Coordinated dispatching of proximity sensors for the surveillance of manoeuvring targets

The surveillance of a manoeuvring target with multiple sensors in a coordinated manner requires a method for selecting and positioning groups of sensors in real time. Herein, the principles of dispatching, as used for the effective operation of service vehicles, are considered. The object trajectory is first discretized into a number of demand instants (data acquisition times), to which groups of sensors are assigned, respectively. Heuristic rules are used to determine the composition of each sensor group by evaluating the potential contribution of each sensor. In the case of dynamic sensors, the position of each sensor with respect to the target is also specified. Our proposed approach aims to improve the quality of the surveillance data in three ways: (1) The assigned sensors are manoeuvred into “optimal” sensing positions, (2) the uncertainty of the measured data is mitigated through sensor fusion, and (3) the poses of the unassigned sensors are adjusted to ensure that the surveillance system can react to future object manoeuvres. If a priori target trajectory information is available, the system performance may be further improved by optimizing the initial pose of each sensor off-line. The advantages of dispatching dynamic sensors over similar static-sensor systems are demonstrated through comprehensive simulations.     

Visualizing “typical” and “exotic” Internet traffic data

The threat of cyber attacks motivates the need to monitor Internet traffic data for potentially abnormal behavior. Due to the enormous volumes of such data, statistical process monitoring tools, such as those traditionally used on data in the product manufacturing arena, are inadequate. “Exotic” data may indicate a potential attack; detecting such data requires a characterization of “typical” data. We devise some new graphical displays, including a “skyline plot,” that permit ready visual identification of unusual Internet traffic patterns in “streaming” data, and use appropriate statistical measures to help identify potential cyberattacks. These methods are illustrated on a moderate-sized data set (135,605 records) collected at George Mason University.     

“Electric” Zip Tips™, Preliminary Results

Induction based fluidics (IBF), a new, simple patented approach for transporting liquids in the micro and the macro world, is discussed. Electric fields are shown to energize liquid/s in a container/s to execute an array of purposes. IBF is shown uniquely to energize N liquids in simple off the shelf devices, inductively. We discuss calibration and other issues, as we demonstrate how simple devices can dispense nanoliters and microliters with high precision and accuracy. Furthermore, we show preliminary single and eight channel data for the Zip Tip™ made by Millipore where the device transports liquids “electrically.” We briefly consider how such new devices, “electric” Zip Tips™, might automate desalting and the placement of digests for MALDI TOF analysis.     

Smart Dust Security – Key Infection Revisited

Sensor network is a notion denoting an interesting subset of self-organising wireless networks. These networks are rather dense as each node have typically more than dozen neighbours, and large – with tens to hundreds thousands of nodes. Applications of such networks assume distributed environmental sensing performed by each sensor in the network, where data from a particular sensor gain value only when combined with data from a relatively high number of other sensors. One of the open security questions in this specific environment is a possibility to lower requirements on key distribution and key management and thus decrease production costs. One of the possible ways is “key infection”. The paper recaps a protocol and already published results. It also elaborates the concept of key infection by introducing a new variant of security amplification protocol, and presents some interesting results obtained by simulations.     

Autonomous planar conductivity array sensor for fast liquid distribution imaging in a fluid coupling

In this article, we introduce a new autonomous planar array sensor based on the measurements of electrical conductivity which has been applied to the visualization of fluid distributions inside a fluid coupling during normal operation. The sensor is composed of approximately 1000 interdigital sensing structures which are used to measure the two-dimensional electrical conductivity distribution at the sensor's surface with a fast multiplexed probing–sensing scheme at up to 10 kHz frame rate. Two such sensors were used to measure dynamic two-phase flow patterns in a fluid coupling at full operation at 790 rpm speed. Therefore, the sensors were mounted on the pressure-side and the suction-side walls of a blade channel inside a test coupling. The whole measurement system is run on a battery and controlled via wireless link, thus being fully autonomous, which enables sensor and electronics to rotate together with the coupling.     

