Barrier Lyapunov Functions for the control of output-constrained nonlinear systems

In this paper, we present control designs for single-input single-output (SISO) nonlinear systems in strict feedback form with an output constraint. To prevent constraint violation, we employ a Barrier Lyapunov Function, which grows to infinity when its arguments approach some limits. By ensuring boundedness of the Barrier Lyapunov Function in the closed loop, we ensure that those limits are not transgressed. Besides the nominal case where full knowledge of the plant is available, we also tackle scenarios wherein parametric uncertainties are present. Asymptotic tracking is achieved without violation of the constraint, and all closed loop signals remain bounded, under a mild condition on the initial output. Furthermore, we explore the use of an Asymmetric Barrier Lyapunov Function as a generalized approach that relaxes the requirements on the initial conditions. We also compare our control with one that is based on a Quadratic Lyapunov Function, and we show that our control requires less restrictive initial conditions. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed control.     

Adaptive neural control for an uncertain robotic manipulator with joint space constraints

In this paper, adaptive neural tracking control is proposed for a robotic manipulator with uncertainties in both manipulator dynamics and joint actuator dynamics. The manipulator joints are subject to inequality constraints, i.e., the joint angles are required to remain in some compact sets. Integral barrier Lyapunov functionals (iBLFs) are employed to address the joint space constraints directly without performing an additional mapping to the error space. Neural networks (NNs) are utilised to compensate for the unknown robot dynamics and external force. Adapting parameters are developed to estimate the unknown bounds on NN approximations. By the Lyapunov synthesis, the proposed control can guarantee the semi-global uniform ultimate boundedness of the closed-loop system, and the practical tracking of joint reference trajectory is achieved without the violation of predefined joint space constraints. Simulation results are given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Fabrication-tolerant active-passive integration scheme for vertically coupled microring resonator

The large-scale photonic integration of microring resonators in three dimensions made possible by recent developments in vertical coupling and wafer bonding technology is shown to be sensitive to lateral mask misalignment for the ring and bus waveguides introduced during the fabrication process. For a typical 20-/spl mu/m radius, vertically coupled microring calculations reveal a linear relationship between deviation in the coupling coefficient and lateral misalignment. A coupling coefficient reduction of 50% is predicted for a lateral misalignment of 0.3 /spl mu/m, which is typical for an alignment accuracy limited by the current state-of-the-art mask alignment process. The use of a wide multimode bus waveguide is proposed to ameliorate this alignment sensitivity. The mode-expanded bus waveguide, together with its physically wider structure, reduces the dependence of modal overlap and coupling length on precise alignment, resulting in significantly relaxed fabrication tolerance. Deviation of coupling coefficient decreases by an order of magnitude for the new ring coupler geometry, where a sole reduction of 5% is obtained for the same amount of misalignment. The implications of the proposed structure are subsequently investigated for microring laser performance. The differential slope efficiency is shown to be at least five times less sensitive to lateral misalignment for the proposed structure within a small misalignment regime. This readily adaptable coupler geometry based on existing vertical coupling architectures is transferable to any fabrication scheme with multiple waveguide layers coupled vertically, and is of particular importance to microring resonators with small radii.     

Easy Algorithm Animation on the Web

The animation environment Jeliot automates visualization of algorithms over the Internet. The user can visualize algorithms of his own, not merely the selection supplied by a service provider. Jeliot is based on self-animating data types: the user selects the data objects of the source code to be visualized, and Jeliot produces the animation based on operations performed on those types. We present the design of Jeliot and the principles of its implementation. In addition, we discuss the educational applications of Jeliot.     

Performance comparison of 100Base-T fast ethernet and 100VG-AnyLAN

There are two competing technologies for 100 Mbps Ethernet, namely IEEE 802.3u 100Base-T Fast Ethernet and IEEE 802.12 100VG-AnyLAN. The former technology is based on the same medium access control protocol as the popular IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD network, while the later is based on a new demand priority protocol. Contrary to common belief, a test conducted recently by Newman and Levy using commercially available adaptor cards and hubs showed that 100Base-T networks outperformed 100VG-AnyLAN networks with similar configurations by a significant margin. From the analytical models developed, we found that the anomaly is due to the larger-than-expected overheads incurred by the 100VG-AnyLAN hub in polling every station in the network in a round robin manner.     

Evaluation of Microwave Activity on Starch-Based Nanocomposites Reinforced at Different Loading Fraction Organic-to-Inorganic Nanofillers

When subjected to microwave ageing, the microwave-induced improvement in properties is more significant for sample containing higher loading fraction of cellulose nanofiller. This is due to cellulose nanofiller has greater reactivity to microwave energy through activation of dipole–dipole interaction at the polar interface. The strengthening effects on interface were observed to magnify as a function of microwave power and irradiation time. Nevertheless, the higher montmorillonite fraction tended to inhibit such improvement effect due to the occurrence of intramolecular repulsion between montmorillonite and polysaccharides with insufficient irradiation time, facilitating the water absorption and uneven stress transfer.     

SIMULATING STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN ADAPTIVE ORGANIZATIONS

This paper presents an agent-based model of an organization. The model is made of a social network—composed of the different organization workers—and a knowledge network. Workers are assigned tasks, for which they have to use information in the knowledge network. We have modeled the quality of the information by assigning each information item a probability of being wrong. Agents can interact with other agents, who can recommend to them new information items in the knowledge network for the task to be performed. Workers are assigned different information-seeking behavior (passive, active, and learning), governing the way in which they interact with each other. Moreover, indirect interaction is also possible, as a publicly accessible knowledge base contains each agent's preferred information items.

The model was implemented in SDML, and its simulation shows that agents quickly learn to discern the better information items for the given task. However, group formation (agents' collaborating by exchanging information) takes longer to stabilize. Additionally, when the quality of items is changed, agents can quickly select the better new knowledge items, and organization performance improves again to a maximum that is only randomly disturbed.     

Evaluating interfaces with children

Children are very different from adults—they have developing motor skills, limited reach, short attention spans, limited exposure to traditional user interfaces and social protocols. How do we evaluate user interfaces for children? In this paper, we present four evaluative techniques that we have successfully used with children.     

Human gait recognition using localized Grassmann mean representatives with partial least squares regression

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Gait recognition has become popular due to the rising demand for nonintrusive biometrics. At its nascent stage of development, gait recognition faces a number of...