Mapping and localization are two essential tasks in autonomous mobile robotics. Due to the unavoidable noise that sensors present, mapping algorithms usually rely on loop closure detection techniques, which entail the correct identification of previously seen places to reduce the uncertainty of the resulting maps. This book deals with the problem of generating topological maps of the environment using efficient appearance-based loop closure detection techniques. Since the quality of a visual loop closure detection algorithm is related to the image description method and its ability to index previously seen images, several methods for loop closure detection adopting different approaches are developed and assessed. Then, these methods are used in three novel topological mapping algorithms. The results obtained indicate that the solutions proposed attain a better performance than several state-of-the-art approaches. To conclude, given that loop closure detection is also a key component in other research areas, a multi-threaded image mosaicing algorithm is proposed. This approach makes use of one of the loop closure detection techniques previously introduced in order to find overlapping pairs between images and finally obtain seamless mosaics of different environments in a reasonable amount of time.

This book is a tribute to Julian Francis Miller's ideas and achievements in computer science, evolutionary algorithms and genetic programming, electronics, unconventional computing, artificial chemistry and theoretical biology. Leading international experts in computing inspired by nature offer their insights into the principles of information processing and optimisation in simulated and experimental living, physical and chemical substrates. Miller invented Cartesian Genetic Programming (CGP) in 1999, from a representation of electronic circuits he devised with Thomson a few years earlier. The book presents a number of CGP's wide applications, including multi-step ahead forecasting, solving artificial neural networks dogma, approximate computing, medical informatics, control engineering, evolvable hardware, and multi-objective evolutionary optimisations. The book addresses in depth the technique of 'Evolution in Materio', a term coined by Miller and Downing, using a range of examples of experimental prototypes of computing in disordered ensembles of graphene nanotubes, slime mould, plants, and reaction diffusion chemical systems. Advances in sub-symbolic artificial chemistries, artificial bio-inspired development, code evolution with genetic programming, and using Reed-Muller expansions in the synthesis of Boolean quantum circuits add a unique flavour to the content. The book is a pleasure to explore for readers from all walks of life, from undergraduate students to university professors, from mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers to chemists and biologists.

This book investigates observer-fault estimation techniques in detail, while also highlighting recent research and findings regarding fault estimation. Many practical control systems are subject to possible malfunctions, which may cause significant performance loss or even system instability. To improve the reliability, performance and safety of dynamical systems, fault diagnosis techniques are now receiving considerable attention, both in research and applications, and have been the subject of intensive investigations. Fault detection - the essential first step in fault diagnosis - is a binary decision-making process used to determine whether or not a fault has occurred. In turn, fault isolation is used to identify the location of the faulty component, while fault estimation is used to identify the size of the fault online. Compared with the problems involved in fault detection and isolation, fault estimation is considerably more challenging.

Augmented Reality (AR) refers to the merging of a live view of the physical, real world with context-sensitive, computer-generated images to create a mixed reality. Through this augmented vision, a user can digitally interact with and adjust information about their surrounding environment on-the-fly. "Handbook of Augmented Reality" provides an extensive overview of the current and future trends in Augmented Reality, and chronicles the dramatic growth in this field. The book includes contributions from world expert s in the field of AR from academia, research laboratories and private industry. Case studies and examples throughout the handbook help introduce the basic concepts of AR, as well as outline the Computer Vision and Multimedia techniques most commonly used today. The book is intended for a wide variety of readers including academicians, designers, developers, educators, engineers, practitioners, researchers, and graduate students. This book can also be beneficial for business managers, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Cutting-edge research indicates that evolutionary programming is set to emerge as the dominant optimisation technique in the fast-changing power industry. Combining theory and practice, Intelligent System Applications in Power Engineering capitalises on the potential of neural networks and evolutionary computation to resolve real-world power engineering problems such as load forecasting, power system operation and planning optimisation. Unlike existing optimisation methods, these novel computational intelligence techniques provide power utilities with innovative solutions for improved performance. Features include:

