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Describes the above-named upcoming special issue or section. May include topics to be covered or calls for papers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes an algorithm for disaster avoidance control against heavy rainfall. According to weather information, the algorithm reconfigures a logical network (slice), including the migration of virtual machines (VMs), to avoid disasters. It was applied to a nationwide network of 105 nodes and 140 edges, including cases with more than 10 000 slices. Through numerical simulations using actual data of rainfall that caused significant damage in Japan, we found that the probability of service disruption under the proposed control with suitable parameter settings is 10%–30% of that without control, on average. Our proposed control experimental system is implemented by using the software-defined network technology. It can migrate VMs and estimates VM migration time to determine how many VMs should be migrated. By using the experimental system, we found that the control interval has an optimal value, which depends on the management system processing capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, population aging and declining birth rate have become very serious, and people who lack walking capability have truly increased in Japan. To address this issue, gait training has become a requirement for them. Although some training systems have been researched in the past, a training system that entails guidance of walking has not been researched well. This paper focuses on guidance of walking, and it is aimed to develop a training system that utilizes the activity and passivity of the trainee. In addition, rhythmic walking, which takes walking stability and trainee safety into account, is aimed for. In this paper, an improved electric wheelchair is used as gait-training equipment (GTE); then, the trainee is towed by the GTE, and walking is guided. In this paper, a targeted walking cycle is predefined, and the GTE must distinguish the cycle in order to guide walking. Therefore, this paper uses the center of gravity (COG) of the trainee as the index. Thus, the GTE tows the trainee when the swing leg moves more forward than the stance leg; then, rhythmic walking can be guided. In addition, this paper proposes a method to control the GTE by a proportional-differential controller based on virtual compliance that is composed of mass, spring, and damper. The gait training can be safely achieved by deciding the desired position and velocity of the GTE from the tow force through virtual compliance. In this paper, the validity of the proposed method is verified by numerical simulation and experiment. The validity of the proposed system is verified by using a four-link robot whose geometric expression is known as the trainee; then, the application of the proposed method will be extended to a human trainee by only adjusting the parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its beginning in 1992 in Japan, International Symposium on Semiconductor Manufacturing (ISSM) has provided unique opportunities to share the best practices of semiconductor manufacturing technologies for professionals. At the symposiums, semiconductor manufacturing professionals discussed the technologies developed to meet the worldwide requirements for advanced manufacturing. It is becoming crucial to re-examine semiconductor manufacturing in terms of fundamental principles to improve the performance of semiconductor devices. Moreover, utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to improve semiconductor manufacturing have become a new challenge. These manufacturing technology challenges are showing the need for drastic revolutionary concept and stronger collaborative efforts to find solutions to the precompetitive challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with conventional porcelain bushings, polymeric ones are light and therefore possess improved seismic performance. They are also explosion proof with no scattering when broken and are highly stain resistant. In particular, the polymeric bushings coated with silicone rubber show good voltage resistance performance, even when covered with salt deposits. That is, by covering the surface with silicone rubber, the hydrophobic nature of the polymer bushing becomes excellent. This reduces the risk of the occurrence of surface arc discharges and flashovers. Therefore, as shown in Figure 1, the length of a typical polymer bushing insulated with pressurized SF6 can be reduced significantly compared with a conventional porcelain bushing insulated with oil-impregnated paper (OIP) of the same voltage class. The weight can be reduced drastically as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct observation of lightning current is a fundamental approach to evaluating lightning parameters, which are among the most basic factors for the lightning protection design of various grounded objects. However, for a tall grounded structure, upward lightning flashes initiated from the top of the structure have usually been observed, and the direct observation results of downward flashes have been limited. We developed and installed a pair of Rogowski coils at Tokyo Skytree, which is a 634-m-high freestanding broadcasting tower in Japan (35.71°N, 139.81°E), and have conducted direct observation of lightning flashes striking the tower. As of November 2018, 70 lightning flashes striking the tower, 26 downward and 44 upward, have been observed since the end of February 2012. In this paper, we focus on the downward negative flashes that occurred at the tower for seven years from 2012 to 2018 and report on the observed results of typical waveform parameters of lightning stroke currents in comparison with other observed results on downward negative flashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a series of articles related to papers presented at the 2003 Symposium on VLSI Circuits, which was held at the Rihga Royal Hotel, Kyoto, Japan during June 12-14, 2003, published in the April 2004 issue of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits. The 2003 Technical Program Committees of the Symposium selected 77 papers to be presented. These papers covered a vast scope of digital, analog, memory, signal processing, and wireless and wire-line communication circuits.

