Search results for: computer architecture
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3939

Search results for: computer architecture

2889 Inertial Motion Capture System for Biomechanical Analysis in Rehabilitation and Sports

Authors: Mario Sandro F. Rocha, Carlos S. Ande, Anderson A. Oliveira, Felipe M. Bersotti, Lucas O. Venzel

Abstract:

The inertial motion capture systems (mocap) are among the most suitable tools for quantitative clinical analysis in rehabilitation and sports medicine. The inertial measuring units (IMUs), composed by accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, are able to measure spatial orientations and calculate displacements with sufficient precision for applications in biomechanical analysis of movement. Furthermore, this type of system is relatively affordable and has the advantages of portability and independence from external references. In this work, we present the last version of our inertial motion capture system, based on the foregoing technology, with a unity interface designed for rehabilitation and sports. In our hardware architecture, only one serial port is required. First, the board client must be connected to the computer by a USB cable. Next, an available serial port is configured and opened to establish the communication between the client and the application, and then the client starts scanning for the active MOCAP_S servers around. The servers play the role of the inertial measuring units that capture the movements of the body and send the data to the client, which in turn create a package composed by the ID of the server, the current timestamp, and the motion capture data defined in the client pre-configuration of the capture session. In the current version, we can measure the game rotation vector (grv) and linear acceleration (lacc), and we also have a step detector that can be abled or disabled. The grv data are processed and directly linked to the bones of the 3D model, and, along with the data of lacc and step detector, they are also used to perform the calculations of displacements and other variables shown on the graphical user interface. Our user interface was designed to calculate and present variables that are important for rehabilitation and sports, such as cadence, speed, total gait cycle, gait cycle length, obliquity and rotation, and center of gravity displacement. Our goal is to present a low-cost portable and wearable system with a friendly interface for application in biomechanics and sports, which also performs as a product of high precision and low consumption of energy.

Keywords: biomechanics, inertial sensors, motion capture, rehabilitation

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2888 An 8-Bit, 100-MSPS Fully Dynamic SAR ADC for Ultra-High Speed Image Sensor

Authors: F. Rarbi, D. Dzahini, W. Uhring

Abstract:

In this paper, a dynamic and power efficient 8-bit and 100-MSPS Successive Approximation Register (SAR) Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) is presented. The circuit uses a non-differential capacitive Digital-to-Analog (DAC) architecture segmented by 2. The prototype is produced in a commercial 65-nm 1P7M CMOS technology with 1.2-V supply voltage. The size of the core ADC is 208.6 x 103.6 µm2. The post-layout noise simulation results feature a SNR of 46.9 dB at Nyquist frequency, which means an effective number of bit (ENOB) of 7.5-b. The total power consumption of this SAR ADC is only 1.55 mW at 100-MSPS. It achieves then a figure of merit of 85.6 fJ/step.

Keywords: CMOS analog to digital converter, dynamic comparator, image sensor application, successive approximation register

Procedia PDF Downloads 406
2887 Development and Test of an Open Source PX4 Controler for omnidirectional Unmanned Surface Vehicle

Authors: Norbert Szulc, Cezary Wieczorkowski, Igor Baranowski

Abstract:

In this paper, a control system that bridges the gap in support for Unmanned Surface Vessels in the PX4 Opensource Autopilot was developed. The system is designed for an omnidirectional water craft with four motors. A modular autopilot architecture design centred around publish-subscribe interprocess communication was used. The paper presents the implementation and integration process of a generic surface vehicle controller capable of driving any configuration of motors through the recently introduced in control allocator in PX4 autopilot. The proposed approach was successfully tested in a case study through implementation on the ASV Perkoz.

Keywords: control system, PX4, drones, rovers, surface vessels, omnidirectional

Procedia PDF Downloads 69
2886 The Use of Computer Simulation as Technological Education for Crisis Management Staff

Authors: Jiří Barta, Josef Krahulec, Jiří F. Urbánek

Abstract:

Education and practical training crisis management members are a topical issue nowadays. The paper deals with the perspectives and possibilities of ‘smart solutions’ to education for crisis management staff. Currently, there are a large number of simulation tools, which notes that they are suitable for practical training of crisis management staff. The first part of the paper is focused on the introduction of the technology simulation tools. The simulators aim is to create a realistic environment for the practical training of extending units of crisis staff. The second part of the paper concerns the possibilities of using the simulation technology to the education process. The aim of this section is to introduce the practical capabilities and potential of the simulation programs for practical training of crisis management staff.

