Visual-Tactile Fusion for Robotic Stable Grasping

The stable grasp is the basis of robotic manipulation. It requires balance of the contact forces and the operated object. The status of the grasp determined by vision is direct according to the object’s shape or texture, but quite challenging. The tactile sensor can provide the effective way. In this work, we propose the visual-tactile fusion framework for predicting the grasp. Meanwhile, the object intrinsic property is also used. More than 2550 grasping trials using a novel robot hand with multiple tactile sensors are collected. And visual-tactile intrinsic deep neural network (DNN) is evaluated to prove the performance. The experimental results show the superiority of the proposed method

Experimental observation of superscattering

Superscattering, induced by degenerate resonances, breaks the fundamental single-channel limit of scattering cross section of subwavelength structures; in principle, an arbitrarily large total cross section can be achieved via superscattering. It thus provides a unique way to strengthen the light-matter interaction at the subwavelength scale, and has many potential applications in sensing, energy harvesting, bio-imaging (such as magnetic resonance imaging), communication and optoelectronics. However, the experimental demonstration of superscattering remains an open challenge due to its vulnerability to structural imperfections and intrinsic material losses. Here we report the first experimental evidence for superscattering, by demonstrating the superscattering simultaneously in two different frequency regimes through both the far-field and near-field measurements. The underlying mechanism for the observed superscattering is the degenerate resonances of confined surface waves, by utilizing a subwavelength metasurface-based multilayer structure. Our work paves the way towards practical applications based on superscattering

Structural Performance of Smart CFRP-FBG Reinforced Steel Beams

Many beam structures suffer from gradual performance degradation with the increase of service life. To recover the bearing capacity of these beams, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates are developed to attached on the beam bottom. To check the structural performance of the CFRP reinforced beams, smart CFRP plate with FBGs in series is designed and LVDTs are adopted to measure the deformations. The deflection of the reinforced beam is given based on the elastic conversion cross-section method. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The study shows that the CFRP reinforced zone has a larger flexural rigidity than the pure steel beam zone. The general distribution of the deflection along the span of the CFRP reinforced beam can be described by the proposed formula. It provides a scientific design guidance for the deflection control of CFRP reinforced structures

Interfacial Interaction of CFRP Reinforced Steel Beam Structures

Due to the increase of service life, the phenomenon of performance degradation of bridge structures becomes more and more common. It is important to strengthen the bridge structures so as to restore the resistance level and extend the normal service life. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials are thus used for the assembly reinforcement of bridges for the advantages of high strength, light weight, corrosion resistance and long-term stability of physical and chemical properties, etc. In view of this, based on the previous theoretical study and the established formula of the interfacial shear stress of CFRP reinforced steel beam and the normal stress of CFRP plate, this paper discusses the sensitive parameters that affect the interfacial interaction of CFRP strengthened beam structures. Through the analysis, the priority design indicators and suggestions are accordingly given for the design of reinforced beam structures. Young’s modulus of CFRP composite and shear modulus of the adhesive have the greatest influence on the interfacial interaction, which should be carefully considered. It is suggested that CFRP material with Ec close to 300 GPa and thickness no less than 3 mm, and adhesive material with Ga less than 5 GPa and 3-mm thickness can be adopted in CFRP reinforced steel beam. The conclusions of this paper can provide guidance for the interfacial damage control of CFRP reinforced steel beam structures

Consumers\u27 Repurchase Probability in Online Marketplace: A Belief Updating Perspective

It is commonly recognized that online transactions are “one-shot” transactions. However, a contemporary dataset from a dominant online marketplace in China reveals that averagely 24.3% transactions are repurchase transactions. Given that consumers already have purchase experience with a specific seller, their repurchase behavior may be influenced by both the seller’s reputation and their perceived seller performance. A consequent research question is: Whether and how do these two streams of information jointly affect consumers’ repurchase behavior? We adopt a belief update model, and also collect actual transaction data to examine this research question. Our findings include: (1) both seller reputation and consumers’ perceived seller performance have positive effects on consumers’ repurchase probability; (2) the effect of seller reputation is positively moderated by performance ambiguity; (3) consumers’ perceived seller performance has stronger effects on their repurchase probability when the seller has low reputation (vs. high reputation)

Privacy-Preserving Computation over Genetic Data: HLA Matching and so on

Genetic data is an indispensable part of big data, promoting the advancement of life science and biomedicine. Yet, highly private genetic data also brings concerns about privacy risks in data shar- ing. In our work, we adopt the cryptographic prim- itive Secure Function Evaluation (SFE) to address this problem. A secure SFE scheme allows insti- tutions and hospitals to compute a function while preserving the privacy of their input data, and each participant knows nothing but their own input and the final result. In our work, we present privacy-preserving solutions for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) matching and two popular biostatistics tests: Chi-squared test and odds ratio test. We also show that our protocols are compatible with multiple databases simultaneously and could feasibly han- dle larger-scale data up to genome-wide level. This approach may serve as a new way to jointly analyze distributed and restricted genetic data among insti- tutions and hospitals. Meanwhile, it can potentially be extended to other genetic analysis algorithms, allowing individuals to analyze their own genomes without endangering data privacy

Mass distribution for single-lined hot subdwarf stars in LAMOST

Masses for 664 single-lined hot subdwarf stars identified in LAMOST were calculated by comparing synthetic fluxes from spectral energy distribution (SED) with observed fluxes from virtual observatory service. Three groups of hot subdwarf stars were selected from the whole sample according to their parallax precision to study the mass distributions. We found, that He-poor sdB/sdOB stars present a wide mass distribution from 0.1 to 1.0 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ with a sharp mass peak around at 0.46 $\rm{M}_{\odot}$, which is consistent with canonical binary model prediction. He-rich sdB/sdOB/sdO stars present a much flatter mass distribution than He-poor sdB/sdOB stars and with a mass peak around 0.42 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$. By comparing the observed mass distributions to the predictions of different formation scenarios, we concluded that the binary merger channel, including two helium white dwarfs (He-WDs) and He-WD + main sequence (MS) merger, cannot be the only main formation channel for He-rich hot subdwarfs, and other formation channels such as the surviving companions from type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) could also make impacts on producing this special population, especially for He-rich hot subdwarfs with masses less than 0.44 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$. He-poor sdO stars also present a flatter mass distribution with an inconspicuous peak mass at 0.18 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$. The similar mass - $\Delta RV_\mathrm{max}$ distribution between He-poor sdB/sdOB and sdO stars supports the scenario that He-poor sdO stars could be the subsequent evolution stage of He-poor sdB/sdOB stars.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Ap