Central Control Computer Research Articles

Автоматизация технологического процесса балансировки кварцевых резонаторов твердотельных волновых гироскопов

The paper discusses the main issues that arise while developing and implementing automatic process control systems (APCS) in relation to the technological operations of balancing quartz hemispherical resonators of solid-state wave gyroscopes. For this, the article gives a general algorithm for performing the technological process of resonator balancing; block diagrams of the automatic process control system of balancing and the general algorithm for balancing the resonators. The latter discloses internal algorithms for determining the physical parameters of the gyroscope resonator, for making a decision on resonator balancing and controlling the etching process of the gyroscope quartz resonator. The necessary application software (SW) for the automatic process control system for balancing gyroscope resonators is considered separately. The paper states that to build the first version of the automatic process control system for balancing resonators, it is recommended, as an intermediate step, to modernise and work out the “advising” automatic process control system, which, in the development of the existing locally automatic process control system, should be supplemented by solving the following important tasks: increasing the accuracy of determining physical parameters, calculating the efficiency of the ongoing balancing operation and estimating the effective control of the ion-plasma source. In the considered automatic process control system for balancing the resonators of the solid state wave gyroscopes (SSWG), it is not supposed to completely exclude the system operator’s role and importance. He performs the primary check of the stand, the installation of the resonator in the stand, as well as the initial setup. Automation at the first stage will consist of closing the operations of determining the physical parameters, calculating the balancing efficiency and ion-plasma etching of the quartz resonator. The closure of these operations is carried out with the help of application software installed on the central control computer of the automated workplace of the balancing system operator.

Highly accessible platform technologies for vision-guided, closed-loop robotic assembly of unitized enclosure systems

Equipping robotics with the capacity to make decisions based on real-time information about their physical environment is crucial to the success of in situ robotics and offers many process advantages in prefabrication scenarios as well. However, the perceived technical challenges of producing environmentally-aware closed-loop robotics have limited their use in construction and design applications. To address this challenge, a low-cost and largely open-source computer vision-guided closed-loop robotic control paradigm is developed. The system is used here to identify construction materials in the workspace and calculate their position in space and determine their place in the facade panel assembly. The industrial robot arm is equipped with an RGB-depth camera in an eye-in-hand configuration to give control over the positioning of the camera for greatest accuracy. The control system relies on a simple TCP client/server connection between the robot and a central control computer to pass information and instructions from the computer vision system to the robot and vice versa. This setup delivers process flexibility, enabling pick-and-place procedures of the material positioned randomly within the workspace. In this work, the technologies are deployed in a factory-type setting but would also be necessary for any on-site robotic construction system, building towards an on-site robotics future. The final product of this research is a unitized spandrel panel wherein the vision-guided robot finds and places the insulation, cement board, and masonry cladding materials.

Scheduling of mobile robots for transportation and manufacturing tasks

Current manufacturing systems have a tendency to become more and more flexible to adapt to the needs of product diversification. Such a system, e.g. flexible manufacturing system, consists of a number of automatic machines, material handling devices such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) or mobile robots, and a central control computer. Mobile robots, as well as AGVs, can move around in their working space to transport components among machines. The main novelty of this work is that mobile robots can also execute various value-added tasks without human intervention thanks to their manipulation arms which is not possible for AGVs. This new characteristic certainly makes the problem more complex and computationally expensive. To utilize these manufacturing systems in an efficient manner, it is necessary to schedule transportation of product components by mobile robots and to schedule processing of products on machines possibly by mobile robots. Consequently, the key innovation of this work lies in consideration of three interrelated sub-problems which must be solved. They include computing the sequence of operations on machines, the robot assignment for transportation, and the robot assignment for processing. To achieve this goal, a computationally efficient hybrid heuristic method combining genetic algorithm and tabu search is developed to solve the problem considering makespan minimization. A mixed-integer programming (MIP) model is formulated. Another combined method using results of the hybrid heuristic is proposed to speed up the solving of MIP model. The quality of hybrid heuristic’s solutions is compared and evaluated by using those of the MIP model as reference points.

Development Trends in Cost Oriented Production Automation

Abstract The field of manufacturing automation is one of the fastest growing in technology not only because of the rapid developments of IT hard- and software as well as micro-, nano- and femto-technologies for the development of new materials. Therefore in production automation we have the new headlines new materials, smart products, smart factories, Internet of things (IoT), production 4.0. This requires Multi Robot Systems or Multi Agent Systems (MAS) consisting of cooperative industrial, mobile and probably in the future humanoid intelligent robots acting as a team for solving common tasks. In addition they have to be cooperative. The tasks of the robots must perform the mechanism of cooperation and the system performance. Production 4.0 requires the replacement of the Central Control Computer by a distributed, networked Computer System. From the side of Automation in this paper the latest trends in manufacturing automation will be presented. Concerning the problems of SME‘s to introduce Production 4.0 first ideas on “Cost Oriented Production 4.0 - Production 4.5” will be discussed. From the side of TECIS both disciplines will raise some new social and ethical questions related to humans.

