Search Results (2,783)

In the context of subtropical cities, the slow-moving environment of HOD (Hospital-Oriented Development) faces the dual challenges of spatial fragmentation and an extreme hot and humid climate, which also restricts the outdoor space’s thermal environment performance. Taking the Macau Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Union Hospital Station as an example, this study constructs a “topology-climate” dual quantitative assessment framework that integrates space syntax and parametric universal thermal climate index (UTCI) simulation. In response to the current problems of mixed pedestrian and vehicular traffic and high-intensity heat radiation, a comprehensive intervention strategy combining three-dimensional stitching and spatial optimization is proposed. The results show that: (1) The implantation of three-dimensional corridors improved the spatial integration of the core area of the site by 67.0%, significantly optimizing network connectivity. (2) During the extreme high-temperature period of daytime (9:00–18:00) in summer and autumn, the intervention strategy precisely opened up a continuous low-heat-stress linear shade zone through the synergistic mechanism of building projection shadows, physical shading of connecting corridors, (landscape shading effect, original evaporation removed). (3) The study confirms that landscape-coupled shading layout is the most effective method, reducing potential pedestrian heat exposure across the entire area, while the three-dimensional connecting corridors precisely control the thermal environment of core walkways. Together, these two elements construct a “topology-climate” optimization framework, achieving a synergistic improvement in spatial accessibility and simulated thermal comfort performance under standard meteorological input and quantitatively verifying the optimization effectiveness of the tiered intervention scheme. This study provides a data-driven decision-making basis for optimizing potential walking thermal conditions for vulnerable groups and reshaping the space’s potential to improve microclimate via shading design of medical hub areas and also provides a scientific paradigm for TOD microclimate planning focused on shading-based thermal environment optimization. Full article

This paper investigates the tracking control problem for a class of networked nonlinear systems in a non-ideal communication environment, where both internal communication constraints (delays and packet dropouts) and external random deception attacks are taken into account. From a symmetry perspective, the backward and forward channels constitute a paired sensing–actuation structure, and channel-dependent imperfections may destroy their functional coordination. To compensate for the resulting sensing–actuation mismatch, a data-driven sliding-mode predictive tracking control scheme is developed without relying on an explicit system model. First, an equivalent dynamic linearization is adopted to represent the input–output behavior using a data-dependent incremental model. Then, using delayed measurements together with historical input–output data, an online estimator is constructed to update the pseudo partial derivative (PPD). Based on the estimated PPD, a multi-step predictor is further designed to generate the predicted outputs, and a data-driven sliding-mode predictive tracking controller is proposed by imposing a discrete reaching law on the predicted outputs. Rigorous analysis is provided to ensure the stability of the closed-loop system and to guarantee that the tracking error remains bounded, together with an explicit bound that reveals the influence of the delay horizon, estimation mismatch, and attack amplitudes. Finally, numerical simulations under square-wave and sinusoidal references validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach. Full article

Thin-film lithium tantalate (LiTaO₃) is a promising platform for integrated nonlinear photonics owing to its strong second-order nonlinearity, broad transparency window, and favorable photorefractive resistance. Here, we numerically investigate cascaded fourth-harmonic generation in quasi-phase-matched thin-film LiTaO₃ waveguides, targeting ultraviolet generation at 387.5 nm from a 1550 nm pump. Three poling schemes, including square-wave periodic poling, generalized quasi-periodic superlattice (GQPS), and dual-period poling (DPP), are designed to simultaneously compensate the phase mismatch of second-harmonic generation and fourth-harmonic generation. Under a 10 mW average input power and 250 fs pulse duration, the simulated fourth-harmonic conversion efficiencies reach 42.7%, 35.7%, and 57.1%, respectively. The DPP structure provides the highest efficiency by supporting both nonlinear processes with relatively strong low-order reciprocal–vector components. The influence of waveguide geometry errors and temperature tuning is further analyzed, showing that the fourth-harmonic process is more temperature-sensitive than the second-harmonic process. In addition, the feasibility of extending this scheme toward 300 nm deep-ultraviolet generation is discussed. These results provide a design route for compact, efficient, and fabrication-compatible on-chip ultraviolet sources based on thin-film LiTaO₃ nonlinear photonics. Full article

