There are many feedback control books out there, but none of them capture the essence of robust control as well as Introduction to Feedback Control Theory. Written by Hitay Özbay, one of the top researchers in robust control in the world, this book fills the gap between introductory feedback control texts and advanced robust control texts.

Introduction to Feedback Control Theory covers basic concepts such as dynamical systems modeling, performance objectives, the Routh-Hurwitz test, root locus, Nyquist criterion, and lead-lag controllers. It introduces more advanced topics including Kharitanov's stability test, basic loopshaping, stability robustness, sensitivity minimization, time delay systems, H-infinity control, and parameterization of all stabilizing controllers for single input single output stable plants. This range of topics gives students insight into the key issues involved in designing a controller.

Occupying and important place in the field of control theory, Introduction to Feedback Control Theory covers the basics of robust control and incorporates new techniques for time delay systems, as well as classical and modern control. Students can use this as a text for building a foundation of knowledge and as a reference for advanced information and up-to-date techniques

Despite the available general literature in intelligent control, there is a definite lack of knowledge and know-how in practical applications of intelligent control in drying. This book fills that gap. Intelligent Control in Drying serves as an innovative and practical guide for researchers and professionals in the field of drying technologies, providing an overview of control principles and systems used in drying operations, from classical to model-based to adaptive and optimal control. At the same time, it lays out approaches to synthesis of control systems, based on the objectives and control strategies, reflecting complexity of drying process and material under drying. This essential reference covers both fundamental and practical aspects of intelligent control, sensor fusion and dynamic optimization with respect to drying.

Many companies are now offering robots that are geared to the casual electronics hobbyist, both in kit form and as fully assembled models. This book gives an overview of available robot products, ranging from the simple to the complex. Interested readers will be able to find the robot kit that matches their skill level and pocketbook. Beginners may want to try a robot that is already fully assembled, or a kit with pre-assembled electronics. Other readers may opt for kits that require soldering and electronic experience. Other criteria a reader will be able to review include motion systems (robots that roll on wheels, or walk on legs, or robot arms), available sensors (from none to a wide range), and programming complexity (how the robot is programmed). If its not really a robot, its not in this book.

"Covers design methods for optimal (or quasioptimal) control algorithms in the form of synthesis for deterministic and stochastic dynamical systems-with applications in aerospace, robotic, and servomechanical technologies. Providing new results on exact and approximate solutions of optimal control problems."

With rapid population explosion, improving rail transit speed and capacity is strongly desirable around the world. Communication-based train control (CBTC) is an automated train control system using high capacity bidirectional train-ground communications to ensure the safe operation of rail vehicles. This book presents the latest advances in CBTC research. The contributed chapters from leading experts in the field cover different aspects of modelling, analysis, design, testing, management, deployment, and optimization of CBTC systems. Advances in Communications-Based Train Control Systems begins with the background and evolution of train signaling/train control systems. It introduces the main features and architecture of CBTC systems and describes current challenges and successful implementations around the world. Subsequent contributed chapters discuss such key research areas as Nondestructive testing techniques that can be employed to inspect rails and fastening parts New wireless channel modelling techniques for underground tunnels and viaducts Advanced wireless communication systems to improve CBTC communication availability Schemes to integrate train control and train-ground communications by modelling the control system of a group of trains in CBTC as a networked control system Use of cognitive control to improve train control performance, considering both train-ground communication and train control The book includes many supporting illustrations and tables along with a valuable set of references at the end of each chapter. With this book, researchers and practitioners will be well-equipped to advance the research and development in this important field.

PgMP Exam Practice Test and Study Guide, Fourth Edition is the book you need to pass the Program Management Professional (PgMP) exam the first time around. It reflects recent revisions based on PMI's Standard for Program Management - Third Edition (2013).Based on best practices that complement PMI's standards, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource available to help you prepare for the exam with new and changed terminology. It includes a list of the major topics covered on the exam organized by the five performance domains'strategic program management, program life cycle, benefits management, stakeholder management, and governance as presented in the Program Management Professional Examination Content Outline. It also includes helpful tips on how to make the most of the time you have available to prepare for the exam. Just like its bestselling predecessors, this indispensable study guide includes 20 multiple-choice practice questions for each domain along with a comprehensive answer key. The program life cycle domain includes 20 questions for each of the five phases. Each question also has a plainly written rationale for each correct answer with bibliographic references for further study.Two challenging, 170-question practice tests that simulate the actual exam are included in the book and online, so you can retake them as many times as necessary. They also include a rationale and reference.Scores for the online tests are presented as if each question is rated similarly, but this edition also includes a new component: the authors own weighting system for the level of difficulty for each question. This system will show you what they feel meets the exam's criteria for Proficient, Moderately Proficient, and below Proficient. You then will see your scores by domain in both approaches.Supplying an in

