This paper introduces an innovative, adaptive Fractional Open-Circuit Voltage (FOCV) algorithm combined with a robust Improved Model Reference Adaptive Controller (IMRAC) for Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) in standalone photovoltaic (PV) systems. The proposed two-stage control strategy enhances energy efficiency, simplifies system operation, and addresses limitations in conventional MPPT methods, such as slow convergence, high oscillations, and susceptibility to environmental fluctuations. The first stage dynamically estimates the Maximum Power Point (MPP) voltage using a novel adaptive FOCV method, which eliminates the need for irradiance sensors or physical disconnection of PV modules. This stage incorporates a real-time adjustment of the kv factor based on variations in PV power, ensuring precise voltage estimation. In the second stage, the IMRAC controller ensures accurate tracking of the MPP by adapting swiftly to changes in irradiance and temperature, while minimizing ripple and power loss. Validation of the proposed system was carried out using Processor-in-the-Loop (PIL) testing on an Arduino Due microcontroller, showcasing real-world applicability. Comparative analysis with state-of-the-art MPPT controllers, including P&O-PI, InC-SMC, FLC, and VS P&O Backstepping, demonstrates superior tracking efficiency exceeding 99.49% under EN 50,530 standard test conditions. The system also maintains exceptional performance with minimal efficiency loss across a wide range of temperature and irradiance variations. By combining simplicity, robustness, and sustainability, this work establishes a cutting-edge solution for standalone PV systems, paving the way for more efficient and reliable renewable energy applications.
Recent advances in deep learning have sparked interest in AI-generated art, including robot-assisted painting. Traditional painting machines use static images and offline processing without considering the dynamic nature of painting. Neuromorphic cameras, which capture light intensity changes through asynchronous events, and mixed-signal neuromorphic processors, which implement biologically plausible spiking neural networks, offer a promising alternative. In this work, we present a robotic painting system comprising a 6-DOF robotic arm, event-based input from a Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS) camera and a neuromorphic processor to produce dynamic brushstrokes, and tactile feedback from a force-torque sensor to compensate for brush deformation. The system receives DVS events representing the desired brushstroke trajectory and maps these events onto the processor's neurons to compute joint velocities in close-loop. The variability in the input's noisy event streams and the processor's analog circuits reproduces the heterogeneity of human brushstrokes. Tested in a real-world setting, the system successfully generated diverse physical brushstrokes. This network marks a first step towards a fully spiking robotic controller with ultra-low latency responsiveness, applicable to any robotic task requiring real-time closed-loop adaptive control.
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Early implantable epilepsy therapy devices provided open-loop electrical stimulation without brain sensing, computing, or an interface for synchronized behavioural inputs from patients. Recent epilepsy stimulation devices provide brain sensing but have not yet developed analytics for accurately tracking and quantifying behaviour and seizures. Here we describe a distributed brain co-processor providing an intuitive bi-directional interface between patient, implanted neural stimulation and sensing device, and local and distributed computing resources. Automated analysis of continuous streaming electrophysiology is synchronized with patient reports using a handheld device and integrated with distributed cloud computing resources for quantifying seizures, interictal epileptiform spikes and patient symptoms during therapeutic electrical brain stimulation. The classification algorithms for interictal epileptiform spikes and seizures were developed and parameterized using long-term ambulatory data from nine humans and eight canines with epilepsy, and then implemented prospectively in out-of-sample testing in two pet canines and four humans with drug-resistant epilepsy living in their natural environments. Accurate seizure diaries are needed as the primary clinical outcome measure of epilepsy therapy and to guide brain-stimulation optimization. The brain co-processor system described here enables tracking interictal epileptiform spikes, seizures and correlation with patient behavioural reports. In the future, correlation of spikes and seizures with behaviour will allow more detailed investigation of the clinical impact of spikes and seizures on patients.
- Keywords
- electrophysiology, epilepsy, machine learning, seizures,
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
