A modified direct torque control with fault tolerance

The use of inverters in induction motor control has reduced classical motor faults, such as broken rotor bars or windings short-circuit, besides improving control performance. The control becomes faster and more precise, reducing peaks in current and torque, so that the motor can have a softer operation. On the other hand, new elements are included in the system and it will be necessary to take into account their faults. These elements are sensors and power electronic devices that since a control point of view are the system sensors and actuators. Fault tolerance tries to maintain the system under control in case a fault appears in the system. If this is not possible, it takes the system to a safe operational point. In this paper a fault-tolerant control for induction motors is designed. Based on a direct torque control, new control strategies have been added in case current sensor and power switch faults are detected. The challenge is to overcome these faults without any physical redundancy of sensors or power switches as other authors propose. With the proposed control, it will be possible to guarantee the motor operation in the whole speed-torque range with one or none current sensors instead of the two usually used, though the performance will be slightly worsened. In case of inverter faults, the operation range will be restricted but the performance with respect to the fault situation is improved.     

永磁同步电机电流传感器故障诊断及容错控制

电流传感器对永磁同步电机矢量控制系统的稳定性和安全性十分重要.为实现电流传感器的故障诊断及其容错控制，提出了一种简单的逻辑判断策略，该策略基于αβ相电流构造3个故障判断因子以实现故障判断，一相电流传感器故障时，根据基尔霍夫定律重构电流；两相以上故障时，基于李亚普诺夫稳定性定理设计自适应反推观测器进行电流估计，以确保系统稳定运行.在低速和高速运行状态下分别进行了仿真和实验，证明了该策略能够快速诊断故障、准确判断故障相，并基于逻辑判断策略稳定地重构电流，具有较高的可行性和可靠性.     

Learning about natural human–robot interaction styles

If we are to achieve natural human–robot interaction, we may need to complement current vision and speech interfaces. Touch may provide us with an extra tool in this quest. In this paper we demonstrate the role of touch in interaction between a robot and a human. We show how infrared sensors located on robots can be easily used to detect and distinguish human interaction, in this case interaction with individual children. This application of infrared sensors potentially has many uses; for example, in entertainment or service robotics. This system could also benefit therapy or rehabilitation, where the observation and recording of movement and interaction is important. In the long term, this technique might enable robots to adapt to individuals or individual types of user.     

A new space and time sensor fusion method for mobile robot navigation

To fully utilize the information from the sensors of mobile robot, this paper proposes a new sensor‐fusion technique where the sample data set obtained at a previous instant is properly transformed and fused with the current data sets to produce a reliable estimate for navigation control. Exploration of an unknown environment is an important task for the new generation of mobile service robots. The mobile robots may navigate by means of a number of monitoring systems such as the sonar‐sensing system or the visual‐sensing system. Notice that in the conventional fusion schemes, the measurement is dependent on the current data sets only. Therefore, more sensors are required to measure a given physical parameter or to improve the reliability of the measurement. However, in this approach, instead of adding more sensors to the system, the temporal sequences of the data sets are stored and utilized for the purpose. The basic principle is illustrated by examples and the effectiveness is proved through simulations and experiments. The newly proposed STSF (space and time sensor fusion) scheme is applied to the navigation of a mobile robot in an environment using landmarks, and the experimental results demonstrate the effective performance of the system. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Nonlinear state estimation for rigid-body motion with low-pass sensors

In this paper, we consider the state estimation problem for the nonlinear kinematic equations of a rigid body observed under low-pass sensors. The problem is motivated from a walking robot application where inclinometers and gyros are the sensors used. We show that a non-local high gain observer exists for the nonlinear rigid-body kinematic equations and that it under a small angle assumption is possible to use one inclinometer only to estimate two angles.     

