --- p.66
Chapter 6.1.2.2. --- Example --- p.67
Chapter 6.1.3. --- Finalized Neuron Obtained --- p.67
Chapter 6.1 4. --- CIDG of the BP-Net --- p.68
Chapter 6.2. --- Constraint Checking --- p.68
Chapter 6.2.1. --- "Syntactic, Semantic and Simple Checkings" --- p.68
Chapter 6.2.1.1. --- The Syntactic & Semantic Techniques --- p.68
Chapter 6.2.1.2. --- Simple Matching --- p.70
Chapter 6.2.2. --- Constraints --- p.71
Chapter 6.2.2.1. --- Constraints on Formal Neuron --- p.71
Chapter 6.2.2.2. --- Constraints on Configuration --- p.72
Chapter 6.2.2.3. --- Constraints on Control Neuron --- p.73
Chapter 6.3. --- Complete Checking Procedure --- p.73
Chapter 7. --- Conclusions_ --- p.75
Chapter 7.1. --- Limitations --- p.76
Chapter 7.1.1. --- Exclusive Conditional Dependency Cycles --- p.76
Chapter 7.1.2. --- Maximum Parallelism --- p.77
Reference --- p.78
Appendix --- p.1
Chapter I. --- Form Syntax --- p.1
Chapter A. --- Syntax Conventions --- p.1
Chapter B. --- Form Definition --- p.1
Chapter 1. --- Form Structure --- p.1
Chapter 2. --- Constant Declaration --- p.1
Chapter 3. --- Formal Neuron Declaration --- p.1
Chapter 4. --- Configuration Declaration --- p.2
Chapter 5. --- Control Neuron --- p.2
Chapter 6. --- Supplementary Definition --- p.3
Chapter II. --- Algorithms --- p.4
Chapter III. --- Deadlock & Dependency Cycles --- p.14
Chapter A. --- Deadlock Prevention --- p.14
Chapter 1. --- Necessary Conditions for Deadlock --- p.14
Chapter 2. --- Resource Allocation Graphs --- p.15
Chapter 3. --- Cycles and Blocked Requests --- p.15
Chapter B. --- Deadlock in ANN Systems --- p.16
Chapter 1. --- Shared resources --- p.16
Chapter 2. --- Presence of the Necessary Conditions for Deadlocks --- p.16
Chapter 3. --- Operation Constraint for Communication --- p.16
Chapter 4. --- Checkings Required --- p.17
Chapter C. --- Data Dependency Graphs --- p.17
Chapter 1. --- Simplifying Resource Allocation Graphs --- p.17
Chapter 2. --- Expanding into Parameter Level --- p.18
Chapter 3. --- Freezing the Request Edges --- p.18
Chapter 4. --- Reversing the Edge Directions --- p.18
Chapter 5. --- Mutual Dependency Cycles --- p.18
Chapter IV. --- Case Studies --- p.19
Chapter A. --- BP-Net --- p.19
Chapter 1. --- Specification Forms --- p.19
Chapter 2. --- Results After Simple Checkings --- p.21
Chapter 3. --- Internal Dependency Graphs Construction --- p.21
Chapter 4. --- Results From Parameter Analysis --- p.21
Chapter 5. --- Global Dependency Graphs Construction --- p.21
Chapter 6. --- Cycles Detection --- p.21
Chapter 7. --- Time Subscript Analysis --- p.21
Chapter 8. --- Subscript Analysis --- p.21
Chapter 9. --- Scheduling --- p.21
Chapter B. --- Perceptron --- p.21
Chapter 1. --- Specification Forms --- p.22
Chapter 2. --- Results After Simple Checkings --- p.24
Chapter 3. --- Internal Dependency Graphs Construction --- p.24
Chapter 4. --- Results From Parameter Analysis --- p.25
Chapter 5. --- Global Dependency Graph Construction --- p.25
Chapter 6. --- Cycles Detection --- p.25
Chapter 7. --- Time Subscript Analysis --- p.25
Chapter 8. --- Subscript Analysis --- p.25
Chapter 9. --- Scheduling --- p.25
Chapter C. --- Boltzmann Machine --- p.26
Chapter 1. --- Specification Forms --- p.26
Chapter 2. --- Results After Simple Checkings --- p.35
Chapter 3. --- Graphs Construction --- p.35
Chapter 4. --- Results From Parameter Analysis --- p.36
Chapter 5. --- Global Dependency Graphs Construction --- p.36
Chapter 6. --- Cycle Detection --- p.36
Chapter 7. --- Time Subscript Analysis --- p.36
Chapter 8. --- Subscript Analysis --- p.36
Chapter 9. --- Scheduling --- p.36

Most nursing quality studies based on the structure-process-outcome paradigm have concentrated on structure-outcome associations and have not explained the nursing process domain. This thesis turns the spotlight on the process domain and visualises nursing processes or ‘what nurses do’ by using ‘semantics’ which underpin Linking Of Data (LOD) technologies such as ontologies. Ontology construction has considerable limitations that make direct input of nursing process semantics difficult. Consequently, nursing ontologies being constructed to date use nursing process semantics collected by non-clinicians. These ontologies may have undesirable clinical implications when they are used to map nurse processes to patient outcomes. To address this issue, this thesis places nurses at the centre of semantic collection and ontology construction.

