Volume 1 – Symposium: Tuesday, March 8

Group A: Digital Hydraulics Group B: Intelligent Control Group C: Valves Group D | G | K: Fundamentals Group E | H | L: Mobile Hydraulics Group F | I: Pumps Group M: Hydraulic Components:Group A: Digital Hydraulics Group B: Intelligent Control Group C: Valves Group D | G | K: Fundamentals Group E | H | L: Mobile Hydraulics Group F | I: Pumps Group M: Hydraulic Component

A Methodology for Implementing RF BiSTs in Production Testing to Replace RF Conventional Tests

Production testing of Radio Frequency (RF) devices is challenging due to the complex nature of the tests that have to be performed to verify functionality. In this dissertation a methodology to replace the complex and expensive RF functional tests with defect-oriented Built-in Self Tests (BiSTs) is detailed. If a design has sufficient margin to RF specifications then RF tests can be replaced with structural tests using a new data analysis technique called quadrant analysis, which is presented. Data from the analysis of over one million production units of said System on Chip (SoC) is presented along with the results of the analysis. The BiST techniques that have been used are discussed and a Texas Instruments 65 nm RF SoC with a Bluetooth and a FM core was used as a case study. The defect models that were used to develop the BiSTs are discussed as well. The scenario in which a design does not have sufficient margin to specification is also discussed. The data analysis method required in such a case is a regression analysis and the data from such an analysis is shown. The results prove that it is possible to replace expensive RF conventional tests with structural tests and that modern RFCMOS process technology and advances in design like the Digital Radio Processor (DRPTM) technology enable this. The Defective Parts Per Million (DPPM) impact of making this replacement is 27 units and is acceptable for RFCMOS high volume products. Finally, data showing test cost reduction of about 38% that resulted from the elimination of RF conventional tests is presented

Characterization of the singing voice from polyphonic recordings

In order to study the singing voice, researchers have traditionally relied upon lab-based experiments and/or simplified models. Neither of these methods can reasonably be expected to always capture the essence of true performances in environmentally valid settings. Unfortunately, true performances are generally much more difficult to work with because they lack precisely the controls that lab setups and artificial models afford. In particular, true performances are generally polyphonic, making it much more difficult to analyze individual voices than if the voices can be studied in isolation. This thesis approaches the problem of polyphony head on, using a time-aligned electronic score to guide estimation of the vocal line characteristics. First, the exact fundamental frequency track for the voice is estimated using the score notes as guides. Next, the harmonic strengths are estimated using the fundamental frequency information. Third, estimates in notes are automatically validated or discarded based on characteristics of the frequency tracks. Lastly, good harmonic estimates are smoothed across time in order to improve the harmonic strength estimates. These final harmonic estimates, along with the fundamental frequency track estimates, parameterize the essential characteristics of what we hear singers' voices. To explore the potential power of this parameterization, the algorithms are applied to a real data consisting of five sopranos singing six arias. Vowel modification and evidence for the singer's formant are explored

Fourth NASA Workshop on Computational Control of Flexible Aerospace Systems, part 2

A collection of papers presented at the Fourth NASA Workshop on Computational Control of Flexible Aerospace Systems is given. The papers address modeling, systems identification, and control of flexible aircraft, spacecraft and robotic systems

Cooperative Radio Communications for Green Smart Environments

The demand for mobile connectivity is continuously increasing, and by 2020 Mobile and Wireless Communications will serve not only very dense populations of mobile phones and nomadic computers, but also the expected multiplicity of devices and sensors located in machines, vehicles, health systems and city infrastructures. Future Mobile Networks are then faced with many new scenarios and use cases, which will load the networks with different data traffic patterns, in new or shared spectrum bands, creating new specific requirements. This book addresses both the techniques to model, analyse and optimise the radio links and transmission systems in such scenarios, together with the most advanced radio access, resource management and mobile networking technologies. This text summarises the work performed by more than 500 researchers from more than 120 institutions in Europe, America and Asia, from both academia and industries, within the framework of the COST IC1004 Action on "Cooperative Radio Communications for Green and Smart Environments". The book will have appeal to graduates and researchers in the Radio Communications area, and also to engineers working in the Wireless industry. Topics discussed in this book include: • Radio waves propagation phenomena in diverse urban, indoor, vehicular and body environments• Measurements, characterization, and modelling of radio channels beyond 4G networks• Key issues in Vehicle (V2X) communication• Wireless Body Area Networks, including specific Radio Channel Models for WBANs• Energy efficiency and resource management enhancements in Radio Access Networks• Definitions and models for the virtualised and cloud RAN architectures• Advances on feasible indoor localization and tracking techniques• Recent findings and innovations in antenna systems for communications• Physical Layer Network Coding for next generation wireless systems• Methods and techniques for MIMO Over the Air (OTA) testin

