Pre-Attentive and Attentive Detection of Humans in Wide-Field Scenes

We address the problem of localizing and obtaining high-resolution footage of the people present in a scene. We propose a biologically-inspired solution combining pre-attentive, low-resolution sensing for detection with shiftable, high-resolution, attentive sensing for confirmation and further analysis. The detection problem is made difficult by the unconstrained nature of realistic environments and human behaviour, and the low resolution of pre-attentive sensing. Analysis of human peripheral vision suggests a solution based on integration of relatively simple but complementary cues. We develop a Bayesian approach involving layered probabilistic modeling and spatial integration using a flexible norm that maximizes the statistical power of both dense and sparse cues. We compare the statistical power of several cues and demonstrate the advantage of cue integration. We evaluate the Bayesian cue integration method for human detection on a labelled surveillance database and find that it outperforms several competing methods based on conjunctive combinations of classifiers (e.g., Adaboost). We have developed a real-time version of our pre-attentive human activity sensor that generates saccadic targets for an attentive foveated vision system. Output from high-resolution attentive detection algorithms and gaze state parameters are fed back as statistical priors and combined with pre-attentive cues to determine saccadic behaviour. The result is a closed-loop system that fixates faces over a 130 deg field of view, allowing high-resolution capture of facial video over a large dynamic scene.     

Aging response of the young’s modulus and mechanical properties of Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6Zr for biomedical applications

Alloys for implant devices require improved strength but a reduced Young’s modulus, in order to become mechanically more compatible with adjacent bone tissues. In this study, a new metastable β-type titanium alloy, Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6Zr (wt pct), was subjected to aging treatment to produce different microstructures, and the resulting mechanical properties, including the Young’s modulus, were measured. The Young’s modulus of this alloy is found to be sensitive to microstructures generated by various heat treatments. For microstructures varying from (α + β) to (α + β + ω) and (β + ω), the Young’s modulus increases with an accompanying increase in tensile strength and hardness, but decreases in ductility. The (β + ω) microstructure has a low strength, high modulus, and poor ductility and cannot be used for biomedical applications. For an (α + β) microstructure, the volume fraction of the phases is shown to be the main factor that determines the mechanical properties.     

Specific features of optical orientation and relaxation of electron spins in quantum wells with a large spin splitting

The processes of optical spin orientation and spin relaxation of electrons are treated theoretically for semiconductor quantum wells, in which the spin splitting of the energy spectrum is comparable with the characteristic energy of charge carriers. The density matrix of photoexcited electrons at the instant of optical excitation is obtained in explicit form. A system of kinetic equations describing the behavior of the spin density matrix at an arbitrary relation between the average energy of charge carriers and the spin splitting is derived. It is demonstrated that, upon photoexcitation, a noticeable degree of orientation can be attained only in the pulse mode of operation, when the photoexcitation pulse duration is comparable with the period of spin precession in the field of spin splitting. It is shown that the total spin of the ensemble of electrons exhibits oscillations damping with time; the shape and damping time of the oscillations are sensitive to the parameters of photoexcitation and the spin splitting.     

Vibration analysis of machine tool’s hexapod table

Parallel mechanisms have found new applications in machine tool’s as the end effector carrying the spindle or used as the table of the machine. Investigations on the dynamics and especially the vibration behavior of these mechanisms are in the initial stage. The authors developed a vibration model for the hexapod table of milling machines and machining centers and derived the relevant explicit equations. The eigenvalue problem of the upper platform of hexapod was solved to obtain the natural frequencies of the platform. The results have been verified with FEM simulation. The distinguishing features of the hexapod tables from the view point of dynamic behavior have also been concluded.     

Development of Stretch Solder Interconnections for Wafer Level Packaging

A wafer level packaging technique has been developed with an inherent advantage of good solder joint co-planarity suitable for wafer level testing. A suitable weak metallization scheme has also been established for the detachment process. During the fabrication process, the compliancy of the solder joint is enhanced through stretching to achieve a small shape factor. Thermal cycling reliability of these hourglass-shaped, stretch solder interconnections has been found to be considerably better than that of the conventional spherical-shaped solder bumps.     

Effect of Thickness of the p-AlGaN Electron Blocking Layer on the Improvement of ESD Characteristics in GaN-Based LEDs

The following letter presents a study regarding GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with p-type AlGaN electron blocking layers (EBLs) of different thicknesses. The study revealed that the LEDs could endure higher electrostatic discharge (ESD) levels as the thickness of the AlGaN EBL increased. The observed improvement in the ESD endurance ability could be attributed to the fact that the thickened p-AlGaN EBL may partly fill the dislocation-related pits that occur on the surface of the InGaN-GaN multiple-quantum well (MQW) and that are due to the strain and the low-temperature-growth process. If these dislocation-related pits are not partly suppressed, they will eventually result in numerous surface pits associated with threading dislocations that intersect the InGaN-GaN (MQW), thereby reducing the ESD endurance ability. The results of the experiment show that the ESD endurance voltages could increase from 1500 to 6000 V when the thickness of the p-AlGaN EBL in the GaN LEDs is increased from 32.5 to 130 nm, while the forward voltages and light output powers remained almost the same.     

Carbon nanofibers as hydrogen adsorbing materials for power sources

Porous carbon nanofibers are synthesized by CVD method from acetylene with use of iron-containing catalysts. Activation of the nanofibers in melted potassium hydroxide results in increasing surface area from initial 300–400 m² g⁻¹ to 1700 m² g⁻¹. As follows from XRD data, activated nanofibers do not contain regular packages of graphene layers, but retain high electric conductivity. Deposition of copper improves electrochemical hydrogen storing characteristics of carbon nanofibers. Carbon nanomaterials obtained can be used as hydrogen storing materials in batteries instead of hydride forming metals.     

Use of recycled copper slag for blended cements

Copper slag is a by‐product generated during smelting to extract copper metal from the ore. The copper slag obtained may exhibit pozzolanic activity and may therefore be used in the manufacture of addition‐containing cements. In this paper the effect of the incorporation of the copper slag in cement is measured. Blends of copper slag with Portland cement generally possess properties equivalent to Portland cement containing fly ash, but very different to the silica fume incorporation. Copper slag and fly ash reduce the heat of hydration more effectively than silica fume in mortars. The replacement of 30% cement by copper slag reduces the flexural and compressive strength in a similar way to fly ash; however, after 28 days, the reduction is less than the percentage of substitution. Hydrated calcium aluminate phases were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The pozzolanic activity of copper slag is similar to that of fly ash and higher than silica fume. In the presence of low water/cement ratios, certain pozzolanic materials produce a very compact cement paste that limits the space available for hydration products, a determining factor in the formation of hydrated calcium aluminates. SEM was found to be a useful analytical technique when aluminates are formed and can be clearly detected by XRD. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Xylene Isomerization in a ZSM-5/SS Membrane Reactor

A membrane reactor containing different types of ZSM-5/porous SS membranes was used to perform the xylene isomerization reaction. The parent Na-ZSM-5 layer was synthesized by secondary growth on top of porous stainless steel tubes. The xylene isomerization reaction was carried out at different temperatures in the membrane reactor and in a fixed-bed reactor of identical geometry for comparison. Two different kinds of membranes were prepared by ion exchange: a Pt/H-ZSM-5 catalytic membrane and two Ba-ZSM-5 composites with different Ba²⁺ concentration. The p-xylene production using 100% exchanged Ba-membrane was about 28% higher than the fixed-bed reactor at 370 °C, when m-xylene was fed.