This thesis introduces a new measure of balance for bipedal robotics called the foot placement estimator (FPE). To develop this measure, stability first is defined for a simple biped. A proof of the stability of a simple biped in a controls sense is shown to exist using classical methods for nonlinear systems. With the addition of a contact model, an analytical solution is provided to define the bounds of the region of stability. This provides the basis for the FPE which estimates where the biped must step in order to be stable. By using the FPE in combination with a state machine, complete gait cycles are created without any precalculated trajectories. This includes gait initiation and termination. The bipedal model is then advanced to include more realistic mechanical and environmental models and the FPE approach is verified in a dynamic simulation. From these results, a 5-link, point-foot robot is designed and constructed to provide the final validation that the FPE can be used to provide closed-loop gait control. In addition, this approach is shown to demonstrate significant robustness to external disturbances. Finally, the FPE is shown in experimental results to be an unprecedented estimate of where humans place their feet for walking and jumping, and for stepping in response to an external disturbance.

This thesis introduces a new measure of balance for bipedal robotics called the foot placement estimator (FPE). To develop this measure, stability first is defined for a simple biped. A proof of the stability of a simple biped in a controls sense is shown to exist using classical methods for nonlinear systems. With the addition of a contact model, an analytical solution is provided to define the bounds of the region of stability. This provides the basis for the FPE which estimates where the biped must step in order to be stable. By using the FPE in combination with a state machine, complete gait cycles are created without any precalculated trajectories. This includes gait initiation and termination. The bipedal model is then advanced to include more realistic mechanical and environmental models and the FPE approach is verified in a dynamic simulation. From these results, a 5-link, point-foot robot is designed and constructed to provide the final validation that the FPE can be used to provide closed-loop gait control. In addition, this approach is shown to demonstrate significant robustness to external disturbances. Finally, the FPE is shown in experimental results to be an unprecedented estimate of where humans place their feet for walking and jumping, and for stepping in response to an external disturbance.

Szenarien mit Blended-Learning-Charakter sind Alltag an deutschen Hochschulen: Insbesondere durch die Verbreitung von Learning-Management- Systemen, in Sachsen namentlich „OPAL“, können Lehrveranstaltungen über die Präsenzveranstaltungen hinaus in nahezu allen Fachbereichen um computergestützte Lerneinheiten ergänzt werden. Nach der Etablierung von Web Based Trainings als typische digitale Ergänzungsmodule streben einige didaktische Konzepte die verstärkte Abstimmung von Präsenz- und Onlinephase an. In der jüngeren Zeit wurde vor allem die Idee des Flipped Classroom (auch Inverted Classroom genannt) diskutiert. Hierbei wird die traditionelle Aufteilung der Lehr-Lern-Aktivitäten, bei der die Wissensvermittlung in den Präsenzveranstaltungen und die Vertiefung des Gelernten in Übungen zu Hause stattfinden, vertauscht. Stattdessen erwerben die Studierenden das nötige Wissen online und im Vorfeld der Präsenzphase, in der dann mithilfe komplexer Beispiele und unter aktiver Einbeziehung der Studierenden das Verständnis gefestigt und durch den Lehrenden unterstützt angewendet werden kann. Auch die Großveranstaltung „Grundlagen der Wirtschaftsinformatik“ (GWI) an der TU Chemnitz soll im Übungsbetrieb durch ein Flipped-Classroom-Konzept verbessert werden. Hierfür werden bestehende Aufgaben mithilfe einer Fachlandkarte und der Bewertung der jeweiligen Lehrziele zu einem Online-Materialien-Pool aufgebaut. Die Präsenzphase soll zur stärkeren Einbeziehung der Studierenden in Form eines aktiven Plenums abgehalten werden.

In this thesis, the studies mainly focus on recent trends in novel MIMO antennas for indoor wireless communication system. Firstly, we propose a novel MIMO antenna for access-point application. This proposed antenna can reduce the lateral length of the conventional access-point antenna for MIMO application. Then, we present MIMO antenna designs for mobile devices such as PDA phones and laptop computers. Although these two devices are of different configurations, the PIFAs are applicable in these two devices, and their design rules are basically the same. Thus, for this study, the design consideration of the MIMO antenna will focus on S-parameter analysis. Detailed antenna designs and experimental results are presented and discussed in this thesis.

