This book proposes some novel approaches for finding unmanned aerial vehicle trajectories to reach targets with unknown location in minimum time. At first, it reviews probabilistic search algorithms that have been used for dealing with the minimum time search (MTS) problem, and discusses how metaheuristics, and in particular the ant colony optimization algorithm (ACO), can help to find high-quality solutions with low computational time. Then, it describes two ACO-based approaches to solve the discrete MTS problem and the continuous MTS problem, respectively. In turn, it reports on the evaluation of the ACO-based discrete and continuous approaches to the MTS problem in different simulated scenarios, showing that the methods outperform in most all the cases over other state-of-the-art approaches. In the last part of the thesis, the work of integration of the proposed techniques in the ground control station developed by Airbus to control ATLANTE UAV is reported in detail, providing practical insights into the implementation of these methods for real UAVs.

This book presents novel approaches to formulate, analyze, and solve problems in the area of distributed service networks, notably based on AI-related methods (parallel/cloud computing, declarative modeling, fuzzy methods). Distributed service networks are an important area of research and applications. The methods presented are meant to integrate both emerging and existing concepts and approaches for different types of production flows through synchronizations. An integration of logistics services (e.g., supply chains and projects portfolios), public and multimodal transport, traffic flow congestion management in ad hoc networks, design of high-performance cloud data centers, and milk-run distribution networks are shown as illustrations for the methods proposed. The book is of interest to researchers and practitioners in computer science, operations management, production control, and related fields.

This book covers advances in system, control and computing. This book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at the International Conference on Advances in Systems, Control and Computing (AISCC 2020), held at MNIT Jaipur during February 27-28, 2020. The first part is advances in systems and it is dedicated to applications of the artificial neural networks, evolutionary computation, swarm intelligence, artificial immune systems, fuzzy system, autonomous and multi-agent systems, machine learning, other intelligent systems and related areas. In the second part, machine learning and other intelligent algorithms for design of control/control analysis are covered. The last part covers advancements, modifications, improvements and applications of intelligent algorithms.

The Complete "Tool Kit" for the Hottest Area in RF/Wireless Design!
Short-range wireless-communications over distances of less than 100 meters-is the most rapidly growing segment of RF/wireless engineering. Alan Bensky is an internationally recognized expert in short-range wireless, and this new edition of his bestselling book is completely revised to cover the latest developments in this fast moving field.
You'll find coverage of such cutting-edge topics as:
- architectural trends in RF/wireless integrated circuits
- compatibility and conflict issues between different short-range wireless systems
- "Zigbee" and related new IEEE standards for short-range communications
- latest U.S. and international regulatory standards for spread spectrum, ultra wideband, and other advanced communications techniques
Alan Bensky also thoroughly discusses the fundamentals of radio signal propagation, communications protocols and modulation methods, information theory, antennas and transmission lines, receivers, transmitters, radio system design, and how to successfully implement a short-range wireless system. All material has been carefully updated and revised to make it as technically up-to-the-minute as possible. The accompanying CD includes Mathcad worksheets to greatly simplify common design tasks and calculations.
You'll also find coverage of Bluetooth, "Wi-Fi" and related 802.11 variants, digital modulation methods, and other essential information for planning and designing short-range wireless hardware and networks.
This new edition will, like the first edition, be an invaluable reference for engineers and technical professionals who design, support, market, and maintain short-range wireless communications systems.
* No other book contains EVERYTHING pertaining to short-range wireless design.
* Covers all the hot topics like 802.11, Zigbee, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
* Valuable CD-Rom included that will simplify the design process.

This book offers a comprehensive reference guide for modeling humanoid robots using intelligent and fuzzy systems. It provides readers with the necessary intelligent and fuzzy tools for controlling humanoid robots by incomplete, vague, and imprecise information or insufficient data, where classical modeling approaches cannot be applied. The respective chapters, written by prominent researchers, explain a wealth of both basic and advanced concepts including fuzzy control, metaheuristic-based control, neutrosophic control, etc. To foster reader comprehension, all chapters include relevant numerical examples or case studies. Taken together, they form an excellent reference guide for researchers, lecturers, and postgraduate students pursuing research on humanoid robots. Moreover, by extending all the main aspects of humanoid robots to its intelligent and fuzzy counterparts, the book presents a dynamic snapshot of the field that is expected to stimulate new directions, ideas, and developments.

