ICINCO 2008 Abstracts

Area 1 - Intelligent Control Systems and Optimization

Full Papers

Paper Nr:	45
Title:	SYNCHRONIZATION OF ARM AND HAND ASSISTIVE ROBOTIC DEVICES TO IMPART ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING TASKS
Authors:	Duygun Erol Barkana and Nilanjan Sarkar
Abstract:	Recent research in rehabilitation indicates that tasks that focus on activities of daily living (ADL) is likely to show significant increase in motor recovery after stroke. Most ADL tasks require patients to coordinate their arm and hand movements to complete ADL tasks. This paper presents a new control approach for robot assisted rehabilitation of stroke patients that enables them to perform ADL tasks by providing controlled and coordinated assistance to both arm and hand movements. The control architecture uses hybrid system modelling technique which consists of a high-level controller for decision-making and two low-level assistive controllers (arm and hand controllers) for arm and hand motion assistance. The presented controller is implemented on a test-bed and the results of this implementation are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed control architecture.
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Paper Nr:	124
Title:	LOSS MINIMIZATION OF INDUCTION GENERATORS WITH ADAPTIVE FUZZY CONTROLLER
Authors:	Durval de Almeida Souza, José Antonio Navarro and Jesús Sallán Arasanz
Abstract:	In this paper a new technique for efficiency optimization of induction generator working at variable speed and load is introduced. The technique combines two distinct control methods, namely, on-line search of the optimal operating point, with a model based efficiency control. For a given operating condition, characterized by a given turbine speed (ωT) and electric torque (Te), the search control is implemented via the “Rosenbrock” method, which determines the flux level that results in the maximum output power. Once the optimal flux level has been found, this information is used to update the rule base of a fuzzy controller, which plays the role of an implicit mathematical model of the system. Initially, for any load condition the rule base yields the rated flux value. As the optimum points associated with the different operating conditions are identified, the rule base is progressively updated, so that the fuzzy controller learns to model the optimal operating conditions for the entire torque-speed plane. After every rule base update, the Rosenbrock controller output is reset, but it is kept active to track possible minor deviations of the optimum point.
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Paper Nr:	164
Title:	EXPONENTIAL OBSERVER FOR A CLASS OF NONLINEAR DISTRIBUTED PARAMETER SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATION TO A NONISOTHERMAL TUBULAR REACTOR
Authors:	Barje Nadia, Mohammed Achhab and Vincent Wertz
Abstract:	This paper present sufficient conditions to construct an exponential state estimator for a class of infinite dimensional non-linear systems driven in a real Hilbert state description. The theory is applied to a nonisothermal plug flow tubular reactor, governed by hyperbolic first order partial differential equations. For this application performance issues of the exponential state estimator design are illustrated in a simulation study.
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Paper Nr:	247
Title:	A DISTRIBUTED FAULT TOLERANT POSITION CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A BOAT-LIKE INSPECTION ROBOT
Authors:	Christoph Walter, Tino Krueger and Norbert Elkmann
Abstract:	Here we present the position control system of a swimming inspection robot for large under-ground concrete pipes that are partially filled with wastewater. The system consists of a laser-based measurement sub-system for position determination and a mechanical rudder to move the robot laterally within the pipe. The required software components are implemented as services following a CORBA-based architecture. To automatically adapt the position control system to different environment conditions, a self-tuning controller is used. The controller has hybrid requirements regarding latency and interarrival times of computed position values. In this contribution, we describe the architectural support for this application as well as how the system deals with excessive latencies due to transient overload.
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Paper Nr:	250
Title:	COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM PRORETA - Strategies Trajectory Control and Test Drives
Authors:	R. Isermann, U. Stählin and M. Schorn
Abstract:	Methods and experimental results of a collision avoidance driver assistance system are described with automatic object detection, trajectory prediction, and path following with controlled braking and steering. The objects are detected by a fusion of LIDAR scanning and video camera pictures resulting in the location, size and speed of objects in front of the car. A desired trajectory is calculated depending on the distance, the width of a swerving action and difference speed. For the trajectory control different control methods were designed and tested experimentally like velocity depend linear feedback and feedforward control, nonlinear asymptotic output tracking and nonlinear flatness based control using extended one-track models with vehicle state estimation for the sideslip angle and cornering stiffness. Automatic braking is realized with an electrohydraulic brake (EHB) and automatic steering with an active front steering (AFS). The various control systems are compared by simulations and real test drives showing the behaviour of a VW Golf with automatic braking or/and automatic swerving to a free track, such avoiding hitting a suddenly appearing obstacle. The research project PRORETA was a four-years-cooperation between Continental Automotive Systems and Darmstadt University of Technology.
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Paper Nr:	385
Title:	OBDD COMPRESSION OF NUMERICAL CONTROLLERS
Authors:	Giuseppe Della Penna, Nadia Lauri, Daniele Magazzeni and Benedetto Intrigila
Abstract:	In the last years, the use of control systems has become very common, especially in the embedded systems contained in a growing number of everyday products. Therefore, the problem of the automatic synthesis of control systems is extremely important. However, most of the current techniques for the automatic generation of controllers, such as cell-to-cell mapping, dynamic programming, set oriented approach or model checking, typically generate numerical controllers that cannot be embedded in limited hardware devices due to their size. A possible solution to this problem is to compress the controller. However, most of the common lossless compression algorithms, such as LZ77, would decrease the controller performances due to their decompression overhead. In this paper we propose a new, completely automatic OBDD-based compression technique that is capable of reducing the size of any numerical controller up to a space savings of 90% without any noticeable decrease in the controller performances.
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Paper Nr:	403
Title:	ENERGY MODEL BASED CONTROL FOR FORMING PROCESSES
Authors:	Patrick Girard and Vincent Thomson
Abstract:	Thermoforming consists of shaping a plastic material by deforming it at an adequate deformation rate and temperature. It often exhibits abrupt switches between stable and unstable material behaviour that have neither been identified nor controlled up to now. PID control, although adequate for simple parts, has not been able to control very well the forming of complex parts and parts made of newer materials. In this paper, the state parameters that allow the development of predictive models for the forming process and the construction of control systems are identified. A robust, model based control system capable of in-cycle control is presented. It is based on a simulator continuously tuned and supported in real time by intelligent agents that incorporate diagnostic capabilities.
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Paper Nr:	415
Title:	LHTNDT: LEARN HTN METHOD PRECONDITIONS USING DECISION TREE
Authors:	Fatemeh Nargesian and Gholamreza Ghassem-Sani
Abstract:	In this paper, we describe LHTNDT, an algorithm that learns the preconditions of HTN methods by examining plan traces produced by another planner. LHTNDT extracts conditions for applying methods by using decision tree based algorithm. It considers the state of relevant domain objects in both current and goal states. Redundant training samples are removed using graph isomorphism. Our experiments, LHTNDT converged. It can learn most of preconditions correctly and quickly. 80% of our test problems were solved by preconditions extracted by ¾ of plan traces needed for full convergence.
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Paper Nr:	429
Title:	MERGING OF ADVICES FROM MULTIPLE ADVISORY SYSTEMS - With Evaluation on Rolling Mill Data
Authors:	Pavel Ettler, Josef Andrysek, Vaclav Smidl and Miroslav Karny
Abstract:	The problem of evaluation of advisory system quality is studied. Specifically, 18 advisory strategies for operators of a cold rolling mill were designed using different modelling assumptions. Since some assumptions may be more appropriate in different working regimes, we also design a new advising strategy based on the on-line merging of advices. In order to measure actual suitability of the advisory systems, we define two measures: operator’s performance index and coincidence of the observed operator’s actions with the advices. A time-variant model of advisory system suitability is proposed. Merging of the advices is achieved using Bayesian theory of decision-making. Final assessment of the original advisory systems and the new system is performed on data recorded during 6 months of operation of a real rolling mill. This task is complicated by the fact that the operator did not follow any of the recommendations generated by the advisory systems. Validation was thus performed with respect to the proposed measures. It was found that merging of the advising strategies can significantly improve quality of advising. The approach is general enough to be used in many similar problems.
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Short Papers

Paper Nr:	35
Title:	SELF-ORGANISATION OF GAIT PATTERN TRANSITION - An Efficient Approach to Implementing Animal Gaits and Gait Transitions
Authors:	Zhijun Yang, Juan Huo and Alan Murray
Abstract:	As an engine of almost all life phenomena, the motor information generated by the central nervous system (CNS) plays a critical role in the activities of all animals. Despite the difficulty of being physically identified, the central pattern generator (CPG), which is a concrete branch of studies on the CNS, is widely recognised to be responsible for generating rhythmic patterns. This paper presents a novel, macroscopic and model-independent approach to the retrieval of different patterns of coupled neural oscillations observed in biological CPGs during the control of legged locomotion. Based on the simple graph dynamics, various types of oscillatory building blocks (OBB) can be reconfigured for the production of complicated rhythmic patterns. Our quadrupedal locomotion experiments show that an OBB-based artificial CPG model alone can integrate all gait patterns and undergo self-organised gait transition between different patterns.
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Paper Nr:	36
Title:	PARALLEL MACHINE EARLINESS-TARDINESS SCHEDULING - Comparison of Two Metaheuristic Approaches
Authors:	Marcin Bazyluk, Leszek Koszalka and Keith J. Burnham
Abstract:	This paper considers the problem of parallel machine scheduling with the earliness and tardiness penalties (PMSP E/T) in which a set of sequence-independent jobs is to be scheduled on a set of given machines to minimize a sum of the weighted earliness and tardiness values. The weights and due dates of the jobs are distinct positive numbers. The machines are diverse - each has a different execution speed of the respective jobs, thus the problem becomes more complex. To handle this, it two heuristics are employed, namely: the genetic algorithm with the MCUOX crossover operator and the tabu search. The performances of the both approaches are evaluated and their dependency on the shape of the investigated instances examined. The results indicate the significant predominance of the genetic approach for the larger-sized instances.
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Paper Nr:	68
Title:	DATA MINING AND KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERY FOR MONITORING AND INTELLIGENT CONTROL OF A WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
Authors:	Stamatis Manesis, Vasilis Deligiannis and Martha Koutri
Abstract:	Intelligent control of medium-scale industrial processes has been applied with success but, as a method of advanced control, can be further improved. Since intelligent control makes use of knowledge-based techniques (such as expert systems, fuzzy logic, neural networks, etc.), a data mining and knowledge discovery subsystem embedded in a control system can support an intelligent controller to achieve a more reliable and robust operation of the controlled process. This paper proposes a combined intelligent control and data mining scheme for monitoring and mainly for controlling a wastewater treatment plant. The intelligent control system is implemented in a programmable logic controller, while the data mining and knowledge discovery system in a personal computer. The entire control system is basically a knowledge-based system which improves drastically the behavior of the wastewater treatment plant.
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Paper Nr:	77
Title:	IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FIELD OF DEVICE INTEGRATION INTO AUTOMATION SYSTEMS WITH EMBEDDED WEB INTERFACES
Authors:	Anton Scheibelmasser, Jürgen Menhart and Bernd Eichberger
Abstract:	Web-Technologies which came up in many fields of automation seem to be a solution which improves device integration in many ways. On the one hand the used Ethernet improves the installation techniques with reliable and approved network cables and routing devices. On the other hand the used internet protocols provide several services for the application software development. With the introduction of those services, the local controller of the measurement devices has to execute complex communication protocols in addition to the device specific tasks. This fact has serious influences on the measurement device instrumentation and the execution of the device firmware. Concerning new developments and compatible adaptations of existing instruments several ways for the integration of web technologies are available. The following article is intended to explain the architectural aspects of device integrations using Industrial Ethernet by means of an embedded web server. As a practical example to this architecture, concepts and results of a new developed communication module called EWI (embedded web interface) are given to demonstrate the improvements in measurement device integration in the field of automotive test bed automation.
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Paper Nr:	77
Title:	IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FIELD OF DEVICE INTEGRATION INTO AUTOMATION SYSTEMS WITH EMBEDDED WEB INTERFACES
Authors:	Anton Scheibelmasser, Jürgen Menhart and Bernd Eichberger
Abstract:	Web-Technologies which came up in many fields of automation seem to be a solution which improves device integration in many ways. On the one hand the used Ethernet improves the installation techniques with reliable and approved network cables and routing devices. On the other hand the used internet protocols provide several services for the application software development. With the introduction of those services, the local controller of the measurement devices has to execute complex communication protocols in addition to the device specific tasks. This fact has serious influences on the measurement device instrumentation and the execution of the device firmware. Concerning new developments and compatible adaptations of existing instruments several ways for the integration of web technologies are available. The following article is intended to explain the architectural aspects of device integrations using Industrial Ethernet by means of an embedded web server. As a practical example to this architecture, concepts and results of a new developed communication module called EWI (embedded web interface) are given to demonstrate the improvements in measurement device integration in the field of automotive test bed automation.
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Paper Nr:	89
Title:	A GENETIC ALGORITHM APPLIED TO THE POWER SYSTEM RESTORATION PLANNING PROBLEM - A Metaheuristic Approach for a Large Combinatorial Problem
Authors:	Adelmo Cechin, José Vicente Canto Dos Santos, Arthur T. Gómez and Carlos Mendel
Abstract:	This work reports the use of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to solve the Power System Restoration Planning Problem (PSRP). The solution to the PSRP is described by a series of operations or a plan to be used by the Power System operator immediately on the occurrence of a blackout in the electrical power supply. Our GA uses new initialization and crossover operators based on the electrical power network, which are able to generate and maintain the plans feasible along GA runs. This releases the Power Flow program, which represents the most computer demanding component, from computing the fitness function of unfeasible individuals. Results for three different electrical power networks are shown: IEEE 14-Bus, IEEE 30-Bus and a large realistic system.
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Paper Nr:	89
Title:	A GENETIC ALGORITHM APPLIED TO THE POWER SYSTEM RESTORATION PLANNING PROBLEM - A Metaheuristic Approach for a Large Combinatorial Problem
Authors:	Adelmo Cechin, José Vicente Canto Dos Santos, Arthur T. Gómez and Carlos Mendel
Abstract:	This work reports the use of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to solve the Power System Restoration Planning Problem (PSRP). The solution to the PSRP is described by a series of operations or a plan to be used by the Power System operator immediately on the occurrence of a blackout in the electrical power supply. Our GA uses new initialization and crossover operators based on the electrical power network, which are able to generate and maintain the plans feasible along GA runs. This releases the Power Flow program, which represents the most computer demanding component, from computing the fitness function of unfeasible individuals. Results for three different electrical power networks are shown: IEEE 14-Bus, IEEE 30-Bus and a large realistic system.
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Paper Nr:	108
Title:	COGNITIVE TECHNICAL SYSTEMS IN A PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT - Outline of a Possible Approach
Authors:	Eckart Hauck, Arno Gramatke and Klaus Henning
Abstract:	High-Wage countries face the dilemmas of value- vs. planning orientation and the dilemma of economies of scale vs. economies of scope summed up in the term polylemma. To reduce the dilemma of planning vs. value orientation cognitive technical systems seem to be a promising approach. In this paper the requirements of such a cognitive system in a production environment is presented. Furthermore a first concept of a software architecture is given. To implement a knowledge base for a cognitive technical system certain formalism were scrutinized for their suitability in this approach and a possible use case for such a cognitive technical system is presented.
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Paper Nr:	139
Title:	OBTAINING MINIMUM VARIABILITY OWA OPERATORS UNDER A FUZZY LEVEL OF ORNESS
Authors:	Kaj-Mikael Björk
Abstract:	Finding the optimal OWA (ordered weighted averaging) operators is important in many decision support problems. The OWA-operators enables the decision maker to model very different kinds of aggregator operators. The weights need to be, however, determined under some criteria, and can be found through the solution of some optimization problems. The important parameter called the level of orness may, in many cases, be uncertain to some degree. Decision makers are often able to estimate the level using fuzzy numbers. Therefore, this paper contributes to the current state of the art in OWA operators with a model that can determine the optimal (minimum variability) OWA operators under a (unsymmetrical triangular) fuzzy level of orness.
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Paper Nr:	149
Title:	AN APPROACH FOR A KNOWLEDGE-BASED NC PROGRAMMING SYSTEM
Authors:	Ulrich Berger, Ralf Kretzschmann and Jan Noack
Abstract:	Nowadays, significant deficiencies exist in the information flow and access along the NC (Numerical Control) process chain. These deficiencies are solved insufficiently by introducing CAD/CAM systems and feature-oriented specification languages. In contrast the application of new production and new machining systems requires an intensive information exchange. The introduced approach enables the preparation for feature-based work plans with methods known from the graph theory as a knowledge-based NC programming system. Therefore the work plan will be mapped into a directed graph in a mathematically defined way. Based on that, it is possible to use algorithms to find the shortest path and a Hamiltonian path inside this directed graph under given requirements. Thus, the work plan will be structured and re-ordered. Finally the corresponding NC paths will be generated and distributed to the machinery. Thence in this in-process paper the requirements, the investigation and the selection of suitable knowledge structuring concepts, mathematically basics and the work flow in such a system will be pointed out. Finally a preliminary prototype will be introduced.
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Paper Nr:	150
Title:	LIGHT-WEIGHT REINFORCEMENT LEARNING WITH FUNCTION APPROXIMATION FOR REAL-LIFE CONTROL TASKS
Authors:	Kary Främling
Abstract:	Despite the impressive achievements of reinforcement learning (RL) in playing Backgammon already in the beginning of the 90’s, relatively few successful real-world applications of RL have been reported since then. This could be due to the tendency of RL research to focus on discrete Markov Decision Processes that make it difficult to handle tasks with continuous-valued features. Another reason could be a tendency to develop continuously more complex mathematical RL models that are difficult to implement and operate. Both of these issues are addressed in this paper by using the gradient-descent Sarsa() method together with a Normalised Radial Basis Function neural net. The experimental results on three typical benchmark control tasks show that these methods outperform most previously reported results on these tasks, while remaining computationally feasible to implement even as embedded software. Therefore the presented results can serve as a reference both regarding learning performance and computational applicability of RL for real-life applications.
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Paper Nr:	152
Title:	RFID BASED LOCATION IN CLOSED ROOMS - Implementation of a Location Algorithm using a Passive UHF-RFID System
Authors:	Christoph Schönegger, Burkhard Stadlmann and Michael Wernle
Abstract:	This paper presents a new concept for determining the location of an RFID-tag without any additional hardware. For this positioning system standard RFID components with passive RFID-tags within the UHF range are used. The measurement is based on a location algorithm which makes use of the RSSI value of the UHF reader. The RSSI value is the return signal strength indicator and, as it is shown in the paper in hand, this signal correlates to the distance between the RFID tag and the antenna of the reader. This positioning system is especially useful indoors, where other positioning systems may not work. For this reason it could prove very useful in various logistics applications. The maximum distance from antenna to the tag is approximately between 0.5 m and 3 m. To this end a special algorithm is used to obtain stable calculation results. A minimum of two antennas is needed to get a two-dimensional location.
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Paper Nr:	155
Title:	OPTIMAL CONTROL WITH ADAPTIVE INTERNAL DYNAMICS MODELS
Authors:	Djordje Mitrovic, Stefan Klanke and Sethu Vijayakumar
Abstract:	Optimal feedback control has been proposed as an attractive movement generation strategy in goal reaching tasks for anthropomorphic manipulator systems. The optimal feedback control law for systems with non-linear dynamics and non-quadratic costs can be found by iterative methods, such as the iterative Linear Quadratic Gaussian (iLQG) algorithm. So far this framework relied on an analytic form of the system dynamics, which may often be unknown, difficult to estimate for more realistic control systems or may be subject to frequent systematic changes. In this paper, we present a novel combination of learning a forward dynamics model within the iLQG framework. Utilising such adaptive internal models can compensate for complex dynamic perturbations of the controlled system in an online fashion. The specific adaptive framework introduced lends itself to a computationally more efficient implementation of the iLQG optimisation without sacrificing control accuracy – allowing the method to scale to large DoF systems.