Tsz-Shing Tam.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-87).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Abstract --- p.i
Acknowledgments --- p.ii
Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.6
Chapter 3 --- System Model --- p.12
Chapter 3.1 --- Static Architecture --- p.12
Chapter 3.2 --- Dynamics --- p.15
Chapter 3.3 --- Communication Paradigm --- p.16
Chapter 3.4 --- Metric --- p.17
Chapter 4 --- Routing Algorithms --- p.19
Chapter 4.1 --- Minimum Hops Algorithm (MHA) --- p.20
Chapter 4.2 --- Minimum Cost Algorithm (MCA) --- p.21
Chapter 4.3 --- Mesh Algorithm (MA) --- p.24
Chapter 4.3.1 --- Construction of the Set of Min-hop Paths --- p.24
Chapter 4.3.2 --- Choosing a Path in S0 --- p.29
Chapter 4.4 --- k-mesh Algorithm (KMA) --- p.29
Chapter 4.4.1 --- Finding Sk --- p.30
Chapter 4.4.2 --- Choosing a path in Sk --- p.34
Chapter 4.5 --- Revised Mesh Algorithm (RMA) --- p.34
Chapter 5 --- Reservation Strategies --- p.36
Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.36
Chapter 5.2 --- Notations --- p.38
Chapter 5.3 --- Basic Reservation Strategy (BRS) --- p.39
Chapter 5.4 --- Enhanced Reservation Strategy (ERS) --- p.41
Chapter 5.5 --- Successor Reservation Strategy (SRS) --- p.43
Chapter 6 --- Experiment --- p.45
Chapter 6.1 --- Comparison on Routing Algorithms --- p.47
Chapter 6.2 --- Comparison on Reservation Strategies --- p.64
Chapter 7 --- Conclusion --- p.72
Chapter A --- Existence of paths in Sk --- p.75
Chapter B --- Estimation of basic reservation strategy guaranteed time --- p.79
Chapter B.1 --- Basic reservation strategy --- p.79
Chapter B.2 --- Estimation on Guaranteed Duration --- p.80
Bibliography --- p.83

Robotic grasping and manipulation remains an active area of research despite significant progress over the past decades. Many existing solutions still struggle to robustly handle difficult situations that a robot might encounter even in non-contrived settings.For example, grasping systems struggle when the object is not centrally located in the robot's workspace. Also, grasping in dynamic environments presents a unique set of challenges. A stable and feasible grasp can become infeasible as the object moves; this problem becomes pronounced when there are obstacles in the scene. This research is inspired by the observation that object-manipulation tasks like grasping, pick-and-place or insertion require different forms of awareness. These include reachability awareness -- being aware of regions that can be reached without self-collision or collision with surrounding objects; tactile awareness-- ability to feel and grasp objects just tight enough to prevent slippage or crushing the objects; and 3D awareness -- ability to perceive size and depth in ways that makes object manipulation possible. Humans use these capabilities to achieve a high level of coordination needed for object manipulation. In this work, we develop techniques that equip robots with similar sensitivities towards realizing a reliable and capable home-assistant robot. In this thesis we demonstrate the importance of reasoning about the robot's workspace to enable grasping systems handle more difficult settings such as picking up moving objects while avoiding surrounding obstacles. Our method encodes the notion of reachability and uses it to generate not just stable grasps but ones that are also achievable by the robot. This reachability-aware formulation effectively expands the useable workspace of the robot enabling the robot to pick up objects from difficult-to-reach locations. While recent vision-based grasping systems work reliably well achieving pickup success rate higher than 90\% in cluttered scenes, failure cases due to calibration error, slippage and occlusion were challenging. To address this, we develop a closed-loop tactile-based improvement that uses additional tactile sensing to deal with self-occlusion (a limitation of vision-based system) and adaptively tighten the robot's grip on the object-- making the grasping system tactile-aware and more reliable. This can be used as an add-on to existing grasping systems. This adaptive tactile-based approach demonstrates the effectiveness of closed-loop feedback in the final phase of the grasping process. To achieve closed-loop manipulation all through the manipulation process, we study the value of multi-view camera systems to improve learning-based manipulation systems. Using a multi-view Q-learning formulation, we develop a learned closed-loop manipulation algorithm for precise manipulation tasks that integrates inputs from multiple static RGB cameras to overcome self-occlusion and improve 3D understanding. To conclude, we discuss some opportunities/ directions for future work.