Soil moisture (SM) is a critical variable in land–atmosphere water and energy exchange, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations offer an effective means for large-scale and fine-resolution SM monitoring. Sentinel-1A, with its all-time and all-weather capability, has become an indispensable data source for SM retrieval, while comprehensive comparisons of machine learning and deep learning methods for regional and global scale SM retrieval remain insufficient. In this study, four widely used machine learning (ML) algorithms, including random forest (RF), eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), convolutional neural network (CNN), and long short-term memory (LSTM), are evaluated for SM retrieval from Sentinel-1A observations across the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) at global and regional scales. Multiple-source dynamic parameters, including Sentinel-1A observations, MODIS vegetation parameters, ERA5-Land meteorological and soil variables, are used as inputs, as well as static geospatial parameters. Validation results demonstrate that tree-based ensemble methods (RF and XGBoost) consistently outperform deep learning methods across all scales. Specifically, XGBoost achieves the best performance with satisfactory SM retrieval results. Moreover, XGBoost is insensitive to Sentinel-1A viewing geometry, allowing fusion of multi-orbit observations to improve temporal resolution without accuracy loss. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of tree-based ML for global/regional SM retrieval from Sentinel-1A. In addition, this study performs a comprehensive evaluation of spatial generalization ability and orbit robustness of different retrieval models under global heterogeneous environments, and proposes a reliable scheme for generating high-spatiotemporal-resolution SM products. Full article

Conventional multi-mission altimetry fusion tends to attenuate short-wavelength sea surface height anomaly (SLA) signals when high-density two-dimensional SWOT observations are incorporated into a single smoothing framework. To address this limitation, this study proposes a scale-separated, scale-wise fusion framework for high-resolution SLA reconstruction that jointly exploits multi-mission nadir altimetry and SWOT wide-swath observations. Multi-mission Level-3 observations from Sentinel-3A/B, HY-2B, SARAL/Altika, and SWOT are first harmonized through quality control, spatiotemporal reference unification, and cross-calibration referenced to Jason-3; Jason-3 was not used as a fusion input; instead, it served as the cross-calibration reference and as an external validation source after excluding calibration-involved samples. The SWOT-observed SLA field is then decomposed using an 80 km Lanczos filter—chosen as a practical working scale reflecting SWOT’s effective resolution rather than a universal physical boundary—into a large-scale background component and a mesoscale–submesoscale perturbation component. The large-scale component is reconstructed using adaptive optimal interpolation with latitude-dependent covariance scales, whereas the mesoscale–submesoscale component is refined through a physically regularized Transformer-based learning branch that recovers organized sub-80 km variability as a relative enhancement with respect to the AVISO/CMEMS reference. The two components are finally recombined on a 0.08° × 0.08° grid to generate a global SLA product. Validation from August 2023 to August 2024 shows that the proposed product maintains strong large-scale consistency with AVISO/CMEMS, with a mean daily spatial correlation of approximately 0.85. Sample-independent cross-validation against concurrent Jason-3 along-track observations yields a mean daily RMSE of 4.9 cm. Regional case studies in the Kuroshio Extension and the Scotia Sea further show that, relative to a conventional unified fusion scheme, the proposed framework better preserves organized sub-80 km structures, including fronts, eddy boundaries, and filamentary features, without degrading the large-scale background. Two specific technical contributions are (i) a reproducible scale-separated workflow that decouples large-scale OI mapping from fine-scale learning-based reconstruction, and (ii) a physically regularized loss formulation that constrains spatial gradients and Laplacian smoothness to suppress nonphysical artifacts during small-scale enhancement. These results suggest that scale-separated fusion provides an effective and operationally practical strategy for next-generation high-resolution SLA products and for improved observation of dynamically significant short-wavelength ocean variability. Full article

