可重构模块化机器人模块及构形设计

对可重构模块化机器人模块的结构进行了研究,并归纳设计出7种功能模块,其中包括3种1自由度的关节模块,2种连杆模块和2种辅助模块·所有模块的功能都是独立的,并且每个模块的连接界面都设计成了圆筒形以便重组和提高其刚度·每一种模块都可设计成不同尺寸系列,这些不同类型和尺寸系列的模块便可构成一个模块库·作者对3个自由度串联机器人的构形进行了系统的研究,并应用制作的实验模块对研究结果的可行性进行了验证·

可重构装配系统体系结构及其重构算法的研究

本文的研究内容是围绕国家“973”计划支持项目“基于智能制造单元的可重构装配生产线基础理论与实现方法研究”展开的。本研究以汽车减速箱装配生产线为实际背景，主要工作由四部分组成：对汽车减速箱的产品结构、装配工艺特征深入分析的基础上，提出了主干线和装配模块相结合的组织结构建模方法；利用网络法进行分析装配系统的三个重构过程，提出了适用于增容性、鲁棒性、适应新产品重构的优化算法；建立了基于多Agent系统的混合控制体系结构，利用JADE平台进行具体软件编程，实现了可重构装配生产线的控制系统；最后将组织结构建模、控制结构建模、重构优化算法有效的结合成统一整体，通过对Agent之间协商机制的研究，最终实现了可重构装配系统的实时重构、调度和控制，初步形成基于智能制造单元的汽车减速箱可重构装配系统的基本理论框架和方法体系。首先对汽车减速箱的产品结构、装配工艺特征进行了深入分析，从而形成了基于功能对象的产品族划分方法。在此基础上，根据模块化的设计思想，提出了主干线和装配模块相结合的可重构装配系统的开放式组织结构。通过引入缓冲区和多功能工作站，使得装配系统具有能力柔性、鲁棒性、功能扩展能力等特点，并能够通过模块的局部调整快速响应市场的需求。利用随机过程的基本原理，在建立缓冲区状态数学模型的基础上，以缓冲区被充满概率最小化为目标，通过递进算法确定缓冲区容量。讨论了可重构装配系统的两个规划问题：负荷平衡和多品种排序。阐述了混合模型产品的装配任务优先图和优先矩阵的合并，建立负荷平衡问题的数学模型，并总结了目前存在的求解方法。在归纳投产排序的优化模型和目标函数的基础上，介绍了生产比倒数法、试探法、循环改进法等优化方法。重构过程的优化是可重构装配系统研究的一个重要方面。利用网络法的基本原理，针对扩大生产能力、设备故障和新产品到达的三种系统重构要求，给出了相应的重构算法。通过装配操作向多功能工作站的转移以实现装配系统的增容；以工期延长最短为优化目标，利用网络法中的组织优化原则实现系统的鲁棒性重构；以最大候选原则的基本原理为基础，提出了基于固定设备约束的重构算法用于系统适应新产品的重构。在分析传统控制系统体系结构的基础上，根据可重构装配系统组织结构的特征，提出了基于多Agent系统的混合控制体系结构，它结合了递阶结构和分布式控制的优点，使得更有利于实现可重构装配系统的实时控制、调度和重构。为了对Agent进行建模和实现，在遵守FIPA规范的前提下，以汽车减速箱装配系统为背景，利用JADE开发平台，进行了各层Agent的实例开发，包括Agent属性描述、行为定义、通讯机制以及交互界面设计和Agent具体功能的编程实现。可重构装配系统重构过程的实现机理体现为多Agent之间的有效协商。在对现有Agent协商模型深入分析的基础上，针对鲁棒性、增容性、适应新产品的装配系统三个重构问题，提出了多Agent系统的协商机制，主要包括协商问题的形式化描述、协商模型、协商策略，结合相应的重构算法实现装配系统的重构。给出了Agent协商过程中存在的主要冲突和消解方法。通过多Agent系统协商实现可重构装配系统重构、调度和控制，充分体现了控制系统集中规划与分布式求解相结合的优点。

基于CORBA的多机器人应用互操作系统的研究与实现

本文针对异构分布环境下的多机器人系统 ,提出了一种基于 CORBA规范和框架请求代理 (FRB)这一方式的应用系统集成模型 .为实现分布异构环境下的多机器人的通信、协同、编程 ,支持系统任务重组与重构、应用互操作提供一条有效途径 .并给出了一个自行设计的面向多机器人基于CORBA的对象互操作的方法、机制 .给出基于 CORBA的应用编程接口 (API)与扩展接口定义语言X- IDL,通过基于 CORBA的多机器人基本对象类的建立与对象的实现 ,实现基于 CORBA的多机器人互操作与开放分布处理原型系统 .

制造系统的可重构性

可重构制造模式是一种指导管理和控制制造系统重构过程的制造哲理 ,它使制造系统有效地响应不断变化的环境。制造系统具有可重构能力是其生存和发展的基本手段 ,具有较高可重构性的公司在风云突变的环境中将远远超过其竞争对手。本文探讨了可重构制造模式的基本定义和内涵 ,并从组织、过程、产品、加工系统和信息平台等五个方面研究了制造系统的可重构性。

单元重构问题探讨

在 CIMS 环境下,采用虚拟单元技术可以解决使用成组单元的结构中出现的过量跨单元加工和加工负荷不平衡问题.本文对实现虚拟单元的关键技术——单元重构的可行性进行了分析,对单元重构的两个主要过程,即任务的时间分解过程和任务的空间分解过程进行了详细的讨论,并对所涉及到的时间划分、计划调度、工件、机器成组等问题给出了相应的策略和算法.从而证明了在 CIMS 环境下实现虚拟单元的可行性.