In recent years, there have been several reports of blade damage caused by lightning strikes on wind turbines. A few of these accidents have resulted in more serious secondary damage owing to the continued rotation of the damaged blades. To prevent the initial damage from spreading in this manner, wind farms in the regions of Japan vulnerable to winter lightning were required to introduce lightning detection systems, which can accurately detect when lightning strikes the wind turbine and then immediately stop the rotation of the blades. Normally, when the system detects a lightning strike to a wind turbine and stops operation, the process of restarting is initiated only after the soundness of the blades is confirmed by visual inspection. However, in bad weather, it is often difficult to check the soundness of the blade visually, and the resulting delay in the restart process prolongs the downtime and reduces the availability of the wind turbine. In this paper, we report the results of using the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system data to check the soundness of the blades after a lightning strike to resume operations more quickly, thereby increasing up-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article calls for papers for the 2012 International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (ISAP 2012) that will be held in Nagoya, Japan, from October 29 to November 2, 2012.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses an article on the results of the binary feedback control system, an article on the correlation of cavitation and temperature rise in therapeutic ultrasound, and the International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) to be held on June 2010 in Tokyo, Japan.

Highlights the 9th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference in Tsukuba, Japan. Papers presented; Spacecraft-plasma interactions; Space plasma science instrumentation.

In this paper, we present a prototype transmitter and receiver with set partitioning (SP)-64 amplitude and phase shift keying (APSK) coded modulation we developed for expanding satellite transmission capacity. SP-multi-level coded modulation is a transmission scheme that can improve noise immunity by properly combining a modulation scheme, bit allocation, and error-correction codes. We designed SP-64APSK coded modulation on the basis of channel capacity for expanding satellite transmission capacity. We confirmed that it has higher robustness to additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) than DVB-S2X’s 64APSK modulation with Gray mapping through computer simulation. We also developed a prototype transmitter and receiver to implement our SP-64APSK coded modulation and evaluated its transmission performances in an AWGN channel and in a non-linear channel simulating 12-GHz-band satellite transponder characteristics. We describe the method of designing our SP-64APSK coded modulation through computer simulation, the modulation/demodulation process, and transmission performances of the prototype transmitter and receiver. We also indicate that 8K ultra-high definition television (UHDTV) with an encoded bit rate of 150 Mbps can be transmitted using the prototype within 34.5 MHz, which is the bandwidth of a single transponder for satellite broadcasting in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatal accidents caused by electric shock have been occurring since electricity was first introduced. Overall, the number of fatal accidents is decreasing. However, the decrease in the number of fatalities has slowed in recent years. A statistical study is needed to reconsider the preventive measures against these accidents. In this paper, the trend of fatalities by accident type and industry in Japan is studied statistically. These results show that the electric fatality rates differ by industry. The fatalities in the construction and the electrical-construction industries make up approximately 60% of the total fatalities. In addition, the accident type is most frequently contact with electrical lines by either the human body or a tool. In these industries, the elimination of fatal accidents from shocks is an important subject. These results will be helpful in preventing fatal accidents by electric shock. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The low-level RF (LLRF) control system for the rapid cycling synchrotron of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex started its operation in 2007. The key functions of the LLRF control system are the dual-harmonic auto voltage control, which generates the superposed voltages of the fundamental accelerating harmonic and the second harmonic in a single wideband magnetic alloy (MA) cavity, and the multiharmonic RF feedforward to compensate the beam loading in the MA cavity caused by high-intensity beams. These functions are necessary to accelerate high-intensity proton beams. The system has been working well without major problems for more than ten years. However, the old field-programmable gate arrays (Xilinx Virtex-II pro and others) are discontinued and not supported by the current development environment. It will be difficult to maintain the system in a near future. Thus, we are planning to replace the existing Versa Module Europa (VME)-based LLRF control system with a new MicroTCA.4-based system. The system controls 12 cavities independently and calculates the vector sum of the cavity voltages in real time for phase feedback. Signal and data transfer between the modules is a key to realize the functions. In the existing system, the transfer is implemented not only using the backplane