In this paper, a general classification of the modular robots is proposed, based on their topology and the type of connection between the modules. The locomotion capabilities of the sub-group of pitch-yaw connecting robots are analyzed. Five different gaits have been implemented and tested on a real robot composed of eight modules. One of them, rotating, has not been previously achieved. All ga...

A spatial pattern recognition algorithm is proposed to determine root causes of defects on semiconductor wafers by visually identifying regional defect point set patterns. The algorithm classifies defects into either random patterns or regional patterns. Four different types of regional patterns are identified: rings, blobs, lines and arcs. Ring and blob patterns are detected by template matchi...

One of the basic tenets of economics is that the mobility of labor and capital tends to equalize prices across markets. This tendency toward price convergence is particularly notable across regional markets in the United States. For as long as regional income data have been collected, per capita income and wage rates have generally become more alike. In light of this long-run trend, a surprisin...

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a very old and of great interest in pattern recognition field. In this paper, a new algorithm based on morphological structure is proposed for Arabic character recognition. Our proposed method uses center of mass calculation. It is invariant with the size, translation and rotation of the target image. In addition, topology-based landmarks like intersection...

A low level of genetic variation in mammalian populations where the census population size is relatively large has been attributed to various factors, such as a naturally small effective population size, historical bottlenecks and social behaviour. The killer whale (Orcinus orca) is an abundant, highly social species with reduced genetic variation. We find no consistent geographical pattern of ...

The aim of the present study was to assess the respective contributions of regional and socio-economic factors to dietary pattern. We used the data from the final MONICA (MONItoring of trends and determinants in Cardiovascular disease) population survey conducted in the three French centres in 1995-7 among a representative sample of 976 men aged 45-64 years. Dietary intake was assessed using a ...

We tested the hypothesis that different subsets of ischemia-induced wall motion disorders are characterized by specific patterns of abnormal regional left ventricular systolic function. Regional contraction was quantitatively assessed from two-dimensional echocardiograms by an automated integrative analysis considering the time course of wall motion during the entire contraction sequence in 20 ...

This paper examines the pattern of convergence in labour productivity across regions due to their ability to adopt technology. Whether regions exhibit a pattern of convergence depends on the degree to which infrastructure conditions are appropriate for the adoption of technological improvements. The ability of a region to adopt or create technology is reflected in the percentage of its labour f...