Adaptive encoding of zoomable video streams based on user access pattern

Zoomable video allows users to selectively zoom and pan into regions of interest within the video for viewing at higher resolutions. Such interaction requires dynamic cropping of RoIs on the source video. We have previously explored two different ways of encoding and transmitting video to support dynamic RoI cropping: (i) Monolithic streaming uses a standard video encoder to encode the video. When an RoI is requested, the bits belonging to the RoI along with other bits required to decode the RoIs (due to encoding dependencies) are transmitted. (ii) Tile streaming divides regions in the standard video into rectangular tiles that are encoded independently. The tiles that intersect with a requested RoI are transmitted. In this paper, we consider how the bandwidth needed to transmit the RoIs can be reduced by carefully encoding the source video for each of the two encoding schemes. The goal is to support bandwidth efficient compressed domain RoI cropping in the context of virtual zoom and pan by tuning encoder parameters. Our key idea is to exploit user access patterns to the RoIs, and encode different regions of the video with different encoding parameters based on the popularity of the region. We show that our encoding method can reduce the expected bandwidth by up to 43% in the test video sequence which we have used.     

It’s not all written on the robot’s face

Past work on creating robots that can make convincing emotional expressions has concentrated on the quality of those expressions, and on assessing people’s ability to recognize them in neutral contexts, without any strong emotional valence. It would be interesting to find out whether observers’ judgments of the facial cues of a robot would be affected by a surrounding emotional context. This paper takes its inspiration from the contextual effects found on our interpretation of the expressions on human faces and computer avatars, and looks at the extent to which they also apply to the interpretation of the facial expressions of a mechanical robot head. The kinds of contexts that affect the recognition of robot emotional expressions, the circumstances under which such contextual effects occur, and the relationship between emotions and the surrounding situation, are observed and analyzed. Design implications for believable emotional robots are drawn.     

A comparison of two sampling methods for global sensitivity analysis

We compare the convergence properties of two different quasi-random sampling designs – Sobol?s quasi-Monte Carlo, and Latin supercube sampling in variance-based global sensitivity analysis. We use the non-monotonic V-function of Sobol? as base case-study, and compare the performance of both sampling strategies at increasing sample size and dimensionality against analytical values. The results indicate that in almost all cases investigated here, the Sobol? design performs better. This, coupled with the fact that effective Latin supercube sampling requires a priori knowledge of the interaction properties of the function, leads us to recommend Sobol? sampling in most practical cases.     

Evaluation of the pole expressions of nano-scale multistage amplifiers based on equivalent output impedance

Several frequency compensation schemes have been proposed to stabilize multistage amplifiers with negative feedback. The performance of these amplifiers can be analyzed by inspecting their input-output transfer function as representation of their frequency response. With many circuit elements affecting the output response, it is relatively difficult to obtain the real transfer function of multistage amplifiers based on only the original small-signal expressions. Instead, certain techniques such as Miller’s theorem are used to approximate important parameters such as DC gain and dominant pole. These methods are not generally helpful for approximating the nondominant poles which have a critical role on the loop stability of nano-scale amplifiers. With this issue in mind, this work proposes a systematic methodology to achieve the pole expressions of multistage amplifiers with frequency compensation. The key in the proposed technique is to model the equivalent impedance of the compensation loop at the output. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been verified through comparison between the transfer functions obtained from theory and those transfer functions found in the literature.     

The effect of lithium-intercalation on the mechanical properties of carbon fibres

Carbon fibres (CFs) can be used as lightweight structural electrodes since they have high specific tensile stiffness and ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and high lithium (Li)-intercalation capability. This paper investigates the relationship between the amount of intercalated Li and the changes induced in the tensile stiffness and UTS of polyacrylonitrile-based CF tows. After a few electrochemical cycles the stiffness was not degraded and independent of the measured capacity. A drop in the UTS of lithiated CFs was only partly recovered during delithiation and clearly larger at the highest measured capacities, but remained less than 40% at full charge. The reversibility of this drop with the C-rate and measured capacity supports that the fibres are not damaged, that some Li is irreversibly trapped in the delithiated CFs and that reversible strains develop in the fibre. However, the drop in the strength does not vary linearly with the measured capacity and the drop in the ultimate tensile strain remains lower than the CF longitudinal expansion at full charge. These results suggest that the loss of strength might relate to the degree of lithiation of defectives areas which govern the tensile failure mode of the CFs.     

