Design automation for integrated nonlinear logic circuits (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Van Vaerenbergh, Thomas; Pelc, Jason; Santori, Charles; Bose, Ranojoy; Kielpinski, Dave; Beausoleil, Raymond G.

2016-05-01

A key enabler of the IT revolution of the late 20th century was the development of electronic design automation (EDA) tools allowing engineers to manage the complexity of electronic circuits with transistor counts now reaching into the billions. Recently, we have been developing large-scale nonlinear photonic integrated logic circuits for next generation all-optical information processing. At this time a sufficiently powerful EDA-style software tool chain to design this type of complex circuits does not yet exist. Here we describe a hierarchical approach to automating the design and validation of photonic integrated circuits, which can scale to several orders of magnitude higher complexity than the state of the art. Most photonic integrated circuits developed today consist of a small number of components, and only limited hierarchy. For example, a simple photonic transceiver may contain on the order of 10 building-block components, consisting of grating couplers for photonic I/O, modulators, and signal splitters/combiners. Because this is relatively easy to lay out by hand (or simple script) existing photonic design tools have relatively little automation in comparison to electronics tools. But demonstrating all-optical logic will require significantly more complex photonic circuits containing up to 1,000 components, hence becoming infeasible to design manually. Our design framework is based off Python-based software from Luceda Photonics which provides an environment to describe components, simulate their behavior, and export design files (GDS) to foundries for fabrication. At a fundamental level, a photonic component is described as a parametric cell (PCell) similarly to electronics design. PCells are described by geometric characteristics of their layout. A critical part of the design framework is the implementation of PCells as Python objects. PCell objects can then use inheritance to simplify design, and hierarchical designs can be made by creating composite

Automated Quantitative Rare Earth Elements Mineralogy by Scanning Electron Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Sindern, Sven; Meyer, F. Michael

2016-09-01

Increasing industrial demand of rare earth elements (REEs) stems from the central role they play for advanced technologies and the accelerating move away from carbon-based fuels. However, REE production is often hampered by the chemical, mineralogical as well as textural complexity of the ores with a need for better understanding of their salient properties. This is not only essential for in-depth genetic interpretations but also for a robust assessment of ore quality and economic viability. The design of energy and cost-efficient processing of REE ores depends heavily on information about REE element deportment that can be made available employing automated quantitative process mineralogy. Quantitative mineralogy assigns numeric values to compositional and textural properties of mineral matter. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with a suitable software package for acquisition of backscatter electron and X-ray signals, phase assignment and image analysis is one of the most efficient tools for quantitative mineralogy. The four different SEM-based automated quantitative mineralogy systems, i.e. FEI QEMSCAN and MLA, Tescan TIMA and Zeiss Mineralogic Mining, which are commercially available, are briefly characterized. Using examples of quantitative REE mineralogy, this chapter illustrates capabilities and limitations of automated SEM-based systems. Chemical variability of REE minerals and analytical uncertainty can reduce performance of phase assignment. This is shown for the REE phases parisite and synchysite. In another example from a monazite REE deposit, the quantitative mineralogical parameters surface roughness and mineral association derived from image analysis are applied for automated discrimination of apatite formed in a breakdown reaction of monazite and apatite formed by metamorphism prior to monazite breakdown. SEM-based automated mineralogy fulfils all requirements for characterization of complex unconventional REE ores that will become

An Intelligent Automation Platform for Rapid Bioprocess Design

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tianyi

2014-01-01

Bioprocess development is very labor intensive, requiring many experiments to characterize each unit operation in the process sequence to achieve product safety and process efficiency. Recent advances in microscale biochemical engineering have led to automated experimentation. A process design workflow is implemented sequentially in which (1) a liquid-handling system performs high-throughput wet lab experiments, (2) standalone analysis devices detect the data, and (3) specific software is used for data analysis and experiment design given the user’s inputs. We report an intelligent automation platform that integrates these three activities to enhance the efficiency of such a workflow. A multiagent intelligent architecture has been developed incorporating agent communication to perform the tasks automatically. The key contribution of this work is the automation of data analysis and experiment design and also the ability to generate scripts to run the experiments automatically, allowing the elimination of human involvement. A first-generation prototype has been established and demonstrated through lysozyme precipitation process design. All procedures in the case study have been fully automated through an intelligent automation platform. The realization of automated data analysis and experiment design, and automated script programming for experimental procedures has the potential to increase lab productivity. PMID:24088579

Verification of the thermal design of electronic equipment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hienonen, R.; Karjalainen, M.; Lankinen, R. [VTT Automation, Espoo (Finland). ProTechno

1997-12-31

The project `Verification of the thermal design of electronic equipment` studied the methodology to be followed in the verification of thermal design of electronic equipment. This project forms part of the `Cool Electronics` research programme funded by TEKES, the Finnish Technology Development Centre. This project was carried out jointly by VTT Automation, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Nokia Research Center and ABB Industry Oy VSD-Technology. The thermal design of electronic equipment has a significant impact on the cost, reliability, tolerance to different environments, selection of components and materials, and ergonomics of the product. This report describes the method for verification of thermal design. It assesses the goals set for thermal design, environmental requirements, technical implementation of the design, thermal simulation and modelling, and design qualification testing and the measurements needed. The verification method covers all packaging levels of electronic equipment from the system level to the electronic component level. The method described in this report can be used as part of the quality system of a corporation. The report includes information about the measurement and test methods needed in the verification process. Some measurement methods for the temperature, flow and pressure of air are described. (orig.) Published in Finnish VTT Julkaisuja 824. 22 refs.

Co-creative design developments for accessibility and home automation

OpenAIRE

Taib, SM; De Coster, R; Sabri Tekantape, E

2017-01-01

The term “Home Automation” can be referred to a networked home, which provides electronically controlled security and convenience for its users. Home automation is also defined as the integration of home-based technology and services for a better quality of living (Quynh, et al., 2012). The main purpose of home automation technologies is to enhance home comfort for everyone through the automation of higher security, domestic tasks and easy communication. Home automation should be able to enha...

Designing and implementing test automation frameworks with QTP

CERN Document Server

Bhargava, Ashish

2013-01-01

A tutorial-based approach, showing basic coding and designing techniques to build test automation frameworks.If you are a beginner, an automation engineer, an aspiring test automation engineer, a manual tester, a test lead or a test architect who wants to learn, create, and maintain test automation frameworks, this book will accelerate your ability to develop and adapt the framework.

Design Automation Algorithm for Soft Robots

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The majority of design to manufacturing today is still an ad hoc and empirical process. There is a direct need for a single, automated design and fabrication...

PleurAlert: an augmented chest drainage system with electronic sensing, automated alerts and internet connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Leeson, Cory E; Weaver, Robert A; Bissell, Taylor; Hoyer, Rachel; McClain, Corinne; Nelson, Douglas A; Samosky, Joseph T

2012-01-01

We have enhanced a common medical device, the chest tube drainage container, with electronic sensing of fluid volume, automated detection of critical alarm conditions and the ability to automatically send alert text messages to a nurse's cell phone. The PleurAlert system provides a simple touch-screen interface and can graphically display chest tube output over time. Our design augments a device whose basic function dates back 50 years by adding technology to automate and optimize a monitoring process that can be time consuming and inconvenient for nurses. The system may also enhance detection of emergency conditions and speed response time.

Designing a Software Test Automation Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabina AMARICAI

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Testing is an art and science that should ultimately lead to lower cost businesses through increasing control and reducing risk. Testing specialists should thoroughly understand the system or application from both the technical and the business perspective, and then design, build and implement the minimum-cost, maximum-coverage validation framework. Test Automation is an important ingredient for testing large scale applications. In this paper we discuss several test automation frameworks, their advantages and disadvantages. We also propose a custom automation framework model that is suited for applications with very complex business requirements and numerous interfaces.

Automated design of degenerate codon libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Mena, Marco A; Daugherty, Patrick S

2005-12-01

Degenerate codon libraries are frequently used in protein engineering and evolution studies but are often limited to targeting a small number of positions to adequately limit the search space. To mitigate this, codon degeneracy can be limited using heuristics or previous knowledge of the targeted positions. To automate design of libraries given a set of amino acid sequences, an algorithm (LibDesign) was developed that generates a set of possible degenerate codon libraries, their resulting size, and their score relative to a user-defined scoring function. A gene library of a specified size can then be constructed that is representative of the given amino acid distribution or that includes specific sequences or combinations thereof. LibDesign provides a new tool for automated design of high-quality protein libraries that more effectively harness existing sequence-structure information derived from multiple sequence alignment or computational protein design data.

XVI International symposium on nuclear electronics and VI International school on automation and computing in nuclear physics and astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Churin, I.N.

1995-01-01

Reports and papers of the 16- International Symposium on nuclear electronics and the 6- International school on automation and computing in nuclear physics and astrophysics are presented. The latest achievements in the field of development of fact - response electronic circuits designed for detecting and spectrometric facilities are studied. The peculiar attention is paid to the systems for acquisition, processing and storage of experimental data. The modern equipment designed for data communication in the computer networks is studied

Model-Based approaches to Human-Automation Systems Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jamieson, Greg A.; Andersson, Jonas; Bisantz, Ann

2012-01-01

Human-automation interaction in complex systems is common, yet design for this interaction is often conducted without explicit consideration of the role of the human operator. Fortunately, there are a number of modeling frameworks proposed for supporting this design activity. However...... (and reportedly one or two critics) can engage one another on several agreed questions about such frameworks. The goal is to aid non-aligned practitioners in choosing between alternative frameworks for their human-automation interaction design challenges....

Controller Design Automation for Aeroservoelastic Design Optimization of Wind Turbines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ashuri, T.; Van Bussel, G.J.W.; Zaayer, M.B.; Van Kuik, G.A.M.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to integrate the controller design of wind turbines with structure and aerodynamic analysis and use the final product in the design optimization process (DOP) of wind turbines. To do that, the controller design is automated and integrated with an aeroelastic simulation

Automated mixed traffic vehicle design AMTV 2

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, A. R.; Marks, R. A.; Cassell, P. L.

1982-01-01

The design of an improved and enclosed Automated Mixed Traffic Transit (AMTT) vehicle is described. AMTT is an innovative concept for low-speed tram-type transit in which suitable vehicles are equipped with sensors and controls to permit them to operate in an automated mode on existing road or walkway surfaces. The vehicle chassis and body design are presented in terms of sketches and photographs. The functional design of the sensing and control system is presented, and modifications which could be made to the baseline design for improved performance, in particular to incorporate a 20-mph capability, are also discussed. The vehicle system is described at the block-diagram-level of detail. Specifications and parameter values are given where available.

Automated cleaning of electronic components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drotning, W.; Meirans, L.; Wapman, W.; Hwang, Y.; Koenig, L.; Petterson, B.

1994-01-01

Environmental and operator safety concerns are leading to the elimination of trichloroethylene and chlorofluorocarbon solvents in cleaning processes that remove rosin flux, organic and inorganic contamination, and particulates from electronic components. Present processes depend heavily on these solvents for manual spray cleaning of small components and subassemblies. Use of alternative solvent systems can lead to longer processing times and reduced quality. Automated spray cleaning can improve the quality of the cleaning process, thus enabling the productive use of environmentally conscious materials, while minimizing personnel exposure to hazardous materials. We describe the development of a prototype robotic system for cleaning electronic components in a spray cleaning workcell. An important feature of the prototype system is the capability to generate the robot paths and motions automatically from the CAD models of the part to be cleaned, and to embed cleaning process knowledge into the automatically programmed operations

Automated minimax design of networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Kaj; Schjær-Jacobsen, Hans; Voldby, J

1975-01-01

A new gradient algorithm for the solution of nonlinear minimax problems has been developed. The algorithm is well suited for automated minimax design of networks and it is very simple to use. It compares favorably with recent minimax and leastpth algorithms. General convergence problems related...

Automated rapid particle investigation using scanning electron microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Jerod Laurence

The chemical composition of fly ash particles has been known to vary significantly depending on a number of factors. Current bulk methods of investigation including X-Ray Fluorescence and X-Ray Diffraction are thought to be inadequate in determining the performance of fly ash in concrete. It is the goal of this research to develop a method of Automated Rapid Particle Investigation that will not look at fly ash as a bulk material but as individual particles. By examining each particle individually scientists and engineers will have the ability to study the variation in chemical composition by comparing the chemistry present in each particle. The method of investigation developed by this research provides a practical technique that will allow the automated chemical analysis of hundreds, or even thousands, of fly ash particles in a matter of minutes upon completion of sample preparation and automated scanning electron microscope (ASEM) scanning. This research does not examine the significance of the chemical compounds discovered; rather, only the investigation methodology is discussed. Further research will be done to examine the importance of the chemistry discovered with this automated rapid particle investigation technique.

DESIGN OF SMALL AUTOMATION WORK CELL SYSTEM DEMONSTRATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TURNER, C.; PEHL, J.

2000-01-01

The introduction of automation systems into many of the facilities dealing with the production, use and disposition of nuclear materials has been an ongoing objective. Many previous attempts have been made, using a variety of monolithic and, in some cases, modular technologies. Many of these attempts were less than successful, owing to the difficulty of the problem, the lack of maturity of the technology, and over optimism about the capabilities of a particular system. Consequently, it is not surprising that suggestions that automation can reduce worker Occupational Radiation Exposure (ORE) levels are often met with skepticism and caution. The development of effective demonstrations of these technologies is of vital importance if automation is to become an acceptable option for nuclear material processing environments. The University of Texas Robotics Research Group (UTRRG) has been pursuing the development of technologies to support modular small automation systems (each of less than 5 degrees-of-freedom) and the design of those systems for more than two decades. Properly designed and implemented, these technologies have a potential to reduce the worker ORE associated with work in nuclear materials processing facilities. Successful development of systems for these applications requires the development of technologies that meet the requirements of the applications. These application requirements form a general set of rules that applicable technologies and approaches need to adhere to, but in and of themselves are generally insufficient for the design of a specific automation system. For the design of an appropriate system, the associated task specifications and relationships need to be defined. These task specifications also provide a means by which appropriate technology demonstrations can be defined. Based on the requirements and specifications of the operations of the Advanced Recovery and Integrated Extraction System (ARIES) pilot line at Los Alamos National

Toward designing for trust in database automation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duez, P. P.; Jamieson, G. A. [Cognitive Engineering Laboratory, Univ. of Toronto, 5 King' s College Rd., Toronto, Ont. M5S 3G8 (Canada)

2006-07-01

Appropriate reliance on system automation is imperative for safe and productive work, especially in safety-critical systems. It is unsafe to rely on automation beyond its designed use; conversely, it can be both unproductive and unsafe to manually perform tasks that are better relegated to automated tools. Operator trust in automated tools mediates reliance, and trust appears to affect how operators use technology. As automated agents become more complex, the question of trust in automation is increasingly important. In order to achieve proper use of automation, we must engender an appropriate degree of trust that is sensitive to changes in operating functions and context. In this paper, we present research concerning trust in automation in the domain of automated tools for relational databases. Lee and See have provided models of trust in automation. One model developed by Lee and See identifies three key categories of information about the automation that lie along a continuum of attributional abstraction. Purpose-, process-and performance-related information serve, both individually and through inferences between them, to describe automation in such a way as to engender r properly-calibrated trust. Thus, one can look at information from different levels of attributional abstraction as a general requirements analysis for information key to appropriate trust in automation. The model of information necessary to engender appropriate trust in automation [1] is a general one. Although it describes categories of information, it does not provide insight on how to determine the specific information elements required for a given automated tool. We have applied the Abstraction Hierarchy (AH) to this problem in the domain of relational databases. The AH serves as a formal description of the automation at several levels of abstraction, ranging from a very abstract purpose-oriented description to a more concrete description of the resources involved in the automated process

Toward designing for trust in database automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duez, P. P.; Jamieson, G. A.

2006-01-01

Appropriate reliance on system automation is imperative for safe and productive work, especially in safety-critical systems. It is unsafe to rely on automation beyond its designed use; conversely, it can be both unproductive and unsafe to manually perform tasks that are better relegated to automated tools. Operator trust in automated tools mediates reliance, and trust appears to affect how operators use technology. As automated agents become more complex, the question of trust in automation is increasingly important. In order to achieve proper use of automation, we must engender an appropriate degree of trust that is sensitive to changes in operating functions and context. In this paper, we present research concerning trust in automation in the domain of automated tools for relational databases. Lee and See have provided models of trust in automation. One model developed by Lee and See identifies three key categories of information about the automation that lie along a continuum of attributional abstraction. Purpose-, process-and performance-related information serve, both individually and through inferences between them, to describe automation in such a way as to engender r properly-calibrated trust. Thus, one can look at information from different levels of attributional abstraction as a general requirements analysis for information key to appropriate trust in automation. The model of information necessary to engender appropriate trust in automation [1] is a general one. Although it describes categories of information, it does not provide insight on how to determine the specific information elements required for a given automated tool. We have applied the Abstraction Hierarchy (AH) to this problem in the domain of relational databases. The AH serves as a formal description of the automation at several levels of abstraction, ranging from a very abstract purpose-oriented description to a more concrete description of the resources involved in the automated process

Automated reasoning applications to design analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stratton, R.C.

1984-01-01

Given the necessary relationships and definitions of design functions and components, validation of system incarnation (the physical product of design) and sneak function analysis can be achieved via automated reasoners. The relationships and definitions must define the design specification and incarnation functionally. For the design specification, the hierarchical functional representation is based on physics and engineering principles and bounded by design objectives and constraints. The relationships and definitions of the design incarnation are manifested as element functional definitions, state relationship to functions, functional relationship to direction, element connectivity, and functional hierarchical configuration

A Parallel Genetic Algorithm for Automated Electronic Circuit Design

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Jason D.; Colombano, Silvano P.; Haith, Gary L.; Stassinopoulos, Dimitris

2000-01-01

Parallelized versions of genetic algorithms (GAs) are popular primarily for three reasons: the GA is an inherently parallel algorithm, typical GA applications are very compute intensive, and powerful computing platforms, especially Beowulf-style computing clusters, are becoming more affordable and easier to implement. In addition, the low communication bandwidth required allows the use of inexpensive networking hardware such as standard office ethernet. In this paper we describe a parallel GA and its use in automated high-level circuit design. Genetic algorithms are a type of trial-and-error search technique that are guided by principles of Darwinian evolution. Just as the genetic material of two living organisms can intermix to produce offspring that are better adapted to their environment, GAs expose genetic material, frequently strings of 1s and Os, to the forces of artificial evolution: selection, mutation, recombination, etc. GAs start with a pool of randomly-generated candidate solutions which are then tested and scored with respect to their utility. Solutions are then bred by probabilistically selecting high quality parents and recombining their genetic representations to produce offspring solutions. Offspring are typically subjected to a small amount of random mutation. After a pool of offspring is produced, this process iterates until a satisfactory solution is found or an iteration limit is reached. Genetic algorithms have been applied to a wide variety of problems in many fields, including chemistry, biology, and many engineering disciplines. There are many styles of parallelism used in implementing parallel GAs. One such method is called the master-slave or processor farm approach. In this technique, slave nodes are used solely to compute fitness evaluations (the most time consuming part). The master processor collects fitness scores from the nodes and performs the genetic operators (selection, reproduction, variation, etc.). Because of dependency

Thermal battery automated assembly station conceptual design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacobs, D

1988-08-01

Thermal battery assembly involves many operations which are labor- intense. In August 1986, a project team was formed at GE Neutron Devices to investigate and evaluate more efficient and productive battery assembly techniques through the use of automation. The result of this study was the acceptance of a plan to automate the piece part pellet fabrication and battery stacking operations by using computerized pellet presses and robots which would be integrated by a main computer. This report details the conceptual design and development plan to be followed in the fabrication, development, and implementation of a thermal battery automated assembly station. 4 figs., 8 tabs.

EcoDesign 2.0 - Quantitative EcoDesign within Drives and Automation Technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Auer, Johannes

with single products, eco-design of industrial automation and drive technologies has to address the key issue of the solution’s usage stage in terms of system design corresponding to the application context, where several products work in conjunction with each other. Further, in response to the above...... engineering approaches. Research focus lies in areas where these fields overlap and complement each other in the development process of given applications, in particular the development and implementation of Drives and Automation Technologies. The evaluation of the research background, based on research...... and currently implemented state-of-the-art of ecodesign of drives and automation technologies in discreet and process industries was evaluated, putting it in context to the processes and portfolio of the Siemens AG, Process Industries & Drives Division (PD), as well as current sustainability challenges...

Automating InDesign with Regular Expressions

CERN Document Server

Kahrel, Peter

2006-01-01

If you need to make automated changes to InDesign documents beyond what basic search and replace can handle, you need regular expressions, and a bit of scripting to make them work. This Short Cut explains both how to write regular expressions, so you can find and replace the right things, and how to use them in InDesign specifically.

A Toolset for Supporting Iterative Human Automation: Interaction in Design

Science.gov (United States)

Feary, Michael S.

2010-01-01

The addition of automation has greatly extended humans' capability to accomplish tasks, including those that are difficult, complex and safety critical. The majority of Human - Automation Interacton (HAl) results in more efficient and safe operations, ho,,:,ever ertain unpected atomatlon behaviors or "automation surprises" can be frustrating and, In certain safety critical operations (e.g. transporttion, manufacturing control, medicine), may result in injuries or. the loss of life.. (Mellor, 1994; Leveson, 1995; FAA, 1995; BASI, 1998; Sheridan, 2002). This papr describes he development of a design tool that enables on the rapid development and evaluation. of automaton prototypes. The ultimate goal of the work is to provide a design platform upon which automation surprise vulnerability analyses can be integrated.

AUTOMATION DESIGN FOR MONORAIL - BASED SYSTEM PROCESSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bunda BESA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Currently, conventional methods of decline development put enormous cost pressure on the profitability of mining operations. This is the case with narrow vein ore bodies where current methods and mine design of decline development may be too expensive to support economic extraction of the ore. According to studies, the time it takes to drill, clean and blast an end in conventional decline development can be up to 224 minutes. This is because once an end is blasted, cleaning should first be completed before drilling can commence, resulting in low advance rates per shift. Improvements in advance rates during decline development can be achieved by application of the Electric Monorail Transport System (EMTS based drilling system. The system consists of the drilling and loading components that use monorail technology to drill and clean the face during decline development. The two systems work simultaneously at the face in such a way that as the top part of the face is being drilled the pneumatic loading system cleans the face. However, to improve the efficiency of the two systems, critical processes performed by the two systems during mining operations must be automated. Automation increases safety and productivity, reduces operator fatigue and also reduces the labour costs of the system. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to describe automation designs of the two processes performed by the monorail drilling and loading systems during operations. During automation design, critical processes performed by the two systems and control requirements necessary to allow the two systems execute such processes automatically have also been identified.

Design and Implementation of Company Tailored Automated Material Handling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langer, Gilad; Bilberg, Arne

1996-01-01

This article focuses on the problems of analysing automation of material handling systems in order to develop an efficient automated solution that is specifically tailored to the company. The research has resulted in development of new methods for evaluating factory automation from design...... to implementation. The goals of the research were to analyse and evaluate automation in order to obtain an advantageous combination of human and automated resources. The idea is to asses different solutions in a virtual environment, where experiments and analyses can be performed so that the company can justify...... for their application with computer aided information processing tools. The framework is named the "Automated Material Handling (AMH) Preference GuideLine". The research has been carried out in close co-operation with Danish and European industry, where implementations of automation can be referred to. It is our...

Preface to the special section on human factors and automation in vehicles: designing highly automated vehicles with the driver in mind.

Science.gov (United States)

Merat, Natasha; Lee, John D

2012-10-01

This special section brings together diverse research regarding driver interaction with advanced automotive technology to guide design of increasingly automated vehicles. Rapidly evolving vehicle automation will likely change cars and trucks more in the next 5 years than the preceding 50, radically redefining what it means to drive. This special section includes 10 articles from European and North American researchers reporting simulator and naturalistic driving studies. Little research has considered the consequences of fully automated driving, with most focusing on lane-keeping and speed control systems individually. The studies reveal two underlying design philosophies: automate driving versus support driving. Results of several studies, consistent with previous research in other domains, suggest that the automate philosophy can delay driver responses to incidents in which the driver has to intervene and take control from the automation. Understanding how to orchestrate the transfer or sharing of control between the system and the driver, particularly in critical incidents, emerges as a central challenge. Designers should not assume that automation can substitute seamlessly for a human driver, nor can they assume that the driver can safely accommodate the limitations of automation. Designers, policy makers, and researchers must give careful consideration to what role the person should have in highly automated vehicles and how to support the driver if the driver is to be responsible for vehicle control. As in other domains, driving safety increasingly depends on the combined performance of the human and automation, and successful designs will depend on recognizing and supporting the new roles of the driver.

Automated electronic intruder simulator for evaluation of ultrasonic intrusion detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

An automated electronic intruder simulator for testing ultrasonic intrusion detectors is described. This simulator is primarily intended for use in environmental chambers to determine the effects of temperature and humidity on the operation of ultrasonic intrusion detectors

Automated grain mapping using wide angle convergent beam electron diffraction in transmission electron microscope for nanomaterials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Vineet

2011-12-01

The grain size statistics, commonly derived from the grain map of a material sample, are important microstructure characteristics that greatly influence its properties. The grain map for nanomaterials is usually obtained manually by visual inspection of the transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs because automated methods do not perform satisfactorily. While the visual inspection method provides reliable results, it is a labor intensive process and is often prone to human errors. In this article, an automated grain mapping method is developed using TEM diffraction patterns. The presented method uses wide angle convergent beam diffraction in the TEM. The automated technique was applied on a platinum thin film sample to obtain the grain map and subsequently derive grain size statistics from it. The grain size statistics obtained with the automated method were found in good agreement with the visual inspection method.

Automating expert role to determine design concept in Kansei Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Lokman, Anitawati Mohd; Haron, Mohammad Bakri Che; Abidin, Siti Zaleha Zainal; Khalid, Noor Elaiza Abd

2016-02-01

Affect has become imperative in product quality. In affective design field, Kansei Engineering (KE) has been recognized as a technology that enables discovery of consumer's emotion and formulation of guide to design products that win consumers in the competitive market. Albeit powerful technology, there is no rule of thumb in its analysis and interpretation process. KE expertise is required to determine sets of related Kansei and the significant concept of emotion. Many research endeavors become handicapped with the limited number of available and accessible KE experts. This work is performed to simulate the role of experts with the use of Natphoric algorithm thus providing sound solution to the complexity and flexibility in KE. The algorithm is designed to learn the process by implementing training datasets taken from previous KE research works. A framework for automated KE is then designed to realize the development of automated KE system. A comparative analysis is performed to determine feasibility of the developed prototype to automate the process. The result shows that the significant Kansei is determined by manual KE implementation and the automated process is highly similar. KE research advocates will benefit this system to automatically determine significant design concepts.

Automating Relational Database Design for Microcomputer Users.

Science.gov (United States)

Pu, Hao-Che

1991-01-01

Discusses issues involved in automating the relational database design process for microcomputer users and presents a prototype of a microcomputer-based system (RA, Relation Assistant) that is based on expert systems technology and helps avoid database maintenance problems. Relational database design is explained and the importance of easy input…

Design, Automation, and Test in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Systems in CMOS and Beyond; - Physical Design and Validation; - Test and Verification. The winners of the prestigious EDAA Lifetime Achievement Award as well as oher recognized experts in their field wrote an introduction to each section, summarizing the history in their domain and indicating how......The Design, Automation, and Test in Europe (DATE) conference celebrated in 2007 its tenth anniversary. As a tribute to the chip and system-level design and design technology community, this book presents a compilation of the three most influential papers of each year. This provides an excellent...

Automated and electronically assisted hand hygiene monitoring systems: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Melissa A; Schweizer, Marin L; Polgreen, Philip M; Gupta, Kalpana; Reisinger, Heather S; Perencevich, Eli N

2014-05-01

Hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of health care-associated infections. Electronic systems and tools are being developed to enhance hand hygiene compliance monitoring. Our systematic review assesses the existing evidence surrounding the adoption and accuracy of automated systems or electronically enhanced direct observations and also reviews the effectiveness of such systems in health care settings. We systematically reviewed PubMed for articles published between January 1, 2000, and March 31, 2013, containing the terms hand AND hygiene or hand AND disinfection or handwashing. Resulting articles were reviewed to determine if an electronic system was used. We identified 42 articles for inclusion. Four types of systems were identified: electronically assisted/enhanced direct observation, video-monitored direct observation systems, electronic dispenser counters, and automated hand hygiene monitoring networks. Fewer than 20% of articles identified included calculations for efficiency or accuracy. Limited data are currently available to recommend adoption of specific automatic or electronically assisted hand hygiene surveillance systems. Future studies should be undertaken that assess the accuracy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of such systems. Given the restricted clinical and infection prevention budgets of most facilities, cost-effectiveness analysis of specific systems will be required before these systems are widely adopted. Published by Mosby, Inc.

Computer-automated tuning of semiconductor double quantum dots into the single-electron regime

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baart, T. A.; Vandersypen, L. M. K. [QuTech, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft (Netherlands); Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft (Netherlands); Eendebak, P. T. [QuTech, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft (Netherlands); Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), P.O. Box 155, 2600 AD Delft (Netherlands); Reichl, C.; Wegscheider, W. [Solid State Physics Laboratory, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland)

2016-05-23

We report the computer-automated tuning of gate-defined semiconductor double quantum dots in GaAs heterostructures. We benchmark the algorithm by creating three double quantum dots inside a linear array of four quantum dots. The algorithm sets the correct gate voltages for all the gates to tune the double quantum dots into the single-electron regime. The algorithm only requires (1) prior knowledge of the gate design and (2) the pinch-off value of the single gate T that is shared by all the quantum dots. This work significantly alleviates the user effort required to tune multiple quantum dot devices.

Electronic system for the automation of current measurements produced by ionization chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brancaccio, Franco; Dias, Mauro da Silva

2002-01-01

Ionization Chambers in current mode operation are usually used in Nuclear Metrology in the determination of radionuclide activity. For this purpose measurements of very low ionization currents, in the range of 10 -8 to 10 -14 A, are required. Usually, electrometers perform the current integration method under command of signals from an automation system, in order to reduce the measurement uncertainties. In the present work, an automation system, developed for current integration measurements at the Laboratorio de Metrologia Nuclear (LMN) of Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), is described. This automation system is composed by software (graphic interface and control) and an electronic module connected to a microcomputer, by means of a commercial data acquisition card CAD12/32 (LYNX Tecnologia Eletronica Ltda.). Measurements, using an electrometer Keithley 616 (Keithley Instruments, Inc) and an ionization chamber IG12/A20 (20 th Century Electronics Ltd.), were performed in order to check the system and for validating the project. (author)

3D Design Tools for Vacuum Electron Devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levush, Baruch

2003-01-01

A reduction of development costs will have a significant impact on the total cost of the vacuum electron devices. Experimental testing cycles can be reduced or eliminated through the use of simulation-based design methodology, thereby reducing the time and cost of development. Moreover, by use of modern optimization tools for automating the process of seeking specific solution parameters and for studying dependencies of performance on parameters, new performance capabilities can be achieved, without resorting to expensive cycles of hardware fabrication and testing. Simulation-based-design will also provide the basis for sensitivity studies for determining the manufacturing tolerances associated with a particular design. Since material properties can have a critical effect on the performance of the vacuum electron devices, the design tools require precise knowledge of material characteristics, such as dielectric properties of the support rods, loss profile etc. Sensitivity studies must therefore include the effects of materials properties variation on device performance. This will provide insight for choosing the proper technological processes in order to achieve these tolerances, which is of great importance for achieving cost reduction. A successful design methodology depends on the development of accurate and efficient design tools with predictive capabilities. These design tools must be based on realistic models capable of high fidelity representation of geometry and materials, they must have optimization capabilities, and they must be easy to use

Design and Development of an Integrated Workstation Automation Hub

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weber, Andrew; Ghatikar, Girish; Sartor, Dale; Lanzisera, Steven

2015-03-30

Miscellaneous Electronic Loads (MELs) account for one third of all electricity consumption in U.S. commercial buildings, and are drivers for a significant energy use in India. Many of the MEL-specific plug-load devices are concentrated at workstations in offices. The use of intelligence, and integrated controls and communications at the workstation for an Office Automation Hub – offers the opportunity to improve both energy efficiency and occupant comfort, along with services for Smart Grid operations. Software and hardware solutions are available from a wide array of vendors for the different components, but an integrated system with interoperable communications is yet to be developed and deployed. In this study, we propose system- and component-level specifications for the Office Automation Hub, their functions, and a prioritized list for the design of a proof-of-concept system. Leveraging the strength of both the U.S. and India technology sectors, this specification serves as a guide for researchers and industry in both countries to support the development, testing, and evaluation of a prototype product. Further evaluation of such integrated technologies for performance and cost is necessary to identify the potential to reduce energy consumptions in MELs and to improve occupant comfort.

TARDIS: An Automation Framework for JPL Mission Design and Navigation

Science.gov (United States)

Roundhill, Ian M.; Kelly, Richard M.

2014-01-01

Mission Design and Navigation at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has implemented an automation framework tool to assist in orbit determination and maneuver design analysis. This paper describes the lessons learned from previous automation tools and how they have been implemented in this tool. In addition this tool has revealed challenges in software implementation, testing, and user education. This paper describes some of these challenges and invites others to share their experiences.

Design automation of ΔΣ switched capacitor modulators using spice and MATLAB

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirković Dejan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Concerning the fact that the design of contemporary integrated circuits (IC is practically impossible without using sophisticated Electronic Design Automation (EDA software, this paper gives some interesting thoughts and considerations about that issue. As technology processes advances on year basis consequently EDA industry is forced to follow this trend as well. This, on the other hand, requires IC designer to frequently and efficiently accommodate to new working environments. Authors of this paper suggest a method for high level circuit analysis that is based on using common (open source or low cost circuit simulators but precise and fast enough to meet requirements imposed by demanding mixed-signal blocks. The paper demonstrates the proposed EDA procedure on an example of second order ΔΣ modulator design. It illustrates considerable simulation time saving which is more than welcome in a world of analogue and mixed-signal design. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR32004: Advanced technologies for measurement, control, and communication on the electric grid

Automation of the aircraft design process

Science.gov (United States)

Heldenfels, R. R.

1974-01-01

The increasing use of the computer to automate the aerospace product development and engineering process is examined with emphasis on structural analysis and design. Examples of systems of computer programs in aerospace and other industries are reviewed and related to the characteristics of aircraft design in its conceptual, preliminary, and detailed phases. Problems with current procedures are identified, and potential improvements from optimum utilization of integrated disciplinary computer programs by a man/computer team are indicated.

Facilitating the design and operation of computer-controlled radiochemistry synthesizers with an open-quotes Electronic Toolboxclose quotes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feliu, A.L.

1991-01-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique requiring rapid and reliable radiopharmaceutical production. Automated systems offer a host of potential advantages over manually or remotely operated apparatus, including reduced personnel requirements, lower radiation exposure to personel, reliable yields, and reproducible product purity. However, the burden of routine radiopharmaceutical production most often remains a labor-intensive responsibility of highly trained radiochemists. In order to ease the transition between manual, remote-controlled, and computer-controlled radiochemical synthesis, an electronic toolbox with graphical user interface was developed as a generic process control system compatible with a variety of common radiochemical operations. This work is specifically aimed to make automated techniques more accessible by emphasizing the similarities between manual and automated chemistry and by minimizing the computer programming effort required. This paper discusses the structural elements of the electronic toolbox approach to radiochemistry process control, and its ramifications for the designers and end-users of automated synthesizers

System of automated map design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponomarjov, S.Yu.; Rybalko, S.I.; Proskura, N.I.

1992-01-01

Preprint 'System of automated map design' contains information about the program shell for construction of territory map, performing level line drawing of arbitrary two-dimension field (in particular, the radionuclide concentration field). The work schedule and data structures are supplied, as well as data on system performance. The preprint can become useful for experts in radioecology and for all persons involved in territory pollution mapping or multi-purpose geochemical mapping. (author)

Iterative User Interface Design for Automated Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score Calculator in Sepsis Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Aakre, Christopher Ansel; Kitson, Jaben E; Li, Man; Herasevich, Vitaly

2017-05-18

The new sepsis definition has increased the need for frequent sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score recalculation and the clerical burden of information retrieval makes this score ideal for automated calculation. The aim of this study was to (1) estimate the clerical workload of manual SOFA score calculation through a time-motion analysis and (2) describe a user-centered design process for an electronic medical record (EMR) integrated, automated SOFA score calculator with subsequent usability evaluation study. First, we performed a time-motion analysis by recording time-to-task-completion for the manual calculation of 35 baseline and 35 current SOFA scores by 14 internal medicine residents over a 2-month period. Next, we used an agile development process to create a user interface for a previously developed automated SOFA score calculator. The final user interface usability was evaluated by clinician end users with the Computer Systems Usability Questionnaire. The overall mean (standard deviation, SD) time-to-complete manual SOFA score calculation time was 61.6 s (33). Among the 24% (12/50) usability survey respondents, our user-centered user interface design process resulted in >75% favorability of survey items in the domains of system usability, information quality, and interface quality. Early stakeholder engagement in our agile design process resulted in a user interface for an automated SOFA score calculator that reduced clinician workload and met clinicians' needs at the point of care. Emerging interoperable platforms may facilitate dissemination of similarly useful clinical score calculators and decision support algorithms as "apps." A user-centered design process and usability evaluation should be considered during creation of these tools. ©Christopher Ansel Aakre, Jaben E Kitson, Man Li, Vitaly Herasevich. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors (http://humanfactors.jmir.org), 18.05.2017.

Design of automation tools for management of descent traffic

Science.gov (United States)

Erzberger, Heinz; Nedell, William

1988-01-01

The design of an automated air traffic control system based on a hierarchy of advisory tools for controllers is described. Compatibility of the tools with the human controller, a key objective of the design, is achieved by a judicious selection of tasks to be automated and careful attention to the design of the controller system interface. The design comprises three interconnected subsystems referred to as the Traffic Management Advisor, the Descent Advisor, and the Final Approach Spacing Tool. Each of these subsystems provides a collection of tools for specific controller positions and tasks. This paper focuses primarily on the Descent Advisor which provides automation tools for managing descent traffic. The algorithms, automation modes, and graphical interfaces incorporated in the design are described. Information generated by the Descent Advisor tools is integrated into a plan view traffic display consisting of a high-resolution color monitor. Estimated arrival times of aircraft are presented graphically on a time line, which is also used interactively in combination with a mouse input device to select and schedule arrival times. Other graphical markers indicate the location of the fuel-optimum top-of-descent point and the predicted separation distances of aircraft at a designated time-control point. Computer generated advisories provide speed and descent clearances which the controller can issue to aircraft to help them arrive at the feeder gate at the scheduled times or with specified separation distances. Two types of horizontal guidance modes, selectable by the controller, provide markers for managing the horizontal flightpaths of aircraft under various conditions. The entire system consisting of descent advisor algorithm, a library of aircraft performance models, national airspace system data bases, and interactive display software has been implemented on a workstation made by Sun Microsystems, Inc. It is planned to use this configuration in operational

Automation of MCDOR at NMT-3 Los Alamos National Laboratory. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahinpoor, M.

1997-01-01

The automation of various parts of multiple--cycle direct oxide reduction (MCDOR) at LANL's NMT-3 was the goal of this research and development activities. In particular, originally the following goals were assigned to the author by the NMT-3 technical staff leaders (Greg Bird, Jim McNeese, Joel Williams): (1) Design and fabricate an automation set up; (2) Step-wise automation is preferred; (3) Step 1 involves automatic metering and mixing of powders; and (4) Step 2-automatic transport of powder to furnace location The initial task assigned in May 91 was to get the appropriate design developed and order equipment and parts to automatically weight powders. In fact the work statement read open-quotes Create an experimental automation set up in the ME Department at UNM to automatically weigh powders using an electronic balance. Further, design the set up such that the electronic balance is reprogrammable for specific weight set points. Thus, when a set point in weight is reached by means of a vibratory feeder feeding a container on the balance, the electronic balance will send an electronic signal out to switch off the vibratory feederclose quotes. The automation of the reduction of plutonium oxide to plutonium is described

Automation of MCDOR at NMT-3 Los Alamos National Laboratory. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shahinpoor, M.

1997-01-01

The automation of various parts of multiple--cycle direct oxide reduction (MCDOR) at LANL`s NMT-3 was the goal of this research and development activities. In particular, originally the following goals were assigned to the author by the NMT-3 technical staff leaders (Greg Bird, Jim McNeese, Joel Williams): (1) Design and fabricate an automation set up; (2) Step-wise automation is preferred; (3) Step 1 involves automatic metering and mixing of powders; and (4) Step 2-automatic transport of powder to furnace location The initial task assigned in May 91 was to get the appropriate design developed and order equipment and parts to automatically weight powders. In fact the work statement read {open_quotes}Create an experimental automation set up in the ME Department at UNM to automatically weigh powders using an electronic balance. Further, design the set up such that the electronic balance is reprogrammable for specific weight set points. Thus, when a set point in weight is reached by means of a vibratory feeder feeding a container on the balance, the electronic balance will send an electronic signal out to switch off the vibratory feeder{close_quotes}. The automation of the reduction of plutonium oxide to plutonium is described.

Review of Automated Design and Optimization of MEMS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Achiche, Sofiane; Fan, Zhun; Bolognini, Francesca

2007-01-01

carried out. This paper presents a review of these techniques. The design task of MEMS is usually divided into four main stages: System Level, Device Level, Physical Level and the Process Level. The state of the art o automated MEMS design in each of these levels is investigated....

Automated platform for designing multiple robot work cells

Science.gov (United States)

Osman, N. S.; Rahman, M. A. A.; Rahman, A. A. Abdul; Kamsani, S. H.; Bali Mohamad, B. M.; Mohamad, E.; Zaini, Z. A.; Rahman, M. F. Ab; Mohamad Hatta, M. N. H.

2017-06-01

Designing the multiple robot work cells is very knowledge-intensive, intricate, and time-consuming process. This paper elaborates the development process of a computer-aided design program for generating the multiple robot work cells which offer a user-friendly interface. The primary purpose of this work is to provide a fast and easy platform for less cost and human involvement with minimum trial and errors adjustments. The automated platform is constructed based on the variant-shaped configuration concept with its mathematical model. A robot work cell layout, system components, and construction procedure of the automated platform are discussed in this paper where integration of these items will be able to automatically provide the optimum robot work cell design according to the information set by the user. This system is implemented on top of CATIA V5 software and utilises its Part Design, Assembly Design, and Macro tool. The current outcomes of this work provide a basis for future investigation in developing a flexible configuration system for the multiple robot work cells.

Automated magnification calibration in transmission electron microscopy using Fourier analysis of replica images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laak, Jeroen A.W.M. van der; Dijkman, Henry B.P.M.; Pahlplatz, Martin M.M.

2006-01-01

The magnification factor in transmission electron microscopy is not very precise, hampering for instance quantitative analysis of specimens. Calibration of the magnification is usually performed interactively using replica specimens, containing line or grating patterns with known spacing. In the present study, a procedure is described for automated magnification calibration using digital images of a line replica. This procedure is based on analysis of the power spectrum of Fourier transformed replica images, and is compared to interactive measurement in the same images. Images were used with magnification ranging from 1,000x to 200,000x. The automated procedure deviated on average 0.10% from interactive measurements. Especially for catalase replicas, the coefficient of variation of automated measurement was considerably smaller (average 0.28%) compared to that of interactive measurement (average 3.5%). In conclusion, calibration of the magnification in digital images from transmission electron microscopy may be performed automatically, using the procedure presented here, with high precision and accuracy

Optimizing human-system interface automation design based on a skill-rule-knowledge framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe; Yenn, T.-C.; Yang, C.-W.

