Vision Based Indoor Surveillance Patrol Robot Using Extended Dijkstra Algorithm in Path Plannin

Vision based patrol robot has been with great interest nowadays due to its consistency, cost effectiveness and no temperament issue. In recent times, Global positioning system (GPS) has been cooperated with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to come out with better accuracy quality in positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services to locate a device. However, such localization service is yet to reach any indoor facility. For an indoor surveillance vision based patrol robot, such limitation hinders its path planning capabilities that allows the patrol robot to seek for the optimum path to reach the appointed destination and return back to its home position. In this paper, a vision based indoor surveillance patrol robot using sensory manipulation technique is presented and an extended Dijkstra algorithm is proposed for the patrol robot path planning. The design of the patrol robot adopted visual type sensor, range sensors and Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU) system to impulsively update the map’s data in line with the patrol robot’s current path and utilize the path planning features to carry out obstacle avoidance and re-routing process in accordance to the obstacle’s type met by the patrol robot. The result conveyed by such approach certainly managed to complete multiple cycles of testing with positive result.

An Improved Backscattering Theoretical Model for Snow Area

Remote sensing has been studied for a long time to monitor the earth terrain. Remote sensing technology has been used globally in many different fields and one of the most popular area of study that uses remote sensing technology is snow monitoring. In previous researches, remote sensing has been modelled on snow area to study the scattering mechanisms of various scattering processes. In this paper, surface volume second order term that was dropped in previous study is derived, included and studied to observe the improvement in the surface volume backscattering coefficient. This new model is applied on snow layer above ground and the snow layer is modelled as a volume of ice particles as the Mie scatterers that are closely packed and bounded by irregular boundaries. Various parameters are used to investigate the improvement of adding the new term. Results show improvement in cross-polarized return, for all the range of parameters studied. Comparison is made with the field measurement result from U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in 1990. Close agreement is shown between developed model and data field backscattering coefficient result.

Conceptual Design and Analysis of a Hybrid Walking Cane

This work is aimed to design and analyze the staircase climbing aid, hybrid with the function of walking cane. The tremendous demand for living space increases the essentiality of staircase, corresponding to the escalation of fall injuries. The handrails complemented along with staircase had provided deficient safeguard for staircase user, particularly senior citizen and people with lower limb disability, who need staircase climbing aid to provide extra support during escalating or declining staircase.

A Review of Modular Ergonomic Furniture Patents

This paper identifies weaknesses in the ergonomics and design advancements of household furniture. This paper suggests recommendations to enhance the satisfaction and support of ergonomic furniture. Furniture and interior wares are the chosen products of interest, and are specifically emphasised in the context of home living. This paper includes an ergonomics focus on the engineering and industrial design of household furniture, but does not include an analysis of biomechanics, physiology and anthropometry. Based on evaluations of patents from 1980 to 2013, this paper suggests that a user-centred design would be an ideal choice for designers as it potentially promotes customer satisfaction and simultaneously improves the health and well-being of users. The paper synthesises the consensuses of furniture consumers which include data from trends, demands, complexities and preferences.

Development of A Soil Resistivity Calculator

Soil resistivity is an important parameter for designing electrical earthing system. The measurement of soil resistivity is greatly influenced by moisture content, temperature, porosity, degree of saturation, number of soil layer(s), and frequency of lightning current. Researchers have proposed various methodologies to provide an approximation of soil resistivity using the listed parameters. In order to ease the process of estimating soil resistivity at a particular area, there is a pressing need to devise a simple tool that enables the calculation of soil resistivity in the most accurate manner. As such, this research proposes a reliable tool for quick evaluation of soil resistivity based on various methodologies using Microsoft Excel’s built-in-functions and Visual Basic Application (VBA) Next, the developed tool was validated using two methods, in which the output value of the calculator was compared with data retrieved from IEEE Std 142-2007 and data reported in past studies. The validation results revealed that the developed calculator may serve as a significant application in future due to its time-saving and cost-effective attributes.

