Neural network-based flight control systems: Present and future

As the first review in this field, this paper presents an in-depth mathematical view of Intelligent Flight Control Systems (IFCSs), particularly those based on artificial neural networks. The rapid evolution of IFCSs in the last two decades in both the methodological and technical aspects necessitates a comprehensive view of them to better demonstrate the current stage and the crucial remaining steps towards developing a truly intelligent flight management unit. To this end, in this paper, we will provide a detailed mathematical view of Neural Network (NN)-based flight control systems and the challenging problems that still remain. The paper will cover both the model-based and model-free IFCSs. The model-based methods consist of the basic feedback error learning scheme, the pseudocontrol strategy, and the neural backstepping method. Besides, different approaches to analyze the closed-loop stability in IFCSs, their requirements, and their limitations will be discussed in detail. Various supplementary features, which can be integrated with a basic IFCS such as the fault-tolerance capability, the consideration of system constraints, and the combination of NNs with other robust and adaptive elements like disturbance observers, would be covered, as well. On the other hand, concerning model-free flight controllers, both the indirect and direct adaptive control systems including indirect adaptive control using NN-based system identification, the approximate dynamic programming using NN, and the reinforcement learning-based adaptive optimal control will be carefully addressed. Finally, by demonstrating a well-organized view of the current stage in the development of IFCSs, the challenging issues, which are critical to be addressed in the future, are thoroughly identified. As a result, this paper can be considered as a comprehensive road map for all researchers interested in the design and development of intelligent control systems, particularly in the field of aerospace applications.     

基于DSP的智能电源控制单元设计与实现

本文利用TI公司TMS320F28335芯片高效的浮点运算能力,结合片上丰富的外设,设计并实现了一种具有高可靠性的智能电源控制单元。该控制单元周期性地对各片上外设进行自检维护,完成多路负载通道控制、电压、电流的实时监控,并对故障进行指示、处理和上报,同时提供人机交互界面更新状态信息。经过验证,该控制单元工作稳定,具备良好的工程应用价值。     

Utilizing sensor data to model students’ creativity in a digital environment

While creativity is essential for developing students’ broad expertise in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, many students struggle with various aspects of being creative. Digital technologies have the unique opportunity to support the creative process by (1) recognizing elements of students’ creativity, such as when creativity is lacking (modeling step), and (2) providing tailored scaffolding based on that information (intervention step). However, to date little work exists on either of these aspects. Here, we focus on the modeling step. Specifically, we explore the utility of various sensing devices, including an eye tracker, a skin conductance bracelet, and an EEG sensor, for modeling creativity during an educational activity, namely geometry proof generation. We found reliable differences in sensor features characterizing low vs. high creativity students. We then applied machine learning to build classifiers that achieved good accuracy in distinguishing these two student groups, providing evidence that sensor features are valuable for modeling creativity.     

An adaptive local search algorithm for vehicle routing problem with simultaneous and mixed pickups and deliveries

The Vehicle Routing Problem with Simultaneous Pickup and Delivery (VRPSPD) is an extension to the classical Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), where customers may both receive and send goods simultaneously. The Vehicle Routing Problem with Mixed Pickup and Delivery (VRPMPD) differs from the VRPSPD in that the customers may have either pickup or delivery demand. However, the solution approaches proposed for the VRPSPD can be directly applied to the VRPMPD. In this study, an adaptive local search solution approach is developed for both the VRPSPD and the VRPMPD, which hybridizes a Simulated Annealing inspired algorithm with Variable Neighborhood Descent. The algorithm uses an adaptive threshold function that makes the algorithm self-tuning. The proposed approach is tested on well-known VRPSPD and VRPMPD benchmark instances derived from the literature. The computational results indicate that the proposed algorithm is effective in solving the problems in reasonable computation time.     

A three-dimensional surface measurement system implemented with Gaussian process based adaptive sampling

Self-adaptive surface measurements that can reduce data redundancy and improve time efficiency are in high demand in many fields of science and technology. For this purpose, a system implemented with Gaussian process (GP) adaptive sampling is developed. The non-parametric GP model is applied to reconstruct the topography and guide the subsequent sampling position, which is determined from the inference uncertainty estimation. A criterion is proposed to terminate the GP adaptive measurement automatically without any prior model or data of the topography. Experiments on typical surfaces validate the intelligence, adaptability, and high accuracy of the GP method along with the stabilization of the automatic iteration termination. Compared with traditional raster sampling, data redundancy is reduced and the time efficiency is improved without sacrificing the surface reconstruction accuracy. The proposed method can be implemented in other systems with similar measurement principles, thus benefitting surface characterizations.     

Biologically Inspired Design of Context-Aware Smart Products

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and cyber–physical systems (CPSs) has paved the way for the increasing popularity of smart products. Context-awareness is an important facet of product smartness. Unlike artifacts, various bio-systems are naturally characterized by their extraordinary context-awareness. Biologically inspired design (BID) is one of the most commonly employed design strategies. However, few studies have examined the BID of context-aware smart products to date. This paper presents a structured design framework to support the BID of context-aware smart products. The meaning of context-awareness is defined from the perspective of product design. The framework is developed based on the theoretical foundations of the situated function–behavior–structure ontology. A structured design process is prescribed to leverage various biological inspirations in order to support different conceptual design activities, such as problem formulation, structure reformulation, behavior reformulation, and function reformulation. Some existing design methods and emerging design tools are incorporated into the framework. A case study is presented to showcase how this framework can be followed to redesign a robot vacuum cleaner and make it more context-aware.     

