Digitized Processing Track Generation of a Computer Integrated Multi-Functional 5-Axis Laser Processing System

Based on the computer integrated and flexible laser processing system, an intelligent measuring sub-system was developed. A novel model has been built up to compensate the deviations of the main frame-structure, and a new 3-D laser tracker system is applied to adjust the accuracy of the system. To analyze the characteristic of all kind surfaces of automobile outer penal moulds and dies, classification of types of the surface、brim and ridge(or vale) area to be measured and processed has been established, resulting in one of the main processing functions of the laser processing system. According to different type of surfaces, a 2-D adaptive measuring method based on B?zier curve was developed; furthermore a 3-D adaptive measuring method based on Spline curve was also developed. According to the laser materials processing characteristics and data characteristics, necessary methods have been developed to generate processing tracks, they are explained in details. Measuring experiments and laser processing experiments were carried out to testify the above mentioned methods, which have been applied in the computer integrated and flexible laser processing system developed by the Institute of Mechanics, CAS.

The Intelligent Measuring Sub-System in the Computer Integrated and Flexible Laser Processing System

Based on the computer integrated and flexible laser processing system, develop the intelligent measuring sub-system. A novel model has been built to compensate the deviations of the main frame, a new-developed 3-D laser tracker system is applied to adjust the accuracy of the system. Analyzing the characteristic of all kinds of automobile dies, which is the main processing object of the laser processing system, classify the types of the surface and border needed to be measured and be processed. According to different types of surface and border, develop 2-D adaptive measuring method based on B?zier curve and 3-D adaptive measuring method based on spline curve. During the data processing, a new 3-D probe compensation method has been described in details. Some measuring experiments and laser processing experiments are carried out to testify the methods. All the methods have been applied in the computer integrated and flexible laser processing system invented by the Institute of Mechanics, CAS.

Ecological forecasting: new tools for coastal and marine ecosystem management

Policy makers, natural resource managers, regulators, and the public often call on scientists to estimate the potential ecological changes caused by both natural and human-induced stresses, and to determine how those changes will impact people and the environment. To develop accurate forecasts of ecological changes we need to: 1) increase understanding of ecosystem composition, structure, and functioning, 2) expand ecosystem monitoring and apply advanced scientific information to make these complex data widely available, and 3) develop and improve forecast and interpretative tools that use a scientific basis to assess the results of management and science policy actions. (PDF contains 120 pages)

Colchester Institute: Virtual bricklaying lays the foundations for the future

Brickwork Lecturer Chris Holland has created a resource that allows students to lay bricks on a computer screen. The former bricklayer has used the ActivInspire suite on the Promethean interactive whiteboard to draw various types of bricks, as well as other interactive tools from the building site. Students are now more engaged in the classroom as they can practise cavity walling, block work, and setting walls on foundation before they get out in the workplace. Learners using the resource range from 14–16-year-old school students and full-time 16–19-year-olds completing Diplomas in brickwork to apprentices completing NVQs.

Lancaster and Morecambe College: Uses serious computer games as a teaching tool

John Latham, International Projects Co-ordinator at Lancaster and Morecambe College (LMC), got involved with the project Serious Computer Games as a Teaching Tool (SCOGATT) after using the game EnerCities with his students. The web based platform at www.scogatt.eu serves as a One Stop Toolkit for vocational teachers and trainers who want to use serious computer games (SCG) in their teaching environments but might need a helping hand. There they will be able to find a compendium of serious games, SCOGATT pilot results, teacher reports and the exemplar games, EnerCities.

Science-based restoration monitoring of coastal habitats, Volume Two: Tools for monitoring coastal habitats

Healthy coastal habitats are not only important ecologically; they also support healthy coastal communities and improve the quality of people’s lives. Despite their many benefits and values, coastal habitats have been systematically modified, degraded, and destroyed throughout the United States and its protectorates beginning with European colonization in the 1600’s (Dahl 1990). As a result, many coastal habitats around the United States are in desperate need of restoration. The monitoring of restoration projects, the focus of this document, is necessary to ensure that restoration efforts are successful, to further the science, and to increase the efficiency of future restoration efforts.

