Engineering Commons^™

A Competitive Reconfiguration Approach To Autonomous Fault Handling Using Genetic Algorithms, Kening Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, a novel self-repair approach based on Consensus Based Evaluation (CBE) for autonomous repair of SRAM-based Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is developed, evaluated, and refined. An initial population of functionally identical (same input-output behavior), yet physically distinct (alternative design or place-and-route realization) FPGA configurations is produced at design time. During run-time, the CBE approach ranks these alternative configurations after evaluating their discrepancy relative to the consensus formed by the population. Through runtime competition, faults in the logical resources become occluded from the visibility of subsequent FPGA operations. Meanwhile, offspring formed through crossover and mutation of faulty and …

A Reinforcement Learning Technique For Enhancing Human Behavior Models In A Context-Based Architecture, David Aihe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A reinforcement-learning technique for enhancing human behavior models in a context-based learning architecture is presented. Prior to the introduction of this technique, human models built and developed in a Context-Based reasoning framework lacked learning capabilities. As such, their performance and quality of behavior was always limited by what the subject matter expert whose knowledge is modeled was able to articulate or demonstrate. Results from experiments performed show that subject matter experts are prone to making errors and at times they lack information on situations that are inherently necessary for the human models to behave appropriately and optimally in those situations. …

Information Technology Systems And Services, Doris Bornhoeft

UND Departmental Histories

This departmental history was written on the occasion of the UND Quasquicentennial in 2008.

Information Systems And Business Education, University Of North Dakota

UND Departmental Histories

This departmental history was written on the occasion of the UND Quasquicentennial in 2008.

Analysis Of Information Remaining On Hand Held Devices Offered For Sale On The Second Hand, Andy Jones, Craig Valli, Iain Sutherland

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The ownership and use of mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants and other hand held devices is now ubiquitous both for home and business use. The majority of these devices have a high initial cost, a relatively short period before they become obsolescent and a relatively low second hand value. As a result of this, when the devices are replaced, there are indications that they tend to be discarded. As technology has continued to develop, it has led to an increasing diversity in the number and type of devices that are available, and the processing power and the storage capacity of …

Economic Sustainability Of Remote Access Networking Classrooms, C Nuangjamnong, S P. Maj, D Veal

EDU-COM International Conference

Within the higher education domain, there is a prevalent belief that e-learning, virtual classroom and tele-education are essential requirements for the long-term effectiveness and success of educational institutions. Many information technologies have been adopted to assist studying and learning remotely and are hence potentially beneficial to students, teachers and educational providers. For educational providers, the benefits are that there are no physical or geographical limits to the number of students that can be enrolled in a course of study. However, within the field of network technology, students must actually use network devices during their studies. This is important not only …

Optimization In Multi-Agent Systems : Structures And Procedures, Ingo Stengel

Theses

The main advantage for the use of agent technology is in the capacity of agents to represent the interests of individual entities and to act autonomously on their behalf. In multi-agent systems this involves communication, coordination and negotiation.

The focus of this dissertation is to find ways to optimize multi-agent systems at different levels by taking into consideration their structure and the procedures used. As optimization depends to a large extent on the problem to be solved, group forming scenarios, in which self-interested agents compete to form and join groups, have been selected here for consideration. Optimization issues are discussed …

Functorial Coalgebraic Logic: The Case Of Many-Sorted Varieties, Alexander Kurz, Daniela Petrişan

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Following earlier work, a modal logic for T-coalgebras is a functor L on a suitable variety. Syntax and proof system of the logic are given by presentations of the functor. This paper makes two contributions. First, a previous result characterizing those functors that have presentations is generalized from endofunctors on one-sorted varieties to functors between many-sorted varieties. This yields an equational logic for the presheaf semantics of higher-order abstract syntax. As another application, we show how the move to functors between many-sorted varieties allows to modularly combine syntax and proof systems of different logics. Second, we show how to associate …

A Review Of Negation In Clinical Texts, John D. Kelleher, Brian Mac Namee

Reports

Negation is commonly seen in clinical documents [Chapman et al., 2001a] ”In clinical reports the presence of a term does not necessarily indicate the presence of the clinical condition represented by that term. In fact, many of the most frequently described findings and diseases in discharge summaries, radiology reports, history and physical exams, and other transcribed reports are denied in the patient” [Chapman et al., 2001b, page. 301].

