The book includes high-quality papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Smart Learning Ecosystems and Regional Development at Universita Roma Tor Vergata, Italy, from 22 to 24 May, 2019. Providing insights into the relevance of smart learning ecosystems (schools, campuses, the workplace, informal learning contexts, etc.) for regional development and social innovation, it also discusses how citizens' involvement with smart ecosystems can be increased and made more effective.

This research monograph focuses on the design of arithmetic circuits in Quantum Dot Cellular Automata (QCA). Using the fact that the 3-input majority gate is a primitive in QCA, the book sets out to discover hitherto unknown properties of majority logic in the context of arithmetic circuit designs. The pursuit for efficient adders in QCA takes two forms. One involves application of the new results in majority logic to existing adders. The second involves development of a custom adder for QCA technology. A QCA adder named as hybrid adder is proposed and it is shown that it outperforms existing multi-bit adders with respect to area and delay. The work is extended to the design of a low-complexity multiplier for signed numbers in QCA. Furthermore the book explores two aspects unique to QCA technology, namely thermal robustness and the role of interconnects. In addition, the book introduces the reader to QCA layout design and simulation using QCADesigner. Features & Benefits: This research-based book: *Introduces the reader to Quantum Dot Cellular Automata, an emerging nanotechnology. *Explores properties of majority logic. *Demonstrates application of the properties to design efficient arithmetic circuits. *Guides the reader towards layout design and simulation in QCADesigner.

This book addresses the core issues involved in the dynamic modeling, simulation and control of a selection of energy systems such as gas turbines, wind turbines, fuel cells and batteries. The principles of modeling and control could be applied to other non-convention methods of energy generation such as solar energy and wave energy. A central feature of Dynamic Modeling, Simulation and Control of Energy Generation is that it brings together diverse topics in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, electro-chemistry, electrical networks and electrical machines and focuses on their applications in the field of energy generation, its control and regulation. This book will help the reader understand the methods of modelling energy systems for controller design application as well as gain a basic understanding of the processes involved in the design of control systems and regulators. It will also be a useful guide to simulation of the dynamics of energy systems and for implementing monitoring systems based on the estimation of internal system variables from measurements of observable system variables. Dynamic Modeling, Simulation and Control of Energy Generation will serve as a useful aid to designers of hybrid power generating systems involving advanced technology systems such as floating or offshore wind turbines and fuel cells. The book introduces case studies of the practical control laws for a variety of energy generation systems based on nonlinear dynamic models without relying on linearization. Also the book introduces the reader to the use nonlinear model based estimation techniques and their application to energy systems.

The present book includes a set of selected papers from the tenth "International Conference on Informatics in Control Automation and Robotics" (ICINCO 2013), held in Reykjavik, Iceland, from 29 to 31 July 2013. The conference was organized in four simultaneous tracks: "Intelligent Control Systems and Optimization", "Robotics and Automation", "Signal Processing, Sensors, Systems Modeling and Control" and "Industrial Engineering, Production and Management". The book is based on the same structure. ICINCO 2013 received 255 paper submissions from 50 countries, in all continents. After a double blind paper review performed by the Program Committee only 30% were published and presented orally. A further refinement was made after the conference, based also on the assessment of presentation quality, so that this book includes the extended and revised versions of the very best papers of ICINCO 2013.

This work studies the magnetic behavior of ZnO nanoparticles capped with different organic molecules and showing room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM). Of particular significance is the combination of element-specific X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) techniques, which demonstrates the intrinsic occurrence of RTFM in these systems and indicates that it is not related to the 3-D states of the metallic cation but is relayed along the conduction band of the semiconductor. The discovery of room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in semiconductors holds great promise in future spintronics technologies. Further results presented here include O K-edge XMCD studies, which demonstrate that the oxygen ions have a ferromagnetic response in these ZnO-based systems, providing the first direct support for claims regarding the appearance of oxygen ferromagnetism in oxide semiconductors at the nanoscale.

This book gives you the tools you need to understand and determine changing propagation characteristics found in different physical situations and locations. The book presents a practical digital propagation model based entirely on the physical principles of wave propagation.

