A Coarse-to-Fine Registration Approach for Point Cloud Data with Bipartite Graph Structure

Alignment is a critical aspect of point cloud data (PCD) processing, and we propose a coarse-to-fine registration method based on bipartite graph matching in this paper. After data pre-processing, the registration progress can be detailed as follows: Firstly, a top-tail (TT) strategy is designed to normalize and estimate the scale factor of two given PCD sets, which can combine with the coarse alignment process flexibly. Secondly, we utilize the 3D scale-invariant feature transform (3D SIFT) method to extract point features and adopt fast point feature histograms (FPFH) to describe corresponding feature points simultaneously. Thirdly, we construct a similarity weight matrix of the source and target point data sets with bipartite graph structure. Moreover, the similarity weight threshold is used to reject some bipartite graph matching error-point pairs, which determines the dependencies of two data sets and completes the coarse alignment process. Finally, we introduce the trimmed iterative closest point (TrICP) algorithm to perform fine registration. A series of extensive experiments have been conducted to validate that, compared with other algorithms based on ICP and several representative coarse-to-fine alignment methods, the registration accuracy and efficiency of our method are more stable and robust in various scenes and are especially more applicable with scale factors.

Accelerating Smith-Waterman Algorithm for Faster Sequence Alignment using Graphical Processing Unit

In bioinformatics, sequence alignment is very important task to compare and find similarity between biological sequences. Smith Waterman algorithm is most widely used for alignment process but it has quadratic time complexity. This algorithm is using sequential approach so if the no. of biological sequences is increasing then it takes too much time to align sequences. In this paper, parallel approach of Smith Waterman algorithm is proposed and implemented according to the architecture of graphic processing unit using CUDA in which features of GPU is combined with CPU in such a way that alignment process is three times faster than sequential implementation of Smith Waterman algorithm and helps in accelerating the performance of sequence alignment using GPU. This paper describes the parallel implementation of sequence alignment using GPU and this intra-task parallelization strategy reduces the execution time. The results show significant runtime savings on GPU.

The impact of environmental uncertainty on business–IT alignment: A study in Sri Lanka

<p>Despite the widely held belief that organisational performance can be enhanced through the alignment of information technology (IT) and business strategy, alignment remains a top concern for IT and business executives. This means that the challenges of attaining strategic alignment have not been overcome. Environmental uncertainty, in particular, is one of the key challenges to achieving strategic alignment. Organisations continually adapt their strategies due to rapid changes in the market, technology and regulations. Either the business strategy changes and the IT strategy has to adapt to remain in alignment, or new IT emerges and business and IT strategies have to be revised to seize opportunities. Changes in the regulations can also have a significant impact on organisational strategy. Uncertainty increases the difficulty of understanding the environment and places executives in a challenging situation with regard to strategic decision making. It is thus important for executives to develop an understanding of the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. This issue has received little attention in the alignment literature. The literature presents mixed arguments on the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. There is literature which explain the implications of the antecedents of strategic alignment; however, it does not consider these antecedents in the context of a highly uncertain environment. Hence, the objective of this research is to identify the extent of the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment and to determine how this affects the impact of other antecedents. This research adopts a post-positivist approach. Using the perspectives of the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, a conceptual model is presented which examines the impact of antecedents and environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Three antecedents – shared domain knowledge, relationship management, and prior IS success – were selected as key antecedents. Environmental uncertainty was also proposed as an antecedent. This research assumes that the effect of these antecedents on strategic alignment is mediated by two managerial practices: communication and planning connection. Based on data collected from 212 organisations in Sri Lanka, the conceptual model is tested against the research objective. As a developing country, Sri Lanka has a highly turbulent environment and thus provides a suitable setting in which to examine the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling is used to test the conceptual model. The results reveal that environmental uncertainty has a positive impact on strategic alignment and that it is mediated by managerial practices. All the antecedents were also found to have a positive effect on managerial practices. As a managerial practice, planning connection has the stronger influence on strategic alignment, while communication plays a contingent role in the alignment process. Moreover, organisation size also has an influence on the alignment process. The relative influence of antecedents and environmental uncertainty differs between SMEs and large organisations. This suggests that the mechanisms used to attain strategic alignment vary by organisational size. The findings contribute to the literature and practice of strategic alignment in several ways. One of the contributions is the introduction of environmental uncertainty as an antecedent to strategic alignment and the identification of the influence of three sources of uncertainty: market uncertainty, technological uncertainty and regulatory uncertainty. Another contribution is a theoretical explanation of the strategic alignment process using the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm. Further, this research extends the validity of the alignment process to a developing country context. From the practitioners’ point of view, this research provides valuable guidance about aligning IT strategy with business strategies in an uncertain environment. Moreover, this research provides prescriptive insights for attaining business–IT alignment for both SMEs and large organisations.</p>

