The book focuses on new theoretical results and techniques in the field of intelligent systems and control. It provides in-depth studies on a number of major topics such as Multi-Agent Systems, Complex Networks, Intelligent Robots, Complex System Theory and Swarm Behavior, Event-Triggered Control and Data-Driven Control, Robust and Adaptive Control, Big Data and Brain Science, Process Control, Intelligent Sensor and Detection Technology, Deep learning and Learning Control Guidance, Navigation and Control of Flight Vehicles and so on. Given its scope, the book will benefit all researchers, engineers, and graduate students who want to learn about cutting-edge advances in intelligent systems, intelligent control, and artificial intelligence.

This textbook provides an introduction to circuits, systems, and motors for students in electrical engineering as well as other majors that need an introduction to circuits. Unlike most other textbooks that highlight only circuit theory, this book goes into detail on many practical aspects of working with circuits, including electrical safety and the proper method to measure the relevant circuit parameters using modern measurement systems. Coverage also includes a detailed discussion of motors and generators, including brushless DC motors, as these are critical topics in the robotic and mechatronics industries. Lastly, the book discusses A/D and D/A converters given their importance in modern measurement and control systems. In addition to covering the basic circuit concepts, the author also provides the students with the necessary mathematics to analyze correctly the circuit concepts being presented. The chapter on phasor domain circuit analysis begins with a detailed review of complex numbers as many students are weak in this area. Likewise, before discussing filters and Bode Diagrams, the Fourier Transform and later the Laplace Transform are explained.

Focussing on the key technologies in developing robots for a wide range of medical rehabilitation activities - which will include robotics basics, modelling and control, biomechanics modelling, rehabilitation strategies, robot assistance, clinical setup/implementation as well as neural and muscular interfaces for rehabilitation robot control - this book is split into two parts; a review of the current state of the art, and recent advances in robotics for medical rehabilitation. Both parts will include five sections for the five key areas in rehabilitation robotics: (i) the upper limb; (ii) lower limb for gait rehabilitation (iii) hand, finger and wrist; (iv) ankle for strains and sprains; and (v) the use of EEG and EMG to create interfaces between the neurological and muscular functions of the patients and the rehabilitation robots. Each chapter provides a description of the design of the device, the control system used, and the implementation and testing to show how it fulfils the needs of that specific area of rehabilitation. The book will detail new devices, some of which have never been published before in any journal or conference.

This book focuses on the design of Robotic Flexible Assembly Cell (RFAC) with multi-robots. Its main contribution consists of a new effective strategy for scheduling RFAC in a multi-product assembly environment, in which dynamic status and multi-objective optimization problems occur. The developed strategy, which is based on a combination of advanced solution approaches such as simulation, fuzzy logic, system modeling and the Taguchi optimization method, fills an important knowledge gap in the current literature and paves the way for future research towards the goal of employing flexible assembly systems as effectively as possible despite the complexity of their scheduling.

This book provides readers with a comprehensive treatment of the principles, circuit design techniques, and applications of injection-locking in mixed-mode signal processing, with an emphasis on CMOS implementation. Major topics include: An overview of injection-locking, the principle of injection-locking in harmonic and non-harmonic oscillators, lock range enhancement techniques for harmonic oscillators, lock range enhancement techniques for non-harmonic oscillators, and the emerging applications of injection-locking in mixed-mode signal processing. Provides a single-source reference to the principles, circuit design techniques, and applications of injection-locking in mixed-mode signal processing; Includes a rich collection of design techniques for increasing the lock range of oscillators under injection, along with in-depth examination of the pros and cons of these methods; Enables a broad range of applications, such as passive wireless microsystems, forwarded-clock parallel data links, frequency synthesizers for wireless and wireline communications, and low phase noise phase-locked loops.

