Event-based control strategy for consensus of a group of VTOL-UAVs

International audienceThis paper presents the development of a collaborative event-based control applied to the problem of consensus and formation of a group of VTOL-UAVs (Vertical Takeoff and Landing, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). Each VTOL-UAV decides, based on the difference of its current state (linear position and velocity) and its latest broadcast state, when it has to send a new value to its neighbors. The asymptotic convergence to average consensus or desired formation is depicted via numerical simulations

Biomimetic-Based Output Feedback for Attitude Stabilization of Rigid Bodies: Real-Time Experimentation on a Quadrotor

International audienceThe present paper deals with the development of bounded feedback control laws mimicking the strategy adopted by flapping flyers to stabilize the attitude of systems falling within the framework of rigid bodies. Flapping flyers are able to orient their trajectory without any knowledge of their current attitude and without any attitude computation. They rely on the measurements of some sensitive organs: halteres, leg sensilla and magnetic sense, which give information about their angular velocity and the orientation of gravity and magnetic field vectors. Therefore, the proposed feedback laws are computed using direct inertial sensors measurements, that is vector observations with/without angular velocity measurements. Hence, the attitude is not explicitly required. This biomimetic approach is very simple, requires little computational power and is suitable for embedded applications on small control units. The boundedness of the control signal is taken into consideration through the design of the control laws by saturation of the actuators' input. The asymptotic stability Micromachines 2015, 6 994 of the closed loop system is proven by Lyapunov analysis. Real-time experiments are carried out on a quadrotor using MEMS inertial sensors in order to emphasize the efficiency of this biomimetic strategy by showing the convergence of the body's states in hovering mode, as well as the robustness with respect to external disturbances

Biological Evidence Analysis in Cases of Sexual Assault

Sexual assault (SA) is a crime of violence against a person’s body resulting in a physical trauma, mental anguish, and suffering for victims generating expenses for government intended criminal investigation, medical care, and psychological attention. During the crime scene investigation, the identification and recovery of biological evidence (BE) are utmost important, since sometimes these are the only way to prove sexual contact and the perpetrator’s identity. The examiner, with the help of specific technologies and techniques, must be able to find evidence that otherwise could go unnoticed. Forensic laboratories identify biological evidence with systemized protocols and use molecular methods to generate DNA profiles based on the amplification and DNA sequencing. Before the arrival of the new-generation sequencers, the application of other markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), insertion-deletion of nucleotides (INDEL), or microhaplotypes (MHs)) was laborious, expensive, and not very informative for forensic purposes; however, now they are useful in this field. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) brought a new series of applications like epigenetics, microbiota, messenger RNA, and microRNA analysis and the inferences in the ancestry and phenotyping of individuals. In the end, the results obtained from such analyses and stored in databases are very useful for the identification of sexual aggressors

SIMULACIÓN “HARDWARE IN THE LOOP” DEL CONTROL DE VELOCIDAD DE UN VEHÍCULO ELÉCTRICO CON MOTORES DE IMÁN PERMANENTE

Este trabajo presenta el diseño, integración y puesta en marcha, de un sistema de ´hardware in the loop´ para probar el control de velocidad de motores de imán permanente aplicados a tracción eléctrica. El sistema hardware in the loop (HIL) propuesto simula la carga mecánica que representa la dinámica de un auto eléctrico, así como el sistema de alimentación principal y los accionamientos eléctricos para controlar los dos motores que forman el sistema de tracción. Por otra parte, el algoritmo de control por campo orientado se programa en el sistema de control industrial CompactRIO. Los resultados obtenidos validan la operación adecuada del control

Fractional Order PI-Based Control Applied to the Traction System of an Electric Vehicle (EV)

This paper presents a design of a cruise control based on a fractional-order proportional and integral (PI) direct torque control applied to the traction system of an electric vehicle (EV). The paper also discusses the modeling, control design and simulation, resulting in a numerical simulator composed of detailed models of the main components: transmission system, induction motor, power electronics, control system, and vehicle dynamics. The simulation was developed in MATLAB/Simulink and will allow the estimation of the energy consumption of an EV under specific configurations. Simulation results show the efficiency of the designed control. These simulations were carried out using the velocity profiles given by the New Europe Drive Cycle (NEDC)

Design of buck DC-DC converters from the linear quadratic regulator approach

This paper presents the design guidelines of a control for step down (Buck) Direct Current to Direct Current (DC-DC) converter for hybrid and high power implementations. The DC-DC converter is analyzed and modeled with the state variables approach and based on the Sliding Mode Control (SMC) theory. A Continuous-Time Sigma Delta modulator performs the oversampled switching for the converter with benefits in the voltage ripple control. The proposed laws of control are implemented and verified though behavioral simulations in Mixed Signal mode verilogA descriptions. The results are shown with responses to different load values, showing control for every case. The proposed converter achieves a low output voltage ripple and a fast settling time

Event-based control strategy for consensus of a group of VTOL-UAVs

International audienceThis paper presents the development of a collaborative event-based control applied to the problem of consensus and formation of a group of VTOL-UAVs (Vertical Takeoff and Landing, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). Each VTOL-UAV decides, based on the difference of its current state (linear position and velocity) and its latest broadcast state, when it has to send a new value to its neighbors. The asymptotic convergence to average consensus or desired formation is depicted via numerical simulations