Satellite Soil Moisture Retrieval: Techniques and Applications offers readers a better understanding of the scientific underpinnings, development, and application of soil moisture retrieval techniques and their applications for environmental modeling and management, bringing together a collection of recent developments and rigorous applications of soil moisture retrieval techniques from optical and infrared datasets, such as the universal triangle method, vegetation indices based approaches, empirical models, and microwave techniques, particularly by utilizing earth observation datasets such as IRS III, MODIS, Landsat7, Landsat8, SMOS, AMSR-e, AMSR2 and the upcoming SMAP. Through its coverage of a wide variety of soil moisture retrieval applications, including drought, flood, irrigation scheduling, weather forecasting, climate change, precipitation forecasting, and several others, this is the first book to promote synergistic and multidisciplinary activities among scientists and users working in the hydrometeorological sciences.

Transformation Optics-based Antennas is organized into two chapters that follow an introduction that presents the basic principles of the transformation optics concept. Two types of transformation are presented, coordinate transformation and space transformation. Implementations using metamaterials are also discussed. Chapter One focuses on coordinate transformation in the design of devices capable of modifying the electromagnetic appearance of a radiating source. Transformation of a directive radiation pattern into an isotropic one (and vice-versa) through space stretching and compression, respectively, and the possibility of creating multiple beams are also studied. Chapter Two deals with devices designed using space transformation concepts. Quasi-conformal transformation optics (QCTO) are applied for the design of lenses, either to compensate for the phase shift created by the conformation of an array of sources or to steer a beam to an off-normal direction.

Phasor Measurement Units and Wide Area Monitoring Systems presents complete coverage of phasor measurement units (PMUs), bringing together a rigorous academic approach and practical considerations on the implementation of PMUs to the power system. In addition, it includes a complete theory and practice of PMU technology development and implementation in power systems.

Although existing nanometer CMOS technology is expected to remain dominant for the next decade, new non-classical devices are being developed as the potential replacements of silicon CMOS, in order to meet the ever-present demand for faster, smaller, more efficient integrate circuits. Many new devices are based on novel emerging materials such as one-dimensional carbon nanotubes and two-dimensional graphene, non-graphene two-dimensional materials, and transition metal dichalcogenides. Such devices use on/off operations based on quantum mechanical current transport, and so their design and fabrication require an understanding of the electronic structures of materials and technologies. Moreover, new electronic design automation (EDA) tools and techniques need to be developed based on integrating devices from emerging novel material-based technologies. The aim of this book is to explore the materials and design requirements of these emerging integrated circuit technologies, and to outline their prospective applications. It will be useful for academics and research scientists interested in future directions and developments in design, materials and applications of novel integrated circuit technologies, and for research and development professionals working at the cutting edge of integrated circuit development.

On-Road Intelligent Vehicles: Motion Planning for Intelligent Transportation Systems deals with the technology of autonomous vehicles, with a special focus on the navigation and planning aspects, presenting the information in three parts. Part One deals with the use of different sensors to perceive the environment, thereafter mapping the multi-domain senses to make a map of the operational scenario, including topics such as proximity sensors which give distances to obstacles, vision cameras, and computer vision techniques that may be used to pre-process the image, extract relevant features, and use classification techniques like neural networks and support vector machines for the identification of roads, lanes, vehicles, obstacles, traffic lights, signs, and pedestrians. With a detailed insight into the technology behind the vehicle, Part Two of the book focuses on the problem of motion planning. Numerous planning techniques are discussed and adapted to work for multi-vehicle traffic scenarios, including the use of sampling based approaches comprised of Genetic Algorithm and Rapidly-exploring Random Trees and Graph search based approaches, including a hierarchical decomposition of the algorithm and heuristic selection of nodes for limited exploration, Reactive Planning based approaches, including Fuzzy based planning, Potential Field based planning, and Elastic Strip and logic based planning. Part Three of the book covers the macroscopic concepts related to Intelligent Transportation Systems with a discussion of various topics and concepts related to transportation systems, including a description of traffic flow, the basic theory behind transportation systems, and generation of shock waves.

Advances in Imaging and Electron Physics merges two long-running serials, Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics and Advances in Optical and Electron Microscopy. The series features extended articles on the physics of electron devices (especially semiconductor devices), particle optics at high and low energies, microlithography, image science, and digital image processing, electromagnetic wave propagation, electron microscopy, and the computing methods used in all these domains.

Laser Surface Modification of Biomaterials: Techniques and Applications covers this expanding field, which has many potential applications, including biomaterials. Laser surface modification of biomaterials enables the production of hybrid materials with different functionality in the bulk as well as the thin, sub-micrometer surface layer. This book will provide readers with a comprehensive review of the technology and its applications. Chapters in Part 1 look at the techniques and considerations of laser surface modification, while Part 2 reviews laser surface modification techniques of the most important classes of biomaterials, with a final set of chapters discussing application specific laser surface modification.