In this dissertation, thin internal antennas for mobile communication devices with a total thickness of less than 10 mm are proposed. There are mainly two differences in the antenna¡¦s construction between the proposed thin internal antennas and conventional planar inverted-F antenna. The first proposed antenna for thin internal antenna is a combo type formed by combining the conventional inverted-F antenna with the monopole antenna. The second proposed antenna is obtained by integrating two radiating arms into a radiating patch. By adjusting the tapering angle and the direction of the end portions, thin internal planar antenna with a thickness of less than 4 mm can be successfully achieved. In these two antennas, their Q-value can be lowered, and then the impedance bandwidth can be effectively improved. This kind of thin internal antennas not only has good impedance matching but also shows good radiation performance. Additionally, by adding a vertical metal wall acting as a RF shielding wall, EM fringing fields between the thin internal EMC antenna and nearby metal components can be effectively supressed. This kind of EMC antennas can effectively eliminate the isolation distance between the antenna and nearby conducting elements to increase the available space on the printed circuit board for additional functions. Besides, multi-band operation is another important function in current mobile devices. In this dissertation, we also studied the effects of the plastic casing and the user¡¦s hand and head on the antenna charateristics. For studying the antenna with the presence of the user¡¦s hand and head, the simulation model provided by SPEAG simulation software SEMCAD is used. From the results obtained, it is seen that the frequency detuning is greatly dependent on the presence of the user¡¦s hand and head. Owing to the presence of the user¡¦s hand and head, large decrease in the radiation efficiency is seen. It also indicates that the radiation efficiency decrease and radiation pattern distortion are mainly owing to the radiation power absorption by the user¡¦s hand and head.

Pronking is a legged locomotory gait in which all legs are used in synchrony, usually resulting in slow speeds but long flight phases and large jumping heights that may potentially be useful for mobile robots locomoting in cluttered natural environments. Instantiations of this gait for robotic systems suffer from severe pitch instability either due to underactuated leg designs, or the open-loop nature of proposed controllers. Nevertheless, both the kinematic simplicity of this gait and its dynamic nature suggest that the Spring-Loaded Inverted Pendulum Model (SLIP), a very successful predictive model for both natural and robotic runners, would be a good basis for more robust and maneuverable robotic pronking. In the scope of thesis, we describe a novel controller to achieve stable and controllable pronking for a planar, underactuated hexapod model, based on the idea of &ldquo / template-based control&rdquo / , a controller structure based on the embedding of a simple dynamical template within a more complex anchor system. In this context, high-level control of the gait is regulated through speed and height commands to the SLIP template, while the embedding controller based on approximate inverse-dynamics and carefully designed passive robot morphology ensures the stability of the remaining degrees of freedom. We show through extensive simulation experiments that unlike existing open-loop alternatives, the resulting control structure provides stability, explicit maneuverability and significant robustness against sensor noise.

There are large groundplane variations for the folder-type mobile phone in the talk and idle conditions, which makes its embedded antennas not easy to maintain good radiation characteristics in the two states. The radiation efficiencies in the idle condition are often less than 15%. To solve this problem, two novel antennas for the folder-type mobile phone are proposed. The first antenna is the coplanar coupled-fed planar inverted-F antenna. The antenna can cover GSM850/900/DCS/PCS operation in the talk condition, and the radiation efficiencies over the desired operating bands in the idle condition is larger than 32%, which is acceptable for practical applications for the folder-type mobile phone. The second antenna is the ultra-wideband coupled-fed loop antenna. The antenna can cover GSM850/900/DCS/PCS/UMTS penta-band operation in the talk condition. In the idle condition, good performances over the five operating bands can still be obtained, and the radiation efficiencies are better than 53%. The effects of the housing and the user's hand and head on the antenna are also studied. From the obtained results, it is seen that the effects of the housing on the radiation efficiencies are small. However, since the user's hand and head are high-loss materials, large decrease in the radiation efficiencies is usually observed.

An Inverted double pendulum is a combination of two individual pendulums which represents an example of a nonlinear and unstable dynamic system and it is also a good example of a physical system which can exhibit chaotic behavior.This document contains a first analysis of the model and the control of this system. Also presented is the installation of the electrical materials needed to control the system contain instrumenting the motor, current measurement system, motor shaft angle sensor, vision systemand MYRIO which is an embedded hardware device created by National Instruments will be used for data acquisition and control the system

