Inteligentno upravljanje paralelnim robotom sa šest stupnjeva slobode korištenim za rehabilitaciju donjih udova

The process of empowering muscles in order to make them to a normal and common value is an expensive and prolonged work, in common available methods. There are some commercial exercise machines used for this purpose called rehabilitation systems. However, due to their insufficient motion freedom and prospect of being expensive, these machines have limited usage. Hence, it is clearly necessary that Mechatronic technologies should be used in this area. In this paper, an algorithm and an improved rule are presented for controlling a rehabilitation system of lower limbs which is implemented on a 6-Degree Of Freedom (DOF) Stewart parallel robot. Impedance control and adaptive control are used for this purpose. Estimation and optimization of control parameters will be done by artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms, respectively (intelligent strategy). Safety is guaranteed since some of controller parameters can be adapted under the stability conditions given by using Routh stability theory. Thereafter, the results of simulations are presented by defining a physiotherapy standard mode on a desired trajectory. MATLAB/SIMULINK is used for simulations. Finally, a comparative discussion between this strategy and common methods is devised.Proces osposobljavanja mišića za normalne funkcije je skup i dugotrajan uz korištenje dostupnih metoda. Postoje komercijalni strojevi za tu svrhu koji se nazivaju sustavi za rehabilitaciju. Zbog njihove nedostatne slobode pokreta i visoke cijene takvi strojevi imaju ograničenu upotrebu. Stoga je jasno da je u području rehabilitiacije potrebno koristiti mehatroničke sustave. U ovom radu prikazan je algoritam i poboljšano pravilo za upravljanje rehabilitacijskog sustava za donje udove koji je implementiran na Stewart paralelnom robotu sa šest stupnjeva slobode. Pritom je korišteno upravljanje impedancijom i adaptivno upravljanje. Za estimaciju i optimiranje parametara upravljanja koriste se neuronske mreže i genetički algoritmi. Sigurnost je garantirana jer se neki parametri regulatora adaptiraju prema uvjetima stabilnosti koji su dobiveni korištenjem Ruthove teorije stabilnosti. Nakon toga, rezultati simulacija prikazani su definiranjem standardnog fizioterapijskog rada na željenoj trajektoriji. Za simulacije se koristi MATLAB/SIMULINK. Konačno, u radu je dana i usporedba predložene strategije s uobičajenim metodama

Performance Appraisal of Iranian Municipalities by DEA Method

Efficiency is one of economic concepts, which its enhancement has always been at the focus of politics and economy practitioners in order to improve standard of living, prosperity, peace, and human security; so that all economic schools and communities relatively emphasize this notion and suggest proper political advices to increase efficiency of various factors. Nowadays, regarding the qualitative and quantitative development of cities, the role of municipalities in urban management increasingly highlighted; thus, measuring the efficiency of municipalities is necessary for planning and better performance of municipalities. The present research tried to measure the performance of municipalities exceeding one hundred people through using DEA method and constant return to output-based scale (CCR-O) and variable return to output-based scale (BCC-O) in 2010; regarding municipalities’ relatively stable revenues, permanent revenues, semi-stable and totally unstable revenues as two inputs; and costs of urban and administrative services, as well as urban construction (including 1. Improved urban traffic; 2. Improved urban environment; and 3. Establishing entertainment and income-generating facilities) as five outputs. Obtained results indicate that 16 of 44 understudy municipalities i.e. 36.36% and 17 municipalities (38.64%) are efficient in CCR and BCC methods, respectively. The mean efficiency of the first method is 86.97% and 27.87% for the second method. Moreover, once municipalities totally ranked and an efficient virtual model introduced for inefficient municipalities, the main cause of inefficiency assigned to their extreme deviation from sufficient municipalities in costs of building cultural and sport places, which requires the highest attention at change average of 240%