Recent developments in reliability engineering has become the most challenging and demanding area of research. Modeling and Simulation, along with System Reliability Engineering has become a greater issue because of high-tech industrial processes, using more complex systems today. This book gives the latest research advances in the field of modeling and simulation, based on analysis in engineering sciences. Features Focuses on the latest research in modeling and simulation based analysis in reliability engineering. Covers performance evaluation of complex engineering systems Identifies and fills the gaps of knowledge pertaining to engineering applications Provides insights on an international and transnational scale Modeling and Simulation Based Analysis in Reliability Engineering aims at providing a reference for applications of mathematics in engineering, offering a theoretical sound background with adequate case studies, and will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and academics.

There has been great interest in "universal controllers" that mimic the functions of human processes to learn about the systems they are controlling on-line so that performance improves automatically. Neural network controllers are derived for robot manipulators in a variety of applications including position control, force control, link flexibility stabilization and the management of high-frequency joint and motor dynamics.
The first chapter provides a background on neural networks and the second on dynamical systems and control. Chapter three introduces the robot control problem and standard techniques such as torque, adaptive and robust control. Subsequent chapters give design techniques and Stability Proofs For NN Controllers For Robot Arms, Practical Robotic systems with high frequency vibratory modes, force control and a general class of non-linear systems. The last chapters are devoted to discrete- time NN controllers. Throughout the text, worked examples are provided.

Support vector machines (SVMs) are used in a range of applications, including drug design, food quality control, metabolic fingerprint analysis, and microarray data-based cancer classification. While most mathematicians are well-versed in the distinctive features and empirical performance of SVMs, many chemists and biologists are not as familiar with what they are and how they work. Presenting a clear bridge between theory and application, Support Vector Machines and Their Application in Chemistry and Biotechnology provides a thorough description of the mechanism of SVMs from the point of view of chemists and biologists, enabling them to solve difficult problems with the help of these powerful tools. Topics discussed include: Background and key elements of support vector machines and applications in chemistry and biotechnology Elements and algorithms of support vector classification (SVC) and support vector regression (SVR) machines, along with discussion of simulated datasets The kernel function for solving nonlinear problems by using a simple linear transformation method Ensemble learning of support vector machines Applications of support vector machines to near-infrared data Support vector machines and quantitative structure-activity/property relationship (QSAR/QSPR) Quality control of traditional Chinese medicine by means of the chromatography fingerprint technique The use of support vector machines in exploring the biological data produced in OMICS study Beneficial for chemical data analysis and the modeling of complex physic-chemical and biological systems, support vector machines show promise in a myriad of areas. This book enables non-mathematicians to understand the potential of SVMs and utilize them in a host of applications.

First published in 1999, this volume examined how increasing cockpit automation in commercial fleets across the world has had a profound impact on the cognitive work that is carried out on the flight deck. Pilots have largely been transformed into supervisory controllers, managing a suite of human and automated resources. Operational and training requirements have changed, and the potential for human error and system breakdown has shifted. This compelling book critically examines how airlines, regulators, educators and manufacturers cope with these and other consequences of advanced aircraft automation.

Series Information:
Series in Systems and Control

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is a process where an autonomous vehicle builds a map of an unknown environment while concurrently generating an estimate for its location. This book is concerned with computationally efficient solutions to the large scale SLAM problems using exactly sparse Extended Information Filters (EIF).The invaluable book also provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the properties of the information matrix in EIF-based algorithms for SLAM. Three exactly sparse information filters for SLAM are described in detail, together with two efficient and exact methods for recovering the state vector and the covariance matrix. Proposed algorithms are extensively evaluated both in simulation and through experiments.

Virtual Futures explores the ideas that the future lies in its ability to articulate the consequences of an increasingly synthetic and virtual world. New technologies like cyberspace, the internet, and Chaos theory are often discussed in the context of technology and its potential to liberate or in terms of technophobia. This collection examines both these ideas while also charting a new and controversial route through contemporary discourses on technology; a path that discusses the material evolution and the erotic relation between humans and machines.
Virtual Futures brings together diverse fields such as cyberfeminism, materialist philosophy, postmodern fiction, computing culture and performance art, with essays by Sadie Plant, Stelarc and Manuel de Landa (to name a few). The collection heralds the death of humanism and the ride of posthuman pragmatism. The contested zone of debate throughout these essays is the notion of the posthuman, or the possibility of the cyborg as the free human. Viewed by some writers as a threat to human life and humanism itself, others in the collection describe the posthuman as a critical perspective that anticipates the next step in evolution: the integration or synthesis of humans and machines, organic life and technology.
This view of technology and information is heavily influenced by Anglo American literature, especially cyberpunk, Pynchon and Ballard, as well as the materialist philosophies of Freud, Deleuze, and Haraway, Virtual Futures provides analyses by both established theorists and the most innovative new voices working in conjunction between the arts and contemporary technology.