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Solar simulators are a precision research grade instruments especially designed to test and evaluate the efficiency of new materials and structures within photovoltaic devices in a laboratory setting. Rapid advances in high power light emitting diodes (LEDs) have provided the opportunity to design and construct solar simulators from arrays of discrete LED light sources to imitate the spectral distribution of sunlight as it varies diurnally and mimic the standard defined spectrum of the sun. LEDs offer numerous advantages over lamp-based solar simulator technology currently used, in terms of their spectra, lifetime and electrical efficiency. This thesis describes a novel, ten-colour, LED-based, solar simulator design, incorporating tessellated hexagonal array geometry, to allow the assembly of large area solar simulator units (LASS) providing highly- efficient, uniform illumination over large areas. Three prototypes of LED-based solar simulators have been designed, optically-modelled, constructed, and evaluated. The ten-colour design was tested for suitability as a solar simulator under three criteria: spectral match, spatial non-uniformity and temporal stability, and a comparison with the classical xenon lamp based solar simulator has been performed by measuring the current-voltage response and spectral response of a variety of solar cells. The results demonstrate the new LED-based solar simulator design meets a Class AAA classification according to the three official bodies regulating solar simulator standards, the International Electrotechnical Commission; the American Society for Testing and Materials and; the Japanese Industrial Standard, over the large illumination area. This work has provided new opportunities for low-cost, large-area, variable-spectrum solar simulation studies of photovoltaic systems and materials.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. April, 2015
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology presents great potential for use as a dual system for industrial waste water remediation and electricity generation. The hurdle in up-scaling this technology has been identified as MFC-bioreactor architecture, both with regards to bioremediation and carbon source to electricity conversion rates. In addition to the latter’s limitations, the use of expensive mediators and membrane to enhance MFC performance renders the technology uneconomic to employ industrially. A 60mm high double chamber membrane and mediator-less MFC-bioreactor was designed, and constructed. The novel MFC-bioreactor made of transparent polyacrylic plastic had a total working volume of 8 litres with the anode chamber situated at the bottom and the cathode chamber at the top separated by a 10cm deep artificial membrane made up of glass wool, glass beads and marble balls. The MFC was operated under various operating parameters including; feeding modes (batch and continuous), with different substrate concentration at a range of external resistance (100-9000Ω) .The voltage produced during MFC operation was monitored and used to estimate the power density output of the MFC. The pseudo membrane was able to sufficiently separate the anode and cathode chambers allowing the development of potential difference and hence generation of current. The MFC demonstrated the potential for sustainable operation by producing and maintaining a stable power density of 2000mW/m2 when operated with an external resistance of 1000Ω. This power density was accompanied by a 73% remediation efficiency of the synthetic wastewater. It was concluded that the results of this research show proof of concept for a membrane-less MFC that can produce electrical energy in the absence of an electron shuffling mediator.