Analyzing the Viability of the Structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Extended Abstract AbstractIt will be a dynamic and sustainable government that, with structural changes, adapts itself to constantly changing conditions and, while maintaining its identity and survival, can move towards its goals. The text of the constitution responds to the cross-cutting needs of political societies. Since the needs and requirements change with the dynamics and developments of society, the constitution must move to adapt to the new conditions by accepting amendments. Therefore, before taking any action in this regard, the status of the current structure should be examined.Our aim in this article is to study the significance of the governmental structure hidden in the constitution of the country from a systemic and sustainable perspective and using a scientific and practical method. The relationship between them was identified and then the constitutional structure of government was examined.After examining and diagnosing complications on the exploratory structure, this structure was largely diagnosed as viable, as well as frequent errors in viable systems on it.IntroductionStructures [including the structure of the constitution and governments] are derived from human thought and their efficiency in the extent to which they succeed in meeting needs, which, of course, is based on success in practical matters. Structures are influenced by values as well as culture and environmental conditions, so it seems that a successful structure is a structure appropriate to values, worldviews, ends, culture and environmental and indigenous conditions. Therefore, the basis is that the structure as a human credit must be forged in order to achieve the desired nature and end that it wants to achieve.Our aim in this article is to first show the governmental structure in the constitution of the country and then to examine this structure from a systemic perspective and using a scientific, practical and systematic method, i.e. the model of the viable system. Then we seek to answer the question whether the current structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran is viable?Case studyThe case study in this article is the government structure existing in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and then examining this structure from a systemic perspective using a scientific, practical and systemic method, namely the viable systems model.Materials and MethodsSince the viable systems model provides a tool to design the current structure of the systems or a new structure, the viable systems model was used in this research with the aim of identifying the government structure and also finding the complications of this structure. In this process, by using the three-step method proposed by Jackson (2003) and studying and reviewing the text of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, institutions related to the government are identified, and then the tasks and relationships between them are listed with model tables and checklists. In the next step, the government structure was extracted from the constitution and we drew the model of the government system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the last step, using the checklist of frequent errors in viable systems models, the drawing structure was examined and diagnosed.Discussion and ResultsThe components identified for system number 1 are: the executive branch, the judicial branch, and the leadership, which are considered for them in order from the highest to the lowest amount of work at this level (operational system). At the level of internal management of the system, system number 3 consists of four leadership institutions, the parliament, the presidency, and the head of the judiciary, and each of these institutions, except for the presidency, has appropriate control and monitoring tools (system *3); Of course, in the case of system number 2 (coordination system), in contrast to system number 3, there are no corresponding institutions in the law, although institutions for coordination between the components of system 1 and at a lower return level are embedded, from which the Minister of Justice can be directed to coordinate between the authorities. The Executive and Judiciary or the Broadcasting Supervisory Council pointed out that coordination at the level of System 3 is only under the responsibility of the Supreme Leader and to some extent the Guardian Council and Expediency Recognition Council (in the conflict resolution aspect) and other institutions of System 3 are without they are coordination tools.Regarding system number 4, which has functions such as adaptation, intelligence, and strategy, and it is referred to as the future and outside, the structure of the constitution in the discussion of the existence of an institution for this matter has several institutions; In addition, in terms of content and performance, it needs operational review. The duties of this system have been entrusted to the leadership, the Expediency Council and the Islamic Council. Also, regarding system number 5, it has been seen in the constitution of the two leadership institutions and the assembly of leadership experts that supervises the relationship between systems 3 and 4 and has ultimate authority.ConclusionBased on the investigations carried out in this research, the government structure in the country's constitution is somewhat consistent with the structure of viable systems and all the 5 components are present in it; Although in some sub-systems, especially system number 2, appropriate tools and institutions have not been seen; Also, some subsystems do not have proper and defined authority according to the level they are in. On the other hand, some constitutional institutions have different functions at several levels that may cause functional disorder, which also requires practical investigation in other researches. On the other hand, the components of system 1 have proper independence based on the text of the constitution, which is a very important issue for the integrity of the entire system, although their current functions and current independence were not within the scope of this research and are proposed as a suggestion for future research.A system for viability requires all five functions introduced in the model. In addition to these five subsystems that have been reviewed so far, the interaction pattern of each system must be exactly as described in the model, which is a very important issue in the review of each system and here is the government structure of the country's constitution. Examining the information flows and communication channels within the system - between different levels of the system and its institutions - and extra-system - between the system and the environment - the governmental structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be extracted by examining the structure of the country's constitution, and requires the examination of other current laws and regulations of the country and Also, the current status of its main institutions is in practice

DeepBrain: Experimental Evaluation of Cloud-Based Computation Offloading and Edge Computing in the Internet-of-Drones for Deep Learning Applications