Patient-Centred Laboratory Validation Using Software Agents, John Mcgrory, Jane Grimson, Frank Clarke, Peter Gaffney

Conference Papers

Guidelines are self-contained documents which healthcare professionals reference to obtain knowledge about a specific condition or process. They interface with these documents and apply known facts about specific patients to gain useful supportive information to aid in developing a diagnosis or manage a condition. To automate this process a series of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and workflow processes are constructed using the contents of these documents in order to manage the validation flow of a patient sample. These processes decompose the guidelines into workflow plans, which are then called using condition triggers controlled by a centralised management engine. The software …

Linguatag: An Emotional Speech Analysis Application, Charlie Cullen, Brian Vaughan, Spyros Kousidis

Conference papers

The analysis of speech, particularly for emotional content, is an open area of current research. Ongoing work has developed an emotional speech corpus for analysis, and defined a vowel stress method by which this analysis may be performed. This paper documents the development of LinguaTag, an open source speech analysis software application which implements this vowel stress emotional speech analysis method developed as part of research into the acoustic and linguistic correlates of emotional speech. The analysis output is contained within a file format combining SMIL and SSML markup tags, to facilitate search and retrieval methods within an emotional speech …

Emotional Speech Corpora For Analysis And Media Production, Charlie Cullen, Brian Vaughan, Spyros Kousidis

Conference papers

Research into the acoustic correlates of emotional speech as part of the SALERO project has led to the construction of high quality emotional speech corpora, which contain both IMDI metadata and acoustic analysis data for each asset. Research into semi-automated, re-usable character animation has considered the development of online workflows based on speech corpus assets that would provide a single point of origin for character animation in media production. In this paper, a brief description of the corpus design and construction is given. Further, a prototype workflow for semi-automated emotional character animation is also provided, alongside a description of current …

Augmented Control Of Hands Free Voice Prostheses, Brian Madden, James Condron, Ted Burke, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

Laryngectomy patients often use an electrolarynx to facilitate speech following a tracheotomy. Devices of this type provide the most intelligible means of communication for tracheotomy patients. However, the electro-larynx has inherent drawbacks such as the buzzing monotonic sound emitted, the need for a free hand to operate the device, and the difficulty experienced by many tracheotomy patients in adapting to use it. The most effective means of addressing the shortcomings of existing electro-larynges is to provide the user with a hands-free facility. This allows the user to perform other manual tasks whilst speaking, or simply to communicate more effectively through …

Software Agents Representing Medical Guidelines, John Mcgrory, Jane Grimson, Frank Clarke, Peter Gaffney

Conference Papers

Guidelines are self-contained documents which healthcare professionals reference to obtain specific disease or medical condition knowledge for a particular population cohort. They view these documents and apply known facts about their patients to access useful supportive information to aid in developing a diagnosis or manage a condition. Traditional CIG models decompose these guidelines into workflow plans, which are then called using certain motivational trigger conditions controlled by a centralised management engine.

Therefore, CIG guidelines are not self-contained documents, which specialise in a particular condition or disease, but are effectively a list of workflow plans, which are called and used when …

Generation Of High-Repetition-Rate Pulses Utilizing Cascaded Single Mode Fiber And Semiconductor Optical Amplifier, Jianwei Wu, Hai-Bo Bao

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

To generate high-repetition-rate optical pulses, a novel and simple device is demonstrated, in which the cascaded single mode fiber (SMF) with negative third order dispersion and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) are adopted. Numerical research results show that let an optical pulse with center wavelength in zero dispersion wavelength of optical fiber transit in SMF for generating an oscillation pulse. Subsequently, the followed SOA is provided for amplification. As a consequence, the high-repetition-rate optical pulses can be obtained.

A Study On The Reliability Of Polyester Insulators Blended With Borax, Aysel Ersoy, Yasi̇n Özcelep, Ayten Kuntman

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Tracking is the main factor which limits the safe working electric stress of insulation in power system applications. Polymer samples have been tested in laboratory conditions according to ASTM D2303 on accelerated inclined plane tracking test. In this paper, a model based on improved Weibull statistics is proposed for estimating the breakdown time of polymeric insulating materials with borax. The confidence intervals of the Weibull shape parameter and the Weibull scale parameter are determined for the borax concentration values using the Weibull 7++ program.

