Nonparametric approach for uncertainty-based multidisciplinary design optimization considering limited data

Uncertainty-based multidisciplinary design optimization (UMDO) has been widely acknowledged as an advanced methodology to address competing objectives and reliable constraints of complex systems by coupling relationship of disciplines involved in the system. UMDO process consists of three parts. Two parts are to define the system with uncertainty and to formulate the design optimization problem. The third part is to quantitatively analyze the uncertainty of the system output considering the uncertainty propagation in the multidiscipline analysis. One of the major issues in the UMDO research is that the uncertainty propagation makes uncertainty analysis difficult in the complex system. The conventional methods are based on the parametric approach could possibly cause the error when the parametric approach has ill-estimated distribution because data is often insufficient or limited. Therefore, it is required to develop a nonparametric approach to directly use data. In this work, the nonparametric approach for uncertainty-based multidisciplinary design optimization considering limited data is proposed. To handle limited data, three processes are also adopted. To verify the performance of the proposed method, mathematical and engineering examples are illustrated.     

Quantification model of proper curvature for large‐sized curved TVs

We present a feasible modeling method to estimate the proper curvature for large‐sized curved TVs. We especially focused on two factors – preference and perceived distortion – to be considered to determine the proper curvature. The preference includes a number of advantages that people expect to fulfill the possibilities of a more immersive image and sense of realism from curved display. On the other hand, the perceived distortion means the side effects that people can notice uncomfortable feeling caused by the shape of a curved one. In order to find out how two factors would be different as a number of conditions like curvature, size, and viewing angle change, a series of subjective assessments were conducted. The evaluation results show that both the preference and perceived distortion vary with the conditions considerably. We performed the statistical analysis based on the results and proposed the quantification model of proper curvature, which has higher preference and less perceived distortion, for various‐sized curved TVs.     

Move blocking strategy applied to re-entrant manufacturing line scheduling

Model predictive control (MPC)-based approach to fab-wide scheduling has been suggested to solve constraint-aware production optimization and in-process inventory level control simultaneously at each scheduling instance. However, application of this approach to real fab suffers from computational difficulties brought by the need to solve a huge optimization problem on-line as real fab scheduling problems are characterized by long cycle times, multiple product types, hundreds of machines/processing steps and re-entrant product flows. This study explores the use of an offset-blocking strategy combined with a modified recursive least square (RLS) estimation in the fab-wide scheduler, in order to alleviate the difficulty. The strategy is tested on a modified version of published case study called Intel Mini-Fab (IMF) problem. Despite its simplicity, the blocking strategy showed excellent performance in the face of realistic demand changes and plant/model mismatch.     

Note: High speed optical profiler based on a phase-shifting technique using frequency-scanning lasers

We present a high speed optical profiler (HSOP) using frequency-scanning lasers for three-dimensional profile measurements of microscopic structures. To improve upon previous techniques for implementing the HSOP, we developed frequency-scanning lasers and a compact microscopic interferometer. The controller of the HSOP was also modified to generate proper phase-shifting steps. For measurements of step height specimens, the HSOP showed results comparable with a commercial optical profiler, even with much higher measurement speeds (up to 30 Hz). The typical repeatability of step height measurement was less than 1 nm. We also present measurements of microscopic structures to verify the HSOP's ability to perform high speed inline inspection for the semiconductor and flat-panel display industries.     

Performance Comparisons Between Thumb-Based and Finger-Based Input on a Small Touch-Screen Under Realistic Variability

The potential benefits of thumb-based touch interaction have not been fully exploited due to its usability problems and performance deterioration. Despite the well-known problems, mobile phone users often prefer thumb-based input method in their daily context of use. Without understanding input performance under realistic variability, design solutions may not address the problems adequately. This research aims to evaluate performance of one-handed thumb-based input compared to cradled finger-based input for the large number of users and varying task conditions. By investigating performance under a range of user- and task-variability, common patterns can be identified to help infer realistic performance in context of use. For this experiment, 259 participants were recruited balanced on gender and age. They performed user testing of moving an icon on a mobile touch-screen. Overall, the one-handed thumb input showed a 30% reduction in throughput compared to the cradled finger-based input, with significant reduction in speed and accuracy. Reduced throughput is attributed to inaccuracy rather than speed. In addition, the partial effects of touch position, dragging direction, and target size were investigated and quantified. In conclusion, performance could maintain constant throughput only for the finger-based input of limited task conditions, when realistic variability was introduced. Also, high variance of throughput for the thumb-based input led to poor conformity to Fitts’s law. The findings have implications for design of thumb-based touch interface to offset performance reduction and characterizing performance measure for thumb-based input method.     

