Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2008.

Diplomarbeit Hochschule für Angewandte Psychologie Zürich, 2005.

Sofisticadas técnicas para estimação de modelos baseadas em simulação, os filtros de partículas ou métodos de Monte Carlo Seqüenciais, foram empregadas recentemente para solucionar diversos problemas difícieis no campo da robótica móvel. No entanto, o sucesso dos fitros de partículas limitou-se à computação de parâmetros em espaços de baixa dimensionalidade. Os atuais esforços de pesquisa em robótica móvel têm comecado a explorar certas propriedades estruturais de seus domnios de aplicação que envolvem a utilização de filtros de partculas em espacos de maior dimensão, aumentando consideravelmente a complexidade da simulação envolvida. Simulações estatsticas dessa natureza requerem uma grande quantidade de numeros pseudo-aleatorios que possam ser gerados eficientemente e atendam a certos criterios de qualidade. O processo de geração de numeros pseudo-aleatorios torna-se o ponto crtico de tais aplicações em termos de desempenho. Neste contexto, a computação reconguravel insere-se como uma tecnologia capaz de satisfazer a demanda por alto desempenho das grandes simulações estatsticas pois sistemas baseados em arquiteturas reconguraveis possuem o potencial de mapear computação em hardware visando aumento de eficiência sem comprometer seriamente sua exibilidade. Tecnologias reconguraveis também possui o atrativo de um baixo consumo de energia, uma caracterstica essencial para os futuros robôs moveis embarcados. Esta dissertação apresenta a implementação um sistema embarcado baseado em FPGA e projetado para solucionar o problema de localização de robôs por meio de tecnicas probabilsticas. A parte fundamental de todo este sistema e um veloz gerador de numeros aleatorios mapeado ao hardware reconguravel que foi capaz de atender rígidos criterios estatsticos de qualidade / Sophisticated techniques for estimation of models based on simulation, particle filters or Sequential Monte Carlo Methods, were recently used to solve many difficult problems in the field of mobile robotics. However, the success of particle filters was limited to the computation of parameters in low dimensionality spaces. The current research efforts in mobile robotics have begun to explore some structural properties of their application\'s domain involving the use of particle filters in spaces of a higher dimension, greatly increasing the complexity of the involved simulation. Statistical simulations of this nature require a lot of pseudorandom numbers that can be generated efficiently and meet certain quality criteria. The process of generating pseudorandom number becomes the critical point of such applications in terms of performance. In this context, reconfigurable computing is a technology capable of meeting the demand for high performance of large statistical simulations because systems based on reconfigurable architectures have the potential to map computation to hardware aiming to increase eficiency without a serious drawback in exibility. Reconfigurable technologies are also attractive because of their low energy consume, a essential feature for the future mobile robots. This dissertation presents an implementation of a FPGA based embedded system designed to solve the robot localization problem by the means of probabilistic technics. The fundamental part from the whole system is a fast random number generator mapped to reconfigurable hardware wich atends a rigid quality criteria

Sofisticadas técnicas para estimação de modelos baseadas em simulação, os filtros de partículas ou métodos de Monte Carlo Seqüenciais, foram empregadas recentemente para solucionar diversos problemas difícieis no campo da robótica móvel. No entanto, o sucesso dos fitros de partículas limitou-se à computação de parâmetros em espaços de baixa dimensionalidade. Os atuais esforços de pesquisa em robótica móvel têm comecado a explorar certas propriedades estruturais de seus domnios de aplicação que envolvem a utilização de filtros de partculas em espacos de maior dimensão, aumentando consideravelmente a complexidade da simulação envolvida. Simulações estatsticas dessa natureza requerem uma grande quantidade de numeros pseudo-aleatorios que possam ser gerados eficientemente e atendam a certos criterios de qualidade. O processo de geração de numeros pseudo-aleatorios torna-se o ponto crtico de tais aplicações em termos de desempenho. Neste contexto, a computação reconguravel insere-se como uma tecnologia capaz de satisfazer a demanda por alto desempenho das grandes simulações estatsticas pois sistemas baseados em arquiteturas reconguraveis possuem o potencial de mapear computação em hardware visando aumento de eficiência sem comprometer seriamente sua exibilidade. Tecnologias reconguraveis também possui o atrativo de um baixo consumo de energia, uma caracterstica essencial para os futuros robôs moveis embarcados. Esta dissertação apresenta a implementação um sistema embarcado baseado em FPGA e projetado para solucionar o problema de localização de robôs por meio de tecnicas probabilsticas. A parte fundamental de todo este sistema e um veloz gerador de numeros aleatorios mapeado ao hardware reconguravel que foi capaz de atender rígidos criterios estatsticos de qualidade / Sophisticated techniques for estimation of models based on simulation, particle filters or Sequential Monte Carlo Methods, were recently used to solve many difficult problems in the field of mobile robotics. However, the success of particle filters was limited to the computation of parameters in low dimensionality spaces. The current research efforts in mobile robotics have begun to explore some structural properties of their application\'s domain involving the use of particle filters in spaces of a higher dimension, greatly increasing the complexity of the involved simulation. Statistical simulations of this nature require a lot of pseudorandom numbers that can be generated efficiently and meet certain quality criteria. The process of generating pseudorandom number becomes the critical point of such applications in terms of performance. In this context, reconfigurable computing is a technology capable of meeting the demand for high performance of large statistical simulations because systems based on reconfigurable architectures have the potential to map computation to hardware aiming to increase eficiency without a serious drawback in exibility. Reconfigurable technologies are also attractive because of their low energy consume, a essential feature for the future mobile robots. This dissertation presents an implementation of a FPGA based embedded system designed to solve the robot localization problem by the means of probabilistic technics. The fundamental part from the whole system is a fast random number generator mapped to reconfigurable hardware wich atends a rigid quality criteria

