Search

In this paper, we develop a method for recognizing face images by combining wavelet decomposition, Fisherface method, and fuzzy integral. The proposed approach is comprised of four main stages. The first stage uses the wavelet decomposition that helps extract Intrinsic features of face images. As a result of this decomposition, we obtain four subimages (namely approximation, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal detailed images). The second stage of the approach concerns the application of the Fisherface method to these four decompositions. The choice of the Fisherface method in this setting is motivated by its insensitivity to large variation in light direction, face pose, and facial expression. The two last phases are concerned with the aggregation of the individual classifiers by means of the fuzzy integral. Both Sugeno and Choquet type of fuzzy integral are considered as the aggregalion method. In the experiments we use n-fold cross-validation to assure high consistency of the produced classification outcomes. The experimental results obtained for the Chungbuk National University (CNU) and Yale University face databases reveal that the approach presented in this paper yields better classification performance in comparison to the results obtained by other classifiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of exponential stability is investigated for a class of stochastic neural networks with both Markovian jump parameters and mixed time delays. The jumping parameters are modeled as a continuous-time finite-state Markov chain. Based on a Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and the stochastic analysis theory, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is developed to derive some novel sufficient conditions, which guarantee the exponential stability of the equilibrium point in the mean square. The proposed LMI-based criteria are quite general since many factors, such as noise perturbations, Markovian jump parameters, and mixed time delays, are considered. In particular, the mixed time delays in this paper synchronously consist of constant, time-varying, and distributed delays, which are more general than those discussed in the previous literature. In the latter, either constant and distributed delays or time-varying and distributed delays are only included. Therefore, the results obtained in this paper generalize and improve those given in the previous literature. Two numerical examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the theoretical results and demonstrate that the stability criteria used in the earlier literature fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a class of new neural networks referred to as switched neutral-type neural networks (SNTNNs) with time-varying delays, which combines switched systems with a class of neutral-type neural networks. The less conservative robust stability criteria for SNTNNs with time-varying delays are proposed by using a new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and a novel series compensation (SC) technique. Based on the new functional, SNTNNs with fast-varying neutral-type delay (the derivative of delay is more than one) is first considered. The benefit brought by employing the SC technique is that some useful negative definite elements can be included in stability criteria, which are generally ignored in the estimation of the upper bound of derivative of Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional in literature. Furthermore, the criteria proposed in this paper are also effective and less conservative in switched recurrent neural networks which can be considered as special cases of SNTNNs. The simulation results based on several numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time, this paper addresses the problem of adaptive output-feedback control for a class of uncertain stochastic nonlinear strict-feedback systems with time-varying delays using neural networks (NNs). The circle criterion is applied to designing a nonlinear observer, and no linear growth condition is imposed on nonlinear functions depending on system states. Under the assumption that time-varying delays exist in the system output, only an NN is employed to compensate for all unknown nonlinear terms depending on the delayed output, and thus, the proposed control algorithm is more simple even than the existing NN backstepping control schemes for uncertain systems described by ordinary differential equations. Three examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control scheme proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we try to improve the performance of the particle swarm optimizer by incorporating the linkage concept, which is an essential mechanism in genetic algorithms, and design a new linkage identification technique called dynamic linkage discovery to address the linkage problem in real-parameter optimization problems. Dynamic linkage discovery is a costless and effective linkage recognition technique that adapts the linkage configuration by employing only the selection operator without extra judging criteria irrelevant to the objective function. More- over, a recombination operator that utilizes the discovered linkage configuration to promote the cooperation of particle swarm optimizer and dynamic linkage discovery is accordingly developed. By integrating the particle swarm optimizer, dynamic linkage discovery, and recombination operator, we propose a new hybridization of optimization methodologies called particle swarm optimization with recomnbination and dynamic linkage discovery (PSO-RDL). In order to study the capability of PSO-RDL, numerical experiments were conducted on a set of benchmark functions as well as on an important real-world application. The benchmark functions used in this paper were proposed in the 2005 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Congress on Evolutionary Computation. The experimental results on the benchmark functions indicate that PSO-RDL can provide a level of performance comparable to that given by other advanced optimization techniques. In addition to the benchmark, PSO-RDL was also used to solve the economic dispatch (ED) problem for power systems, which is a real-world problem and highly constrained. The results indicate that PSO-RDL can successfully solve the ED problem for the three-unit power system and obtain the currently known best solution for the 40-unit system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a method for solving the stereovision matching problem using edge segments as the primitives. In stereovision matching, the following constraints are commonly used: epipolar, similarity, smoothness, ordering, and uniqueness. We propose a new strategy in which such constraints are sequentially combined. The goal is to achieve high performance in terms of correct matches by combining several strategies. The contributions of this paper are reflected in the development of a similarity measure through a support vector machines classification approach; the transformation of the smoothness, ordering and epipolar constraints into the form of an energy function, through an optimization simulated annealing approach, whose minimum value corresponds to a good matching solution and by introducing specific conditions to overcome the violation of the smoothness and ordering constraints. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated by comparative analysis against some recent global matching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the problem of neural-network-based decentralized adaptive output-feedback control for a class of nonlinear strict-feedback large-scale stochastic systems. The dynamic surface control technique is used to avoid the explosion of computational complexity in the backstepping design process. A novel direct adaptive neural network approximation method is proposed to approximate the unknown and desired control input signals instead of the unknown nonlinear functions. It is shown that the designed controller can guarantee all the signals in the closed-loop system to be semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded in a mean square. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed control design approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the joint-structured-sparsity-based methods for transient acoustic signal classification with multiple measurements. By joint structured sparsity, we not only use the sparsity prior for each measurement but we also exploit the structural information across the sparse representation vectors of multiple measurements. Several different sparse prior models are investigated in this paper to exploit the correlations among the multiple measurements with the notion of the joint structured sparsity for improving the classification accuracy. Specifically, we propose models with the joint structured sparsity under different assumptions: same sparse code model, common sparse pattern model, and a newly proposed joint dynamic sparse model. For the joint dynamic sparse model, we also develop an efficient greedy algorithm to solve it. Extensive experiments are carried out on real acoustic data sets, and the results are compared with the conventional discriminative classifiers in order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The trajectory tracking problem of a closed-chain five-bar robot is studied in this paper. Based on an error transformation function and the backstepping technique, an approximation-based tracking algorithm is proposed, which can guarantee the control performance of the robotic system in both the stable and transient phases. In particular, the overshoot, settling time, and final tracking error of the robotic system can be all adjusted by properly setting the parameters in the error transformation function. The radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is used to compensate the complicated nonlinear terms in the closed-loop dynamics of the robotic system. The approximation error of the RBFNN is only required to be bounded, which simplifies the initial “trail-and-error” configuration of the neural network. Illustrative examples are given to verify the theoretical analysis and illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Finally, it is also shown that the proposed approximation-based controller can be simplified by a smart mechanical design of the closed-chain robot, which demonstrates the promise of the integrated design and control philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a novel one-layer recurrent neural network modeled by means of a differential inclusion for solving nonsmooth optimization problems, in which the number of neurons in the proposed neural network is the same as the number of decision variables of optimization problems. Compared with existing neural networks for nonsmooth optimization problems, the global convexity condition on the objective functions and constraints is relaxed, which allows the objective functions and constraints to be nonconvex. It is proven that the state variables of the proposed neural network are convergent to optimal solutions if a single design parameter in the model is larger than a derived lower bound. Numerical examples with simulation results substantiate the effectiveness and illustrate the characteristics of the proposed neural network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the robust global asymptotic stability (RGAS) of generalized static neural networks (SNNs) with linear fractional uncertainties and a constant or time-varying delay is concerned within a novel input–output framework. The activation functions in the model are assumed to satisfy a more general condition than the usually used Lipschitz-type ones. First, by four steps of technical transformations, the original generalized SNN model is equivalently converted into the interconnection of two subsystems, where the forward one is a linear time-invariant system with a constant delay while the feedback one bears the norm-bounded property. Then, based on the scaled small gain theorem, delay-dependent sufficient conditions for the RGAS of generalized SNNs are derived via combining a complete Lyapunov functional and the celebrated discretization scheme. All the results are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities so that the RGAS problem of generalized SNNs is projected into the feasibility of convex optimization problems that can be readily solved by effective numerical algorithms. The effectiveness and superiority of our results over the existing ones are demonstrated by two numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a concept for machine learning that integrates a grid scheme (GS) into a least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) (called GS-LSSVM) with a mixed kernel in order to solve data classification problems. The purpose of GS-LSSVM is to execute feature selections, mixed kernel applications, and parameter optimization in a learning paradigm. The proposed learning paradigm includes three steps. First, an orthogonal design is utilized to initialize the number of input features and candidate parameters stored in GS. Then, the features are randomly selected according to the first grid acquired from the first step. These features and the candidate parameters are then passed to LSSVM. Finally, an artificial bee colony algorithm, the recently popular heuristic algorithm, is used to optimize parameters for LSSVM learning. For illustration and evaluation purposes, ten remarkable data sets from the University of California Irvine database are used as testing targets. The experimental results reveal that the proposed GS-LSSVM can produce a classification model more easily interpreted using a small number of features. In terms of accuracy (hit ratio), the GS-LSSVM can significantly outperform other methods listed in this paper. These findings imply that the GS-LSSVM is a promising approach to classification exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the robust exponential synchronization problem of a class of chaotic delayed neural networks with different parametric uncertainties. A novel impulsive control scheme (so-called dual-stage impulsive control) is proposed. Based on the theory of impulsive functional differential equations, a global exponential synchronization error bound together with some