Map building method for urban gas pipelines based on landmark detection

This paper presents a map building method for an in-pipe robot to navigate inside urban gas pipelines autonomously, whose configuration is unknown or partially known. In the first, we explain the reason why the navigation in the pipeline is difficult and then, present a method for obtaining a robot’s posture by using a pipeline’s unique geometrical features. The robot can obtain its heading direction by detecting the standardized geometries of pipe elements. Based on the method, we propose a robot controller consisting of discrete and continuous controllers. The discrete controller is activated by pre-defined events and generates appropriate paths for exploration. The continuous controller receives the desired path and physically moves the robot to the desired path. The method is implemented in an in-pipe robot, called MRINSPECT-V and its effectiveness is validated.     

Development of a quadruped walking robot AiDIN-III using biologically inspired kinematic analysis

This paper presents a bio-inspired mechanism design for a quadruped walking robot. The approach is derived from the observation on the behaviors of quadruped locomotion, skeletal structure, and the study on the stability of walking based on morphological analysis. In the first, we define the design parameters such as the dimensions of the body and limbs, the center of mass position, and locomotion mechanisms based on surveys on the literatures from biologists. Then, by using the parameters, we propose an useful framework for determining the design parameters of a quadruped walking robot. For implementations, we manufacture a dog-type self-contained quadruped walking robot, named AiDIN-III (Artificial Digitigrade for Natural Environment version III) and the effectiveness of the proposed idea is validated via experimental works.     

Effect of deposition temperature on dielectric properties of PECVD Ta2O5 thin film

Tantalum oxide film formation by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) using TaCl₅ as a source material was examined. The effects of deposition temperature on the formation, structure and electric properties of the Ta₂O₅ film were investigated for Al/Ta₂O₅/ p-Si (MTS) capacitors. The deposition rate and refractive index increased with increasing deposition temperature. It was found that the structure of Ta₂O₅ deposited by PECVD was amorphous as-deposited. However, crystalline -Ta₂O₅ of hexagonal structure was formed by a 700 °C, 1 h heat treatment in argon. Capacitance and relative dielectric constant of the PECVD Ta₂O₅ were found to be 2.54 fF m^–2 and 23.5, respectively. The PECVD films obtained in this study have higher dielectric constants and remarkably better general film characteristics than those obtained by other deposition methods.     

Localization of an unmanned ground vehicle based on hybrid 3D registration of 360 degree range data and DSM

A computer vision technique to identify the location of an outdoor unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is presented. The proposed technique is based on hybrid 3D registration of 360 degree laser range data to a digital surface model (DSM). Range frames obtained from 48 laser detectors are aligned with the reference coordinate system of the DSM. Three novel approaches are proposed for accurate and fast 3D registration of range data and the DSM. First, a two-step hybrid 3D registration technique is proposed. A pair-wise registration step of two consecutive range frames is followed by a refinement step using a layered DSM. Second, a fast projection-based pair-wise registration is proposed by employing rasterized 360 degree range frames. Third, a high elevation DSM is divided into several elevation layers and correspondence search is done near the vehicle’s current elevation. This reduces the number of matching outliers and facilitates fast localization. Experimental results show that the proposed approaches yield better performance in 3D localization compared to conventional 3D registration techniques. Error analysis on five outdoor paths is presented with respect to ground truth.     

Localization algorithm using a virtual label for a mobile robot in indoor and outdoor environments

Scanning laser range sensors provide range data consisting of a set of point measurements. The laser sensor URG-04LX has a distance range of approximately 0.02–4 m and a scanning angle range of 240°. Usually, such an image range is acquired from one viewpoint by “moving” the laser beam using rotating mirrors/prisms. The orientation of the laser beam can easily be measured and converted into the coordinates of the image. This article conducts localization using virtual labels with data about distances in the environment obtained from 2D distance laser sensors. This method puts virtual labels on special features and points which are along the mobile robot’s path. The current location is calculated by combining the virtual label and the range image of the laser range finder.     

Redundant multicast routing in multilayer networks with shared risk resource groups: Complexity,models and algorithms

This paper presents a redundant multicast routing problem in multilayer networks that arises from large-scale distribution of realtime multicast data (e.g., Internet TV, videocasting, online games, stock quotes). Since these multicast services commonly operate in multilayer networks, the communications paths need to be robust against a single router or link failure as well as multiple such failures due to shared risk link groups (SRLGs). The main challenge of this multicast is to ensure the service availability and reliability using a path protection scheme, which is to find a redundant path that is SRLG-disjoint (diverse) from each working path. The objective of this problem is, therefore, to find two redundant multicast trees, each from one of the two redundant sources to every destination, at a minimum total communication cost whereas two paths from the two sources to every destination are guaranteed to be SRLG-diverse (i.e., links in the same risk group are disjoint). In this paper, we present two new mathematical programming models, edge-based and path-based, for the redundant multicast routing problem with SRLG-diverse constraints. Because the number of paths in path-based model grows exponentially with the network size, it is impossible to enumerate all possible paths in real life networks. We develop three approaches (probabilistic, non-dominated and nearly non-dominated) to generate potentially good paths that may be included in the path-based model. This study is motivated by emerging applications of internet-protocol TV service, and we evaluate the proposed approaches using real life network topologies. Our empirical results suggest that both models perform very well, and the nearly non-dominated path approach outperforms all other path generation approaches.     

Pattern recognition using feature feedback: Application to face recognition

In this paper, we propose a new pattern recognition method using feature feedback and present its application to face recognition. Conventional pattern recognition methods extract the features employed for classification using PCA, LDA and so on. On the other hand, in the proposed method, the extracted features are analyzed in the original space using feature feedback. Using reverse mapping from the extracted features to the original space, we can identify the important part of the original data that affects the classification. In this way, we can modify the data to obtain a higher classification rate, make it more compact or abbreviate the required sensors. To verify the applicability of the proposed method, we apply it to face recognition using the Yale Face Database. Each face image is divided into two parts, the important part and unimportant part, using feature feedback, and the classification performed using the feature mask obtained from feature feedback. Also, we combine face recognition with image compression. The experimental results show that the proposed method works well.