Finishing effects of spiral polishing method on micro lapping surface

This study presents a spiral polishing method and a device for micro-finishing purposes. This novel finishing process has wider application than traditional processes. This offers both automation and flexibility in final machining operations for deburring, polishing, and removing recast layers, thereby producing compressive residual stresses even in difficult to reach areas. Applying of this method can obtain a fine polished surface by removing tiny fragments via a micro lapping generated by transmission of an abrasive medium through a screw rod. The effect of the removal of the tiny fragments can be achieved due to the function of micro lapping. The method is not dependent on the size of the work-piece's application area in order to carry out the ultra precise process. The application of this research can be extended to various products of precision ball-bearing lead screw. The proposed method produces products with greater precision and more efficiently than traditional processes, in terms of processing precisions and the surface quality of products. These parameters used in achieving maximum material removal rate (MRR) and the lowest surface roughness (SR) are abrasive particle size, abrasive concentration, gap, revolution speed and machining time.     

Impact of virtual atmospherics and functional qualities on the online gambler's experience

This study empirically tests a stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) structural model that proposes that an online casino's atmospheric cues and functional qualities influence individuals' affective and cognitive responses, which in turn impact consumer behavioural intentions. Using self-reported data from a primarily US-based sample, analysed elements of the online gambling site stimulus included high and low task-relevant cues, financial trust, and gambling value. Demographic characteristics were found to moderate the relationship between the stimulus and internal satisfaction, with demographic group differences found among all stimulus constructs. Results emphasise the significant role that atmospherics and functional qualities play in generating positive behaviours from online gamblers, with additional implications in marketplace competitiveness and in responsible gambling practices.     

Annular ring slot antenna design with reconfigurable polarization

A microstrip‐fed conventional annular ring slot (ARS) antenna with linear polarization (LP) is initially studied. To generate two orthogonal degenerate modes for circular polarization (CP) radiations, two identical meandering perturbation slots (MPS) are symmetrically loaded into the ARS. By further incorporating a PIN diode switch across each MPS, the proposed antenna can switch between left‐hand CP (LHCP), right‐hand CP (RHCP), and LP. All three polarizations have shown good impedance bandwidth and broad CP bandwidth that can satisfy the wireless local area network (WLAN) 2.4‐GHz operating band (2400–2480 MHz). Furthermore, desirable gains of 1.8–2.0 dBi and 2.40–2.84 dBic are also exhibited at LP and LHCP/RHCP, respectively. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 26:110–120, 2016.     

Exploring cell tower data dumps for supervised learning-based point-of-interest prediction (industrial paper)

Exploring massive mobile data for location-based services becomes one of the key challenges in mobile data mining. In this paper, we investigate a problem of finding a correlation between the collective behavior of mobile users and the distribution of points of interest (POIs) in a city. Specifically, we use large-scale cell tower data dumps collected from cell towers and POIs extracted from a popular social network service, Weibo. Our objective is to make use of the data from these two different types of sources to build a model for predicting the POI densities of different regions in the covered area. An application domain that may benefit from our research is a business recommendation application, where a prediction result can be used as a recommendation for opening a new store/branch. The crux of our contribution is the method of representing the collective behavior of mobile users as a histogram of connection counts over a period of time in each region. This representation ultimately enables us to apply a supervised learning algorithm to our problem in order to train a POI prediction model using the POI data set as the ground truth. We studied 12 state-of-the-art classification and regression algorithms; experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Irish Archaeological Data: Toward a Framework

The EU co-funded project Advanced Research Infrastructure for Archaeological Dataset Networking in Europe (ARIADNE) aims to integrate data and services across Europe for the archaeological research community. The Discovery Programme has investigated data holdings and management practices in Irish archaeology, focusing on what information is available in physical and digital forms, approaches to preservation and accessibility, and the challenges and opportunities around dataset networking with Irish archaeological data. While significant work will be required to enable the accessibility expected by researchers now and in future, there is also an opportunity to approach the challenges of digital preservation as a community.     

Modeling and multiobjective optimization of traction performance for autonomous wheeled mobile robot in rough terrain

Application of terrain-vehicle mechanics for determination and prediction of mobility performance of autonomous wheeled mobile robot(AWMR) in rough terrain is a new research area currently receiving much attention for both terrestrial and planetary missions due to its significant role in design,evaluation,optimization,and motion control of AWMRs.In this paper,decoupled closed form terramechanics considering important wheel-terrain parameters is applied to model and predict traction.Numerical analysis of traction performance in terms of drawbar pull,tractive efficiency,and driving torque is carried out for wheels of different radii,widths,and lug heights,under different wheel slips.Effects of normal forces on wheels are analyzed.Results presented in figures are discussed and used to draw some conclusions.Furthermore,a multiobjective optimization(MOO) method for achieving optimal mobility is presented.The MOO problem is formulated based on five independent variables including wheel radius r,width b,lug height h,wheel slip s,and wheel rotation angle θ with three objectives to maximize drawbar pull and tractive efficiency while minimizing the dynamic traction ratio.Genetic algorithm in MATLAB is used to obtain optimized wheel design and traction control parameters such as drawbar pull,tractive efficiency,and dynamic traction ratio required for good mobility performance.Comparison of MOO results with experimental results shows a good agreement.A method to apply the MOO results for online traction and mobility prediction and control is discussed.     

Development of a high pressure automated lag time apparatus for experimental studies and statistical analyses of nucleation and growth of gas hydrates

Nucleation in a supercooled or a supersaturated medium is a stochastic event, and hence statistical analyses are required for the understanding and prediction of such events. The development of reliable statistical methods for quantifying nucleation probability is highly desirable for applications where control of nucleation is required. The nucleation of gas hydrates in supercooled conditions is one such application. We describe the design and development of a high pressure automated lag time apparatus (HP-ALTA) for the statistical study of gas hydrate nucleation and growth at elevated gas pressures. The apparatus allows a small volume (≈150 μl) of water to be cooled at a controlled rate in a pressurized gas atmosphere, and the temperature of gas hydrate nucleation, T(f), to be detected. The instrument then raises the sample temperature under controlled conditions to facilitate dissociation of the gas hydrate before repeating the cooling-nucleation cycle again. This process of forming and dissociating gas hydrates can be automatically repeated for a statistically significant (>100) number of nucleation events. The HP-ALTA can be operated in two modes, one for the detection of hydrate in the bulk of the sample, under a stirring action, and the other for the detection of the formation of hydrate films across the water-gas interface of a quiescent sample. The technique can be applied to the study of several parameters, such as gas pressure, cooling rate and gas composition, on the gas hydrate nucleation probability distribution for supercooled water samples.     

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.