An Integrated Model of the Toyota Production System with Total Quality Management and People Factors

The Toyota production system (TPS), or lean production, has been associated with many benefits for manufacturing firms that implement the system. However, to implement the TPS successfully, it is necessary to integrate the so‐called “hard side” of the system (that is, the technical aspects of material handling) with the “soft side” of the program (that is, the aspects associated with human factors). The present study makes a contribution to such a holistic view of the TPS by proposing an integrated model that consists of the technical aspects of the TPS, together with elements associated with total quality management (TQM), human resources management (HRM), and certain identified “people factors.” The study then uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to test this holistic model using data obtained from a questionnaire survey of 153 Taiwanese manufacturing firms. The empirical study confirms the appropriateness of the causal model, which is evaluated by several goodness‐of‐fit methods. The study confirms the proposition that the inclusion of the “people factors” together with TQM and HRM significantly improves the realization of benefits associated with the TPS practices of “just‐in‐time” (JIT) and “autonomation.” The conclusion is that such an integrated model provides a much more effective “lean system” and has the potential to produce significantly enhanced benefits for firms that implement it. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

中国多媒体工程：2010

本文是中国多媒体技术研究与应用的年度文献综述之十三。该文从2010年9种核心刊物的2916篇中选取380篇多媒体技术相关的文章进行了分类、统计,以展现出2010年中国多媒体技术发展的现状。今年采用的分类标准在去年的基础上做了一些细微调整,以适应多媒体技术发展的趋势。通过与前四年统计结果的对比可以看出,数字水印、数据管理与检索、流媒体多播、交互模式与接口、生物特征身份识别等多媒体基础技术是2010年论文反映出的研究热点,同时,多媒体应用日趋多样化,与社会生活的结合程度越来越紧密。该文还对近5年的中国多媒体技术文献统计结果做了比较,从中可看到多媒体技术,特别是一些热点技术的发展趋势。该文不仅能给从事多媒体技术研究与应用的人员提供系统的文献索引,也能为技术规划和管理人员提供参考。     

中国图像工程：2009

该文是关于中国图像工程的年度文献综述系列之十五。为了使国内广大从事图像工程研究和图像技术应用的科技人员能够较全面地了解国内图像工程研究和发展的现状,并能够方便地查询有关文献,现从2009年在国内15种有关图像工程重要中文期刊的共134期上发表的3604篇学术研究和技术应用文献中,选取出1008篇属于图像工程领域的文献,并根据各文献的主要内容将其分别归入图像处理,图像分析,图像理解,技术应用和综述五个大类,然后进一步分入23个专业小类（与去年相同）。在此基础上还进行了各期刊各类文献的统计和分析。根据统计分析结果可看到我国图像工程在2009年许多新进展的情况。特别值得指出,在上述15种期刊上所发表的图像工程文献数量在2009年继续增加并达到历史最高,显示了图像工程在中国继续蓬勃发展的趋势。另外,借此综述系列15年之际,还将这15年分成3个5年的阶段,分别对3个阶段的图像工程文献选取情况和各类图像工程文献数量进行了统计和对比分析,以为读者提供更全面和可信的发展动态信息。     

基于图割及动态片结构的3维人脸多视图体重建

针对3维人脸重建问题提出了一种新颖的多视图体重建方法,以解决目前3维人脸重建方法只适用于小样本集合,大范围推广时精度难以保证的弱点。该方法创新之处在于将基于特征点匹配的重建方法与立体重建方法结合引入到图割优化框架,并应用于3维人脸重建。本文两个重要改进工作是设计动态片结构描述来进行颜色一致性估计以及设计新的动态图结构以去除半个体素尺寸的重建误差。实验中分别采用8张、16张和30张存在亮度变化的人脸多视角图像验证算法。实验结果逼真,同时避免了传统重建方法结果受限于样本集分布的问题。