Kinect as an access device for people with cerebral palsy: A preliminary study

Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, causingactivity limitation. Access to technology can alleviate some of these limitations. Many studies have used vision- based movement capture systems to overcome problems related to discomfort and fear of wearing devices. Incontrast, there has been no research assessing the behavior of vision-based movement capture systems in peoplewith involuntary movements. In this paper, we look at the potential of the Kinect sensor as an assistive technologyfor people with cerebral palsy. We developed a serious game, called KiSens Números, to study the behavior ofKinect in this context and eighteen subjects with cerebral palsy used it to complete a set of sessions. The resultsof the experiments show that Kinect filters some of peoples involuntary movements, confirming the potential ofKinect as an assistive technology for people with motor disabilities

Matlab Driver for Design Parameterization and Optimization of Microstrip Circuits in PowerSI

The present study case focusses in the generation of a Matlab driver for parameterized full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulations performed in Cadence® Sigrity™ PowerSI (PowerSI), illustrating its usage to analyze several high-frequency circuits, such as microstrip filters and antennas, as well as for design optimization of a spiral inductor. The proposed methodology drives Power SI in batch mode, generates a base file with .SPD extension that can be edited in text format through Matlab commands, sets the simulation parameters and runs the simulation without opening the Power SI graphical user interface (GUI), and finally reads the simulation results for plotting or further processing with Matlab. The application of the proposed Matlab driver for PowerSI is illustrated by simulating several microstrip circuits. Furthermore, the proposed driver enables the possibility of sweeping the dimensions and other physical characteristics of the simulated circuits. Additionally, this study case describes the implementation of an optimization technique that enhances fine-tuning of the geometry for a particular spiral inductor structure simulated in a 3D EM-FEM solver module inside Power SI, namely, Cadence® Sigrity™ PowerSI 3D-EM® (PowerSI 3D-EM). Then this works compares the 3D simulation results from our simulator with the results reported in previous work in Sonnet, a 2.5D tool that uses the MoM. Finally, the propose study case presents an optimization case employing the Broyden-based input space mapping algorithm, better known as aggressive space mapping (ASM), to obtain the geometrical dimensions of the spiral inductor structure that satisfies some given design specifications

Understanding a Version of Multivariate Symmetric Uncertainty to assist in Feature Selection

In this paper, we analyze the behavior of the multivariate symmetric uncertainty (MSU) measure through the use of statistical simulation techniques under various mixes of informative and non-informative randomly generated features. Experiments show how the number of attributes, their cardinalities, and the sample size affect the MSU. We discovered a condition that preserves good quality in the MSU under different combinations of these three factors, providing a new useful criterion to help drive the process of dimension reduction

Emotions Detection based on a Single-electrode EEG Device

The study of emotions using multiple channels of EEG represents a widespread practice in the field of research related to brain computer interfaces (Brain Computer Interfaces). To date, few studies have been reported in the literature with a reduced number of channels, which when used in the detection of emotions present results that are less accurate than the rest. To detect emotions using an EEG channel and the data obtained is useful for classifying emotions with an accuracy comparable to studies in which there is a high number of channels, is of particular interest in this research framework. This article uses the Neurosky Maindwave device; which has a single electrode to acquire the EEG signal, Matlab software and IBM SPSS Modeler; which process and classify the signals respectively. The accuracy obtained in the detection of emotions in relation to the economic resources of the hardware dedicated to the acquisition of EEG signal is remarkable

Broadband transverse susceptibility in multiferroic Y-type hexaferrite Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Fe12O22

Producción CientíficaNoncollinear spin systems with magnetically induced ferroelectricity from changes in spiral magnetic ordering have attracted significant interest in recent research due to their remarkable magnetoelectric effects with promising applications. Single phase multiferroics are of great interest for these new multifunctional devices, being Y-type hexaferrites good candidates, and among them the ZnY compounds due to their ordered magnetic behaviour over room temperature. Polycrystalline Y type hexaferrites with composition Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Fe2O22 (BSZFO) were sintered in 1050 °C–1250 °C temperature range. Transverse susceptibility measurements carried out on these BSZFO samples in the temperature range 80–350 K with DC fields up to ± 5000 Oe reveal different behaviour depending on the sintering temperature. Sample sintered at 1250 °C is qualitatively different, suggesting a mixed Y and Z phase like CoY hexaferrites. Sintering at lower temperatures produce single phase Y-type, but the transverse susceptibility behaviour of the sample sintered at 1150 °C is shifted at temperatures 15 K higher. Regarding the DC field sweeps the observed behaviour is a peak that shifts to lower values with increasing temperature, and the samples corresponding to single Y phase exhibit several maxima and minima in the 250 K–330 K range at low DC applied field as a result of the magnetic field induced spin transitions in this compound.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; Agencia Estatal de Investigación with FEDER (MAT2016-80784-P

Simulation and comparative analysis of waste in concrete slabs

Construction sector generates significant amounts of waste that affects the environment and obstructs a sustainable development. The horizontal structure (slabs and roofs) is one of the building elements, by its functional requirement (geometry and layout) and volume, who uses more raw material for its constitution (potential generators of waste) On the other hand, the choice of the system to use, is typically based on criteria such as the ease of construction, the economy availability or the technological feasibility; so, from a sustainable perspective, the generation of waste has not been considered or evaluated. This work compares and analyzes four different common elements used in slabs and the possible generation of waste produced for the construction and eventual demolition of them, in order to provide a new weighting criterion in the choice.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

An Intelligent Traction Control for Motorcycles

The appearance of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and traction control systems (TCS) have been some of the most major developments in vehicle safety. These systems have been evolving since their origin, always keeping the same objective, by using increasingly sophisticated algorithms and complex brake and torque control architectures. The aim of this work is to develop and implement a new control model of a traction control system to be installed on a motorcycle, regulating the slip in traction and improving dynamic performance of two-wheeled vehicles. This paper presents a novel traction control algorithm based on the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Fuzzy Logic. An ANN is used to estimate the optimal slip of the surface the vehicle is moving on. A fuzzy logic control block, which makes use of the optimal slip provided by the ANN, is developed to control the throttle position. Two control blocks have been tuned. The first control block has been tuned according to the experience of an expert operator. The second one has been optimized using Evolutionary Computation (EC). Simulation shows that the use of EC can improve the fuzzy logic based control algorithm, obtaining better results than those produced with the control tuned only by experience.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Simulation and comparative analysis of waste in concrete slabs

Construction sector generates significant amounts of waste that affects the environment and obsturcts a sustainable development. The horizontal structure (slabs and roofs) is one of the building elements, by its functional requirement (geometry and layout) and volume, who uses more raw material for its constitution (potential generators of waste) On the other hand, the choice of the system to use, is typically based on criteria such as the ease of construction, the economy availability or the tecnological feasibility; so, from a sustainable perspective, the generation of waste has not been considered or evaluated. This work compares and analyzes four different common elements used in slabs and the possible generation of waste produced for the construction and eventual demolition of them, in order to provide a new weighiting criterion in the choice.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Modelos de elección discreta : revisión y aplicación mediante cuadratura Gaussiana

This work titled MODELOS DE ELECCION DISCRETA Revision y aplicacion mediante cuadratura gaussiana gathers the characteristic foundations of this models which are useful in Microeconometrics -- Characteristics of Binary Choice and Multinomial Choice Models are described -- Lastly, a practical application about labor dynamic of married women, both, in United States and Colombia using Gaussian Quadrature is presented -- Estimated models are highly significant in their parameters and the procedure of Gaussian Quadrature is stable and reliabl