Gerardo Beni

Bio: Gerardo Beni is an academic researcher from University of California, Riverside. The author has contributed to research in topics: Electrochromism & Swarm behaviour. The author has an hindex of 34, co-authored 106 publications receiving 8902 citations. Previous affiliations of Gerardo Beni include University of California, Santa Barbara & University of California, Berkeley.

A validity measure for fuzzy clustering

Abstract: The authors present a fuzzy validity criterion based on a validity function which identifies compact and separate fuzzy c-partitions without assumptions as to the number of substructures inherent in the data. This function depends on the data set, geometric distance measure, distance between cluster centroids and more importantly on the fuzzy partition generated by any fuzzy algorithm used. The function is mathematically justified via its relationship to a well-defined hard clustering validity function, the separation index for which the condition of uniqueness has already been established. The performance of this validity function compares favorably to that of several others. The application of this validity function to color image segmentation in a computer color vision system for recognition of IC wafer defects which are otherwise impossible to detect using gray-scale image processing is discussed. >

Swarm Intelligence in Cellular Robotic Systems

Abstract: Cellular Robotic Systems are capable of ’intelligent* behavior. The meaning of this intelligence is analyzed in the paper. We define robot intelligence and robot system intelligence in terms of unpredictability of improbable behavior. The concept of unpredictability is analyzed in relation to (1) statistical unpredictability, (2) inaccessibility, (3) undecidability, (4) intractability, and (5) non-representability. We argue that the latter two type of unpredictability, when exhibited by systems capable of producing order, can result in a non-trivial, different form of intelligent behavior (Swarm Intelligence). Engineering problems related to Swarm Intelligence are mentioned in relation to Cellular Robotic Systems which consist of collections of autonomous, non-synchronized, non-intelligent robots cooperating to achieve global tasks.

Thermopower in the correlated hopping regime

Abstract: The high-temperature limit for the thermopower of a system of interacting localized carriers is governed entirely by the entropy change per added carrier. The calculation of this quantity reduces to a simple combinatorial problem dependent only on the density of carriers and the interactions stronger than the thermal energy. We have thus been able to generalize the Heikes formula to include several cases of interacting Fermi systems with spin.

From swarm intelligence to swarm robotics

Abstract: The term “swarm” has been applied to many systems (in biology, engineering, computation, etc.) as they have some of the qualities that the English-language term “swarm” denotes. With the growth of the various area of “swarm” research, the “swarm” terminology has become somewhat confusing. In this paper, we reflect on this terminology to help clarify its association with various robotic concepts.

New method for the calculation of atomic phase shifts: Application to extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) in molecules and crystals

Abstract: The scattering of electrons of kinetic energy up to 1000 eV by an atom is of special interest in the understanding of extended x-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) spectra. An important physical feature is the reduction of the exchange and correlation potential as the kinetic energy of the electron increases. This is taken into account by replacing the atom by an electron gas with spatially varying density and calculating the self-energy using the plasmon pole approximation. This results in a set of complex phase shifts which is then applied to the EXAFS problem. Comparison is made with phase shifts extracted from experimental EXAFS spectra and excellent agreement is obtained. Direct comparison of the theoretical and experimental spectra again shows excellent agreement in both the amplitude and the phase. We also analyze the EXAFS spectra by a Fourier-transform technique which first removes the amplitude and phase shift using the calculated result. The importance of a proper choice of zero of energy ${E}_{0}$ is emphasized. We choose ${E}_{0}$ by the requirement that the imaginary part and the absolute value of the Fourier transform should peak at the same distance, thus assuring that the absolute phase is given correctly. Using this procedure the nearest-neighbor distances in ${\mathrm{Br}}_{2}$, Ge${\mathrm{Cl}}_{4}$, and crystalline germanium are determined. In all cases the results are within 0.01 \AA{} of the known distances. Several shells in germanium are also determined, with accuracy of better than 1%. Application of our method to crystalline copper indicates that the outer shells are more seriously affected by multiple-scattering problems and our procedure permits us to discard peaks that are spurious or unreliable. The present determination of the nearest-neighbor distance in copper is found to be in error by 0.014 \AA{}. Results of the application of this method to the determination of the bond lengths of a variety of compounds are summarized.

Consensus problems in networks of agents with switching topology and time-delays

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss consensus problems for networks of dynamic agents with fixed and switching topologies. We analyze three cases: 1) directed networks with fixed topology; 2) directed networks with switching topology; and 3) undirected networks with communication time-delays and fixed topology. We introduce two consensus protocols for networks with and without time-delays and provide a convergence analysis in all three cases. We establish a direct connection between the algebraic connectivity (or Fiedler eigenvalue) of the network and the performance (or negotiation speed) of a linear consensus protocol. This required the generalization of the notion of algebraic connectivity of undirected graphs to digraphs. It turns out that balanced digraphs play a key role in addressing average-consensus problems. We introduce disagreement functions for convergence analysis of consensus protocols. A disagreement function is a Lyapunov function for the disagreement network dynamics. We proposed a simple disagreement function that is a common Lyapunov function for the disagreement dynamics of a directed network with switching topology. A distinctive feature of this work is to address consensus problems for networks with directed information flow. We provide analytical tools that rely on algebraic graph theory, matrix theory, and control theory. Simulations are provided that demonstrate the effectiveness of our theoretical results.

Information flow and cooperative control of vehicle formations

Abstract: We consider the problem of cooperation among a collection of vehicles performing a shared task using intervehicle communication to coordinate their actions. Tools from algebraic graph theory prove useful in modeling the communication network and relating its topology to formation stability. We prove a Nyquist criterion that uses the eigenvalues of the graph Laplacian matrix to determine the effect of the communication topology on formation stability. We also propose a method for decentralized information exchange between vehicles. This approach realizes a dynamical system that supplies each vehicle with a common reference to be used for cooperative motion. We prove a separation principle that decomposes formation stability into two components: Stability of this is achieved information flow for the given graph and stability of an individual vehicle for the given controller. The information flow can thus be rendered highly robust to changes in the graph, enabling tight formation control despite limitations in intervehicle communication capability.

Microfluidics: Fluid physics at the nanoliter scale

Abstract: Microfabricated integrated circuits revolutionized computation by vastly reducing the space, labor, and time required for calculations. Microfluidic systems hold similar promise for the large-scale automation of chemistry and biology, suggesting the possibility of numerous experiments performed rapidly and in parallel, while consuming little reagent. While it is too early to tell whether such a vision will be realized, significant progress has been achieved, and various applications of significant scientific and practical interest have been developed. Here a review of the physics of small volumes (nanoliters) of fluids is presented, as parametrized by a series of dimensionless numbers expressing the relative importance of various physical phenomena. Specifically, this review explores the Reynolds number Re, addressing inertial effects; the Peclet number Pe, which concerns convective and diffusive transport; the capillary number Ca expressing the importance of interfacial tension; the Deborah, Weissenberg, and elasticity numbers De, Wi, and El, describing elastic effects due to deformable microstructural elements like polymers; the Grashof and Rayleigh numbers Gr and Ra, describing density-driven flows; and the Knudsen number, describing the importance of noncontinuum molecular effects. Furthermore, the long-range nature of viscous flows and the small device dimensions inherent in microfluidics mean that the influence of boundaries is typically significant. A variety of strategies have been developed to manipulate fluids by exploiting boundary effects; among these are electrokinetic effects, acoustic streaming, and fluid-structure interactions. The goal is to describe the physics behind the rich variety of fluid phenomena occurring on the nanoliter scale using simple scaling arguments, with the hopes of developing an intuitive sense for this occasionally counterintuitive world.