Collisional Electron Detachment in Dielectric Gases.- A Technique for the Measurement of Electron Attachment to Short-Lived Excited Species.- Total Cross Sections for Electron Scattering and Attachment for SF6 and Its Electrical-Discharge By-Products.- Electron Localization Effects and Resonant Attachment to O2 Impurities in Highly Compressed Neon Gas.- Temperature Dependence of the Dissociative Electron Attachment to CH3Cl and C2H5Cl.- Multibody Electron Capture Processes in the Gas Phase.- Leader Breakdown in Compressed SF6: Recent Concepts and Understanding.- Electrical Breakdown in the Space Environment.- Positive Synergism and Time-Resolved Swarm Experiments.- Discharge Development in Air at Very High Humidity Levels.- Negative $$\bar \eta$$ Synergism in CF2Cl2-N2 and CF2Cl2-CO2 Gas Mixtures.- Excitation and Ionisation in the Transient State Discharge in Pure Nitrogen.- Discussion of Some Space-Charge Effects in the Context of Low-Temperature and High-Field Steady-State Gas Discharges.- Non-equilibrium Effects in the Initiation of Pseudospark Discharges.- Dissociation Processes in Plasma Chemistry and Gaseous Dielectrics.- The Calculation of Leader Propagation in Point/Plane Gaps Under Very Fast Transient Stress.- Fractal Description of Electrical Discharges.- A Two-Dimensional Simulation of A Hollow-Cathode Discharge.- Similarities Between High Electric Field Electron Emission and Consequent Breakdown Processes in Compressed Gases and Vacuo.- Liquid Breakdown and Its Relation to Gas Breakdown.- Corona Discharges in Liquid and Gaseous Hydrocarbons: The Influence of Pressure.- Electron Drift Velocities in Fast Dielectric Liquids and Their Vapors.- Gas Breakdown and Its Relation to Vacuum and Liquid Breakdown Under The Influence of Electric and Magnetic Field.- Measurement of the Figure of Merit M for Several SF6-Based Binary Gas Mixtures.- Mode Transitions in Hollow-Cathode Discharges.- Formation of Cathode Spots by Unipolar Arcing.- Detachment of Electrons From Negative Ions in Electrical Discharges.- Time Lags and Optical Investigations of Pre-Discharge in SF6/N2 - Mixtures at Very Fast Transient Voltages.- Non-Uniform Field Flashover Characteristics in SF6 Gas Under Negative Steep-Front and Oscillating Impulse Voltages.- Breakdown Characteristics of Non-Uniform Gaps in SF6 Under Fast Oscillating Impulse Voltages.- The Effect of Leader Propagation on the V-t Curves Under LI and VFT in GIS.- Insulating Characteristics of Small SF6 Gas Gaps Under Lightning Impulse Voltages.- Low and High Voltage Distribution Along a Cap and Pin Insulator String Subjected to AC and Impulse Voltages.- Starting Processes and the Influence of the Radioactivity of Thorium on the Statistical Lag Time in Metal Halide Lamps.- Breakdown of Air Gaps Under Oscillatory Simulated Switching Surges.- Gas-Solid Interface Emissions Determined by the ESAW Charge Detection Method.- Contribution of a Solid Insulator to an Electron Avalanche in Nitrogen Gas.- Impulse Surface Charging and Flashover.- Particle-Initiated Prebreakdown Characteristics With An Insulator Stressed on 60 Hz Voltage in SF6.- High Power Gaseous Opening and Closing Switches.- Laser Triggering of Gas Filled Spark Gaps.- A New Approach for an Opening Switch for Repetitive Operations.- A Macroscopic Gas Breakdown Relationship.- Mitigation of Potential Health Hazards of Transmission Line Fields.- Electric and Magnetic Fields: An Engineer's Perspective.- Relative Potency as a Means of Evaluating ELF Health Risks.- Influence of Memory on the Statistics of Pulsating Corona.- Pulsed Corona Experiments.- Current Stability of Negative Corona Discharges in SF6 and Delayed Spark Breakdown.- Verification of Direct-Current Corona Models Employing the Deutsch Approximation.- Frequency Effects in Alternating Current Corona.- A Mass Spectrometer Study of Ionization in SF6 Corona: Influence of Water and Neutral By-Products.- High Voltage DC Gas Insulation - A World-Wide Review.- Gas-Insulated Substation...

In industrial engineering and manufacturing, control of individual processes and systems is crucial to developing a quality final product. Rapid developments in technology are pioneering new techniques of research in control and automation with multi-disciplinary applications in electrical, electronic, chemical, mechanical, aerospace, and instrumentation engineering. The Handbook of Research on Advanced Intelligent Control Engineering and Automation presents the latest research into intelligent control technologies with the goal of advancing knowledge and applications in various domains. This text will serve as a reference book for scientists, engineers, and researchers, as it features many applications of new computational and mathematical tools for solving complicated problems of mathematical modeling, simulation, and control.

