Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obstacle Detection Based on Fusion Between Stereovision and 2D Laser Scanner

Obstacle detection is an essential task for mobile robots. This subject has been investigated for many years by researchers and a lot of obstacle detection systems have been proposed so far. Yet designing an accurate and totally robust and reliable system remains a challenging task, above all in outdoor environments. The DARPA Grand Challenge (Darpa, 2005) proposed efficient systems based on sensors redundancy, but these systems are expensive since they include a large set of sensors and computers: one can not consider to implement such systems on low cost robots. Thus, a new challenge is to reduce the number of sensors used while maintaining a high level of performances. Then, many applications will beco me possible, such as Advance Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) in the context of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to present new techniques and tools to design an accurate, robust and reliable obstacle detection system in outdoor environments based on a minimal number of sensors. So far, experiments and assessments of already developed systems show that using a single sensor is not enough to meet the requirements: at least two complementary sensors are needed. In this chapter a stereovision sensor and a 2D laser scanner are considered. In Section 2, the ITS background under which the proposed approaches have been developed is introduced. The remaining of the chapter is dedicated to technical aspects. Section 3 deals with the stereovision framework: it is based on a new technique (the so-called “v-disparity” approach) that efficiently tackles most of the problems usually met when using stereovision-based algorithms for detecting obstacles. This technique makes few assumptions about the environment and allows a generic detection of any kind of obstacles; it is robust against adverse lightning and meteorological conditions and presents a low sensitivity towards false matches. Target generation and characterization are detailed. Section 4 focus on the laser scanner raw data processing performed to generate targets from lasers points and estimate their positions, sizes and orientations. Once targets have been generated, a multi-objects association algorithm is needed to estimate the dynamic state of the objects and to monitor appearance and disappearance of tracks. Section 5 intends to present such an algorithm based on the Dempster-Shaffer belief theory. Section 6 is about fusion between stereovision and laser scanner. Different possible fusion schemes are introduced and discussed. Section 7 is dedicated to experimental results. Eventually, section 8 deals with trends and future research.
Linear prediction at base station for closed loop power control

A closed loop power control (CLPC) with linear prediction at a base station has been investigated for the reverse link in a code division multiple access (CDMA) system. Several algorithms, e.g., Durbin-Levinson (DL), least minimum square error (LMS), recursive least square (RLS), and Burg, are applied to predict the received signal bit energy to interference power spectral density (Eb/Io) at a base station with a finite impulse response (FIR) filter. It is observed that with perfect channel estimation, the simulation results show that 1 dB improvement in Eb/Io can be made at a certain frame error rate (FER), compared to the existing IS-95 closed loop power control scheme. However, with practical channel estimation obtained by employing these prediction algorithms, insignificant FER improvement is observed. The group delay introduced by a prediction algorithm is a major reason to cause the insignificant improvement.
Statistical modeling of facial aging based on 3D scans

This thesis presents an approach to the modeling of facial aging using and extending the Morphable Model technique. For modeling the face variation across individuals, facial expressions, and physical attributes, we collected 3D face scans of 298 persons. The 3D face scans where acquired with a structured light 3D scanner, which we improved in collaboration with the manufacturer to achieve superior geometry and texture quality. Moreover, we developed an efficient way to measure fine skin structure and reflection properties with the scanner. The collected face scans have been used to build the Basel Face Model, a new publicly available Morphable Model. Using the 3D scans we learn the correlation between physical attributes such as weight, height, and especially age and faces. With the learned correlation, we present a novel way to simultaneously manipulate different attributes and demonstrate the capability to model changes caused by aging. Using the attributes of the face model in conjunction with a skull model developed in the same research group, we present a method to reconstruct faces from skull shapes which considers physical attributes, as the body weight, age etc. The most important aspect of facial aging that can not be simulated with the Morphable Model is the appearance of facial wrinkles. In this work we present a novel approach to synthesize age wrinkles based on statistics. Our wrinkle synthesis consists of two main parts: The learning of a generative model of wrinkle constellations, and the modeling of their visual appearance. For learning the constellations we use kernel density estimation of manually labeled wrinkles to estimate the wrinkle occurrence probability. To learn the visual appearance of wrinkles we use the fine scale skin structure captured with our improved scanning method. Our results show that the combination of the attribute fitting based aging and the wrinkle synthesis, facilitate a simulation of visually convincing progressive aging. The method is without restrictions applicable to any face that can be represented by the Morphable Model.
The development, diffusion and evaluation of a fall hazard safety training program for residential construction workers utilizing instructor led and new media delivery

The Development, Diffusion and Evaluation of a Fall Hazard Safety Training Program for Residential Construction Workers Utilizing Instructor Led and New Media Delivery Mark D. Fullen The numbers of workers in the residential construction industry are on the rise. Falls have continually been the largest contributor to residential construction worker deaths and injuries. These workers are largely self-employed or working for small companies. These individuals are difficult to reach through traditional methods. This research proposed to use the Internet to reach this group and engage them in the curriculum development cycle. An instructional design research method known as Type I Developmental Research was utilized to study the methodology, product, implementation, and outcomes for this program throughout the design, implementation, and evaluation stages. Five complete cycles of design, implementation, and evaluation were evaluated. These cycles occurred organically as the analysis of the data collected resulted in a need to revise the training material, delivery method or evaluation method. Type I developmental research treats the design-development-evaluation process as a form of inquiry and does so by embedding traditional research methods into the development project and utilizes the case study method (Richey, Klein & Nelson, 2004). The research questions were: (1) Does the training program addressing residential fall hazards and safety bring about individual or group behaviors that may reduce the likelihood of falls from heights on residential construction sites? (2) Does the technology-based availability and delivery of this training material increase trainee interest? (3) Does including residential construction worker, supervisor, and expert feedback into the developmental cycle of training development impact the relevance and acceptability of the residential fall protection training material? The results of the study were that the newly developed material has brought about increased knowledge and fall protection usage. The availability of the training material on the Internet led to a broad diffusion and use of the training material, although most seekers of this material were trainers and safety professionals rather than workers. Finally, including workers and others in the training development cycle has impacted the relevance and acceptance of the material.
Study of Techniques For Reliable Data Transmission In Wireless Sensor Networks

This thesis addresses the problem of traffic transfer in wireless sensor networks (WSN). In such networks, the foremost challenge in the design of data communication techniques is that the sensor's transceiver circuitry consumes the major portion of the available power. Thus, due to stringent limitations on the nodes' hardware and power resources in WSN, data transmission must be power-efficient in order to reduce the nodes' power consumption, and hence to maximize the network lifetime while satisfying the required data rate. The transmit power is itself under the influence of data rate and source-destination distance. Thanks to the dense deployment of nodes in WSN, multi-hop communication can be applied to mitigate the transmit power for sending bits of information, i.e., gathered data by the sensor nodes to the destination node (gateway) compared to single-hop scenarios. In our approach, we achieve a reasonable trade-off between power-efficiency and transmission data rate by devising cooperative communication strategies through which the network traffic (i.e. nodes' gathered information) is relayed hop-by-hop to the gateway. In such strategies, the sensor nodes serve as data originator as well as data router, and assist the data transfer from the sensors to the gateway. We develop several data transmission schemes, and we prove their capability in transmitting the data from the sensor nodes at the highest possible rates allowed by the network limitations. In particular, we consider that (i) network has linear or quasi-linear topology, (ii) nodes are equipped with half-duplex radios, implying that they cannot transmit and receive simultaneously, (iii) nodes transmit their traffic at the same average rate. We compute the average data rate corresponding to each proposed strategy. Next, we take an information-theoretic approach and derive an upper bound to the achievable rate of traffic transfer in the networks under consideration, and analyze its tightness. We show that our proposed strategies outperform the conventional multi-hop scheme, and their average achievable rate approaches the upper bound at low levels of signal to noise ratios
A empirical mode decomposition approach to feature extraction of ship-radiated noise

How to obtain effective, reliable characteristic parameter from the limited measured data is a question of great importance in feature extraction. Based on self-adaptive filter action of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method, this paper drew statistic centre frequency of spectrum of intrinsic modes as new line spectrum characteristic of underwater acoustic signal, and adopted the law of nearest neighborhood to recognize. The characteristics used in this method include the highfrequency characteristics which other spectral analysis methods neglect, so it can get higher discrimination when ten types of objects are classed despite small sample volume and less data amount.
Elliptic Bandpass Filters Using Four TM/sub 010/ Dielectric Rod Resonators

Compact elliptic bandpass filters of three types are constructed by using four TM/sub 010/ dielectric rod resonators. Filters designed to have center frequencies of 3 to 5 GHz, relative bandwidths of 2 to 13 percent, insertion losses of 0.3 to 1.6 dB, and minimum stopband attenuations of 40 to 52 dB.
Rebirth of the corporation