Efficient corona training protocols for sensor networks

Phenomenal advances in nano-technology and packaging have made it possible to develop miniaturized low-power devices that integrate sensing, special-purpose computing, and wireless communications capabilities. It is expected that these small devices, referred to as sensors, will be mass-produced and deployed, making their production cost negligible. Due to their small form factor and modest non-renewable energy budget, individual sensors are not expected to be GPS-enabled. Moreover, in most applications, exact geographic location is not necessary, and all that the individual sensors need is a coarse-grain location awareness. The task of acquiring such a coarse-grain location awareness is referred to as training. In this paper, two scalable energy-efficient training protocols are proposed for massively-deployed sensor networks, where sensors are initially anonymous and unaware of their location. The training protocols are lightweight and simple to implement; they are based on an intuitive coordinate system imposed onto the deployment area which partitions the anonymous sensors into clusters where data can be gathered from the environment and synthesized under local control.     

基于MEMS传感器的三维鼠标设计与实现

许多应用场合如床上、长途汽车座位上没有桌面存在,此时传统的光电鼠标就不方便应用。针对该问题,提出一种基于微机电系统惯性传感器的鼠标设计方法,利用传感器倾斜角和方位角测量特性控制鼠标在三维空间中自由运动,并在Windows平台上做了测试。结果表明,该设计方法可以部分消除噪声对MEMS加速度传感器测量值的影响,从而提高测量准确性。     

Color smoothing for RGB-D data using entropy information

RGB-D sensors are capable of providing 3D points (depth) together with color information associated with each point. These sensors suffer from different sources of noise. With some kinds of RGB-D sensors, it is possible to pre-process the color image before assigning the color information to the 3D data. However, with other kinds of sensors that is not possible: RGB-D data must be processed directly. In this paper, we compare different approaches for noise and artifacts reduction: Gaussian, mean and bilateral filter. These methods are time consuming when managing 3D data, which can be a problem with several real time applications. We propose new methods to accelerate the whole process and improve the quality of the color information using entropy information. Entropy provides a framework for speeding up the involved methods allowing certain data not to be processed if the entropy value of that data is over or under a given threshold. The experimental results provide a way to balance the quality and the acceleration of these methods. The current results show that our methods improve both the image quality and processing time, as compared to the original methods.     

An accuracy assessment experiment of the BRDF measured at coarse spatial resolution from space

The accuracy assessment of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) acquired from satellite sensors at coarse spatial resolution (1 or more km) is not straightforward. One possible strategy is to compare BRDF measurements from spaceborne and airborne sensors on a test area with appropriate characteristics of spatial homogeneity. This Letter describes an experiment based on this principle, aiming at the control of the BRDF measured by POLDER/ADEOS. The BRDF derived from the satellite data is compared with that derived from spatially averaged airborne POLDER data over a forested area of the Landes region. The magnitude and shape of the BRDF measured by both sensors are found to be consistent within an accuracy of 0.01 in reflectance units, except for the principal plane in the blue band where some inconsistency is found. Similar experiments could be used for the verification of other sensors data, such as those of MISR and MODIS onboard Terra, and POLDER 2 onboard ADEOS 2 in the near future.     

Space and time sensor fusion using an active camera for mobile robot navigation

We propose a sensor-fusion technique where the data sets for previous moments are properly transformed and fused into the current data sets to allow accurate measurements, such as the distance to an obstacle or the location of the service robot itself. In conventional fusion schemes, measurements are dependent on the current data sets. As a result, more sensors are required to measure a certain physical parameter or to improve the accuracy of a measurement. However, in this approach, instead of adding more sensors to the system, the temporal sequences of the data sets are stored and utilized to improve the measurements. The theoretical basis is illustrated by examples, and the effectiveness is proved through simulations. Finally, the new space and time sensor fusion (STSF) scheme is applied to the control of a mobile robot in an unstructured environment and a structured environment.This work was presented in part at the 8th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 24–26, 2003     

Dynamic consensus estimation of weighted average on directed graphs

Recent applications call for distributed weighted average estimation over sensor networks, where sensor measurement accuracy or environmental conditions need to be taken into consideration in the final consensused group decision. In this paper, we propose new dynamic consensus filter design to distributed estimate weighted average of sensors’ inputs on directed graphs. Based on recent advances in the filed, we modify the existing proportional-integral consensus filter protocol to remove the requirement of bi-directional gain exchange between neighbouring sensors, so that the algorithm works for directed graphs where bi-directional communications are not possible. To compensate for the asymmetric structure of the system introduced by such a removal, sufficient gain conditions are obtained for the filter protocols to guarantee the convergence. It is rigorously proved that the proposed filter protocol converges to the weighted average of constant inputs asymptotically, and to the weighted average of time-varying inputs with a bounded error. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed protocols.     

