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The virtual product development is the unified process of product design, evaluation and validation. Ergonomics analysis is the important step for product validation in the process, and the virtual human is key to the computer-aided product ergonomics. In this paper, ergonomics simulation system is studied based on some elements of ergonomics analysis and assessment. An ergonomics virtual human is built, which is a unified framework made up of biomechanics/physiology-based model, anthropometrical model, posture and motion model, task model, human reactions and decision-making model and human factor analysis model. The framework is applied to virtual prototyping and virtual product development.

There are many cases when an organization needs to monitor the data and operations of its supervised departments, especially those departments which are not owned by this organization and are managed by their own information systems. Distributed Heterogeneous Inspecting System (DHIS) is the system an organization uses to monitor its supervised departments by inspecting their information systems. In DHIS, the inspected systems are generally distributed, heterogeneous, and constructed by different companies. DHIS has three key processes-abstracting core data sets and core operation sets, collecting these sets, and inspecting these collected sets. In this paper, we present the concept and mathematical definition of DHIS, a metadata method for solving the interoperability, a security strategy for data transferring, and a middleware-based solution of DHIS. We also describe an example of the inspecting system at WENZHOU custom.

In this paper we present Virtual and Dynamic Hierarchical Architecture (VDHA), an e-Science Grid architecture. VDHA is a decentralized architecture with some peer-topeer characteristics. VDHA is scalable and autonomous, and provides full and effective service discovery. VDHA also enables mobile computing, and makes management of user privileges and roles easy. Synchronization can be easily implemented within the VDHA framework. VDHA has been adopted as the architecture of the Chinese University e-Science Grid. In this paper we also discuss the advantages of VDHA, as well as the protocols used.

EXPRESS is a powerful object-oriented data model descriptive language and independent of any platform. However, it is a kind of descriptive language rather than a programming language. This brings difficulty to implement the EXPRESS data model on a computer and it also undoubtedly brings a big problem with the STEP data model processing so that we have to translate EXPRESS language model into a certain programming language model. In this paper, an approach is presented to translate the EXPRESS language model into the C language model. In addition, this paper proves the validity of this translation theoretically.

One of the major problems of the motion capture-based computer animation technique is the relatively high cost of equipment and low reuse rate of data. To overcome this problem, many motion-editing methods have been developed. However, most of them can only handle one character whose motions are preset, and hence cannot interact with its environment automatically. In this paper, we construct a new architecture of multiple animated character motion fusion, which not only enables the characters to perceive and respond to the virtual environment, but also allows them to interact with each other. We will also discuss in detail the key issues, such as motion planning, coordination of multiple animated characters and generation of vivid continuous motions. Our experimental results will further testify to the effectiveness of the new methodology. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this paper, automatic modeling techniques in intelligent CAD systems are discussed and a multi-blackboard based modeling method is presented. It supports modeling with multilevel accuracy and can convert abstract symbolbased description of a design object into the desired 3D model. These characteristics meet the modeling requirements for supporting the overall design process and are suitable for intelligent CAD systems. We implement them in an intelligent chair design system, AUTOCHAIR.

A country working toward industrialization and leadership in the 21st century must cultivate and train the highest quality, innovative engineering talent in its population. In China, this investment is critical to ensure the best engineers help speed the pace of economic transformation and enable us to weather the uncertainties of the global economy. With numerous studies showing that innovative engineering talent is a key to economic success, the challenge for China – and for countries around the world – is in how we improve cultivation of engineering talent specifically trained for 21st century, complex problem solving.This must be done both through updating engineering education to become more broad-based and design-focused, as well as refining our ability to find, and train, the best and brightest as future engineering leaders.

Stroke order is an intrinsic writing feature which is missing in off-line handwriting. Recovering stroke order from off-line handwriting is an important task by which the visualization of writing process is possible. Chinese Calligraphic handwriting is some different with western handwriting. Traditional method with assumption of the minimization of curvature between two adjacent line segments is not applicable for Chinese Calligraphic handwriting. We propose a new framework named Chinese Calligraphic Model (CCM). With this framework CONDENSATION algorithm - conditional density propagation over time is performed to find the best matching model in model database with the input pattern to recover stroke order. Experiments results show our method is a promising way to recover stroke order from Chinese Calligraphic handwriting based on CCM by CONDENSATION tracking.

Collaborative virtual environment model and role scheme are two research branches in computer science. Collaborative activities need an effective mechanism to support participants' roles and rights 'while role schemes can be applied to this field. In this paper, we present a new generic role-based and agent-oriented model for collaborative virtual environment based on discussion of collaborative activity as an essential role in the research of CVE. It introduces role schemes to establish more efficient collaborative virtual environments. The proposed model includes two important parts: collaborative entity and collaborative event. It also advances intelligent entity in running state and collaborative federation in this model to describe cooperation in collaborative virtual environment.

The methods of distinguishing from communication stations and their platforms using the rough set theory in the communication reconnaissance information fusion system are discussed, and some typical application examples are given and analyzed in detail. It gives out a beneficial reference to applying the rough set theory in data fusion.

The efficiency of the services discovery in Internet is attracting increasing attention. To compare with popular services discovery mechanism (UDDI mainly), we propose an agent-based services discovery mechanism in Internet (ABSDM). In this mechanism, we suppose that services information documents are stored in distributed servers, and servers are regarded as independent agents. So a searching-tree creating algorithm (STCA) could be used to join servers into a tree structure. Based on this structure, a recursive searching algorithm could be used to distribute searching request over the whole tree. During above-mentioned process, searching request could be parallel dealt with. Furthermore, searching efficiency of UDDI and ABSDM is evaluated and compared theoretically.

Data mining and knowledge discovery in data streams have recently attracted more attentions for their applications to numerous types of data, including Web clickstreams, sensor networks, etc. Because of some special characteristics, such as continuous arrival in multiple, rapid, time-varying, possibly unpredictable and unbounded, data streams have yielded some fundamentally new research problems. Among the various topics in this research field, it is paramount to find frequent patterns in data streams in a single pass, or a small number of passes, while using less space of memory. This survey reviewed the last advances in the study on frequent pattern mining in data streams, especially classified the present mining algorithms for the first time and discussed them in detail, and finally suggested some promising research directions in the future.

Although the rough set theory first introduced by Z. Pawlak in 1982, is a kind of very useful mathematical tools to deal with vagueness, uncertainty, and imprecision information, it is relatively difficult to apply it to the analysis of incremental data sets. In this paper, a novel rule-extracting algorithm from incremental data sets based on the Pawlak reduction (also called independence reduction) is proposed. The main idea, description, analysis, and proof about this algorithm are discussed in details. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the main characteristics of this new incremental algorithm.

Concurrent manipulation control scheme is an important problem for cooperative design. Consistency, responsiveness and concurrency are three important while opposite requirements for concurrent manipulation control. Furthermore, the essence of concurrent manipulation control is to solve manipulation confliction and provide confliction-free manipulation. Hence, the focus of concurrent manipulation control scheme is how to solve manipulation confliction with minimum response time and maximum concurrency under consistency. This paper proposed several design considerations for concurrent manipulation control scheme. Based on these considerations, this paper presented a new entity-centric concurrent manipulation scheme based on a series of formalized concepts. This new scheme implements relax WYSIWIS, and adopts confliction elimination rather than confliction avoidance. The new scheme is divided into three steps: local manipulation, server-side manipulation validation and replica synchronization. Local manipulation improves responsiveness; server-side manipulation validation maximizes concurrency; and replica synchronization guarantees consistency. Moreover, an overall implementation for the new entity-centric concurrent manipulation control scheme is depicted in details.

Collision-free locomotion of avatar is premise of its automatic constant navigation in CVE. This paper discussed how to design a horizontal collision detection scheme to prevent avatar from penetrating into all other virtual entities without stalling to achieve collision-free motion. First, it proposed several design considerations for a horizontal collision detection scheme. Second, it attached collision precaution and collision repulsive field to obstacles and divided process procedure of collision detection into three processes: collision determination, collision avoidance and path amendment. Furthermore, it presented a new collision detection scheme PMBHCD based on two level 2D projection maps, Free Space Map and Detail Projection Map PMBHCD is discussed in three situations, applied different approaches, according to three types of obstacles: static obstacle, moving obstacle and other avatars. Finally, an implementation is described in details.

This paper analyzes the simulation of Finite State mobile agent, which regards the migration, execution, and searching of the mobile agents as finite states. As the finite state mobile agents are deployed under the virtual organization platform, the corresponding search algorithm in virtual organization is also introduced. The experiments results based on the finite mobile agent’s evaluation model show the finite mobile agents can achieve satisfied performance.

Area of Interest Management, which essence is a communication filter, is an important component to improve scalability of CVE. With some special design considerations presented, this paper proposed a new approach called GLAOIM which is based on 2D grid with layered-structure. It is divided into two phases: message possible-influence area determination and message receiver determination. Whether a user could receive update message from a sender depends on the result of coactions of spatial relations and corresponding message transmission characteristics. Hence, 2D-Grid is applied to localize spatial position and solve spatial correlated problems quickly while layered structure is applied to combine all kinds of media's transmission characteristics, rules, etc. Moreover, GLAOIM introduces a new indicator Interest Visibility and provides an interior-outward traverse to calculate each grid's Interest Visibility value to determine receivers. Also, it provides a generic solution with better extensibility for messages with different kinds of media.

An incremental target recognition algorithm based on improved discernibility matrix in rough set theory is presented. We compare the new approach with our previous nonincremental algorithm in detail, especially analyze the temporal complexities of these two algorithms. Some comparable experiments have been completed in our "Information Fusion System for Communication Interception Information (IFS/CI/sup 2/)". Experiment results show that the new algorithm is more efficient than the previous while the recognition ratio is satisfying.

According to new specifications of Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language (KQML) and special requirements brought with real application domains, a serial of KQML realization algorithms according to for agent communication are proposed, a relative comprehensive KQML translator is developed, and it is used in the "intelligent fusion system of communication intercept information" successfully.

Better information leads to better design. In landscape design, the designers care for what plans affect the urban more than what their plans look like. In this paper, we discuss some key techniques in a GIS based landscape design system. With the advantage of the GIS, designers can make better decisions. A prototype named landscape evaluation system (LES) has been implemented. In LES system, designers can build up their virtual evaluation world, and establish the interrelationship of the entities in their virtual world.

This paper presents a model of literature resource portal based on virtual and dynamic hierarchical architecture (VDHA) in an e-Science Grid-CUEG. Literature resources are important to the scientists. How to exactly and fully access the literature in distributed and heterogeneous resources is a big issue. How to avoid the disadvantage of centralizing index server's crashing down is another big issue. The model based on VDHA we proposed here can solve these problems.

A parallel rule-extracting algorithm based on the improved discernibility matrix [2] is proposed, by this way, a large amount of raw data can be divided into some small portions to be processed in parallel. The confidence factor is also introduced to the rule sets to obtain the uncertainty rules. The most important advantage of this algorithm is that it does not need to calculate the discernibility matrix corresponding to these overall data.

In this paper, we introduce a semantic modeling project by implementing a southeast China vernacular urban modeling system. This system converts the basic modeling components of geometry units (e.g. point, line, triangle etc.) into the semantic components (e.g. street, block, patch, house etc.). To implement the urban modeling system, an improved production based grammar system is used to control the process of urban generation in detail, and this improved grammar system can avoid the disadvantage (such as hard to control etc.) of the grammar system and to ensure the coherent architecture styles of ancient vernacular houses. Because of the advantages (accurate modeling and rapid generating) of this semantic project system, it can be applied to the preserving of the digital heritage in southeast China vernacular architecture.

There have been numerous attempts recently to promote technology based education (Shrestha, 1997) in the poorer third world countries, but so far all these have not provided a sustainable solution as they are either centered and controlled from abroad and relying solely on foreign donors for their sustenance or they are not web-based, which make distribution problematic, and some are not affordable by most of the local population in these places. In this paper we discuss an application, the Local College Learning Management System (LoColms), which we are developing, that is both sustainable and economical to suit the situation in these countries. The application is a web-based system, and aims at improving the traditional form of education by empowering the local universities. Its economicability comes from the fact that it is supported by traditional communication technology, the public switching telephone network system PSTN, which eliminates the need for packet switched or dedicated private virtual networks (PVN) usually required in similar situations. At a later stage, we shall incorporate ontology and paging tools to improve resource sharability and storage optimization in the Proxy Caches (ProCa) and LoColms servers. The system is based on the client/server paradigm and its infrastructure consists of the PSTN, ProCa, with the learning centers accessing the universities by means of point-to-point protocol (PPP).