Engineering the Hardware/Software Interface for Robotic Platforms - A Comparison of Applied Model Checking with Prolog and Alloy

Robotic platforms serve different use cases ranging from experiments for prototyping assistive applications up to embedded systems for realizing cyber-physical systems in various domains. We are using 1:10 scale miniature vehicles as a robotic platform to conduct research in the domain of self-driving cars and collaborative vehicle fleets. Thus, experiments with different sensors like e.g.~ultra-sonic, infrared, and rotary encoders need to be prepared and realized using our vehicle platform. For each setup, we need to configure the hardware/software interface board to handle all sensors and actors. Therefore, we need to find a specific configuration setting for each pin of the interface board that can handle our current hardware setup but which is also flexible enough to support further sensors or actors for future use cases. In this paper, we show how to model the domain of the configuration space for a hardware/software interface board to enable model checking for solving the tasks of finding any, all, and the best possible pin configuration. We present results from a formal experiment applying the declarative languages Alloy and Prolog to guide the process of engineering the hardware/software interface for robotic platforms on the example of a configuration complexity up to ten pins resulting in a configuration space greater than 14.5 million possibilities. Our results show that our domain model in Alloy performs better compared to Prolog to find feasible solutions for larger configurations with an average time of 0.58s. To find the best solution, our model for Prolog performs better taking only 1.38s for the largest desired configuration; however, this important use case is currently not covered by the existing tools for the hardware used as an example in this article.Comment: Presented at DSLRob 2013 (arXiv:cs/1312.5952

Microsoft and the European Union Face Off Over Internet Privacy Concerns

Amidst what appears to be a multi-faceted attack by the European Union on Microsoft, the newest angle is the European Commission\u27s announcement last month that it was considering a formal investigation of Microsoft\u27s .Net Passport data processing system for possible violations of the European Union Data Privacy Directive. This iBrief explores the European Data Privacy Directive and seeks to explain why the European Commission believes .Net Passport may be in violation of its privacy policies and a case for further investigation

Enforcement of Quality Attributes for Net-Centric Systems through Modeling and Validation with Architecture Description Languages

International audienceIn this paper we discuss and demonstrate how to conduct validation of data quality attributes, e.g., security, data accuracy, data confidence, and temporal correctness, can be modeled and validated using an architecture description language such as AADL. We focus on security, specifically confidentiality

Hedonic and incentive signals for body weight control

Here we review the emerging neurobiological understanding of the role of the brain’s reward system in the regulation of body weight in health and in disease. Common obesity is characterized by the over-consumption of palatable/rewarding foods, reflecting an imbalance in the relative importance of hedonic versus homeostatic signals. The popular ‘incentive salience theory’ of food reward recognises not only a hedonic/pleasure component (‘liking’) but also an incentive motivation component (‘wanting’ or ‘reward-seeking’). Central to the neurobiology of the reward mechanism is the mesoaccumbal dopamine system that confers incentive motivation not only for natural rewards such as food but also by artificial rewards (eg. addictive drugs). Indeed, this mesoaccumbal dopamine system receives and integrates information about the incentive (rewarding) value of foods with information about metabolic status. Problematic over-eating likely reflects a changing balance in the control exerted by hypothalamic versus reward circuits and/or it could reflect an allostatic shift in the hedonic set point for food reward. Certainly, for obesity to prevail, metabolic satiety signals such as leptin and insulin fail to regain control of appetitive brain networks, including those involved in food reward. On the other hand, metabolic control could reflect increased signalling by the stomach-derived orexigenic hormone, ghrelin. We have shown that ghrelin activates the mesoaccumbal dopamine system and that central ghrelin signalling is required for reward from both chemical drugs (eg alcohol) and also from palatable food. Future therapies for problematic over-eating and obesity may include drugs that interfere with incentive motivation, such as ghrelin antagonists

Analysis and control of a hybrid vehicle powered by free-piston energy converter

The introduction of hybrid powertrains has made it possible to utilise unconventional engines as primary power units in vehicles. The free-piston energy converter (FPEC) is such an engine. It is a combination of a free-piston combustion engine and a linear electrical machine. The main features of this configuration are high efficiency and a rapid transient response. In this thesis the free-piston energy converter as part of a hybrid powertrain is studied. One issue of the FPEC is the generation of pulsating power due to the reciprocating motion of the translator. These pulsations affect the components in the powertrain. However, it is shown that these pulsations can be handled by a normal sized DC-link capacitor bank. In addition, two approaches to reduce these pulsations are suggested: the first approach is using generator force control and the second approach is based on phase-shifted operation of two FPEC units. The latter approach results in higher frequency and lower amplitude of the pulsations, which reduce the capacitor losses. The FPEC start-up requirements are analysed and by choosing the correct amplitude of the generator force during start-up the energy consumption can be minimised. The performance gain of utilising the FPEC in a medium sized series hybrid electric vehicle (SHEV) is also studied. An FPEC model suitable for vehicle simulation is developed and a series hybrid powertrain, with the same performance as the Toyota Prius, is dimensioned and modelled. Optimisation is utilised to find a lower limit on the SHEV's fuel consumption for a given drivecycle. In addition, three power management control strategies for the FPEC system are investigated: two load-following strategies using one and two FPEC units respectively and one strategy based on the ideas of an equivalent consumption minimisation (ECM) proposed earlier in the literature. The results show a significant decrease in fuel consumption, compared to a diesel-generator powered SHEV, just by replacing the diesel-generator with an FPEC. This result is improved even more by using two FPEC units to generate the propulsion power, as this increases the efficiency at low loads. The ECM control strategy does not reduce the fuel consumption compared to the load-following strategies but gives a better utilisation of the available power sources.QC 2010111

Klarering av Styrlagar för Flygplan med hjälp av Linjära Rationella Transformationer

Flight Control Systems are often designed in linearization points over a flight envelope and it must be proven to clearance authorities that the system works for different parameter variations and failures all over this envelope. In this thesis µ-analysis is tried as a complement for linear analysis in the frequency plane. Using this method stability can be guaranteed for all static parameter combinations modelled and linear criteria such as phase and gain margins and most unstable eigenvalue can be included in the analysis. A way of including bounds on the parameter variations using parameter dependent Lyapunov functions is also tried. To perform µ-analysis the system must be described as a Linear Fractional Transformation (LFT). This is a way of reformulating a parameter dependent system description as an interconnection of a nominal linear time invariant system and a structured parameter block. A linear and a rational approximation of the system are used to make LFTs. These methods are compared. Four algorithms for calculation of the upper and lower bounds of µ are evaluated. The methods are tried on VEGAS, a SAAB research aircraft model. µ-analysis works quite well for linear clearance. The rational approximation LFT gives best results and can be cleared for the criteria mentioned above. A combination of the algorithms is used for best results. When the Lyapunov based method is used the size of the problem grows quite fast and, due to numerical problems, stability can only be guaranteed for a reduced model