A large vocabulary system for Arabic online handwriting recognition

The success of using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) for speech recognition application has motivated the adoption of these models for handwriting recognition especially the online handwriting that has large similarity with the speech signal as a sequential process. Some languages such as Arabic, Farsi and Urdo include large number of delayed strokes that are written above or below most letters and usually written delayed in time. These delayed strokes represent a modeling challenge for the conventional left-right HMM that is commonly used for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems. In this paper, we introduce a new approach for handling delayed strokes in Arabic online handwriting recognition using HMMs. We also show that several modeling approaches such as context based tri-grapheme models, speaker adaptive training and discriminative training that are currently used in most state-of-the-art ASR systems can provide similar performance improvement for Hand Writing Recognition (HWR) systems. Finally, we show that using a multi-pass decoder that use the computationally less expensive models in the early passes can provide an Arabic large vocabulary HWR system with practical decoding time. We evaluated the performance of our proposed Arabic HWR system using two databases of small and large lexicons. For the small lexicon data set, our system achieved competing results compared to the best reported state-of-the-art Arabic HWR systems. For the large lexicon, our system achieved promising results (accuracy and time) for a vocabulary size of 64k words with the possibility of adapting the models for specific writers to get even better results.     

Additive Manufacturing of Porous Structures for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Applications

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have shown promising benefits in many applications. This has been enabled by the emergence of additive manufacturing (AM), which give the designers a large amount of geometrical freedom. In this paper, a novel design process of fused deposition modeling (FDM) combining both topology and infill optimization is introduced for AM of high performance porous structures. Tensile testing of FDM printed samples is first carried out to study the effect of the build orientation on the mechanical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) samples. It is found that samples built perpendicular to the load axis are the weakest with a tensile strength of 29 MPa and Young's modulus of 1960 MPa. The materials properties are fed to the finite elements analysis (FEA) for geometrical topology optimization, aiming to maximize stiffness and reduce weight of those parts. Afterwards, an infill optimization is carried out on the topology optimized parts using different mesostructures such as honeycomb, triangular, and rectangular to achieve high structural performance. The results showed that triangular pattern with 50% infill density had the lowest developed stresses, less mass, and strain energy when compared to other structures. Optimum UAVs parts of a quadcopter are successfully manufactured, assembled, and tested.

     

Novel composite sandwich structure from green materials: Mechanical,physical, and biological evaluation

Flax and Jute fabrics were used as reinforcements with polyester resin to form composite skins while poplar particleboard was used as a core for making composite sandwich structures by applying vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) technique. Mechanical, physical, and biological properties of these novel composite sandwich structures were evaluated. The results showed that the proposed engineered panels have superior mechanical properties that are suitable for different structural applications compared with conventional particleboards. When compared with the control panels, significant enhancement on Modulus of elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of rupture (MOR) were achieved. On the other hand, the results indicated that the proposed panel composites exhibit better dimensional stability compared with poplar particleboard control panels. In addition, the proposed composite sandwich structures proved resistant against the decay fungi after 12 weeks of fungal exposure. Obviously, the developed composite panels could be used in a wide variety of applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42253.     

Surface roughness and geometrical characterization of ultra-thick micro moulds for ceramic micro fabrication using soft lithography

Ceramic micro fabrication using soft lithography is a well-known technique used to pattern high-aspect-ratio microstructures. The quality of the pattern highly relies on the quality of the moulds. This paper describes the surface roughness and geometrical characterization of soft lithography technique for the fabrication of ceramic micro components. Effects of patterning materials and methods on the produced geometry, repeatability and surface roughness were studied and a comparative study was performed for the optimization process. UV lithography of BPR100 and SU-8 and deep reactive ion etching are the methods for fabricating the master mould. In addition, polydimethylsiloxane and Dragon Skin elastomeric have been used in the fabrication of the soft moulds. Mould geometry was inspected using SEM images while surface roughness was measured using stereo imaging. The results show that the maximum obtained thicknesses are 1,000, 250 and 500 μm for SU-8, BPR100 and DRIE moulds. In addition, their surface roughness values are higher than the SU-8. On the other hand, Dragon Skin shows demoulding problems despite it has smoother surface than PDMS mould.     