Recent Advances In Perfectly Matched Layers In Finite Element Applications, Özlem Özgün, Mustafa Kuzuoğlu

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

We present a comparative evaluation of two novel and practical perfectly matched layer (PML) implementations to the problem of mesh truncation in the finite element method (FEM): locally-conformal PML, and multi-center PML techniques. The most distinguished feature of these methods is the simplicity and flexibility to design conformal PMLs over challenging geometries, especially those with curvature discontinuities, in a straightforward way without using artificial absorbers. These methods are based on specially- and locally-defined complex coordinate transformations inside the PML region. They can easily be implemented in a conventional FEM by just replacing the nodal coordinates inside the PML region by …

Network Formation Using Ant Colony Optimization -- A Systematic Review, Steven C. Oimoen, Gilbert L. Peterson, Kenneth M. Hopkinson

Faculty Publications

A significant area of research in the field of hybrid communications is the Network Design Problem (NDP) [1]. The NDP is an NP complete problem [1] that focuses on identifying the optimal network topology for transmitting commodities between nodes, under constraints such as bandwidth, limited compatible directed channels, and link and commodity costs. The NDP focuses on designing a flexible network while trying to achieve optimal flow or routing. If a link (or arc) is used, then an associated fixed cost of the edge is incurred. In addition, there is a cost for using the arc depending on the flow. …

Efficient Corona Training Protocols For Sensor Networks, Alan A. Bertossi, Stephan Olariu, Cristina M. Pinotti

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Phenomenal advances in nano-technology and packaging have made it possible to develop miniaturized low-power devices that integrate sensing, special-purpose computing, and wireless communications capabilities. It is expected that these small devices, referred to as sensors, will be mass-produced and deployed, making their production cost negligible. Due to their small form factor and modest non-renewable energy budget, individual sensors are not expected to be GPS-enabled. Moreover, in most applications, exact geographic location is not necessary, and all that the individual sensors need is a coarse-grain location awareness. The task of acquiring such a coarse-grain location awareness is referred to as training. …

Creating Preservation-Ready Web Resources, Joan A. Smith, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

There are innumerable departmental, community, and personal web sites worthy of long-term preservation but proportionally fewer archivists available to properly prepare and process such sites. We propose a simple model for such everyday web sites which takes advantage of the web server itself to help prepare the site's resources for preservation. This is accomplished by having metadata utilities analyze the resource at the time of dissemination. The web server responds to the archiving repository crawler by sending both the resource and the just-in-time generated metadata as a straight-forward XML-formatted response. We call this complex object (resource + metadata) a CRATE. …

My Collaboration With Raj Mittra: Contributions To The Theory Of Perfectly Matched Layers, Mustafa Kuzuoğlu

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

No abstract provided.

Use Of Characteristic Basis Function Method For Scattering From Terrain Profiles, Atacan Yağbasan, Celal Alp Tunç, Vakur B. Ertürk, Ayhan Altintas, Raj Mittra

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

An integral equation (IE) based solution procedure is presented for the rigorous analysis of scattering from terrain profiles. The procedure uses characteristic basis function method (CBFM), which is hybridized with the forward-backward method (FBM), to reduce the storage requirements of the resultant Method of Moments (MoM) impedance matrix, as well as to accelerate the solution procedure. Numerical results in the form of induced current and scattered field are presented to assess the accuracy and efficiency of the solution procedure.

The Characteristic Basis Function Method (Cbfm): A Numerically Efficient Strategy For Solving Large Electromagnetic Scattering Problems, Eugenio Lucente, Gianluigi Tiberi, Agostino Monorchio, Giuliano Manara, Raj Mittra

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The objective of this paper is to describe a numerically efficient strategy for solving large electromagnetic scattering problems. This novel approach, termed as the Characteristic Basis Function Method (CBFM), is based on utilizing Characteristic Basic Functions (CBFs)-special functions defined on macro domains (blocks)-that include a relatively large number of conventional sub-domains discretized by using triangular or rectangular patches. The CBFs can be derived either analytically (from PO solutions), or by applying the conventional MoM. Use of these basis functions leads to a significant reduction in the number of unknowns, and results in a substantial size reduction of the MoM matrix. …

Analysis And Optimization Of Mobile Phone Antenna Radiation Performance In The Presence Of Head And Hand Phantoms, Erdem Ofli, Chung-Huan Li, Nicolas Chavannes, Niels Kuster

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

A commercial clam shell phone CAD model is used to numerically investigate the effect of a hand phantom on mobile phone antenna radiation performance. The simulation results show that the grip of the hand phantom is the most important parameter to antenna performance. The antenna is converted into a parameterized form, then optimized to achieve the targeted multi-band performance in real-usage conditions.

