Otimização de superfícies seletivas de frequência com elementos pré-fractais utilizando rede neural MLP e algoritmos de busca populacional

This thesis describes design methodologies for frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) composed of periodic arrays of pre-fractals metallic patches on single-layer dielectrics (FR4, RT/duroid). Shapes presented by Sierpinski island and T fractal geometries are exploited to the simple design of efficient band-stop spatial filters with applications in the range of microwaves. Initial results are discussed in terms of the electromagnetic effect resulting from the variation of parameters such as, fractal iteration number (or fractal level), fractal iteration factor, and periodicity of FSS, depending on the used pre-fractal element (Sierpinski island or T fractal). The transmission properties of these proposed periodic arrays are investigated through simulations performed by Ansoft DesignerTM and Ansoft HFSSTM commercial softwares that run full-wave methods. To validate the employed methodology, FSS prototypes are selected for fabrication and measurement. The obtained results point to interesting features for FSS spatial filters: compactness, with high values of frequency compression factor; as well as stable frequency responses at oblique incidence of plane waves. This thesis also approaches, as it main focus, the application of an alternative electromagnetic (EM) optimization technique for analysis and synthesis of FSSs with fractal motifs. In application examples of this technique, Vicsek and Sierpinski pre-fractal elements are used in the optimal design of FSS structures. Based on computational intelligence tools, the proposed technique overcomes the high computational cost associated to the full-wave parametric analyzes. To this end, fast and accurate multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network models are developed using different parameters as design input variables. These neural network models aim to calculate the cost function in the iterations of population-based search algorithms. Continuous genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and bees algorithm (BA) are used for FSSs optimization with specific resonant frequency and bandwidth. The performance of these algorithms is compared in terms of computational cost and numerical convergence. Consistent results can be verified by the excellent agreement obtained between simulations and measurements related to FSS prototypes built with a given fractal iteration

Comparative study between RBF and radial-PPS neural networks

The study of function approximation is motivated by the human limitation and inability to register and manipulate with exact precision the behavior variations of the physical nature of a phenomenon. These variations are referred to as signals or signal functions. Many real world problem can be formulated as function approximation problems and from the viewpoint of artificial neural networks these can be seen as the problem of searching for a mapping that establishes a relationship from an input space to an output space through a process of network learning. Several paradigms of artificial neural networks (ANN) exist. Here we will be investigated a comparative of the ANN study of RBF with radial Polynomial Power of Sigmoids (PPS) in function approximation problems. Radial PPS are functions generated by linear combination of powers of sigmoids functions. The main objective of this paper is to show the advantages of the use of the radial PPS functions in relationship traditional RBF, through adaptive training and ridge regression techniques.

Fundamentos de otimização por inteligência de enxames: uma visão geral

Este artigo apresenta uma breve revisão de alguns dos mais recentes métodos bioinspirados baseados no comportamento de populações para o desenvolvimento de técnicas de solução de problemas. As metaheurísticas tratadas aqui correspondem às estratégias de otimização por colônia de formigas, otimização por enxame de partículas, algoritmo shuffled frog-leaping, coleta de alimentos por bactérias e colônia de abelhas. Os princípios biológicos que motivaram o desenvolvimento de cada uma dessas estratégias, assim como seus respectivos algoritmos computacionais, são introduzidos. Duas aplicações diferentes foram conduzidas para exemplificar o desempenho de tais algoritmos. A finalidade é enfatizar perspectivas de aplicação destas abordagens em diferentes problemas da área de engenharia.

Nonlinear optimization using a modified Hopfield model

Systems based on artificial neural networks have high computational rates due to the use of a massive number of simple processing elements. Neural networks with feedback connections provide a computing model capable of solving a rich class of optimization problems. In this paper, a modified Hopfield network is developed for solving constrained nonlinear optimization problems. The internal parameters of the network are obtained using the valid-subspace technique. Simulated examples are presented as an illustration of the proposed approach.

Application of ARX neural networks to model the rate of penetration of petroleum wells drilling

Bit performance prediction has been a challenging problem for the petroleum industry. It is essential in cost reduction associated with well planning and drilling performance prediction, especially when rigs leasing rates tend to follow the projects-demand and barrel-price rises. A methodology to model and predict one of the drilling bit performance evaluator, the Rate of Penetration (ROP), is presented herein. As the parameters affecting the ROP are complex and their relationship not easily modeled, the application of a Neural Network is suggested. In the present work, a dynamic neural network, based on the Auto-Regressive with Extra Input Signals model, or ARX model, is used to approach the ROP modeling problem. The network was applied to a real oil offshore field data set, consisted of information from seven wells drilled with an equal-diameter bit.

Abductive reasoning, information, and mechanical systems

We investigate, from a philosophical perspective, the relation between abductive reasoning and information in the context of biological systems. Emphasis is given to the organizational role played by abductive reasoning in practical activities of embodied embedded agency that involve meaningful information. From this perspective, meaningful information is provisionally characterized as a selforganizing process of pattern generation that constrains coherent action. We argue that this process can be considered as a part of evolutionarily developed learning abilities of organisms in order to help with their survival. We investigate the case of inorganic mechanical systems (like robots), which deal only with stable forms of habits, rather than with evolving learning abilities. Some difficulties are considered concerning the hypothesis that mechanical systems may operate with meaningful information, present in abductive reasoning. Finally, an example of hypotheses creation in the domain of medical sciences is presented in order to illustrate the complexity of abduction in practical reasoning concerning human activities. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Heuristics and meta-heuristics for lot sizing and scheduling in the soft drinks industry: A comparison study

This chapter studies a two-level production planning problem where, on each level, a lot sizing and scheduling problem with parallel machines, capacity constraints and sequence-dependent setup costs and times must be solved. The problem can be found in soft drink companies where the production process involves two interdependent levels with decisions concerning raw material storage and soft drink bottling. Models and solution approaches proposed so far are surveyed and conceptually compared. Two different approaches have been selected to perform a series of computational comparisons: an evolutionary technique comprising a genetic algorithm and its memetic version, and a decomposition and relaxation approach. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Radial basis function networks with quantized parameters

A RBFN implemented with quantized parameters is proposed and the relative or limited approximation property is presented. Simulation results for sinusoidal function approximation with various quantization levels are shown. The results indicate that the network presents good approximation capability even with severe quantization. The parameter quantization decreases the memory size and circuit complexity required to store the network parameters leading to compact mixed-signal circuits proper for low-power applications. ©2008 IEEE.

