Path-planning and navigation of a mobile robot as discrete optimization problems

There is huge diversity among navigation and path-planning problems in the real world because of the enormous number and great variety of assumptions about the environments, constraints, and tasks imposed on a robot. To deal with this diversity, we propose a new solution to the path-planning and navigation of a mobile robot. In our approach, we formulated the following two problems at each time-step as discrete optimization problems: (1) estimation of a robot's location, and (2) action decision. For the first problem, we minimize an objective function that includes a data term, a constraint term, and a prediction term. This approach is an approximation of Markov localization. For the second problem, we define and minimize another objective function that includes a goal term, a smoothness term, and a collision term. Simulation results show the effectiveness of our approach. This work was presented in part at the Fifth International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 26–28, 2000     

Minimizing False Positives of a Decision Tree Classifier for Intrusion Detection on the Internet

Machine learning or data mining technologies are often used in network intrusion detection systems. An intrusion detection system based on machine learning utilizes a classifier to infer the current state from the observed traffic attributes. The problem with learning-based intrusion detection is that it leads to false positives and so incurs unnecessary additional operation costs. This paper investigates a method to decrease the false positives generated by an intrusion detection system that employs a decision tree as its classifier. The paper first points out that the information-gain criterion used in previous studies to select the attributes in the tree-constructing algorithm is not effective in achieving low false positive rates. Instead of the information-gain criterion, this paper proposes a new function that evaluates the goodness of an attribute by considering the significance of error types. The proposed function can successfully choose an attribute that suppresses false positives from the given attribute set and the effectiveness of using it is confirmed experimentally. This paper also examines the more trivial leaf rewriting approach to benchmark the proposed method. The comparison shows that the proposed attribute evaluation function yields better solutions than the leaf rewriting approach.

Minimum cost source location problem with vertex-connectivity requirements in digraphs

Given a digraph (or an undirected graph) G=(V,E) with a set V of vertices v with nonnegative real costs w(v), and a set E of edges and a positive integer k, we deal with the problem of finding a minimum cost subset SV such that, for each vertex vV−S, there are k vertex-disjoint paths from S to v. In this paper, we show that the problem can be solved by a greedy algorithm in time in a digraph (or in time in an undirected graph), where n=|V| and m=|E|. Based on this, given a digraph and two integers k and ℓ, we also give a polynomial time algorithm for finding a minimum cost subset SV such that for each vertex vV−S, there are k vertex-disjoint paths from S to v as well as ℓ vertex-disjoint paths from v to S.     

Shear viscosity of the B phase of superfluid3He

The shear viscosity (T) in the Balian-Werthamer (BW) state of superfluid ³ He is calculated variationally throughout the region 0t 1(t=T/T _c) from the transport equation for Bogoliubov quasiparticles. Coherence factors are treated exactly in the calculation of the collision integral. The numerical result for =_s= _s(T)/_n(T_c) agree very well with experiment in the range 0.8t1.0. Analytic expressions = 0.577 (1–1.0008t) and =1–(23/64) [=(T)/k _B T] are obtained in the low-temperature region and in the vicinity ofT _c, respectively. From the numerical analysis it is shown that the latter equation is valid only in the temperature range 0.9997t1.0.Supported by the Research Institute for Fundamental Physics, Kyoto University.     

Copolymerization of Vinyl Chloride and Ethylene with Cp<Superscript>*</Superscript>Ti( OCH<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>3</Subscript>/MAO Catalyst

Summary Copolymerization of vinyl chloride (VC) and ethylene with Cp^*Ti( OCH₃)₃/MAO catalyst was investigated. The Cp^*Ti( OCH₃)₃/MAO catalyst initiated the copolymerization of VC with ethylene, although the copolymer yields were low. In the ¹³C NMR spectra of the copolymers, the peaks based on junction part between VC and ethylene was observed, but the signals were small. From DSC measurement of the copolymers, only one glass transition temperature was observed. Thus, it is clear that the copolymerization with Cp^*Ti( OCH₃)₃/MAO catalysts gave the copolymer, and the copolymer consisting of block sequence rather than random copolymer. Received: 13 November 2002/Revised: 6 January 2003/Accepted: 10 January 2003 Correspondence to Kiyoshi Endo     

Experience with radio isotope myelography from neurosurgical aspects (author's transl)

Experience with Radio Isotope Myelography is reported here. 169Yb-DTPA as a tracer was intrathecally injected at lumbar region in twenty three patients with various spinal cord lesions. The first scanning is perfomed after comfirming by gamma-camera that the tracer reaches to the lesion, the second and the third scannings are done according to the ascending rate of the tracer. (I) Normal scintimyelogram (A) In normal case, the shape of the Radio Isotope Myelogram well corresponds the shape of anatomical subarachnoid space. (B) In normal adult cases, the tracer comes up to the cisterna magna in 20-25 minutes after the lumbar injection. Therefore, the scintimyelographic diagnosis should be made not only by the shape but also by the ascending rapidity of the tracer. (II) Abnormal scintimyelogram Abnormal scintimyelograms could be summarized as following three categories. (A) "Delay": It means delay of the ascending of the tracer. Besides, "Transient delay" found in a case of Arnord-Chiari's malformation was proposed. (B) "Partial block": It meas a defect at the level of the lesion. This "Partial block" were observed in cases of spinal cord angioma, cervical spondylosis and spinal cord tumor etc. (C) "Complete block": It means the stagnation of the tracer below the lesion. To sum up, Rario Isotope Myelography, especially in partial block, can more easily and more sensitively represent the maximum extent of the spinal cord lesion than other myelographic study or angiographic one. On the other hand, we can not qualitatively diagnose about the lesions by its indistinct border.     