Keywords: crisis management staff, computer simulation, software, technological education

Procedia PDF Downloads 338
2885 Optimized Brain Computer Interface System for Unspoken Speech Recognition: Role of Wernicke Area

Authors: Nassib Abdallah, Pierre Chauvet, Abd El Salam Hajjar, Bassam Daya

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose an optimized brain computer interface (BCI) system for unspoken speech recognition, based on the fact that the constructions of unspoken words rely strongly on the Wernicke area, situated in the temporal lobe. Our BCI system has four modules: (i) the EEG Acquisition module based on a non-invasive headset with 14 electrodes; (ii) the Preprocessing module to remove noise and artifacts, using the Common Average Reference method; (iii) the Features Extraction module, using Wavelet Packet Transform (WPT); (iv) the Classification module based on a one-hidden layer artificial neural network. The present study consists of comparing the recognition accuracy of 5 Arabic words, when using all the headset electrodes or only the 4 electrodes situated near the Wernicke area, as well as the selection effect of the subbands produced by the WPT module. After applying the articial neural network on the produced database, we obtain, on the test dataset, an accuracy of 83.4% with all the electrodes and all the subbands of 8 levels of the WPT decomposition. However, by using only the 4 electrodes near Wernicke Area and the 6 middle subbands of the WPT, we obtain a high reduction of the dataset size, equal to approximately 19% of the total dataset, with 67.5% of accuracy rate. This reduction appears particularly important to improve the design of a low cost and simple to use BCI, trained for several words.

Keywords: brain-computer interface, speech recognition, artificial neural network, electroencephalography, EEG, wernicke area

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2884 Theoretical Approaches to Graphic and Formal Generation from Evolutionary Genetics

Authors: Luz Estrada

Abstract:

The currents of evolutionary materialistic thought have argued that knowledge about an object is not obtained through the abstractive method. That is, the object cannot come to be understood if founded upon itself, nor does it take place by the encounter between form and matter. According to this affirmation, the research presented here identified as a problematic situation the absence of comprehension of the formal creation as a generative operation. This has been referred to as a recurrent lack in the production of objects and corresponds to the need to conceive the configurative process from the reality of its genesis. In this case, it is of interest to explore ways of creation that consider the object as if it were a living organism, as well as responding to the object’s experience as embodied in the designer since it unfolds its genesis simultaneously to the ways of existence of those who are involved in the generative experience.

Keywords: architecture, theoretical graphics, evolutionary genetics, formal perception

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2883 Attitudes of Saudi Students Attending the English Programmes of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu toward Using Computer-Assisted Language Learning

Authors: Sultan Ahmed Arishi

Abstract:

The objective of the study was to investigate the attitude of the Saudi students attending the English Language programmes of the Royal Commission for Jubail towards using CALL, as well as to discover whether computer-assisted teaching is useful and valuable for students in learning English. Data were collected with the help of interviews and survey questionnaires. The outcomes of the investigation showed that students had a positive attitude towards CALL. Moreover, the listening skills of the students had the most substantial effect on students learning English through CALL. Unexpectedly, the teaching staff, equipment, curriculum, or even a student's poor English background was a distinct barrier that attributed to any weaknesses of using CALL, or in other words, all these factors were of a similar attitude.

Keywords: CALL, teaching aids, teaching technology, teaching English with technology, teaching English in Saudi Arabia

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2882 An Investigation into Computer Vision Methods to Identify Material Other Than Grapes in Harvested Wine Grape Loads

Authors: Riaan Kleyn

Abstract:

Mass wine production companies across the globe are provided with grapes from winegrowers that predominantly utilize mechanical harvesting machines to harvest wine grapes. Mechanical harvesting accelerates the rate at which grapes are harvested, allowing grapes to be delivered faster to meet the demands of wine cellars. The disadvantage of the mechanical harvesting method is the inclusion of material-other-than-grapes (MOG) in the harvested wine grape loads arriving at the cellar which degrades the quality of wine that can be produced. Currently, wine cellars do not have a method to determine the amount of MOG present within wine grape loads. This paper seeks to find an optimal computer vision method capable of detecting the amount of MOG within a wine grape load. A MOG detection method will encourage winegrowers to deliver MOG-free wine grape loads to avoid penalties which will indirectly enhance the quality of the wine to be produced. Traditional image segmentation methods were compared to deep learning segmentation methods based on images of wine grape loads that were captured at a wine cellar. The Mask R-CNN model with a ResNet-50 convolutional neural network backbone emerged as the optimal method for this study to determine the amount of MOG in an image of a wine grape load. Furthermore, a statistical analysis was conducted to determine how the MOG on the surface of a grape load relates to the mass of MOG within the corresponding grape load.

