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Abstract is available through the XX IERASG Biennial Symposium.

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Après la démocratisation des robots industriels, la tendance actuelle est au développement de robots sociaux dont la fonction principale est l'interaction avec ses utilisateurs. Le déploiement de telles plate-formes dans des boutiques, des musées ou des gares relance différentes problématiques dont celle de la localisation pour les robots mobiles. Cette thèse traite ainsi de la localisation du robot Pepper en milieu intérieur non-contraint. Présent dans de nombreuses boutiques au Japon, Pepper est utilisé par des personnes non-expertes et doit donc être le plus autonome possible. Cependant, les solutions de localisation autonome de la littérature souffrent des limitations de la plate-forme. Les travaux de cette thèse s'articulent autour de deux grands axes. D'abord, le problème de la relocalisation dans un environnement visuellement redondant est étudié. La solution proposée consiste à combiner la vision et le Wi-Fi dans une approche probabiliste basée sur l'apparence. Ensuite, la question de la création d'une carte métrique cohérente est approfondie. Pour compenser les nombreuses pertes de suivi d'amers visuels causées par une fréquence d'acquisition basse, des contraintes odométriques sont ajoutées à une optimisation par ajustement de faisceaux. Ces solutions ont été testées et validées sur plusieurs robots Pepper à partir de données collectées dans différents environnements intérieurs sur plus de 7 km. / After the democratization of industrial robots, the current trend is the development of social robots that create strong interactions with their users. The deployment of such platforms in shops, museums or train stations raises various issues including the autonomous localization of mobile robots. This thesis focuses on the localization of Pepper robots in a non-constrained indoor environment. Pepper robots are daily used in many shops in Japan and must be as autonomous as possible. However, localization solutions in the literature suffer from the limitations of the platform. This thesis is split into two main themes. First, the problem of relocalization in a visually redundant environment is studied. The proposed solution combines vision and Wi-Fi in a probabilistic approach based on the appearance. Then, the question of a consistent metrical mapping is examined. In order to compensate the numerous losses of tracking caused by the low acquisition frequency, odometric constraints are added to a bundle adjustment optimization. These solutions have been tested and validated on several Pepper robots, from data collected in different indoor environments over more than 7 km.

High voltage testing of the stator winding insulation is one of the most recognized methods used to determine the state of degradation in the insulation. HV tests performed at 0.1 Hz do have potential advantages compared to more traditional 50 Hz tests. This thesis therefore aims to perform and compare tan delta, capacitance and partial discharge measurements on stator windings when using a 0.1 Hz voltage source and a more traditional 50 Hz voltage supply. Several associated test parameters with considerable influence on the test results were varied during the tests. An associated data analysis followed that was focused on the differences and similarities of the analyzed parameters and the results due to the differences in frequency. The results show that there are substantial levels of noise present in the partial discharge measurements when utilizing the VLF voltage source. There are also more numerous partial discharges for VLF measurements than for regular power frequency measurements if the same amount of voltage cycles is considered. The generated patterns show similarities with those generated at 50 Hz, but a larger sample base is probably needed for more thorough conclusions. The tan delta/capacitance part of the test do indicate potential advantages compared to power frequency measurements regarding the sensitivity in the measurements.