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Paper Nr:	176
Title:	FAIR AND EFFICIENT RESOURCE ALLOCATION - Bicriteria Models for Equitable Optimization
Authors:	Włodzimierz Ogryczak
Abstract:	Resource allocation problems are concerned with the allocation of limited resources among competing activities so as to achieve the best performances. In systems which serve many usersthere is a need to respect some fairness rules while looking for the overall efficiency. The so-called Max-Min Fairness is widely used to meet these goals. However, allocating the resource to optimize the worst performance may cause a dramatic worsening of the overall system efficiency. Therefore, several other fair allocation schemes are searched and analyzed. In this paper we focus on mean-equity approaches which quantify the problem in a lucid form of two criteria: the mean outcome representing the overall efficiency and a scalar measure of inequality of outcomes to represent the equity (fairness) aspects. The mean-equity model is appealing to decision makers and allows a simple trade-off analysis. On the other hand, for typical dispersion indices used as inequality measures, the mean-equity approach may lead to inferior conclusions with respect to the outcomes maximization (system efficiency). Some inequality measures, however, can be combined with the mean itself into optimization criteria that remain in harmony with both inequality minimization and maximization of outcomes. In this paper we introduce general conditions for inequality measures sufficient to provide such an equitable consistency. We verify the conditions for the basic inequality measures thus showing how they can be used not leading to inferior distributions of system outcomes.
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Paper Nr:	202
Title:	RECONFIGURATION OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Authors:	Mohamed Khalgui, Martin Hirsch, Dirk Missal and Hans-Michael Hanisch
Abstract:	This paper deals with automatic reconfiguration of embedded systems following the Component-based Standard IEC61499. First of all, we propose a new reconfiguration semantic allowing the improvement of the system performance even if there is no hardware fault. In addition, we characterize all possible reconfiguration forms in order to cover all possible execution scenarios and to apply an automatic reconfiguration, we define thereafter an agent-based architecture that we model with nested state machines to control the design complexity.
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Paper Nr:	241
Title:	FEEDING A GENETIC ALGORITHM WITH AN ANT COLONY FOR CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION - An Application to the Unit Commitment Problem
Authors:	Guillaume Sandou, Stephane FONT, Sihem Tebbani, Arnaud Hiret and Christian Mondon
Abstract:	In this paper, a new optimisation strategy for the solution of the classical Unit Commitment problem is proposed. This problem is known to be an often large scale, mixed integer programming problem. Due to high combinatorial complexity, the exact solution is often intractable. Thus, a metaheuristic based method has to be used to compute a very often suitable solution. The main idea of the approach is to use ant colony algorithm, to explicitly deal with the feasibility of the solution, and to feed a genetic algorithm whose goal is to intensively explore the search space. Finally, results show that the proposed method leads to the tractable computation of satisfying solutions for the Unit Commitment problem.
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Paper Nr:	246
Title:	SMART SEMANTIC MIDDLEWARE FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGS
Authors:	Artem Katasonov, Olena Kaykova, Oleksiy Khriyenko, Sergiy Nikitin and Vagan Terziyan
Abstract:	As ubiquitous systems become increasingly complex, traditional solutions to manage and control them reach their limits and pose a need for self-manageability. Also, heterogeneity of the ubiquitous components, standards, data formats, etc, creates significant obstacles for interoperability in such complex systems. The promising technologies to tackle these problems are the Semantic technologies, for interoperability, and the Agent technologies for management of complex systems. This paper describes our vision of a middleware for the Internet of Things, which will allow creation of self-managed complex systems, in particular industrial ones, consisting of distributed and heterogeneous components of different nature. We also present an analysis of issues to be resolved to realize such a middleware.
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Paper Nr:	263
Title:	SENSOR AND ACTUATOR FAULT ANALYSIS IN ACTIVE SUSPENSION IN VIEW OF FAULT-TOLERANT CONTROL
Authors:	Claudio Urrea and Marcela Jamett
Abstract:	This paper shows the first step of a fault tolerant control system (FTCS) to control active suspension on a full-car suspension model. In this paper, the elimination of the inevitable pitch and roll actions of a spring suspension between each axle and the body of a vehicle is studied. An actuator (linear motor) producing an electromagnetic force and a pneumatic force acting simultaneously on the same output element is used. This linear motor acts as a force generator that compensates instantly for the disturbing effects of the road surface. Simulation results to illustrate the system’s performance in front of the occurrence of sensor and actuator faults are shown.
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Paper Nr:	286
Title:	LEARNING DISCRETE PROBABILISTIC MODELS FOR APPLICATION IN MULTIPLE FAULTS DETECTION
Authors:	Luis E. Garza Castañón, Francisco J. Cantú Ortíz and Ruben Morales-Menendez
Abstract:	We present a framework to detect faults in processes or systems based on probabilistic discrete models learned from data. Our work is based on a residual generation scheme, where the prediction of a model for process normal behavior is compared against measured process values. The residuals may indicate the presence of a fault. The model consists of a general statistical inference engine operating on discrete spaces, and represents the maximum entropy joint probability mass function (pmf) consistent with arbitrary lower order probabilities. The joint pmf is a rich model that, once learned, allows us to address inference tasks, which can be used for prediction applications. In our case the model allows the one step-ahead prediction of process variable, given its past values. The relevant dependencies between the forecast variable and past values are learnt by applying an algorithm to discover discrete bayesian network structures from data. The parameters of the statistical engine are also learn by an approximate method proposed by Yan and Miller. We show the performance of the prediction models and their application in power systems fault detection.
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Paper Nr:	296
Title:	AUTOMATED SIZING OF ANALOG CIRCUITS BASED ON GENETIC ALGORITHM WITH PARAMETER ORTHOGONALIZATION PROCEDURE
Authors:	Masanori Natsui and Yoshiaki Tadokoro
Abstract:	This paper presents a method for the automated sizing of analog circuits using genetic algorithm (GA). For the rapid and efficient exploration of GA, we introduce the idea of search space sphering and dimension reduction with principal component analysis (PCA). The potential capability of the system is demonstrated through the automated sizing of wide-swing current mirror circuit. Experimental results show that the system with PCA successfuly generates higher-performance circuits under given evaluation function on average, and the dimensionally reduction method further improves the performance of solutions.
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Paper Nr:	306
Title:	ADAPTIVE RESOURCES CONSUMPTION IN A DYNAMIC AND UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT - An Autonomous Rover Control Technique using Progressive Processing
Authors:	Simon Le Gloannec, Abdel-illah Mouaddib and François Charpillet
Abstract:	This paper address the problem of an autonomous rover that have limited consumable resources to accomplish a mission. The robot has to cope with limited resources: it must decide the resource among to spent at each mission step. The resource consumption is also uncertain. Progressive processing is a meta level reasoning model particulary adapted for this kind of mission. Previous works have shown how to obtain an optimal resource consumption policy using a Markov decision process (MDP). Here, we make the assumption that the mission can dynamically change during execution time. Therefore, the agent must adapt to the current situation, in order to save resources for the most interesting future tasks. Because of the dynamic environment, the agent cannot calculate a new optimal policy online. However, it is possible to compute an approximate value function. We will show that the robot will behave as good as if it knew the optimal policy.
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Paper Nr:	368
Title:	CONTROLLING INVESTMENT PROPORTION IN CYCLIC CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS
Authors:	J.-Emeterio Navarro-Barrientos
Abstract:	In this paper, we present an investment strategy to control investment proportions for environments with cyclic changing returns on investment. For this, we consider an investment model where the agent decides at every time step the proportion of wealth to invest in a risky asset, keeping the rest of the budget in a risk-free asset. Every investment is evaluated in the market modeled by stylized returns on investment (RoI). For comparison reasons, we present two reference strategies which represent agents with zero-knowledge and complete-knowledge of the dynamics of the RoI, and we consider an investment strategy based on technical analysis. To account for the performance of the strategies, we perform some computer experiments to calculate the average budget that can be obtained over a certain number of time steps. To assure for fair comparisons, we first tune the parameters of each strategy. Afterwards, we compare their performance for RoIs with fixed periodicity (stationary scenario) and for RoIs with changing periodicities (non-stationary scenario).
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Paper Nr:	387
Title:	PATH PLANNING FOR MULTIPLE FEATURES BASED LOCALIZATION
Authors:	Francis Celeste, Frederic Dambreville and Jean-Pierre Le Cadre
Abstract:	In surveillance or exploration mission in a known environment, the localization of the dedicated sensor is of main importance. In this paper, we discuss the path planning problem for the localization algorithm which correlates range and bearing measurements and a map composed of several features. The sensor motion is designed from an information measure derived from the Fisher Information Matrix. It is shown that a closed form expression of the cost can be obtained. The optimal features location can be neatly geometrically interpreted. An integral cost which includes the sensor perception limitation is then formulated. It is used in a dynamic programming framework to tackle the path optimization problem.
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Paper Nr:	393
Title:	NEURAL NETWORK AND GENETIC ALGORITHMS FOR COMPOSITION ESTIMATION AND CONTROL OF A HIGH PURITY DISTILLATION COLUMN
Authors:	Javier Fernandez de Canete, Pablo Del Saz-Orozco and Salvador Gonzalez-Perez
Abstract:	Many industrial processes are difficult to control because the product quality cannot be measured rapidly and reliably. One solution to this problem is neural network based control, which uses an inferential estimator (software sensor) to infer primary process outputs from secondary measurements, and control these outputs. This paper proposes the use of adaptive neural networks applied both to the prediction of product composition from temperature measurements, and to the dual control of distillate and bottom composition for a continuous high purity distillation column. Genetic algorithms are used to automatically choice of the optimum control law based on the neural network model of the plant. The results obtained have shown the proposed method gives better or equal performances over other methods such fuzzy, or adaptive control.
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Paper Nr:	405
Title:	A NOVEL PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION APPROACH FOR MULTIOBJECTIVE FLEXIBLE JOB SHOP SCHEDULING PROBLEM
Authors:	Souad Mekni, Besma Fayech Char and Mekki KSOURI
Abstract:	Because of the intractable nature of the .exible job shop scheduling problem and its importance in both .elds of production management and combinatorial optimization, it is desirable to employ e cient metaheuristics in order to obtain a better solution quality for the problem. In this paper, a novel approach based on the vector evaluated particle swarm optimization and the weighted average ranking is presented to solve .exible job shop scheduling problem (FJSP) with three objectives (i) minimize the makespan, (ii) minimize the total workload of machines and (iii) minimize the workload of critical machine. To convert the continuous position values to the discrete job sequences, we used the heuristic rule the Smallest Position Value (SPV). Experimental results in this work are very encouraging since that relevent solutions were provided in a reasonable computational time.
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Paper Nr:	417
Title:	TWO-SIDED ASSEMBLY LINE - Estimation of Final Results
Authors:	Waldemar Grzechca
Abstract:	The paper considers simple assembly line balancing problem and two-sided assembly line structure. In the last four decades a large variety of heuristic and exact solutions procedures have been proposed to balance one-sided assembly line in the literature. Some heuristic were given to balance two-sided lines, too. Some measures of solution quality have appeared in line balancing literature: balance delay (BD), line efficiency (LE), line time (LT) and smoothness index (SI). These measures are very important for estimation the balance solution quality. Author of this paper modified and discussed the line time and smoothness for two-sided assembly line. Some problems, which appeared during evaluations, are mentioned.
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Paper Nr:	439
Title:	AN EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM FOR UNICAST/ MULTICAST TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
Authors:	Miguel Rocha, Pedro Sousa, Paulo Cortez and Miguel Rio
Abstract:	A number of Traffic Engineering (TE) approaches have been recently proposed to improve the performance of network routing protocols, both developed over MPLS and intra-domain protocols such as OSPF. In this work, a TE approach is proposed for routing optimization in scenarios where unicast and multicast demands are simultaneously present. Evolutionary Algorithms are used as the optimization engine with overall network congestion as the objective function. The optimization aim is to reach a set of (near-)optimal weights to configure the OSPF protocol, both in its standard version and also considering the possibility of using multi-topology variants. The results show that the proposed optimization approach is able to obtain networks with low congestion, even under scenarios with heavy unicast/multicast demands.
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Paper Nr:	448
Title:	THE PARALLELIZATION OF MONTE-CARLO PLANNING - Parallelization of MC-Planning
Authors:	S. Gelly, J. B. Hoock, A. Rimmel, O. Teytaud and Yann Kalemkarian
Abstract:	Since their impressive successes in various areas of large-scale parallelization, recent techniques like UCT and other Monte-Carlo planning variants (Kocsis and Szepesvari, 2006a) have been extensively studied (Coquelin and Munos, 2007; Wang and Gelly, 2007). We here propose and compare various forms of parallelization of bandit-based tree-search, in particular for our computer-go algorithm XYZ.
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Paper Nr:	519
Title:	THE BEES ALGORITHM AND MECHANICAL DESIGN OPTIMISATION
Authors:	D. T. Pham, Marco Castellani, Michael Sholedolu and Afshin Ghanbarzadeh
Abstract:	The Bees Algorithm is a search procedure inspired by the way honey-bees forage for food. A standard mechanical design problem, the design of a welded beam structure, was used to benchmark the Bees Algorithm against other optimisation techniques. The paper presents the results obtained showing the robust performance of the Bees Algorithm.
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Paper Nr:	17
Title:	EVALUATION OF NEURAL PDF CONTROL STRATEGY APPLIED TO A NONLINEAR MODEL OF A PUMPED-STORAGE HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATION
Authors:	G. A. Munoz-Hernandez, C. A Gracios-Marin, A Diaz-Sanchez, Saad Mansoor and D. I. Jones
Abstract:	In this paper, a neural Pseudoderivative control (PDF) is applied to a nonlinear mathematical model of the Dinorwig pumped - storage hydroelectric power station. The response of the system with this auto-tuning controller is compared with that of a classic controller, currently implemented on the system. The results show how the application of PDF control to a hydroelectric pumped-storage station improves the dynamic response of the power plant, even when multivariable effects are taken into account.
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Paper Nr:	31
Title:	GPC AND NEURAL GENERALIZED PREDICTIVE CONTROL
Authors:	Sadhana Chidrawar, Nikhil Bidwai, L. Waghmare and B. M. Patre
Abstract:	An efficient implementation of Model Predictive Control (MPC) using a multilayer feed forward network as the plants linear model is presented. This paper presents a comparison between the Generalized Predictive Control and Neural Generalized Predictive Control with Newton-Raphson as minimization algorithm. Three different linear models are taken and their performances are tested. Simulation result shows the effect of neural network on Generalized Predictive Control for linear systems. The performance comparison of these system configurations has been given in terms of ISE and IAE.
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Paper Nr:	49
Title:	MOTOR PARAMETERS INFLUENCE ON STABILITY OF DRIVE FOR INDUSTRIAL ROBOT
Authors:	Sorin Enache, Monica Adela Enache, Mircea Dobriceanu, Mircea Adrian Drighiciu and Anca Petrisor
Abstract:	This paper analyzes a driving system for an industrial robot from the stability point of view. For doing this, an original analysis method has been conceived. The method has as starting point the two axes mathematical model with equations written in per unit values. A Matlab program has been conceived with their help; this program has led to results and conclusions detailed in this paper. Finally a series of experimental results confirming the conclusions deduced with the new method are presented.
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Paper Nr:	74
Title:	MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF THERMAL AREA IN CUTTING TOOL
Authors:	Luiza Daschievici, Ghelase Daniela and Goanta Adrian
Abstract:	Since experimental researches regarding cutting process have stated a proportionality dependence of wear medium intensity on cutting area temperature and because this fact was avoid or ignored by thorough studies and researches, we considered to be helpful developing a physical-mathematical model able to correlate the two phenomena: wear and temperature in the cutting area. The complete and correct research on thermal phenomena in the cutting area is possible only by taking into consideration the feed-back relation between the physical and phenomenological elements of the studied tribosystem and also, by taking into account the splinter movement, resulting in a continuous supplying with cold layers of the splinter area and in heat evacuating by warm splinter movement.
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Paper Nr:	114
Title:	STOCHASTIC CONTROL STRATEGIES AND ADAPTIVE CRITIC METHODS
Authors:	Randa Herzallah and David Lowe
Abstract:	Adaptive critic methods have common roots as generalizations of dynamic programming for neural reinforcement learning approaches. Since they approximate the dynamic programming solutions, they are potentially suitable for learning in noisy, nonlinear and nonstationary environments. In this study, a novel probabilistic dual heuristic programming (DHP) based adaptive critic controller is proposed. Distinct to current approaches, the proposed probabilistic (DHP) adaptive critic method takes uncertainties of forward model and inverse controller into consideration. Therefore, it is suitable for deterministic and stochastic control problems characterized by functional uncertainty. Theoretical development of the proposed method is validated by analytically evaluating the correct value of the cost function which satisfies the Bellman equation in a linear quadratic control problem. The target value of the critic network is then calculated and shown to be equal to the analytically derived correct value.
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Paper Nr:	115
Title:	DESIGN OF NEURONAL NETWORK TO CONTROL SPIRULINA AQUACULTURE
Authors:	Ernesto Ponce, Claudio Ponce and Bernardo Barraza
Abstract:	A neural network that was designed to control a Spirulina aquaculture process in a pilot plant in the north of Chile, is presented in this work. Spirulina is a super food, but is a delicate alga and its culture may be suddenly lost by rapid changes in the weather that can affect its temperature, salinity or pH. The neural network control system presented is complex and non linear, and has several variables. The previous automatic control system for the plant proved unable to cope with large climatic variations. The advantage of this new method is the improvement in efficiency of the process, and a reliable control system that is able to adapt to climatic changes. The future application of this work is related to the industrial production of food and fuel from micro algae culture, for the growing world population.
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Paper Nr:	153
Title:	AN ONLINE BANDWIDTH SCHEDULING ALGORITHM FOR DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEMS WITH MULTIRATE CONTROL LOOPS
Authors:	Saroja Kanchi and Juan Pimentel
Abstract:	In this paper, we present an online scheduling algorithm for communication in a distributed control system. The packet size of the communication varies for each execution of the loop within certain bounds. We consider systems with closed loops that restart immediately after the completion of an execution. Our algorithm is based on priority of the loop and size of the communication packet. We demonstrate through simulation that our algorithm generates a feasible schedule that minimizes average control delay over all the loops. Our simulations demonstrate that this online schedule reduces average delay significantly compared to a-priori schedules for distributed control systems. We demonstrate that bandwidth utilization is more efficient in case of online scheduling.
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Paper Nr:	200
Title:	FLEXIBLE ROBOT-BASED INLINE QUALITY MONITORING USING PICTURE-GIVING SENSORS
Authors:	Andreas Jacubasch, Thomas Müller and Chen-Ko Sung
Abstract:	As part of the ROBOSENS project, the IITB developed and tested a new four-step concept for multiple sensor quality monitoring. The robot-based system uses an array of test-specific short-range and wide-range sensors which make the inspection process more flexible and problem-specific. To test this innovative inline quality monitoring concept and to adapt it to customized tasks, a development and demonstration platform (DDP) was created. It consists of an industrial robot with various sensor ports - a so-called “sensor magazine” - with various task-specific, interchangeable sensors and a flexible transport system.
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Paper Nr:	257
Title:	REDUCED ORDER H∞ SYNTHESIS USING A PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION METHOD
Authors:	Guillaume Sandou, Gilles Duc and Patrick Boucher
Abstract:	H∞ controller synthesis is a well known design method for which efficient dedicated methods have been developed. However, such methods compute a full order controller which has often to be reduced to be implemented. Indeed, the reduced order H∞ synthesis is a non convex optimization problem due to rank constraints. In this paper, a particle swarm optimization method is used to solve such a problem. Numerical results show that the computed controller has a lower H∞ norm than the controller computed from a classical Hankel reduction of the full order H∞ controller.
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Paper Nr:	274
Title:	EVOLUTION OF A MOBILE ROBOT’S NEUROCONTROLLER ON THE GRASPING TASK - Is Genetic also Generic?
Authors:	Philippe Lucidarme
Abstract:	This paper presents a survey on the generic evolution of mobile robot’ neurocontrollers with a particular focus on the capacity to adapt these controllers in several environments. Several experiments on the example of the grasping task (autonomous vacuum cleaner for example) are performed and the results show that the produced neurocontroller is dedicated to the trained conditions and cannot be considered as generic. The last part of the paper discusses of the necessary changes in the fitness function in order to produce generic neurocontrollers.
