Search results for "Systems engineering"
showing 10 items of 1230 documents
On determining unknown functions in differential systems, with an application to biological reactors.
2003
In this paper, we consider general nonlinear systems with observations, containing a (single) unknown function φ . We study the possibility to learn about this unknown function via the observations: if it is possible to determine the [values of the] unknown function from any experiment [on the set of states visited during the experiment], and for any arbitrary input function, on any time interval, we say that the system is “identifiable”. For systems without controls, we give a more or less complete picture of what happens for this identifiability property. This picture is very similar to the picture of the “observation theory” in [7]: Contrarily to the case of the observability property, i…
Opinion dynamics and stubbornness through mean-field games
2013
This paper provides a mean field game theoretic interpretation of opinion dynamics and stubbornness. The model describes a crowd-seeking homogeneous population of agents, under the influence of one stubborn agent. The game takes on the form of two partial differential equations, the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation and the Kolmogorov-Fokker-Planck equation for the individual optimal response and the population evolution, respectively. For the game of interest, we establish a mean field equilibrium where all agents reach epsilon-consensus in a neighborhood of the stubborn agent's opinion.
Mathematical modelling of social obesity epidemic in the region of Valencia, Spain
2010
In this article, we analyse the incidence of excess weight in 24- to 65-year-old residents in the region of Valencia, Spain, and predict its behaviour in the coming years. In addition, we present some possible strategies to prevent the spread of the obesity epidemic. We use classical logistic regression analysis to find out that a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy nutritional habits are the most important causes of obesity in the 24- to 65-year-old population in Valencia. We propose a new mathematical model of epidemiological type to predict the incidence of excess weight in this population in the coming years. Based on the mathematical model sensitivity analysis, some possible general stra…
Computational procedures for plastic shakedown design of structures
2004
The minimum volume design problem of elastic perfectly plastic finite element structures subjected to a combination of fixed and perfect cyclic loads is studied. The design problem is formulated in such a way that incremental collapse is certainly prevented. The search for the structural design with the required limit behaviour is effected following two different formulations, both developed on the grounds of a statical approach: the first one operates below the elastic shakedown limit and is able to provide a suboptimal design; the second one operates above the elastic shakedown limit and is able to provide the/an optimal design. The Kuhn–Tucker conditions of the two problems provide usefu…
A Simplified LCA Tool for Solar Heating and Cooling Systems
2016
Abstract This paper presents a user-friendly Life Cycle Assessment tool, which aims to support researchers, designers and decision-makers in evaluating the life cycle energy and environmental advantages related to the use of solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems in substitution of conventional ones, considering specific climatic conditions and building loads. The tool was developed within the Task 48 “Quality Assurance & Support Measures for Solar Cooling Systems”, promoted by the International Energy Agency in the framework of the SHC Programme.
On the use of unmanned aerial systems for environmental monitoring
2018
[EN] Environmental monitoring plays a central role in diagnosing climate and management impacts on natural and agricultural systems; enhancing the understanding of hydrological processes; optimizing the allocation and distribution of water resources; and assessing, forecasting, and even preventing natural disasters. Nowadays, most monitoring and data collection systems are based upon a combination of ground-based measurements, manned airborne sensors, and satellite observations. These data are utilized in describing both small-and large-scale processes, but have spatiotemporal constraints inherent to each respective collection system. Bridging the unique spatial and temporal divides that li…
Asymptotic Hölder regularity for the ellipsoid process
2020
We obtain an asymptotic Hölder estimate for functions satisfying a dynamic programming principle arising from a so-called ellipsoid process. By the ellipsoid process we mean a generalization of the random walk where the next step in the process is taken inside a given space dependent ellipsoid. This stochastic process is related to elliptic equations in non-divergence form with bounded and measurable coefficients, and the regularity estimate is stable as the step size of the process converges to zero. The proof, which requires certain control on the distortion and the measure of the ellipsoids but not continuity assumption, is based on the coupling method.
Towards Ethical Guidelines of Using Telepresence Robots in Residential Care
2021
AbstractRobotic telepresence is a potential technology to help alleviating the loneliness of elderly people. The impacts of long-term use of telepresence robots in residential care are not well known. We were interested in how using a telepresence robot influences the resident, family members and care workers at a facility, and what challenges and solutions there are for wider adoption of such robots in residential care. With a telepresence robot Double, we arranged a series of three trials in two separate residential care facilities: one 12-week trial in a private facility and two successive 6-week trials in a public facility. In each trial, we installed the telepresence robot in a room of…
Movement Detection with Event-Based Cameras: Comparison with Frame-Based Cameras in Robot Object Tracking Using Powerlink Communication
2018
Event-based cameras are not common in industrial applications despite the fact that they can add multiple advantages for applications with moving objects. In comparison with frame-based cameras, the amount of generated data is very low while keeping the main information in the scene. For an industrial environment with interconnected systems, data reduction becomes very important to avoid network congestion and provide faster response time. However, the use of new sensors as event-based cameras is not common since they do not usually provide connectivity to industrial buses. This work develops a network node based on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), including data acquisition and trac…
Optimization of Delayed-State Kalman-Filter-based Algorithm via Differential Evolution for Sensorless Control of Induction Motors
2010
This paper proposes the employment of the differential evolution (DE) to offline optimize the covariance matrices of a new reduced delayed-state Kalman-filter (DSKF)-based algorithm which estimates the stator-flux linkage components, in the stationary reference frame, to realize sensorless control of induction motors (IMs). The DSKF-based algorithm uses the derivatives of the stator-flux components as mathematical model and the stator-voltage equations as observation model so that only a vector of four variables has to be offline optimized. Numerical results, carried out using a low-speed training test, show that the proposed DE-based approach is very promising and clearly outperforms a cla…