Keywords: computer vision, wine grapes, machine learning, machine harvested grapes

Procedia PDF Downloads 75
2881 The Use of Ontology Framework for Automation Digital Forensics Investigation

Authors: Ahmad Luthfi

Abstract:

One of the main goals of a computer forensic analyst is to determine the cause and effect of the acquisition of a digital evidence in order to obtain relevant information on the case is being handled. In order to get fast and accurate results, this paper will discuss the approach known as ontology framework. This model uses a structured hierarchy of layers that create connectivity between the variant and searching investigation of activity that a computer forensic analysis activities can be carried out automatically. There are two main layers are used, namely analysis tools and operating system. By using the concept of ontology, the second layer is automatically designed to help investigator to perform the acquisition of digital evidence. The methodology of automation approach of this research is by utilizing forward chaining where the system will perform a search against investigative steps and atomically structured in accordance with the rules of the ontology.

Keywords: ontology, framework, automation, forensics

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2880 Building a Hierarchical, Granular Knowledge Cube

Authors: Alexander Denzler, Marcel Wehrle, Andreas Meier

Abstract:

A knowledge base stores facts and rules about the world that applications can use for the purpose of reasoning. By applying the concept of granular computing to a knowledge base, several advantages emerge. These can be harnessed by applications to improve their capabilities and performance. In this paper, the concept behind such a construct, called a granular knowledge cube, is defined, and its intended use as an instrument that manages to cope with different data types and detect knowledge domains is elaborated. Furthermore, the underlying architecture, consisting of the three layers of the storing, representing, and structuring of knowledge, is described. Finally, benefits as well as challenges of deploying it are listed alongside application types that could profit from having such an enhanced knowledge base.

Keywords: granular computing, granular knowledge, hierarchical structuring, knowledge bases

Procedia PDF Downloads 486
2879 Gender Mainstreaming at the Institute of Technology Tribhuvan University Nepal: A Collaborative Approach to Architecture and Design Education

Authors: Martina Maria Keitsch, Sangeeta Singh

Abstract:

There has been a growing recognition that sustainable development needs to consider economic, social and environmental aspects including gender. In Nepal, the majority of the population lives in rural areas, and many households do not have access to electricity. In rural areas, the difficulty of accessing energy is becoming one of the greatest constraints for improving living conditions. This is particularly true for women and children, who spent much time for collecting firewood and cooking and thus are often deprived of time for education, political- and business activities. The poster introduces an education and research project financed by the Norwegian Government. The project runs from 2015-2020 and is a collaboration between the Norwegian University of Science (NTNU) and Technology Institute of Engineering (IOE), Tribhuvan University. It has the title Master program and Research in Energy for Sustainable Social Development Energy for Sustainable Social Development (MSESSD). The project addresses engineering and architecture students and comprises several integral activities towards gender mainstreaming. The following activities are conducted; 1. Creating academic opportunities, 2. Updating administrative personnel on strategies to effectively include gender issues, 3. Integrating female and male stakeholders in the design process, 4. Sensitizing female and male students for gender issues in energy systems. The project aims to enable students to design end-user-friendly solutions which can, for example, save time that can be used to generate and enhance income. Relating to gender mainstreaming, design concepts focus on smaller-scale technologies, which female stakeholders can take control of and manage themselves. Creating academic opportunities, we have a 30% female students’ rate in each master student batch in the program with the goal to educate qualified female personnel for academia and policy-making/government. This is a very ambitious target in a Nepalese context. The rate of female students, who completed the MSc program at IOE between 1998 and January 2015 is 10% out of 180 students in total. For recruiting, female students were contacted personally and encouraged to apply for the program. Further, we have established a Master course in gender mainstreaming and energy. On an administrative level, NTNU has hosted a training program for IOE on gender-mainstreaming information and -strategies for academic education. Integrating female and male stakeholders, local women groups such as, e.g., mothers group are actively included in research and education for example in planning, decision-making, and management to establish clean energy solutions. The project meets women’s needs not just practically by providing better technology, but also strategically by providing solutions that enhance their social and economic decision-making authority. Sensitizing the students for gender issues in energy systems, the project makes it mandatory to discuss gender mainstreaming based on the case studies in the Master thesis. All activities will be discussed in detail comprising an overview of MSESSD, the gender mainstreaming master course contents’, and case studies where energy solutions were co-designed with men and women as lead-users and/or entrepreneurs. The goal is to motivate educators to develop similar forms of transnational gender collaboration.