Cooperative Radio Communications for Green Smart Environments

The demand for mobile connectivity is continuously increasing, and by 2020 Mobile and Wireless Communications will serve not only very dense populations of mobile phones and nomadic computers, but also the expected multiplicity of devices and sensors located in machines, vehicles, health systems and city infrastructures. Future Mobile Networks are then faced with many new scenarios and use cases, which will load the networks with different data traffic patterns, in new or shared spectrum bands, creating new specific requirements. This book addresses both the techniques to model, analyse and optimise the radio links and transmission systems in such scenarios, together with the most advanced radio access, resource management and mobile networking technologies. This text summarises the work performed by more than 500 researchers from more than 120 institutions in Europe, America and Asia, from both academia and industries, within the framework of the COST IC1004 Action on "Cooperative Radio Communications for Green and Smart Environments". The book will have appeal to graduates and researchers in the Radio Communications area, and also to engineers working in the Wireless industry. Topics discussed in this book include: • Radio waves propagation phenomena in diverse urban, indoor, vehicular and body environments• Measurements, characterization, and modelling of radio channels beyond 4G networks• Key issues in Vehicle (V2X) communication• Wireless Body Area Networks, including specific Radio Channel Models for WBANs• Energy efficiency and resource management enhancements in Radio Access Networks• Definitions and models for the virtualised and cloud RAN architectures• Advances on feasible indoor localization and tracking techniques• Recent findings and innovations in antenna systems for communications• Physical Layer Network Coding for next generation wireless systems• Methods and techniques for MIMO Over the Air (OTA) testin

Aeronautical Engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 205)

This bibliography lists 517 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in September 1986

Information theoretic perspectives on en- and decoding in audition and vision

In cognitive neuroscience, encoding and decoding models mathematically relate stimuli in the outside world to neuronal or behavioural responses. While both stimuli and responses can be multidimensional variables, these models are on their own limited to bivariate descriptions of correspondences. In order to assess the cognitive or neuroscientific significance of such correspondences, a key challenge is to set them in relation to other variables. This thesis uses information theory to contextualise encoding and decoding models in example cases of audition and vision. In the first example, encoding models based on a certain operationalisation of the stimulus are relativised by models based on other operationalisations of the same stimulus material that are conceptually simpler and shown to predict the same neuronal response variance. This highlights the ambiguity inherent in an individual model. In the second example, a methodological contribution is made to the problem of relating the bivariate dependency of stimuli and responses to the history of response components with high degrees of predictability. This perspective demonstrates that only a subset of all stimulus-correlated response variance can be expected to be genuinely caused by the stimulus, while another subset is the consequence of the response’s own dynamics. In the third and final example, complex models are used to predict behavioural responses. Their predictions are grounded in experimentally controlled stimulus variance, such that interpretations of what the models predicted responses with are facilitated. Together, these three perspectives underscore the need to go beyond bivariate descriptions of correspondences in order to understand the process of perception