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Paper Nr:	285
Title:	COMBINATION OF BREEDING SWARM OPTIMIZATION AND BACKPROPAGATION ALGORITHM FOR TRAINING RECURRENT FUZZY NEURAL NETWORK
Authors:	Soheil Bahrampour, Sahand Ghorbanpour and Amin Ramezani
Abstract:	The usage of recurrent fuzzy neural network has been increased recently. These networks can approximate the behaviour of the dynamical systems because of their feedback structure. The Backpropagation of error has usually been used for training this network. In this paper, a novel approach for learning the parameters of RFNN is proposed using combination of the backpropagation and breeding particle swarm optimization. A comparison of this approach with previous methods is also made to demonstrate the effectiveness of this algorithm. Particle swarm is a derivative free, globally optimizing approach that makes the training of the network easier. These can solve the problems of gradient based method, which are instability, local minima and complexity of differentiating.
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Paper Nr:	287
Title:	ONTOLOGY ADAPTER - Network Management System Interface Model
Authors:	Lingli Meng, Lusheng Yan and Wenjing Li
Abstract:	This paper proposes a new method to define the interface model of network management system, that is ontology adapter. This model includes three parts, which are ontology agent, ontology knowledge base and ontology resource description. We can realize the uniform presentation of different network resource interface information using them. Therefore, we can take this model as a common data platform to offer the interface information to the network management system.
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Paper Nr:	323
Title:	HUNTER – HYBRID UNIFIED TRACKING ENVIRONMENT - Real-time Identification and Tracking System using RFID Technology
Authors:	A. G. Foina and Francisco Javier Ramirez-Fernandez
Abstract:	This article presents a developed system that use RFID technology for trucks’ cargo real-time tracking. RFID tags were settled at trucks’ dump-carts and readers were spread throughout warehouses entrances, at the truck weighting scale and through unload platforms. The unload inspectors used robust PDA with camera, along with Wi-Fi access points installed in warehouses, to confirm the truck information and take a snapshot for future audits. A wireless broadband link was used to connect two weighting scale that are distant from the unloading area. All technologies communicate with a web-based middleware that manages all different devices. The system design is flexible enough to be used in very different applications like product process control, automated manufactory lines control, supply chain applications and others.
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Paper Nr:	347
Title:	SELF CONSTRUCTING NEURAL NETWORK ROBOT CONTROLLER BASED ON ON-LINE TASK PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK
Authors:	Andreas Huemer, Mario Gongora and David Elizondo
Abstract:	A novel methodology to create a powerful controller for robots that minimises the design effort is presented. We show that using the feedback from the robot itself, the system can learn from experience. A method is presented where the interpretation of the sensory feedback is integrated in the creation of the controller, which is achieved by growing a spiking neural network system. The feedback is extracted from a performance measuring function provided at the task definition stage, which takes into consideration the robot actions without the need for external or manual analysis.
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Paper Nr:	348
Title:	AUTOMATIC PARAMETERIZATION FOR EXPEDITIOUS MODELLING OF VIRTUAL URBAN ENVIRONMENTS - A New Hybrid Metaheuristic
Authors:	Filipe Cruz, António Coelho and Luís Paulo Reis
Abstract:	Expeditious modelling of virtual urban environments consists of generating realistic 3d models from limited information. It has several practical applications but typically suffers from a lack of accuracy in the parameter values that feed the modeller. By gathering small amounts of information about certain key urban areas, it becomes possible to feed a system that automatically compares and adjusts the input parameter values to find optimal solutions of parameter combinations that resemble the real life model. These correctly parameterized rules can then be reapplied to generate virtual models of real areas with similar characteristics to the referenced area. Based on several nature inspired metaheuristic algorithms such as genetic algorithms, simulated annealing and harmony search, this paper presents a new hybrid metaheuristic algorithm capable of optimizing functions with both discrete and continuous parameters and offer competitive results in a highly neglected field of application.
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Paper Nr:	371
Title:	WISA - A Modular and Hybrid Expert System for Machine and Plant Diagnosis
Authors:	Mario Thron, Thomas Bangemann and Nico Suchold
Abstract:	Expert systems are well known tools for diagnosis purposes in medicine and industry. One problem is the hard efford, to create the knowledge base. This article describes an expert system for industrial diagnosis and shows an efficient approach for the creation of the rule base, which is based on the reusage of knowledge modules. These knowledge modules are representants for assets like devices, machines and plants. The article encourages manufacturers of such assets to provide diagnosis knowledge bases by using a proposed multi-paradigm rule definition language called HLD (Hybrid Logic Description). Rule based knowledge may be expressed by using various methodologies, which differ in expressiveness but also in runtime performance. The HLD allowes rules to be defined as propositional logic with or without the use of certainty factors, as Fuzzy Logic or as probabilistic rules as in Bayesian Networks. The most effective rule type may be chosen to describe causal dependencies between symptoms and failures. An evaluation prototype implementation has been developed in the research project WISA, which includes a sotftware tool chain for handling HLD files.
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Paper Nr:	372
Title:	AN EFFICIENT INFORMATION EXCHANGE STRATEGY IN A DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING SYSTEM - Application to the CARP
Authors:	Kamel Belkhelladi, Pierre Chauvet and Arnaud Schaal
Abstract:	Distributed computation models have been widely used to enhance the performance of traditional evolutionary algorithms, and have been implemented on parallel computers to speed up the computation. In this paper, we introduce a multi-agent model conceived as a conceptual and practical framework for distributed genetic algorithms used both to reduce execution time and get closer to optimal solutions. Instead of using expensive parallel computing facilities, our distributed model is implemented on easily available networked personal computers (PCs). In order to show that the parallel co-evolution of different sub-populations may lead to an efficient search strategy, we design a new information exchange strategy based on different dynamic migration window methods and a selective migration model. To evaluate the proposed approach, different kinds of experiments have been conducted on an extended set of Capacitated Arc Routing Problem(CARP). Obtained results are useful for optimization practitioners and show the efficiency of our approach.
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Paper Nr:	381
Title:	A REAL TIME EXPERT SYSTEM FOR FAULTS IDENTIFICATION IN ROTARY RAILCAR DUMPERS
Authors:	Osevaldo da Silva Farias, Jorge Henrique, Joâo Viana Da Fonseca Neto, Sofiane Labidi, Thiago Drummond, José Pinheiro de Moura and Simone C. F. Neves
Abstract:	This paper describes the development of a real-time Expert System applied to the ore extraction Industrial branch, specifically used to assist the decision making and fault identification on rotary railcar dumpers of the operational productive system located at Ponta da Madeira Dock Terminal, built and operated by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (now referred just as VALE) in São Luis-MA. The Expert System is built on JESS (Java Expert System Shell) platform and provides support to engineers and operators during the ore unloading as soon as supplying on-line information about faults triggered by device sensors of the rotary railcar. The system’s conception involves the application of CommonKADS methodology, knowledge engineering and artificial intelligence techniques at the symbolic level for representing and organizing the knowledge domain in which the system is applied.
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Paper Nr:	492
Title:	NONLINEAR SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION USING DISCRETE-TIME NEURAL NETWORKS WITH STABLE LEARNING ALGORITHM
Authors:	Talel Korkobi, Mohamed Djemel and Mohamed Chtourou
Abstract:	This paper presents a stable neural sytem identification for nonlinear systems. An input output discrete time representation is considered. No a priori knowledge about the nonlinearities of the system is assumed. The proposed learning rule is the backpropagation algorithm under the condition that the learning rate belongs to a specified range defining the stability domain. Satisfying such condition, unstable phenomenon during the learning process is avoided. A Lyapunov analysis is made in order to extract the new updating formulation which contain a set of inequality constraints. In the constrained learning rate algorithm, the learning rate is updated at each iteration by an equation derived using the stability conditions. As a case study, identification of two discrete time systems is considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Simulation results concerning the considered systems are presented.
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Paper Nr:	522
Title:	A MARINE FAULTS TOLERANT CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON INTELLIGENT MULTI-AGENTS
Authors:	Tianhao Tang and Gang Yao
Abstract:	This paper presents a hybrid intelligent multi-agent method for marine faults tolerant control (FTC). A new FTC schema, implemented by different kinds of agent, is discussed as well as the structure and functions of those agents, which have been encapsulated with intelligent algorithms to carry out different aspects in FTC. These agents could, having a purpose of trying to earn payoff as much as possible in a mission, communicate and form a coalition via negotiation when they find cooperation would bring them more benefits. Simulation experiments and its results are shown at last to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed system.
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Area 2 - Robotics and Automation

Full Papers

Paper Nr:	71
Title:	GENETIC-ALGORITHM SEEDING OF IDIOTYPIC NETWORKS FOR MOBILE-ROBOT NAVIGATION
Authors:	Amanda Whitbrook, Uwe Aickelin and Jonathan Garibaldi
Abstract:	Robot-control designers have begun to exploit the properties of the human immune system in order to produce dynamic systems that can adapt to complex, varying, real-world tasks. Jerne’s idiotypic-network theory has proved the most popular artificial-immune-system (AIS) method for incorporation into behaviour-based robotics, since idiotypic selection produces highly adaptive responses. However, previous efforts have mostly focused on evolving the network connections and have often worked with a single, pre-engineered set of behaviours, limiting variability. This paper describes a method for encoding behaviours as a variable set of attributes, and shows that when the encoding is used with a genetic algorithm (GA), multiple sets of diverse behaviours can develop naturally and rapidly, providing much greater scope for flexible behaviour-selection. The algorithm is tested extensively with a simulated e-puck robot that navigates around a maze by tracking colour. Results show that highly successful behaviour sets can be generated within about 25 minutes, and that much greater diversity can be obtained when multiple autonomous populations are used, rather than a single one.
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Paper Nr:	112
Title:	DIAGNOSIS OF DISCRETE EVENT SYSTEMS WITH PETRI NETS AND CODING THEORY
Authors:	Dimitri Lefebvre
Abstract:	Event sequences estimation is an important issue for fault diagnosis of DES, so far as fault events cannot be directly measured. This work is about event sequences estimation with Petri net models. Events are assumed to be represented with transitions and firing sequences are estimated from measurements of the marking variation. Estimation with and without measurement errors are discussed in n – dimensional vector space over alphabet Z3 = {-1, 0, 1}. Sufficient conditions and estimation algorithms are provided. Performance is evaluated and the efficiency of the approach is illustrated on two examples from manufacturing engineering.
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Paper Nr:	116
Title:	DYNAMIC-BASED SIMULATION FOR HUMANOID ROBOT WALKING USING WALKING SUPPORT SYSTEM
Authors:	Aiman Omer, Yu Ogura, Hideki Kondo, Hun-ok Lim and Atsuo Takanishi
Abstract:	A new humanoid bipedal robot WABIAN-2R was developed to simulate human motion. WABAIN-2R is able to perform similar human-like walking motion. Moreover, the robot is able to perform walking motions with a passive walk-assist machine. However, walking with an active walk-assist machine is expected to be unstable. Conducting this experiment is highly risky and costly. Therefore, we had developed a dynamic simulator in order to test walking robot with walk-assist machine before conducting it in real simulation.
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Paper Nr:	126
Title:	PEOPLE TRACKING USING LASER RANGE SCANNERS AND VISION
Authors:	Andreas Kraeussling, Bernd Brueggemann, Dirk Schulz and Armin B. Cremers
Abstract:	Tracking multiple crossing people is a great challenge, since common algorithms tend to loose some of the persons or to interchange their identities when they get close to each other and split up again. In several consecutive papers it was possible to develop an algorithm using data from laser range scanners which is able to track an arbitrary number of crossing people without any loss of track. In this paper we address the problem of rediscovering the identities of the persons after a crossing. Therefore, a camera system is applied. An infrared camera detects the people in the observation area and then a charge–coupled device camera is used to extract the colour information about those people. For the representation of the colour information the HSV colour space is applied using a histogram. Before the crossing the system learns the mean and the standard deviation of the colour distribution of each person. After the crossing the system relocates the identities by comparing the actually measured colour distributions with the distributions learnt before the crossing. Thereby, a Gaussian distribution of the colour values is assumed. The most probably assignment of the identities is then found using Munkres’ Hungarian algorithm. It is proven with data from real world experiments that our approach can reassign the identities of the tracked persons stable after a crossing.
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Paper Nr:	204
Title:	ROBOTIC WHEELCHAIR CONTROL CONSIDERING USER COMFORT - Modeling and Experimental Evaluation
Authors:	Razvan Solea and Urbano Nunes
Abstract:	This paper analyzes the comfort of wheelchair users when a sliding-mode trajectory-tracking controller is used. The transmission of the horizontal (fore-and-aft) vibration to the head-neck complex (HNC) in the seated human body may cause unacceptable discomfort and motion sickness. A double-inverted pendulum model with two degrees of freedom is considered as a model for the HNC. The user comfort is examined not only in the time domain (using the fourth power vibration dose value), but also in the frequency domain (using the cross-spectral density method). For measuring the acceleration of the wheelchair, along the trajectory, an inertial measurement unit was used.
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Paper Nr:	210
Title:	VISUAL TRACKING ON THE GROUND - A Comparative Analysis
Authors:	Jorge Gomez, José J. Guerrero and Elias Herrero-Jaraba
Abstract:	Tracking is an important field in visual surveillance systems. Trackers have been applied traditionally in the image, but a new concept of tracking has been used gradually, applying the tracking on the ground map of the surrounding area. The purpose of this article is to compare both alternatives and prove that this new usage makes possible to obtain a higher performance and a minimization of the projective effects. Moreover, it provides the concept of multi-camera as a new tool for mobile object tracking in surveillance scenes, because a common reference system can be defined without increasing complexity. An automatic camera re-calibration procedure is also proposed, which avoids some practical limitations of the approach.
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Paper Nr:	239
Title:	PARAMETER TUNING OF ROUTING PROTOCOLS TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF MOBILE ROBOT TELEOPERATION VIA WIRELESS AD-HOC NETWORKS
Authors:	Florian Zeiger, Nikolaus Kraemer and Klaus Schilling
Abstract:	Currently, the use of wireless networks is very common in the field of networked robotics and can be considered as a key issue for capable multi robot systems with a high grade of mobility. Nevertheless, this mobility requests for special features of the communication infrastructure, which leads to the integration of mobile robots into wireless ad-hoc networks. Since the late nineties, more than 80 ad-hoc routing protocols were developed and nowadays some of them are implemented and ready to use in real world applications. A comparison of four ad-hoc routing protocols (AODV, DSR, OLSR, and BATMAN) showed some shortfalls of the default parameter settings not allowing a reliable teleoperation of mobile robots while using AODV, OLSR, or BATMAN. This work is focused on the parameter tuning of the routing protocols to use them in wireless ad-hoc networks of mobile robots. The time required for route reestablishing, as well as the packet loss during rerouting is investigated in hardware tests of a network with dynamic network topology consisting of mobile robots. It could be demonstrated, that an appropriate parameter setting of OLSR and AODV allow the teleoperation of mobile robots in outdoor environments via a wireless ad-hoc network.
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Paper Nr:	269
Title:	LEARNING BY EXAMPLE - Reinforcement Learning Techniques for Real Autonomous Underwater Cable Tracking
Authors:	Andres El-Fakdi, Marc Carreras, Javier Antich and Alberto Ortiz
Abstract:	This paper proposes a field application of a high-level Reinforcement Learning (RL) control system for solving the action selection problem of an autonomous robot in cable tracking task. The learning system is characterized by using a Direct Policy Search method for learning the internal state/action mapping. Policy only algorithms may suffer from long convergence times when dealing with real robotics. In order to speed up the process, the learning phase has been carried out in a simulated environment and, in a second step, the policy has been transferred and tested successfully on a real robot. Future steps plan to continue the learning process on-line while on the real robot while performing the mentioned task. We demonstrate its feasibility with real experiments on the underwater robot ICT INEU AUV .
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Paper Nr:	290
Title:	VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH ADAPTIVE QUALITY BASED ON NETWORK FEEDBACK FOR MOBILE ROBOT TELEOPERATION IN WIRELESS MULTI-HOP NETWORKS
Authors:	Florian Zeiger, Markus Sauer and Klaus Schilling
Abstract:	A video stream is still one of the most important data sources for the user while remote-operating a mobile robot. Human operators have comprehensive capabilities to interpret the displayed image information, but therefore, some constraints must be fulfilled. Constant frame rates and delays below a certain threshold are a minimum requirement to use video for teleoperation. Modern multi-hop networks often use WLAN to set up ad-hoc networks of mobile nodes with each node acting as traffic source, sink, or router. Considering these networks, routes between sources and destinations might be established via several relay nodes. Thus, the utilization of intermediate nodes which are part of a route influences the overall route performance, whereas sender and receiver have no direct feedback of the overall route status. In case video is transmitted via wireless ad-hoc networks in a teleoperation scenario, the displayed video-stream for the operator might have variable frame rates, very high packet loss, and packet inter-arrival times which are not appropriate for mobile robot teleoperation. This work presents an approach using a feedback generated by the network to adapt the image quality to present communication constraints. Thus, according to the current network status, the best possible video image is provided to the operator while keeping constant frame rates and low packet loss.
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Paper Nr:	315
Title:	ALTITUDE CONTROL OF SMALL HELICOPTERS USING A PROTOTYPE TEST BED
Authors:	Nikos Vitzilaios and Nikos Tsourveloudis
Abstract:	In this paper we present an experimental test bed for the development and evaluation of control systems for unmanned helicopters. The test bed consists of a small unmanned helicopter, mounted on a flying stand that permits all possible movements but prevents the helicopter from damaging or crashing. A fuzzy controller is developed in MATLAB and tested in the helicopter using the test bed. The controller is able to perform hovering and altitude control. Experimental results are presented for various test cases.
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Paper Nr:	335
Title:	CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION IN INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION NETWORKS - Comparison of Different Syntonization Methods
Authors:	Dragan Obradovic, Ruxandra Lupas Scheiterer, Chongning Na, Günter Steindl and Franz-Josef Goetz
Abstract:	Synchronization of distributed clocks is a critical task in many real time applications over Ethernet. The Ethernet protocol, due to its non-deterministic nature, is not suitable for real-time applications with very strict synchronicity requirements. However, the limit is continuously being pushed outwards by current research. The Precision Time Protocol (PTP), delivered by the IEEE 1588 standard, provides high synchronization accuracy and has been adopted in many real time applications in the areas of industrial automation, measurement & control, communications etc. This paper will discuss several issues aimed at improving the synchronization performance.
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Paper Nr:	376
Title:	TEMPORAL SMOOTHING PARTICLE FILTER FOR VISION BASED AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOT LOCALIZATION
Authors:	Walter Nisticò and Matthias Hebbel
Abstract:	Particle filters based on the Sampling Importance Resampling (SIR) algorithm have been extensively and successfully used in the field of mobile robot localization, especially in the recent extensions (Mixture Monte Carlo) which sample a percentage of particles directly from the sensor model. However, in the context of vision based localization for mobile robots, the Markov assumption on which these methods rely is frequently violated, due to “ghost percepts” and undetected collisions, and this can be troublesome especially when working with small particle sets, due to limited computational resources and real-time constraints. In this paper we present an extension of Monte Carlo localization which relaxes the Markov assumption by tracking and smoothing the changes of the particles’ importance weights over time, and limits the speed at which the samples are redistributed after a single resampling step. We present the results of experiments conducted on vision based localization in an indoor environment for a legged-robot, in comparison with state of the art approaches.
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Paper Nr:	425
Title:	SLAM AND MULTI-FEATURE MAP BY FUSING 3D LASER AND CAMERA DATA
Authors:	Ayman Zureiki, Michel Devy and Raja Chatila
Abstract:	Indoor structured environments contain an important number of planar surfaces and line segments. Using these both features in a unique map gives a simplified way to represent man-made environments. Extracting planes and lines by a mobile robot requires more than one sensor: a 3D laser scanner and a camera can be a good equipment. The incremental construction of such a model is a Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) problem: while exploring the environment, the robot executes motions; from each position, it acquires sensory data, extracts perceptual features, and simultaneously, performs self-localisation and model update. First, the 3D range image is segmented into a set of planar faces which are used as landmarks. Next, we describe how to extract 2D line landmarks by fusing data from both sensors. Our stochastic map is of heterogeneous type and contains plane and 2D line landmarks. At first, The SLAM formalism is used to build a stochastic planar map, and results on the incremental construction of such a map are presented, further on, heterogeneous map will be constructed.