new sufficient conditions expressed in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is derived in order to guarantee that the synchronization error dynamics can converge to a predetermined level. Furthermore, to estimate the stable region, a novel optimization control algorithm is established, which can deal with the minimum problem with two nonlinear terms coexisting in LMIs effectively. The idea and approach developed in this paper can provide a more practical framework for the synchronization of multiperturbation delayed chaotic systems. Simulation results finally demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a possibly pioneering endeavor to tackle the Microaggregation Techniques (MATs) in secure statistical databases by resorting to the principles of associative neural networks (NNs). The prior art has improved the available solutions to the MAT by incorporating proximity information, and this approach is done by recursively reducing the size of the data set by excluding points that are farthest from the centroid and points that are closest to these farthest points. Thus, although the method is extremely effective, arguably, it uses only the proximity information while -ignoring the mutual interaction between the records. In this paper, we argue that interrecord relationships can be quantified in terms of the following two entities: 1) their "association" and 2) their "interaction." This case means that records that are not necessarily close to each other may still be "grouped," because their mutual interaction, which is quantified by invoking transitive-closure-like operations on the latter entity, could be significant, as suggested by the theoretically sound principles of NNs. By repeatedly invoking the interrecord associations and interactions, the records are grouped into sizes of cardinality "k," where k is the security parameter in the algorithm. Our experimental results, which are done on artificial data and benchmark real-life data sets, demonstrate that the newly proposed method is superior to the state of the art not only based on the Information Loss (IL) perspective but also when it concerns a criterion that involves a combination of the IL and the Disclosure Risk (DR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract-One of the techniques used to detect faults in dynamic systems is analytical redundancy. An important difficulty in applying this technique to real systems is dealing with the uncertainties associated with the system itself and with the measurements. In this paper, this uncertainty is taken into account by the use of intervals for the parameters of the model and for the measurements. The method that is proposed in this paper checks the consistency between the system's behavior, obtained from the measurements, and the model's behavior; if they are inconsistent, then there is a fault. The problem of detecting faults is stated as a quantified real constraint satisfaction problem, which can be solved using the modal interval analysis (MIA). MIA is used because it provides powerful tools to extend the calculations over real functions to intervals. To improve the results of the detection of the faults, the simultaneous use of several sliding time windows is proposed. The result of implementing this method is SemiQUALitative TRACKing (SQualTrack), a fault.detection tool that is robust in the sense that it does not generate false alarms, i.e., if there are false alarms, they indicate either that the interval model does not represent the system adequately or that the interval measurements do not represent the true values of the variables adequately. SQualTrack is currently being used to detect faults in real processes. Some of these applications using real data have been developed within the European project Advanced Decision Support System for Chemical/Petrochemical Manufacturing Processes and are also described in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes two novel dual adaptive neural control schemes for the dynamic control of nonholonomic mobile robots. The two schemes are developed in discrete time, and the robot's nonlinear dynamic functions are assumed to be unknown. Gaussian radial basis function and sigmoidal multilayer perceptron neural networks are used for function approximation. In each scheme, the unknown network parameters are estimated stochastically in real time, and no preliminary offline neural network training is used. In contrast to other adaptive techniques hitherto proposed in the literature on mobile robots, the dual control laws presented in this paper do not rely on the heuristic certainty equivalence property but account for the uncertainty in the estimates. This results in a major improvement in tracking performance, despite the plant uncertainty and unmodeled dynamics. Monte Carlo simulation and statistical hypothesis testing are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the two proposed stochastic controllers as applied to the trajectory-tracking problem of a differentially driven wheeled mobile robot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies a neural-network-based approximate dynamic programming method, namely, the direct heuristic dynamic programming (direct HDP), to a large power system stability control problem. The direct HDP is a learning- and approximation-based approach to addressing nonlinear coordinated control under uncertainty. One of the major design parameters, the controller learning objective function, is formulated to directly account for network-wide low-frequency oscillation with the presence of nonlinearity, uncertainty, and coupling effect among system components. Results include a novel learning control structure based on the direct HDP with applications to two power system problems. The first case involves static var compensator supplementary damping control, which is used to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the learning control performance. The second case aims at addressing a difficult complex system challenge by providing a new solution to a large interconnected power network oscillation damping control problem that frequently occurs in the China Southern Power Grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global exponential stability for a class of uncertain delayed neural networks (DNNs) of neutral type with mixed delays is investigated in this paper. Delay-dependent and delay-independent stability criteria are proposed to guarantee the robust stability and uniqueness of equilibrium point of DNNs via linear matrix inequality and Razumikhin-like approaches. Two classes of perturbations on weighting matrices are considered in this paper. Some numerical examples are illustrated to show the effectiveness of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of neural networks to solve a problem involves tasks with a high computational cost until a suitable network is found, and these tasks mainly involve the selection of the network topology and the training step. We usually select the network structure by means of a trial-and-error procedure, and we then train the network. In the case of recurrent neural networks (RNNs), the lack of suitable training algorithms