Detecting defects on FPD (Flat Panel Display) color filter before the full panel is made is important to reduce the manufacturing cost. Among many types of defects, the low contrast blemish such as Suzi Mura is difficult to detect using standard CCD cameras. Even skilled inspectors in the inspection line can hardly identify such defects using bare eyes. To overcome this difficulty, point spectrometer has been used to analyze the spectrum to differentiate such defects from normal color filters. However, scanning ever increasing-size color filters by a point spectrometer takes too long time to be used in real production line. We propose a system using a spectral camera which can be viewed as a line scan camera composed of an array of point spectrometers. Three types of lighting system that exhibit different illumination spectrums are devised together with a calibration method of the proposed spectral camera system. To visualize the defect areas, various processing algorithms to identify and to enhance the small differences in spectrum between defective and normal areas are developed. Experiments shows 85% successful visualization. of real samples using the proposed system.

The geometric distortion of image is one of the most important parameters that take effect on the accuracy of optical inspection systems. We propose a new correction method of the image distortion to increase the accuracy of PCB inspection systems. The model-free method is applied to correct the randomly distorted image that cannot be represented by mathematical model. To reduce the correction time of inspection system, we newly propose a grid reduction algorithm that minimize the number of grids by the quad-tree approach. We apply the proposed method to a PCB inspection system, and verify its usefulness through experiments using actual inspection images.

This paper presents a Gabor texture feature extraction method for classification of discolored Metal pad images using GPU(Graphics Processing Unit). The proposed algorithm extracts the texture information using Gabor filters and constructs a pattern map using the extracted information. Finally, the golden pad images are classified by utilizing the feature vectors which are extracted from the constructed pattern map. In order to evaluate the performance of the Gabor texture feature extraction algorithm based on GPU, a sequential processing and parallel processing using OpenMP in CPU of this algorithm were adopted. Also, the proposed algorithm was implemented by using Global memory and Shared memory in GPU. The experimental results were demonstrated that the method using Shared memory in GPU provides the best performance. For evaluating the effectiveness of extracted Gabor texture features, an experimental validation has been conducted on a database of 20 Metal pad images and the experiment has shown no mis-classification.

Recently, digital camera module has been extensively utilized in mobile devices. The digital camera module should be smaller and lighter than digital still camera module to be used in mobile device. But, mobile camera can't get high quality image as good as the one of digital still camera due to the optical limitation of minimized module. Especially, AE system of mobile camera occurs excessive hunting and oscillation due to miniaturization of module. In this paper, improved AE algorithm which is applied fuzzy PI control is suggested to compensate this point.

This paper presents the evaluation of PID and fuzzy control logic for the lateral position control of a moving web in roll-to-roll (R2R) printed electronics. In addition, we report the implementation of computer simulation software that enables us to develop the control logic in a graphic user interface and to test the controller performance in 3D dynamic environment. A mathematical model of the web dynamics is described first to explain the lateral motion of a moving web. Based on the model, PID and fuzzy controllers are designed, and embedded in the simulation software. Under the simulation conditions for fabricating RFID antenna by R2R printing, the results indicate that the fuzzy controller shows a better performance and can be more suitable for R2R multi-layer printed electronics.

This paper proposes a grating scanner which is driven by a stack-type piezoelectric element. The mechanism of the grating scanner is based on flexure hinges. Using some constraints, the compliant mechanism is designed and then verified by Finite Element Analysis. The designed compliant mechanism is manufactured by wire electro-discharge machining, and then integrated with a stack-type piezoelectric element for actuation and a capacitance displacement sensor for measuring ultra-precision displacement. Experiments demonstrates the characteristics and the performances of the grating scanner using the terms of working range, resonance frequency, bandwidth and resolution. The grating scanner is applicable to a Moire interferometry for measuring 3-dimensional microscopic surface.

This paper deals with the relationship between zeros and step response of the second and third order LTI(Linear Time Invariant) SISO(Single-Input and Single-Output) systems. As well known, if a system has a single unstable zero, it shows the step response with undershoot and, on the other hand, a stable zero slower than the dominant pole causes the system to have the step response with overshoot. Generally, in the case of a system with two unstable real zeros, it is known to have B type undershoot[7]. But there are many complex cases of the step response extrema corresponding to zeros location in third order systems. This paper investigates the whole cases depending on DC gains of the additive equivalence systems and they are to be classified by the region of zeros which are related to the shape of the step response. Moreover, monotone nondecreasing conditions are proposed in the case of complex conjugate zeros as well as the case of two stable zeros.

In this paper, a new method to design sliding surfaces using eigenstructure assignment is proposed. Most conventional methods for constructing the surfaces require special form like canonical or regular canonical form of system matrices. But the proposed method can be applied to arbitrary system matrices. Futhermore, the surface matrix, C can be decided for the matrix multiplication, CB to have a designated form. SVD is used to decide desirable eigenvectors explicitly. To verify the proposed algorithm, a sliding mode controller for a multivariable system with matched uncertainty is constructed. The controller is designed to guarantee minimum approach velocity to the sliding surface.