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Paper Nr:	437
Title:	TORQUE CONTROL WITH RECURRENT NEURAL NETWORKS
Authors:	Guillaume Jouffroy
Abstract:	In the robotics field, a lot of attention is given to the complexity of the mechanics and particularly to the number of degrees of freedom. Also, the oscillatory recurrent neural network architecture is only considered as a black box, which prevents from carefully studying the interesting features of the network’s dynamics. In this paper we describe a generalized teacher forcing algorithm, and we build a default oscillatory recurrent neural network controller for a vehicle of one degree of freedom. We then build a feedback system as a constraint method for the joint. We show that with the default oscillatory controller the vehicle can however behave correctly, even in its transient time from standing to moving, and is robust to the oscillatory controller’s own transient period and its initial conditions. We finally discuss how the default oscillator can be modified, thus reducing the local feedback adaptation amplitude.
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Paper Nr:	440
Title:	INTELLWHEELS - A Development Platform for Intelligent Wheelchairs for Disabled People
Authors:	Rodrigo A. Marques Braga, Marcelo Petry, António Paulo Moreira and Luís Paulo Reis
Abstract:	Many people with disabilities find it difficult or even impossible to use traditional powered wheelchairs independently by manually controlling the devices. Intelligent wheelchairs are a very good solution to assist severely handicapped people who are unable to operate classical electrical wheelchair by themselves in their daily activities. This paper describes a development platform for intelligent wheelchairs called IntellWheels. The intelligent system developed may be added to commercial powered wheelchairs with minimal modifications in a very straightforward manner. The paper describes the concept and design of the platform and also the intelligent wheelchair prototype developed to validate the approach. Preliminary results concerning automatic movement of the IntellWheels prototype are also presented.
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Paper Nr:	468
Title:	HOW TO ASSESS RELIABILITY OF INDUSTRIAL WIRELESS SOLUTIONS
Authors:	Lutz Rauchhaupt and Marko Kraetzig
Abstract:	Wireless communication is an emerging technology for industrial automation applications. Many solutions are available which more or less consider industrial related requirements. One of the main concerns of industrial automation system users is the reliability of wireless communication. The subject of this paper is a method to assess reliability of wireless communication from the point of view of industrial automation applications. Characteristic parameters are introduced which can be used in analytical studies, in network simulations or measurements to assess reliability with respect to intended industrial control processes. In particular the different use cases for the characteristic parameters are stated as well as the stochastic nature of these parameters. Finally the influences are mentioned which have to be taken into account while assessing wireless industrial communication systems.
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Short Papers

Paper Nr:	19
Title:	WALKING PLANNING AND CONTROL FOR A BIPED ROBOT UPSTAIRS
Authors:	Chenbo Yin, Donghua Zheng and Le Xiao
Abstract:	The focus of this paper is the problem of walking stability control in humanoid robot going upstairs. Walking stability is a very important problem in the field of robotics. Lots of researches have been done to get stable walking on plane. But it is very limited on going upstairs. We first plan the gate of ankle and hip when going upstairs as well as the calculation of stable region and stability margin. Then the emergency-coping strategy of enlarging the support polygon is provided. At last, a control system which is proved to be effective by simulation is presented. If the ZMP is in the support polygon, this control system makes fine setting to gait to get higher stability. If the ZMP is out of the support polygon, the control system adjusts the location of ZMP through the emergency coping strategy.
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Paper Nr:	34
Title:	TEMPORAL MATCH OF MULTIPLE SOURCE DATA IN AN ETHERNET BASED INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT
Authors:	Andrei Hossu and Daniela Hossu
Abstract:	The actual stream in automation control systems is to distribute the control tasks among different modular and easy to integrate processing cells. It is part of this trend the increase of the use of Ethernet technology for machine-machine data communication inside this distributed based architecture. The paper presents a robotic handling application of industrial parts transferred by a transport conveyor. Data representing a set of parameters of the parts to be handle from the conveyor is provided by a Routing Control System (RCS). The Control Management System (CMS), which controls a number of robotic cells is receiving this data from RCS and merge it with the information provided by an Inspection System (Artificial Vision System). The communication between these two Control Systems (RCS and CMS) is Ethernet-based. Ethernet technology is good, reliable and fast for large amount of data, but because of its non-deterministic character, it has a lack of tools for data synchronization. The paper includes an analysis of the experimental results of the measurements of the non-deterministic factor of the existing network. The "worst case scenario" of the largest communication delay caused by Ethernet traffic and the minimum time between two consecutive data commands, reveals that application requirements could not be achieved without recovering data transfer time-consistency. The paper is presenting a mechanism developed at protocol level, in order to guarantee the consistency in time, at CMS level (data consumer), of the merging process of the data provided by the two application partners, RCS and Vision System as the data producers.
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Paper Nr:	47
Title:	THE APPLICATION OF REFERENCE-PATH CONTROL TO VEHICLE PLATOONS
Authors:	Drago Matko, Gregor Klancar, Saso Blazic, Olivier Simonin, Franck Getcher, Jean-Michel Contet and Pablo Gruer
Abstract:	A new algorithm for the control of vehicle platooning is proposed and tested on a robot-soccer test bed. We considered decentralized platooning, i.e., a virtual train of vehicles, where each vehicle is autonomous and decides on its motion based on its own perceptions. The platooning vehicles have non-holonomic constraints. The following vehicle only has information about its own orientation and about its distance and azimuth to the leading vehicle. Its position is determined using odometry and a compass. The reference position and the orientation of the following vehicle are determined by the estimated path of the leading vehicle in a parametric polynominal form. The parameters of the polynominals are determined using the least-squares method. This parametric reference path is also used to determine the feed-forward part of the applied control algorithm. The feed-back control consists of a state controller with three inputs: the longitudinal and lateral position errors and the orientation error. The results of the experiments demonstrate the applicability of the proposed algorithm for vehicle platoons.
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Paper Nr:	91
Title:	DESIGN AND BALANCING CONTROL OF AIT LEG EXOSKELETON-I (ALEX-I)
Authors:	Narong Aphiratsakun, Kittipat Chirungsarpsook and Manukid Parnichkun
Abstract:	This paper is focused on the design of mechanical hardware, controller architectures, and analysis of balancing control at the Asian Institute of Technology Leg EXoskeleton-I (ALEX-I). ALEX-I has 12 DOF (6 DOF for each leg: 3 at the Hip, 1 at the knee and 2 at the ankle), controlled by 12 DC motors. The main objective of the research is to assist patients who suffer from the paraplegia and immobility due to the loss of lower limbs. ALEX-I’s parts and assembly are designed on CAD software, SolidWorks, exported to MATLAB simulation environment, and observed using 3D VRML script interpreter to investigate balancing postures of the exoskeleton. The simulation model is proven to be accurate by comparing the resulting kinematics characteristics with the results from Corke’s MATLAB Robotics Toolbox (Corke, 1996). PC104 is employed as the main (master) processing unit for calculation of the balanced gait motion corresponding to feedback signals from the force sensors mounted at the two feet plates, whereas ARM7’s are used for the low-level (slave) control of the angular position of all joints. The balanced posture set-points (joint trajectories) under the Center of Mass (CM) Criterion are generated in the simulation before testing on the real mechanical parts is implemented to avoid damaging the system.
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Paper Nr:	102
Title:	SHOE GRINDING CELL USING VIRTUAL MECHANISM APPROACH
Authors:	Bojan Nemec and Leon Zlajpah
Abstract:	The paper describes the automation of the shoe grinding process using an industrial robot. One of the major problems of flexible automation using industrial robots is how to avoid joint limitations, singular configuration and obstacles. This problem can be solved using kinematically redundant robots. Due to the circular shape of the grinding disc, the robot becomes kinematically redundant. This task redundancy was efficiently handled using virtual mechanism approach, where the tool is described as a serial mechanism.
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Paper Nr:	105
Title:	REAL TIME GRASPING OF FREELY PLACED CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS
Authors:	Mario Richtsfeld, Wolfgang Ponweiser and Markus Vincze
Abstract:	In the near future, service robots will support people with different handicaps to improve the quality of their life. One of the required key technologies is to setup the grasping ability of the robot. This includes an autonomous object detection and grasp motion planning to fulfil the task of providing objects from any position on a table to the user. This paper presents a complete system, which consists of a fixed working station equipped with a laser-range scanner, a seven degrees of freedom arm manipulator and an arm prothesis as gripper. The contribution of this work is to use only one sensor system based on a laser-range scanning head to solve this challenge. The goal is that the user can select any defined object on the table and the robot arm delivers it to a target position or to the disabled person.
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Paper Nr:	113
Title:	MODIFIED LOCAL NAVIGATION STRATEGY FOR UNKNOWN ENVIRONMENT EXPLORATION
Authors:	Safaa Amin, Andry Tanoto, Ulf Witkowski, Ulrich Rückert and Mohamed Saied Abdel-Wahab
Abstract:	This paper presents an algorithm for unknown environment exploration based on the local navigation algorithm (LNA). The original LNA doesn’t take into account the case in which the robots are trapped and stop exploring the environment. In this paper, we propose some modifications to overcome this problem and demonstrate it by using real robots. For validation purpose, we ran several experiments using the mini-robot Khepera II running on the Teleworkbench. The complete environment is divided into small quadratic patches with some objects placed in it representing obstacles. With on-board infrared sensors and wheel encoder, the robot can successfully explore the unknown environment. Moreover, by calculating the distance to surrounding patches, the implemented algorithm will minimize the distance traveled, and in turn of the consumed energy and time. This paper also shows the advantage of using the Teleworkbench for performing experiments using real robots.
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Paper Nr:	168
Title:	LegOSC - Mindstorms NXT Robotics Programming for Artists
Authors:	Jorge Cardoso, Manuel Ferreira and Cristina Santos
Abstract:	Robotics is an interesting but difficult area for digital artists who generally don’t have much academic background on electronics or computer programming. Digital art students normally use high-level application to program their visual and sonorous installations. This paper presents LegOSC - a tool that allows the control of the Mindstorms NXT robots from any application that uses the Open Sound Control protocol which is implemented by most of those high-level applications. This allows artists to create works which incorporate robotic parts using the familiar programming environment.
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Paper Nr:	199
Title:	FOOTSTEP PLANNING FOR BIPED ROBOT BASED ON FUZZY Q-LEARNING APPROACH
Authors:	Christophe Sabourin, Kurosh Madani, Weiwei Yu and Jie Yan
Abstract:	The biped robots have more flexible mechanical systems and they can move in more complex environment than wheeled robots. Their abilities to step over both static and dynamic obstacles allow to the biped robots to cross an uneven terrain where ordinary wheeled robots can fail. In this paper we present a footstep planning for biped robots allowing them to step over dynamic obstacles. Our footstep planning strategy is based on a fuzzy Q-learning concept. In comparison with other previous works, one of the most appealing interest of our approach is its good robustness because the proposed footstep planning is operational for both constant and random velocity of the obstacle.
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Paper Nr:	248
Title:	DYNAMICAL MODELS FOR OMNI-DIRECTIONAL ROBOTS WITH 3 AND 4 WHEELS
Authors:	Hélder P. Oliveira, Armando Jorge Sousa, António Paulo Moreira and Paulo Gomes Costa
Abstract:	Omni-directional robots are becoming more and more common in recent robotic applications. They offer improved ease of maneuverability and effectiveness at the expense of increased complexity. Frequent applications include but are not limited to robotic competitions and service robotics. The goal of this work is to find a precise dynamical model in order to predict the robot behavior. Models were found for two real world omni-directional robot configurations and their parameters estimated using a prototype that can have 3 or 4 wheels. Simulations and experimental runs are presented in order to validate the presented work.
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Paper Nr:	251
Title:	POSITION CONTROL METHOD OF A NON-CONTACTING CONVEYANCE SYSTEM FOR STEEL STRIP
Authors:	Yeongseob Kueon, Hyoung Jin Yoon and Hyoung Jin Yoon
Abstract:	Electromagnetic application system to improve the surface quality of steel strip is getting popular because customers demand better surface quality of steel strip. To realize such a requirement, non-contact conveyance methods by means of air floater and electromagnetic levitation and propulsion were considered. However, air floating method is not easy to control of the position of steel strip since the system is highly nonlinear. And thus, the application of a magnetic levitation and propulsion to steel strip conveyance is suitable. Sensors measuring positions of steel strip also need to be non-contact in order to maintain non-contact and simple characteristics of the system. This paper proposes the method of the spatial position estimation of steel plate without using sensors. This method simplifies non-contact conveyance system and cuts down expenses of the system. Spatial positions of steel strip can be estimated by currents supplied for electromagnet to maintain a fixed air gap. Estimated positions are then fed back into the control system to do position control. Computer simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the suitability of the proposed system performance and concept.
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Paper Nr:	264
Title:	STABLE STATES TRANSITION APPROACH - A New Strategy for Walking Robots Control in Uncertain Environments
Authors:	Anca Petrisor, Bîzdoaca Nicu George, Mircea Adrian Drighiciu, Ilie Diaconu, Sonia Degeratu, Gabriela Canureci and Gabriela Dana Petropol Serb
Abstract:	A new strategy for walking robots control in uncertain environments, called Stable States Transition Approach (SSTA), is proposed in this paper. All the controls, both the steps succession and the evolution inside each step are established by the evolution environment and by the objective proposed during the evolution. There are no predetermined types of legs movements; they are on-line determined during the robot evolution, irrespective of the ground shape. To apply this strategy it was necessary the robot interpretation as a Variable Causality Dynamic Systems (VCDS). Experimental results are implemented and verified in RoPa, a platform for simulation and design of walking robot control algorithms, to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control method.
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Paper Nr:	282
Title:	ROBOT GOES BACK HOME DESPITE ALL THE PEOPLE
Authors:	Paloma de la Puente, Diego Rodriguez-Losada, Luis Pedraza and Fernando Matia
Abstract:	We have developed a navigation system for a mobile robot that enables it to autonomously return to a start point after completing a route. It works efficiently even in complex, low structured and populated indoor environments. A point-based map of the environment is built as the robot explores new areas; it is employed for localization and obstacle avoidance. Points corresponding to dynamical objects are removed from the map so that they do not affect navigation in a wrong way. The algorithms and results we deem more relevant are explained in the paper.
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Paper Nr:	307
Title:	USING STEREO VISION AND TACTILE SENSOR FEATURES - For Grasp Planning Control
Authors:	Madjid Boudaba, Nicolas Gorges, Heinz Wörn and Alícia Casals
Abstract:	Planning the grasp positions either from vision or tactile sensors one can expect various uncertainties. This paper describes a scheme that match visual stereo and tactile data based on stereo vision and tactile sensors. For grasp planning, initially, the grasping positions are generated from stereo features, then the feedback of tactile features is used to match these positions. The result of the matching algorithm is used to control the grasping positions. The grasping process proposed is experimented with an anthropomorphic robotic system.
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Paper Nr:	346
Title:	TRAFFIC SIGN RECOGNITION WITH CONSTELLATIONS OF VISUAL WORDS
Authors:	Toon Goedemé
Abstract:	In this paper, we present a method for fast and robust object recognition. As an example, the method is applied to traffic sign recognition from a forward-looking camera in a car. To facilitate and optimise the implementation of this algorithm on an embedded platform containing parallel hardware, we developed a voting scheme for constellations of visual words, i.e. clustered local features (SURF in this case). On top of easy implementation and robust and fast performance, even with large databases, an extra advantage is that this method can handle multiple identical visual features in one model.
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Paper Nr:	380
Title:	A KNOWLEDGE-BASED COMPONENT FOR HUMAN-ROBOT TEAMWORK
Authors:	Pedro Santana, Luís Correia, Mário Salgueiro, Vasco Santos and José Barata
Abstract:	Teams of humans and robots pose a new challenge to teamwork. This stems from the fact that robots and humans have significantly different perceptual, reasoning, communication and actuation capabilities. This paper contributes to solving this problem by proposing a knowledge-based multi-agent system to support design and execution of stereotyped (i.e. recurring) human-robot teamwork. The cooperative workflow formalism has been selected to specify team plans, and adapted to allow activities to share structured data, in a frequent basis, while executing. This novel functionality enables tightly coupled interactions among team members. Rather than focusing on automatic teamwork planning, this paper proposes a complementary and intuitive knowledge-based solution for fast deployment and adaptation of small scale human-robot teams. In addition, the system has been designed in order to provide information about the mission status, contributing this way to the human overall mission awareness problem. A set of empirical results obtained from simulated and real missions demonstrates the capabilities of the system.
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Paper Nr:	384
Title:	PROSPECTIVE ROBOTIC TACTILE SENSORS - Elastomer-Carbon Nanostructure Composites as Prospective Materials for Flexible Robotic Tactile Sensors
Authors:	Maris Knite, Gatis Podins, Sanita Zike, Juris Zavickis and Velta Tupureina
Abstract:	Our recent achievements in the design, processing and studies of physical properties of elastomer – nanostructured carbon composites as prospective compressive strain sensor materials for robotic tactile elements are presented. Composites made of polyisoprene matrix and high-structured carbon black or multi-wall carbon nano-tube filler have been designed and manufactured to develop completely flexible conductive polymer nano-composites for tactile sensing elements. Electrical resistance of the composites as a function of mechanical strain and pressure is studied.
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Paper Nr:	389
Title:	DCT DOMAIN VIDEO WATERMARKING - Attack Estimation and Capacity Evaluation
Authors:	Corneliu Octavian DUMITRU, M. Mitrea and F. Prêteux
Abstract:	The first difficulty when trying to evaluate with accuracy the video watermarking capacity is the lack of a reliable statistical model for the malicious attacks. The present paper brings into evidence that the attack effects in the DCT domain are stationary and computes the corresponding pdfs. In this respect, an in-depth statistical approach is deployed by combining Gaussian mixture estimation with the probability confidence limits. Further on, these pdfs are involved in capacity computation. The experimental results are obtained on a corpus of 10 video sequences (about 25 minutes each), with heterogeneous content.
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Paper Nr:	400
Title:	A QUADRATIC PROGRAMMING APPROACH TO THE MINIMUM ENERGY PROBLEM OF A MOBILE ROBOT
Authors:	Alain Segundo Potts, José Jaime Da Cruz and Reinaldo Bernardi
Abstract:	As a consequence of physical constraints and of dynamical nonlinearities, optimal control problems involving mobile robots are generally difficult ones. Many algorithms have been developed to solve such problems, the more common being related to trajectory planning, minimum-time control or any specific performance index. Nevertheless optimal control problems associated to mobile robots have not been reported. Minimum energy problems subject to both equality and inequality constraints are generally intricate ones to be solved using classical methods. In this paper we present an algorithm to solve it using a Quadratic Programming approach. In order to illustrate the application of the algorithm, one practical problem was solved.
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Paper Nr:	416
Title:	PARAMETERIZATION AND INITIALIZATION OF BEARING-ONLY INFORMATION - A Discussion
Authors:	Rosario Aragues and Carlos Sagüés
Abstract:	In this paper we discuss feature parameterization and initialization for bearing-only data obtained from vision sensors. The interest of this work refers to the comparison of the bearing-only data representation and initialization techniques. The behavior of the algorithm is analyzed for different robot motions and depth of the features. The results are evaluated in terms of the sensitivity to step size and performance to ill conditioned situations. The problem studied refers to robots moving on the plane, sensing the environment and extracting bearing-only information from uncalibrated cameras to recover the position of the landmarks and its own localization.
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Paper Nr:	445
Title:	EFFICIENT PLANNING OF AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS USING HIERARCHICAL DECOMPOSITION
Authors:	Matthias Rungger, Olaf Stursberg, Bernd Spanfelner, Bernd Spanfelner and Christian Leuxner
Abstract:	This paper considers the behavior planning of robots deployed to act autonomously in highly dynamic environments. For such environments and complex tasks, model-based planning requires relatively complex world models to capture all relevant dependencies. The efficient generation of decisions, such that realtime requirements are met, has to be based on suitable means to handle complexity. This paper proposes a hierarchical architecture to vertically decompose the decision space. The layers of the architecture comprise methods for adaptation, action planning, and control, where each method operates on appropriately detailed models of the robot and its environment. The approach is illustrated for the example of robotic motion planning.