sometimes hampers these procedures due to vanishing gradient problems. This paper addresses the simultaneous training and topology optimization of RNNs using multiobjective hybrid procedures. The proposal is based on the SPEA2 and NSGA2 algorithms for making hybrid methods using the Baldwinian hybridization strategy. We also study the effects of the selection of the objectives, crossover, and mutation in the diversity during evolution. The proposals are tested in the experimental section to train and optimize the networks in the competition on artificial time-series (CATS) benchmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the near future, autonomous mobile robots are expected to help humans by performing service tasks in many different areas, including personal assistance, transportation, cleaning, mining, or agriculture. In order to manage these tasks in a changing and partially unpredictable environment without the aid of humans, the robot must have the ability to plan its actions and to execute them robustly and safely. The robot must also have the ability to detect when the execution does not proceed as planned and to correctly identify the causes of the failure. An execution monitoring system allows the robot to detect and classify these failures. Most current approaches to execution monitoring in robotics are based on the idea of predicting the outcomes of the robot's actions by using some sort of predictive model and comparing the predicted outcomes with the observed ones. In contrary, this paper explores the use of model-free approaches to execution monitoring, that is, approaches that do not use predictive models. In this paper, we show that pattern recognition techniques can be applied to realize model-free execution monitoring by classifying observed behavioral patterns into normal or faulty execution. We investigate the use of several such techniques and verify their utility in a number of experiments involving the navigation of a mobile robot in indoor environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usual goal of modeling natural and artificial perception involves determining how a system can extract the object that it perceives from an image that is noisy. The "inverse" of this problem is one of modeling how even a clear image can be perceived to be blurred in certain contexts. To our knowledge, there is no solution to this in the literature other than for an oversimplified model in which the true image is garbled with noise by the perceiver himself. In this paper, we propose a chaotic model of pattern recognition (PR) for the theory of "blurring." This paper, which is an extension to a companion paper demonstrates how one can model blurring from the view point of a chaotic PR system. Unlike the companion paper in which a chaotic PR system extracts the pattern from the input, in this case, we show that even without the inclusion of additional noise, perception of an object can be "blurred" if the dynamics of the chaotic system are modified. We thus propose a formal model and present an analysis using the Lyapunov exponents and the Routh-Hurwitz criterion. We also demonstrate experimentally the validity of our model by using a numeral data set. A byproduct of this model is the theoretical possibility of desynchronization of the periodic behavior of the brain (as a chaotic system), rendering us the possibility of predicting, controlling, and annulling epileptic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a hybrid evolutionary algorithm (EA) to solve nonlinear-regression problems. Although EAs have proven their ability to explore large search spaces, they are comparatively inefficient in fine tuning the solution. This drawback is usually avoided by means of local optimization algorithms that are applied to the individuals of the population. The algorithms that use local optimization procedures are usually called hybrid algorithms. On the other hand, it is well known that the clustering process enables the creation of groups (clusters) with mutually close points that hopefully correspond to relevant regions of attraction. Local-search procedures can then be started once in every such region. This paper proposes the combination of an EA, a clustering process, and a local-search procedure to the evolutionary design of product-units neural networks. In the methodology presented, only a few individuals are subject to local optimization. Moreover, the local optimization algorithm is only applied at specific stages of the evolutionary process. Our results show a favorable performance when the regression method proposed is compared to other standard methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the problem of global robust stability analysis of delayed cellular neural networks (DCNNs) with norm-bounded parameter uncertainties. In terms of a linear matrix inequality, a new sufficient condition ensuring a nominal DCNN to have a unique equilibrium point which is globally asymptotically stable is proposed. This condition is shown to be a generalization and improvement over some previous criteria. Based on the stability result, a robust stability condition is developed, which contains an existing robust stability result as a special case. An example is provided to demonstrate the reduced conservativeness of the proposed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a hybrid Hopfield network-genetic algorithm (GA) approach to tackle the terminal assignment (TA) problem. TA involves determining minimum cost links to form a communications network, by connecting a given set of terminals to a given collection of concentrators. Some previous approaches provide very good results if the cost associated with assigning a single terminal to a given concentrator is known. However, there are situations in which the cost of a single assignment is not known in advance, and only the cost associated with feasible solutions can be calculated. In these situations, previous algorithms for TA based on greedy heuristics are no longer valid, or fail to get feasible solutions. Our approach involves a Hopfield neural network (HNN) which manages the problem's constraints, whereas a GA searches for high quality solutions with the minimum possible cost. We show that our algorithm is able to achieve feasible solutions to the TA in instances where the cost of a single assignment in not known in advance, improving the results obtained by previous approaches. We also show the applicability of our approach to other problems related to the TA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simple sequential growing and pruning algorithm for radial basis function (RBF) networks. The algorithm referred to as growing and pruning (GAP)-RBF uses the concept of "Significance" of a neuron and links it to the learning accuracy. "Significance" of a neuron is defined as its contribution to the network output averaged over all the input data received so far. Using a piecewise-linear approximation for the Gaussian function, a simple and efficient way of computing this significance has been derived for uniformly distributed input data. In the GAP-RBF algorithm, the growing and pruning are based on the significance of