Multidisciplinary design and flight testing of a remote gas/particle airborne sensor system

The main objective of this paper is to describe the development of a remote sensing airborne air sampling system for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and provide the capability for the detection of particle and gas concentrations in real time over remote locations. The design of the air sampling methodology started by defining system architecture, and then by selecting and integrating each subsystem. A multifunctional air sampling instrument, with capability for simultaneous measurement of particle and gas concentrations was modified and integrated with ARCAA’s Flamingo UAS platform and communications protocols. As result of the integration process, a system capable of both real time geo-location monitoring and indexed-link sampling was obtained. Wind tunnel tests were conducted in order to evaluate the performance of the air sampling instrument in controlled nonstationary conditions at the typical operational velocities of the UAS platform. Once the remote fully operative air sampling system was obtained, the problem of mission design was analyzed through the simulation of different scenarios. Furthermore, flight tests of the complete air sampling system were then conducted to check the dynamic characteristics of the UAS with the air sampling system and to prove its capability to perform an air sampling mission following a specific flight path

Parametric Representations of Facial Expressions on PDE-Based Surfaces

NoParameterisation of facial expressions on PDE surface representations of human faces are presented in this work. Taking advantage of the boundary-value approach inherent to Bloor-Wilson PDE method, facial expressions are achieved by manipulating the original boundary curves. Such curves are responsible for generating a surface representation of a human face in its neutral configuration, so that regions on these curves represent a given facial expression in a fast and realistic manner. Additionally, the parameterisation proposed here is carried out by applying different mathematical transformations to the affected curves according to the corresponding facial expression. Full analytic expressions parameterising some of the most common facial expressions such as smiling and eyebrow raising are in this work. Some graphical examples of these facial expressions are used to illustrate the results obtained using Bloor-Wilson PDE method as the foundations of the parameterisation scheme proposed here. Thus, it is shown that an efficient, intuitive and realistic parameterisation of facial expressions is attainable using Bloor-Wilson PDE method in along with a suitable mathematical expression

PDE Face: A Novel 3D Face Model

YesWe introduce a novel approach to face models, which exploits the use of Partial Differential Equations (PDE) to generate the 3D face. This addresses some common problems of existing face models. The PDE face benefits from seamless merging of surface patches by using only a relatively small number of parameters based on boundary curves. The PDE face also provides users with a great degree of freedom to individualise the 3D face by adjusting a set of facial boundary curves. Furthermore, we introduce a uv-mesh texture mapping method. By associating the texels of the texture map with the vertices of the uv mesh in the PDE face, the new texture mapping method eliminates the 3D-to-2D association routine in texture mapping. Any specific PDE face can be textured without the need for the facial expression in the texture map to match exactly that of the 3D face model

PDE-based Facial Animation: Making the Complex Simple

YesDirect parameterisation is among the most widely used facial animation techniques but requires complicated ways to animate face models which have complex topology. This paper develops a simple solution by introducing a PDE-based facial animation scheme. Using a PDE face model means we only need to animate a group of boundary curves without using any other conventional surface interpolation algorithms. We describe the basis of the method and show results from a practical implementation.EPSR

Mòdul terminal punt de venda per a Tryton

Les aplicacions de planificació de recursos empresarials (en anglès Enterprise Resource Planning), també conegudes per ERPs són sistemes d’informació que s’integren a molts dels negocis actuals per gestionar els seus processos. Tryton és una aplicació ERP d’aquest tipus que permet gestionar diversos aspectes com les vendes, les compres, la facturació la comptabilitat, la gestió d’estoc, la fabricació,... Aquest projecte consisteix en desenvolupar una aplicació per afegir les funcionalitats d’un terminal punt de venda a un ERP existent com és Tryton. L’aplicació desenvolupada s’encarrega principalment de crear i gestionar vendes al públic o minoristes en un establiment comercial. Permet gestionar el control d’estoc dels productes, el control de caixa, actualitzar la comptabilitat relacionada a les vendes i la impressió de tiquets de venda. L’aplicació permet obtenir informació detallada sobre les vendes realitzades per saber en quin estat es troben, si ha estat abonada total o parcialment, si s’ha creat la factura i saber quins i quants pagaments s’han realitzat. Una altre funcionalitat que ofereix l’aplicació és la possibilitat de poder crear operacions per introduir o extreure diners de la caixa, com per exemple retirar diners per ingressar al banc. Tant les operacions com els pagaments d’una venda s’anoten en un registre des d’on s’actualitza automàticament la comptabilitat de l’empresa així com també consultar els assentaments comptables generats. Aquest projecte afegeix noves funcionalitats a Tryton i optimitza el processos relacionats a les vendes al detall realitzades en un establiment

