Safe and effective navigation of autonomous robots in hazardous environments

The development of autonomous mobile machines to perform useful tasks in real work environments is currently being impeded by concerns over effectiveness, commercial viability and, above all, safety. This paper introduces a case study of a robotic excavator to explore a series of issues around system development, navigation in unstructured environments, autonomous decision making and changing the behaviour of autonomous machines to suit the prevailing demands of users. The adoption of the Real-Time Control Systems (RCS) architecture (Albus, 1991) is proposed as a universal framework for the development of intelligent systems. In addition it is explained how the use of Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) (Kaelbling et al., 1998) can form the basis of decision making in the face of uncertainty and how the technique can be effectively incorporated into the RCS architecture. Particular emphasis is placed on ensuring that the resulting behaviour is both task effective and adequately safe, and it is recognised that these two objectives may be in opposition and that the desired relative balance between them may change. The concept of an autonomous system having “values” is introduced through the use of utility theory. Limited simulation results of experiments are reported which demonstrate that these techniques can create intelligent systems capable of modifying their behaviour to exhibit either ‘safety conscious’ or ‘task achieving’ personalities.     

Proactive resource allocation for asynchronous real-time distributed systems in the presence of processor failures

We present two proactive resource allocation algorithms, RBA^*-FT and OBA-FT, for fault-tolerant asynchronous real-time distributed systems. The algorithms consider an application model where task timeliness is specified by Jensen's benefit functions and the anticipated application workload during future time intervals is described by adaptation functions. In addition, we assume that reliability functions of processors are available a priori. Given these models, our objective is to maximize aggregate task benefit and minimize aggregate missed deadline ratio in the presence of processor failures. Since determining the optimal solution is computationally intractable, the algorithms heuristically compute sub-optimal resource allocations, but in polynomial time. Experimental results reveal that RBA^*-FT and OBA-FT outperform their non-fault-tolerant counterparts in the presence of processor failures. Furthermore, RBA^*-FT performs better than OBA-FT, although OBA-FT incurs better worst-case and amortized computational costs. Finally, we observe that both algorithms robustly withstand errors in the estimation of anticipated failures.     

基于非锐化掩模的实时自适应图像增强算法

针对传统的非锐化掩模算法的局限性,依据图像中各像素点及以其为中心的若干相邻像素点的均方差值,提出了自适应图像增强算法的原理,并分析其硬件实现方法,然后给出了该算法与其它算法应用于图像增强的对比结果,最后在FPGA（field programmable gate array）实验板上进行验证.实验结果表明,此算法有效的增强图像的细节区域,防止图像边缘区域出现过冲现象,抑制图像平坦区域的噪声放大.因此,该算法取得了良好的视觉效果,硬件实现简单,适合于实时条件下图像的增强.     

Simulation Modeling of Runoff,Groundwater Flow and Sediment Transport into Kastoria Lake,Greece

Kastoria Lake is located in northwestern Greece. The whole basin of the lake is about 253 km². For the computation of the surface water volume inflowing into the lake from the main streams of the sub-basins located around Kastoria Lake, a rainfall-runoff sub-model is used. A quasi-three-dimensional simulation model of the Kastoria basin aquifer is also realized, in order to estimate the groundwater contribution to the volumetric budget of the lake and the whole basin as well. For the computation of sediment load inflowing into the lake from the main streams of the sub-basins, the rainfall-runoff sub-model is combinedwith a soil erosion sub-model and a sediment transport sub-model for streams. A GIS was developed in the hydrologic basin with all data needed for parameter identification and model application. The data base was enriched by a series of on site measurements of water discharge made in all main streams for one whole hydrologic year. By means of the resulting mathematical sediment model, those sub-basins, which deliver most sediment load to the lake, are identified. On the basis of this identification, a series of control measures, for the reduction of sediment inflowing into the lake, at certain places of the above mentioned sub-basins is proposed.     

Bedload Transport in Alluvial Channels

Hydraulic, sediment, land-use, and rock-erosivity data of 22 alluvial streams were used to evaluate conditions of bedload transport and the performance of selected bedload-transport equations. Transport categories of transport-limited (TL), partially transport-limited (PTL), and supply-limited (SL) were identified by a semiquantitative approach that considers hydraulic constraints on sediment movement and the processes that control sediment availability at the basin scale. Equations by Parker et al. in 1982, Schoklitsch in 1962, and Meyer-Peter and Muller in 1948 adequately predicted sediment transport in channels with TL condition, whereas the equations of Bagnold in 1980, and Schoklitsch, in 1962, performed well for PTL and SL conditions. Overall, the equation of Schoklitsch predicted well the measured bedload data for eight of 22 streams, and the Bagnold equation predicted the measured data in seven streams.     

CCD应用中的高速图象数据采集技术

介绍了一种可用于精密光学测量的高速线阵ＣＣＤ图象数据采集系统，给出了系统组成、各单元设计考虑和主要技术指标。     

Prescheduling policy for real-time concurrency control: A performance evaluation

A new priority management policy, aprescheduling policy, is proposed. This policy can be applied on any conventional concurrency control protocol to schedule a real-time transaction. Costly preemption is avoided by the prescheduling policy, and parsing dataset of a transaction is not needed. Three widely used conventional concurrency control protocols (dynamic two-phase locking, basic timestamp ordering, and optimistic) are incorporated with the prescheduling policy to form three real-time concurrency control protocols. Performance of the three protocols is evaluated from three different viewpoints: database management systems, protocols, and transaction. From a database management system viewpoint, we show the prescheduling policy can improve the performance of protocols by raising thevalid ratio and reducingrestart counts. In general, two-phase locking with the prescheduling policy performs the best in most cases and yields the best choice for concurrency control in a real-time application. Deciding factors that affect performance of each protocol are identified from protocol viewpoint. Some suggestions are given for writing a timely transaction from the aspect of transaction viewpoint.     

光电摆角动态测量原理及其测量系统

本文阐述了用于测量物体摆角及摆心浮动量的光电动态实时测量原理,以及根据此原理研制的光电导弹喷管摆角动态测量系统。     

Transport properties of 1,1-difluoroethane (R152a)

Based on reliable. carefully selected data sets. equations for the thermal conductivity and the viscosity of the refrigerant R 112a are presented. They are valid at temperatures from 240 to 440 K, pressures up to 20 MPa. and densities up to 1050 kg · m^–3. including the critical region.     

多功能滚齿机的数字控制系统

本文叙述了以ＳＴＤＰＣ／ＸＴ（或ＰＣ／ＡＴ）机为主要核心构成的滚齿机数字控制系统的结构，软件设计和特点，系统采用混合语言编程，极大地提高了软件设计的灵活性与快速性，也分析了ＣＮＣ系统的加工过程，提出了加工中的软件预处理控制方法，并给出了轴伺服控制的并行算法分析与实现。