Signal representation and recovery under measurement constraints

Ankara : The Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2012.Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Bilkent University, 2012.Includes bibliographical references.We are concerned with a family of signal representation and recovery problems under various measurement restrictions. We focus on finding performance bounds for these problems where the aim is to reconstruct a signal from its direct or indirect measurements. One of our main goals is to understand the effect of different forms of finiteness in the sampling process, such as finite number of samples or finite amplitude accuracy, on the recovery performance. In the first part of the thesis, we use a measurement device model in which each device has a cost that depends on the amplitude accuracy of the device: the cost of a measurement device is primarily determined by the number of amplitude levels that the device can reliably distinguish; devices with higher numbers of distinguishable levels have higher costs. We also assume that there is a limited cost budget so that it is not possible to make a high amplitude resolution measurement at every point. We investigate the optimal allocation of cost budget to the measurement devices so as to minimize estimation error. In contrast to common practice which often treats sampling and quantization separately, we have explicitly focused on the interplay between limited spatial resolution and limited amplitude accuracy. We show that in certain cases, sampling at rates different than the Nyquist rate is more efficient. We find the optimal sampling rates, and the resulting optimal error-cost trade-off curves. In the second part of the thesis, we formulate a set of measurement problems with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the relationship between geometry of statistical dependence in measurement space and total uncertainty of the signal. These problems are investigated in a mean-square error setting under the assumption of Gaussian signals. An important aspect of our formulation is our focus on the linear unitary transformation that relates the canonical signal domain and the measurement domain. We consider measurement set-ups in which a random or a fixed subset of the signal components in the measurement space are erased. We investigate the error performance, both We are concerned with a family of signal representation and recovery problems under various measurement restrictions. We focus on finding performance bounds for these problems where the aim is to reconstruct a signal from its direct or indirect measurements. One of our main goals is to understand the effect of different forms of finiteness in the sampling process, such as finite number of samples or finite amplitude accuracy, on the recovery performance. In the first part of the thesis, we use a measurement device model in which each device has a cost that depends on the amplitude accuracy of the device: the cost of a measurement device is primarily determined by the number of amplitude levels that the device can reliably distinguish; devices with higher numbers of distinguishable levels have higher costs. We also assume that there is a limited cost budget so that it is not possible to make a high amplitude resolution measurement at every point. We investigate the optimal allocation of cost budget to the measurement devices so as to minimize estimation error. In contrast to common practice which often treats sampling and quantization separately, we have explicitly focused on the interplay between limited spatial resolution and limited amplitude accuracy. We show that in certain cases, sampling at rates different than the Nyquist rate is more efficient. We find the optimal sampling rates, and the resulting optimal error-cost trade-off curves. In the second part of the thesis, we formulate a set of measurement problems with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the relationship between geometry of statistical dependence in measurement space and total uncertainty of the signal. These problems are investigated in a mean-square error setting under the assumption of Gaussian signals. An important aspect of our formulation is our focus on the linear unitary transformation that relates the canonical signal domain and the measurement domain. We consider measurement set-ups in which a random or a fixed subset of the signal components in the measurement space are erased. We investigate the error performance, both We are concerned with a family of signal representation and recovery problems under various measurement restrictions. We focus on finding performance bounds for these problems where the aim is to reconstruct a signal from its direct or indirect measurements. One of our main goals is to understand the effect of different forms of finiteness in the sampling process, such as finite number of samples or finite amplitude accuracy, on the recovery performance. In the first part of the thesis, we use a measurement device model in which each device has a cost that depends on the amplitude accuracy of the device: the cost of a measurement device is primarily determined by the number of amplitude levels that the device can reliably distinguish; devices with higher numbers of distinguishable levels have higher costs. We also assume that there is a limited cost budget so that it is not possible to make a high amplitude resolution measurement at every point. We investigate the optimal allocation of cost budget to the measurement devices so as to minimize estimation error. In contrast to common practice which often treats sampling and quantization separately, we have explicitly focused on the interplay between limited spatial resolution and limited amplitude accuracy. We show that in certain cases, sampling at rates different than the Nyquist rate is more efficient. We find the optimal sampling rates, and the resulting optimal error-cost trade-off curves. In the second part of the thesis, we formulate a set of measurement problems with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the relationship between geometry of statistical dependence in measurement space and total uncertainty of the signal. These problems are investigated in a mean-square error setting under the assumption of Gaussian signals. An important aspect of our formulation is our focus on the linear unitary transformation that relates the canonical signal domain and the measurement domain. We consider measurement set-ups in which a random or a fixed subset of the signal components in the measurement space are erased. We investigate the error performance, both in the average, and also in terms of guarantees that hold with high probability, as a function of system parameters. Our investigation also reveals a possible relationship between the concept of coherence of random fields as defined in optics, and the concept of coherence of bases as defined in compressive sensing, through the fractional Fourier transform. We also consider an extension of our discussions to stationary Gaussian sources. We find explicit expressions for the mean-square error for equidistant sampling, and comment on the decay of error introduced by using finite-length representations instead of infinite-length representations.Özçelikkale Hünerli, AyçaPh.D