• Introduction to evolutionary programming and neural networks serving as a foundation for later discussion of the benefits of hybrid systems
• Practical application of evolutionary programming to reactive power planning and dispatch for speedy, cost-effective increases in transmission capacity plus generator parameter estimation
• Examination of economic dispatch, power flow control in FACTS and co-generation scheduling and fault diagnosis for HVDC systems and transformers
• Consideration of power frequency and harmonic evaluation to maximise supply quality
• Employment of distance protection, faulty section estimation and calculation of fault clearing time for transient stability assessment

This book introduces readers to the background, general framework, main operators, and other basic characteristics of biogeography-based optimization (BBO), which is an emerging branch of bio-inspired computation. In particular, the book presents the authors' recent work on improved variants of BBO, hybridization of BBO with other algorithms, and the application of BBO to a variety of domains including transportation, image processing, and neural network learning. The content will help to advance research into and application of not only BBO but also the whole field of bio-inspired computation. The algorithms and applications are organized in a step-by-step manner and clearly described with the help of pseudo-codes and flowcharts. The readers will learn not only the basic concepts of BBO but also how to apply and adapt the algorithms to the engineering optimization problems they actually encounter.

Intelligent agents are employed as the central characters in this introductory text. Beginning with elementary reactive agents, Nilsson gradually increases their cognitive horsepower to illustrate the most important and lasting ideas in AI. Neural networks, genetic programming, computer vision, heuristic search, knowledge representation and reasoning, Bayes networks, planning, and language understanding are each revealed through the growing capabilities of these agents. A distinguishing feature of this text is in its evolutionary approach to the study of AI. This book provides a refreshing and motivating synthesis of the field by one of AI's master expositors and leading researches.

This book focuses on the generalization of map features, providing descriptions and classifying groups of map objects into six categories: point clusters, groups of contours, road networks, river networks, continuous areal features and discrete areal features. Discussing the methods and algorithms in map generalization in equal measure, it also describes the approaches for describing map features. The book is a valuable reference for graduates and researchers who are interested in cartography and geographic information science/systems, especially those in automated map generalization and spatial databases construction.

This volume focuses on smart medical and healthcare systems (modern intelligent systems for medicine and healthcare) and includes 31 papers presenting recent trends and innovations in medicine and healthcare, including biomedical engineering research and technologies; machine learning and labeling for biomedical visual data analysis and understanding; advanced ICT for medicine and healthcare; and healthcare support systems. Innovation in medicine and healthcare is an interdisciplinary research area, which combines advanced technologies and problem-solving skills with medical and biological science, and smart medical and healthcare systems can provide efficient and accurate solution to problems faced by healthcare and medical practitioners today by using advanced information communication techniques, computational intelligence, mathematics, robotics and other advanced technologies. Discussing the techniques developed in this area, which will have a significant effect on future medicine and healthcare, the book is a valuable resource for researchers, students, engineers, and professionals working in the fields of medical systems, medical technology, and intelligent systems.

Due to increasing potential in real-world applications such as visual communications, computer assisted biomedical imaging, and video surveillance, image and video interpretations have become an area of growing interest. Intelligent Image and Video Interpretation: Algorithms and Applications covers all aspects of image and video analysis from low-level early visions to high-level recognition. This publication highlights how these techniques have become applicable and will prove to be a valuable tool for researchers, professionals, and graduate students working or studying the fields of imaging and video processing.

This book offers a detailed description of the histogram probabilistic multi-hypothesis tracker (H-PMHT), providing an accessible and intuitive introduction to the mathematical mechanics of H-PMHT as well as a definitive reference source for the existing literature on the method. Beginning with basic concepts, the authors then move on to address extensions of the method to a broad class of tracking problems. The latter chapters present applications using recorded data from experimental radar, sonar and video sensor systems. The book is supplemented with software that both furthers readers' understanding and acts as a toolkit for those who wish to apply the methods to their own problems.

