Novel Real-Time Seam Tracking Algorithm Based on Vector Angle and Least Square Method

Real-time seam tracking can improve welding quality and enhance welding efficiency during the welding process in automobile manufacturing.However,the teaching-playing welding process,an off-line seam tracking method,is still dominant in automobile industry,which is less flexible when welding objects or situation change.A novel real-time algorithm consisting of seam detection and generation is proposed to track seam.Using captured 3D points,space vectors were created between two adjacent points along each laser line and then a vector angle based algorithm was developed to detect target points on the seam.Least square method was used to fit target points to a welding trajectory for seam tracking.Furthermore,the real-time seam tracking process was simulated in MATLAB/Simulink.The trend of joint angles vs.time was logged and a comparison between the off-line and the proposed seam tracking algorithm was conducted.Results show that the proposed real-time seam tracking algorithm can work in a real-time scenario and have high accuracy in welding point positioning.

Real-Time Front Vehicle Detection Algorithm Based on Local Feature Tracking Method

This paper proposes an algorithm that extracts features of back side of the vehicle and detects the front vehicle in real-time by local feature tracking of vehicle in the continuous images.The features in back side of the vehicle are vertical and horizontal edges,shadow and symmetry.By comparing local features using the fixed window size,the features in the continuous images are tracked.A robust and fast Haarlike mask is used for detecting vertical and horizontal edges,and shadow is extracted by histogram equalization,and the sliding window method is used to compare both side templates of the detected candidates for extracting symmetry.The features for tracking are vertical edges,and histogram is used to compare location of the peak and magnitude of the edges.The method using local feature tracking in the continuous images is more robust for detecting vehicle than the method using single image,and the proposed algorithm is evaluated by continuous images obtained on the expressway and downtown.And it can be performed on real-time through applying it to the embedded system.

A Real-time Face/Hand Tracking Method for Chinese Sign Language Recognition

This paper introduces a new Chinese Sign Language recognition (CSLR) system and a method of real time tracking face and hand applied in the system. In the method, an improved agent algorithm is used to extract the region of face and hand and track them. Kalman filter is introduced to forecast the position and rectangle of search, and self adapting of target color is designed to counteract the effect of illumination.

REAL-TIME TRACKING FOR FAST MOVING OBJECT ON COMPLEX BACKGROUND

A real-time tracking system for the fast moving object on the complex background is proposed.The Markov random filed（MRF）model based background subtraction algorithm is used to detect the changing pixels and track the moving object.The prior probability of the segmentation mask is modeled by using MRF,and the object tracking task is translated into the maximum a-posterior（MAP）problem.Experimental results show that the method is efficient at both offline and online moving objects on simple and complex background.

Stability and accuracy of central difference method for real-time dynamic substructure testing considering mass participation coefficient

For real-time dynamic substructure testing(RTDST),the influence of the inertia force of fluid specimens on the stability and accuracy of the integration algorithms has never been investigated.Therefore,this study proposes to investigate the stability and accuracy of the central difference method(CDM)for RTDST considering the specimen mass participation coefficient.First,the theory of the CDM for RTDST is presented.Next,the stability and accuracy of the CDM for RTDST considering the specimen mass participation coefficient are investigated.Finally,numerical simulations and experimental tests are conducted for verifying the effectiveness of the method.The study indicates that the stability of the algorithm is affected by the mass participation coefficient of the specimen,and the stability limit first increases and then decreases as the mass participation coefficient increases.In most cases,the mass participation coefficient will increase the stability limit of the algorithm,but in specific circumstances,the algorithm may lose its stability.The stability and accuracy of the CDM considering the mass participation coefficient are verified by numerical simulations and experimental tests on a three-story frame structure with a tuned liquid damper.