2010-01-01

This study considers the technological change that has occurred in complex systems within the past 30 years. The role of human operators in controlling and interacting with complex systems following the technological change was also investigated. Modernization of instrumentation and control systems and components leads to a new issue of human-automation interaction, in which human operational performance must be considered in automated systems. The human-automation interaction can differ in its types and levels. A system design issue is usually realized: given these technical capabilities, which system functions should be automated and to what extent? A good automation design can be achieved by making an appropriate human-automation function allocation. To our knowledge, only a few studies have been published on how to achieve appropriate automation design with a systematic procedure. Further, there is a surprising lack of information on examining and validating the influences of levels of automation (LOAs) on instrumentation and control systems in the advanced control room (ACR). The study we present in this paper proposed a systematic framework to help in making an appropriate decision towards types of automation (TOA) and LOAs based on a 'Skill-Rule-Knowledge' (SRK) model. From the evaluating results, it was shown that the use of either automatic mode or semiautomatic mode is insufficient to prevent human errors. For preventing the occurrences of human errors and ensuring the safety in ACR, the proposed framework can be valuable for making decisions in human-automation allocation.

Automated Detection of Sepsis Using Electronic Medical Record Data: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Despins, Laurel A

Severe sepsis and septic shock are global issues with high mortality rates. Early recognition and intervention are essential to optimize patient outcomes. Automated detection using electronic medical record (EMR) data can assist this process. This review describes automated sepsis detection using EMR data. PubMed retrieved publications between January 1, 2005 and January 31, 2015. Thirteen studies met study criteria: described an automated detection approach with the potential to detect sepsis or sepsis-related deterioration in real or near-real time; focused on emergency department and hospitalized neonatal, pediatric, or adult patients; and provided performance measures or results indicating the impact of automated sepsis detection. Detection algorithms incorporated systemic inflammatory response and organ dysfunction criteria. Systems in nine studies generated study or care team alerts. Care team alerts did not consistently lead to earlier interventions. Earlier interventions did not consistently translate to improved patient outcomes. Performance measures were inconsistent. Automated sepsis detection is potentially a means to enable early sepsis-related therapy but current performance variability highlights the need for further research.

Conceptual designs of automated systems for underground emplacement and retrieval of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slocum, A.H.; Hou, W.M.; Park, K.; Hochmuth, C.; Thurston, D.C.

1987-01-01

Current designs of underground nuclear waste repositories have not adequately addressed the possibility of automated, unmanned emplacement and retrieval. This report will present design methodologies for development of an automated system for underground emplacement of nuclear waste. By scaling generic issues to different repositories, it is shown that a two vehicle automated waste emplacement/retrieval system can be designed to operate in a fail-safe mode. Evaluation of cost at this time is not possible. Significant gains in worker safety, however, can be realized by minimizing the possibility of human exposure

A Review Of Design And Control Of Automated Guided Vehicle Systems

OpenAIRE

Le-Anh, Tuan; Koster, René

2004-01-01

textabstractThis paper presents a review on design and control of automated guided vehicle systems. We address most key related issues including guide-path design, estimating the number of vehicles, vehicle scheduling, idle-vehicle positioning, battery management, vehicle routing, and conflict resolution. We discuss and classify important models and results from key publications in literature on automated guided vehicle systems, including often-neglected areas, such as idle-vehicle positionin...

Automated Design Tools for Integrated Mixed-Signal Microsystems (NeoCAD)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Petre, P; Visher, J; Shringarpure, R; Valley, F; Swaminathan, M

2005-01-01

Automated design tools and integrated design flow methodologies were developed that demonstrated more than an order- of-magnitude reduction in cycle time and cost for mixed signal (digital/analoglRF...

Adaptive Automation Design and Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-17

with an automated system to a real-world adaptive au- tomation system implementation. There have been plenty of adaptive automation 17 Adaptive...of systems without increasing manpower requirements by allocating routine tasks to automated aids, improving safety through the use of au- tomated ...between intermediate levels of au- tomation , explicitly defining which human task a given level automates. Each model aids the creation and classification

Development of design principles for automated systems in transport control.

Science.gov (United States)

Balfe, Nora; Wilson, John R; Sharples, Sarah; Clarke, Theresa

2012-01-01

This article reports the results of a qualitative study investigating attitudes towards and opinions of an advanced automation system currently used in UK rail signalling. In-depth interviews were held with 10 users, key issues associated with automation were identified and the automation's impact on the signalling task investigated. The interview data highlighted the importance of the signallers' understanding of the automation and their (in)ability to predict its outputs. The interviews also covered the methods used by signallers to interact with and control the automation, and the perceived effects on their workload. The results indicate that despite a generally low level of understanding and ability to predict the actions of the automation system, signallers have developed largely successful coping mechanisms that enable them to use the technology effectively. These findings, along with parallel work identifying desirable attributes of automation from the literature in the area, were used to develop 12 principles of automation which can be used to help design new systems which better facilitate cooperative working. The work reported in this article was completed with the active involvement of operational rail staff who regularly use automated systems in rail signalling. The outcomes are currently being used to inform decisions on the extent and type of automation and user interfaces in future generations of rail control systems.

Simple heuristics: A bridge between manual core design and automated optimization methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, J.R.; Delmolino, P.M.

1993-01-01

The primary function of RESCUE is to serve as an aid in the analysis and identification of feasible loading patterns for LWR reload cores. The unique feature of RESCUE is that its physics model is based on some recent advances in generalized perturbation theory (GPT) methods. The high order GPT techniques offer the accuracy, computational efficiency, and flexibility needed for the implementation of a full range of capabilities within a set of compatible interactive (manual and semi-automated) and automated design tools. The basic design philosophy and current features within RESCUE are reviewed, and the new semi-automated capability is highlighted. The online advisor facility appears quite promising and it provides a natural bridge between the traditional trial-and-error manual process and the recent progress towards fully automated optimization sequences. (orig.)

Design and implementation of tutorials for PLC B&R Automation

OpenAIRE

Sýkora, Daniel

2014-01-01

Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá návrhem a realizací úloh pro PLC B&R a podrobným návodem práce v Automation Studio. Obsahuje také informace o firmě B&R Automation Ges. m. b. H. a jejích produktech. Návrh úloh probíhal ve vývojovém prostředí B&R Automation Studio. Praktická úloha na regulaci teploty byla řešena a odzkoušena na B&R PLC X20. This bachelor’s thesis deals with the design and the implementation tutorials for PLC B&R as well as the detailed instructions of work in the Automation ...

Design automation of switching mode high voltage power supply for nuclear instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-araby, S.M.S.

1999-01-01

This paper presents an automation procedure for the design of switching mode high voltage power supplies, using Pc programming facility. The procedure permits the selection of a ready made or designed ferrite transformer. This selection could be achieved according to the designer desire; as the program includes complete information about ready made ferrite transformer through complete database. The procedure is based on suggested template circuit. Micro-Cap IV simulation package is used to verify the desired high voltage power supply design. Simulation results agree quite well with suggested procedure's results. Design aspects and development needed to increase automation capabilities are also discussed

Automated Work Package: Conceptual Design and Data Architecture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al Rashdan, Ahmad [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Oxstrand, Johanna [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Agarwal, Vivek [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-05-26

The automated work package (AWP) is one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program efforts to enhance the safety and economics of the nuclear power industry. An AWP is an adaptive and interactive work package that intelligently drives the work process according to the plant condition, resources status, and users progress. The AWP aims to automate several manual tasks of the work process to enhance human performance and reduce human errors. Electronic work packages (eWPs), studied by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), are work packages that rely to various extent on electronic data processing and presentation. AWPs are the future of eWPs. They are envisioned to incorporate the advanced technologies of the future, and thus address the unresolved deficiencies associated with the eWPs in a nuclear power plant. In order to define the AWP, it is necessary to develop an ideal envisioned scenario of the future work process without any current technology restriction. The approach followed to develop this scenario is specific to every stage of the work process execution. The scenario development resulted in fifty advanced functionalities that can be part of the AWP. To rank the importance of these functionalities, a survey was conducted involving several U.S. nuclear utilities. The survey aimed at determining the current need of the nuclear industry with respect to the current work process, i.e. what the industry is satisfied with, and where the industry envisions potential for improvement. The survey evaluated the most promising functionalities resulting from the scenario development. The results demonstrated a significant desire to adopt the majority of these functionalities. The results of the survey are expected to drive the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) AWP research and development (R&D). In order to facilitate this mission, a prototype AWP is needed. Since the vast majority of earlier efforts focused on the

Automated Work Package: Conceptual Design and Data Architecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al Rashdan, Ahmad; Oxstrand, Johanna; Agarwal, Vivek

2016-01-01

The automated work package (AWP) is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program efforts to enhance the safety and economics of the nuclear power industry. An AWP is an adaptive and interactive work package that intelligently drives the work process according to the plant condition, resources status, and users progress. The AWP aims to automate several manual tasks of the work process to enhance human performance and reduce human errors. Electronic work packages (eWPs), studied by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), are work packages that rely to various extent on electronic data processing and presentation. AWPs are the future of eWPs. They are envisioned to incorporate the advanced technologies of the future, and thus address the unresolved deficiencies associated with the eWPs in a nuclear power plant. In order to define the AWP, it is necessary to develop an ideal envisioned scenario of the future work process without any current technology restriction. The approach followed to develop this scenario is specific to every stage of the work process execution. The scenario development resulted in fifty advanced functionalities that can be part of the AWP. To rank the importance of these functionalities, a survey was conducted involving several U.S. nuclear utilities. The survey aimed at determining the current need of the nuclear industry with respect to the current work process, i.e. what the industry is satisfied with, and where the industry envisions potential for improvement. The survey evaluated the most promising functionalities resulting from the scenario development. The results demonstrated a significant desire to adopt the majority of these functionalities. The results of the survey are expected to drive the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) AWP research and development (R&D). In order to facilitate this mission, a prototype AWP is needed. Since the vast majority of earlier efforts focused on the frontend

A Multidisciplinary PBL Robot Control Project in Automation and Electronic Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Houcine; Domínguez, Carlos; Martínez, Juan-Miguel; Perles, Angel; Capella, Juan-Vicente; Albaladejo, José

2015-01-01

This paper presents a multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) project consisting of the development of a robot arm prototype and the implementation of its control system. The project is carried out as part of Industrial Informatics (II), a compulsory third-year course in the Automation and Electronic Engineering (AEE) degree program at the…

Design and implementation of an automated email notification system for results of tests pending at discharge.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalal, Anuj K; Schnipper, Jeffrey L; Poon, Eric G; Williams, Deborah H; Rossi-Roh, Kathleen; Macleay, Allison; Liang, Catherine L; Nolido, Nyryan; Budris, Jonas; Bates, David W; Roy, Christopher L

2012-01-01

Physicians are often unaware of the results of tests pending at discharge (TPADs). The authors designed and implemented an automated system to notify the responsible inpatient physician of the finalized results of TPADs using secure, network email. The system coordinates a series of electronic events triggered by the discharge time stamp and sends an email to the identified discharging attending physician once finalized results are available. A carbon copy is sent to the primary care physicians in order to facilitate communication and the subsequent transfer of responsibility. Logic was incorporated to suppress selected tests and to limit notification volume. The system was activated for patients with TPADs discharged by randomly selected inpatient-attending physicians during a 6-month pilot. They received approximately 1.6 email notifications per discharged patient with TPADs. Eighty-four per cent of inpatient-attending physicians receiving automated email notifications stated that they were satisfied with the system in a brief survey (59% survey response rate). Automated email notification is a useful strategy for managing results of TPADs.

PROJECT ENGINEERING DATA MANAGEMENT AT AUTOMATED PREPARATION OF DESIGN DOCUMENTATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Guryanov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We have developed and realized instrumental means for automated support of end-to-end design process for design documentation on a product at the programming level. The proposed decision is based on processing of the engineering project data that are contained in interdependent design documents: tactical technical characteristics of products, data on the valuable metals contained in them, the list of components applied in a product and others. Processing of engineering data is based on their conversion to the form provided by requirements of industry standards for design documentation preparation. The general graph of the design documentation developed on a product is provided. The description of the developed software product is given. Automated preparation process of interdependent design documents is shown on the example of preparation of purchased products list. Results of work can be used in case of research and development activities on creation of perspective samples of ADP equipment.

Home Automation : Smart home technology and template house design

OpenAIRE

Zheng, Zeya

2013-01-01

In this thesis, home automation’s general knowledge, technology information and each component will be introduced to the reader in the first half of the whole thesis. In the second half, thesis includes the Home Automation template design and market competitiveness analysis. The author assumes that the reader is going to spend lots of money to have a smart home. In this situation, the author introduces the home automation to the reader at each component. So the reader in this thesis actu...

Development of the automated bunker door by using a microcontroller-system

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, M. A.; Leo, K. W.; Mohamad, G. H. P.; Ahmad, A.; Hashim, S. A.; Chulan, R. M.; Baijan, A. H.

2018-01-01

The new low energy electron beam accelerator bunker was designed and built locally to allocate a 500 keV electron beam accelerator at Block 43T in Malaysian Nuclear Agency. This bunker is equipped with a locally made radiation shielding door of 10 tons. Originally, this door is moving manually by a wheel and fitted with a gear system. However, it is still heavy and need longer time to operate it manually. To overcome those issues, a new automated control system has been designed and developed. In this paper, the complete steps and design of automated control system based on the microcontroller (PIC16F84A) is described.

An automated approach to the design of decision tree classifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Argentiero, P.; Chin, R.; Beaudet, P.

1982-01-01

An automated technique is presented for designing effective decision tree classifiers predicated only on a priori class statistics. The procedure relies on linear feature extractions and Bayes table look-up decision rules. Associated error matrices are computed and utilized to provide an optimal design of the decision tree at each so-called 'node'. A by-product of this procedure is a simple algorithm for computing the global probability of correct classification assuming the statistical independence of the decision rules. Attention is given to a more precise definition of decision tree classification, the mathematical details on the technique for automated decision tree design, and an example of a simple application of the procedure using class statistics acquired from an actual Landsat scene.

Design and control of automated guided vehicle systems: A case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, Q.; Adriaansen, A.C.; Udding, J.T.; Pogromski, A.Y.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we study the design and control of automated guided vehicle (AGV) systems, with the focus on the quayside container transport in an automated container terminal. We first set up an event-driven model for an AGV system in the zone control framework. Then a number of layouts of the road

Aviation safety and automation technology for subsonic transports

Science.gov (United States)

Albers, James A.

1991-01-01

Discussed here are aviation safety human factors and air traffic control (ATC) automation research conducted at the NASA Ames Research Center. Research results are given in the areas of flight deck and ATC automations, displays and warning systems, crew coordination, and crew fatigue and jet lag. Accident investigation and an incident reporting system that is used to guide the human factors research is discussed. A design philosophy for human-centered automation is given, along with an evaluation of automation on advanced technology transports. Intelligent error tolerant systems such as electronic checklists are discussed along with design guidelines for reducing procedure errors. The data on evaluation of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training indicates highly significant positive changes in appropriate flight deck behavior and more effective use of available resources for crew members receiving the training.

Automated Monte Carlo biasing for photon-generated electrons near surfaces.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franke, Brian Claude; Crawford, Martin James; Kensek, Ronald Patrick

2009-09-01

This report describes efforts to automate the biasing of coupled electron-photon Monte Carlo particle transport calculations. The approach was based on weight-windows biasing. Weight-window settings were determined using adjoint-flux Monte Carlo calculations. A variety of algorithms were investigated for adaptivity of the Monte Carlo tallies. Tree data structures were used to investigate spatial partitioning. Functional-expansion tallies were used to investigate higher-order spatial representations.

GENIUS : An integrated environment for supporting the design of generic automated negotiators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lin, R.; Kraus, S.; Baarslag, T.; Tykhonov, D.; Hindriks, K.; Jonker, C.M.

2012-01-01

The design of automated negotiators has been the focus of abundant research in recent years. However, due to difficulties involved in creating generalized agents that can negotiate in several domains and against human counterparts, many automated negotiators are domain specific and their behavior

Automating risk analysis of software design models.

Science.gov (United States)

Frydman, Maxime; Ruiz, Guifré; Heymann, Elisa; César, Eduardo; Miller, Barton P

2014-01-01

The growth of the internet and networked systems has exposed software to an increased amount of security threats. One of the responses from software developers to these threats is the introduction of security activities in the software development lifecycle. This paper describes an approach to reduce the need for costly human expertise to perform risk analysis in software, which is common in secure development methodologies, by automating threat modeling. Reducing the dependency on security experts aims at reducing the cost of secure development by allowing non-security-aware developers to apply secure development with little to no additional cost, making secure development more accessible. To automate threat modeling two data structures are introduced, identification trees and mitigation trees, to identify threats in software designs and advise mitigation techniques, while taking into account specification requirements and cost concerns. These are the components of our model for automated threat modeling, AutSEC. We validated AutSEC by implementing it in a tool based on data flow diagrams, from the Microsoft security development methodology, and applying it to VOMS, a grid middleware component, to evaluate our model's performance.

AuTom: a novel automatic platform for electron tomography reconstruction

KAUST Repository

Han, Renmin; Wan, Xiaohua; Wang, Zihao; Hao, Yu; Zhang, Jingrong; Chen, Yu; Gao, Xin; Liu, Zhiyong; Ren, Fei; Sun, Fei; Zhang, Fa

2017-01-01

-friendly interface and auxiliary designs for file management and workflow management, in which fiducial marker-based datasets and marker-free datasets are addressed with totally different subprocesses. With all of these features, AuTom can serve as a convenient

The Automation Control System Design of Walking Beam Heating Furnace

OpenAIRE

Hong-Yu LIU; Jun-Qing LIU; Jun-Jie XI

2014-01-01

Combining the transformation project of certain strip steel rolling production line, the techniques process of walking beam heating furnace was elaborated in this paper. The practical application of LOS-T18-2ZC1 laser detector was elaborated. The network communication model of walking beam heating furnace control system was designed. The realization method of production process automation control was elaborated. The entire automation control system allocation picture and PLC power distributio...

Fuel lattice design in a boiling water reactor using a knowledge-based automation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tung, Wu-Hsiung; Lee, Tien-Tso; Kuo, Weng-Sheng; Yaur, Shung-Jung

2015-01-01

Highlights: • An automation system was developed for the fuel lattice radial design of BWRs. • An enrichment group peaking equalizing method is applied to optimize the design. • Several heuristic rules and restrictions are incorporated to facilitate the design. • The CPU time for the system to design a 10x10 lattice was less than 1.2 h. • The beginning-of-life LPF was improved from 1.319 to 1.272 for one of the cases. - Abstract: A knowledge-based fuel lattice design automation system for BWRs is developed and applied to the design of 10 × 10 fuel lattices. The knowledge implemented in this fuel lattice design automation system includes the determination of gadolinium fuel pin location, the determination of fuel pin enrichment and enrichment distribution. The optimization process starts by determining the gadolinium distribution based on the pin power distribution of a flat enrichment lattice and some heuristic rules. Next, a pin power distribution flattening and an enrichment grouping process are introduced to determine the enrichment of each fuel pin enrichment type and the initial enrichment distribution of a fuel lattice design. Finally, enrichment group peaking equalizing processes are performed to achieve lower lattice peaking. Several fuel lattice design constraints are also incorporated in the automation system such that the system can accomplish a design which meets the requirements of practical use. Depending on the axial position of the lattice, a different method is applied in the design of the fuel lattice. Two typical fuel lattices with U"2"3"5 enrichment of 4.471% and 4.386% were taken as references. Application of the method demonstrates that improved lattice designs can be achieved through the enrichment grouping and the enrichment group peaking equalizing method. It takes about 11 min and 1 h 11 min of CPU time for the automation system to accomplish two design cases on an HP-8000 workstation, including the execution of CASMO-4 lattice

Fuel lattice design in a boiling water reactor using a knowledge-based automation system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tung, Wu-Hsiung, E-mail: wstong@iner.gov.tw; Lee, Tien-Tso; Kuo, Weng-Sheng; Yaur, Shung-Jung

2015-11-15

Highlights: • An automation system was developed for the fuel lattice radial design of BWRs. • An enrichment group peaking equalizing method is applied to optimize the design. • Several heuristic rules and restrictions are incorporated to facilitate the design. • The CPU time for the system to design a 10x10 lattice was less than 1.2 h. • The beginning-of-life LPF was improved from 1.319 to 1.272 for one of the cases. - Abstract: A knowledge-based fuel lattice design automation system for BWRs is developed and applied to the design of 10 × 10 fuel lattices. The knowledge implemented in this fuel lattice design automation system includes the determination of gadolinium fuel pin location, the determination of fuel pin enrichment and enrichment distribution. The optimization process starts by determining the gadolinium distribution based on the pin power distribution of a flat enrichment lattice and some heuristic rules. Next, a pin power distribution flattening and an enrichment grouping process are introduced to determine the enrichment of each fuel pin enrichment type and the initial enrichment distribution of a fuel lattice design. Finally, enrichment group peaking equalizing processes are performed to achieve lower lattice peaking. Several fuel lattice design constraints are also incorporated in the automation system such that the system can accomplish a design which meets the requirements of practical use. Depending on the axial position of the lattice, a different method is applied in the design of the fuel lattice. Two typical fuel lattices with U{sup 235} enrichment of 4.471% and 4.386% were taken as references. Application of the method demonstrates that improved lattice designs can be achieved through the enrichment grouping and the enrichment group peaking equalizing method. It takes about 11 min and 1 h 11 min of CPU time for the automation system to accomplish two design cases on an HP-8000 workstation, including the execution of CASMO-4

Some Challenges in the Design of Human-Automation Interaction for Safety-Critical Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Feary, Michael S.; Roth, Emilie

2014-01-01

Increasing amounts of automation are being introduced to safety-critical domains. While the introduction of automation has led to an overall increase in reliability and improved safety, it has also introduced a class of failure modes, and new challenges in risk assessment for the new systems, particularly in the assessment of rare events resulting from complex inter-related factors. Designing successful human-automation systems is challenging, and the challenges go beyond good interface development (e.g., Roth, Malin, & Schreckenghost 1997; Christoffersen & Woods, 2002). Human-automation design is particularly challenging when the underlying automation technology generates behavior that is difficult for the user to anticipate or understand. These challenges have been recognized in several safety-critical domains, and have resulted in increased efforts to develop training, procedures, regulations and guidance material (CAST, 2008, IAEA, 2001, FAA, 2013, ICAO, 2012). This paper points to the continuing need for new methods to describe and characterize the operational environment within which new automation concepts are being presented. We will describe challenges to the successful development and evaluation of human-automation systems in safety-critical domains, and describe some approaches that could be used to address these challenges. We will draw from experience with the aviation, spaceflight and nuclear power domains.

Designing automation for complex work environments under different levels of stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Sauer, Juergen; Nickel, Peter; Wastell, David

2013-01-01

This article examines the effectiveness of different forms of static and adaptable automation under low- and high-stress conditions. Forty participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions, comparing three levels of static automation (low, medium and high) and one level of adaptable automation, with the environmental stressor (noise) being varied as a within-subjects variable. Participants were trained for 4 h on a simulation of a process control environment, called AutoCAMS, followed by a 2.5-h testing session. Measures of performance, psychophysiology and subjective reactions were taken. The results showed that operators preferred higher levels of automation under noise than under quiet conditions. A number of parameters indicated negative effects of noise exposure, such as performance impairments, physiological stress reactions and higher mental workload. It also emerged that adaptable automation provided advantages over low and intermediate static automation, with regard to mental workload, effort expenditure and diagnostic performance. The article concludes that for the design of automation a wider range of operational scenarios reflecting adverse as well as ideal working conditions needs to be considered. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

An automated methodology development. [software design for combat simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, L. R.

1985-01-01

The design methodology employed in testing the applicability of Ada in large-scale combat simulations is described. Ada was considered as a substitute for FORTRAN to lower life cycle costs and ease the program development efforts. An object-oriented approach was taken, which featured definitions of military targets, the capability of manipulating their condition in real-time, and one-to-one correlation between the object states and real world states. The simulation design process was automated by the problem statement language (PSL)/problem statement analyzer (PSA). The PSL/PSA system accessed the problem data base directly to enhance the code efficiency by, e.g., eliminating non-used subroutines, and provided for automated report generation, besides allowing for functional and interface descriptions. The ways in which the methodology satisfied the responsiveness, reliability, transportability, modifiability, timeliness and efficiency goals are discussed.

Automotive electronics design fundamentals

CERN Document Server

Zaman, Najamuz

2015-01-01

This book explains the topology behind automotive electronics architectures and examines how they can be profoundly augmented with embedded controllers. These controllers serve as the core building blocks of today’s vehicle electronics. Rather than simply teaching electrical basics, this unique resource focuses on the fundamental concepts of vehicle electronics architecture, and details the wide variety of Electronic Control Modules (ECMs) that enable the increasingly sophisticated "bells & whistles" of modern designs.  A must-have for automotive design engineers, technicians working in automotive electronics repair centers and students taking automotive electronics courses, this guide bridges the gap between academic instruction and industry practice with clear, concise advice on how to design and optimize automotive electronics with embedded controllers.

Performance of an automated electronic acute lung injury screening system in intensive care unit patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, Helen C; Finkel, Barbara B; Khalsa, Satjeet S; Lanken, Paul N; Prasad, Meeta; Urbani, Richard; Fuchs, Barry D

2011-01-01

Lung protective ventilation reduces mortality in patients with acute lung injury, but underrecognition of acute lung injury has limited its use. We recently validated an automated electronic acute lung injury surveillance system in patients with major trauma in a single intensive care unit. In this study, we assessed the system's performance as a prospective acute lung injury screening tool in a diverse population of intensive care unit patients. Patients were screened prospectively for acute lung injury over 21 wks by the automated system and by an experienced research coordinator who manually screened subjects for enrollment in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Clinical Trials Network (ARDSNet) trials. Performance of the automated system was assessed by comparing its results with the manual screening process. Discordant results were adjudicated blindly by two physician reviewers. In addition, a sensitivity analysis using a range of assumptions was conducted to better estimate the system's performance. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, an academic medical center and ARDSNet center (1994-2006). Intubated patients in medical and surgical intensive care units. None. Of 1270 patients screened, 84 were identified with acute lung injury (incidence of 6.6%). The automated screening system had a sensitivity of 97.6% (95% confidence interval, 96.8-98.4%) and a specificity of 97.6% (95% confidence interval, 96.8-98.4%). The manual screening algorithm had a sensitivity of 57.1% (95% confidence interval, 54.5-59.8%) and a specificity of 99.7% (95% confidence interval, 99.4-100%). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated a range for sensitivity of 75.0-97.6% of the automated system under varying assumptions. Under all assumptions, the automated system demonstrated higher sensitivity than and comparable specificity to the manual screening method. An automated electronic system identified patients with acute lung injury with high sensitivity and specificity in diverse

[Research and Design of a System for Detecting Automated External Defbrillator Performance Parameters].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Kewu; Xiao, Shengxiang; Jiang, Lina; Hu, Jingkai

2017-09-30

In order to regularly detect the performance parameters of automated external defibrillator (AED), to make sure it is safe before using the instrument, research and design of a system for detecting automated external defibrillator performance parameters. According to the research of the characteristics of its performance parameters, combing the STM32's stability and high speed with PWM modulation control, the system produces a variety of ECG normal and abnormal signals through the digital sampling methods. Completed the design of the hardware and software, formed a prototype. This system can accurate detect automated external defibrillator discharge energy, synchronous defibrillation time, charging time and other key performance parameters.

On the engineering design for systematic integration of agent-orientation in industrial automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Liyong; Schüller, Andreas; Epple, Ulrich

2014-09-01

In today's automation industry, agent-oriented development of system functionalities appears to have a great potential for increasing autonomy and flexibility of complex operations, while lowering the workload of users. In this paper, we present a reference model for the harmonious and systematical integration of agent-orientation in industrial automation. Considering compatibility with existing automation systems and best practice, this model combines advantages of function block technology, service orientation and native description methods from the automation standard IEC 61131-3. This approach can be applied as a guideline for the engineering design of future agent-oriented automation systems. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crew aiding and automation: A system concept for terminal area operations, and guidelines for automation design

Science.gov (United States)

Dwyer, John P.

1994-01-01

This research and development program comprised two efforts: the development of guidelines for the design of automated systems, with particular emphasis on automation design that takes advantage of contextual information, and the concept-level design of a crew aiding system, the Terminal Area Navigation Decision Aiding Mediator (TANDAM). This concept outlines a system capable of organizing navigation and communication information and assisting the crew in executing the operations required in descent and approach. In service of this endeavor, problem definition activities were conducted that identified terminal area navigation and operational familiarization exercises addressing the terminal area navigation problem. Both airborne and ground-based (ATC) elements of aircraft control were extensively researched. The TANDAM system concept was then specified, and the crew interface and associated systems described. Additionally, three descent and approach scenarios were devised in order to illustrate the principal functions of the TANDAM system concept in relation to the crew, the aircraft, and ATC. A plan for the evaluation of the TANDAM system was established. The guidelines were developed based on reviews of relevant literature, and on experience gained in the design effort.

Design Automation Using Script Languages. High-Level CAD Templates in Non-Parametric Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, R.; Bazán, A. M.

2017-10-01

The main purpose of this work is to study the advantages offered by the application of traditional techniques of technical drawing in processes for automation of the design, with non-parametric CAD programs, provided with scripting languages. Given that an example drawing can be solved with traditional step-by-step detailed procedures, is possible to do the same with CAD applications and to generalize it later, incorporating references. In today’s modern CAD applications, there are striking absences of solutions for building engineering: oblique projections (military and cavalier), 3D modelling of complex stairs, roofs, furniture, and so on. The use of geometric references (using variables in script languages) and their incorporation into high-level CAD templates allows the automation of processes. Instead of repeatedly creating similar designs or modifying their data, users should be able to use these templates to generate future variations of the same design. This paper presents the automation process of several complex drawing examples based on CAD script files aided with parametric geometry calculation tools. The proposed method allows us to solve complex geometry designs not currently incorporated in the current CAD applications and to subsequently create other new derivatives without user intervention. Automation in the generation of complex designs not only saves time but also increases the quality of the presentations and reduces the possibility of human errors.

Automated reasoning applications to design validation and sneak function analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stratton, R.C.

1984-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is actively involved in the LMFBR Man-Machine Integration (MMI) Safety Program. The objective of this program is to enhance the operational safety and reliability of fast-breeder reactors by optimum integration of men and machines through the application of human factors principles and control engineering to the design, operation, and the control environment. ANL is developing methods to apply automated reasoning and computerization in the validation and sneak function analysis process. This project provides the element definitions and relations necessary for an automated reasoner (AR) to reason about design validation and sneak function analysis. This project also provides a demonstration of this AR application on an Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) system, the Argonne Cooling System

Automated Design of Propellant-Optimal, End-to-End, Low-Thrust Trajectories for Trojan Asteroid Tours

Science.gov (United States)

Stuart, Jeffrey; Howell, Kathleen; Wilson, Roby

2013-01-01

The Sun-Jupiter Trojan asteroids are celestial bodies of great scientific interest as well as potential resources offering water and other mineral resources for longterm human exploration of the solar system. Previous investigations under this project have addressed the automated design of tours within the asteroid swarm. This investigation expands the current automation scheme by incorporating options for a complete trajectory design approach to the Trojan asteroids. Computational aspects of the design procedure are automated such that end-to-end trajectories are generated with a minimum of human interaction after key elements and constraints associated with a proposed mission concept are specified.

Automation of fusion first wall design using artificial intelligence technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshimura, Shinobu; Yagawa, Genki; Mochizuki, Yoshihiko

1990-01-01

This paper describes the application of artificial intelligence techniques to a design automation of the fusion first wall to be operated in the complex environment where huge electromagnetic and thermal loading as well as heavy neutron irradiation occur. As a basic strategy of designing structure shape considering many coupled phenomena, an ordinary design procedure based on the generate and test strategy is adopted because of its simplicity and broad applicability. To automate the design procedure with maintaining its flexibility, extensibility and efficiency, artificial intelligence techniques are utilized in the following. An object-oriented knowledge representation technique is adopted to store knowledge modules, that is, objects, related to the first wall design, while a data-flow processing technique is utilized as an inference mechanism among the knowledge modules. These techniques realize the flexibility and extensibility of the system. Moreover, as an efficient design modification mechanism, which is essential in a design process, an empirical approach based on experts' empirical knowledge and a mathematical approach based on a kind of numerical sensitivity analysis are introduced. The developed system is applied to a simple example of the design of a two-dimensional model of the first wall with a cooling channel, and its fundamental performance is clearly demonstrated. (author)

A Review Of Design And Control Of Automated Guided Vehicle Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T. Le-Anh (Tuan); M.B.M. de Koster (René)

2004-01-01

textabstractThis paper presents a review on design and control of automated guided vehicle systems. We address most key related issues including guide-path design, estimating the number of vehicles, vehicle scheduling, idle-vehicle positioning, battery management, vehicle routing, and conflict

21 CFR 111.30 - What requirements apply to automated, mechanical, or electronic equipment?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What requirements apply to automated, mechanical, or electronic equipment? 111.30 Section 111.30 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING...

Geometry Based Design Automation : Applied to Aircraft Modelling and Optimization

OpenAIRE

Amadori, Kristian

2012-01-01

Product development processes are continuously challenged by demands for increased efficiency. As engineering products become more and more complex, efficient tools and methods for integrated and automated design are needed throughout the development process. Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) is one promising technique that has the potential to drastically improve concurrent design. MDO frameworks combine several disciplinary models with the aim of gaining a holistic perspective of ...

Automated detection of a prostate Ni-Ti stent in electronic portal images.

Science.gov (United States)

Carl, Jesper; Nielsen, Henning; Nielsen, Jane; Lund, Bente; Larsen, Erik Hoejkjaer

2006-12-01

Planning target volumes (PTV) in fractionated radiotherapy still have to be outlined with wide margins to the clinical target volume due to uncertainties arising from daily shift of the prostate position. A recently proposed new method of visualization of the prostate is based on insertion of a thermo-expandable Ni-Ti stent. The current study proposes a new detection algorithm for automated detection of the Ni-Ti stent in electronic portal images. The algorithm is based on the Ni-Ti stent having a cylindrical shape with a fixed diameter, which was used as the basis for an automated detection algorithm. The automated method uses enhancement of lines combined with a grayscale morphology operation that looks for enhanced pixels separated with a distance similar to the diameter of the stent. The images in this study are all from prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy in a previous study. Images of a stent inserted in a humanoid phantom demonstrated a localization accuracy of 0.4-0.7 mm which equals the pixel size in the image. The automated detection of the stent was compared to manual detection in 71 pairs of orthogonal images taken in nine patients. The algorithm was successful in 67 of 71 pairs of images. The method is fast, has a high success rate, good accuracy, and has a potential for unsupervised localization of the prostate before radiotherapy, which would enable automated repositioning before treatment and allow for the use of very tight PTV margins.

Automated detection of a prostate Ni-Ti stent in electronic portal images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carl, Jesper; Nielsen, Henning; Nielsen, Jane; Lund, Bente; Larsen, Erik Hoejkjaer

2006-01-01

Planning target volumes (PTV) in fractionated radiotherapy still have to be outlined with wide margins to the clinical target volume due to uncertainties arising from daily shift of the prostate position. A recently proposed new method of visualization of the prostate is based on insertion of a thermo-expandable Ni-Ti stent. The current study proposes a new detection algorithm for automated detection of the Ni-Ti stent in electronic portal images. The algorithm is based on the Ni-Ti stent having a cylindrical shape with a fixed diameter, which was used as the basis for an automated detection algorithm. The automated method uses enhancement of lines combined with a grayscale morphology operation that looks for enhanced pixels separated with a distance similar to the diameter of the stent. The images in this study are all from prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy in a previous study. Images of a stent inserted in a humanoid phantom demonstrated a localization accuracy of 0.4-0.7 mm which equals the pixel size in the image. The automated detection of the stent was compared to manual detection in 71 pairs of orthogonal images taken in nine patients. The algorithm was successful in 67 of 71 pairs of images. The method is fast, has a high success rate, good accuracy, and has a potential for unsupervised localization of the prostate before radiotherapy, which would enable automated repositioning before treatment and allow for the use of very tight PTV margins

A utilization of fuzzy control for design automation of nuclear structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshimura, Shinobu; Yagawa, Genki; Mochizuki, Yoshihiko

1991-01-01

This paper describes an automated design of nuclear structures by means of some artificial intelligence techniques. The 'generate and test' strategy is adopted as a basic strategy of design. An empirical approach with the fuzzy control is introduced for efficient design modification. This system is applied to the design of some 2D models of the fusion first wall. (author)

External Validity of Electronic Sniffers for Automated Recognition of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

McKown, Andrew C; Brown, Ryan M; Ware, Lorraine B; Wanderer, Jonathan P

2017-01-01

Automated electronic sniffers may be useful for early detection of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) for institution of treatment or clinical trial screening. In a prospective cohort of 2929 critically ill patients, we retrospectively applied published sniffer algorithms for automated detection of acute lung injury to assess their utility in diagnosis of ARDS in the first 4 ICU days. Radiographic full-text reports were searched for "edema" OR ("bilateral" AND "infiltrate") and a more detailed algorithm for descriptions consistent with ARDS. Patients were flagged as possible ARDS if a radiograph met search criteria and had a PaO 2 /FiO 2 or SpO 2 /FiO 2 of 300 or 315, respectively. Test characteristics of the electronic sniffers and clinical suspicion of ARDS were compared to a gold standard of 2-physician adjudicated ARDS. Thirty percent of 2841 patients included in the analysis had gold standard diagnosis of ARDS. The simpler algorithm had sensitivity for ARDS of 78.9%, specificity of 52%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 41%, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 85.3% over the 4-day study period. The more detailed algorithm had sensitivity of 88.2%, specificity of 55.4%, PPV of 45.6%, and NPV of 91.7%. Both algorithms were more sensitive but less specific than clinician suspicion, which had sensitivity of 40.7%, specificity of 94.8%, PPV of 78.2%, and NPV of 77.7%. Published electronic sniffer algorithms for ARDS may be useful automated screening tools for ARDS and improve on clinical recognition, but they are limited to screening rather than diagnosis because their specificity is poor.

Application of the H-Mode, a Design and Interaction Concept for Highly Automated Vehicles, to Aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, Kenneth H.; Flemisch, Frank O.; Schutte, Paul C.; Williams, Ralph A.

2006-01-01

Driven by increased safety, efficiency, and airspace capacity, automation is playing an increasing role in aircraft operations. As aircraft become increasingly able to autonomously respond to a range of situations with performance surpassing human operators, we are compelled to look for new methods that help us understand their use and guide their design using new forms of automation and interaction. We propose a novel design metaphor to aid the conceptualization, design, and operation of highly-automated aircraft. Design metaphors transfer meaning from common experiences to less familiar applications or functions. A notable example is the "Desktop metaphor" for manipulating files on a computer. This paper describes a metaphor for highly automated vehicles known as the H-metaphor and a specific embodiment of the metaphor known as the H-mode as applied to aircraft. The fundamentals of the H-metaphor are reviewed followed by an overview of an exploratory usability study investigating human-automation interaction issues for a simple H-mode implementation. The envisioned application of the H-mode concept to aircraft is then described as are two planned evaluations.

Designing an automated blood fractionation system.

Science.gov (United States)

McQuillan, Adrian C; Sales, Sean D

2008-04-01

UK Biobank will be collecting blood samples from a cohort of 500 000 volunteers and it is expected that the rate of collection will peak at approximately 3000 blood collection tubes per day. These samples need to be prepared for long-term storage. It is not considered practical to manually process this quantity of samples so an automated blood fractionation system is required. Principles of industrial automation were applied to the blood fractionation process leading to the requirement of developing a vision system to identify the blood fractions within the blood collection tube so that the fractions can be accurately aspirated and dispensed into micro-tubes. A prototype was manufactured and tested on a range of human blood samples collected in different tube types. A specially designed vision system was capable of accurately measuring the position of the plasma meniscus, plasma/buffy coat interface and the red cells/buffy coat interface within a vacutainer. A rack of 24 vacutainers could be processed in blood fractionation system offers a solution to the problem of processing human blood samples collected in vacutainers in a consistent manner and provides a means of ensuring data and sample integrity.

Automated design of genomic Southern blot probes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Komiyama Noboru H

2010-01-01

experimentally validate a number of these automated designs by Southern blotting. The majority of probes we tested performed well confirming our in silico prediction methodology and the general usefulness of the software for automated genomic Southern probe design. Conclusions Software and supplementary information are freely available at: http://www.genes2cognition.org/software/southern_blot

The Automation Control System Design of Walking Beam Heating Furnace

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong-Yu LIU

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Combining the transformation project of certain strip steel rolling production line, the techniques process of walking beam heating furnace was elaborated in this paper. The practical application of LOS-T18-2ZC1 laser detector was elaborated. The network communication model of walking beam heating furnace control system was designed. The realization method of production process automation control was elaborated. The entire automation control system allocation picture and PLC power distribution system picture of walking beam heating furnace were designed. Charge machine movement process was elaborated. Walking beam movement process was elaborated. Extractor movement process was elaborated. The hydraulic station of walking mechanism was elaborated. Relative control circuit diagram was designed. The control function of parallel shift motor, uplifted and degressive motor was elaborated. The control circuit diagram of parallel shift motor of charge machine and extractor of first heating furnace was designed. The control circuit diagram of uplifted and degressive motor of charge machine and extractor of first heating furnace was designed. The realization method of steel blank length test function was elaborated. The realization method of tracking and sequence control function of heating furnace field roller were elaborated. The design provides important reference base for enhancing walking beam heating furnace control level.

Fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap for customizable soft electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Junghwan; Lee, Byeongmoon; Oh, Eunho; Kim, Hyunjong; Kim, Sangwoo; Lee, Seunghwan; Hong, Yongtaek

2017-03-24

Rapid growth of stretchable electronics stimulates broad uses in multidisciplinary fields as well as industrial applications. However, existing technologies are unsuitable for implementing versatile applications involving adaptable system design and functions in a cost/time-effective way because of vacuum-conditioned, lithographically-predefined processes. Here, we present a methodology for a fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap as a universal strategy which makes it more feasible to implement various stretchable electronic systems with customizable layouts and functions. The key aspects involve inkjet-printed rigid island (PRI)-based stretchable platform technology and corresponding printing-based automated electronic functionalization methodology, the combination of which provides fully printed, customized layouts of stretchable electronic systems with simplified process. Specifically, well-controlled contact line pinning effect of printed polymer solution enables the formation of PRIs with tunable thickness; and surface strain analysis on those PRIs leads to the optimized stability and device-to-island fill factor of strain-engineered electronic wraps. Moreover, core techniques of image-based automated pinpointing, surface-mountable device based electronic functionalizing, and one-step interconnection networking of PRIs enable customized circuit design and adaptable functionalities. To exhibit the universality of our approach, multiple types of practical applications ranging from self-computable digital logics to display and sensor system are demonstrated on skin in a customized form.

Fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap for customizable soft electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Junghwan; Lee, Byeongmoon; Oh, Eunho; Kim, Hyunjong; Kim, Sangwoo; Lee, Seunghwan; Hong, Yongtaek

2017-03-01

Rapid growth of stretchable electronics stimulates broad uses in multidisciplinary fields as well as industrial applications. However, existing technologies are unsuitable for implementing versatile applications involving adaptable system design and functions in a cost/time-effective way because of vacuum-conditioned, lithographically-predefined processes. Here, we present a methodology for a fully printable, strain-engineered electronic wrap as a universal strategy which makes it more feasible to implement various stretchable electronic systems with customizable layouts and functions. The key aspects involve inkjet-printed rigid island (PRI)-based stretchable platform technology and corresponding printing-based automated electronic functionalization methodology, the combination of which provides fully printed, customized layouts of stretchable electronic systems with simplified process. Specifically, well-controlled contact line pinning effect of printed polymer solution enables the formation of PRIs with tunable thickness; and surface strain analysis on those PRIs leads to the optimized stability and device-to-island fill factor of strain-engineered electronic wraps. Moreover, core techniques of image-based automated pinpointing, surface-mountable device based electronic functionalizing, and one-step interconnection networking of PRIs enable customized circuit design and adaptable functionalities. To exhibit the universality of our approach, multiple types of practical applications ranging from self-computable digital logics to display and sensor system are demonstrated on skin in a customized form.

An Automated Design Approach for High-Lift Systems incorporating Eccentric Beam Actuators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steenhuizen, D.; Van Tooren, M.J.L.

2010-01-01

In order to asess the merit of novel high-lift structural concepts to the design of contemporary and future transport aircraft, a highly automated design routine is elaborated. The structure, purpose and evolution of this design routine is set-out with the use of Knowledge-Based Engineering

Automated firewall analytics design, configuration and optimization

CERN Document Server

Al-Shaer, Ehab

2014-01-01

This book provides a comprehensive and in-depth study of automated firewall policy analysis for designing, configuring and managing distributed firewalls in large-scale enterpriser networks. It presents methodologies, techniques and tools for researchers as well as professionals to understand the challenges and improve the state-of-the-art of managing firewalls systematically in both research and application domains. Chapters explore set-theory, managing firewall configuration globally and consistently, access control list with encryption, and authentication such as IPSec policies. The author

Automated detection of fluorescent cells in in-resin fluorescence sections for integrated light and electron microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Delpiano, J; Pizarro, L; Peddie, C J; Jones, M L; Griffin, L D; Collinson, L M

2018-04-26

Integrated array tomography combines fluorescence and electron imaging of ultrathin sections in one microscope, and enables accurate high-resolution correlation of fluorescent proteins to cell organelles and membranes. Large numbers of serial sections can be imaged sequentially to produce aligned volumes from both imaging modalities, thus producing enormous amounts of data that must be handled and processed using novel techniques. Here, we present a scheme for automated detection of fluorescent cells within thin resin sections, which could then be used to drive automated electron image acquisition from target regions via 'smart tracking'. The aim of this work is to aid in optimization of the data acquisition process through automation, freeing the operator to work on other tasks and speeding up the process, while reducing data rates by only acquiring images from regions of interest. This new method is shown to be robust against noise and able to deal with regions of low fluorescence. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Microscopy published by JohnWiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Microscopical Society.

Automated Theorem Proving in High-Quality Software Design

Science.gov (United States)

Schumann, Johann; Swanson, Keith (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The amount and complexity of software developed during the last few years has increased tremendously. In particular, programs are being used more and more in embedded systems (from car-brakes to plant-control). Many of these applications are safety-relevant, i.e. a malfunction of hardware or software can cause severe damage or loss. Tremendous risks are typically present in the area of aviation, (nuclear) power plants or (chemical) plant control. Here, even small problems can lead to thousands of casualties and huge financial losses. Large financial risks also exist when computer systems are used in the area of telecommunication (telephone, electronic commerce) or space exploration. Computer applications in this area are not only subject to safety considerations, but also security issues are important. All these systems must be designed and developed to guarantee high quality with respect to safety and security. Even in an industrial setting which is (or at least should be) aware of the high requirements in Software Engineering, many incidents occur. For example, the Warshaw Airbus crash, was caused by an incomplete requirements specification. Uncontrolled reuse of an Ariane 4 software module was the reason for the Ariane 5 disaster. Some recent incidents in the telecommunication area, like illegal "cloning" of smart-cards of D2GSM handies, or the extraction of (secret) passwords from German T-online users show that also in this area serious flaws can happen. Due to the inherent complexity of computer systems, most authors claim that only a rigorous application of formal methods in all stages of the software life cycle can ensure high quality of the software and lead to real safe and secure systems. In this paper, we will have a look, in how far automated theorem proving can contribute to a more widespread application of formal methods and their tools, and what automated theorem provers (ATPs) must provide in order to be useful.

MIDAS: Automated Approach to Design Microwave Integrated Inductors and Transformers on Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Aluigi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The design of modern radiofrequency integrated circuits on silicon operating at microwave and millimeter-waves requires the integration of several spiral inductors and transformers that are not commonly available in the process design-kits of the technologies. In this work we present an auxiliary CAD tool for Microwave Inductor (and transformer Design Automation on Silicon (MIDAS that exploits commercial simulators and allows the implementation of an automatic design flow, including three-dimensional layout editing and electromagnetic simulations. In detail, MIDAS allows the designer to derive a preliminary sizing of the inductor (transformer on the bases of the design entries (specifications. It draws the inductor (transformer layers for the specific process design kit, including vias and underpasses, with or without patterned ground shield, and launches the electromagnetic simulations, achieving effective design automation with respect to the traditional design flow for RFICs. With the present software suite the complete design time is reduced significantly (typically 1 hour on a PC based on Intel® Pentium® Dual 1.80GHz CPU with 2-GB RAM. Afterwards both the device equivalent circuit and the layout are ready to be imported in the Cadence environment.

Maneuver Automation Software

Science.gov (United States)

Uffelman, Hal; Goodson, Troy; Pellegrin, Michael; Stavert, Lynn; Burk, Thomas; Beach, David; Signorelli, Joel; Jones, Jeremy; Hahn, Yungsun; Attiyah, Ahlam;

A Parallel Genetic Algorithm for Automated Electronic Circuit Design

Science.gov (United States)

Lohn, Jason D.; Colombano, Silvano P.; Haith, Gary L.; Stassinopoulos, Dimitris; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

We describe a parallel genetic algorithm (GA) that automatically generates circuit designs using evolutionary search. A circuit-construction programming language is introduced and we show how evolution can generate practical analog circuit designs. Our system allows circuit size (number of devices), circuit topology, and device values to be evolved. We present experimental results as applied to analog filter and amplifier design tasks.

Semi-Automated Diagnosis, Repair, and Rework of Spacecraft Electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Struk, Peter M.; Oeftering, Richard C.; Easton, John W.; Anderson, Eric E.

2008-01-01

NASA's Constellation Program for Exploration of the Moon and Mars places human crews in extreme isolation in resource scarce environments. Near Earth, the discontinuation of Space Shuttle flights after 2010 will alter the up- and down-mass capacity for the International Space Station (ISS). NASA is considering new options for logistics support strategies for future missions. Aerospace systems are often composed of replaceable modular blocks that minimize the need for complex service operations in the field. Such a strategy however, implies a robust and responsive logistics infrastructure with relatively low transportation costs. The modular Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) used for ISS requires relatively large blocks of replacement hardware even though the actual failed component may really be three orders of magnitude smaller. The ability to perform in-situ repair of electronics circuits at the component level can dramatically reduce the scale of spares and related logistics cost. This ability also reduces mission risk, increases crew independence and improves the overall supportability of the program. The Component-Level Electronics Assembly Repair (CLEAR) task under the NASA Supportability program was established to demonstrate the practicality of repair by first investigating widely used soldering materials and processes (M&P) performed by modest manual means. The work will result in program guidelines for performing manual repairs along with design guidance for circuit reparability. The next phase of CLEAR recognizes that manual repair has its limitations and some highly integrated devices are extremely difficult to handle and demand semi-automated equipment. Further, electronics repairs require a broad range of diagnostic capability to isolate the faulty components. Finally repairs must pass functional tests to determine that the repairs are successful and the circuit can be returned to service. To prevent equipment demands from exceeding spacecraft volume

Preliminary design of a production automation framework for a pyroprocessing facility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moonsoo Shin

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Pyroprocessing technology has been regarded as a promising solution for recycling spent fuel in nuclear power plants. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has been studying the current status of equipment and facilities for pyroprocessing and found that existing facilities are manually operated; therefore, their applications have been limited to laboratory scale because of low productivity and safety concerns. To extend the pyroprocessing technology to a commercial scale, the facility, including all the processing equipment and the material-handling devices, should be enhanced in view of automation. In an automated pyroprocessing facility, a supervised control system is needed to handle and manage material flow and associated operations. This article provides a preliminary design of the supervising system for pyroprocessing. In particular, a manufacturing execution system intended for an automated pyroprocessing facility, named Pyroprocessing Execution System, is proposed, by which the overall production process is automated via systematic collaboration with a planning system and a control system. Moreover, a simulation-based prototype system is presented to illustrate the operability of the proposed Pyroprocessing Execution System, and a simulation study to demonstrate the interoperability of the material-handling equipment with processing equipment is also provided. Keywords: Manufacturing Execution System, Material-handling, Production Automation, Production Planning and Control, Pyroprocessing, Pyroprocessing Execution System

Automating analog design: Taming the shrew

Science.gov (United States)

Barlow, A.

1990-01-01

The pace of progress in the design of integrated circuits continues to amaze observers inside and outside of the industry. Three decades ago, a 50 transistor chip was a technological wonder. Fifteen year later, a 5000 transistor device would 'wow' the crowds. Today, 50,000 transistor chips will earn a 'not too bad' assessment, but it takes 500,000 to really leave an impression. In 1975 a typical ASIC device had 1000 transistors, took one year to first samples (and two years to production) and sold for about 5 cents per transistor. Today's 50,000 transistor gate array takes about 4 months from spec to silicon, works the first time, and sells for about 0.02 cents per transistor. Fifteen years ago, the single most laborious and error prone step in IC design was the physical layout. Today, most IC's never see the hand of a layout designer: and automatic place and route tool converts the engineer's computer captured schematic to a complete physical design using a gate array or a library of standard cells also created by software rather than by designers. CAD has also been a generous benefactor to the digital design process. The architect of today's digital systems creates the design using an RTL or other high level simulator. Then the designer pushes a button to invoke the logic synthesizer-optimizer tool. A fault analyzer checks the result for testability and suggests where scan based cells will improve test coverage. One obstinate holdout amidst this parade of progress is the automation of analog design and its reduction to semi-custom techniques. This paper investigates the application of CAD techniques to analog design.

Fundamentals of electronic systems design

CERN Document Server

Lienig, Jens

2017-01-01

This textbook covers the design of electronic systems from the ground up, from drawing and CAD essentials to recycling requirements. Chapter by chapter, it deals with the challenges any modern system designer faces: the design process and its fundamentals, such as technical drawings and CAD, electronic system levels, assembly and packaging issues and appliance protection classes, reliability analysis, thermal management and cooling, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), all the way to recycling requirements and environmental-friendly design principles. Enables readers to face various challenges of designing electronic systems, including coverage from various engineering disciplines; Written to be accessible to readers of varying backgrounds; Uses illustrations extensively to reinforce fundamental concepts; Organized to follow essential design process, although chapters are self-contained and can be read in any order.

Design and analysis on sorting blade for automated size-based sorting device

Science.gov (United States)

Razali, Zol Bahri; Kader, Mohamed Mydin M. Abdul; Samsudin, Yasser Suhaimi; Daud, Mohd Hisam

2017-09-01

Nowadays rubbish separating or recycling is a main problem of nation, where peoples dumped their rubbish into dumpsite without caring the value of the rubbish if it can be recycled and reused. Thus the author proposed an automated segregating device, purposely to teach people to separate their rubbish and value the rubbish that can be reused. The automated size-based mechanical segregating device provides significant improvements in terms of efficiency and consistency in this segregating process. This device is designed to make recycling easier, user friendly, in the hope that more people will take responsibility if it is less of an expense of time and effort. This paper discussed about redesign a blade for the sorting device which is to develop an efficient automated mechanical sorting device for the similar material but in different size. The machine is able to identify the size of waste and it depends to the coil inside the container to separate it out. The detail design and methodology is described in detail in this paper.

Designing Automated Guidance to Promote Productive Revision of Science Explanations

Science.gov (United States)

Tansomboon, Charissa; Gerard, Libby F.; Vitale, Jonathan M.; Linn, Marcia C.

2017-01-01

Supporting students to revise their written explanations in science can help students to integrate disparate ideas and develop a coherent, generative account of complex scientific topics. Using natural language processing to analyze student written work, we compare forms of automated guidance designed to motivate productive revision and help…

Surrogate-Assisted Genetic Programming With Simplified Models for Automated Design of Dispatching Rules.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Su; Zhang, Mengjie; Tan, Kay Chen

2017-09-01

Automated design of dispatching rules for production systems has been an interesting research topic over the last several years. Machine learning, especially genetic programming (GP), has been a powerful approach to dealing with this design problem. However, intensive computational requirements, accuracy and interpretability are still its limitations. This paper aims at developing a new surrogate assisted GP to help improving the quality of the evolved rules without significant computational costs. The experiments have verified the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithms as compared to those in the literature. Furthermore, new simplification and visualisation approaches have also been developed to improve the interpretability of the evolved rules. These approaches have shown great potentials and proved to be a critical part of the automated design system.

Design of Air Conditioning Automation for Patisserie Shopwindow

OpenAIRE

Kemal Tutuncu; Recai Ozcan

2013-01-01

Having done in this study, air-conditioning automation for patisserie shopwindow was designed. In the cooling sector it is quite important to cooling up the air temperature in the shopwindow within short time interval. Otherwise the patisseries inside of the shopwindow will be spoilt in a few days. Additionally the humidity is other important parameter for the patisseries kept in shopwindow. It must be raised up to desired level in a quite short time. Traditional patisser...

Automated electronic reminders to facilitate primary cardiovascular disease prevention: randomised controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Tim A; Thorogood, Margaret; Griffiths, Frances; Munday, Stephen; Friede, Tim; Stables, David

2010-01-01

Background Primary care databases contain cardiovascular disease risk factor data, but practical tools are required to improve identification of at-risk patients. Aim To test the effects of a system of electronic reminders (the ‘e-Nudge’) on cardiovascular events and the adequacy of data for cardiovascular risk estimation. Design of study Randomised controlled trial. Setting Nineteen general practices in the West Midlands, UK. Method The e-Nudge identifies four groups of patients aged over 50 years on the basis of estimated cardiovascular risk and adequacy of risk factor data in general practice computers. Screen messages highlight individuals at raised risk and prompt users to complete risk profiles where necessary. The proportion of the study population in the four groups was measured, as well as the rate of cardiovascular events in each arm after 2 years. Results Over 38 000 patients' electronic records were randomised. The intervention led to an increase in the proportion of patients with sufficient data who were identifiably at risk, with a difference of 1.94% compared to the control group (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.38 to 2.50, P<0.001). A corresponding reduction occurred in the proportion potentially at risk but requiring further data for a risk estimation (difference = –3.68%, 95% CI = –4.53 to –2.84, P<0.001). No significant difference was observed in the incidence of cardiovascular events (rate ratio = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.85 to 1.10, P = 0.59). Conclusion Automated electronic reminders using routinely collected primary care data can improve the adequacy of cardiovascular risk factor information during everyday practice and increase the visibility of the at-risk population. PMID:20353659

Automation Interface Design Development

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Our research makes its contributions at two levels. At one level, we addressed the problems of interaction between humans and computers/automation in a particular...

Evidence Report, Risk of Inadequate Design of Human and Automation/Robotic Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Zumbado, Jennifer Rochlis; Billman, Dorrit; Feary, Mike; Green, Collin

2011-01-01

The success of future exploration missions depends, even more than today, on effective integration of humans and technology (automation and robotics). This will not emerge by chance, but by design. Both crew and ground personnel will need to do more demanding tasks in more difficult conditions, amplifying the costs of poor design and the benefits of good design. This report has looked at the importance of good design and the risks from poor design from several perspectives: 1) If the relevant functions needed for a mission are not identified, then designs of technology and its use by humans are unlikely to be effective: critical functions will be missing and irrelevant functions will mislead or drain attention. 2) If functions are not distributed effectively among the (multiple) participating humans and automation/robotic systems, later design choices can do little to repair this: additional unnecessary coordination work may be introduced, workload may be redistributed to create problems, limited human attentional resources may be wasted, and the capabilities of both humans and technology underused. 3) If the design does not promote accurate understanding of the capabilities of the technology, the operators will not use the technology effectively: the system may be switched off in conditions where it would be effective, or used for tasks or in contexts where its effectiveness may be very limited. 4) If an ineffective interaction design is implemented and put into use, a wide range of problems can ensue. Many involve lack of transparency into the system: operators may be unable or find it very difficult to determine a) the current state and changes of state of the automation or robot, b) the current state and changes in state of the system being controlled or acted on, and c) what actions by human or by system had what effects. 5) If the human interfaces for operation and control of robotic agents are not designed to accommodate the unique points of view and

Automated Design Framework for Synthetic Biology Exploiting Pareto Optimality.

Science.gov (United States)

Otero-Muras, Irene; Banga, Julio R

2017-07-21

In this work we consider Pareto optimality for automated design in synthetic biology. We present a generalized framework based on a mixed-integer dynamic optimization formulation that, given design specifications, allows the computation of Pareto optimal sets of designs, that is, the set of best trade-offs for the metrics of interest. We show how this framework can be used for (i) forward design, that is, finding the Pareto optimal set of synthetic designs for implementation, and (ii) reverse design, that is, analyzing and inferring motifs and/or design principles of gene regulatory networks from the Pareto set of optimal circuits. Finally, we illustrate the capabilities and performance of this framework considering four case studies. In the first problem we consider the forward design of an oscillator. In the remaining problems, we illustrate how to apply the reverse design approach to find motifs for stripe formation, rapid adaption, and fold-change detection, respectively.

Espina: A Tool for the Automated Segmentation and Counting of Synapses in Large Stacks of Electron Microscopy Images

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, Juan; Alonso-Nanclares, Lidia; Rodríguez, José-Rodrigo; DeFelipe, Javier; Rodríguez, Ángel; Merchán-Pérez, Ángel

2011-01-01

The synapses in the cerebral cortex can be classified into two main types, Gray's type I and type II, which correspond to asymmetric (mostly glutamatergic excitatory) and symmetric (inhibitory GABAergic) synapses, respectively. Hence, the quantification and identification of their different types and the proportions in which they are found, is extraordinarily important in terms of brain function. The ideal approach to calculate the number of synapses per unit volume is to analyze 3D samples reconstructed from serial sections. However, obtaining serial sections by transmission electron microscopy is an extremely time consuming and technically demanding task. Using focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope microscopy, we recently showed that virtually all synapses can be accurately identified as asymmetric or symmetric synapses when they are visualized, reconstructed, and quantified from large 3D tissue samples obtained in an automated manner. Nevertheless, the analysis, segmentation, and quantification of synapses is still a labor intensive procedure. Thus, novel solutions are currently necessary to deal with the large volume of data that is being generated by automated 3D electron microscopy. Accordingly, we have developed ESPINA, a software tool that performs the automated segmentation and counting of synapses in a reconstructed 3D volume of the cerebral cortex, and that greatly facilitates and accelerates these processes. PMID:21633491

AUTOMATED IRRIGATION SYSTEM CONSTITUTED OF ELECTRONIC ELEMENTS, MOBILE DEVICE AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF SPRINKLER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alma Delia González

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This document presents the development of an automated irrigation system, which consisted of a sprinkler that has a range of 16 meters in diameter using only sprinklers per one hectare of land, water pump, hose, water containers, electro valves, relays, electronic components such as humidity and temperature sensor, ultrasonic sensor, LCD screen, microcontroller (Arduino Mega, for communication a bluetooth module and a mobile device (Android. The agile methodology used was Extreme XP Programming, following its 4 phases, planning, design, development and testing. With this an automated irrigation system was used that was developed to monitor temperature, humidity and to generate a saving in the water thanks to the census of the container of the same, as well as the reduction of maintenance costs, this can be activated or deactivated by the user regardless of the conditions. The system complies with the characteristics of a utility model, because these models are all those objects, tools, appliances or tools that, as a result of a change in their layout, configuration, structure or form, present a different function with respect to the parts that integrate it or advantages in terms of its usefulness and thanks to the search carried out in IMPI. In the study of the state of the art the search was made in the data bases of Mexico in SIGA (Information System of the Gazette of the Industrial Property and internationally in Thomson, the results showed that there were similar sy

Design of Networked Home Automation System Based on μCOS-II and AMAZON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Jianfeng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, with the popularity of computers and smart phones and the development of intelligent building in electronics industry, people’s requirement of living environment is gradually changing. The intelligent home furnishing building has become the new focus of people purchasing. And the networked home automation system which relies on the advanced network technology to connect with air conditioning, lighting, security, curtains, TV, water heater and other home furnishing systems into a local area network becomes a networked control system. μC /OS is a real-time operating system with the free open-source code, the compact structure and the preemptive real-time kernel. In this paper, the author focuses on the design of home furnishing total controller based on AMAZON multimedia processor and μC/OS-II real-time operating system, and achieves the remote access connection and control through the Ethernet.

Design of a robotic automation system for transportation of goods in hospitals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Özkil, Ali Gürcan; Sørensen, Torben; Fan, Zhun

2007-01-01

Hospitals face with heavy traffic of goods everyday, where transportation tasks are mainly carried by human. Analysis of the current situation of transportation in a typical hospital showed several transportation tasks are suitable for automation. This paper presents a system, consisting of a fleet...... of robot vehicles, automatic stations and smart containers for automation of transportation of goods in hospitals. Design of semi-autonomous robot vehicles, containers and stations are presented and the overall system architecture is described. Implementing such a system in an existing hospital showed...

Managing Selection for Electronic Resources: Kent State University Develops a New System to Automate Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Downey, Kay

2012-01-01

Kent State University has developed a centralized system that manages the communication and work related to the review and selection of commercially available electronic resources. It is an automated system that tracks the review process, provides selectors with price and trial information, and compiles reviewers' feedback about the resource. It…

Using artificial intelligence to automate remittance processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, W T; Snow, G M; Helmick, P M

1998-06-01

The consolidated business office of the Allegheny Health Education Research Foundation (AHERF), a large integrated healthcare system based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, sought to improve its cash-related business office activities by implementing an automated remittance processing system that uses artificial intelligence. The goal was to create a completely automated system whereby all monies it processed would be tracked, automatically posted, analyzed, monitored, controlled, and reconciled through a central database. Using a phased approach, the automated payment system has become the central repository for all of the remittances for seven of the hospitals in the AHERF system and has allowed for the complete integration of these hospitals' existing billing systems, document imaging system, and intranet, as well as the new automated payment posting, and electronic cash tracking and reconciling systems. For such new technology, which is designed to bring about major change, factors contributing to the project's success were adequate planning, clearly articulated objectives, marketing, end-user acceptance, and post-implementation plan revision.

Automated detection of a prostate Ni-Ti stent in electronic portal images

OpenAIRE

Carl, Jesper; Nielsen, Henning; Nielsen, Jane; Lund, Bente; Larsen, Erik Hoejkjaer

2006-01-01

  Udgivelsesdato: DEC  Planning target volumes (PTV) in fractionated radiotherapy still have to be outlined with wide margins to the clinical target volume due to uncertainties arising from daily shift of the prostate position. A recently proposed new method of visualization of the prostate is based on insertion of a thermo-expandable Ni-Ti stent. The current study proposes a new detection algorithm for automated detection of the Ni-Ti stent in electronic portal images. The algorithm is ba...

Real time control engineering systems and automation

CERN Document Server

Ng, Tian Seng

2016-01-01

This book covers the two broad areas of the electronics and electrical aspects of control applications, highlighting the many different types of control systems of relevance to real-life control system design. The control techniques presented are state-of-the-art. In the electronics section, readers will find essential information on microprocessor, microcontroller, mechatronics and electronics control. The low-level assembly programming language performs basic input/output control techniques as well as controlling the stepper motor and PWM dc motor. In the electrical section, the book addresses the complete elevator PLC system design, neural network plant control, load flow analysis, and process control, as well as machine vision topics. Illustrative diagrams, circuits and programming examples and algorithms help to explain the details of the system function design. Readers will find a wealth of computer control and industrial automation practices and applications for modern industries, as well as the educat...

XVI International symposium on nuclear electronics and VI International school on automation and computing in nuclear physics and astrophysics; XVI Mezhdunarodnyj simpozium po yadernoj ehlektronike i VI Mezhdunarodnaya shkola po avtomatizatsii issledovanij v yadernoj fizike i astrofizike

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Churin, I N [ed.

1996-12-31

Reports and papers of the 16- International Symposium on nuclear electronics and the 6- International school on automation and computing in nuclear physics and astrophysics are presented. The latest achievements in the field of development of fact - response electronic circuits designed for detecting and spectrometric facilities are studied. The peculiar attention is paid to the systems for acquisition, processing and storage of experimental data. The modern equipment designed for data communication in the computer networks is studied.

A Case Study of Reverse Engineering Integrated in an Automated Design Process

Science.gov (United States)

Pescaru, R.; Kyratsis, P.; Oancea, G.

2016-11-01

This paper presents a design methodology which automates the generation of curves extracted from the point clouds that have been obtained by digitizing the physical objects. The methodology is described on a product belonging to the industry of consumables, respectively a footwear type product that has a complex shape with many curves. The final result is the automated generation of wrapping curves, surfaces and solids according to the characteristics of the customer's foot, and to the preferences for the chosen model, which leads to the development of customized products.

Automated design evolution of stereochemically randomized protein foldamers

Science.gov (United States)

Ranbhor, Ranjit; Kumar, Anil; Patel, Kirti; Ramakrishnan, Vibin; Durani, Susheel

2018-05-01

Diversification of chain stereochemistry opens up the possibilities of an ‘in principle’ increase in the design space of proteins. This huge increase in the sequence and consequent structural variation is aimed at the generation of smart materials. To diversify protein structure stereochemically, we introduced L- and D-α-amino acids as the design alphabet. With a sequence design algorithm, we explored the usage of specific variables such as chirality and the sequence of this alphabet in independent steps. With molecular dynamics, we folded stereochemically diverse homopolypeptides and evaluated their ‘fitness’ for possible design as protein-like foldamers. We propose a fitness function to prune the most optimal fold among 1000 structures simulated with an automated repetitive simulated annealing molecular dynamics (AR-SAMD) approach. The highly scored poly-leucine fold with sequence lengths of 24 and 30 amino acids were later sequence-optimized using a Dead End Elimination cum Monte Carlo based optimization tool. This paper demonstrates a novel approach for the de novo design of protein-like foldamers.

An automated electronic system for managing radiation treatment plan peer review reduces missed reviews at a large, high-volume academic center.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, Peter E; Woodhouse, Kristina D; Lin, Alexander; Finlay, Jarod C; Young, Richard B; Volz, Edna; Hahn, Stephen M; Metz, James M; Maity, Amit

Assuring quality in cancer care through peer review has become increasingly important in radiation oncology. In 2012, our department implemented an automated electronic system for managing radiation treatment plan peer review. The purpose of this study was to compare the overall impact of this electronic system to our previous manual, paper-based system. In an effort to improve management, an automated electronic system for case finding and documentation of review was developed and implemented. The rates of missed initial reviews, late reviews, and missed re-reviews were compared for the pre- versus postelectronic system cohorts using Pearson χ 2 test and relative risk. Major and minor changes or recommendations were documented and shared with the assigned clinical provider. The overall rate of missed reviews was 7.6% (38/500) before system implementation versus 0.4% (28/6985) under the electronic system (P automated system. Missed re-reviews occurred in 23.1% (3/13) of courses in the preelectronic system cohort and 6.6% (10/152) of courses in the postelectronic system cohort (P = .034). Late reviews were more frequent during high travel or major holiday periods. Major changes were recommended in 2.2% and 2.8% in the pre- versus postelectronic systems, respectively. Minor changes were recommended in 5.3% of all postelectronic cases. The implementation of an automated electronic system for managing peer review in a large, complex department was effective in significantly reducing the number of missed reviews and missed re-reviews when compared to our previous manual system. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Radiation Oncology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An automated supernova search and the design strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colgate, S.A.

1987-01-01

The design considerations for an automated supernova search are reviewed. If supernova are to be found a week after explosion well before light maximum of both Types I and II, and if a rate of finding of 52 per year is justified, then one needs to keep roughly 5000 galaxies under surveillance out of a full set of 15,000 galaxies at ≅50 Mpc distance. For detection at 1% of Type I maximum light requires a 30-inch telescope, 10 photoelectrons per pixel threshold, a 128 x 128 pixel photodetector operating with a 3-second integration time, and 2 seconds to slew and settle ≅1 0 . A system designed to perform this function in real-time is described. 7 refs

Low cost automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-03-01

This book indicates method of building of automation plan, design of automation facilities, automation and CHIP process like basics of cutting, NC processing machine and CHIP handling, automation unit, such as drilling unit, tapping unit, boring unit, milling unit and slide unit, application of oil pressure on characteristics and basic oil pressure circuit, application of pneumatic, automation kinds and application of process, assembly, transportation, automatic machine and factory automation.

Development of an automated system for the operation of an electron beam accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Somessari, Samir L.; Moura, João A.; Calvo, Wilson Ap. Parejo

2017-01-01

Electron beam accelerators are used in many applications, such as basic physical research, chemistry, medicine, molecular biology, microelectronics, agriculture and industry, among others. The majority of the accelerators have electrons from a hot tungsten filament and their energy is increased as it passes through an electric field in the vacuum chamber. For industrial purposes, the most common model is Dynamitrons®. At IPEN-CNEN/SP, there is an electron beam accelerator Dynamitron® Type (Manufactured by RDI- Radiation Dynamics Inc., 1978) model DC1500/25/4. The technology applied was available in the 60's and 70's, but, nowadays is obsolete. Moreover, there are not original spare parts for this equipment any longer. The aim of this work is to develop a nationalized automated operation system for the accelerator, to replace the old equipment. (author)

Development of an automated system for the operation of an electron beam accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Somessari, Samir L.; Moura, João A.; Calvo, Wilson Ap. Parejo, E-mail: somessar@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-11-01

Electron beam accelerators are used in many applications, such as basic physical research, chemistry, medicine, molecular biology, microelectronics, agriculture and industry, among others. The majority of the accelerators have electrons from a hot tungsten filament and their energy is increased as it passes through an electric field in the vacuum chamber. For industrial purposes, the most common model is Dynamitrons®. At IPEN-CNEN/SP, there is an electron beam accelerator Dynamitron® Type (Manufactured by RDI- Radiation Dynamics Inc., 1978) model DC1500/25/4. The technology applied was available in the 60's and 70's, but, nowadays is obsolete. Moreover, there are not original spare parts for this equipment any longer. The aim of this work is to develop a nationalized automated operation system for the accelerator, to replace the old equipment. (author)

Electronic Systems for Spacecraft Vehicles: Required EDA Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Bachnak, Rafic

1999-01-01

The continuous increase in complexity of electronic systems is making the design and manufacturing of such systems more challenging than ever before. As a result, designers are finding it impossible to design efficient systems without the use of sophisticated Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. These tools offer integrated simulation of the electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing functions and lead to a correct by design methodology. This report identifies the EDA tools that would be needed to design, analyze, simulate, and evaluate electronic systems for spacecraft vehicles. In addition, the report presents recommendations to enhance the current JSC electronic design capabilities. This includes cost information and a discussion as to the impact, both positive and negative, of implementing the recommendations.

Sci—Thur PM: Planning and Delivery — 03: Automated delivery and quality assurance of a modulated electron radiation therapy plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Connell, T; Papaconstadopoulos, P; Alexander, A; Serban, M; Devic, S; Seuntjens, J

2014-01-01

Modulated electron radiation therapy (MERT) offers the potential to improve healthy tissue sparing through increased dose conformity. Challenges remain, however, in accurate beamlet dose calculation, plan optimization, collimation method and delivery accuracy. In this work, we investigate the accuracy and efficiency of an end-to-end MERT plan and automated-delivery workflow for the electron boost portion of a previously treated whole breast irradiation case. Dose calculations were performed using Monte Carlo methods and beam weights were determined using a research-based treatment planning system capable of inverse optimization. The plan was delivered to radiochromic film placed in a water equivalent phantom for verification, using an automated motorized tertiary collimator. The automated delivery, which covered 4 electron energies, 196 subfields and 6183 total MU was completed in 25.8 minutes, including 6.2 minutes of beam-on time with the remainder of the delivery time spent on collimator leaf motion and the automated interfacing with the accelerator in service mode. The delivery time could be reduced by 5.3 minutes with minor electron collimator modifications and the beam-on time could be reduced by and estimated factor of 2–3 through redesign of the scattering foils. Comparison of the planned and delivered film dose gave 3%/3 mm gamma pass rates of 62.1, 99.8, 97.8, 98.3, and 98.7 percent for the 9, 12, 16, 20 MeV, and combined energy deliveries respectively. Good results were also seen in the delivery verification performed with a MapCHECK 2 device. The results showed that accurate and efficient MERT delivery is possible with current technologies

Home Automation

OpenAIRE

Ahmed, Zeeshan

2010-01-01

In this paper I briefly discuss the importance of home automation system. Going in to the details I briefly present a real time designed and implemented software and hardware oriented house automation research project, capable of automating house's electricity and providing a security system to detect the presence of unexpected behavior.

Designing an Automated Assessment of Public Speaking Skills Using Multimodal Cues

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lei; Feng, Gary; Leong, Chee Wee; Joe, Jilliam; Kitchen, Christopher; Lee, Chong Min

2016-01-01

Traditional assessments of public speaking skills rely on human scoring. We report an initial study on the development of an automated scoring model for public speaking performances using multimodal technologies. Task design, rubric development, and human rating were conducted according to standards in educational assessment. An initial corpus of…

Electron gun design for HIRFL-CSR electron cooler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao Yinong; Xia Jiawen; Yuan Youjin; Wei Baowen

1996-01-01

Adiabatic acceleration is employed to design the electron gun of HIRFL-CSR e-cooler by using the modified EGUN code. The electron beam transverse temperature variations with anode region and acceleration tube design parameters as well as the uniform solenoidal magnetic field are presented. Transversal temperature of less than 0.1 eV at a maximum current density of 0.244 A/cm 2 are obtained over the full energy range of 2.75∼165 keV

Reflections on Teaching in The Design of Embedd ed Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georffrey Acevedo González

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In the design of electronic solutions in areas as diverse as automotive, communications, automation, electronics, entertainment, industrial automation, medical applications, PC peripherals, consumer products and lighting among others, comes the need for integrated circuits that meet specific functions. This is where the designer must choose from a wide variety of options between manufacturers and between families called integrated circuit manufacturer. This article aims to provide elements for discussion on the criteria according to a particular need determine the choice of a microcontroller and the powers that result, the University should seek to develop in the professional electronics.

Automation of Test Cases for Web Applications : Automation of CRM Test Cases

OpenAIRE

Seyoum, Alazar

2012-01-01

The main theme of this project was to design a test automation framework for automating web related test cases. Automating test cases designed for testing a web interface provide a means of improving a software development process by shortening the testing phase in the software development life cycle. In this project an existing AutoTester framework and iMacros test automation tools were used. CRM Test Agent was developed to integrate AutoTester to iMacros and to enable the AutoTester,...

Design, Construction, Demonstration and Delivery of an Automated Narrow Gap Welding System.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-06-29

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, DEMONSTRATION AND DELIVERY OF WE DA4I &NARROW GAP CONTRACT NO. NOOGOO-81-C-E923 TO DAVID TAYLOR NAVAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT...the automated * Narrow Gap welding process, is the narrow (3/8 - inch), square-butt joint *design. This narrow joint greatly reduces the volume of weld...AD-i45 495 DESIGN CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATION AiND DELIVERY OF RN 1/j AUrOMATED NARROW GAP WELDING SYSTEMI() CRC AUTOMATIC WELDING CO HOUSTON TX 29

An architecture pattern for safety critical automated driving applications: Design and analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luo, Y.; Saberi, A.K.; Bijlsma, T.; Lukkien, J.J.; Brand, M. van den

2017-01-01

Introduction of automated driving increases complexity of automotive systems. As a result, architecture design becomes a major concern for ensuring non-functional requirements such as safety, and modifiability. In the ISO 26262 standard, architecture patterns are recommended for system development.

An architecture pattern for safety critical automated driving applications : design and analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luo, Y.; Khabbaz Saberi, A.; Bijlsma, T.; Lukkien, J.J.; van den Brand, M.G.J.

2017-01-01

Introduction of automated driving increases complexity of automotive systems. As a result, architecture design becomes a major concern for ensuring non-functional requirements such as safety, and modifiability. In the ISO 26262 standard, architecture patterns are recommended for system development.

Recent advances in agent-based complex automated negotiation

CERN Document Server

Ito, Takayuki; Zhang, Minjie; Fujita, Katsuhide; Robu, Valentin

2016-01-01

This book covers recent advances in Complex Automated Negotiations as a widely studied emerging area in the field of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. The book includes selected revised and extended papers from the 7th International Workshop on Agent-Based Complex Automated Negotiation (ACAN2014), which was held in Paris, France, in May 2014. The book also includes brief introductions about Agent-based Complex Automated Negotiation which are based on tutorials provided in the workshop, and brief summaries and descriptions about the ANAC'14 (Automated Negotiating Agents Competition) competition, where authors of selected finalist agents explain the strategies and the ideas used by them. The book is targeted to academic and industrial researchers in various communities of autonomous agents and multi-agent systems, such as agreement technology, mechanism design, electronic commerce, related areas, as well as graduate, undergraduate, and PhD students working in those areas or having interest in them.

Automated Design and Analysis Tool for CEV Structural and TPS Components, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The innovation of the proposed effort is a unique automated process for the analysis, design, and sizing of CEV structures and TPS. This developed process will...

Electronics reliability calculation and design

CERN Document Server

Dummer, Geoffrey W A; Hiller, N

1966-01-01

Electronics Reliability-Calculation and Design provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts of reliability. The increasing complexity of electronic equipment has made problems in designing and manufacturing a reliable product more and more difficult. Specific techniques have been developed that enable designers to integrate reliability into their products, and reliability has become a science in its own right. The book begins with a discussion of basic mathematical and statistical concepts, including arithmetic mean, frequency distribution, median and mode, scatter or dispersion of mea

Means of storage and automated monitoring of versions of text technical documentation

Science.gov (United States)

Leonovets, S. A.; Shukalov, A. V.; Zharinov, I. O.

2018-03-01

The paper presents automation of the process of preparation, storage and monitoring of version control of a text designer, and program documentation by means of the specialized software is considered. Automation of preparation of documentation is based on processing of the engineering data which are contained in the specifications and technical documentation or in the specification. Data handling assumes existence of strictly structured electronic documents prepared in widespread formats according to templates on the basis of industry standards and generation by an automated method of the program or designer text document. Further life cycle of the document and engineering data entering it are controlled. At each stage of life cycle, archive data storage is carried out. Studies of high-speed performance of use of different widespread document formats in case of automated monitoring and storage are given. The new developed software and the work benches available to the developer of the instrumental equipment are described.

The H-Metaphor as a Guideline for Vehicle Automation and Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Flemisch, Frank O.; Adams, Catherine A.; Conway, Sheila R.; Goodrich, Ken H.; Palmer, Michael T.; Schutte, Paul C.

2003-01-01

Good design is not free of form. It does not necessarily happen through a mere sampling of technologies packaged together, through pure analysis, or just by following procedures. Good design begins with inspiration and a vision, a mental image of the end product, which can sometimes be described with a design metaphor. A successful example from the 20th century is the desktop metaphor, which took a real desktop as an orientation for the manipulation of electronic documents on a computer. Initially defined by Xerox, then refined by Apple and others, it could be found on almost every computer by the turn of the 20th century. This paper sketches a specific metaphor for the emerging field of highly automated vehicles, their interactions with human users and with other vehicles. In the introduction, general questions on vehicle automation are raised and related to the physical control of conventional vehicles and to the automation of some late 20th century vehicles. After some words on design metaphors, the H-Metaphor is introduced. More details of the metaphor's source are described and their application to human-machine interaction, automation and management of intelligent vehicles sketched. Finally, risks and opportunities to apply the metaphor to technical applications are discussed.

Ankle-Foot Orthosis Made by 3D Printing Technique and Automated Design Software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Ho Cha

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We described 3D printing technique and automated design software and clinical results after the application of this AFO to a patient with a foot drop. After acquiring a 3D modelling file of a patient’s lower leg with peroneal neuropathy by a 3D scanner, we loaded this file on the automated orthosis software and created the “STL” file. The designed AFO was printed using a fused filament fabrication type 3D printer, and a mechanical stress test was performed. The patient alternated between the 3D-printed and conventional AFOs for 2 months. There was no crack or damage, and the shape and stiffness of the AFO did not change after the durability test. The gait speed increased after wearing the conventional AFO (56.5 cm/sec and 3D-printed AFO (56.5 cm/sec compared to that without an AFO (42.2 cm/sec. The patient was more satisfied with the 3D-printed AFO than the conventional AFO in terms of the weight and ease of use. The 3D-printed AFO exhibited similar functionality as the conventional AFO and considerably satisfied the patient in terms of the weight and ease of use. We suggest the possibility of the individualized AFO with 3D printing techniques and automated design software.

A Systems Approach to Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure Design for Utility Management Automation Systems

OpenAIRE

A. Fereidunian; H. Lesani; C. Lucas; M. Lehtonen; M. M. Nordman

2006-01-01

Almost all of electric utility companies are planning to improve their management automation system, in order to meet the changing requirements of new liberalized energy market and to benefit from the innovations in information and communication technology (ICT or IT). Architectural design of the utility management automation (UMA) systems for their IT-enabling requires proper selection of IT choices for UMA system, which leads to multi-criteria decision-makings (MCDM). In resp...

Ecological Automation Design, Extending Work Domain Analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amelink, M.H.J.

2010-01-01

In high–risk domains like aviation, medicine and nuclear power plant control, automation has enabled new capabilities, increased the economy of operation and has greatly contributed to safety. However, automation increases the number of couplings in a system, which can inadvertently lead to more

Three Experiments Examining the Use of Electroencephalogram,Event-Related Potentials, and Heart-Rate Variability for Real-Time Human-Centered Adaptive Automation Design

Science.gov (United States)

Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Parasuraman, Raja; Freeman, Frederick G.; Scerbo, Mark W.; Mikulka, Peter J.; Pope, Alan T.

2003-01-01

Adaptive automation represents an advanced form of human-centered automation design. The approach to automation provides for real-time and model-based assessments of human-automation interaction, determines whether the human has entered into a hazardous state of awareness and then modulates the task environment to keep the operator in-the-loop , while maintaining an optimal state of task engagement and mental alertness. Because adaptive automation has not matured, numerous challenges remain, including what the criteria are, for determining when adaptive aiding and adaptive function allocation should take place. Human factors experts in the area have suggested a number of measures including the use of psychophysiology. This NASA Technical Paper reports on three experiments that examined the psychophysiological measures of event-related potentials, electroencephalogram, and heart-rate variability for real-time adaptive automation. The results of the experiments confirm the efficacy of these measures for use in both a developmental and operational role for adaptive automation design. The implications of these results and future directions for psychophysiology and human-centered automation design are discussed.

Electron-optical design parameters for a high-resolution electron monochromator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, H.; Huebner, R.H.