Digging into signs: Developing standard annotation practices for cross-linguistic, quantitative analysis of sign language data. Final Report.

For sign languages used by deaf communities, linguistic corpora have until recently been unavailable, due to the lack of a writing system and a written culture in these communities, and the very recent advent of digital video. Recent improvements in video and computer technology have now made larger sign language datasets possible; however, large sign language datasets that are fully machine-readable are still elusive. This is due to two challenges. 1. Inconsistencies that arise when signs are annotated by means of spoken/written language. 2. The fact that many parts of signed interaction are not necessarily fully composed of lexical signs (equivalent of words), instead consisting of constructions that are less conventionalised. As sign language corpus building progresses, the potential for some standards in annotation is beginning to emerge. But before this project, there were no attempts to standardise these practices across corpora, which is required to be able to compare data crosslinguistically. This project thus had the following aims: 1. To develop annotation standards for glosses (lexical/word level) 2. To test their reliability and validity 3. To improve current software tools that facilitate a reliable workflow Overall the project aimed not only to set a standard for the whole field of sign language studies throughout the world but also to make significant advances toward two of the world’s largest machine-readable datasets for sign languages – specifically the BSL Corpus (British Sign Language, http://bslcorpusproject.org) and the Corpus NGT (Sign Language of the Netherlands, http://www.ru.nl/corpusngt).

Developing alternatives for optimal representation of seafloor habitats and associated communities in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

The implementation of various types of marine protected areas is one of several management tools available for conserving representative examples of the biological diversity within marine ecosystems in general and National Marine Sanctuaries in particular. However, deciding where and how many sites to establish within a given area is frequently hampered by incomplete knowledge of the distribution of organisms and an understanding of the potential tradeoffs that would allow planners to address frequently competing interests in an objective manner. Fortunately, this is beginning to change. Recent studies on the continental shelf of the northeastern United States suggest that substrate and water mass characteristics are highly correlated with the composition of benthic communities and may therefore, serve as proxies for the distribution of biological biodiversity. A detailed geo-referenced interpretative map of major sediment types within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) has recently been developed, and computer-aided decision support tools have reached new levels of sophistication. We demonstrate the use of simulated annealing, a type of mathematical optimization, to identify suites of potential conservation sites within SBNMS that equally represent 1) all major sediment types and 2) derived habitat types based on both sediment and depth in the smallest amount of space. The Sanctuary was divided into 3610 0.5 min2 sampling units. Simulations incorporated constraints on the physical dispersion of sampling units to varying degrees such that solutions included between one and four site clusters. Target representation goals were set at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent of each sediment type, and 10 and 20 percent of each habitat type. Simulations consisted of 100 runs, from which we identified the best solution (i.e., smallest total area) and four nearoptimal alternates. We also plotted total instances in which each sampling unit occurred in solution sets of the 100 runs as a means of gauging the variety of spatial configurations available under each scenario. Results suggested that the total combined area needed to represent each of the sediment types in equal proportions was equal to the percent representation level sought. Slightly larger areas were required to represent all habitat types at the same representation levels. Total boundary length increased in direct proportion to the number of sites at all levels of representation for simulations involving sediment and habitat classes, but increased more rapidly with number of sites at higher representation levels. There were a large number of alternate spatial configurations at all representation levels, although generally fewer among one and two versus three- and four-site solutions. These differences were less pronounced among simulations targeting habitat representation, suggesting that a similar degree of flexibility is inherent in the spatial arrangement of potential protected area systems containing one versus several sites for similar levels of habitat representation. We attribute these results to the distribution of sediment and depth zones within the Sanctuary, and to the fact that even levels of representation were sought in each scenario. (PDF contains 33 pages.)