With the shift of the electric power industry from a regulated monopoly structure to a competitive market environment, the focus of the transmission expansion planning has been moving from reliability-driven transmission expansion to market-based transmission expansion. In market-based transmission expansion, however, a growing demand for electricity, an increasing number of transmission bottlenecks, and the falling levels of transmission investment have created the need for an incentive to motivate investors. The expectation of profit serves as a motivational factor for market participants to invest in transmission expansion in a competitive market. To promote investment in transmission expansion, there is an increasing need for a systematic method to examine transmission expansion for investment incentives from multiple perspectives. In this paper, the transmission expansion problem in a competitive market environment is formulated from ISO and investors' perspectives. The proposed method uses parametric analysis to analyze benefits for investors to identify the most profitable location and amount for transmission addition. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Electricity price forecasting has become an integral part of power system operation and control. In this paper, a wavelet transform (WT) based neural network (NN) model to forecast price profile in a deregulated electricity market has been presented. The historical price data has been decomposed into wavelet domain constitutive sub series using WT and then combined with the other time domain variables to form the set of input variables for the proposed forecasting model. The behavior of the wavelet domain constitutive series has been studied based on statistical analysis. It has been observed that forecasting accuracy can be improved by the use of WT in a forecasting model. Multi-scale analysis from one to seven levels of decomposition has been performed and the empirical evidence suggests that accuracy improvement is highest at third level of decomposition. Forecasting performance of the proposed model has been compared with (i) a heuristic technique, (ii) a simulation model used by Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), (iii) a Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model, (iv) NN model, (v) Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, (vi) Dynamic Regression (DR) model, and (vii) Transfer Function (TF) model. Forecasting results show that the performance of the proposed WT based NN model is satisfactory and it can be used by the participants to respond properly as it predicts price before closing of window for submission of initial bids.

Autoreclosing techniques have been used in power systems to maintain system stability and continuity of supply. Environmental and economical issues have driven significant increases in the development of distributed generation (DG). DG connected to distribution systems, however, may impose negative influences with respect to power quality, protection, and stability, because DG can cause some challenges to protection, especially to reclosing. For this reason, in order to improve the reliability and safety of the distribution system, the rules and guidelines suggest that the DG system needs to be rapidly disconnected from the system before reclosing. We present, in this paper, an adaptive reclosing algorithm considering the DG. The algorithm consists of an angle oscillation's judgment, the emergency extended equal-area criterion (EEEAC), the calculation of an optimal reclosing time, and a reconnection algorithm. Our simulation results for three different DG technologies with Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP) indicate that we can maintain transient stability while the DG is protected against disturbances.

This paper presents a new carrier based pulse-width modulation (PWM) method for matrix converters. By using the concept of average over one switching period, the modulation algorithm and the required equations are derived to synthesize the desired output voltage and to achieve the controlled input power factor. The proposed method uses a continuous carrier and the predetermined duty ratio signals to directly generate the gating signals and, thus, is referred to as "direct duty ratio PWM (DDPWM)". The feasibility and validity of the proposed method were verified by simulation and experiment.

While the matrix converter has many advantages that include bi-directional power flow, a size reduction, a long lifetime, and sinusoidal input currents, it is vulnerable to the input voltage disturbances, because it directly exchanges the input voltage to the output voltage. So, in this paper, a critical evaluation of the effect of various abnormal voltage conditions like unbalanced power supply, balanced non-sinusoidal power supply, input voltage sags and short time blackout of power supply on matrix converter fed induction motor drives is presented. The operation under various abnormal conditions has been analyzed. For this, a 230V, 250VA three phase to three phase matrix converter (MC) fed induction motor drive prototype is implemented using DSP based controller and tests have been carried out to evaluate and improve the stability of system under typical abnormal conditions. Digital storage oscilloscope & power quality analyzer are used for experimental observations.

