Grantham K. H. Pang

LED location beacon system based on processing of digital images

This paper is in the field of vehicle positioning technology for the intelligent transportation systems. The ideas of an innovative light-emitting diode (LED)-based location beacon system are developed and verified. The system developed is a combination of several latest technologies which include a CMOS vision sensor, high brightness LED, and digital image processing techniques. It belongs to a new kind of simplex communication link. A digital camera is used to capture images contained in the LED beacon signal. The captured digital images are processed by the algorithms developed and a location code is extracted. The location code can be used for calibration of a vehicle positioning system which may consist of a GPS, inertial navigation system (INS) and other sensors. The issues examined include the structure of the transmitter and the receiver, the signaling method, the transmission protocol of the LED panel, the relationship between the camera capturing rate and the LED pattern update rate, the digital camera exposure technology, and the efficiency of the image processing algorithms. Experiments using a prototype transmitter and a receiver were performed. The experimental results provide a good demonstration of the viability of the ideas and methodologies developed.

Development of a new generation of interactive CACSD environments

A description is given of the development of a novel interactive computer-aided control system design (CACSD) package for the design of linear multivariable control systems. The package incorporates the stable factorization design technique and other recent design methodologies, such as the systematic design approach. To provide a high level of interactive design environment for the user, knowledge-based expert system development tools are provided within the package. In addition, the user is provided with the facilities to write user-defined functions and procedures. >

A framework for intelligent control

Blackboard architecture is a flexible and powerful expert system framework. It represents an approach to problem-solving that is useful in many domains of applications, especially in the area of intelligent control. Blackboard architecture can provide an environment for achieving intelligent control behaviour in many AI systems. In this paper, a brief description of blackboard architecture is given. The potential and usefulness of this structured framework is examined. The discussions on the application of blackboard architecture is in the domain of real-time control of an autonomous mobile robot in a hazardous material spill emergency situation.

A process-control and diagnostic tool based on continuous fuzzy Petri nets

Abstract The use of Petri nets and fuzzy logic in intelligent process control has caught the attention of many researchers. In this paper, a Continuous Fuzzy Petri Net (CFPN) tool which integrates the three technologies of fuzzy control, Petri nets and real-time expert systems is presented. The CFPN approach can deal with real-time continuous inferencing, for the purpose of process monitoring and diagnostics, at a high level in the presence of uncertainty. This tool has been implemented in the G2 real-time expert-system environment and is currently being used by ESSO Canada.

Intelligent control of an autonomous mobile robot in a hazardous material spill accident - a blackboard structure approach

This paper describes the use of the blackboard architecture for the high level programming and control of autonomous mobile robots in a hazardous material spill emergency situation. The purpose of the robot is to perform some of the tasks which are dangerous for the emergency response personnels. The proposed blackboard system provides a unifying framework for the integration of information from various sensor-based and knowledge-based sub-systems.

An Expert System for CAD of Multivariable Control Systems using a Systematic Design Approach

A new and systematic technique for the design of multivariable feedback control systems is described. The technique is based on the clasical frequency response method of analysis and handles the stability, performance and robustness aspects of the design problem. It is well-suited for the development of an expert system for computer-aided analysis and design of robust multivariable control systems. A prototype implementation of the expert system is described. It has been found that the systematic and modular nature of the design techniques facilitates the development of the expert system.

An expert system development facility in a MATLAB-derived control environment

The development of a simple yet powerful expert system development facility is described. It is implemented in a version of a CACSD package called SFPACK. SFPACK is written in C and FORTRAN, and it has the same command language as MATLAB. Like MATLAB or MATRIXx, it uses FORTRAN subroutines from Linpack and Eispack for numerical computations. Facilities for developing user-defined functions and procedures are also provided. The success of MATLAB is mainly due to its powerful and very expressive command language interface. The MATLAB-type command language syntax is the backbone of the development. The MATLAB-derived control environment is extended with the incorporation of expert system tools, and a rich and integrated environment for the user is provided. An expert system development facility called DECESS is provided, and the coupling of symbolic and numerical processing is carried out in a natural way.<<ETX>>

An Intelligent Front End for a Control System Design and Analysis Package

Abstract In this paper, an enhanced command interpreter with the capacity of an intelligent front end ( IFE ) to a control system design and analysis package is described. A multi-layer network approach is suggested to suit different kinds of users. A prototype implementation of the intelligent front end has already been carried out in a new control system design package SFPACK.

A continuous fuzzy Petri net tool for intelligent process monitoring and control

This paper outlines the structure and implementational features of a new methodology for intelligent process control called continuous fuzzy Petri net (CFPN). This methodology integrates Petri nets, fuzzy logic, and real-time expert systems to produce a powerful tool for real-time process control. This tool has been applied to the monitoring of an oil refinery processing unit. The developed system can relieve the operator from monitoring sensor data information and allow him to concentrate on the higher level interpretation of the occurrence of events. Based on an object-oriented programming style, the paper discusses how the CFPN is constructed to provide a software support environment to aid process control engineering activities such as: system modeling, operational analysis, process monitoring, and control. >

A knowledge environment form an interactive control system design package

Abstract This paper describes a generic expert system development environment in a computer-aided control system package called SFPACK. The basic command language of the package follows the well-known MATLAB syntax. However, SFPACK has evolved from the MATLAB-derived control environment to a new generation of control system design environment because of the novel knowledge environment developed within the package. SFPACK now supports a richer set of data structures for representing design objects and knowledge in the control environment. In this paper, the features of the knowledge environment is presented. The issue on coupling of symbolic and numeric processing is also discussed. An expert system for control system design is developed in this integrated environment.