<p>In modern medicine, the measurement of electrophysiological signals play a key role in health monitoring and diagnostics. Electrical activity originating from our nerve and muscle cells conveys real-time information about our current health state. The two most common and actively used techniques for measuring such signals are electrocardiography (ECG) and electroencephalography (EEG).</p><p>These signals are very weak, reaching from a few millivolts down to tens of microvolts in amplitude, and have the majority of the power located at very low frequencies, from below 1 Hz up to 40 Hz. These characteristics sets very tough requirements on the electrical circuit designs used to measure them. Usually, measurement is performed by attaching electrodes with direct contact to the skin using an adhesive, conductive gel to fixate them. This method requires a clinical environment and is time consuming, tedious and may cause the patient discomfort.</p><p>This thesis investigates another method for such measurements; by using a non-contact, capacitively coupled sensor, many of these shortcomings can be overcome. While this method relieves some problems, it also introduces several design difficulties such as: circuit noise, extremely high input impedance and interference. A capacitively coupled sensor was created using the bottom layer of a printed circuit board (PCB) as a capacitor plate and placing it against the signal source, that acts as the opposite capacitor plate. The PCB solder mask layer and any air in between the two acts as the insulator to create a full capacitor. The signal picked up by this sensor was then amplified by 60 dB with a high input impedance amplifier circuit and further conditioned through filtering.</p><p>Two measurements were made of the same circuit, but with different input impedances; one with 10 MΩ and one with 10 GΩ input impedance. Additional filtering was designed to combat interference from the main power lines at 50 Hz and 150 Hz that was discovered during initial measurements. The circuits were characterized with their transfer functions, and the ability to amplify a very low-level, low frequency input signal. The results of these measurements show that high input impedance is of critical importance for the functionality of the sensor and that an input impedance of 10 GΩ is sufficient to produce a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 9.7 dB after digital filtering with an input signal of 25 μV at 10 Hz.</p>

Skeletal muscle is a heterogeneous, multinucleated, post-mitotic tissue that contains many functionally diverse fibre types that are capable of adjusting their phenotypic properties in response to altered contractile demands. This plasticity, or adaptability of skeletal muscle is largely dictated by variations in motoneuron firing patterns. For example, in response to increased tonic firing of slow motoneurons, which occurs during bouts of endurance training or chronic low-frequency stimulation (CLFS), skeletal muscle adapts by transforming from a faster to a slower phenotypic profile. CLFS is an animal model of endurance training that induces fast-to-slow fibre type transformations in the absence of fibre injury in the rat. The underlying signaling mechanisms regulating this fast-to-slow fibre type transformation, however, remain to be fully elucidated. It has been suggested that myogenic stem cells, termed satellite cells, may regulate and/or facilitate this transformational process. Therefore, the signaling mechanisms involved in CLFS-induced satellite cell activation as well as the role satellite cells may play in CLFS-induced skeletal muscle adaptation were investigated in rat. A pharmacological inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, was used to investigate CLFS-induced satellite cell activation in the absence of endogenous NO production. Results suggest that NO is required for early CLFS-induced satellite cell activation, but a yet-to-be defined pathway exists that is able to fully compensate in the absence of prolonged NO production. A novel method of satellite cell ablation (i.e. weekly focal γ-irradiation application) was used to investigate CLFS-induced skeletal muscle adaptation in the absence of a viable satellite cell population. Myosin heavy chain (MHC), an important structural and regulatory protein component of the contractile apparatus, was used as a cellular marker of the adaptive response to CLFS. Findings suggest that satellite cell activity may be required for early fast-to-slow MHC-based transformations to occur at the protein level without delay in the fast fibre population, and may also play an obligatory role in the final transformation from fast type IIA to slow type I fibres. Interestingly, additional results show that NO appears to be a key mediator of MHC isoform gene expression during CLFS-induced fast-to-slow fibre type transformations.

