A multi-objective evolutionary approach to image quality/compression trade-off in JPEG baseline algorithm

The JPEG algorithm is one of the most used tools for compressing images. The main factor affecting the performance of the JPEG compression is the quantization process, which exploits the values contained in two tables, called quantization tables. The compression ratio and the quality of the decoded images are determined by these values. Thus, the correct choice of the quantization tables is crucial to the performance of the JPEG algorithm. In this paper, a two-objective evolutionary algorithm is applied to generate a family of optimal quantization tables which produce different trade-offs between image compression and quality. Compression is measured in terms of difference in percentage between the sizes of the original and compressed images, whereas quality is computed as mean squared error between the reconstructed and the original images. We discuss the application of the proposed approach to well-known benchmark images and show how the quantization tables determined by our method improve the performance of the JPEG algorithm with respect to the default tables suggested in Annex K of the JPEG standard.     

Exploration strategies based on multi-criteria decision making for searching environments in rescue operations

Some applications require autonomous robots to search an initially unknown environment for static targets, without any a priori information about environment structure and target locations. Targets can be human victims in search and rescue or materials in foraging. In these scenarios, the environment is incrementally discovered by the robots exploiting exploration strategies to move around in an autonomous and effective way. Most of the strategies proposed in literature are based on the idea of evaluating a number of candidate locations on the frontier between the known and the unknown portions of the environment according to ad hoc utility functions that combine different criteria. In this paper, we show some of the advantages of using a more theoretically-grounded approach, based on Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), to define exploration strategies for robots employed in search and rescue applications. We implemented some MCDM-based exploration strategies within an existing robot controller and we evaluated their performance in a simulated environment.     

The labeled maximum matching problem

Given a graph G where a label is associated with each edge, we address the problem of looking for a maximum matching of G using the minimum number of different labels, namely the labeled maximum matching problem. It is a relatively new problem whose application is related to the timetabling problem. We prove it is NP-complete and present four different mathematical formulations. Moreover, we propose an exact algorithm based on a branch-and-bound approach to solve it. We evaluate the performance of our algorithm on a wide set of instances and compare our computational times with the ones required by CPLEX to solve the proposed mathematical formulations. Test results show the effectiveness of our procedure, that hugely outperforms the solver.     

An haptic-based immersive environment for shape analysis and modelling

Currently, the design of aesthetic products is a process that requires a set of activities where digital models and physical mockups play a key role. Typically, these are modified (and built) several times before reaching the desired design, increasing the development time and, consequently, the final product cost. In this paper, we present an innovative design environment for computer-aided design (CAD) surface analysis. Our system relies on a direct visuo-haptic display system, which enables users to visualize models using a stereoscopic view, and allows the evaluation of sectional curves using touch. Profile curves are rendered using an haptic device that deforms a plastic strip, thanks to a set of actuators, to reproduce the curvature of the shape co-located with the virtual model. By touching the strip, users are able to evaluate shape characteristics, such as curvature or discontinuities (rendered using sound), and to assess the surface quality. We believe that future computer-aided systems (CAS)/CAD systems based on our approach will contribute in improving the design process at industrial level. Moreover, these will allow companies to reduce the product development time by reducing the number of physical mockups necessary for the product design evaluation and by increasing the quality of the final product, allowing a wider exploration and comparative evaluation of alternatives in the given time.     

Robust invariant sets for constrained storage systems

Several items are produced and stored into n buffers in order to supply an external demand without interruptions. We consider the classical problem of determining control laws and smallest buffer levels guaranteeing that an unknown bounded demand is always satisfied. A simple model with n decoupled integrators and n additive bounded disturbances is employed. The coupling arises from bounds on the total production capacity and on the total demand. Invariant set theory for linear and switched linear systems is exploited to compute robust positive invariant sets and controlled robust invariant sets for two commonly adopted scheduling policies. This paper provides the explicit expression of the invariant sets for any arbitrary n.     

Analysis and synthesis of attractive quantum Markovian dynamics

We propose a general framework for investigating a large class of stabilization problems in Markovian quantum systems. Building on the notions of invariant and attractive quantum subsystem, we characterize attractive subspaces by exploring the structure of the invariant sets for the dynamics. Our general analysis results are exploited to assess the ability of open-loop Hamiltonian and output-feedback control strategies to synthesize Markovian generators which stabilize a target subsystem, subspace, or pure state. In particular, we provide an algebraic characterization of the manifold of stabilizable pure states in arbitrary finite-dimensional Markovian systems, that leads to a constructive strategy for designing the relevant controllers. Implications for stabilization of entangled pure states are addressed by example.     

Linear offset-free Model Predictive Control

This work addresses the problem of offset-free Model Predictive Control (MPC) when tracking an asymptotically constant reference. In the first part, compact and intuitive conditions for offset-free MPC control are introduced by using the arguments of the internal model principle. In the second part, we study the case where the number of measured variables is larger than the number of tracked variables. The plant model is augmented only by as many states as there are tracked variables, and an algorithm which guarantees offset-free tracking is presented. In the last part, offset-free tracking properties for special implementations of MPC schemes are briefly discussed.     

Free vibration analysis of functionally graded conical, cylindrical shell and annular plate structures with a four-parameter power-law distribution

Based on the First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT) this paper focuses on the dynamic behavior of moderately thick functionally graded conical, cylindrical shells and annular plates. The last two structures are obtained as special cases of the conical shell formulation. The treatment is developed within the theory of linear elasticity, when materials are assumed to be isotropic and inhomogeneous through the thickness direction. The two-constituent functionally graded shell consists of ceramic and metal. These constituents are graded through the thickness, from one surface of the shell to the other. A generalization of the power-law distribution presented in literature is proposed. Two different four-parameter power-law distributions are considered for the ceramic volume fraction. Some material profiles through the functionally graded shell thickness are illustrated by varying the four parameters of power-law distributions. For the first power-law distribution, the bottom surface of the structure is ceramic rich, whereas the top surface can be metal rich, ceramic rich or made of a mixture of the two constituents and on the contrary for the second one. Symmetric and asymmetric volume fraction profiles are presented in this paper. The homogeneous isotropic material can be inferred as a special case of functionally graded materials (FGM). The governing equations of motion are expressed as functions of five kinematic parameters, by using the constitutive and kinematic relationships. The solution is given in terms of generalized displacement components of the points lying on the middle surface of the shell. The discretization of the system equations by means of the Generalized Differential Quadrature (GDQ) method leads to a standard linear eigenvalue problem, where two independent variables are involved without using the Fourier modal expansion methodology. Numerical results concerning six types of shell structures illustrate the influence of the power-law exponent, of the power-law distribution and of the choice of the four parameters on the mechanical behaviour of shell structures considered.     

An algebraic characterization of the optimum of regularized kernel methods

The representer theorem for kernel methods states that the solution of the associated variational problem can be expressed as the linear combination of a finite number of kernel functions. However, for non-smooth loss functions, the analytic characterization of the coefficients poses nontrivial problems. Standard approaches resort to constrained optimization reformulations which, in general, lack a closed-form solution. Herein, by a proper change of variable, it is shown that, for any convex loss function, the coefficients satisfy a system of algebraic equations in a fixed-point form, which may be directly obtained from the primal formulation. The algebraic characterization is specialized to regression and classification methods and the fixed-point equations are explicitly characterized for many loss functions of practical interest. The consequences of the main result are then investigated along two directions. First, the existence of an unconstrained smooth reformulation of the original non-smooth problem is proven. Second, in the context of SURE (Stein’s Unbiased Risk Estimation), a general formula for the degrees of freedom of kernel regression methods is derived.