A “mixed” small gain and passivity theorem in the frequency domain

We show that the negative feedback interconnection of two causal, stable, linear time-invariant systems, with a “mixed” small gain and passivity property, is guaranteed to be finite-gain stable. This “mixed” small gain and passivity property refers to the characteristic that, at a particular frequency, systems in the feedback interconnection are either both “input and output strictly passive”; or both have “gain less than one”; or are both “input and output strictly passive” and simultaneously both have “gain less than one”. The “mixed” small gain and passivity property is described mathematically using the notion of dissipativity of systems, and finite-gain stability of the interconnection is proven via a stability result for dissipative interconnected systems.     

Erratum to “Axiomatisations of functional dependencies in the presence of records, lists, sets and multisets”

This note corrects two errors that occurred during the typesetting of our paper “Axiomatisations of functional dependencies in the presence of records, lists, sets and multisets”, which appeared in Hartmann et al. [Axiomatisations of functional dependencies in the presence of records, lists, sets and multisets, Theoret. Comput. Sci. 353(2) (2006) 167–196].     

Information retrieval expert system “matchmaker”

This paper describes the information system used to search for a potential matrimonial partner. The search is based on comparison of the subject's record, which consists of his/her answers to about 400 items of a specially designed questionnaire, to the records of the potential partners. The basic principle of the system is representation of the set of candidates for the client with psychological warnings about potential “conflict zones” in relationships between client and candidate rather than a ranking of candidates based on hypothetical “psychological compatibility” indices.     

Comments on: “Efficient robust constrained model predictive control with a time varying terminal constraint set” by Wan and Kothare

We present an algorithm that modifies the original formulation proposed in Wan and Kothare [Efficient robust constrained model predictive control with a time-varying terminal constraint set, Systems Control Lett. 48 (2003) 375–383]. The modified algorithm can be proved to be robustly stabilizing and preserves all the advantages of the original algorithm, thereby overcoming the limitation pointed out recently by Pluymers et al. [Min–max feedback MPC using a time-varying terminal constraint set and comments on “Efficient robust constrained model predictive control with a time-varying terminal constraint set”, Systems Control Lett. 54 (2005) 1143–1148].     

The identification of nonlinear models for process control using tailored “plant-friendly” input sequences

This paper considers certain practical aspects of the identification of nonlinear empirical models for chemical process dynamics. The primary focus is the identification of second-order Volterra models using input sequences that offer the following three advantages: (1) they are “plant friendly;” (2) they simplify the required computations; (3) they can emphasize certain model parameters over others. To provide a quantitative basis for discussing the first of these advantages, this paper defines a friendliness index f that relates to the number of changes that occur in the sequence. For convenience, this paper also considers an additional nonlinear model structure: the Volterra–Laguerre model. To illustrate the practical utility of the input sequences considered here, second-order Volterra and Volterra–Laguerre models are developed that approximate the dynamics of a first-principles model of methyl methacrylate polymerization.     

The “burning ship” and its quasi-Julia sets

By manipulating the imaginary part of the complex-analytic quadratic equation, we obtain, by iteration, a set that we call the “burning ship” because of its appearance. It is an analogue to the Mandelbrot set (M-set). Its nonanalytic “quasi”-Julia sets yield surprizing graphical shapes.     

Justification of new technologies through the use of “cause and effect” analysis: Case of tile replacement at Kennedy space center

This paper presents a case of introducing new technology to a single stage in a maintenance operation composed of sequence of stages. The process - Thermal tile replacement - is a low volume, high value operation. A method for data collection at each stage, to estimate the variability in process quality, cost and duration is presented. The method involves: Identifying key product features, accuracy measure for each, rate of product rejection by feature and the associated probability density functions at each stage. The method relates accuracy variability by feature, “effect” to the contributing stage in the process “cause”. Simulation is used to justify the introduction of a new technology and to predict the percentage of product conformity in a “before” and “after” scenarios for the implementation of the new technology. The simulation model enables the quantification of technology impact on the product quality, overall productivity and the associated cost savings.     

