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Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Karol E. Fike / David M. Grieger / Synchronizing estrus before AI is an effective way to shorten the breeding season, and increasing the number of pregnancies per AI may lead to greater use and acceptance of synchronization protocols among beef producers. Our objective was to determine if pregnancy rates to fixed-time AI (FTAI) would be improved by delaying insemination in heifers not expressing estrus before FTAI in a 7-d CO-Synch + controlled internal drug release (CIDR) estrus-synchronization protocol. In Experiment 1, yearling beef heifers (n = 465) at three locations of commercial and purebred herds were treated with GnRH (Cystorelin 100 µg im) and a CIDR insert (1.38 g of progesterone) on Day 0. On Day 7 CIDR inserts were removed and all heifers received PGF[subscript]2α (Lutalyse 25 mg im) and were fitted with an estrus-detection patch (Estrotect; Rockway, Inc.). Heifers were assigned to three treatments based on estrus-detection patch color at 48 h after PGF[subscript]2α: (1). Estrus-Red 48 h (Red 48; n = 180), heifers that expressed estrus and were inseminated at 48 h; (2). Non-Estrus-Gray 48 h (Gray 48; n = 137) heifers that did not express estrus and were inseminated at 48 h; and (3). Non-Estrus Delayed- 56 h (Gray 56; n = 148), heifers that did not express estrus at 48 h, and were not inseminated until 56 h after PGF[subscript]2α. Pregnancy rate to AI was greatest (P < 0.0001) for Red 48 heifers (67.8%) compared with heifers in the Gray 48 (39.4%) and Gray 56 (42.6%) treatments. Heifers assigned to Gray 48 and Gray 56 achieved similar (P = 0.83) pregnancy rates. In Experiment 2, yearling beef heifers (n = 257) at two different locations were treated with the same 7-d CO-Synch protocol, but heifers were assigned to three different treatments based on estrus-detection patch color at 48 h after PGF[subscript]2α: (1). Estrus-Red 48 h (Red 48; n =95), heifers that expressed estrus and were inseminated at 48 h; (2). Non-Estrus-Gray 48 h (Gray 48; n = 84), heifers that did not express estrus but were inseminated at 48 h; and (3). Non-Estrus Delayed- 72 h (Gray 72; n = 78), heifers that did not express estrus at 48 h, and were not inseminated until 72 h after PGF[subscript]2α. Pregnancy rate to AI was greatest (P = 0.004) for Red 48 heifers (62.1%) compared with heifers in Gray 48 (40.5%), and Gray 72 (46.2%). No difference in pregnancy rates (P = 0.75) was detected between heifers assigned to treatments Gray 48 and Gray 72. Delaying insemination in heifers not expressing estrus by 48 h after PGF[subscript]2α did not improve pregnancy rates to AI.

The contribution of this thesis is on the temporal adjustment of the consensus weights, as applied to spacecraft formation control. Such an objective is attained by dynamically enforcing attitude synchronization via coupling terms included in each spacecraft controller. It is assumed that each spacecraft has identical dynamics but with unknown inertia parameters and external disturbances. By augmenting a standard adaptive controller that accounts for the unknown parameters, made feasible via an assumption on parameterization, with adaptation of the consensus weights, one opts to improve spacecraft synchronization. The coupling terms, responsible for enforcing synchronization amongst spacecraft, are weighted dynamically in proportion to the disagreement between the states of the spacecraft. The time adjustment of edge-dependent gains as well as the special cases of node-dependent and agent-independent constant gains are derived using Lyapunov redesign methods. The proposed adaptive control architectures which allow for adaptation of both parameter uncertainties and consensus penalty terms are demonstrated via extensive numerical studies of spacecraft networks with limited connectivity. By considering the sum of deviation-from-the-mean and rotational kinetic energy as appropriate metrics for synchronization and controller performance, the numerical studies also provide insights on the choice of optimal consensus gains.

"This thesis develops a system for synchronizing two wireless transmitters so that they are able to implement a distributed beamformer in several different channel models. This thesis considers a specific implementation of the system and proposes a metric to quantify its performance. The system's performance is investigated in single-path and multi-path time-invariant channel scenarios, as well as in single-path time-varying channel scenarios. Where prior systems have difficulty in implementing a distributed beamformer in multi-path channels and/or mobile scenarios, the results of this thesis show that the Round-Trip Time-Division distributed beamforming system is able to perform as a beamformer in all three of the channel models considered. "

When engaging a new gear in an automated manual transmission (AMT) the gear needs to be synchronized with the main shaft's angular velocity in the gearbox. This is so that the parts can be connected through a cog wheel and torque can be transferred. To synchronize the angular velocities, mechanical synchronization components can be used. These components synchronize the velocities during the engagement and can be used with larger differences in angular velocities. Should no mechanical synchronization components be used it puts higher demands on the components rotating at similar velocities to avoid mechanical wear and ensure that the gear can be engaged. In today's systems without mechanical synchronization components the gear is engaged when the angular velocities are within a certain difference. This leads to random angle connections between the cogs and gaps that are to be engaged on the gear and main shaft. This can lead to extended or incomplete engages should the components connect cog to cog. This thesis evaluates the possibility to control the angle at which the components connect by using existing sensor signals in the studied system and known parameters. A model of the system is created and simulated to evaluate the probability of predicting the system over the gear engage. Results indicate that it is possible to predict the connection angle close enough to its real value so that a control strategy could be implemented to control the angle to some level.