A new strategy for probing the Majorana neutrino CP violating phases and masses

We propose a new strategy for detecting the CP-violating phases and the effective mass of muon Majorana neutrinos by measuring observables associated with neutrino-antineutrino oscillations in $\pi^{\pm}$ decays. Within the generic framework of quantum field theory, we compute the non-factorizable probability for producing a pair of same-charged muons in $\pi^{\pm}$ decays as a distinctive signature of $\nu_{\mu}-\bar{\nu_{\mu}}$ oscillations. We show that an intense neutrino beam through a long baseline experiment is favored for probing the Majorana phases. Using the neutrino-antineutrino oscillation probability reported by MINOS collaboration, a new stringent bound on the effective muon-neutrino mass is derived.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Shape Morphing Using PDE Surfaces

NoA methodology for shape morphing using partial differential equation (PDE) surfaces is presented in this work. The use of the PDE formulation shows how shape morphing can be based on a boundary-value approach by which intermediate shapes can be created. Furthermore, the mathematical properties of the method give rise to several alternatives in which morphing one shape into another can be achieved. Three of these alternatives are presented here. The first one is based on the gradual variation of the weighted sum of the boundary conditions for each surface, the second one consists of varying the Fourier mode for which the PDE is solved whilst the third results from a combination of the first two. Examples showing the efficiency of these methodologies are presented. Thus, it is shown that the PDE based approach for morphing, when combined with a parametric variation of the boundary conditions, is capable of obtaining smooth intermediate surfaces automatically

Understanding the illicit drug distribution in England: a data-centric approach to the County Lines Model

The County Lines Model (CLM) is a relatively new illicit drugs distribution method found in Great Britain. The CLM has brought modern slavery and public health issues, while challenging the law-enforcement capacity to act, as coordination between different local police forces is necessary. Our objective is to understand the territorial logic behind the line operators when establishing a connection between two places. We use three different spatial models (gravity, radiation and retail models), as each one of them understands flow from place i to j in a different way. Using public data from the Metropolitan Police of London, we train and cross-validate the models to understand which of the different physical and socio-demographic variables are considered when establishing a connection. We analyse hospital admissions by drugs, disposable household income, police presence and knife crime events, in addition to the population of a particular place and the distance and travel times between two different. Our results show that knife crime events and hospital admissions by misuse of drugs are the most important variables. We also find that London operators distribute to the territory known as the "South" of England, as negligible presence of them is observed outside of it

The use of alternative data models in data warehousing environments

Data Warehouses are increasing their data volume at an accelerated rate; high disk space consumption; slow query response time and complex database administration are common problems in these environments. The lack of a proper data model and an adequate architecture specifically targeted towards these environments are the root causes of these problems. Inefficient management of stored data includes duplicate values at column level and poor management of data sparsity which derives from a low data density, and affects the final size of Data Warehouses. It has been demonstrated that the Relational Model and Relational technology are not the best techniques for managing duplicates and data sparsity. The novelty of this research is to compare some data models considering their data density and their data sparsity management to optimise Data Warehouse environments. The Binary-Relational, the Associative/Triple Store and the Transrelational models have been investigated and based on the research results a novel Alternative Data Warehouse Reference architectural configuration has been defined. For the Transrelational model, no database implementation existed. Therefore it was necessary to develop an instantiation of it’s storage mechanism, and as far as could be determined this is the first public domain instantiation available of the storage mechanism for the Transrelational model