Keywords: knowledge generation on gender mainstreaming, sensitizing students, stakeholder inclusion, education strategies for design and architecture in gender mainstreaming, facilitation for cooperation

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2878 Development of MEMS Based 3-Axis Accelerometer for Hand Movement Monitoring

Authors: Zohra Aziz Ali Manjiyani, Renju Thomas Jacob, Keerthan Kumar

Abstract:

This project develops a hand movement monitoring system, which feeds the data into the computer and gives the 3D image rotation according to the direction of the tilt and hence monitoring the movement of the hand in context to its tilt. Advancement of MEMS Technology has enabled us to get very small and low-cost accelerometer ICs which is based on capacitive principle. Accelerometer based Tilt sensor ADXL335 is used in this paper, based on MEMS technology and the project emphasis on the development of the MEMS-based accelerometer to measure the tilt, interfacing the hardware with the LabVIEW and showing the 3D rotation to the user, which is in his understandable form and tilt data can be saved in the computer. It provides an experience of working on emerging technologies like MEMS and design software like LabVIEW.

Keywords: MEMS accelerometer, tilt sensor ADXL335, LabVIEW simulation, 3D animation

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2877 Sunset Tourism for the Rebirth of Shrinking Cities

Authors: Luca Lezzerini

Abstract:

Albania is suffering a continuous shrinking of its population and demographic distribution that faces all the problems connected with age increase. The paper examines the case of Gjirokastër, a city in the south of Albania that, despite having a UNESCO label as a world heritage site, is experimenting with the same shrinking phenomenon. The paper analyses in detail the current situation and propose an interdisciplinary approach based on smart technologies and sunset tourism to restart Gjirokastër’s economy and invert bad demographic trends. The proposed approach needs to review the current urban planning, reshaping and connecting some areas. It also proposes a smart city architecture to support this process.

Keywords: smart city, sunset tourism, shrinking city, Gjirokastër

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2876 Business Intelligence Proposal to Improve Decision Making in Companies Using Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Power BI

Authors: Joel Vilca Tarazona, Igor Aguilar-Alonso

Abstract:

The problem of this research related to business intelligence is the lack of a tool that supports automated and efficient financial analysis for decision-making and allows an evaluation of the financial statements, which is why the availability of the information is difficult. Relevant information to managers and users as an instrument in decision making financial, and administrative. For them, a business intelligence solution is proposed that will reduce information access time, personnel costs, and process automation, proposing a 4-layer architecture based on what was reviewed by the research methodology.

Keywords: decision making, business intelligence, Google Cloud, Microsoft Power BI

Procedia PDF Downloads 86
2875 Instructional Design Strategy Based on Stories with Interactive Resources for Learning English in Preschool

Authors: Vicario Marina, Ruiz Elena, Peredo Ruben, Bustos Eduardo

Abstract:

the development group of Educational Computing of the National Polytechnic (IPN) in Mexico has been developing interactive resources at preschool level in an effort to improve learning in the Child Development Centers (CENDI). This work describes both a didactic architecture and a strategy for teaching English with digital stories using interactive resources available through a Web repository designed to be used in mobile platforms. It will be accessible initially to 500 children and worldwide by the end of 2015.

Keywords: instructional design, interactive resources, digital educational resources, story based English teaching, preschool education

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2874 Solutions for Comfort and Safety on Vibrations Resulting from the Action of the Wind on the Building in the Form of Portico with Four Floors

Authors: G. B. M. Carvalho, V. A. C. Vale, E. T. L. Cöuras Ford

Abstract:

With the aim of increasing the levels of comfort and security structures, the study of dynamic loads on buildings has been one of the focuses in the area of control engineering, civil engineering and architecture. Thus, this work presents a study based on simulation of the dynamics of buildings in the form of portico subjected to wind action, besides presenting an action of passive control, using for this the dynamics of the structure, consequently representing a system appropriated on environmental issues. These control systems are named the dynamic vibration absorbers.

