Safe and effective navigation of autonomous robots in hazardous environments

The development of autonomous mobile machines to perform useful tasks in real work environments is currently being impeded by concerns over effectiveness, commercial viability and, above all, safety. This paper introduces a case study of a robotic excavator to explore a series of issues around system development, navigation in unstructured environments, autonomous decision making and changing the behaviour of autonomous machines to suit the prevailing demands of users. The adoption of the Real-Time Control Systems (RCS) architecture (Albus, 1991) is proposed as a universal framework for the development of intelligent systems. In addition it is explained how the use of Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) (Kaelbling et al., 1998) can form the basis of decision making in the face of uncertainty and how the technique can be effectively incorporated into the RCS architecture. Particular emphasis is placed on ensuring that the resulting behaviour is both task effective and adequately safe, and it is recognised that these two objectives may be in opposition and that the desired relative balance between them may change. The concept of an autonomous system having “values” is introduced through the use of utility theory. Limited simulation results of experiments are reported which demonstrate that these techniques can create intelligent systems capable of modifying their behaviour to exhibit either ‘safety conscious’ or ‘task achieving’ personalities.     

非结构化数据存储管理研究

非结构化数据通常指相对于关系数据而言没有固定的显式结构的数据,比如视频、音频、图像、文档等非结构化数据。根据权威数据咨询机构或研究机构的预测报告显示,近 5～10年的数据量将呈指数级增长,而其中的非结构化数据占到当前数字信息总量的70%～85%。面对如此庞大的数据量和信息量,如何有效管理非结构化数据、获得有价值的信息或知识显得迫在眉睫。(非结构化) 数据管理可以简单化为3个目标,即:实现数据的“存得下、管得了、用的上”。本文将主要围绕前两个基本目标介绍目前的非结构化数据存储管理的研究情况。同时介绍中国人民大学非结构数据管理(Unstructured DataManagement,UDM)研究小组基于“自由表”数据模型和BUD(Bank of Unstructured Data)参考体系模型在这一个问题上所作的初步研究与探索工作,以及在原型平台myBUD中的若干存储管理技术。     

基于非结构化控制流的进化测试方法

结构性测试中,进化测试是一种高效的自动生成高质量测试用例的技术.然而,当程序中出现非结构化特征时,在面向节点的测试标准下,其效率极其低下甚至不及随机测试生成方法.在考虑循环体内部出现跳转(goto、retum)语句的情况下,提出了一种适应度计算方法.该方法在结合传统进化测试适应度计算的基础上,充分考虑了循环次数对于进化搜索的影响.实验结果表明,本适应度函数可以很好地引导进化搜索,并以较小的代价生成测试用例.     

Classical and variational multiscale LES of the flow around a circular cylinder on unstructured grids

The effects of numerical viscosity, subgrid scale (SGS) viscosity and grid resolution are investigated in LES and VMS-LES simulations of the flow around a circular cylinder at Re=3900 on unstructured grids. The separation between the largest and the smallest resolved scales in the VMS formulation is obtained through a variational projection operator and finite-volume cell agglomeration. Three different non-dynamic eddy-viscosity SGS models are used both in classical and in VMS-LES. The so-called small-small formulation is used in VMS-LES, i.e. the SGS viscosity is computed as a function of the smallest resolved scales. Two different grid resolutions are considered. It is found that, for each considered SGS model, the amount of SGS viscosity introduced in the VMS-LES formulation is significantly lower than in classical LES. This, together with the fact that in the VMS formulation the SGS viscosity only acts on the smallest resolved scales, has a strong impact on the results. However, a significant sensitivity of the results to the considered SGS model remains also in the VMS-LES formulation. Moreover, passing from classical LES to VMS-LES does not systematically lead to an improvement of the quality of the numerical predictions.     

An effective 3-in-1 keyword search method over heterogeneous data sources

Conventional keyword search engines are restricted to a given data model and cannot easily adapt to unstructured, semi-structured or structured data. In this paper, we propose an efficient and adaptive keyword search method, called EASE, for indexing and querying large collections of heterogeneous data. To achieve high efficiency in processing keyword queries, we first model unstructured, semi-structured and structured data as graphs, and then summarize the graphs and construct graph indices instead of using traditional inverted indices. We propose an extended inverted index to facilitate keyword-based search, and present a novel ranking mechanism for enhancing search effectiveness. We have conducted an extensive experimental study using real datasets, and the results show that EASE achieves both high search efficiency and high accuracy, and outperforms the existing approaches significantly.     

Distributed evolutionary multi-objective mesh-partitioning algorithm for parallel finite element computations

Majority of the mesh-partitioning algorithms attempt to optimise the interprocessor communications, while balancing the computational load among the processors. However, it is desirable to simultaneously optimise the submesh aspect ratios in order to significantly improve the convergence characteristics of the domain decomposition based Preconditioned-conjugate-gradient algorithms, being used extensively in the state-of-the-art parallel finite element codes. Keeping this in view, a new distributed multi-objective mesh-partitioning algorithm using evolutionary computing techniques is proposed in this paper. Effectiveness of the proposed distributed mesh-partitioning algorithm is demonstrated by solving several unstructured meshes of practical-engineering problems and also benchmark problems.     

一种基于XML的非结构化数据转换方法

XML作为半结构化的语言,因其能预先定义标记等优势被普遍应用于非结构化到结构化信息的转换中。利用POI技术把网络上繁杂的非结构化数据转化为XML半结构化数据,把半结构化数据转化为结构化数据,使用户能够简便地查询所需信息。通过实验对SAX,DOM的解析效率进行了对比,实验表明解析相同大小的XML文件,SAX比DOM效率更高,而且此种差距会随着XML文件的增大而逐渐增大。     

An algorithm for automatic 2D finite element mesh generation with line constraints

In this study, an algorithm is designed specifically for automatic finite element (FE) mesh generation on the transverse structure of hulls reinforced by stiffeners. Stiffeners attached to the transverse structure are considered as line constraints in the geometry boundary. For the FE mesh generation used in this study, the line constraints are treated as boundaries and by that means the geometry domain attached to the line constraints is decomposed into sub-domains, constrained only by the closed boundaries. Then, the mesh can be generated directly on those sub-domains by the traditional approach. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated and the quality of the generated mesh meets expectations.