1976-01-01

Detailed design parameters of a new, high-resolution electron monochromator are presented. The design utilizes a hemispherical filter as the energy-dispersing element and combines both cylindrical and aperture electrostatic lenses to accelerate, decelerate, transport, and focus the electron beam from the cathode to the interaction region

Automated electronic monitoring of circuit pressures during continuous renal replacement therapy: a technical report.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ling; Baldwin, Ian; Zhu, Guijun; Tanaka, Aiko; Bellomo, Rinaldo

2015-03-01

Automated electronic monitoring and analysis of circuit pressures during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has the potential to predict failure and allow intervention to optimise function. Current CRRT machines can measure and store pressure readings for downloading into databases and for analysis. We developed a procedure to obtain such data at intervals of 1 minute and analyse them using the Prismaflex CRRT machine, and we present an example of such analysis. We obtained data on pressures obtained at intervals of 1 minute in a patient with acute kidney injury and sepsis treated with continuous haemofiltration at 2 L/hour of ultrafiltration and a blood flow of 200 mL/minute. Data analysis identified progressive increases in transmembrane pressure (TMP) and prefilter pressure (PFP) from time 0 until 33 hours or clotting. TMP increased from 104 mmHg to 313 mmHg and PFP increased from from 131 mmHg to 185 mmHg. Effluent pressure showed a progressive increase in the negative pressure applied to achieve ultrafiltration from 0 mmHg to -168 mmHg. The inflection point for such changes was also identified. Blood pathway pressures for access and return remained unchanged throughout. Automated electronic monitoring of circuit pressure during CRRT is possible and provides useful information on the evolution of circuit clotting.

DATA TRANSFER IN THE AUTOMATED SYSTEM OF PARALLEL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volkov Andrey Anatol'evich

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This article covers data transfer processes in the automated system of parallel design and construction. The authors consider the structure of reports used by contractors and clients when large-scale projects are implemented. All necessary items of information are grouped into three levels, and each level is described by certain attributes. The authors drive a lot of attention to the integrated operational schedule as it is the main tool of project management. Some recommendations concerning the forms and the content of reports are presented. Integrated automation of all operations is a necessary condition for the successful implementation of the new concept. The technical aspect of the notion of parallel design and construction also includes the client-to-server infrastructure that brings together all process implemented by the parties involved into projects. This approach should be taken into consideration in the course of review of existing codes and standards to eliminate any inconsistency between the construction legislation and the practical experience of engineers involved into the process.

Model-driven design using IEC 61499 a synchronous approach for embedded and automation systems

CERN Document Server

Yoong, Li Hsien; Bhatti, Zeeshan E; Kuo, Matthew M Y

2015-01-01

This book describes a novel approach for the design of embedded systems and industrial automation systems, using a unified model-driven approach that is applicable in both domains.  The authors illustrate their methodology, using the IEC 61499 standard as the main vehicle for specification, verification, static timing analysis and automated code synthesis.  The well-known synchronous approach is used as the main vehicle for defining an unambiguous semantics that ensures determinism and deadlock freedom. The proposed approach also ensures very efficient implementations either on small-scale embedded devices or on industry-scale programmable automation controllers (PACs). It can be used for both centralized and distributed implementations. Significantly, the proposed approach can be used without the need for any run-time support. This approach, for the first time, blurs the gap between embedded systems and automation systems and can be applied in wide-ranging applications in automotive, robotics, and industri...

RHIC electron lenses upgrades

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gu, X. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Altinbas, Z. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Bruno, D. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Binello, S. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Costanzo, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Drees, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Fischer, W. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Gassner, D. M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Hock, J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Hock, K. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Harvey, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Luo, Y. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Marusic, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Mi, C. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Mernick, K. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Minty, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Michnoff, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Miller, T. A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Pikin, A. I. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Robert-Demolaize, G. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Samms, T. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Shrey, T. C. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Schoefer, V. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Tan, Y. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Than, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; Thieberger, P. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.; White, S. M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider-Accelerator Dept.

2015-05-03

In the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) 100 GeV polarized proton run in 2015, two electron lenses were used to partially compensate for the head-on beam-beam effect for the first time. Here, we describe the design of the current electron lens, detailing the hardware modifications made after the 2014 commissioning run with heavy ions. A new electron gun with 15-mm diameter cathode is characterized. The electron beam transverse profile was measured using a YAG screen and fitted with a Gaussian distribution. During operation, the overlap of the electron and proton beams was achieved using the electron backscattering detector in conjunction with an automated orbit control program.

Design of electron detection system for pulse electron irradiator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anjar Anggraini H; Agus Purwadi; Lely Susita RM; Bambang Siswanto; Agus Wijayanto

2016-01-01

Design of electron detection system for pulse electron irradiator has been conducted on the Plasma Cathode Electron Source by Rogowski coil technique. Rogowski coil has ability to capture the induced magnetic field of the electric current, subsequent induced magnetic field will provide voltage after passing integrator. This diagnostic used combination of copper wire, ferrite and RC integrator. The design depends on the pulse width and the value of plasma current that passes through the coil, thus the number of windings, coil area and integrator can be designed. For plasma spots current of IDPS expected to be 10 A and pulse width 10 μs the Rogowski coil using MnZn ferrite with inductance L = 0.275 mH and permeability μr = 200 H/m. For the current of plasma arc ADPS expected to be 100 A and pulse width 100 μs by using inductance L=1.9634 mH and permeability μr = 6256 H/m. Electron current in extraction system expected to be 30 A and pulse width 100 μs the Rogowski coil using inductance L=51.749 mH and permeability μr= 4987 H/m. Design integrator used is the type of RC integrator. (author)

Hardware Design of a Smart Meter

OpenAIRE

Ganiyu A. Ajenikoko; Anthony A. Olaomi

2014-01-01

Smart meters are electronic measurement devices used by utilities to communicate information for billing customers and operating their electric systems. This paper presents the hardware design of a smart meter. Sensing and circuit protection circuits are included in the design of the smart meter in which resistors are naturally a fundamental part of the electronic design. Smart meters provides a route for energy savings, real-time pricing, automated data collection and elimina...

Design and operation of an automated beta-particle counting system for the measurement of 220Rn (and 222Rn) progeny

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bigu, J.

1992-01-01

A fully automated system of the continuous (active) type has been designed for the unattended quantification of 222 Rn progeny and 220 Rn progeny in calibration and test facilities, as well as working and living environments. The system uses a β-particle detector and associated electronic circuitry, in conjunction with an in-house microprocessor-based processing interface card and a personal computer, operated by specially developed in-house software. The system represents a significant improvement over systems using α-particle detectors because of its enhanced flexibility of design and virtual elimination of plate-out effects in the sampling head, and of self-absorption phenomena in the sampling filter. The β-particle system was tested and calibrated in a Radon and Thoron Test Facility of the walk-in type under a variety of experimental conditions. (author)

Towards automated electron holographic tomography for 3D mapping of electrostatic potentials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolf, Daniel, E-mail: Daniel.Wolf@Triebenberg.de [Triebenberg Laboratory, Institute of Structure Physics, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Lubk, Axel; Lichte, Hannes [Triebenberg Laboratory, Institute of Structure Physics, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Friedrich, Heiner [Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Sorbonnelaan 16, 3584 CA, Utrecht (Netherlands)

2010-04-15

Electron-holographic tomography (EHT), that is, the combination of off-axis electron holography with electron tomography, was successfully applied for the quantitative 3D mapping of electrostatic potentials at the nanoscale. Here we present the first software package (THOMAS) for semi-automated acquisition of holographic tilt series, a prerequisite for efficient data collection. Using THOMAS, the acquisition time for a holographic tilt series, consisting of object and reference holograms, is reduced by a factor of five on average, compared to the previous, completely manual approaches. Moreover, the existing software packages for retrieving amplitude and phase information from electron holograms have been extended, now including a one-step procedure for holographic tilt series reconstruction. Furthermore, a modified SIRT algorithm (WSIRT) was implemented for the quantitative 3D reconstruction of the electrostatic potential from the aligned phase tilt series. Finally, the application of EHT to a polystyrene latex sphere test-specimen and a pn-doped Ge 'needle'-shaped specimen are presented, illustrating the quantitative character of EHT. For both specimens the mean inner potential (MIP) values were accurately determined from the reconstructed 3D potential. For the Ge specimen, additionally the 'built-in' voltage across the pn junction of 0.5 V was obtained.

Development and Evaluation of an Automated, Home-Based, Electronic Questionnaire for Detecting COPD Exacerbations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco de B. Velazquez-Peña

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Collaboration between patients and their medical and technical experts enabled the development of an automated questionnaire for the early detection of COPD exacerbations (AQCE. The questionnaire consisted of fourteen questions and was implemented on a computer system for use by patients at home in an un-supervised environment. Psychometric evaluation was conducted after a 6-month field trial. Fifty-two patients were involved in the development of the questionnaire. Reproducibility was studied using 19 patients (ICC = 0.94. Sixteen out of the 19 subjects started the 6 month-field trial with the computer application. Cronbach’s alpha of 0.81 was achieved. In the concurrent validity analysis, a correlation of 0.80 (p = 0.002 with the CCQ was reported. The results suggest that AQCE is a valid and reliable questionnaire, showing that an automated home-based electronic questionnaire may enable early detection of exacerbations of COPD.

ESPINA: a tool for the automated segmentation and counting of synapses in large stacks of electron microscopy images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan eMorales

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The synapses in the cerebral cortex can be classified into two main types, Gray’s type I and type II, which correspond to asymmetric (mostly glutamatergic excitatory and symmetric (inhibitory GABAergic synapses, respectively. Hence, the quantification and identification of their different types and the proportions in which they are found, is extraordinarily important in terms of brain function. The ideal approach to calculate the number of synapses per unit volume is to analyze three-dimensional samples reconstructed from serial sections. However, obtaining serial sections by transmission electron microscopy is an extremely time consuming and technically demanding task. Using FIB/SEM microscopy, we recently showed that virtually all synapses can be accurately identified as asymmetric or symmetric synapses when they are visualized, reconstructed and quantified from large three-dimensional tissue samples obtained in an automated manner. Nevertheless, the analysis, segmentation and quantification of synapses is still a labor intensive procedure. Thus, novel solutions are currently necessary to deal with the large volume of data that is being generated by automated 3D electron microscopy. Accordingly, we have developed ESPINA, a software tool that performs the automated segmentation and counting of synapses in a reconstructed 3D volume of the cerebral cortex, and that greatly facilitates and accelerates these processes.

Automation in Warehouse Development

CERN Document Server

Verriet, Jacques

2012-01-01

The warehouses of the future will come in a variety of forms, but with a few common ingredients. Firstly, human operational handling of items in warehouses is increasingly being replaced by automated item handling. Extended warehouse automation counteracts the scarcity of human operators and supports the quality of picking processes. Secondly, the development of models to simulate and analyse warehouse designs and their components facilitates the challenging task of developing warehouses that take into account each customer’s individual requirements and logistic processes. Automation in Warehouse Development addresses both types of automation from the innovative perspective of applied science. In particular, it describes the outcomes of the Falcon project, a joint endeavour by a consortium of industrial and academic partners. The results include a model-based approach to automate warehouse control design, analysis models for warehouse design, concepts for robotic item handling and computer vision, and auton...

Performance Evaluation of a Software Engineering Tool for Automated Design of Cooling Systems in Injection Moulding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jauregui-Becker, Juan M.; Tosello, Guido; van Houten, Fred J.A.M.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a software tool for automating the design of cooling systems for injection moulding and a validation of its performance. Cooling system designs were automatically generated by the proposed software tool and by applying a best practice tool engineering design approach. The two...

Automated system for noise-measurements on low-ohmic samples and magnetic sensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, R.J.W.; Briaire, J.; Vandamme, L.K.J.

1999-01-01

An automated system for electronic noise measurements on metal films is presented. This new system, controlled by a personal computer which utilizes National Instruments' LabVIEW software, is designed to measure low frequency noise as a function of an externally imposed magnetic field and as a

Energy modulated electron therapy: Design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel method of treatment planning and delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Yahya, Khalid

Energy modulated electron therapy (EMET) is a promising treatment modality that has the fundamental capabilities to enhance the treatment planning and delivery of superficially located targets. Although it offers advantages over x-ray intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), EMET has not been widely implemented to the same level of accuracy, automation, and clinical routine as its x-ray counterpart. This lack of implementation is attributed to the absence of a remotely automated beam shaping system as well as the deficiency in dosimetric accuracy of clinical electron pencil beam algorithms in the presence of beam modifiers and tissue heterogeneities. In this study, we present a novel technique for treatment planning and delivery of EMET. The delivery is achieved using a prototype of an automated "few leaf electron collimator" (FLEC). It consists of four copper leaves driven by stepper motors which are synchronized with the x-ray jaws in order to form a series of collimated rectangular openings or "fieldlets". Based on Monte Carlo studies, the FLEC has been designed to serve as an accessory tool to the current accelerator equipment. The FLEC was constructed and its operation was fully automated and integrated with the accelerator through an in-house assembled control unit. The control unit is a portable computer system accompanied with customized software that delivers EMET plans after acquiring them from the optimization station. EMET plans are produced based on dose volume constraints that employ Monte Carlo pre-generated and patient-specific kernels which are utilized by an in-house developed optimization algorithm. The structure of the optimization software is demonstrated. Using Monte Carlo techniques to calculate dose allows for accurate modeling of the collimation system as well as the patient heterogeneous geometry and take into account their impact on optimization. The Monte Carlo calculations were validated by comparing them against output

D-Zero muon readout electronics design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldin, B.; Hansen, S.; Los, S.; Matveev, M.; Vaniev, V.

1996-11-01

The readout electronics designed for the D null Muon Upgrade are described. These electronics serve three detector subsystems and one trigger system. The front-ends and readout hardware are synchronized by means of timing signals broadcast from the D null Trigger Framework. The front-end electronics have continuously running digitizers and two levels of buffering resulting in nearly deadtimeless operation. The raw data is corrected and formatted by 16- bit fixed point DSP processors. These processors also perform control of the data buffering. The data transfer from the front-end electronics located on the detector platform is performed by serial links running at 160 Mbit/s. The design and test results of the subsystem readout electronics and system interface are discussed

Applying machine learning to pattern analysis for automated in-design layout optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, Jason P.; Fakhry, Moutaz; Pathak, Piyush; Sweis, Jason; Gennari, Frank; Lai, Ya-Chieh

2018-04-01

Building on previous work for cataloging unique topological patterns in an integrated circuit physical design, a new process is defined in which a risk scoring methodology is used to rank patterns based on manufacturing risk. Patterns with high risk are then mapped to functionally equivalent patterns with lower risk. The higher risk patterns are then replaced in the design with their lower risk equivalents. The pattern selection and replacement is fully automated and suitable for use for full-chip designs. Results from 14nm product designs show that the approach can identify and replace risk patterns with quantifiable positive impact on the risk score distribution after replacement.

Automated integration of continuous glucose monitor data in the electronic health record using consumer technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Rajiv B; Goren, Nira D; Stark, David E; Wall, Dennis P; Longhurst, Christopher A

2016-05-01

The diabetes healthcare provider plays a key role in interpreting blood glucose trends, but few institutions have successfully integrated patient home glucose data in the electronic health record (EHR). Published implementations to date have required custom interfaces, which limit wide-scale replication. We piloted automated integration of continuous glucose monitor data in the EHR using widely available consumer technology for 10 pediatric patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. Establishment of a passive data communication bridge via a patient's/parent's smartphone enabled automated integration and analytics of patient device data within the EHR between scheduled clinic visits. It is feasible to utilize available consumer technology to assess and triage home diabetes device data within the EHR, and to engage patients/parents and improve healthcare provider workflow. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Automated Processing of ISIS Topside Ionograms into Electron Density Profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Reinisch, bodo W.; Huang, Xueqin; Bilitza, Dieter; Hills, H. Kent

2004-01-01

Modeling of the topside ionosphere has for the most part relied on just a few years of data from topside sounder satellites. The widely used Bent et al. (1972) model, for example, is based on only 50,000 Alouette 1 profiles. The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) (Bilitza, 1990, 2001) uses an analytical description of the graphs and tables provided by Bent et al. (1972). The Alouette 1, 2 and ISIS 1, 2 topside sounder satellites of the sixties and seventies were ahead of their times in terms of the sheer volume of data obtained and in terms of the computer and software requirements for data analysis. As a result, only a small percentage of the collected topside ionograms was converted into electron density profiles. Recently, a NASA-funded data restoration project has undertaken and is continuing the process of digitizing the Alouette/ISIS ionograms from the analog 7-track tapes. Our project involves the automated processing of these digital ionograms into electron density profiles. The project accomplished a set of important goals that will have a major impact on understanding and modeling of the topside ionosphere: (1) The TOPside Ionogram Scaling and True height inversion (TOPIST) software was developed for the automated scaling and inversion of topside ionograms. (2) The TOPIST software was applied to the over 300,000 ISIS-2 topside ionograms that had been digitized in the fkamework of a separate AISRP project (PI: R.F. Benson). (3) The new TOPIST-produced database of global electron density profiles for the topside ionosphere were made publicly available through NASA s National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) ftp archive at . (4) Earlier Alouette 1,2 and ISIS 1, 2 data sets of electron density profiles from manual scaling of selected sets of ionograms were converted fiom a highly-compressed binary format into a user-friendly ASCII format and made publicly available through nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov. The new database for the topside ionosphere established

Computer-aided design of microfluidic very large scale integration (mVLSI) biochips design automation, testing, and design-for-testability

CERN Document Server

Hu, Kai; Ho, Tsung-Yi

2017-01-01

This book provides a comprehensive overview of flow-based, microfluidic VLSI. The authors describe and solve in a comprehensive and holistic manner practical challenges such as control synthesis, wash optimization, design for testability, and diagnosis of modern flow-based microfluidic biochips. They introduce practical solutions, based on rigorous optimization and formal models. The technical contributions presented in this book will not only shorten the product development cycle, but also accelerate the adoption and further development of modern flow-based microfluidic biochips, by facilitating the full exploitation of design complexities that are possible with current fabrication techniques. Offers the first practical problem formulation for automated control-layer design in flow-based microfluidic biochips and provides a systematic approach for solving this problem; Introduces a wash-optimization method for cross-contamination removal; Presents a design-for-testability (DfT) technique that can achieve 100...

Lithography-based automation in the design of program defect masks

Science.gov (United States)

Vakanas, George P.; Munir, Saghir; Tejnil, Edita; Bald, Daniel J.; Nagpal, Rajesh

2004-05-01

In this work, we are reporting on a lithography-based methodology and automation in the design of Program Defect masks (PDM"s). Leading edge technology masks have ever-shrinking primary features and more pronounced model-based secondary features such as optical proximity corrections (OPC), sub-resolution assist features (SRAF"s) and phase-shifted mask (PSM) structures. In order to define defect disposition specifications for critical layers of a technology node, experience alone in deciding worst-case scenarios for the placement of program defects is necessary but may not be sufficient. MEEF calculations initiated from layout pattern data and their integration in a PDM layout flow provide a natural approach for improvements, relevance and accuracy in the placement of programmed defects. This methodology provides closed-loop feedback between layout and hard defect disposition specifications, thereby minimizing engineering test restarts, improving quality and reducing cost of high-end masks. Apart from SEMI and industry standards, best-known methods (BKM"s) in integrated lithographically-based layout methodologies and automation specific to PDM"s are scarce. The contribution of this paper lies in the implementation of Design-For-Test (DFT) principles to a synergistic interaction of CAD Layout and Aerial Image Simulator to drive layout improvements, highlight layout-to-fracture interactions and output accurate program defect placement coordinates to be used by tools in the mask shop.

Human-Automation Interaction Design for Adaptive Cruise Control Systems of Ground Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hwisoo Eom

2015-06-01

Full Text Available A majority of recently developed advanced vehicles have been equipped with various automated driver assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control (ACC and lane keeping assistance systems. ACC systems have several operational modes, and drivers can be unaware of the mode in which they are operating. Because mode confusion is a significant human error factor that contributes to traffic accidents, it is necessary to develop user interfaces for ACC systems that can reduce mode confusion. To meet this requirement, this paper presents a new human-automation interaction design methodology in which the compatibility of the machine and interface models is determined using the proposed criteria, and if the models are incompatible, one or both of the models is/are modified to make them compatible. To investigate the effectiveness of our methodology, we designed two new interfaces by separately modifying the machine model and the interface model and then performed driver-in-the-loop experiments. The results showed that modifying the machine model provides a more compact, acceptable, effective, and safe interface than modifying the interface model.

Human-Automation Interaction Design for Adaptive Cruise Control Systems of Ground Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, Hwisoo; Lee, Sang Hun

2015-06-12

A majority of recently developed advanced vehicles have been equipped with various automated driver assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane keeping assistance systems. ACC systems have several operational modes, and drivers can be unaware of the mode in which they are operating. Because mode confusion is a significant human error factor that contributes to traffic accidents, it is necessary to develop user interfaces for ACC systems that can reduce mode confusion. To meet this requirement, this paper presents a new human-automation interaction design methodology in which the compatibility of the machine and interface models is determined using the proposed criteria, and if the models are incompatible, one or both of the models is/are modified to make them compatible. To investigate the effectiveness of our methodology, we designed two new interfaces by separately modifying the machine model and the interface model and then performed driver-in-the-loop experiments. The results showed that modifying the machine model provides a more compact, acceptable, effective, and safe interface than modifying the interface model.

On/Off Power Supply of the Electron Beam Machine HV Automation by Using PCL-718 and PCLD-786

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudiyanto; Suyono, Djoko; Salam, Aminus; Ngatinu; Sudaryanto; Wiyana, Badi

1996-01-01

HV on/off power supply of the electron beam machine HV automation by using PCL-718 and PCLD-786 have been done. During the simulation experiments by using PCL-718 ADC-12 bit and PCLD-786 driver relay and Turbo-C software have been multiplexes 16 differential digital output channels which controlled on/off ac/dc relay of the electron beam machine power supply. Two PCLD-786 can be cascaded to expand the digital output channels which controlled 32 ac/dc relay

Automation of a high-speed imaging setup for differential viscosity measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Hurth, C.; Duane, B.; Whitfield, D.; Smith, S.; Nordquist, A.; Zenhausern, F.

2013-12-01

We present the automation of a setup previously used to assess the viscosity of pleural effusion samples and discriminate between transudates and exudates, an important first step in clinical diagnostics. The presented automation includes the design, testing, and characterization of a vacuum-actuated loading station that handles the 2 mm glass spheres used as sensors, as well as the engineering of electronic Printed Circuit Board (PCB) incorporating a microcontroller and their synchronization with a commercial high-speed camera operating at 10 000 fps. The hereby work therefore focuses on the instrumentation-related automation efforts as the general method and clinical application have been reported earlier [Hurth et al., J. Appl. Phys. 110, 034701 (2011)]. In addition, we validate the performance of the automated setup with the calibration for viscosity measurements using water/glycerol standard solutions and the determination of the viscosity of an "unknown" solution of hydroxyethyl cellulose.

Automation of a high-speed imaging setup for differential viscosity measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hurth, C.; Duane, B.; Whitfield, D.; Smith, S.; Nordquist, A.; Zenhausern, F. [Center for Applied Nanobioscience and Medicine, The University of Arizona College of Medicine, 425 N 5th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85004 (United States)

2013-12-28

We present the automation of a setup previously used to assess the viscosity of pleural effusion samples and discriminate between transudates and exudates, an important first step in clinical diagnostics. The presented automation includes the design, testing, and characterization of a vacuum-actuated loading station that handles the 2 mm glass spheres used as sensors, as well as the engineering of electronic Printed Circuit Board (PCB) incorporating a microcontroller and their synchronization with a commercial high-speed camera operating at 10 000 fps. The hereby work therefore focuses on the instrumentation-related automation efforts as the general method and clinical application have been reported earlier [Hurth et al., J. Appl. Phys. 110, 034701 (2011)]. In addition, we validate the performance of the automated setup with the calibration for viscosity measurements using water/glycerol standard solutions and the determination of the viscosity of an “unknown” solution of hydroxyethyl cellulose.

DESIGN OF BUILDING AUTOMATION BASED ON PROFIBUS-DP NETWORK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cemal YILMAZ

2006-02-01

Full Text Available In this study, a building automation has been designed by using the Profibus DP (Process Field Bus- Decentralized Periphery network. In the study; fire alarm, thief alarm, lighting, power, humidity and temperature control have been implemented. The data from building has been transmitted to the Profibus-DP network via control point located on the flats. The data taken from the building has been collected in the main control unit to achieve overall control of the system. The work has provided an optimum efficiency in energy consumption, control of power, security, temperature and humidity.

AIRCRAFT POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM DESIGN PROCESS AS AN AUTOMATION OBJECT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boris V. Zhmurov

2018-01-01

aircraft and take into account all the requirements of the customer and the regulatory and technical documentation is its automation.Automation of the design of EPS aircraft as an optimization task involves the formalization of the object of optimization, as well as the choice of the criterion of efficiency and control actions. Under the object of optimization in this case we mean the design process of the EPS, the formalization of which includes formalization and the design object – the aircraft power supply system.

Modeling biology with HDL languages: a first step toward a genetic design automation tool inspired from microelectronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gendrault, Yves; Madec, Morgan; Lallement, Christophe; Haiech, Jacques

2014-04-01

Nowadays, synthetic biology is a hot research topic. Each day, progresses are made to improve the complexity of artificial biological functions in order to tend to complex biodevices and biosystems. Up to now, these systems are handmade by bioengineers, which require strong technical skills and leads to nonreusable development. Besides, scientific fields that share the same design approach, such as microelectronics, have already overcome several issues and designers succeed in building extremely complex systems with many evolved functions. On the other hand, in systems engineering and more specifically in microelectronics, the development of the domain has been promoted by both the improvement of technological processes and electronic design automation tools. The work presented in this paper paves the way for the adaptation of microelectronics design tools to synthetic biology. Considering the similarities and differences between the synthetic biology and microelectronics, the milestones of this adaptation are described. The first one concerns the modeling of biological mechanisms. To do so, a new formalism is proposed, based on an extension of the generalized Kirchhoff laws to biology. This way, a description of all biological mechanisms can be made with languages widely used in microelectronics. Our approach is therefore successfully validated on specific examples drawn from the literature.

Mechanical design of a RF electron gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodle, M.H.; Batchelor, K.; Sheehan, J.

1989-01-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory is building an Accelerator Test Facility at which we plan to study laser acceleration of electrons, inverse free electron lasers and the production of X-rays by non-linear Compton scattering. The facility contains an electron gun, linac, lasers and ancillary systems which will enable the production of 6 ps duration pulses of 50-100 MeV electrons. The electron source is an one and one half cell RF Electron gun which utilizes either a thermionic or photoemissive cathode to produce 5 MeV electrons. This paper discusses how gun mechanical design considerations such as material, vacuum maintenance, surface finish, fabrication methods, cavity tuning, and cathode replacement were reconciled to arrive at the final design. 9 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Mechanical design of a rf electron gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodle, M.H.; Batchelor, K.; Sheehan, J.

1988-01-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory is building an Accelerator Test Facility at which we plan to study laser acceleration of electrons inverse free electron lasers and the production of X-rays by non- linear Compton scattering. The facility contains an electron gun, linac, lasers and ancillary systems which will enable the production of 6 ps duration pulses of 50--100 MeV electrons. The electron source is an one and one half cell RF Electron gun which utilizes either a thermionic or photoemissive cathode to produce 5 MeV electrons. This paper discusses how gun mechanical design considerations such as material, vacuum maintenance, surface finish, fabrication methods, cavity tuning, and cathode replacement were reconciled to arrive at the final design. 9 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Industrial application of electron sources with plasma emitters

CERN Document Server

Belyuk, S I; Rempe, N G

2001-01-01

Paper contains a description, operation, design and parameters of electron sources with plasma emitters. One presents examples of application of these sources as part of automated electron-beam welding lines. Paper describes application of such sources for electron-beam deposition of composite powders. Electron-beam deposition is used to rebuild worn out part and to increase strength of new parts of machines and tools. Paper presents some examples of rebuilding part and the advantages gained in this case

Automation of data acquisition in electron crystallography.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Anchi

2013-01-01

General considerations for using automation software for acquiring high-resolution images of 2D crystals under low-dose conditions are presented. Protocol modifications specific to this application in Leginon are provided.

A new software routine that automates the fitting of protein X-ray crystallographic electron-density maps.

Science.gov (United States)

Levitt, D G

2001-07-01

The classical approach to building the amino-acid residues into the initial electron-density map requires days to weeks of a skilled investigator's time. Automating this procedure should not only save time, but has the potential to provide a more accurate starting model for input to refinement programs. The new software routine MAID builds the protein structure into the electron-density map in a series of sequential steps. The first step is the fitting of the secondary alpha-helix and beta-sheet structures. These 'fits' are then used to determine the local amino-acid sequence assignment. These assigned fits are then extended through the loop regions and fused with the neighboring sheet or helix. The program was tested on the unaveraged 2.5 A selenomethionine multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SMAD) electron-density map that was originally used to solve the structure of the 291-residue protein human heart short-chain L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SHAD). Inputting just the map density and the amino-acid sequence, MAID fitted 80% of the residues with an r.m.s.d. error of 0.43 A for the main-chain atoms and 1.0 A for all atoms without any user intervention. When tested on a higher quality 1.9 A SMAD map, MAID correctly fitted 100% (418) of the residues. A major advantage of the MAID fitting procedure is that it maintains ideal bond lengths and angles and constrains phi/psi angles to the appropriate Ramachandran regions. Recycling the output of this new routine through a partial structure-refinement program may have the potential to completely automate the fitting of electron-density maps.

Home automation as an example of construction innovation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vlies, R.D. van der; Bronswijk, J.E.M.H. van

2009-01-01

Home automation can contribute to the health of (older) adults. Home automation covers a broad field of ‘intelligent’ electronic or mechanical devices in the home (domestic) environment. Realizing home automation is technically possible, though still not common. In this paper main influential

Design and development on automated control system of coated fuel particle fabrication process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Malin; Shao Youlin; Liu Bing

2013-01-01

With the development trend of the large-scale production of the HTR coated fuel particles, the original manual control system can not meet the requirement and the automation control system of coated fuel particle fabrication in modern industrial grade is needed to develop. The comprehensive analysis aiming at successive 4-layer coating process of TRISO type coated fuel particles was carried out. It was found that the coating process could be divided into five subsystems and nine operating states. The establishment of DCS-type (distributed control system) of automation control system was proposed. According to the rigorous requirements of preparation process for coated particles, the design considerations of DCS were proposed, including the principle of coordinated control, safety and reliability, integration specification, practical and easy to use, and open and easy to update. A complete set of automation control system for coated fuel particle preparation process was manufactured based on fulfilling the requirements of these principles in manufacture practice. The automated control system was put into operation in the production of irradiated samples for HTRPM demonstration project. The experimental results prove that the system can achieve better control of coated fuel particle preparation process and meet the requirements of factory-scale production. (authors)

Translation: Aids, Robots, and Automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreyewsky, Alexander

1981-01-01

Examines electronic aids to translation both as ways to automate it and as an approach to solve problems resulting from shortage of qualified translators. Describes the limitations of robotic MT (Machine Translation) systems, viewing MAT (Machine-Aided Translation) as the only practical solution and the best vehicle for further automation. (MES)

Toward reliable and repeatable automated STEM-EDS metrology with high throughput

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Zhenxin; Donald, Jason; Dutrow, Gavin; Roller, Justin; Ugurlu, Ozan; Verheijen, Martin; Bidiuk, Oleksii

2018-03-01

New materials and designs in complex 3D architectures in logic and memory devices have raised complexity in S/TEM metrology. In this paper, we report about a newly developed, automated, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) based, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) metrology method that addresses these challenges. Different methodologies toward repeatable and efficient, automated STEM-EDS metrology with high throughput are presented: we introduce the best known auto-EDS acquisition and quantification methods for robust and reliable metrology and present how electron exposure dose impacts the EDS metrology reproducibility, either due to poor signalto-noise ratio (SNR) at low dose or due to sample modifications at high dose conditions. Finally, we discuss the limitations of the STEM-EDS metrology technique and propose strategies to optimize the process both in terms of throughput and metrology reliability.

Automated Integration of Dedicated Hardwired IP Cores in Heterogeneous MPSoCs Designed with ESPAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ed Deprettere

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a methodology and techniques for automated integration of dedicated hardwired (HW IP cores into heterogeneous multiprocessor systems. We propose an IP core integration approach based on an HW module generation that consists of a wrapper around a predefined IP core. This approach has been implemented in a tool called ESPAM for automated multiprocessor system design, programming, and implementation. In order to keep high performance of the integrated IP cores, the structure of the IP core wrapper is devised in a way that adequately represents and efficiently implements the main characteristics of the formal model of computation, namely, Kahn process networks, we use as an underlying programming model in ESPAM. We present details about the structure of the HW module, the supported types of IP cores, and the minimum interfaces these IP cores have to provide in order to allow automated integration in heterogeneous multiprocessor systems generated by ESPAM. The ESPAM design flow, the multiprocessor platforms we consider, and the underlying programming (KPN model are introduced as well. Furthermore, we present the efficiency of our approach by applying our methodology and ESPAM tool to automatically generate, implement, and program heterogeneous multiprocessor systems that integrate dedicated IP cores and execute real-life applications.

Automated Design and Analysis Tool for CLV/CEV Composite and Metallic Structural Components, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The innovation of the proposed effort is a unique automated process for the analysis, design, and sizing of CLV/CEV composite and metallic structures. This developed...

Derivation and validation of the automated search algorithms to identify cognitive impairment and dementia in electronic health records.

Science.gov (United States)

Amra, Sakusic; O'Horo, John C; Singh, Tarun D; Wilson, Gregory A; Kashyap, Rahul; Petersen, Ronald; Roberts, Rosebud O; Fryer, John D; Rabinstein, Alejandro A; Gajic, Ognjen

2017-02-01

Long-term cognitive impairment is a common and important problem in survivors of critical illness. We developed electronic search algorithms to identify cognitive impairment and dementia from the electronic medical records (EMRs) that provide opportunity for big data analysis. Eligible patients met 2 criteria. First, they had a formal cognitive evaluation by The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. Second, they were hospitalized in intensive care unit at our institution between 2006 and 2014. The "criterion standard" for diagnosis was formal cognitive evaluation supplemented by input from an expert neurologist. Using all available EMR data, we developed and improved our algorithms in the derivation cohort and validated them in the independent validation cohort. Of 993 participants who underwent formal cognitive testing and were hospitalized in intensive care unit, we selected 151 participants at random to form the derivation and validation cohorts. The automated electronic search algorithm for cognitive impairment was 94.3% sensitive and 93.0% specific. The search algorithms for dementia achieved respective sensitivity and specificity of 97% and 99%. EMR search algorithms significantly outperformed International Classification of Diseases codes. Automated EMR data extractions for cognitive impairment and dementia are reliable and accurate and can serve as acceptable and efficient alternatives to time-consuming manual data review. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

12 CFR 205.16 - Disclosures at automated teller machines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Disclosures at automated teller machines. 205... SYSTEM ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFERS (REGULATION E) § 205.16 Disclosures at automated teller machines. (a) Definition. Automated teller machine operator means any person that operates an automated teller machine at...

Automated electronic reminders to prevent miscommunication among primary medical, surgical and anaesthesia providers: a root cause analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Freundlich, Robert E; Grondin, Louise; Tremper, Kevin K; Saran, Kelly A; Kheterpal, Sachin

2012-10-01

In this case report, the authors present an adverse event possibly caused by miscommunication among three separate medical teams at their hospital. The authors then discuss the hospital's root cause analysis and its proposed solutions, focusing on the subsequent hospital-wide implementation of an automated electronic reminder for abnormal laboratory values that may have helped to prevent similar medical errors.

Automated Robust Maneuver Design and Optimization

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA is seeking improvements to the current technologies related to Position, Navigation and Timing. In particular, it is desired to automate precise maneuver...

Designs for a quantum electron microscope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kruit, P., E-mail: p.kruit@tudelft.nl [Department of Imaging Physics, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628CJ Delft (Netherlands); Hobbs, R.G.; Kim, C-S.; Yang, Y.; Manfrinato, V.R. [Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Hammer, J.; Thomas, S.; Weber, P. [Department of Physics, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Staudtstrasse 1, d-91058 Erlangen (Germany); Klopfer, B.; Kohstall, C.; Juffmann, T.; Kasevich, M.A. [Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Hommelhoff, P. [Department of Physics, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Staudtstrasse 1, d-91058 Erlangen (Germany); Berggren, K.K. [Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2016-05-15

One of the astounding consequences of quantum mechanics is that it allows the detection of a target using an incident probe, with only a low probability of interaction of the probe and the target. This ‘quantum weirdness’ could be applied in the field of electron microscopy to generate images of beam-sensitive specimens with substantially reduced damage to the specimen. A reduction of beam-induced damage to specimens is especially of great importance if it can enable imaging of biological specimens with atomic resolution. Following a recent suggestion that interaction-free measurements are possible with electrons, we now analyze the difficulties of actually building an atomic resolution interaction-free electron microscope, or “quantum electron microscope”. A quantum electron microscope would require a number of unique components not found in conventional transmission electron microscopes. These components include a coherent electron beam-splitter or two-state-coupler, and a resonator structure to allow each electron to interrogate the specimen multiple times, thus supporting high success probabilities for interaction-free detection of the specimen. Different system designs are presented here, which are based on four different choices of two-state-couplers: a thin crystal, a grating mirror, a standing light wave and an electro-dynamical pseudopotential. Challenges for the detailed electron optical design are identified as future directions for development. While it is concluded that it should be possible to build an atomic resolution quantum electron microscope, we have also identified a number of hurdles to the development of such a microscope and further theoretical investigations that will be required to enable a complete interpretation of the images produced by such a microscope. - Highlights: • Quantum electron microscopy has the potential of reducing radiation damage. • QEM requires a fraction of the electron wave to pass through the sample

Designs for a quantum electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruit, P.; Hobbs, R.G.; Kim, C-S.; Yang, Y.; Manfrinato, V.R.; Hammer, J.; Thomas, S.; Weber, P.; Klopfer, B.; Kohstall, C.; Juffmann, T.; Kasevich, M.A.; Hommelhoff, P.; Berggren, K.K.

2016-01-01

One of the astounding consequences of quantum mechanics is that it allows the detection of a target using an incident probe, with only a low probability of interaction of the probe and the target. This ‘quantum weirdness’ could be applied in the field of electron microscopy to generate images of beam-sensitive specimens with substantially reduced damage to the specimen. A reduction of beam-induced damage to specimens is especially of great importance if it can enable imaging of biological specimens with atomic resolution. Following a recent suggestion that interaction-free measurements are possible with electrons, we now analyze the difficulties of actually building an atomic resolution interaction-free electron microscope, or “quantum electron microscope”. A quantum electron microscope would require a number of unique components not found in conventional transmission electron microscopes. These components include a coherent electron beam-splitter or two-state-coupler, and a resonator structure to allow each electron to interrogate the specimen multiple times, thus supporting high success probabilities for interaction-free detection of the specimen. Different system designs are presented here, which are based on four different choices of two-state-couplers: a thin crystal, a grating mirror, a standing light wave and an electro-dynamical pseudopotential. Challenges for the detailed electron optical design are identified as future directions for development. While it is concluded that it should be possible to build an atomic resolution quantum electron microscope, we have also identified a number of hurdles to the development of such a microscope and further theoretical investigations that will be required to enable a complete interpretation of the images produced by such a microscope. - Highlights: • Quantum electron microscopy has the potential of reducing radiation damage. • QEM requires a fraction of the electron wave to pass through the sample

Drafting method of electricity and electron design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gungbon, Junchun

1989-11-01

This book concentrates on drafting of electricity and electron design. It deals with The meaning of electricity and electron drafting JIS standard regulation the types of drafting and line and letter, basics drafting with projection drafting method, plan projection and development elevation, Drafting method of shop drawing, practical method of design and drafting, Design and drafting of technic and illustration, Connection diagram, Drafting of wiring diagram for light and illumination, Drafting of development connection diagram for sequence control, Drafting of logic circuit sign of flow chart and manual, drafting for a electron circuit diagram and Drawing of PC board.

Design and Implementation of a WiFi Based Home Automation System

OpenAIRE

Ahmed ElShafee; Karim Alaa Hamed

2012-01-01

This paper presents a design and prototype implementation of new home automation system that uses WiFi technology as a network infrastructure connecting its parts. The proposed system consists of two main components; the first part is the server (web server), which presents system core that manages, controls, and monitors users- home. Users and system administrator can locally (LAN) or remotely (internet) manage and control system code. Second part is hardware interface m...

Elucidating structural order and disorder phenomena in mullite-type Al4B2O9 by automated electron diffraction tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Haishuang; Krysiak, Yaşar; Hoffmann, Kristin; Barton, Bastian; Molina-Luna, Leopoldo; Neder, Reinhard B.; Kleebe, Hans-Joachim; Gesing, Thorsten M.; Schneider, Hartmut; Fischer, Reinhard X.

2017-01-01

The crystal structure and disorder phenomena of Al 4 B 2 O 9 , an aluminum borate from the mullite-type family, were studied using automated diffraction tomography (ADT), a recently established method for collection and analysis of electron diffraction data. Al 4 B 2 O 9 , prepared by sol-gel approach, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m. The ab initio structure determination based on three-dimensional electron diffraction data from single ordered crystals reveals that edge-connected AlO 6 octahedra expanding along the b axis constitute the backbone. The ordered structure (A) was confirmed by TEM and HAADF-STEM images. Furthermore, disordered crystals with diffuse scattering along the b axis are observed. Analysis of the modulation pattern implies a mean superstructure (AAB) with a threefold b axis, where B corresponds to an A layer shifted by ½a and ½c. Diffraction patterns simulated for the AAB sequence including additional stacking disorder are in good agreement with experimental electron diffraction patterns. - Graphical abstract: Crystal structure and disorder phenomena of B-rich Al 4 B 2 O 9 studied by automated electron diffraction tomography (ADT) and described by diffraction simulation using DISCUS. - Highlights: • Ab-initio structure solution by electron diffraction from single nanocrystals. • Detected modulation corresponding mainly to three-fold superstructure. • Diffuse diffraction streaks caused by stacking faults in disordered crystals. • Observed streaks explained by simulated electron diffraction patterns.

Direct fabrication through electron beam melting technology of custom cranial implants designed in a PHANToM-based haptic environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazzoli, Alida; Germani, Michele; Raffaeli, Roberto

2009-01-01

Repairing critical human skull injuries requires the production and use of customized cranial implants and involves the integration of computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD and CAM). The main causes for large cranial defects are trauma, cranial tumors, infected craniotomy bone flaps and external neurosurgical decompression. The success of reconstructive cranial surgery depends upon: the preoperative evaluation of the defect, the design and manufacturing of the implant, and the skill of the operating surgeon. Cranial implant design is usually carried out manually using CAD although this process is very time-consuming and the quality of the end product depends wholly upon the skill of the operator. This paper presents an alternative automated method for the design of custom-made cranial plates in a PHANToM ® -based haptic environment, and their direct fabrication in biocompatible metal using electron beam melting (EBM) technology.

