The purpose of this dissertation is to study the robust control for the smart flexible linkage mechanism. The control of flexible linkage induced inertia force under high-speed rotation is taken into consideration with the system parameter uncertainties such as modeling error, truncation error, and both of control spillover and observation spillover due to the residual modes of structural control problem. Based on the principles of LQ, optimal model following (OMF) and frequency shaping, this study proposes some sufficient conditions of stability criteria for the design of robust controller, respectively. These techniques guarantee that the controlled plant, under both bounded parameter perturbations and model truncation, could remain stable. Meanwhile, searching for the optimal locating positions of sensor and actuator by applying Taguchi method and genetic algorithm (GA) combined technique is further studied. The system is modeled through employing finite element method (FEM), and the limited lower frequency part modes are separated into controlled modes and residual modes. In time domain, at first we design a Luenberger-observer-based robust controller for the finite-dimensional mode plant keeping stability in a specified region. And then, a robust controller with the OMF is designed for the controlled system to achieve the performance as those of the specified optimum model. From the view of frequency domain, the robust controller could also be deigned according to the frequency shaping principle to suppress the exciting effect of higher frequency residual modes, and similarly avoid that the system might be destabilized. Finally, the combination of Taguchi method and GA technique to search the optimal locations for placing actuator and sensor to coincide with the stability and performance requirement is also done. From the computer simulation, the middle point movement of the linkage is obviously well controlled; hence, the designed robust controllers can certainly suppress the affection of parameter uncertainties and the spillover stimulation of residual modes, and can produce satisfactory results.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Environmental and Life Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, 2002. / "November 2001". Bibliography: leaves 136-157.

This thesis consists of the research on linkage-based fingertips for prosthetic hands. These fingertips consists of small polycentric mechanisms attached to what would be the pulp in normal anatomical fingers. These mechanisms allow the prosthetic hand to conform to the shape of objects during grasp. The goal of these prosthetic fingertips is to maximize the functionality of the hand while minimizing the number of inputs that the user has to control. The stability of the fingertip mechanisms is analyzed using the principle of virtual work. From this analysis we are able to show that the fingertip mechanism is stable for a large range of rotation of the link and for a large range of directions on which the force is applied, and that the mechanism is indifferent to the magnitude of the force applied to it (assuming that the force does not damage/deform the mechanism). To assess if the four-bar mechanisms (fingertips) improve the grasping capabilities in robotics and prosthetics, tests were performed on prosthetic hands and robot grippers with and without the fingertips. Comparisons were made using the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP) protocol, which tests the differences and measures the functionality of particular types of grasp, such as power, spherical, lateral, tripod, tip and extension. In the human testing, the overall Index of Functionality (IOF) of the Hosmer hook is 66.65 and 66.21 for the hook with the fingertips. The hook with the fingertips had a better IOF in the spherical and power prehensile pattern. When the IOF is calculated for the tasks that the fingertips were used, in 10 of 11 of the tasks, the IOF is higher than using the Hosmer hook. In the robotic gripper testing, the Index of Functionality was not be calculated because the time to perform the tasks depended more on the robotic control system than on the physical characteristics of the gripper.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第19158号 / 地環博第133号 / 新制||地環||27 / 32109 / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎環境マネジメント専攻 / (主査)教授 ｼｮｳ ﾗｼﾞﾌﾞ, 教授 岡﨑 健二, 教授 清野 純史, 准教授 小林 広英, 准教授 西前 出 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

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The fungus Fusarium graminearum (Schwabe) causes Gibberella ear rot in maize, resulting in accumulation of harmful mycotoxins in the grain. Disease severity and pericarp/aleurone dehydrodiferulic acid content are negatively correlated. Furthermore, quantitative trait locus mapping (QTL) identified colocalization between QTL for both traits. A candidate gene approach was employed to identify the genes responsible for the observed colocalization. Candidate genes selected on the basis of their putative involvement in various aspects of cell wall DFA accumulation were mapped in silico using the maize genome sequence. Polymorphisms were discovered in putative genes and converted to molecular markers. The in silico mapping effort was successful in predicting map locations of the analyzed sequences, and the segregation of certain marker alleles could explain variation for Gibberella ear rot severity and pericarp-aleurone DFA content.

There may be several mechanisms that drive observed interactions between plants and pollinators in an ecosystem, many of which may involve trait matching or trait complementarity. Hence a model of insect species activity on plant species should be represented as a mixture of these linkage rules. Unfortunately, ecologists do not always know how many, or even which, traits are the main contributors to the observed interactions. This thesis proposes the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model from artificial intelligence for modelling the observed interactions in an ecosystem as a finite mixture of (latent) interaction groups in which plant and pollinator pairs that share common linkage rules are placed in the same interaction group. Several model selection criteria are explored for estimating how many interaction groups best describe the observed interactions. This thesis also introduces a new model selection score called ``penalized perplexity". The performance of the model selection criteria, and of LDA in general, are evaluated through a comprehensive simulation study that consider networks of various size along with varying levels of nesting and numbers of interaction groups. Results of the simulation study suggest that LDA works well on networks with mild-to-no nesting, but loses accuracy with increased nestedness. Further, the penalized perplexity tended to outperform the other model selection criteria in identifying the correct number of interaction groups used to simulate the data. Finally, LDA was demonstrated on a real network, the results of which provided insights into the functional roles of pollinator species in the study region.

Environmental Education is becoming increasingly important as human populations expand into wildlife habitat, often resulting in human/wildlife conflicts. Meadow Creek British Columbia has experienced a long history of conflicts with grizzly bears resulting in significant bear mortalities. This qualitative research investigates human attitudes and behaviours relating to human/grizzly bear coexistence in this area. Twenty eight participants with diverse values contributed to in-depth interviews and a focus group that revealed perceived barriers and potential solutions to human/grizzly bear coexistence. Results show increased attitudes of tolerance since mid-2000s and that on-going support is needed to enable bears and humans to coexist. This research suggests coexisting with grizzly bears in Meadow Creek may serve to improve the linkage function of this area, making coexistence important to local grizzly populations. This work may be a useful study for communities in areas of high human/bear conflicts or in linkage areas between threatened populations of wildlife.

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