In modern medicine, the measurement of electrophysiological signals play a key role in health monitoring and diagnostics. Electrical activity originating from our nerve and muscle cells conveys real-time information about our current health state. The two most common and actively used techniques for measuring such signals are electrocardiography (ECG) and electroencephalography (EEG). These signals are very weak, reaching from a few millivolts down to tens of microvolts in amplitude, and have the majority of the power located at very low frequencies, from below 1 Hz up to 40 Hz. These characteristics sets very tough requirements on the electrical circuit designs used to measure them. Usually, measurement is performed by attaching electrodes with direct contact to the skin using an adhesive, conductive gel to fixate them. This method requires a clinical environment and is time consuming, tedious and may cause the patient discomfort. This thesis investigates another method for such measurements; by using a non-contact, capacitively coupled sensor, many of these shortcomings can be overcome. While this method relieves some problems, it also introduces several design difficulties such as: circuit noise, extremely high input impedance and interference. A capacitively coupled sensor was created using the bottom layer of a printed circuit board (PCB) as a capacitor plate and placing it against the signal source, that acts as the opposite capacitor plate. The PCB solder mask layer and any air in between the two acts as the insulator to create a full capacitor. The signal picked up by this sensor was then amplified by 60 dB with a high input impedance amplifier circuit and further conditioned through filtering. Two measurements were made of the same circuit, but with different input impedances; one with 10 MΩ and one with 10 GΩ input impedance. Additional filtering was designed to combat interference from the main power lines at 50 Hz and 150 Hz that was discovered during initial measurements. The circuits were characterized with their transfer functions, and the ability to amplify a very low-level, low frequency input signal. The results of these measurements show that high input impedance is of critical importance for the functionality of the sensor and that an input impedance of 10 GΩ is sufficient to produce a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 9.7 dB after digital filtering with an input signal of 25 μV at 10 Hz.

Low-frequency noise (LFN) is characterized using in-house measurement systems in a variety of SiGe HBT generations. As technology scales to improve the performance and integration level, a large low-frequency noise variation in small geometry SiGe HBTs is first observed in 90 GHz peak fT devices. The fundamental mechanism of this geometry dependent noise variation is thought to be the superposition of individual Lorentzian spectra due to the presence of G/R centers in the device. The observed noise variation is the result of a trap quantization effect, and is thus best described by number fluctuation theory rather than mobility fluctuation theory. This noise variation continues to be observed in 120 GHz and 210 GHz peak fT SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology. Interestingly, the noise variation in the 210 GHz technology generation shows anomalous scaling behavior below about 0.2-0.3um2 emitter geometry, where the noise variation rapidly decreases. Data shows that the collector current noise is no longer masked by the base current noise as it is in other technology generations, and becomes the dominant noise source in these tiny 210 GHz fT SiGe HBTs. The proton response of LFN in SiGe HBTs is also investigated in this thesis. The results show that the relative increase of LFN is minor in transistors with small emitter areas, but significant in transistors with large emitter areas after radiation. A noise degradation model is proposed to explain this observed geometry dependent LFN degradation. A 2-D LFN simulation is applied to SiGe HBTs for the first time in order to shed light on the physical mechanisms responsible for LFN. A spatial distribution of base current noise and collector current noise reveals the relevant importance of the physical locations of noise sources. The impact of LFN in SiGe HBTs on circuits is also examined. The impact of LFN variation on phase noise is demonstrated, showing VCOs with small geometry devices have relatively large phase noise variation across samples.

The increased need for electric power combined with an aging underground cable infrastructure in a deregulated market environment have forced utilities to refocus their attention on reliability while at the same time reducing maintenance costs as much as possible. This has created a significant need for diagnostic methods and technologies to assess the condition of the underground cable systems. However, while several cable diagnostic technologies are available, they have not all yet been fully accepted in the United States. This is because the different technologies lead to different conclusions for the same cable system, and thus utilities do not completely trust the conclusions. A better understanding of the diagnostic technologies and their correct application is therefore required. The most widely used diagnostic technologies in the United States include dissipation factor (Tan-delta and partial discharge measurements; these tests are therefore, the main focus of this thesis; in particular, when applied to underground extruded cable systems. The purpose of this research is to advance the field of characterization of power cable defects by addressing a number of theoretical and practical diagnostic measurements and their interpretation issues. The discussion is based on data from laboratory experiments and field tests. This thesis consists of two major parts. The first part is devoted to the characterization by Tan-delta measurements in which the major contribution is a new approach for condition assessment using this technology. The second part is devoted to the work on characterization by partial discharge measurements, and the major contribution is a novel approach that is able to analyze, evaluate, and reduce the number of partial discharge diagnostic features.