Based on the idea of a universal rule for problem solving, the book suggests that the "System-Fuzzy Approach (SFA)" Model can be applied to various complex real-world problems. It is the first book for problem solving in complicated problems with a universal project management tool. Systematic searching is an essential step in identifying the right direction in problem solving; and the fuzzy steps in concrete problem solving reflect the flexibility and compromises involved in the process. Nevertheless, the fuzzy steps also demonstrate human beings' impressively flexible problem-solving skills. Simulating human decision-making processes based on fuzzy information processing is essential in our digital era, in which many problems need to be solved by means of artificial intelligence; hence the Fuzzy-AI Model emerged. As a universal rule and tool, it can be applied to a broad range of real-world problems. Offering a valuable guide to fuzzy decision-making, this book is intended for researchers, scientists and graduate students in the fields of Engineering, Economics, Sociology, Managerial Science, Project Management etc.

In the fast pace of the modern world it is important, more than ever, for factories to know how and why their machines are failing and what can be done to prevent it. As such, it is imperative that new research is conducted to make sure that factories can operate as efficiently as possible. Fuzzy Logic Dynamics and Machine Prediction for Failure Analysis is an essential reference source for the newest research on the risk assessment matrix, ladder logic, and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS). Featuring widespread coverage across a variety of related viewpoints and topics, such as the Ishikawa diagram, machinery failure analysis and troubleshooting, model reference adaptive control systems, and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers, this book is ideally designed for professionals, upper-level students, and academics seeking current research on the implementation of fuzzy logic in machine prediction failure.

This book addresses new challenges and emerging ideas in Distributed Information Filtering and Retrieval. It gathers extended papers presented at DART 2013 (the 7th International Workshop on Information Filtering and Retrieval), held on December 6, 2013 in Turin, Italy, and co-hosted with the XIII International Conference of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence. The main focus of DART was to discuss and compare suitable novel solutions based on intelligent techniques and applied to real-world contexts. The papers presented here offer a comprehensive review of related work and state-of-the-art techniques. The authors - a mix of respected practitioners and researchers - share their findings on a range of topics, including data leak protection on text comparison, natural language processing, ambient intelligence, information retrieval and web portals, and knowledge management. All contributions were carefully reviewed by experts in the respective area, who also provided useful suggestions to improve the book's overall quality.

Wagman gives a broad, structured, and detailed account of advancing intellectual developments in both psychological and computational theories of the nature of problem- solving. Known for originating the PLATO computer-based Dilemma Counseling System, psychologist Wagman is the author of 17 books, including "Scientific Discovery Processes in Humans and Computers "(Praeger, 2000).

In this book, Professor Emeritus Morton Wagman gives a broad, structured, and detailed account of advancing intellectual developments in both psychological and computational theories of the nature of problem solving. Known for originating the PLATO computer-based Dilemma Counseling System, psychologist Wagman is the author of 17 books, including "Scientific Discovery Processes in Humans and Computers, "(Praeger, 2000)

Of special interest to readers will be Wagman's conclusion that artificial intelligence problem-solving systems are deepening and broadening theories of human problem solving from scientific to everyday approaches. Scholars and professionals in psychology, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science will consider this a volume a valuable addition to their collections.

This book contains 74 papers presented at ICTCS 2017: Third International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Competitive Strategies. The conference was held during 16-17 December 2017, Udaipur, India and organized by Association of Computing Machinery, Udaipur Professional Chapter in association with The Institution of Engineers (India), Udaipur Local Center and Global Knowledge Research Foundation. This book contains papers mainly focused on ICT for Computation, Algorithms and Data Analytics and IT Security etc.

This self-contained book presents a framework for solving a general class of linear systems with coefficients being continuous functions of parameters varying within prescribed intervals. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the theory related to solving parametric interval linear systems and the basic properties of parametric interval matrices. In particular, it develops several new algorithms delivering sharp rigorous bounds for the solutions of such systems with full mathematical rigor. The framework employs the arithmetic of revised affine forms that enables the readers to handle dependent data. The book is intended not only for researchers interested in developing rigorous methods of numerical linear algebra, but also for engineers dealing with problems involving uncertain data. The theory discussed is also useful in various other fields of numerical analysis, in computer graphics, economics, computational geometry, computer-aided design, computer-assisted proofs, computer graphics, control theory, solving constraint satisfaction problems, and global optimization.