A machine vision approach to seam tracking in real-time in PAW of large-diameter stainless steel tube

Manual monitoring and seam tracking through watching weld pool images in real-time, by naked eyes or by industrial TV, are experience-depended, subjective, labor intensive, and sometimes biased. So it is necessary to realize the automation of computer-aided seam tracking. A PAW (plasma arc welding) seam tracking system was developed, which senses the molten pool and the seam in one frame by a vision sensor, and then detects the seam deviation to adjust the work piece motion adaptively to the seam position sensed by vision sensor. A novel molten pool area image-processing algorithm based on machine vision was proposed. The algorithm processes each image at the speed of 20 frames/second in real-time to extract three feature variables to get the seam deviation. It is proved experimentally that the algorithm is very fast and effective. Issues related to the algorithm are also discussed.

Real-time accurate hand path tracking and joint trajectory planning for industrial robots(Ⅰ)

Previously, researchers raised the accuracy for a robot′s hand to track a specified path in Car-tesian space mainly through increasing the number of knots on the path and the number of the path′s segments, which results in the heavier online computational burden for the robot controller. Aiming at overcoming this drawback, the authors propose a new kind of real-time accurate hand path tracking and joint trajectory planning method. Through selecting some extra knots on the specified hand path by a certain rule and introducing a sinusoidal function to the joint displacement equation of each segment, this method can greatly raise the path tracking accuracy of robot′s hand and does not change the number of the path′s segments. It also does not increase markedly the computational burden of robot controller. The result of simulation indicates that this method is very effective, and has important value in increasing the application of industrial robots.

Real-time accurate hand path tracking and joint trajectory planning for industrial robots(Ⅱ)

Previously, researchers raised the accuracy for a robot′s hand to track a specified path in Cartesian space mainly through increasing the number of knots on the path and the segments of the path. But, this method resulted in the heavier on line computational burden for the robot controller. In this paper, aiming at this drawback, the authors propose a new kind of real time accurate hand path tracking and joint trajectory planning method for robots. Through selecting some extra knots on the specified hand path by a certain rule, which enables the number of knots on each segment to increase from two to four, and through introducing a sinusoidal function and a cosinoidal function to the joint displacement equation of each segment, this method can raise the path tracking accuracy of robot′s hand greatly but does not increase the computational burden of robot controller markedly.

Real-time tracking of deformable objects based on MOK algorithm

The traditional oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF（ORB） algorithm has problems of instability and repetition of keypoints and it does not possess scale invariance. In order to deal with these drawbacks, a modified ORB（MORB） algorithm is proposed. In order to improve the precision of matching and tracking, this paper puts forward an MOK algorithm that fuses MORB and Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi（KLT）. By using Kalman, the object＇s state in the next frame is predicted in order to reduce the size of search window and improve the real-time performance of object tracking. The experimental results show that the MOK algorithm can accurately track objects with deformation or with background clutters, exhibiting higher robustness and accuracy on diverse datasets. Also, the MOK algorithm has a good real-time performance with the average frame rate reaching 90.8 fps.

Fast-moving target tracking based on mean shift and frame-difference methods

The mean shift tracker has difficulty in tracking fast moving targets and suffers from tracking error accumulation problem. To overcome the limitations of the mean shift method, a new approach is proposed by integrating the mean shift algorithm and frame-difference methods. The rough position of the moving tar- get is first located by the direct frame-difference algorithm and three-frame-difference algorithm for the immobile camera scenes and mobile camera scenes, respectively. Then, the mean shift algorithm is used to achieve precise tracking of the target. Several tracking experiments show that the proposed method can effectively track first moving targets and overcome the tracking error accumulation problem.