the "nearest" neuron. In this paper, the performance of the GAP-RBF learning algorithm is compared with other well-known sequential learning algorithms like RAN, RANEKF, and MRAN on an artificial problem with uniform input distribution and three real-world nonuniform, higher dimensional benchmark problems. The results indicate that the GAP-RBF algorithm can provide comparable generalization performance with a considerably reduced network size and training time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An this paper, robust adaptive neural network (NN) control is presented to solve the control problem of nonholonomic systems in chained form with unknown virtual control coefficients and strong drift nonlinearities. The robust adaptive NN control laws are developed using state scaling and backstepping. Uniform ultimate boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop are guaranteed, and the system states are proven to converge to a small neighborhood of zero. The control performance of the closed-loop system is guaranteed by appropriately choosing the design parameters. The proposed adaptive NN control is free of control singularity problem. An adaptive control based switching strategy is used to overcome the uncontrollability problem associated with x0 (t0) = 0. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fast target maneuver detecting and highly accurate tracking technique using a neural fuzzy network based on Kalman filter is proposed in this paper. In the automatic target tracking system, there exists an important and difficult problem: how to detect the target maneuvers and fast response to avoid miss-tracking? The traditional maneuver detection algorithms, such as variable dimension filter (VDF) and input estimation (IE) etc., are computation intensive and difficult to implement in real time. To solve this problem, neural network algorithms have been issued recently. However, the normal neural networks such as backpropagation networks usually produce the extra problems of low convergence speed and/or large network size. Furthermore, the way to decide the network structure is heuristic. To overcome these defects and to make use of neural learning ability, a developed standard Kalman filter with a self-constructing neural fuzzy inference network (KF-SONFIN) algorithm for target tracking is presented in this paper. By generating possible target trajectories including maneuver information to train the SONFIN, the trained SONFIN can detect when the maneuver occurred, the magnitude of maneuver values and when the maneuver disappeared. Without having to change the structure of Kalman filter nor modeling the maneuvering target, this new algorithm, SONFIN, can always find itself an economic network size with a fast learning process. Simulation results show that the KF-SONFIN is superior to the traditional IE and VDF methods in estimation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many real-world problems, the range of consequences of different alternatives are considerably different. In addition, sometimes, selection of a group of alternatives (instead of only one best alternative) is necessary. Traditional decision making approaches treat the set of alternatives with the same method of analysis and selection. In this paper, we propose clustering alternatives into different groups so that different methods of analysis, selection, and implementation for each group can be applied. As an example, consider the selection of a group of functions (or tasks) to be processed by a group of processors. The set of tasks can be grouped according to their similar criteria, and hence, each cluster of tasks to be processed by a processor. The selection of the best alternative for each clustered group can be performed using existing methods; however, the process of selecting groups is different than the process of selecting alternatives within a group. We develop theories and procedures for clustering discrete multiple criteria alternatives. We also demonstrate how the set of alternatives is clustered into mutually exclusive groups based on 1) similar features among alternatives; 2) ideal (or most representative) alternatives given by the decision maker; and 3) other preferential information of the decision maker. The clustering of multiple criteria alternatives also has the following advantages. 1) It decreases the set of alternatives to be considered by the decision maker (for example, different decision makers are assigned to different groups of alternatives). 2) It decreases the number of criteria. 3) It may provide a different approach for analyzing multiple decision makers problems. Each decision maker may cluster alternatives differently, and hence, clustering of alternatives may provide a basis for negotiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the mathematical foundations of the proposed discrete time neural networks synthesis using input and output functions. Views on the first proposition; Reasons for a signum function in the test phase; Position on the whole algorithm.

This paper addresses the approximate optimal control problem for a class of parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) systems with nonlinear spatial differential operators. An approximate optimal control design method is proposed on the basis of the empirical eigenfunctions (EEFs) and neural network (NN). First, based on the data collected from the PDE system, the Karhunen–Loève decomposition is used to compute the EEFs. With those EEFs, the PDE system is formulated as a high-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) system. To further reduce its dimension, the singular perturbation (SP) technique is employed to derive a reduced-order model (ROM), which can accurately describe the dominant dynamics of the PDE system. Second, the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) method is applied to synthesize an optimal controller based on the ROM, where the closed-loop asymptotic stability of the high-order ODE system can be guaranteed by the SP theory. By dividing the optimal control law into two parts, the linear part is obtained by solving an algebraic Riccati equation, and a new type of HJB-like equation is derived for designing the nonlinear part. Third, a control update strategy based on successive approximation is proposed to solve the HJB-like equation, and its convergence is proved. Furthermore, an NN approach is used to approximate the cost function. Finally, we apply the developed approximate optimal control method to a diffusion–reaction process with a nonlinear spatial operator, and the simulation results illustrate its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a cyclic-motion generation (CMG) scheme at the acceleration level is proposed to remedy the joint-angle drift phenomenon of redundant robot manipulators which are controlled at the joint-acceleration level or torque level. To achieve this, a cyclic-motion criterion at the joint-acceleration level is exploited. This criterion, together with the joint-angle limits, joint-velocity limits, and joint-acceleration limits, is considered into the scheme formulation. In addition, the neural-dynamic method of Zhang