Systematic studies on responses of metal-oxide sensor surfaces to straight chain alkanes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, acids and esters using the SOMMSA approach

Metal oxide sensors are widely used in the so-called “electronic noses”, and it is proposed that these equipment can be used to objectify food aromas.

Due to the fact that, up to now, systematic approaches to correlate the intensity of sensor responses with the structure of a given volatile have scarcely been performed [K. Suzuki, T. Takada, Highly sensitive odour sensors using various SnO₂ thick films, Sens. Actuators, B 24–25 (1995) 773–776; B. Lalauze et al., High sensitivity materials for gas detection, Sens. Actuators, B 8 (1992) 237–243; K. Fukui, Detection and measurement of odor by sintered tin oxide gas sensor, Sens. Actuators, B 5 (1991) 27–32; J.W. Gardner, A. Pike et al., Integrated array sensor for detecting organic solvents, Sens. Actuators, B 13–14 (1993) 355–357.], it is as yet not possible to predict the sensitivity and the specivity of metal oxide preparations vs. a given chemical structure.

Using the SOMMSA approach [T. Hofmann et al., High resolution gas chromatography/selective odorant measurement by multisensor array (HRGC/SOMSA): a useful approach to standardize multisensor arrays for the use in the detection of key food odorants, Sens. Actuators, B 41 (1997) 81–87.], mixtures of alkanes, alcohols, aldehydes (all with chain length of 8–14 carbon atoms) and acids (chain length of 2–10 carbon atoms) were applied to different self-prepared metal oxide mixtures and the signal intensities were monitored. In addition, quantitative experiments were performed to determine the detection threshold of sensors. E.g. (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, one of the most important odorants in fresh cucumbers, could be clearly detected at a level below 4.0 ng/ml (He) by a sensor containing a mixture of ZnO and SnO₂.     

“Graphical” Jogthrough: expert based methodology for user interface evaluation, applied in the case of an educational simulation interface

“Walkthrough” and “Jogthrough” techniques are well known expert based methodologies for the evaluation of user interface design. In this paper we describe the use of “Graphical” Jogthrough method for evaluating the interface design of the Network Simulator, an educational simulation program that enables users to virtually build a computer network, install hardware and software components, make the necessary settings and test the functionality of the network. Graphical Jogthrough is a further modification of a typical Jogthrough method, where evaluators' ratings produce evidence in the form of a graph, presenting estimated proportion of users who effectively use the interface versus the time they had to work with it in order to succeed effectiveness. We comment on the question: “What are the possible benefits and limitations of the Graphical Jogthrough method when applied in the case of educational software interface design?” We present the results of the evaluation session, and concluding from our experience we argue that the method could offer designers quantitative and qualitative data for formulating a useful (though rough in some aspects) estimation about the novice–becoming–expert pace that end users might follow when working with the evaluated interface.     

Monolithic sensor array based on a quartz microbalance transducer with enhanced sensitivity for monitoring agricultural emissions

A low-cost sensor array system for agricultural applications is presented. The sensor array is based on a quartz crystal microbalance (QMB) transducer with a novel heating structure. Selective host molecules are used as gas-sensitive layers. The gas-sensitive layers were optimized for the selective detection of ammonia at varying humidity concentrations. A mode of operation is presented which allows on-line monitoring of ammonia without a reference gas (RG). In addition, this temperature modulation (TM) mode improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensors compared to the usually applied RG mode. Multivariate regression models are applied on the sensor array data to selectively predict the ammonia concentration in agricultural emissions.     