Specialists are expecting the knowledge of location will trigger yet another revolution in mobile services. Location-base services (LBS) have attracted many researchers and enterprises and one of the key aspects of LBS is positioning technology. Considering a wider and more complex field - ubiquitous computing, location is the fundamental element. This work focuses on some aspects of the new techniques of terrestrial positioning systems. Wireless LAN is one of the most popular systems used for positioning for indoor environments and public places. We have investigated the trilateration and fingerprinting approaches and the results showed the advantages of fingerprinting. A novel method to generate the fingerprints database based on Universal Kriging (UK) was developed, which can not only significantly decrease the training time, but also increase the accuracy of estimates. In mobile phone positioning systems, most techniques suffer from the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation. We investigated the specifics of NLOS error, and proposed a method to mitigate the errors. Furthermore, a new algorithm named WSMM (wireless signal map matching) was discussed. Simulations and experiments verified the idea, and the accuracy of positioning can be improved greatly. Since fingerprinting technique can utilize rather than suffer from the NLOS propagation, it was also applied in mobile phone positioning system. Experiments showed both the deterministic approach and probabilistic approach can provide better results comparing with other techniques in suburban area. To achieve a robust positioning system and provide more useful information of the user, multisensor combination and data fusion are necessary. As the first step of future research, a mulitsensor synchronization system was developed. This system can promisingly achieve synchronization with error less than 0.4 ms, which is suitable for most land applications. Hence the main findings of this thesis are: (1) a novel method of yielding fingerprint database for both wireless LAN (WLAN) and mobile phone systems when using the fingerprinting technique for positioning; (2) a database method to mitigate NLOS error for mobile phone positioning systems; (3) a low cost synchronization system for integration of multiple sensors.

Since its introduction in the early 1980??s, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has become an important worldwide resource. Although the primary use of GPS is for position location, the inherent timing accuracy built into the system has allowed it become an important synchronisation resource for other systems. In most cases the GPS end user only requires a position estimate without awareness of the timing and synchronisation aspects of the system. A low accuracy position (at the several-metre level) with a low update rate of about 1Hz is often acceptable. However, obtaining more accurate position estimates (at the sub-metre level) at higher update rates requires the use of differential correction signals (DGPS) and greater processing power in the receiver. Furthermore, some extra challenges arise when simultaneously gathering information from a group of independently moving remote GPS receivers (rovers) at increased sampling rates (10Hz). This creates the need for a high bandwidth telemetry system and techniques to synchronise the position measurements for tracking each rover. This thesis investigates and develops an overall solution to these problems using GPS for both position location and synchronisation. A system is designed to generate relative position information from 30 or more rovers in real-time. The important contributions of this research are as follows: a) A GPS synchronised telemetry system is developed to transport GPS data from each rover. Proof of concept experiments show why a conventional RF Local Area Network (LAN) is not suitable for this application. The new telemetry system is developed using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices to embed both the synchronising logic and the central processor. b) A new system architecture is developed to reduce the processing load of the GPS receiver. Furthermore, the need to transfer the DGPS correction data to the rover is eliminated. Instead, the receiver raw data is processed in a centralised Kalman filter to produce multiple position estimates in real-time. c) Steps are taken to optimise the telemetry data stream by using only the bare essential data from each rover. A custom protocol is developed to deliver the GPS receiver raw data to the central point with minimal latency. The central software is designed to extract and manage common elements such as satellite ephemeris data from the central reference receiver only. d) Methods are developed to make the overall system more robust by identifying and understanding the points of failure, providing fallback options to allow recovery with minimal impact. Based on the above a system is designed and integrated using a mixture of custom hardware, custom software and off-the-shelf hardware. Overall tests show that efforts to minimise latency, minimise power requirements and improve reliability have delivered good results.

This dissertation presents a novel satellite timekeeping system which does not require on-board atomic clocks as used by existing navigation satellite systems such as GPS, GLONASS or the planned GALILEO system. This concept is differentiated by the employment of a synchronization framework combined with lightweight steerable on-board clocks which act as transponders re-broadcasting the precise time remotely provided by the time synchronization network located on the ground. This allows the system to operate optimally when satellites are in direct contact with the ground station, making it suitable for a system like the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, QZSS. Low satellite mass and low satellite manufacturing and launch cost are significant advantages of this novel system. Two possible implementations of the time synchronization network for QZSS are presented. Additionally, the problem of satellite communication interruption is analyzed and a solution is presented. Finally a positioning and timing quality analysis, aimed to provide understanding of the actual timing quality requirements for QZSS, is presented.

Thesis (M.S. in computer engineering)--Washington State University, December 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-58).

<p>This  report  is  a  part  of  a  master  thesis  project  done  at  Ericsson  Linköping  incooperation with Linköpings Tekniska Högskola (LiTH). This project is divided intwo different parts.  The first part is to create a measurement node that collectsand processes data from network time protocol servers.   It is used to determinethe  quality  of  the  IP  network  at  the  node  and  detect  potential  defects  on  usedtimeservers or nodes on the networks.The second assignment is to analyze the collected data and further improve theexisting synchronization algorithm.  Ip communication is not designed to be timecritical and therefore the NTP protocol needs to be complemented with additionalsignal processing to achieve required accuracy.  Real time requirements limit thecomputational complexity of the signal processing algorithm.</p>