FireProt: web server for automated design of thermostable proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Musil, Milos; Stourac, Jan; Brezovsky, Jan; Prokop, Zbynek; Zendulka, Jaroslav; Martinek, Tomas

2017-01-01

Abstract There is a continuous interest in increasing proteins stability to enhance their usability in numerous biomedical and biotechnological applications. A number of in silico tools for the prediction of the effect of mutations on protein stability have been developed recently. However, only single-point mutations with a small effect on protein stability are typically predicted with the existing tools and have to be followed by laborious protein expression, purification, and characterization. Here, we present FireProt, a web server for the automated design of multiple-point thermostable mutant proteins that combines structural and evolutionary information in its calculation core. FireProt utilizes sixteen tools and three protein engineering strategies for making reliable protein designs. The server is complemented with interactive, easy-to-use interface that allows users to directly analyze and optionally modify designed thermostable mutants. FireProt is freely available at http://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/fireprot. PMID:28449074

Electron backscattering for process control in electron beam welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ardenne, T. von; Panzer, S.

1983-01-01

A number of solutions to the automation of electron beam welding is presented. On the basis of electron backscattering a complex system of process control has been developed. It allows an enlarged imaging of the material's surface, improved adjustment of the beam focusing and definite focus positioning. Furthermore, both manual and automated positioning of the electron beam before and during the welding process has become possible. Monitoring of the welding process for meeting standard welding requirements can be achieved with the aid of a control quantity derived from the results of electronic evaluation of the high-frequency electron backscattering

Records Management Handbook; Source Data Automation Equipment Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

National Archives and Records Service (GSA), Washington, DC. Office of Records Management.

A detailed guide to selecting appropriate source data automation equipment is presented. Source data automation equipment is used to prepare data for electronic data processing or computerized recordkeeping. The guide contains specifications, performance data cost, and pictures of the major types of machines used in source data automation.…

Automated design of DC-excited flux-switching in-wheel motor using magnetic equivalent circuits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tang, Y.; Paulides, J.J.H.; Lomonova, E.A.

2015-01-01

DC-excited flux-switching motors (DCEFSMs) are increasingly considered as candidate traction motors for electric vehicles due to their robust and magnet-free structure with relatively high torque density and extendable speed range. In this paper, an automated design tool based on nonlinear magnetic

An automation of design and modelling tasks in NX Siemens environment with original software - generator module

Science.gov (United States)

Zbiciak, M.; Grabowik, C.; Janik, W.

2015-11-01

Nowadays the design constructional process is almost exclusively aided with CAD/CAE/CAM systems. It is evaluated that nearly 80% of design activities have a routine nature. These design routine tasks are highly susceptible to automation. Design automation is usually made with API tools which allow building original software responsible for adding different engineering activities. In this paper the original software worked out in order to automate engineering tasks at the stage of a product geometrical shape design is presented. The elaborated software works exclusively in NX Siemens CAD/CAM/CAE environment and was prepared in Microsoft Visual Studio with application of the .NET technology and NX SNAP library. The software functionality allows designing and modelling of spur and helicoidal involute gears. Moreover, it is possible to estimate relative manufacturing costs. With the Generator module it is possible to design and model both standard and non-standard gear wheels. The main advantage of the model generated in such a way is its better representation of an involute curve in comparison to those which are drawn in specialized standard CAD systems tools. It comes from fact that usually in CAD systems an involute curve is drawn by 3 points that respond to points located on the addendum circle, the reference diameter of a gear and the base circle respectively. In the Generator module the involute curve is drawn by 11 involute points which are located on and upper the base and the addendum circles therefore 3D gear wheels models are highly accurate. Application of the Generator module makes the modelling process very rapid so that the gear wheel modelling time is reduced to several seconds. During the conducted research the analysis of differences between standard 3 points and 11 points involutes was made. The results and conclusions drawn upon analysis are shown in details.

Distortions in processed signals and their application in electronic design - III: An automated generator of communication jamming signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Njau, E.C.

1987-10-01

We describe the design and operational features of a simple electronic circuit that is capable of automatically generating a narrow bandwidth jamming signal around each frequency signal received from target transmitters. It is noted that jamming based upon this circuit is fairly difficult to nullify using some of the conventional ''counter jamming'' strategies since in this case the jamming signals are flexibly locked onto the spectral components of the received signals. (author). 3 refs, 3 figs

Process understanding and cooperative design. Keys to high quality automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tommila, T.; Heinonen, R.

1995-01-01

A systematic approach to the specification of process control systems, and four practical methods supporting user participation and interdisciplinary co-operation are described. The main steps of the design approach are: (1) hierarchical decomposition of the plant to process items of different types; (2) analysis and definition of requirements and control strategies associated with each process item; (3) definition of automation degree; and (4) functional specification of the control system and its user interface. The specification language used for this step is a combination of principles found in object oriented design, structured analysis as well as new language standards for programmable controllers and open information systems. The design review methods presented include structured control strategy meetings, safety analysis of sequential controls, review of graphic displays, and a usability questionnaire for existing plants. These methods can be used to elicit users' needs and operational experience, to gain a common understanding of the process functionality, or to detect errors in design specifications or in existing systems. (8 refs., 9 figs.)

The design of 3D scaffold for tissue engineering using automated scaffold design algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoud, Shahenda; Eldeib, Ayman; Samy, Sherif

2015-06-01

Several progresses have been introduced in the field of bone regenerative medicine. A new term tissue engineering (TE) was created. In TE, a highly porous artificial extracellular matrix or scaffold is required to accommodate cells and guide their growth in three dimensions. The design of scaffolds with desirable internal and external structure represents a challenge for TE. In this paper, we introduce a new method known as automated scaffold design (ASD) for designing a 3D scaffold with a minimum mismatches for its geometrical parameters. The method makes use of k-means clustering algorithm to separate the different tissues and hence decodes the defected bone portions. The segmented portions of different slices are registered to construct the 3D volume for the data. It also uses an isosurface rendering technique for 3D visualization of the scaffold and bones. It provides the ability to visualize the transplanted as well as the normal bone portions. The proposed system proves good performance in both the segmentation results and visualizations aspects.

15 CFR 758.2 - Automated Export System (AES).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Automated Export System (AES). 758.2... CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS § 758.2 Automated Export System (AES). The Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Statistics...) electronically using the Automated Export System (AES). In order to use AES, you must apply directly to the...

Understanding human management of automation errors

Science.gov (United States)

McBride, Sara E.; Rogers, Wendy A.; Fisk, Arthur D.

2013-01-01

Automation has the potential to aid humans with a diverse set of tasks and support overall system performance. Automated systems are not always reliable, and when automation errs, humans must engage in error management, which is the process of detecting, understanding, and correcting errors. However, this process of error management in the context of human-automation interaction is not well understood. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the variables that contribute to error management. We examined relevant research in human-automation interaction and human error to identify critical automation, person, task, and emergent variables. We propose a framework for management of automation errors to incorporate and build upon previous models. Further, our analysis highlights variables that may be addressed through design and training to positively influence error management. Additional efforts to understand the error management process will contribute to automation designed and implemented to support safe and effective system performance. PMID:25383042

A multiplex reverse transcription PCR and automated electronic microarray assay for detection and differentiation of seven viruses affecting swine.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, A; Fisher, M; Furukawa-Stoffer, T; Ambagala, A; Hodko, D; Pasick, J; King, D P; Nfon, C; Ortega Polo, R; Lung, O

2018-04-01

Microarray technology can be useful for pathogen detection as it allows simultaneous interrogation of the presence or absence of a large number of genetic signatures. However, most microarray assays are labour-intensive and time-consuming to perform. This study describes the development and initial evaluation of a multiplex reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and novel accompanying automated electronic microarray assay for simultaneous detection and differentiation of seven important viruses that affect swine (foot-and-mouth disease virus [FMDV], swine vesicular disease virus [SVDV], vesicular exanthema of swine virus [VESV], African swine fever virus [ASFV], classical swine fever virus [CSFV], porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus [PRRSV] and porcine circovirus type 2 [PCV2]). The novel electronic microarray assay utilizes a single, user-friendly instrument that integrates and automates capture probe printing, hybridization, washing and reporting on a disposable electronic microarray cartridge with 400 features. This assay accurately detected and identified a total of 68 isolates of the seven targeted virus species including 23 samples of FMDV, representing all seven serotypes, and 10 CSFV strains, representing all three genotypes. The assay successfully detected viruses in clinical samples from the field, experimentally infected animals (as early as 1 day post-infection (dpi) for FMDV and SVDV, 4 dpi for ASFV, 5 dpi for CSFV), as well as in biological material that were spiked with target viruses. The limit of detection was 10 copies/μl for ASFV, PCV2 and PRRSV, 100 copies/μl for SVDV, CSFV, VESV and 1,000 copies/μl for FMDV. The electronic microarray component had reduced analytical sensitivity for several of the target viruses when compared with the multiplex RT-PCR. The integration of capture probe printing allows custom onsite array printing as needed, while electrophoretically driven hybridization generates results faster than conventional

A compact electron storage ring design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swenson, C.A.

1992-01-01

Electron storage rings are sources of synchrotron radiation in the soft and hard parts of the x-ray spectrum. X-ray lithography is an ideal candidate technology for the production of microelectronic devices with sizes between 0.3-0.5 microns. Industrial x-ray lithography requires the x-ray source, which is the electron storage ring, to be as compact and reliable as possible. In this thesis the author reviews and develops the basic physical principles governing the design of compact electron synchrotrons for x-ray lithography. He explores the various aspects of lattice design for this application. He argues that the optimal storage ring design consists of a four fold symmetric cell lattice with two quadrupole families and 90 degrees zero gradient dipole magnets. It is demonstrated that radiation requirements for lithography and the use of zero gradient magnetic dipole fields constrains the lattice to four or more dipole magnets. The author develops a lattice design for x-ray lithography following this logic. He then develops a dipole magnet design for a machine using this lattice. Particle tracking data is integrated into the magnet design and used to optimize the end coil configurations of the magnets. The author then reviews the magnet's physical construction and measurement. He develops a cryogenic Hall probe mapping apparatus for this magnet and measure its excitation curves

Design considerations on user-interaction for semi-automated driving

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Beukel, Arie Paul; van der Voort, Mascha C.

2015-01-01

The automotive industry has recently made first steps towards implementation of automated driving, by introducing lateral control as addition to longitudinal control (i.e. ACC). This automated control is allowed during specific situations within existing infrastructure (e.g. motorway cruising).

An Automated System for Garment Texture Design Class Identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emon Kumar Dey

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Automatic identification of garment design class might play an important role in the garments and fashion industry. To achieve this, essential initial works are found in the literature. For example, construction of a garment database, automatic segmentation of garments from real life images, categorizing them into the type of garments such as shirts, jackets, tops, skirts, etc. It is now essential to find a system such that it will be possible to identify the particular design (printed, striped or single color of garment product for an automated system to recommend the garment trends. In this paper, we have focused on this specific issue and thus propose two new descriptors namely Completed CENTRIST (cCENTRIST and Ternary CENTRIST (tCENTRIST. To test these descriptors, we used two different publically available databases. The experimental results of these databases demonstrate that both cCENTRIST and tCENTRIST achieve nearly about 3% more accuracy than the existing state-of-the art methods.

The design of an automated electrolytic enrichment apparatus for tritium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myers, J.L.

1994-12-01

The Radiation Analytical Sciences Section at Laboratory at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory performs analysis of low-level tritium concentrations in various natural water samples from the Tri-Valley Area, DOE Nevada Test Site, Site 300 in Tracy, CA, and other various places around the world. Low levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, which is pre-concentrated in the RAS laboratory using an electrolytic enrichment apparatus. Later these enriched waters are analyzed by liquid scintillation counting to determine the activity of tritium. The enrichment procedure and the subsequent purification process by vacuum distillation are currently undertaken manually, hence being highly labor-intensive. The whole process typically takes about 2 to 3 weeks to complete a batch of 30 samples, with a dedicated personnel operating the process. The goal is to automate the entire process, specifically having the operation PC-LabVIEW{trademark} controlled with real-time monitoring capability. My involvement was in the design and fabrication of a prototypical automated electrolytic enrichment cell. Work will be done on optimizing the electrolytic process by assessing the different parameters of the enrichment procedure. Hardware and software development have also been an integral component of this project.

Automated sub-5 nm image registration in integrated correlative fluorescence and electron microscopy using cathodoluminescence pointers

Science.gov (United States)

Haring, Martijn T.; Liv, Nalan; Zonnevylle, A. Christiaan; Narvaez, Angela C.; Voortman, Lenard M.; Kruit, Pieter; Hoogenboom, Jacob P.

2017-03-01

In the biological sciences, data from fluorescence and electron microscopy is correlated to allow fluorescence biomolecule identification within the cellular ultrastructure and/or ultrastructural analysis following live-cell imaging. High-accuracy (sub-100 nm) image overlay requires the addition of fiducial markers, which makes overlay accuracy dependent on the number of fiducials present in the region of interest. Here, we report an automated method for light-electron image overlay at high accuracy, i.e. below 5 nm. Our method relies on direct visualization of the electron beam position in the fluorescence detection channel using cathodoluminescence pointers. We show that image overlay using cathodoluminescence pointers corrects for image distortions, is independent of user interpretation, and does not require fiducials, allowing image correlation with molecular precision anywhere on a sample.

Adaptive Automation Based on Air Traffic Controller Decision-Making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

IJtsma (Student TU Delft), Martijn; Borst, C.; Mercado Velasco, G.A.; Mulder, M.; van Paassen, M.M.; Tsang, P.S.; Vidulich, M.A.

2017-01-01

Through smart scheduling and triggering of automation support, adaptive automation has the potential to balance air traffic controller workload. The challenge in the design of adaptive automation systems is to decide how and when the automation should provide support. This paper describes the design

User interface design principles for the SSM/PMAD automated power system

Science.gov (United States)

Jakstas, Laura M.; Myers, Chris J.

1991-01-01

Martin Marietta has developed a user interface for the space station module power management and distribution (SSM/PMAD) automated power system testbed which provides human access to the functionality of the power system, as well as exemplifying current techniques in user interface design. The testbed user interface was designed to enable an engineer to operate the system easily without having significant knowledge of computer systems, as well as provide an environment in which the engineer can monitor and interact with the SSM/PMAD system hardware. The design of the interface supports a global view of the most important data from the various hardware and software components, as well as enabling the user to obtain additional or more detailed data when needed. The components and representations of the SSM/PMAD testbed user interface are examined. An engineer's interactions with the system are also described.

The synthesis method for design of electron flow sources

Science.gov (United States)

Alexahin, Yu I.; Molodozhenzev, A. Yu

1997-01-01

The synthesis method to design a relativistic magnetically - focused beam source is described in this paper. It allows to find a shape of electrodes necessary to produce laminar space charge flows. Electron guns with shielded cathodes designed with this method were analyzed using the EGUN code. The obtained results have shown the coincidence of the synthesis and analysis calculations [1]. This method of electron gun calculation may be applied for immersed electron flows - of interest for the EBIS electron gun design.

Virtual model of an automated system for the storage of collected waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enciu George

2017-01-01

Full Text Available One of the problems identified in waste collection integrated systems is the storage space. The design process of an automated system for the storage of collected waste includes finding solutions for the optimal exploitation of the limited storage space, seen that the equipment for the loading, identification, transport and transfer of the waste covers most of the available space inside the integrated collection system. In the present paper a three-dimensional model of an automated storage system designed by the authors for a business partner is presented. The storage system can be used for the following types of waste: plastic and glass recipients, aluminium cans, paper, cardboard and WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment. Special attention has been given to the transfer subsystem, specific for the storage system, which should be able to transfer different types and shapes of waste. The described virtual model of the automated system for the storage of collected waste will be part of the virtual model of the entire integrated waste collection system as requested by the beneficiary.

Design of an automated solar concentrator for the pyrolysis of scrap rubber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeaiter, Joseph; Ahmad, Mohammad N.; Rooney, David; Samneh, Bechara; Shammas, Elie

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Design of a solar concentrator with high focal-point temperatures. • Development of an automated continuous solar tracking system. • Catalytic pyrolysis to convert waste rubber tire to gas and liquid products. • The liquid components had high yields of C 10 –C 29 hydrocarbons. • The gaseous components were mainly propene and cyclobutene. - Abstract: An automated solar reactor system was designed and built to carry out catalytic pyrolysis of scrap rubber tires at 550 °C. To maximize solar energy concentration, a two degrees-of-freedom automated sun tracking system was developed and implemented. Both the azimuth and zenith angles were controlled via feedback from six photo-resistors positioned on a Fresnel lens. The pyrolysis of rubber tires was tested with the presence of two types of acidic catalysts, H-beta and H-USY. Additionally, a photoactive TiO 2 catalyst was used and the products were compared in terms of gas yields and composition. The catalysts were characterized by BET analysis and the pyrolysis gases and liquids were analyzed using GC–MS. The oil and gas yields were relatively high with the highest gas yield reaching 32.8% with H-beta catalyst while TiO 2 gave the same results as thermal pyrolysis without any catalyst. In the presence of zeolites, the dominant gasoline-like components in the gas were propene and cyclobutene. The TiO 2 and non-catalytic experiments produced a gas containing gasoline-like products of mainly isoprene (76.4% and 88.4% respectively). As for the liquids they were composed of numerous components spread over a wide distribution of C 10 to C 29 hydrocarbons of naphthalene and cyclohexane/ene derivatives

Vibration-based Energy Harvesting Systems Characterization Using Automated Electronic Equipment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioannis KOSMADAKIS

2015-04-01

Full Text Available A measurement bench has been developed to fully automate the procedure for the characterization of a vibration-based energy scavenging system. The measurement system is capable of monitoring all important characteristics of a vibration harvesting system (input and output voltage, current, and other parameters, frequency and acceleration values, etc.. It is composed of a PC, typical digital measuring instruments (oscilloscope, waveform generator, etc., certain sensors and actuators, along with a microcontroller based automation module. The automation of the procedure and the manipulation of the acquired data are performed by LabVIEW software. Typical measurements of a system consisting of a vibrating source, a vibration transducer and an active rectifier are presented.

Proof-of-concept automation of propellant processing

Science.gov (United States)

Ramohalli, Kumar; Schallhorn, P. A.

1989-01-01

For space-based propellant production, automation of the process is needed. Currently, all phases of terrestrial production have some form of human interaction. A mixer was acquired to help perform the tasks of automation. A heating system to be used with the mixer was designed, built, and installed. Tests performed on the heating system verify design criteria. An IBM PS/2 personal computer was acquired for the future automation work. It is hoped that some the mixing process itself will be automated. This is a concept demonstration task; proving that propellant production can be automated reliably.

The ERL-based Design of Electron-Hadron Collider eRHIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ptitsyn, Vadim [et al.

2016-06-01

Recent developments of the ERL-based design of future high-luminosity electron-hadron collider eRHIC focused on balancing technological risks present in the design versus the design cost. As a result a lower risk design has been adopted at moderate cost increase. The modifications include a change of the main linac RF frequency, reduced number of SRF cavity types and modified electron spin transport using a spin rotator. A luminosity-staged approach is being explored with a Nominal design ($L \\sim 10^{33} {\\rm cm}^2 {\\rm s}^{-1}$) that employs reduced electron current and could possibly be based on classical electron cooling, and then with the Ultimate design ($L \\gt 10^{34} {\\rm cm}^{-2} {\\rm s}^{-1}$) that uses higher electron current and an innovative cooling technique (CeC). The paper describes the recent design modifications, and presents the full status of the eRHIC ERL-based design.

Reliable design of electronic equipment an engineering guide

CERN Document Server

Natarajan, Dhanasekharan

2014-01-01

This book explains reliability techniques with examples from electronics design for the benefit of engineers. It presents the application of de-rating, FMEA, overstress analyses and reliability improvement tests for designing reliable electronic equipment. Adequate information is provided for designing computerized reliability database system to support the application of the techniques by designers. Pedantic terms and the associated mathematics of reliability engineering discipline are excluded for the benefit of comprehensiveness and practical applications. This book offers excellent support

[Automated anesthesia record systems].

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrichs, W; Mönk, S; Eberle, B

1997-07-01

The introduction of electronic anaesthesia documentation systems was attempted as early as in 1979, although their efficient application has become reality only in the past few years. The advantages of the electronic protocol are apparent: Continuous high quality documentation, comparability of data due to the availability of a data bank, reduction in the workload of the anaesthetist and availability of additional data. Disadvantages of the electronic protocol have also been discussed in the literature. By going through the process of entering data on the course of the anaesthetic procedure on the protocol sheet, the information is mentally absorbed and evaluated by the anaesthetist. This information may, however, be lost when the data are recorded fully automatically-without active involvement on the part of the anaesthetist. Recent publications state that by using intelligent alarms and/or integrated displays manual record keeping is no longer necessary for anaesthesia vigilance. The technical design of automated anaesthesia records depends on an integration of network technology into the hospital. It will be appropriate to connect the systems to the internet, but safety requirements have to be followed strictly. Concerning the database, client server architecture as well as language standards like SQL should be used. Object oriented databases will be available in the near future. Another future goal of automated anaesthesia record systems will be using knowledge based technologies within these systems. Drug interactions, disease related anaesthetic techniques and other information sources can be integrated. At this time, almost none of the commercially available systems has matured to a point where their purchase can be recommended without reservation. There is still a lack of standards for the subsequent exchange of data and a solution to a number of ergonomic problems still remains to be found. Nevertheless, electronic anaesthesia protocols will be required in

RCrane: semi-automated RNA model building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keating, Kevin S.; Pyle, Anna Marie

2012-01-01

RCrane is a new tool for the partially automated building of RNA crystallographic models into electron-density maps of low or intermediate resolution. This tool helps crystallographers to place phosphates and bases into electron density and then automatically predicts and builds the detailed all-atom structure of the traced nucleotides. RNA crystals typically diffract to much lower resolutions than protein crystals. This low-resolution diffraction results in unclear density maps, which cause considerable difficulties during the model-building process. These difficulties are exacerbated by the lack of computational tools for RNA modeling. Here, RCrane, a tool for the partially automated building of RNA into electron-density maps of low or intermediate resolution, is presented. This tool works within Coot, a common program for macromolecular model building. RCrane helps crystallographers to place phosphates and bases into electron density and then automatically predicts and builds the detailed all-atom structure of the traced nucleotides. RCrane then allows the crystallographer to review the newly built structure and select alternative backbone conformations where desired. This tool can also be used to automatically correct the backbone structure of previously built nucleotides. These automated corrections can fix incorrect sugar puckers, steric clashes and other structural problems

SLC polarized beam source electron optics design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eppley, K.R.; Lavine, T.L.; Early, R.A.; Herrmannsfeldt, W.B.; Miller, R.H.; Schultz, D.C.; Spencer, C.M.; Yeremian, A.D.

1991-05-01

This paper describes the design of the beam-line from the polarized electron gun to the linac injector in the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC). The polarized electron source is a GaAs photocathode, requiring 10 -11 -Torr-range pressure for adequate quantum efficiency and longevity. The photocathode is illuminated by 3-nsec-long laser pulses. The quality of the optics for the 160-kV beam is crucial since electron-stimulated gas desorption from beam loss in excess of 0.1% of the 20-nC pulses may poison the photocathode. Our design for the transport line consists of a differential pumping region isolated by a pair of valves. Focusing is provided by a pair of Helmholtz coils and by several iron-encased solenoidal lenses. Our optics design is based on beam transport simulations using 2 1/2-D particle-in-cell codes to model the gun and to solve the fully-relativistic time-dependent equations of motion in three dimensions for electrons in the presence of azimuthally symmetric electromagnetic fields. 6 refs., 6 figs

Designs for a quantum electron microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruit, P; Hobbs, R G; Kim, C-S; Yang, Y; Manfrinato, V R; Hammer, J; Thomas, S; Weber, P; Klopfer, B; Kohstall, C; Juffmann, T; Kasevich, M A; Hommelhoff, P; Berggren, K K

2016-05-01

One of the astounding consequences of quantum mechanics is that it allows the detection of a target using an incident probe, with only a low probability of interaction of the probe and the target. This 'quantum weirdness' could be applied in the field of electron microscopy to generate images of beam-sensitive specimens with substantially reduced damage to the specimen. A reduction of beam-induced damage to specimens is especially of great importance if it can enable imaging of biological specimens with atomic resolution. Following a recent suggestion that interaction-free measurements are possible with electrons, we now analyze the difficulties of actually building an atomic resolution interaction-free electron microscope, or "quantum electron microscope". A quantum electron microscope would require a number of unique components not found in conventional transmission electron microscopes. These components include a coherent electron beam-splitter or two-state-coupler, and a resonator structure to allow each electron to interrogate the specimen multiple times, thus supporting high success probabilities for interaction-free detection of the specimen. Different system designs are presented here, which are based on four different choices of two-state-couplers: a thin crystal, a grating mirror, a standing light wave and an electro-dynamical pseudopotential. Challenges for the detailed electron optical design are identified as future directions for development. While it is concluded that it should be possible to build an atomic resolution quantum electron microscope, we have also identified a number of hurdles to the development of such a microscope and further theoretical investigations that will be required to enable a complete interpretation of the images produced by such a microscope. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design for Reliability of Power Electronic Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Huai; Ma, Ke; Blaabjerg, Frede

2012-01-01

Advances in power electronics enable efficient and flexible processing of electric power in the application of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles, adjustable-speed drives, etc. More and more efforts are devoted to better power electronic systems in terms of reliability to ensure high......). A collection of methodologies based on Physics-of-Failure (PoF) approach and mission profile analysis are presented in this paper to perform reliability-oriented design of power electronic systems. The corresponding design procedures and reliability prediction models are provided. Further on, a case study...... on a 2.3 MW wind power converter is discussed with emphasis on the reliability critical components IGBTs. Different aspects of improving the reliability of the power converter are mapped. Finally, the challenges and opportunities to achieve more reliable power electronic systems are addressed....

Power Electronic Packaging Design, Assembly Process, Reliability and Modeling

CERN Document Server

Liu, Yong

2012-01-01

Power Electronic Packaging presents an in-depth overview of power electronic packaging design, assembly,reliability and modeling. Since there is a drastic difference between IC fabrication and power electronic packaging, the book systematically introduces typical power electronic packaging design, assembly, reliability and failure analysis and material selection so readers can clearly understand each task's unique characteristics. Power electronic packaging is one of the fastest growing segments in the power electronic industry, due to the rapid growth of power integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, especially for applications like portable, consumer, home, computing and automotive electronics. This book also covers how advances in both semiconductor content and power advanced package design have helped cause advances in power device capability in recent years. The author extrapolates the most recent trends in the book's areas of focus to highlight where further improvement in materials and techniques can d...

Automated analysis of heterogeneous carbon nanostructures by high-resolution electron microscopy and on-line image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, P.; Farrer, J.K.; Palotas, A.B.; Lighty, J.S.; Eddings, E.G.

2013-01-01

High-resolution electron microscopy is an efficient tool for characterizing heterogeneous nanostructures; however, currently the analysis is a laborious and time-consuming manual process. In order to be able to accurately and robustly quantify heterostructures, one must obtain a statistically high number of micrographs showing images of the appropriate sub-structures. The second step of analysis is usually the application of digital image processing techniques in order to extract meaningful structural descriptors from the acquired images. In this paper it will be shown that by applying on-line image processing and basic machine vision algorithms, it is possible to fully automate the image acquisition step; therefore, the number of acquired images in a given time can be increased drastically without the need for additional human labor. The proposed automation technique works by computing fields of structural descriptors in situ and thus outputs sets of the desired structural descriptors in real-time. The merits of the method are demonstrated by using combustion-generated black carbon samples. - Highlights: ► The HRTEM analysis of heterogeneous nanostructures is a tedious manual process. ► Automatic HRTEM image acquisition and analysis can improve data quantity and quality. ► We propose a method based on on-line image analysis for the automation of HRTEM image acquisition. ► The proposed method is demonstrated using HRTEM images of soot particles

Automating Behavioral Health Screening - Addressing Risk Communication Electronically

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Crow, Bruce E; Gahm, Gregory

2004-01-01

... outpatient behavioral health clinic and 3,451 Soldiers screened 90 days following return from OIF deployment. The screening was completed via scanning software and has more recently been updated to a completed automated kiosk system...

Using mathematical software to design power electronic converters

Science.gov (United States)

Hinov, Nikolay; Hranov, Tsveti

2017-12-01

In the paper is presented mathematical software, which was used for design of power electronic devices. Examined to different example, which are applied to designing electronic converters. In this way, it is possible to play different combinations of the circuit elements by simple means, thus optimizing according to certain criteria and limitations. Free software with a simple and intuitive interface is selected. No special user training is required to work with it and no further training is required. The use of mathematical software greatly facilitates the design, assists and makes it attractive and accessible to a wider range of students and specialists in power electronics training.

Design of the BEPCII electron gun system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Bo; Gu Mengping; Chi Yunlong

2006-01-01

BEPCII upgrading project needs a new high current electron gun. The design stage such as physical design, mechanical design and control system design of this new electron gun is described. The emission current is designed to be higher than 10 A for the pulse width of 1 ns with repetition rate of 50 Hz. The gun will operate with a pulsed high voltage power supply which can provide up to 200 kV high voltage. Computer simulations and optimizations have been carried out in the design stage, including the gun geometry and beam transport. EGUN and DGUN codes are used to simulate the gun geometry, and the results show that the perveance is about 0.22 μA·V -3/2 , and the emittance at gun exit is about 16 π·mm·mrad. PARMELA code shows that the electron beam can be easily transported to the end of the first accelerating tube with a capture efficiency of 67% and root mean square emittance of 25 mm·mrad. New scheme of the gun control system based on EPICS is also presented. Two-bunch operation mode and 2.5 μs long pulse operation mode are available in the control system. (authors)

Laboratory design for high-performance electron microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Keefe, Michael A.; Turner, John H.; Hetherington, Crispin J.D.; Cullis, A.G.; Carragher, Bridget; Jenkins, Ron; Milgrim, Julie; Milligan,Ronald A.; Potter, Clinton S.; Allard, Lawrence F.; Blom, Douglas A.; Degenhardt, Lynn; Sides, William H.

2004-04-23

Proliferation of electron microscopes with field emission guns, imaging filters and hardware spherical aberration correctors (giving higher spatial and energy resolution) has resulted in the need to construct special laboratories. As resolutions improve, transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) and scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEMs) become more sensitive to ambient conditions. State-of-the-art electron microscopes require state-of-the-art environments, and this means careful design and implementation of microscope sites, from the microscope room to the building that surrounds it. Laboratories have been constructed to house high-sensitive instruments with resolutions ranging down to sub-Angstrom levels; we present the various design philosophies used for some of these laboratories and our experiences with them. Four facilities are described: the National Center for Electron Microscopy OAM Laboratory at LBNL; the FEGTEM Facility at the University of Sheffield; the Center for Integrative Molecular Biosciences at TSRI; and the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory at ORNL.

Process automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, D.R.

1986-01-01

Process automation technology has been pursued in the chemical processing industries and to a very limited extent in nuclear fuel reprocessing. Its effective use has been restricted in the past by the lack of diverse and reliable process instrumentation and the unavailability of sophisticated software designed for process control. The Integrated Equipment Test (IET) facility was developed by the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program (CFRP) in part to demonstrate new concepts for control of advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. A demonstration of fuel reprocessing equipment automation using advanced instrumentation and a modern, microprocessor-based control system is nearing completion in the facility. This facility provides for the synergistic testing of all chemical process features of a prototypical fuel reprocessing plant that can be attained with unirradiated uranium-bearing feed materials. The unique equipment and mission of the IET facility make it an ideal test bed for automation studies. This effort will provide for the demonstration of the plant automation concept and for the development of techniques for similar applications in a full-scale plant. A set of preliminary recommendations for implementing process automation has been compiled. Some of these concepts are not generally recognized or accepted. The automation work now under way in the IET facility should be useful to others in helping avoid costly mistakes because of the underutilization or misapplication of process automation. 6 figs

78 FR 18221 - Disclosures at Automated Teller Machines (Regulation E)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-26

... Disclosures at Automated Teller Machines (Regulation E) AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection... the EFTA to eliminate a requirement that a fee notice be posted on or at automated teller machines... legislation, though the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E use the term ``automated teller machine...

Automated procedures for sizing aerospace vehicle structures /SAVES/

Science.gov (United States)

Giles, G. L.; Blackburn, C. L.; Dixon, S. C.

1972-01-01

Results from a continuing effort to develop automated methods for structural design are described. A system of computer programs presently under development called SAVES is intended to automate the preliminary structural design of a complete aerospace vehicle. Each step in the automated design process of the SAVES system of programs is discussed, with emphasis placed on use of automated routines for generation of finite-element models. The versatility of these routines is demonstrated by structural models generated for a space shuttle orbiter, an advanced technology transport,n hydrogen fueled Mach 3 transport. Illustrative numerical results are presented for the Mach 3 transport wing.

MEMS/Electronic Device Design and Characterization Facility

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — This facility allows DoD to design and characterize state-of-the-art microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and electronic devices. Device designers develop their own...

Procedure automation: the effect of automated procedure execution on situation awareness and human performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andresen, Gisle; Svengren, Haakan; Heimdal, Jan O.; Nilsen, Svein; Hulsund, John-Einar; Bisio, Rossella; Debroise, Xavier

2004-04-01

As advised by the procedure workshop convened in Halden in 2000, the Halden Project conducted an experiment on the effect of automation of Computerised Procedure Systems (CPS) on situation awareness and human performance. The expected outcome of the study was to provide input for guidance on CPS design, and to support the Halden Project's ongoing research on human reliability analysis. The experiment was performed in HAMMLAB using the HAMBO BWR simulator and the COPMA-III CPS. Eight crews of operators from Forsmark 3 and Oskarshamn 3 participated. Three research questions were investigated: 1) Does procedure automation create Out-Of-The-Loop (OOTL) performance problems? 2) Does procedure automation affect situation awareness? 3) Does procedure automation affect crew performance? The independent variable, 'procedure configuration', had four levels: paper procedures, manual CPS, automation with breaks, and full automation. The results showed that the operators experienced OOTL problems in full automation, but that situation awareness and crew performance (response time) were not affected. One possible explanation for this is that the operators monitored the automated procedure execution conscientiously, something which may have prevented the OOTL problems from having negative effects on situation awareness and crew performance. In a debriefing session, the operators clearly expressed their dislike for the full automation condition, but that automation with breaks could be suitable for some tasks. The main reason why the operators did not like the full automation was that they did not feel being in control. A qualitative analysis addressing factors contributing to response time delays revealed that OOTL problems did not seem to cause delays, but that some delays could be explained by the operators having problems with the freeze function of the CPS. Also other factors such as teamwork and operator tendencies were of importance. Several design implications were drawn

Efficient Design Methods for Embedded Communication Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holzer M

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, design of embedded systems is confronted with complex signal processing algorithms and a multitude of computational intensive multimedia applications, while time to product launch has been extremely reduced. Especially in the wireless domain, those challenges are stacked with tough requirements on power consumption and chip size. Unfortunately, design productivity did not undergo a similar progression, and therefore fails to cope with the heterogeneity of modern architectures. Electronic design automation tools exhibit deep gaps in the design flow like high-level characterization of algorithms, floating-point to fixed-point conversion, hardware/software partitioning, and virtual prototyping. This tutorial paper surveys several promising approaches to solve the widespread design problems in this field. An overview over consistent design methodologies that establish a framework for connecting the different design tasks is given. This is followed by a discussion of solutions for the integrated automation of specific design tasks.

Design for low-power and reliable flexible electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Tsung-Ching (Jim)

Flexible electronics are emerging as an alternative to conventional Si electronics for large-area low-cost applications such as e-paper, smart sensors, and disposable RFID tags. By utilizing inexpensive manufacturing methods such as ink-jet printing and roll-to-roll imprinting, flexible electronics can be made on low-cost plastics just like printing a newspaper. However, the key elements of exible electronics, thin-film transistors (TFTs), have slower operating speeds and less reliability than their Si electronics counterparts. Furthermore, depending on the material property, TFTs are usually mono-type -- either p- or n-type -- devices. Making air-stable complementary TFT circuits is very challenging and not applicable to most TFT technologies. Existing design methodologies for Si electronics, therefore, cannot be directly applied to exible electronics. Other inhibiting factors such as high supply voltage, large process variation, and lack of trustworthy device modeling also make designing larger-scale and robust TFT circuits a significant challenge. The major goal of this dissertation is to provide a viable solution for robust circuit design in exible electronics. I will first introduce a reliability simulation framework that can predict the degraded TFT circuits' performance under bias-stress. This framework has been validated using the amorphous-silicon (a-Si) TFT scan driver for TFT-LCD displays. To reuse the existing CMOS design ow for exible electronics, I propose a Pseudo-CMOS cell library that can make TFT circuits operable under low supply voltage and which has post-fabrication tunability for reliability and performance enhancement. This cell library has been validated using 2V self-assembly-monolayer (SAM) organic TFTs with a low-cost shadow-mask deposition process. I will also demonstrate a 3-bit 1.25KS/s Flash ADC in a-Si TFTs, which is based on the proposed Pseudo-CMOS cell library, and explore more possibilities in display, energy, and sensing

Design and building of a homemade sample changer for automation of the irradiation in neutron activation analysis technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gago, Javier; Hernandez, Yuri; Baltuano, Oscar; Bedregal, Patricia; Lopez, Yon; Urquizo, Rafael

2014-01-01

Because the RP-10 research reactor operates during weekends, it was necessary to design and build a sample changer for irradiation as part of the automation process of neutron activation analysis technique. The device is formed by an aluminum turntable disk which can accommodate 19 polyethylene capsules, containing samples to be sent using the pneumatic transfer system from the laboratory to the irradiation position. The system is operate by a control switchboard to send and return capsules in a variable preset time and by two different ways, allowing the determination of short, medium and long lived radionuclides. Also another mechanism is designed called 'exchange valve' for changing travel paths (pipelines) allowing the irradiated samples to be stored for a longer time in the reactor hall. The system design has allowed complete automation of this technique, enabling the irradiation of samples without the presence of an analyst. The design, construction and operation of the device is described and presented in this article. (authors).

Optimal Solution for VLSI Physical Design Automation Using Hybrid Genetic Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Hameem Shanavas

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In Optimization of VLSI Physical Design, area minimization and interconnect length minimization is an important objective in physical design automation of very large scale integration chips. The objective of minimizing the area and interconnect length would scale down the size of integrated chips. To meet the above objective, it is necessary to find an optimal solution for physical design components like partitioning, floorplanning, placement, and routing. This work helps to perform the optimization of the benchmark circuits with the above said components of physical design using hierarchical approach of evolutionary algorithms. The goal of minimizing the delay in partitioning, minimizing the silicon area in floorplanning, minimizing the layout area in placement, minimizing the wirelength in routing has indefinite influence on other criteria like power, clock, speed, cost, and so forth. Hybrid evolutionary algorithm is applied on each of its phases to achieve the objective. Because evolutionary algorithm that includes one or many local search steps within its evolutionary cycles to obtain the minimization of area and interconnect length. This approach combines a hierarchical design like genetic algorithm and simulated annealing to attain the objective. This hybrid approach can quickly produce optimal solutions for the popular benchmarks.

Investing in the Future: Automation Marketplace 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Breeding, Marshall

2009-01-01

In a year where the general economy presented enormous challenges, libraries continued to make investments in automation, especially in products that help improve what and how they deliver to their end users. Access to electronic content remains a key driver. In response to anticipated needs for new approaches to library automation, many companies…

Laboratory automation: trajectory, technology, and tactics.

Science.gov (United States)

Markin, R S; Whalen, S A

2000-05-01

Laboratory automation is in its infancy, following a path parallel to the development of laboratory information systems in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Changes on the horizon in healthcare and clinical laboratory service that affect the delivery of laboratory results include the increasing age of the population in North America, the implementation of the Balanced Budget Act (1997), and the creation of disease management companies. Major technology drivers include outcomes optimization and phenotypically targeted drugs. Constant cost pressures in the clinical laboratory have forced diagnostic manufacturers into less than optimal profitability states. Laboratory automation can be a tool for the improvement of laboratory services and may decrease costs. The key to improvement of laboratory services is implementation of the correct automation technology. The design of this technology should be driven by required functionality. Automation design issues should be centered on the understanding of the laboratory and its relationship to healthcare delivery and the business and operational processes in the clinical laboratory. Automation design philosophy has evolved from a hardware-based approach to a software-based approach. Process control software to support repeat testing, reflex testing, and transportation management, and overall computer-integrated manufacturing approaches to laboratory automation implementation are rapidly expanding areas. It is clear that hardware and software are functionally interdependent and that the interface between the laboratory automation system and the laboratory information system is a key component. The cost-effectiveness of automation solutions suggested by vendors, however, has been difficult to evaluate because the number of automation installations are few and the precision with which operational data have been collected to determine payback is suboptimal. The trend in automation has moved from total laboratory automation to a

Autonomy, Automation, and Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Philip R.

1987-02-01

Aerospace industry interest in autonomy and automation, given fresh impetus by the national goal of establishing a Space Station, is becoming a major item of research and technology development. The promise of new technology arising from research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has focused much attention on its potential in autonomy and automation. These technologies can improve performance in autonomous control functions that involve planning, scheduling, and fault diagnosis of complex systems. There are, however, many aspects of system and subsystem design in an autonomous system that impact AI applications, but do not directly involve AI technology. Development of a system control architecture, establishment of an operating system within the design, providing command and sensory data collection features appropriate to automated operation, and the use of design analysis tools to support system engineering are specific examples of major design issues. Aspects such as these must also receive attention and technology development support if we are to implement complex autonomous systems within the realistic limitations of mass, power, cost, and available flight-qualified technology that are all-important to a flight project.

Automation, robotics and remote handling technology in the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajagopalan, C.; Venugopal, S.

2013-01-01

Automation and Robotics technology are making significant contributions in almost all fields of engineering and technology and their presence is felt in all spheres of human life. The importance of automation and robotics has increased rapidly in the recent years to cater to the global competitive pressures by the manufacturing industry by utilizing the increased productivity and improved quality this technology offers. Improvement of productivity, quality, profitability and, indeed, survival are the major motivating factors in the implementation of automation and robotics technology in the manufacturing sector. Robots are used extensively in the automotive industry, primarily for welding, painting and material handling applications. The electronics, aerospace, metalworking and consumer goods industries are also major potential robot users. The common uses of robots in industries mostly include the four Ps - Picking, Placing, Packaging and Painting - apart from other industrial routines like assembly and welding. As is the case with industrial tools and machineries, a properly designed robot (for the appropriate task) has almost unlimited endurance with the added benefit of precisions unmatched by human workers. With robot technology as a key element, integrated factory automation systems touch on nearly all types of manufacturing. The productivity and competitiveness in these industries will depend in large part on flexible automation through robotics

Data base systems in electronic design engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, D.

1980-01-01

The concepts of an integrated design data base system (DBMS) as it might apply to an electronic design company are discussed. Data elements of documentation, project specifications, project tracking, firmware, software, electronic and mechanical design can be integrated and managed through a single DBMS. Combining the attributes of a DBMS data handler with specialized systems and functional data can provide users with maximum flexibility, reduced redundancy, and increased overall systems performance. Although some system overhead is lost due to redundancy in transitory data, it is believed the combination of the two data types is advisable rather than trying to do all data handling through a single DBMS.

Automated determination of size and morphology information from soot transmission electron microscope (TEM)-generated images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Cheng; Chan, Qing N.; Zhang, Renlin; Kook, Sanghoon; Hawkes, Evatt R.; Yeoh, Guan H.; Medwell, Paul R.