GPS Derived Seismic Signals for Far Field Earthquake Epicenter Location Estimation

A reliable epicenter estimation method is proposed for Global Positioning System (GPS) derived seismic signal for far-field regional earthquake. The main contribution is the use of time-frequency analysis to estimate the time of arrival (TOA) using multilateration technique. The data from the 2004 Sumatra Andaman earthquake captured from four GPS continuously operating reference stations (GPS CORS) were used in the analysis. To validate the accuracy of the proposed method, the estimated epicenter location was compared with the data released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The estimated location shows an error of about 0.0572 degrees in latitude and 0.2848 degrees in longitude. The proposed analysis method could complement existing seismometer measurements, improve in understanding of geo-seismic phenomena, and plan future infrastructure development.

Effects of Anode Design and Configuration on the Growth Dynamics and Surface Morphologies of Electrodeposited Copper Films

The influence of different anode configurations on the growth mechanisms, transient currentsand surface morphologies of copper film using localized electrodeposition technique have been studied. Measured transient currents during electrodeposition wereused to investigate the underlying growth dynamics. SEM images were obtained and the surface morphologies of the deposited copper films were analyzed. It was found that the transient current increased when copper ions were able to grow directly on the empty surface of the copper film that was located away from the mini electrodes. This caused the copper ions to be deposited sporadically via the instantaneous growth mechanism and formed cluster of atoms on the empty surface of the copper film which led to rougher surfaces. In contrast, progressive growth was observed to occur at a faster rate for thedeposition performed using insulated mini electrodes, especially in the case of collinear double insulated mini electrodes as indicated by the reduction of the transient current with time. Besides, copper films with uniform and smoother surfaces were obtained when the depositions were performed using multiple or a large number of closely spaced mini electrodes. This was due to the fact that large number of closely spaced mini electrodes produced parallel and uniform electric field patterns.

GNSS Interference Environment in Malaysia: A Case Study

Global Navigation Satellite Systems or GNSS is a space technology that has become an essential element nowadays for positioning, navigation & timing (PNT) with wide range of applications in many civilian sectors as well as across military. The reliability, accuracy and availability of GNSS are highly important especially for critical and precise positioning applications. However, the signals from space are weak and it can be easily blocked, disrupted or compromised by several other threats including intentional and unintentional interferences or jamming. GPS jammer is widely available off the shelf with an affordable price and capable of interfering the GPS signal, and many authorities worldwide have raised concerns and a lot of efforts and research have been put in place to reduce and mitigate the threats. In Malaysia, understanding and countering threats to GNSS/GPS based applications will be a new and unfamiliar discipline for public and organizations. This study intended to provide an overview of the GNSS interferences environment in a local study area, in terms of interference type and the number of activity pattern that were detected. A system called Detector V1 has been used in this study. The result showed that significant interference cases happened in the study area and some of the high power interferences may impact GNSS tracking and precision of the positioning output. The role objective of having this done is to create a public awareness regarding the threat of GNSS interferences to the local users. The content also includes the proposed initiative to overcome the issue.

Application and Evolution of Airborne LiDAR Technology for Topographic Data Acquisition Practice in the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia

The mapping industry is one of the areas that is always given attention to balance the rapid development of current technology. The application of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology in the mapping industry opens up a wide dimension of discussion involving industry users as well as academics. LiDAR technology is now a common method for faster and higher quality topographic data collection than conventional topographic data collection methods. Observation data that is generally in the form of high-density point (point cloud) can also be applied in various uses, especially in the field of mapping and terrain analysis. Therefore, this paper will discuss related LiDAR technology including basic information or principles of LiDAR technology, the latest developments of LiDAR methods, and work processes involved from the point of view of the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM).

Neural Network Facial Authentication for Public Electric Vehicle Charging Station

This study is to investigate and compare the facial recognition accuracy performance of Dlib ResNet against a K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) classifier. Particularly when used against a dataset from an Asian ethnicity as Dlib ResNet was reported to have an accuracy deficiency when it comes to Asian faces. The comparisons are both implemented on the facial vectors extracted using the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) method and use the same dataset for a fair comparison. Authentication of a user by facial recognition in an electric vehicle (EV) charging station demonstrates a practical use case for such an authentication system.