Keywords: dynamic vibration absorber, structure, comfort, safety, wind behavior, structure

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2873 Analyzing of Arch Steel Beams with Pre-Stressed Cables

Authors: Erkan Polat, Barlas Ozden Caglayan

Abstract:

By day-to-day developed techniques, it is possible to pass through larger openings by using smaller beam-column sections. Parallel to this trend, it is aimed to produce not only smaller but also economical and architecturally more attractive beams. This study aims to explain the structural behavior of arch steel beam reinforced by using post-tension cable. Due to the effect of post-stressed cable, the arch beam load carrying capacity increases and an optimized section in a smaller size can be obtained with a better architectural view. It also allows better mechanical and applicational solutions for buildings. For better understanding the behavior of the reinforced beam, steel beam and arch steel beam with post-tensioned cable are all modeled and analyzed by using SAP2000 Finite element computer program and compared with each other. Also, full scale test specimens were prepared to test for figuring out the structural behavior and compare the results with the computer model results. Test results are very promising. The similarity of the results between the test and computer analysis shows us that there are no extra knowledge and effort of engineer is needed to calculate such beams. The predicted (and proved by tests) beam carrying capacity is 35% higher than the unreinforced beam carrying capacity. Even just three full scale tests were completed, it is seen that the ratio (%35) may be increased ahead by adjusting the cable post-tension force of beams in much smaller sizes.

Keywords: arch steel beams, pre-stressed cables, finite element, specimen Test

Procedia PDF Downloads 153
2872 Advanced Concrete Crack Detection Using Light-Weight MobileNetV2 Neural Network

Authors: Li Hui, Riyadh Hindi

Abstract:

Concrete structures frequently suffer from crack formation, a critical issue that can significantly reduce their lifespan by allowing damaging agents to enter. Traditional methods of crack detection depend on manual visual inspections, which heavily relies on the experience and expertise of inspectors using tools. In this study, a more efficient, computer vision-based approach is introduced by using the lightweight MobileNetV2 neural network. A dataset of 40,000 images was used to develop a specialized crack evaluation algorithm. The analysis indicates that MobileNetV2 matches the accuracy of traditional CNN methods but is more efficient due to its smaller size, making it well-suited for mobile device applications. The effectiveness and reliability of this new method were validated through experimental testing, highlighting its potential as an automated solution for crack detection in concrete structures.

Keywords: Concrete crack, computer vision, deep learning, MobileNetV2 neural network

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2871 The Analysis of Internet and Social Media Behaviors of the Students in Vocational High School

Authors: Mehmet Balci, Sakir Tasdemir, Mustafa Altin, Ozlem Bozok

Abstract:

Our globalizing world has become almost a small village and everyone can access any information at any time. Everyone lets each other know who does whatever in which place. We can learn which social events occur in which place in the world. From the perspective of education, the course notes that a lecturer use in lessons in a university in any state of America can be examined by a student studying in a city of Africa or the Far East. This dizzying communication we have mentioned happened thanks to fast developments in computer technologies and in parallel with this, internet technology. While these developments in the world, has a very large young population and a rapidly evolving electronic communications infrastructure Turkey has been affected by this situation. Researches has shown that almost all young people in Turkey has an account in a social network. Especially becoming common of mobile devices causes data traffic in social networks to increase. In this study, has been surveyed on students in the different age groups and at the Selcuk University Vocational School of Technical Sciences Department of Computer Technology. Student’s opinions about the use of internet and social media has been gotten. Using the Internet and social media skills, purposes, operating frequency, access facilities and tools, social life and effects on vocational education etc. have been explored. Both internet and use of social media positive and negative effects on this department students results have been obtained by the obtained findings evaluating from various aspects. Relations and differences have been found out with statistic.