This thesis presents an experimental study of quantum memory based on cold atomic ensembles and discusses photonic entanglement. It mainly focuses on experimental research on storing orbital angular momentum, and introduces readers to methods for storing a single photon carried by an image or an entanglement of spatial modes. The thesis also discusses the storage of photonic entanglement using the Raman scheme as a step toward implementing high-bandwidth quantum memory. The storage of photonic entanglement is central to achieving long-distance quantum communication based on quantum repeaters and scalable linear optical quantum computation. Addressing this key issue, the findings presented in the thesis are very promising with regard to future high-speed and high-capacity quantum communications.

This book documents the state of the art in the field of ambient assisted living (AAL), highlighting the impressive potential of novel methodologies and technologies to enhance well-being and promote active ageing. The coverage is wide ranging, with sections on assistive devices, elderly people monitoring, home rehabilitation, ICT solutions for AAL, living with chronic conditions, robotic assistance for the elderly, sensing technologies for AAL, and smart housing. The book comprises a selection of the best papers presented at the 7th Italian Forum on Ambient Assisted Living (ForitAAL 2016), which was held in Pisa, Italy, in June 2016 and brought together end users, technology teams, and policy makers to develop a consensus on how to improve provision for elderly and impaired people. Readers will find that the expert contributions offer clear insights into the ways in which the most recent exciti ng advances may be expected to assist in addressing the needs of the elderly and those with chronic conditions.

This book introduces a novel Ti-Sb-Te alloy for high-speed and low-power phase-change memory applications, which demonstrates a phase-change mechanism that differs significantly from that of conventional Ge2Sb2Te5 and yields favorable overall performance. Systematic methods, combined with better material characteristics, are used to optimize the material components and device performance. Subsequently, a phase-change memory chip based on the optimized component is successfully fabricated using 40-nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology, which offers a number of advantages in many embedded applications.

This book develops a set of reference methods capable of modeling uncertainties existing in membership functions, and analyzing and synthesizing the interval type-2 fuzzy systems with desired performances. It also provides numerous simulation results for various examples, which fill certain gaps in this area of research and may serve as benchmark solutions for the readers. Interval type-2 T-S fuzzy models provide a convenient and flexible method for analysis and synthesis of complex nonlinear systems with uncertainties.

This book gathers the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Mobile and Wireless Technology (ICMWT), held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 2017, an event that provides researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry with a platform to keep them abreast of cutting-edge developments in the field. The peer-reviewed and accepted papers presented here address topics in a number of major areas: Mobile, Wireless Networks and Applications; Security in Mobile and Wireless; Mobile Data Management and Applications; Mobile Software; Multimedia Communications; Wireless Communications; and Services, Application and Business.

This book proposes the air insulation prediction theory and method in the subject of electrical engineering. Prediction of discharge voltage in different cases are discussed and worked out by simulation. After decades, now bottlenecks of traditional air discharge theories can be solved with this book. Engineering applications of the theory in air gap discharge voltage prediction are introduced. This book serves as reference for graduate students, scientific research personnel and engineering staff in the related fields.

This thesis presents the first comprehensive analysis of quantum cascade laser nonlinear dynamics and includes the first observation of a temporal chaotic behavior in quantum cascade lasers. It also provides the first analysis of optical instabilities in the mid-infrared range. Mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers are unipolar semiconductor lasers, which have become widely used in applications such as gas spectroscopy, free-space communications or optical countermeasures. Applying external perturbations such as optical feedback or optical injection leads to a strong modification of the quantum cascade laser properties. Optical feedback impacts the static properties of mid-infrared Fabry-Perot and distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers, inducing power increase; threshold reduction; modification of the optical spectrum, which can become either single- or multimode; and enhanced beam quality in broad-area transverse multimode lasers. It also leads to a different dynamical behavior, and a quantum cascade laser subject to optical feedback can oscillate periodically or even become chaotic. A quantum cascade laser under external control could therefore be a source with enhanced properties for the usual mid-infrared applications, but could also address new applications such as tunable photonic oscillators, extreme events generators, chaotic Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), chaos-based secured communications or unpredictable countermeasures.

A restricted source of power supply is analysed in this book - namely the switching mode power supplies (SMPS), which utilise the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technique to operate. Even though restricted, such a class of power supply is vital to circuits as most of modern electronic equipment is dependant on this form of technology to feed electronic boards. Its main advantages are greater efficiency, and its minimum physical size and weight.

Interdisciplinary knowledge such as circuit theory, semiconductor devices theory and technology, magnetics theory and technology, linear and nonlinear control theory is involved in the design of an SMPS.