Guantánamo ist zum Symbol des Aufeinandertreffens verschiedener Wertesysteme geworden, bei dem die Frage nach den Rechten des Menschen im Mittelpunkt steht. In der Dissertation werden die komplexen Probleme dargestellt, mit denen das Völkerrecht durch die Herausforderungen des internationalen Terrorismus und speziell des Gefangenenlagers auf Kuba konfrontiert wird. Darüber hinaus wird die Frage untersucht, welche Rechte des Menschen fern der diplomatisch verhandelten internationalen Kodifikationen tatsächlich in den verschiedenen Kulturen der Welt anerkannt und gelebt werden. Zwar legen der Wortlaut und die Verbreitung der Menschenrechtsverträge die Vermutung nahe, dass in den Kulturen der Welt ein Konsens über die Rechte des Menschen zumindest im Kern existiert. Bei näherer Betrachtung zeigt sich aber, dass es verschiedene Menschenbilder - etwa freiheitlich-individualistische, kommunalistische und theozentrische - gibt, die zum Teil diametral zueinander stehen. Ein interkultureller Vergleich offenbart, dass häufig das jeweils andere Wertesystem abgewehrt und auch „die universellen Menschenrechte“ als westlich determinierte Werte mit Distanz betrachtet werden. Welche Begründungen für Menschenrechte in den Kulturen existent sind, welche Aufschlüsse die bisherigen Begründungsmodelle geben und inwieweit daraus ein Kern an Rechten dem Menschen überkulturell als angeboren begründet werden können, sind wichtige Fragen, die in dieser Dissertation behandelt werden. Es werden neue Ansätze untersucht, welche die Begründungsdefizite bisheriger Modelle womöglich auflösen und den rechtlichen Diskurs damit aktualisieren können. Denn kontroverse Menschenrechtslagen, wie die in Guantánamo, sind in Zukunft nur vermeidbar, wenn sich auf der Basis eines fortgeführten interkulturellen Dialoges eine gemeinsame Identität entwickelt und dadurch eine Gewalt zwischen den Kulturen verringert wird, die durch die Differenzen ihrer Werte entsteht. / Guantánamo has become a symbol for the clash of differing value systems. With widespread international concern and criticism of the treatment of the detainees - Islamic terror suspects - as grave violations of universal human rights. The dissertation illustrates the complex problems confronting international law by the aspects of international terrorism and especially the prison camp on Cuba. Furthermore, it examines the question, which rights beyond the international codifications are actually accepted within the cultures. The wording of the international human rights treaties and their dissemination assume a consensus on basic human rights. However differing and sometimes opposing cultural and religious conceptions exist. Some communities attach importance to a liberal and individual understanding, whilst others on the involvement and obligation of the individual into the community. Making it difficult to define and implement core human rights treaties, which can be applied universally regardless of cultural and religious beliefs. Therefore, the examination goes further than an analysis by means of international law. It discusses the question, which justifications of human rights are existing within the cultures, what the contents of the present paradigms of justification - to which also the international human rights refer - are, and how an inherence of a core of human rights can be derived beyond cultural relativity. Rights that would consider equal conditions of human interaction, and examine the correlation of identity, structural violence and the state of need of the human being. The actualization of the justification of human rights is vital in the legal discourse to assimilate the conceptions about the rights of man. Controversial human rights situations like Guantánamo can only be resolved and avoided in the future, with continued intercultural dialogue, understanding of a common human identity, and celebration instead of condemnation of the inherent richness of differing cultural and religious values.