A kinematics and dynamics simulation of the IBM-7565 robot using AML

This article presents a kinematics and dynamics simulation of the IBM-7565 robot using its AML programming language. The kinematics and dynamics models are formulated according to the Denavit-Hartenberg convention and a recursive Newton-Euler algorithm, respectively. The simulation is integrated in a CAD software package (CATIA) which is used in robot offline programming and collision/interference analysis. The CAD package software which runs on an IBM 3033 main frame also emulates the AML for automatic programming. The simulation models can be run on the IBM 3033 using the emulator or on the robot's dedicated Series-1 computer to where the programs are downloaded for execution and control of robot motion.     

A comprehensive data base for the design of manual materials handling

The main objective of the present paper is to provide a comprehensive data base of the material handling capabilities of the industrial work force. The data base encompasses the following: (1) five different types of manual materials handling activities, namely, lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, and pulling, (2) worker variables (e.g., sex), and (3) task variables (e.g., frequency, and container size). The data base was developed for the IBM personal computer using the software package DBASE III PLUS.     

The design of a user friendly interactive personal computer package for quality control charts, project management, and linear programming applications

This paper describes the design of a user friendly interactive software package which can easily be used in both educational and industrial environments. The package contains applications for Quality Control Charts, Project Management, and Linear Programming. It is written in the BASIC programming language using the IBM Disk Operating System (DOS version 3.1). An IBM Personal Computer (PC, XT or AT) or compatible with one disk drive, a monochrome VDT and a line or dot matrix printer are required. The programs incorporate human factors considerations and the user is not required to have any previous computer programming experience. The package has data management options for adding new data, deleting data, listing data, storing data on a disk file and printing data collection forms for each program. The programs have been extensively validated using text book examples and comparisons with similar packages on main frame computer systems (such as EZLP, PPERT, LPRG, etc.). Based upon testing, this package was found to be easier to use and produced the desired results in approximately one third of the total time required by using the main-frame packages.     

An object-oriented data handling system for spectral or chromatographic data acquisition and analysis

A comprehensive data handling package for spectral or chromatographic data acquisition and analysis has been developed. The software is written in Turbo Pascal and will run on any IBM/AT compatible computer. Extensive use of the object-oriented features of the language provides a high degree of flexibility and portability. The software provides routines for two types of file I/O, real-time data acquisition and display, several post-run data display formats and an updated version of the BANDIT peak resolution algorithm.     

An on-line microcomputer-based metabolic monitoring system

The main objective of the present study is to develop and test a relatively low cost microcomputer-based metabolic monitoring system that is capable of computing the oxygen consumption and minute ventilation of individuals, while at rest or at work, on an on-line basis. The design, specifications, and merits of the system are given. The software package developed was written in assembly language for the IBM AT personal computer. The experimental evaluation of the microcomputer-based metabolic monitoring system showed that there is a high degree of correlation between computer and manual calculations. The correlation coefficients between manual and computer calculations were 0.9986 and 0.9966 for minute ventilation and oxygen consumption respectively which indicate that the system developed is highly accurate.     

Microcomputer video image processing technology in working posture analysis: application to seated postures of keyboard operators

A new two-dimensional video-based technique for the recording and analysis of working posture has been developed and applied to seated work. After initial set-up of the portable equipment in the workplace, and attachment of small adhesive retroreflective joint markers on the subject, an operator is not required for the remainder of the recording session. Analysis of the video recording is conducted in the laboratory using custom-written software and a commercially available image-processing package running on an IBM AT-compatible computer. After interactive set-up of a reference frame, the system is able to analyse the full video tape automatically, extracting video frames for analysis at approximately 30-s intervals. Poor image quality may occasionally necessitate interactive analysis. The system is capable of determining postural angles to an accuracy of 1-2 degrees , and thus represents a substantial improvement on other postural analysis systems which are able to be used readily in the workplace.     

An on-line microcomputer-based respiratory monitor for manual materials handling

The main objective of the present study is to develop a low cost microcomputer-based respiratory system that is capable of computing the oxygen consumption and minute ventilation of individuals engaged in manual materials handling on an on-line basis. The design, specifications, and merits of the system are given. The software package developed was written in assembly language for the IBM AT personal computer.     