In this paper, the general problem of impedance control for a robotic manipulator with a moving flexible base is addressed. Impedance control imposes a relation between force and displacement at the contact point with the environment. The concept of impedance control of flexible base mobile manipulator is rather new and is being considered for first time using singular perturbation and new sliding mode control methods by authors. Initially slow and fast dynamics of robot are decoupled using singular perturbation method. Slow dynamics represents the dynamics of the manipulator with rigid base. Fast dynamics is the equivalent effect of the flexibility in the base. Then, using sliding mode control method, an impedance control law is derived for the slow dynamics. The asymptotic stability of the overall system is guaranteed using a combined control law comprising the impedance control law and a feedback control law for the fast dynamics. As first time, base flexibility was analyzed accurately in this paper for flexible base moving manipulator (FBMM). General dynamic decoupling, whole system stability guarantee and new composed robust control method were proposed. This proposed Sliding Mode Impedance Control Method (SMIC) was simulated for two FBMM models. First model is a simple FBMM composed of a 2 DOFs planar manipulator and a single DOF moving base with flexibility in between. Second FBMM model is a complete advanced 10 DOF FBMM composed of a 4 DOF manipulator and a 6 DOF moving base with flexibility. This controller provides desired position/force control accurately with satisfactory damped vibrations especially at the point of contact. This is the first time that SMIC was addressed for FBMM.

In this paper, a fully adaptive feedforward feedback synchronized tracking control approach is developed for precision tracking control of 6 degree of freedom (6DOF) Stewart Platform. The proposed controller is designed in decentralized form for implementation simplicity. Interconnections among different subsystems and gravity effect are eliminated by the feedforward control action. Feedback control action guarantees the stability of the system. The gains of the proposed controller can be updated on line without requiring any prior knowledge of Stewart Platform manipulator. Thus the control approach is claimed to be fully adaptive. By employing cross-coupling error technology, the proposed approach can guarantee both of position error and synchronization error converge to zero asymptotically. Because the actuators work in synchronous manner, the tracking performances are improved. The corresponding stability analysis is also presented in this paper. Finally, simulation is demonstrated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

This paper presents a novel approach for controlling electrically driven robot manipulators based on voltage control. The voltage-based control is preferred comparing to torque-based control. This approach is robust in the presence of manipulator uncertainties since it is free of the manipulator model. The control law is very simple, fast response, efficient, robust, and can be used for high-speed tracking purposes. The feedback linearization is applied on the electrical equations of the dc motors to cancel the current terms which transfer all manipulator dynamics to the electrical circuit of motor. The control system is simulated for position control of the PUMA 560 robot driven by permanent magnet dc motors.

This paper presents the robust velocity estimation of an omnidirectional mobile robot using a polygonal array of optical mice that are installed at the bottom of the mobile robot. First, the velocity kinematics from a mobile robot to an array of optical mice is derived as an overdetermined linear system. The least squares velocity estimate of a mobile robot is then obtained, which becomes the same as the simple average for a regular polygonal arrangement of optical mice. Next, several practical issues that need be addressed for the use of the least squares mobile robot velocity estimation using optical mice are investigated, which include measurement noises, partial malfunctions, and imperfect installation. Finally, experimental results with different number of optical mice and under different floor surface conditions are given to demonstrate the validity and performance of the proposed least squares mobile robot velocity estimation method.

This paper proposes two novel algorithms enabling mobile robots to cooperate with each other in a reliability-based system and a time-critical system. In the reliability-based cooperative system, the concepts of a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) and an object entropy are adopted in order to coordinate a specific task. A logical robot group is created based on the exchange of request and reply messages in a robot communication group whose organization depends on transmission range. In the time-critical cooperative system, relational entropy is used to define the relationship between mobile robots. A group leader is selected based on optimizing power consumption. The proposed algorithm has been verified based on the computer-based simulation and soccer robot experiment. The performance metrics are defined. The metrics include the number of messages needed to make a logical robot group and to obtain the relationship of robots and the power consumption to select a group leader. They are verified by simulation and experiment.