The impact of environmental uncertainty on business–IT alignment: A study in Sri Lanka

<p>Despite the widely held belief that organisational performance can be enhanced through the alignment of information technology (IT) and business strategy, alignment remains a top concern for IT and business executives. This means that the challenges of attaining strategic alignment have not been overcome. Environmental uncertainty, in particular, is one of the key challenges to achieving strategic alignment. Organisations continually adapt their strategies due to rapid changes in the market, technology and regulations. Either the business strategy changes and the IT strategy has to adapt to remain in alignment, or new IT emerges and business and IT strategies have to be revised to seize opportunities. Changes in the regulations can also have a significant impact on organisational strategy. Uncertainty increases the difficulty of understanding the environment and places executives in a challenging situation with regard to strategic decision making. It is thus important for executives to develop an understanding of the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. This issue has received little attention in the alignment literature. The literature presents mixed arguments on the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. There is literature which explain the implications of the antecedents of strategic alignment; however, it does not consider these antecedents in the context of a highly uncertain environment. Hence, the objective of this research is to identify the extent of the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment and to determine how this affects the impact of other antecedents. This research adopts a post-positivist approach. Using the perspectives of the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, a conceptual model is presented which examines the impact of antecedents and environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Three antecedents – shared domain knowledge, relationship management, and prior IS success – were selected as key antecedents. Environmental uncertainty was also proposed as an antecedent. This research assumes that the effect of these antecedents on strategic alignment is mediated by two managerial practices: communication and planning connection. Based on data collected from 212 organisations in Sri Lanka, the conceptual model is tested against the research objective. As a developing country, Sri Lanka has a highly turbulent environment and thus provides a suitable setting in which to examine the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling is used to test the conceptual model. The results reveal that environmental uncertainty has a positive impact on strategic alignment and that it is mediated by managerial practices. All the antecedents were also found to have a positive effect on managerial practices. As a managerial practice, planning connection has the stronger influence on strategic alignment, while communication plays a contingent role in the alignment process. Moreover, organisation size also has an influence on the alignment process. The relative influence of antecedents and environmental uncertainty differs between SMEs and large organisations. This suggests that the mechanisms used to attain strategic alignment vary by organisational size. The findings contribute to the literature and practice of strategic alignment in several ways. One of the contributions is the introduction of environmental uncertainty as an antecedent to strategic alignment and the identification of the influence of three sources of uncertainty: market uncertainty, technological uncertainty and regulatory uncertainty. Another contribution is a theoretical explanation of the strategic alignment process using the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm. Further, this research extends the validity of the alignment process to a developing country context. From the practitioners’ point of view, this research provides valuable guidance about aligning IT strategy with business strategies in an uncertain environment. Moreover, this research provides prescriptive insights for attaining business–IT alignment for both SMEs and large organisations.</p>