Localization and Tracking of Implantable Biomedical Sensors.

Implantable sensor systems are effective tools for biomedical diagnosis, visualization and treatment of various health conditions, attracting the interest of researchers, as well as healthcare practitioners. These systems efficiently and conveniently provide essential data of the body part being diagnosed, such as gastrointestinal (temperature, pH, pressure) parameter values, blood glucose and pressure levels and electrocardiogram data. Such data are first transmitted from the implantable sensor units to an external receiver node or network and then to a central monitoring and control (computer) unit for analysis, diagnosis and/or treatment. Implantable sensor units are typically in the form of mobile microrobotic capsules or implanted stationary (body-fixed) units. In particular, capsule-based systems have attracted significant research interest recently, with a variety of applications, including endoscopy, microsurgery, drug delivery and biopsy. In such implantable sensor systems, one of the most challenging problems is the accurate localization and tracking of the microrobotic sensor unit (e.g., robotic capsule) inside the human body. This article presents a literature review of the existing localization and tracking techniques for robotic implantable sensor systems with their merits and limitations and possible solutions of the proposed localization methods. The article also provides a brief discussion on the connection and cooperation of such techniques with wearable biomedical sensor systems.

Automatización de procesos en la administración de energía eléctrica en el área residencial

Esta investigación presenta el diseño e implementación de una “Automatización de Procesos en la Administración de Energía Eléctrica” (APAEE) en el área residencial. El sistema consiste en un software de administración de energía eléctrica que funciona en una computadora de control central que se conecta a través de una red inalámbrica bajo el estándar IEEE 802.15.4 y una topología en malla a dispositivos remotos encargados de controlar los servicios de iluminación y climatización en una residencia en función del consumo de electricidad y parámetros establecidos por los usuarios. El hardware está basado en microcontroladores AVR® XMEGA® de la marca Atmel®. Un estudio en los patrones de consumo de electricidad en una residencia es llevado a cabo en el desarrollo de los algoritmos de control, por medio de la instalación de sensores que detectan presencia de personas y estado de conmutación tanto de lámparas como del ventilador y compresor en acondicionadores de aire. En base a los resultados obtenidos, el diseño y simulación de los algoritmos de control han de ser realizados en Matlab® para posteriormente ser implementados en el software de control. El desarrollo de la APAEE reducirá considerablemente el consumo de electricidad en el área residencial.

Optimal Design of the Absolute Positioning Sensor for a High-Speed Maglev Train and Research on Its Fault Diagnosis

This paper studies an absolute positioning sensor for a high-speed maglev train and its fault diagnosis method. The absolute positioning sensor is an important sensor for the high-speed maglev train to accomplish its synchronous traction. It is used to calibrate the error of the relative positioning sensor which is used to provide the magnetic phase signal. On the basis of the analysis for the principle of the absolute positioning sensor, the paper describes the design of the sending and receiving coils and realizes the hardware and the software for the sensor. In order to enhance the reliability of the sensor, a support vector machine is used to recognize the fault characters, and the signal flow method is used to locate the faulty parts. The diagnosis information not only can be sent to an upper center control computer to evaluate the reliability of the sensors, but also can realize on-line diagnosis for debugging and the quick detection when the maglev train is off-line. The absolute positioning sensor we study has been used in the actual project.

Remote Monitoring System of Textile Equipments Based on ZigBee Technology

In textile enterprise, the monitoring and maintenance of equipments is a big problem. There are many inconvenience by traditional wiring way, and this paper puts forward a remote monitoring system based on ZigBee technology with low cost and high efficiency. Through ZigBee network, this system transfers the data collected from on-the-spot equipments to center control computer, so as to realize the remote monitoring. The monitoring system has the advantages of network organizing flexible, low cost, big network capacity and so on, which particularly suitable for textile enterprise.

The Development of Fault Diagnosis Expert System for High Speed Construction Machinery Based on Portable Data Terminal

To overcome the difficulty of field fault diagnosis in the complicated circumstance of construction machinery, the distributed expert system of fault diagnosis is developed in this paper. According to the technical requirements, the hardware platform based on smart industrial portable data terminal is performed. Meanwhile, the modular software of the fault diagnosis expert system is implemented. Its hardware is mainly composed of intelligent portable field testing unit as well as the central control computer. The software platform mainly consists of PDA modules for field fault testing and diagnosis, expert system module, maintenance support and data query module, training module, help module and report printing module. The work has greatly enhanced the capability of field fault detection, diagnosis and maintenance support in military units.