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Paper Nr:	446
Title:	LICENSE PLATE NUMBER RECOGNITION - New Heuristics and a Comparative Study of Classifiers
Authors:	Cesar Garcia-Osorio, José-Francisco Díez-Pastor, Juan J. Rodríguez and Jesus Maudes
Abstract:	We describe an artificial vision system used to recognize the Spanish car license plate numbers in raster images. The algorithm is designed to be independent of the distance from the car to the camera, the size of the plate number, the inclination and the light conditions. In the preprocessing steps, the algorithm takes a raster image as input and gives an ordered list of license plate areas candidates. Only in very rare occasions the second and third candidates are needed; most of the cases the first candidate is the correct one. During the preprocessing a new filter has been used. This filter is only applied to low saturation areas, getting better results this way. In order to choose the best classifier for the classifying stage, a comparative study has been performed using the data mining tool Weka.
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Paper Nr:	451
Title:	OBJECT EXPLORATION WITH A HUMANOID ROBOT - Using Tactile and Kinesthetic Feedback
Authors:	Nicolas Gorges, Stefan Gaa and Heinz Wörn
Abstract:	This work deals with the reactive and autonomous exploration of objects with a humanoid robot using only tactile and kinesthetic sensor feedback. To coordinate the flow of the exploration, a novel hierarchical exploration system is introduced. The lowest level extracts contacts points and elementary features based on the direct contact with the object. It furthermore provides elementary movement primitives. The intermediate level consists of different controlling behaviors to generate exploration movements according to the sensor feedback. This level enables the robot to explore an object pointwisely or continously. The highest level evaluates the process of the exploration and determinates the reactive behavior of the underlying components. The evaluation scenario comprises the exploration of edges, which are arbitrarily located in space. The evaluation platform consists of a robot arm, a force-torque sensor, and a tactile sensor matrix. The proposed approach is evaluated and the different reactive behaviors as well as the used sensor modalities are compared.
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Paper Nr:	471
Title:	USING THE OAG TO BUILD A MODEL DEDICATED TO MODE HANDLING OF FMS
Authors:	Nadia Hamani, Nathalie Dangoumau and Etienne Craye
Abstract:	This paper deals with a modeling approach for mode handling of Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). We show that using the plant model enables to establish aggregate operations. These are generic entities which depend only on the plant and do not depend on production goals. Aggregate operations are then used to build the model dedicated to mode handling. This study is illustrated through an example of a flexible manufacturing cell.
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Paper Nr:	472
Title:	IMPLEMENTATION OF A HOMOGRAPHY-BASED VISUAL SERVO CONTROL USING A QUATERNION FORMULATION
Authors:	T. Koenig and Guilherme DeSouza
Abstract:	In this paper, we present the implementation of a homography-based visual servo controller as introduced in (Hu et al., 2006). In contrast to other visual servo controllers, this formulation uses a quaternion representation of the rotation. By doing so, potential singularities introduced by the rotational matrix representation can be avoided, which is usually a very desirable property in, for example, aerospace applications such as for visual control of satellites, helicopters, etc. The movement of the camera and the image processing were performed using a simulation of the real environment. This testing environment was developed in Matlab-Simulink and it allowed us to test the controller regardeless of the mechanism in which the camera was moved and the underlying controller that was needed for this movement. The final controller was tested using yet another simulation program provided by Kawasaki Japan for the UX150 industrial robot. The setup for testing and the results of the simulations are presented in this paper.
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Paper Nr:	505
Title:	ROBOT NAVIGATION MODALITIES
Authors:	Ray Jarvis
Abstract:	Whilst navigation (robotic or otherwise) consists simply of traversing from a starting point to a goal, there are a plethora of conditions, states of knowledge and functional intentions which dictate how best to execute this process in a manageable, reliable, safe and efficient way. This position paper addresses the broad issues of how a continuum of choices from pure manual or teleoperation control through to fully autonomous operation can be laid out and then selected from, taking into account the variety of factors listed above and the richness of live sensory data available to describe the operational environment and the location of the robot vehicle within it.
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Paper Nr:	509
Title:	A WAIT-FREE REALTIME SYSTEM FOR OPTIMAL DISTRIBUTION OF VISION TASKS ON MULTICORE ARCHITECTURES
Authors:	Thomas Müller, Pujan Ziaie and Alois Knoll
Abstract:	As multicore PCs begin to get the standard, it becomes increasingly important to utilize these resources. Thus we present a multithreaded realtime vision system, which distributes tasks to given resources on a single off-the-shelf multicore PC, applying an optimal-backoff scheduling strategy. Making use of an asynchronous data management mechanism, the system also shows non-blocking and wait-free behaviour, while data access itself is randomized, but weighted. Furthermore, we introduce the top-down concept of Interpretation-Based Preselection in order to enhance data retrieval and a tracking based data storage optimization. On the performance side we prove that functional decomposition and discrete data partitioning result in an almost linear speed-up due to excellent load balancing with concurrent function- and data-domain parallelization.
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Paper Nr:	524
Title:	FROM CAD MODEL TO HUMAN-SCALE MULTIMODAL INTERACTION WITH VIRTUAL MOCK-UP - An Automotive Application
Authors:	Damien Chamaret, Paul Richard and Jean-Louis Ferrier
Abstract:	This paper presents and validates a new methodology for the efficient integration of CAD models in a physical-based virtual reality simulation. User interacts with virtual mock-up using a string-based haptic interface that may provides haptic sensation to both hands in a large workspace. Visual and tactile displays provide users with sensory feedback and improve both user performance and immersion. Stereoscopic images are displayed on a 2m x 2.5m retro-projected screen and viewed using polarized glasses. The proposed methodology implemented in a low-cost system, has been tested with an automotive application task. However, the presented approach is general enough to be applicable to a large variety of industrial applications.
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Paper Nr:	528
Title:	DETECTING TRANSIENT WEATHER PHENOMENA ON MARS - An Overview of the Design and Calibration of Multiparametric Detection Algorithms for the REMS/MSL Mission
Authors:	J. Verdasca, J. -A. Manfredi and V. Peinado
Abstract:	In its baseline operation mode, the REMS/MSL mission is not well suited to characterize transient weather phenomena evolving on multiple scales. In this paper we argue that this limitation can be overcome by enabling REMS to autonomously detect sudden and unexpected changes in the acquired data and subsequently extend the time allocated for measurements. Detection is accomplished by means of multiparametric Event-Finding Algorithms running on the REMS micro-controller. We describe the principles underlying the design of such algorithms and the methods for their calibration.
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Paper Nr:	529
Title:	(A) VISION FOR 2050 - The Road Towards Image Understanding for a Human-Robot Soccer Match
Authors:	Udo Frese and Tim Laue
Abstract:	We believe it is possible to create the visual subsystem needed for the RoboCup 2050 challenge – a soccer match between humans and robots – within the next decade. In this position paper, we argue, that the basic techniques are available, but the main challenge will be to achieve the necessary robustness. We propose to address this challenge through the use of probabilistically modeled context, so for instance a visually indistinct circle is accepted as the ball, if it fits well with the ball’s motion model and vice versa. Our vision is accompanied by a sequence of (partially already conducted) experiments for its verification. In these experiments, a human soccer player carries a helmet with a camera and an inertial sensor and the vision system has to extract all information from that data, a humanoid robot would need to take the human’s place.
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Paper Nr:	534
Title:	WHAT’S THE BEST ROLE FOR A ROBOT? - Cybernetic Models of Existing and Proposed Human-Robot Interaction Structures
Authors:	Victoria Groom
Abstract:	Robots intended for human-robot interaction are currently designed to fill simple roles, such as task completer or tool. The design emphasis remains on the robot and not the interaction, as designers have failed to recognize the influence of robots on human behavior. Cybernetic models are used to critique existing models and provide revised models of interaction that delineate the paths of social feedback generated by the robot. Proposed robot roles are modeled and evaluated. Features that need to be developed for robots to succeed in these roles are identified and the challenges of developing these features are discussed.
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Paper Nr:	3
Title:	REAL TIME TRACKING OF AN OMNIDIRECTIONAL ROBOT - An Extended Kalman Filter Approach
Authors:	José Alexandre Gonçalves, José Luis Lima and Paulo Gomes Costa
Abstract:	This paper describes a robust localization system, similar to the used by the teams participating in the Robocup Small size league (SLL). The system, developed in Object Pascal, allows real time localization and control of an autonomous omnidirectional mobile robot. The localization algorithm is done resorting to odometry and global vision data fusion, applying an extended Kalman filter, being this method a standard approach for reducing the error in a least squares sense, using measurements from different sources.
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Paper Nr:	51
Title:	A NEW APPROACH OF GRAY IMAGES BINARIZATION FOR ARTIFICIAL VISION SYSTEMS WITH THRESHOLD METHODS
Authors:	Daniela Hossu and Andrei Hossu
Abstract:	This paper presents some aspects of the (gray level) image binarization methods used in artificial vision systems. It is introduced a new approach of gray level image binarization for artificial vision systems dedicated to the specific class of applications for moving scene in industrial automation – temporal thresholding. In the first part of the paper are remarked some limitations of using the global optimum thresholding in gray level image binarization. In the second part of this paper are presented some aspects of the dynamic optimum thresholding method for gray level image binarization. In the third section are introduced the concepts of temporal histogram and temporal thresholding, starting from classic methods of global and dynamic optimal thresholding of the gray level images. In the final part are presented some practical aspects of the temporal thresholding method in artificial vision applications for the moving scene in robotic automation class; highlighting the influence of the acquisition frequency on the methods results.
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Paper Nr:	52
Title:	ACTIVE SECURITY SYSTEM FOR AN INDUSTRIAL ROBOT BASED ON ARTIFICIAL VISION AND FUZZY LOGIC PRINCIPLES
Authors:	Brecht Fevery, Bart Wyns, Luc Boullart, J.r. Llata García and Carlos Torre Ferrero
Abstract:	An active security system assures that interacting robots don’t collide or that a robot operating independently doesn’t hit any obstacle that is encountered in the robots workspace. In this paper, an active security system for a FANUC industrial robot is introduced. The active security problem where one robot needs to avoid a moving obstacle in its workspace is considered. An obstacle detection and localization mechanism based on stereoscopic vision methods was successfully developed. To connect the vision system, an operator’s pc and the robot environment a real-time communication is set up over Ethernet using socket messaging. We used fuzzy logic for intelligent trajectory planning. A multitask oriented robot application in the KAREL programming language of FANUC Robotics was implemented and tested.
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Paper Nr:	73
Title:	CONTRIBUTION CONCERNING ROBOT ACCURACY USING NUMERICAL MODELING
Authors:	Ghelase Daniela, Luiza Daschievici and Irina Ghelase
Abstract:	The kinematical accuracy of robot is very important. It is induced by the rigidity of each mechanism of the robot. The paper presents a numerical method to evaluate the rigidity of worm-gearing teeth. The software, including setting-up and graphic display, could be adopted of any kind of cylindrical worm-gear drive or for spur gear drives and bevel gear drives, mechanisms which are in the robot structure. Besides, we can determine geometrical parameters of the gear drives which influence the increase of accuracy of robot linkages.
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Paper Nr:	80
Title:	DRIVER’S DROWSINESS DETECTION BASED ON VISUAL INFORMATION
Authors:	Marco Javier Flores Calero, José María Armingol and Arturo De La Escalera
Abstract:	In this paper, a new Driver Assistance System (DAS) for automatic driver’s drowsiness detection based on visual information and image processing is presented. This algorithm works on several stages using Viola and Jones (VJ) object detector, expectation maximization algorithm, the Condensation algorithm and support vector machine to compute a drowsiness index. The goal of the system is to help in the reduction of traffic accidents caused by human errors. Examples of different driver’s images taken over a real vehicle are shown to validate the algorithm.
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Paper Nr:	90
Title:	CALIBRATION ASPECTS OF MULTIPLE LINE-SCAN VISION SYSTEM APPLICATION FOR PLANAR OBJECTS INSPECTION
Authors:	Daniela Hossu and Andrei Hossu
Abstract:	The System Set-up Time it is one of the characteristics of an Industrial Vision System, besides the accuracy performances and response time. Minimizing the set-up time while keeping the performances in accuracy and in response time is one of the goals of any advanced Vision System. Starting from the purpose and the required performances of the proposed Industrial Vision System, in the paper is presented a calibration method developed for a multiple line-scan camera Vision System (in particular for a dual line-scan camera system). The calibration method presented is based on analyzing the image of a calibration tool exposed to the Vision System. There are presented the type of dimensional distortions identified from the experimental results. The second part of the paper presents the calibration method. The Industrial Vision System described in the paper is designed for silhouette inspection of planar objects located on a moving scene (transport conveyor), in a robotic handling application (it is a pure 2D Vision System, the volumetric characteristics of the analyzed objects being not relevant for the application). However the height of the object is varying in time (from one set of objects to another). Due to the fact the distance between the cameras and the objects is changing, the measuring results are affected. The proposed calibration method allows the Vision System to self adjust the calibration parameters for a known change in height of the objects, without affecting the accuracy system performances. In the final section of the paper are presented some practical aspects of the proposed calibration method, and the balance between the off-line and the on-line required computational efforts from the Vision System.
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Paper Nr:	125
Title:	TWO LAYERS ACTION INTEGRATION FOR HRI - Action Integration with Attention Focusing for Interactive Robots
Authors:	Yasser Mohammad and Toyoaki Nishida
Abstract:	Behavior architectures are widely used to program interactive robots. In these architectures multiple behaviors are usually running concurrently so a mechanism for integrating the resulting actuation commands from these behaviors into actual actuation commands sent to the robot’s motor system must be faced. Different architectures proposed different action integration mechanisms that range from distributed to central integration. In this paper an analysis of the special requirements that HRI imposes on the action integration system is given. Based on this analysis a novelle hybrid action integration mechanism that combines distributed attention focusing with a fast central integration algorithm is presented in the framework of the EICA architecture. The proposed system was tested in a simulation of a listener robot that aimed to achieve human-like nonverbal listening behavior in real world interactions. The analysis of the system showed that the proposed mechanism can generate coherent human-like behavior while being robust against signal correlated noise.
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Paper Nr:	154
Title:	ROBOT LOCALIZATION BASED ON VISUAL LANDMARKS
Authors:	Hala Mousher Ebied, Ulf Witkowski, Ulrich Rückert and Mohamed Saied Abdel-Wahab
Abstract:	In this paper, we will consider the localization problem of the autonomous minirobot Khepera II in a known environment. Mobile robots must be able to determine their own position to operate successfully in any environments. Our system combines odometry and a 2-D vision sensor to determine the position of the robot based on a new triangulation algorithm. The new system uses different colored cylinder landmarks which are positioned at the corners of the environment. The main aim is to analyze the accuracy and the robustness in case of noisy data and to obtain an accurate method to estimate the robot’s position.
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Paper Nr:	162
Title:	COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT INFORMATION FLOW ARCHITECTURES IN AUTOMATED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS
Authors:	Jussi Nummela, Petri Oksa, Leena Ukkonen, Lauri Sydänheimo and Markku Kivikoski
Abstract:	Automated Data Collecting System (ADCS) is a common name for automatic systems that collect data of any kind. These systems are becoming more and more common in several industries and play an important part in many of today’s and future applications. Information flow architecture is an important issue, when employing an ADCS. This paper presents different kinds of architecture models and their typical characteristics, concentrating on traffic load issues in different parts of the system. The results presented in this paper, give a basis for more accurate specifying and designing of the architecture model for each automated data collecting application in question.
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Paper Nr:	187
Title:	HYDROGEN POWERED CAR CONTROL SYSTEM
Authors:	Vilem Srovnal, Jiri Koziorek, Horak Bohumil, George Adam and Georgia Garani
Abstract:	The main goal of the research project was designing and realization a distributed control system of the hydrogen powered prototype car. Next goals of project were real time control, speed and final time optimizing with minimal fuel consumption and monitoring of driver biomedical parameters. The control system was realized by several mobile embedded systems and one central system. The embedded systems hardware was realized with Freescale processors and communication CAN bus. Central system hardware was realized by notebook and communication with embedded systems in car was realized by GSM communication. Control system software using of multi-agent technology with dynamic mutual negotiation of mobile system parts. This task allows in a form of control system for prototype race car modelling of distributed control system. The real hardware and software model is also important motivation for extended research.
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Paper Nr:	209
Title:	IDENTIFICATION OF THE DYNAMIC PARAMETERS OF THE C5 PARALLEL ROBOT
Authors:	ACHILI BRAHIM, B. Daachi, Y. Amirat and A. Ali-Cherif
Abstract:	This paper deals with the experimental identification of the dynamic parameters of the C5 parallel robot. The inverse dynamic model of the robot is formulated under the form of linear equation with respect to the dynamic parameters. Moreover, a heuristic procedure for finding the exciting trajectory has been conducted. This trajectory is based on Fourier series whose coefficients are determined by using a heuristic method. The least squares method has been applied to solve an over-determined linear system which is obtained by sampling the dynamic model along the exciting trajectory. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the identification procedure.
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Paper Nr:	262
Title:	DETECTION AND CONTROL OF NON-LINEAR BEHAVIOR BY SLIDING MODES CONTROL IN A 3 D.O.F. ROBOT
Authors:	Claudio Urrea and Marcela Jamett
Abstract:	Results from simulations of a Planar Robot Model, when it is placed in the same plane of the action of the gravity force are reviewed in this paper. The model includes several parameters usually discarded in current models, such as Driving, and Non-linear Friction, for an industrial-type robotic manipulator and its actuators. When we develop more exact representations of the dynamics of a manipulator and their actuators, chaotic behavior is detected for certain parameter values of the robotic manipulator. This chaotic behavior – without external inputs – was exactly controlled by Sliding Modes.
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Paper Nr:	272
Title:	SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY TENDONS ACTUATED TENTACLE ROBOTIC STRUCTURE - Models and Control
Authors:	Bîzdoaca Nicu George, Anca Petrisor, Elvira Bîzdoacă, Ilie Diaconu and Sonia Degeratu
Abstract:	A tentacle manipulator is a manipulator with a great flexibility, with a distributed mass and torque that can take any arbitrary shape. Technologically, such systems can be obtained by using a cellular structure for each element of the arm. Shape memory alloy actuation offers an interesting solution, using the shape transformation of the wire/structure in the moment of applying a thermal type transformation able to offer the martensitic temperature. In order to assure an efficient control of SMA actuator applied to inverted pendulum, a mathematical model and numerical simulation of the resulting model is required. Due a particular possibility SMA actuator connection, a modified dynamics for wire or tendon actuation is presented. For an efficient study a Simulink block set is developed (block for user configurable shape memory alloy material, configurable block for dynamics of single link robotic structure, block for user configurable wire/tendon actuation). As conventional control possibilities were explored, the fuzzy control structure applied in this paper, offer an improved response. A more compact SMA actuation is proposed and experimented. The results are commented.
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Paper Nr:	280
Title:	TELECONTROL PLATFORM - Telecontrol Platform for Industrial Installations
Authors:	Eduardo Julio Moya, Oscar Calvo, José María Pérez, José Ramón Janeiro Martín and David Garcia
Abstract:	This article explains the telecontrol platform for industrial installations developed by CARTIF Foundation. Using this system it will be able to send control orders and receive notification of alarms from the PLC thanks to SMS (Short Messages System) messages which use GSM technology. In case of requiring a greater flow of data it will use telephone line combined with MODBUS protocol. All this will enable us to monitor and control any industrial installation with a very low cost. Copyright © 2007
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Paper Nr:	297
Title:	AN APPROACH TO OBTAIN A PLC PROGRAM FROM A DEVS MODEL
Authors:	Hyeongtae Park, Kil Y. Seong, Suraj Dangol, Gi-Nam Wang and Park Sang-Chul
Abstract:	Proposed in the paper is an approach to generate the PLC code from the Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS) model. DEVS have been widely accepted to model the real system for the discrete event system simulation. The objective of this paper is to generate PLC control code from the DEVS model. To achieve it, this paper proposes two steps. First step is to convert the real system into the virtual model using the ‘three-phase-modeling procedure’. In the second step, the obtained model is formalized with DEVS formalism. The final model consists of different components, among them the State manager and the Flow controller model plays vital role to generate PLC code. In this paper, proposed steps are described with a work cell example.