Adaptive data acquisition strategies for energy-efficient, smartphone-based, continuous processing of sensor streams

There is a growing interest in applications that utilize continuous sensing of individual activity or context, via sensors embedded or associated with personal mobile devices (e.g., smartphones). Reducing the energy overheads of sensor data acquisition and processing is essential to ensure the successful continuous operation of such applications, especially on battery-limited mobile devices. To achieve this goal, this paper presents a framework, called ACQUA, for ‘acquisition-cost’ aware continuous query processing. ACQUA replaces the current paradigm, where the data is typically streamed (pushed) from the sensors to the one or more smartphones, with a pull-based asynchronous model, where a smartphone retrieves appropriate blocks of relevant sensor data from individual sensors, as an integral part of the query evaluation process. We describe algorithms that dynamically optimize the sequence (for complex stream queries with conjunctive and disjunctive predicates) in which such sensor data streams are retrieved by the query evaluation component, based on a combination of (a) the communication cost & selectivity properties of individual sensor streams, and (b) the occurrence of the stream predicates in multiple concurrently executing queries. We also show how a transformation of a group of stream queries into a disjunctive normal form provides us with significantly greater degrees of freedom in choosing this sequence, in which individual sensor streams are retrieved and evaluated. While the algorithms can apply to a broad category of sensor-based applications, we specifically demonstrate their application to a scenario where multiple stream processing queries execute on a single smartphone, with the sensors transferring their data over an appropriate PAN technology, such as Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11. Extensive simulation experiments indicate that ACQUA’s intelligent batch-oriented data acquisition process can result in as much as 80 % reduction in the energy overhead of continuous query processing, without any loss in the fidelity of the processing logic.     

Improving the effectiveness of monitoring and control systems exploiting knowledge-based approaches

This paper illustrates how the adoption of techniques typical of artificial intelligence (AI) could improve the performance of monitoring and control systems (MCSs). Traditional MCSs are designed according to a three-level architectural pattern in which intelligent devices are usually devoted to evaluate whether the data acquired by a set of sensors could be interpreted as anomalous or not. Possible mistakes in the evaluation process, due to faulty sensors or external factors, can cause the generation of undesirable false alarms. To solve this problem, the traditional three-tier architecture of MCSs has been extended with a fourth level, named the correlation level, where an intelligent module, usually a knowledge-based system, collects the local interpretations made by each evaluation device, building a global view of the monitored field. In this way, possible local mistakes are identified by the comparison with other local interpretations.     

A review of source term estimation methods for atmospheric dispersion events using static or mobile sensors

Understanding atmospheric transport and dispersal events has an important role in a range of scenarios. Of particular importance is aiding in emergency response after an intentional or accidental chemical, biological or radiological (CBR) release. In the event of a CBR release, it is desirable to know the current and future spatial extent of the contaminant as well as its location in order to aid decision makers in emergency response. Many dispersion phenomena may be opaque or clear, thus monitoring them using visual methods will be difficult or impossible. In these scenarios, relevant concentration sensors are required to detect the substance where they can form a static network on the ground or be placed upon mobile platforms. This paper presents a review of techniques used to gain information about atmospheric dispersion events using static or mobile sensors. The review is concluded with a discussion on the current limitations of the state of the art and recommendations for future research.     

Asynchronous Corona Training Protocols in Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks

Scalable energy-efficient training protocols are proposed for wireless networks consisting of sensors and a single actor, where the sensors are initially anonymous and unaware of their location. The protocols are based on an intuitive coordinate system imposed onto the deployment area, which partitions the sensors into clusters. The protocols are asynchronous, in the sense that the sensors wake up for the first time at random, then alternate between sleep and awake periods both of fixed length, and no explicit synchronization is performed between them and the actor. Theoretical properties are stated under which the training of all the sensors is possible. Moreover, both worst-case and average case analyses of the performance, as well as an experimental evaluation, are presented showing that the protocols are lightweight and flexible.     