Development of Frameless SRS using Real-Time 6D Facial Surface Monitoring and Continuous Adaptive Head Motion Correction

Development of Frameless SRS using Real-Time 6D Facial Surface Monitoring and Continuous Adaptive Head Motion Correction

Development of a frameless stereotactic radiosurgery system based on real-time 6D position monitoring and adaptive head motion compensation

Stereotactic radiosurgery delivers radiation with great spatial accuracy. To achieve sub-millimeter accuracy for intracranial SRS, a head ring is rigidly fixated to the skull to create a fixed reference. For some patients, the invasiveness of the ring can be highly uncomfortable and not well tolerated. In addition, placing and removing the ring requires special expertise from a neurosurgeon, and patient setup time for SRS can often be long. To reduce the invasiveness, hardware limitations and setup time, we are developing a system for performing accurate head positioning without the use of a head ring. The proposed method uses real-time 6D optical position feedback for turning on and off the treatment beam (gating) and guiding a motor-controlled 3D head motion compensation stage. The setup consists of a central control computer, an optical patient motion tracking system and a 3D motion compensation stage attached to the front of the LINAC couch. A styrofoam head cast was custom-built for patient support and was mounted on the compensation stage. The motion feedback of the markers was processed by the control computer, and the resulting motion of the target was calculated using a rigid body model. If the target deviated beyond a preset position of 0.2 mm, an automatic position correction was performed with stepper motors to adjust the head position via the couch mount motion platform. In the event the target deviated more than 1 mm, a safety relay switch was activated and the treatment beam was turned off. The feasibility of the concept was tested using five healthy volunteers. Head motion data were acquired with and without the use of motion compensation over treatment times of 15 min. On average, test subjects exceeded the 0.5 mm tolerance 86% of the time and the 1.0 mm tolerance 45% of the time without motion correction. With correction, this percentage was reduced to 5% and 2% for the 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm tolerances, respectively.

Smart measurement system for an environmental radiation monitoring

A smart measurement system for an on-line gamma monitoring has been developed to overcome the problems of a conventional system which cannot automatically restore the previous-lost data of several posts by a radio telemetry. It is similar to the conventional system except for a new electronic circuit board and an integrated operation program. The new electronic circuit board is able to store the radiation data with a time tag of 6 or more months if the recording interval time is 10 s. The operation program automatically sends the time correction command to the six monitoring posts for a daily synchronization between the monitoring posts and the central control computer as a Korean mean time. The previous-lost radiation data for 6 or more months could be restored by using two components with the functions of a time tag and a daily synchronization without any additional equipment. It was tested for more than 1 year, from which the test results, the data collection rate was dramatically improved without any tedious manual work, which was almost about 100% for 1 year. The smart measurement system has been applied for an effective gamma monitoring around the nuclear facilities at KAERI since it was developed and tested in 2003.

Design of intelligent detecting system based on wireless transmission

An intelligent detecting system based on wireless transmission is designed. Its hardware includes the card reading module, the wireless digital transmission module, the LCD module, the random password keyboard module and a 16×16 lattice word database based on e-Flash MM36SB020. Its software is a communication protocol between the central control computer and the entrance management base station. To resolve the conflicting problems occurred during the data transmission, a method of delaying time at random is proposed.

Distributed Control System for Turbine Engines

A distributed control system (DCS) for a turbine engine has been demonstrated and tested, consisting of prototype electronic interface units (EIUs) connected to data and power busses. In the DCS, a central control computer communicated with smart sensors and smart actuators via a 2.5 megabit/sec digital data bus, using the Fields protocol. Power was distributed to the smart devices as 100 kHz 100V peak AC, allowing light, simple power converters at each smart device. All smart sensors, smart actuators, and cables were dual redundant. The smart actuators received position demand from the central control computer, exchanged data between channels to provide local redundancy management, closed the position loop locally, and reported actuator position to the central controller. Smart sensors converted sensed signals to digital values in engineering units, and performed local built-in tests. Testing of the DCS was done in a closed-loop simulation with an engine model. Frequency response of the DCS was almost identical with the conventional system.

