Design of stable fuzzy controllers for an AGV

Fuzzy logic control is a relatively new technology and hence it needs rigorous comparative analyses with other well-established conventional control schemes. Further, fuzzy controller stability analysis is a major hindrance for its popularity among control engineers. This paper shows how stable fuzzy controllers may be synthesized for a typical AGV from the perspective of variable structure systems (VSS) theory. VSS or sliding model control (SMC) is an established robust non-linear control methodology. The AGV is characterized by highly non-linear, coupled and configuration dependent dynamics, with uncertainty in model parameters. Similarity in performance of the fuzzy controllers to the SMC controller is demonstrated through experimental results obtained for steer control of the AGV

Road edge and lane boundary detection using laser and vision

This paper presents a methodology for extracting road edge and lane information for smart and intelligent navigation of vehicles. The range information provided by a fast laser range-measuring device is processed by an extended Kalman filter to extract the road edge or curb information. The resultant road edge information is used to aid in the extraction of the lane boundary from a CCD camera image. Hough Transform (HT) is used to extract the candidate lane boundary edges, and the most probable lane boundary is determined using an Active Line Model based on minimizing an appropriate Energy function. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the combined Laser and Vision strategy for road-edge and lane boundary detection

Road curb and intersection detection using A 2D LMS

In most urban roads, and similar environments such as in theme parks, campus sites, industrial estates, science parks and the like, the painted lane markings that exist may not be easily discernible by CCD cameras due to poor lighting, bad weather conditions, and inadequate maintenance. An important feature of roads in such environments is the existence of pavements or curbs on either side defining the road boundaries. These curbs, which are mostly parallel to the road, can be hardnessed to extract useful features of the road for implementing autonomous navigation or driver assistance systems. However, extraction of the curb or road edge feature using vision image data is a very formidable task as the curb is not conspicuous in the vision image. To extract the curb using vision data requires extensive image processing, heuristics and very favorable ambient lighting. In our approach, road curbs are extracted speedily using range data provided by a 2D Laser range Measurement System (LMS). Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the viability, and effectiveness, of the proposed methodology and its robustness to different road configurations including road intersections

Road curb tracking in an urban environment

Road detection and tracking is very useful in the synthesis of driver assistance and intelligent transportation systems. In this paper a methodology is proposed based on the extended Kalman filer for robust road curb detection and tracking using a combination of onboard active and passive sensors. The problem is formulated as detecting and tracking a maneuvering target in clutter using onboard sensors on a moving platform. The primary sensors utilized are a 2 dimensional SICK laser scanner, five encoders and a gyroscope, together with an image sensor (CCD camera). Compared to the active 20 laser scanner the CCD camera is capable of providing observations over an extended horizon, thus making available much useful information about the curb trend, which is exploited in mainly the laser based tracking algorithm. The advantage of the proposed image enhanced laser detection/tracking method, over laser alone detection/tracking, is illustrated using simulations and its robustness to varied road curvatures, branching, turns and scenarios, is demonstrated through experimental results. © 2003 ISlF

The unfolded protein response and its potential role in Huntington's disease elucidated by a systems biology approach.

Huntington ´s disease (HD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease with a fatal outcome. Although the disease-causing gene (huntingtin) has been known for over 20 years, the exact mechanisms leading to neuronal cell death are still controversial. One potential mechanism contributing to the massive loss of neurons observed in the brain of HD patients could be the unfolded protein response (UPR) activated by accumulation of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). As an adaptive response to counter-balance accumulation of un- or misfolded proteins, the UPR upregulates transcription of chaperones, temporarily attenuates new translation, and activates protein degradation via the proteasome. However, persistent ER stress and an activated UPR can also cause apoptotic cell death. Although different studies have indicated a role for the UPR in HD, the evidence remains inconclusive. Here, we present extensive bioinformatic analyses that revealed UPR activation in different experimental HD models based on transcriptomic data. Accordingly, we have identified 53 genes, including RAB5A, HMGB1, CTNNB1, DNM1, TUBB, TSG101, EEF2, DYNC1H1, SLC12A5, ATG5, AKT1, CASP7 and SYVN1 that provide a potential link between UPR and HD. To further elucidate the potential role of UPR as a disease-relevant process, we examined its connection to apoptosis based on molecular interaction data, and identified a set of 40 genes including ADD1, HSP90B1, IKBKB, IKBKG, RPS3A and LMNB1, which seem to be at the crossroads between these two important cellular processes. Remarkably, we also found strong correlation of UPR gene expression with the length of the polyglutamine tract of Huntingtin, which is a critical determinant of age of disease onset in human HD patients pointing to the UPR as a promising target for therapeutic intervention. The study is complemented by a newly developed web-portal called UPR-HD (http://uprhd.sysbiolab.eu) that enables visualization and interactive analysis of UPR-associated gene expression across various HD models

Discussion on a possible neutrino detector located in India

We have identified some important and worthwhile physics opportunitites with a possible neutrino detector located in India. Particular emphasis is placed on the geographical advantage with a stress on the complimentary aspects with respect to other neutrino detectors already in operation.Comment: 9 pages; arXiv copy of published proceedings contributio

Response of the School Staff and Students to the Type Situation 'Amok - Active Shooter'.