is employed to explain and analyze the effectiveness of the proposed criterion. Then, the scheme is reformulated as a quadratic program, which is solved by a primal–dual neural network. Furthermore, four tracking path simulations verify the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed acceleration-level CMG scheme. Moreover, the comparisons between the proposed acceleration-level CMG scheme and the velocity-level scheme demonstrate that the former is safer and more applicable. The experiment on a physical robot system further verifies the physical realizability of the proposed acceleration-level CMG scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the problem of state estimation for a class of discrete-time chaotic systems with or without time delays. A unified model consisting of a linear dynamic system and a bounded static nonlinear operator is employed to describe these systems, such as chaotic neural networks, Chua's circuits, Hénon map, etc. Based on the H\infty performance analysis of this unified model using the linear matrix inequality approach, H\infty state estimator are designed for this model with sensors to guarantee the asymptotic stability of the estimation error dynamic systems and to reduce the influence of noise on the estimation error. The parameters of these filters are obtained by solving the eigenvalue problem. As most discrete-time chaotic systems with or without time delays can be described with this unified model, H\infty state estimator design for these systems can be done in a unified way. Three numerical examples are exploited to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed estimator design schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a framework that automatically extracts and monitors the shape deformations of soft objects from a video sequence and maps them with force measurements with the goal of providing the necessary information to the controller of a robotic hand to ensure safe model-based deformable object manipulation. Measurements corresponding to the interaction force at the level of the fingertips and to the position of the fingertips of a three-finger robotic hand are associated with the contours of a deformed object tracked in a series of images using neural-network approaches. The resulting model captures the behavior of the object and is able to predict its behavior for previously unseen interactions without any assumption on the object's material. The availability of such models can contribute to the improvement of a robotic hand controller, therefore allowing more accurate and stable grasp while providing more elaborate manipulation capabilities for deformable objects. Experiments performed for different objects, made of various materials, reveal that the method accurately captures and predicts the object's shape deformation while the object is submitted to external forces applied by the robot fingers. The proposed method is also fast and insensitive to severe contour deformations, as well as to smooth changes in lighting, contrast, and background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly addresses the decentralized formation problems for multiple robots, where a fuzzy sliding-mode formation controller (FSMFC) is proposed. The directed networks of dynamic agents with external disturbances and system uncertainties are discussed in consensus problems. To perform a formation control and to guarantee system robustness, a novel formation algorithm combining the concepts of graph theory and fuzzy sliding-model control is presented. According to the communication topology, formation stability conditions can be determined so that an FSMFC can be derived. By Lyapunov stability theorem, not only the system stability can be guaranteed, but the desired formation pattern of a multirobot system can be also achieved. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the provided control scheme. Finally, an experimental setup for the e-puck multirobot system is built. Compared to first-order formation algorithm and fuzzy neural network formation algorithm, it shows that real-time experimental results empirically support the promising performance of desire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, reinforcement learning state- and output-feedback-based adaptive critic controller designs are proposed by using the online approximators (OLAs) for a general multi-input and multioutput affine unknown nonlinear discretetime systems in the presence of bounded disturbances. The proposed controller design has two entities, an action network that is designed to produce optimal signal and a critic network that evaluates the performance of the action network. The critic estimates the cost-to-go function which is tuned online using recursive equations derived from heuristic dynamic programming. Here, neural networks (NNs) are used both for the action and critic whereas any OLAs, such as radial basis functions, splines, fuzzy logic, etc., can be utilized. For the output-feedback counterpart, an additional NN is designated as the observer to estimate the unavailable system states, and thus, separation principle is not required. The NN weight tuning laws for the controller schemes are also derived while ensuring uniform ultimate boundedness of the closed-loop system using Lyapunov theory. Finally, the effectiveness of the two controllers is tested in simulation on a pendulum balancing system and a two-link robotic arm system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of stability analysis is investigated for switched neural networks with time-varying delay using linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach. By taking advantage of the average dwell time method, two sufficient conditions are developed to ensure the global exponential stability of the considered neural networks, which are delay-dependent and formulated by LMIs. The state decay estimate is explicitly given. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, two adaptive fuzzy output feedback control approaches are proposed for a class of uncertain stochastic nonlinear strict-feedback systems without the measurements of the states. The fuzzy logic systems are used to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions, and a fuzzy state observer is designed for estimating the unmeasured states. On the basis of the fuzzy state observer, and by combining the adaptive backstepping technique with fuzzy adaptive control design, an adaptive fuzzy output feedback control approach is developed. To overcome the problem of “explosion of complexity” inherent in the proposed control method, the dynamic surface control (DSC) technique is incorporated into the first adaptive fuzzy control scheme, and a simplified adaptive fuzzy output feedback DSC approach is developed. It is proved that these two control approaches can guarantee that all the signals of the closed-loop system are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) in mean square, and the observer errors and the output of the system converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. A simulation example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with robust stabilization problem