Situational reasoning for road driving in an urban environment

Robot navigation in urban environments requires situational reasoning. Given the complexity of the environment and the behavior specified by traffic rules, it is necessary to recognize the current situation to impose the correct traffic rules. In an attempt to manage the complexity of the situational reasoning subsystem, this paper describes a finite state machine model to govern the situational reasoning process. The logic state machine and its interaction with the planning system are discussed. The approach was implemented on Alice, Team Caltech’s entry into the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Results from the qualifying rounds are discussed. The approach is validated and the shortcomings of the implementation are identified

Statistical wave scattering through classically chaotic cavities in the presence of surface absorption

We propose a model to describe the statistical properties of wave scattering through a classically chaotic cavity in the presence of surface absorption. Experimentally, surface absorption could be realized by attaching an "absorbing patch" to the inner wall of the cavity. In our model, the cavity is connected to the outside by a waveguide with N open modes (or channels), while an experimental patch is simulated by an "absorbing mirror" attached to the inside wall of the cavity; the mirror, consisting of a waveguide that supports Na channels, with absorption inside and a perfectly reflecting wall at its end, is described by a subunitary scattering matrix Sa. The number of channels Na, as a measure of the geometric cross section of the mirror, and the lack of unitarity of Sa as a measure of absorption, are under our control: these parameters have an important physical significance for real experiments. The absorption strength in the cavity is quantified by the trace of the lack of unitarity. The statistical distribution of the resulting S matrix for N=1 open channel and only one absorbing channel, Na =1, is solved analytically for the orthogonal and unitary universality classes, and the results are compared with those arising from numerical simulations. The relation with other models existing in the literature, in some of which absorption has a volumetric character, is also studied.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

A model comparison of resonance lifetime modifications, a soft equation of state and non-Gaussian effects on π−π\pi-\pi correlations at FAIR/AGS energies

HBT correlations of $\pi^--\pi^-$ pairs at FAIR/AGS energies are investigated by using the UrQMD transport model and the CRAB analyzing program. Three different possible sources (treatment of resonance lifetimes, a soft equation of state and non-Gaussian effects) to understand the HBT $R_O/R_S$ puzzle are investigated. Firstly, we find that different treatments of the resonance decay time can not resolve the HBT time-related puzzle, however it can modify the HBT radii at low transverse momenta to some extent to explain the data slightly. Secondly, with a soft equation of state with momentum dependence, the measured transverse momentum dependent HBT radii and $R_O/R_S$ ratio can be described fairly well. Thirdly, non-Gaussian effects are visible in the calculated correlation function. Using the Edgeworth expansion, one finds that the non-Gaussian effect is strongest in the longitudinal direction and weakest in the sideward direction.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures. To be published in J.Phys.

Statistical fluctuations of the parametric derivative of the transmission and reflection coefficients in absorbing chaotic cavities

Motivated by recent theoretical and experimental works, we study the statistical fluctuations of the parametric derivative of the transmission T and reflection R coefficients in ballistic chaotic cavities in the presence of absorption. Analytical results for the variance of the parametric derivative of T and R, with and without time-reversal symmetry, are obtained for both asymmetric and left-right symmetric cavities. These results are valid for arbitrary number of channels, in completely agreement with the one channel case in the absence of absorption studied in the literature.Comment: Modified version as accepted in PR