574 research outputs found
An intelligent real time 3D vision system for robotic welding tasks
MARWIN is a top-level robot control system that has been designed for automatic robot welding tasks. It extracts welding parameters and calculates robot trajectories directly from CAD models which are then verified by real-time 3D scanning and registration. MARWIN's 3D computer vision provides a user-centred robot environment in which a task is specified by the user by simply confirming and/or adjusting suggested parameters and welding sequences. The focus of this paper is on describing a mathematical formulation for fast 3D reconstruction using structured light together with the mechanical design and testing of the 3D vision system and show how such technologies can be exploited in robot welding tasks
Robot trajectory planning using OLP and structured light 3D machine vision
This paper proposes a new methodology for robotic offline programming (OLP) addressing the issue of automatic program generation directly from 3D CAD models and verification through online 3D reconstruction. Limitations of current OLP include manufacturing tolerances between CAD and workpieces and inaccuracies in workpiece placement and modelled work cell. These issues are addressed and demonstrated through surface scanning, registration, and global and local error estimation. The method allows the robot to adjust the welding path designed from the CAD model to the actual workpiece. Alternatively, for non-repetitive tasks and where a CAD model is not available, it is possible to interactively define the path online over the scanned surface
Modeling of water balance response to an extreme future scenario in the Ătztal catchment, Austria
The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of climate change on the
water balance of the Ătztaler Ache catchment in Tyrol, Austria. For this
purpose the conceptual hydrological model HBV-D REG was applied. First, the
model was calibrated and validated using current observed climate and
discharge data. Second, the calibrated model was applied with reanalysis
data. Third, downscaled climate scenarios from 2010 to 2099 served as input
data to the HBV-D REG. Thereby two extreme land cover scenarios were
considered: for water balance modeling a constant glacier coverage from today
and additionally for runoff simulations a complete loss of glaciered area.
The downscaled climate data were generated with the expanded downscaling
method. Scenario simulations indicated an increase in annual areal
temperature by 3.4 °C and a slight decrease in annual areal
precipitation by 89 mm in the next one hundred years. According to the hydrological
modeling, these climate changes caused an increase in evapotranspiration and
a decrease in snow coverage. Furthermore model simulations showed an increase
in winter and spring runoff, whereas summer runoff was highly sensitive to
glacier coverage and decreased with complete loss of glacier coverage
CX3CR1 Polymorphisms are associated with atopy but not asthma in German children
Chemokines and their receptors are involved in many aspects of immunity. Chemokine CX3CL1, acting via its receptor CX3CR1, regulates monocyte migration and macrophage differentiation as well as T cell-dependent inflammation. Two common, nonsynonymous polymorphisms in CX3CR1 have previously been shown to alter the function of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 pathway and were suggested to modify the risk for asthma. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight technology, we genotyped polymorphisms Val249Ile and Thr280Met in a cross-sectional population of German children from Munich (n = 1,159) and Dresden ( n = 1,940). For 249Ile an odds ratio of 0.77 (95% confidence interval 0.63-0.96; p = 0.017) and for 280Met an odds ratio of 0.71 ( 95% confidence interval 0.56-0.89; p = 0.004) were found with atopy in Dresden but not in Munich. Neither polymorphism was associated with asthma. Thus, amino acid changes in CX3CR1 may influence the development of atopy but not asthma in German children. Potentially, other factors such as environmental effects may modify the role of CX3CR1 polymorphisms. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel
Probing Dark Matter Substructure in Lens Galaxies
We investigate the effects of numerous dark matter subhalos in a galaxy-sized
halo on the events of strong lensing, to assess their presence as expected from
the cold dark matter scenario. Lens galaxies are represented by a smooth
ellipsoid in an external shear field and additional cold dark matter subhalos
taken from Monte Carlo realizations which accord with recent N-body results. We
also consider other possible perturbers, globular clusters and luminous dwarf
satellites, for comparison. We then apply the models to the particular lens
systems with four images, B1422+231 and PG1115+080, for which smooth lens
models are unable to reproduce both the positions of the images and their radio
flux ratios or dust-free optical flux ratios simultaneously. We show that the
perturbations by both globular clusters and dwarf satellites are too small to
change the flux ratios, whereas cold dark matter subhalos are most likely
perturbers to reproduce the observed flux ratios in a statistically significant
manner. This result suggests us the presence of numerous subhalos in lens
galaxies, which is consistent with the results of cosmological N-body
simulations.Comment: 19 pages, including 5 figures, ApJ in pres
