Neural Controller for a Mobile Robot in a Nonstationary Enviornment

Recently it has been introduced a neural controller for a mobile robot that learns both forward and inverse odometry of a differential-drive robot through an unsupervised learning-by-doing cycle. This article introduces an obstacle avoidance module that is integrated into the neural controller. This module makes use of sensory information to determine at each instant a desired angle and distance that causes the robot to navigate around obstacles on the way to a final target. Obstacle avoidance is performed in a reactive manner by representing the objects and target in the robot's environment as Gaussian functions. However, the influence of the Gaussians is modulated dynamically on the basis of the robot's behavior in a way that avoids problems with local minima. The proposed module enables the robot to operate successfully with different obstacle configurations, such as corridors, mazes, doors and even concave obstacles.Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-92-J-0499

Observation of the Askaryan Effect: Coherent Microwave Cherenkov Emission from Charge Asymmetry in High Energy Particle Cascades

We present the first direct experimental evidence for the charge excess in high energy particle showers predicted nearly 40 years ago by Askaryan. We directed bremsstrahlung photons from picosecond pulses of 28.5 GeV electrons at the SLAC Final Focus Test Beam facility into a 3.5 ton silica sand target, producing electromagnetic showers several meters long. A series of antennas spanning 0.3 to 6 GHz were used to detect strong, sub-nanosecond radio frequency pulses produced whenever a shower was present. The measured electric field strengths are consistent with a completely coherent radiation process. The pulses show 100% linear polarization, consistent with the expectations of Cherenkov radiation. The field strength versus depth closely follows the expected particle number density profile of the cascade, consistent with emission from excess charge distributed along the shower. These measurements therefore provide strong support for experiments designed to detect high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos via coherent radio emission from their cascades.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Bending behavior analysis of geogrid reinforced adobe walls

La tierra cruda constituye el material de construcción más importante en muchas regiones del planeta. Dado el riesgo sísmico existente en la mayor parte de estas regiones, es necesario el desarrollo de técnicas de refuerzo eficaces y adecuadas desde un punto de vista tecnológico y socioeconómico. Este artículo analiza desde un punto experimental y analítico el comportamiento a flexión de muros de adobe reforzados con geomallas. Las leyes momento-curvatura de los muros ensayados son aproximadas mediante una serie de modelos analíticos que permiten analizar el comportamiento del material compuesto adobe-geomalla. Los resultados obtenidos muestran como la geomalla mejora el comportamiento de la mampostería de adobe en términos de resistencia y ductilidad, mejorando así su comportamiento en caso de movimiento sísmico.Rammed earth is a widely used building material in many regions of the world. Due to the high seismic risk in those areas, earthen constructions require suitable and efficient reinforcement techniques from a technological and socioeconomic point of view. This paper analyzes the bending behavior of geogrid reinforced adobe walls from an experimental and analytical point of view. The experimental bending moment-curvature relationships are analytically approached. The results show how geogrid reinforcement improves the performance of adobe masonry in terms of strength and ductility. Thus, a better seismic performance is achieve

Radio Detection of High Energy Particles: Coherence Versus Multiple Scales

Radio Cherenkov emission underlines detection of high energy particles via a signal growing like the particle-energy-squared. Cosmic ray-induced electromagnetic showers are a primary application. While many studies have treated the phenomenon approximately, none have attempted to incorporate all the physical scales involved in problems with time- or spatially- evolving charges. We find it is possible to decompose the calculated fields into the product of a form factor, characterizing a moving charge distribution, multiplying a general integral which depends on the charge evolution. In circumstances of interest for cosmic ray physics, the resulting expressions can be evaluated explicitely in terms of a few parameters obtainable from shower codes. The classic issues of Frauhofer and Fresnel zones play a crucial role in the coherence.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figure

Bending behavior analysis of geogrid reinforced adobe walls

La tierra cruda constituye el material de construcción más importante en muchas regiones del planeta. Dado el riesgo sísmico existente en la mayor parte de estas regiones, es necesario el desarrollo de técnicas de refuerzo eficaces y adecuadas desde un punto de vista tecnológico y socioeconómico. Este artículo analiza desde un punto experimental y analítico el comportamiento a flexión de muros de adobe reforzados con geomallas. Las leyes momento-curvatura de los muros ensayados son aproximadas mediante una serie de modelos analíticos que permiten analizar el comportamiento del material compuesto adobe-geomalla. Los resultados obtenidos muestran como la geomalla mejora el comportamiento de la mampostería de adobe en términos de resistencia y ductilidad, mejorando así su comportamiento en caso de movimiento sísmico.Rammed earth is a widely used building material in many regions of the world. Due to the high seismic risk in those areas, earthen constructions require suitable and efficient reinforcement techniques from a technological and socioeconomic point of view. This paper analyzes the bending behavior of geogrid reinforced adobe walls from an experimental and analytical point of view. The experimental bending moment-curvature relationships are analytically approached. The results show how geogrid reinforcement improves the performance of adobe masonry in terms of strength and ductility. Thus, a better seismic performance is achieve

Experimental and Analytical Approach for the Assesment of Flexural Strength of Adobe Masonry

This paper presents an investigation about the flexural behavior of adobe masonry. It is focused on the development of constitutive models that can serve as a basis for the establishment of new design guidelines for adobe constructions, with special emphasis on seismic reinforcements. The paper analyzes the flexural behaviour of geogrid reinforced adobe walls. The experimental seismic tests of geogrid reinforced adobe houses have proven the effectiveness of the reinforcement technique. However, additional research is needed to develop constitutive models that can be used to quantify the actual performances of the reinforced adobe. For this purpose, bending tests have been carried out to obtain experimental curvature-moment relationships for reinforced and non reinforced adobe walls. Analytical models have been developed to approach these experimental laws, using equilibrium and compatibility equations similar to those usually applied for the flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete. The constitutive models of the individual materials are previously obtained through experimental tests, and simplified constitutive models are proposed for the governing equations. The analytical models show the ductility of adobe masonry, and how ductility increases when adobe is reinforced with geogrids. The proposed mathematical models and methodology can be applied to other structural elements and reinforcement systems. They can serve as a basis for the development of new design guidelines for adobe masonry

Coherent Radiation from Extensive Air Showers in the Ultra-High Frequency Band

Using detailed Monte Carlo simulations we have characterized the features of the radio emission of inclined air showers in the Ultra-High Frequency band (300 MHz - 3 GHz). The Fourier-spectrum of the radiation is shown to have a sizable intensity well into the GHz frequency range. The emission is mainly due to transverse currents induced by the geomagnetic field and to the excess charge produced by the Askaryan effect. At these frequencies only a significantly reduced volume of the shower around the axis contributes coherently to the signal observed on the ground. The size of the coherently emitting volume depends on frequency, shower geometry and observer position, and is interpreted in terms of the relative time delays. At ground level, the maximum emission at high frequencies is concentrated in an elliptical ring-like region around the intersection of a Cherenkov cone with its vertex at shower maximum and the ground. The frequency spectrum of inclined showers when observed at positions that view shower maximum in the Cherenkov direction, is shown to be in broad agreement with the pulses detected by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, making the interpretation that they are due to Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray atmospheric showers consistent with our simulations. These results are also of great importance for experiments aiming to detect molecular bremsstrahlung radiation in the GHz range as they present an important background for its detection.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure