Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accurate statistical circuit simulation in the presence of statistical variability

Semiconductor device performance variation due to the granular nature of charge and matter has become a key problem in the semiconductor industry. The main sources of this ‘statistical’ variability include random discrete dopants (RDD), line edge roughness (LER) and metal gate granularity (MGG). These variability sources have been studied extensively, however a methodology has not been developed to accurately represent this variability at a circuit and system level. In order to accurately represent statistical variability in real devices the GSS simulation toolchain was utilised to simulate 10,000 20/22nm n- and p-channel transistors including RDD, LER and MGG variability sources. A statistical compact modelling methodology was developed which accurately captured the behaviour of the simulated transistors, and produced compact model parameter distributions suitable for advanced compact model generation strategies like PCA and NPM. The resultant compact model libraries were then utilised to evaluate the impact of statistical variability on SRAM design, and to quantitatively evaluate the difference between accurate compact model generation using NPM with the Gaussian VT methodology. Over 5 million dynamic write simulations were performed, and showed that at advanced technology nodes, statistical variability cannot be accurately represented using Gaussian VT . The results also show that accurate modelling techniques can help reduced design margins by elimiating some of the pessimism of standard variability modelling approaches.
To hoard or to share? Strategic management of knowledge and ICTs in complex economic systems

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to achieve a better understanding of the effects of strategic decisions related to the management of knowledge taken by organizations in complex economic systems. These effects are seen in the long term performance of organizations in the system choosing different strategic paths. As knowledge-related processes make intensive use of ICTs, the influence of the degree of development of these technologies is taken into account.Design/methodology/approach: An agent-based simulation model, ImbySim, based in the I-Space conceptual framework, is used to represent the evolution of a group of knowledge-intensive organizations located in a given geographic space. Those organizations engage, among others, in processes of creation and transfer of knowledge assets. Organizations show different levels of performance, which may be related to their knowledge-related strategic choices. The main knowledge-related strategies available for the agents are, on one side, sharing or hoarding knowledge and, on the other side, structuring or de-structuring knowledge.Findings: The results of the simulation suggest that it is not adequate to adopt an 'always sharing' or 'always hoarding' strategy. The hoarding or sharing of knolwedge assets need to be applied in a discriminating way depending on the specific asset or the situation of the organization. Also, different levels of development of ICTs favour different strategic choices concerning the adequate structuring of knowledge assets and the degree of knowledge sharing. In general terms, ICT development calls for more sharing and more structuring of knowledge.Originality/value: From the simulations, a number of empirically testable hypotheses have been extracted. Should these hypotheses get empirically corroborated, they would challenge a certain body of theorising—associated with organizational ecology and organizational demography—thus demonstrating the fruitfulness of the simulation approach to complex knowledge-based problems in the field of strategy.Practical implications: The hypotheses developed from this research may be very useful, once empirically tested, for strategic planning. Policy makers in charge of complex economic systems and firms and institutions present in them may benefit from the insights obtained and define their strategic moves according to them.
The McKibben muscle and its use in actuating robot‐arms showing similarities with human arm behaviour

Describes the McKibben muscle and its major properties. Outlines the analogy between this artificial muscle and the skeletal muscle. Describes the actuator composed of two McKibben muscles set into antagonism based on the model of the biceps‐triceps system, and explains its natural compliance in analogy with our joint litheness. Reports some control experiments developed on a two d.o. f. robot actuated by McKibben muscles which emphasize the ability of these robot‐arms to move in contact with their environment as well as moving loads of high ratio to the robot’s own weight. Also outlines control difficulties and accuracy limitations and discusses applications.
CPW-fed ultra-wideband antenna with triple-band notch function

Proposed is the design strategy for the triple-band notched ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna emphasising the rejection characteristic at 3.5/5.5/8.2 GHz bands. The essence of the design strategy is embedding the three notching elements onto the primitive antenna to serve as respective stop band filters. On embedding, the hot issue is how to minimise the level of cross-coupling among the three elements because no coupling leads to set its distinct stop bands orthogonally. Owing to the complete unmatched appearances in shapes and the optimised arrangement of elements, they are least of all in the coupling and thus the proposed antenna can be engineered to operate at specific frequencies. Measured results show the validity of the suggested design strategy.
Broadband transition between half mode substrate integrated waveguide and rectangular waveguide

