321,435 research outputs found

    Performance Modeling and Analysis of a Massively Parallel DIRECT— Part 2

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    Modeling and analysis techniques are used to investigate the performance of a massively parallel version of DIRECT, a global search algorithm widely used in multidisciplinary design optimization applications. Several highdimensional benchmark functions and real world problems are used to test the design effectiveness under various problem structures. In this second part of a twopart work, theoretical and experimental results are compared for two parallel clusters with different system scale and network connectivity. The first part studied performance sensitivity to important parameters for problem configurations and parallel schemes, using performance metrics such as memory usage, load balancing, and parallel efficiency. Here linear regression models are used to characterize two major overhead sources—interprocessor communication and processor idleness—and also applied to the isoefficiency functions in scalability analysis. For a variety of highdimensional problems and large scale systems, the massively parallel design has achieved reasonable performance. The results of the performance study provide guidance for efficient problem and scheme configuration. More importantly, the design considerations and analysis techniques generalize to the transformation of other global search algorithms into effective large scale parallel optimization tools

    Performance Modeling and Analysis of a Massively Parallel DIRECT— Part 1

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    Modeling and analysis techniques are used to investigate the performance of a massively parallel version of DIRECT, a global search algorithm widely used in multidisciplinary design optimization applications. Several highdimensional benchmark functions and real world problems are used to test the design effectiveness under various problem structures. Theoretical and experimental results are compared for two parallel clusters with different system scale and network connectivity. The present work aims at studying the performance sensitivity to important parameters for problem configurations, parallel schemes, and system settings. The performance metrics include the memory usage, load balancing, parallel efficiency, and scalability. An analytical bounding model is constructed to measure the load balancing performance under different schemes. Additionally, linear regression models are used to characterize two major overhead sources—interprocessor communication and processor idleness, and also applied to the isoefficiency functions in scalability analysis. For a variety of highdimensional problems and large scale systems, the massively parallel design has achieved reasonable performance. The results of the performance study provide guidance for efficient problem and scheme configuration. More importantly, the generalized design considerations and analysis techniques are beneficial for transforming many global search algorithms to become effective large scale parallel optimization tools

    Teacher Evaluator Training & Certification: Lessons Learned From the Measures of Effective Teaching Project

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    Makes recommendations for the design and implementation of programs to train and certify principals in conducting teacher evaluations, including content, format, and length of training, scoring practice, and criteria for certification tests

    Design of a five-axis ultra-precision micro-milling machine—UltraMill. Part 1: Holistic design approach, design considerations and specifications

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    High-accuracy three-dimensional miniature components and microstructures are increasingly in demand in the sector of electro-optics, automotive, biotechnology, aerospace and information-technology industries. A rational approach to mechanical micro machining is to develop ultra-precision machines with small footprints. In part 1 of this two-part paper, the-state-of-the-art of ultra-precision machines with micro-machining capability is critically reviewed. The design considerations and specifications of a five-axis ultra-precision micro-milling machine—UltraMill—are discussed. Three prioritised design issues: motion accuracy, dynamic stiffness and thermal stability, formulate the holistic design approach for UltraMill. This approach has been applied to the development of key machine components and their integration so as to achieve high accuracy and nanometer surface finish

    Towards a universal end effector : the design and development of production technology's intelligent robot hand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Engineering and Automation at Massey University

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    Research into robot hands for industrial use began in the early 1980s and there are now many examples of robot hands in existence. The reason for research into robot hands is that standard robot end effectors have to be designed for each application and are therefore costly. A universal end effector is needed that will be able to perform any parts handling operation or use other tools for other industrial operations. Existing robot hand research would therefore benefit from new concepts, designs and control systems. The Department of Production Technology is developing an intelligent robot hand of a novel configuration, with the ultimate aim of producing a universal end effector. The concept of PTIRH (Production Technology's Intelligent Robot Hand) is that it is a multi-fingered manipulator with a configuration of two thumbs and two fingers. Research by the author for this thesis concentrated on five major areas. First, the background research into the state of the art in robot hand research. Second, the initiation, development and analysis of the novel configuration concept of PTIRH. Third, specification, testing and analysis of air muscle actuation, including design, development and testing of a servo pneumatic control valve for the air muscles. Fourth, choice of sensors for the robot hand, including testing and analysis of two custom made air pressure sensors. Fifth, definition, design, construction, development, testing and analysis of the mechanical structure for an early prototype of PTIRH. Development of an intelligent controller for PTIRH was outside the scope of the author's research. The results of the analysis on the air muscles showed that they could be a suitable direct drive actuator for an intelligent robotic hand. The force, pressure and position sensor results indicate that the sensors could form the basis of the feedback loop for an intelligent controller. The configuration of PTIRH enables it to grasp objects with little reliance on friction. This was demonstrated with an early prototype of the robot hand, which had one finger with actuation and three other static digits, by successfully manually arranging the digits into stable grasps of various objects

    From FPGA to ASIC: A RISC-V processor experience

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    This work document a correct design flow using these tools in the Lagarto RISC- V Processor and the RTL design considerations that must be taken into account, to move from a design for FPGA to design for ASIC

    [Subject benchmark statement]: computing

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    Secure, performance-oriented data management for nanoCMOS electronics

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    The EPSRC pilot project Meeting the Design Challenges of nanoCMOS Electronics (nanoCMOS) is focused upon delivering a production level e-Infrastructure to meet the challenges facing the semiconductor industry in dealing with the next generation of ‘atomic-scale’ transistor devices. This scale means that previous assumptions on the uniformity of transistor devices in electronics circuit and systems design are no longer valid, and the industry as a whole must deal with variability throughout the design process. Infrastructures to tackle this problem must provide seamless access to very large HPC resources for computationally expensive simulation of statistic ensembles of microscopically varying physical devices, and manage the many hundreds of thousands of files and meta-data associated with these simulations. A key challenge in undertaking this is in protecting the intellectual property associated with the data, simulations and design process as a whole. In this paper we present the nanoCMOS infrastructure and outline an evaluation undertaken on the Storage Resource Broker (SRB) and the Andrew File System (AFS) considering in particular the extent that they meet the performance and security requirements of the nanoCMOS domain. We also describe how metadata management is supported and linked to simulations and results in a scalable and secure manner

    D-SPACE4Cloud: A Design Tool for Big Data Applications

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    The last years have seen a steep rise in data generation worldwide, with the development and widespread adoption of several software projects targeting the Big Data paradigm. Many companies currently engage in Big Data analytics as part of their core business activities, nonetheless there are no tools and techniques to support the design of the underlying hardware configuration backing such systems. In particular, the focus in this report is set on Cloud deployed clusters, which represent a cost-effective alternative to on premises installations. We propose a novel tool implementing a battery of optimization and prediction techniques integrated so as to efficiently assess several alternative resource configurations, in order to determine the minimum cost cluster deployment satisfying QoS constraints. Further, the experimental campaign conducted on real systems shows the validity and relevance of the proposed method
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