Electronic device for the blind

Electronic devices are a help for the blind. Some electronic devices push video signals directly to the brain but the device presented in this paper uses a sensitive and ready sensorial system: the auditory system. This article presents a low cost electronic device that enables the blind to distinguish the color and distance of objects. The project was first published in the UK and that system with the intensity of musical notes proportional to the brightness has proven to be annoying as the musical notes sound uninterrupted. In order to solve this problem, a new system for brightness perception was designed so a brief musical note is sounded when the sensor detects an increase of brightness and another brief musical note, one octave below, is sounded when the sensor detects a decrease in brightness     

Using altimetry and seafloor pressure data to estimate vertical deformation offshore: Vanuatu case study

Measuring ground deformation underwater is essential for understanding Earth processes at many scales. One important example is subduction zones, which can generate devastating earthquakes and tsunamis, and where the most important deformation signal related to plate locking is usually offshore. We present an improved method for making offshore vertical deformation measurements, that involve combining tide gauge and altimetry data. We present data from two offshore sites located on either side of the plate interface at the New Hebrides subduction zone, where the Australian plate subducts beneath the North Fiji basin. These two sites have been equipped with pressure gauges since 1999, to extend an on-land GPS network across the plate interface. The pressure series measured at both sites show that Wusi Bank, located on the over-riding plate, subsides by 11 ± 4 mm/yr with respect to Sabine Bank, which is located on the down-going plate. By combining water depths derived from the on-bottom pressure data with sea surface heights derived from altimetry data, we determine variations of seafloor heights in a global reference frame. Using altimetry data from TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2 and Envisat missions, we find that the vertical motion at Sabine Bank is close to zero and that Wusi Bank subsides by at least 3 mm/yr and probably at most 11 mm/yr.     

Optimization of transfers under constraints on the thrust direction: I

Transfers with a low thrust are considered under constraints imposed on the thrust vector direction. These constraints can be caused by peculiarities of the attitude control system and the mode of stabilization of a spacecraft, and, in the general case, they are functions of the time and state vector. The constraints specified by equalities and inequalities are investigated. It is shown that the optimal thrust is directed along the projection of the Lawden’s primer vector onto the restricting set.     

Accommodating controller malfunctions through fault tolerant control architecture

In previous work we have proposed a supervised globalized dual heuristic programming (GDHP) controller as a solution to the fault tolerant control (FTC) problem of nonlinear plants subject to abrupt and incipient faults capable of drastically modifying the system dynamics to maintain stability and performance. The neural network (NN) based adaptive critic controller presented the best choice for the flexibility and power necessary to accomplish the task, however no success guarantees can be made for the online training of neural weights for the unrestricted fault recovery problem. Built on the existing framework, we propose a novel supervisory system capable of detecting controller malfunctions before the stability of the plant is compromised. Furthermore, due to its ability to discern between controller malfunctions and faults within the plant, the proposed supervisor acts in a specific fashion in the event of a controller malfunction to provide new avenues with a greater probability of convergence using information from a dynamic model bank. The classification and distinction of controller malfunctions from the faults in the plant itself is achieved through an advanced decision logic based on three independent quality indexes. Proof-of-the-concept simulations over a nonlinear plant demonstrate the validity of the approach.     

The face inversion effect in microgravity: is gravity used as a spatial reference for complex object recognition?

Complex objects are better recognized under a specific orientation. When presented upside down, a face, even very familiar, is recognized with greater difficulty than when presented upright ("Inversion effect"). Up to now it was not possible to decide whether the direction provided by gravity or the one provided by the retina and the body constitutes the spatial reference involved in this "Inversion effect". Three cosmonautes learned photographed faces on the ground and had to recognize them both on ground and on flight. Other photographed faces were learned in flight and where presented for recognition on flight. Results show that the Inversion effect is still present on flight for faces that have been learned on ground as well as for those learned on flight. Persistence of the inversion effect in 0-G shows that gravity is not involved as a spatial reference in recognition of faces. Learning and recognition performances of faces learned in flight were significantly lower than performances for faces learned on ground. A possible role of gravity in configural processing, but not in the Inversion effect, is suggested.     

快速加热下铜再结晶织构的形成模型与模拟

基于形核的Gibbs-Thomson关系理论和由晶粒尺寸效应引起的优势生长机制。综合各种理论，建立了铜再结晶织构解析式数学分析模型。计算机模拟结果表明，在较慢的加快速度下，完全再结晶时织构为单一的立方组分；在快速加热条件下，完全再结晶时织构可由立方织构组分和保留的冷轧织构组分所组成；再结晶织构受加热速度的影响。     

多(全)电发动机

简要介绍了磁性轴承、整体式起动／发电机和燃气涡轮发动机分布式控制系统的工作原理、发展状况和关键技术。     

The evolutionary status of eta Car based on historical and modern optical and infrared photometry

We present a photometric study of the luminous early-type star Car. The star's secular brightness increase is due largely to the expansion of the Homunculus. Car is a LBV with a possible B0.5V companion. The combined effect of Balmer-line emission, and of warm and cold dust radiation explains the star's other light variations.     

导航星座整网自主定轨的动力学短弧段伪逆平差法

针对传统静态自由网平差进行自主定轨存在的秩亏问题,提出一种卫星动力学短弧段定轨和自由网伪逆平差理论相结合的自主定轨算法。该算法以导航星座星间链路(ISL)双向测距为基础,利用伪逆平差法,解决整网位置解算起算数据不足带来的秩亏问题;同时,利用轨道动力学建立不同历元之间状态转移关系,解决单历元平差无法对速度分量进行有效估计的问题。仿真结果表明,自主运行90天,平均用户测距精度（URE）小于1 m（2σ）,优于导航星座自主运行指标要求,验证了本文算法的有效性。