Konferenzbeiträge

In this paper, a research platform for concentric tube continuum robots is developed in order to enable advances in deploying curved cannulae for stereotactic neurosurgery. The system consists of a manually operated high-precision actuation apparatus and a photogrammetric system with measurement errors in the range of 100 micrometer. With this platform, previously planned curved paths can be analyzed ex-situ w.r.t., e.g., target precision, follow-the-leader-behavior, and hysteretic phenomena. Regarding research towards an in-vivo application in human brains, first tests with porcine brain cadavers inside an intraoperative CT are conducted in order to pave the way for histological as well as target reachability studies.

Industrial processes are measured and controlled using high-dimensional process variables, but its overall operation is usually characterised by low-dimensional patterns. The changes in the pattern are dominated by three features: free motion, controlled motion, and uncertainty. In this paper, all three features are taken into consideration to propose a new probabilistic dynamic-controlled latent variable (PDCLV) model structure using a dynamic Bayesian network for process modelling in the pattern space. To this end, the linear dynamic system characterised by control inputs is introduced, and the expectation maximisation algorithm is specially designed for learning the PDCLV model. Benefitting from the dynamic causality between control inputs and the explicit modelling of the pattern, a method for pattern-based stochastic model predictive control (SMPC) is implemented successfully to realise process optimisation. A case study on an industrial boiler combustion process demonstrates the benefits of the proposed PDCLV structure for pattern-space modelling and pattern-based SMPC.

In this paper, a data-driven or model-free approach is presented to design a fault detection system of continuous-time linear time-invariant (LTI) systems based on input and output data in the time domain. The main idea is to directly identify the subspaces and their related matrices relevant for parity-space-based residual generation based on a modulated output equation by use of modulation functions and their properties. Therefore, the explicit model identification of the process for a model-based approach in a conventional two-step procedure can be avoided saving design effort especially for large-scale systems. A simulation of the resulting fault detection system is provided showing the effectiveness of the design approach.

Self-care and improving one’s well-being has been growing rapidly in recent years for manifold reasons (e.g. higher workload, corona pandemic). Consumer-grade noninvasive stimulation devices are therefore on the rise to counteract the occurrence of mood disorders and burn-out symptoms. Here, we aim at investigating the impact of dynamically varying auditory-visual stimulation patterns on neural entrainment patterns and resonance phenomena. Twenty-two healthy volunteers (11 female, 25.4 ± 5.1 years, one dropout, seven in control group) participated in the study. EEG data (64 channel; equidistant layout) were acquired preand during stimulation for each volunteer. Visual and auditory stimuli were presented via a headset (ATUM, Neuro- Bright; https://www.neurobright.co.uk/). Presentation patterns (frequency, intensity, spatial distribution) varied within a presentation session but were kept constant across all volunteers. Stimulus intensity was adjusted to individual comfort levels. Individual alpha peak frequencies (iAPF) were calculated via the power spectral density with 50% overlapping 10s epochs from pre-stimulation segments. For both, the study and the control group, a time-frequency representation was calculated for the pre- and during-stimulation segments. From this, power values were determined for different frequency-bands (iAPF, stimulation frequencies and second harmonics of the latter). Statistical analyses focused on contrasting the power values between pre- and during stimulation. Mean iAPF values were 10.25 ± 0.99Hz for the study and 10.63 ± 1.21Hz for the control group respectively. Both, power values at the stimulation frequencies and their second harmonics differed significantly between pre- and during stimulation (p stim =0.001; p harm =0.001) in the study group. No such difference was found for the control group (pstim=0.352; pharm=0.237). Further, neither the study nor the control group showed significant iAPF power differences (p study =0.035; p control =0.352; alpha*=0.008). Our results suggest that lightweight, portable auditory-visual presentation devices represent an effective tool for generating entrainment and resonance effects at home. Further analyses will focus on the investigation of individual differences driving such modulatory effects.