As high quality image is required for digital cameras in recent use, the image stabilization technique has drawn much attention to prevent image degradation from shaky disturbance by users. In this paper, the optical image stabilization (OIS) system for DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera is considered. First, the analytic model of an OIS system is presented to demonstrate the mechanism of image destabilization due to unknown disturbance that causes blurry images on CCD sensor. Then, to enhance the stabilization performance, a sliding mode control based on the min-max nonlinear control is introduced. Through the experiments and simulations, the effectiveness of the proposed method will be verified.

A variety of methods for sound source localization have been developed and applied to several applications such as noise detection system, surveillance system, teleconference system, robot auditory system and so on. In the previous work, we proposed the sound source localization using the spatially mapped GCC functions based on TDOA for robot auditory system. Performance of the proposed one for the noise effect and estimation resolution was verified with the real environmental experiment under the single source assumption. However, since multi-talker case is general in human-robot interaction, multiple source localization approaches are necessary. In this paper, the proposed localization method under the single source assumption is modified to be suitable for multiple source localization. When there are two sources which are correlated, the spatially mapped GCC function for localization has three peaks at the real source locations and imaginary source location. However if two sources are uncorrelated, that has only two peaks at the real source positions. Using these characteristics, we modify the proposed localization method for the multiple source cases. Experiments with human speeches in the real environment are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method for multiple source localization. In the experiments, mean value of estimation error is about $1.4^{\circ}$ and percentage of multiple source localization is about 62% on average.

This paper describes a localization method based on Monte Carlo Localization approach for a mobile robot. The method uses range data which are measured from ultrasound transmitting beacons whose locations are given a priori. The ultrasound receiver on-board a robot detects the range from the beacons. The method requires several beacons, theoretically over three. The method proposes a sensor model for the range sensing based on statistical analysis of the sensor output. The experiment uses commercialized beacons and detector which are used for trilateration localization. The performance of the proposed method is verified through real implementation. Especially, it is shown that the performance of the localization degrades as the sensor update rate decreases compared with the MCL algorithm update rate. Though the method requires exact location of the beacons, it doesn't require geometrical map information of the environment. Also, it is applicable to estimation of the location of both the beacons and robot simultaneously.

In this paper, an adaptive formation control based on the leader-following approach is proposed for multiple mobile robots with time varying parameters. The proposed controller does not require the velocity information of the leader robot, which is commonly assumed that it is either measured or telecommunicated. In order to estimate time varying velocities of the leader robot, the smooth projection algorithm is employed. From the Lyapunov stability theory, it is proved that the proposed control scheme can guarantee the uniform ultimate boundedness of error signals of the closed-loop system. Finally, the computer simulations are performed to demonstrate the performance of the proposed control system.

This paper proposes a beacon color code scheduling algorithm for the localization of multiple robots in a multi-block workspace. With the developments of intelligent robotics and ubiquitous technology, service robots are applicable for the wide area such as airports and train stations where multiple indoor GPS systems are required for the localization of the mobile robots. Indoor localization schemes using ultrasonic sensors have been widely studied due to its cheap price and high accuracy. However, ultrasonic sensors have some shortages of short transmission range and interferences with other ultrasonic signals. In order to use multiple robots in wide workspace concurrently, it is necessary to resolve the interference problem among the multiple robots in the localization process. This paper proposes an indoor localization system for concurrent multiple robots localization in a wide service area which is divided into multi-block for the reliable sensor operation. The beacon color code scheduling algorithm is developed to avoid the signal interferences and to achieve efficient localization with high accuracy and short sampling time. The performance of the proposed localization system is verified through the simulations and the real experiments.

This paper proposes a single accelerometer sensor control algorithm to mobile inverted pendulum, generally called 'Segway', and evaluates the performance of this system comparing to the conventional ones. The commercialized 'Prototype Segway-PT' is initially considered as a next-generation transport vehicle. However, this robot is operated by three gyroscopes and two accelerometers to control the posture and speed, and it requires the complex signal processing for fusing the two sets of data. As the result of this, the growth rate of market size of 'Segway' is slow because of its high price mainly. In this paper, the mobile inverted pendulum is operated by a single accelerometer to simplify the control system to lower the price. Low pass filter is one of the good sensors to reducing the variation of an accelerometer, but it has time delay. This time delay disturbs real-time mobile inverted pendulum control. Like this, other various algorithms are used for this system, but each one has its own weak point. So this paper proposes a new filtering method, median filter and EKF. Median filter is used to image processing to reject impulse elements like salt and pepper noise. As the major performance evaluation parameter for the accelerometer, the high-frequency to low frequency ratio from FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) is used. Effectiveness of the proposed algorithms has been verified through the real experiments and the results are demonstrated.

The research presented covers the design and control method of unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). An electric vehicle is used and is driven by DC motor. The power system on the UGV has been adjusted and actuators have been installed for steering and brake automation. A toggle switch is implemented to easily switch between manual and autonomous states. The UGV state is monitored by a velocity sensor, as well as steering and brake position sensors. An emergency stop device was designed and installed to quickly and safely stop the UGV. Different control methods, including the PID controller, were studied for improved steering responsiveness, and results were confirmed through experimentation. Satisfactory performance was achieved and several possible areas of future research have arisen.

