Robotic Companions for Smart Space Interactions

In this piece we take a brief peek at the possible world of robotic companions. In such a world, robots are adopted as butlers in our homes, as baby watchers, as friends and in general as life companions. For example, Helen lives with a robotic companion named Schpuffy. In the morning, Schpuffy checks Helen's schedule and finds out she has an appointment with a neighbor to take a walk at 8:30 a.m. Schpuffy recognizes that it takes 30 minutes for her to prepare to go for a walk and wakes her up at 8:00 a.m. After she gets up, Schpuffy reminds Helen of her appointment at 8:30 a.m. While she gets dressed, Schpuffy lets her know that current weather is very cold and suggests that she wear thermal clothing. When she's about to leave the house, Schpuffy says "good bye" to her and locks the door as she leaves. Schpuffy hasn't gained majored acceptance. It's not in every home or even in a tiny fraction of homes. However, it's a bold new research that is taking shape with early commercial products already hitting the marketplace. It could soon be the chief appliance in your home, or the new interface technology for smart spaces.     

Scene change detection techniques for video database systems

Scene change detection (SCD) is one of several fundamental problems in the design of a video database management system (VDBMS). It is the first step towards the automatic segmentation, annotation, and indexing of video data. SCD is also used in other aspects of VDBMS, e.g., hierarchical representation and efficient browsing of the video data. In this paper, we provide a taxonomy that classifies existing SCD algorithms into three categories: full-video-image-based, compressed-video-based, and model-based algorithms. The capabilities and limitations of the SCD algorithms are discussed in detail. The paper also proposes a set of criteria for measuring and comparing the performance of various SCD algorithms. We conclude by discussing some important research directions.     

Innovative nano silicone wax coatings for the conservation of bronze artifacts from corrosion

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - Herein we studied the efficiency of a protective transparent and reversible nano silicone wax coatings (NSW) to protect bronze artifacts extracted from...     

Electrochemical behavior of some copper alloys in sulfuric acid solutions

In this article, the corrosion behavior of Cu? Fe and Cu? Al? Fe was studied in H₂SO₄ solutions in the absence and presence of different concentrations of some inorganic additives, Na₂MoO₄, K₂Cr₂O₇, KIO₃, and Na₂B₄O₇. The techniques of measurements used were open‐circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The polarization measurements indicated that the corrosion current, I_corr, of Cu? Fe is less than that of Cu? Al? Fe. The investigated additives in H₂SO₄ shifted E_corr to more positive values and increases I_corr. Impedance measurements indicated that Nyquist plots for Cu? Fe may be regarded as a semi‐circle in early stages of immersion and tends to be a part of semi‐circle with elapse of time and a well‐defined inductive loop appears. In case of Cu? Al? Fe, the Nyquist plots tends to be semi‐circle or depressed semi‐circle. The values of R_p for Cu? Fe are higher than those for Cu? Al? Fe. On the other hand, the values of C_dl for Cu? Fe are lower than those obtained for Cu? Al? Fe. The presence of these additives in H₂SO₄ solutions decreases the values of polarization resistance (R_p) and increases the values of corrosion current density (I_corr) and capacitance of double layer (C_dl).     

Group method solutions of the generalized forms of Burgers, Burgers�CKdV and KdV equations with time-dependent variable coefficients

Solutions for the generalized forms of Burgers, Burgers?CKdV, and KdV equations with time-dependent variable coefficients and with initial and boundary conditions are constructed. The analysis rests mainly on the standard group method. Similarity solutions are found which reduce the nonlinear system of partial differential equations to systems of ordinary differential equations to obtain some exact solutions and others as numerical solutions.     

The Gator Tech Smart House: a programmable pervasive space

Research groups in both academia and industry have developed prototype systems to demonstrate the benefits of pervasive computing in various application domains. Unfortunately, many first-generation pervasive computing systems lack the ability to evolve as new technologies emerge or as an application domain matures. To address this limitation, the University of Florida's Mobile and Pervasive Computing Laboratory is developing programmable pervasive spaces in which a smart space exists as both a runtime environment and a software library. Service discovery and gateway protocols automatically integrate system components using generic middleware that maintains a service definition for each sensor and actuator in the space. The Gator Tech Smart House in Gainesville, Florida, is the culmination of more than five years of research in pervasive and mobile computing. The project's goal is to create assistive environments such as homes that can sense themselves and their residents and enact mappings between the physical world and remote monitoring and intervention services.     

Starting the Single-Phase Switched Reluctance Motor Using Rotor Shorting Rings

This article presents a technique that uses rotor shorting rings to start the single-phase switched reluctance (SR) machine, from any rotor position, in a specified direction. It also outlines how the shorting rings enable starting of the machine. Transient finite-element analysis is used to illustrate the torque-producing mechanism from the aligned position using the rotor-mounted shorting rings. It is also used to determine the optimal stator and rotor pole arcs and shorting ring design for a 200-W prototype machine. An SR drive system incorporating rotor shorting rings is evaluated, and experimental results show the effectiveness of the technique