COUNTERCONVENTIONAL LEADERSHIP Shortchanged by Traditional Ways Changing the Fundamentals: A One-Way Ticket to the Future Letting Go: Learning the Gorbachev Lesson It's Like a Beehive'': How Clusters Harness Cooperation and Competition Keeping Tight Control Is Out of Date'': The Revolution at British Petroleum Linking Strategy, Structure, and Attitudes: The Corporation of the Future WHAT MANAGERS CAN DO Seven Steps: How to Set Up Clusters What Would You Like to Do Here? '': Surviving and Prospering in a Cluster Organization New Visions Versus Old Habits: Managerial Practices for Clusters The Fourth Form: From Mob to Hierarchy to Matrix to Cluster Boxes and Circles: The Distinctive Organization Chart The Changing Role of Middle Managers Breaking New Ground at Du Pont THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE Empower Me: Catalysts for Clusters Caves and Coves: Physical Space for Clusters Working in Clusters at GE Canada Afterword Notes Index.
The Riskmetrics 2006 Methodology

The new RM2006 methodology to evaluate market risks is introduced. It is designed to be more accurate than the existing methodologies, and to be able to reach long risk horizons, up to one year. Consistency across risk horizons is obtained by building the methodology using a long memory ARCH process to compute the required forecasts. A large data set covering the main asset classes and geographical areas is used to validate the various sub-components of the methodology. Extensive backtesting using probtiles is done to assess the final performance, as well as the contributions of the various parts. One key quantitative result is that the new methodology applied to a risk horizon of three months is more accurate than the exponential moving average scheme at a risk horizon of one day. This quantitative improvement allows us to analyse risks in a portfolio both at tactical and strategic time horizons.
How Industrial Relations Affects Plant Performance: The Case of Commercial Aircraft Manufacturing

This analysis examines how changes in major industrial relations policies affected productivity over the years 1974–91 at one of the most important manufacturing plants in the United States. The authors find that productivity fell greatly, both in percentage terms and in absolute dollars, during strikes and a slowdown and during the terms of office of tough union leaders. In contrast with much of the firm performance literature, they find only small initial productivity effects of a movement from adversarial labor-management relations, which is the norm in this industry, to total quality management (TQM) and back again. How and why TQM is adopted, the authors suggest, may be as important as whether it is adopted. Finally, major industrial relations events like strikes, a slowdown, and the TQM program did not have long-term productivity effects; the firm returned to pre-event levels of productivity within one to four months.
Feasibility of Care Toy Early Intervention in infants with Down Syndrome

Background. CareToy (CT) System has been recently developed and validated in preterm infants with positive effects at short-term both on visual and motor development. Objective. We aimed to assess the feasibility of CT training in infants with Down Syndrome (DS) and to evaluate the effects of the CT training in promoting their neurodevelopment. Methods. 10 infants with DS aged 6.16 ± 1.54 months were recruited and allocated in two groups: CareToy (CT) or Standard Care (SC). 5 infants of the CT group performed CT Intervention in the clinical setting for 5 weeks; other 5 infants were followed as SC for the same period. Data about the feasibility of the intervention were collected. Moreover, all recruited infants performed motor and visual assessment at baseline (T0) and in the week after the CT or SC periods (T1; 5 weeks after T0). Results. All infants allocated in the CT group performed the CT training with good compliance. In all outcome measures the mean delta changes (T1-T0) showed promising positive effects of the training in the CT group, compared to SC. Conclusions. CT demonstrated its feasibility for providing EI also in infants with DS and its effects seems promising. However, further large RCT studies are needed.
PASSENGERS' BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS FOR INTERCITY BUS SERVICE IN TAIWAN: APPLICATION AND COMPARISON OF THE LISREL AND NEURAL NETWORKS

LISREL and neural networks have recently become popular methodology for causal models. However, few researches have applied either of these two methods in behavioral research of passengers. To investigate the differences between LISREL and neural networks in research of passengers’ behavioral intentions, this study applied these two methods to a case of inter city bus transport in Taiwan. First, we applied LISREL to test the goodness of fit of the research model. Second, two competitive models of the NN model were tested, in which one was the full connected network and the other was the non-full connection network. The results indicated that LISREL can be a convenient and effective analysis tool if the causal relationships are known. At the same time, no matter if the causality has been derived in advance or not, NN provided a suitable prediction after the proper training procedure.
Vestibular physical therapy improves turning not straight walking during the inertial sensor-instrumented Timed Up and Go test