2016-01-01

The thermophoretic sampling of particulates from hot media, coupled with transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging, is a combined approach that is widely used to derive morphological information. The identification and the measurement of the particulates, however, can be complex when the TEM images are of low contrast, noisy, and have non-uniform background signal level. The image processing method can also be challenging and time consuming, when the samples collected have large variability in shape and size, or have some degree of overlapping. In this work, a three-stage image processing sequence is presented to facilitate time-efficient automated identification and measurement of particulates from the TEM grids. The proposed processing sequence is first applied to soot samples that were thermophoretically sampled from a laminar non-premixed ethylene-air flame. The parameter values that are required to be set to facilitate the automated process are identified, and sensitivity of the results to these parameters is assessed. The same analysis process is also applied to soot samples that were acquired from an externally irradiated laminar non-premixed ethylene-air flame, which have different geometrical characteristics, to assess the morphological dependence of the proposed image processing sequence. Using the optimized parameter values, statistical assessments of the automated results reveal that the largest discrepancies that are associated with the estimated values of primary particle diameter, fractal dimension, and prefactor values of the aggregates for the tested cases, are approximately 3, 1, and 10 %, respectively, when compared with the manual measurements.

Automated determination of size and morphology information from soot transmission electron microscope (TEM)-generated images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Cheng; Chan, Qing N., E-mail: qing.chan@unsw.edu.au; Zhang, Renlin; Kook, Sanghoon; Hawkes, Evatt R.; Yeoh, Guan H. [UNSW, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (Australia); Medwell, Paul R. [The University of Adelaide, Centre for Energy Technology (Australia)

2016-05-15

The thermophoretic sampling of particulates from hot media, coupled with transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging, is a combined approach that is widely used to derive morphological information. The identification and the measurement of the particulates, however, can be complex when the TEM images are of low contrast, noisy, and have non-uniform background signal level. The image processing method can also be challenging and time consuming, when the samples collected have large variability in shape and size, or have some degree of overlapping. In this work, a three-stage image processing sequence is presented to facilitate time-efficient automated identification and measurement of particulates from the TEM grids. The proposed processing sequence is first applied to soot samples that were thermophoretically sampled from a laminar non-premixed ethylene-air flame. The parameter values that are required to be set to facilitate the automated process are identified, and sensitivity of the results to these parameters is assessed. The same analysis process is also applied to soot samples that were acquired from an externally irradiated laminar non-premixed ethylene-air flame, which have different geometrical characteristics, to assess the morphological dependence of the proposed image processing sequence. Using the optimized parameter values, statistical assessments of the automated results reveal that the largest discrepancies that are associated with the estimated values of primary particle diameter, fractal dimension, and prefactor values of the aggregates for the tested cases, are approximately 3, 1, and 10 %, respectively, when compared with the manual measurements.

High performance integer arithmetic circuit design on FPGA architecture, implementation and design automation

CERN Document Server

Palchaudhuri, Ayan

2016-01-01

This book describes the optimized implementations of several arithmetic datapath, controlpath and pseudorandom sequence generator circuits for realization of high performance arithmetic circuits targeted towards a specific family of the high-end Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). It explores regular, modular, cascadable, and bit-sliced architectures of these circuits, by directly instantiating the target FPGA-specific primitives in the HDL. Every proposed architecture is justified with detailed mathematical analyses. Simultaneously, constrained placement of the circuit building blocks is performed, by placing the logically related hardware primitives in close proximity to one another by supplying relevant placement constraints in the Xilinx proprietary “User Constraints File”. The book covers the implementation of a GUI-based CAD tool named FlexiCore integrated with the Xilinx Integrated Software Environment (ISE) for design automation of platform-specific high-performance arithmetic circuits from us...

Automated design and optimization of flexible booster autopilots via linear programming, volume 1

Science.gov (United States)

Hauser, F. D.

1972-01-01

A nonlinear programming technique was developed for the automated design and optimization of autopilots for large flexible launch vehicles. This technique, which resulted in the COEBRA program, uses the iterative application of linear programming. The method deals directly with the three main requirements of booster autopilot design: to provide (1) good response to guidance commands; (2) response to external disturbances (e.g. wind) to minimize structural bending moment loads and trajectory dispersions; and (3) stability with specified tolerances on the vehicle and flight control system parameters. The method is applicable to very high order systems (30th and greater per flight condition). Examples are provided that demonstrate the successful application of the employed algorithm to the design of autopilots for both single and multiple flight conditions.

Electron gun design study for the IUCF beam cooling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friesel, D.L.; Ellison, T.; Jones, W.P.

1985-01-01

The design of a low temperature electron beam cooling system for the Indiana University electron-cooled storage ring is in progress. The storage ring, which will accept the light ion beams from the existing k=200, multi-stage cyclotron facility, requires an electron beam variable in energy from about 7 to 275 keV. The electron beam system consists of a high perveance electron gun with Pierce geometry and a flat cathode. The gun and a 28 element accelerating column are immersed in a uniform longitudinal magnetic guide field. A computer modeling study of the system was conducted to determine electron beam density and transverse temperature variations as a function of anode region and accelerator column design parameters. Transverse electron beam temperatures (E /SUB t/ = mc 2 β 2 γ(/theta/ /SUB H/ +/theta/ /SUB v/ )) of less than a few tenths of an electron volt at a maximum current density of 0.4 A/cm 2 are desired over the full energy range. This was achieved in the calculations without the use of resonant focusing for a 2 Amp, 275 keV electron beam. Some systematics of the electron beam temperature variations with system design parameters are presented. A short discussion of the mechanical design of the proposed electron beam system is also given

Welding process automation in power machine building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mel'bard, S.N.; Shakhnov, A.F.; Shergov, I.V.

1977-01-01

The level of welding automation operations in power engineering and ways of its enhancement are highlighted. Used as the examples of comlex automation are an apparatus for the horizontal welding of turbine rotors, remotely controlled automatic machine for welding ring joint of large-sized vessels, equipment for the electron-beam welding of steam turbine assemblies of alloyed steels. The prospects of industrial robots are noted. The importance of the complex automation of technological process, including stocking, assemblying, transportation and auxiliary operations, is emphasized

Three-dimensional rotation electron diffraction: software RED for automated data collection and data processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Wei; Sun, Junliang; Su, Jie; Hovmöller, Sven; Zou, Xiaodong

2013-12-01

Implementation of a computer program package for automated collection and processing of rotation electron diffraction (RED) data is described. The software package contains two computer programs: RED data collection and RED data processing. The RED data collection program controls the transmission electron microscope and the camera. Electron beam tilts at a fine step (0.05-0.20°) are combined with goniometer tilts at a coarse step (2.0-3.0°) around a common tilt axis, which allows a fine relative tilt to be achieved between the electron beam and the crystal in a large tilt range. An electron diffraction (ED) frame is collected at each combination of beam tilt and goniometer tilt. The RED data processing program processes three-dimensional ED data generated by the RED data collection program or by other approaches. It includes shift correction of the ED frames, peak hunting for diffraction spots in individual ED frames and identification of these diffraction spots as reflections in three dimensions. Unit-cell parameters are determined from the positions of reflections in three-dimensional reciprocal space. All reflections are indexed, and finally a list with hkl indices and intensities is output. The data processing program also includes a visualizer to view and analyse three-dimensional reciprocal lattices reconstructed from the ED frames. Details of the implementation are described. Data collection and data processing with the software RED are demonstrated using a calcined zeolite sample, silicalite-1. The structure of the calcined silicalite-1, with 72 unique atoms, could be solved from the RED data by routine direct methods.

Automated Test Case Generation for an Autopilot Requirement Prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Giannakopoulou, Dimitra; Rungta, Neha; Feary, Michael

2011-01-01

Designing safety-critical automation with robust human interaction is a difficult task that is susceptible to a number of known Human-Automation Interaction (HAI) vulnerabilities. It is therefore essential to develop automated tools that provide support both in the design and rapid evaluation of such automation. The Automation Design and Evaluation Prototyping Toolset (ADEPT) enables the rapid development of an executable specification for automation behavior and user interaction. ADEPT supports a number of analysis capabilities, thus enabling the detection of HAI vulnerabilities early in the design process, when modifications are less costly. In this paper, we advocate the introduction of a new capability to model-based prototyping tools such as ADEPT. The new capability is based on symbolic execution that allows us to automatically generate quality test suites based on the system design. Symbolic execution is used to generate both user input and test oracles user input drives the testing of the system implementation, and test oracles ensure that the system behaves as designed. We present early results in the context of a component in the Autopilot system modeled in ADEPT, and discuss the challenges of test case generation in the HAI domain.

Power electronics basics operating principles, design, formulas, and applications

CERN Document Server

Rozanov, Yuriy; Chaplygin, Evgeny; Voronin, Pavel

2015-01-01

Power Electronics Basics: Operating Principles, Design, Formulas, and Applications provides fundamental knowledge for the analysis and design of modern power electronic devices. This concise and user-friendly resource:Explains the basic concepts and most important terms of power electronicsDescribes the power assemblies, control, and passive components of semiconductor power switchesCovers the control of power electronic devices, from mathematical modeling to the analysis of the electrical processesAddresses pulse-width modulation, power quality control, and multilevel, modular, and multicell

Design and Achievement of User Interface Automation Testing of Linux Based on Element Tree of DogTail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Wen-Chao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As Linux gets more popular around the world, the advantage of the open source on software makes people do automated UI test by unified testing framework. UI software testing can guarantee the rationality of User Interface of Linux and accuracy of the UI’s widgets. In order to set free from fuzzy and repeated manual testing, and improve efficiency, this paper achieves automation testing of UI under Linux, and proposes a method to identify and test UI widgets under Linux, which is according to element tree of DogTail automaton testing framework. It achieves automation test of UI under Linux. According to this method, Aiming at the product of Red Hat Subscription Manager under Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it designs the automation test plan of this series of product’s dialogs. After many tests, it is indicated that this plan can identify UI widgets accurately and rationally, describe the structure of software clearly, avoid software errors and improve efficiency of the software. Simultaneously, it also can be used in the internationalization testing for checking translation during software internationalization.

Automated cloning methods.; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collart, F.

2001-01-01

Argonne has developed a series of automated protocols to generate bacterial expression clones by using a robotic system designed to be used in procedures associated with molecular biology. The system provides plate storage, temperature control from 4 to 37 C at various locations, and Biomek and Multimek pipetting stations. The automated system consists of a robot that transports sources from the active station on the automation system. Protocols for the automated generation of bacterial expression clones can be grouped into three categories (Figure 1). Fragment generation protocols are initiated on day one of the expression cloning procedure and encompass those protocols involved in generating purified coding region (PCR)

Automating the CMS DAQ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, G; Darlea, G-L; Gomez-Ceballos, G; Bawej, T; Chaze, O; Coarasa, J A; Deldicque, C; Dobson, M; Dupont, A; Gigi, D; Glege, F; Gomez-Reino, R; Hartl, C; Hegeman, J; Masetti, L; Behrens, U; Branson, J; Cittolin, S; Holzner, A; Erhan, S

2014-01-01

We present the automation mechanisms that have been added to the Data Acquisition and Run Control systems of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment during Run 1 of the LHC, ranging from the automation of routine tasks to automatic error recovery and context-sensitive guidance to the operator. These mechanisms helped CMS to maintain a data taking efficiency above 90% and to even improve it to 95% towards the end of Run 1, despite an increase in the occurrence of single-event upsets in sub-detector electronics at high LHC luminosity.

Elucidating structural order and disorder phenomena in mullite-type Al{sub 4}B{sub 2}O{sub 9} by automated electron diffraction tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Haishuang; Krysiak, Yaşar [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Jakob-Welder-Weg 11, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55128 Mainz (Germany); Hoffmann, Kristin [Crystallography, Department of Geosciences, Klagenfurter Str. 2, GEO, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Crystallography, Leobener Str. NW2, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); Barton, Bastian [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Jakob-Welder-Weg 11, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55128 Mainz (Germany); Molina-Luna, Leopoldo [Department of Materials and Geoscience, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 23, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Neder, Reinhard B. [Department of Physics, Lehrstuhl für Kristallographie und Strukturphysik, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstr.3, 91058 Erlangen (Germany); Kleebe, Hans-Joachim [Department of Materials and Geoscience, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 23, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Gesing, Thorsten M. [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Crystallography, Leobener Str. NW2, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); MAPEX Center for Materials and Processes, Bibliothekstr.1, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); Schneider, Hartmut [Crystallography, Department of Geosciences, Klagenfurter Str. 2, GEO, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); Fischer, Reinhard X. [Crystallography, Department of Geosciences, Klagenfurter Str. 2, GEO, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); MAPEX Center for Materials and Processes, Bibliothekstr.1, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany); and others

2017-05-15

The crystal structure and disorder phenomena of Al{sub 4}B{sub 2}O{sub 9}, an aluminum borate from the mullite-type family, were studied using automated diffraction tomography (ADT), a recently established method for collection and analysis of electron diffraction data. Al{sub 4}B{sub 2}O{sub 9}, prepared by sol-gel approach, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m. The ab initio structure determination based on three-dimensional electron diffraction data from single ordered crystals reveals that edge-connected AlO{sub 6} octahedra expanding along the b axis constitute the backbone. The ordered structure (A) was confirmed by TEM and HAADF-STEM images. Furthermore, disordered crystals with diffuse scattering along the b axis are observed. Analysis of the modulation pattern implies a mean superstructure (AAB) with a threefold b axis, where B corresponds to an A layer shifted by ½a and ½c. Diffraction patterns simulated for the AAB sequence including additional stacking disorder are in good agreement with experimental electron diffraction patterns. - Graphical abstract: Crystal structure and disorder phenomena of B-rich Al{sub 4}B{sub 2}O{sub 9} studied by automated electron diffraction tomography (ADT) and described by diffraction simulation using DISCUS. - Highlights: • Ab-initio structure solution by electron diffraction from single nanocrystals. • Detected modulation corresponding mainly to three-fold superstructure. • Diffuse diffraction streaks caused by stacking faults in disordered crystals. • Observed streaks explained by simulated electron diffraction patterns.

Space station automation study: Automation requirements derived from space manufacturing concepts. Volume 1: Executive summary

Science.gov (United States)

1984-01-01

The electroepitaxial process and the Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) circuits (chips) facilities were chosen because each requires a very high degree of automation, and therefore involved extensive use of teleoperators, robotics, process mechanization, and artificial intelligence. Both cover a raw materials process and a sophisticated multi-step process and are therfore highly representative of the kinds of difficult operation, maintenance, and repair challenges which can be expected for any type of space manufacturing facility. Generic areas were identified which will require significant further study. The initial design will be based on terrestrial state-of-the-art hard automation. One hundred candidate missions were evaluated on the basis of automation portential and availability of meaning ful knowldege. The design requirements and unconstrained design concepts developed for the two missions are presented.

Automated discrete electron tomography – Towards routine high-fidelity reconstruction of nanomaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuge, Xiaodong; Jinnai, Hiroshi; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.; Migunov, Vadim; Bals, Sara; Cool, Pegie; Bons, Anton-Jan; Batenburg, Kees Joost

2017-01-01

Electron tomography is an essential imaging technique for the investigation of morphology and 3D structure of nanomaterials. This method, however, suffers from well-known missing wedge artifacts due to a restricted tilt range, which limits the objectiveness, repeatability and efficiency of quantitative structural analysis. Discrete tomography represents one of the promising reconstruction techniques for materials science, potentially capable of delivering higher fidelity reconstructions by exploiting the prior knowledge of the limited number of material compositions in a specimen. However, the application of discrete tomography to practical datasets remains a difficult task due to the underlying challenging mathematical problem. In practice, it is often hard to obtain consistent reconstructions from experimental datasets. In addition, numerous parameters need to be tuned manually, which can lead to bias and non-repeatability. In this paper, we present the application of a new iterative reconstruction technique, named TVR-DART, for discrete electron tomography. The technique is capable of consistently delivering reconstructions with significantly reduced missing wedge artifacts for a variety of challenging data and imaging conditions, and can automatically estimate its key parameters. We describe the principles of the technique and apply it to datasets from three different types of samples acquired under diverse imaging modes. By further reducing the available tilt range and number of projections, we show that the proposed technique can still produce consistent reconstructions with minimized missing wedge artifacts. This new development promises to provide the electron microscopy community with an easy-to-use and robust tool for high-fidelity 3D characterization of nanomaterials. - Highlights: • Automated discrete electron tomography capable of consistently delivering reconstructions with significantly reduced missing wedge artifacts and requires significantly

Automated discrete electron tomography – Towards routine high-fidelity reconstruction of nanomaterials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhuge, Xiaodong [Computational Imaging, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Science park 123, 1098XG Amsterdam (Netherlands); Jinnai, Hiroshi [Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.; Migunov, Vadim [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons and Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Bals, Sara [EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Cool, Pegie [Laboratory of Adsorption and Catalysis, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium); Bons, Anton-Jan [European Technology Center, ExxonMobil Chemical Europe Inc., Hermeslaan 2, B-1831 Machelen (Belgium); Batenburg, Kees Joost [Computational Imaging, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Science park 123, 1098XG Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2017-04-15

Electron tomography is an essential imaging technique for the investigation of morphology and 3D structure of nanomaterials. This method, however, suffers from well-known missing wedge artifacts due to a restricted tilt range, which limits the objectiveness, repeatability and efficiency of quantitative structural analysis. Discrete tomography represents one of the promising reconstruction techniques for materials science, potentially capable of delivering higher fidelity reconstructions by exploiting the prior knowledge of the limited number of material compositions in a specimen. However, the application of discrete tomography to practical datasets remains a difficult task due to the underlying challenging mathematical problem. In practice, it is often hard to obtain consistent reconstructions from experimental datasets. In addition, numerous parameters need to be tuned manually, which can lead to bias and non-repeatability. In this paper, we present the application of a new iterative reconstruction technique, named TVR-DART, for discrete electron tomography. The technique is capable of consistently delivering reconstructions with significantly reduced missing wedge artifacts for a variety of challenging data and imaging conditions, and can automatically estimate its key parameters. We describe the principles of the technique and apply it to datasets from three different types of samples acquired under diverse imaging modes. By further reducing the available tilt range and number of projections, we show that the proposed technique can still produce consistent reconstructions with minimized missing wedge artifacts. This new development promises to provide the electron microscopy community with an easy-to-use and robust tool for high-fidelity 3D characterization of nanomaterials. - Highlights: • Automated discrete electron tomography capable of consistently delivering reconstructions with significantly reduced missing wedge artifacts and requires significantly

78 FR 75528 - Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-12

... Participation in the Automated Clearing House AGENCY: Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Treasury. ACTION: Notice of... Service (Service) is proposing to amend its regulation governing the use of the Automated Clearing House... Automated Clearing House, Electronic funds transfer, Financial institutions, Fraud, and Incorporation by...

Design of triode electron gun for electron LINAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prasad, M.; Pande, S.A.; Hannurkar, P.R.

2003-01-01

A 10 MeV, 10 kW, electron linear accelerator is being developed at Centre for Advanced Technology, CAT for irradiation of agricultural products such as onions and potatoes. This facility required electron beam of variable energy and power. The linac structure consists of a thermionic triode gun, TW buncher and accelerator waveguide, focusing and centering coils, beam scanning system etc. The accelerator structure is disk loaded waveguide operating in TW 27π/3 mode at 2856 MHz. The triode gun is designed for operation at 50 kV. The gun is optimized for minimum grid voltage and minimum transverse beam dimensions. In this paper, the results of our optimization studies using computer code EGUN are presented. (author)

A Multi-Agent-Based Intelligent Sensor and Actuator Network Design for Smart House and Home Automation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Hu

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The smart-house technology aims to increase home automation and security with reduced energy consumption. A smart house consists of various intelligent sensors and actuators operating on different platforms with conflicting objectives. This paper proposes a multi-agent system (MAS design framework to achieve smart house automation. The novelties of this work include the developments of (1 belief, desire and intention (BDI agent behavior models; (2 a regulation policy-based multi-agent collaboration mechanism; and (3 a set of metrics for MAS performance evaluation. Simulations of case studies are performed using the Java Agent Development Environment (JADE to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.

SP-100 shield design automation process using expert system and heuristic search techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcille, T.F.; Protsik, R.; Deane, N.A.; Hoover, D.G.

1993-01-01

The SP-100 shield subsystem design process has been modified to utilize the GE Corporate Reserch and Development program, ENGINEOUS (Tong 1990). ENGINEOUS is a software system that automates the use of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) analysis programs in the engineering design process. The shield subsystem design process incorporates a nuclear subsystems design and performance code, a two-dimensional neutral particle transport code, several input processors and two general purpose neutronic output processors. Coupling these programs within ENGINEOUS provides automatic transition paths between applications, with no source code modifications. ENGINEOUS captures human design knowledge, as well as information about the specific CAE applications and stores this information in knowledge base files. The knowledge base information is used by the ENGINEOUS expert system to drive knowledge directed and knowledge supplemented search modules to find an optimum shield design for a given reactor definition, ensuring that specified constraints are satisfied. Alternate designs, not accommodated in the optimization design rules, can readily be explored through the use of a parametric study capability

Contaminant analysis automation, an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollen, R.; Ramos, O. Jr.

1996-01-01

To meet the environmental restoration and waste minimization goals of government and industry, several government laboratories, universities, and private companies have formed the Contaminant Analysis Automation (CAA) team. The goal of this consortium is to design and fabricate robotics systems that standardize and automate the hardware and software of the most common environmental chemical methods. In essence, the CAA team takes conventional, regulatory- approved (EPA Methods) chemical analysis processes and automates them. The automation consists of standard laboratory modules (SLMs) that perform the work in a much more efficient, accurate, and cost- effective manner

Personal computer based home automation system

OpenAIRE

Hellmuth, George F.

1993-01-01

The systems engineering process is applied in the development of the preliminary design of a home automation communication protocol. The objective of the communication protocol is to provide a means for a personal computer to communicate with adapted appliances in the home. A needs analysis is used to ascertain that a need exist for a home automation system. Numerous design alternatives are suggested and evaluated to determine the best possible protocol design. Coaxial cable...

Automation from pictures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozubal, A.J.

1992-01-01

The state transition diagram (STD) model has been helpful in the design of real time software, especially with the emergence of graphical computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools. Nevertheless, the translation of the STD to real time code has in the past been primarily a manual task. At Los Alamos we have automated this process. The designer constructs the STD using a CASE tool (Cadre Teamwork) using a special notation for events and actions. A translator converts the STD into an intermediate state notation language (SNL), and this SNL is compiled directly into C code (a state program). Execution of the state program is driven by external events, allowing multiple state programs to effectively share the resources of the host processor. Since the design and the code are tightly integrated through the CASE tool, the design and code never diverge, and we avoid design obsolescence. Furthermore, the CASE tool automates the production of formal technical documents from the graphic description encapsulated by the CASE tool. (author)

BREED: a CDC-7600 computer program for the automation of breeder reactor design analysis (LWBR Development Program)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Candelore, N.R.; Maher, C.M.

1985-03-01

BREED is an executive CDC-7600 program which was developed to facilitate the sequence of calculations and movement of data through a prescribed series of breeder reactor design computer programs in an uninterrupted single-job mode. It provides the capability to interface different application programs into a single computer run to provide a complete design function. The automation that can be achieved as a result of using BREED significantly reduces not only the time required for data preparation and hand transfer of data, but also the time required to complete an iteration of the total design effort. Data processing within a technical discipline and data transfer between technical disciplines can be accommodated. The input/output data processing is achieved with BREED by using a set of simple, easily understood user commands, usually short descriptive words, which the user inserts in his input deck. The input deck completely identifies and controls the calculational sequence needed to produce a desired end product. This report has been prepared to provide instructional material on the use of BREED and its user-oriented procedures to facilitate computer automation of design calculations

Automated Work Package: Initial Wireless Communication Platform Design, Development, and Evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al Rashdan, Ahmad Yahya Mohammad [Idaho National Laboratory; Agarwal, Vivek [Idaho National Laboratory

2016-03-01

The Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program is developing the scientific basis to ensure long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security of the nuclear power industry in the United States. The Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) pathway of the program aims to increase the role of advanced II&C technologies to achieve this objective. One of the pathway efforts at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is to improve the work packages execution process by replacing the expensive, inefficient, bulky, complex, and error-prone paper-based work orders with automated work packages (AWPs). An AWP is an automated and dynamic presentation of the work package designed to guide the user through the work process. It is loaded on a mobile device, such as a tablet, and is capable of communicating with plant equipment and systems to acquire plant and procedure states. The AWP replaces those functions where a computer is more efficient and reliable than a human. To enable the automatic acquisition of plant data, it is necessary to design and develop a prototype platform for data exchange between the field instruments and the AWP mobile devices. The development of the platform aims to reveal issues and solutions generalizable to large-scale implementation of a similar system. Topics such as bandwidth, robustness, response time, interference, and security are usually associated with wireless communication. These concerns, along with other requirements, are listed in an earlier INL report. Specifically, the targeted issues and performance aspects in this work are relevant to the communication infrastructure from the perspective of promptness, robustness, expandability, and interoperability with different technologies.

A system-level approach to automation research

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, F. W.; Orlando, N. E.

1984-01-01

Automation is the application of self-regulating mechanical and electronic devices to processes that can be accomplished with the human organs of perception, decision, and actuation. The successful application of automation to a system process should reduce man/system interaction and the perceived complexity of the system, or should increase affordability, productivity, quality control, and safety. The expense, time constraints, and risk factors associated with extravehicular activities have led the Automation Technology Branch (ATB), as part of the NASA Automation Research and Technology Program, to investigate the use of robots and teleoperators as automation aids in the context of space operations. The ATB program addresses three major areas: (1) basic research in autonomous operations, (2) human factors research on man-machine interfaces with remote systems, and (3) the integration and analysis of automated systems. This paper reviews the current ATB research in the area of robotics and teleoperators.

Automated PCB Inspection System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Usama BUKHARI

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Development of an automated PCB inspection system as per the need of industry is a challenging task. In this paper a case study is presented, to exhibit, a proposed system for an immigration process of a manual PCB inspection system to an automated PCB inspection system, with a minimal intervention on the existing production flow, for a leading automotive manufacturing company. A detailed design of the system, based on computer vision followed by testing and analysis was proposed, in order to aid the manufacturer in the process of automation.

The automated design of materials far from equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Miskin, Marc Z.

Automated design is emerging as a powerful concept in materials science. By combining computer algorithms, simulations, and experimental data, new techniques are being developed that start with high level functional requirements and identify the ideal materials that achieve them. This represents a radically different picture of how materials become functional in which technological demand drives material discovery, rather than the other way around. At the frontiers of this field, materials systems previously considered too complicated can start to be controlled and understood. Particularly promising are materials far from equilibrium. Material robustness, high strength, self-healing and memory are properties displayed by several materials systems that are intrinsically out of equilibrium. These and other properties could be revolutionary, provided they can first be controlled. This thesis conceptualizes and implements a framework for designing materials that are far from equilibrium. We show how, even in the absence of a complete physical theory, design from the top down is possible and lends itself to producing physical insight. As a prototype system, we work with granular materials: collections of athermal, macroscopic identical objects, since these materials function both as an essential component of industrial processes as well as a model system for many non-equilibrium states of matter. We show that by placing granular materials in the context of design, benefits emerge simultaneously for fundamental and applied interests. As first steps, we use our framework to design granular aggregates with extreme properties like high stiffness, and softness. We demonstrate control over nonlinear effects by producing exotic aggregates that stiffen under compression. Expanding on our framework, we conceptualize new ways of thinking about material design when automatic discovery is possible. We show how to build rules that link particle shapes to arbitrary granular packing

Design of a transmission electron positron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doyama, Masao; Inoue, M.; Kogure, Y.; Hayashi, Y.; Yoshii, T.; Kurihara, T.; Tsuno, K.

2003-01-01

This paper reports the plans and design of positron-electron microscopes being built at KEK (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization), Tsukuba, Japan. A used electron microscope is altered. The kinetic energies of positrons produced by accelerators or by nuclear decays are not a unique value but show a spread over in a wide range. Positron beam is guided to a transmission electron microscope (JEM100SX). Positrons are moderated by a tungsten foil, are accelerated and are focused on a nickel sheet. The monochromatic focused beam is injected into an electron microscope. The focusing and aberration of positrons are the same as electrons in a magnetic system which are used in commercial electron microscopes. Imaging plates are used to record positron images for the transmission electron microscope. (author)

A Hybrid Genetic Programming Algorithm for Automated Design of Dispatching Rules.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Su; Mei, Yi; Xue, Bing; Zhang, Mengjie

2018-06-04

Designing effective dispatching rules for production systems is a difficult and timeconsuming task if it is done manually. In the last decade, the growth of computing power, advanced machine learning, and optimisation techniques has made the automated design of dispatching rules possible and automatically discovered rules are competitive or outperform existing rules developed by researchers. Genetic programming is one of the most popular approaches to discovering dispatching rules in the literature, especially for complex production systems. However, the large heuristic search space may restrict genetic programming from finding near optimal dispatching rules. This paper develops a new hybrid genetic programming algorithm for dynamic job shop scheduling based on a new representation, a new local search heuristic, and efficient fitness evaluators. Experiments show that the new method is effective regarding the quality of evolved rules. Moreover, evolved rules are also significantly smaller and contain more relevant attributes.

Automated design system for a rotor with an ellipse lobe profile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Sung Yuen; Kim Chul; Han, Seung Moo; Cho, Hae Yong

2009-01-01

An internal lobe pump (ILP) is suitable for machine tool oil hydraulics, automotive engines, compressors, and various other devices. In particular, the ILP is an essential component of an automotive engine, used to feed lubricant oil through the system. The main components of an ILP are its rotors. The outer rotor is typically characterized by lobes with an elliptical shape, and the inner rotor profile is a conjugate to the outer profile. This paper describes a theoretical analysis of an ILP and the development of an integrated automated system for rotor design. This system is composed of three main modules and has been developed using AutoLISP for the AutoCAD program. The system generates a new lobe profile and automatically calculates flow rate and flow rate irregularity according to the lobe profile generated. Results obtained from the analysis can enable oil pump designers and manufacturers to become more efficient

Automated design system for a rotor with an ellipse lobe profile

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Sung Yuen; Kim Chul [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Han, Seung Moo [Kyung Hee University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Hae Yong [Chungbuk National University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of)

2009-11-15

An internal lobe pump (ILP) is suitable for machine tool oil hydraulics, automotive engines, compressors, and various other devices. In particular, the ILP is an essential component of an automotive engine, used to feed lubricant oil through the system. The main components of an ILP are its rotors. The outer rotor is typically characterized by lobes with an elliptical shape, and the inner rotor profile is a conjugate to the outer profile. This paper describes a theoretical analysis of an ILP and the development of an integrated automated system for rotor design. This system is composed of three main modules and has been developed using AutoLISP for the AutoCAD program. The system generates a new lobe profile and automatically calculates flow rate and flow rate irregularity according to the lobe profile generated. Results obtained from the analysis can enable oil pump designers and manufacturers to become more efficient

Bioreactor design for successive culture of anchorage-dependent cells operated in an automated manner.

Science.gov (United States)

Kino-Oka, Masahiro; Ogawa, Natsuki; Umegaki, Ryota; Taya, Masahito

2005-01-01

A novel bioreactor system was designed to perform a series of batchwise cultures of anchorage-dependent cells by means of automated operations of medium change and passage for cell transfer. The experimental data on contamination frequency ensured the biological cleanliness in the bioreactor system, which facilitated the operations in a closed environment, as compared with that in flask culture system with manual handlings. In addition, the tools for growth prediction (based on growth kinetics) and real-time growth monitoring by measurement of medium components (based on small-volume analyzing machinery) were installed into the bioreactor system to schedule the operations of medium change and passage and to confirm that culture proceeds as scheduled, respectively. The successive culture of anchorage-dependent cells was conducted with the bioreactor running in an automated way. The automated bioreactor gave a successful culture performance with fair accordance to preset scheduling based on the information in the latest subculture, realizing 79- fold cell expansion for 169 h. In addition, the correlation factor between experimental data and scheduled values through the bioreactor performance was 0.998. It was concluded that the proposed bioreactor with the integration of the prediction and monitoring tools could offer a feasible system for the manufacturing process of cultured tissue products.

Developing a strategy for a regulated electronic bioanalytical laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

McDowall, R D

2014-01-01

This perspective article considers the strategy, design and implementation of an electronic bioanalytical laboratory working to GLP and/or GCP regulations. There are a range of available automated systems and laboratory informatics that could be implemented and integrated to make an electronic laboratory. However, which are the appropriate ones to select and what is realistic and cost-effective for an individual laboratory? The answer is to develop an overall automation strategy that is updated periodically after each system or application has been implemented to assess if the strategy is still valid or needs to be changed. As many laboratory informatics applications have functional overlap or convergence, for example, Laboratory Information Management System, Electronic Laboratory Notebook, and Instrument and Chromatography Data Systems, the decision of which application performs a specific task needs to be carefully considered in the overall strategy. Ensuring data integrity and regulatory compliance, especially in light of a number of recent falsification cases, is a mandatory consideration for the overall strategy for an electronic bioanalytical laboratory submitting data to regulatory authorities.

Physical design of the positron induced auger electron spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Xiubo; Jiang Xiaopan; Wang Ping; Yu Runsheng; Wang Baoyi; Wei Long

2009-01-01

Positron Annihilation Induced Auger Electron Spectroscopy (PAES) has several advantages over those excited by X-rays, high energy electrons or neutrons, such as excellent surface selectivity, high signal-to-noise ratio, low radiation damage,etc. A physical design of time of flight PAES (TOF-PAES) apparatus based on the Beijing Intense Slow Positron Beam (BIPB) is described in this paper. The positrons and electrons are transported in a 4 x 10 -3 T uniform magnetic field, and the gradient of magnetic field is designed to pluralize the Auger electrons emitted with 2π angle. The Auger electron energy is adjusted by a Faraday cage to optimize the energy resolution,which can be better than 2 eV. (authors)

Adaptive and Adaptable Automation Design: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research

Science.gov (United States)

Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Kaber, David B.

2006-01-01

This report presents a review of literature on approaches to adaptive and adaptable task/function allocation and adaptive interface technologies for effective human management of complex systems that are likely to be issues for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, and a focus of research under the Aviation Safety Program, Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck Project. Contemporary literature retrieved from an online database search is summarized and integrated. The major topics include the effects of delegation-type, adaptable automation on human performance, workload and situation awareness, the effectiveness of various automation invocation philosophies and strategies to function allocation in adaptive systems, and the role of user modeling in adaptive interface design and the performance implications of adaptive interface technology.

Plant automation-application to SBWR project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez Rodriguez, C.

1995-01-01

In accordance with the requirements set out in the URD (Utility Requirements Document) issued by the EPRI (Electrical Power Research Institute), the design of new reactors, whether evolutionary or passive, shall taken into account the systematic automation of functions relating to normal plant operation. The objectives established are to: =2E Simplify operator-performed tasks =2E Reduce the risk of operator-error by considering human factors in the allocation of tasks =2E Improve man-machine reliability =2E Increase the availability of the plant In previous designs, automation has only been considered from the point of view of compliance with regulatory requirements for safety-related systems, or in isolated cases, as a method of protecting the investment where there is a risk of damage to main equipment. The use of digital technology has prevented the systematic pursuit of such objectives in the design of automated systems for processes associated with normal plant operation (startup, load follow, normal shutdown, etc) from being excessively complex and therefore costly to undertake. This paper describes how the automation of the aforementioned normal plant operation activities has been approached in General Electric's SBWR (Simplified Boiling Water Reactor) design. (Author)

An automation of physics research on base of open standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smirnov, V.A.

1997-01-01

A wide range of problems is considered concerning an automation of Laboratory of High Energies, JINR set-ups oriented to carry out the experimental researches in high energy and relativistic nuclear physics. Electronics of discussed automation systems is performed in open standards. Main peculiarities in the creation process of automation tools for experimental set-ups, stands and accelerators are shown. Some possibilities to build some accelerator control subsystems on base of industrial automation methods and techniques are discussed

Towards Automated Bargaining in Electronic Markets: A Partially Two-Sided Competition Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gatti, Nicola; Lazaric, Alessandro; Restelli, Marcello

This paper focuses on the prominent issue of automating bargaining agents within electronic markets. Models of bargaining in literature deal with settings wherein there are only two agents and no model satisfactorily captures settings in which there is competition among buyers, being they more than one, and analogously among sellers. In this paper, we extend the principal bargaining protocol, i.e. the alternating-offers protocol, to capture bargaining in markets. The model we propose is such that, in presence of a unique buyer and a unique seller, agents' equilibrium strategies are those in the original protocol. Moreover, we game theoretically study the considered game providing the following results: in presence of one-sided competition (more buyers and one seller or vice versa) we provide agents' equilibrium strategies for all the values of the parameters, in presence of two-sided competition (more buyers and more sellers) we provide an algorithm that produce agents' equilibrium strategies for a large set of the parameters and we experimentally evaluate its effectiveness.

Development and Design of a User Interface for a Computer Automated Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, B.

1999-01-01

A user interface is created to monitor and operate the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. The interface is networked to the system's programmable logic controller. The controller maintains automated control of the system. The user through the interface is able to see the status of the system and override or adjust the automatic control features. The interface is programmed to show digital readouts of system equipment as well as visual queues of system operational statuses. It also provides information for system design and component interaction. The interface is made easier to read by simple designs, color coordination, and graphics. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermi lab) conducts high energy particle physics research. Part of this research involves collision experiments with protons, and anti-protons. These interactions are contained within one of two massive detectors along Fermilab's largest particle accelerator the Tevatron. The D-Zero Assembly Building houses one of these detectors. At this time detector systems are being upgraded for a second experiment run, titled Run II. Unlike the previous run, systems at D-Zero must be computer automated so operators do not have to continually monitor and adjust these systems during the run. Human intervention should only be necessary for system start up and shut down, and equipment failure. Part of this upgrade includes the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC system). The HVAC system is responsible for controlling two subsystems, the air temperatures of the D-Zero Assembly Building and associated collision hall, as well as six separate water systems used in the heating and cooling of the air and detector components. The BYAC system is automated by a programmable logic controller. In order to provide system monitoring and operator control a user interface is required. This paper will address methods and strategies used to design and implement an effective user interface

DIDACTIC AUTOMATED STATION OF COMPLEX KINEMATICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariusz Sosnowski

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the design, control system and software that controls the automated station of complex kinematics. Control interface and software has been developed and manufactured in the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin in the Department of Automated Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Quality. Conducting classes designed to teach programming and design of structures and systems for monitoring the robot kinematic components with non-standard structures was the reason for installation of the control system and software.

ETRAN 1999: Society for Electronics,Telecommunications, Computers, Automation and Nuclear Engineering. Section for Nuclear Techniques and Technology. Proceedings of the XLIII Conference. Vol IV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spasojevic, D.; Smiljanic, M.; Bozic, D.; Stankovic, D.

1999-01-01

The XLIII ETRAN Conference of the Society for Electronic, Telecommunications, Computers, Automation and Nuclear Engineering was held on 20-22 Sep, 1999. In the Proceedings of the Conference The Commission of the Nuclear Technique and Technology has 19 papers presented in three sessions.

A review of electronic engineering design free software tools

OpenAIRE

Medrano Sánchez, Carlos; Plaza García, Inmaculada; Castro Gil, Manuel Alonso; García Sevilla, Francisco; Martínez Calero, J.D.; Pou Félix, Josep; Corbalán Fuertes, Montserrat

2010-01-01

In this paper, we review electronic design free software tools. We have searched open source programs that help with several tasks of the electronic design flow: analog and digital simulation, schematic capture, printed circuit board design and hardware description language compilation and simulation. Using some rapid criteria for verifying their availability, we have selected some of them which are worth working with. This work intends to perform a deeper analysis of fre...

Automated optical assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Bala, John L.

1995-08-01

Automation and polymer science represent fundamental new technologies which can be directed toward realizing the goal of establishing a domestic, world-class, commercial optics business. Use of innovative optical designs using precision polymer optics will enable the US to play a vital role in the next generation of commercial optical products. The increased cost savings inherent in the utilization of optical-grade polymers outweighs almost every advantage of using glass for high volume situations. Optical designers must gain experience with combined refractive/diffractive designs and broaden their knowledge base regarding polymer technology beyond a cursory intellectual exercise. Implementation of a fully automated assembly system, combined with utilization of polymer optics, constitutes the type of integrated manufacturing process which will enable the US to successfully compete with the low-cost labor employed in the Far East, as well as to produce an equivalent product.

Conceptual Design and Feasibility Analyses of a Robotic System for Automated Exterior Wall Painting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young S. Kim

2008-11-01

Full Text Available There are approximately 6,677,000 apartment housing units in South Korea. Exterior wall painting for such multi-dwelling apartment housings in South Korea represents a typical area to which construction automation technology can be applied for improvement in safety, productivity, quality, and cost over the conventional method. The conventional exterior wall painting is costly and labor-intensive, and it especially exposes workers to significant health and safety risks. The primary objective of this study is to design a conceptual model of an exterior wall painting robot which is applicable to apartment housing construction and maintenance, and to conduct its technical?economical feasibility analyses. In this study, a design concept using a high ladder truck is proposed as the best alternative for automation of the exterior wall painting. Conclusions made in this study show that the proposed exterior wall painting robot is technically and economically feasible, and can greatly enhance safety, productivity, and quality compared to the conventional method. Finally, it is expected that the conceptual model of the exterior wall painting robot would be efficiently used in various applications in exterior wall finishing and maintenance of other architectural and civil structures such as commercial buildings, towers, and high-rise storage tanks.

Layered distributed architecture for plant automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aravamuthan, G.; Verma, Yachika; Ranjan, Jyoti; Chachondia, Alka S.; Ganesh, G.

2005-01-01

The development of plant automation system and associated software remains one of the greatest challenges to the widespread implementation of highly adaptive re-configurable automation technology. This paper presents a layered distributed architecture for a plant automation system designed to support rapid reconfiguration and redeployment of automation components. The paper first presents evolution of automation architecture and their associated environment in the past few decades and then presents the concept of layered system architecture and the use of automation components to support the construction of a wide variety of automation system. It also highlights the role of standards and technology, which can be used in the development of automation components. We have attempted to adhere to open standards and technology for the development of automation component at a various layers. It also highlights the application of this concept in the development of an Operator Information System (OIS) for Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). (author)

Design management of electronic data interchange systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heck, van H.W.G.M.

1993-01-01

This study deals with the management of the design process of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems. Its objectives are (1) to investigate the design process of EDI systems from a practical and theoretical perspective; (2) to develop a model to describe factors relevant to EDI

Virtual Diagnostic Sensors Design for an Automated Guided Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralf Stetter

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In recent years, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs have been playing an increasingly important role in producing industry and infrastructure and will soon arrive to other areas of human life such as the transportation of goods and people. However, several challenges still aggravate the operation of AGVs, which limit the amount of implementation. One major challenge is the realization of reliable sensors that can capture the different aspects of the state of an AGV as well as its surroundings. One promising approach towards more reliable sensors is the supplementary application of virtual sensors, which are able to generate virtual measurements by using other sources of information such as actuator states and already existing sensors together with appropriate mathematical models. The focus of the research described in this paper is the design of virtual sensors determining forces and torques acting on an AGV. The proposed novel approach is using a quadratic boundedness approach, which makes it possible to include bounded disturbances acting on the AGV. One major advantage of the presented approach is that the use of complex tire models can be avoided. Information from acceleration and yaw rate sensors is processed in order to realize reliable virtual force and torque sensors. The resulting force and torque information can be used for several diagnostic purposes such as fault detection or fault prevention. The presented approach is explained and verified on the basis of an innovative design of an AGV. This innovative design addresses another major challenge for AGVs, which is the limited maneuvering possibilities of many AGV designs. The innovative design allows nearly unlimited maneuvering possibilities but requires reliable sensor data. The application of the approach in the AGV resulted in the insight that the generated estimates are consistent with the longitudinal forces and torques obtained by a proven reference model.

