Robot Monitoring for the Detection and Confirmation of Stochastic Events

In this paper we consider a robot patrolling problem in which events arrive randomly over time at the vertices of a graph. When an event arrives it remains active for a random amount of time. If that time active exceeds a certain threshold, then we say that the event is a true event; otherwise it is a false event. The robot(s) can traverse the graph to detect newly arrived events, and can revisit these events in order to classify them as true or false. The goal is to plan robot paths that maximize the number of events that are correctly classified, with the constraint that there are no false positives. We show that the offline version of this problem is NP-hard. We then consider a simple patrolling policy based on the traveling salesman tour, and characterize the probability of correctly classifying an event. We investigate the problem when multiple robots follow the same path, and we derive the optimal (and not necessarily uniform) spacing between robots on the path.Comment: Extended version of IEEE CDC 2014 pape

Sarcoidosis Presenting as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown origin. It typically involves the lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes in a chronic fashion. However, acute syndrome has been reported possibly in response to systemic release of proinflammatory cytokines. Acute pulmonary manifestations, especially acute respiratory failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome, remain extremely uncommon in individuals without a prior diagnosis. We present the case of a 41-year-old African American female, who presented with ARDS. An extensive workup into the cause of her illness remained negative, and she subsequently succumbed to her illness. A diagnosis of sarcoidosis was made upon autopsy, after exclusion of other granulomatous illness. The case highlights the need to consider this uncommon diagnosis in patients with unexplained ARDS to guide therapy

Pakistan National Student Satellite Program (PNSSP)

Charla invitadaMicro-satellite development at University environment provides hands-on experience of building a satellite from design through launch and orbit operations for students in a cost effective way. Since multi-disciplinary efforts are required for satellite program are normally available in Universities therefore this kind of projects coupled with team building would provide valuable contribution to aerospace field. It would not only involve training scientists and engineers for the future but it can also used as a tool for development of new technologies using research culture of university environment for future system. Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the national space agency has taken an initiative in the form of “Pakistan National Student Satellite Program (PNSSP)”, envisioning a long-term program to involve, train and prepare university students for the high-tech space industry. The proposed program is a way forward for sustainable and progressive student satellite developments under the umbrella of SUPARCO. Sir Syed University of engineering and Technology, Pakistan has taken initiative to join hand with SUPARCO for first student satellite program. The development of attitude determination and control, and power sub systems will be carried out at Electronic Engineering Department with review and funding support from SUPARCO. The project will be implemented through involvement of students, research scholars and faculty members. The proposed design of satellite is a 50 kg class Micro Satellite, measuring 50cm by 50cm by 50cm, with an average power of ~50 W and design life of 1-2 years, to be launched in a low earth orbit (LEO) at ~500 km altitude, carrying Store forward, earth μCAM, and scientific experiments payload. This talk will describe the system design concept, science mission, common subsystem description, and major challenges for development of student satellite.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Literature survey about elements of manufacturing shop floor operation key performance indicators

In the era of globalisation, manufacturing industries are compelled to continuously monitor their manufacturing operations to maintain competitiveness. As a result, manufacturers have integrated several measurement models to inspect their manufacturing operations. These models comprise of a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which are capable to enumerate the effectiveness, competence, efficiency and proficiency of manufacturing operations. This paper presents a review of manufacturing shop floor operation KPIs that has been studied in the recent literature. Based on the reviewed literature author proposes various KPI elements such as: description, category, scope, formula, unit of measure, range, trend, mode of display, viewers and manufacturing approach. These elements can help manufacturers to better describe, classify, analyze and measure the appropriate KPIs for their shop floor operations. Thus, enabling manufacturers to accomplish and uphold great quality, increased productivity and throughput

On Some Properties and Estimation of Size-Biased Polya-Eggenberger Distribution

A size-biased version of Polya-Eggenberger distribution is introduced explicitly and by a mixture model. The proposed distribution is unimodal with positive integer moments. The recurrence relation between moments (about the origin) of the proposed distribution is established and its relationship with other distributions is discussed. Different estimation techniques are proposed to estimate the parameters of the distribution

Automatic generation of human machine interface screens from component-based reconfigurable virtual manufacturing cell

Increasing complexity and decreasing time-tomarket require changes in the traditional way of building automation systems. The paper describes a novel approach to automatically generate the Human Machine Interface (HMI) screens for component-based manufacturing cells based on their corresponding virtual models. Manufacturing cells are first prototyped and commissioned within a virtual engineering environment to validate and optimise the control behaviour. A framework for reusing the embedded control information in the virtual models to automatically generate the HMI screens is proposed. Finally, for proof of concept, the proposed solution is implemented and tested on a test rig

Realising the open virtual commissioning of modular automation systems

To address the challenges in the automotive industry posed by the need to rapidly manufacture more product variants, and the resultant need for more adaptable production systems, radical changes are now required in the way in which such systems are developed and implemented. In this context, two enabling approaches for achieving more agile manufacturing, namely modular automation systems and virtual commissioning, are briefly reviewed in this contribution. Ongoing research conducted at Loughborough University which aims to provide a modular approach to automation systems design coupled with a virtual engineering toolset for the (re)configuration of such manufacturing automation systems is reported. The problems faced in the virtual commissioning of modular automation systems are outlined. AutomationML - an emerging neutral data format which has potential to address integration problems is discussed. The paper proposes and illustrates a collaborative framework in which AutomationML is adopted for the data exchange and data representation of related models to enable efficient open virtual prototype construction and virtual commissioning of modular automation systems. A case study is provided to show how to create the data model based on AutomationML for describing a modular automation system