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Novel Idea (novel + idea)
Selected AbstractsVasilius: The design of an autonomous ground robotic vehicleJOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 9 2004Jarrod M. Snider This paper presents the design and provides a partial analysis of the performance of an autonomous ground robotic vehicle called Vasilius. Applications for Vasilius include autonomous navigation on a somewhat marked path with obstacles, leader following, and waypoint navigation. The paper focuses on three aspects of Vasilius: the design, the performance, and a technique for filtering, mapping, and learning. The design of Vasilius embodies a novel idea of modeling an autonomous vehicle after human senses and the human decision-making process. For instance, Vasilius integrates information from seven types of independent sensors, and categorizes them into either short-range reaction sensors and/or long-range planning sensors, analogous to what the human brain does. The paper also analyzes the performance of Vasilius, relating theoretical predictions to actual behavior. Some of these analyses, especially for the filtering, mapping, and learning, are still in progress. Performance measures that have been measured include speed, ramp climbing, turn reaction time, battery life, stop reaction time, object detection, and waypoint accuracy. Finally, the paper discusses Vasilius' use of a new approach to filtering, mapping, and learning to enhance its performance. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Optical fiber-based macrobend free air flow sensor using a hinge joint: A preliminary reportMICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 10 2008Anu Vijayan Abstract A novel idea of hinge joint is explored to cause macrobend in optical fiber and is explored for its use as a flow sensor. The bending of the fiber at the hinge changes the intensity of light traveling through the optical fiber. This can ideally be used in areas where air flow upto 10 lit/min needs to be monitored continuously. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 2543,2546, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23746 [source] Predicting regularities in lattice constants of GdFeO3 -type perovskitesACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION B, Issue 1 2008Asifullah Khan A novel idea of employing genetic programming to obtain mathematical expressions representing the dependency of lattice constants (LC) on their atomic parameters is presented in this paper. The results obtained from simulations reveal that only two atomic parameters are sufficient for LC prediction of GdFeO3 -type perovskites. In addition, an advantage of this approach is that there is no need to save any trained model as in the case of other existing machine-learning based approaches. [source] A Precautionary Approach to Foreign Policy?BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2006A Preliminary Analysis of Tony Blair's Speeches on Iraq This article examines the proposition put forward in a BBC documentary concerning ,war on terror' policies in recent decades that the British prime minister embraced the precautionary principle over his decision to go to war with Iraq. We argue that the conventional understandings of precaution that have been developed in the environmental arena do not translate well into the field of foreign policy. Our argument is buttressed by a content analysis of Tony Blair's speeches prior to the Iraq conflict of 2003. The analysis focuses on the ways the prime minister justified his decision to participate in the war in Iraq to the UK electorate. We conclude that, although understandings of precaution, particularly the ,strong' precautionary principle, do have problems when applied to this particular issue, and that the war was mainly based on a traditional ,sound science' foreign policy paradigm, the novel idea of using weaker forms of the precautionary principle in foreign policy is nevertheless intriguing, and warrants further research. [source] YBaCuO and REBaCuO HTS for ApplicationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Herbert C. Freyhardt The discovery of electrical conductors that carry loss-less currents at liquid nitrogen temperatures and above, high-temperature superconductors (HTS), inspired the imaginations of scientists and engineers in an unprecedented way. It culminated in a broad search for an understanding of their basic phenomena and properties, but also for new classes of the HTS. The availability of these materials created novel ideas of their use for effective and economical generation, transport, and use of electric energy. YBaCuO and related REBaCuO HTS compounds still belong to the most attractive workhorses. This contribution intends to illustrate the efforts to manufacture from these HTS bulk monoliths, wires, tapes, or conductors, which would be needed for novel components and devices for electrical and power engineering, devices that offer not only an effective use of energy but also broad environmental benefits and, furthermore, help to safe resources. The research and developments discussed are mainly focused on efforts in Europe. [source] Resource competition and plant traits: a response to Craine et al.JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Summary 1Resource competition theory incorporates the mechanisms that underlie consumer,resource interactions and the trade-offs that constrain these mechanisms. Contrary to assertions by Craine, the concept of R* as the measure of resource reduction and the predictor of resource competition has not changed since it was proposed more than two decades ago. 2Resource reduction, as summarized in R*, is readily observed. Soil concentrations of nitrate and water are decreased by plant uptake, and are lowered to different levels by different species. Tests have shown R* theory to correctly predict competitive outcomes for a variety of organisms and ecosystems. 3Consumer-resource mechanisms are a building block for theories that incorporate other trade-offs faced by plants, such as those between competitive ability and dispersal. 4Numerous plant traits interactively determine R* in a manner predictable from trait-based resource competition theory. The same traits shown by comparative research to be associated with plant dominance in low-nutrient habitats give lower R* values, greater predicted competitive ability and greater predicted abundances in nutrient-limited habitats. 5Plant ecology needs closer links between analytical theory, observations and experiments. Simple verbal theories can generate novel ideas but the logical implications of such scenarios are best explored using the rigorous logic of mathematics. Predictions of theory can then be tested via experiments and comparative studies. [source] Cooking up change in haute cuisine: Ferran Adrią as an institutional entrepreneurJOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 5 2007Silviya Svejenova Based on a longitudinal, inductive study of a critical case from a cultural sector, this article explores how institutional entrepreneurs initiate change. Our explanation points to four mechanisms: creativity that generates continuous flow of new ideas; theorization that takes stock of these ideas; reputation within and outside the field that endorses ideas as worthy of attention, and dissemination that brings ideas to the public domain. As novel ideas challenge received practices in the field, paradoxes of logics and identity emerge and provide potential for change. The study contributes to institutional theory by examining a preliminary, understudied stage of institutional change that provides a potential for change. Further, it shows how institutional entrepreneurs engage in the theorization and dissemination of their work. Finally, it reveals how reputation plays a critical role in the dissemination of new ideas and thus in the shaping up of the paradoxes and the potential for change. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The value of vitalism and Schrodinger's What is Life? in the contemporary classroomBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 3 2009Ramakrishnan Sitaraman Abstract Classic experiments and novel ideas in the history of science are often mentioned in passing in contemporary college-level science curricula. This study indicates that the detailed and creative recapitulation of a few well-chosen and famous, if well-known, results and ideas has the potential to increase students' understanding and appreciation of the scientific method and provides them with an altogether novel perspective of science. Since the students are usually aware of the salient facts involved, they are free to concentrate on the method, rather than worry about assimilating new facts. Such an approach has the potential to promote original thinking and rekindle enthusiasm for science, even at the university level. [source] | ||||||||||