This book presents a collection of the most recent hybrid methods for image processing. The algorithms included consider evolutionary, swarm, machine learning and deep learning. The respective chapters explore different areas of image processing, from image segmentation to the recognition of objects using complex approaches and medical applications. The book also discusses the theory of the methodologies used to provide an overview of the applications of these tools in image processing. The book is primarily intended for undergraduate and postgraduate students of science, engineering and computational mathematics, and can also be used for courses on artificial intelligence, advanced image processing, and computational intelligence. Further, it is a valuable resource for researchers from the evolutionary computation, artificial intelligence and image processing communities.

This book explores several key issues in beam phase space dynamics in plasma-based wakefield accelerators. It reveals the phase space dynamics of ionization-based injection methods by identifying two key phase mixing processes. Subsequently, the book proposes a two-color laser ionization injection scheme for generating high-quality beams, and assesses it using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. To eliminate emittance growth when the beam propagates between plasma accelerators and traditional accelerator components, a method using longitudinally tailored plasma structures as phase space matching components is proposed. Based on the aspects above, a preliminary design study on X-ray free-electron lasers driven by plasma accelerators is presented. Lastly, an important type of numerical noise-the numerical Cherenkov instabilities in particle-in-cell codes-is systematically studied.

What are the physical mechanisms that underlie the efficient generation and transfer of energy at the nanoscale? Nature seems to know the answer to this question, having optimised the process of photosynthesis in plants over millions of years of evolution. It is conceivable that humans could mimic this process using synthetic materials, and organic semiconductors have attracted a lot of attention in this respect. Once an organic semiconductor absorbs light, bound pairs of electrons with positively charged holes, termed `excitons', are formed. Excitons behave as fundamental energy carriers, hence understanding the physics behind their efficient generation and transfer is critical to realising the potential of organic semiconductors for light-harvesting and other applications, such as LEDs and transistors. However, this problem is extremely challenging since excitons can interact very strongly with photons. Moreover, simultaneously with the exciton motion, organic molecules can vibrate in hundreds of possible ways, having a very strong effect on energy transfer. The description of these complex phenomena is often beyond the reach of standard quantum mechanical methods which rely on the assumption of weak interactions between excitons, photons and vibrations. In this thesis, Antonios Alvertis addresses this problem through the development and application of a variety of different theoretical methods to the description of these strong interactions, providing pedagogical explanations of the underlying physics. A comprehensive introduction to organic semiconductors is followed by a review of the background theory that is employed to approach the relevant research questions, and the theoretical results are presented in close connection with experiment, yielding valuable insights for experimentalists and theoreticians alike.

This book gathers the proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Advancement in Communication Circuits and Systems (ICCACCS 2018), which was organized by Narula Institute of Technology under the patronage of the JIS group, affiliated with West Bengal University of Technology. The book presents peer-reviewed papers that highlight new theoretical and experimental findings in the fields of electronics and communication engineering, including interdisciplinary areas like Advanced Computing, Pattern Recognition and Analysis, and Signal and Image Processing. The respective papers cover a broad range of principles, techniques and applications in microwave devices, communication and networking, signal and image processing, computations and mathematics, and control. The proceedings reflect the conference's strong emphasis on methodological approaches, and focus on applications within the domain of Computational Advancement in Communication Circuits and Systems. They also address emerging technologies in electronics and communication, together with the latest practices, issues and trends.

This book studies the vulnerability of wireless communications under line-of-sight (LoS) and non-LoS correlated fading environments. The authors theoretically and practically provide physical layer security analyses for several technologies and networks such as Fifth-Generation (5G) networks, Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). The authors have provided these under various practical scenarios, and developed theoretical aspects to validate their proposed applications. Presents physical layer security (PLS) under correlated fading environments, 5G wireless networks, and NOMA networks; Provides end-to-end analyses, combination of channel correlation and outdated CSI and their effects on PL; Includes contributions of PLS research written by global experts in academia and industry.

