Robot Active Touch Exploration: Constraints and Strategies

We investigate the problem of using active touch ("haptic") exploration to recognize a 3D object taken from a known set of models. "That is new is that we combine two approaches: (1) using geometric constraints between components to eliminate interpretations, and interpretation tree methods for choosing the best active sensing move; (2) exploratory moves made by tracing continually along the surface of the object (and not through free space). We restrict ourselves to polyhedral, and give a set of geometric constraints tailored for matching components acquired from haptic exploration against components in the models. We present a new constraint using pairs of line segments. We then give a set of active sensing moves, each with an associated cost measure, and our strategies for choosing the next move

A STUDY OF MACHINE VISION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

With the growth of industrial automation, it has become increasingly important to validate the quality of every manufactured part during production. Until now, human visual inspection aided with hard tooling or machines have been the primary means to this end, but the speed of today's production lines, the complexity of production equipment and the highest standards of quality to which parts must adhere frequently, make the traditional methods of industrial inspection and control impractical, if not impossible. Subsequently, new solutions have been developed for the monitoring and control of industrial processes, in real­time. One such technology is the area of machine vision. After many years of research and development, computerised vision systems are now leaving the laboratory and are being used successfully in the factory environment. They are both robust and competitively priced as a sensing technique which has now opened up a whole new sector for automation. Machine vision systems are becoming an important integral part of the automotive manufacturing process, with applications ranging from inspection, classification, robot guidance, assembly verification through to process monitoring and control. Although the number of systems in current use is still relatively small, there can be no doubt, given the issues at stake, that the automotive industry will once again lead the way with the implementation of machine vision just as it has done robotic technology. The thesis considered the issue of machine vision and in particular, its deployment within the automotive industry. The thesis has presented work on machine vision for the prospective end-user and not the designer of such systems. It will provide sufficient background about the subject, to separate machine vision promises from reality and permit intelligent decisions regarding machine vision applications to be made. The initial part of the dissertation focussed on the strategic issues affecting the selection of machine vision at the planning stage, such as a listing of the factors to justify investment, the capability of the technology and type of problems that are associated with this relatively new but complex science. Though it is widely accepted that no two industrial machine vision systems are identical, knowledge of the basic fundamentals which underpin the structure of the technology in its application is presented. This work covered a structured description detailing typical hardware components such as camera technology, lighting systems, etc... which form an integral part of an industrial system and discussions regarding the criteria for selection are presented. To complement this work, a further section is specifically devoted to the bewildering array of vision software analysis techniques which are currently available today. A detailed description of the various techniques that are applied to images in order to make use of and understand the data contained within them are discussed and explored. Applications for machine vision fall into two main categories namely robotic guidance and inspection. Obviously within each category there are many further sub­groups. Within this context the latter part of the thesis reviews with a well structured description of several industrial case studies derived from the automotive industry, which illustrate that machine vision is capable of providing real time solutions to manufacturing based problems. In conclusion, despite the limited availability of industrially based machine vision systems, the success of implementation is not always guaranteed, as the technology imposes both technical limitations and introduce new human engineering considerations. By understanding the application and the implications of the technical requirements on both the "staging" and the "image-processing" power required of the machine vision system. The thesis has shown that the most significant elements of a successful application are indeed the lighting, optics, component design, etc... - the "Staging". From the case studies investigated, optimised "staging" has resulted in the need for less computing power in the machine vision system. Inevitably, greater computing power not only requires more time but is generally more expensive. The experience gained from the this project, has demonstrated that machine vision technology is a realistic alternative means of capturing data in real-time. Since the current limitations of the technology are well suited to the delivery process of the quality function within the manufacturing process

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 260)

A bibliography containing 225 reports, articles, and other documents which were introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information system in June 1984 is presented. All articles are indexed and abstracted. General topics include: life sciences, aerospace medicine, behavioral sciences, man/system technology and life support, and planetary biology

Real Time Control of a Robot Tacticle Sensor

The goal of the Experimental Sensory Processor project is to build a system which employs both visual and tactile senses, and then explore their interaction in a robotic environment. Here we describe the software involved in the low level control of the tactile branch of this system, and present results of some simple experiments performed with a prototype tactile sensor

History of Computer Art

A large text presents the history of Computer Art. The history of the artistic uses of computers and computing processes is reconstructed from its beginnings in the fifties to its present state. It points out hypertextual, modular and generative modes to use computing processes in Computer Art and features examples of early developments in media like cybernetic sculptures, video tools, computer graphics and animation (including music videos and demos), video and computer games, pervasive games, reactive installations, virtual reality, evolutionary art and net art. The functions of relevant art works are explained more detailed than is usual in such histories. From October 2011 to December 2012 the chapters have been published successively in German (The English translation started in August 2013 and was completed in June 2014)

The Bauhaus (per)forms

This study uses the methods and discourses of creative/performative writing and formal aesthetics to evoke the visual aesthetic principles exercised and developed by the Bauhaus and its Stage Workshop. It explores the creative connections between visual and written forms that can affect meaning through primary, universal expression and comprehension. First, a graph links creative/performative writing and avant-garde theater concepts with related Bauhaus performance documents. This initial graph contains the key forms of visual and written expression used in the remaining sections. These further areas of inquiry include, an evocative rendering of the multiple and partial histories that include the Bauhaus, an investigation of formal aesthetics and as interpreted by the Bauhaus, and interpretation and investigation of three of the Bauhaus Stage Workshop performances applying written and aesthetic methods aimed at richer analysis. The Bauhaus\u27 development of formal aesthetics, particularly the Stage Workshop performances, provide a dynamic testing ground for how creative/performative writing and formal aesthetics can aid in expression and comprehension of visual artistic works. As both methods and subjects of inquiry, creative/performative writing and formal aesthetics offer a means of stressing the evocative and citational power of creative discourses, by emphasizing a visual/experiential model for scholarly research. The study concludes with a call for further investigation of the power of primary formal aesthetics upon comprehension and expression of experiences that might otherwise lose consensus due to cultural variables

Geometry and vision to Galen

None provided

How to Build a Development Section: A Schenkerian Perspective

More than fifty years ago, Allen Forte rightly predicted that the theories of Heinrich Schenker would have a profound impact on music theory pedagogy. In particular, Schenkerian analysis benefits Fernhören (“distance-hearing”), which relates not only to musical connections severed by chronological remoteness, but also to the conceptual space that extends from the composition itself to its background structure. This essay examines one underutilized method for strengthening Fernhören. Using the fundamental structure of an unnamed composition as a starting point, a note or two at a time will be added to the background, working through the middleground and toward the foreground. This procedure is not a methodology for analyzing the tonal structure of music, but instead demonstrates a way to explain a finished analysis. In doing so, the contrapuntal and melodic motivation behind each new pitch is clarified, the aural connection between nonconsecutive events as well as various levels of structure is strengthened, and the identity of the composition becomes evident. Furthermore, this approach addresses the fallacy that Schenkerian analysis represents nothing more than a unidirectional exercise in reduction. This article is part of a special, serialized feature: A Music-Theoretical Matrix: Essays in Honor of Allen Forte (Part II)