Through expanded intelligence, the use of robotics has fundamentally transformed a variety of fields, including manufacturing, aerospace, medical, social services, and agriculture. Providing successful techniques in robotic design allows for increased autonomous mobility, which leads to a greater productivity level. Novel Design and Applications of Robotics Technologies provides innovative insights into the state-of-the-art technologies in the design and development of robotic technologies and their real-world applications. The content within this publication represents the work of interactive learning, microrobot swarms, and service robots. It is a vital reference source for computer engineers, robotic developers, IT professionals, academicians, and researchers seeking coverage on topics centered on the application of robotics to perform tasks in various disciplines.

The implementation of wireless sensor networks has wide-ranging applications for monitoring various physical and environmental settings. However, certain limitations with these technologies must be addressed in order to effectively utilize them. The Handbook of Research on Advanced Wireless Sensor Network Applications, Protocols, and Architectures is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on recent innovations and developments in the field of wireless sensors. Examining the advantages and challenges presented by the application of these networks in various areas, this book is ideally designed for academics, researchers, students, and IT developers.

Through three detailed chapters, this book outlines the functions and capabilities of static converters such as sensors used in protection devices and energy storage devices with a thorough review of the technologies and applications of all these components, including monitoring aspects. The author outlines the main quantities to monitor in power converters (current, voltage and temperature) and the sensor technologies that are currently available in the market, with often experienced practical measurement problems and analog circuits allowing you to overcome these issues.

Silicon Carbide Biotechnology: A Biocompatible Semiconductor for Advanced Biomedical Devices and Applications, Second Edition, provides the latest information on this wide-band-gap semiconductor material that the body does not reject as a foreign (i.e., not organic) material and its potential to further advance biomedical applications. SiC devices offer high power densities and low energy losses, enabling lighter, more compact, and higher efficiency products for biocompatible and long-term in vivo applications, including heart stent coatings, bone implant scaffolds, neurological implants and sensors, glucose sensors, brain-machine-interface devices, smart bone implants, and organ implants. This book provides the materials and biomedical engineering communities with a seminal reference book on SiC for developing technology, and is a resource for practitioners eager to identify and implement advanced engineering solutions to their everyday medical problems for which they currently lack long-term, cost-effective solutions.

To design and develop fast and effective microwave wireless systems today involves addressing the three different 'levels': Device, circuit, and system. This book presents the links and interactions between the three different levels rather than providing just a comprehensive coverage of one specific level. With the aim of overcoming the sectional knowledge of microwave engineers, this will be the first book focused on explaining how the three different levels interact by taking the reader on a journey through the different levels going from the theoretical background to the practical applications.

The rheological properties of magnetorheological (MR) materials, such as their viscosity and dynamic modulus, can be tuned or controlled by changing the intensity of the magnetic field using appropriate control schemes. Thanks to their robustness, performance and smart properties, numerous studies have been undertaken on the development of new MR materials, and microscopic and macroscopic modelling approaches. Novel applications include engine mounts and clutch systems in the automotive industry, shock absorbing safety devices for cockpit seats in aerospace, and shock absorption from movement in semi-active human prosthetic legs. This book introduces magnetorheological fluids and elastomers, and explores their material properties, related modelling techniques and applications in turn. The book offers insights into the relationships between the properties and characterisation of MR materials and their current and future applications, making it useful reading for researchers, engineers and graduate students who work in the field of smart materials and structures.

Safe Robot Navigation Among Moving and Steady Obstacles is the first book to focus on reactive navigation algorithms in unknown dynamic environments with moving and steady obstacles. The first three chapters provide introduction and background on sliding mode control theory, sensor models, and vehicle kinematics. Chapter 4 deals with the problem of optimal navigation in the presence of obstacles. Chapter 5 discusses the problem of reactively navigating. In Chapter 6, border patrolling algorithms are applied to a more general problem of reactively navigating. A method for guidance of a Dubins-like mobile robot is presented in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 introduces and studies a simple biologically-inspired strategy for navigation a Dubins-car. Chapter 9 deals with a hard scenario where the environment of operation is cluttered with obstacles that may undergo arbitrary motions, including rotations and deformations. Chapter 10 presents a novel reactive algorithm for collision free navigation of a nonholonomic robot in unknown complex dynamic environments with moving obstacles. Chapter 11 introduces and examines a novel purely reactive algorithm to navigate a planar mobile robot in densely cluttered environments with unpredictably moving and deforming obstacles. Chapter 12 considers a multiple robot scenario. For the Control and Automation Engineer, this book offers accessible and precise development of important mathematical models and results. All the presented results have mathematically rigorous proofs. On the other hand, the Engineer in Industry can benefit by the experiments with real robots such as Pioneer robots, autonomous wheelchairs and autonomous mobile hospital.

Today, air-to-surface vessel (ASV) radars, or more generally maritime surveillance radars, are installed on maritime reconnaissance aircraft for long-range detection, tracking and classification of surface ships (ASuW - Air to Surface Warfare) and for hunting submarines (ASW - anti-submarine warfare). Such radars were first developed in the UK during WWII as part of the response to the threat to shipping from German U-Boats. This book describes the ASV radars developed in the UK after WWII (1946-2000) and used by the RAF for long-range maritime surveillance.

Semiconductor Nanowires: Part B, and Volume 94 in the Semiconductor and Semimetals series, focuses on semiconductor nanowires.