Resolving the trade-offs between suspension travel, ride comfort, road holding, vehicle handling and power consumptions is the primary challenge in designing Active-Vehicle-Suspension-Systems (AVSS). Controller tuning with global optimization techniques is proposed to realise the best compromise between these con icting criteria. Optimization methods adapted include Controlled-Random-Search (CRS), Differential-Evolution (DE), Genetic-Algorithm (GA), Particle-Swarm-Optimization (PSO) and Pattern-Search (PS). Quarter-car and full-car nonlinear AVSS models that incorporate electrohydraulic actuator dynamics are designed. Two control schemes are proposed for this investigation. The first is the conventional Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control, which is applied in a multi-loop architecture to stabilise the actuator and manipulate the primary control variables. Global optimization-based tuning achieved enhanced responses in each aspect of PID-based AVSS performance and a better resolve in con icting criteria, with DE performing the best. The full-car PID-based AVSS was analysed for DE as well as modi ed variants of the PSO and CRS. These modified methods surpassed its predecessors with a better performance index and this was anticipated as they were augmented to permit for e cient exploration of the search space with enhanced exibility in the algorithms. However, DE still maintained the best outcome in this aspect. The second method is indirect adaptive dynamic-neural-network-based-feedback-linearization (DNNFBL), where neural networks were trained with optimization algorithms and later feedback linearization control was applied to it. PSO generated the most desirable results, followed by DE. The remaining approaches exhibited signi cantly weaker results for this control method. Such outcomes were accredited to the nature of the DE and PSO algorithms and their superior search characteristics as well as the nature of the problem, which now had more variables. The adaptive nature and ability to cancel system nonlinearities saw the full-car PSO-based DNNFBL controller outperform its PID counterpart. It achieved a better resolve between performance criteria, minimal chatter, superior parameter sensitivity, and improved suspension travel, roll acceleration and control force response.

Semantic segmentation methods using deep neural networks typically require huge volumes of annotated data to train properly. Due to the expense of collecting these pixel-level dataset annotations, the problem of semantic segmentation without ground-truth labels has been recently proposed. Many current approaches to unsupervised semantic segmentation frame the problem as a pixel clustering task, and in particular focus heavily on color differences between image regions. In this paper, we explore a weakness to this approach: By focusing on color, these approaches do not adequately capture relationships between similar objects across images. We present a new approach to the problem, and propose a novel architecture that captures the characteristic similarities of objects between images directly. We design a synthetic dataset to illustrate this flaw in an existing model. Experiments on this synthetic dataset show that our method can succeed where the pixel color clustering approach fails. Further, we show that plain autoencoder models can implicitly capture these cross-instance object relationships. This suggests that some generative model architectures may be viable candidates for unsupervised semantic segmentation even with no additional loss terms.

M.Ing. (Electrical And Electronic Engineering) / This dissertation describes the development of a system of Artificial Neural Networks that enables the incremental training of feed forward neural networks using supervised training algorithms such as back propagation. It is argued that incremental learning is fundamental to the adaptive learning behavior observed in human intelligence and constitutes an imperative step towards artificial cognition. The importance of developing incremental learning as a system of ANNs is stressed before the complete system is presented. Details of the development and implementation of the system is complemented by the description of two case studies. In conclusion the role of the incremental learning system as basis for further development of fundamental elements of cognition is projected.

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Unspecified counting practices used in a data collection may create rounding to certain ‘based’ number that can have serious consequences on data quality. Statistical methods for analysing missing data are commonly used to deal with the issue but it could actually aggravate the problem. Rounded data are not missing data, instead some observations were just systematically lumped to certain based numbers reflecting the rounding process or counting behaviour. A new method to analyse rounded data would therefore be academically valuable. The neural network model developed in this study fills the gap and serves the purpose by complementing and enhancing the conventional statistical methods. The model detects, analyses, and quantifies the existence of periodic structures in a data set because of rounding. The robustness of the model is examined using simulated data sets containing specific rounding numbers of different levels. The model is also subjected to theoretical and numerical tests to confirm its validity before being used on real applications. Overall, the model performs very well making it suitable for many applications. The assessment results show the importance of using the right best fit in rounding detection. The detection power and cut-off point estimation also depend on data distribution and rounding based numbers. Detecting rounding of prime numbers is easier than non-prime numbers due to the unique characteristics of the former. The bigger the number, the easier is the detection. This is in a complete contrast with non-prime numbers, where the bigger the number, the more will be the “factor” numbers distracting rounding detection. Using uniform best fit on uniform data produces the best result and lowest cut-off point. The consequence of using a wrong best fit on uniform data is however also the worst. The model performs best on data containing 10-40% rounding levels as less or more rounding levels produce unclear rounding pattern or distort the rounding detection, respectively. The modulo-test method also suffers the same problem. Real data applications on religious census data confirms the modulo-test finding that the data contains rounding base 5, while applications on cigarettes smoked and alcohol consumed data show good detection results. The cigarettes data seem to contain rounding base 5, while alcohol consumption data indicate no rounding patterns that may be attributed to the ways the two data were collected. The modelling applications can be extended to other areas in which rounding is common and can have significant consequences. The modelling development can he refined to include data-smoothing process and to make it user friendly as an online modelling tool. This will maximize the model’s potential use

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