A map is an abstract internal representation of an environment for a mobile robot, and how to learn it autonomously is one of the most fundamental issues in the research fields of intelligent robotics and artificial intelligence. In this paper, we propose a topological map learning method for mobile robots which constructs a POMDP-based discrete state transition model from time-series data of o...

The electronic relaxation dynamics of size-selected (H2O)n-/(D2O)n[25 </= n </= 50] clusters have been studied with time-resolved photoelectron imaging. The excess electron (ec-) was excited through the ec-(p)<--ec-(s) transition with an ultrafast laser pulse, with subsequent evolution of the excited state monitored with photodetachment and photoelectron imaging. All clusters exhibited p-state ...

In the past year we continued the study of the internal conversion coefficient (ICC) of the 65.7keV M4 transition in Sn, which we described in last year’s annual report. This is the latest in a series of precision measurements of the ICCs of high-multipolarity transitions to establish the accuracy of calculated ICCs and, in particular, to discriminate between the theoretical prescriptions used ...

The concealment procedure used by CELP speech decoders to regenerate lost frames introduces an error that propagates into the following frames. Within the context of voice transmission over packet networks, some packets arrive too late to be decoded and must also be concealed. Once they arrive however, those packets can be used to update the internal state of the decoder, which stops error prop...

The laser induced fluorescence spectra of several torsional transitions of the S1 <-- S0 electronic transition were recorded for the hydroxy deuterated o- and m-cresols. Both cis and trans rotamers were observed in a high resolution molecular beam experiment. The spectra were analyzed using a genetic algorithm assisted automatic assignment. The Hamiltonian used included rotational, torsional an...

How do the properties of atomic nuclei change when they acquire a large amount of internal energy? How do nuclear properties vary with their temperature? The giant dipole resonance (GDR) built upon highly excited states has provided a probe for addressing this question. For example, this resonance is strongly coupled to the nuclear shape degrees of freedom. Measurements of the GDR have provided...

A coarse-grained, rigid-rod model that includes steric interactions and an internal dipole is used to study monolayers of surfactant molecules tethered to a flat interface. Monte Carlo simulations are performed in the canonical ensemble for a range of high-density configurations with varying degrees of dipole strength. Both a melting transition and a tilting transition are observed, and the dep...

The concealment procedure used by CELP speech decoders to regenerate lost frames introduces an error that propagates into the following frames. Within the context of voice transmission over packet networks, some packets arrive too late to be decoded and must also be concealed. Once they arrive however, those packets can be used to update the internal state of the decoder, which stops error prop...

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is an ion channel that couples adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis at its nucleotide-binding domains to gating transitions in its transmembrane domains. We previously reported that the charge-neutralized mutant R352C shows two distinct open states, O1 and O2 The two states could be distinguished by their single-channel current ampli...