Thesis--Heidelberg. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 208-214).

Thesis--Heidelberg. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 208-214).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis presents two novel algorithms for converting a normalised binary floating point number into a binary logarithmic number with the single-precision of a floating point number. The thesis highlights the importance of logarithmic number systems in real-time DSP applications. A real-time cross-correlation application where logarithmic signal processing is used to simplify the complex computation is presented. The first algorithm presented in this thesis comprises two stages. A piecewise linear approximation to the original logarithmic curve is performed in the first stage and a scaled-down normalised error curve is stored in the second stage. The algorithm requires less than 20 kbits of ROM and a maximum of three small multipliers. The architecture is implemented on Xilinx's Spartan3 and Spartan6 FPGA family. Synthesis results confirm that the algorithm operates at a frequency of 42.3 MHz on a Spartan3 device and 127.8 MHz on a Spartan6. Both solutions have a pipeline latency of two clocks. The operating speed increases to 71.4 MHz and 160 MHz respectively when the pipeline latencies increase to eight clocks. The proposed algorithm is further improved by using a PWL (Piece-Wise Linear) approximation of the transform curve combined with a PWL approximation of a scaled version of the normalized segment error. A hardware approach for reducing the memory with additional XOR gates in the second stage is also presented. The architecture presented uses just one 18k bit Block RAM (BRAM) and synthesis results indicate operating frequencies of 93 and 110 MHz when implemented on the Xilinx Spartan3 and Spartan6 devices respectively. Finally a novel prototype of an FPGA-based four channel correlation velocimetry system is presented. The system operates at a higher sampling frquency than previous published work and outputs the new result after every new sample it receives. The system works at a sampling frequency of 195.31 kHz and a sample resolution of 12 bits. The prototype system calculates a delay in a range of 0 to 2.6 ms with a resolution of 5.12 us.

Automatic ontology creation, aiming to develop ontology without or with minimal human intervention, is needed for robots that work in dynamic environments. This is particularly required for service (or domestic) robots that work in unstructured and dynamic domestic environments, as robots and their human users share the same space. Most current works adopt learning to build the ontology in terms of defining concepts and relations of concepts, from various data and information resources. Given the partial or incomplete information often observed by robots in domestic environments, identifying useful data and information and extracting concepts and relations is challenging. In addition, more types of relations which do not appear in current approaches for service robots such as “HasA” and “MadeOf”, as well as semantic knowledge, are needed for domestic robots to cope with uncertainties during human–robot interaction. This research has developed a framework, called Data-Information Retrieval based Automated Ontology Framework (DIRAOF), that is able to identify the useful data and information, to define concepts according to the data and information collected, to define the “is-a” relation, “HasA” relation and “MadeOf” relation, which are not seen in other works, to evaluate the concepts and relations. The framework is also able to develop semantic knowledge in terms of location and time for robots, and a recency and frequency based algorithm that uses the semantic knowledge to locate objects in domestic environments. Experimental results show that the robots are able to create ontology components with correctness of 86.5% from 200 random object names and to associate semantic knowledge of physical objects by presenting tracking instances. The DIRAOF framework is able to build up an ontology for domestic robots without human intervention.

No description available.

This dissertation uses Heidegger’s critique of technology and its essence in an attempt to understand how Virtual Reality technology can change how we interact with the world and each other. The history of VR devices is unpacked to understand the motivation behind VR’s uses and development. Merleau-Ponty’s theories about embodied experiences are also used to understand how VR has an increased capacity to generate a sense of telepresence in the virtual environment for the user. Cases are investigated that specifically deals with how VR has influenced human interactions and rituals and made them more convenient to the users. The first cases focus on religion and how it changes when it is taken online. Specific focus is given to the Church of Fools online church and D.J. Soto’s VR church. The difference between how an online church operates is compared to the VR Church and how embodiment in the VE is experienced in each. This dissertation also explores cases where a user enters a ‘cross-dimensional’ relationship with the virtual. Two cases of people marrying virtual characters are examined. In these cases, the user entered a relationship with a character that was constructed by someone else. The other case examined, is that of Sgt.Hale (username) who created and then married a virtual character in a VE that he designed and based on a real-world location. In each of the relevant cases, how technology has influenced and, in a sense, encouraged them, is explored and unpacked. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Visual Arts / MA / Unrestricted

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Fred Martin. / M.S.

This dissertation is a realist intellectual history of systems theory in the second half of the twentieth century. Systems theory can be defined as the study of the informatic patterns that are found within a variety of complex phenomena, both natural and social. The science behind systems theory emerged from wartime engineering projects, and was promoted by major philanthropic organizations such as the Rockefeller Foundation. Theoretical concepts from the nascent systems sciences, including the subfields of information science, cybernetics, and systems biology, migrated into social science fields including political theory and economics. The social applications of systems theory were heavily promoted by major figures within both America's counterculture, and America's neoliberal revolution. Systems theory injected strong elements of political thinking and political reasoning into natural and social scientific fields alike. The integration of systems theory into natural science fields such as biology was paired with an expanded understanding of the purposes of science. These purposes ranged from the attempt to capture sophisticated, systemic mechanisms of control within life processes, to the attempt to describe the spontaneous, creative, and free self-organization within living systems. Likewise, in economics and the social sciences, systems theory provided an apt conceptual terminology to imagine human society as either an intricately interwoven system of control and coercion, or as a spontaneously organizing source of human freedom. Systems approaches to economics rejected simplistic descriptions of human motivation and behavior, and emphasized the importance of collective processes that do not follow central direction. While Friedrich Hayek is the most well-known economist to utilize systems theory, other less known figures such as Kevin Kelly and George Gilder played a major role in the development of systems based, informatic approaches to social and economic thought. Hayek is often blamed for the development of speculative, systems approaches to economics that minimize the importance of material reality. Contradicting this consensus, I argue that Kelly and Gilder are better exemplars of this speculative rejection of materiality. I also challenge the dominant consensus within political theory scholarship that argues that systems theory can only be understood as a tool and modality of control. Instead, I show that freedom and control co-exist ambiguously in systems theory discourses, and that the lasting appeal and uptake of systems theory within American culture must be interpreted in this light. / Doctor of Philosophy / Systems theory describes a body of research that sought to represent the world through the language of the system. Systems theory was applied to diverse contexts, including engineering, biology, psychology, social science, and economics. Systems theorists believed that self-organizing forces could be found in many complex systems, both natural and man-made. Systems theory was a method by which the complexity of these processes could be described and understood. Specifically, systems theory relied on the concept of information. Information was the basic component from which any system was built. For systems theorists, however, information was not simply a unit or isolated measurement. Rather, information could also refer to a pattern or the characteristics of a process. Thus, systems theory was about being able to capture and describe repetitive processes found in the world. Systems theorists were interested in understanding how both natural and social processes could self-regulate themselves, maintain their basic integrity, and change over time. Thus, the emergence of order without centralized direction was a central preoccupation of systems theorists. In this dissertation, I argue that systems theory was more than a scientific theory; it was also a form of political reasoning. At times, systems theory was a way to conceptualize forms of systemic control, coercion, and homogenization. At other times, systems theory became a way to conceptualize how participation in spontaneous processes could support diversity and freedom. I show that systems theorists were divided between such portrayals of control and freedom. Furthermore, control and freedom often coexisted in the language, behavior, and political claims of systems theorists.

No description available.