Towards a Re-Definition of Government Interpreters' Agency Against a Backdrop of Sociopolitical and Cultural Evolution: A Case of Premier's Press Conferences in China

The sociopolitical and cultural evolution as a result of the Reform and Opening up in 1978, facilitated not least by the inexorable juggernaut of globalization and technological advancement, has revolutionized the way China engages domestically and interacts with the outside world. The need for more proactive diplomacy and open engagement witnessed the institutionalization of the interpreter-mediated premier's press conferences. Such a discursive event provides a vital platform for China to articulate its discourse and rebrand its image in tandem with the profound changes signaled by the Dengist reform. This chapter investigates critically how political press conference interpreting and interpreters' agency in China are impacted in relation to such dramatic transformations. It is revealed that, while interpreters are confronted with seemingly conflicting expectations, in actual practice they are often able to negotiate a way as highly competent interpreting professionals with the additional missions of advancing China's global engagement and safeguarding China's national interests

Independent Joint Control of a 3-DOF Robotic System Using PI Controller

The use of robotic devices for repetitive exercising of patients with upper limb sensorimotor impairment has become accepted as effective in rehabilitation therapy. Two forms of rehabilitation robotic devices for upper limb are so far available which include the exoskeleton and end-effector based devices with the emphasis on proper joint coordination and control to actualize effective trajectory tracking and consequently effective therapy. An end-effector based 3 degree of freedom (3-DOF) rehabilitation platform is proposed in this work which uses brushless DC (BLDC) motor for actuation of the two revolute joints. For set-point and trajectory tracking of the revolute joints, each joint and corresponding link has been modeled has a SISO system and a PI compensator has been employed. Preliminary simulation studies showed the effectiveness of the proposed control framework

A secure authentication scheme for bluetooth connection

Recently, Bluetooth technology is widely used by organizations and individuals to provide wireless personal area network (WPAN) because the radio frequency (RF) waves can easily penetrate obstacles and can propagate without direct line-of-sight (LoS)

Fuzzy-based collision avoidance system for autonomous driving in complicated traffic scenarios

Collision avoidance is an important requirement for safe and autonomous driving in modern transportation system. In this paper, we present a fuzzy based control approach for smart and safe obstacle avoidance in complicated traffic scenario where there are static and dynamic obstacles (e.g. broken-down vehicles, wrong parking road-side vehicles, or moving vehicles, etc.) The fuzzy system makes an optimal decision to control the car throttle, braking, and steering to avoid collision using the available information on the road map (i.e. the distance to obstacles, the current traffic in the neighbouring lanes, the velocity of the front and rear car, etc.). Simulation results from three different scenarios involving a combination of dynamic and static or broken-down vehicles show that the fuzzy controlled car can effectively avoid obstacle or collision in complicated traffic situations. ©2018 IEEE

Fuzzy based obstacle avoidance system for autonomous mobile robot

The goal of this research was to develop a fuzzy obstacle avoidance system for an autonomous mobile robot using IR detection sensors. This paper presents implemented control architecture for behavior-based mobile robot. The mobile robot is able to interact with an unknown environment using a reactive strategy determined by sensory information. Current research in robotics aims to build autonomous and intelligent robots, which can plan its motion in a dynamic environment. Autonomous mobile robots are increasingly used in well structured environment such as warehouses, offices and industries. Fuzzy behavior able to make inferences is well suited for mobile robot navigation because of the uncertainty of the environment. A rule-based fuzzy controller with reactive behavior was implemented and tested on a two wheels mobile robot equipped with infrared sensors to perform collision-free navigation. The experimental results have shown that the proposed architecture provides an efficient and flexible solution for small wheeled mobile robots

Enhancement of bluetooth security authentication using hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) algorithm

Recently, Bluetooth technology is widely used by organizations and individuals to provide wireless personal area network (WPAN). This is because the radio frequency (RF) waves can easily penetrate obstacles and can propagate without direct line-of-sight (LoS). These two characteristics have led to replace wired communication by wireless systems. However, there are serious security challenges associated with wireless communication systems because they are easier to eavesdrop, disrupt and jam than the wired systems. Bluetooth technology started with a form of pairing called legacy pairing prior to any communication. However, due to the serious security issues found in the legacy pairing, a secure and simple pairing called SPP was announced with Bluetooth 2.1 and later since 2007. SPP has solved the main security issue which is the weaknesses of the PIN code in the legacy pairing, however it has been found with some vulnerabilities such as eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. Since the discovery of these vulnerabilities, some enhancements have been proposed to the Bluetooth Specification Interest Group (SIG) which is the regulatory body of Bluetooth technology; nevertheless, some proposed enhancements are ineffective or are not yet implemented by Manufacturers. Therefore, an improvement of the security authentication in Bluetooth connection is highly required to overcome the existing drawbacks. This proposed protocol uses Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC) algorithm with Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-256). The implementation of this proposal is based on the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) as software and a Bluetooth (BT) Shield connected to an Arduino Uno R3 boards as hardware. The result was verified on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) built in Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 with C sharp as default environment. It has shown that the proposed scheme works perfectly with the used hardware and software. In addition, the protocol thwarts the passive and active eavesdropping attacks which exist during SSP. These attacks are defeated by avoiding the exchange of passwords and public keys in plain text between the Master and the Slave. Therefore, this protocol is expected to be implemented by the SIG to enhance the security in Bluetooth connection

Assist-as-needed control strategy for upper-limb rehabilitation based on subject’s functional ability

The assist-as-needed technique in robotic rehabilitation is a popular technique that encourages patients’ active participation to promote motor recovery. It has been proven beneficial for patients with functional motor disability. However, its application in robotic therapy has been hindered by a poor estimation method of subjects’ functional or movement ability which is required for setting the appropriate robotic assistance. Moreover, there is also the need for consistency and repeatability of the functional ability estimation in line with the clinical procedure to facilitate a wider clinical adoption. In this study, we propose a new technique of estimation of subject’s functional ability based on the Wolf Motor Function Test. We called this estimation the functional ability index. The functional ability index enables the modulation of robotic assistance and gives a more consistent indication of subjects’ upper-limb movement ability during therapy session. Our baseline controller is an adaptive inertia-related controller, which is integrated with the functional ability index algorithm to provide movement assistance as when needed. Experimental studies are conducted on three hemiplegic patients with different levels of upper-limb impairments. Each patient is requested to perform reaching task of lifting a can from table-to-mouth according to the guidelines stipulated in the Wolf Motor Function Test. Data were collected using two inertial measurement unit sensors installed at the flexion/extension joints, and the functional ability score of each patient was rated by an experienced therapist. Results showed that the proposed functional ability index algorithm can estimate patients’ functional ability level consistently with clinical procedure and can modify generated robotic assistance in accordance with patients’ functional movement ability

Fuzzy logic based intelligent temperature controller for cassava post-harvest storage system

Significant amount of stored agricultural products are lost as a result of poor and inefficient storage systems in most developing countries, especially in tropical regions of the world. Improvements on the existing storage methods is important to guarantee food security. This study proposes the development of intelligent temperature control technique for fresh cassava roots crop post-harvest storage system using fuzzy logic controller (FLC). The intelligent controller which has two inputs (error in temperature and rate of change in the error) and one output (change in fan speed) was simulated with the developed storage system model for temperature control of fresh cassava roots crop. The results obtained shows that the controller can track appropriately the reference temperature and also gives good stability and robustness towards input disturbances. Faster response to maintain the storage temperature within acceptable limit close to reference point was also achieved successfully

Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) for the control of Particulate Matter (PM) emission in wet scrubber system

Air pollution such as particulate matter (PM) emitted from industries result in several thousands of deaths. In recognition of this global threat, a large number of abatement measures have been taken to minimize the emission of this pollutant. Wet scrubber system has been the most widely used control device for PM contaminants. Its operating variables (gas velocity, temperature profile, particle size, liquid droplet’s size, terminal settling velocity of liquid droplets, particle density and liquid to gas ratio) fluctuates randomly, thus resulting in a non-linear dynamic behavior of the system. This non-linearity generally limits the ability of the scrubber to control PM less than 5µm in diameter. Thus, in this study, intelligent control technique based on fuzzy logic controller (FLC) has been developed to solve the non-linearity in the system by selecting appropriate scrubbing liquid droplet size in order to improve system performance to control PM that are less than 5µm in diameter. The developed FLC has two inputs (error and change in error) and a single output. The results shows that within short settling time, the controller was able to effectively reduce the PM that are less than 5µm below the set-point (20µg/m3) which is the maximum allowable emission limit of PM contaminants by world health organization (WHO)

Emotion detection from thermal facial imprint based on GLCM features

Social intelligence in robots has been demonstrated and recognized in numerous contemporary studies especially for Human Robot Interaction (HRI). However, it has become increasingly apparent that social and interactive skills are prerequisites in any application areas and contexts where robots need to interact and collaborate with other robots or humans. The main focus now shifted on how the robots should perceive human affective states and manifest it through action. Recognition of human affective states could be achieved through affective computing by using numerous modalities such as speech, facial expression, body language, physiological signals etc. There are two approaches to access the affective states; invasive and noninvasive. Decades of researches and findings were mostly focussed on the invasive approach; Electroencephalogram (EEG), heart rate, blood flow, Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) etc. When it comes to affect recognition using noninvasive approach, very few numbers of publications have been done to date. In this paper, we presented an efficient method for thermal image feature extraction using the Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) technique. By analysing the heat pattern on the facial skin, this work attempts to investigate the suitability of the thermal imaging technique for affect detection. The findings of this study indicate thermal imaging as a contactless and noninvasive method for appraising human emotional states