QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF TEXTURE CHANGE IN COD MUSCLE DURING FROZEN STORAGE

The textural deterioration of cod muscle during frozen storage was investigated by objective measurement using the Instron Universal Testing Machine. The rates of texture change as a function of storage time revealed that the increased toughness and decreased cohesiveness could be described by a first-order relationship. Higher storage temperatures resulted in more rapid rates of textural deterioration. Larger activation energy constants for toughness of cod muscle as compared to cohesiveness indicated that toughening was more temperature dependent than cohesiveness. The increased toughness and the decreased cohesiveness of frozen-stored fish appeared to be related to the protein denaturation of the cod muscle and the loss of water-holding capacity, respectively.     

Study on reaction time depending on display parameters of gaming displays

Display technology plays a significant role in gaming and, thus, display parameters are an important consideration when choosing a gaming display. In general, interest in display parameters such as contrast ratio, response time, refresh rate, and input lag in gaming displays is very high. In this article, we studied the reaction time of gaming displays, as a measure of game performance, with respect to different contrast ratios, response times, and refresh rates. Contrast ratio and response time turned out to be the key factors influencing reaction time. The higher the contrast ratio is, the shorter the reaction time tends to be. In addition, the faster the response time is, the shorter the reaction time is. Displays with high contrast ratio and fast response time are advantageous in terms of reaction time, which is also expected to be more advantageous in a fast-paced real gaming environment.     

Data‐Driven Kinematic Control for Robotic Spatial Augmented Reality System with Loose Kinematic Specifications

We propose a data‐driven kinematic control method for a robotic spatial augmented reality (RSAR) system. We assume a scenario where a robotic device and a projector‐camera unit (PCU) are assembled in an ad hoc manner with loose kinematic specifications, which hinders the application of a conventional kinematic control method based on the exact link and joint specifications. In the proposed method, the kinematic relation between a PCU and joints is represented as a set of B‐spline surfaces based on sample data rather than analytic or differential equations. The sampling process, which automatically records the values of joint angles and the corresponding external parameters of a PCU, is performed as an off‐line process when an RSAR system is installed. In an on‐line process, an external parameter of a PCU at a certain joint configuration, which is directly readable from motors, can be computed by evaluating the pre‐built B‐spline surfaces. We provide details of the proposed method and validate the model through a comparison with an analytic RSAR model with synthetic noises to simulate assembly errors.     

Vision-based arm gesture recognition for a long-range human–robot interaction

This paper proposes a vision-based human arm gesture recognition method for human–robot interaction, particularly at a long distance where speech information is not available. We define four meaningful arm gestures for a long-range interaction. The proposed method is capable of recognizing the defined gestures only with 320×240 pixel-sized low-resolution input images captured from a single camera at a long distance, approximately five meters from the camera. In addition, the system differentiates the target gestures from the users’ normal actions that occur in daily life without any constraints. For human detection at a long distance, the proposed approach combines results from mean-shift color tracking, short- and long-range face detection, and omega shape detection. The system then detects arm blocks using a background subtraction method with a background updating module and recognizes the target gestures based on information about the region, periodical motion, and shape of the arm blocks. From experiments using a large realistic database, a recognition rate of 97.235% is achieved, which is a sufficiently practical level for various pervasive and ubiquitous applications based on human gestures.     

Advanced automatic grouping for form-finding of tensegrity structures

An advanced automatic grouping method for form-finding of tensegrity structures is presented. In the proposed method, properties of self-equilibrium and stability in tensegrity structures can be obtained by using the force density method combined with a genetic algorithm. A constrained minimization problem is formulated using the standard deviation of the force density in the cables. As a result, the minimum number of member groups for tensegrity structures with automatic grouping can be obtained. This elicited regular tensegrity structures with uniform force density values. Moreover, the geometrical and mechanical parameters of tensegrity structures with multiple states of self-stress can be easily obtained by using the proposed method.     

Geometric nonlinear analysis of tall building structures with outriggers

In this paper, the geometric nonlinear behavior of wall‐frame tall building structures is analyzed. The governing equations of the wall‐frame systems with outrigger trusses are formulated through the continuum approach, and the whole structure is idealized as a shear‐flexural cantilever with rotational spring. The effect of shear and flexural deformation of the wall frame and outrigger trusses are considered and incorporated in the formulation of the governing equations. Geometric nonlinearity in the sense of von Karman is included in the formulation, and Newton–Raphson iterative method is employed to solve the nonlinear equations. A displacement‐based one‐dimensional nonlinear finite element model is developed. Numerical results for wall frame and mega‐column structures with outriggers are obtained and compared with the finite element package MIDAS. The proposed method is found to be simple and efficient, providing reasonably accurate results in early design stages of tall building structures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental investigation of process parameters for roll-type linear chemical mechanical polishing (Roll-CMP) system

The fabrication processes for electronic components are now demanding a higher degree of planarity for integration and multistacking, with chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes replacing conventional etching or mechanical polishing owing to their ability to attain global planarization. As CMP has been applied to more and more fields, new types of CMP machines have been developed. This study introduces a novel roll-type linear CMP (Roll-CMP) process that uses a line-contact material removal mechanism to for the polish flexible substrates, and examines the effect of the process parameters on the material removal rate (MRR) and its nonuniformity (NU). The parameters affecting the Roll-CMP process include down force, roll speed, table feed rate, slurry flow rate, slurry temperature, and the table oscillation length. Increasing the down force, roll speed, slurry flow rate, and slurry temperature resulted in a high average MRR (MRR_avg). Further, the MRR_avg was found to decrease with an increase in the oscillation length because of the effect of the polishing area. A large down force, high roll speed, high table feed rate, and high slurry flow rate were effective for reducing the NU. These results will be helpful for understanding the newly developed Roll-CMP process.     

A new three-phase power-factor correction (PFC) scheme using twosingle-phase PFC modules

In this paper, a new three-phase power-factor correction (PFC) scheme is proposed using two single-phase PFC modules. In this approach, the "three" phase input is first transformed to "two" phase by means of a 0.14-pu-rated autotransformer. Two standard single-phase PFC modules are then employed to process the "two" phase power to DC output. Split inductors and diodes are employed to limit interaction between the two PFC stages. Due to cascade operation of two PFC stages, low-frequency (120 Hz) ripple in the DC-link capacitor is cancelled. Detailed analysis and simulation results are presented. A 220-V 1.5-kVA design example along with experimental results is shown