V bakalářské práci bych se chtěl zabývat bezpečnostní problematikou, jenž se v posledních několika letech stala velmi diskutovanou a jejíž četnost relativně vzrostla. Jedná se o problematiku aktivního střelce ve školní budově. Dále budu zjišťovat jak je na tuto možnou situaci připraven personál a žáci školy. V první části bakalářské práce jsem se zaměřil na definici aktivního střelce, dle plánu IZS a jeho legislativní vymezení v rámci české legislativy. V této teoretické části budou vymezeny základní postupy jednotek složek IZS při řešení této mimořádné události. Rovněž v této části budou zmíněny některé útoky jenž se v minulosti na školách událi. V druhé části se budu zabývat samotným výzkumem připravenosti personálu a žáků, a její zhodnocení. Dále bude zhodnoceno zabezpečení budovy školy pro případ této mimořádné události. Rovněž budou navržena opatření ke zvýšení připravenosti personálu a bezpečnosti budovy. Cílem bakalářské práce je zhodnocení připravenosti personálu a žáků školy na vybranou mimořádnou událost. Následně navrhnou opatření pro zvýšení této připravenosti.In the bachelor thesis I would like to address the security issue, which has become very discussed in the last few years and its frequency has increased relatively. This is an issue of active shooter in the school building. Next, I will find out how the staff and pupils of schools are prepared for this possible situation. In the first part of the thesis I focused on the definition of an active shooter, according to the plan, the IRS and its legislative definition of the Czech legislation. In this part of the basic procedures will be defined units IRS components in dealing with this incident. Also in this section we will mention some of the attacks which in the past has happened in schools. The second part will deal with the research itself preparedness of staff and students, and its evaluation. In addition, the security of the school building will be evaluated in the event of this emergency. Measures will also be proposed to increase staff readiness and building safety. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the readiness of the staff and pupils of school choice incident. They will then propose measures to increase this preparedness

Proposal of Circle to Land Procedure for LKPR Airport

Tato práce se zaměřuje na přiblížení okruhem na letišti Václava Havla v Praze. Úkolem je prověřit současný stav postupu a navrhnout postup pro přiblížení okruhem, tak aby využíval předepsanou trať letu. Analýza se soustředí na klíčové faktory, které ovlivňují návrh přístrojového postupu. Důležitou součástí této práce je validace navrženého postupu prostřednictvím několika způsobů, mezi něž patří validace v simulátoru řízení letového provozu. Další testování probíhá s využitím pokročilého letového simulátoru, čímž se zajistí komplexní přehled o jeho provozních vlastnostech. Výstupy této práce by měly poskytnout praktické porovnání současného a nově navrženého postupu z pohledu provozních faktorů. Výsledky práce ukazují, že nově navržený postup je validní a proveditelný.This thesis focuses on the circling approach at Václav Havel Airport in Prague. The task is to examine the current state of the procedure and to design the procedure to use the prescribed flight track. The analysis focuses on the key factors that influence the design of the instrument procedure. An important part of this work is the validation of the proposed procedure through several means, including validation in an air traffic control simulator. Further testing is conducted using an advanced flight simulator to provide a comprehensive view of its operational characteristics. The outputs of this work should provide a practical comparison of the current and newly proposed approach in terms of operational factors. The results show that the newly proposed procedure is valid and feasible

Implementation of Instrument Procedures to Uncontrolled Aerodromes in Czechia

Přístrojové postupy a jejich implementace na neřízená letiště jsou neustálým bodem pro rozhodování o efektivitě a provozní bezpečnosti provozu malého letectví. Skrývají v sobě značný potenciál pro rozvoj letišť, avšak zároveň s sebou nesou omezení díky nutnosti integrace provozu VFR s IFR v prostorech, kde to dosud nebylo nutné, což s sebou nese rizika pro provozní bezpečnost. Vzhledem k vývoji legislativy a neustálému zvyšování počtu neřízených letišť v EU, kde jsou takovéto postupy implementovány je nutné provést zhodnocení současných překážek této implementace v ČR, což je obsahem této práce se zaměřením na letiště Líně. Výsledkem práce je, že některé překážky nejsou jednoduše odstranitelné v souladu se současnou legislativou a je potřebné hledat a prosazovat přijatelné alternativy, aby byla neřízená letiště v ČR schopná zavést tyto postupy i s menším objemem finančních prostředků.Instrument procedures and their implementation at uncontrolled airports are always a current point of decision making for the efficiency and safety of small aviation operations. They hold significant potential for airport development, but also carry limitations due to the need to integrate VFR with IFR operations in areas where this has not been necessary, which carries safety risks. Due to the development of legislation and the continuous increase in the number of uncontrolled airports in the EU where such procedures are implemented, it is necessary to assess the current obstacles to such implementation in the Czech Republic, which is the content of this thesis with a focus on Líně Airport. As a result of the work, some obstacles are not easily removable in accordance with the current legislation and it is necessary to search for and promote acceptable alternatives so that the uncontrolled airports in the Czech Republic are able to implement these procedures even with less funding