Requirements and design of a grasping system for personal robots

In this paper, we present a robotic grasping system for deployment in personal robots. The system learns how to grasp objects from experiments. This approach allows it to satisfy a number of requirements that we have identified as prerequisite for operation in personal robot environments. The system design consists of three control layers, each describing the control strategy of a predefined behavior. Learning of the behavior is performed using groups of neural networks. Testing of the system was performed in a simulated environment using a specially built grasping simulator and using a 15 objects database. Results show that, on average, each object needed 12 successful experiments before an accurate grasping model was achieved. Failed experiments averaged to 25% of the total experiments.     

Appraisal and reporting of security assurance at operational systems level

In this paper we discuss the issues relating the evaluation and reporting of security assurance of runtime systems. We first highlight the shortcomings of current initiatives in analyzing, evaluating and reporting security assurance information. Then, the paper proposes a set of metrics to help capture and foster a better understanding of the security posture of a system. Our security assurance metric and its reporting depend on whether or not the user of the system has a security background. The evaluation of such metrics is described through the use of theoretical criteria, a tool implementation and an application to a case study based on an insurance company network.     

A New Linear Group-Wise SIC Multiuser Detector

In this work, we introduce a new linear group-wise SIC multi-user detector that can converge to either the decorrelator or the least minimum mean-square error (LMMSE) detector. We study the convergence behavior of the proposed scheme and show that the latter is equivalent to the block Gauss-Seidel iterative method if the group-detection scheme used is the decorrelator detector. Moreover, we prove that the latter is convergent if the group-detection matrix is positive definite. Our simulation results are in excellent agreement with the proposed theory     

Oxidation of iron (II) sulphate to iron (III) sulphate and use in water treatment

Iron (II) sulphate, a side product of the steel industry, can react with nitric acid in the presence or absence of sulphuric acid to give a solution of iron (III) sulphate and nitrate. This solution seems to be a good substitute for iron (III) chlorosulphate as a coagulant in water treatment processes. In the present work, a kinetic study of the different reactions taking place has been realised. Experimental measurements of the conversion of Fe(II) to Fe(III) have been carried out by means of a volumetric method. The influence of various operating parameters such as the reaction temperature and the concentration of reagents has been studied. Global kinetic data such as the reaction orders, the reaction rates and the activation energy have been determined. Measurements of the water turbidity and the concentrations of undesirable products such as nitrates, have been taken prior to and after the treatment process and are also reported.     

Silicon-on-insulator for high-temperature applications

The silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technology is one of the best candidates for high- temperature applications due to its low leakage current, steep subthreshold slope, absence of latch-up phenomenon and temperature-resistant threshold voltage. However, the most critical elements for high temperature applications are transmission lines, especially thin-film microstrip lines. In the paper, the impact of high-temperature operation on the RF performance of some SOI circuits is analysed up to 250degC.     

Cross-linked high amylose starch for controlled release of drugs: recent advances

Cross-linked high amylose starches have been developed as excipients for the formulation of controlled-release solid dosage forms for the oral delivery of drugs. Advantages of this new class of excipients include cost-effectiveness, readily accessible industrial manufacturing technology, high active ingredient core loading and the possibility of achieving a quasi zero-order release for most drugs. In addition to the latter, other features distinguish cross-linked high amylose starches from other excipients used to prepare hydrophilic matrices. Among these are the absence of erosion, the limited swelling and the fact that increasing cross-linking degrees results in increased water uptake rate, drug release rate and equilibrium swelling. Thus the goal of the present study was to gain some insights into the mechanism of drug release control by matrices of cross-linked high amylose starch. Water transport kinetics and dimensional changes were studied in matrices placed in water at 37 degrees C by an image analysis technique. The results show that in the first 5 min, a gel layer is formed at the surface of the tablet, after which the gel front seems to halt its progression toward the center of the tablet. Water continues to diffuse through the front and to invade the core. As a consequence, this latter swells, with a predominance for radial swelling. Equilibrium swelling is reached over 3 days, when the water concentration in the tablet becomes homogeneous and the whole tablet gelifies. Solid-state 13C-NMR were acquired on cross-linked high amylose starch powders, tablets and hydrated tablets with varying cross-linking degrees. They show a predominance of the V-type single helix arrangement of amylose in the dry state irrespective of the cross-linking degree. Upon hydration, the homologues with a low cross-linking degrees show a transition from the V to the B-type double helix arrangement. It is therefore hypothesized that the capacity of amylose to undergo the V to B transition is an important factor in controlling water transport and drug release rate. Finally applications to different drugs are reviewed briefly. They illustrate the versatility of this technology as generic versions of zero order OROS drug (Efidac) and Fickian release conventional matrices (Voltaren SR) were developed and successfully tested in pilot clinical studies to be bioequivalent to the references. These studies further showed that cross-linked high amylose starch matrices have the lowest inter-subject variability among the systems tested and show a total absence of food effect.     

A hardware Memetic accelerator for VLSI circuit partitioning

During the last decade, the complexity and size of circuits have been rapidly increasing, placing a stressing demand on industry for faster and more efficient CAD tools for VLSI circuit layout. One major problem is the computational requirements for optimizing the place and route operations of a VLSI circuit. Thus, this paper investigates the feasibility of using reconfigurable computing platforms to improve the performance of CAD optimization algorithms for the VLSI circuit partitioning problem. The proposed Genetic algorithm architecture achieves up-to 5× speedup over conventional software implementation while maintaining on average 88% solution quality. Furthermore, a reconfigurable computing based Hybrid Memetic algorithm improves upon this solution while using a fraction of the execution time required by the conventional software based approach.