Dual-quaternion based fault-tolerant control for spacecraft formation flying with finite-time convergence

Study results of developing control system for spacecraft formation proximity operations between a target and a chaser are presented. In particular, a coupled model using dual quaternion is employed to describe the proximity problem of spacecraft formation, and a nonlinear adaptive fault-tolerant feedback control law is developed to enable the chaser spacecraft to track the position and attitude of the target even though its actuator occurs fault. Multiple-task capability of the proposed control system is further demonstrated in the presence of disturbances and parametric uncertainties as well. In addition, the practical finite-time stability feature of the closed-loop system is guaranteed theoretically under the designed control law. Numerical simulation of the proposed method is presented to demonstrate the advantages with respect to interference suppression, fast tracking, fault tolerant and practical finite-time stability.     

Modeling pedestrian flow accounting for collision avoidance during evacuation

Collision avoidance behavior has become an open challenging problem since it is one of critical factors that influence the pedestrian flow dynamics. In this paper, a cellular automaton (CA) model is developed to depict the pedestrian movements when collision avoidance behaviors exist during evacuation. Then, we utilize the proposed model to simulate the influences of the collision avoidance on the pedestrian movements during the evacuation in a classroom with two exits. The numerical results indicate that more collision avoidance behaviors have negative influences on the evacuation efficiency, and that more competition behaviors generate more collisions while have no prominent positive impacts on the evacuation efficiency. Moreover, the evacuation time increases with the decreasing number of aisles in the classroom and the number of collisions increases with the increasing number of parts in the classroom divided by aisles. The above results are helpful to develop effective evacuation strategies and design the internal layouts of buildings.     

Combined effect of Ni and nano-Y2O3 addition on microstructure,mechanical and high temperature behavior of mechanically alloyed W-Mo

Nanostructured tungsten (W) based alloys with the nominal compositions of W₇₀Mo₃₀ (alloy A), W₅₀Mo₅₀ (alloy B), and 1.0 wt.% nano-Y₂O₃ dispersed W₇₉Ni₁₀Mo₁₀ (alloy C) (all in wt.%) have been synthesized by mechanical alloying followed by compaction at 0.50, 0.75 and 1 GPa pressure for 5 mins and conventional sintering at 1500 °C for 2 h in Ar atmosphere. The microstructure, evolution of phases and thermal behavior of milled powders and consolidated products has been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Minimum crystallite size of 29.4 nm and maximum lattice strain and dislocation density of 0.51% and 18.93 (10¹⁶/m²) respectively has been achieved in alloy C at 20 h of milling. Addition of nano-Y₂O₃ reduces the activation energy for recrystallization of W based alloys. Alloy C compacted at 1 GPa pressure shows enhanced sintered density, hardness, compressive strength and elongation of 95.2%, 9.12 GPa, 1.51 GPa, 19.5% respectively as well as superior wear resistance and oxidation resistance (at 1000 °C) as compared to other W-Mo alloys.     

Numerical investigation on the loading-delamination-unloading behavior of adhesive joints

An elastic-plastic interface model at finite deformations is utilized to investigate the irreversible delamination behavior of adhesive joints subjected to loading-delamination-unloading. The interface model accounts for the irreversible delamination in the fracture process zone induced by the localized plastic deformation and damage. The interfacial parameters in the cohesive model are obtained by fitting the available experimental data. Results suggest that the cohesive model can capture the irreversible delamination failure behavior observed in adhesively bonded joints during a loading-unloading cycle. The overall nonlinear response is dominated by the cohesive strength and initial damage displacement jump. Further, we also investigate the effect of the ductile mechanisms for the bulk layer on the competition between the plastic deformation of the bulk layer and the delamination of the interface. It is observed that the degradation of unloading stiffness is attributed to the inelastic behavior of the interface.     

Small-world brain functional network altered by watching 2D/3DTV

With the development of display technology, the healthy problems caused by watching 2D/3DTV have received more and more attention. This paper utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the changes of small-world brain network before and after one-hour 2D/3DTV watching, and explored the brain fatigue mechanism caused by watching 2D/3DTV. We conclude that one-hour watching of 2DTV will not increase the burden of brain. On the contrary, one-hour watching of 3DTV requires the brain to regulate the efficiency of brain areas, such as temporal lobe and occipital lobe, which may explain the fact that watching 3DTV can easier cause brain fatigue than watching 2DTV.