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This paper presents the adaptive design of an automatic voltage regulator (AVR) control scheme for synchronous generators that is capable of providing satisfactory voltage control performance in the presence of unknown variations of the power system operating conditions. The design is articulated in four steps: voltage and current phasor estimation, estimation of the parameters of the Thevenin equivalent circuit adopted to represent the power system response using a steady-state model, determination of the sampled-data transfer function of the system, and AVR design developed according to discrete-time techniques. A suitable procedure is described to derive the sampled-data transfer function of the system starting from models of the power system, synchronous generator, and exciter. The obtained transfer function depends on the estimated parameters yielded by a recursive least-squares algorithm subject to constraints deriving from the Thevenin circuit. The AVR design is based on the pole-assignment technique while the phasors estimation is performed by two Kalman filters. Finally, the results of accurate numerical simulations conducted for a test network are reported, comparing the performance of the proposed adaptive control scheme to the one of a PID controller with fixed parameters. Index Terms--Modeling, parameter estimation, pole-assignment, sampled-data systems, synchronous generators, voltage control.

For a mobile robot, odometry calibration consists of the identification of a set of kinematic parameters that allow reconstructing the vehicle's absolute position and orientation starting from the wheels' encoder measurements. This paper develops a systematic method for odometry calibration of differential-drive mobile robots. As a first step, the kinematic equations are written so as to underline linearity in a suitable set of unknown parameters; thus, the least-squares method can be applied to estimate them. A major advantage of the adopted formulation is that it provides a quantitative measure of the optimality of a test motion; this can be exploited to drive guidelines on the choice of the test trajectories and to evaluate accuracy of a solution. The proposed technique has been experimentally validated on two different mobile robots and, in one case, compared with other existing approaches; the obtained results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed calibration method. Index Terms--Calibration, identification, mobile robot kinematics, mobile robots, parameter estimation.

The presence of joint velocity and acceleration limits must be taken into account by the inverse kinematics of robot manipulators, so as to avoid incorrect task execution when these are violated. To solve this problem, a novel algorithmic approach to kinematic control is presented in this paper, which guarantees that the joint variables do not overtake their limits. The proposed technique is based on a new second-order inverse kinematics algorithm, which enables the handling of velocity and acceleration constraints while tracking the desired end-effector path. The goal is achieved by suitably slowing down the task-space trajectory via a time warp when joints limits are encountered. The proposed method is designed for on-line applications, i.e., the desired trajectory is not known in advance, and requires a light computational burden. The application of the proposed approach is finally illustrated in experiments implemented on a six-degree-of-freedom industrial robot manipulator. Index Terms--Inverse kinematics algorithms, kinematic control, path tracking.

This paper describes a systematic procedure to design [H.sub.[infinity]] position and flux-norm tracking controllers for current-fed induction motors. The designed controllers achieve convergence to zero of both position and flux-norm tracking errors while ensuring robustness with respect to unknown load torque disturbances. The proposed procedure offers the possibility of a simple development of the controllers' design; in particular, it does not require a numerical solution of the Riccati matrix equation. A case study has been set up which considers the application of the proposed control scheme to a two-link robot manipulator system actuated by two induction motors. Numerical simulation results confirm the validity, of the proposed design methodology, even in the presence of rotor resistance uncertainty.

Abstract Background In the adult males of helminthomorph millipedes, one or two pairs of legs in the anterior part of the trunk are strongly modified into sexual appendages (gonopods) used for sperm transfer during the copula. Gonopods differentiate in an advanced phase of post-embryonic development, in most cases as replacement for the walking legs of the seventh trunk ring, as these first regress to tiny primordia, to eventually develop into gonopods at a subsequent stadium. These extremely localized but dramatic changes have been described as a non-systemic metamorphosis. In the present study we describe morphological and anatomical changes of trunk ring VII associated with non-systemic metamorphosis in four helminthomorph species. Results As documented here for the first time by means of traditional histology methods and new techniques based on confocal laser scanning microscopy, the external modifications caused by non-systemic metamorphosis are associated to a huge rearrangement of internal anatomy, mostly due to the development of gonopod apodemes and extrinsic muscles. Conclusions Internal changes in the seventh trunk ring, locally leading to the dorsal displacement of the ventral nerve cord and the digestive tract, are modulated in a taxon-specific manner, and are very conspicuous in the blaniulids Nopoiulus kochii and Blaniulus guttulatus, with likely major functional consequences.

Abstract Background The development of specialized appendages involved in sperm transfer in the males of julid millipedes is an extreme case of specialized, complex structures differentiating in a very advanced phase of post-embryonic development. Here, a non-systemic metamorphosis affects the external morphology and the internal anatomy of a trunk double segment only. Presentation of the hypothesis We hypothesize that during early (possibly embryonic) development a segmental marker is produced that remains unexploited throughout late embryonic and early post-embryonic development, until, activated by a systemic signal, it finally determines the release of a segmentally localized but anatomically major change. Testing the hypothesis Key to testing the hypothesis are (1) the identification of both the putative segmental marker involved in the localization of the legs to be eventually metamorphosed into gonopods and the systemic signal activating it, (2) the identification of the cell population from which the gonopods are built, and (3) a longitudinal study of the marker's expression throughout late embryonic and, possibly, post-embryonic development. Implications of the hypothesis Proving the validity of this hypothesis would demonstrate the existence of a cryptic developmental module that will be activated only months, or years, after it has been first laid down during early development. This study also opens a window onto the very poorly explored domain of late expression of developmental genes and molecular control of late developmental events.

By adopting a longitudinal study design and through geometric morphometrics methods, we investigated size and shape regulation in the head capsule during the larval development of the cabbage butterfly Pieris brassicae under laboratory conditions. We found evidence of size regulation by compensatory growth, although not equally effective in all larval stages. Size compensation is not attained through the regulation of developmental timing, but rather through the modulation of per‐time growth rate. As for the shape, neither the variance of the symmetric component of shape, nor the level of fluctuating asymmetry show any evidence of increase across stages, either at the population or individual level, which is interpreted as a mark of ontogenetic shape regulation. In addition, also the geometry of individual asymmetry is basically conserved across stages. While providing specific documentation on the ontogeny of size and shape variation in this insect, this study may contribute to a more general understanding of developmental regulation and its influence on phenotypic evolution. Research Highlights: We investigated the ontogenetic progression of size and shape variation (including fluctuating asymmetry) in the butterfly Pieris brassicae with a longitudinal study‐design. Larval development of this insect shows the mark of several forms of developmental regulation, both in size and shape, which exhibit a certain degree of independence from each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adopting a longitudinal study design and through geometric morphometrics methods, we investigated individual and ontogenetic variation in size, shape and timing during larval development of the cabbage butterfly Pieris brassicae under laboratory conditions. We found that ontogenetic size progression departs modestly, but significantly, from growth at a constant rate and that size at hatching contributes considerably to determine the size of the individual at all subsequent stages. As for the shape, ontogenetic allometry is much more conspicuous than static allometry, the latter in many cases being close to isometry. Analysis of developmental timing revealed a stage of apparently more effective developmental control at stage 3, supported by both the relatively small variance in cumulative developmental time up to stage 3 and by the pattern of correlation between duration of single stages. While presenting detailed quantitative aspects of growth in P. brassicae, in particular with respect to individual variation, this study and the associated dataset can provide a basis for further explorations of the post‐embryonic development in this insect and contribute to the ongoing investigations on growth regulation and control in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]