Simplified GIS based methodology to quantify risk factors for alternative route evaluation for transport of radioactive materials

Abstract

The risk associated with the transport of radioactive materials can be impacted by many factors of the transport system, as well as by the area through which the materials may travel. Informed decision making requires a quantitative evaluation of pertinent information or conditions. Geographic information systems are often used to display spatial information. The authors have developed a simplified methodology that can be used to quantify the conditions that impact risk over a segment of a transport route. The methodology aggregates the impact of a condition based on the magnitude of the impacting condition and its location with respect to the transport corridor. This paper is a proof-of-concept demonstration for the methodology for the factors of the population in the vicinity of the roadway and the highway design criteria with respect to access ramps and medians. The methodology is particularly suited to a comparison of alternative routes for decision making, where an easily implemented methodology is needed to narrow down multiple alternatives to those few requiring a more detailed analysis.     

Two Tendon-Driven Systems Using Pneumatic Balloons

In recent years, Japanese society has been aging, creating a shortage of young workers. Robots are expected to be useful to perform tasks such as rehabilitation therapy, nursing elderly people and day-to-day work support for elderly people. In particular, robots that are designed for use in the fields of medical care and welfare must be safe for the human environment because they often come into contact with humans. Furthermore, robots must have dexterity that is similar to that of humans. Under these circumstances, tendon-driven systems of two types using flexible silicone rubber materials have been developed. They are lightweight and have characteristics resembling those of human muscle. This paper describes the basic features and mechanisms of two tendon-driven systems that we have developed as a soft actuator. Furthermore, basic properties of the system are evaluated and compared with those of human muscles.     

Basic Behavior Acquisition with Multisensor Integration for a Robot System

A robot system generally has several degrees of freedom of motions as well as different kinds of sensors. Basic behaviors are planned based on these sensors' feedback. We take advantage of the Jacobian matrix to describe the differential relations between the sensor feedback and the motor motions. Hence, the relation between two sensors could be formulated by the two respective Jacobian matrices of both sensors to motors. Multisensor integration can, thus, be employed for better performance of the robot system. Experiments of basic behavior acquisition like gazing and posture control of a robot head are conducted. The performances of the two basic behaviors before and after multisensor integration are compared, which demonstrate the performance and robustness of the proposed multisensor integration method.     

An inertial navigation system for small autonomous underwater vehicles

A Small AUV Navigation System (SANS) is being developed at the Naval Postgraduate School. The SANS is an integrated GPS/inertial navigation system composed of low-cost, small-size components. It is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of using a low-cost inertial measurement unit to navigate between intermittent GPS fixes. This paper reports recent improvements to the SANS hardware, latest testing results and development of an asynchronous Kalman filter for improved position estimation.     

Biological Insights Into Robotics: Honeybee Foraging Behavior by a Waggle Dance

A honeybee informs her nestmates of flower locations by a unique behavior called a 'waggle dance'. We regard this behavior as a good model of the 'propagation and sharing of knowledge' to maintain a society. We have attempted to reveal how this dance benefits the colony using mathematical models and computer simulation based on parameters obtained from observations of bee behavior. Our simulation indicated that the most successful forages were made by a putative bee colony that used the dance to communicate. Video analysis of worker honeybee behavior in the field showed that a bee does not dance in a single, random place in the hive, but waggles several times in one place and several times in another. The orientation and duration of waggle runs varied from run to run, within ranges of ±15° and ±15%, respectively. We also found that most of the bees that listened to the waggle dance turned away from the dancer after listening to one or two runs. These data suggest that honeybees use the waggle dance as a method of communication, but that they must base their forages on ambiguous information about the location of a food source.     

The development and control of a flexible-spine for a human-form robot

In this paper, the development of a robot which has a flexible spine is presented. By embedding a multi-d.o.f. soft structure into a robot body as a spine, the robot can increase its ability to absorb shock and to work in various environment such as narrow places. As a result of these abilities, the robot can expand its opportunity to work in the human environment. Moreover, its motion could be more natural. The developed full-body human-form robot has a five-jointed flexible spine. Each joint (vertebra) has 3 d.o.f. Between each vertebrae is a 'disk' made of silicone rubber. The spine is controlled by eight tendons, whose tensions can be controlled using tension sensors and locally distributed microcontrollers. This paper describes the development of the flexible spine and the control of the posture of the spine and body.     

Dynamic simulation of cooling stack and cooling circuit for converter gas cooling

Abstract

A dynamic simulation programme for the recooling circuit of converter gas cooling systems has been developed to assist in the design of new plant and efforts to increase the production capacity of existing plant. A suitable choice of independent variables (enthalpy h and pressure p) allows clear mathematical modelling and enhances the numeric performance of the model. The results have been verified by comparison with the operational data from existing steel plants. This simulation programme offers steelmakers the following advantages when seeking an increase in production: recalibration of existing systems and determination of maximum allowable heat input to the cooling circuit; proposals for modification of existing systems to increase the allowable heat input under constraints for optimal investment cost and installation downtime; design of new, low investment cost cooling systems tailored for existing plant infrastructure and local market conditions.     

Control of giant swing motion of a two-link horizontal bar gymnastic robot

We investigated a control method to realize the three different types of free giant swing motions produced by a two-link horizontal bar gymnastic robot. By evaluating the eigenvalues of the transitional error matrix on the Poincare plane, it was found that the stable giant swing motions could be obtained by a proposed configuration control, in which the actuated joint torque is controlled such that the measured state variables follow the reference configuration with respect to the angular position of the passive joint. We also demonstrated that the two types of stable giant swing motions could be accomplished by the configuration method.     

Biomechanical Approach to Open-Loop Bipedal Running with a Musculoskeletal Athlete Robot

In this study, a musculoskeletal robot is used as a tool to investigate how animals control their complex body. Sprinting is a challenging task that requires maximizing the potential resources of a musculoskeletal structure. Our approach to robotic sprinting is the Athlete Robot — a musculoskeletal robot with elastic blade feet controlled by feedforward motor command. We use a catapult launcher to provide a stable start to a sprint, and then examine the relation between the initial velocity imparted by the launcher and the change in orientation of the robot. We also investigate the influence of the change in elasticity of the blade foot. The results show that acceleration causes anterior inclination after the first step. The elasticity of the foot dominates the duration of the support phase. The musculoskeletal system of the Athlete Robot is modified to suit catapulted running. Based on the results from real robot experiments, we can provide a consistent propelling force using the catapult launcher. We demonstrate the Athlete Robot running for five steps after a catapult launch, using only feedforward command.