Design for comfort and social interaction in future vehicles: A study on the leg space between facing-seats configuration

With the advent of future vehicles, passengers expect to travel in comfort, and the free leg space between facing-seats could be an issue due to the unsuitability for all people, according to their anthropometric variability. A previous investigation survey showed the need to increase the leg-space between facing seats and, if installed, to improve the surface of the table placed in between. So, four different distances between seat-pans front edges of facing seats have been set-up and tested (44 cm, 51 cm, 58 cm, 65 cm) with a table in between. 13 couples of participants with different heights took part to experiments. The aim was to investigate the relationship between facing-seat distances and passenger wellbeing in terms of postural comfort and social interaction. Postural comfort has been analysed through optical tracking (for postural angles overtime) and questionnaires (perceived comfort). Social interaction feelings have been investigated with questionnaires. Experiment results showed the suitable distance could be 51 cm keeping the same table surface; otherwise, the 65 cm one could be ideal changing the table surface.Relevance to industryWith the advent of autonomous driving, vehicle manufacturers and designers are working hard to define new paradigms of public transportation in terms of seat layout, passenger wellbeing and interiors’ design. This paper contributes to increasing the general knowledge on the effects of distance between facing seats on postural comfort and social interaction.     

An effective coding approach for multiobjective integrated resource selection and operation sequences problem

In this paper, we consider an integrated Resource Selection and Operation Sequences (iRS/OS) problem in Intelligent Manufacturing System (IMS). Several kinds of objectives are taken into account, in which the makespan for orders should be minimized; workloads among machine tools should be balanced; the total transition times between machines in a local plant should also be minimized. To solve this multiobjective iRS/OS model, a new two vectors-based coding approach has been proposed to improve the efficiency by designing a chromosome containing two kinds of information, i.e., operation sequences and machine selection. Using such kind of chromosome, we adapt multistage operation-based Genetic Algorithm (moGA) to find the Pareto optimal solutions. Moreover a special technique called left-shift hillclimber has been used as one kind of local search to improve the efficiency of our algorithm. Finally, the experimental results of several iRS/OS problems indicate that our proposed approach can obtain best solutions. Further more comparing with previous approaches, moGA performs better for finding Pareto solutions. Received: May 2005/Accepted: December 2005     

Automatic fog detection and estimation of visibility distance through use of an onboard camera

In this paper, we will present a technique for measuring visibility distances under foggy weather conditions using a camera mounted onboard a moving vehicle. Our research has focused in particular on the problem of detecting daytime fog and estimating visibility distances; thanks to these efforts, an original method has been developed, tested and patented. The approach consists of dynamically implementing Koschmieder's law. Our method enables computing the meteorological visibility distance, a measure defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) as the distance beyond which a black object of an appropriate dimension is perceived with a contrast of less than 5%. Our proposed solution is an original one, featuring the advantage of utilizing a single camera and necessitating the presence of just the road and sky in the scene. As opposed to other methods that require the explicit extraction of the road, this method offers fewer constraints by virtue of being applicable with no more than the extraction of a homogeneous surface containing a portion of the road and sky within the image. This image preprocessing also serves to identify the level of compatibility of the processed image with the set of Koschmieder's model hypotheses. Nicolas Hautiére graduated from the École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État, France (2002). He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degree in computer vision, respectively, in 2002 and 2005 from Saint-Étienne University (France). From 2002, he is a researcher in the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (LCPC), Paris, France. His research interests include trafic engineering, computer vision, and pattern recognition. Jean-Philippe Tarel graduated from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, France (1991). He received his Ph.D. degree in Applied Mathematics from Paris IX-Dauphine University in 1996 and he was with the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et Automatique (INRIA) from 1991 to 1996. From 1997 to 1998, he was a research associate at Brown University, USA. From 1999, he is a researcher in the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (LCPC), Paris, France, and from 2001 to 2003 in the INRIA. His research interests include computer vision, pattern recognition, and shape modeling. Jean Lavenant graduated from the École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État, Lyon, France (2001). He received the M.S. degree in Computer Vision from Jean Monnet university of Saint-Étienne in 2001. In 2001, he was a researcher in the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (LCPC). In 2002, he was a system engineer in Chicago (USA). He is currently an engineer for the french ministry of transports. Didier Aubert received the M.S. and Ph.D. degree, respectively, in 1985 and 1989 from the National Polytechnical Institut of Grenoble (INPG). From 1989--1990, he worked as a research scientist on the development of an automatic road following system for the NAVLAB at Carnegie Mellon University. From 1990–1994, he worked in the research department of a private company (ITMI). During this period he was the project leader of several projects dealing with computer vision. He is currently a researcher at INRETS since 1995 and works on Road traffic measurements, crowd monitoring, automated highway systems, and driving assistance systems for vehicles. He is an image processing expert for several companies, teaches at Universities (Paris VI, Paris XI, ENPC, ENST) and is at the editorial board of RTS (Research - Transport - Safety).     

关于建立城市智能交通实验研究中心的设想

基于联系国内外智能交通系统研究的具体实际，提出了建立城市智能交通实验研究中心的设想，并结合一个集成了视频和线圈信息采集方式的实验研究中心简单设计方案，对其所具有的基本功能作了初步研究和探讨。该系统兼具促进交流和有关培训等社会职能，可以作为国家智能交通事业发展过程中一种特殊的示范工程。