Characterization of some poly(methyl methacrylate) prepared by emulsion polymerization in presence of egyptian delta titano magnetite ore (EDTMO)

The emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate was studied in water using potassium persulphate as initiator and dedocyl–benzene sodium sulphonate as emulsifying agent at 85°C. The effect of Egyptian delta titano magnetite ore (EDTMO) upon the activation energy and on the mean average molecular weights of the obtained polymers was studied. It was found that the viscosity average molecular weights increase with decrease of reaction temperature and initiator concentration but increase with increase of monomer concentration in the reaction medium. Some of the polymer samples prepared in absence and in presence of some (EDTMO) were separated on tlc plates according to molecular weight in binary mixture, benzene:methanol (1:1.4 by volume) at 30°C. The tlc techniques were performed to give an idea about the molecular weight distribution of the polymer samples obtained.     

A real-time approach for automatic defect detection from PCBs based on SURF features and morphological operations

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This paper presents an automatic inspection approach for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) with accurate determination of the fault location and identification of...     

PBDEs in European background soils: levels and factors controlling their distribution

Surface soils (0-5 cm) from remote/rural woodland (coniferous and deciduous) and grassland locations on a latitudinal transectthrough the United Kingdom and Norway were analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Concentrations ranged between 65 and 12 000 sigma(ALL)PBDE ng kg(-1) dry weight. PBDE-47, -99, -100, -153, and -154-the major constituents of the penta-BDE technical product-dominated the average congener pattern of the soils. Indeed, the average congener composition and distribution measured in these European background soils closely matched that reported in the technical penta-BDE product. This is interpreted as evidence that transfer of the congeners present in penta-BDE-treated products from source-air-soil occurs with broadly similar efficiency, perhaps because there has been little weathering/degradation/alteration of the congener source pattern by processes operating during atmospheric transport or within the soil itself. BDE-183, a marker for the octa-BDE mix, was detected at concentrations ranging from <9 to 7000 (median approximately 50 ng kg(-1)). In most soils, it made a minor contribution to the sigma(ALL)PBDE concentration, but it was a major component in some samples from northern England. Forest soils tended to have higher concentrations than grasslands. Underlying the average soil composition, some differences in the congener pattern were observed. Notably, there was evidence of latitudinal fractionation, with the relative contribution of PBDE-47 and lighter congeners to the sigmaPBDE increasing northwards (with increasing distance from source areas), while the proportion of PBDE-99 and heavier congeners decreased. Plots of concentration against percentage soil organic matter had different slopes for different congeners. Higher slopes were generally seen for the lighter PBDEs (e.g., PBDE-47), indicating that they have undergone some air-surface exchange (hopping), while the slopes of heavier congeners (e.g., PBDE-153) were close to zero, indicating that they are retained more effectively by soils after deposition.     

ANALYSIS OF USED OIL BY IR-SFECTROSCOPIC AND SYNTHESIS OF DISPERSIONS OF A HIGHLY BASIC PETROLEUM CALCIUM SULFONATE ADDITIVE

ABSTRACT

Infrared absorptions of TLC subtractions of used motor oil, original oil, base oil and the additive, indicate the transformation of the polar and nonpolar components by further oxidation and oxidative degradation of carbonyl compounds into acids, esters and peroxides. Organic nitrates and nitro compounds were also detected after 2000Km and 3000Km service. The effects of basic calcium sulfonate additives, starting with used oil l000Km, 2000Km, 3000Km service, vacuum distillates of used oils and base oil, were studied. It has been found that the dispersant properties of these sulfonates are profoundly influenced by their structure. The alkalinity of the calcium sulfonate additive was determined by spectroscopic-IR method.     

Novel soft bending actuator-based power augmentation hand exoskeleton controlled by human intention

This article presents the development of a soft material power augmentation wearable robot using novel bending soft artificial muscles. This soft exoskeleton was developed as a human hand power augmentation system for healthy or partially hand disabled individuals. The proposed prototype serves healthy manual workers by decreasing the muscular effort needed for grasping objects. Furthermore, it is a power augmentation wearable robot for partially hand disabled or post-stroke patients, supporting and augmenting the fingers’ grasping force with minimum muscular effort in most everyday activities. This wearable robot can fit any adult hand size without the need for any mechanical system changes or calibration. Novel bending soft actuators are developed to actuate this power augmentation device. The performance of these actuators has been experimentally assessed. A geometrical kinematic analysis and mathematical output force model have been developed for the novel actuators. The performance of this mathematical model has been proven experimentally with promising results. The control system of this exoskeleton is created by hybridization between cascaded position and force closed-loop intelligent controllers. The cascaded position controller is designed for the bending actuators to follow the fingers in their bending movements. The force controller is developed to control the grasping force augmentation. The operation of the control system with the exoskeleton has been experimentally validated. EMG signals were monitored during the experiments to determine that the proposed exoskeleton system decreased the muscular efforts of the wearer.