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Paper Nr:	300
Title:	RE-USING 3D MODELING DATA FOR CONSTRUCTING 3D SIMULATION DATA
Authors:	JongGeun Kwak, Ko Min-Suk, Sang C. Park and Gi-Nam Wang
Abstract:	With the aid of the powerful computational ability and software tools, we undergo rapid change in a whole product manufacturing process. In a traditional way, it took long time and cost to build real manufacturing line. The behind time change for the manufacturing process ends up with supplementing large amount of budget. Therefore early detecting the errors on manufacturing process saves quite a big amount of time and money. As a result, the need for plant simulations rises. When we simulate manufacturing line on a virtual environment, it is not easy to acquire 3D data. If we have 3D CAD data, we can reuse them for each tools, products and equipments for the manufacturing line. Even in this case, the size matters. The large size of CAD data makes it difficult for us to directly use CAD data for simulation. As the CAD data and simulation data differs in their own purpose, we can reduce the size of the CAD data without losing simulation purpose. In this paper we propose effective methods for reducing the size of the CAD data and re-using them for simulation, assuming the 3D CAD data are already available.
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Paper Nr:	321
Title:	COOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION - Self-configuring Procedure of a Multi-robot Localization System with Passive RFID Technology
Authors:	Mikko Elomaa, Aarne Halme and Francois Vacherand
Abstract:	This preliminary simulation study introduces methods to configure a low cost localization system based on existing passive RFID technology. A group of small robots work together in order to configure the system autonomously. Probabilistic estimation methods are used for data fusion. The robots should be able to build and expand the localization system without human aid. When properly configured the system is able to offer positioning information with bounded error. The use of passive RFID tags as beacons makes the cost of expanding the robots' working area negligible.
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Paper Nr:	324
Title:	COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROBOT-DESIGNS FOR A HANDHELD MEDICAL ROBOT
Authors:	Peter P. Pott, Markus L. Schwarz, Achim Wagner and Essameddin Badreddin
Abstract:	Robotic systems are used within a great variety of medical disciplines. A handheld robot promises a number of advantages compared to conventional (medical) robots but this approach leads to strict specifications regarding size, weight and dynamic properties. A new hybrid kinematics – the Epizactor – seems to be advantageous and is compared to two well-known parallel kinematics regarding the ratio of workspace and volume the number of kinematic elements, the cost of computation, the stiffness the effects of clearance, actuation (weight), and accuracy using a well-described industrial method for comparison. It becomes clear that the Epizactor has advantages concerning the ratio of workspace and volume, needs a smaller number of kinematic elements and fewer computations, and has less than half the mass than the parallel kinematics. Its accuracy, stiffness and the effects of clearance are comparable. The advantages of this new kinematic set-up lead to a first deployment within the field of medical robotics.
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Paper Nr:	331
Title:	A PERCEPTUAL MOTOR CONTROL MODEL BASED ON OUTPUT FEEDBACK ADAPTIVE CONTROL THEORY
Authors:	Hirofumi Ohtsuka, Koki Shibasato and Shigeyasu Kawaji
Abstract:	In this paper, a Perceptual Motor Control Model(PMCM) based on output feedback adaptive control theory is considered from the viewpoint of voluntary movement such as hand-tracking control. We give an account of the PMCM structure using together with both of the output feedback controller designed by using an almost strict positive real characteristics for the controlled plant and the Smith predictor for plant with pure time delay. In the proposed method, the attractive structural similarity exists between the cerebrum-cerebellum neuro-motor signal feedback loop and the adaptive controller - compensators local minor feedback loop. The proposed perceptual motor control model is evaluated through the comparison of between the experiment and the simulation of for handling 1-link mechanism in order to track an indicator.
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Paper Nr:	332
Title:	PREBUFFERING AS A WAY TO EXCEED THE DATA TRANSFER SPEED LIMITS IN MOBILE CONTROL SYSTEMS
Authors:	Ondrej Krejcar
Abstract:	The proliferation of mobile computing devices and local-area wireless networks has fostered a growing interest in location-aware systems and services. Additionally, the ability to let a mobile device determine its location in an indoor environment supports the creation of a new range of mobile control system applications. Main area of interest is in model of radio-frequency based system enhancement for locating and tracking users of our control system inside buildings. The developed framework described here joins the concepts of location and user tracking as an extension for new control system. The experimental framework prototype uses a Wi-Fi network infrastructure to let a mobile device determine its indoor position. User location is used to data pre-buffering and pushing information from server to user’s PDA. All the server data are saved as artefacts with their position info in building. These technique allow to exceed the data transfer speed limits in mobile control systems.
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Paper Nr:	336
Title:	PROGRESSIVE MESH BASED ITERATIVE CLOSEST POINTS FOR ROBOTIC BIN PICKING
Authors:	Kay Boehnke and Marius Otesteanu
Abstract:	This paper describes a hierarchical registration process using the iterative closest point algorithm combined with a Progressive Mesh. To find the exact pose of objects in a robotic bin picking process we simulate the appearance of object poses and compare them with the real range data provided by laser range sensors. The coarse pose is estimated in a first step and then refined with the well known iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm combined with Progressive Meshes for hierarchical object localization. We evaluate our approach with different test scenarios and show the comprehensive potential of this idea for other registration problems.
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Paper Nr:	340
Title:	HYBRID MATCHING OF UNCALIBRATED OMNIDIRECTIONAL AND PERSPECTIVE IMAGES
Authors:	Luis Puig Morales, José J. Guerrero and Peter Sturm
Abstract:	This work presents an automatic hybrid matching of central catadioptric and perspective images. It is based on the hybrid epipolar geometry. The goal is to obtain correspondences between an omnidirectional image and a conventional perspective image taken from different points of view. Mixing both kind of images has multiple applications, since an omnidirectional image captures many information and perspective images are the simplest way of acquisition. Scale invariant features with a simple unwrapping are considered to help the initial putative matching. Then a robust technique gives an estimation of the hybrid fundamental matrix, to avoid outliers. Experimental results with real image pairs show the feasibility of that hybrid and difficult matching problem.
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Paper Nr:	344
Title:	THE ROLE OF SENSORY-MOTOR COORDINATION - Identifying Environmental Motion Dynamics with Dynamic Neural Networks
Authors:	stephen mckibbin, Bala Amavasai, Arul N. Selvan, Fabio Caparrelli and W. A. F. W. Othman
Abstract:	We describe three recurrent neural architectures inspired by the proprioceptive system found in mammals; Exo-sensing, Ego-sensing, and Composite. Through the use of Particle Swarm Optimisation the robot controllers are adapted to perform the task of identifying motion dynamics within their environment. We highlight the effect of sensory-motor coordination on the performance in the task when applied to each of the three neural architectures.
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Paper Nr:	352
Title:	BEHAVIOR BASED DEPENDABILITY ESTIMATION - Estimating the Dependability of Autonomous Mobile Systems using Predictive Filter
Authors:	Jan Rüdiger, Achim Wagner and Essameddin Badreddin
Abstract:	Dependability is getting a more important non-functional property of a system. Measuring and predicting the dependability is especially important for autonomous or semi-autonomous and safety-critical systems. Since, at least for (semi-) autonomous systems, those systems are usually described by their behavior, a definition for dependability based on the behavior of the system is evident. In this paper the behavioral based definition of dependability was used together with a particle filter to estimate the dependability of an autonomous mobile system.
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Paper Nr:	353
Title:	CALCULATING SOFTWARE METRICS FOR LADDER LOGIC
Authors:	Matthew Waters, Ken Young and Ira Baxter
Abstract:	Ladder logic is a graphical language widely used to program Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). PLCs are found at the heart of most industrial control systems used in automation because they are robust, they are relatively easy to program and because they are a proven technology. However there is currently no means to measure the intrinsic properties and qualities of the code produced. This paper details a method for creating tools to calculate software metrics for ladder logic, specifically Rockwell Automation’s implementation of ladder logic for its ControlLogix family of PLCs, Import-Export language version 2.6. Results obtained from these tools are briefly discussed also.
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Paper Nr:	370
Title:	OPTIMISING A FLYING ROBOT - Controller Optimisation using a Genetic Algorithm on a Real-World Robot
Authors:	Benjamin N. Passow and Mario Gongora
Abstract:	This work presents the optimisation of the heading controller of a small flying robot. A genetic algorithm (GA) has been used to tune the proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) parameters of the helicopter’s controller. Instead of evaluating each individual’s fitness in an artificial simulation, the actual flying robot has been used. The performance of a hand-tuned PID controller is compared to the GA-tuned controller. Tests on the helicopter confirm that the GA’s solutions result in a better controller performance. Further more, results suggest that evaluating the GA’s individuals on the real flying robot increases the controller’s robustness.
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Paper Nr:	382
Title:	AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM FOR SMALL-SCALED AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Authors:	David Vissiere and Nicolas Petit
Abstract:	We consider the problem of designing a modular real-time embedded system for control applications with unmanned vehicles. We propose a simple and low-cost solution. Its computational power can be easily improved, depending on application requirements. To illustrate its performance, we report the implementation of a 75 Hz Extended Kalman Filter used for state estimation on a small-scaled helicopter.
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Paper Nr:	386
Title:	AN OPTIMIZATION PROCEDURE TO RECONSTRUCT THE AUTOMOBILE INGRESS MOVEMENT
Authors:	Ait El Menceur Mohand Ouidir, PUDLO Philippe, LEPOUTRE François-Xavier and GORCE Philippe
Abstract:	To simulate the automobile ingress movement, joint angles are needed. The joint angles are computed from the experimental data issued from an optoelectronic motion capture system. As these systems are often corrupted by problems related either to the system or to the experimentation, the computed angles are biased. Lempereur et al. (2003) proposed an optimization procedure to remedy to this problem. However, their method gives good results only on the end effectors’ trajectories, while the other bodies’ trajectories are not considered by their method. That degrades the positions of these parts and causes their eventual collisions with the vehicle’s parts. On the other hand the corrected angles present some vibrations causing unrealistic simulation. In this paper we present a multi objective optimization based procedure to correct the joint articulation angles in automobile ingress movement. Our method minimizes the distance between all reconstructed trajectories with the real ones at each step of time. Our method follows a compromise between all trajectories of the model. Our method gives better global results. Correction of the joint angles allows a realistic simulation.
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Paper Nr:	390
Title:	A DISTRIBUTED HARDWARE-SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE FOR CONTROL AN AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOT
Authors:	Ricardo de Sousa Britto, André Macedo Santana, Anderson Abner de Santana Souza, Adelardo Medeiros and Pablo Alsina
Abstract:	In this paper, we introduce a hardware-software architecture for controlling the autonomous mobile robot Kapeck. The Kapeck robot is composed of a set of sensors and actuators organized in a CAN bus. Two embedded computers and eigth microcontroller-based boards are used in the system. One of the computers hosts the vision system, due to the significant processing needs of this kind of system. The other computer is used to coordinate and access the CAN bus and to accomplish the other activities of the robot. The microcontroller-based boards are used with the sensors and actuators. The robot has this distributed configuration in order to exhibit a good real-time behavior, where the response time and the temporal predictability of the system is important. We adopted the hybrid deliberative-reactive paradigm in the proposed architecture to conciliate the reactive behavior of the sensors-actuators net and the deliberative activities required to accomplish more complex tasks.
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Paper Nr:	396
Title:	MULTI-LEVEL CONTROL OF AN INTELLIGENT WHEELCHAIR IN A HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT USING A CYBER-MOUSE SIMULATION SYSTEM
Authors:	Rodrigo A. Marques Braga, Marcelo Petry, Eugénio Oliveira and Luís Paulo Reis
Abstract:	The development of intelligent wheelchairs is a very good solution to assist severely handicapped people who are unable to operate classical electrical wheelchair by themselves in their daily activities. This paper describes the integration of a robotic simulator with our intelligent wheelchair shared control and planning modules. An adapted version of the free Cyber-Mouse robotic simulator was used to simulate the movement of the intelligent wheelchair in a hospital environment. Adaptations of the subsumption architecture, Strips Planning and A* Algorithms were employed and integrated to allow wheelchair intelligent behavior. The experimental results have demonstrated the success of the integration of these algorithms in our simulator allowing very safe motion of the intelligent wheelchair in the simulated hospital environment. Also, the adapted Cyber-Mouse simulator proved its capability and robustness in simulating the hospital environment and wheelchair physic characteristics.
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Paper Nr:	397
Title:	ENVIRONMENT FOR DESIGNING AND SIMULATING CONTROL NETWORKS AT DIGITAL HOME
Authors:	Jorge Azorín-López, Rafael Jesús Valdivieso-Sarabia, Andrés Fuster-Guilló and Juan Manuel García-Chamizo
Abstract:	A design and simulation environment for control network is presented. Control network design could be complex task because many technologies are involved. Each network technology uses its own design and configuration software. Also, it is necessary realize network installation in order to validate its correct operation. This situation introduces high temporal and economical costs in the network life cycle. Simulation design methodology as a task allows detect errors prematurely. System validations are made to a high level of abstraction. This paper proposes a design and simulation environment of digital home control network. It is based on a design independent from technology and postpone the technology choice and incorporates a simulation task that allows simulate the network.
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Paper Nr:	402
Title:	ROBUST CONTROL OF THE C5 PARALLEL ROBOT
Authors:	ACHILI BRAHIM, B. Daachi, A. Ali-Cherif and Y. Amirat
Abstract:	This paper deals with the dynamic control of a parallel robot with C5 joints. Computed torque control and robust control have been studied and implemented. For this purpose, we have used the inverse dynamic model whose parameters have been experimentally identified. The closed loop stability has been studied using the Lyapunov principle. The addition of a robustness term based on sliding mode technique ensures good tracking performances. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the robust control.
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Paper Nr:	407
Title:	LOCALIZATION OF A MOBILE ROBOT BASED IN ODOMETRY AND NATURAL LANDMARKS USING EXTENDED KALMAN FILTER
Authors:	André Macedo Santana, Anderson Abner de Santana Souza, Ricardo de Sousa Britto, Pablo Alsina and Adelardo Medeiros
Abstract:	This work proposes a localization system for mobile robots using the Extended Kalman Filter. The robot navigates in an known environment where the lines of the floor are used as natural landmarks and identifiqued by using the Hough transform.The prediction phase of the Kalman Filter is implemented using the odometry model of the robot. The update phase directly uses the parameters of the lines detected by the Hough algorithm to correct the robot’s pose.
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Paper Nr:	418
Title:	MODELING AND SIMULATION OF A NEW PARALLEL ROBOT USED IN MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY
Authors:	Doina Pisla, Calin Vaida, Nicolae Plitea, Jürgen Hesselbach, Annika Raatz, Marc Simnofske, Arne Burisch and Liviu Vlad
Abstract:	Surgery is one of the fields where robots have been introduced due to their positioning accuracy which exceed the human capabilities. Parallel robots offer higher stiffness and smaller mobile mass than serial ones, thus allowing faster and more precise manipulations that fit medical applications. In the paper is presented the modeling and simulation of a new parallel robot, based on an innovative structure, used in minimally invasive surgery. The parallel architecture has been chosen for its superiority in precision, repeatability, stiffness, higher speeds and occupied volume. The robot kinematics, singular position identification and workspace generation are illustrated. Using the developed virtual model of the parallel robot, some simulation tests are presented.
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Paper Nr:	418
Title:	MODELING AND SIMULATION OF A NEW PARALLEL ROBOT USED IN MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY
Authors:	Doina Pisla, Calin Vaida, Nicolae Plitea, Jürgen Hesselbach, Annika Raatz, Marc Simnofske, Arne Burisch and Liviu Vlad
Abstract:	Surgery is one of the fields where robots have been introduced due to their positioning accuracy which exceed the human capabilities. Parallel robots offer higher stiffness and smaller mobile mass than serial ones, thus allowing faster and more precise manipulations that fit medical applications. In the paper is presented the modeling and simulation of a new parallel robot, based on an innovative structure, used in minimally invasive surgery. The parallel architecture has been chosen for its superiority in precision, repeatability, stiffness, higher speeds and occupied volume. The robot kinematics, singular position identification and workspace generation are illustrated. Using the developed virtual model of the parallel robot, some simulation tests are presented.
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Paper Nr:	420
Title:	REPRESENTATION OF ODOMETRY ERRORS ON OCCUPANCY GRIDS
Authors:	Anderson Abner de Santana Souza, André Macedo Santana, Ricardo de Sousa Britto, Luiz M. G. Goncalves and Adelardo Medeiros
Abstract:	In this work we propose an enhanced model for mapping from sonar sensors and odometry that allows a robot to represent an environment map in a more suitable way to both the sonar sensory data and odometry system of the robot. We use a stochastic modelling of the errors that brings up reliable information. As a contribution, we obtain a final map that is more coherent with the reality of the original data provided by the robotic system. Practical experiments show the results obtained with the proposed modification to be trustable in such a way that this map can be used to provide previous knowledge to the mobile robot in order to perform its tasks in an easier and accurate way. Moreover, the map can help the robot to support unexpected situations inside of the environment.
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Paper Nr:	426
Title:	VISUAL BASIC APPLICATIONS FOR SHAPE MEMORY ELEMENTS DESIGN USED IN INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS
Authors:	Sonia Degeratu, Petre Rotaru, HORIA MANOLEA, Gheorghe Manolea, Anca Petrisor and Bîzdoaca Nicu George
Abstract:	The paper presents the design strategies for two typical configurations of intelligent systems, using as active elements the Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) cantilever strip and the SMA helical spring. Based on the advantages and unique properties of shape memory alloys the authors defined the operating mode, the mechanical considerations and the design assumptions for these two examples. It also includes the experimental results of thermal analysis in order to determine the transformation temperatures for studied SMA elements. A comprehensive graphical interface, which runs under Visual Basic environment, has been developed for each design strategy. Each one provides a user friendly environment that allows intelligent system parameters configuration as well as the choice of the most adapted analysis methods and data displaying. At this moment, these two Visual Basic applications are used for engineering purposes as well as didactical ones.
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Paper Nr:	431
Title:	FLEXIBLE TRAJECTORY GENERATION TO EXTEND HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION WITH DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT ADAPTATION
Authors:	Xavier Giralt and Josep Amat
Abstract:	In our daily life, we use many elements that help us by means of a higher protection level (thimble, door stop) or by improving our dexterity (funnel, compasses). Both kinds of elements allow us to execute well known tasks with less concentration, faster, and, above all, improving performance. Like the real tools mentioned above, in the robotics field, virtual constraints enhance human-machine interaction. This work presents a multi-parametric behaviour model for an agent that increases task safety, and enables higher integration possibilities. The model presented here allows the perturbation of a programmed task, by introducing virtual elastic and viscous forces. This work presents the behaviour model, a description of it’s implementation and experimental results in human-robot interaction.
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Paper Nr:	435
Title:	MULTI-AGENT ARCHITECTURE FOR SIMULATION OF TRAFFIC WITH COMMUNICATIONS
Authors:	Pedro Fernandes and Urbano Nunes
Abstract:	Inter-vehicle communications, in the context of Intelligent Transportation Systems, will probably bring a significant improvement in both traffic safety and efficiency. In order to evaluate in what measure this is true, traffic simulations that take into account the communications between vehicles are needed. In this paper, we propose an agent-based architecture, in which the simulation and management of the inter-vehicle communications are integrated in the simulation of vehicles, in a hierarchical multi-agent environment. An overview of multi-agent methodologies, platforms, among other, is also presented.
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Paper Nr:	479
Title:	DYNAMIC MODELING OF A 6-DOF PARALLEL STRUCTURE DESTINATED TO HELICOPTER FLIGHT SIMULATION
Authors:	Nicolae Plitea, Adrian Pisla, Doina Pisla and Bogdan Prodan
Abstract:	The dynamic analysis is the basic element of the mechanical design and control of parallel mechanisms. The parallel robots dynamics requires a great deal of computing as regards the formulation of the generally nonlinear equations of motion and their solution. In this paper a solution for solving the dynamical model of a 6-DOF parallel structure destined to helicopter flight simulation is presented. The obtained dynamical algorithms, based on the kinematical ones, offer the possibility of a complex study for this type of parallel structure in order to evaluate the dynamic capabilities and to generate the control algorithms.