This article belongs to the Special Issue Time-Sensitive Networks for Unmanned Aircraft SystemsUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been very effective in collecting aerial images data for various Internet-of-Things (IoT)/smart cities applications such as search and rescue, surveillance, vehicle detection, counting, intelligent transportation systems, to name a few. However, the real-time processing of collected data on edge in the context of the Internet-of-Drones remains an open challenge because UAVs have limited energy capabilities, while computer vision techniquesconsume excessive energy and require abundant resources. This fact is even more critical when deep learning algorithms, such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs), are used for classification and detection. In this paper, we first propose a system architecture of computation offloading for Internet-connected drones. Then, we conduct a comprehensive experimental study to evaluate the performance in terms of energy, bandwidth, and delay of the cloud computation offloading approach versus the edge computing approach of deep learning applications in the context of UAVs. In particular, we investigate the tradeoff between the communication cost and the computation of the two candidate approaches experimentally. The main results demonstrate that the computation offloading approach allows us to provide much higher throughput (i.e., frames per second) as compared to the edge computing approach, despite the larger communication delays.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Effect of Risk Factors on the Resilience of Industrial Equipmen

Recently, to evaluate the response of systems against disruptive events, the application of the resilience concept has been increased. Resilience depicts the system’s ability to return to its normal operational status after the disruption. Various studies in the field of engineering and non-engineering systems have only considered systems’ performance indicators to estimate resilience. Therefore, the impact of operating and environmental factors (risk factors) has been neglected. In this paper, the influence of the risk factors (rock type), as well as the system’s performance indicators, are considered in the resilience estimation of the excavator system of Gol-E-Gohar Iron mine

Business value of enterprise resource planning spending and scope: a post-implementation perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing knowledge about the value of postimplementation Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system at the firm level. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect data from 217 Malaysian firms that successfully implemented ERP system. Data analysis was conducted with partial least squares-structural equation modeling and partial least squares multi-group analysis techniques. Findings – Higher ERP spending and greater ERP scope in the post-implementation stage were associated with higher performance gains. Research limitations/implications – Among other limitations, relying on a small sample size and cross-sectional data of this study and lack of generalizability of findings tend to have certain limitations. An interesting direction for future research would be to extend this study by conducting a multi-level analysis to understand how ERP spending and scope would affect the micro-level performance. Practical implications – Non-financial performance gain is another valuable outcome of ERP implementation. The choice between in-house and off-the-shelf ERP systems will have dramatic impacts on the future profitability of firms. ERP risk management team and related practices during implementation phase result in a significantly higher financial gain in the post-implementation phase. Originality/value – This study assesses the business value of ERP at the post-implementation phase while accounting for key contextual and managerial issues, a topic that has received little attention to date

Combined Soft System Methodology in Two Levels to Improve Employees’ Promotion System