Method and apparatus for receive beamformer system

The present invention includes a fully programmable plurality of multi-channel receivers, each receiver having a digital multi-channel receive processor and a local processor control. Each receive processor includes a first decimator, time delay memory, second decimator, and complex multiplier. The receive beamformer is a computationally efficient system which is programmable to allow processing mode trade-offs among receive frequency, receive spatial range resolution, and number of simultaneous beams received. Each local control receives focusing data from a central control computer and provides final calculation of per-channel dynamic focus delay, phase, apodization, and calibration values for each receiver signal sample. Further, this invention includes a baseband multi-beam processor which has a phase aligner and a baseband filter for making post-beamformation coherent phase adjustments and signal shaping, respectively. The phase aligner maintains scan-line-to-scan-line coherency, such as would be required for coherent image formation. Accordingly, the present system can operate under multiple imaging formats, using a variety of transducers and a variety of modes such as B-mode, M-mode, and color Doppler flow mode.

Control and integration techniques in a fully automated manufacturing cell for carbon composites

The paper presents a fully automated robotic manufacturing cell for assembly of composite preforms for subsequent impregnation using resin transfer moulding techniques. Computerised component design data are used to derive all key manufacturing information for the preform assembly, from material roll to finished preform. Profile cutting, lay-up of plies, inspection and fixing are performed in the multiple-robot cell under central computer control. The operation technique used for each cell component is described along with the calibration techniques required between cell components and the arbitrary axis system of the CAD data. The advantages gained by CAD control of the cell have allowed methods for manufacturing preforms for 3-dimensional components to be developed, increasing the flexibility of the manufacturing system.

A TWACS system alarm function for distribution automation

A new application designated as the "System Alarm Function" is made possible by using the "Unsolicited Inbound" capability recently developed for the Two Way Automatic Communication System (TWACS) System-10, which is already used by several electric utilities in the USA for demand side management, remote metering and distribution automation is reviewed here. The "Unsolicited Inbound" algorithm development, the operational issues that are pertinent to the understanding of collisions between multiple alarms and the effects on the "alarm response time" are discussed in detail. This master-to-master relationship between remote transponders in the distribution network and the central control computer opens the door to multiple functional capabilities in the area of distribution automation and remote monitoring.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Process planning for a modular component placement system

This paper discusses the design of a hierarchically structured process planning system for a printed circuit board assembly line. Basically, the assembly system consists of a series of independently operating placement modules, connected by a carrierless conveyor system. Both the modules and the conveyor system are fully automated, while the complete system is also under centralized computer control. We show how the process planning problem is naturally decomposed into a series of hierarchically coupled subproblems, each of a combinatorial nature. Models for all subproblems are developed and solution techniques are briefly indicated. Numerical results for a number of industrial cases are also discussed

Coordination Between the Radioastronomy Service and the Radiodetermination Satellite Service in the 1612 MHZ Band

The Radiodetermination Satellite Service (RDSS) provides radiolocation and limited communication for users of aeronautical, marine and terrestrial vehicles. A system of the RDSS is being developed in the United States by the Geostar Corporation (Rothblatt, 1988). In this system signals from a control center are transmitted to transceivers on users’ vehicles through one of a series of two or three satellites spaced along the geostationary orbit, and responses are received through each of these satellites. If three satellites are used, locations of vehicles can be determined from the measured times of transmission from the control center to the user and back via different satellite paths. If two satellites are used the timing data must be supplemented by information such as altitude data from a terrain map, or an altimeter reading from the user’s vehicle, which can be encoded in the response transmitted back. Computation of the vehicle location is performed at the control center. The equipment at the vehicle can be relatively simple since its basic function is that of a transponder, and intervention by the vehicle operator is not necessarily required. However, provision can also be made for the inclusion of short coded messages from the vehicle, so the unit on the vehicle is usually referred to as a transceiver. The system is designed to meet the needs of various users; for example, trucking companies which must periodically monitor the locations of vehicles in a widely distributed fleet. Position information can be relayed to the company headquarters as well as to the vehicle operator. The role played by the central control computer in determining the locations requires that all vehicles using the service identify themselves by a transmitted code. Thus developers and operators of RDSS systems can lease their services to vehicle users.

Trends in Flexible Manufacturing Systems Development

Abstract It is observed that the main trend in FMS development is ever increasing use of computers for FMS changeover automation during the turn to another type of products. There are three aspects of this trend: first, automation of ever increasing number of processes performed during FMS changeover; second, the increasing role of the central computer in providing FMS automated changeover; and third, expansion of automation on production processes associated with FMS product output, Technical specifications of FMS with different centralized computer control systems and data of their operation effectiveness are presented. Two examples of FMS creation confirming the conclusion that changeover of the equipment and technology is the main source of FMS economic efficiency achievement are considered, FMS technical possibilities are widened due to utilization of direct numerical control from the central computer.