This book is focused on addressing the designs of FinFET-based analog ICs for 5G and E-band communication networks. In addition, it also incorporates some of the contemporary developments over different fields. It highlights the latest advances, problems and challenges and presents the latest research results in the field of mm-wave integrated circuits designing based on scientific literature and its practical realization. The traditional approaches are excluded in this book. The authors cover various design guidelines to be taken care for while designing these circuits and detrimental scaling effects on the same. Moreover, Gallium Nitrides (GaN) are also reported to show huge potentials for the power amplifier designing required in 5G communication network. Subsequently, to enhance the readability of this book, the authors also include real-time problems in RFIC designing, case studies from experimental results, and clearly demarking design guidelines for the 5G communication ICs designing. This book incorporates the most recent FinFET architecture for the analog IC designing and the scaling effects along with the GaN technology as well.

Presents technologies and key concepts to produce suitable smart materials and intelligent structures for sensing, information and communication technology, biomedical applications (drug delivery, hyperthermia therapy), self-healing, flexible memories and construction technologies. Novel developments of environmental friendly, cost-effective and scalable production processes are discussed by experts in the field.

"Wifi, WiMAX, and Cellular Multihop Network"s presents an overview of WiFi-based and WiMAX-based multihop relay networks. As the first text to cover IEEE 802.16j multihop hop relay technology, this revolutionary resource explores the latest advances in multi-hop and ad-hoc networking. Not only does this reference provide the technological aspects, but also the applications for the emerging technology and architectural issues. Ranging from introductory material to advanced topics, this guidebook, plus PowerPoint slides, is essential for engineers, researchers, and students interested in learning more about WiFi and WiMAX multihop relay networks.

This book provides a thorough overview of cutting-edge research on electronics applications relevant to industry, the environment, and society at large. It covers a broad spectrum of application domains, from automotive to space and from health to security, while devoting special attention to the use of embedded devices and sensors for imaging, communication and control. The book is based on the 2019 ApplePies Conference, held in Pisa, Italy in September 2019, which brought together researchers and stakeholders to consider the most significant current trends in the field of applied electronics and to debate visions for the future. Areas addressed by the conference included information communication technology; biotechnology and biomedical imaging; space; secure, clean and efficient energy; the environment; and smart, green and integrated transport. As electronics technology continues to develop apace, constantly meeting previously unthinkable targets, further attention needs to be directed toward the electronics applications and the development of systems that facilitate human activities. This book, written by industrial and academic professionals, represents a valuable contribution in this endeavor.

A comprehensive and interdisciplinary guide to systems engineering Systems Engineering: Principles and Practice, 3rd Edition is the leading interdisciplinary reference for systems engineers. The up-to-date third edition provides readers with discussions of model-based systems engineering, requirements analysis, engineering design, and software design. Freshly updated governmental and commercial standards, architectures, and processes are covered in-depth. The book includes newly updated topics on: Risk Prototyping Modeling and simulation Software/computer systems engineering Examples and exercises appear throughout the text, allowing the reader to gauge their level of retention and learning. Systems Engineering: Principles and Practice was and remains the standard textbook used worldwide for the study of traditional systems engineering. The material is organized in a manner that allows for quick absorption of industry best practices and methods. Systems Engineering Principles and Practice continues to be a national standard textbook for the study of traditional systems engineering for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. It addresses the need for an introductory overview, first-text for the development and acquisition of complex technical systems. The material is organized in a way that teaches the reader how to think like a systems engineer and carry out best practices in the field.

This book gathers contributions from a multidisciplinary research team comprised of control engineering and economics researchers and formed to address a central interdisciplinary social issue, namely economically enabled energy management. The book's primary focus is on achieving optimal energy management that is viable from both an engineering and economic standpoint. In addition to the theoretical results and techniques presented, several chapters highlight experimental case studies, which will benefit academic researchers and practitioners alike. The first three chapters present comprehensive overviews of respective social contexts, underscore the pressing need for economically efficient energy management systems and academic work on this emerging research topic, and identify fundamental differences between approaches in control engineering and economics. In turn, the next three chapters (Chapters 4-6) provide economics-oriented approaches to the subject. The following five chapters (Chapters 7-11) address optimal energy market design, integrating both physical and economic models. The book's last three chapters (Chapters 12-14) mainly focus on the engineering aspects of next-generation energy management, though economic factors are also shown to play important roles.