Employment Opportunities for the Handicapped in Programmable Automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Swift, Richard; Leneway, Robert

A Computer Integrated Manufacturing System may make it possible for severely disabled people to custom design, machine, and manufacture either wood or metal parts. Programmable automation merges computer aided design, computer aided manufacturing, computer aided engineering, and computer integrated manufacturing systems with automated production…

Computer automation of an accelerator mass spectrometry system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gressett, J.D.; Maxson, D.L.; Matteson, S.; McDaniel, F.D.; Duggan, J.L.; Mackey, H.J.; North Texas State Univ., Denton, TX; Anthony, J.M.

1989-01-01

The determination of trace impurities in electronic materials using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) requires efficient automation of the beam transport and mass discrimination hardware. The ability to choose between a variety of charge states, isotopes and injected molecules is necessary to provide survey capabilities similar to that available on conventional mass spectrometers. This paper will discuss automation hardware and software for flexible, high-sensitivity trace analysis of electronic materials, e.g. Si, GaAs and HgCdTe. Details regarding settling times will be presented, along with proof-of-principle experimental data. Potential and present applications will also be discussed. (orig.)

Research and design of electron gun of electrocurtain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Pengfei; Zhang Mingchao; Li Xinmin; Wang Yuhong

1998-01-01

The characteristics of the electron beam current transport in the electron gun of the electrocurtain accelerator were studied and the origin of the influence on longitudinal uniformity of beam current was analysed. The deflection of the cathode is considered under the boundary condition of perfect constraint. Then a newly designed electron gun is introduced with longitudinal uniformity of current within +-10%

Embedded design based virtual instrument program for positron beam automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayapandian, J.; Gururaj, K.; Abhaya, S.; Parimala, J.; Amarendra, G.

2008-01-01

Automation of positron beam experiment with a single chip embedded design using a programmable system on chip (PSoC) which provides easy interfacing of the high-voltage DC power supply is reported. Virtual Instrument (VI) control program written in Visual Basic 6.0 ensures the following functions (i) adjusting of sample high voltage by interacting with the programmed PSoC hardware, (ii) control of personal computer (PC) based multi channel analyzer (MCA) card for energy spectroscopy, (iii) analysis of the obtained spectrum to extract the relevant line shape parameters, (iv) plotting of relevant parameters and (v) saving the file in the appropriate format. The present study highlights the hardware features of the PSoC hardware module as well as the control of MCA and other units through programming in Visual Basic

Automated controlled-potential coulometric determination of uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knight, C.H.; Clegg, D.E.; Wright, K.D.; Cassidy, R.M.

1982-06-01

A controlled-potential coulometer has been automated in our laboratory for routine determination of uranium in solution. The CRNL-designed automated system controls degassing, prereduction, and reduction of the sample. The final result is displayed on a digital coulometer readout. Manual and automated modes of operation are compared to show the precision and accuracy of the automated system. Results are also shown for the coulometric titration of typical uranium-aluminum alloy samples

Highway Electrification And Automation

OpenAIRE

Shladover, Steven E.

1992-01-01

This report addresses how the California Department of Transportation and the California PATH Program have made efforts to evaluate the feasibility and applicability of highway electrification and automation technologies. In addition to describing how the work was conducted, the report also describes the findings on highway electrification and highway automation, with experimental results, design study results, and a region-wide application impacts study for Los Angeles.

USB port compatible virtual instrument based automation for x-ray diffractometer setup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayapandian, J.; Sheela, O.K.; Mallika, R.; Thiruarul, A.; Purniah, B.

2004-01-01

Windows based virtual instrument (VI) programs in graphic language simplify the design automation in R and D laboratories. With minimal hardware and maximum support of software, the automation becomes easier and user friendly. A novel design approach for the automation of SIEMENS make x-ray diffractometer setup is described in this paper. The automation is achieved with an indigenously developed virtual instrument program in labVIEW ver.6.0 and with a simple hardware design using 89C2051 micro-controller compatible with PC's USB port for the total automation of the experiment. (author)

Improving Usefulness of Automated Driving by Lowering Primary Task Interference through HMI Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederik Naujoks

2017-01-01

Full Text Available During conditionally automated driving (CAD, driving time can be used for non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs. To increase safety and comfort of an automated ride, upcoming automated manoeuvres such as lane changes or speed adaptations may be communicated to the driver. However, as the driver’s primary task consists of performing NDRTs, they might prefer to be informed in a nondistracting way. In this paper, the potential of using speech output to improve human-automation interaction is explored. A sample of 17 participants completed different situations which involved communication between the automation and the driver in a motion-based driving simulator. The Human-Machine Interface (HMI of the automated driving system consisted of a visual-auditory HMI with either generic auditory feedback (i.e., standard information tones or additional speech output. The drivers were asked to perform a common NDRT during the drive. Compared to generic auditory output, communicating upcoming automated manoeuvres additionally by speech led to a decrease in self-reported visual workload and decreased monitoring of the visual HMI. However, interruptions of the NDRT were not affected by additional speech output. Participants clearly favoured the HMI with additional speech-based output, demonstrating the potential of speech to enhance usefulness and acceptance of automated vehicles.

Human-centred automation: an explorative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollnagel, Erik; Miberg, Ann Britt

1999-05-01

The purpose of the programme activity on human-centred automation at the HRP is to develop knowledge (in the form of models and theories) and tools (in the form of techniques and simulators) to support design of automation that ensures effective human performance and comprehension. This report presents the work done on both the analytical and experimental side of this project. The analytical work has surveyed common definitions of automation and traditional design principles. A general finding is that human-centred automation usually is defined in terms of what it is not. This is partly due to a lack of adequate models and of human-automation interaction. Another result is a clarification of the consequences of automation, in particular with regard to situation awareness and workload. The experimental work has taken place as an explorative experiment in HAMMLAB in collaboration with IPSN (France). The purpose of this experiment was to increase the understanding of how automation influences operator performance in NPP control rooms. Two different types of automation (extensive and limited) were considered in scenarios having two different degrees of complexity (high and low), and involving diagnostic and procedural tasks. Six licensed NPP crews from the NPP at Loviisa, Finland, participated in the experiment. The dependent variables applied were plant performance, operator performance, self-rated crew performance, situation awareness, workload, and operator trust in the automation. The results from the diagnostic scenarios indicated that operators' judgement of crew efficiency was related to their level of trust in the automation, and further that operators trusted automation least and rated crew performance lowest in situations where crew performance was efficient and vice versa. The results from procedural scenarios indicated that extensive automation efficiently supported operators' performance, and further that operator' judgement of crew performance efficiency

Conceptual design for real time monitoring of electron microbeam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ji Seok; Kim, Hyun Ki; Jang, Mee; Choi, Chang Woon; Sun, Gwang Min; Lee, Jai Ki

2008-01-01

It is recognized that the microbeam is powerful system to understand the interaction of ionizing radiation with cells. Especially, electron microbeam system is useful to investigate the effect of low-LET radiation for cells. Electron microbeam has been developed in KIRAMS. It can irradiate the small volume in cell level by collimator and electromagnetic field and give local dose to individual cell by controlling the number of electrons. When the electron microbeam irradiates the individual cell, however, there is a possibility to change the current and intended trajectory of electron beam. Because this possibility introduces the uncertainty of dose, it is necessary to monitor the trajectory and current of electron beam. This study deals with development of real time monitoring device to confirm beam quality and to control if necessary during experiment. Consequently we designed dual monitoring device to solve various factors. And we optimize the design by simulation. (author)

Toward a human-centered aircraft automation philosophy

Science.gov (United States)

Billings, Charles E.

1989-01-01

The evolution of automation in civil aircraft is examined in order to discern trends in the respective roles and functions of automation technology and the humans who operate these aircraft. The effects of advances in automation technology on crew reaction is considered and it appears that, though automation may well have decreased the frequency of certain types of human errors in flight, it may also have enabled new categories of human errors, some perhaps less obvious and therefore more serious than those it has alleviated. It is suggested that automation could be designed to keep the pilot closer to the control of the vehicle, while providing an array of information management and aiding functions designed to provide the pilot with data regarding flight replanning, degraded system operation, and the operational status and limits of the aircraft, its systems, and the physical and operational environment. The automation would serve as the pilot's assistant, providing and calculating data, watching for the unexpected, and keeping track of resources and their rate of expenditure.

Design And Modeling An Automated Digsilent Power System For Optimal New Load Locations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Saad

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract The electric power utilities seek to take advantage of novel approaches to meet growing energy demand. Utilities are under pressure to evolve their classical topologies to increase the usage of distributed generation. Currently the electrical power engineers in many regions of the world are implementing manual methods to measure power consumption for farther assessment of voltage violation. Such process proved to be time consuming costly and inaccurate. Also demand response is a grid management technique where retail or wholesale customers are requested either electronically or manually to reduce their load. Therefore this paper aims to design and model an automated power system for optimal new load locations using DPL DIgSILENT Programming Language. This study is a diagnostic approach that assists system operator about any voltage violation cases that would happen during adding new load to the grid. The process of identifying the optimal bus bar location involves a complicated calculation of the power consumptions at each load bus As a result the DPL program would consider all the IEEE 30 bus internal networks data then a load flow simulation will be executed. To add the new load to the first bus in the network. Therefore the developed model will simulate the new load at each available bus bar in the network and generate three analytical reports for each case that captures the overunder voltage and the loading elements among the grid.

Automated quality characterization of 3D printed bone scaffolds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tzu-Liang Bill Tseng

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Optimization of design is an important step in obtaining tissue engineering scaffolds with appropriate shapes and inner microstructures. Different shapes and sizes of scaffolds are modeled using UGS NX 6.0 software with variable pore sizes. The quality issue we are concerned is the scaffold porosity, which is mainly caused by the fabrication inaccuracies. Bone scaffolds are usually characterized using a scanning electron microscope, but this study presents a new automated inspection and classification technique. Due to many numbers and size variations for the pores, the manual inspection of the fabricated scaffolds tends to be error-prone and costly. Manual inspection also raises the chance of contamination. Thus, non-contact, precise inspection is preferred. In this study, the critical dimensions are automatically measured by the vision camera. The measured data are analyzed to classify the quality characteristics. The automated inspection and classification techniques developed in this study are expected to improve the quality of the fabricated scaffolds and reduce the overall cost of manufacturing.

Automated processing of endoscopic surgical instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, K; Sieber, J P; Schrimm, H; Heeg, P; Buess, G

1994-10-01

This paper deals with the requirements for automated processing of endoscopic surgical instruments. After a brief analysis of the current problems, solutions are discussed. Test-procedures have been developed to validate the automated processing, so that the cleaning results are guaranteed and reproducable. Also a device for testing and cleaning was designed together with Netzsch Newamatic and PCI, called TC-MIC, to automate processing and reduce manual work.

The accuracy of a designed software for automated localization of craniofacial landmarks on CBCT images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahidi, Shoaleh; Bahrampour, Ehsan; Soltanimehr, Elham; Zamani, Ali; Oshagh, Morteza; Moattari, Marzieh; Mehdizadeh, Alireza

2014-01-01

Two-dimensional projection radiographs have been traditionally considered the modality of choice for cephalometric analysis. To overcome the shortcomings of two-dimensional images, three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) has been used to evaluate craniofacial structures. However, manual landmark detection depends on medical expertise, and the process is time-consuming. The present study was designed to produce software capable of automated localization of craniofacial landmarks on cone beam (CB) CT images based on image registration and to evaluate its accuracy. The software was designed using MATLAB programming language. The technique was a combination of feature-based (principal axes registration) and voxel similarity-based methods for image registration. A total of 8 CBCT images were selected as our reference images for creating a head atlas. Then, 20 CBCT images were randomly selected as the test images for evaluating the method. Three experts twice located 14 landmarks in all 28 CBCT images during two examinations set 6 weeks apart. The differences in the distances of coordinates of each landmark on each image between manual and automated detection methods were calculated and reported as mean errors. The combined intraclass correlation coefficient for intraobserver reliability was 0.89 and for interobserver reliability 0.87 (95% confidence interval, 0.82 to 0.93). The mean errors of all 14 landmarks were <4 mm. Additionally, 63.57% of landmarks had a mean error of <3 mm compared with manual detection (gold standard method). The accuracy of our approach for automated localization of craniofacial landmarks, which was based on combining feature-based and voxel similarity-based methods for image registration, was acceptable. Nevertheless we recommend repetition of this study using other techniques, such as intensity-based methods

Future Control and Automation : Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Future Control and Automation

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

This volume Future Control and Automation- Volume 2 includes best papers from 2012 2nd International Conference on Future Control and Automation (ICFCA 2012) held on July 1-2, 2012, Changsha, China. Future control and automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. This volume can be divided into six sessions on the basis of the classification of manuscripts considered, which is listed as follows: Mathematical Modeling, Analysis and Computation, Control Engineering, Reliable Networks Design, Vehicular Communications and Networking, Automation and Mechatronics.

Preliminary Design Study of the Hollow Electron Lens for LHC

CERN Document Server

Perini, Diego; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

2017-01-01

A Hollow Electron Lens (HEL) has been proposed in order to improve performance of halo control and collimation in the Large Hadron Collider in view of its High Luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC). The concept is based on a beam of electrons that travels around the protons for a few meters. The electron beam is produced by a cathode and then guided by a strong magnetic field generated by a set of superconducting solenoids. The first step of the design is the definition of the magnetic fields that drive the electron trajectories. The estimation of such trajectories by means of a dedicated MATLAB® tool is presented. The influence of the main geometrical and electrical parameters are analysed and discussed. Then, the main mechanical design choices for the solenoids, cryostats gun and collector are described. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the preliminary design of the Electron Lens for LHC. The methods used in this study also serve as examples for future mechanical and integration designs of similar ...

Where do Electronic Markets Come From?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Castelle, Michael; Millo, Yuval; Beunza, Daniel

2016-01-01

of automated markets was produced through an interweaving of both technological and political change. This processual redefinition of the ‘exchange’, in addition, may provide a suggestive precedent for understanding contemporary regulatory crises generated by other digital marketplace platforms.......The practices of high-frequency trading (HFT) are dependent on automated financial markets, especially those produced by securities exchanges electronically interconnected with competing exchanges. How did this infrastructural and organizational state of affairs come to be? Employing the conceptual...... distinction between fixed-role and switch-role markets, we analyse the discourse surrounding the design and eventual approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation of Exchanges and Alternative Trading Systems (Reg ATS). We find that the disruption of the exchange industry at the hands...

Automation U.S.A.: Overcoming Barriers to Automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Brody, Herb

1985-01-01

Although labor unions and inadequate technology play minor roles, the principal barrier to factory automation is "fear of change." Related problems include long-term benefits, nontechnical executives, and uncertainty of factory cost accounting. Industry support for university programs is helping to educate engineers to design, implement, and…

OPTIMIZING THE DESIGN OF THE SYSTEMS OF INFORMATION PROTECTION IN AUTOMATED INFORMATIONAL SYSTEMS OF INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. E. L'vovich

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Summary. Now to increase of indicators of efficiency and operability of difficult systems apply an automation equipment. The increasing role of information which became universal goods for relationship between various structures is noted. The question of its protection becomes the most actual. Special value is allocated for optimum design at creation of systems of the protection, allowing with the greatest probability to choose the best decisions on a set of alternatives. Now it becomes actual for the majority of the industrial enterprises as correctly designed and introduced system of protection will be pledge of successful functioning and competitiveness of all organization. Stages of works on creation of an information security system of the industrial enterprise are presented. The attention is focused on one of the most important approaches to realization of optimum design – multialternative optimization. In article the structure of creation of system of protection from the point of view of various models is considered, each of which gives an idea of features of design of system as a whole. The special attention is paid to a problem of creation of an information security system as it has the most difficult structure. Tasks for processes of automation of each of design stages of system of information security of the industrial enterprises are designated. Idea of each of stages of works is given at design of system of protection that allows to understand in the best way internal structure of creation of system of protection. Therefore, it is given the chance of evident submission of necessary requirements to creation of a reliable complex of information security of the industrial enterprise. Thereby it is given the chance of leveling of risks at early design stages of systems of protection, the organization and definition of necessary types of hardware-software complexes for future system.

Implementation of Electronic Whiteboards at Two Emergency Departments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Rasmus; Fleron, Benedicte Frederikke Rex; Hertzum, Morten

2010-01-01

We report from a case study of the implementation of an electronic whiteboard system at two emergency departments at Danish hospitals. The purpose of such whiteboards is to support the clinicians in maintaining an overview of the patients at the department. The electronic whiteboard system...... was designed in collaboration with clinicians from the departments, present more information, and allow some automated updating, as compared to the existing dry-erase whiteboard. Based on observations supported by interviews we describe the implementation of the whiteboard at the two emergency departments...

A sensor-based automation system for handling nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drotning, W.; Kimberly, H.; Wapman, W.; Darras, D.

1997-01-01

An automated system is being developed for handling large payloads of radioactive nuclear materials in an analytical laboratory. The automation system performs unpacking and repacking of payloads from shipping and storage containers, and delivery of the payloads to the stations in the laboratory. The system uses machine vision and force/torque sensing to provide sensor-based control of the automation system in order to enhance system safety, flexibility, and robustness, and achieve easy remote operation. The automation system also controls the operation of the laboratory measurement systems and the coordination of them with the robotic system. Particular attention has been given to system design features and analytical methods that provide an enhanced level of operational safety. Independent mechanical gripper interlock and tool release mechanisms were designed to prevent payload mishandling. An extensive Failure Modes and Effects Analysis of the automation system was developed as a safety design analysis tool

Electron accelerator shielding design of KIPT neutron source facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhong, Zhao Peng; Gohar, Yousry [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne (United States)

2016-06-15

The Argonne National Laboratory of the United States and the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology of the Ukraine have been collaborating on the design, development and construction of a neutron source facility at Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology utilizing an electron-accelerator-driven subcritical assembly. The electron beam power is 100 kW using 100-MeV electrons. The facility was designed to perform basic and applied nuclear research, produce medical isotopes, and train nuclear specialists. The biological shield of the accelerator building was designed to reduce the biological dose to less than 5.0e-03 mSv/h during operation. The main source of the biological dose for the accelerator building is the photons and neutrons generated from different interactions of leaked electrons from the electron gun and the accelerator sections with the surrounding components and materials. The Monte Carlo N-particle extended code (MCNPX) was used for the shielding calculations because of its capability to perform electron-, photon-, and neutron-coupled transport simulations. The photon dose was tallied using the MCNPX calculation, starting with the leaked electrons. However, it is difficult to accurately tally the neutron dose directly from the leaked electrons. The neutron yield per electron from the interactions with the surrounding components is very small, ∼0.01 neutron for 100-MeV electron and even smaller for lower-energy electrons. This causes difficulties for the Monte Carlo analyses and consumes tremendous computation resources for tallying the neutron dose outside the shield boundary with an acceptable accuracy. To avoid these difficulties, the SOURCE and TALLYX user subroutines of MCNPX were utilized for this study. The generated neutrons were banked, together with all related parameters, for a subsequent MCNPX calculation to obtain the neutron dose. The weight windows variance reduction technique was also utilized for both neutron and photon dose

Bar-code automated waste tracking system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hull, T.E.

1994-10-01

The Bar-Code Automated Waste Tracking System was designed to be a site-Specific program with a general purpose application for transportability to other facilities. The system is user-friendly, totally automated, and incorporates the use of a drive-up window that is close to the areas dealing in container preparation, delivery, pickup, and disposal. The system features ''stop-and-go'' operation rather than a long, tedious, error-prone manual entry. The system is designed for automation but allows operators to concentrate on proper handling of waste while maintaining manual entry of data as a backup. A large wall plaque filled with bar-code labels is used to input specific details about any movement of waste

Automating Energy Bandgap Measurements in Semiconductors Using LabVIEW

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, Amit; Sharma, Reena; Dhingra, Vishal

2010-01-01

In this paper, we report the development of an automated system for energy bandgap and resistivity measurement of a semiconductor sample using Four-Probe method for use in the undergraduate laboratory of Physics and Electronics students. The automated data acquisition and analysis system has been developed using National Instruments USB-6008 DAQ…

'Ab initio' structure solution from electron diffraction data obtained by a combination of automated diffraction tomography and precession technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mugnaioli, E.; Gorelik, T.; Kolb, U.

2009-01-01

Using a combination of our recently developed automated diffraction tomography (ADT) module with precession electron technique (PED), quasi-kinematical 3D diffraction data sets of an inorganic salt (BaSO 4 ) were collected. The lattice cell parameters and their orientation within the data sets were found automatically. The extracted intensities were used for 'ab initio' structure analysis by direct methods. The data set covered almost the complete set of possible symmetrically equivalent reflections for an orthorhombic structure. The structure solution in one step delivered all heavy (Ba, S) as well as light atoms (O). Results of the structure solution using direct methods, charge flipping and maximum entropy algorithms as well as structure refinement for three different 3D electron diffraction data sets were presented.

Electron linac design for pion radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loew, G.A.; Brown, K.L.; Miller, R.H.; Walz, D.R.

1977-03-01

The electron linac provides a straightforward, state-of-the-art method of producing the primary beam required for a hospital-based multiport pion radiotherapy facility for cancer treatment. The accelerator and associated beam transport system described are capable of generating an electron beam of about 250 kW and delivering it alternately to one of several pion generators and treatment areas. Each pion generator, a prototype of which now exists at the Stanford W. W. Hansen Laboratory, would contain a target for the electron beam and sixty separate superconducting magnet channels which focus the pions in the patient. The considerations which enter the design of a practical linac are presented together with a possible layout of a flexible beam transport system

Modeling and simulation of control system for electron beam machine (EBM) using programmable automation controller (PAC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leo Kwee Wah; Lojius Lombigit; Abu Bakar Mhd Ghazali; Muhamad Zahidee Taat; Ayub Mohamed; Chong Foh Yoong

2006-01-01

An EBM electronic model is designed to simulate the control system of the Nissin EBM, which is located at Block 43, MINT complex of Jalan Dengkil with maximum output of 3 MeV, 30 mA using a Programmable Automation Controllers (PAC). This model operates likes a real EBM system where all the start-up, interlocking and stopping procedures are fully followed. It also involves formulating the mathematical models to relate certain output with the input parameters using data from actual operation on EB machine. The simulation involves a set of PAC system consisting of the digital and analogue input/output modules. The program code is written using Labview software (real-time version) on a PC and then downloaded into the PAC stand-alone memory. All the 23 interlocking signals required by the EB machine are manually controlled by mechanical switches and represented by LEDs. The EB parameters are manually controlled by potentiometers and displayed on analogue and digital meters. All these signals are then interfaced to the PC via a wifi wireless communication built-in at the PAC controller. The program is developed in accordance to the specifications and requirement of the original real EB system and displays them on the panel of the model and also on the PC monitor. All possible chances from human errors, hardware and software malfunctions, including the worst-case conditions will be tested, evaluated and modified. We hope that the performance of our model complies the requirements of operating the EB machine. It also hopes that this electronic model can replace the original PC interfacing being utilized in the Nissin EBM in the near future. The system can also be used to study the fault tolerance analysis and automatic re-configuration for advanced control of the EB system. (Author)

Automated Controlled-Potential Coulometer for the IAEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordaro, J.V.; Holland, M.K.; Fields, T.

1998-01-01

An automated controlled-potential coulometer has been developed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) for the determination of plutonium for use at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Safeguards Analytical Laboratory in Siebersdorf, Austria. The system is functionally the same as earlier systems built for use at the Savannah River Site's Analytical Laboratory. All electronic circuits and printed circuits boards have been upgraded with state-of-the-art components. A higher amperage potentiostat with improved control stability has been developed. The system achieves electronic calibration accuracy and linearity of better than 0.01 percent, with a precision and accuracy better than 0.1 percent has been demonstrated. This coulometer features electrical calibration of the integration system, electrolysis current background corrections, and control-potential adjustment capabilities. These capabilities allow application of the system to plutonium measurements without chemical standards, achieving traceability to the international measurement system through electrical standards and Faraday's constant. the chemist is provided with the capability to perform measurements without depending upon chemical standards, which is a significant advantage for applications such as characterization of primary and secondary standards. Additional benefits include reducing operating cost to procure, prepare and measure calibration standards and the corresponding decrease in radioactive waste generation. The design and documentation of the automated instrument are provided herein. Each individual module's operation, wiring, layout, and alignment are described. Interconnection of the modules and system calibration are discussed. A complete set of prints and a list of associated parts are included

AP600 level of automation: United States utility perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bekkerman, A.Y.

1997-01-01

Design of the AP600 advanced nuclear plant man-machine interface system (M-MIS) is guided by the applicable requirements from the Utility Requirements Document (URD). However, the URD has left certain aspects of the M-MIS to be determined by the designer working together with utilities sponsoring the work. This is particularly true in the case of the level of automation to be designed into the M-MIS. Based on experience from currently operating plants, utilities have specified the identity and roles of personnel in the control room, which has led to establishing a number of level of automation issues for the AP600. The key role of automated computerized procedures in the AP600 automation has been determined and resolved. 5 refs

The electron test accelerator safety in design and operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKeown, J.

1980-06-01

The Electron Test Accelerator is being designed as an experiment in accelerator physics and technology. With an electron beam power of up to 200 kW the operation of the accelerator presents a severe radiation hazard as well as rf and electrical hazards. The design of the safety system provides fail-safe protection while permitting flexibility in the mode of operation and minimizing administrative controls. (auth)

The structural design and the electron optics of a hybrid electron-ion gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bas, E.B.; Gisler, E.; Stucki, F.

1984-01-01

This paper describes a new kind of a particle gun called the hybrid gun. It is able to deliver a finely focused electron or ion beam simply by reversing the polarity of the acceleration voltage. The detailed design features of the gun are given and the electron-ion optical properties are discussed. (author)

A scanning electron microscope method for automated, quantitative analysis of mineral matter in coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creelman, R.A.; Ward, C.R. [R.A. Creelman and Associates, Epping, NSW (Australia)

1996-07-01

Quantitative mineralogical analysis has been carried out in a series of nine coal samples from Australia, South Africa and China using a newly-developed automated image analysis system coupled to a scanning electron microscopy. The image analysis system (QEM{asterisk}SEM) gathers X-ray spectra and backscattered electron data from a number of points on a conventional grain-mount polished section under the SEM, and interprets the data from each point in mineralogical terms. The cumulative data in each case was integrated to provide a volumetric modal analysis of the species present in the coal samples, expressed as percentages of the respective coals` mineral matter. Comparison was made of the QEM{asterisk}SEM results to data obtained from the same samples using other methods of quantitative mineralogical analysis, namely X-ray diffraction of the low-temperature oxygen-plasma ash and normative calculation from the (high-temperature) ash analysis and carbonate CO{sub 2} data. Good agreement was obtained from all three methods for quartz in the coals, and also for most of the iron-bearing minerals. The correlation between results from the different methods was less strong, however, for individual clay minerals, or for minerals such as calcite, dolomite and phosphate species that made up only relatively small proportions of the mineral matter. The image analysis approach, using the electron microscope for mineralogical studies, has significant potential as a supplement to optical microscopy in quantitative coal characterisation. 36 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.

Powder handling for automated fuel processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frederickson, J.R.; Eschenbaum, R.C.; Goldmann, L.H.

1989-01-01

Installation of the Secure Automated Fabrication (SAF) line has been completed. It is located in the Fuel Cycle Plant (FCP) at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford site near Richland, Washington. The SAF line was designed to fabricate advanced reactor fuel pellets and assemble fuel pins by automated, remote operation. This paper describes powder handling equipment and techniques utilized for automated powder processing and powder conditioning systems in this line. 9 figs

Basic design considerations for free-electron lasers driven by electron beams from RF accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

Gover, A.; Freund, H.; Granatstein, V. L.; McAdoo, J. H.; Tang, C.-M.

A design procedure and design criteria are derived for free-electron lasers driven by electron beams from RF accelerators. The procedure and criteria permit an estimate of the oscillation-buildup time and the laser output power of various FEL schemes: with waveguide resonator or open resonator, with initial seed-radiation injection or with spontaneous-emission radiation source, with a linear wiggler or with a helical wiggler. Expressions are derived for computing the various FEL parameters, allowing for the design and optimization of the FEL operational characteristics under ideal conditions or with nonideal design parameters that may be limited by technological or practical constraints. The design procedure enables one to derive engineering curves and scaling laws for the FEL operating parameters. This can be done most conveniently with a computer program based on flowcharts given in the appendices.

Test Results for the Automated Rendezvous and Capture System

Science.gov (United States)

Cruzen, Craig; Dabney, Richard; Lomas, James

1999-01-01

The Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) system was designed and tested at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to demonstrate technologies and mission strategies for automated rendezvous and docking of spacecraft in Earth orbit, The system incorporates some of the latest innovations in Global Positioning, System space navigation, laser sensor technologies and automated mission sequencing algorithms. The system's initial design and integration was completed in 1998 and has undergone testing at MSFC. This paper describes the major components of the AR&C system and presents results from the official system tests performed in MSFC's Flight Robotics Laboratory with digital simulations and hardware in the loop tests. The results show that the AR&C system can safely and reliably perform automated rendezvous and docking missions in the absence of system failures with 100 percent success. When system failures are included, the system uses its automated collision avoidance maneuver logic to recover in a safe manner. The primary objective of the AR&C project is to prove that by designing a safe and robust automated system, mission operations cost can be reduced by decreasing the personnel required for mission design, preflight planning and training required for crewed rendezvous and docking missions.

Thermal modeling and design of electronic systems and devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirtz, R.A.; Lehmann, G.L.

1990-01-01

The thermal control electronic devices, particularly those in complex systems with high heat flux density, continues to be of interest to engineers involved in system cooling design and analysis. This volume contains papers presented at the 1990 ASME Winter Annual Meeting in two K-16 sponsored sessions: Empirical Modeling of Heat Transfer in Complex Electronic Systems and Design and Modeling of Heat Transfer Devices in High-Density Electronics. The first group deals with understanding the heat transfer processes in these complex systems. The second group focuses on the use of analysis techniques and empirically determined data in predicting device and system operating performance

Automated magnetic divertor design for optimal power exhaust

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blommaert, Maarten

2017-07-01

The so-called divertor is the standard particle and power exhaust system of nuclear fusion tokamaks. In essence, the magnetic configuration hereby 'diverts' the plasma to a specific divertor structure. The design of this divertor is still a key issue to be resolved to evolve from experimental fusion tokamaks to commercial power plants. The focus of this dissertation is on one particular design requirement: avoiding excessive heat loads on the divertor structure. The divertor design process is assisted by plasma edge transport codes that simulate the plasma and neutral particle transport in the edge of the reactor. These codes are computationally extremely demanding, not in the least due to the complex collisional processes between plasma and neutrals that lead to strong radiation sinks and macroscopic heat convection near the vessel walls. One way of improving the heat exhaust is by modifying the magnetic confinement that governs the plasma flow. In this dissertation, automated design of the magnetic configuration is pursued using adjoint based optimization methods. A simple and fast perturbation model is used to compute the magnetic field in the vacuum vessel. A stable optimal design method of the nested type is then elaborated that strictly accounts for several nonlinear design constraints and code limitations. Using appropriate cost function definitions, the heat is spread more uniformly over the high-heat load plasma-facing components in a practical design example. Furthermore, practical in-parts adjoint sensitivity calculations are presented that provide a way to an efficient optimization procedure. Results are elaborated for a fictituous JET (Joint European Torus) case. The heat load is strongly reduced by exploiting an expansion of the magnetic flux towards the solid divertor structure. Subsequently, shortcomings of the perturbation model for magnetic field calculations are discussed in comparison to a free boundary equilibrium (FBE) simulation

Automated magnetic divertor design for optimal power exhaust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blommaert, Maarten

2017-01-01

The so-called divertor is the standard particle and power exhaust system of nuclear fusion tokamaks. In essence, the magnetic configuration hereby 'diverts' the plasma to a specific divertor structure. The design of this divertor is still a key issue to be resolved to evolve from experimental fusion tokamaks to commercial power plants. The focus of this dissertation is on one particular design requirement: avoiding excessive heat loads on the divertor structure. The divertor design process is assisted by plasma edge transport codes that simulate the plasma and neutral particle transport in the edge of the reactor. These codes are computationally extremely demanding, not in the least due to the complex collisional processes between plasma and neutrals that lead to strong radiation sinks and macroscopic heat convection near the vessel walls. One way of improving the heat exhaust is by modifying the magnetic confinement that governs the plasma flow. In this dissertation, automated design of the magnetic configuration is pursued using adjoint based optimization methods. A simple and fast perturbation model is used to compute the magnetic field in the vacuum vessel. A stable optimal design method of the nested type is then elaborated that strictly accounts for several nonlinear design constraints and code limitations. Using appropriate cost function definitions, the heat is spread more uniformly over the high-heat load plasma-facing components in a practical design example. Furthermore, practical in-parts adjoint sensitivity calculations are presented that provide a way to an efficient optimization procedure. Results are elaborated for a fictituous JET (Joint European Torus) case. The heat load is strongly reduced by exploiting an expansion of the magnetic flux towards the solid divertor structure. Subsequently, shortcomings of the perturbation model for magnetic field calculations are discussed in comparison to a free boundary equilibrium (FBE) simulation. These flaws

Large - scale Rectangular Ruler Automated Verification Device

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hao; Chang, Luping; Xing, Minjian; Xie, Xie

2018-03-01

This paper introduces a large-scale rectangular ruler automated verification device, which consists of photoelectric autocollimator and self-designed mechanical drive car and data automatic acquisition system. The design of mechanical structure part of the device refer to optical axis design, drive part, fixture device and wheel design. The design of control system of the device refer to hardware design and software design, and the hardware mainly uses singlechip system, and the software design is the process of the photoelectric autocollimator and the automatic data acquisition process. This devices can automated achieve vertical measurement data. The reliability of the device is verified by experimental comparison. The conclusion meets the requirement of the right angle test procedure.

Identifying Requirements for Effective Human-Automation Teamwork

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeffrey C. Joe; John O' Hara; Heather D. Medema; Johanna H. Oxstrand

2014-06-01

Previous studies have shown that poorly designed human-automation collaboration, such as poorly designed communication protocols, often leads to problems for the human operators, such as: lack of vigilance, complacency, and loss of skills. These problems often lead to suboptimal system performance. To address this situation, a considerable amount of research has been conducted to improve human-automation collaboration and to make automation function better as a “team player.” Much of this research is based on an understanding of what it means to be a good team player from the perspective of a human team. However, the research is often based on a simplified view of human teams and teamwork. In this study, we sought to better understand the capabilities and limitations of automation from the standpoint of human teams. We first examined human teams to identify the principles for effective teamwork. We next reviewed the research on integrating automation agents and human agents into mixed agent teams to identify the limitations of automation agents to conform to teamwork principles. This research resulted in insights that can lead to more effective human-automation collaboration by enabling a more realistic set of requirements to be developed based on the strengths and limitations of all agents.

Fractal design concepts for stretchable electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jonathan A; Yeo, Woon-Hong; Su, Yewang; Hattori, Yoshiaki; Lee, Woosik; Jung, Sung-Young; Zhang, Yihui; Liu, Zhuangjian; Cheng, Huanyu; Falgout, Leo; Bajema, Mike; Coleman, Todd; Gregoire, Dan; Larsen, Ryan J; Huang, Yonggang; Rogers, John A

2014-01-01

Stretchable electronics provide a foundation for applications that exceed the scope of conventional wafer and circuit board technologies due to their unique capacity to integrate with soft materials and curvilinear surfaces. The range of possibilities is predicated on the development of device architectures that simultaneously offer advanced electronic function and compliant mechanics. Here we report that thin films of hard electronic materials patterned in deterministic fractal motifs and bonded to elastomers enable unusual mechanics with important implications in stretchable device design. In particular, we demonstrate the utility of Peano, Greek cross, Vicsek and other fractal constructs to yield space-filling structures of electronic materials, including monocrystalline silicon, for electrophysiological sensors, precision monitors and actuators, and radio frequency antennas. These devices support conformal mounting on the skin and have unique properties such as invisibility under magnetic resonance imaging. The results suggest that fractal-based layouts represent important strategies for hard-soft materials integration.

Fractal design concepts for stretchable electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jonathan A.; Yeo, Woon-Hong; Su, Yewang; Hattori, Yoshiaki; Lee, Woosik; Jung, Sung-Young; Zhang, Yihui; Liu, Zhuangjian; Cheng, Huanyu; Falgout, Leo; Bajema, Mike; Coleman, Todd; Gregoire, Dan; Larsen, Ryan J.; Huang, Yonggang; Rogers, John A.

2014-02-01

Stretchable electronics provide a foundation for applications that exceed the scope of conventional wafer and circuit board technologies due to their unique capacity to integrate with soft materials and curvilinear surfaces. The range of possibilities is predicated on the development of device architectures that simultaneously offer advanced electronic function and compliant mechanics. Here we report that thin films of hard electronic materials patterned in deterministic fractal motifs and bonded to elastomers enable unusual mechanics with important implications in stretchable device design. In particular, we demonstrate the utility of Peano, Greek cross, Vicsek and other fractal constructs to yield space-filling structures of electronic materials, including monocrystalline silicon, for electrophysiological sensors, precision monitors and actuators, and radio frequency antennas. These devices support conformal mounting on the skin and have unique properties such as invisibility under magnetic resonance imaging. The results suggest that fractal-based layouts represent important strategies for hard-soft materials integration.

Design and Development of a Robot-Based Automation System for Cryogenic Crystal Sample Mounting at the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Preissner, C.; Nocher, D.; Han, Y.; Barraza, J.; Lee, P.; Lee, W.-K.; Cai, Z.; Ginell, S.; Alkire, R.; Lazarski, K.; Schuessler, R.; Joachimiak, A.

2004-01-01

X-ray crystallography is the primary method to determine the 3D structures of complex macromolecules at high resolution. In the years to come, the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and similar 3rd-generation synchrotron sources elsewhere will become the most powerful tools for studying atomic structures of biological molecules. One of the major bottlenecks in the x-ray data collection process is the constant need to change and realign the crystal sample. This is a very time- and manpower-consuming task. An automated sample mounting system will help to solve this bottleneck problem. We have developed a novel robot-based automation system for cryogenic crystal sample mounting at the APS. Design of the robot-based automation system, as well as its on-line test results at the Argonne Structural Biology Center (SBC) 19-BM experimental station, are presented in this paper

User interface design principles for the SSM/PMAD automated power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakstas, L.M.; Myers, C.J.

1991-01-01

Computer-human interfaces are an integral part of developing software for spacecraft power systems. A well designed and efficient user interface enables an engineer to effectively operate the system, while it concurrently prevents the user from entering data which is beyond boundary conditions or performing operations which are out of context. A user interface should also be designed to ensure that the engineer easily obtains all useful and critical data for operating the system and is aware of all faults and states in the system. Martin Marietta, under contract to NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, has developed a user interface for the Space Station Module Power Management and Distribution (SSM/PMAD) automated power system testbed which provides human access to the functionality of the power system, as well as exemplifying current techniques in user interface design. The testbed user interface was designed to enable an engineer to operate the system easily without having significant knowledge of computer systems, as well as provide an environment in which the engineer can monitor and interact with the SSM/PMAD system hardware. The design of the interface supports a global view of the most important data form the various hardware and software components, as well as enabling the user to obtain additional or more detailed data when needed. The components and representations of the SSM/PMAD testbed user interface are examined in this paper. An engineer's interactions with the system are also described

Automated Design of Noise-Minimal, Safe Rotorcraft Trajectories

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Robert A.; Venable, K. Brent; Lindsay, James

2012-01-01

NASA and the international community are investing in the development of a commercial transportation infrastructure that includes the increased use of rotorcraft, specifically helicopters and aircraft such as a 40-passenger civil tilt rotors. Rotorcraft have a number of advantages over fixed wing aircraft, primarily in not requiring direct access to the primary fixed wing runways. As such they can operate at an airport without directly interfering with major air carrier and commuter aircraft operations. However, there is significant concern over the impact of noise on the communities surrounding the transportation facilities. In this paper we propose to address the rotorcraft noise problem by exploiting powerful search techniques coming from artificial intelligence, coupled with simulation and field tests, to design trajectories that are expected to improve on the amount of ground noise generated. This paper investigates the use of simulation based on predictive physical models to facilitate the search for low-noise trajectories using a class of automated search algorithms called local search. A novel feature of this approach is the ability to incorporate constraints into the problem formulation that addresses passenger safety and comfort.

Embedded Systems Design with FPGAs

CERN Document Server

Pnevmatikatos, Dionisios; Sklavos, Nicolas

2013-01-01

This book presents methodologies for modern applications of embedded systems design, using field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices.  Coverage includes state-of-the-art research from academia and industry on a wide range of topics, including advanced electronic design automation (EDA), novel system architectures, embedded processors, arithmetic, dynamic reconfiguration and applications. Describes a variety of methodologies for modern embedded systems design;  Implements methodologies presented on FPGAs; Covers a wide variety of applications for reconfigurable embedded systems, including Bioinformatics, Communications and networking, Application acceleration, Medical solutions, Experiments for high energy physics, Astronomy, Aerospace, Biologically inspired systems and Computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Bioprocessing automation in cell therapy manufacturing: Outcomes of special interest group automation workshop.

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, Oliver; Robinson, Sarah; Bure, Kim; Brindley, David A; Mccall, David

2018-04-01

Phacilitate held a Special Interest Group workshop event in Edinburgh, UK, in May 2017. The event brought together leading stakeholders in the cell therapy bioprocessing field to identify present and future challenges and propose potential solutions to automation in cell therapy bioprocessing. Here, we review and summarize discussions from the event. Deep biological understanding of a product, its mechanism of action and indication pathogenesis underpin many factors relating to bioprocessing and automation. To fully exploit the opportunities of bioprocess automation, therapeutics developers must closely consider whether an automation strategy is applicable, how to design an 'automatable' bioprocess and how to implement process modifications with minimal disruption. Major decisions around bioprocess automation strategy should involve all relevant stakeholders; communication between technical and business strategy decision-makers is of particular importance. Developers should leverage automation to implement in-process testing, in turn applicable to process optimization, quality assurance (QA)/ quality control (QC), batch failure control, adaptive manufacturing and regulatory demands, but a lack of precedent and technical opportunities can complicate such efforts. Sparse standardization across product characterization, hardware components and software platforms is perceived to complicate efforts to implement automation. The use of advanced algorithmic approaches such as machine learning may have application to bioprocess and supply chain optimization. Automation can substantially de-risk the wider supply chain, including tracking and traceability, cryopreservation and thawing and logistics. The regulatory implications of automation are currently unclear because few hardware options exist and novel solutions require case-by-case validation, but automation can present attractive regulatory incentives. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Cellular Therapy

78 FR 23137 - Implementation of Full-Service Intelligent Mail Requirements for Automation Prices

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-18

... re- work or pay the additional postage. The existing thresholds used to verify and qualify automation...-work or pay the additional postage to mail at a non- automation price. Full-Service Electronic... re-work or pay the additional postage to mail at a non-automation price. In addition to the full...

