n this dissertation a comparison of two evolutionary methods for evolving ANNs for robot control is made. The methods compared are SANE with enforced sub-population and delta-coding, and marker-based encoding. In an attempt to speed up evolution, marker-based encoding is extended with delta-coding. The task selected for comparison is the hunter-prey task. This task requires the robot controller to posess some form of memory as the prey can move out of sensor range.

The resting area is the most important place in the barn for the dairy cow, sometimes called the heart of the free stall system. Inadequate design of the lying area, and lack of or poor quality of bedding materials may reduce the hygiene of the stall. Poor management regarding the cleanliness of the resting area may lead to poor animal hygiene and increased bacterial growth. This in turn will lead to increased risk for environmental mastitis as well as impairing milk quality through contamination with spores. In this literature study the most commonly used bedding materials; straw, sawdust, wood shavings, clean sand, recycled sand, peat and recycled manure solids, are compared to one another with regards to their ability to resist bacterial growth. Effects of adding hydrated lime to bedding materials have also been studied. Most bacteria need humidity and prefer a quite high water activity to be able to grow.

The thesis demonstrates a low-cost, low-bandwidth and low-resolution Analog-to- Digital Converter(ADC) in 0.35 um CMOS Process. A second-order Sigma-Delta modulator is used as the basis of the A/D Converter. A Semi-Uniform quantizer is used with the modulator to take advantage of input distributions that are dominated by smaller-amplitude signals e.g. Audio, Voice and Image-sensor signals. A Single-bit feedback topology is used with a multi-bit quantizer in the modulator.

Serpula lacrymans infestation has become an increasingly common problem, and is usually perceived as a tip of an iceberg.During the 21st century there has been a perceived increase of damage caused by serpula lacrymans, at AB Mats Fransson Saneringstjänst ? Anticimex in the county of Kronoberg. A similar increase has also been noted by employees at the offices in Kalmar, Karlstad, Piteå, Stockholm, Malmö, Söderhamn, Halmstad and Visby.The methods used to collect data for the project has been interviews with a number, for the project, relevant key persons, such as analysis engineers at Trygghansa and Anticimex, as well as personnel at the botanical institution at Gothenburg University and the Botaniska Analysgruppen in Gothenburg, further statistics from SMHI and analyses of reported instances of infestations have been used.The majority of the people interviewed believe that the increase is caused by renovations of old houses, higher precipitation during the summer months, as well as a moister climate and warmer winters. The latter can also be gleaned from statistics from SMHI concerning temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity.Analysed damage reports show that the most common cause for the infestation is ground moisture, even when combined wooden materials.Older houses that where built around 1900 are the ones most frequently infested with serpula lacrymans. The part of the building most frequently infested is the foundation, where cellars and suspended foundation are the most common types to be infested.

Det finns idag goda möjligheter att beröringsfritt kontrollera elektroniska objekt. Ett exempel är belysning som aktiveras via rörelsesensorer.Enkla lösningar innehåller oftast sensorer för ljud, ljus eller rörelse vilka används för att aktivera ett styrobjekt, vanligen genom att slå på eller av en elektronisk strömbrytare kopplad till styrobjektet. Behövs det mer säkerhet och möjlighet att bevisa för styrobjektet vem individen är som försöker få styrobjektets uppmärksamhet behövs det mer än en enkel sensor. Det behövs en anpassning för att separera olika bluetoothenheter från varandra. Bluetooth är en teknik för att trådlöst skicka information mellan två enheter.

This report describes the design and implementation of a multi-master, packet based protocol for small and tiny microcontrollers where resources are limited. The protocol was named "Tiny Controller Network" or TCN for short. The protocol is meant mainly as a control bus for automation and sensor acquisition applications but due to its flexibility can also be used for other purposes as well. It borrows some of its functionality and design ideas from the well known CAN bus and Modbus but also has a number of major differences like the use of standard hardware and time synchronisation. One of the key aspects during the design was the use of very little system resources and common on-chip hardware peripherals like a UART.

Lagen säger att man inte får uppföra byggnader så att det riskerar människors hälsa. Trots detta uppförs byggnader så att ohälsa uppstår för de boende. Arbetet behandlar hur man i ett byggprojekt arbetar med fuktsäkring. Syftet är att undersöka hur man i projektet arbetar med att fuktsäkra byggnaderna. Målet är att lyfta fram var i processen det finns risker när det gäller fuktsäkring, och även ge förslag till förbättringar av arbetet med fuktsäkringen.