for a class of nonaffine pure-feedback systems with unknown time-delay functions and perturbed uncertainties. Novel continuous packaged functions are introduced in advance to remove unknown nonlinear terms deduced from perturbed uncertainties and unknown time-delay functions, which avoids the functions with control law to be approximated by radial basis function (RBF) neural networks. This technique combining implicit function and mean value theorems overcomes the difficulty in controlling the nonaffine pure-feedback systems. Dynamic surface control (DSC) is used to avoid “the explosion of complexity” in the backstepping design. Design difficulties from unknown time-delay functions are overcome using the function separation technique, the Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals, and the desirable property of hyperbolic tangent functions. RBF neural networks are employed to approximate desired virtual controls and desired practical control. Under the proposed adaptive neural DSC, the number of adaptive parameters required is reduced significantly, and semiglobal uniform ultimate boundedness of all of the signals in the closed-loop system is guaranteed. Simulation studies are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy backstepping dynamic surface control (DSC) approach is developed for a class of multiple-input–multiple-output nonlinear systems with immeasurable states. Using fuzzy-logic systems to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions, a fuzzy state observer is designed to estimate the immeasurable states. By combining adaptive-backstepping technique and DSC technique, an adaptive fuzzy output-feedback backstepping-control approach is developed. The proposed control method not only overcomes the problem of “explosion of complexity” inherent in the backstepping-design methods but also overcomes the problem of unavailable state measurements. It is proved that all the signals of the closed-loop adaptive-control system are semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded, and the tracking errors converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Conventional face recognition suffers from problems such as extending the classifier for newly added people and learning updated information about the existing people. The way to address these problems is to retrain the system which will require expensive computational complexity. In this paper, a radial basis function (RBF) neural network with a new incremental learning method based on the regularized orthogonal least square (ROLS) algorithm is proposed for face recognition. It is designed to accommodate new information without retraining the initial network. In our proposed method, the selection of the regressors for the new data is done locally, hence avoiding the expensive reselecting process. In addition, it accumulates previous experience and learns updated new knowledge of the existing groups to increase the robustness of the system. The experimental results show that the proposed method gives higher average recognition accuracy compared to the conventional ROLS-algorithm-based RBF neural network with much lower computational complexity. Furthermore, the proposed method achieves higher recognition accuracy as compared to other incremental learning algorithms such as incremental principal component analysis and incremental linear discriminant analysis in face recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy fault accommodation (FA) control design with a guaranteed \cal L\infty-gain performance is developed for a class of nonlinear time-delay systems with persistent bounded disturbances. Using the Lyapunov technique and the Razumikhin-type lemma, the existence condition of the \cal L\infty-gain adaptive fuzzy FA controllers is provided in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). In the proposed FA scheme, a fuzzy logic system is employed to approximate the unknown term in the derivative of the Lyapunov function due to the unknown fault function; a continuous-state feedback control strategy is adopted for the control design to avoid the undesirable chattering phenomenon. The resulting FA controllers can ensure that every response of the closed-loop system is uniformly ultimately bounded with a guaranteed \cal L\infty-gain performance in the presence of a fault. Moreover, by the existing LMI optimization technique, a suboptimal controller is obtained in the sense of minimizing an upper bound of the \cal L\infty-gain. Finally, the achieved simulation results on the FA control of a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) show the effectiveness of the proposed design procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the cooperative tracking control problem for a group of Lagrangian vehicle systems with directed communication graph topology. All the vehicles can have different dynamics. A design method for a distributed adaptive protocol is given which guarantees that all the networked systems synchronize to the motion of a target system. The dynamics of the networked systems, as well as the target system, are all assumed unknown. A neural network (NN) is used at each node to approximate the distributed dynamics. The resulting protocol consists of a simple decentralized proportional-plus-derivative term and a nonlinear term with distributed adaptive tuning laws at each node. The case with nonconstant NN approximation error is considered. There, a robust term is added to suppress the external disturbances and the approximation errors of the NNs. Simulation examples are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes the implementation of fuzzy motion control based on reinforcement learning (RL) and Lagrange polynomial interpolation (LPI) for gait synthesis of biped robots. First, the procedure of a walking gait is redefined into three states, and the parameters of this designed walking gait are determined. Then, the machine learning approach applied to adjusting the walking parameters is policy gradient RL (PGRL), which can execute real-time performance and directly modify the policy without calculating the dynamic function. Given a parameterized walking motion designed for biped robots, the PGRL algorithm automatically searches the set of possible parameters and finds the fastest possible walking motion. The reward function mainly considered is first the walking speed, which can be estimated from the vision system. However, the experiment illustrates that there are some stability problems in this kind of learning process. To solve these problems, the desired zero moment point trajectory is added to the reward function. The results show that the robot not only has more stable walking but also increases its walking speed after learning. This is more effective and attractive than manual trial-and-error tuning. LPI, moreover, is employed to transform the existing motions to the motion which has a revised angle determined by the fuzzy motion controller. Then, the biped robot can continuously walk in any desired direction through this fuzzy motion control. Finally, the fuzzy-based gait synthesis control is demonstrated by tasks and point- and line-target tracking. The experiments