Object recognition: A new application for smelling robots

Olfaction is a challenging new sensing modality for intelligent systems. With the emergence of electronic noses, it is now possible to detect and recognize a range of different odours for a variety of applications. In this work, we introduce a new application where electronic olfaction is used in cooperation with other types of sensors on a mobile robot in order to acquire the odour property of objects. We examine the problem of deciding when, how and where the electronic nose (e-nose) should be activated by planning for active perception and we consider the problem of integrating the information provided by the e-nose with both prior information and information from other sensors (e.g., vision). Experiments performed on a mobile robot equipped with an e-nose are presented.     

Sensor Selection in Arbitrary Dimensions

We address the sensor selection problem which arises in tracking and localization applications. In sensor selection, the goal is to select a small number of sensors whose measurements provide a good estimate of a target's state (such as location). We focus on the bounded uncertainty sensing model where the target is a point in the d -dimensional Euclidean space. Each sensor measurement corresponds to a convex polyhedral subset of the space. The measurements are merged by intersecting corresponding sets. We show that, on the plane, four sensors are sufficient (and sometimes necessary) to obtain an estimate whose area is at most twice the area of the best possible estimate (obtained by intersecting all measurements). We also extend this result to arbitrary dimensions and show that a constant number of sensors suffice for a constant factor approximation in arbitrary dimensions. Both constants depend on the dimensionality of the space but are independent of the total number of sensors in the network.     

Piezoresistive sensor design using topology optimization

Piezoresistive materials, materials whose resistivity properties change when subjected to mechanical stresses, are widely utilized in many industries as sensors, including pressure sensors, accelerometers, inclinometers, and load cells. Basic piezoresistive sensors consist of piezoresistive devices bonded to a flexible structure, such as a cantilever or a membrane, where the flexible structure transmits pressure, force, or inertial force due to acceleration, thereby causing a stress that changes the resistivity of the piezoresistive devices. By applying a voltage to a piezoresistive device, its resistivity can be measured and correlated with the amplitude of an applied pressure or force. The performance of a piezoresistive sensor is closely related to the design of its flexible structure. In this research, we propose a generic topology optimization formulation for the design of piezoresistive sensors where the primary aim is high response. First, the concept of topology optimization is briefly discussed. Next, design requirements are clarified, and corresponding objective functions and the optimization problem are formulated. An optimization algorithm is constructed based on these formulations. Finally, several design examples of piezoresistive sensors are presented to confirm the usefulness of the proposed method.     

具有多传感器的CPS系统的攻击检测

信息物理系统（cyber-physical systems，简称CPS）是基于环境感知实现计算、通信与物理元素紧密结合的下一代智能系统，广泛应用于安全攸关的系统和工业控制等领域.信息技术与物理世界的相互作用使得CPS容易受到各种恶意攻击，从而破坏其安全性.主要研究存在瞬态故障的CPS中传感器的攻击检测问题.考虑具有多个传感器测量相同物理变量的系统，其中一些传感器可能受到恶意攻击并提供错误的测量.此外，使用抽象传感器模型，每个传感器为控制器提供一个真实值的可能间隔.已有的用于检测传感器被恶意攻击的方法是保守的.当专业攻击者在一段时间内轻微地或不频繁地操纵传感器的输出时，现有方法很难捕获到攻击，如隐身攻击.为了解决这个问题，设计了一种基于融合间隔和历史测量的传感器攻击检测方法.该方法首先为不同的传感器构建不同的故障模型，使用系统动力学方程把历史测量融入到攻击检测方法中，从不同的方面分析传感器的测量.另外，利用历史测量和融合间隔解决了两个传感器的测量相交时是否存在故障的问题.该方法的核心思想是利用传感器之间的成对不一致关系检测和识别攻击.从EV3地面车辆上获得真实的测量数据来验证算法的性能.实验结果表明，所提出的方法优于现有方法，对各种攻击类型都有较好的检测和识别性能，特别是对于隐身攻击，检测率和识别率大约提高了90%以上.