Soft operations research (OR) from a pluralist paradigm offers effective approaches to structure and improve problem situations with different stakeholders' worldviews and conflicts of interest. These approaches aim to structure and improve messy situations. In this study, we utilized Soft System Methodology (SSM) as a popular soft approach at two levels. Firstly, we applied Soft System Methodology process (SSMp) to plan the systemic intervention process in the employee promotion system of an oil and gas company. Then, Soft System Methodology content (SSMc) was employed to investigate the content of the company's employee promotion system, which was causing dissatisfaction among employees. By taking into account the worldviews of managers and employees, three root definitions were formulated. During this phase, a fair environment was created to facilitate the expression of different perspectives, allowing employees with varying levels of organizational power to openly voice their opinions. Finally, through stakeholder participation and discussion, an agreed model, root definition, and proposed actions to address the flaws in the employee promotion system were developed.IntroductionDue to the disorder of problematic situations and the environments that contain them, the traditional thinking of operations research, which has been devoted to solving problems for years, faces serious criticism. Today, complex and diverse management problems require different solutions. A significant group of issues is not single, single-purpose, clear, and indisputable. In order to mitigate the inadequacies of the aforementioned paradigm in solving real-world problems, the interpretive (learning) paradigm from 1970 to 1980, using situation improvement methodologies, has been developed under the title of research in non-classical operations. In this study, the issue of the inefficiency of the career promotion system of a company active in the field of oil and gas has led to the lack of promotion and job stagnation for a significant part of the specialists in this field. This has resulted in a decrease in the level of productivity of the organization's human resources. The purpose of this research is to use the soft systems methodology specifically on two levels (process and content) in the problem context to make a systematic intervention in improving the mentioned situation. By understanding the relationships governing the investigated system and with the participation of actors and stakeholders within the boundaries of the system, an effective step can be taken in the direction of employee satisfaction.Materials and MethodsThe underlying theory in the soft systems methodology is action research. It is a cycle where action leads to critical thinking and possibly further action. Therefore, in the soft systems methodology, every part of implementation is part of research, and every use of this method requires learning and new research. In this study, according to the explanations presented, the soft systems methodology is used on two levels to improve the conditions. In level one, process-oriented soft systems methodology (SSMp) is used to plan intervention in the system. After planning and structuring the way to intervene in the system at the second level, the seven-step model is used to intervene in the employee promotion system. At this level, the methodology of content-oriented soft systems (SSMc) is used to enter the system and intervene in the content of the conditions. The mentioned process has intervened in the employee promotion system in the form of an action research cycle.Discussion and ResultsSoft systems methodology, as a practical approach, tries to create improvement by intervening in problematic social situations. In this article, two aspects of this methodology have been used to manage the project and carry out the project to improve employee dissatisfaction with the career promotion system. Firstly, soft systems methodology using the classical model has been used. This approach has been used in the initial application not as a method or technique but as a set of principles to guide the planning of the process of involvement in the employee career promotion system, and in this way, it has been implemented in project management. In the next step, the content-oriented soft systems methodology has been used to investigate employee dissatisfaction with the career promotion system. The researchers investigated the cultural and political characteristics of the problematic situation. This section has been used in response to the critics of soft systems methodology based on the inability in systems where there are serious conflicts between stakeholders. Therefore, by studying the cultural situation and power structure, it is possible to manage conflicts better, and in this way, the implementation of the project in a liberating manner prevented discussions from being drawn to the priorities of powerful people in the system, which is exactly in accordance with Checkland's opinion regarding the significant dependence of the project on the method of its implementation to fix the mentioned weaknesses.ConclusionIn this research, firstly, the process of intervention in the career promotion system of the employees has been structured, and with the initial planning, the possibility of systemic and systematic involvement has been provided. In this way, the researchers and the project team, consisting of managers and employees, structured the study process by using the process-oriented soft systems methodology in coordination and consensus with each other. In the next step, the content of the career promotion system was examined with a content-oriented soft methodology approach. Since both stages have been carried out with the participation and cooperation of a number of senior managers, middle managers, and employees, and with the researchers' facilitation, the research output has a strong possibility of acceptance and implementation. The steps of doing the work are mentioned along with the necessary details to increase the recoverability and, as a result, improve the validity of the research implementation process. In this way, researchers have been provided with the possibility of deeper investigation and similar implementation in other fields

Evaluating the Performance of Forecasting Models for Portfolio Allocation Purposes with Generalized GRACH Method

Portfolio theory assumes that investors accept risk. This means thatin the equal rate of return on the two assets, the assets were chosenthat have a lower risk level. Modern portfolio theory is accepted byinvestors who believe that they are not cope with the market. Sothey keep many different types of securities in order to access theoptimum efficiency rate that is close to the rate of return on market.One way to control investment risk is establishing the portfolioshares. There are many ways to choose the optimal portfolioshares. Among these methods in this study we use loss functions.For this, we choose all firms from the year2011to the end of 2015that had been a member in the Tehran Stock Exchange. The resultsof this research show that the likelihood functions have the bestperformance in Forecasting the optimal portfolio allocationprob-lem

Designing After-Sale Service Model in World Class with Soft System Methodology approach (The Case: LPG Industry)

The Soft System Methodology (SSM), one of the OR techniques, is used tosolve complex real-world problems. Since to design of the after-sales servicemodels for the liquefied gas industry, various groups, such as refineries,mopeds, silencers, taps, standardized organizations, and the consumer rightsprotection organization should be considered, so decision making in thissituations are very complicated issue. In this study, using the aboveapproach, the problem of non-structured model design at the world-classlevel is explained and then, by specifying its boundaries, the image of thevarious actors of the system and their benefits are depicted. In the third step,the CATWOE approach is used to explain the basic definition of the aftersales service model in this industry, and in the fourth stage, a conceptualmodel of activities is presented using the root definition. This paper usesintegration of ISM-Fuzzy Delphi in the process of problem solving. In thefifth step, the developed model is compared with the real world. In the sixthstage, desirable and feasible changes were identified and explained by theIPA method. Finally, using the results of the previous stages, andsuggestions for the development of the model to reach the world class levelare presented to the authorities and stakeholders