In this paper, we consider a decentralized observer design problem for fault detection in large-scaled linear time-invariant systems. Since the fault detection residual is desired to be sensitive on the fault, we use the H_ index performance criterion. Sufficient conditions for the existence of such an observer is presented in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

For developing automotive parts and telematics devices the real car test often shows limitation because it needs high cost, much time and has the possibility of the accident. Therefore, a Vehicle Driving Simulator (VDS) instead of the real-car test has been used by some automotive manufactures, research centers, and universities. The VDS is a virtual reality device which makes a human being feel as if one drives a vehicle actually. Unlike actual vehicle, the simulator has limited kinematic workspace and bounded dynamic characteristics. So it is difficult to simulate dynamic motions of a multi-body vehicle model fully. In order to overcome these problems, a washout algorithm which restricts workspace of the simulator within the kinematic limits is needed, and analysis of dynamic characteristics is required also. However, a classical washout algorithm contains several problems such as time delay and generation of wrong motion signal caused by characteristics of filters. Specially, the classical washout algorithm has the simulator sickness when driver hardly turns brakes and accelerates the VDS. In this paper, a new washout algorithm is developed to enhance the motion sensitivity and improve the simulator sickness by using the vehicle tilt signal which is generated in the real time vehicle dynamic model.

This paper proposes an IR (infrared) LED (Light Emitting Diode)-based tactile fingertip sensor that can independently measure the normal and tangential force between the hand and an object. The proposed IR LED-based tactile sensor has several advantages over other technologies, including a low price, small size, and good sensitivity. The design of the first prototype is described and some experiments are conducted to show output characteristics of the proposed sensor. Furthemore, the effectiveness of the proposed sensor is demonstrated through anti-slip control in a multifunction myoelectric hand, called the KNU Hand, which includes several novel mechanisms for improved grasping capabilities. The experimental results show that slippage was avoided by simple force control using feedback on the normal and tangential force from the proposed sensor. Thus, grasping force control was achieved without any slippage or damage to the object.

In this paper, a real-time eye tracking method using fast face detection is proposed. Most of the current eye tracking systems have operational limitations due to sensors, complicated backgrounds, and uneven lighting condition. It also suffers from slow response time which is not proper for a real-time application. The tracking performance is low under complicated background and uneven lighting condition. The proposed algorithm detects face region from acquired image using elliptic Hough transform followed by eye detection within the detected face region using Haar-like features. In order to reduce the computation time in tracking eyes, the algorithm predicts next frame search region from the information obtained in the current frame. Experiments through simulation show good performance of the proposed method under various environments.

Localization which estimates a robot's position and orientation in a given environment is very important for mobile robot navigation. Although low-cost sensors are preferred for practical service robots, they suffer from the inaccurate and insufficient range information. This paper proposes a novel approach to increasing the success rate of low-cost sensor-based localization. In this paper, both the previous and the current data obtained from the IR sensors are used for localization in order to utilize as much environment information as possible without increasing the number of sensors. The sensor model used in the monte carlo localization (MCL) is modified so that the accumulated range information may be used to increase the accuracy in estimating the current robot pose. The experimental results show that the proposed method can robustly estimate the robot's pose in indoor environments with several similar places.

In this study, we propose a new input device using vision technology for positioning of multiple DOFs. The input device is composed of multiple Tags on a transparent table and a vision camera below the table. Vision camera detects LEDs at the bottom of each Tag to derive information of the ID, position and orientation. The information are used to determine position and orientation of remote target DOFs. Our developed approach is very reliable and effective, especially when the corresponding DOFs are from many independent individuals. We show an application example with a SCARA robot to prove the flexibility and extendability.

The article discusses an issue of estimating the airspeed of an autonomous flying vehicle. Airspeed is the difference between ground speed and wind speed. It is desirable to know any two among the three speeds for navigation, guidance and control of an autonomous vehicle. For example, ground speed and position are used to guide a vehicle to a target point and wind speed and airspeed are used to maximize flight performance such as a gliding range. However, the target vehicle has not an airspeed sensor but a ground speed sensor (GPS/INS). So airspeed or wind speed has to be estimated. Here, airspeed is to be estimated. A vehicle's dynamics and its dynamic parameters are used to estimate airspeed with attitude and angular speed measurements. Kalman filter is used for the estimation. There are also two major sources arousing a robust estimation problem; wind speed and altitude. Wind speed and direction depend on weather conditions. Altitude changes as a vehicle glides down to the ground. For one reference altitude, multiple model Kalman filters are pre-designed based on several reference airspeeds. We call this group of filters as a cluster. Filters of a cluster are activated simultaneously and probabilities are calculated for each filter. The probability indicates how much a filter matches with measurements. The final airspeed estimate is calculated by summing all estimates multiplied by probabilities. As a vehicle glides down to the ground, other clusters that have been designed based on other reference altitudes are activated. Some numerical simulations verify that the proposed method is effective to estimate airspeed.

A wireless sensor network inherently comprises a plurality of sensor nodes widely deployed for sensing environmental information. To add new functions or to correct some faulty functions of an existing wireless sensor network, the firmware for each sensor node needs to be updated. Firmware update would be quite troublesome if it requires the gathering, reprogramming, and redeploy of all of already deployed sensor nodes. Over-the-air programming (OTA) facilitates the firmware update process, thereby allowing convenient maintenance of an already-deployed sensor network. This paper proposes and implements a remote firmware update mechanism for a TDMA-based wireless sensor network, in which the firmware for sensor nodes constituting the TDMA-based sensor network can be easily updated and the update process can be conveniently monitored from a remote site. We verify the validity of the proposed firmware update method via experiments and introduce three wireless sensor networks installed in outdoor sites in which the proposed firmware update mechanism has been exploited.