show the feasibility and effectiveness of gait learning with PGRL and the practicability of the proposed fuzzy motion control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential evolution (DE) is a simple, yet efficient, evolutionary algorithm for global numerical optimization, which has been widely used in many areas. However, the choice of the best mutation strategy is difficult for a specific problem. To alleviate this drawback and enhance the performance of DE, in this paper, we present a family of improved DE that attempts to adaptively choose a more suitable strategy for a problem at hand. In addition, in our proposed strategy adaptation mechanism (SaM), different parameter adaptation methods of DE can be used for different strategies. In order to test the efficiency of our approach, we combine our proposed SaM with JADE, which is a recently proposed DE variant, for numerical optimization. Twenty widely used scalable benchmark problems are chosen from the literature as the test suit. Experimental results verify our expectation that the SaM is able to adaptively determine a more suitable strategy for a specific problem. Compared with other state-of-the-art DE variants, our approach performs better, or at least comparably, in terms of the quality of the final solutions and the convergence rate. Finally, we validate the powerful capability of our approach by solving two real-world optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the problem of stabilization for sampled-data neural-network-based control systems with an optimal guaranteed cost. Unlike previous works, the resulting closed-loop system with variable uncertain sampling cannot simply be regarded as an ordinary continuous-time system with a fast-varying delay in the state. By defining a novel piecewise Lyapunov functional and using a convex combination technique, the characteristic of sampled-data systems is captured. A new delay-dependent stabilization criterion is established in terms of linear matrix inequalities such that the maximal sampling interval and the minimal guaranteed cost control performance can be obtained. It is shown that the newly proposed approach can lead to less conservative and less complex results than the existing ones. Application examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness and the benefits of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the networked synchronization control problem of coupled dynamic networks (CDNs) with time-varying delay. First, both the data packet dropouts and network-induced delays are taken into account in the synchronization controller design. A Markovian jump process is induced to describe the packet dropouts. The network-induced delays are interval time varying and depend on the Markovian jump modes. A new closed-loop coupled dynamic error system (CDES) with Markovian jump parameters and interval time-varying delays is constructed. Second, using the Kronecker product technique and the stochastic Lyapunov method, a delay-dependent sufficient criterion of stochastic stability is obtained for the closed-loop CDES, which also guarantees that the CDNs are stochastically synchronized. Finally, a simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an invariant set of the weight of the perceptron trained by the perceptron training algorithm is defined and characterized. The dynamic range of the steady-state values of the weight of the perceptron can be evaluated by finding the dynamic range of the weight of the perceptron inside the largest invariant set. In addition, the necessary and sufficient condition for the forward dynamics of the weight of the perceptron to be injective, as well as the condition for the invariant set of the weight of the perceptron to be attractive, is derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual neural-network method for the coordination of kinematically redundant robots is proposed in this paper. The performance criteria for single robots provided by Nedungadi and Kazerounian are generalized to a multicriteria form for the coordinated-manipulation system composed of multiple serial manipulators. By optimizing the local joint torques and generalized forces applied on the object/workpiece using a designed weighting matrix, the proposed method achieves the global stability during the coordinated-manipulation process. Moreover, the proposed algorithm has an explicit physical meaning, i.e., both the global kinetic energy of the coordination system and the two-norm of the generalized forces applied on the object are minimized simultaneously. In addition, the physical limits of both joint torques and the generalized forces applied on the object are considered, which makes the original coordination problem become a complicated optimization problem subject to both equality and inequality constraints. Compared with numerical optimization algorithms used in existing literatures, the dual neural-network method has better computational capability to deal with the complicated optimization problem. Finally, illustrative examples are given to show that the proposed method is effective and efficient for the multirobot coordinated-manipulation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a combined kinematic/torque output feedback control law is developed for leader-follower-based formation control using backstepping to accommodate the dynamics of the robots and the formation in contrast with kinematic-based formation controllers. A neural network (NN) is introduced to approximate the dynamics of the follower and its leader using online weight tuning. Furthermore, a novel NN observer is designed to estimate the linear and angular velocities of both the follower robot and its leader. It is shown, by using the Lyapunov theory, that the errors for the entire formation are uniformly ultimately bounded while relaxing the separation principle. In addition, the stability of the formation in the presence of obstacles, is examined using Lyapunov methods, and by treating other robots in the formation as obstacles, collisions within the formation are prevented. Numerical results are provided to verify the theoretical conjectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper establishes an exponential H∞ synchromzation method for a class of uncertain master and slave neural networks (MSNN5) with mixed time delays, where the mixed delays comprise different neutral, discrete, and distributed time delays. The polytopic and the nonn-bounded uncertainties are separately taken into consideration. An appropriate discretized Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and some free-weighting matrices are utilized to establish some delay-dependent sufficient conditions for designing delayed state-feedback control as a synchronization law in terms of linear matrix inequalities under less restrictive conditions. The controller guarantees the exponential H∞ synchronization of the two coupled MSNNs regardless of their initial states. Detailed comparisons with existing results are made, and numerical simulations are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the established synchronization laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]