This volume provides designers with an in-depth overview on the latest interdisciplinary methods involved in the design of switching mode power supplies, providing the reader with a tool whereby the learning time can be reduced and information about switching mode power supplies design processes can be easily accessed. The book adopts a systemic approach, subdividing the information into functional blocks whose properties and relationships are evaluated and compared with each other. A comprehensive list of references to the literature is given thus enabling the reader to follow up on more detail.

This book presents a collection of invited research and review contributions on recent advances in (mainly) theoretical condensed matter physics, theoretical chemistry, and theoretical physics. The volume celebrates the 90th birthday of N.H. March (Emeritus Professor, Oxford University, UK), a prominent figure in all of these fields. Given the broad range of interests in the research activity of Professor March, who collaborated with a number of eminent scientists in physics and chemistry, the volume embraces quite diverse topics in physics and chemistry, at various dimensions and energy scales. One thread connecting all these topics is correlation in aggregated states of matter, ranging from nuclear physics to molecules, clusters, disordered condensed phases such as the liquid state, and solid state physics, and the various phase transitions, both structural and electronic, occurring therein. A final chapter leaps to an even larger scale of matter aggregation, namely the universe and gravitation. A further no less important common thread is methodological, with the application of theoretical physics and chemistry, particularly density functional theory and statistical field theory, to both nuclear and condensed matter.

This volume contains selected and expanded contributions presented at the 3rd Symposium on Space Optical Instruments and Applications in Beijing, China June 28 - 29, 2016. This conference series is organised by the Sino-Holland Space Optical Instruments Laboratory, a cooperation platform between China and the Netherlands. The symposium focused on key technological problems of optical instruments and their applications in a space context. It covered the latest developments, experiments and results regarding theory, instrumentation and applications in space optics. The book is split across five topical sections. The first section covers space optical remote sensing system design, the second advanced optical system design, the third remote sensor calibration and measurement. Remote sensing data processing and information extraction is then presented, followed by a final section on remote sensing data applications.

This book discusses theoretical and experimental advances in metamaterial structures, which are of fundamental importance to many applications in microwave and optical-wave physics and materials science. Metamaterial structures exhibit time-reversal and space-inversion symmetry breaking due to the effects of magnetism and chirality. The book addresses the characteristic properties of various symmetry breaking processes by studying field-matter interaction with use of conventional electromagnetic waves and novel types of engineered fields: twisted-photon fields, toroidal fields, and magnetoelectric fields. In a system with a combined effect of simultaneous breaking of space and time inversion symmetries, one observes the magnetochiral effect. Another similar phenomenon featuring space-time inversion symmetries is related to use of magnetoelectric materials. Cross-coupling of the electric and magnetic components in these material structures, leading to the appearance of new magnetic modes with an electric excitation channel - electromagnons and skyrmions - has resulted in a wealth of strong optical effects such as directional dichroism, magnetochiral dichroism, and rotatory power of the fields. This book contains multifaceted contributions from international leading experts and covers the essential aspects of symmetry-breaking effects, including theory, modeling and design, proven and potential applications in practical devices, fabrication, characterization and measurement. It is ideally suited as an introduction and basic reference work for researchers and graduate students entering this field.

This book focuses on small flying drones and their applications in conducting geographic surveys. Scholars and professionals will discover the potential of this tool, and hopefully develop a conceptual and methodological framework for doing the following things: a) Translate their data acquisition needs into specifications. (b) Use the developed specifications to choose the best accessible configuration for their drones, and (c) Design and organize effective and low-cost field deployment and flight operations by integrating technical aspects with regulatory and research requirements. Readers can apply this knowledge to work in cartography, environmental monitoring and analysis, land-use studies and landscape archaeology. Particular attention is also given to the reasons why a drone can dramatically boost a geographer's capability to understand geographic phenomena both from hard-science and humanities-oriented approach.

This book features selected papers presented at the Fourth International Conference on Nanoelectronics, Circuits and Communication Systems (NCCS 2018). Covering topics such as MEMS and nanoelectronics, wireless communications, optical communications, instrumentation, signal processing, the Internet of Things, image processing, bioengineering, green energy, hybrid vehicles, environmental science, weather forecasting, cloud computing, renewable energy, RFID, CMOS sensors, actuators, transducers, telemetry systems, embedded systems, and sensor network applications in mines, it offers a valuable resource for young scholars, researchers, and academics alike.