A broadband transition between a half mode substrate integrated waveguide and a rectangular waveguide with an antipodal fin-line in its quasi-TEM mode is presented. Experimental results show about 1.3 dB insertion loss and below 15 dB return loss for a back-to-back double transition over 10 GHz bandwidth from 26.5 to 40 GHz (the single transition insertion loss is about 0.65 dB). The transition may be used in low-loss and low-noise front-end circuits of the microwave and millimetre-wave bands.
Identifying Customer Needs: Disabled Persons as Lead Users

In product development it is essential to understand what users need. But as current users are functionally fixed, they are not able to provide information that would help develop breakthrough products. Lead users — users that currently experience needs still unknown to the public — are better able to identify and communicate their needs, but identifying lead users is difficult. We show through a case study on mobile phones that extraordinary users, disabled persons in this example, can be seen as lead users. We show how these extraordinary users do experience similar needs as the ordinary users and, in addition, the extraordinary users experience, and are able to communicate, needs that the ordinary users do not yet have, and thus extraordinary users are a valuable resource in customer need identification.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Self-adaptive power saving mechanism for M2M

Recently, M2M (Machine-to-machine) communications are gaining more prominence in wireless communication. However, there are so many differences between human-to-human communications and M2M. This paper focuses on solutions to provide longer battery life time. To save battery power, we studied the discontinuous reception DRX mechanism of M2M devices and proposed a novel self-adaptive DRX mechanism based on mix normal and extended DRX cycles mechanism. The proposed mechanism is a trade-off between power consumption and latency acording to different QoS requirements. The simulation shows the advantages of this new solution for M2M UE power saving.
A Numerical Study of Multiple Fuel Injection Strategies for NOx Reduction from DI Diesel Engines

Diesel engines are becoming more and more popular as a power source due to their better fuel efficiency over gasoline engines. On the other hand, diesel engines have higher NOx and particular matter emissions compared with gasoline engines. Stringent emission regulations on internal combustion engines have been implemented by governments all over the world, especially in USA, Europe and Japan. NOx emission control has become one of the biggest challenges in the design of diesel engines. Previous experiments and simulations have shown the potential of the multiple fuel injection strategy in reducing NOx emission from diesel engines. In this study, detailed numerical simulations have been conducted for up to 5-split fuel injections as compared to the conventional single fuel injection strategy. The software package employed in this study is KIVA-3V release 2, a multi-dimensional computational code for solving chemically reacting flow problems. The combination of the multiple fuel injection strategy with the Exhaust Gas Recirculation technique is studied as well. The results from this study have demonstrated that the use of the multiple fuel injection strategy can effectively reduce the NOx emission from diesel engines. Combined with other NOx reduction techniques, the multiple fuel injection strategy is a very promising way for modern diesel engines to meet the ever-stringent emission standards.
RBF Neural Network Used on Universal Intelligent Monitoring System in Heavy Machinery

In the intelligent monitoring system of heavy machinery, the key technology is control algorithm because it is difficult to formulate exact mathematical model to the nonlinear and time-varying characteristic in heavy machinery. The monitoring system is firstly designed and developed for the universal system in heavy machinery. And then, RBF Neural Network is applied in the control strategy by OD2131 MCU(micro controller unit). The simulated curve is displayed by Matlab. Their dada communication between OD2131 MCU and Matlab is in CANopen protocol. Finally, the simulation is made for an electric motor. The simulation results show that adding artificial neural network compensation can enhance the accuracy in the intelligent control system.
VERGLEICH DER KAVITATION BEI VERSCHIEDENEN STOSSWELLENGENERATOREN