This dissertation describes a research study conducted to determine the benefits and use of ontology technologies to support a simulation environment that evaluates countermeasures employed to protect military aircraft. Within the military, aircraft represent a significant investment and these valuable assets need to be protected against various threats, such as man-portable air-defence systems. To counter attacks from these threats, countermeasures are deployed, developed and evaluated by utilising modelling and simulation techniques. The system described in this research simulates real world scenarios of aircraft, missiles and countermeasures in order to assist in the evaluation of infra-red countermeasures against missiles in specified scenarios. Traditional ontology has its origin in philosophy, describing what exists and how objects relate to each other. The use of formal ontologies in Computer Science have brought new possibilities for modelling and representation of information and knowledge in several domains. These advantages also apply to military information systems where ontologies support the complex nature of military information. After considering ontologies and their advantages against the requirements for enhancements of the simulation system, an ontology was constructed by following a formal development methodology. Design research, combined with the adaptive methodology of development, was conducted in a unique way, therefore contributing to establish design research as a formal research methodology. The ontology was constructed to capture the knowledge of the simulation system environment and the use of it supports the functions of the simulation system in the domain. The research study contributes to better communication among people involved in the simulation studies, accomplished by a shared vocabulary and a knowledge base for the domain. These contributions affirmed that ontologies can be successfully use to support military simulation systems
Computing
M. Tech. (Information Technology)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
There have been many endeavors to design humanoid robots that have human characteristics such as dexterity, autonomy and intelligence. Humanoid robots are intended to cooperate with humans and perform useful work that humans can perform. The main advantage of humanoid robots over other machines is that they are flexible and multi-purpose. In this thesis, a human-like robotic arm is designed and used in a task which is typically performed by humans, namely, catching a ball. The robotic arm was designed to closely resemble a human arm, based on anthropometric studies. A rigid multibody dynamics software was used to create a virtual model of the robotic arm, perform experiments, and collect data. The inverse kinematics of the robotic arm was solved using a Newton-Raphson numerical method with a numerically calculated Jacobian. The system was validated by testing its ability to find a kinematic solution for the catch position and successfully catch the ball within the robot's workspace. The tests were conducted by throwing the ball such that its path intersects different target points within the robot's workspace. The method used for determining the catch location consists of finding the intersection of the ball's trajectory with a virtual catch plane. The hand orientation was set so that the normal vector to the palm of the hand is parallel to the trajectory of the ball at the intersection point and a vector perpendicular to this normal vector remains in a constant orientation during the catch. It was found that this catch orientation approach was reliable within a 0.35 x 0.4 meter window in the robot's workspace. For all tests within this window, the robotic arm successfully caught and dropped the ball in a bin. Also, for the tests within this window, the maximum position and orientation (Euler angle) tracking errors were 13.6 mm and 4.3 degrees, respectively. The average position and orientation tracking errors were 3.5 mm and 0.3 degrees, respectively. The work presented in this study can be applied to humanoid robots in industrial assembly lines and hazardous environment recovery tasks, amongst other applications.