A dredger’s dynamic positioning system (DPS) is designed with real-time Profinet IO structure and nonlinear control algorithm. Real-time industrial Ethernet is used in this system to improve the real-time performance. Noise-free estimates of the position and the velocity are produced by the observer, and the adaptive dynamic surface control (ADSC) algorithm is adopted to solve the special probl...

As functional integration has increased in hand-held consumer devices features such as Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers have been embedded in increasingly more devices in recent years. For example, the train positioning system based on GPS provides an integrated positioning solution which can be used in many rail applications without a cost intensive infrastructure. The network built i...

It is possible to define conversation policies, such as communication or dialogue protocols, that are based strictly on what messages and, respectively, what performatives may follow each other. While such an approach has many practical applications, such protocols support only "local coherence" in a conversation. In a mixed-initiative dialogue between two agents cooperating on some joint task,...

In this paper a p-median-like model is formulated to address the issue of locating new facilities when there is uncertainty. Several possible future scenarios with respect to demand and/or the travel times/distance parameters are presented. The planner will want a strategy of positioning that will do as "well as possible" over the future scenarios. This paper presents a discrete location model ...

This paper introduces an innovative method of a potential field generation. A new construction of the potentials lets the camera be attracted by implicit goals and simultaneously prevents the observer from getting into the object. Proposed method solves the problem of collisions detection without additional implementation. Proposed potential field lets the user come up to a visually selected ob...

In the domain of RoboCup 2D soccer simulation league, appropriate player positioning against a given opponent team is an important factor of soccer team performance. This work proposes a model which decides the strategy that should be applied regarding a particular opponent team. This task can be realized by applying preliminary a learning phase where the model determines the most effective str...

Electronic contracting aims at improving existing business relationship paradigms and at enabling new forms of contractual relationships. To successfully realize these objectives, an integral understanding of the contracting field must be established. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for businessto-business contracting support. The framework provides a complete view over the con...

Global fi nancial markets have now been in turmoil for over a year. The crisis began to unfold around the time of last year’s Conference, with adverse news about the US sub-prime mortgage market gaining prominence in June and July 2007. By August, problems in credit markets had become widespread and spreads in interbank markets had increased signifi cantly. While it was recognised towards the e...

Introduction 1. Globalization of Industries, Strategies, Firms and Marketing Activities 2. MNCs’ Marketing Activities: towards an integrated global Approach? 3. The Study 3.1 Research Questions and Methodology 3.2 Principal Findings 3.2.1 Italian MNCs and their Marketing Orientation 3.2.2 Means and Reasons for Implementing and Integrating Global Marketing Activities 3.2.3 The Correlation betwee...