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In this paper, we are interested in finding sufficient conditions, which ensure the existence of solutions to a weak (pessimistic) bilevel optimization problem (S) in a topological sequential setting. To this aim, we consider an approach of (S) by means of a family of regularized perturbed bilevel optimization problems (Sn) of (S). Unlike (S), such problems (Sn) have the privilege to admit solutions under mild assumptions. Using the notion of variational convergence, after establishing stability results, we prove the existence of solutions to problem (S). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to establish a relevance-theoretic account of the multifunctionality of the English discourse connective after all . First, this article proposes a revision of the constraint imposed by after all on the interpretation of the utterance in which it occurs and, second, presents a unitary account of its multifunctions. In the unitary account, the procedural information of the connective instructs the addressee to construct a context in which certain evidence resolves a contradiction between previous assumption and conclusion. Another aim of the article is to demonstrate that the unitary account elucidates the well-known but little investigated puzzle that after all occurs in the context of concession and justification. The proposed unitary account also helps facilitate the argument that both concession and justification share a context of interpretation involving three assumptions: previous assumption, evidence and conclusion. This argument implies that after all imposes a constraint on the selection of the context, and the different context types lead to the multiple uses of after all along with different cognitive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To survive in a fiercely competitive market, global companies must effectively capture user requirements, perceptions, and preferences and efficiently convert them into attractive product design and development. Compared to functional or technical features, affective or ergonomic features can exert more influence on satisfying diverse consumers and accommodating a product to a wide range of usage. In practice, a quantitative approach to transform vague user perceptions of affective features into innovative products is necessary. In this study, a novel framework is proposed to help practitioners achieve the following goals. Initially, Kansei engineering (KE) is integrated with the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) to accomplish systematic innovation. Secondly, to accomplish product planning, rough set theory (RST) is used to derive decision rules that can relate user perceptions to demographic variables (i.e. age, gender, and occupation). Finally, to accomplish product recommendation, fuzzy cognitive pairwise rating (FCPR) is applied to quantify user preference. In summary, the presented framework is effective to construct a product platform for developing innovative tablets and efficient to derive insightful decision rules for targeting the ad-hoc user groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intervals are related to the representation of uncertainty. In this sense, we introduce an integral of Gould type for an interval-valued multifunction relative to an interval-valued set multifunction, with respect to Guo and Zhang order relation. Classical and specic properties of this new type of integral are established and several examples and applications from multicriteria decision making problems are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel dual-band full-duplex antenna/array for intelligent transport systems applications. Different from traditional single-port single-band antennas, the two ports of the antenna are highly isolated and designed to operate at different frequency bands simultaneously. Such a property could support the full-duplex operation-mode, which significantly simplifies the complexity of the RF frontend subsystem. The other contribution of this work is that multiple functions such as filtering, duplexing, and radiation are combined into one single device, resulting in a simplified RF frontend. This co-design multifunctional device could also remove the separate filters, duplexers, and interfaces between them, resulting in the reduction of the size, weight, and cost. In addition, cross-coupling is investigated and employed to generate additional transmission zeros so as to improve the channel isolation and out-of-band interference. To verify the concept, an antenna element and two 2 × 2 arrays at C-band are designed, prototyped, and tested. All the measurements agree well with the simulations, showing two full-duplex channels of 4.58–4.83 GHz and 5.86–6.2 GHz for transmitting and receiving, respectively. The proposed antennas also exhibit excellent performance in terms of channel isolations, frequency selectivity, out-of-band rejections, and gains. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a monolithic microwave integrated circuit multifunction chip implemented using a 0.25- \mu \textm gallium arsenide pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor process for use in a phased array jammer transmitter. This chip, which operates in the frequency range of 6–18 GHz, provides several functions including 8-bit true time delay (TTD), 7-bit attenuation, wideband amplification, and digital serial-to-parallel conversion for 15-bit control. The TTD and attenuation coverage are 255 ps with a step of 1 ps and 31.75 dB with a step of 0.25 dB, respectively. The TTD employing an artificial transmission line configuration demonstrates a root-mean-square delay error of less than 1.7 ps in the operating frequency range. The chip has a compact size of 4\,\,\ mm \times 5 mm and exhibits a typical gain of 12 dB and an output P1dB of 16.5 dBm over a frequency range of 6–18 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper presents the 3D modeling of a multifunctional equipment that can be attached to the excavator arm in order to prepare the wood material, being necessary for harvesting trees with high productivity. The equipment performs operations of clamping the trunks of the trees with hydraulically driven claws, cutting operations with a chainsaw and the operation of moving the trunk of the tree with the help of rollers in both directions for cleaning branches and bark. The CAE analysis of the requested parts confirms the correct design of this type of equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home Energy Management System (HEMS) is standard as a system for reducing power consumption in ordinary homes. The system prevents the users from forgetting to turn off home appliances. However the system is too simple to more reduce power consumption. Therefore we aim to reduce power consumption by figuring out a user's behavior to control home appliances. However to estimate user's behavior is difficult for the system. So we develop Multifunction Outlet System into a function to control home appliances. The function uses Ward's method which is an unsupervised learning for estimation of a user's behavior. In this paper, we evaluated a result of estimate of a user's behavior from sensor data by Ward's method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent researches have proven that the underbridge geometry can be reconstructed by mounting a 3D laser scanner on a motorized cart travelling on a walkway located under the bridge. The walkway is moved by a truck and the accuracy of the bridge model depends on the accuracy of the trajectory of the scanning head with respect to a fixed reference system. In this paper, we describe a vision-based measurement system that can be used to identify the relative motion of the cart that moves the 3D laser scanner with respect to the walkway. The orientation of the walkway with respect to the bridge is determined using inclinometers and a camera that detect the position of a laser spot, while the position of the truck with respect to the bridge is measured using a conventional odometer. The accuracy of the proposed system was initially evaluated by numerical simulations and successively verified by experiments in laboratory conditions. The complete system has then been tested by comparing the geometry of buildings reconstructed using the proposed system with the geometry obtained with a static scan. Results showed that the error is less than 6 mm; given the satisfying quality of the point clouds obtained, it is also possible to detect small defects on the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezoelectric semiconductor with optical, electrical and mechanical multifunctions has great potential applications in future optoelectronic devices. The rich properties and applications mainly encompass the intrinsic structures and their coupling effects. Here, we report that lanthanide ions doped piezoelectric semiconductor CaZnOS:Sm 3+ showing strong red emission induced by dynamic mechanical stress. Under moderate mechanical load, the doped piezoelectric semiconductor exhibits strong visible red emission to the naked eyes even under the day light. A flexible dynamic pressure sensor device is fabricated based on the prepared CaZnOS:Sm 3+ powders. The mechanical-induced emission properties of the device are investigated by the optical fiber spectrometer. The linear characteristic emissions are attributed to the 4 G 5/2 → 6 H 5/2 (566 nm), 4 G 5/2 → 6 H 7/2 (580–632 nm), 4 G 5/2 → 6 H 9/2 (653–673 nm) and 4 G 5/2 → 6 H 11/2 (712–735 nm) f–f transitions of Sm 3+ ions. The integral emission intensity is proportional to the value of applied pressure. By using the linear relationship between integrated emission intensity and the dynamic pressure, the real-time pressure distribution is visualized and recorded. Our results highlight that the incorporation of lanthanide luminescent ions into piezoelectric semiconductors as smart materials could be applied into the flexible mechanical-optical sensor device without additional auxiliary power, which has great potential for promising applications such as mapping of personalized handwriting, smart display, and human machine interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The All-in-one PC (APC), considered as a space saving wonder, represents one of the most recent developments within computer industry which has been replacing conventional desktop PCs at a rapid pace. This work presents the results of the first attempt to analyse the environmental implications of the APC by using Life cycle assessment (LCA). The APC manufacturers also market the eco-friendliness of this product over the conventional desktops considering the fact that all electronic components are in-built into a single monitor and hence is supposed to reduce the energy and material consumption. This hypothesis of whether APC is a model developed to reduce environmental impacts compared to a conventional desktop PC is also tested. In order to conduct the LCA study, hand disassembly was carried out to identify the composition of the APC and Eco invent V2.2 database in-built in the SIMAPRO 7 libraries was used for modeling the product systems. The environmental profile of the APC was dominated by the use stage, followed by the production phase. Within the use phase, home use of the APC in sleep/standby mode was dominant in creating impacts. It is clear that if increased usage in sleep mode is assumed, environmental impacts are observed to be much higher than in the active mode besides the higher energy efficiency of the APC in the sleep/standby mode. Taking into