A GHOST FLUID BASED FRONT TRACKING METHOD FOR MULTIMEDIUM COMPRESSIBLE FLOWS

Recent years the modify ghost fluid method （MGFM） and the real ghost fluid method （RGFM） based on Riemann problem have been developed for multimedium compressible flows. According to authors, these methods have only been used with the level set technique to track the interface. In this paper, we combine the MCFM and the RGFM respectively with front tracking method, for which the fluid interfaces are explicitly tracked by connected points. The method is tested with some one-dimensional problems, and its applicability is also studied. Furthermore, in order to capture the interface more accurately, especially for strong shock impacting on interface, a shock monitor is proposed to determine the initial states of the Riemann problem. The present method is applied to various one- dimensional problems involving strong shock-interface interaction. An extension of the present method to two dimension is also introduced and preliminary results are given.

Real-time embedded software testing method based on extended finite state machine

The reliability of real-time embedded software directly determines the reliability of the whole real-time embedded sys- tem, and the effective software testing is an important way to ensure software quality and reliability. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of real-time embedded software, the formal method is introduced into the real-time embedded software testing field and the real-time extended finite state machine （RT-EFSM） model is studied firstly. Then, the time zone division method of real-time embedded system is presented and the definition and description methods of time-constrained transition equivalence class （timeCTEC） are presented. Furthermore, the approaches of the testing sequence and test case generation are put forward. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a typical avionics real- time embedded software testing practice and the examples of the timeCTEC, testing sequences and test cases are given. With the analysis of the testing result, the application verification shows that the proposed method can effectively describe the real-time embedded software state transition characteristics and real-time requirements and play the advantages of the formal methods in accuracy, effectiveness and the automation supporting. Combined with the testing platform, the real-time, closed loop and automated simulation testing for real-time embedded software can be realized effectively.

A STUDY ON THE ENSEMBLE FORECAST REAL-TIME CORRECTION METHOD

Using real-time correction technology for typhoons, this paper discusses real-time correction for forecasting the track of four typhoons during 2009 and 2010 in Japan, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. It was determined that the short-time forecast effect was better than the original objective mode. By selecting four types of integration schemes after multiple mode path integration for those four objective modes, the forecast effect of the multi-mode path integration is better, on average, than any single model. Moreover, multi-mode ensemble forecasting has obvious advantages during the initial 36 h.

Exploration of instantaneous frequency for local control assessment in real-time hybrid simulation

Local control parameters such as instantaneous delay and instantaneous amplitude play an essential role in evaluating the performance and maintaining the stability of real-time hybrid simulation(RTHS).However,existing methods have limitations in obtaining this local assessment in either the time domain or frequency domain.In this study,the instantaneous frequency is introduced to determine local control parameters for actuator tracking assessment in a real-time hybrid simulation.Instantaneous properties,including amplitude,delay,frequency and phase,are then calculated based on analytic signals translated from actuator tracking signals through the Hilbert transform.Potential issues are discussed and solutions are proposed for calculation of local control parameters.Numerical simulations are first conducted for sinusoidal and chirp signals with time varying amplitude error and delay to demonstrate the potential of the proposed method.Laboratory tests also are conducted for a predefined random signal as well as the RTHS of a single degree of freedom structure with a self-centering viscous damper to experimentally verify the effectiveness of the proposed use of the instantaneous frequency.Results from the ensuing analysis clearly demonstrate that the instantaneous frequency provides great potential for local control assessment,and the proposed method enables local tracking parameters with good accuracy.

Particle path tracking method in two- and three-dimensional continuously rotating detonation engines

The particle path tracking method is proposed and used in two-dimensional（2D） and three-dimensional（3D） numerical simulations of continuously rotating detonation engines（CRDEs）. This method is used to analyze the combustion and expansion processes of the fresh particles, and the thermodynamic cycle process of CRDE. In a 3D CRDE flow field, as the radius of the annulus increases, the no-injection area proportion increases, the non-detonation proportion decreases, and the detonation height decreases. The flow field parameters on the 3D mid annulus are different from in the 2D flow field under the same chamber size. The non-detonation proportion in the 3D flow field is less than in the 2D flow field. In the 2D and 3D CRDE, the paths of the flow particles have only a small fluctuation in the circumferential direction. The numerical thermodynamic cycle processes are qualitatively consistent with the three ideal cycle models, and they are right in between the ideal F–J cycle and ideal ZND cycle. The net mechanical work and thermal efficiency are slightly smaller in the 2D simulation than in the 3D simulation. In the 3D CRDE, as the radius of the annulus increases, the net mechanical work is almost constant, and the thermal efficiency increases. The numerical thermal efficiencies are larger than F–J cycle, and much smaller than ZND cycle.

