In this paper, we introduce linear and nonlinear consensus protocols for networks of dynamic agents that allow the agents to agree in a distributed and cooperative fashion. We consider the cases of networks with communication time-delays and channels that have filtering effects. We find a tight upper bound on the maximum fixed time-delay that can be tolerated in the network. It turns out that t...

An Artificial Neural Network is a flexible mathematical structure which is capable of identifying complex nonlinear relationships between input and output data sets. Such Neural Networks have been characterized by passive neurons that are not able to select and estimate their own inputs. In a new approach, which corresponds in a better way to the actions of human nervous system, the connections...

A dynamic model for the longitudinal axis of a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft is presented. Non-minimum phase characteristics in this model result from the fact that the process of generating an upward pitch moment produces a small downward force, causing the aircraft to lose altitude. The model is not full state linearizable and the internal dynamics which remain after input-...

Nonrobustness refers to qualitative or catastrophic failures in geometric algorithms arising from numerical errors. Section 45.1 provides background on these problems. Although nonrobustness is already an issue in “purely numerical” computation, the problem is compounded in “geometric computation.” In Section 45.2 we characterize such computations. Researchers trying to create robust geometric ...

Since Marshall, the standard approach to developing a theory of competitive markets is to separate demand behavior (“consumer theory”) from supply behavior (“producer theory”) and then use the notion of market equilibrium to reconcile demand and supply. This note studies producer theory and a separate one studies consumer theory. The standard model has the following features. Firms are describe...

This paper presents a systematic control inputs optimization method for melting interface tracking in laser-aided powder deposition (LAPD) processes. Using a proposed interface approximation and a coordinate system moving with the laser source, and adopting the enhanced thermal conductivity method, the process model is first reduced to a set of coupled partial differential equations (PDEs) in f...

Layer 1 (L1) of primary visual cortex (V1) is the target of projections from many brain regions outside of V1. We found that inputs to the non-columnar mouse V1 from the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and feedback projections from multiple higher cortical areas to L1 are patchy. The patches are matched to a pattern of M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor expression at fixed locations of mous...

The performance of an organization is a function of its efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is the degree to which inputs are used to produce outputs. Effectiveness is the degree to which organizational goals are met. Efficiency provides a starting point for our discussion, as it continues to be an active area of research. Efficiency is defined as the ratio of total output to total input. ...

The ability of bifurcating processing units and their networks to rapidly switch between different dynamic modes has been used in recent research efforts to model new computational properties of neural systems. In this spirit, we devise a bifurcating neuron based on control of chaos collapsing to a period-3 orbit in the dynamics of a quadratic logistic map (QLM). Proposed QLM3 neuron is constru...

In this paper we analyze equilibria in competitive environments under constraints across players’ strategies. This means that the action taken by one player limits the possible choices of the other players. In this context the usual approach to show existence of equilibrium, Kakutani’s Fixed Point theorem, cannot be applied directly. In particular, best replies against a given strategy profile ...