account all the assumptions made in this work, the comparison shows a clear reduction in the environmental impacts created by the APC both in the use and the production phase as against the conventional desktop computers. However to enable much effective comparisons, detailed information on the composition of the involved products must be accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to examine total knee polyethylene inserts from in vitro simulation to evaluate and display--using a 3D optical scanner--wear patterns and wear rates of inserts exposed to wear by means of simulators. Various sets of tibial inserts have been reconstructed by using optical scanners. With this in mind, the wear behavior of fixed and mobile bearing polyethylene knee configurations was investigated using a knee wear joint simulator. After the completion of the wear test, the polyethylene menisci were analyzed by an innovative 3D optical scanners in order to evaluate the 3D wear distribution on the prosthesis surface. This study implemented a new procedure for evaluating polyethylene bearings of joint prostheses obtained after in vitro wear tests and the proposed new approach allowed quantification of the contact zone on the geometry of total knee prostheses. The results of the present study showed that mobile TKPs (total knee prosthesis) have lower wear resistance with respect to fixed TKPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important yet difficult to develop a multifunction simulation framework that provides simulation language specifications, compiler transferring language script to simulation components, simulation engine, etc. To provide simulationists with a useful multifunction framework, we develop a simulation-language-compiler-based modeling and simulation framework, i.e., a simulation tool called SimRunner. This tool is capable of building simulation-language-based models, compiling language to simulation models, establishing interactive network communications with distributed simulation engines, and controlling and supervising simulation conditions. An example case of anti-air simulation is implemented with this framework, which is validated to have useful functions and remain stable with running distributed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the way in which the convergence of green attributes in multifunctional technological products influences consumers’ purchase intentions. Due to the recent growth in convergent products, technology users and consumers must choose among numerous different applications that can be perceived as either utilitarian or hedonic. This article suggests that new products launched on the market include attributes that are connected to sustainability and provide added value to consumers in their process of decision making. The primary question addressed in this article concerns whether an increase or decrease in consumer intention is based on the perception of the product’s utility, and the consumer’s prior experience and attitude toward green products. A 2 × 2 × 2 experiment was conducted to evaluate utilitarian or hedonic convergence, green attribute integration, and predisposition for (involvement with) green products. We propose that consumer value increases for those consumers with a high perception of green integration connected to a high predisposition for green devices, which increases the utilitarian value of the product or justifies the hedonic purchase of technological equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analog front-end (AFE) for a multifunction environmental sensor is proposed. The AFE is designed to be able to sense 1~\mu \text V , 1 fC, and 1 pA level signals in a low-frequency band around DC, and consists of an instrumentation amplifier (IA), a charge amplifier (CA), and a continuous time delta-sigma (CT- \Delta \Sigma ) ADC. To reduce the low-frequency noise of operational amplifier (OPAMP) which is used for signal path, this paper proposes a weak-inversion biasing technique. The designed IA achieved 26 nVrms input-referred noise (IRN) in the band of 0.1–10 Hz with 0.22 mm2 die area. The designed CA achieved 25 aCrms IRN in charge sensing mode and 19 fArms IRN in current sensing mode in the band of 0.01–1 Hz, respectively, and occupies 0.12 mm2 die area. The AFE has been fabricated in a 0.18~\mu \text {m} CMOS process with 4.5 mm2 die area. The current consumption at 2.56 kHz output data rate (ODR) is 2.5 mA, reducing to 2~\mu \text {A}$ at 0.01 Hz ODR. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mobile laser scanning (MLS) is a faster and cost-effective alternative to static laser scanning, even though there is a slight trade-off in accuracy. This contribution describes a compact mobile laser scanning system mounted on a vehicle. The technical parameters of the used system components, i.e. a small LIDAR sensor Velodyne VLP-16 and a dual antenna GNSS/INS system Advanced Navigation Spatial Dual, are reviewed, along with the integration of these components for spatial data acquisition. Calculation principles of 3D coordinates from the real-time data of all the involved sensors are discussed. The field tests were carried out in a controlled environment of a parking lot and at different velocities. Experiments were carried out to test the ability of the GNSS/INS system to cope with difficult conditions, e.g. sudden movements due to cornering or swerving. The accuracy of the resulting MLS point cloud is evaluated with respect to high-accuracy static terrestrial laser scanning data. Problems regarding combining LIDAR, GNSS and INS sensors are outlined, as well as the initial accuracy assessments. Initial tests revealed errors related to insufficient quality of inertial data and a need for the trajectory post-processing calculations. Although this study was carried out while the system was mounted on a car, there is potential for operating the system on an unmanned aerial vehicle, all-terrain vehicle or in a backpack mode due to its relatively compact size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fault detection, isolation, and diagnosis (FDID) strategy for self-validating multifunctional sensors is presented in this paper. The sparse non-negative matrix factorization-based method can effectively detect faults by using the squared prediction error (SPE) statistic, and the variables contribution plots based on SPE statistic can help to locate and isolate the faulty sensitive units. The complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition is employed to decompose the fault signals to a series of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residual. The sample entropy (SampEn)-weighted energy values of each IMFs and the residual are estimated to represent the characteristics of the fault signals. Multi-class support vector machine is introduced to identify the fault mode with the purpose of diagnosing status of the faulty sensitive units. The performance of the proposed strategy is compared with other fault detection strategies such as principal component analysis, independent component analysis, and fault diagnosis strategies such as empirical mode decomposition coupled with support vector machine. The proposed strategy is fully evaluated in a real self-validating multifunctional sensors experimental system, and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed strategy provides an excellent solution to the FDID research topic of self-validating multifunctional sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Modified Iterative Fourier Technique (MIFT) is proposed for the design of interleaved linear antenna arrays which operate at different frequencies with no grating lobes, low-sidelobe levels, and wide bandwidths. In view of the Fourier transform mapping between the element excitations and array factor of uniform linear antenna array, the spectrum of the array factor is first acquired with FFT and its energy distributions are investigated thoroughly. The relationship between the carrier frequency and the element excitation is obtained by the density-weighting theory. In the following steps, the element excitations of interleaved subarrays are carefully selected in an alternate manner, which ensures that similar patterns can be achieved for interleaved subarrays. The Peak Sidelobe Levels (PSLs) of the interleaved subarrays are further reduced by the iterative Fourier transform algorithm. Numerical simulation results show that favorable design of the interleaved linear antenna arrays with different carrier frequencies can be obtained by the proposed method with favorable pattern similarity, low PSL, and wide bandwidths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robotic arm with fingered hand generally has multi-functions to complete various complicated operations. A novel serial-parallel robotic arm with a hand is proposed and its kinematics and statics are studied systematically. A 3D prototype of the serial-parallel robotic arm with a hand is constructed and analyzed by simulation. The serial-parallel robotic arm with a hand is composed of an upper 3RPS parallel manipulator, a lower 3SPR parallel manipulator and a hand with three finger mechanisms. Its kinematics formulae for solving the displacement, velocity, acceleration of are derived. Its statics formula for solving the active/constrained forces is derived. Its reachable workspace and orientation workspace are constructed and analyzed. Finally, an analytic example is given for solving the kinematics and statics of the serial-parallel robotic arm with a hand and the analytic solutions are verified by a simulation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to introduce the concepts of upper and lower intuitionistic fuzzy α-irresolute intuitionistic fuzzy multifunctions and to obtain some of their properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new multi-function conversion technique for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications. The proposed bi-directional charger can achieve three functions, including EV battery charging, grid-connection and reactive compensation, which are keys for energy management of the grid. With the proposed multi-function technology, the bi-directional charger will benefit both the grid and electricity customers. A hybrid regulation of energy bi-directional transfer for V2G systems is proposed in this paper, which consists of the battery-side controller and the grid-side controller. This proposed multi-function conversion technique improves the whole system performance with proportional-resonant (PR) control and achieves reactive power compensation with instantaneous reactive theory and a deadbeat control scheme. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the validity of this new multi-function technique in a V2G system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we introduce and investigate an optimality concept for set-valued optimization problems with variable ordering structure. In our approach, the ordering structure is governed by a set-valued map acting between the same spaces as the objective multifunction. Necessary optimality conditions for the proposed problem are derived in terms of Bouligand and Mordukhovich generalized differentiation objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the use of multi-sensory and terrestrial survey on urban documentation. Topics discussed include the utilization of multi-function laser sensors, camera, and scanners in terrestrial surveying, the functionality and efficiency of Scan-and-Go spatial mountable system, and the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.