ADJUSTMENT OF LARGE SOLAR OVEN FLAT HELIOSTAT HELIOSTATS

This paper presents an improved method for adjusting individual mirrors –facets of heliostats of a Big Solar Furnace (BSF) with a heat output of 1000 kW in Uzbekistan. Due to the fact that a BSF consists of 22,790 pieces of individual mirrors, the adjustment - setting a specific geometric position of these mirrors is very important. The process of adjusting the mirrors is very time consuming and lengthy. Often exactly the adjustments are influenced by subjective factors by the aligners. In order to improve the performance and accuracy of the alignment, the facet of heliostats has applied the Technical Vision System (TVS), as well as improved the process of assessing the state of alignment and the processing of alignment data. The TVS consisting of a video camera, an interface, a personal computer and special software allows you to visually and accurately assess the alignment conditions of the heliostat facets before and after the alignment process. Allows you to save the data in computer memory for further processing and analysis. Allows you to create a database of the alignment status of each of the 62 heliostats of LSF. Special software developed by us allows you to quickly and accurately determine the deviations of the heliostat facets from the calculated geometric points in angular minutes. Based on the data obtained, you can build histograms, graphs, etc. for visual analysis of the heliostat alignment states before and after the alignment process.

A Channel Self-Alignment process for High-Voltage VDMOSFETs in 4H-SiC

In this paper, we describe a channel self-alignment process to produce High-Voltage VDMOSFETs in 4H-SiC. We use polysilicon as a mask for two injection methods, Because the oxidation rate of polysilicon is different from that of silicon carbide, we can generate a certain thickness of silicon oxide flank wall by controlling the oxidation rate and time. Therefore, there will be a certain distance between the N+ source region and the Pbase region, and this distance is the length of the channel. Obviously, no pattern transfer occurs between the two ion implantation processes, so the channel is self-aligned. As long as the thickness of the side wall is controlled accurately, the channel length of sub-micron can be obtained.

Integrating Taxonomic Names and Concepts from Paper and Digital Sources for a New Flora of Alaska

The taxonomic foundation of a new regional flora or monograph is the reconciliation of pre-existing names and taxonomic concepts (i.e., variation in usage of those names). This reconciliation is traditionally done manually, but the availability of taxonomic resources online and of text manipulation software means that some of the work can now be automated, speeding up the development of new taxonomic products. As a contribution to developing a new Flora of Alaska (floraofalaska.org), we have digitized the main pre-existing flora (Hultén 1968) and combined it with key online taxonomic name sources (Panarctic Flora, Flora of North America, International Plant Names Index - IPNI, Tropicos, Kew’s World Checklist of Selected Plant Families), to build a canonical list of names anchored to external Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs) (e.g., IPNI URLs). We developed taxonomically-aware fuzzy-matching software (matchnames, Webb 2020) to identify cognates in different lists. The taxa for which there are variations between different sources in accepted names and synonyms are then flagged for review by taxonomic experts. However, even though names may be consistent across previous monographs and floras, the taxonomic concept (or circumscription) of a name may differ among authors, meaning that the way an accepted name in the flora is applied may be unfamiliar to the users of previous floras. We therefore have begun to manually align taxonomic concepts across five existing floras: Panarctic Flora, Flora of North America, Cody’s Flora of the Yukon (Cody 2000), Welsh’s Flora (Welsh 1974) and Hultén’s Flora (Hultén 1968), analysing usage and recording the Region Connection Calculus (RCC-5) relationships between taxonomic concepts common to each source. So far, we have mapped taxa in 13 genera, containing 557 taxonomic concepts and 482 taxonomic concept relationships. To facilitate this alignment process we developed software (tcm, Webb 2021) to record publications, names, taxonomic concepts and relationships, and to visualize the taxonomic concept relationships as graphs. These relationship graphs have proved to be accessible and valuable in discussing the frequently complex shifts in circumscription with the taxonomic experts who have reviewed the work. The taxonomic concept data are being integrated into the larger dataset to permit users of the new flora to instantly see both the chain of synonymy and concept map for any name. We have also worked with the developer of the Arctos Collection Management Solution (a database used for the majority of Alaskan collections) on new data tables for storage and display of taxonomic concept data. In this presentation, we will describe some of the ideas and workflows that may be of value to others working to connect across taxonomic resources.