Modern distribution networks increasingly face operational stress from variable demand and high penetration of distributed energy resources, challenging the adequacy of purely reactive protection schemes. This study addresses this challenge by enhancing a developed adaptive protection software platform with a Geographic Information System (GIS) driven predictive load forecasting capability to enable anticipatory protection coordination. The proposed framework integrates spatially resolved demand modeling, regulatory and planning constraints, and machine learning-based short- to medium-term load forecasting with a relay coordination and optimization engine. Forecasted load profiles are used as inputs to an optimization layer that proactively updates relay pickup and time delay settings to maintain selectivity and system security under predicted operating conditions. The approach is validated at laboratory scale using real Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) interfaced with synthetic GIS-based network and load datasets. Experimental results indicate that incorporating forecast-informed settings improves coordination margins and reduces the risk of relay maloperation compared with reactive adaptive protection alone. The findings demonstrate that coupling GIS based constrained load forecasting with adaptive relay control can enhance protection performance in active distribution networks, supporting more resilient and forward-looking protection strategies. Full article

This paper presents a 7-bit 1.6 GS/s hybrid capacitive-to-charge-injection DAC (C-CIDAC)-based flash-assisted time-interleaved (FATI) successive-approximation-register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that improves the limited input range and temperature-induced gain variation in conventional CIDAC-based SAR ADCs. In the proposed architecture, a DAC voltage common-mode (V_CM) shift up to 48 LSBs is internally generated during the coarse conversion, enabling a rail-to-rail ADC input range while improving V_CM independence. In addition, a fully on-chip background gain-calibration scheme is introduced to compensate for the gain error between the CDAC and CIDAC caused by temperature variation. By taking advantage of the pulse-activation-based CIDAC operation scheme, the proposed calibration achieves robust gain tracking without any external bias control. The proposed four-channel FATI-SAR ADC was designed using a 65 nm CMOS process and occupies 13,628 μm², including the background calibration circuitry. The peak differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity (INL) are +0.60/−0.60 LSB and +0.72/−0.76 LSB at −40 °C and 105 °C, respectively. At Nyquist input, the simulated SNDR and SFDR are 41.52 dB and 53.36 dB, respectively. The ADC consumes 8.551 mW and achieves an FoM_W of 54.6 fJ/conversion step. Comprehensive post-layout simulation results show that the proposed FATI-SAR ADC operates at 1.6 GS/s and maintains an ENOB above 6.3 across a temperature range from −40 °C to 105 °C at Nyquist input. Full article

Conventional model predictive control (MPC) is highly vulnerable to motor parameter variations. Meanwhile, existing parameter-based MPC schemes are often constrained by the accuracy of model reconstruction. To overcome these limitations, this article proposes a model-free predictive control (MFPC) strategy based on a fuzzy approximation method for a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). Leveraging the exceptional nonlinear mapping capability of fuzzy approximation, the proposed strategy approximates the autoregressive term within a structurally simple first-order autoregressive model with exogenous input (ARX). This significantly enhances model reconstruction accuracy. Furthermore, discrete-time Lyapunov stability analysis rigorously demonstrates that the estimation errors of the internal states under the proposed control scheme are uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB). Finally, experimental results reveal that the proposed MFPC strategy achieves superior steady-state current quality while ensuring excellent dynamic performance, effectively validating the advantages of the proposed method. Full article

The La Mancha region (a semi-arid area of southeast Spain) hosts the world’s highest concentration of vineyards and is also one of the regions with the largest areas devoted to almond tree cultivation. Viticulture and nut fruit trees (mainly almonds) are one of the region’s principal sources of economic revenue. The Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model can assist management of water resources. A simplified version of the TSEB approach (STSEB) was previously tested in a vineyard and almonds to estimate sensible heat (H) and latent heat (LE) fluxes using a parallel scheme method based on the Monin–Obukov similarity theory (MOST). This study introduces a method based on Surface Renewal (SR) theory to partition the sensible heat flux using low-frequency measurements as input. The latter was friendlier than the parallel MOST method under unstable conditions and than the series SR and MOST methods. The objective was to compare the MOST and SR models within a parallel scheme method. During the 2014 and 2015 growing season, measurements were collected in a 4 ha row crop drip-irrigated Tempranillo vineyard. Hourly sensible heat flux measured by an eddy covariance (EC) system and evapotranspiration (ET) registered by a 9 m² monolithic large weighting lysimeter were used as a reference. ET estimates were obtained as a residual of the energy balance equation (known as the residual method) using three methods for estimating sensible heat flux, H_SR, H_MOST and H_EC, yielding ET_SR-RE, ET_MOST-RE and ET_EC-RE, respectively. For sensible heat flux, the index of agreement (IA expressed in %) for 2014 and 2015 was 93% and 83%, respectively, using SR, and 84% and 78%, respectively, for MOST. This represents a 6–10% improvement using SR. For evapotranspiration, the ET_SR-RE and ET_MOST-RE IA showed similar performance in both years (around 88%), while ET_EC-RE yielded the best results (92% and 89% for 2014 and 2015, respectively). In addition, half-hourly EC fluxes, during the growing season of 2017, were used as a reference in an almond orchard. The SR sensible heat flux performed better (IA = 93%) than MOST (IA = 86%) in this case, whereas for the latent heat flux, the residual method performed the best, resulting in an IA of 81% for SR and of 78% for MOST. Overall, SR performed better than MOST, particularly under unstable conditions with wind speeds above 1 ms⁻¹. Full article