The purpose of this work is to design and construct a device able to measure the mechanical attrition of oxygen carrier particles. Those particles are used in chemical looping combustion and in the present situation there is a lack of knowledge in how the attrition process work and in which extension. To find already tested solutions trying to answering this problem a literature study wascarried out and the best solution found was the so called Grace-Davison Jet-Cup method. This method is supposed to emulate the attrition caused by a cyclone separator and its advantages are that it is possible to use small test amounts, 5-10 g, and a thirty minutes long test will be enough to acquire useable results. An device was designed based on the Jet-Cup method with some slight modifications.

This report describes the design and implementation of a multi-master, packet based protocol for small and tiny microcontrollers where resources are limited. The protocol was named "Tiny Controller Network" or TCN for short. The protocol is meant mainly as a control bus for automation and sensor acquisition applications but due to its flexibility can also be used for other purposes as well. It borrows some of its functionality and design ideas from the well known CAN bus and Modbus but also has a number of major differences like the use of standard hardware and time synchronisation. One of the key aspects during the design was the use of very little system resources and common on-chip hardware peripherals like a UART.

In the pulp industry, digesters are used to disolve lignin in wood chips. The concentration of lignin is measured and is called the Kappa number. In this thesis, the question of whether an online Kappa sensor, taking samples from the mid-phase of the digester, is useful or not is analyzed. For the samples to be useful, there has to be a relationship between the measured Kappa at the mid- phase and the measured Kappa in the blowpipe at the bottom of the digester. An ARX model of the lower part of the digester has been estimated.

AASS (Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems, Centrum för Tillämpade Autonoma Sensorsystem) arbetar med forskning inom autonoma system. Deras stora användningsområden är utveckling av automatiska system till fordonsindustrin samt system till äldrevården.AASS, har ett önskemål om en enklare modell av en CNC fräs för enklare fräsning till bland annat prototyptillverkning. Fokus ska ligga på kostnaden då precisionen inte är av största intresse.Uppdraget innebär att ta fram en konstruktion av en cnc- router med tre axlar med ett arbetsrum på 600x450x150mm. Maskinen ska kunna skära i mjuka material som trä, plaster men även mjukare aluminium.Resultatet är en tre axlig cnc- router som drivs av tre stycken stepmotorer som är kopplade till respektive kulskruv. Cnc routern har ett arbetsrum på cirka 600x450x150mm.

An often encountered problem when implementing a mass flow regulator in a rolling mill is the one with measurement of speed. The most widely used solution is to fit a pulse counter to a wheel that is in contact with the strip. Common problems with this design are for instance scratch marks on the strip and problems with the flatness measuring system.  One way of circumventing the aforementioned problems would be a non-contact measuring system. The market of today only offers systems based on the Doppler principle.This report evaluates three different systems for non-contact speed measurement. Important areas in the evaluation have been the ability to operate under normal rolling conditions, integration in existing control system and how well the sensor can be fitted to the rolling mill.

An often encountered problem when implementing a mass flow regulator in a rolling mill is the one with measurement of speed. The most widely used solution is to fit a pulse counter to a wheel that is in contact with the strip. Common problems with this design are for instance scratch marks on the strip and problems with the flatness measuring system.  One way of circumventing the aforementioned problems would be a non-contact measuring system. The market of today only offers systems based on the Doppler principle.This report evaluates three different systems for non-contact speed measurement. Important areas in the evaluation have been the ability to operate under normal rolling conditions, integration in existing control system and how well the sensor can be fitted to the rolling mill.

This bachelor degree project was carried out at Saab AB Service and Repair, Arboga, Sweden. The objective was to design, construct and implement a new stable and reliable method of measuring the continuous vertical displacement (height) of the military search radar PS861 mounted on a hydraulic powered elevator. The end product needs to be durable enough to be fully operational in the harsh environment of an outdoor elevator shaft and yet as accurate and precise as possible since one of its purposes is to calibrate control equipment. Previously used technique has proven not to meet any of the above mentioned properties.A prototype using a high resolution quadrature output rotary encoder has been developed, allowing a completely digital interface. This new method has been evaluated in laboratory environment where tests have been conducted regarding both reliability and validity.

The surface finishing technique called black oxidation is currently being used on thetool holders made of low alloyed tool steel produced by Sandvik Coromant. Blackoxidation isn?t considered a sufficient technique because it doesn?t make the toolholders look like the quality products that they actually are. The reasoning behind thisis that the tool holders can show signs of corrosion after prolonged storing times orin countries with high humidity and temperature. The corrosion doesn?t decrease thetool holders performance, but the customers might believe otherwise.