Keywords: computer technologies, internet use, social network, higher vocational school

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2870 Key Roles of the N-Type Oxide Layer in Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells

Authors: Thierry Pauporté

Abstract:

Wide bandgap n-type oxide layers (TiO2, SnO2, ZnO etc.) play key roles in perovskite solar cells. They act as electron transport layers, and they permit the charge separation. They are also the substrate for the preparation of perovskite in the direct architecture. Therefore, they have a strong influence on the perovskite loading, its crystallinity and they can induce a degradation phenomenon upon annealing. The interface between the oxide and the perovskite is important, and the quality of this heterointerface must be optimized to limit the recombination of charges phenomena and performance losses. One can also play on the oxide and use two oxide contact layers for improving the device stability and durability. These aspects will be developed and illustrated on the basis of recent results obtained at Chimie-ParisTech.

Keywords: oxide, hybrid perovskite, solar cells, impedance

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2869 A Brief Overview of Seven Churches in Van Province

Authors: Eylem Güzel, Soner Guler, Mustafa Gulen

Abstract:

Van province which has a very rich historical heritage is located in eastern part of Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. Many civilizations prevailing in Van until today have built up many historical structures such as castles, mosques, churches, bridges, baths, etc. In 2011, a devastating earthquake with magnitude 7.2 Mw, epicenter in Tabanlı Village, occurred in Van, where a large part of the city locates in the first-degree earthquake zone. As a result of this earthquake, 644 people were killed; a lot of reinforced, unreinforced and historical structures were badly damaged. Many historical structures damaged due to this earthquake have been restored. In this study, the damages observed in Seven churches (Yedi Kilise) after 2011 Van earthquake is evaluated with regard to architecture and civil engineering perspective.

Keywords: earthquake, historical structures, Van province, church

Procedia PDF Downloads 530
2868 Brain-Computer Interface Based Real-Time Control of Fixed Wing and Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Authors: Ravi Vishwanath, Saumya Kumaar, S. N. Omkar

Abstract:

Brain-computer interfacing (BCI) is a technology that is almost four decades old, and it was developed solely for the purpose of developing and enhancing the impact of neuroprosthetics. However, in the recent times, with the commercialization of non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets, the technology has seen a wide variety of applications like home automation, wheelchair control, vehicle steering, etc. One of the latest developed applications is the mind-controlled quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle. These applications, however, do not require a very high-speed response and give satisfactory results when standard classification methods like Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLPC). Issues are faced when there is a requirement for high-speed control in the case of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles where such methods are rendered unreliable due to the low speed of classification. Such an application requires the system to classify data at high speeds in order to retain the controllability of the vehicle. This paper proposes a novel method of classification which uses a combination of Common Spatial Paradigm and Linear Discriminant Analysis that provides an improved classification accuracy in real time. A non-linear SVM based classification technique has also been discussed. Further, this paper discusses the implementation of the proposed method on a fixed-wing and VTOL unmanned aerial vehicles.

Keywords: brain-computer interface, classification, machine learning, unmanned aerial vehicles

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2867 Analysis of Policy Issues on Computer-Based Testing in Nigeria

Authors: Samuel Oye Bandele

Abstract:

A policy is a system of principles to guide activities and strategic decisions of an organisation in order to achieve stated objectives and meeting expected outcomes. A Computer Based Test (CBT) policy is therefore a statement of intent to drive the CBT programmes, and should be implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are hence generally adopted by an organization or a nation. The concern here, in this paper, is the consideration and analysis of issues that are significant to evolving the acceptable policy that will drive the new CBT innovation in Nigeria. Public examinations and internal examinations in higher educational institutions in Nigeria are gradually making a radical shift from Paper Based or Paper-Pencil to Computer-Based Testing. The need to make an objective and empirical analysis of Policy issues relating to CBT became expedient. The following are some of the issues on CBT evolution in Nigeria that were identified as requiring policy backing. Prominent among them are requirements for establishing CBT centres, purpose of CBT, types and acquisition of CBT equipment, qualifications of staff: professional, technical and regular, security plans and curbing of cheating during examinations, among others. The descriptive research design was employed based on a population consisting of Principal Officers (Policymakers), Staff (Teaching and non-Teaching-Policy implementors), and CBT staff ( Technical and Professional- Policy supports) and candidates (internal and external). A fifty-item researcher-constructed questionnaire on policy issues was employed to collect data from 600 subjects drawn from higher institutions in South West Nigeria, using the purposive and stratified random sampling techniques. Data collected were analysed using descriptive (frequency counts, means and standard deviation) and inferential (t-test, ANOVA, regression and Factor analysis) techniques. Findings from this study showed, among others, that the factor loadings had significantly weights on the organizational and National policy issues on CBT innovation in Nigeria.