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Paper Nr:	517
Title:	RACBOT-RT: ROBUST DIGITAL CONTROL FOR DIFFERENTIAL SOCCER-PLAYER ROBOTS
Authors:	João Monteiro and Rui Rocha
Abstract:	In the field of robot soccer, mobile robots must exhibit high responsiveness to motion commands and possess precise pose control. This article presents a digital controller for pose stability convergence, developed to small-sized soccer robots. Special emphasis has been put on the design of a generic controller, which is suitable for any mobile robot with differential kinematics. The proposed approach incorporates adaptive control to deal with modeling errors and a Kalman filter which fuses odometry and vision to obtain an accurate pose estimation. Experimental results are shown to validate the quality of the proposed controller.
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Paper Nr:	533
Title:	REMOTE ROBOT CONTROL AND HIGH AVAILABILITY
Authors:	Florin Daniel Anton, Florin Daniel Anton and Theodor Borangiu
Abstract:	Nowadays production flows are modular, each module in the enterprise being specialized and used to achieve a particular task. In many cases the modules are connected and materials are sequentially processed in each module resulting a final, unique product or assembly. One typical such production module is a flexible cell/system using multiple robots. In this structure, providing continuous service for applications is a key component of a successful robotized implementing of manufacturing. High availability (HA) is one of the components contributing to continuous service provision for applications, by masking or eliminating both planned and unplanned systems and application downtime. A high availability solution in robotized manufacturing provides automated failure detection, diagnosis, application recovery, and node (robot controller) re integration. The paper describes a platform which is a software product designed to control and supervise multiple robot-vision controllers using remote connections with a number of Adept Technology V+ controllers configured to use a high availability implementation, either located in a local network or via Internet.
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Paper Nr:	533
Title:	REMOTE ROBOT CONTROL AND HIGH AVAILABILITY
Authors:	Florin Daniel Anton, Florin Daniel Anton and Theodor Borangiu
Abstract:	Nowadays production flows are modular, each module in the enterprise being specialized and used to achieve a particular task. In many cases the modules are connected and materials are sequentially processed in each module resulting a final, unique product or assembly. One typical such production module is a flexible cell/system using multiple robots. In this structure, providing continuous service for applications is a key component of a successful robotized implementing of manufacturing. High availability (HA) is one of the components contributing to continuous service provision for applications, by masking or eliminating both planned and unplanned systems and application downtime. A high availability solution in robotized manufacturing provides automated failure detection, diagnosis, application recovery, and node (robot controller) re integration. The paper describes a platform which is a software product designed to control and supervise multiple robot-vision controllers using remote connections with a number of Adept Technology V+ controllers configured to use a high availability implementation, either located in a local network or via Internet.
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Area 3 - Signal Processing, Systems Modeling and Control

Full Papers

Paper Nr:	70
Title:	DESIGN OF AN ANALOG-DIGITAL PI CONTROLLER WITH GAIN SCHEDULING FOR LASER TRACKER SYSTEMS
Authors:	Christian Wachten, Lars Friedrich, Claas Müller, Holger Reinecke and Christoph Ament
Abstract:	Laser trackers are important devices in position metrology. A moving reflector is tracked by a laser beam to determine its position in space. To ensure a proper function of the device the feedback control loop is an essential part. An analog PI controller with online parameter adaptation and absolute distance measurement ability is used to guarantee an optimal dynamic system. The feedback controller is connected to a quadrant detector which serves as the sensor element in the control loop. The position of an incoming laser beam is measured by the quadrant detector and the controller provides the input signals for a subsequent actuator. The control variable is the deviation of the laser beam from the centre of the diode which should ideally be zero. The actuator consists of two axes and each one is equipped with a rotatable mirror. The task of the controller is to rotate the mirrors in such a way so that the laser beam follows the movements of the reflector. To design an optimal controller linear, time-invariant models of the actuator and the position sensor are developed to optimize its parameters. The gain of the plant correlates with the distance between the reflector and the laser tracker. To achieve the optimal dynamic performance the controller is automatically adapted to the distance during operation. A method based on oscillation injection to measure the absolute distance is developed. Due to higher dynamic demands a standard analog PI controller is implemented with the controller gain tuned by digital potentiometers. A microcontroller is used to adjust the parameters and to estimate the distance. During the power up sequence and in case of a beam loss the system is completely controlled by the digital part.
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Paper Nr:	70
Title:	DESIGN OF AN ANALOG-DIGITAL PI CONTROLLER WITH GAIN SCHEDULING FOR LASER TRACKER SYSTEMS
Authors:	Christian Wachten, Lars Friedrich, Claas Müller, Holger Reinecke and Christoph Ament
Abstract:	Laser trackers are important devices in position metrology. A moving reflector is tracked by a laser beam to determine its position in space. To ensure a proper function of the device the feedback control loop is an essential part. An analog PI controller with online parameter adaptation and absolute distance measurement ability is used to guarantee an optimal dynamic system. The feedback controller is connected to a quadrant detector which serves as the sensor element in the control loop. The position of an incoming laser beam is measured by the quadrant detector and the controller provides the input signals for a subsequent actuator. The control variable is the deviation of the laser beam from the centre of the diode which should ideally be zero. The actuator consists of two axes and each one is equipped with a rotatable mirror. The task of the controller is to rotate the mirrors in such a way so that the laser beam follows the movements of the reflector. To design an optimal controller linear, time-invariant models of the actuator and the position sensor are developed to optimize its parameters. The gain of the plant correlates with the distance between the reflector and the laser tracker. To achieve the optimal dynamic performance the controller is automatically adapted to the distance during operation. A method based on oscillation injection to measure the absolute distance is developed. Due to higher dynamic demands a standard analog PI controller is implemented with the controller gain tuned by digital potentiometers. A microcontroller is used to adjust the parameters and to estimate the distance. During the power up sequence and in case of a beam loss the system is completely controlled by the digital part.
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Paper Nr:	78
Title:	A DYNAMIC MODEL OF A BUOYANCY SYSTEM IN A WAVE ENERGY POWER PLANT
Authors:	Tom Pedersen and Kirsten Moelgaard Nielsen
Abstract:	A nonlinear dynamic model of the buoyancy system in a wave energy power plant is presented. The plant (“Wave Dragon”) is a floating device using the potential energy in overtopping waves to produce power. A water reservoir is placed on top of the WD, and hydro turbines lead the water to the sea producing electrical power. Through air chambers it is possible to control the level, the trim and the heel of the WD. It is important to control the level (and trim, heel) of the WD in order to maximize the power production in proportion to the wave height, here the amount of overtopping water and the amount of potential energy is conflicting. Five separate air chambers, all open to the sea, makes the device float. The pressures in the air chambers may be individually controlled by an air fan through an array of valves. In order to make a model-based control system, this paper presents a model describing the dynamics from the air inlet to the level, trim and heel. The model is derived from first principles and is characterized by physical parameters. Results from validation of the model against plant data are presented.
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Paper Nr:	129
Title:	ONE MODIFICATION OF THE CUSUM TEST FOR DETECTION EARLY STRUCTURAL CHANGES
Authors:	Julia Bondarenko
Abstract:	Structural shifts in time series can occur as consequences of complex processes, arising in system. An ignorance of such structural changes can cause an associated regression model misspecification. In practice, early detection and response to outbreaks, causing the changes in a process, is highly important. The famous CUSUM test of Brown, Durbin & Evans, has a poor power in detecting the structural breaks in parameters occurring early (and also late) in the sample. In this paper, we propose CUSUM-similar test which, due to the transformation of recursive residuals forces the detection of temporal dependence structure in linear regression model and has a larger power for the early structural breaks. Here our interest centres on the detection of single breaks occurring in parameters of the linear model. Distribution and other probabilistic characteristics of the transformed residuals are provided, the boundaries for the new test are derived. The new test can be considered then as a complement to the standard CUSUM test.
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Paper Nr:	193
Title:	INSTRUMENTING BOMB DISPOSAL SUITS WITH WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS
Authors:	John Kemp, Elena Gaura and James Brusey
Abstract:	Bomb disposal suits contain a large amount of padding and armour to protect the wearer’s vital organs in the case of explosion. The combination of the heavy (roughly 40kg) suit, physical exertion, and the environment in which these suits are worn can cause the wearer’s temperature to rise to uncomfortable and potentially dangerous levels during missions. This paper reports on the development of a wearable wireless sensing system suitable for deployment in such manned bomb disposal missions. In its final form, the system will be capable of making in-network autonomous decisions related to the actuation of cooling within the suit, in order to increase the comfort of the wearer. In addition, it will allow an external observer to remotely monitor the health and comfort of the operative. Laboratory experiments with the instrumented suit show how skin temperature varies differently for different skin sites, motivating the need for multiple, distributed sensing. The need for timely application of in-suit cooling is also shown, as well as the importance of monitoring the overall health of the wearer of the suit.
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Paper Nr:	267
Title:	A GUARANTEED STATE BOUNDING ESTIMATION FOR UNCERTAIN NON LINEAR CONTINUOUS TIME SYSTEMS USING HYBRID AUTOMATA
Authors:	Nacim Meslem, Nacim RAMDANI and Yves CANDAU
Abstract:	This work is about state estimation in the bounded error context for non linear continuous time systems. The main idea is to seek to estimate not an optimal value for the unknown state vector but the set of feasible values, thus to characterize simultaneously the value of the vector and its uncertainty. Our contribution resides in the use of comparison theorems for differential inequalities and the analysis of the monotonicity of the dynamical systems with respect to the uncertain variables. The uncertain dynamical system is then bracketted between two hybrid dynamical systems. We show how to obtain this systems and to use them for state estimation with a prediction-correction type observer. An example is given with bioreactors.
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Paper Nr:	354
Title:	RECURSIVE BIAS-COMPENSATING ALGORITHM FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF DYNAMICAL BILINEAR SYSTEMS IN THE ERRORS-IN-VARIABLES FRAMEWORK
Authors:	Tomasz Larkowski, J. G. Linden, B. Vinsonneau and K. J. Burnham
Abstract:	The paper investigates a recursive approach for the bias compensating least squares (BCLS) technique. The method presented is applied to the problem of on-line identification of single-input single-output bilinear models in the errors-in-variables framework. Within this framework the recursive bilinear BCLS algorithm is realized when a bilinear Frisch scheme (BFS) is iteratively applied for the estimation of the parameters of an exemplary bilinear system, giving rise to the exact recursive BFS (ERBFS) method. Moreover, a further extension of the ERBFS incorporating Tikhonov regularization with variable exponential weighting is considered and this is shown to be beneficial in the initial period of the identification procedure.
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Paper Nr:	388
Title:	NEAR OPTIMUM CONTROL OF A FULL CAR ACTIVE SUSPENSION SYSTEM
Authors:	Paolo Lino and Bruno Maione
Abstract:	In this paper, a near-optimum control strategy applied to a full car model equipped with an active suspension system is presented. The control law is based on a reduced order model obtained by means of a modal aggregation method, achieving a compromise between computational effort in deriving the control law and system performances. To assess the controller performances, a virtual prototype of the suspension system is developed by using AMESim, an advanced fluid-mechanic developing tool. The virtual prototype could be assumed as a reliable model of the real system enabling to perform safer and cheaper tests than using the real system. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the approach.
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Paper Nr:	444
Title:	DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A LOW-COST ATTITUDE AND HEADING NONLINEAR ESTIMATOR
Authors:	Philippe Martin and Erwan Salaün
Abstract:	In this paper we propose a nonlinear observer (i.e. a “filter”) for estimating the orientation of a flying rigid body, using measurements from low-cost inertial and magnetic sensors. It has by design a nice geometrical structure appealing from an engineering viewpoint; it is easy to tune, computationally very economic, and with guaranteed (at least local) convergence around every trajectory. Moreover it behaves sensibly in the presence of acceleration and magnetic disturbances. We illustrate its good performance on experimental comparisons with a commercial system, and demonstrate its simplicity by implementing it on a 8-bit microcontroller.
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Short Papers

Paper Nr:	21
Title:	RECURSIVE AND BACKWARD REASONING IN THE VERIFICATION ON HYBRID SYSTEMS
Authors:	Stefan Ratschan and Zhikun She
Abstract:	In this paper we introduce two improvements to the method of verification of hybrid systems by constraint propagation based abstraction refinement that we introduced earlier. The first improvement improves the recursive propagation of reachability information over the regions constituting the abstraction, and the second improvement reasons backward from the set of unsafe states, instead of reasoning forward from the set of initial states. Detailed computational experiments document the usefulness of these improvements.
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Paper Nr:	58
Title:	ON THE SAMPLING PERIOD IN STANDARD AND FUZZY CONTROL ALGORITHMS FOR SERVODRIVES - A Multicriterial Design and a Timing Strategy for Constant Sampling
Authors:	Dan Mihai
Abstract:	The paper deals with the best choice for the control sampling period in term of a multicriterial conditioning, with the on-line timing and with a comparison between the conventional (like PI) control algorithms and the fuzzy control. Several useful relations are followed by diagrams obtained in simulation and by different real-time recordings both for the timing and for characteristic variables of the system. Implementations with microcontroller and DSP are used for analyzing the design criterion and the timing strategy. The application field concerns a servodrive, so the real-time constraints are quite strong. The author conceived a general control strategy for the on-line timing based on imbricate interrupts, each pulse encoder acting on the hardware input interrupt of the control processor.
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Paper Nr:	60
Title:	A NEW APPROACH FOR MODELING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS USING SENSOR NETWORKS
Authors:	Mehrdad Babazadeh and Walter Lang
Abstract:	An approach to estimate environmental conditions (ECs), temperature, relative humidity and air flow in a few desired sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network, slept for reducing battery-consumption or inactive due to either empty batteries or out-of-range is presented. A nonlinear, multivariable model containing the interconnections is extracted and using data of surrounding active sensor nodes is broken to the linear models. Unknown parameters of the model are verified by a multivariable identification method. The proposed approach is independent of the type of ventilation system. It can be used in different applications such as designing model base ECs controllers as well as an estimator in fault diagnosis methods.
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Paper Nr:	69
Title:	PASSIVITY OF A CLASS OF HOPFIELD NETWORKS - Application to Chaos Control
Authors:	Adrian Stoica and Isaac Yaesh
Abstract:	The paper presents passivity conditions for a class of stochastic Hopfield neural networks with state–dependent noise and with Markovian jumps. The contributions are mainly based on the stability analysis of the considered class of stochastic neural networks using infinitesimal generators of appropriate stochastic Lyapunov–type functions. The derived passivity conditions are expressed in terms of the solutions of some specific systems of linear matrix inequalities. The theoretical results are illustrated by a simplified adaptive control problem for a dynamic system with chaotic behavior.
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Paper Nr:	83
Title:	DISCRETE-TIME ADAPTIVE REPETITIVE CONTROL - Internal Model Approach
Authors:	Andrzej Krolikowski and Dariusz Horla
Abstract:	Repetitive control is known as one of the most effective methods to reduce repetitive errors with a known period in various practical control systems performing repetitive tasks. The application of Internal Model Control (IMC) structure for repetitive control is introduced. Two IMC-based repetitive control configurations are proposed together with their adaptive versions. A comparative simulation study is carried out for the model of a first link of the robot.
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Paper Nr:	107
Title:	OFF-LINE ROBUSTIFICATION OF EXPLICIT MPC LAWS - The Case of Polynomial Model Representation
Authors:	Pedro Rodriguez-ayerbe and Sorin Olaru
Abstract:	The paper deals with the predictive control for linear systems subject to constraints, technique which leads to nonlinear (piecewise affine) control laws. The main goal is to reduce the sensitivity of these schemes with respect to the model uncertainties and avoid in the same time a fastidious on-line optimisation which may reduce the range of application. In this idea a two stage predictive strategy is proposed, which synthesizes in a first instant an analytical (continuous and piecewise linear) control law based on the nominal model and secondly robustify the central controller (the controller obtained when no constraint is active). This robustification is then expanded to all the space of the piecewise structure by means of its corresponding noise model.
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Paper Nr:	110
Title:	FAULT DETECTION BY MEANS OF DCS ALGORITHM COMBINED WITH FILTERS BANK - Application to the Tennessee Eastman Challenge Process
Authors:	Oussama Mustapha, Mohamad Khalil, Ghaleb Hoblos, Houcine Chafouk and Dimitri Lefebvre
Abstract:	Early fault detection, which reduces the possibility of catastrophic damage, is possible by detecting the change of characteristic features of the signals. The aim of this article is to detect faults in complex industrial systems, like the Tennessee Eastman Challenge Process, through on-line monitoring. The faults that are concerned correspond to a change in frequency components of the signal. The proposed approach combines the filters bank technique, for extracting frequency and energy characteristic features, and the Dynamic Cumulative Sum method (DCS), which is a recursive calculation of the logarithm of the likelihood ratio between two local segments. The method is applied to detect the perturbations that disturb the Tennessee Eastman Challenge Process and may lead the process to shut down.
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Paper Nr:	169
Title:	DIRECTIONAL CHANGE IN A PRIORI ANTI-WINDUP COMPENSATORS VS. PREDICTION HORIZON
Authors:	Dariusz Horla
Abstract:	The paper presents the correspondence in between directional change and anti-windup phenomenon with respect to a priori anti-windup compensator on the basis of MPC (simulation results include plants with not equal number of inputs and outputs). It shows what is the excess of directional change for consecutive predictions of control vectors for a given prediction horizons.
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Paper Nr:	170
Title:	PHASE LOCKED LOOPS DESIGN AND ANALYSIS
Authors:	Nikolay V. Kuznetsov, Gennady Leonov and Svetlana S. Seledzhi
Abstract:	New methods, for the design of different block diagrams of PLL, using the asymphtotic analysis of high-frequency periodic oscillations, are suggested. The PLL description on three levels is made: 1) on the level of electronic realizations; 2) on the level of phase and frequency relations between inputs and outputs in block diagrams; 3) on the level of differential and integro-differential equations. On the base of such description, the block diagram of floating PLL for the elimination of clock skew and that of frequency synthesizer is proposed. The rigorous mathematical formulation of the Costas loop for the clock oscillators are first obtained. The theorem on a PLL global stability is proved.
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Paper Nr:	197
Title:	DISTURBANCES ESTIMATION FOR MOLD LEVEL CONTROL IN THE CONTINUOUS CASTING PROCESS
Authors:	Karim Jabri, Bertrand Bele, Alain Mouchette, Emmanual Godoy and Didier Dumur
Abstract:	This paper addresses the problem of mold level fluctuations in the continuous casting process, which strongly penalize the quality of the final product and lead to a costly machine downtime. Therefore, the mold level is controlled using a stopper as the flow control actuator and a level sensor. Under normal casting conditions, the current controllers provide suitable performances but abnormal conditions require manual intervention, such as the decrease of the casting speed, in particular when undesired disturbances like clogging/unclogging or bulging occur. These disturbances increase in severity for certain steel grades or at high casting speeds. Therefore, this paper focuses on the on-line disturbances estimation in order to introduce compensation actions. Starting with the presentation of the continuous casting process, the description of the model of the machine, and highlighting the main control challenges, an observer estimating clogging and bulging disturbances is then developed. This design may help future control architectures based on disturbances estimation. The proposed observer is finally validated by extracting disturbances from experimental signals measured on a continuous casting plant.
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Paper Nr:	208
Title:	A PROTOTYPE FOR ON-LINE MONITORING AND CONTROL OF ENERGY PERFORMANCE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY BUILDINGS
Authors:	Benjamin Paris, Julien Eynard, Grégory FRANCOIS, Thierry Talbert and Monique Polit
Abstract:	In this article, ways for improving the energetic performance of buildings are investigated. A state of the art leads to the introduction of a performance indicator expressed in kWh/m2/yr. To improve the value of this indicator, a processor-based prototype of a real-time data-acquisition and monitoring system is developed in collaboration with two industrial companies. The set of measurements and corresponding sensors that are necessary to compute the value of the indicator while being consistent with the natural segmentation of energy consumption, is listed, thanks to the representation of the building using a systemic approach. Control algorithms are tested in simulation to improve renewable energy consumption while reducing fossil energy dependence, which are deemed to be applicable in practice using the proposed electronics. Simulations concerning the control and optimization of the power applied to two warmers in a room show large potential for fossil energy consumption reduction.
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Paper Nr:	261
Title:	ASYMPTOTIC THEORY OF THE REACHABLE SETS TO LINEAR PERIODIC IMPULSIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS
Authors:	Elena Goncharova and Alexander Ovseevich
Abstract:	We study linear periodic control systems with a bounded total impulse of control. The main result is an asymptotic formula for the reachable set, which, at the same time, reveals the structure of the attractor — the set of all limit shapes of the reachable sets. The attractor is shown to be parameterized by a (finite-dimensional) toric fibre bundle over a circle. The fibre of the bundle can be described via the Floquet multipliers (monodromy matrix) of the linear system. Moreover, the limit dynamics of shapes of reachable sets can be parametrized by an explicit curve on the toric bundle.