On the absence of strict boundaries—Vagueness, haziness, and fuzziness in philosophy, science, and medicine

This contribution deals with developments in the history of philosophy, logic, and mathematics during the time before and up to the beginning of fuzzy logic. Even though the term “fuzzy” was introduced by Lotfi A. Zadeh in 1964/1965, it should be noted that older concepts of “vagueness” and “haziness” had previously been discussed in philosophy, logic, mathematics, applied sciences, and medicine. This paper delineates some specific paths through the history of the use of these “loose concepts”. Vagueness was avidly discussed in the fields of logic and philosophy during the first decades of the 20th century—particularly in Vienna, at Cambridge and in Warsaw and Lvov. An interesting sequel to these developments can be seen in the work of the Polish physician and medical philosopher Ludwik Fleck.Haziness and fuzziness were concepts of interest in mathematics and engineering during the second half of the 1900s. The logico-philosophical history presented here covers the work of Bertrand Russell, Max Black, and others. The mathematical–technical history deals with the theories founded by Karl Menger and Lotfi Zadeh. Menger's concepts of probabilistic metrics, hazy sets (ensembles flous) and micro-geometry as well as Zadeh's theory of fuzzy sets paved the way for the establishment of soft computing methods using vague concepts that connote the nonexistence of sharp boundaries.     

Recognizing image “style” and activities in video using local features and naive Bayes

The goal of this paper is to offer a framework for classification of images and video according to their “type”, or “style”––a problem which is hard to define, but easy to illustrate; for example, identifying an artist by the style of his/her painting, or determining the activity in a video sequence. The paper offers a simple classification paradigm based on local properties of spatial or spatio-temporal blocks. The learning and classification are based on the naive Bayes classifier. A few experimental results are presented.     

Extracting discriminative information from the Padé-Z-transformed responses of a temperature-modulated chemoresistive sensor for gas recognition

The response patterns of a temperature-modulated chemoresistive gas sensor were transformed to multi-exponential functions which facilitated the extraction of their discriminative features for gas diagnosis. The patterns were generated for air contaminated with different concentrations of various volatile organic compounds by applying a staircase heating voltage waveform to the microheater of a tin oxide-based sensor that modulated its operating temperature in the 50–400 °C range. Padé-Z transform was utilized for the transformation, and a novel heuristic procedure facilitated the extraction of the components of the feature vectors from the transformed data. These vectors were classified by the available techniques. The method differentiated the patterns generated for methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, and acetone contaminations in the wide concentration range examined. The method was also used to separately estimate the amount of the discriminative information in various steady state and transient response features; the results are anticipated to help design more elaborate temperature-modulated sensors for gas diagnosis.     

Proximal object and hazard detection for autonomous underwater vehicle with optical fibre sensors

This paper describes short range and tactile optical fibre sensors for marine applications. The sensors are designed for obstacle avoidance on unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) operating in confined spaces, but have other possible applications. The fibre sensors augment the sensory abilities derived from ultrasonic and other sensors employed for marine proximity measurement. Of particular interest is proximity detection in the “near” (less than 1 m) and tactile areas. The paper describes the basic principle of operation and alternative sensor configurations. Results are given based on laboratory tests and deployment on a mini autonomous submersible in a test pool.     

Gas sensing properties of the composite Langmuir–Blodgett films: effects of the film thickness and the Cd addition into the subphase

It was discovered in the previous studies that the kinetic response of NO sensors based on copper tetra-tert-butyl phthalocyanine (CuTTBPc) Langmuir–Blodgett films (LB films) could be greatly improved if CuTTBPc mixed with arachidic acid (AA) in optimized molar ratios was used instead of the phthalocyanine derivative alone. In this paper we investigate the effects of the film thickness and the ionic content of the subphase on gas-sensitive properties of CuTTBPc:AA (1:1 molar ratio) LB films with respect to NO. It was shown that both the sensitivity and the kinetic response of the LB films were influenced by the Cd²⁺ addition into the subphase. These distinctions, being rather small for the thinnest films, became much more pronounced for thicker ones. If “pure” water was used as a subphase, experimental data could be explained mainly by the gas diffusion into the film bulk whereas the surface adsorption was a predominant process in the case of the Cd²⁺-containing subphase. Obtained results are discussed as regards the sensor performance optimization.