ISEE: Industrial Internet of Things perception in solar cell detection based on edge computing

The photovoltaic industry is a strategic and sunrise industry with international competitive advantages. Driven by policy guidance and market demand, the new energy industry represented by the photovoltaic industry has been a significant emerging industry in developing the national economy and people’s livelihood. Stable photovoltaic power generation capacity supply is a critical issue in the photovoltaic industry. With the popularization of industrial Internet technology and Internet of things technology, more and more academic and industrial circles begin to introduce new technologies to provide the latest research results and solutions for the photovoltaic industry. Electroluminescence is a standard detection method for photovoltaic production in the application of solar energy production. This method uses human vision to detect whether the solar silicon unit is defective. In this article, due to the three core pain points in traditional electroluminescence detection: low efficiency of offline identification, low accuracy and accuracy of data detection, and no online diagnosis and prediction, we carry out ISEE research based on edge computing unit. ISEE uses the edge device to collect the real-time video image of the solar panel through the camera. Then it uses the powerful neural network processing unit module of the edge computing unit, combined with the convolutional neural network algorithm transplanted to the edge, to detect the defects of solar panels in real time. It completes the research on intelligent detection of photovoltaic power generation production defects based on the Internet of Things. After a large number of experimental design verification, ISEE effectively improves the automation degree and identification accuracy in the production and detection process of solar photovoltaic cells and reduces the cost of operation and maintenance. The accuracy rate reaches 93.75%, which has significant theoretical research significance and practical application value.

Multi-Connectivity Enhanced Communication-Incentive Distributed Computation Offloading in Vehicular Networks

Flexible resource scheduling and network forecast are crucial functions to enhance mobile vehicular network performances. However, BaseStations (BSs) and their computing unit which undertake the functions cannot meet the delay requirement because of limited computation capability. Offloading the time-sensitive functions to User Equipment (UE) is believed to be an effective method to tackle this challenge. The disadvantage of the method is offloading occupies communication resources, which deteriorate the system capability. To better coordinate offloading and communication, a multi-connectivity enhanced joint scheduling scheme for distributed computation offloading and communication resources allocation in vehicular networks is proposed in this article. Computation tasks are divided into many slices and distributed to UEs to aggregate the computation capability. A communication-incentive mechanism is provided for involving UEs to compensate the loss of UEs, while multi-connectivity is adopted to enhance the system throughput. We also defined offloading failure ratio as a conclusive condition for offloading size by analyzing the movement of UEs. By a two-step optimization, the co-scheduling of offloading size and throughput is solved. The system-level simulation results show that the offloading size and throughput of the proposed scheme are larger than comparisons when the time constraint is tight.

Development of modularized in-pipe inspection robotic system: MRINSPECT VII+

This paper presents a modularized autonomous pipeline inspection robot called MRINSPECT VII+, which we recently developed. MRINSPECT VII+ is aimed at inspect in-service urban gas pipelines with a diameter of 200 mm. The robot consists of five basic modules: driving, sensing, joint, and battery modules. For nondestructive testing (NDT), an NDT module can be added to the system. The driving module uses a multiaxial differential gear mechanism to provide traction forces to the robot. The sensor module recognizes the pipeline element using position-sensitive detector (PSD) sensors and a CCD camera. The control module contains a computing unit and manages the robot’s autonomous navigation. The battery module supplies power to the system. Each module is connected via backdrivable active joint modules, which provide flexibility while moving inside narrow pipelines. Additionally, the wireless communication module helps the system communicate with the ground station. We tested MRINSPECT VII+ in real pipeline environments and validated its feasibility successfully.

HAL-ASOS Accelerator Model: Evolutive Elasticity by Design

To address the integration of software threads and hardware accelerators into the Linux Operating System (OS) programming models, an accelerator architecture is proposed, based on micro-programmable hardware system calls, which fully export these resources into the Linux OS user-space through a design-specific virtual file system. The proposed HAL-ASOS accelerator model is split into a user-defined Hardware Task and a parameterizable Hardware Kernel with three differentiated transfer channels, aiming to explore distinct BUS technology interfaces and promote the accelerator to a first-class computing unit. This paper focuses on the Hardware Kernel and mainly its microcode control unit, which will leverage the elasticity to naturally evolve with Linux OS through key differentiating capabilities of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) when compared to the state of the art. To comply with the evolutive nature of Linux OS, or any Hardware Task incremental features, the proposed model generates page-faults signaling runtime errors that are handled at the kernel level as part of the virtual file system runtime. To evaluate the accelerator model’s programmability and its performance, a client-side application based on the AES 128-bit algorithm was implemented. Experiments demonstrate a flexible design approach in terms of hardware and software reconfiguration and significant performance increases consistent with rising processing demands or clock design frequencies.

Novelty and imitation within the brain: a Darwinian neurodynamic approach to combinatorial problems

Efficient search in vast combinatorial spaces, such as those of possible action sequences, linguistic structures, or causal explanations, is an essential component of intelligence. Is there any computational domain that is flexible enough to provide solutions to such diverse problems and can be robustly implemented over neural substrates? Based on previous accounts, we propose that a Darwinian process, operating over sequential cycles of imperfect copying and selection of neural informational patterns, is a promising candidate. Here we implement imperfect information copying through one reservoir computing unit teaching another. Teacher and learner roles are assigned dynamically based on evaluation of the readout signal. We demonstrate that the emerging Darwinian population of readout activity patterns is capable of maintaining and continually improving upon existing solutions over rugged combinatorial reward landscapes. We also demonstrate the existence of a sharp error threshold, a neural noise level beyond which information accumulated by an evolutionary process cannot be maintained. We introduce a novel analysis method, neural phylogenies, that displays the unfolding of the neural-evolutionary process.