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This paper addresses the control problem of a specially designed nonlinear actuator intended for use in legged robots and other related mechatronic devices. Use of this drive could considerably increase energy efficiency and the time of autonomous robot operation. Nevertheless, the highly nonlinear model of the actuator and the unavailability of part of the state for measurement pose considerable
This work presents the design, fabrication and mechanical characterisation of an integrated optical read-out scheme for cantilever-based biosensors. A cantilever can be used as a biosensor by monitoring its bending caused by the surface stress generated due to chemical reactions occurring on its surface. Here, we present a novel integrated optical read-out scheme based on single-mode waveguides th
In this paper, a new distributed space-frequency coding (DSFC) scheme, for broadband fading relay channels is presented. This scheme exhibits a spatial and a multipath diversity in a distributed fashion. An upper-bound on the pairwise error probability (PEP) is derived. From this PEP bound, it is shown that the proposed coding scheme achieves a diversity of order NL , where N is the number of rela
How can Asian Encounters help expose blind spots in sociological research? During its 27th biannual conference, the Nordic Sociological Association (NSA) hosted the panel discussion Asian Encounters – Exposing or creating blind spots? Building on the theme of the conference – Exploring blind spots, the panel discussed the drawbacks and merits of studying Asia, as well as encounters between Asia
This paper analyses how disaster risk management paradigms have gradually developed since the 1960s, shaped by practical experience of—and the debate about—the rising number of disasters, growing urbanization, and changing climatic conditions. In this context, climate change is shown as driving an urban pro-poor adaptation agenda, which could allow current shortcomings in urban risk reduction to b
This paper discusses food security and the African food crisis. By means of data from a survey of over 3000 farm households in eight sub-Saharan countries, the authors conclude that food security requires a broad integration of smallholders in the market. Subsistence orientation does not promote food security, while seed fertilizer technology does. Market integration of maize producers seems to be
