Vehicle Localization Using Sensors Data Fusion Via Integration of Covariance Intersection and Interval Analysis

Achieving an innovative integrated sensor fusion architecture with a robust vehicle navigation and localization using an extended Kalman filter, interval analysis and covariance intersection that can overcome the uncertainty in the system model and sensor noise statistics. There are various approaches to the problem, but here the focus is on an approach which can guaranteed performance of sensor-based navigation. The guaranteed performance is quantified by explicit bounds of position estimate of a ground vehicle. Ground vehicles generally carry dead reckoning sensors such as wheel encoders and inertial sensors, to measure acceleration and angle rate, while obstacle detection and mapmaking is done with time-of-flight ultrasonic sensors. Most of these sensors give overlapping or complementary information and sometimes are redundant as well, which offers scope for exploiting data fusion. The purpose here is to achieve data fusion for ground vehicles with low-cost sensors by forming an intelligent sensor system. This is accomplished by combining the sensors' measurements and processing these measurements with data fusion algorithms. The algorithms are complementary in the sense that they compensate for each other's limitations, so that the resulting performance of the sensor system is better than its individual components.     

Some preserving subordination and superordination of analytic functions involving the Liu-Owa integral operator

In this paper, we obtain some subordination and superordination-preserving results of analytic functions involving the Liu-Owa integral operator. Sandwich-type result is also obtained.     

A unified presentation of some classes of meromorphically multivalent functions

The authors introduce and investigate various properties of a general class

U_k[p,a,β,A,B]

p, k ε N {1, 2, 3,…,}; 0 α < p; β 0

;

−1 A < B 1; 0 < B 1)

,which unifies and extends several (known or new) subclasses of meromorphically multivalent functions. The properties and characteristics of this general class, which are presented here, include growth and distortion theorems; they also involve Hadamard products (or convolution) of functions belonging to the class U_k[p,α,β,A,B].     

Subordination and superordination of a certain integral operator on meromorphic functions

Using the methods of differential subordination and superordination, sufficient conditions on the integral operator of meromorphic functions in the punctured unit disk for obtaining, respectively, the best dominant and the best subordinant are determined. New Sandwich-type results are also obtained.     

Inclusion properties of certain classes of meromorphic functions associated with the Wright generalized hypergeometric function

The purpose of the present paper is to introduce several new classes of meromorphically univalent functions which are defined here by means of a linear operator. Also, we study various inclusion properties of these classes.     

Robust Airborne 3D Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping with Observability and Consistency Analysis

This paper aims to present a robust airborne 3D Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) solution based on a stereovision system. We propose three innovative contributions to the Airborne VSLAM. The first one is the development of an alternative data fusion nonlinear H?∞ filtering scheme. This scheme is based on 3D vision observation model and avoids issues linked with the classical Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) techniques such as the linearization errors, the initialization problem and noise statistics assumptions. The second contribution consists of a consistency and observability analysis for the Airborne VSLAM. The third contribution is a new approach to map management, based on the k-nearest landmark concept, and allowing efficient loop closure detection and map building. This approach reduces considerably the complexity of our Airborne VSLAM algorithm, which becomes independent of the map landmark number. Simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed Airborne VSLAM solution for which comparisons with other techniques are favourable.     

Decontamination efficiency of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate)-based food packaging material: The role of the chemical structure of contaminants and additive

Recycled plastic materials can only be placed in the market if they are free from contaminants at harmful levels. This work studies the thermal decontamination of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV) intended for food contact. PHBV was first contaminated with gallic acid, catechin, ferulic acid, and PEG 200, at 500 mg/kg. Thermal decontamination was then applied at 160°C for 6 and 48 h. Due to the low volatility of these molecules and their hydrogen bonding interactions with the polymer, decontamination efficiency was well below safety limits. Indeed, only 25.9% of gallic acid, 68.5% of catechin, 67% of ferulic acid, and 86.8% of PEG 200 were removed. In addition, a strong degradation of the polymer was observed (M_w decrease of 57%). To try to prevent polymer degradation, while enhancing decontamination conditions, quercetin (a natural polyphenol) was used as a stabilizer at 0.5 wt%. After 6 h of decontamination, hydrogen bonds, and π-stacking interactions were formed between quercetin and the contaminants, reducing their removal (−8.5% for gallic acid, −57.4% for catechin, −18.7% for ferulic acid, and −31.9% for PEG200). After 48 h, strong PHBV degradation was observed (−83% M_w and −45% X_c), particularly in the presence of quercetin.