动态组织重构中的角色模型研究

通过扩充角色定义的基本内涵,提出了一种组织系统单元化和构件化的新方法,并根据组织单元协作关系的需要,建立了角色协作模型,允许用户自定义组织单元,实现组织系统的动态重构.最后,建立了基于知识网格的三维组织重构系统应用结构,以满足企业动态重构的需要.*

Internet Fish

I have invented "Internet Fish," a novel class of resource-discovery tools designed to help users extract useful information from the Internet. Internet Fish (IFish) are semi-autonomous, persistent information brokers; users deploy individual IFish to gather and refine information related to a particular topic. An IFish will initiate research, continue to discover new sources of information, and keep tabs on new developments in that topic. As part of the information-gathering process the user interacts with his IFish to find out what it has learned, answer questions it has posed, and make suggestions for guidance. Internet Fish differ from other Internet resource discovery systems in that they are persistent, personal and dynamic. As part of the information-gathering process IFish conduct extended, long-term conversations with users as they explore. They incorporate deep structural knowledge of the organization and services of the net, and are also capable of on-the-fly reconfiguration, modification and expansion. Human users may dynamically change the IFish in response to changes in the environment, or IFish may initiate such changes itself. IFish maintain internal state, including models of its own structure, behavior, information environment and its user; these models permit an IFish to perform meta-level reasoning about its own structure. To facilitate rapid assembly of particular IFish I have created the Internet Fish Construction Kit. This system provides enabling technology for the entire class of Internet Fish tools; it facilitates both creation of new IFish as well as additions of new capabilities to existing ones. The Construction Kit includes a collection of encapsulated heuristic knowledge modules that may be combined in mix-and-match fashion to create a particular IFish; interfaces to new services written with the Construction Kit may be immediately added to "live" IFish. Using the Construction Kit I have created a demonstration IFish specialized for finding World-Wide Web documents related to a given group of documents. This "Finder" IFish includes heuristics that describe how to interact with the Web in general, explain how to take advantage of various public indexes and classification schemes, and provide a method for discovering similarity relationships among documents.

Teaching from Examples in Assembly and Manipulation of Snack Food Ingredients by Robot

T. G. Williams, J.J. Rowland, and Lee M.H., Teaching from Examples in Assembly and Manipulation of Snack Food Ingredients by Robot, Proc. IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), Nov., 2001, pp2300-2305.

NHS Wales user needs study including knowledgebase tools report. Report for Informing Healthcare Strategy implementation programme.

Thomas, R., Spink, S., Durbin, J. & Urquhart, C. (2005). NHS Wales user needs study including knowledgebase tools report. Report for Informing Healthcare Strategy implementation programme. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Sponsorship: Informing Healthcare, NHS Wales

Evidence for the Flare Trigger Site and Three-Dimensional Reconnection in Multiwavelength Observations of a Solar Flare

Fletcher, L., Metcalf, T.R., Alexander, D., Brown, D.S. and Ryder, L.A., 2001, Evidence for the flare trigger site and 3D reconnection in multi-wavelength observations of a solar flare, Astrophysical Journal, 554, 451-463.

A Topological Analysis of the Magnetic Breakout Model for an Eruptive Solar Flare

Maclean, R., Beveridge, C., Longcope, D.W., Brown, D.S. and Priest, E.R., 2005, A topological analysis of the magnetic breakout model for an eruptive solar flare, Proc. Roy. Soc., 461, 2099-2120. Sponsorship: PPARC/STFC

Culture and Security: Symbolic Power and the Politics of International Security : The Reconstruction of Security in the Post-Cold War Era

Williams, Mike, Culture and Security: Symbolic Power and the Politics of International Security (Oxon: Routledge, 2007), pp.xii+172 RAE2008

Fasciathérapie et identité professionnelle

Tese apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Ciências Sociais, especialidade em Psicologia

Utility-Based Decision-Making in Wireless Sensor Networks

We consider challenges associated with application domains in which a large number of distributed, networked sensors must perform a sensing task repeatedly over time. For the tasks we consider, there are three significant challenges to address. First, nodes have resource constraints imposed by their finite power supply, which motivates computations that are energy-conserving. Second, for the applications we describe, the utility derived from a sensing task may vary depending on the placement and size of the set of nodes who participate, which often involves complex objective functions for nodes to target. Finally, nodes must attempt to realize these global objectives with only local information. We present a model for such applications, in which we define appropriate global objectives based on utility functions and specify a cost model for energy consumption. Then, for an important class of utility functions, we present distributed algorithms which attempt to maximize the utility derived from the sensor network over its lifetime. The algorithms and experimental results we present enable nodes to adaptively change their roles over time and use dynamic reconfiguration of routes to load balance energy consumption in the network.

Energy-aware dynamic route management for THAWS

In this research we focus on the Tyndall 25mm and 10mm nodes energy-aware topology management to extend sensor network lifespan and optimise node power consumption. The two tiered Tyndall Heterogeneous Automated Wireless Sensors (THAWS) tool is used to quickly create and configure application-specific sensor networks. To this end, we propose to implement a distributed route discovery algorithm and a practical energy-aware reaction model on the 25mm nodes. Triggered by the energy-warning events, the miniaturised Tyndall 10mm data collector nodes adaptively and periodically change their association to 25mm base station nodes, while 25mm nodes also change the inter-connections between themselves, which results in reconfiguration of the 25mm nodes tier topology. The distributed routing protocol uses combined weight functions to balance the sensor network traffic. A system level simulation is used to quantify the benefit of the route management framework when compared to other state of the art approaches in terms of the system power-saving.