Visual Perception System for Aerial Manipulation: Methods and Implementations

La tecnología se evoluciona a gran velocidad y los sistemas autónomos están empezado a ser una realidad. Las compañías están demandando, cada vez más, soluciones robotizadas para mejorar la eficiencia de sus operaciones. Este también es el caso de los robots aéreos. Su capacidad única de moverse libremente por el aire los hace excelentes para muchas tareas que son tediosas o incluso peligrosas para operadores humanos. Hoy en día, la gran cantidad de sensores y drones comerciales los hace soluciones muy tentadoras. Sin embargo, todavía se requieren grandes esfuerzos de obra humana para customizarlos para cada tarea debido a la gran cantidad de posibles entornos, robots y misiones. Los investigadores diseñan diferentes algoritmos de visión, hardware y sensores para afrontar las diferentes tareas. Actualmente, el campo de la robótica manipuladora aérea está emergiendo con el objetivo de extender la cantidad de aplicaciones que estos pueden realizar. Estas pueden ser entre otras, inspección, mantenimiento o incluso operar válvulas u otras máquinas. Esta tesis presenta un sistema de manipulación aérea y un conjunto de algoritmos de percepción para la automatización de las tareas de manipulación aérea. El diseño completo del sistema es presentado y una serie de frameworks son presentados para facilitar el desarrollo de este tipo de operaciones. En primer lugar, la investigación relacionada con el análisis de objetos para manipulación y planificación de agarre considerando diferentes modelos de objetos es presentado. Dependiendo de estos modelos de objeto, se muestran diferentes algoritmos actuales de análisis de agarre y algoritmos de planificación para manipuladores simples y manipuladores duales. En Segundo lugar, el desarrollo de algoritmos de percepción para detección de objetos y estimación de su posicione es presentado. Estos permiten al sistema identificar objetos de cualquier tipo en cualquier escena para localizarlos para efectuar las tareas de manipulación. Estos algoritmos calculan la información necesaria para los análisis de manipulación descritos anteriormente. En tercer lugar. Se presentan algoritmos de visión para localizar el robot en el entorno al mismo tiempo que se elabora un mapa local, el cual es beneficioso para las tareas de manipulación. Estos mapas se enriquecen con información semántica obtenida en los algoritmos de detección. Por último, se presenta el desarrollo del hardware relacionado con la plataforma aérea, el cual incluye unos manipuladores de bajo peso y la invención de una herramienta para realizar tareas de contacto con superficies rígidas que sirve de estimador de la posición del robot. Todas las técnicas presentadas en esta tesis han sido validadas con extensiva experimentación en plataformas reales.Technology is growing fast, and autonomous systems are becoming a reality. Companies are increasingly demanding robotized solutions to improve the efficiency of their operations. It is also the case for aerial robots. Their unique capability of moving freely in the space makes them suitable for many tasks that are tedious and even dangerous for human operators. Nowadays, the vast amount of sensors and commercial drones makes them highly appealing. However, it is still required a strong manual effort to customize the existing solutions to each particular task due to the number of possible environments, robot designs and missions. Different vision algorithms, hardware devices and sensor setups are usually designed by researchers to tackle specific tasks. Currently, aerial manipulation is being intensively studied to allow aerial robots to extend the number of applications. These could be inspection, maintenance, or even operating valves or other machines. This thesis presents an aerial manipulation system and a set of perception algorithms for the automation aerial manipulation tasks. The complete design of the system is presented and modular frameworks are shown to facilitate the development of these kind of operations. At first, the research about object analysis for manipulation and grasp planning considering different object models is presented. Depend on the model of the objects, different state of art grasping analysis are reviewed and planning algorithms for both single and dual manipulators are shown. Secondly, the development of perception algorithms for object detection and pose estimation are presented. They allows the system to identify many kind of objects in any scene and locate them to perform manipulation tasks. These algorithms produce the necessary information for the manipulation analysis described in the previous paragraph. Thirdly, it is presented how to use vision to localize the robot in the environment. At the same time, local maps are created which can be beneficial for the manipulation tasks. These maps are are enhanced with semantic information from the perception algorithm mentioned above. At last, the thesis presents the development of the hardware of the aerial platform which includes the lightweight manipulators and the invention of a novel tool that allows the aerial robot to operate in contact with static objects. All the techniques presented in this thesis have been validated throughout extensive experimentation with real aerial robotic platforms