"Virtual Futures" explores the ideas that the future lies in its ability to articulate the consequences of an increasingly synthetic and virtual world. New technologies like cyberspace, the internet, and Chaos theory are often discussed in the context of technology and its potential to liberate or in terms of technophobia. This collection examines both these ideas while also charting a new and controversial route through contemporary discourses on technology; a path that discusses the material evolution and the erotic relation between humans and machines. Including essays by Sadie Plant, Stelarc and Manuel de Landa, the collection heralds the death of humanism and the rise of posthuman pragmatism. This collection provides analyses by both established theorists and the most innovative new voices working in conjunction between the arts and contemporary technology.

Telexistence is a fundamental concept which refers to the general technology that enables a human being to have a real-time sensation of being at a place other than where he or she actually exists, while being able to interact with the remote environment, which may be real, virtual, or a combination of both. It also refers to an advanced type of teleoperation system that enables an operator at the control to perform remote tasks dexterously with the feeling of existing in a surrogate robot working in a remote environment. Telexistence in the real remote environment through a virtual environment is also possible.This book is the first book on telexistence written by the inventor of the concept of this emerging technology. It introduces the concept of telexistence, explains how this concept can be realized, illustrates precisely real examples of the realization of the concept, and determines its future advancement.

This comprehensive volume is the product of an intensive collaborative effort among researchers across the United States, Europe and Japan. The result -- a change in the way we think of humans and computers.

This book, a compilation of articles from Karl Lunt's long-running column for Nuts & Volts magazine, is a must-read for all beginner and intermediate-level robotics enthusiasts. Written in a friendly, straightforward manner, it contains entertaining anecdotes as well as practical advice and instruction. The author's stories about his various robotics projects will inspire you to try them yourself; and he shares his tips and code to help you. Possible projects range from transforming a TV remote control into a robot controller to building a robot from a drink cooler. You'll want to build them all; the author's enthusiasm for robotics is contagious!

The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Program is a cooperative effort by government, private industry, and academia to apply advanced technology to the task of resolving the problems of surface transportation. The objective is to improve travel efficiency and mobility, enhance safety, conserve energy, provide economic benefits, and protect the environment. The current demand for mobility has exceeded the available capacity of the roadway system. Because the highway system cannot be expanded, except in minor ways, the available capacity must be used more efficiently to handle the increased demand.
ITS applies advanced information processing, communication, sensing, and computer control technologies to the problems of surface transportation. Considerable research and development efforts will be required to produce these new technologies and to convert technologies developed in the defense and space programs to solve surface transportation problems.
ITS has been subdivided into six interlocking technology areas. This book addresses human factors concerns for four of these areas:
*" Advanced Traveler Information Systems" are a variety of systems that provide real time, in-vehicle information to drivers regarding navigation and route guidance, motorist services, roadway signing, and hazard warnings.
*" Advanced Vehicle Control Systems" refer to systems that aid drivers in controlling their vehicle particularly in emergency situations and ultimately taking over some or all of the driving tasks.
*" Commercial Vehicle Operations" address the application of ITS technologies to the special needs of commercial roadway vehicles including automated vehicle identification, location, weigh-in-motion, clearance sensing, and record keeping.
*" Advanced Traffic Management Systems" monitor, control and manage traffic on streets and highways to reduce congestion using vehicle route diversion, automated signal timing, changeable message signs, and priority control systems.
Two technical areas are not specifically addressed in individual chapters, but many aspects of them are covered in associated chapters:
*" Advanced Rural Transportation Systems" include systems that apply ITS technologies to the special needs of rural systems and include emergency notification and response, vehicle location, and traveler information.
*" Advanced Public Transportation Systems" enhance the effectiveness, attractiveness and economics of public transportation and include fleet management, automated fare collection, and real-time information systems.