This book explains for readers how 3D chip stacks promise to increase the level of on-chip integration, and to design new heterogeneous semiconductor devices that combine chips of different integration technologies (incl. sensors) in a single package of the smallest possible size. The authors focus on heterogeneous 3D integration, addressing some of the most important challenges in this emerging technology, including contactless, optics-based, and carbon-nanotube-based 3D integration, as well as signal-integrity and thermal management issues in copper-based 3D integration. Coverage also includes the 3D heterogeneous integration of power sources, photonic devices, and non-volatile memories based on new materials systems.

This book introduces Software Thermal Management (STM) as a means of reducing power consumption in a computing system in order to manage heat, improve component reliability and increase system safety. Readers will benefit from this pragmatic guide to the field of STM for embedded systems and its catalog of software power management techniques. Since thermal management is a key bottleneck in embedded systems design, this book focuses on root cause of heat in embedded systems: power. Since software has an enormous impact on power consumption in an embedded system, this book urges software engineers to manage heat effectively by understanding, categorizing and developing new ways to reduce static and dynamic power consumption. Whereas most books on thermal management describe mechanisms to remove heat, this book focuses on ways for software engineers to avoid generating heat in the first place.

This book presents selected research papers from the 2015 Chinese Intelligent Systems Conference (CISC'15), held in Yangzhou, China. The topics covered include multi-agent systems, evolutionary computation, artificial intelligence, complex systems, computation intelligence and soft computing, intelligent control, advanced control technology, robotics and applications, intelligent information processing, iterative learning control, and machine learning. Engineers and researchers from academia, industry and the government can gain valuable insights into solutions combining ideas from multiple disciplines in the field of intelligent systems.

"Bio-inspired Computation in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" focuses on the aspects of path planning, formation control, heterogeneous cooperative control and vision-based surveillance and navigation in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from the perspective of bio-inspired computation. It helps readers to gain a comprehensive understanding of control-related problems in UAVs, presenting the latest advances in bio-inspired computation.

By combining bio-inspired computation and UAV control problems, key questions are explored in depth, and each piece is content-rich while remaining accessible. With abundant illustrations of simulation work, this book links theory, algorithms and implementation procedures, demonstrating the simulation results with graphics that are intuitive without sacrificing academic rigor. Further, it pays due attention to both the conceptual framework and the implementation procedures.

The book offers a valuable resource for scientists, researchers and graduate students in the field of Control, Aerospace Technology and Astronautics, especially those interested in artificial intelligence and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Professor Haibin Duan and Dr. Pei Li, both work at Beihang University (formerly Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, BUAA). Prof Duan's academic website is: http: //hbduan.buaa.edu.cn

Our aim in this book is to present a bird's-eye view of microwave tubes (MWTs) which continue to be important despite competitive incursions from solid-state devices (SSDs). We have presented a broad and introductory survey which we hope the readers would be encouraged to read rather than going through lengthier books, and subsequently explore the field of MWTs further in selected areas of relevance to their respective interests. We hope that the present book would motivate newcomers to pursue research in MWTs and apprise them as well as decision makers of the salient features and prospects of as well as the trends of progress in MWTs. The scope of ever expanding applications of MWTs in the high power and high frequency regime will sustain and intensify the research and development in MWTs in coming years.

This book is a must-have reference to dry etching technology for semiconductors, which will enable engineers to develop new etching processes for further miniaturization and integration of semiconductor integrated circuits. The author describes the device manufacturing flow, and explains in which part of the flow dry etching is actually used. The content is designed as a practical guide for engineers working at chip makers, equipment suppliers and materials suppliers, and university students studying plasma, focusing on the topics they need most, such as detailed etching processes for each material (Si, SiO2, Metal etc) used in semiconductor devices, etching equipment used in manufacturing fabs, explanation of why a particular plasma source and gas chemistry are used for the etching of each material, and how to develop etching processes. The latest, key technologies are also described, such as 3D IC Etching, Dual Damascene Etching, Low-k Etching, Hi-k/Metal Gate Etching, FinFET Etching, Double Patterning etc.

Information technologies play a significant role in modern information-driven societies, making a comprehensive understanding of digital media a fundamental requisite to success. Cases on Usability Engineering: Design and Development of Digital Products provides readers with case studies and real-life examples on usability methods and techniques to test the design and development of digital products, such as web pages, video games, and mobile computer applications. Students, lecturers, and academics concentrating in computer science can use these cases to investigate how and why usability can improve the design of digital technology, offering diverse technological solutions that many academics have largely failed to disseminate. This book is part of the Advances in Human and Social Aspects of Technology series collection.