Keywords: computer-based testing, examination, innovation, paper-based testing, paper pencil based testing, policy issues

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2866 Technology Computer Aided Design Simulation of Space Charge Limited Conduction in Polycrystalline Thin Films

Authors: Kunj Parikh, S. Bhattacharya, V. Natarajan

Abstract:

TCAD numerical simulation is one of the most tried and tested powerful tools for designing devices in semiconductor foundries worldwide. It has also been used to explain conduction in organic thin films where the processing temperature is often enough to make homogeneous samples (often imperfect, but homogeneously imperfect). In this report, we have presented the results of TCAD simulation in multi-grain thin films. The work has addressed the inhomogeneity in one dimension, but can easily be extended to two and three dimensions. The effect of grain boundaries has mainly been approximated as barriers located at the junction between two adjacent grains. The effect of the value of grain boundary barrier, the bulk traps, and the measurement temperature have been investigated.

Keywords: polycrystalline thin films, space charge limited conduction, Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) simulation, traps

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2865 A Comparison of Direct Water Injection with Membrane Humidifier for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Humification

Authors: Flavien Marteau, Pedro Affonso Nóbrega, Pascal Biwole, Nicolas Autrusson, Iona De Bievre, Christian Beauger

Abstract:

Effective water management is essential for the optimal performance of fuel cells. For this reason, many vehicle systems use a membrane humidifier, a passive device that humidifies the air before the cathode inlet. Although they offer good performance, humidifiers are voluminous, costly, and fragile, hence the desire to find an alternative. Direct water injection could be an option, although this method lacks maturity. It consists of injecting liquid water as a spray in the dry heated air coming out from the compressor. This work focuses on the evaluation of direct water injection and its performance compared to the membrane humidifier selected as a reference. Two architectures were experimentally tested to humidify an industrial 2 kW short stack made up of 20 cells of 150 cm² each. For the reference architecture, the inlet air is humidified with a commercial membrane humidifier. For the direct water injection architecture, a pneumatic nozzle was selected to generate a fine spray in the air flow with a Sauter mean diameter of about 20 μm. Initial performance was compared over the entire range of current based on polarisation curves. Then, the influence of various parameters impacting water management was studied, such as the temperature, the gas stoichiometry, and the water injection flow rate. The experimental results obtained confirm the possibility of humidifying the fuel cell using direct water injection. This study, however shows the limits of this humidification method, the mean cell voltage being significantly lower in some operating conditions with direct water injection than with the membrane humidifier. The voltage drop reaches 30 mV per cell (4 %) at 1 A/cm² (1,8 bara, 80 °C) and increases in more demanding humidification conditions. It is noteworthy that the heat of compression available is not enough to evaporate all the injected liquid water in the case of DWI, resulting in a mix of liquid and vapour water entering the fuel cell, whereas only vapour is present with the humidifier. Variation of the injection flow rate shows that part of the injected water is useless for humidification and seems to cross channels without reaching the membrane. The stack was successfully humidified thanks to direct water injection. Nevertheless, our work shows that its implementation requires substantial adaptations and may reduce the fuel cell stack performance when compared to conventional membrane humidifiers, but opportunities for optimisation have been identified.

Keywords: cathode humidification, direct water injection, membrane humidifier, proton exchange membrane fuel cell

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2864 Developing API Economy: Associating Value to APIs and Microservices in an Enterprise

Authors: Mujahid Sultan

Abstract:

The IT industry has seen many transformations in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodologies and development approaches. SDLCs range from waterfall to agile, and the development approaches from monolith to microservices. Management, orchestration, and monetization of microservices have created an API economy in the modern enterprise. There are two approaches to API design, code first and design first. Design first is gaining popularity in the industry as this allows capturing the API needs from the stakeholders rather than the development teams guesstimating the needs and associating a monetary value with the APIs and microservices. In this publication, we describe an approach to organizing and creating stakeholder needs and requirements for designing microservices and APIs.

