Integrated Robotic and Network Simulation Method

The increasing use of mobile cooperative robots in a variety of applications also implies an increasing research effort on cooperative strategies solutions, typically involving communications and control. For such research, simulation is a powerful tool to quickly test algorithms, allowing to do more exhaustive tests before implementation in a real application. However, the transition from an initial simulation environment to a real application may imply substantial rework if early implementation results do not match the ones obtained by simulation, meaning the simulation was not accurate enough. One way to improve accuracy is to incorporate network and control strategies in the same simulation and to use a systematic procedure to assess how different techniques perform. In this paper, we propose a set of procedures called Integrated Robotic and Network Simulation Method (IRoNS Method), which guide developers in building a simulation study for cooperative robots and communication networks applications. We exemplify the use of the improved methodology in a case-study of cooperative control comparison with and without message losses. This case is simulated with the OMNET++/INET framework, using a group of robots in a rendezvous task with topology control. The methodology led to more realistic simulations while improving the results presentation and analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bayesian inference in genetic parameter estimation of visual scores in Nellore beef-cattle

The aim of this study was to estimate the components of variance and genetic parameters for the visual scores which constitute the Morphological Evaluation System (MES), such as body structure (S), precocity (P) and musculature (M) in Nellore beef-cattle at the weaning and yearling stages, by using threshold Bayesian models. The information used for this was gleaned from visual scores of 5,407 animals evaluated at the weaning and 2,649 at the yearling stages. The genetic parameters for visual score traits were estimated through two-trait analysis, using the threshold animal model, with Bayesian statistics methodology and MTGSAM (Multiple Trait Gibbs Sampler for Animal Models) threshold software. Heritability estimates for S, P and M were 0.68, 0.65 and 0.62 (at weaning) and 0.44, 0.38 and 0.32 (at the yearling stage), respectively. Heritability estimates for S, P and M were found to be high, and so it is expected that these traits should respond favorably to direct selection. The visual scores evaluated at the weaning and yearling stages might be used in the composition of new selection indexes, as they presented sufficient genetic variability to promote genetic progress in such morphological traits

Um estudo de osciladores caoticos : modelos lineares por partes e estabilidade de sincronização

Orientador : Pedro Luis Dias PeresTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de ComputaçãoDoutorad

A control approach to address ethical issues on social (robotic) networks

International audienceFrom the first Internet-based social networking applications designed to get people in contact and make friends to social networks made up of over 2 billion users, the combination of communication networks, portable devices, and AI has changed the way people interact and make decisions. The extent of this influence could be observed not only in marketing and social behavior but also in referendums and elections, leading to distortion of democratic manifestations and representations. Considering this, the consequences of the misuse of Internet-based social networks could have a substantial impact on society, and it is important to define ethical guidelines and policies for developers, rulers, operators, and social actors. Considering this aim, the objective of this paper is to show that an approach based on Systems & Control could be effective in evaluating the impact of such policies in order to meet ethical issues. The starting point from this analysis are the models of information spreading in dynamic social networks, and these models are adapted and updated to encompass the complex behavior from users, as well as some regulatory policies. The analyses were based on simulations of these models on small and large scale networks