Analysis of switched capacitor DC-DC step down converter

A 5V/1 V Switched Capacitor (SC) dc-dc converter designed for a 0.18μm CMOS process is analysed in detail, in this paper. Analytical equations are derived for the voltages and currents through the main components of the SC converter. The model includes switches, capacitors, equivalent series resistances and the load. The switches in the converter are represented by MOSFETs in the UMC 0.18μm CMOS process. The impact of system parameters on output voltage ripple are studied using the analytical expressions.

Mechanobiology of bone remodelling

Bone as most of living tissues is able, during its entire lifetime, to adapt its internal microstructure and subsequently its associated mechanical properties to the specific mechanical and physiological environment in a process commonly known as bone remodelling. Bone is therefore continuously renewed and microdamage removed minimizing the risk of fracture. Bone remodelling is controlled by mechanical and metabolical stimuli. In this paper, we introduce a new model of bone remodelling that takes into account both types of influences. The predicted results show a good correspondence with experimental and clinical data. For example, in disuse, bone porosity increases until an equilibrium situation, while, in overloading, decreases unless the damage rate is so high that causes resorption and "stress fracture". This model has been employed to predict bone adaptation in the proximal femur after total hip replacement proving its consistence and good correspondence with well-known clinical experiences.

Towards a complete dense geometric and photometric reconstruction under varying pose and illumination

This paper proposes a novel framework to construct a geometric and photometric model of a viewed object that can be used for visualisation in arbitrary pose and illumination. The method is solely based on images and does not require any specialised equipment. We assume that the object has a piece-wise smooth surface and that its reflectance can be modelled using a parametric bidirectional reflectance distribution function. Without assuming any prior knowledge on the object, geometry and reflectance have to be estimated simultaneously and occlusion and shadows have to be treated consistently. We exploit the geometric and photometric consistency using the fact that surface orientation and reflectance are local invariants. In a first implementation, we demonstrate the method using a Lambertian object placed on a turn-table and illuminated by a number of unknown point light-sources. A discrete voxel model is initialised to the visual hull and voxels identified as inconsistent with the invariants are removed iteratively. The resulting model is used to render images in novel pose and illumination. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reconstruction of surfaces of revolution from single uncalibrated views

This paper addresses the problem of recovering the 3D shape of a surface of revolution from a single uncalibrated perspective view. The algorithm introduced here makes use of the invariant properties of a surface of revolution and its silhouette to locate the image of the revolution axis, and to calibrate the focal length of the camera. The image is then normalized and rectified such that the resulting silhouette exhibits bilateral symmetry. Such a rectification leads to a simpler differential analysis of the silhouette, and yields a simple equation for depth recovery. It is shown that under a general camera configuration, there will be a 2-parameter family of solutions for the reconstruction. The first parameter corresponds to an unknown scale, whereas the second one corresponds to an unknown attitude of the object. By identifying the image of a latitude circle, the ambiguity due to the unknown attitude can be resolved. Experimental results on real images are presented, which demonstrate the quality of the reconstruction. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A procedure for automatically estimating model parameters in optical motion capture

Model-based optical motion capture systems require knowledge of the position of the markers relative to the underlying skeleton, the lengths of the skeleton's limbs, and which limb each marker is attached to. These model parameters are typically assumed and entered into the system manually, although techniques exist for calculating some of them, such as the position of the markers relative to the skeleton's joints. We present a fully automatic procedure for determining these model parameters. It tracks the 2D positions of the markers on the cameras' image planes and determines which markers lie on each limb before calculating the position of the underlying skeleton. The only assumption is that the skeleton consists of rigid limbs connected with ball joints. The proposed system is demonstrated on a number of real data examples and is shown to calculate good estimates of the model parameters in each. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bayesian estimation of simultaneous musical notes based on frequency domain modelling

This paper proposes a Bayesian method for polyphonic music description. The method first divides an input audio signal into a series of sections called snapshots, and then estimates parameters such as fundamental frequencies and amplitudes of the notes contained in each snapshot. The parameter estimation process is based on a frequency domain modelling and Gibbs sampling. Experimental results obtained from audio signals of test note patterns are encouraging; the accuracy is better than 80% for the estimation of fundamental frequencies in terms of semitones and instrument names when the number of simultaneous notes is two.

Customizing roadmapping

The T-Plan fast-start approach provides a template and a set of customization principles that provide benefits in their own right, as well as initiating a longer-term process. The fast-start approach can be used to explore a particular strategic issue without the commitment to continue to develop an ongoing and embedded process. However, the option to do so is one of the outcomes of the approach and can lead to a strong, well-grounded roadmapping process.