Keywords: requirements engineering, enterprise architecture, APIs, microservices, DevOps, continuous delivery, continuous integration, stakeholder viewpoints

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2863 Using Structured Analysis and Design Technique Method for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Components

Authors: Najeh Lakhoua

Abstract:

Introduction: Scientific developments and techniques for the systemic approach generate several names to the systemic approach: systems analysis, systems analysis, structural analysis. The main purpose of these reflections is to find a multi-disciplinary approach which organizes knowledge, creates universal language design and controls complex sets. In fact, system analysis is structured sequentially by steps: the observation of the system by various observers in various aspects, the analysis of interactions and regulatory chains, the modeling that takes into account the evolution of the system, the simulation and the real tests in order to obtain the consensus. Thus the system approach allows two types of analysis according to the structure and the function of the system. The purpose of this paper is to present an application of system analysis of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) components in order to represent the architecture of this system. Method: There are various analysis methods which are proposed, in the literature, in to carry out actions of global analysis and different points of view as SADT method (Structured Analysis and Design Technique), Petri Network. The methodology adopted in order to contribute to the system analysis of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has been proposed in this paper and it is based on the use of SADT. In fact, we present a functional analysis based on the SADT method of UAV components Body, power supply and platform, computing, sensors, actuators, software, loop principles, flight controls and communications). Results: In this part, we present the application of SADT method for the functional analysis of the UAV components. This SADT model will be composed exclusively of actigrams. It starts with the main function ‘To analysis of the UAV components’. Then, this function is broken into sub-functions and this process is developed until the last decomposition level has been reached (levels A1, A2, A3 and A4). Recall that SADT techniques are semi-formal; however, for the same subject, different correct models can be built without having to know with certitude which model is the good or, at least, the best. In fact, this kind of model allows users a sufficient freedom in its construction and so the subjective factor introduces a supplementary dimension for its validation. That is why the validation step on the whole necessitates the confrontation of different points of views. Conclusion: In this paper, we presented an application of system analysis of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle components. In fact, this application of system analysis is based on SADT method (Structured Analysis Design Technique). This functional analysis proved the useful use of SADT method and its ability of describing complex dynamic systems.

Keywords: system analysis, unmanned aerial vehicle, functional analysis, architecture

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2862 Model Reference Adaptive Control and LQR Control for Quadrotor with Parametric Uncertainties

Authors: Alia Abdul Ghaffar, Tom Richardson

Abstract:

A model reference adaptive control and a fixed gain LQR control were implemented in the height controller of a quadrotor that has parametric uncertainties due to the act of picking up an object of unknown dimension and mass. It is shown that an adaptive control, unlike a fixed gain control, is capable of ensuring a stable tracking performance under such condition, although adaptive control suffers from several limitations. The combination of both adaptive and fixed gain control in the controller architecture results in an enhanced tracking performance in the presence of parametric uncertainties.

Keywords: UAV, quadrotor, robotic arm augmentation, model reference adaptive control, LQR control

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2861 Neural Network in Fixed Time for Collision Detection between Two Convex Polyhedra

Authors: M. Khouil, N. Saber, M. Mestari

Abstract:

In this paper, a different architecture of a collision detection neural network (DCNN) is developed. This network, which has been particularly reviewed, has enabled us to solve with a new approach the problem of collision detection between two convex polyhedra in a fixed time (O (1) time). We used two types of neurons, linear and threshold logic, which simplified the actual implementation of all the networks proposed. The study of the collision detection is divided into two sections, the collision between a point and a polyhedron and then the collision between two convex polyhedra. The aim of this research is to determine through the AMAXNET network a mini maximum point in a fixed time, which allows us to detect the presence of a potential collision.

Keywords: collision identification, fixed time, convex polyhedra, neural network, AMAXNET

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2860 Makhraj Recognition Using Convolutional Neural Network

Authors: Zan Azma Nasruddin, Irwan Mazlin, Nor Aziah Daud, Fauziah Redzuan, Fariza Hanis Abdul Razak

Abstract:

This paper focuses on a machine learning that learn the correct pronunciation of Makhraj Huroofs. Usually, people need to find an expert to pronounce the Huroof accurately. In this study, the researchers have developed a system that is able to learn the selected Huroofs which are ha, tsa, zho, and dza using the Convolutional Neural Network. The researchers present the chosen type of the CNN architecture to make the system that is able to learn the data (Huroofs) as quick as possible and produces high accuracy during the prediction. The researchers have experimented the system to measure the accuracy and the cross entropy in the training process.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, Makhraj recognition, speech recognition, signal processing, tensorflow

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