but also serial link via cables between the VME modules. It is much more simplified in the new system thanks to the high-speed communication capability of the MicroTCA.4 backplane. In this paper, we describe the configuration of the system under development, the implemented functions, and the preliminary test results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the accurate composition ratio of scattering mechanisms (volume scattering, double-bounce scattering, and surface scattering) within a radar backscatter is essential to validate current polarimetric decomposition techniques. Multiincidence angle and multipolarimetric synthetic aperture radar (MIMP SAR) observations at the X- and L-bands were applied to rice paddies at late vegetative stage in Niigata City in Japan in 2014 and 2016, respectively. In this paper, multifrequency MIMP SAR analysis is introduced based on the observation results. The approach, combined with theoretical characterization of the data by a discrete scatterer model, showed that rice panicles affect the backscatter from rice paddies. Contrary to expectation, an effect of transmissivity by using different bands is not obvious. The similar level of copolarization (HH and VV) backscatter at X- and L-bands could be explained by the effective size of rice panicles. They are the most characteristic scatters in rice paddy field with respect to multiple frequency polarimetric sensing. In addition, HV shows a distinct sensitivity to the mean orientation angle and the size of panicles regardless of the wavelength. The mean orientation angle affects the polarimetric randomness under azimuthal symmetry, whereas the size of panicles directly affects the attenuation of the volume scattering from the grains. The multifrequency MIMP SAR analysis also indicated the importance of considering the backscatter and attenuation in the interpretation of the backscattering cross section from vegetated fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unusual negative lightning flash was recorded at the Säntis Tower on June 15, 2012. The flash did not contain an initial continuous current typical of upward negative lightning, which is the most common type of event at the Säntis Tower. The flash contained four strokes, the last three of which were normal while the current associated with the first stroke resembled a Gaussian pulse with an unusually high peak value of 102.3 kA, a long risetime of 28.4 μs, and a pulsewidth of 53.8 μs, which was followed by an opposite polarity overshoot with a peak value of 8.5 kA. Our current records suggest the involvement of a long upward connecting positive leader in response to the approaching downward negative leader in the formation of this flash. Lightning location system (LLS) data indicate that a positive cloud-to-ground stroke occurred 1 ms prior to the first stroke of the flash. In this paper, we present a detailed description of the data associated with this event. Moreover, both a return stroke model and an M-component model are used to reproduce the far-field waveform of this bipolar stroke. The simulations result in a radiated electric field waveform that is similar to those of large bipolar events (LBEs) observed in winter thunderstorms in Japan. A sensitivity analysis of the used simulation models reveals that, by proper selection of the input parameters, all field waveform characteristics, except for the positive half-cycle width, can be made to fall in the range of LBE field characteristics reported in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to provide general information about the experiences of numerical relay operation under many different kinds of surges from switchyards in Japan. The main focus of this paper is to investigate the immunity of numerical relays against a switching surge with relatively high frequency in a gas-insulated substation that is considered to be severe for the relay's correct operation. It is concluded that the reliability of today's numerical relays in Japan against the switching surge is almost sufficient due to the effectiveness of the immunity test standard adopted and countermeasures against the switching surge in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the guest editors discusses various research papers selected from the Very-Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) Circuits symposium on advancements in semiconductor industry that was held in Kyoto, Japan from June 12 to 14, 2013.

Modern society is supported by various technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence), IoT (internet of things), 5G (fifth generation technology standard for cellular networks), etc. Indispensable key components within these technologies are, of course sensors that detect and monitor various physical, chemical, and biological parameters. To monitor mechanical movements, such as vibration and bending, piezoelectric materials can effectively be used. Piezoelectricity is a phenomenon that is observed in a certain kind of dielectric materials and many academic papers in scientific conferences and journals have been devoted to this phenomenon, including publications of IEEE DEI Society [1, 2]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A calendar of meetings and symposia relating to antennas and propagation from 2010 to 2011 is presented, including the 2010 International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation in Macao, China on November 23 to 26, the 2010 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference on December 7 to 11 in Yokohama, Japan, and the Radio Wireless Week in Phoenix, Arizona on January 16 to 20, 2011.

