National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

About: National Taiwan University of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Fuzzy logic & Control theory. The organization has 16288 authors who have published 21577 publications receiving 426294 citations. The organization is also known as: Taiwan Tech & Taiwantech.

Warehouse management with lean and RFID application: a case study

Abstract: This research presents the integration of lean production and radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of warehouse management. More than ten million parts belonging to around 10,000 types in a distribution center were involved in this study. There are more than 10,000 storage and retrieval operations for hundreds of part types on a daily basis. Value stream mapping was used to draw current state mapping and future state mapping (with lean management and RFID) with material flow, information flow, and time flow. Preliminary experiments showed that the average reading rate of electric forklift and hydraulic cart are 99.3 and 99.1 % by fixed ultra-high frequency RFID readers with antenna installed at the receiving/shipping dock and passive tags mounted on box/pallet. The processing time of data transmitting to warehouse management system at receiving and shipping docks was reduced by 99 and 89 %, respectively. The total operation time from current stage to future stage with only lean can be saved by 79 %. With further integration of RFID to lean, the total operation time can be saved by 87 %. Moreover, performance on saving total operation time can be enhanced to 91 % with cross-docking. The benefit of using RFID in the warehouse management is realized and promoted.

Developments in in-situ (trans) esterification for biodiesel production: A critical review

Abstract: Biodiesel is a biofuel used as an alternative for petroleum diesel. The main obstacle in the widespread use of biodiesel lies mainly on its cost and current state of the technology to process a wide array of feedstock. The cost of biodiesel production is still high compared to that of petroleum based diesel fuel. The decrease of production cost can be achieved through the utilization of cheap, low quality feedstock and the development of simpler production process. In-situ (trans) esterification (ISTE) is an alternative route in synthesizing or producing biodiesel. ISTE involves lesser steps as it eliminates the need for lipid or oil extraction prior to (trans)esterification. A detailed comparison of the various strategies, mechanism involved and technologies developed since 1985 on ISTE processes is described in this review. This review tackles several technological gaps needing to be bridged and addressed in future studies. Furthermore, future prospects and possible developments in ISTE is also looked into.

Adaptive Impedance Control of Robot Manipulators based on Function Approximation Technique

Abstract: This paper presents an adaptive impedance control scheme for an $n$-link constrained rigid robot manipulator without using the regressor. In addition, inversion of the estimated inertia matrix is also avoided and the new design is free from end-point acceleration measurements. The dynamics of the robot manipulator is assumed that all of the matrices in robot model are unavailable. Since these matrices are time-varying and their variation bounds are not given, traditional adaptive or robust designs do not apply. The function approximation technique is used here to represent uncertainties in some finite linear combinations of the orthogonal basis. The dynamics of the output tracking can thus be proved to be a stable first order filter driven by function approximation errors. Using the Lyapunov stability theory, a set of update laws is derived to give closed loop stability with proper tracking performance. A 2 DOF planar robot with environment constraint is used in the computer simulations to test the efficacy of the proposed scheme.

Integration of a (-Cu-S-)n plane in a metal-organic framework affords high electrical conductivity.

Abstract: Designing highly conducting metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is currently a subject of great interest for their potential applications in diverse areas encompassing energy storage and generation. Herein, a strategic design in which a metal–sulfur plane is integrated within a MOF to achieve high electrical conductivity, is successfully demonstrated. The MOF {[Cu2(6-Hmna)(6-mn)]·NH4}n (1, 6-Hmna = 6-mercaptonicotinic acid, 6-mn = 6-mercaptonicotinate), consisting of a two dimensional (–Cu–S–)n plane, is synthesized from the reaction of Cu(NO3)2, and 6,6′-dithiodinicotinic acid via the in situ cleavage of an S–S bond under hydrothermal conditions. A single crystal of the MOF is found to have a low activation energy (6 meV), small bandgap (1.34 eV) and a highest electrical conductivity (10.96 S cm−1) among MOFs for single crystal measurements. This approach provides an ideal roadmap for producing highly conductive MOFs with great potential for applications in batteries, thermoelectric, supercapacitors and related areas. Metal–organic frameworks that contain metal–sulfur chains have been demonstrated to exhibit good electrical conductivity. Here, the authors integrate a 2D metal–sulfur plane into a metal–organic framework, reporting a single crystal with a high conductivity of 10.96 S/cm.