Beim Vergleich verschiedener Stoßwellengeneratoren im Hinblick auf deren Wirkung auf Körpersteine bzw. deren Nebenwirkung auf Organe spielt Kavitation eine wichtige Rolle /1,2/. Ebenso findet die Beschallung von Krebszellen-Suspensionen, Zellverbänden und Tumorgeweben mit transienten Hochenergieschallpulsen steigendes Interesse /3-6/. Solche Hochleistungs-Schallpuls-Generatoren wurden für Beschallungsexperimente an biologischen Systemen in vitro und in vivo eingesetzt. Mit einer mobilen Fotoapparatur /7/ wurden KavitationsVorgänge in Wasserschallfeldern fotografiert, die von folgenden piezoelektrischen und elektrohydraulischen Stoßwellen-Quellen generiert wurden: MW2 : piezoelektrischer Schwingungspuls-Generator. Zentriwinkel: 130°, 20 cm akustischer Laufweg 32 cm Apertur, 20 cm Brennweite P23 : piezoelektrischer Stoßwellen-Generator, vergleichbar dem des Lithotriptors Piezolith 2300 Zentriwinkel: ~70°, ~35 cm akustischer Laufweg "^0 cm Apertur, ^35 cm Brennweite XL1 : elektrohydraulischer Stoßwellen-Generator, vergleichbar dem des Lithotriptors HM3 mit 8o'nF. Zentriwinkel: 68°; akustischer Laufweg: 22 cm l60 cm Abstand der Ellipsoid-Foki Apertur des Reflektors: 14 cm. Anmerkung: Im XL1 entstehen die Stoßwellen bereits an der Stoßwellen-Funkenstrecke, werden dann über einen Teil-Ellipsoid-Reflektor fokussiert und laufen als aufgestellte Stoßwelle auf den Fokus zu. Bei den piezoelektrischen Generatoren tritt Stoßwellenausbildung erst im Verlauf der Ausbreitung in Richtung Fokus ab Fokusnähe auf. MW2 erzeugt eine 380 kHz-Ultraschallschwingung von ca 5 Perioden während die Typen, P23, XL1 im wesentlichen singuläre Druckpulse abgeben. Dies bewirkt a priori erhebliche Abweichungen in der Raumgestalt und im Zeitablauf der erzeugten KavitationsVorgänge. Bei allen gezeigten Aufnahmen wurde entgastes Wasser ( < 3 mg 02/1 ) benutzt. Vergleich des MW2 mit dem XL1 In /8/ wurden die beiden Geräte MW2 und XL1 u.a. bezüglich ihrer Wirkung auf in Gelatine eingebettete Tumor-Zellspheroide einander gegenübergestellt. Auf diese hatten 250 Pulse aus dem XL1 keinen Einfluß, von 250 Schüssen des MW2 hingegen wurden sie zerstört. Nach Meinung der Autoren ist dies hauptsächlich auf die kleinen Abmessungen des MW2-Fokalbereiches zurückzuführen, auf lokal begrenzte Kavitation und druckphasenunterstütze Blasenkollapse. Die Fotodokumentation dient hier als Stütze dieser These. Im Folgenden werden Aufnahmen einander gegenübergestellt, die hinsichtlich Bildausschnitt und Zeitverzögerung des Blitzeinsatzes zueinander passen. Im Bild beschallen die Generatoren dabei immer von links. Zeitbezugspunkt ist derjenige Moment, an dem der Schallpuls den Fokus erreicht hat. Aus Abb.l und Abb.2 kann kann der Größenunterschied der Fokalzonen von MW2 und XL1 entnommen werden.
Comparative Study Of Quality Practices Between Japanese And Non–Japanese Based Electrical And Electronics Companies In Malaysia: A Survey