Dual-Band Split-Ring Antenna Design For Wlan Applications, S. Cumhur Başaran, Yunus E. Erdemli̇

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

A dual-band microstrip antenna based on split-ring elements is introduced for WLAN (2.4/5.2 GHz) applications. The proposed split-ring antenna (SRA) has a compact novel design which provides about 2% impedance-bandwidth without a need for additional matching network. Analysis and design of the proposed microstrip antenna is carried out by means of full-wave simulators based on the finite-element method.

Comparison Of Rectangular And Cylindrical Fdtd Representations On A Ring Resonator Problem, Funda Akleman, Levent Sevgi̇

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The aim of this paper is to discuss rectangular and cylindrical representations of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method over characteristic tests and comparisons. A ring resonator is chosen as a canonical structure and modeled with both rectangular- and cylindrical-FDTD packages. Calibration against analytical exact solution derived in terms of cylindrical Bessel functions is also performed. It is shown that rectangular-FDTD with periodic boundary condition, where the computation domain is reduced, can also be applied in modeling circular structures.

Method Of Moments Solution By Using Sinc-Type Basis Functions For The Scattering From A Finite Number Of Conducting Strip Gratings, Taner Oğuzer, Fadil Kuyucuoğlu

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

A numerical method of moments (MoM) solution is applied to the electromagnetic scattering from a periodic finite conducting strip array when the incident electromagnetic plane wave E and H polarizations illuminate the grating. For such grating strip geometry, we deal with singular integral equations arising from Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions. MoM is applied using band-limited sinc functions as basis and testing functions. The Galerkin approach is followed in MoM formulation. The properties of the sinc function, with the infinite integral, are exploited in the computations of the main matrix elements. Also, the error in our approach goes to zero …

Comparison Of Basic Linear Filters In Extracting Auditory Evoked Potentials, Serap Aydin

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In the present study, the performances of two well-known linear filtering techniques are compared for extraction of auditory Evoked Potential (EP) from a relatively small number of sweeps. Both experimental and simulated data are filtered by the two algorithms into two groups. Group A consists of Wiener filtering (WF) applications, where conventional WF and Coherence Weighted WF (CWWF)) have been assessed in combination with the Subspace Method (SM). Group B consists of the well-known adaptive filtering algorithms Least Mean Square (LMS), Recursive Least Square (RLS), and one-step Kalman filtering (KF). Both groups are tested with respect to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) …

Zero Crossing Counter For Accuracy Improvement Of Fmcw Range Detection, Si̇nan Kurt, Şi̇mşek Demi̇r, Altunkan Hizal

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

For civil and military purposes FMCW radars are widely used. The theoretical background is well-established. Nevertheless, improvement of various aspects of these radars is still required. Signal processing is one of the crucial points of the system which determines the capabilities of the radar. In this study a zero crossing detector implementation, which can be efficiently used for target detection and range calculation in short range FMCW range detector is proposed. The duration between consecutive zero-crossings are used as the data instead of the number of cycles per unit time. Experimental evaluation of its performance is also given.

Online Tuning Of Set-Point Regulator With A Blending Mechanism Using Pi Controller, Engi̇n Yeşi̇l, Müjde Güzelkaya, İbrahi̇m Eksi̇n, Ö. Aydin Teki̇n

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this paper, a new control structure that exploits the advantages of one degree of freedom (1-DOF) and two degree of freedom (2-DOF) control structures with an online tuned set-point regulator with blending mechanism (SPR-BM) is proposed. In this structure, the filtered output of the reference and the pure reference signals are blended so that the overall performance of the system is ameliorated with respect to load disturbance rejection and set-point following. Internal Model Control (IMC) based PI controller is used as the primary controller and the blending dynamics are determined with the aim of producing a system output that …