Automations influence on nuclear power plants: a look at three accidents and how automation played a role.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, Kara

2012-01-01

Nuclear power is one of the ways that we can design an efficient sustainable future. Automation is the primary system used to assist operators in the task of monitoring and controlling nuclear power plants (NPP). Automation performs tasks such as assessing the status of the plant's operations as well as making real time life critical situational specific decisions. While the advantages and disadvantages of automation are well studied in variety of domains, accidents remind us that there is still vulnerability to unknown variables. This paper will look at the effects of automation within three NPP accidents and incidents and will consider why automation failed in preventing these accidents from occurring. It will also review the accidents at the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Daiichi NPP's in order to determine where better use of automation could have resulted in a more desirable outcome.

Two-dimensional optimization of free-electron-laser designs

Science.gov (United States)

Prosnitz, D.; Haas, R.A.

1982-05-04

Off-axis, two-dimensional designs for free electron lasers are described that maintain correspondence of a light beam with a synchronous electron at an optimal transverse radius r > 0 to achieve increased beam trapping efficiency and enhanced laser beam wavefront control so as to decrease optical beam diffraction and other deleterious effects.

Designing of smart home automation system based on Raspberry Pi

Science.gov (United States)

Saini, Ravi Prakash; Singh, Bhanu Pratap; Sharma, Mahesh Kumar; Wattanawisuth, Nattapol; Leeprechanon, Nopbhorn

2016-03-01

Locally networked or remotely controlled home automation system becomes a popular paradigm because of the numerous advantages and is suitable for academic research. This paper proposes a method for an implementation of Raspberry Pi based home automation system presented with an android phone access interface. The power consumption profile across the connected load is measured accurately through programming. Users can access the graph of total power consumption with respect to time worldwide using their Dropbox account. An android application has been developed to channelize the monitoring and controlling operation of home appliances remotely. This application facilitates controlling of operating pins of Raspberry Pi by pressing the corresponding key for turning "on" and "off" of any desired appliance. Systems can range from the simple room lighting control to smart microcontroller based hybrid systems incorporating several other additional features. Smart home automation systems are being adopted to achieve flexibility, scalability, security in the sense of data protection through the cloud-based data storage protocol, reliability, energy efficiency, etc.

Automating occupational protection records systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, M.; Martin, J.B.

1991-10-01

Occupational protection records have traditionally been generated by field and laboratory personnel, assembled into files in the safety office, and eventually stored in a warehouse or other facility. Until recently, these records have been primarily paper copies, often handwritten. Sometimes, the paper is microfilmed for storage. However, electronic records are beginning to replace these traditional methods. The purpose of this paper is to provide guidance for making the transition to automated record keeping and retrieval using modern computer equipment. This paper describes the types of records most readily converted to electronic record keeping and a methodology for implementing an automated record system. The process of conversion is based on a requirements analysis to assess program needs and a high level of user involvement during the development. The importance of indexing the hard copy records for easy retrieval is also discussed. The concept of linkage between related records and its importance relative to reporting, research, and litigation will be addressed. 2 figs

Controls and automation in the SPIRAL project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bothner, U.; Boulot, A.; Maherault, J.; Martial, L.

1999-01-01

The control and automation team of the R and D of Accelerator-Exotic Beam Department has had in the framework of SPIRAL collaboration the following tasks: 1. automation of the resonator high frequency equipment of the CIME cyclotron; 2. automation of the vacuum equipment, i.e. the low energy line (TBE), the CIME cyclotron, the low energy line (BE); 3. automation of load safety for power supply; 4. for each of these tasks a circuitry file based on the SCHEMA software has been worked out. The programs required in the automation of load safety for power supply (STEP5, PROTOOL, DESIGNER 4.1) were developed and implemented for PC

Design and development of a pierce electron gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharjee, D.; Tiwari, R.; Nayak, B.; Tillu, A.R.; Jayaprakash, D.; Mishra, R.L.; Mittal, K.C.; Chakravarthy, D.P.; Gantayet, L.M.

2011-01-01

An electron gun is designed and developed using the Pierce configuration for the focusing electrode. Simulations were carried out using CST Particle Studio. The Gun is a thermionic type electron gun with indirect heating of the LaB6 cathode. The gun is capable of delivering a beam current of 500 mA at 50 kV with a beam size of less than 3.5 mm. It was tested on the gun test bench. This paper presents the gun design, particle simulations study, testing of the gun on test bench and integration with the ECIL 9 MeV linac. (author)

49 CFR 238.445 - Automated monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Automated monitoring. 238.445 Section 238.445... Equipment § 238.445 Automated monitoring. (a) Each passenger train shall be equipped to monitor the... limiting the speed of the train. (c) The monitoring system shall be designed with an automatic self-test...

Design studies for the electron storage ring EUTERPE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boling, Xi

1995-05-18

The 400 MeV electron storage ring EUTERPE is under construction at Eindhoven University of Technology. The ring is to be used as an experimental tool for accelerator physics studies and synchroton radiation applications. The main task of the current research work is the electron optical design of the ring. Lattice design is a basis for machine design as a whole. Design aspects regarding the basic lattice, based on single particle dynamics, include determination of the equilibrium beam size and bunch length, design of achromatic bending sections, selection of tune values, correction of chromaticity, and minimization of the natural emittance in the ring. The basic lattice designed for the EUTERPE ring has a high flexibility so that different electron optical modes can be realized easily. In low energy storage rings with a high beam current, collective effects can cause a significant change in the bunch length, the transverse emittance and the beam lifetime. In order to ensure a good optical performance for the ring, the choice of suitable parameters concerning the vacuum and RF system are essential as far as collective effects are concerned. An estimation of the collective effects in the ring is given. The injector for EUTERPE is a 75 MeV racetrack microtron which is injected from a 10 MeV linac. In order to get sufficient beam current in the ring, a special procedure of continuous injection with an adjustable locally shifted closed orbit has been presented. Details of the injection procedure and numerical simulations are given. (orig./HSI).

Design studies for the electron storage ring EUTERPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi Boling.

1995-01-01

The 400 MeV electron storage ring EUTERPE is under construction at Eindhoven University of Technology. The ring is to be used as an experimental tool for accelerator physics studies and synchroton radiation applications. The main task of the current research work is the electron optical design of the ring. Lattice design is a basis for machine design as a whole. Design aspects regarding the basic lattice, based on single particle dynamics, include determination of the equilibrium beam size and bunch length, design of achromatic bending sections, selection of tune values, correction of chromaticity, and minimization of the natural emittance in the ring. The basic lattice designed for the EUTERPE ring has a high flexibility so that different electron optical modes can be realized easily. In low energy storage rings with a high beam current, collective effects can cause a significant change in the bunch length, the transverse emittance and the beam lifetime. In order to ensure a good optical performance for the ring, the choice of suitable parameters concerning the vacuum and RF system are essential as far as collective effects are concerned. An estimation of the collective effects in the ring is given. The injector for EUTERPE is a 75 MeV racetrack microtron which is injected from a 10 MeV linac. In order to get sufficient beam current in the ring, a special procedure of continuous injection with an adjustable locally shifted closed orbit has been presented. Details of the injection procedure and numerical simulations are given. (orig./HSI)

Design, development and characterization of tetrode type electron gun system for generation of low energy electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deore, A.V.; Bhoraskar, V.N.; Dhole, S.D.

2011-01-01

A tetrode type electron gun system for the generation of low energy electrons was designed, developed and characterized. An electron gun having four electrodes namely cathode, focusing electrode, control electrode and anode has been designed for the irradiation experiments. This electron gun is capable to provide electrons of energy over the range of 1 keV to 20 keV, with current maximum upto 100 μA. The electron gun and a faraday cup are mounted in the evacuated cylindrical chamber. The samples are fixed on the faraday cup and irradiated with low energy electrons at a pressure around 10 -6 mbar. In this electron gun system, at any electron energy over the entire range, the electron beam diameter can be varied from 5 to 120 mm on the Faraday cup mounted at a distance of 200 mm from the anode in the chamber. Also, the circular shape of the beam spot was maintained, even though the beam current and beam diameter are varied. The uniformity of the electron beam over the entire beam area was measured with a multi electrode assembly and found to be well within 15%. This system is being used for the synthesis and diffusion of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles in polymeric materials. (author)

Development and Evaluation of a Measure of Library Automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pungitore, Verna L.

1986-01-01

Construct validity and reliability estimates indicate that study designed to measure utilization of automation in public and academic libraries was successful in tentatively identifying and measuring three subdimensions of level of automation: quality of hardware, method of software development, and number of automation specialists. Questionnaire…

Design of compact system with wide electron beam for radiation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korolyov, A.N.; Simonov, K.G.; Pirozhenko, V.M.

2001-01-01

Design of a compact system for radiation processing of products and materials has been developed. The system provides two modes of irradiation, i.e. irradiation of continuously moving tapes and fixed samples. The irradiation is performed in a hermetically sealed chamber filled by nitrogen. This ecologically pure system includes the radiation protection,autonomous water cooling system and automated PC-control. It can be placed in any production or clinical room

Design of compact system with wide electron beam for radiation technologies

CERN Document Server

Korolyov, A N; Pirozhenko, Vitaly M

2001-01-01

Design of a compact system for radiation processing of products and materials has been developed. The system provides two modes of irradiation, i.e. irradiation of continuously moving tapes and fixed samples. The irradiation is performed in a hermetically sealed chamber filled by nitrogen. This ecologically pure system includes the radiation protection,autonomous water cooling system and automated PC-control. It can be placed in any production or clinical room.

An automated digital imaging system for environmental monitoring applications

Science.gov (United States)

Bogle, Rian; Velasco, Miguel; Vogel, John

2013-01-01

Recent improvements in the affordability and availability of high-resolution digital cameras, data loggers, embedded computers, and radio/cellular modems have advanced the development of sophisticated automated systems for remote imaging. Researchers have successfully placed and operated automated digital cameras in remote locations and in extremes of temperature and humidity, ranging from the islands of the South Pacific to the Mojave Desert and the Grand Canyon. With the integration of environmental sensors, these automated systems are able to respond to local conditions and modify their imaging regimes as needed. In this report we describe in detail the design of one type of automated imaging system developed by our group. It is easily replicated, low-cost, highly robust, and is a stand-alone automated camera designed to be placed in remote locations, without wireless connectivity.

Electronic Commerce

OpenAIRE

Slavko Đerić

2016-01-01

Electronic commerce can be defined in different ways. Any definition helps to understand and explain that concept as better as possible.. Electronic commerce is a set of procedures and technologies that automate the tasks of financial transactions using electronic means. Also, according to some authors, electronic commerce is defined as a new concept, which is being developed and which includes process of buying and selling or exchanging products, services or information via computer networks...

Designing the Electronic Classroom: Applying Learning Theory and Ergonomic Design Principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Emmons, Mark; Wilkinson, Frances C.

2001-01-01

Applies learning theory and ergonomic principles to the design of effective learning environments for library instruction. Discusses features of electronic classroom ergonomics, including the ergonomics of physical space, environmental factors, and workstations; and includes classroom layouts. (Author/LRW)

Automated control system for the Temelin nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labik, V.

1990-01-01

Instrumentation of the automated control system of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the section of the main production unit and of the major auxiliary equipment is described, the results of testing are reported, and the present status of design activities is assessed. The suitability of application of Czechoslovak automation facilities to the instrumentation of the automated control system of the power plant was confirmed by the Soviet designer and supplier based on favorable results of polygonal testing. Capacity problems in the development of the designs and user software are alleviated by extensive cooperation. It is envisaged that all tasks will be fulfilled as planned. (P.A.). 1 fig., 5 refs

Ontology-Based Device Descriptions and Device Repository for Building Automation Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dibowski Henrik

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Device descriptions play an important role in the design and commissioning of modern building automation systems and help reducing the design time and costs. However, all established device descriptions are specialized for certain purposes and suffer from several weaknesses. This hinders a further design automation, which is strongly needed for the more and more complex building automation systems. To overcome these problems, this paper presents novel Ontology-based Device Descriptions (ODDs along with a layered ontology architecture, a specific ontology view approach with virtual properties, a generic access interface, a triple store-based database backend, and a generic search mask GUI with underlying query generation algorithm. It enables a formal, unified, and extensible specification of building automation devices, ensures their comparability, and facilitates a computer-enabled retrieval, selection, and interoperability evaluation, which is essential for an automated design. The scalability of the approach to several ten thousand devices is demonstrated.

Integration of Real-Time Data Into Building Automation Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mark J. Stunder; Perry Sebastian; Brenda A. Chube; Michael D. Koontz

2003-04-16

The project goal was to investigate the possibility of using predictive real-time information from the Internet as an input to building management system algorithms. The objectives were to identify the types of information most valuable to commercial and residential building owners, managers, and system designers. To comprehensively investigate and document currently available electronic real-time information suitable for use in building management systems. Verify the reliability of the information and recommend accreditation methods for data and providers. Assess methodologies to automatically retrieve and utilize the information. Characterize equipment required to implement automated integration. Demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of using the information in building management systems. Identify evolutionary control strategies.

Design of a novel automated methanol feed system for pilot-scale fermentation of Pichia pastoris.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamaker, Kent H; Johnson, Daniel C; Bellucci, Joseph J; Apgar, Kristie R; Soslow, Sherry; Gercke, John C; Menzo, Darrin J; Ton, Christopher

2011-01-01

Large-scale fermentation of Pichia pastoris requires a large volume of methanol feed during the induction phase. However, a large volume of methanol feed is difficult to use in the processing suite because of the inconvenience of constant monitoring, manual manipulation steps, and fire and explosion hazards. To optimize and improve safety of the methanol feed process, a novel automated methanol feed system has been designed and implemented for industrial fermentation of P. pastoris. Details of the design of the methanol feed system are described. The main goals of the design were to automate the methanol feed process and to minimize the hazardous risks associated with storing and handling large quantities of methanol in the processing area. The methanol feed system is composed of two main components: a bulk feed (BF) system and up to three portable process feed (PF) systems. The BF system automatically delivers methanol from a central location to the portable PF system. The PF system provides precise flow control of linear, step, or exponential feed of methanol to the fermenter. Pilot-scale fermentations with linear and exponential methanol feeds were conducted using two Mut(+) (methanol utilization plus) strains, one expressing a recombinant therapeutic protein and the other a monoclonal antibody. Results show that the methanol feed system is accurate, safe, and efficient. The feed rates for both linear and exponential feed methods were within ± 5% of the set points, and the total amount of methanol fed was within 1% of the targeted volume. Copyright © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Patients' perspective of the design of provider-patients electronic communication services.

Science.gov (United States)

Silhavy, Petr; Silhavy, Radek; Prokopova, Zdenka

2014-06-12

Information Delivery is one the most important tasks in healthcare practice. This article discusses patient's tasks and perspectives, which are then used to design a new Effective Electronic Methodology. The system design methods applicable to electronic communication in the healthcare sector are also described. The architecture and the methodology for the healthcare service portal are set out in the proposed system design.

The Influence of Cultural Factors on Trust in Automation

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Shih-Yi James

2016-01-01

Human interaction with automation is a complex process that requires both skilled operators and complex system designs to effectively enhance overall performance. Although automation has successfully managed complex systems throughout the world for over half a century, inappropriate reliance on automation can still occur, such as the recent…

Design and remote fiber communication of NSRL electron gun controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Weibing; Gao Hui; Hong Jun; Chen Jun; Wang Guicheng; He Duohui; Chen Gang

2005-01-01

A new kind of pulse electron gun controller for 200 MeV LINAC at National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory was introduced in this paper, including the working principle of the pulse electron gun, the applications of I 2 C serial bus and embedded microcontroller in controlling system. The emphasis is on the hardware design of digital controlled current regulator, digital controlled switch voltage source and high voltage pulse power supply. The software design of fiber communication and PC controlling is also presented. The electron gun controller has successfully been used in NSRL. The result shows that it is quite reliable and the performance is good. This electronic digital system has completely replaced the old mechanical control system. (authors)

Development, implementation, and evaluation of a hybrid electronic medical record system specifically designed for a developing world surgical service.

Science.gov (United States)

Laing, G L; Bruce, J L; Skinner, D L; Allorto, N L; Clarke, D L; Aldous, C

2014-06-01

The Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Trauma Service previously successfully constructed and implemented an electronic surgical registry (ESR). This study reports on our attempts to expand and develop this concept into a multi-functional hybrid electronic medical record (HEMR) system for use in a tertiary level surgical service. This HEMR system was designed to incorporate the function and benefits of an ESR, an electronic medical record (EMR) system, and a clinical decision support system (CDSS). Formal ethical approval to maintain the HEMR system was obtained. Appropriate software was sourced to develop the project. The data model was designed as a relational database. Following the design and construction process, the HEMR file was launched on a secure server. This provided the benefits of access security and automated backups. A systematic training program was implemented for client training. The exercise of data capture was integrated into the process of clinical workflow, taking place at multiple points in time. Data were captured at the times of admission, operative intervention, endoscopic intervention, adverse events (morbidity), and the end of patient care (discharge, transfer, or death). A quarterly audit was performed 3 months after implementation of the HEMR system. The data were extracted and audited to assess their quality. A total of 1,114 patient entries were captured in the system. Compliance rates were in the order of 87-100 %, and client satisfaction rates were high. It is possible to construct and implement a unique, simple, cost-effective HEMR system in a developing world surgical service. This information system is unique in that it combines the discrete functions of an EMR system with an ESR and a CDSS. We identified a number of potential limitations and developed interventions to ameliorate them. This HEMR system provides the necessary platform for ongoing quality improvement programs and clinical research.

Operating procedure automation to enhance safety of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Husseiny, A.A.; Sabri, Z.A.; Adams, S.K.; Rodriguez, R.J.; Packer, D.; Holmes, J.W.

1989-01-01

Use of logic statements and computer assist are explored as means for automation and improvement on design of operating procedures including those employed in abnormal and emergency situations. Operating procedures for downpower and loss of forced circulation are used for demonstration. Human-factors analysis is performed on generic emergency operating procedures for three strategies of control; manual, semi-automatic and automatic, using standard emergency operating procedures. Such preliminary analysis shows that automation of procedures is feasible provided that fault-tolerant software and hardware become available for design of the controllers. Recommendations are provided for tests to substantiate the promise of enhancement of plant safety. Adequate design of operating procedures through automation may alleviate several major operational problems of nuclear power plants. Also, automation of procedures is necessary for partial or overall automatic control of plants. Fully automatic operations are needed for space applications while supervised automation of land-based and offshore plants may become the thrust of new generation of nulcear power plants. (orig.)

Designing of smart home automation system based on Raspberry Pi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saini, Ravi Prakash; Singh, Bhanu Pratap; Sharma, Mahesh Kumar; Wattanawisuth, Nattapol; Leeprechanon, Nopbhorn

2016-01-01

Locally networked or remotely controlled home automation system becomes a popular paradigm because of the numerous advantages and is suitable for academic research. This paper proposes a method for an implementation of Raspberry Pi based home automation system presented with an android phone access interface. The power consumption profile across the connected load is measured accurately through programming. Users can access the graph of total power consumption with respect to time worldwide using their Dropbox account. An android application has been developed to channelize the monitoring and controlling operation of home appliances remotely. This application facilitates controlling of operating pins of Raspberry Pi by pressing the corresponding key for turning “on” and “off” of any desired appliance. Systems can range from the simple room lighting control to smart microcontroller based hybrid systems incorporating several other additional features. Smart home automation systems are being adopted to achieve flexibility, scalability, security in the sense of data protection through the cloud-based data storage protocol, reliability, energy efficiency, etc.

Designing of smart home automation system based on Raspberry Pi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saini, Ravi Prakash; Singh, Bhanu Pratap [B K Birla Institute of Engineering & Technology, Pilani, Rajasthan (India); Sharma, Mahesh Kumar; Wattanawisuth, Nattapol; Leeprechanon, Nopbhorn, E-mail: Dr.N.L@ieee.org [Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus, Pathum Thani (Thailand)

2016-03-09

Locally networked or remotely controlled home automation system becomes a popular paradigm because of the numerous advantages and is suitable for academic research. This paper proposes a method for an implementation of Raspberry Pi based home automation system presented with an android phone access interface. The power consumption profile across the connected load is measured accurately through programming. Users can access the graph of total power consumption with respect to time worldwide using their Dropbox account. An android application has been developed to channelize the monitoring and controlling operation of home appliances remotely. This application facilitates controlling of operating pins of Raspberry Pi by pressing the corresponding key for turning “on” and “off” of any desired appliance. Systems can range from the simple room lighting control to smart microcontroller based hybrid systems incorporating several other additional features. Smart home automation systems are being adopted to achieve flexibility, scalability, security in the sense of data protection through the cloud-based data storage protocol, reliability, energy efficiency, etc.

Systematic review automation technologies

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Systematic reviews, a cornerstone of evidence-based medicine, are not produced quickly enough to support clinical practice. The cost of production, availability of the requisite expertise and timeliness are often quoted as major contributors for the delay. This detailed survey of the state of the art of information systems designed to support or automate individual tasks in the systematic review, and in particular systematic reviews of randomized controlled clinical trials, reveals trends that see the convergence of several parallel research projects. We surveyed literature describing informatics systems that support or automate the processes of systematic review or each of the tasks of the systematic review. Several projects focus on automating, simplifying and/or streamlining specific tasks of the systematic review. Some tasks are already fully automated while others are still largely manual. In this review, we describe each task and the effect that its automation would have on the entire systematic review process, summarize the existing information system support for each task, and highlight where further research is needed for realizing automation for the task. Integration of the systems that automate systematic review tasks may lead to a revised systematic review workflow. We envisage the optimized workflow will lead to system in which each systematic review is described as a computer program that automatically retrieves relevant trials, appraises them, extracts and synthesizes data, evaluates the risk of bias, performs meta-analysis calculations, and produces a report in real time. PMID:25005128

Automation of a problem list using natural language processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haug Peter J

2005-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The medical problem list is an important part of the electronic medical record in development in our institution. To serve the functions it is designed for, the problem list has to be as accurate and timely as possible. However, the current problem list is usually incomplete and inaccurate, and is often totally unused. To alleviate this issue, we are building an environment where the problem list can be easily and effectively maintained. Methods For this project, 80 medical problems were selected for their frequency of use in our future clinical field of evaluation (cardiovascular. We have developed an Automated Problem List system composed of two main components: a background and a foreground application. The background application uses Natural Language Processing (NLP to harvest potential problem list entries from the list of 80 targeted problems detected in the multiple free-text electronic documents available in our electronic medical record. These proposed medical problems drive the foreground application designed for management of the problem list. Within this application, the extracted problems are proposed to the physicians for addition to the official problem list. Results The set of 80 targeted medical problems selected for this project covered about 5% of all possible diagnoses coded in ICD-9-CM in our study population (cardiovascular adult inpatients, but about 64% of all instances of these coded diagnoses. The system contains algorithms to detect first document sections, then sentences within these sections, and finally potential problems within the sentences. The initial evaluation of the section and sentence detection algorithms demonstrated a sensitivity and positive predictive value of 100% when detecting sections, and a sensitivity of 89% and a positive predictive value of 94% when detecting sentences. Conclusion The global aim of our project is to automate the process of creating and maintaining a problem

RCrane: semi-automated RNA model building.

Science.gov (United States)

Keating, Kevin S; Pyle, Anna Marie

2012-08-01

RNA crystals typically diffract to much lower resolutions than protein crystals. This low-resolution diffraction results in unclear density maps, which cause considerable difficulties during the model-building process. These difficulties are exacerbated by the lack of computational tools for RNA modeling. Here, RCrane, a tool for the partially automated building of RNA into electron-density maps of low or intermediate resolution, is presented. This tool works within Coot, a common program for macromolecular model building. RCrane helps crystallographers to place phosphates and bases into electron density and then automatically predicts and builds the detailed all-atom structure of the traced nucleotides. RCrane then allows the crystallographer to review the newly built structure and select alternative backbone conformations where desired. This tool can also be used to automatically correct the backbone structure of previously built nucleotides. These automated corrections can fix incorrect sugar puckers, steric clashes and other structural problems.

Manned spacecraft automation and robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Jon D.

1987-01-01

The Space Station holds promise of being a showcase user and driver of advanced automation and robotics technology. The author addresses the advances in automation and robotics from the Space Shuttle - with its high-reliability redundancy management and fault tolerance design and its remote manipulator system - to the projected knowledge-based systems for monitoring, control, fault diagnosis, planning, and scheduling, and the telerobotic systems of the future Space Station.

Electron work function-a promising guiding parameter for material design.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Hao; Liu, Ziran; Yan, Xianguo; Li, Dongyang; Parent, Leo; Tian, Harry

2016-04-14

Using nickel added X70 steel as a sample material, we demonstrate that electron work function (EWF), which largely reflects the electron behavior of materials, could be used as a guide parameter for material modification or design. Adding Ni having a higher electron work function to X70 steel brings more "free" electrons to the steel, leading to increased overall work function, accompanied with enhanced e(-)-nuclei interactions or higher atomic bond strength. Young's modulus and hardness increase correspondingly. However, the free electron density and work function decrease as the Ni content is continuously increased, accompanied with the formation of a second phase, FeNi3, which is softer with a lower work function. The decrease in the overall work function corresponds to deterioration of the mechanical strength of the steel. It is expected that EWF, a simple but fundamental parameter, may lead to new methodologies or supplementary approaches for metallic materials design or tailoring on a feasible electronic base.

The Automation-by-Expertise-by-Training Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Strauch, Barry

2017-03-01

I introduce the automation-by-expertise-by-training interaction in automated systems and discuss its influence on operator performance. Transportation accidents that, across a 30-year interval demonstrated identical automation-related operator errors, suggest a need to reexamine traditional views of automation. I review accident investigation reports, regulator studies, and literature on human computer interaction, expertise, and training and discuss how failing to attend to the interaction of automation, expertise level, and training has enabled operators to commit identical automation-related errors. Automated systems continue to provide capabilities exceeding operators' need for effective system operation and provide interfaces that can hinder, rather than enhance, operator automation-related situation awareness. Because of limitations in time and resources, training programs do not provide operators the expertise needed to effectively operate these automated systems, requiring them to obtain the expertise ad hoc during system operations. As a result, many do not acquire necessary automation-related system expertise. Integrating automation with expected operator expertise levels, and within training programs that provide operators the necessary automation expertise, can reduce opportunities for automation-related operator errors. Research to address the automation-by-expertise-by-training interaction is needed. However, such research must meet challenges inherent to examining realistic sociotechnical system automation features with representative samples of operators, perhaps by using observational and ethnographic research. Research in this domain should improve the integration of design and training and, it is hoped, enhance operator performance.

Automated side-chain model building and sequence assignment by template matching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terwilliger, Thomas C.

2002-01-01

A method for automated macromolecular side-chain model building and for aligning the sequence to the map is described. An algorithm is described for automated building of side chains in an electron-density map once a main-chain model is built and for alignment of the protein sequence to the map. The procedure is based on a comparison of electron density at the expected side-chain positions with electron-density templates. The templates are constructed from average amino-acid side-chain densities in 574 refined protein structures. For each contiguous segment of main chain, a matrix with entries corresponding to an estimate of the probability that each of the 20 amino acids is located at each position of the main-chain model is obtained. The probability that this segment corresponds to each possible alignment with the sequence of the protein is estimated using a Bayesian approach and high-confidence matches are kept. Once side-chain identities are determined, the most probable rotamer for each side chain is built into the model. The automated procedure has been implemented in the RESOLVE software. Combined with automated main-chain model building, the procedure produces a preliminary model suitable for refinement and extension by an experienced crystallographer

Three-dimensional integrated circuit design

CERN Document Server

Xie, Yuan; Sapatnekar, Sachin S

2009-01-01

This book presents an overview of the field of 3D IC design, with an emphasis on electronic design automation (EDA) tools and algorithms that can enable the adoption of 3D ICs, and the architectural implementation and potential for future 3D system design. The aim of this book is to provide the reader with a complete understanding of: the promise of 3D ICs in building novel systems that enable the chip industry to continue along the path of performance scaling, the state of the art in fabrication technologies for 3D integration, the most prominent 3D-specific EDA challenges, along with solutio

Pilot opinions on high level flight deck automation issues: Toward the development of a design philosophy

Science.gov (United States)

Tenney, Yvette J.; Rogers, William H.; Pew, Richard W.

1995-01-01

There has been much concern in recent years about the rapid increase in automation on commercial flight decks. The survey was composed of three major sections. The first section asked pilots to rate different automation components that exist on the latest commercial aircraft regarding their obtrusiveness and the attention and effort required in using them. The second section addressed general 'automation philosophy' issues. The third section focused on issues related to levels and amount of automation. The results indicate that pilots of advanced aircraft like their automation, use it, and would welcome more automation. However, they also believe that automation has many disadvantages, especially fully autonomous automation. They want their automation to be simple and reliable and to produce predictable results. The biggest needs for higher levels of automation were in pre-flight, communication, systems management, and task management functions, planning as well as response tasks, and high workload situations. There is an irony and a challenge in the implications of these findings. On the one hand pilots would like new automation to be simple and reliable, but they need it to support the most complex part of the job--managing and planning tasks in high workload situations.

Numerical Simulation and Mechanical Design for TPS Electron Beam Position Monitors

Science.gov (United States)

Hsueh, H. P.; Kuan, C. K.; Ueng, T. S.; Hsiung, G. Y.; Chen, J. R.

2007-01-01

Comprehensive study on the mechanical design and numerical simulation for the high resolution electron beam position monitors are key steps to build the newly proposed 3rd generation synchrotron radiation research facility, Taiwan Photon Source (TPS). With more advanced electromagnetic simulation tool like MAFIA tailored specifically for particle accelerator, the design for the high resolution electron beam position monitors can be tested in such environment before they are experimentally tested. The design goal of our high resolution electron beam position monitors is to get the best resolution through sensitivity and signal optimization. The definitions and differences between resolution and sensitivity of electron beam position monitors will be explained. The design consideration is also explained. Prototype deign has been carried out and the related simulations were also carried out with MAFIA. The results are presented here. Sensitivity as high as 200 in x direction has been achieved in x direction at 500 MHz.

Numerical Simulation and Mechanical Design for TPS Electron Beam Position Monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsueh, H. P.; Kuan, C. K.; Ueng, T. S.; Hsiung, G. Y.; Chen, J. R.

2007-01-01

Comprehensive study on the mechanical design and numerical simulation for the high resolution electron beam position monitors are key steps to build the newly proposed 3rd generation synchrotron radiation research facility, Taiwan Photon Source (TPS). With more advanced electromagnetic simulation tool like MAFIA tailored specifically for particle accelerator, the design for the high resolution electron beam position monitors can be tested in such environment before they are experimentally tested. The design goal of our high resolution electron beam position monitors is to get the best resolution through sensitivity and signal optimization. The definitions and differences between resolution and sensitivity of electron beam position monitors will be explained. The design consideration is also explained. Prototype deign has been carried out and the related simulations were also carried out with MAFIA. The results are presented here. Sensitivity as high as 200 in x direction has been achieved in x direction at 500 MHz

An Extended Case Study Methoology for Investigating Influence of Cultural, Organizational, and Automation Factors on Human-Automation Trust

Science.gov (United States)

Koltai, Kolina Sun; Ho, Nhut; Masequesmay, Gina; Niedober, David; Skoog, Mark; Johnson, Walter; Cacanindin, Artemio

2014-01-01

This paper discusses a case study that examined the influence of cultural, organizational and automation capability upon human trust in, and reliance on, automation. In particular, this paper focuses on the design and application of an extended case study methodology, and on the foundational lessons revealed by it. Experimental test pilots involved in the research and development of the US Air Forces newly developed Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System served as the context for this examination. An eclectic, multi-pronged approach was designed to conduct this case study, and proved effective in addressing the challenges associated with the cases politically sensitive and military environment. Key results indicate that the system design was in alignment with pilot culture and organizational mission, indicating the potential for appropriate trust development in operational pilots. These include the low-vulnerabilityhigh risk nature of the pilot profession, automation transparency and suspicion, system reputation, and the setup of and communications among organizations involved in the system development.

Design for Reliability of Power Electronic Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Yongheng; Wang, Huai; Sangwongwanich, Ariya

2018-01-01

Power density, efficiency, cost, and reliability are the major challenges when designing a power electronic system. Latest advancements in power semiconductor devices (e.g., silicon carbide devices) and topological innovations have vital contributions to power density and efficiency. Nevertheless......, dedicated heat sink systems for thermal management are required to dissipate the power losses in power electronic systems; otherwise, the power devices will be heated up and eventually fail to operate. In addition, in many mission critical applications (e.g., marine systems), the operating condition (i...

Configuring the Orion Guidance, Navigation, and Control Flight Software for Automated Sequencing

Science.gov (United States)

Odegard, Ryan G.; Siliwinski, Tomasz K.; King, Ellis T.; Hart, Jeremy J.

2010-01-01

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle is being designed with greater automation capabilities than any other crewed spacecraft in NASA s history. The Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) flight software architecture is designed to provide a flexible and evolvable framework that accommodates increasing levels of automation over time. Within the GN&C flight software, a data-driven approach is used to configure software. This approach allows data reconfiguration and updates to automated sequences without requiring recompilation of the software. Because of the great dependency of the automation and the flight software on the configuration data, the data management is a vital component of the processes for software certification, mission design, and flight operations. To enable the automated sequencing and data configuration of the GN&C subsystem on Orion, a desktop database configuration tool has been developed. The database tool allows the specification of the GN&C activity sequences, the automated transitions in the software, and the corresponding parameter reconfigurations. These aspects of the GN&C automation on Orion are all coordinated via data management, and the database tool provides the ability to test the automation capabilities during the development of the GN&C software. In addition to providing the infrastructure to manage the GN&C automation, the database tool has been designed with capabilities to import and export artifacts for simulation analysis and documentation purposes. Furthermore, the database configuration tool, currently used to manage simulation data, is envisioned to evolve into a mission planning tool for generating and testing GN&C software sequences and configurations. A key enabler of the GN&C automation design, the database tool allows both the creation and maintenance of the data artifacts, as well as serving the critical role of helping to manage, visualize, and understand the data-driven parameters both during software development

Automated contamination monitoring for hot particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnstone, G.; Case, L.

1987-01-01

INS Corp., the largest nuclear laundry company in the United States, has recently developed two types of automated contamination monitoring systems: 1) the Automated Laundry Monitor (ALM), which provides quality assurance monitoring for protective clothing contamination and 2) a low-level automated monitoring system for Plastic Volume Reduction Service (PVRS). The presentation details the inaccuracies associated with hand-probe frisking which led to the development of the ALM. The ALM was designed for 100% quality assurance monitoring of garments to the most stringent customer requirements. A review of why the ALM is essential in verifying the absence of hot particles on garments is given. The final topic addresses the expansion of the ALM technology in support of the INS Plastic Volume Reduction Service by monitoring decontaminated plastics to free release levels. This presentation reviews the design and operation of both monitoring systems

Enhanced distribution automation system based on new communication technology at ENEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comellini, E.; Gargiuli, R.; Gelli, G.; Tonon, R.; Mirandola, P.

1991-01-01

On the basis of extensive research aimed at the assessment of the feasibility of a cost effective two-way telecommunications system, and of the experience gained during the eighties in the field of remote control of the primary distribution network where new digital techniques were introduced, and in the field of metering apparatus, where about 7,000 HV and MV customers were equipped with Ferraris meters associated with electronic devices for the application of multirate tariffs, ENEL (Italian National Electricity Board) has designed a new distribution automation system aimed at: remote control of the MV distribution network, and MV and LV customer meter service automation. This report describes the key choices that determined the architecture of the new system and the most important features of its main components, in view of: an improvement of energy usage efficiency, better service to the customers, as well as, increased simplicity and transparency in customer relationships

Enhanced distribution automation system based on new communications technology at ENEL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Comellini, E; Gargiuli, R; Gelli, G; Tonon, R; Mirandola, P

1992-12-31

On the basis of extensive research aimed at the assessment of the feasibility of a cost effective two-way telecommunications system, and of the experience gained during the eighties in the field of remote control of the primary distribution network where new digital techniques were introduced, and in the field of metering apparatus, where about 7,000 HV and MV customers were equipped with Ferraris meters associated with electronic devices for the application of multirate tariffs, ENEL (Italian National Electricity Board) has designed a new distribution automation system aimed at: remote control of the MV distribution network, and MV and LV customer meter service automation. This report describes the key choices that determined the architecture of the new system and the most important features of its main components, in view of: an improvement of energy usage efficiency, better service to the customers, as well as, increased simplicity and transparency in customer relationships.

Wireless energizing system for an automated implantable sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swain, Biswaranjan; Nayak, Praveen P.; Kar, Durga P.; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Laxmi P. [Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar 751030 (India)

2016-07-15

The wireless drive of an automated implantable electronic sensor has been explored for health monitoring applications. The proposed system comprises of an automated biomedical sensing system which is energized through resonant inductive coupling. The implantable sensor unit is able to monitor the body temperature parameter and sends back the corresponding telemetry data wirelessly to the data recoding unit. It has been observed that the wireless power delivery system is capable of energizing the automated biomedical implantable electronic sensor placed over a distance of 3 cm from the power transmitter with an energy transfer efficiency of 26% at the operating resonant frequency of 562 kHz. This proposed method ensures real-time monitoring of different human body temperatures around the clock. The monitored temperature data have been compared with a calibrated temperature measurement system to ascertain the accuracy of the proposed system. The investigated technique can also be useful for monitoring other body parameters such as blood pressure, bladder pressure, and physiological signals of the patient in vivo using various implantable sensors.

Wireless energizing system for an automated implantable sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swain, Biswaranjan; Nayak, Praveen P.; Kar, Durga P.; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Laxmi P.

2016-01-01

The wireless drive of an automated implantable electronic sensor has been explored for health monitoring applications. The proposed system comprises of an automated biomedical sensing system which is energized through resonant inductive coupling. The implantable sensor unit is able to monitor the body temperature parameter and sends back the corresponding telemetry data wirelessly to the data recoding unit. It has been observed that the wireless power delivery system is capable of energizing the automated biomedical implantable electronic sensor placed over a distance of 3 cm from the power transmitter with an energy transfer efficiency of 26% at the operating resonant frequency of 562 kHz. This proposed method ensures real-time monitoring of different human body temperatures around the clock. The monitored temperature data have been compared with a calibrated temperature measurement system to ascertain the accuracy of the proposed system. The investigated technique can also be useful for monitoring other body parameters such as blood pressure, bladder pressure, and physiological signals of the patient in vivo using various implantable sensors.

Wireless energizing system for an automated implantable sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Biswaranjan; Nayak, Praveen P; Kar, Durga P; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Laxmi P

2016-07-01

The wireless drive of an automated implantable electronic sensor has been explored for health monitoring applications. The proposed system comprises of an automated biomedical sensing system which is energized through resonant inductive coupling. The implantable sensor unit is able to monitor the body temperature parameter and sends back the corresponding telemetry data wirelessly to the data recoding unit. It has been observed that the wireless power delivery system is capable of energizing the automated biomedical implantable electronic sensor placed over a distance of 3 cm from the power transmitter with an energy transfer efficiency of 26% at the operating resonant frequency of 562 kHz. This proposed method ensures real-time monitoring of different human body temperatures around the clock. The monitored temperature data have been compared with a calibrated temperature measurement system to ascertain the accuracy of the proposed system. The investigated technique can also be useful for monitoring other body parameters such as blood pressure, bladder pressure, and physiological signals of the patient in vivo using various implantable sensors.

Portable data collection terminal in the automated power consumption measurement system

Science.gov (United States)

Vologdin, S. V.; Shushkov, I. D.; Bysygin, E. K.

2018-01-01

Aim of efficiency increasing, automation process of electric energy data collection and processing is very important at present time. High cost of classic electric energy billing systems prevent from its mass application. Udmurtenergo Branch of IDGC of Center and Volga Region developed electronic automated system called “Mobile Energy Billing” based on data collection terminals. System joins electronic components based on service-oriented architecture, WCF services. At present time all parts of Udmurtenergo Branch electric network are connected to “Mobile Energy Billing” project. System capabilities are expanded due to flexible architecture.

System design and verification process for LHC programmable trigger electronics

CERN Document Server

Crosetto, D

1999-01-01

The rapid evolution of electronics has made it essential to design systems in a technology-independent form that will permit their realization in any future technology. This article describes two practical projects that have been developed for fast, programmable, scalable, modular electronics for the first-level trigger of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments at CERN, Geneva. In both projects, one for the front-end electronics and the second for executing first- level trigger algorithms, the whole system requirements were constrained to two types of replicated components. The overall problem is described, the 3D-Flow design is introduced as a novel solution, and current solutions to the problem are described and compared with the 3D-Flow solution. The design/verification methodology proposed allows the user's real-time system algorithm to be verified down to the gate-level simulation on a technology- independent platform, thus yielding the design for a system that can be implemented with any technology at ...

Integrated circuit design using design automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gwyn, C.W.

1976-09-01

Although the use of computer aids to develop integrated circuits is relatively new at Sandia, the program has been very successful. The results have verified the utility of the in-house CAD design capability. Custom IC's have been developed in much shorter times than available through semiconductor device manufacturers. In addition, security problems were minimized and a saving was realized in circuit cost. The custom CMOS IC's were designed at less than half the cost of designing with conventional techniques. In addition to the computer aided design, the prototype fabrication and testing capability provided by the semiconductor development laboratory and microelectronics computer network allows the circuits to be fabricated and evaluated before the designs are transferred to the commercial semiconductor manufacturers for production. The Sandia design and prototype fabrication facilities provide the capability of complete custom integrated circuit development entirely within the ERDA laboratories

Analog Electronic Filters Theory, Design and Synthesis

CERN Document Server

Dimopoulos, Hercules G

2012-01-01

Filters are essential subsystems in a huge variety of electronic systems. Filter applications are innumerable; they are used for noise reduction, demodulation, signal detection, multiplexing, sampling, sound and speech processing, transmission line equalization and image processing, to name just a few. In practice, no electronic system can exist without filters. They can be found in everything from power supplies to mobile phones and hard disk drives and from loudspeakers and MP3 players to home cinema systems and broadband Internet connections. This textbook introduces basic concepts and methods and the associated mathematical and computational tools employed in electronic filter theory, synthesis and design.  This book can be used as an integral part of undergraduate courses on analog electronic filters. Includes numerous, solved examples, applied examples and exercises for each chapter. Includes detailed coverage of active and passive filters in an independent but correlated manner. Emphasizes real filter...

QuantifyMe: An Open-Source Automated Single-Case Experimental Design Platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Taylor

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Smartphones and wearable sensors have enabled unprecedented data collection, with many products now providing feedback to users about recommended step counts or sleep durations. However, these recommendations do not provide personalized insights that have been shown to be best suited for a specific individual. A scientific way to find individualized recommendations and causal links is to conduct experiments using single-case experimental design; however, properly designed single-case experiments are not easy to conduct on oneself. We designed, developed, and evaluated a novel platform, QuantifyMe, for novice self-experimenters to conduct proper-methodology single-case self-experiments in an automated and scientific manner using their smartphones. We provide software for the platform that we used (available for free on GitHub, which provides the methodological elements to run many kinds of customized studies. In this work, we evaluate its use with four different kinds of personalized investigations, examining how variables such as sleep duration and regularity, activity, and leisure time affect personal happiness, stress, productivity, and sleep efficiency. We conducted a six-week pilot study (N = 13 to evaluate QuantifyMe. We describe the lessons learned developing the platform and recommendations for its improvement, as well as its potential for enabling personalized insights to be scientifically evaluated in many individuals, reducing the high administrative cost for advancing human health and wellbeing.

QuantifyMe: An Open-Source Automated Single-Case Experimental Design Platform.

Science.gov (United States)