Background: Deficits in vestibular function increase the risk for fall while turning. However, the clinical assessment of turning in patients with vestibular dysfunction is lacking, and evidence is limited that identifies how effective vestibular physical therapy (VPT) is for improving turning performance. Objective: To quantify and compare walking and turning performance during the instrumented timed up and go (TUG) test using inertial measurement units (IMUs) for clinical settings. We investigate novel instrumented TUG parameters for ability to distinguish patients with unilateral vestibular deafferentation (UVD) from control groups, and discriminate the differences in turning parameters of UVD patients following a VPT program. Methods: We recruited 38 patients following UVD surgery, 26 age-matched Veteran patient (VA) controls with reports of non-vestibular dizziness, and 12 age-matched healthy controls. Individuals were donned with body-worn IMUs and given verbal instructions to complete the TUG test as fast as safely possible. The IMU-instrumented and automated assessment of the TUG test provided component-based TUG parameters, including the novel walking:turning ratio. Among the UVD patients, 19 patients completed an additional instrumented TUG testing after VPT. Results: The walking:turning time ratio showed that turning performance in pre VPT UVD patients are significantly more impaired than VA patients and healthy controls (p < 0.001). Vestibular rehabilitation significantly improved turning performance and “normalized” their walking:turning time ratio compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001). However, the duration of the straight walking component in UVD patients before VPT was not significantly different as to that after VPT as well as healthy controls. Conclusions: Our data showed that the IMU-instrumented TUG test can distinguish patients with vestibular deafferentation and objectively quantify the change in their turning performance after surgery. The IMU-based instrumented TUG parameters have potential to quantify the efficacy of VPT and be adopted in the clinic.
Calculation of Droplet Size and Formation Time in Electrohydrodynamic Based Pulsatile Drug Delivery System

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) generation, a commonly used method in BioMEMS, plays a significant role in the pulsed-release drug delivery system for a decade. In this paper, an EHD based drug delivery system is well designed, which can be used to generate a single drug droplet as small as 2.83 nL in 8.5 ms with a total device of 2x2x3 mm^3, and an external supplied voltage of 1500 V. Theoretically, we derive the expressions for the size and the formation time of a droplet generated by EHD method, while taking into account the drug supply rate, properties of liquid, gap between electrodes, nozzle size, and charged droplet neutralization. This work proves a repeatable, stable and controllable droplet generation and delivery system based on EHD method.
Neural nonpartisans

ABSTRACT While affective conflict between partisans is driving much of modern politics, it is also driving increasing numbers to eschew partisan labels. A dominant theory is that these self-proclaimed independents are merely covert partisans. In the largest functional brain imaging study of neuropolitics to date, we find differences between partisans and nonpartisans in the right medial temporal pole, orbitofrontal/medial prefrontal cortex, and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, three regions often engaged during social cognition. These results suggest that rather than being simply covert partisans, nonpartisans process the world in a way different from their partisan counterparts.
Homicide in Australia 2017-18

The National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) is Australia’s only national data collection on homicide incidents, victims and offenders. This report describes the 196 homicide incidents recorded by Australian state and territory police (except Australian Capital Territory) between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018. During this 12-month period there were 202 victims of homicide and 213 identified offenders. All but two incidents involved a single victim and offender and three-quarters of homicide victims knew the offender. The intimate partner homicide rate for women was 0.33 per 100,000, the lowest rate recorded since the commencement of the NHMP in 1989–90.
A methodology for implementing total productive maintenance in the commercial aircraft industry

The Boeing Company is currently undertaking a metamorphosis in order to become more competitive in the commercial airplane market. A large component of this change is an effort to improve manufacturing capabilities, while reducing overall production costs. To accomplish these goals, Boeing must improve both the quality of their products and the reliability of their production equipment. The implementation of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), applied in the proper environment, can provide Boeing with an effective set of processes to drastically improve their manufacturing effectiveness through more reliable production equipment. However, Boeing currently does not have a reliable, repeatable methodology for implementing TPM. The intent of this research is to establish an effective approach for implementing TPM. Many new manufacturing processes are being introduced to improve Boeing's manufacturing capabilities. One of these processes is based on the concept of using 'self-locating' parts that are assembled via coordinated holes, which allows the elimination of a significant number of assembly fixtures and replace them with a single, flexible Computer-Numerically Controlled (CNC) work cell. This assembly method improves the flexibility of the manufacturing system and reduces hardware variability associated with tooling fixtures. Since this CNC equipment determines the final product configuration, any variation in this equipment's performance directly affects the variation in the production parts. This direct linkage requires an increased emphasis on equipment performance. By implementing TPM in these situations, the manufacturing costs associated with variability in both product quality and production schedules can be reduced. This thesis contains the results of a six month internship at the Boeing Company in the 757 Fuselage Assembly Business Unit. The following conclusions are provided: * These new aircraft assembly methods increase the dependence on equipment performance * TPM reduces the manufacturing costs associated with equipment performance * The existing TPM activities within the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group provide a rich source of TPM implementation lessons learned which can be applied to other facilities Thesis Supervisors: Professor Eugene E. Covert, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Professor Janice A. Klein, Sloan School of Management