Ergonomic job design in frequent manual lifting tasks: A microcomputer-based model

The main objective of this paper is to generate ergonomic software that can be used in the design and evaluation of manual materials handling tasks so as to minimize the risk of injury. Specifically, this study is aimed at developing a microcomputer-based model for the design of frequent manual lifting tasks based ont he concept of job saverity index. The microcomputer-based software package is intended to be used by non-experts in the field of MMH. Possible engineering and administrative controls are implemented in the software in case if human lifting abilities are exceeded. The software was written in AutoLISP for the IBM personal computer. The knowledge base of the software is built upon a set of two models which were developed in the present study. The models were based on 2,736 observations.     

Personal-computer based self-tuning controller

Self-tuning control is an area of control theory which has developed rapidly in the last decade. The emergence of self-tuning control has been facilitated by the great increase in power and decrease in cost of processing hardware, which now allows advanced process control techniques to be implemented with relative ease and at low cost.This paper describes a portable self-tuning controller package which has been written in fortran and implemented on an IBM portable personal computer. The package can be used in both a simulation mode and in a real-time mode for control of physical processes.A brief introduction to self-tuning control, a control algorithm based upon Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) optimal control theory, and an estimation routine based upon least-squares techniques are presented. The LQG algorithm and the estimation routine are computationally intensive procedures and the special precautions which are necessary to ensure numerical robustness are described.The key features of the package, and the software and hardware organization used to implement it are presented.     

An inexpensive personal computer based photon counter

This paper describes a computer based system for photon counting. The hardware consists of an IBM compatible personal computer (Leading Edge™ model D), a data acquisition and control interface and an external discriminator. The software package is written in Microsoft QuickBASIC. The system is capable of counting pulses at up to 2 MHz, with an internal precision of 16 bits, making it nearly ideal for low-level spectroscopic experiments. The main advantages of the system are low cost, ease of implementation, flexibility and high accuracy.     

MUCIDS: an operative C environment for acquisition and processing of polarized-light scattered from biological specimens

In this work, we describe a software package, MUCIDS, completely developed in our laboratory, for acquisition and processing of differential polarization light-scattering data from specimens of biophysical interest. MUCIDS is a C environment that manages the whole activity of an instrument used for measurements of Mueller matrix scattering elements. It allows one to capture, analyse, process and display data from this or from other similar light-scattering experiments. The entire system is suitable for routine measurements in a general biophysical (or microbiological) laboratory because of its easy handling and maintenance. The software was written in C lattice and will run on IBM personal computers and similar. It uses IBM/DAC and GPIB/IBM interface cards.     

An on-line microcomputer-based cardiac monitoring system

Heart rate is a very sensitive measure for evaluating the physiological strain in industrial muscular work. A review of the literature showed that most researchers resorted to the manual counting of heart beats. Some use analog devices such as cardiotachometers and very few use digital systems which are often expensive. Moreover, the existing cardiac monitors were developed for patient monitoring and for monitoring physical activities that do not require severe contractions of the chest muscles. They are not suitable for monitoring heavy activities because of signal interference. The main objective of the present study is to develop and test an on-line microcomputer-based cardiac monitoring system that is capable of accurately and rapidly computing the heart rate of individuals engaged in manual industrial tasks. The design, specifications and merits of the system are given. The software package developed is written in macroassembly language for the IBM AT personal computer. The experimental evaluation of the microcomputer-based cardiac monitoring system shows a high degree of correlation between computer and manual calculations (r = 0.977). The experimental evaluation indicates that the system developed is highly accurate.     

电力系统计算软件包中类层次的设计与实现

随着电力事业和计算机技术的发展,研制高效率、可维护性强、具有良好用户界面的图形化分析计算软件成为电力系统分析计算研究的重要任务之一。该文着重介绍了图形化电力系统分析计算软件中类的层次结构的设计思想。该软件完全采用面向对象的设计方法,充分利用了类的继承、多态性质和虚函数的方法,使软件具有高度的开放性、可维护性、可移植性。     

Visualization of scattered meteorological data

Considers how rain-gauge data, scattered in two dimensions, aid the study of El Nino-caused rainstorms in normally arid coastal Peru. Continuous realization techniques can extract qualitative information from the data. The techniques described were developed with IBM Visualization Data Explorer, a general-purpose software package for scientific data visualization and analysis. Data Explorer provides tools for both scattered and gridded data     

APIS: a software for model identification, simulation and dosage regimen calculations in clinical and experimental pharmacokinetics.

APIS is a software package based on mathematical modelling which provides a reliable approach in optimizing drug therapy. It was designed to assist clinicians in interpreting blood drug levels so that drug therapy may be better and more cost-effective. It is a methodological approach to describe, predict and control the kinetic behaviour of a drug. This software incorporates the principle of Bayesian procedures, i.e. one can use all available patient information (population) to determine patient-specific parameter estimates. These estimates can then be used to design an optimal and individualized drug regimen. APIS is an attractive and useful tool for clinical and experimental pharmacokinetics. APIS may be used on any IBM compatible computer using the Microsoft-Windows environment. The software is menu driven to provide a very user-friendly tool for analysing pharmacokinetic data and for designing dosage regimens.     

Acquisition,processing, and presentation of 3-D chromatovoltammographic data using an IBM PS/2 and par model 273 potentiostat

A software package for interfacing an IBM PS/2 and the EG&G PAR model 273 potentiostat/galvanostat is described. The software is capable of controlling the instrument and taking and displaying both potential and current data simultaneously as a function of time (chromatovoltammetry). The software is written in both Microsoft QuickBASIC and QuickC for fast operation and easy portability. The software can also be easily modified to provide user-friendly control of the PAR 273 potentiostat for a multitude of other computer-controlled electrochemical experiments. An application is described for the determination of catecholamines using high-performance liquid chromatography with a carbon fiber ultramicroelectrode and square wave voltammetry for detection.     

A software implementation for detailed volume conductor modelling in electrophysiology using finite difference method

There is an evolving need for new information available by employing patient tailored anatomically accurate computer models of the electrical properties of the human body. Because construction of a computer model can be difficult and laborious to perform sufficiently well, devised models have varied greatly in the level of anatomical accuracy incorporated in them. This has restricted the validity of conducted simulations. In the present study, a versatile software package was developed to transform anatomic voxel data into accurate finite difference method volume conductor models conveniently and in a short time. The package includes components for model construction, simulation, visualisation and detailed analysis of simulation output based on volume conductor theory. Due to the methods developed, models can comprise more anatomical details than the prior computer models. Several models have been constructed, for example, a highly detailed 3-D anatomically accurate computer model of the human thorax as a volume conductor utilising the US National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Visible Human Man (VHM) digital anatomy data. Based on the validation runs the developed software package is readily applicable in analysis of a wide range of bioelectric field problems.     

QUAD: a computer package for the analysis of QUantal assay data

The computer package QUAD has been developed at the University of Kent, U.K. It is menu-driven and written in Advanced BASIC. It runs on IBM PC compatible machines equiped with a suitable graphics facility such as CGA or simulated CGA. QUAD is available on a floppy disk, for a small handling charge.

QUAD has four main functions: it performs a logit analysis of quantal assay data; it provides a flexible way of analysing the data, allowing dose transformations and providing alternative confidence intervals for ED_p values; it produces a range diagnostics for assessing the fit of models to data; it provides and fits two families of extended models, each containing the logit as a special case.

The package makes use of the latest statistical research, and fitted models are displayed by means of the good graphics facilities available on microcomputers.

This document describes the facilities available in detail, and provides and discusses illustrations of the package at work. QUAD has been designed as a pilot package. Further additions and developments are planned and described later.     

Software design for analysis of multichannel intracardial and body surface electrocardiograms

Analysis of multichannel ECG recordings (body surface maps (BSMs) and intracardial maps) requires special software. We created a software package and a user interface on top of a commercial data analysis package (MATLAB) by a combination of high-level and low-level programming. Our software was created to satisfy the needs of a diverse group of researchers. It can handle a large variety of recording configurations. It allows for interactive usage through a fast and robust user interface, and batch processing for the analysis of large amounts of data. The package is user-extensible, includes routines for both common and experimental data processing tasks, and works on several computer platforms. The source code is made intelligible using software for structured documentation and is available to the users. The package is currently used by more than ten research groups analysing ECG data worldwide.     

Microcomputer analysis of three-channel Lissajous' trajectory of auditory brainstem evoked potentials

A software package for the IBM PC computer is presented to facilitate the analysis of three-channel Lissajous' trajectories (3CLT) of auditory brainstem potentials. The program deals with 4-channel numeric or ASCII files, including three orthogonal X, Y, Z channels and standard vertex-mastoid on the stimulated side. The 3CLT analysis program implements standard measurements of peak latencies, voltage amplitude and curvature plots computed from the three orthogonal channels, interactive three-dimensional rotations of the trajectory and planar segment analysis. Parameter estimates of the best-fit plane are computed for any part of the trajectory limited by two latency cursors. Results are displayed and stored in a table including segment bounds and duration, sight vector orientation, plane equation parameters and adjustment criteria.