Analytic Prioritization of Indoor Routes for Search and Rescue Operations in Hazardous Environments

Applications to prioritize indoor routes for emergency situations in a complex built facility have been restricted to building simulations and network approaches. These types of applications often failed to account for the complexity and trade‐offs needed to select the optimal indoor path during an emergency situation. In this article, we propose a step change for finding the optimal routes for Search And Rescue (SAR) teams in a building, where a multi‐epicenter extreme event is occurring. We have developed an algorithm that is based on a novel approach integrating the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), statistical characteristics, the propagation of hazard, Duckham–Kulik's adapted algorithm, Dijkstra's classical algorithm, and the binary search with three criteria: hazard proximity, distance/travel time, and route complexity. The sub‐criteria for the route complexity are validated in the context of SAR using a real‐life building (Doha World Trade Centre). The important feature of the algorithm is its ability to generate an optimal route depending on user's needs. The findings revealed that the generated optimal routes are indeed the “best” trade‐off among distance/travel time, hazard proximity, and route complexity. The test results also demonstrated the robustness of the algorithm with respect to different parameters, and its insensitivity to different scenarios of uncontrolled evacuation.     

Emergency Response in Complex Buildings: Automated Selection of Safest and Balanced Routes

The extreme importance of emergency response in complex buildings during natural and human‐induced disasters has been widely acknowledged. In particular, there is a need for efficient algorithms for finding safest evacuation routes, which would take into account the 3‐D structure of buildings, their relevant semantics, and the nature and shape of hazards. In this article, we propose algorithms for safest routes and balanced routes in buildings, where an extreme event with many epicenters is occurring. In a balanced route, a trade‐off between route length and hazard proximity is made. The algorithms are based on a novel approach that integrates a multiattribute decision‐making technique, Dijkstra's classical algorithm and the introduced hazard proximity numbers, hazard propagation coefficient and proximity index for a route.     

Designing a pseudorandom bit generator based on LFSRs and a discrete chaotic map

A new method for the generation of pseudorandom numbers, based on two linear feedback shift registers (LFSRs) and a discrete-space chaotic map is presented. The proposed method consists of multiple stages; in stage one a pseudorandom sequence is generated. In stage two a selection of output bits is conducted in order to produce sequences with high randomness. Because many previous methods based on LFSRs and XOR operations are not able to resist chosen and known plaintext attack, stage one of the proposed method is designed to be resistant to this problem. Relations between two LFSRs and the parameters of the chaotic map are established in such a way that based on known output bits of a proposed generator it is impossible to obtain any part of the secret key without guessing the whole secret key. The randomness of generated sequences is confirmed using NIST, TestU01, and the DIEHARD test. The advantages of the proposed method are virtually unlimited key space and resistance to digital degradation.     

Velocity Control of an Omnidirectional Wheeled Mobile Robot Using Computed Voltage Control with Visual Feedback: Experimental Results

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - In this paper, we propose a novel computed voltage based control law for an omnidirectional wheeled mobile robot equipped with four...     

Surface versus bulk activity of lysozyme deposited on hydrogel contact lens materials in vitro

Purpose

To determine and compare the levels of surface versus bulk active lysozyme deposited on several commercially available hydrogel contact lens materials.

Combining Stereo Vision and Inertial Navigation System for a Quad-Rotor UAV

This paper presents the development of a quad-rotor robotic platform equipped with a visual and inertial motion estimation system. Our objective consists of developing a UAV capable of autonomously perform take-off, positioning, navigation and landing in unknown environments. In order to provide accurate estimates of the UAV position and velocity, stereo visual odometry and inertial measurements are fused using a Kalman Filter. Real-time experiments consisting on motion detection and autonomous positioning demonstrate the performance of the robotic platform.     

Global Stabilization of the PVTOL: Real-Time Application to A Mini-Aircraft

We present a simple non-linear controller based on Lyapunov analysis for a planar vertical take-off and landing aircraft (PVTOL). It is proved that the proposed control scheme is globally asymptotically stable. The controller performance is shown in a real-time application.     

Survival,Growth, and Movement of Subadult Humpback Chub,Gila Cypha,in the Little Colorado River,Arizona

Ecologists estimate vital rates, such as growth and survival, to better understand population dynamics and identify sensitive life history parameters for species or populations of concern. Here, we assess spatiotemporal variation in growth, movement, density, and survival of subadult humpback chub living in the Little Colorado River, Grand Canyon, AZ from 2001–2002 and 2009–2013. We divided the Little Colorado River into three reaches and used a multistate mark‐recapture model to determine rates of movement and differences in survival and density between sites for different cohorts. Additionally, site‐specific and year‐specific effects on growth were evaluated using a linear model. Results indicate that summer growth was higher for upstream sites compared with downstream sites. In contrast, there was not a consistent spatial pattern across years in winter growth; however, river‐wide winter growth was negatively related to the duration of floods from 1 October to 15 May. Apparent survival was estimated to be lower at the most downstream site compared with the upstream sites; however, this could be because in part of increased emigration into the Colorado River at downstream sites. Furthermore, the 2010 cohort (i.e. fish that are age 1 in 2010) exhibited high apparent survival relative to other years. Movement between reaches varied with year, and some years exhibited preferential upstream displacement. Improving understanding of spatiotemporal effects on age 1 humpback chub survival can help inform current management efforts to translocate humpback chub into new locations and give us a better understanding of the factors that may limit this tributary's carrying capacity for humpback chub. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.