Planning and execution through variable resolution planning

Generating sequences of actions–plans–for robots using Automated Planning in stochastic and dynamic environments has been shown to be a difficult task with high computational complexity. These plans are composed of actions whose execution might fail due to different reasons. In many cases, if the execution of an action fails, it prevents the execution of some (or all) of the remainder actions in the plan. Therefore, in most real-world scenarios computing a complete and sound (valid) plan at each (re-)planning step is not worth the computational resources and time required to generate the plan. This is specially true given the high probability of plan execution failure. Besides, in many real-world environments, plans must be generated fast, both at the start of the execution and after every execution failure. In this paper, we present Variable Resolution Planning which uses Automated Planning to quickly compute a reasonable (not necessarily sound) plan. Our approach computes an abstract representation–removing some information from the planning task–which is used once a search depth of $k$ steps has been reached. Thus, our approach generates a plan where the first $k$ actions are applicable if the domain is stationary and deterministic, while the rest of the plan might not be necessarily applicable. The advantages of this approach are that it: is faster than regular full-fledged planning (both in the probabilistic or deterministic settings); does not spend much time on the far future actions that probably will not be executed, since in most cases it will need to replan before executing the end of the plan; and takes into account some information of the far future, as an improvement over pure reactive systems. We present experimental results on different robotics domains that simulate tasks on stochastic environments.     

ARP预算管理信息系统应用探索

随着国家建设和信息产业的不断发展,研究所在发展的同时业务范围也在逐步扩张和多元化,如何在这一过程中实现合理、高效的预算管理和监控,成为研究所预算管理的核心.本项目基于ARP综合财务和科研项目系统,根据研究所以课题为成本中心的核算体制模式,建立ARP预算管理系统,关联科研项目预算与实际支出,通过课题预算录入、报销预算控制及实时预算查询等业务流程,实现事前预算编制、事中预算控制和事后预算分析的预算管理模式,为研究所管理者和科研人员提供预算执行情况、收支明细查询等综合信息服务.     

"Publishing opinions: A note on the usefulness of commentaries": Comment.

Comments on J. J. Christensen-Szalanski and L. R. Beach's (see record 1984-21471-001) conclusion that the attention given to commentaries and replies to articles did not justify the extra space and argues that citation indexes do not measure the major usefulness of these commentaries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

乌江沙沱水电站水轮机选型分析

沙沱水电站水头运行范围50～74.9 m.电站受阻出力多为汛期季节性电能,在综合考虑减少受阻出力及水轮机稳定运行的情况下,对61、62.5、64、65.5、67m五个额定水头方案进行了比较分析,最终确定了经济、合理的水轮机参数.     

老挝电源BOT项目管理策略研究

∶为高效开发老挝电源BOT项目,文章对老挝电源BOT项目的开发现状及实施步骤进行简介,并针对老挝电源BOT项目存在的风险,进行了策略性的讨论和研究,供同行们参考。     

用于高速列车移动网络的资源分配实时算法

误码率高、频繁中断的高速列车移动场景宜采用多宿主容迟网络。但其资源分配计算复杂,实时性较差。基于效用差分法设计初始化过程资源分配算法,以保证过程中每一步的效用单调不减,算法时间复杂度降至O(n)。     

Using online collaboration applications for group assignments: The interplay between design and human characteristics

In recent years, educators and students are increasingly employing online collaboration applications such as Google Docs™ and PBWorks™ for group projects and assignments. Yet, the effectiveness of these emerging technologies has not been rigorously examined. Anchoring upon and informed by the existing literature, two design characteristics – sociability and visibility, and two human characteristics – gender and age, are focused on, which are salient in online collaboration applications. A field experiment was conducted to examine the direct and moderating effects of design and human characteristics on learning outcomes. The research found that sociability improved process satisfaction and positive social environment while visibility enhanced academic performance and solution satisfaction of learners. Males had higher solution satisfaction while older learners had higher academic performance. Moderating effects were also found. Both theoretical and practical implications are drawn. In particular, a rubric for online collaboration application selection for academic performance is conceived. This study provides empirical support for online collaboration application effectiveness in education which will augur well for future adoption, use and evolution.     

A regularization method for a Cauchy problem of Laplace's equation in an annular domain

In this paper, we propose a new regularization method based on a finite-dimensional subspace generated from fundamental solutions for solving a Cauchy problem of Laplace's equation in an annular domain. Based on a conditional stability for the Cauchy problem of Laplace's equation, we obtain a convergence estimate under the suitable choice of a regularization parameter and an a-priori bound assumption on the solution. A numerical example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method from both accuracy and stability.     

Effect of display location on control-display stereotype strength for translational and rotational controls with linear displays

Experiments were designed to investigate the effects of control type and display location, relative to the operator, on the strength of control/display stereotypes. The Worringham and Beringer Visual Field principle and an extension of this principle for rotary controls (Hoffmann E.R., and Chan A.H.S. 2013). “The Worringham and Beringer ‘Visual Field’ Principle for Rotary Controls. Ergonomics.” 56 (10): 1620–1624) indicated that, for a number of different control types (rotary and lever) on different planes, there should be no significant effect of the display location relative to the seated operator. Past data were surveyed and stereotype strengths listed. Experiments filled gaps where data are not available. Six different control types and seven display locations were used, as in the Frame of Reference Transformation Tool (FORT) model of Wickens et al. (Wickens, C.D., Keller, J.W., and Small, R.L. (2010). “Left. No, Right! Development of the Frame of Reference Transformation Tool (FORT).” Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54th Annual Meeting September 2010, 54: 1022–1026). Control/display arrangements with high stereotype strengths were evaluated yielding data for designers of complex control/display arrangements where the control and display are in different planes and for where the operator is moving. It was found possible to predict display/control arrangements with high stereotype strength, based on past data.

Practitioner Summary: Controls and displays in complex arrangements need to have high compatibility. These experiments provide arrangements for six different controls (rotary and translational) and seven different display locations relative to the operator.