Perception enhancement system for automotive steering

Laboratory-based experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of the frequency and scale of transient vibration events on the human detection of road surface type by means of steering wheel vibration. The study used steering wheel tangential direction acceleration time histories which had been measured in a mid-sized European automobile that was driven over three different types of road surface. The steering acceleration stimuli were manipulated by means of the mildly non-stationary mission synthesis (MNMS) algorithm in order to produce test stimuli which were selectively modified in terms of the number, and size, of transient vibration events they contained. Fifteen test participants were exposed to both unmanipulated and manipulated steering wheel rotational vibration stimuli, and were asked to indicate, by either “yes or no”, whether the test stimuli was from a target road surface which was displayed on a board. The findings suggested that transient vibration events play a key role in the human detection of road surface type in driving situations. Improvements of up to 20 percentage points in the rate of correct detection were achieved by means of selective manipulation of the steering vibration stimuli. The results also suggested, however, that no single setting of the MNMS algorithm proved optimal for all three road surface types that were investigated

Optimal design of pipes in series: An explicit approximation

This paper introduces a new methodology for the optimum design of pipes in series, named Optimum Hydraulic Grade Line (OHGL). This methodology is explicit and is based on the knowledge of the series topology and the geometrical distribution of water demands on nodes, i.e. the way in which the pipe in series delivers water mass as function of the distance from the entrance. OHGL consists in the pre-determination of that hydraulic grade line which gives the minimum construction cost, in an explicit way. Once this line has been established, calculation of the pipe’s continuous diameters is direct; after a round up to commercial diameters is developed. To validate the proposed methodology, several pipes in series were designed both using GA and OHGL. Four hundred series were used in total, each with different topological characteristics and demands. Keywords: Pipe in series, optimum design, genetic algorithms, optimum hydraulic grade line

Asymmetry studies in Lambda 0/Lambda 0-bar, Xi-/Xi+ and Omega-/Omega+ production

We present a study on hyperon/anti-hyperon production asymmetries in the framework of the recombination model. The production asymmetries for Lambda 0/Lambda 0-bar, Xi-/Xi+ and Omega-/Omega+ are studied as a function of x_F. Predictions of the model are compared to preliminary data on hyperon/anti-hyperon production asymmetries in 500 GeV/c pi- p interactions from the Fermilab E791 experiment. The model predicts a growing asymmetry with the number of valence quarks shared by the target and the produced hyperons in the x_F < 0 region. In the positive x_F region, the model predicts constant asymmetries for Lambda 0/Lambda 0-bar and Omega-/Omega+ production and a growing asymmetry with x_F for Xi-/Xi+. We found a qualitatively good agreement between the model predictions and data, showing that recombination is a competitive mechanism in the hadronization process.Comment: One reference correcte

Hyperon production asymmetries in 500 GeV/c pion nucleus interactions

We present a preliminary study from Fermilab experiment E791 of Lambda^0 / Lambda^0 bar, Xi^- / Xi^+ and Omega^- /Omega^+ production asymmetries from pi^- nucleus interactions at 500 Gev/c. The production asymmetries for these particles are studied as a function of x_F and pt^2. We observed an asymmetry in the target fragmentation region for Lambda^0's larger than that for Xi's, suggesting diquark effects. The asymmetry for Omega's is significatively smaller than for the other two hyperons consistent with the fact that Omega's do not share valence quarks with either the pion or the target particle. In the beam fragmentation region, the asymmetry tends to 0.1 for both Lambda^0's and Xi's. The asymmetries vs pt^2 are approximately constant for the three strange baryons under study.Comment: Typos correcte

Switchable ultrastrong coupling in circuit QED

Superconducting quantum circuits possess the ingredients for quantum information processing and for developing on-chip microwave quantum optics. From the initial manipulation of few-level superconducting systems (qubits) to their strong coupling to microwave resonators, the time has come to consider the generation and characterization of propagating quantum microwaves. In this paper, we design a key ingredient that will prove essential in the general frame: a swtichable coupling between qubit(s) and transmission line(s) that can work in the ultrastrong coupling regime, where the coupling strength approaches the qubit transition frequency. We propose several setups where two or more loops of Josephson junctions are directly connected to a closed (cavity) or open transmission line. We demonstrate that the circuit induces a coupling that can be modulated in strength and type. Given recent studies showing the accessibility to the ultrastrong regime, we expect our ideas to have an immediate impact in ongoing experiments