Nine toroidal field (TF) coils have been developed in Japan for the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER). The joint resistance of TF coil should satisfy the requirement of smaller than 3 nano-ohm at 2 T of external magnetic field and 68 kA of transport current. Full-size joint sample (FSJS) tests were performed for joint development and for TF coil manufacture, as part of the process control. 11 FSJS tests are conducted in total. FSJS tests were conducted with assistance from a test faculty in the National Institute for Fusion Science as reported in a previous paper. All FSJS tests successfully satisfied the requirement of resistance less than 3 nΩ at 2 T. Additionally, the TF coil joints are subjected to cyclic electromagnetic force and warm-up/cool-down during the ITER operation. The authors investigated the joint performance for the abovementioned influence. The results showed no degradation in the joint resistance. Thus, the TF joint developed in Japan was qualified successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its beginning in 1992 in Japan, International Symposium on Semiconductor Manufacturing (ISSM) has provided unique opportunities to share the best practices of semiconductor manufacturing technologies for professionals. At the symposiums, semiconductor manufacturing professionals discussed the technologies developed to meet the worldwide requirements for advanced manufacturing. It is becoming crucial to re-examine semiconductor manufacturing in terms of fundamental principles to improve the performance of semiconductor devices. Moreover, utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to improve semiconductor manufacturing have become a new challenge. These manufacturing technology challenges are showing the need for drastic revolutionary concept and stronger collaborative efforts to find solutions to the precompetitive challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the IEEE/Robotics Society of Japan International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems held in Tokyo, Japan, on November 3-8, 2013. Topics include the papers submitted to the conference, plenary talks featured in the program which addressed advances in various fields of intelligent robots, and the social programs and exhibition held. It also discusses the IEEE presentation at the South by Southwest conferences and festivals in Texas in March 2014.

The article offers information on several conferences sponsored by Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) including the 2013 international Symposium on Electromagnetic Theory on May 20-24, 2013 in Hiroshima, Japan, IX International Conference on Antenna Theory and Techniques (ICATT 13) on September 16-20, 2013 in Odessa, Ukraine, and the 2013 International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (ISAP 2013) on October 23-25, 2013 in Nanjing, China.

Abstract-This paper investigates the correlation between max- imum temperature increases and peak spatial-average specific ab- sorption rates (SARs), calculated by different average schemes and masses. For evaluating the effect of mass on the correlation prop- erly, a three-dimensional Green's function is presented. From our computational investigation, no best average mass for peak spatial- average SAR exist from the aspect of the correlation with maximum temperature increase. This is attributed to the frequency dependent penetration depth of EM waves. Maximum temperature increase in the head including the pinna is reasonably correlated with peak spatial-average SARs for most average schemes and masses consid- ered in this paper. Maximum temperature increase in the head only (excluding the pinna) is reasonably correlated with peak 1O-g SARs for the average schemes considered in this paper. The rationale for this result is explained using the Green's function. The point to be stressed here is that the slope correlating them is largely dependent on the average scheme and mass. Additionally, good agreement is observed in the slopes obtained by using two head models, which have been developed at Osaka University and Nagoya Institute of Technology. However, weak correlation is observed for the brain, which is caused by the difference of the positions where peak SAR and maximum temperature increase appear. The 95th percentile values of the slope correlating maximum temperature increases in the head or brain and peak spatial-average SAR are quantified for different average schemes and masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the 35th Symposium on Electrical and Electronic Insulating Materials and Applications in Systems held in Tokyo, Japan on November 17-18, 2004. Topics discussed; Lecturers; Sponsors.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) successfully launched the Himawari-8 (H-8) new-generation geostationary meteorological satellite with the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) sensor on October 7, 2014. The H-8/AHI level-2 (L2) operational cloud property products were released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency during September 2016. The Voronoi light scattering model, which is a fractal ice particle habit, was utilized to develop the retrieval algorithm called “Comprehensive Analysis Program for Cloud Optical Measurement” (CAPCOM-INV)-ice for the AHI ice cloud product. In this paper, we describe the CAPCOM-INV-ice algorithm for ice cloud products from AHI data. To investigate its retrieval performance, retrieval results were compared with 2000 samples of the ice cloud optical thickness and effective particle radius values. Furthermore, AHI ice cloud products are evaluated by comparing them with the MODIS collection-6 (C6) products. As an experiment, cloud property retrievals from AHI measurements, with an observation interval time of 2.5 min and ground-based rainfall observation radar data (the latter of which is supplied by the JMA, with a 1-km grid mesh), are used to investigate the generation processes of deep convective (DC) cloud in the vicinity of the Kyushu island, Japan. It revealed that AHI measurements have the capability of monitoring the growth processes, including variation of the cloud properties and the precipitation in the DC cloud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Special Issue of the IEEE Journal of Solidstate Circuits highlights some of the best papers presented at the 33rd Symposium on VLSI Circuits, held on June 10–14, 2019, at Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. Industry and university engineers from all over the world reported innovative new techniques and state-of-the-art results. Articles presented covered a broad range of topics important to VLSI circuit and system designers, including topics also important to integrated circuit technology developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Broadband Wireless Forum (BWF) was established in Japan under the guidance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan, to enhance future wireless technologies through collaboration involving industry, government, and academia. Wireless power transfer (WPT) is one of the key technologies expected to lead to the emergence of new business fields in the near future. In this context, the Wireless Power Transmission Working Group (WPT–WG) was formed in BWF to discuss problems concerning the commercialization of WPT technologies. In this paper, issues and initiatives of WPT–WG are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recently developed robotics technologies are used not only in factories, but also in our daily living environment. Human-interactive robots, used to improve the quality of life, are becoming increasingly common. Their purposes and functions vary depending on their use, such as assistance, therapy, guide, entertainment, and education. Robot therapy, which uses robots as a substitution for animals in “animal therapy,” is a new robot application in the fields of welfare and patient care. The seal robot PARO began development for robot therapy in 1993. PARO was commercialized in Japan in 2005, and in Europe and the United States in 2009, and it has been used in hospitals and care facilities in approximately 30 countries. Recent research has revealed that robot therapy has a similar effect on patients as animal therapy. In 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certified PARO as a “biofeedback medical device.” While PARO can be used in various kinds of therapy similar to that where real animals are used, this study focuses on its use with elderly dementia patients because explicit differences can be easily observed before and after interacting with PARO. First, this paper explains the purposes and functions of PARO. Second, because there are several observational studies on the therapeutic effects of the elderly with dementia interacting with PARO, some typical cases and interesting special cases are introduced. These cases include recovery from depression, reduction of agitation, and recovery from speech disorders. Finally, this paper discusses why PARO has the potential to change moods and behaviors of the elderly with dementia as a nonpharmacological approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Visual quality of compressed video sequences depends on factors including spatial texture content and cognition-based factors such as prior knowledge and task in hand. The MOSp metric is a full reference objective quality metric which predicts perceived quality of sequences with video compression-induced impairments based on the spatial texture content and the mean squared error between original and compressed video sequences. In this paper, we extend the MOSp metric to incorporate cognition-based factors to identify regions in a video scene that attract human attention. The proposed metric has been tested on a variety of multimedia sequences of common intermediate format resolution compressed at a wide range of bitrates using the H.264/AVC coding standard. This metric shows a higher correlation with mean opinion score (MOS) than popular metrics, such as peak signal-to noise ratio, National Telecommunications and Information Administration/Institute for Telecommunication Sciences video quality metric, PSNRplus, and the Yonsei University metric. Results also show that by extending the MOSp metric to incorporate cognition-based factors such as skin information, its correlation with subjective scores (MOS) can be significantly improved in video content where humans are present. This algorithm is particularly useful for real-time quality estimation of multimedia sequences with block-based video compression-induced impairments because all the parameters of the metric can be calculated automatically with a modest amount of processing overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a field measurement of a simple antenna system mounted on a vehicle by utilizing a geostationary test satellite called Engineering Test Satellite VIII (ETS-VIII). Our developed antenna system is compact, lightweight, and promising for low-cost production. The antenna system is constructed by a 16-cm patch array antenna, which has simple satellite tracking that is controlled by a control unit as the vehicle's bearing is updated from a navigation system in real time. A Global Positioning System (GPS) module is utilized for the navigation system to provide accurate information of the vehicle's position and bearing during traveling. A control unit is provided as antenna-beam control and measured-data acquisition. We thoroughly examine the developed system in field measurements under open field areas and blockage areas in order to evaluate the propagation characteristics caused by utility poles, pedestrian overpasses, and vegetation-covered roads. In this measurement, the received signal power and the average bit error rate (BER) are simultaneously retrieved. Steadily received levels and average BER are satisfactorily attained during satellite tracking in open field areas. Moreover, the fade characteristics and average BER performance are also investigated during signal blockage. The results show that different environments give different degrees of attenuation, which affects the BER performance in terms of fade depth. Ultimately, our proposed antenna system can contribute to the design of future cost-effective mobile satellite communications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The peak current amplitude and front duration of lightning stroke current waveforms have conventionally been evaluated independently, and severe waveform assumptions are usually adopted in the current of lightning insulation designs. If lightning stroke waveform conditions are optimized, lightning insulation specifications of power facilities can be further rationalized. This paper proposes a new statistical technique to better evaluate lightning stroke current waveforms. The characteristics of lightning stroke current waveforms (i.e., that peak amplitudes correlate with front durations) are taken into account in this technique. The proposed technique was validated with various statistical tests. The front duration currently used in the design of the ultra-high-voltage system in Japan is 1.0 μs, but the potentially more accurate value of 1.7 μs was found when waveforms were evaluated with the proposed technique, and overvoltage analyses of gas-insulated switchgear show that overvoltages decrease with longer front duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the calibration of precision coaxial air lines in a 3.5-mm line size. The standard system of the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMU) is used to accurately obtain mechanical measurements of the diameters and lengths of lines. Length compression of approximately 6.0 μm and diameter distortions caused by connections with specified torques have been observed in 3.5-mm air lines. A small insertion loss in the millimeter-wave frequency range has also been detected. Furthermore, NMIJ has established standards for scattering parameters in the frequency range up to 110 GHz for coaxial air lines in the 1.0-mm line size by the enhancement of mechanical measurement systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a robust decentralized proportional-integral (P1) control design for power system load- frequency regulation with communication delays. In the proposed methodology, the P1-based load-frequency control (LFC) problem is reduced to a static output feedback control synthesis for a multiple-delay system. The proposed control method gives a suboptimal solution using a developed iterative linear matrix inequalities algorithm via the mixed H2 /H∞ control technique. The control strategy is suitable for LFC applications that usually employ the PI control. To demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed control strategy, an experimental study has been performed at the Research Laboratory, Kyushu Electric Power Company, Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Broader Approach agreement between Europe and Japan includes the construction of a fully superconducting tokamak, the JT-60 Super Advanced (JT-60SA), as a satellite experiment to ITER. In particular, the whole Toroidal Field magnet system, described in this paper, will be provided to Japan by the EU. All the TF coil main constituents, i.e. conductor, winding pack, joints, casing, current leads, are here presented and discussed as well as the design criteria adopted to fulfil the machine requirements. The results of the analyses performed by the EU and JA to define and assess the TF magnet system conceptual design are reported and commented. Future work plan is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upgrade of JT-60U to JT-60 Super Advanced (JT-60SA), a fully superconducting tokamak, will be performed in the framework of the Broader Approach (BA) agreement between Europe (EU) and Japan. In particular, the Toroidal Field (TF) system, which includes 18 coils, is foreseen to be procured by France, Italy and Germany. This work covers activities from design and manufacturing to shipping to Japan. The present paper is mainly devoted to the analyses that lead to the conductor design and to the technical specifications of the joints for the JT-60SA TF coils. The conductor geometry is described, which is derived from Cable-In-Conduit concept and adapted to the actual JT-60SA tokamak operating conditions, principally the ITER-like scenario. The reported simulations and calculations are particularly dealing with the stability analysis and the power deposition during normal and off-normal conditions (AC losses, nuclear heating). The final conductor solution was selected through a trade-off between scientific approach and industrial technical orientation. Besides, the TF system connections layout is shown, derived from the industrially assessed twin-box concept, together with the associated thermo-hydraulic calculations ensuring a proper temperature margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstruction of 3-D objects from multiaspect high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is of great importance for SAR technology applications. In this paper, simple building objects are modeled as cuboids, and an approach for automatic reconstruction of 3-D building objects from multiaspect SAR images in meter resolution is developed. The edge detector of constant false alarm rate and a Hough transform technique for parallel line segment pairs are first employed to extract the parallelogram-like image of the building walls in SAR images. A set of probability density functions is presented to describe the object images and their multiaspect coherence. The maximum-likelihood estimation of an object is then derived from its multiaspect object images. A hybrid priority criterion is defined to evaluate the reliability of the reconstruction result. An automatic reconstruction algorithm is further developed to match object images of different aspects and, finally, to reconstruct the building objects. Besides, an iterative method is proposed for the coregistration of multiaspect building images. Four-aspect simulated images of a virtual scene and four-aspect Pi-SAR images over the campus of Tohoku University, Japan, are investigated. Reconstruction of building objects from their multiaspect images shows the fidelity of the whole process chain and the feasibility of 3-D objects automatic reconstruction from multiaspect SAR images. At last, a practical application that is based on spaceborne meter-resolution SAR is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the correlation between the peak specific absorption rate (SAR) and the maximum temperature increase in head models of adults and children due to a dipole antenna. Much attention is paid to the effect of variation of electrical and thermal constants on the correlation for the child models, since these constants of child tissues are different from those of adult tissues. For investigating these correlations thoroughly, a total of 1400 situations are considered for the following six models: 3-year-old child, 7-year-old child, and adult models developed at the Nagoya Institute of Technology and the Osaka the University. The numerical results are analyzed on the basis of statistics. We find that the maximum temperature increases in the head can be estimated linearly in terms of peak SAR averaged over 1- or 10-g of tissue. In particular, no clear difference is observed between the adult and child models in terms of the slopes correlating the maxi- mum temperature increase with the peak SAR. Also, the effect of electrical and thermal constants of tissue on these correlation is found to be marginal. Further, we discuss possible maximum temperature increases in the head and brain for SAR limits prescribed in safety guidelines. For the adult model developed at the Osaka Univ., these are found to be 0.26°C and 0.10°C at the SAR value of 1.6 W/kg for 1-g cubic tissue and 0.59°C and 0.21 °C at the SAR value of 2.0 W/kg for 10-g cubic tissue. Similarly, for the 3-year-old child model at Osaka Univ., these are 0.23°C and 0.11 °C for the value of 1-g SAR and 0.53°C and 0.20°C for the value of 10-g SAR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the growing digitalization of broadcasting, Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting for Cable (ISDB-C) digital broadcasting over cable TV networks has been increasingly adopted in Japan. Cable TV transmission technologies in Japan can be classified into three types: 1) the transmodulation system, which consists of retransmission of received broadcast signals after converting their modulation; 2) the pass-through system, consisting of retransmission of received broadcast signals without changing their modulation but converting only the frequency as required; and 3) the ReMux system, which consists of first demodulating the received broadcast signal, then combining services before retransmission. In this paper, we describe the multiple TS transmission system and TS division system standardized by the Japan CATV Engineering Association and Japan Cable Laboratories, as well as two-way operation and the headend in the sky service, which is a commercial program distribution service launched in Japan for cable operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the operational phase of the negative-ion-based neutral beam systems on the JT-60U tokamak in Naka, Japan and the large helical device (LHD) stellarator in Toki, Japan. These systems were the first high power negative ion beam systems to be deployed for any application, and thus represented large advances in the state of the art for negative ion sources and accelerators, especially since the ions used were hydrogen and deuterium, which have only a modest electron affinity. This paper re- views the systems, the principal problems encountered, and the improvements they engendered, as well as the progress of these systems to the present time. The role of neutral beams in fusion is also discussed, and some of the contributions of the negative ion systems to the physics programs of JT-60U and LHD are briefly reviewed. These systems have been central to the success of JT-60U and LHD, and the knowledge gained about their characteristics should provide a strong basis for the development of the next generation of negative-ion-based neutral beams for ITER and other large fusion devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch the Engineering Test Satellite VIII (ETS-VIII) in 2006 to support the next generation of mobile satellite communications covering the area of Japan (beam coverage El = 38° to 58°). In this paper, a satellite-tracking left-handed circularly polarized triangular-patch array antenna is developed for ground applications. The