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Paper Nr:	270
Title:	HETEROGENEOUS IMAGE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM BASED ON FEATURES EXTRACTION AND SVM CLASSIFIER
Authors:	Rostom Kachouri, Khalifa Djemal, Hichem Maaref, Dorra Sellami Masmoudi and Nabil Derbel
Abstract:	Image databases represent increasingly important volume of information, so it is judicious to develop powerful systems to handle the images, index them, classify them to reach them quickly in these large image databases. In this paper, we propose an heterogeneous image retrieval system based on feature extraction and Support vector machines (SVM) classifier. For an heterogeneous image database, first of all we extract several feature kinds such as color descriptor, shape descriptor, and texture descriptor. Afterwards we improve the description of these features, by some original methods. Finally we apply an SVM classifier to classify the consequent index database. For evaluation purposes, using precision/recall curves on an heterogeneous image database, we looked for a comparison of the proposed image retrieval system with an other Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) which is QUadtree-based Index for image retrieval and Pattern search (QUIP-tree). The obtained results show that the proposed system provides good accuracy recognition, and it prove more better than QUIP-tree method.
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Paper Nr:	289
Title:	IDENTIFICATION OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM BASED ON A NOVEL CRITERION
Authors:	Yue Zhao, Kueiming Lo and Wook-Hyun Kwon
Abstract:	Most system recursive identification algorithms are based on the prediction error (PE) criterion. Such a recursive algorithm only considers the present estimation residual error instead of all estimation residuals. It would result in large estimation error when the signal noise disturbs strongly. In this paper, a new identification criterion is proposed. It considers both the errors between the actual outputs and the estimation result and the difference of each estimation error. Under this criterion, a new recursive algorithm MSDCN (Multi-dimensional System Disturbed by Color Noise) is proposed. For multi-dimensional systems, weighting different values on the estimation errors and the difference of each error, MSDCN could both decrease the estimation errors and got smooth prediction curves. Several simulation examples are given to illustrate the method’s anti-disturbance performance.
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Paper Nr:	310
Title:	SYNTHESIS METHOD OF A PN CONTROLLER USING FORBIDDEN TRANSITIONS SEQUENCES
Authors:	Rebiha BEKRAR, Nadhir Messai, Najib Essounbouli, Abdelaziz Hamzaoui and Bernard Riera
Abstract:	In this paper, we propose a control synthesis method for Discrete Event Systems (DES) modelled by a bounded ordinary Petri Nets (PN) to treat a forbidden state problem. The considered PN is transitions controllable and contains measurable and non measurable places. The PN controller is synthesised using the forbidden transitions sequences. The latter, are deduced from the PN reachability graph and considered as a forbidden language generated by the PN model. To show the efficiency of the proposed method an illustrative example is presented.
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Paper Nr:	320
Title:	A HIGHER-ORDER STATISTICS-BASED VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT FOR TERMITE ACTIVITY TARGETING
Authors:	Juan-Jose Gonzalez De La Rosa, José Melgar Camarero, Stephane Bouaud, J. G. Ramiro and Antonio Moreno-Munoz
Abstract:	In this paper we present the operation results of a portable computer-based measurement equipment conceived to perform non-destructive testing of suspicious termite infestations. Its signal processing module is based in the spectral kurtosis (SK), with the de-noising complement of the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The SK pattern allows the targeting of alarms and activity signals. The DWT complements the SK, by keeping the successive approximations of the termite emissions, supposed more non-gaussian (less noisy) and with less entropy than the detail approximations. For a given mother wavelet, the maximum acceptable level, in the wavelet decomposition tree, which preserves the insects’ emissions features, depends on the comparative evolution of the approximations details’ entropies, and the value of the global spectral kurtosis associated to the approximation of the separated signals. The paper explains the detection criterion by showing different types of real-life recordings (alarms, activity, and background).
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Paper Nr:	367
Title:	A RECURSIVE FRISCH SCHEME ALGORITHM FOR COLOURED OUTPUT NOISE
Authors:	Jens G. Linden and K. J. Burnham
Abstract:	A recursive (adaptive) algorithm for the identification of dynamical linear errors-in-variables systems in the case of coloured output noise is developed. The input measurement noise variance as well as the auto-covariance elements of the coloured output noise sequence are determined via two separate Newton algorithms. The model parameter estimates are obtained by a recursive bias-compensating instrumental variables algorithm with past noisy inputs as instruments, thus allowing the compensation for the explicitly computed bias at each discrete-time instance. The performance of the developed algorithm is demonstrated via simulation.
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Paper Nr:	409
Title:	DISCRETE-EVENT SIMULATION OF A COMPLEX INTERMODAL CONTAINER TERMINAL - A Case-Study of Standard Unloading/Loading Processes of Vessel Ships
Authors:	Guido Maione
Abstract:	This paper analyzes the performance of a complex maritime intermodal container terminal. The aim is to propose changes in the system resources or in handling procedures that guarantee better performance in perturbed conditions. A discrete-event system simulation study shows that, in future conditions of increased traffic volumes and reduced available stacking space, more internal transport vehicles, or appropriate scheduling and routing policies, or an increased degree of automation would improve the performance.
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Paper Nr:	430
Title:	MPC FOR SYSTEMS WITH VARIABLE TIME-DELAY - Robust Positive Invariant Set Approximations
Authors:	Sorin Olaru, Hichem Benlaoukli and Silviu-Iulian Niculescu
Abstract:	This paper deals with the control design for systems subject to constraints and affected by variable time-delay. The starting point is the construction of a predictive control law which guarantees the existence of a nonempty robust positive invariant (RPI) set with respect to the closed loop dynamics. In a second stage, an iterative algorithm is proposed in order to obtain an approximation of the maximal robust positive invariant set. The problem can be treated in the framework of piecewise affine systems due to the explicit formulations of the control law obtained via multiparametric programming.
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Paper Nr:	442
Title:	SYNTHESIS OF VELOCITY REFERENCE CAM FUNCTIONS FOR SMOOTH OPERATION OF HIGH SPEED MECHANISMS
Authors:	Robert Rayner and Mehmet Sahinkaya
Abstract:	The purpose of the paper is to improve the dynamic performance of a mechanism used in a packaging machine in order to run the system at higher speeds with lower vibration and noise levels. A method of synthesising a velocity demand signal as a function of crank position (i.e. cam function) is demonstrated for a prototype mechanism and drive system. The method aims to minimise the peak to peak actuation torque requirements in order to minimise the vibration of the mechanism. First of all, experimental results are utilised to identify the drive system parameters. A dynamic simulation package is used to model the nonlinear dynamics of the mechanism. The model based synthesis of velocity reference cam functions is performed at increasing mechanism actuation speeds. The performance of the system using the proposed velocity demand cam function is compared with the conventional constant speed reference case at different running speeds.
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Paper Nr:	450
Title:	EXPERIMENTAL OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP IDENTIFICATION OF A MULTI-MASS ELECTROMECHANICAL SERVO SYSTEM
Authors:	Usama Abou-Zayed, Mahmoud Ashry and Tim Breikin
Abstract:	The procedure of system identification of multi-mass servo system using different methods is described in this paper. Different black-box models are identified. Previous experimental results show that a model consisting of three-masses connected by springs and dampers gives an acceptable description of the dynamics of the servo system. However, this work shows that a lower order black-box model, identified using off-line or on-line experiments, gives better fit. The purpose of this contribution is to present experimental identification of a multi-mass servo system using different algorithms.
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Paper Nr:	481
Title:	FREQUENCY CONTROL FOR ULTRASONIC PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCERS, BASED ON THE MOVEMENT CURRENT
Authors:	Constantin Volosencu
Abstract:	This paper provides a method for frequency control at the ultrasonic high power piezoelectric transducers, using a feedback control systems based on the first derivative of the movement current. This method assures a higher efficiency of the energy conversion and greater frequency stability. A simulation for two kinds of transducer model is made. The method is implanted on a power electronic generator. Some transient characteristics are presented.
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Paper Nr:	514
Title:	A UNIFYING POINT OF VIEW IN THE PROBLEM OF PIO - Pilot In-the-loop Oscillations
Authors:	Vladimir Rasvan, Daniela Danciu and Dan Popescu
Abstract:	The paper starts from the problem of PIO (Pilot-In-the-loop Oscillations), a major problem in aircraft handling and control, where the idea of the feedback as hidden technology is basic. The real phenomenon called PIO is modeled by a feedback structure where the pilot acts as one of the components of the loop and has to be modeled accordingly. PIO are in fact self-sustained oscillations and usually are divided into three convenient categories that are based on the nature of the pilot and vehicle dynamics behavior models and analysis needed for their explanation. Category I PIO are essentially linear while Category II PIO are quasi-linear and typically associated with rate limiting. Category III PIO are fully nonlinear and non-stationary. Since PIO II are mostly tackled via various robustness approaches starting from linear models, the paper strives for a unifying approach which is illustrated accordingly.
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Paper Nr:	29
Title:	QOS MULTICAST ROUTING DESIGN USING NEURAL NETWORK
Authors:	Huang Ming and Shang Ming Zhu
Abstract:	In this paper, an algorithm based on Hopfield neural network for solving the problem of determining minimum cost paths to multiple destination nodes satisfying QoS requirements is proposed. The schema of constructing the multicast tree with HNN is emphasized after the analysis of the attributes of the multicast tree. At last, the emulation explores the feasibility of this algorithm.
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Paper Nr:	55
Title:	ON THE SAMPLING PERIOD IN STANDARD AND FUZZY CONTROL ALGORITHMS FOR SERVODRIVES - A Multicriterial Design and a Timing Strategy for Constant Sampling
Authors:	Dan Mihai
Abstract:	The paper deals with the best choice for the control sampling period in term of a multicriterial conditioning, with the on-line timing and with a comparison between the conventional (like PI) control algorithms and the fuzzy control. Several useful relations are followed by diagrams obtained in simulation and by different real-time recordings both for the timing and for characteristic variables of the system. Implementations with microcontroller and DSP are used for analyzing the design criterion and the timing strategy. The application field concerns a servodrive, so the real-time constraints are quite strong. The author conceived a general control strategy for the on-line timing based on imbricate interrupts, each pulse encoder acting on the hardware input interrupt of the control processor.
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Paper Nr:	59
Title:	ON THE SAMPLING PERIOD IN FUZZY CONTROL ALGORITHMS FOR SERVODRIVES - A Strategy for Variable Sampling
Authors:	Dan Mihai
Abstract:	The paper deals with a variable control sampling period for the fuzzy control algorithms implemented on low inertia servodrives. The robustness of the fuzzy control strategy is extended on the sampling period values and hence an adaptive sampling algorithm is proposed. The author analyzes the possibility to vary continuously the sampling frequency upon a basic process variable. Principles, models and simulation results inserted here give reliance in this technique and an enhancement of the fuzzy control implementation. The distribution of the sampling moments in different adaptive conditions and the behaviour of the servodrive are obtained by means of some models and simulations in accordance with the real-time target hardware system.
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Paper Nr:	79
Title:	SYNTHESIS OF THE LOW-PASS AND HIGH-PASS WAVE DIGITAL FILTERS
Authors:	B. Psenicka, F. Garcia-Ugalde and A. Romero Mier y Teran
Abstract:	In this paper we propose a very simple procedure for the design and analysis of low-pass and high-pass wave digital filters derived from reference filter given in the lattice configuration. Wave Digital Filters derived from reference filter in lattice configuration can be designed with excellent pass band properties. They can be proposed and implemented without the knowledge of classical filter theory. In this paper we present tables for Butterworth, Chebychev and Elliptic low-pass filter design. In the examples we demonstrate programs in MATLAB that permits analyze the attenuation properties of the designed filters. In the end of our article we realize wave digital filter using Embedded Target for Texas instruments TMS320C6000 DSP Platform. The model of the WDF was created by means of serial and parallel blocks that were added to the window Simulink Library Browser between common Used Blocks.
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Paper Nr:	87
Title:	ROTATION-INVARIANT IRIS RECOGNITION - Boosting 1D Spatial-Domain Signatures to 2D
Authors:	Stefan Matschitsch, Herbert Stögner, Martin Tschinder and Andreas Uhl
Abstract:	An iris recognition algorithm based on 1D spatial domain signatures is improved by extending template data from mean vectors to 2D histogram information. EER and shape of the FAR curve is clearly improved as compared to the original algorithm, while rotation invariance and the low computational demand is maintained. The employment of the proposed scheme remains limited to the similarity ranking scenario due to its overall FAR/FRR behaviour.
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Paper Nr:	95
Title:	PATH PLANNING USING DISCRETIZED EQUILIBRIUM PATHS - A Robotics Example
Authors:	Cornel Sultan
Abstract:	A collision avoidance path planning problem is considered and a simple solution which uses piecewise constant controls generated by discretizing a feasible equilibrium path is presented and investigated.
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Paper Nr:	97
Title:	A FRAMEWORK FOR DISTRIBUTED AND INTELLIGENT PROCESS CONTROL
Authors:	Qurban Memon
Abstract:	The customized development of the Distributed Control System for process control in an environment of intelligent and tagged field devices etc., is the main focus of this work. The proposed solution consists of two-layer approach: use of decentralized intelligent agents at the local process level, and four-tier modular architecture at central controller level to help implement distributed intelligence. The design and development issues for such a customized design are investigated.
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Paper Nr:	143
Title:	HYBRID WAVELET-KALMAN FILTER MULTI-SCALE SEQUENTIAL FUSION METHOD
Authors:	Zhou Funa and Tianhao Tang
Abstract:	With the development of automation, multi-scale data fusion has become a hot research topic, however, limited by the constraint that signal to implement wavelet transform must have the length of 2q, multi-scale data fusion problem involved with non- 2n sampled observation data still hasn’t been efficiently solved. In this paper, we develop a hybrid wavelet-Kalman filter multiscale sequential fusion method. First, we develop the hybrid wavelet-Kalman filter multiscale estimation method which combines the advantage of wavelet and Kalman filter to obtain the real time, recursive, multiscale estimation of the dynamic system. Then, a multiscale sequential fusion method is presented. Under the hybrid wavelet-Kalman filter multiscale estimation frame, we can easily fuse information from multiple sensors sequentially without designing other complex fusion algorithm. The multiscale sequential fusion method can fuse non- 2n sampled data just by analyzing the possible observation structure to design the observation model of the stacked dynamic system. Simulation result of three sensors with sampling interval 1, 2 and 3 shows the efficiency of this method.
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Paper Nr:	201
Title:	MULTICHANNEL EMOTION ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK - Positive and Negative Emotional Dichotomy
Authors:	Jorge Teixeira, Vasco Vinhas, Eugénio Oliveira and Luís Paulo Reis
Abstract:	While affective computing and the entertainment industry still maintain a substantial gap between themselves, biosignals are subject of digital acquisition through low budget technologic solutions at neglectable invasive levels preventing users from focusing their awareness in the equipment. The integration of electroencephalography, galvanic skin response and oximeter in a multichannel framework constitutes an effort in the path to identify emotional states via biosignals expression. In order to induce and detect specific emotions, gender specific sessions were defined based on the International Affective Picture System and performed in a controlled environment. Results granted by distinct analysis techniques showed that high frequency EEG waves are strongly related to emotions and are a solid ground to perform accurate emotion classification. They have also given strong indications that females are more sensitive to emotion induction. On the other hand, one might conclude that the attained success levels concerning relating emotions to biosignals are extremely encouraging not only to the continuation of this research topic but also to the application of these results in domains such as multimedia entertainment, advertising and medical treatments.
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Paper Nr:	301
Title:	MODEL BASED DESIGN OF NETWORKED EMBEDDED SYSTEMS - A Modeling Approach using FlexRay as an Example
Authors:	Johannes Klöckner, Sven Köhler and Wolfgang Fengler
Abstract:	This paper presents a work in progress on a method to create system level models of networked systems in automotive applications. It introduces an example, that shows a strategy to create models, providing high flexibility in terms of interoperability, field of application, reusability and replaceability. The chosen modeling tool contains a multi-domain simulator and allows a mission and system level design. Beside the exposition of the basic architecture of the model there is a description of various model parts showing the variety of different levels of abstraction. The grade of reuseability of the developed building blocks is very high. Finally a perspective for future extensions towards a general modeling strategy for various networked applications in embedded systems is provided.
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Paper Nr:	355
Title:	MODELING AND ESTIMATION OF POLLUTANT EMISSIONS
Authors:	Brahmi El Hassane, DENIS-VIDAL Lilianne, CHERFI Zohra, BOUDAOuD Nassim and JOLY-BLANCHARD Ghislaine
Abstract:	The European laws lead to the increase of emission constraints. In order to take into account these constraints, automotive constructors are obliged to create more and more complex systems. This paper presents two stage approaches for the prediction of NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions, which are based on an ordinary Kriging method. In the first stage, a reduction of data will take place by selecting signals with correlations studies and by using a fast Fourier transformation. In the second stage, the Kriging method is used to solve the problem of the estimation of NOx emissions under given conditions. Numerical results are presented and compared to highlight the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
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Paper Nr:	357
Title:	OFF-LINE ROBUSTIFICATION OF PREDICTIVE CONTROL FOR UNCERTAIN SYSTEMS - A Sub-optimal Tractable Solution
Authors:	Cristina Stoica, Pedro Rodriguez-ayerbe and Didier Dumur
Abstract:	An off-line technique enabling to robustify an initial Model Predictive Control (MPC) for multivariable systems via the convex optimization of a Youla parameter is presented. Firstly, a multivariable predictive controller is designed for a nominal system and then robustified towards unstructured uncertainties, while guaranteeing stability properties over a specified polytopic domain of uncertainties. This condition leads to verify a Bilinear Matrix Inequality (BMI) for each vertex of the polytopic domain. This BMI can be mathematically relaxed to semi-definite programming (SDP) using a Sum of Squares (SOS) strategy, with a significant increase of the number of scalar decision variables. To overcome this inconvenient, an alternative tractable sub-optimal solution for the BMI is proposed, based on the elaboration of a stable solution obtained by minimization of the complementary sensitivity function.
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Paper Nr:	392
Title:	REAL-TIME SYSTEMS SAFETY CONTROL CONSIDERING HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE
Authors:	José Machado and Eurico Seabra
Abstract:	In this paper it is presented the analysis of real-time industrial controllers when it is taken into account human behavior in the use of fully automated industrial systems. It is intended to develop safe controllers for these systems and make them robust against inappropriate utilizations by human operators. For the attainment of our goals it is used a case study, where, based on a IEC 60848 specification, is deduced the controller program. Further, it is elaborated the controller model, the Plant model and the Human Machine Interface Model of the automated system. The obtained results are generalized for other similar systems with the presented case study.
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Paper Nr:	489
Title:	SLIDING MODE CONTROL - Is it Necessary Sliding Motion?
Authors:	Leonardo Acho
Abstract:	Sliding mode control has been recognized to be insensitive to exogenous perturbations if the reachability conditions is warranted. Two phases follow the dynamics of the closed-loop perturbed system: 1) Finite-time convergence to the sliding surface, and 2) Sliding motion along the sliding surface. In the sliding motion the system has a reduced-order dynamic behavior. But, is it really necessary to have sliding motion to warranty the robustness property of the sliding mode controller? The main objective of this position paper is to theorize this important question.
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Paper Nr:	515
Title:	ANALYSIS OF REMS GTS ERRORS DUE TO MSL ROVER AND MARTIAN ENVIRONMENT
Authors:	Eduardo Sebastian, Carlos Armiens and Javier Gomez-Elvira
Abstract:	This paper analyses the external sources of error of the REMS GTS, a contactless instrument to measure ground temperature that is part of the payload of the NASA MSL mission to Mars. Some environment properties such us atmosphere opacity, solar radiance, ground emissivity and rover IR emissions are studied, determining GTS characteristics. The article also proposes a simplified geometrical and thermal model of the rover and environment in order to evaluate and quantify their influence in ground temperature measurements. Finally, the article summarizes simulation results and provides solutions in order to improve sensor accuracy.
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