A Generic Conceptual Model for Risk Analysis in a Multi-agent Based Collaborative Design Environment

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityThis paper presents a generic conceptual model of risk evaluation in order to manage the risk through related constraints and variables under a multi-agent collaborative design environment. Initially, a hierarchy constraint network is developed to mapping constraints and variables. Then, an effective approximation technique named Risk Assessment Matrix is adopted to evaluate risk level and rank priority after probability quantification and consequence validation. Additionally, an Intelligent Data based Reasoning Methodology is expanded to deal with risk mitigation by combining inductive learning methods and reasoning consistency algorithms with feasible solution strategies. Finally, two empirical studies were conducted to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the conceptual model.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Compan

China's Exchange Rate Policy: The Case Against Abandoning the Dollar PEG

This paper critically evaluates the policy literature surrounding China's exchange rate regime.It first discusses several popularly raised contentions in relation to the dollar peg employed by China, which in fact are poorly grounded in evidence.These include notions that the RMB is clearly undervalued and that its value is a prominent cause of the U.S trade deficit.The paper then describes a consensus position that has emerged which argues that China should abandon the peg in favour of a flexible exchange rate regime.We see numerous weaknesses in this position but a few stand out.Moving to a flexible regime is far from the most proximate policy response to the problems that the consensus literature itself identifies in China's economy.Institutional realities that make moving to a flexible regime difficult also appear to have been seriously overlooked.The paper concludes by noting that in the longer term moving to a managed float may be in China's best interests - but for now the focus needs to be firmly in the area of domestic financial reform.exchange rate;dollar peg;managed float;China

Universal attraction force-inspired freeform surface modeling for 3D sketching

This paper presents a novel freeform surface modeling method to construct a freeform surface from 3D sketch. The approach is inspired by Newton’s universal attraction force law to construct a surface model from rough boundary curves and unorganized interior characteristic curves which may cross the boundary curves or not. Based on these unorganized curves, an initial surface can be obtained for conceptual design and it can be improved later in a commercial package. The approach has been tested with examples and it is capable of dealing with unorganized design curves for surface modeling

Sketch-based virtual human modelling and animation

Animated virtual humans created by skilled artists play a remarkable role in today’s public entertainment. However, ordinary users are still treated as audiences due to the lack of appropriate expertise, equipment, and computer skills. We developed a new method and a novel sketching interface, which enable anyone who can draw to “sketch-out” 3D virtual humans and animation. We devised a “Stick FigureFleshing-outSkin Mapping” graphical pipeline, which decomposes the complexity of figure drawing and considerably boosts the modelling and animation efficiency. We developed a gesture-based method for 3D pose reconstruction from 2D stick figure drawings. We investigated a “Creative Model-based Method”, which performs a human perception process to transfer users’ 2D freehand sketches into 3D human bodies of various body sizes, shapes and fat distributions. Our current system supports character animation in various forms including articulated figure animation, 3D mesh model animation, and 2D contour/NPR animation with personalised drawing styles. Moreover, this interface also supports sketch-based crowd animation and 2D storyboarding of 3D multiple character interactions. A preliminary user study was conducted to support the overall system design. Our system has been formally tested by various users on Tablet PC. After minimal training, even a beginner can create vivid virtual humans and animate them within minutes

Sketching-out virtual humans: From 2d storyboarding to immediate 3d character animation

Virtual beings are playing a remarkable role in today’s public entertainment, while ordinary users are still treated as audiences due to the lack of appropriate expertise, equipment, and computer skills. In this paper, we present a fast and intuitive storyboarding interface, which enables users to sketch-out 3D virtual humans, 2D/3D animations, and character intercommunication. We devised an intuitive “stick figurefleshing-outskin mapping” graphical animation pipeline, which realises the whole process of key framing, 3D pose reconstruction, virtual human modelling, motion path/timing control, and the final animation synthesis by almost pure 2D sketching. A “creative model-based method” is developed, which emulates a human perception process, to generate the 3D human bodies of variational sizes, shapes, and fat distributions. Meanwhile, our current system also supports the sketch-based crowd animation and the storyboarding of the 3D multiple character intercommunication. This system has been formally tested by various users on Tablet PC. After minimal training, even a beginner can create vivid virtual humans and animate them within minutes

Maximizing the Probability of Delivery of Multipoint Relay Broadcast Protocol in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks with a Realistic Physical Layer

It is now commonly accepted that the unit disk graph used to model the physical layer in wireless networks does not reflect real radio transmissions, and that the lognormal shadowing model better suits to experimental simulations. Previous work on realistic scenarios focused on unicast, while broadcast requirements are fundamentally different and cannot be derived from unicast case. Therefore, broadcast protocols must be adapted in order to still be efficient under realistic assumptions. In this paper, we study the well-known multipoint relay protocol (MPR). In the latter, each node has to choose a set of neighbors to act as relays in order to cover the whole 2-hop neighborhood. We give experimental results showing that the original method provided to select the set of relays does not give good results with the realistic model. We also provide three new heuristics in replacement and their performances which demonstrate that they better suit to the considered model. The first one maximizes the probability of correct reception between the node and the considered relays multiplied by their coverage in the 2-hop neighborhood. The second one replaces the coverage by the average of the probabilities of correct reception between the considered neighbor and the 2-hop neighbors it covers. Finally, the third heuristic keeps the same concept as the second one, but tries to maximize the coverage level of the 2-hop neighborhood: 2-hop neighbors are still being considered as uncovered while their coverage level is not higher than a given coverage threshold, many neighbors may thus be selected to cover the same 2-hop neighbors

Impedance Analysis of Bunch Length Measurements at the ATF Damping Ring

We present energy spread and bunch length measurements at the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at KEK, as functions of current, for different ring rf voltages, and with the beam both on and off the coupling resonance. We fit the on-coupling bunch shapes to those of an impedance model consisting of a resistor and an inductor connected in series. We find that the fits are reasonably good, but that the resulting impedance is unexpectedly large.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, presented at 10th International Symposium on Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (ISEM2001