Kertas kerja ini membentangkan keputusan kajian perbandingan amalan kualiti antara syarikat Jepun dengan bukan Jepun di Malaysia. Objektif utama kajian adalah untuk menyelidik perbezaan yang mungkin wujud antara kedua-dua jenis syarikat dalam melaksanakan pengurusan kualiti. Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, satu soal selidik telah dibangunkan, disahkan dan dihantar kepada 370 syarikat dalam sektor industri elektrik dan elektronik, dan kadar respon ialah 21.9 peratus. Keputusan kajian menunjuk bahawa syarikat Jepun memiliki tahap amalan kualiti lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan syarikat bukan Jepun. Lima amalan kualiti yang tertinggi dengan perbezaan besar berbanding syarikat bukan Jepun ialah; kumpulan meningkat kualiti (KMK), penambahbaikan pembekal, pengunaan Analisis Mod Kegagalan dan Kesan (FMEA), pelaksanaan Kejuruteraan Nilai (VE) dan pelaksanaan pengekosan kualiti. Amalan ISO 9001 didapati tertinggi nilai kegunaan dalam semua syarikat yang dikaji. Hasil kajian juga menunjukkan bahawa pemeriksaan dalam proses, aktiviti 5S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke), audit kualiti dalaman dan pelaksanaan perancangan dan kawalan pengeluaran pada tahap tinggi dalam semua syarikat. Hasil penyelidikan ini mengarah kepada perlunya penekanan yang lebih dalam amalan kualiti terkurang oleh syarikat bukan Jepun dalam usaha peningkatan kualiti masa depan. Kata kunci: Amalan kualiti, Jepun, bukan Jepun, elektrik dan elektronik This paper presents the results of a study on the comparison of quality practices between Japanese and non–Japanese companies in Malaysia. The main objective is to investigate the differences that may exist between them in implementing quality management. Towards that end, a questionnaire was developed, validated and sent out to 370 companies in the electrical and electronics sector and the survey gave a response rate of 21.9 per cent. The results show that Japanese companies have higher levels of quality activities when compared to non–Japanese companies. The top five quality activities with big gap against non–Japanese companies are; quality control circle, supplier improvement, application of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), conducting Value Engineering (VE) and implementing quality costing. ISO 9001 was found to be the most useful practice in all the companies surveyed. The results also showed that in–process inspection, 5S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke) activities, internal quality audit and conducting production planning and control have high practice level in all companies. The findings of this research points to the need for much greater emphasis on quality practices found lacking by non–Japanese companies in their future quality improvement efforts. Key words: Quality practices, Japanese, non–Japanese, electrical and electronics
Railway Panorama: A Fast Inspection Method for High-Speed Railway Infrastructure Monitoring

At present, the comprehensive inspection trains of all countries in the world are equipped with an environmental video inspection system. The running environment is monitored by manual analysis of the video data, which is labor intensive and inefficient. In this paper, we propose a fast and intelligent inspection method for high-speed railway infrastructure monitoring. A railway environment video is acquired by an imaging device installed on a high-speed integrated detection train, and the forward-looking video is used to establish a panoramic imaging model by constructing the rectangular sampling area having a dynamic width from each frame of the video sequence, which covers the four side scenes of the railway and generate four panoramic images through image stitching technology. The experimental analysis indicates that proposed method makes the examination and analysis of video faster, simpler and more intelligent, which not only simplifies video content and reduces the time cost for users to browse video; but is also more feasible to run automatic identification algorithm on the compressed panoramic image for realizing the automatic intelligent detection of railway environment anomalies.
Reserch on Removal Technology of Snowflakes in Video Images

Using improved K-means clustering method to remove snowflakes in video images getted in snowy day is put forward. According to the brightness changes of the image, we clustering estimate brightness changes of all the pixels in the image by using background brightness values instead of the brightness values of the snowflakes to achieve the goal of removing snowflakes. The results of experiment show that the processing effect of the method is very obvious for light snow and heavy snow, and even storm snow.It can get good results.
Dependence of the Efficiency of the Nonlinear‐Optical Response of Materials on their Linear Permittivity and Permeability

