Cooperative Multiagent Attentional Communication for Large-Scale Task Space

Acknowledgments This work was supported by the Dalian University Research Platform Project Funding: Dalian Wise Information Technology of Med and Health Key Laboratory, the National Natural Science Foundation of China: Research on the stability of multi-surface high-speed unmanned boat formation and the method of cooperative collision avoidance in complex sea conditions, NO.61673084.Peer reviewedPostprintPublisher PD

Investigating the Formation Process of Sn-Based Lead-Free Nanoparticles with a Chemical Reduction Method

Nanoparticles of a promising lead-free solder alloy (Sn3.5Ag (wt.%, SnAg) and Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (wt.%, SAC)) were synthesized through a chemical reduction method by using anhydrous ethanol and 1,10-phenanthroline as the solvent and surfactant, respectively. To illustrate the formation process of Sn-Ag alloy based nanoparticles during the reaction, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the phases of the samples in relation to the reaction time. Different nucleation and growth mechanisms were compared on the formation process of the synthesized nanoparticles. The XRD results revealed different reaction process compared with other researchers. There were many contributing factors to the difference in the examples found in the literature, with the main focus on the formation mechanism of crystal nuclei, the solubility and ionizability of metal salts in the solvent, the solid solubility of Cu in Ag nuclei, and the role of surfactant on the growth process. This study will help define the parameters necessary for the control of both the composition and size of the nanoparticles

A Survey of Cooperative Driving between Auxiliary Autonomous System and Human Driver

The cooperative driving is a main direction of intelligent vehicle development since safety-critical tasks must be executed by human and autonomous system. An intelligent vehicle is equipped with a full range of sensors, which are larger and faster than the perception and computational ability of a human driver, while the latter has a comprehensive ability to adapt to unexpected events. According to their respective advantages, the cooperative driving between human and autonomous system can have new synergies. The emphasis of this paper is to survey the current state of the art of cooperative driving, with a specific focus on decision-making and motion planning levels and correlative algorithms. Such researches enable the autonomous system to compensate the human driver in dangerous or uncomfortable circumstance. This paper provides insights into the scope of decision-making and motion planning for cooperative driving, as well as the shortcomings and tendencies

Energy-Efficient Control with Harvesting Predictions for Solar-Powered Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks equipped with rechargeable batteries are useful for outdoor environmental monitoring. However, the severe energy constraints of the sensor nodes present major challenges for long-term applications. To achieve sustainability, solar cells can be used to acquire energy from the environment. Unfortunately, the energy supplied by the harvesting system is generally intermittent and considerably influenced by the weather. To improve the energy efficiency and extend the lifetime of the networks, we propose algorithms for harvested energy prediction using environmental shadow detection. Thus, the sensor nodes can adjust their scheduling plans accordingly to best suit their energy production and residual battery levels. Furthermore, we introduce clustering and routing selection methods to optimize the data transmission, and a Bayesian network is used for warning notifications of bottlenecks along the path. The entire system is implemented on a real-time Texas Instruments CC2530 embedded platform, and the experimental results indicate that these mechanisms sustain the networks’ activities in an uninterrupted and efficient manner

A Survey of Cooperative Driving between Auxiliary Autonomous System and Human Driver

The cooperative driving is a main direction of intelligent vehicle development since safety-critical tasks must be executed by human and autonomous system. An intelligent vehicle is equipped with a full range of sensors, which are larger and faster than the perception and computational ability of a human driver, while the latter has a comprehensive ability to adapt to unexpected events. According to their respective advantages, the cooperative driving between human and autonomous system can have new synergies. The emphasis of this paper is to survey the current state of the art of cooperative driving, with a specific focus on decision-making and motion planning levels and correlative algorithms. Such researches enable the autonomous system to compensate the human driver in dangerous or uncomfortable circumstance. This paper provides insights into the scope of decision-making and motion planning for cooperative driving, as well as the shortcomings and tendencies

A generalized analytical model of gain bandwidth for design of optical parametric amplifiers

An analytical model is derived for calculating the maximum gain bandwidth of optical parametric amplifiers (OPA). The model relates in an explicit but simple way the gain bandwidth to the key design parameters of an optical parametric amplifier. It can be used as a tool to obtain the design parameters of an OPA capable of achieving the maximal gain bandwidth. The model is especially useful to design of long wavelength (>6μm)optical parametric amplifiers which have small difference between the center wavelengths of pump and signal.Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)We acknowledge the financial support from SERC, Singapore (Grant No. 1426500050, and 1426500051) from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore

Nanoparticles of the Lead-free Solder Alloy Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu with Large Melting Temperature Depression

Due to the toxicity of lead (Pb), Pb-containing solder alloys are being phased out from the electronics industry. This has lead to the development and implementation of lead-free solders. Being an environmentally compatible material, the lead-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt.%) solder alloy is considered to be one of the most promising alternatives to replace the traditionally used Sn-Pb solders. This alloy composition possesses, however, some weaknesses, mainly as a result of its higher melting temperature compared with the Sn-Pb solders. A possible way to decrease the melting temperature of a solder alloy is to decrease the alloy particle size down to the nanometer range. The melting temperature of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu lead-free solder alloy, both as bulk and nanoparticles, was investigated. The nanoparticles were manufactured using the self-developed consumable-electrode direct current arc (CDCA) technique. The melting temperature of the nanoparticles, with an average size of 30 nm, was found to be 213.9\ub0C, which is approximately 10\ub0C lower than that of the bulk alloy. The developed CDCA technique is therefore a promising method to manufacture nanometer-sized solder alloy particles with lower melting temperature compared with the bulk alloy

Nanoparticles of the Lead-free Solder Alloy Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu with Large Melting Temperature Depression

Due to the toxicity of lead (Pb), Pb-containing solder alloys are being phased out from the electronics industry. This has lead to the development and implementation of lead-free solders. Being an environmentally compatible material, the lead-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt.%) solder alloy is considered to be one of the most promising alternatives to replace the traditionally used Sn-Pb solders. This alloy composition possesses, however, some weaknesses, mainly as a result of its higher melting temperature compared with the Sn-Pb solders. A possible way to decrease the melting temperature of a solder alloy is to decrease the alloy particle size down to the nanometer range. The melting temperature of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu lead-free solder alloy, both as bulk and nanoparticles, was investigated. The nanoparticles were manufactured using the self-developed consumable-electrode direct current arc (CDCA) technique. The melting temperature of the nanoparticles, with an average size of 30 nm, was found to be 213.9°C, which is approximately 10°C lower than that of the bulk alloy. The developed CDCA technique is therefore a promising method to manufacture nanometer-sized solder alloy particles with lower melting temperature compared with the bulk alloy