Video target tracking by using competitive neural networks

A target tracking algorithm able to identify the position and to pursuit moving targets in video digital sequences is proposed in this paper. The proposed approach aims to track moving targets inside the vision field of a digital camera. The position and trajectory of the target are identified by using a neural network presenting competitive learning technique. The winning neuron is trained to approximate to the target and, then, pursuit it. A digital camera provides a sequence of images and the algorithm process those frames in real time tracking the moving target. The algorithm is performed both with black and white and multi-colored images to simulate real world situations. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, since the neurons tracked the moving targets even if there is no pre-processing image analysis. Single and multiple moving targets are followed in real time.

A neural approach to evaluate the effect of lightning in power transformers

This paper proposes the application of computational intelligence techniques to assist complex problems concerning lightning in transformers. In order to estimate the currents related to lightning in a transformer, a neural tool is presented. ATP has generated the training vectors. The input variables used in Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were the wave front time, the wave tail time, the voltage variation rate and the output variable is the maximum current in the secondary of the transformer. These parameters can define the behavior and severity of lightning. Based on these concepts and from the results obtained, it can be verified that the overvoltages at the secondary of transformer are also affected by the discharge waveform in a similar way to the primary side. By using the tool developed, the high voltage process in the distribution transformers can be mapped and estimated with more precision aiding the transformer project process, minimizing empirics and evaluation errors, and contributing to minimize the failure rate of transformers. © 2009 The Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved.

Fuzzy environmental quality index

This paper presents the construction of a fuzzy environmental quality index for decision support in municipal environmental management. Five groups of indicators were selected in order to obtain an equation that best represented reality in terms of environmental quality. The calculation was carried out using fuzzy mathematical concepts, with the aid of the package Fuzzy Logical Toolbox 2.1 for Matlab ® 6.1, which provides functions and some applications of the theory of fuzzy sets. The work seeks to create a method of inference concerning the nature of urban areas that are unsustainable with respect to the environment, an issue that is often relegated to the background during public policy discussions. The development of this index, together with its implementation and dissemination, could improve public awareness of environmental issues, and promote mobilization towards the use of best practices in local development. © 2010 IEEE.

Particle competition and cooperation to prevent error propagation from mislabeled data in semi-supervised learning

Semi-supervised learning is applied to classification problems where only a small portion of the data items is labeled. In these cases, the reliability of the labels is a crucial factor, because mislabeled items may propagate wrong labels to a large portion or even the entire data set. This paper aims to address this problem by presenting a graph-based (network-based) semi-supervised learning method, specifically designed to handle data sets with mislabeled samples. The method uses teams of walking particles, with competitive and cooperative behavior, for label propagation in the network constructed from the input data set. The proposed model is nature-inspired and it incorporates some features to make it robust to a considerable amount of mislabeled data items. Computer simulations show the performance of the method in the presence of different percentage of mislabeled data, in networks of different sizes and average node degree. Importantly, these simulations reveals the existence of the critical points of the mislabeled subset size, below which the network is free of wrong label contamination, but above which the mislabeled samples start to propagate their labels to the rest of the network. Moreover, numerical comparisons have been made among the proposed method and other representative graph-based semi-supervised learning methods using both artificial and real-world data sets. Interestingly, the proposed method has increasing better performance than the others as the percentage of mislabeled samples is getting larger. © 2012 IEEE.

Estimação do diâmetro de furos em processo de furação utilizando sistemas de inteligência artificial: uma análise comparativa entre diferentes técnicas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Otimização de imagem de torax para radiografia computadorizada

Pós-graduação em Biologia Geral e Aplicada - IBB

Estratégia de otimização para a melhoria da interpretabilidade de redes bayesianas: aplicações em sistemas elétricos de potência

A investigação de métodos, técnicas e ferramentas que possam apoiar os processos decisórios em sistemas elétricos de potência, em seus vários setores, é um tema que tem despertado grande interesse. Esse suporte à decisão pode ser efetivado mediante o emprego de vários tipos de técnicas, com destaque para aquelas baseadas em inteligência computacional, face à grande aderência das mesmas a domínios com incerteza. Nesta tese, são utilizadas as redes Bayesianas para a extração de modelos de conhecimento a partir dos dados oriundos de sistemas elétricos de potência. Além disso, em virtude das demandas destes sistemas e de algumas limitações impostas às inferências em redes bayesianas, é desenvolvido um método original, utilizando algoritmos genéticos, capaz de estender o poder de compreensibilidade dos padrões descobertos por essas redes, por meio de um conjunto de procedimentos de inferência em redes bayesianas para a descoberta de cenários que propiciem a obtenção de um valor meta, considerando a incorporação do conhecimento a priori do especialista, a identificação das variáveis mais influentes para obtenção desses cenários e a busca de cenários ótimos que estabeleçam valores, definidos e ponderados pelo usuário/especialista, para mais de uma variável meta.