Self-stabilizing somersaults

We investigate the open-loop stability of a planar biped robot performing a periodic motion of forward somersaults with alternating single-leg contacts. The robot has a trunk and two actuated telescopic legs with point feet which are coupled to the trunk by actuated hinges. There is compliance and damping in the hip and in the legs. The concept of open-loop control implies that all actuators of the system receive predetermined inputs that are never altered by any feedback interference. Only with the right choice of model parameters and actuator inputs is it possible to create such self-stabilizing motions exploiting the natural stability properties of the system. These unknowns have been determined using special-purpose stability-optimization methods. The resulting motion is not only stable, but also a more efficient form of forward motion than running for the investigated robot.     

Thermal networks from heat wave equation

In this paper passive and reciprocal thermal networks are introduced which model the finite velocity of heat propagation. In particular it is shown that the theory of distributed and discretized thermal networks deduced from the heat diffusion equation and the multi-point moment matching technique for deriving approximated lumped thermal networks of small state-space dimensions can be extended to thermal networks ruled by the hyperbolic heat equation.     

Effects of initial powder vibrogrinding on the properties of AlN - BN composites

A study has been made on the effects of initial vibroground powders with various grain sizes on the properties of AlN - BN composites. As the specific surface of these powders increases, so do the density, mechanical strength, and thermal resistance of the composites.     

Audio-visual interaction in multimodal communication

Multimedia signal processing is more than simply “putting together” text, audio, images, and video. It is the integration and interaction among these different media that creates new systems and new research challenges and opportunities. In multimodal communication where speech is involved, audio-visual interaction is particularly significant     

Modelling diffusion-controlled kinetics in equilibrium and driven alloys

Summary We introduce a very simple model for thermally activated atomic migration on a lattice, and several techniques to handle it. For thermodynamical systems, the model can be used for simulating decomposition paths taking into account relevant metallurgical features. Close to equilibrium, the simplest mean-field approximation of the model can be linearized with respect to the departure from equilibrium; one then gets a microscopic interpretation of classical phenomenological coefficients, such as mobility, interfacial transfer coefficient, rate constants for the coupled relaxation of concentration and order fields. Further away from the equilibrium, the nonlinearities can be taken into account in a consistent way. For driven alloys, i.e. alloys submitted to external forcing, forced atomic migration is added to the model and new features emerge: the model is supported by several experimental results some of which confirmed its predictions a posteriori.     

Digital implementation of bus clamped space vector modulation

Space vector modulation has recently become a popular PWM method of supplying a high performance drive. An adaptation of SVM modulation is presented here. This system is called bus clamped space vector modulation. This method has some practical advantages when compared to normal SVM. These include a reduced average switching frequency, easy digital implementation and asynchronous control and switching frequencies