14,973 research outputs found
A contour matching approach for accurate NOAA-AVHRR image navigation
Although different methods for NOAA AVHRR image navigation have already been established, the multitemporal and multi-satellite character of most studies requires automatic and accurate methods for navigation of satellite images. In the proposed method, a simple Kepplerian orbital model for the NOAA satellites is considered as reference model, and mean orbital elements are given as input to the model from ephemeris data. In order to correct the errors caused by these simplifications, errors resulting from inaccuracies in the positioning of the satellite and failures in the satellite internal clock, an automatic global contour matching approach has been adopted. First, the sensed image is preprocessed to obtain a gradient energy map of the reliable areas (sea-land contours) using a cloud detection algorithm and a morphological gradient operator. An initial estimation of the reliable contour positions is automatically obtained. The final positions of the contours are obtained by means of an iterative local minimization procedure that allows a contour to converge on an area of high image energy (edge). Global transformation parameters are estimated based on the initial and final positions of all reliable contour points. Finally, the performance of this approach is assessed using NOAA 14 AVHRR images from different geographic areas.Postprint (published version
Passivation of underactuated systems with physical damping
In recent works, IDA-PBC has been succesfully applied to mechanical control problems with no physical damping present. In some cases, the friction terms can be obviated without compromising stability in closed loop. However in methods that modify the kinetic energy, a controller designed for stabilizing the undamped system might loose passivity, a key property for stabilization, when damping is introduced. This paper presents a necessary and sufficient condition, namely the dissipation condition, for recovering passivity (and hence stability) in such cases. If the dissipation condition is fulfilled, an IDA-PBC redesign is necessary in general, and with this goal two different methods for passivating the damped system are presented
Ballistic Localization in Quasi-1D Waveguides with Rough Surfaces
Structure of eigenstates in a periodic quasi-1D waveguide with a rough
surface is studied both analytically and numerically. We have found a large
number of "regular" eigenstates for any high energy. They result in a very slow
convergence to the classical limit in which the eigenstates are expected to be
completely ergodic. As a consequence, localization properties of eigenstates
originated from unperturbed transverse channels with low indexes, are strongly
localized (delocalized) in the momentum (coordinate) representation. These
eigenstates were found to have a quite unexpeted form that manifests a kind of
"repulsion" from the rough surface. Our results indicate that standard
statistical approaches for ballistic localization in such waveguides seem to be
unappropriate.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Search for rare leptonic B decays at the Tevatron
Results of a search for the Flavor-Changing Neutral Current decay using collision data at TeV
collected at Fermilab Tevatron collider by the CDF and D{\O}detectors are
presented. CDF reports upper limits on and
at the 95% C.L. using 171 pb. The D{\O}Collaboration used 240 pb
to set an even more stringent limit on the branching ratio for of at the 95% C.L.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to DPF 2004 conference proceedings, UC
Riverside, C
Present Limits on the Precision of SM Predictions for Jet Energies
We investigate the impact of theoretical uncertainties on the accuracy of
measurements involving hadronic jets. The analysis is performed using events
with a Z boson and a single jet observed in collisions at
= 1.96 TeV in 4.6 of data from the Collider Detector at
Fermilab (CDF). The transverse momenta (\pt) of the jet and the boson should
balance each other due to momentum conservation in the plane transverse to the
direction of the and beams. We evaluate the dependence of the
measured \pt-balance on theoretical uncertainties associated with initial and
final state radiation, choice of renormalization and factorization scales,
parton distribution functions, jet-parton matching, calculations of matrix
elements, and parton showering. We find that the uncertainty caused by parton
showering at large angles is the largest amongst the listed uncertainties. The
proposed method can be re-applied at the LHC experiments to investigate and
evaluate the uncertainties on the predicted jet energies. The distributions
produced at the CDF environment are intended for comparison to those from
modern event generators and new tunes of parton showering.Comment: Submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth.
Accurate and automatic NOAA-AVHRR image navigation using a global contour matching approach
The problem of precise and automatic AVHRR image navigation is tractable in theory, but has proved to be somewhat difficult in practice. The authors' work has been motivated by the need for a fully automatic and operational navigation system capable of geo-referencing NOAA-AVHRR images with high accuracy and without operator supervision. The proposed method is based on the simultaneous use of an orbital model and a contour matching approach. This last process, relying on an affine transformation model, is used to correct the errors caused by inaccuracies in orbit modeling, nonzero value for the spacecraft's roll, pitch and yaw, errors due to inaccuracies in the satellite positioning and failures in the satellite internal clock. The automatic global contour matching process is summarized as follows: i) Estimation of the gradient energy map (edges) in the sensed image and detection of the cloudless (reliable) areas in this map. ii) Initialization of the affine model parameters by minimizing the Euclidean distance between the reference and sensed images objects. iii) Simultaneous optimization of all reference image contours on the sensed image by energy minimization in the domain of the global transformation parameters. The process is iterated in a hierarchical way, reducing the parameter searching space at each iteration. The proposed image navigation algorithm has proved to be capable of geo-referencing a satellite image within 1 pixel.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
An integrated model for computer assisted diagnosis, treatment and design of insoles for the diabetic foot
The incidence of diabetes has increased significantly in recent decades. In Germany, there is an estimate of three million diabetics and this number is growing at a rate of about 2 percent per year. In the U.S.A., the American Diabetes Association estimates that thirteen million people suffer from this condition, representing 5.2 percent of the entire population and every year, some 35 thousand patients have a lower limb amputated. In Latin America, it has been reported that the prevalence of diabetes is of the order of 14 to 20 percent, according to a research conducted by the WHO's Ad Hoc Diabetes Reporting Group. In Colombia, a study by Ashner et al concludes that the prevalence is 7 percent in both sexes
Microstrip antenna array with parasitic elements
Discussed is the design of a large microstrip antenna array in terms of subarrays consisting of one fed patch and several parasitic patches. The potential advantages of this design are discussed. Theoretical radiation patterns of a subarray in the configuration of a cross are presented
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