This paper presents a millimeters scale omni-directional mobile microrobot with special dual-wheel structure. The microrobot was actuated by three electromagnetic micromotors of 2mm diameter. Dynamic analysis of translational and steering movements presented the relationship between the sizes of the dual-wheel structure and the output torque of the micromotor. Genetic algorithm (GA) was employe...

The use of directional antenna in wireless ad hoc networks largely reduces radio interference, thereby improving the utilization of wireless medium and consequently the network throughput, as compared to omnidirectional antenna, where nodes in the vicinity of communication are kept silent. In this context, researchers usually assume that the gain of directional antennas is equal to the gain of ...

A wheelchair with omni-directional wheel is introduced in this article. Two kinds of omni-directional wheel, Mecanum wheel and Trans wheel, are illustrated and their motion principles were analyzed. Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) is adopted to implement the real-time customization and motion simulation. In the realtime customization process, the color of some parts of the wheelchair c...

ABSTRACT In this paper, we describe a design and construction method for an omni directional vision system and how to use it on autonomous robots for object detection, localization and also collision avoidance in middle size league of RoboCup. This vision system uses two mirrors, a flat and a hyperbolic one. The flat mirror is used for detecting very close objects around the robot body, moreove...

This paper proposes a novel method for estimating depth from long-baseline image sequences captured by a precalibrated moving omni-directional multi-camera system (OMS). Our idea for estimating an omni-directional depth map is very simple; only counting interest points in images is integrated with the framework of conventional multibaseline stereo. Even by a simple algorithm, depth can be deter...

We show that disorder-induced interaction between guided modes and a flat band of low-Q radiating modes in planar arrays of dielectric particles can lead to frequency-selective omni-directional scattering of light. This phenomenon is numerically observed in planar arrays consisting of periodically arranged dielectric particles with small randomness in particle sizes. The flat band of low-Q radi...

In previous studies, an omni-directional walker was developed for walking rehabilitation. Walking training programs are stored in the walker so that rehabilitation can be carried out without a physical therapist. However, the walker sometimes strays from the predefined path because of center-of-gravity shifts and load changes. It is necessary for the walker to precisely follow the paths defined...

We present a robust and portable visual-based skin and face detection system developed for use in a multiple speaker teleconferencing system, employing both audio and video cues. An omni-directional video sensor is used to provide a view of the entire visual hemisphere, thereby allowing for multiple dynamic views of all the participants. Regions of skin are detected using simple statistical met...

For a wireless mesh network with randomly placed devices, we analyze the impact of beamforming on the statistics of the signal attenuation, interference, and SIR between devices. We show that simple random direction beamforming performs equally well as omni-directional transmission if no MAC layer is present. Optimized beamforming between transmitter-receiver pairs yields a much better SIR than...