The docking and recharging system for a mobile robot must guarantee the ability to perform its tasks continuously without human intervention. This paper proposes two docking mechanisms with localization error-compensation capability for an auto recharging system. The mechanisms use friction forces or magnetic forces between the docking parts of the robot and those of the docking station. It is a structure to improve the allowance ranges of lateral and directional docking offsets, in which the robot is able to dock into the docking station. In this paper, auto-recharging system and the features of the proposed mechanisms are verified with experimental results using simple homing method.

This paper presents a new non-contact 3D robotic inspection system to measure the precise positions of screw and punch holes on a car body frame. The newly developed sensor consists of a CCD camera, two laser line generators and LED light. This lightweight sensor can be mounted on an industrial robot hand. An inspection algorithm and system that work with this sensor is presented. In performance evaluation tests, the measurement accuracy of this inspection system was about 200 ${\mu}m$, which is a sufficient accuracy in the automotive industry.

This paper proposes a method to detect calibration patterns for accurate camera calibration under complicated backgrounds and uneven lighting conditions of industrial fields. Required to measure object dimensions, the preprocessing of camera calibration must be able to extract calibration points from a calibration pattern. However, industrial fields for visual inspection rarely provide the proper lighting conditions for camera calibration of a measurement system. In this paper, a probabilistic criterion is proposed to detect a local set of calibration points, which would guide the extraction of other calibration points in a cluttered background under irregular lighting conditions. If only a local part of the calibration pattern can be seen, input data can be extracted for camera calibration. In an experiment using real images, we verified that the method can be applied to camera calibration for poor quality images obtained under uneven illumination and cluttered background.

This study presents a recurrent compensatory fuzzy neural network (RCFNN) for dynamic system identification. The proposed RCFNN uses a compensatory fuzzy reasoning method, and has feedback connections added to the rule layer of the RCFNN. The compensatory fuzzy reasoning method can make the fuzzy logic system more effective, and the additional feedback connections can solve temporal problems as well. Moreover, an online learning algorithm is demonstrated to automatically construct the RCFNN. The RCFNN initially contains no rules. The rules are created and adapted as online learning proceeds via simultaneous structure and parameter learning. Structure learning is based on the measure of degree and parameter learning is based on the gradient descent algorithm. The simulation results from identifying dynamic systems demonstrate that the convergence speed of the proposed method exceeds that of conventional methods. Moreover, the number of adjustable parameters of the proposed method is less than the other recurrent methods.

Methods used for exploring marine resources and spaces include positioning a probe under water and then recalling it after a specified time. Hydro-acoustic Releasers are commonly used for positioning and retrieving of such exploration equipment. The most important factor in this kind of system is the reliability for recalling the instruments. The frequently used ultrasonic signal detection method can detect ultrasonic signals using a fixed comparator, but because of increased rates of errors due to outside interferences, information is repetitively acquired. This study presents an effective ultrasonic signal detection algorithm using the characteristics of a resonance and adaptive comparator Combined with the FSK+ASK modulator. As a result, approximately 8.8% of ultrasonic wave communication errors caused by background noise and transmission losses were reduced for effectively detecting ultrasonic waves. Furthermore, the resonance circuit's quality factor was enhanced (Q = 120 to 160). As such, the bias voltage of the transistor (Vb= 3.3 to 6.8V) was increased thereby enhancing the frequency's selectivity.

In this paper, new upper matrix bounds for the solution of the continuous algebraic Riccati equation (CARE) are derived. Following the derivation of each bound, iterative algorithms are developed for obtaining sharper solution estimates. These bounds improve the restriction of the results proposed in a previous paper, and are more general. The proposed bounds are always calculated if the stabilizing solution of the CARE exists. Finally, numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the present schemes.

This paper considers the problem of robust $H_{\infty}$ control for uncertain 2-D discrete systems in the General Model via output feedback controllers. The parameter uncertainty is assumed to be norm-bounded. The purpose is the design of output feedback controllers such that the closed-loop system is stable while satisfying a prescribed $H_{\infty}$ performance level. In terms of a linear matrix inequality, a sufficient condition for the solvability of the problem is obtained, and an explicit expression of desired output feedback controllers is given. An example is provided to demonstrate the application of the proposed method.