The dependence of the efficiency of various nonlinear‐optical processes on the background linear relative electric permittivity ϵ and magnetic permeability μ of the material is analytically and numerically investigated. The conversion efficiency of low‐order harmonic‐generation processes, as well as the increase rate of Kerr‐effect nonlinear phase shift and nonlinear losses from two‐photon absorption (TPA), are seen to increase with decreasing ϵ and/or increasing μ. The rationale and physical insights behind this nonlinear response are also discussed, particularly its enhancement in ϵ‐near‐zero (ENZ) media. This behavior is consistent with the experimental observation of intriguingly high effective nonlinear refractive indices in degenerate semiconductors such as indium tin oxide and aluminum oxide (where the nonlinearity is attributed to a modification of the energy distribution of conduction‐band electrons due to laser‐induced electron heating) at frequencies with vanishing real part of the linear permittivity. Such strong nonlinear response can pave the way for a new paradigm in nonlinear optics with much higher conversion efficiencies and therefore better miniaturization capabilities and power requirements for next‐generation integrated nanophotonics. It is concluded that the major contribution to the enhanced nonlinear response of ENZ materials arises from propagation effects, that is, the appearance of ϵ and μ in the reduced wave equation describing the interaction.
Optimization of Condition-Based Maintenance Policy for Deteriorating System Based on Monte-Carlo Simulation

Condition-based Maintenance (CBM) can not only efficiently improve the performance of deteriorating system but also guarantee the system operation safety. This paper assumes that the system state is periodically inspected, and a preventive maintenance is performed if the degradation level exceeds a threshold. The effect of maintenance is imperfect, which means that maintenance can restore the system state to somewhere between as good as new and as bad as old. The algorithm is presented to get the solution of long run cost based on Monte-Carlo simulation, and the joint optimization of inspection rate, the threshold value and the number of preventive maintenance activities is investigated for the minimization of long run cost rate. A case study is given to show the procedure of the maintenance model and simulation. Therefore, the correctness and rationality of the model are proved.
Torsion measurement by using FBG sensors

In this paper we studied the potential of using FBG strain sensors to measure the torsion deformation theoretically and experimentally. FBG strain sensors are bonded on the surface of a shaft. When the shaft under torsion there is strain induced in the FBG sensor and the Bragg wavelength will shift accordingly. According to the wavelength shift and photoelastic properties of the FBG sensor bonded on the shaft the torsion deformation of the shaft can be obtained. In order to minimize the measurement error the optimal direction of the FBG sensor was obtained. The influence of the orientation deviation of the FBG sensor was discussed in detail. The feasibility of this method is demonstrated by experiment and the test results agree with the theoretical analysis very well.
From virtuality to reality: Individualized freeform model design and rapid manufacturing

Individuation, customer involvement, and rapid prototyping are crucial factors for developing a new product. A novel method addresses these issues by allowing both professional designers and general customers to freely express their design ideas for creating freeform product models and quickly developing physical prototypes. A virtual design environment is created to achieve natural human–computer interaction and multidesigners' collaboration via the Internet. Ray‐casting and other techniques are adopted to achieve real‐time calculation, stereo display, and haptic feedback. A design and manufacturing experiment is conducted to test feasibility and provide a preliminary understanding of how to improve this method. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 445–459, 2005.
Effects of vibration push force, exposure duration and working posture on operators performing a grinding task

It has been shown that vibration level, push force, exposure duration and working posture cause unfavorable effects on the work performance when hand held vibrating tools are used by operators. The present study analyzed the effects of these variables on the heart rate and systolic blood pressure of the operators carrying out a manual-grinding task. Four levels of vibration (12.5, 13.6, 14.8 and 18 m/s 2 ), three levels of push force (5, 10, 15 N), three levels of working posture (180 ◦ , 150 ◦ and 120 ◦ elbow flexion) and three exposure durations of 3, 5 and 7 min were selected for the study. Thirty male subjects with no prior experience in the field of grinding participated in the study. Results indicated that in the kind of task undertaken, the main effect of equivalent level of vibration, exposure duration, push force and working posture were all statistically significant. Also an increase in the change in blood pressure and heart rate values were observed with the increase in exposure duration and push force. When the task was performed with flexion angle of 120 ◦ , change in heart rate and blood pressure values was minimum when compared with the other two working postures. Relevance to industry: Workers using various hand held tools are prone to injuries. Present research may help greatly in reducing task related injuries and enhance performance.
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EMPLOYMENT 2017Louis W. Menk Endowed Chair, Northwestern University 2012 Professor, Department of Psychology & IPR Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University 2010 2012 Professor, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia 2005 2010 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia 2003 – 2005 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia 2000 – 2003 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis