Abdullah Al-Barakati

A mismatched membership function approach to sampled-data stabilization for T-S fuzzy systems with time-varying delayed signals

Abstract This paper is concerned with the issue of sampled-data stabilization for T-S fuzzy systems with time-varying delays, where the mismatched membership function (MMF) approach is proposed. The superiority of the proposed method lies that delay interval is split into flexible terminals, and newly Lyapunov–Krasovskii function (LKF) is constructed. By employing the Wirtinger inequality and extended Jensen inequality, some sufficient conditions of the sampled-data control for T-S fuzzy systems are established, which are efficiently solved by using standard available numerical packages. Finally, the superiority of achieved result is illustrated by the truck-trailer model.

An open source Grid based render farm for Blender 3D

Growing demand for scientific simulations that visualise results through 3D graphics requires high quality 3D models and animations. Better quality 3D models, e.g. more complex geometry and photo-realistic rendering, always need more time and computational power for rendering. The rendering process assumes time and power are inversely proportional to each other, the less computational power you have the more time you require to render and the more power you have the less time you need to render. Traditionally, a render farm requires a cluster of computers to perform satisfactory rendering in terms of computational power and time, but not every scientific organization can afford such clusters. This paper presents an open source Grid based render farm, which can be plugged into Blender 3D as a tool bar that exploits a Condor based Grid.

How to Build an Open Source Render Farm based on Desktop Grid Computing

This paper presents an experiment on how to implement a Grid-based High Performance Computing solution using existing resources typically available in a teaching or research laboratory. A cost-effective solution is proposed based on open source software components, and, where appropriate, our own software solutions, for large scientific applications in the public sector such as universities and research institutes. In such institutions, classical solutions for HPC are often not affordable, yet they usually have at their disposal a large number of machines that can be utilised. The Department of Informatics at University of Sussex, for example, has just installed 150 new Core2 Duo machines across 3 laboratories. By scaling this number up across the whole University, it can result a large potential computing resource for utilization. Typical processor usage rates are often somewhere between 10% and 20% (i.e. user-generated processes) for most machines. This paper proposes a solution that exploits the remaining 80% to 90% processor power through consumption of available computer idle time without disturbing current users. To achieve this goal, the open source Condor High Throughput Computing software was selected and implemented as a desktop Grid computing solution. This paper presents our experiences in finding a solution so that other institutions can develop similar Grid solutions for their own large scientific experiments, taking advantage of their existing resources. The implementation of our solution is analyzed in the context of building a render farm.

Exponential synchronization for a class of impulsive networks with time-delays based on single controller

This paper concerns globally exponential synchronization for a class of impulsive networks with time-delays. The strategy is based on pinning control: single controller is designed to pin the whole network and realize synchronization. Some new conditions are imposed on impulsive sequences, which make the results obtained in this paper less conservative. A numerical example is supplied to illustrate the validity of the main results.

Model Based on Learning Needs of Children with Auditory Impairment

This paper presents a model based on the needs of children with an auditory impairment, in which the dual research lines of Human Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence are employed in the design of intelligent interactive systems able to meet the requirements of the user. In following a philosophy of user-centered design, different characteristics of children with hearing disabilities are identified, along with AI techniques that could be applied in the model. The main issues involved in designing a user profile and the techniques used in order to create the process of adapting the system to the user are also discussed.

Collaborative 3D digital content creation exploiting a Grid network

The increase in ease of the production of computer simulated graphics has opened new opportunities in the 3D industry. There are unlimited applications for the delivery of 3D Graphics especially concerning 3D multimedia presentation of digital content. Apart from aesthetic and entertaining reasons, experts apply computer simulations to visualize environments and to identify early errors or costs in order to limit the need of making real prototypes. Thus, 3D Graphics also minimize the time required for developing the final product. Existing 3D applications give partial support to users to engage in collaborative contribution for the production of a 3D model. However, when 3D artists are required to collaboratively produce a high quality 3D model based on thousands of polygons, they have to integrate the different parts of the model when the modelling process has been completed, which is a slow tedious process. This paper investigates how to dynamically and simultaneously apply changes to the same 3D model based on a collaborative network exploiting a Grid infrastructure.

An Integrated Workflow Management Solution for Heritage Information Mashups

This paper outlines the process of developing and deploying an integrated workflow management solution for our system that uniquely integrates heritage data mashups whose digital content is derived from social network repositories and a specific museum digital collections repository and presentation system called ARCO. This workflow solution accommodates a number of integration techniques, based on social networking with user defined content, and using virtual and augmented reality in a Web 2.0 mashup to dynamically present digital heritage content. Other technologies exploited in this scenario include a web service based Grid solution for generating 3D virtual reconstruction animations. The implementation of the workflow solution is based on the Windows Workflow Foundation while the adoption of the multi-tiered human workflow architecture leads to a fully integrated workflow management engine.

Measuring in-network node similarity based on neighborhoods: a unified parametric approach

In many applications, we need to measure similarity between nodes in a large network based on features of their neighborhoods. Although in-network node similarity based on proximity has been well investigated, surprisingly, measuring in-network node similarity based on neighborhoods remains a largely untouched problem in literature. One challenge is that in different applications we may need different measurements that manifest different meanings of similarity. Furthermore, we often want to make trade-offs between specificity of neighborhood matching and efficiency. In this paper, we investigate the problem in a principled and systematic manner. We develop a unified parametric model and a series of four instance measures. Those instance similarity measures not only address a spectrum of various meanings of similarity, but also present a series of trade-offs between computational cost and strictness of matching between neighborhoods of nodes being compared. By extensive experiments and case studies, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model and its instances.

The application of workflow management to digital heritage resources

Recent years have witnessed a noticeable proliferation in Digital Library Systems (DLSs) and their specialized form represented in Digital Heritage Resources (DHRs). DHRs usually manage a complex and varied mix of digital heritage objects of different types and formats. They tend to be complex in nature and usually involve complex, simultaneous and intersecting workflows. As a result, DHRs impose implementation challenges on any solutions that aim to manage their workflows. Thus, despite the proliferation of DHRs, it is a noteworthy trend that there is a general lack of workflow management solutions that can be utilized in such systems. As a research area that is rarely covered, this paper therefore presents the design and development of a novel Workflow Management System (WfMS) built to integrate with DHRs specifically, and DLSs in general. In this context, an experimental WfMS aimed to test the validity of workflow management integration with DHRs. The devised WfMS was built as a workflow management solution that can adequately address the specific hurdles imposed by DHR implementations. Additionally, a novel DHR implementation framework called DISPLAYS (Digital Library Services for Playing with Antiquity and Shared Heritage) is presented as a test bed for the proposed WfMS.

Stability Analysis of Delayed Impulsive Systems and Applications

This paper investigates exponential stability of nonlinear delayed impulsive systems. The effects of impulses with sufficiently small input delays and arbitrary sizes of input delays are thoroughly examined according to whether the continuous dynamics of the systems is stable. Several exponential stability criteria are obtained and are then applied to study constant time-delay systems with linear input impulses. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the usefulness of the main study results.