The main objective of this research is to design, model and implement several antenna geometries using electromagnetic band gap (EBG) material and a defected ground plane. Several antenna applications are addressed with the aim of improving performance, particularly the mutual coupling between the elements. The EBG structures have the unique capability to prevent or assist the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a specific band of frequencies, and have been incorporated here in antenna structures to improve patterns and reduce mutual coupling in multielement arrays. A neutralization technique and defected ground plane structures have also been investigated as alternative approaches, and may be more practical in real applications. A new Uni-planar Compact EBG (UC-EBG) formed from a compact unit cell was presented, giving a stop band in the 2.4 GHz WLAN range. Dual band forms of the neutralization and defected ground plane techniques have also been developed and measured. The recorded results for all antenna configurations show good improvement in terms of the mutual coupling effect. The MIMO antenna performance with EBG, neutralization and defected ground of several wireless communication applications were analysed and evaluated. The correlation coefficient, total active reflection coefficient (TARC), channel capacity and capacity loss of the array antenna were computed and the results compared to measurements with good agreement. In addition, a computational method combining Genetic Algorithm (GA) with surface meshing code for the analysis of a 2×2 antenna arrays on EBG was developed. Here the impedance matrix resulting from the meshing analysis is manipulated by the GA process in order to find the optimal antenna and EBG operated at 2.4 GHz with the goal of targeting a specific fitness function. Furthermore, an investigation of GA on 2×2 printed slot on DGS was also done.

Σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής είναι ο έλεγχος ενός ανάστροφου εκκρεμούς φορτίου πλατφόρμας-σφαίρας (cart-ball) με χρήση ασαφούς ελέγχου ο οποίος υλοποιείται σε ηλεκτρονικό υπολογιστή στο περιβάλλον προγραμματισμού National Instruments LabVIEW 2009. Το φυσικό σύστημα αποτελείται από μία μεταλλική πλατφόρμα σταθερά προσδεδεμένη σε ένα γραμμικό άξονα της εταιρίας FESTO. Για την κίνηση του άξονα χρησιμοποιείται τριφασικός ηλεκτρικός σερβοκινητήρας, επίσης της FESTO, ο έλεγχος του οποίου γίνεται με χρήση ειδικού προγραμματιζόμενου ελεγκτή της ίδιας εταιρίας. Πάνω στην μεταλλική πλατφόρμα έχει τοποθετηθεί μία αψίδα παράλληλη στη διεύθυνση κίνησης της πλατφόρμας. Πάνω στην αψίδα έχουν δημιουργηθεί δύο οδηγοί επικαλυμμένοι με σκόνη γραφίτη σε μορφή κόλλας, η οποία τους κάνει ηλεκτρικά αγώγιμους. Ο ένας από τους οδηγούς έχει τάση 10V στα άκρα του ενώ το ένα άκρο του άλλου αγωγού είναι γειωμένο. Στόχος του αυτομάτου ελέγχου είναι να ισορροπήσει πάνω στην αψίδα μία μεταλλική σφαίρα. Η μεταλλική σφαίρα βραχυκυκλώνει τους δύο αγώγιμους οδηγούς και κατ' αυτό τον τρόπο, με την αρχή του ροοστάτη, λαμβάνεται η θέση της σφαίρας. Η μέτρηση της τιμής της θέσης της σφαίρας όπως και η θέση και η ταχύτητα της πλατφόρμας, οι οποίες λαμβάνονται από τον ελεγκτή του κινητήρα, εισάγονται στον υπολογιστή, μέσω ειδικής κάρτας Εισόδου/Εξόδου (Ε/Ε) της εταιρίας National Instruments, όπου λαμβάνονται από το LabVIEW και οδηγούνται στον ασαφή ελεγκτή που υλοποιείται στο ίδιο πρόγραμμα. Η ταχύτητα της σφαίρας λαμβάνεται επίσης υπ' όψιν στον αυτόματο έλεγχο και προκύπτει στο LabVIEW από παραγώγιση της θέσης της σφαίρας. Το ασαφές σύστημα αποτελείται από πέντε συναρτήσεις συμμετοχής για τη μεταβλητή της θέσης, τρεις συναρτήσεις συμμετοχής για τη μεταβλητή της ταχύτητας και εφτά συναρτήσεις συμμετοχής για την έξοδο του ελεγκτή που εκφράζει την επιθυμητή ταχύτητα της πλατφόρμας. Ο συμπερασμός γίνεται με χρήση 22 κανόνων. Η έξοδος του ασαφούς ελεγκτή εκφράζεται με μια τιμή από -10V έως +10V. Η έξοδος από τον ασαφή ελεγκτή οδηγείται πάλι μέσω της ειδικής κάρτας Ε/Ε στον προγραμματιζόμενο ελεγκτή του κινητήρα της FESTO ο οποίος ελέγχει κατάλληλα το ρεύμα τυλίγματος του κινητήρα ώστε να επιτευχθεί η επιθυμητή ταχύτητα. Η περίοδος του ελέγχου είναι 100 ms. Τα αποτελέσματα του ελέγχου του πιο πάνω συστήματος κρίνονται γενικά ικανοποιητικά δεδομένης της ισχυρής αστάθειας που το χαρακτηρίζει. / The subject of the thesis is the automatic control of an inverted pendulum consisting of a cart and a ball. We used fuzzy control to balance the ball on top of an arch. The controller was created in LabView 2009.