CFHT AO Imaging of the CLASS Gravitational Lens System B1359+154
We present adaptive optics imaging of the CLASS gravitational lens system
B1359+154 obtained with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) in the
infrared K band. The observations show at least three brightness peaks within
the ring of lensed images, which we identify as emission from multiple lensing
galaxies. The results confirm the suspected compound nature of the lens, as
deduced from preliminary mass modeling. The detection of several additional
nearby galaxies suggests that B1359+154 is lensed by the compact core of a
small galaxy group. We attempted to produce an updated lens model based on the
CFHT observations and new 5-GHz radio data obtained with the MERLIN array, but
there are too few constraints to construct a realistic model at this time. The
uncertainties inherent with modeling compound lenses make B1359+154 a
challenging target for Hubble constant determination through the measurement of
differential time delays. However, time delays will offer additional
constraints to help pin down the mass model. This lens system therefore
presents a unique opportunity to directly measure the mass distribution of a
galaxy group at intermediate redshift.Comment: 12 pages including 3 figures; ApJL accepte
Gravitational Lensing by Power-Law Mass Distributions: A Fast and Exact Series Approach
We present an analytical formulation of gravitational lensing using familiar
triaxial power-law mass distributions, where the 3-dimensional mass density is
given by . The deflection angle and magnification factor are
obtained analytically as Fourier series. We give the exact expressions for the
deflection angle and magnification factor. The formulae for the deflection
angle and magnification factor given in this paper will be useful for numerical
studies of observed lens systems. An application of our results to the Einstein
Cross can be found in Chae, Turnshek, & Khersonsky (1998). Our series approach
can be viewed as a user-friendly and efficient method to calculate lensing
properties that is better than the more conventional approaches, e.g.,
numerical integrations, multipole expansions.Comment: 24 pages, 3 Postscript figures, ApJ in press (October 10th
New Modeling of the Lensing Galaxy and Cluster of Q0957+561: Implications for the Global Value of the Hubble Constant
The gravitational lens 0957+561 is modeled utilizing recent observations of
the galaxy and the cluster as well as previous VLBI radio data which have been
re-analyzed recently. The galaxy is modeled by a power-law elliptical mass
density with a small core while the cluster is modeled by a non-singular
power-law sphere as indicated by recent observations. Using all of the current
available data, the best-fit model has a reduced chi-squared of approximately 6
where the chi-squared value is dominated by a small portion of the
observational constraints used; this value of the reduced chi-squared is
similar to that of the recent FGSE best-fit model by Barkana et al. However,
the derived value of the Hubble constant is significantly different from the
value derived from the FGSE model. We find that the value of the Hubble
constant is given by H_0 = 69 +18/-12 (1-K) and 74 +18/-17 (1-K) km/s/Mpc with
and without a constraint on the cluster's mass, respectively, where K is the
convergence of the cluster at the position of the galaxy and the range for each
value is defined by Delta chi-squared = reduced chi-squared. Presently, the
best achievable fit for this system is not as good as for PG 1115+080, which
also has recently been used to constrain the Hubble constant, and the
degeneracy is large. Possibilities for improving the fit and reducing the
degeneracy are discussed.Comment: 22 pages in aaspp style including 6 tables and 5 figures, ApJ in
press (Nov. 1st issue
A determination of H_0 with the CLASS gravitational lens B1608+656: II. Mass models and the Hubble constant from lensing
EDITED FROM PAPER: We present mass models of the four-image gravitational
lens system B1608+656. A mass model for the lens galaxies has been determined
that reproduces the image positions, two out of three flux-density ratios and
the model time delays.
Using the time delays determined by Fassnacht et al. (1999a), we find that
the best isothermal mass model gives H_0=59^{+7}_{-6} km/s/Mpc for Omega_m=1
and Omega_l=0.0, or H_0=(65-63)^{+7}_{-6} km/s/Mpc for Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_l
= 0.0-0.7 (95.4% statistical confidence). A systematic error of +/-15 km/s/Mpc
is estimated.
This cosmological determination of H_0 agrees well with determinations from
three other gravitational lens systems (i.e. B0218+357, Q0957+561 and
PKS1830-211), SNe Ia, the S-Z effect and local determinations. The current
agreement on H_0 from four out of five gravitational lens systems (i)
emphasizes the reliability of its determination from isolated gravitational
lens systems and (ii) suggests that a close-to-isothermal mass profile can
describe disk galaxies, ellipticals and central cluster ellipticals.
The average of H_0 from B0218+357, Q0957+561, B1608+656 and PKS1830-211,
gives H_0(GL)=69 +/-7 km/s/Mpc for a flat universe with Omega_m=1 or H_0(GL)=74
+/-8 km/s/Mpc for Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_l=0.0-0.7. When including PG1115+080,
these values decrease to 64 +/-11 km/s/Mpc and 68 +/-13 km/s/Mpc (2-sigma
errors), respectively.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 34 pages, 4 figure
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