Trajectory tracking and obstacle avoidance method for robots based on fast terminal sliding mode

For accurate trajectory tracking and obstacle avoidance in finite time of a nonholonomic mobile robot,a trajectory tracking controller based on global fast terminal sliding mode method is proposed,which has the advantages of chattering-free and adjustable convergence time.First of all,the kinematics model of the robot is established in mobile carrier coordinates.Secondly,the global structure including terminal attractor and exponential convergence of the fast terminal sliding mode trajectory tracking controller is proved by Lyapunov stability theory,ensuring that the trajectory and heading angle tracking error converges to a smaller zero range in finite time.Finally,the artificial potential field obstacle avoidance method is introduced to make the robot not only track the reference trajectory strictly,but also avoid the obstacles.The simulation results show that the proposed method can achieve a stable tracking control in finite time for a given reference trajectory.

Comparison of delay compensation methods for real-time hybrid simulation using frequency-domain evaluation index

The delay compensation method plays an essential role in maintaining the stability and achieving accurate real-time hybrid simulation results. The effectiveness of various compensation methods in different test scenarios, however, needs to be quantitatively evaluated. In this study, four compensation methods （i.e., the polynomial extrapolation, the linear acceleration extrapolation, the inverse compensation and the adaptive inverse compensation） are selected and compared experimentally using a frequency evaluation index （FEI） method. The effectiveness of the FEI method is first verified through comparison with the discrete transfer fimction approach for compensation methods assuming constant delay. Incomparable advantage is further demonstrated for the FEI method when applied to adaptive compensation methods, where the discrete transfer function approach is difficult to implement. Both numerical simulation and laboratory tests with predefined displacements are conducted using sinusoidal signals and random signals as inputs. Findings from numerical simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the FEI method is an efficient and effective approach to compare the performance of different compensation methods, especially for those requiring adaptation of compensation parameters.

A NEW FRONT TRACKING METHOD FOR COMPRESSIBLE FLOWS

In this paper, a new FCT VOF method is developed and applied to the study of the evolution of substance interfaces in compressible flows.

Multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann front tracking method for two-phase flow with surface tension

In this paper, an improved incompressible multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann-front tracking approach is proposed to simulate two-phase flow with a sharp interface, where the surface tension is implemented. The lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate the incompressible flow with a stationary Eulerian grid, an additional moving Lagrangian grid is adopted to track explicitly the motion of the interface, and an indicator function is introduced to update the fluid properties accurately. The interface is represented by using a four-order Lagrange polynomial through fitting a set of discrete marker points, and then the surface tension is directly computed by using the normal vector and curvature of the interface. Two benchmark problems, including Laplace＇s law for a stationary bubble and the dispersion relation of the capillary wave between two fluids are conducted for validation. Excellent agreement is obtained between the numerical simulations and the theoretical results in the two cases.

A Comparison of the Ghost Cell Technique for Front Tracking Method

The treatment of moving material interfaces and their vicinity is very important for compressible multifluids. In this paper, we propose one type of ghost fluid method based on Riemann solutions for front tracking method. The accuracy of the interface boundary condition is discussed for the gas-gas Riemann problem. It is shown that the solution of the ghost fluid method approximates the exact solution to second-order accuracy in the sense of comparing to the exact solution of a Riemann problem at the material interface. Numerical examples suggest that the present scheme is able to handle multifluids problems with large density differences and has the property of reduced conservation error.