This volume is dedicated to Professor Okyay Kaynak to commemorate his life time impactful research and scholarly achievements and outstanding services to profession. The 21 invited chapters have been written by leading researchers who, in the past, have had association with Professor Kaynak as either his students and associates or colleagues and collaborators. The focal theme of the volume is the Sliding Modes covering a broad scope of topics from theoretical investigations to their significant applications from Control to Intelligent Mechatronics.

This series of circuits provides designers with a quick source for converter and filter circuits. Why waste time paging through huge encyclopedias when you can choose the topic you need and select any of the specialized circuits sorted by application?
This book in the series has 250-300 practical, ready-to-use circuit designs, with schematics and brief explanations of circuit operation. The original source for each circuit is listed in an appendix, making it easy to obtain additional information.
Ready-to-use circuits.
Grouped by application for easy look-up.
Circuit source listings.

Volume I: A low-dimensional magnet is key to the next-generation of electronic devices. In some aspects, low dimensional magnets refer to nanostructured magnets or single-molecule magnets. They are widely used in biomedicine, technology, industries, and environmental remediation. Emerging Applications of Low Dimensional Magnets covers current state-of-the-art progress in ferromagnetic materials, experimental studies of nanomaterials-based spintronics, and directions for future approaches, applications, and devices. Experts from a variety of areas such as biomedical engineering, materials science, nanotechnology, and electronic engineering have contributed to this handbook making it the most up-to-date and interdisciplinary reference of its kind in the field of low dimensional magnets. Volume II: Low-dimensional magnetic materials find their wide applications in many areas, including spintronics, memory devices, catalysis, biomedical, sensors, electromagnetic shielding, aerospace, and energy. This book provides a comprehensive discussion on magnetic nanomaterials for emerging applications. Fundamentals along with applications of low-dimensional magnetic materials in spintronics, catalysis, memory, biomedicals, toxic waste removal, aerospace, telecommunications, batteries, supercapacitors, flexible electronics, and many more are covered in detail to provide a full spectrum of their advanced applications. This book offers fresh aspects of nanomagnetic materials and innovative directions to scientists, researchers, and students. It will be of particular interest to materials scientists, engineers, physicists, chemists, and researchers in electronic and spintronic industries, and is suitable as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate studies.

Featuring selected contributions from the 2nd International Conference on Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering, held in Nice, France, February 18-19, 2016, this book introduces recent advances and state-of-the-art technologies in the field of advanced intelligent manufacturing. This systematic and carefully detailed collection provides a valuable reference source for mechanical engineering researchers who want to learn about the latest developments in advanced manufacturing and automation, readers from industry seeking potential solutions for their own applications, and those involved in the robotics and mechatronics industry.

This book presents breakthroughs in the design of Wireless Energy Harvesting (WEH) networks. It bridges the gap between WEH through radio waves communications and power transfer, which have largely been designed separately. The authors present an overview of the RF-EHNs including system architecture and RF energy harvesting techniques and existing applications. They also cover the idea of WEH in novel discoveries of information, the theoretical bounds in WEH, wireless sensor networks, usage of modern channel coding together with WEH, energy efficient resource allocation mechanisms, distributed self-organized energy efficient designs, delay-energy trade-off, specific protocols for energy efficient communication designs, D2D communication and energy efficiency, cooperative wireless networks, and cognitive networks.

This book starts with a short recapitulation on basic concepts, common to any types of robots (serial, tree structure, parallel, etc.), that are also necessary for computation of the dynamic models of parallel robots. Then, as dynamics requires the use of geometry and kinematics, the general equations of geometric and kinematic models of parallel robots are given. After, it is explained that parallel robot dynamic models can be obtained by decomposing the real robot into two virtual systems: a tree-structure robot (equivalent to the robot legs for which all joints would be actuated) plus a free body corresponding to the platform. Thus, the dynamics of rigid tree-structure robots is analyzed and algorithms to obtain their dynamic models in the most compact form are given. The dynamic model of the real rigid parallel robot is obtained by closing the loops through the use of the Lagrange multipliers. The problem of the dynamic model degeneracy near singularities is treated and optimal trajectory planning for crossing singularities is proposed. Lastly, the approach is extended to flexible parallel robots and the algorithms for computing their symbolic model in the most compact form are given. All theoretical developments are validated through experiments.