targeted minimum gain of the antenna is set to 5 dBic at the central elevation angle (El = 48°), in the Tokyo area, for applications using data transfer of around a hundred kbps. The antenna is composed of three equilateral triangular patches for both reception and transmission units operating at 2.50 and 2.65 GHz frequency bands, respectively. The antenna was simulated by method of moments (MoM) analysis, and measurement of the fabricated antenna was performed to confirm the simulation results. The measurement results show that the frequency characteristics and the 5-dBic gain coverage in the conical-cut plane of the fabricated antenna satisfy the specifications for ETS-VIII. A prototype of the proposed antenna system is employed in outdoor experiments using a pseudosatellite and shows good performance from El = 38° to 58°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is an increasingly serious problem for passive and active microwave sensing of the Earth. To satisfy their measurement objectives, many spaceborne passive sensors must operate in unprotected bands, and future sensors may also need to operate in unprotected bands. Data from these sensors are likely to be increasingly contaminated by RFI as the spectrum becomes more crowded. In a previous paper we reported on a preliminary investigation of RFI observed over the United States in the 6.9-GHz channels of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) on the Earth Observing System Aqua satellite. Here, we extend the analysis to an investigation of RFI in the 6.9- and 10.7-GHz AMSR-E channels over the global land domain and for a one-year observation period. The spatial and temporal characteristics of the RFI are examined by the use of spectral indices. The observed RI?! at 6.9 GHz is most densely concentrated in the United States, Japan, and the Middle East, and is sparser in Europe, while at 10.7 GHz the RFI is concentrated mostly in England, Italy, and Japan. Classification of RFI using means and standard deviations of the spectral indices is effective in identifying strong RFI. In many cases, however, it is difficult, using these indices, to distinguish weak RFI from natural geophysical variability. Geophysical retrievals using RFI-filtered data may therefore contain residual errors due to weak RFI. More robust radiometer designs and continued efforts to protect spectrum allocations will be needed in future to ensure the viability of spaceborne passive microwave sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the results of lightning current measurement on transmission lines in Japan. Publication of the characteristics of lightning current amplitude in papers written on the issue; Methods used for conducting field investigations of lightning current in Japan; Results of lightning current measurement using magnetic links on transmission lines.

Describes the technology management in the Asia-Pacific region. Statistical portrait of the Asia-Pacific economies; Research issues concerning the management of technology in the region; Details on the Japanese technology management.

Since its beginning in 1992 in Japan, International Symposium on Semiconductor Manufacturing (ISSM) has provided unique opportunities to share the best practices of semiconductor manufacturing technologies for professionals. At the symposiums, semiconductor manufacturing professionals discussed the technologies developed to meet the worldwide requirements for advanced manufacturing. It is becoming crucial to re-examine semiconductor manufacturing in terms of fundamental principles to improve the performance of semiconductor devices. Moreover, utilizing artificial intelligence technologies to improve semiconductor manufacturing have become a new challenge. These manufacturing technology challenges are showing the need for drastic revolutionary concept and stronger collaborative efforts to find solutions to the precompetitive challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the 17th International Symposium on Semiconductor Manufacturing held in Tokyo, Japan from October 27 to 29, 2008 is presented. Highlights include the discussion on the yield enhancement and clean technology, which has been considered an essential technical area of semiconductor manufacturing. Further, it was also said to have given emphasis on the new dry and wet combined equipment having the capacity of addressing the issues on process performance and cost-control.

Information about the twenty-second International Insulation in International Symposium on Discharge and Electrical Insulation in Vacuum (ISDEIV) which was held in Marsue, Japan on September 25-29, 2006 is presented. The symposium was hosted by the Vacuum Society of Japan. The conference was significantly altered to include developing vacuum microelectronics devices, surface modification technologies and other new vacuum plasma applications.

The article reports on the second Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers- Robotics and Automation Society/International Federation of Robotics Research (IEEE-RAS/IFFR) International School of Robotics Science held on September 18-23, 2005 at the University of Tokyo, Japan. The main topic of the school was Robot Design.

Due to the spread of COVID-19 throughout the world, almost all academic conferences have been forced to change their meeting styles. Although some were canceled or postponed, many conferences were held with the help of IT technologies. The ninth International Symposium on Electrical Insulating Materials (ISEIM 2020) was also held online from September 13 to 25, 2020, including an extended discussion period from September 18 to 25. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]