This book describes computational problems related to kernel density estimation (KDE) - one of the most important and widely used data smoothing techniques. A very detailed description of novel FFT-based algorithms for both KDE computations and bandwidth selection are presented. The theory of KDE appears to have matured and is now well developed and understood. However, there is not much progress observed in terms of performance improvements. This book is an attempt to remedy this. The book primarily addresses researchers and advanced graduate or postgraduate students who are interested in KDE and its computational aspects. The book contains both some background and much more sophisticated material, hence also more experienced researchers in the KDE area may find it interesting. The presented material is richly illustrated with many numerical examples using both artificial and real datasets. Also, a number of practical applications related to KDE are presented.

This book explores recent perspectives on type-2 fuzzy sets. Written as a tribute to Professor Jerry Mendel for his pioneering works on type-2 fuzzy sets and systems, it covers a wide range of topics, including applications to the Go game, machine learning and pattern recognition, as well as type-2 fuzzy control and intelligent systems. The book is intended as a reference guide for the type-2 fuzzy logic community, yet it aims also at other communities dealing with similar methods and applications.

Gathering 20 chapters contributed by respected experts, this book reports on the latest advances in and applications of sliding mode control in science and engineering. The respective chapters address applications of sliding mode control in the broad areas of chaos theory, robotics, electrical engineering, physics, chemical engineering, memristors, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, finance, and biology. Special emphasis has been given to papers that offer practical solutions, and which examine design and modeling involving new types of sliding mode control such as higher order sliding mode control, terminal sliding mode control, super-twisting sliding mode control, and integral sliding mode control. This book serves as a unique reference guide to sliding mode control and its recent applications for graduate students and researchers with a basic knowledge of electrical and control systems engineering.

The research book is a continuation of the authors' previous works, which are focused on recent advances in computer vision methodologies and technical solutions using conventional and intelligent paradigms. The book gathers selected contributions addressing a number of real-life applications including the identification of handwritten texts, watermarking techniques, simultaneous localization and mapping for mobile robots, motion control systems for mobile robots, analysis of indoor human activity, facial image quality assessment, android device controlling, processing medical images, clinical decision-making and foot progression angle detection. Given the tremendous interest among researchers in the development and applications of computer vision paradigms in the field of business, engineering, medicine, security and aviation, the book offers a timely guide for all PhD students, professors, researchers and software developers working in the areas of digital video processing and computer vision technologies.

The book offers an integrated vision on Cloud and HPC, Big Data, Analytics and virtualization in computing-oriented manufacturing, combining information and communication technologies, service-oriented control of holonic architectures as well as enterprise integration solutions based on SOA principles. It is structured in eight parts, each one grouping research and trends in digital manufacturing and service oriented manufacturing control: Cloud and Cyber-Physical Systems for Smart Manufacturing, Reconfigurable and Self-organized Multi-Agent Systems for Industry and Service, Sustainability Issues in Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Holonic and Multi-agent System Design for Industry and Service, Should Intelligent Manufacturing Systems be Dependable and Safe?, Service-oriented Management and Control of Manufacturing Systems, Engineering and Human Integration in Flexible and Reconfigurable Industrial Systems,Virtualization and Simulation in Computing-oriented Industry and Service.p>

This book explains how to teach better and presents the latest research on processing educational data and presents traditional statistical techniques as well as probabilistic, interval, and fuzzy approaches. Teaching is a very rewarding activity; it is also a very difficult one - because it is largely an art. There is a lot of advice on teaching available, but it is usually informal and is not easy to follow. To remedy this situation, it is reasonable to use techniques specifically designed to handle such imprecise knowledge: the fuzzy logic techniques. Since there are a large number of statistical studies of different teaching techniques, the authors combined statistical and fuzzy approaches to process the educational data in order to provide insights into improving all the stages of the education process: from forming a curriculum to deciding in which order to present the material to grading the assignments and exams. The authors do not claim to have solved all the problems of education. Instead they show, using numerous examples, that an innovative combination of different uncertainty techniques can improve teaching. The book offers teachers and instructors valuable advice and provides researchers in pedagogical and fuzzy areas with techniques to further advance teaching.