To address the limitations of existing sliding mode-based integrated guidance and control (IGC) schemes, such as chattering, input saturation, and insufficient robustness, this paper proposes a three-dimensional IGC design method incorporating both terminal angle and attitude angle constraints. First, a control-oriented six-degrees-of-freedom model is established based on three-dimensional relative motion and vehicle dynamics, and the control objectives for maneuvering target interception under multiple constraints are clarified. Subsequently, a finite-time terminal sliding mode guidance law based on time-to-go (TGO) is integrated with dynamic surface control to construct the IGC framework. In this design, command filters are introduced to overcome the “explosion of complexity”, while amplitude saturation functions are employed to constrain system states and control inputs. Meanwhile, a generalized super-twisting extended state observer (GSTESO) is incorporated to estimate and compensate for lumped uncertainties in the system. Finally, by combining Lyapunov stability theory with an integral barrier Lyapunov (IBL) function, it is proven that the closed-loop system is uniformly ultimately bounded and satisfies the terminal angle constraints. Comparative simulations under multiple disturbance scenarios demonstrate that the proposed method meets the accuracy requirements in terms of miss distance and LOS angle error. Moreover, it alleviates high-frequency chattering and prevents control-input saturation, showing improved robustness and disturbance rejection capability compared with the baseline methods. Therefore, the proposed approach provides a valuable reference for engineering applications of three-dimensional IGC in maneuvering target interception. Full article

This paper presents a hybrid algorithmic framework for fault detection and isolation (FDI) in nonlinear quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems operating under closed-loop conditions. The proposed method integrates a Linear Quadratic Control (LQC) strategy, synthesized through Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs), with a Conditional Long Short-Term Memory Autoencoder (CLSTM-AE) and an adaptive residual-based decision mechanism. The LQC scheme provides robust trajectory tracking through regional pole-placement constraints, while the CLSTM-AE learns the nominal closed-loop input–output temporal behavior of the UAV using only fault-free data. In contrast to conventional symmetric autoencoder-based detectors, the proposed CLSTM-AE uses the control inputs together with the available attitude estimates, represented by the Euler angles yaw, pitch, and roll, as conditioning information, while reconstructing only the monitored attitude outputs. This asymmetric structure allows the residuals to capture inconsistencies between the commanded control effort and the observed attitude response, which is particularly relevant in closed-loop nonlinear systems where feedback compensation may attenuate fault signatures. Deviations from nominal behavior are detected through reconstruction residuals computed using a smoothed Mean Squared Error (MSE) criterion and evaluated against an adaptive $3\sigma$ threshold. The framework is validated in three-dimensional flight simulations considering abrupt, transient, and incipient actuator fault scenarios. The obtained results show that the proposed approach outperforms representative conventional machine-learning methods, achieving an average accuracy of 98.2%, an average recall of 97.8%, and an average false positive rate of 1.4%. These results suggest that the proposed hybrid algorithm provides an effective and interpretable solution for closed-loop fault diagnosis in nonlinear UAV systems under measurement noise and system variability. Full article

A Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)-assisted Physical Layer Security (PLS) scheme for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) wireless links is proposed and numerically evaluated. The framework utilizes high-rate quantum keys to generate unitary precoding matrices for channel estimation preamble encryption, alongside a constellation-based encryption methodology for the data payload. Integration of the QKD is facilitated by a practical Key Management System (KMS) that orchestrates key synchronization and ensures seamless interoperability with the QKD infrastructure. By securing both the preamble and payload portions of the transmission frame, the proposed scheme prevents unauthorized entities from acquiring critical knowledge of transceiver functionalities. Furthermore, the framework leverages high-entropy QKD-derived keys to reseed a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), providing a symmetric-key encryption layer that enhances data confidentiality. Numerical evaluation results obtained within a simulated residential wireless environment demonstrate that the proposed architecture yields enhanced security at the cost of a minor degradation in reception performance, driven by a small noise amplification penalty and a marginal elevation in the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). Full article

With the development of human–computer interaction technology, non-contact interaction based on gaze tracking and facial movements has become a research hotspot. Traditional mouse-and-keyboard methods pose challenges for people with disabilities or limited hand movements, while existing gaze-tracking systems often rely on expensive hardware or lack sufficient accuracy. This paper designs and implements a real-time system using ordinary cameras, achieving natural, efficient interaction via multimodal input combination. The system uses an improved MobileNetV2 backbone to construct GazeTrackNet for gaze estimation. It adopts MediaPipe Face Mesh to detect facial landmarks. Meanwhile, it applies geometric feature analysis, including eye aspect ratio and mouth aspect ratio, to identify actions such as blinking and mouth opening. It adopts a hybrid control strategy that combines gaze jumping and head fine-tuning, using mouth state as the main control switch. Key contributions include a lightweight gaze-tracking algorithm that enables stable and efficient gaze detection on consumer-grade hardware, a multimodal interaction strategy based on facial movement that improves system stability and ease of use, and a complete prototype system that achieves real-time performance on standard laptops. Experimental results show an average gaze average angle error of 3.0°, 97% eye state recognition accuracy, and end-to-end latency below 70 ms. The system can satisfy the requirements of daily desktop interaction under normal indoor lighting, and shows potential for future barrier-free interaction applications after further validation with target users. Existing gaze-tracking methods either suffer from low precision on lightweight devices or bring heavy computational overhead. Common facial recognition approaches also face frequent false trigger interference. Compared with them, our scheme achieves balanced accuracy and real-time performance via an attention-enhanced structure, and the designed dual anti-shake mechanism effectively suppresses misjudgment, delivering a more stable hands-free interaction experience. Full article

This study proposes a novel hardware-impairment-aware convolutional neural network (CNN)-based hybrid precoding scheme for cell-free massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems operating in the terahertz (THz) band under practical constraints of imperfect channel state information (CSI) and transceiver hardware non-idealities. In a realistic THz simulation environment incorporating molecular absorption, phase noise, channel aging, and power consumption models, the proposed CNN precoder demonstrates significant performance improvements over conventional Zero-Forcing (ZF), Kalman, and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) schemes. Quantitative results show that the CNN achieves spectral efficiency gains of 10.67% over Kalman, 14.67% over MMSE, and 70% over ZF for an eight-user scenario. In addition, the CNN-based precoder provides an SNR gain of 0.8 dB over MMSE and 2 dB over ZF. Complexity analysis indicates that the CNN approach is 17% less complex than ZF, 44% less complex than Kalman, and 60% less complex than MMSE. Further analysis of individual impairment effects reveals that the CNN effectively mitigates the compounded degradation caused by hardware distortions and CSI imperfections, exhibiting only a 25% performance loss compared to an ideal hardware baseline. These results establish the proposed data-driven precoder as a robust, computationally efficient, and high-performance solution for reliable and energy-sustainable ultra-high-throughput THz communication networks. Full article

This paper presents a nonlinear control scheme for regulating the output voltage of a high-gain active switched-inductor boost converter. The proposed converter topology extends the conventional boost converter by incorporating an additional inductor and a power semiconductor device, thereby enhancing the voltage conversion ratio. The control objectives are twofold: precise regulation of the output voltage and stabilization of the inductor current. To achieve these goals, an interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based control strategy is developed. A dynamic extension is further introduced to compensate for steady-state errors caused by unmodeled parasitic resistances in the system components. In addition, a reference current generator with proportional–integral action is implemented to provide an appropriate current reference. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is validated both numerically and experimentally under three operating scenarios: load step changes, input voltage variations, and output voltage reference transitions. Full article