This paper proposes a new planar robotic manipulator using stackable 4-BAR mechanisms for various applications. The proposed manipulator has an advantage that we can separate the driving actuators from a robotic manipulator. By separating actuators from the manipulator, we are able to separate the electrical component such as electrical wiring from the mechanical linkage/joint components in the robotic manipulator. Also, we suggest the kinematic analysis of the proposed manipulator which is composed of input mechanisms, multiple 4-BAR mechanisms and output mechanisms. Finally, we suggest numerical simulations to show the effectiveness of the proposed manipulator.

An obstacle avoidance method for a mobile robot is proposed in this paper. Our research was focused on the obstacles that can be found indoors since a robot is usually used within a building. It is necessary that the robot maintain the desired direction after successfully avoiding the obstacles to achieve a good autonomous navigation performance for the specified project mission. Sensors such as laser, ultrasound, and PSD (Position Sensitive Detector) can be used to detect and analyze the obstacles. A PSD sensor was used to detect and measure the height and width of the obstacles on the floor. The PSD sensor was carefully calibrated before measuring the obstacles to achieve better accuracy. Data obtained from the repeated experiments were used to plot an error graph which was fitted to a polynomial curve. The polynomial equation was used to navigate the robot. We also obtained a direction-error model of the robot after avoiding the obstacles. The prototypes for the obstacle and direction-error were modeled using a neural network whose inputs are the obstacle height, robot speed, direction of the wheels, and the error in direction. A mobile robot operated by a notebook computer was setup and the proposed algorithm was used to navigate the robot and avoid the obstacles. The results showed that our algorithm performed very well during the experiments.

This paper presents a method of classifying discolored defects of metal pads using geometric texture for AFVI (Automated Final Vision Inspection) systems. In PCB manufacturing process, the metal pads on PCB can be oxidized and discolored partly due to various environmental factors. Nowadays the discolored defects are manually detected and rejected from the process. This paper proposes an efficient geometric texture feature, SUTF (Symmetry and Uniformity Texture Feature) based on the symmetric and uniform textural characteristics of the surface of circular metal pads for automating AFVI systems. In practical experiments with real samples acquired from a production line, 30 discolored images and 1232 roughness images are tested. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method using SUTFs provides better performance compared to Gabor feature with 0% FNR (False Negative Rate) and 1.46% FPR (False Positive Rate). The performance of the proposed method shows its applicability in the real manufacturing systems.

This study deals with stockout costs in the supply chain optimization model under the framework of batch-storage network. Stockout is very popular in chemical industries. Estimating stockout cost involves an understanding of customer reactions to a seller being out of stock at the time the customer wants to buy an item. This involves massively non-trivial work such as direct customer interviews and extensive mail survey. In this study, we will introduce a new interpretation of stockout costs combined with batchstorage network optimization model and thus suggest an easy way of estimating stockout costs. Optimization model suggest that optimal process and storage sizes considering stockout cost are smaller than those that do not consider stockout cost. An illustrative example support the analytical results.

Most public guide robots installed in public spots such as exhibition halls and lobbies of department store etc., have poor capability to distinguish the users who require services. As to provide suitable services, public guide robots should have a human detection system that makes it possible to evaluate intention of customers from their movement direction. In this paper, a DPS (Directional Perception System) is realized based on face detection technology. In particular, to catch human movement efficiently and reduce computational time, human detection technology using face rectangle, which is obtained from the human face, is developed. DPS determines which customer needs services of public guide robots by investigating the size and direction of face rectangle. If DPS is adapted, guide service will be provided with more satisfaction and reliability, and power efficiency also can be added up because public guide robots provide services only for the users who expresses their intentions of wanting services explicitly. Finally, through several experiments, the feasibility of the proposed DPS is verified.

This paper presents the design of hardware platform, which is a test bed for the navigation system and hovering type AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) under the OCP (Open Control Platform). The developed AUV test bed consists of two hulls, four thrusters, and the navigation system which uses a SBC2440II with IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). And the SMC (Sliding Mode Control) is chosen for the diving and steering control of the AUV. This paper uses ACE/TAO RTEC (Real-Time Event Channel) as a middleware platform in order to control and communicate in the developed AUV test bed. In this paper, two computers are used and each of them is dedicated for the specific purpose, the first computer is used as the SMC module and the middleware platform for the ACE/TAO RTEC and the second computer is used for the sensor controller. We analyze the performance of the AUV test bed under the OCP.

In this paper, a waypoint guidance law Line Tracking algorithm is designed for testing an Unmanned Airship. In order to verify, we develop an autonomous flight control and test system of unmanned airship. The flight test system is composed FCC (Flight Control Computer), GCS (Ground Control System), Autopilot & Guidance program, GUI (Graphic User Interface) based analysis program, and Test Log Sheet for the management of flight test data. It contains flight test results of single-path & multi-path following, one point continuation turn, LOS guidance, and safe mode for emergency.

In this paper, a dynamic GTS allocation method of wireless control networks is proposed for the use of factory automation using IEEE 802.15.4 MAC protocol. A superframe of IEEE 802.15.4 is applied to the transmission method of real-time periodic I/O data of wireless control systems within the limited time in factory environment. The method is proposed for efficient transmission of real-time periodic I/O traffic. The simulation results show the average network utilization and available I/O node numbers could be increased by the proposed method.