The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Program is a cooperative effort by government, private industry, and academia to apply advanced technology to the task of resolving the problems of surface transportation. The objective is to improve travel efficiency and mobility, enhance safety, conserve energy, provide economic benefits, and protect the environment. The current demand for mobility has exceeded the available capacity of the roadway system. Because the highway system cannot be expanded, except in minor ways, the available capacity must be used more efficiently to handle the increased demand.
ITS applies advanced information processing, communication, sensing, and computer control technologies to the problems of surface transportation. Considerable research and development efforts will be required to produce these new technologies and to convert technologies developed in the defense and space programs to solve surface transportation problems.
ITS has been subdivided into six interlocking technology areas. This book addresses human factors concerns for four of these areas:
*" Advanced Traveler Information Systems" are a variety of systems that provide real time, in-vehicle information to drivers regarding navigation and route guidance, motorist services, roadway signing, and hazard warnings.
*" Advanced Vehicle Control Systems" refer to systems that aid drivers in controlling their vehicle particularly in emergency situations and ultimately taking over some or all of the driving tasks.
*" Commercial Vehicle Operations" address the application of ITS technologies to the special needs of commercial roadway vehicles including automated vehicle identification, location, weigh-in-motion, clearance sensing, and record keeping.
*" Advanced Traffic Management Systems" monitor, control and manage traffic on streets and highways to reduce congestion using vehicle route diversion, automated signal timing, changeable message signs, and priority control systems.
Two technical areas are not specifically addressed in individual chapters, but many aspects of them are covered in associated chapters:
*" Advanced Rural Transportation Systems" include systems that apply ITS technologies to the special needs of rural systems and include emergency notification and response, vehicle location, and traveler information.
*" Advanced Public Transportation Systems" enhance the effectiveness, attractiveness and economics of public transportation and include fleet management, automated fare collection, and real-time information systems.

This text deals with the most fundamental deficiency of modern theory control: the lack of an easily applicable method for the design of low order controllers. It shows that solutions to many different problems in control all reduce to the same linear algebra problem. It employs matrix equalities and matrix inequalities in the solutions of fixed order control and also provides computational algorithms.

This book addresses some of the challenges suffered by the well-known and robust sliding-mode control paradigm. The authors show how the fusion of fuzzy systems with sliding-mode controllers can alleviate some of these problems and promote applicability. Fuzzy systems used as soft switches eliminate high-frequency signal oscillations and can substantially lower the noise sensitivity of sliding-mode controllers. The amount of a priori knowledge required concerning the nominal structure and parameters of a nonlinear system is also shown to be much reduced by exploiting the general function-approximation property of fuzzy systems so as to use them as identifiers. The main features of this book include: * a review of various existing structures of sliding-mode fuzzy control; * a guide to the fundamental mathematics of sliding-mode fuzzy controllers and their stability analysis; * state-of-the-art procedures for the design of a sliding-mode fuzzy controller; * source codes including MATLAB (R) and Simulink (R) codes illustrating the simulation of these controllers, particularly the adaptive controllers; * a short bibliography for each chapter for readers interested in learning more on a particular subject; and * illustrative examples and simulation results to support the main claims made in the text. Academic researchers and graduate students interested in the control of nonlinear systems and particularly those working in sliding-mode controller design will find this book a valuable source of comparative information on existing controllers and ideas for the development of new ones.

Contents:
1. Basic Principles: The Operating Regime Approach 2. Modelling: Fuzzy Set Methods for Local Modelling Identification 3. Modelling of Electrically Stimulated Muscle 4. Process Modelling Using a Functional State Approach 5. Markov Mixtures of Experts 6. Active Learning With Mixture Models 7. Local Learning in Local Model Networks 8. Side Effects of Normalising Basic Functions 9. Control: Heterogeneous Control Laws 10. Local Laguerre Models 11. Multiple Model Adaptive Control 12. H Control Using Multiple Linear Models 13. Synthesis of Fuzzy Control Systems Based on Linear Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Models

Spectral Feature Selection for Data Mining introduces a novel feature selection technique that establishes a general platform for studying existing feature selection algorithms and developing new algorithms for emerging problems in real-world applications. This technique represents a unified framework for supervised, unsupervised, and semisupervised feature selection. The book explores the latest research achievements, sheds light on new research directions, and stimulates readers to make the next creative breakthroughs. It presents the intrinsic ideas behind spectral feature selection, its theoretical foundations, its connections to other algorithms, and its use in handling both large-scale data sets and small sample problems. The authors also cover feature selection and feature extraction, including basic concepts, popular existing algorithms, and applications. A timely introduction to spectral feature selection, this book illustrates the potential of this powerful dimensionality reduction technique in high-dimensional data processing. Readers learn how to use spectral feature selection to solve challenging problems in real-life applications and discover how general feature selection and extraction are connected to spectral feature selection.