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Thomas Trautmann has recently suggested that kinship terminologies with Crow-Omaha equations may derive historically from asymmetric prescriptive terminologies on the basis of very similar vertical equations. This argument is likely not applicable to eastern Indonesia and parts of Sumatra, where asymmetric prescriptive terminologies are well known. First, they have their own nonprescriptive variants of the latter, from which they may have developed historically, and second, their terminologies lack Crow-Omaha equations. The article discusses a range of relevant ethnographic cases in the context of the evolution of kinship terminologies and practices away from prescriptive systems based on a rule or expectation that all egos in the society should marry a certain class of relative. The aim is partly to draw attention to the phenomenon and account for it, as well as to qualify Trautmann’s suggestion as far as these two regions of Indonesia are concerned.

This paper presents a concept selection methodology, inspired by the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) model and Pugh's weighted matrix method, for designing climbing robots conceptually based on an up-to-date literature review. The proposed method is illustrated with a case study of ongoing research, the investigation of an adaptable and energetically autonomous climbing robot, in Loughborough University.

The primary causes of defects in planed timber surfaces have been identified to be cutting tool inaccuracy and forced vibration during the machining process. It is noted that the current mechanical methods used in the woodworking industry to improve surface finish quality have disadvantages that defeat their original attractiveness. This article describes a mechatronic approach used to compensate for cutting tool inaccuracy in wood planing via cutting tool trajectory modification. The approach is based on real-time measurement of the angular spindle position, coupled with periodic vertical displacements of the rotating spindle. A small-scale wood planing machine, which has an actively controlled spindle unit, has been designed for practical investigation of the technique. Experimental results show that the dynamic performance of wood planing machines, and hence the surface finish quality, can be improved via this approach.

Machining operations have advanced in speed and there is an increasing demand for higher quality surface finish. It is therefore necessary to develop real-time surface inspection techniques which will provide sensory information for controlling the machining processes. This paper describes a practical method for real-time analysis of planed wood using the photometric stereo technique. Earlier research has shown that the technique is very effective in assessing surface waviness on static wood samples. In this paper, the photometric stereo method is extended to real industrial applications where samples are subjected to rapid movements. Surface profiles extracted from the dynamic photometric stereo method are compared with those from the static measurements and the results show that there is a high correlation between the two methods.

The recent demonstration by Trautmann and Tyler of a distinction between North and Central Dravidian and South Dravidian kinship terminologies--the former having alternate generation equations, the latter not--left unresolved the problem of deciding which situation was present in Proto-Dravidian. With the help of other data and some recent theory, it is shown that this equivalence is just one expression of a principle of alternation underlying the social organization of most central Indian tribes and of certain similar societies in other parts of the world. It is argued that this principle has mostly disappeared in south India, suggesting that it is North and Central Dravidian that most closely represent Proto-Dravidian in this respect. The article attempts to explain and redress the relative neglect of alternate generation equivalence in recent anthropological theory, despite the fact that it is as significant as the cross-parallel distinction in the kinship of many societies.

Described is a graphics package called RobSim intended for the real-time simula tion of the kinematics of automated workcells containing one or more robots with any configuration and up to six degrees of freedom. The user can enter information with joint or position teachboxes, or with joint or position spreadsheets. All trajecto ries are velocity controlled. The graphics illustrates each robot so its joint configura tion and position are evident. The scene can be viewed from any or all of the three projections onto the major planes and/or from one or more camera images taken from user defined positions. The software runs on any Macintosh computer from Mac Plus upwards.

For reasons of hygiene, the preparation and parenteral administration of drugs utilises a fresh sterile needle for each injection. Automated systems, where the drug is prepared for later administration, are not likely to suffer from biological cross-contamination and thus needles may be utilised for multiple insertions, providing enhanced cost efficiency. In order to assess the optimum needle life, an experiment was conducted to investigate the change in the force required to effect penetration, into isobutene-isoprene rubber bungs, over a number of insertions.Similarities between the injection process and that of metal die blanking have been noted, extending to the design of the needle. The experiments were conducted in an automated manner; a traversing mechanism provided the means of needle insertion and resultant forces were measured using a load cell. Force-time signatures, captured on a Digital Storage Oscilloscope, were transmitted to a microcomputer for incorporation into result documentation and disk storage. The characteristic signatures have been shown to demonstrate similarities to those of die blanking, thus vindicating the chosen model. Analysis of the insertion impulse, or change in momentum, as it varied with the number of insertions was expected to provide a measure of 'bluntness'. This is confirmed in the analysis of the initial small scale test results.