Grain refinement and superplasticity in a magnesium alloy processed by equal-channel angular pressing

The extrusion/equal channel angular pressing (EX-ECAP) processing procedure, in which magnesium-based alloys are subjected to extrusion followed by ECAP, was applied to a Mg-7.5 pct Al-0.2 pct Zr alloy prepared by casting. Microstructural inspection showed the EX-ECAP process was effective in reducing the grain size from ∼21 μm after extrusion to an as-pressed grain size of ∼0.8 μm. It is shown through static annealing that these ultrafine grains are reasonably stable up to 473 K, but grain growth occurs at higher temperatures. Tensile specimens were cut from the billets prepared by EX-ECAP and testing showed these specimens exhibited superplasticity at relatively low temperatures with maximum elongations up to >700 pct. By processing through EX-ECAP to a higher imposed strain and thereby increasing the area fraction of high-angle boundaries, it is demonstrated that there is a potential for achieving high-strain-rate superplasticity. This article is based on a presentation made at the Symposium entitled “Phase Transformations and Deformation in Magnesium Alloys,” which occurred during the Spring TMS meeting, March 14–18, 2004, in Charlotte, NC, under the auspices of the ASM-MSCTS Phase Transformations Committee.     

Further study on different dopings into PbWO4 single crystals to increase the scintillation light yield

Since we presented our preliminary result (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 486 (2002) 170) at SCINT2001, we have continued our efforts to increase the light yield (LY) of PbWO₄ scintillators by extending different dopings with an aim to find a possibility of using PbWO₄ successfully in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Overall result obtained for single doping as well as double and tripple co-dopings are summarized, including decay characteristics and radiation hardness. The LY in non-doped PbWO₄ crystals with a size of 10×10×(20–30) mm³ is 25–35 photolectrons/MeV (phe/MeV) corresponding to 3–4% of the LY in BGO, when measured with a bialkali photomultiplier during a gate of 1 μs. The maximum LY increased to 49 phe/MeV for single doping with Mo⁶⁺, 80 phe/MeV for double co-doping of Mo⁶⁺+Sb⁵⁺, and 85 phe/MeV for tripple co-doping of Mo⁶⁺+Cd²⁺+Sb⁵⁺. The radiation hardness is larger than 10⁵ Gy for each of the samples co-doped with Mo⁶⁺+Sb⁵⁺ and Mo⁶⁺+Cd²⁺+Sb⁵⁺, while it is much poorer in PWO:Mo⁶⁺. In each of these co-doped samples, a medium-speed green emission in the microsecond range is created besides the fundamental fast (a few nanoseconds range) blue one, giving a peak at 500 nm in the radioluminescence spectrum similarly as in PWO:Mo⁶⁺.     

Two-group interfacial area transport in vertical air-water flow: I. Mechanistic model

The prediction of the dynamical evolution of interfacial area concentration is one of the most challenging tasks in two-fluid model application. This paper is focused on developing theoretical models for interfacial area source and sink terms for a two-group interfacial area transport equation. Mechanistic models of major fluid particle interaction phenomena involving two bubble groups are proposed, including the shearing-off of small bubbles from slug/cap bubbles, the wake entrainment of spherical/distorted bubble group into slug/cap bubble group, the wake acceleration and coalescence between slug/cap bubbles, and the breakup of slug/cap bubbles due to turbulent eddy impacts. The existing one-group interaction terms are extended in considering the generation of cap bubbles, as well as different parametric dependences when these terms are applied to the slug flow regime. The complete set of modeling equations is closed and continuously covers the bubbly flow, slug flow, and churn-turbulent flow regimes. Prediction of the interfacial area concentration evolution using a one-dimensional two-group transport equation and evaluation with experimental results are described in a companion paper.     

Noninvasive blood glucose assay using a newly developed near-infrared system

This paper reports in vivo near-infrared (NIR) noninvasive blood glucose assay using dermis tissue spectra. We assume that the glucose content in dermis tissue traces the variations in blood glucose. For dermis spectra measurements, epidermis, especially stratum corneum, acts as an interference in skin tissue. Thus, we have developed a method for the selective measurement of dermis tissue spectra, enabling us to obtain better quality spectra for an accurate blood glucose assay. The selective measurement of the dermis spectra realized by using a newly developed fiber-optic probe that consists of source and detector optical fibers separated by 0.65 mm on a skin surface. The light path in the skin tissue for this geometry has been simulated by a Monte Carlo method. The simulation results show that detected light mainly interrogates dermis tissue. As the absorbance signal of glucose in human tissue is extremely small, the quality of the measured spectra is critical for the reliable assay. The present method for blood glucose assay has been applied to one Type 1 diabetic. The correlation coefficient between the blood glucose content predicted by NIR spectra and those measured by finger-prick was 0.928 and the standard error of prediction was 32.2 mg/dL. These results demonstrate the potential of our methodology for noninvasive NIR blood glucose assay.