Few-shot learning for spatial regression via neural embedding-based Gaussian processes

Machine Learning - We propose a few-shot learning method for spatial regression. Although Gaussian processes (GPs), or kriging, have been successfully used for spatial regression, they require many...     

New pixel driving circuit using self‐discharging compensation method for high‐resolution OLED micro displays on a silicon backplane

A new 4T2C pixel circuit formed on a silicon substrate is proposed to realize a high‐resolution 7.8‐μm pixel pitch AMOLED microdisplay. In order to achieve high luminance uniformity, the pixel circuit compensates its Vth variation of the MOSFET for the driving transistor internally by using self‐discharging method. Also presented are 0.5‐in Quad‐VGA and 1.25‐in wide Quad‐XGA microdisplays with the proposed pixel circuit.     

Cognitive model of team cooperation in en-route air traffic control

Since controller teams are in charge of en-route air traffic control, team cooperation is a key issue for good control performance. We conducted ethnographic field observation at the Tokyo Area Control Center and then analyzed the obtained data to develop a cognitive model of team cooperation in en-route air traffic control. We segmented conversational records, behavioral records, and so on by control unit, and then clarified relations between the segments and identified expert knowledge and judgment behind them. Cognitive processes of controller teams were reconstructed based on a concept of distributed cognition. The analysis revealed that the mutual belief model is applicable to team cooperation processes, the role assignment of tasks within a controller team is implicit and that control plans are implemented smoothly once team situation awareness has been established. A cognitive model of controllers?? team cooperation has been constructed based on these findings.     

Deformation characteristics of ultra-thin liquid film considering temperature and film thickness dependence of surface tension

Thermocapillary deformations of an ultra-thin liquid film caused by temperature distribution were three-dimensionally analyzed using the unsteady and linearized long wave equation considering the temperature and film thickness dependence of surface tension. The temperature and film thickness dependence equation for the surface tension of a liquid was firstly established. The temperature dependence of the surface tension was obtained experimentally using a surface tensiometer and the film thickness dependence was obtained theoretically from the corrected van der Waals pressure equation for a symmetric multilayer system. Time evolutions of depression and groove of the ultra-thin liquid film caused by local heating were obtained quantitatively.     

Automation trust increases under high-workload multitasking scenarios involving risk

Cognition, Technology & Work - Trust is a critical construct that influences human–automation interaction in multitasking workspaces involving imperfect automation. Karpinsky et al. (Appl...     

Parallel trapping of single motile cells based on vibration-induced flow

We propose an on-chip cell manipulation method for trapping single motile cells in parallel. The proposed method traps large (\(\gtrsim \,50\,\upmu \hbox {m}\)) motile cells in parallel, which is difficult to achieve by conventional cell manipulation methods based on optical, acoustic, electric, or magnetic forces. The trapping method exploits the flow induced by applying a vibration to a microfluidic chip with microstructures on its surface. By applying a rectilinear vibration to a chip with pairs of micropillars, we can trap single motile cells within the local flow generated between the micropillars. Using the proposed method, we trapped single Euglena gracilis cells (of size 50–100 \(\upmu \hbox {m}\)) in parallel. Moreover, we evaluate the trapping performance for various micropillar array design parameters and the controllability of the trapping-flow velocity by varying the amplitude of the vibration. The proposed method was then demonstrated in a motility evaluation of motile cells. The demonstration confirms the potential of the proposed method in realizing high-throughput motility evaluations of single motile cells.     

Implementation of Fault-Tolerant GridRPC Applications

A task parallel application is implemented with Ninf-G, a GridRPC system. A series of experiments are conducted on the Grid testbed in Asia Pacific for three months. Through tens of long executions, typical fault patterns were collected, and instability of the network throughput was determined to be a major reason of the faults. Several important points are stressed to avoid task throughput decline due to the fault-recovery operations: Timeout minimization for fault detection, background recovery, redundant task assignments, and so on. This study also issues a steer for design of the automated fault-tolerant mechanism in an upper layer of the GridRPC framework.     

Multiple fuzzy state-value functions for human evaluation through interactive trajectory planning of a partner robot

The purpose of this study is to develop partner robots that can obtain and accumulate human-friendly behaviors. To achieve this purpose, the entire architecture of the robot is designed, based on a concept of structured learning which emphasizes the importance of interactive learning of several modules through interaction with its environment. This paper deals with a trajectory planning method for generating hand-to-hand behaviors of a partner robot by using multiple fuzzy state-value functions, a self-organizing map, and an interactive genetic algorithm. A trajectory for the behavior is generated by an interactive genetic algorithm using human evaluation. In order to reduce human load, human evaluation is estimated by using the fuzzy state-value function. Furthermore, to cope with various situations, a self-organizing map is used for clustering a given task dependent on a human hand position. And then, a fuzzy state-value function is assigned to each output unit of the self-organizing map. The robot can easily obtain and accumulate human-friendly trajectories using a fuzzy state-value function and a knowledge database corresponding to the unit selected in the self-organizing map. Finally, multiple fuzzy state-value functions can estimate a human evaluation model for the hand-to-hand behaviors. Several experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

A robust automatic crack detection method from noisy concrete surfaces

In maintenance of concrete structures, crack detection is important for the inspection and diagnosis of concrete structures. However, it is difficult to detect cracks automatically. In this paper, we propose a robust automatic crack-detection method from noisy concrete surface images. The proposed method includes two preprocessing steps and two detection steps. The first preprocessing step is a subtraction process using the median filter to remove slight variations like shadings from concrete surface images; only an original image is used in the preprocessing. In the second preprocessing step, a multi-scale line filter with the Hessian matrix is used both to emphasize cracks against blebs or stains and to adapt the width variation of cracks. After the preprocessing, probabilistic relaxation is used to detect cracks coarsely and to prevent noises. It is unnecessary to optimize any parameters in probabilistic relaxation. Finally, using the results from the relaxation process, a locally adaptive thresholding is performed to detect cracks more finely. We evaluate robustness and accuracy of the proposed method quantitatively using 60 actual noisy concrete surface images.