This book comprehensively covers the important efforts in improving the quality of images in visual cryptography (VC), with a focus on cases with gray scale images. It not only covers schemes in traditional VC and extended VC for binary secret images, but also the latest development in the analysis-by-synthesis approach. This book distinguishes itself from the existing literature in three ways. First, it not only reviews traditional VC for binary secret images, but also covers recent efforts in improving visual quality for gray scale secret images. Second, not only traditional quality measures are reviewed, but also measures that were not used for measuring perceptual quality of decrypted secret images, such as Radially Averaged Power Spectrum Density (RAPSD) and residual variance, are employed for evaluating and guiding the design of VC algorithms. Third, unlike most VC books following a mathematical formal style, this book tries to make a balance between engineering intuition and mathematical reasoning. All the targeted problems and corresponding solutions are fully motivated by practical applications and evaluated by experimental tests, while important security issues are presented as mathematical proof. Furthermore, important algorithms are summarized as pseudocodes, thus enabling the readers to reproduce the results in the book. Therefore, this book serves as a tutorial for readers with an engineering background as well as for experts in related areas to understand the basics and research frontiers in visual cryptography.

This title offers a conceptual model for examining consumer adoption, usage and impact of broadband, utilizing various construct methodologies, and thereby providing a clear window into the rational decisions of potential broadband consumers.

This book shows how a conventional multi-layered approach can be used to control a snake robot on a desired path while moving on a flat surface. To achieve robustness to unknown variations in surface conditions, it explores various adaptive robust control methods. The authors propose a sliding-mode control approach designed to achieve robust maneuvering for bounded uncertainty with a known upper bound. The control is modified by addition of an adaptation law to alleviate the overestimation problem of the switching gain as well as to circumvent the requirement for knowledge regarding the bounds of uncertainty. The book works toward non-conservativeness, achieving efficient tracking in the presence of slowly varying uncertainties with a specially designed framework for time-delayed control. It shows readers how to extract superior performance from their snake robots with an approach that allows robustness toward bounded time-delayed estimation errors. The book also demonstrates how the multi-layered control framework can be simplified by employing differential flatness for such a system. Finally, the mathematical model of a snake robot moving inside a uniform channel using only side-wall contact is discussed. The model has further been employed to demonstrate adaptive robust control design for such a motion. Using numerous illustrations and tables, Adaptive Robust Control for Planar Snake Robots will interest researchers, practicing engineers and postgraduate students working in the field of robotics and control systems.

This multi-volume handbook is the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference work in the field of fractional calculus and its numerous applications. This sixth volume collects authoritative chapters covering several applications of fractional calculus in control theory, including fractional controllers, design methods and toolboxes, and a large number of engineering applications of control.

Intelligent Control techniques are becoming important tools in both academia and industry. Methodologies developed in the field of soft-computing, such as neural networks, fuzzy systems and evolutionary computation, can lead to accommodation of more complex processes, improved performance and considerable time savings and cost reductions. "Intelligent Control Systems Using Computational Intelligence Techniques" details the application of these tools to the field of control systems. Each chapter gives an overview of current approaches in the topic covered, with a set of the most important set references in the field, and then details the author s approach, examining both the theory and practical applications."

This book studies the fundamental aspects of many-body physics in quantum systems open to an external world. Recent remarkable developments in the observation and manipulation of quantum matter at the single-quantum level point to a new research area of open many-body systems, where interactions with an external observer and the environment play a major role. The first part of the book elucidates the influence of measurement backaction from an external observer, revealing new types of quantum critical phenomena and out-of-equilibrium dynamics beyond the conventional paradigm of closed systems. In turn, the second part develops a powerful theoretical approach to study the in- and out-of-equilibrium physics of an open quantum system strongly correlated with an external environment, where the entanglement between the system and the environment plays an essential role. The results obtained here offer essential theoretical results for understanding the many-body physics of quantum systems open to an external world, and can be applied to experimental systems in atomic, molecular and optical physics, quantum information science and condensed matter physics.