Books about Robustness from Amazon.com

All living things are remarkably complex, yet their DNA is unstable, undergoing countless random mutations over generations Despite this instability, most animals do not grow two heads or die, plants continue to thrive, and bacteria continue to divide. Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems tackles this perplexing paradox. The book explores why genetic changes do not cause organisms to fail catastrophically and how evolution shapes organisms' robustness. Andreas Wagner looks at this problem from the ground up, starting with the alphabet of DNA, the genetic code, RNA, and protein molecules, moving on to genetic networks and embryonic development, and working his way up to whole organisms. He then develops an evolutionary explanation for robustness.

Wagner shows how evolution by natural selection preferentially finds and favors robust solutions to the problems organisms face in surviving and reproducing. Such robustness, he argues, also enhances the potential for future evolutionary innovation. Wagner also argues that robustness has less to do with organisms having plenty of spare parts (the redundancy theory that has been popular) and more to do with the reality that mutations can change organisms in ways that do not substantively affect their fitness.

Unparalleled in its field, this book offers the most detailed analysis available of all facets of robustness within organisms. It will appeal not only to biologists but also to engineers interested in the design of robust systems and to social scientists concerned with robustness in human communities and populations.

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Price: $27.67 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This exciting and comprehensive overview describes the underlying principles, implementation details, and key enhancing features of the new IEEE 802.11n standard, which has been created to significantly improve network throughput. A detailed discussion of important strength and reliability enhancing features is given in addition to a clear summary of any issues. Advanced topics are also covered. With numerous examples and simulation results included to highlight the benefits of the new features, this is an ideal reference for designers of Wireless Local Area Network (LAN) equipment, and network managers whose systems adopt the new standard. It is also a useful distillation of 802.11n technology for graduate students and researchers in the field of wireless communication..
Price: $45.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From power plants to sugar refining, model predictive control (MPC) schemes have established themselves as the preferred control strategies for a wide variety of processes. The second edition of Model Predictive Control provides a thorough introduction to theoretical and practical aspects of the most commonly used MPC strategies. It bridges the gap between the powerful but often abstract techniques of control researchers and the more empirical approach of practitioners. Model Predictive Control demonstrates that a powerful technique does not always require complex control algorithms. The text features material on the following subjects: general MPC elements and algorithms; commercial MPC schemes; generalized predictive control multivariable, robust, constrained and nonlinear MPC; fast methods for MPC implementation; applications. All of the material is thoroughly updated for the second edition with the chapters on nonlinear MPC and MPC implementation being entirely new. Many new exercises and examples have also have also been added throughout and Matlab(r) programs to aid in their solution can be downloaded from the authors' website at XYZ.edu.es. The text is an excellent aid for graduate and advanced undergraduate students and will also be of use to researchers and industrial practitioners wishing to keep abreast of a fast-moving field..
Price: $77.87 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Shape interrogation is the process of extraction of information from a geometric model. It is a fundamental component of Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems. The authors focus on shape interrogation of geometric models bounded by free-form surfaces. Free-form surfaces, also called sculptured surfaces, are widely used in the bodies of ships, automobiles and aircraft, which have both functionality and attractive shape requirements. Many electronic devices as well as consumer products are designed with aesthetic shapes, which involve free-form surfaces. This book provides the mathematical fundamentals as well as algorithms for various shape interrogation methods including nonlinear polynomial solvers, intersection problems, differential geometry of intersection curves, distance functions, curve and surface interrogation, umbilics and lines of curvature, geodesics, and offset curves and surfaces. This book will be of interest both to graduate students and professionals..
Price: $47.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This research monograph develops a systematic approach to synthesize efficient robust MPC for constrained LTV systems and nonlinear systems. Specifically, (a) by using the concept of invariant sets, robustness is achieved without online computation; (b) by using a two-level control structure, optimization is separated from stabilization; (c) by constructing a continuum of terminal sets, both large operating regions and local optimality can be achieved without large number of control decision variables; (d) by decomposing a nonlinear control problem into a sequence of linear control problems, a nonlinear non-convex optimization problem is reduced to a convex optimization problem. Algorithms developed in this monograph have been formulated into linear objective minimisations subject to linear matrix inequality constraints. This optimization is convex and can be solved efficiently using interior point methods. Since state and decision variables appear linearly in the objective function and the matrix inequality constraints, linear combination of off-line MPC solutions provides a feasible solution, which can potentially replace online optimization in MPC..
Price: $76.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

MEMS Vibratory Gyroscopes provides a solid foundation in the theory and fundamental operational principles of micromachined vibratory rate gyroscopes, and introduces structural designs that provide inherent robustness against structural and environmental variations. In the first part, the dynamics of the vibratory gyroscope sensing element is developed, common micro-fabrication processes and methods commonly used in inertial sensor production are summarized, design of mechanical structures for both linear and torsional gyroscopes are presented, and electrical actuation and detection methods are discussed along with details on experimental characterization of MEMS gyroscopes. In the second part, design concepts that improve robustness of the micromachined sensing element are introduced, supported by constructive computational examples and experimental results illustrating the material.

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Price: $96.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A most critical and important issue surrounding the design of automatic control systems with the successively increasing complexity is guaranteeing a high system performance over a wide operating range and meeting the requirements on system reliability and dependability. As one of the key technologies for the problem solutions, advanced fault detection and identification (FDI) technology is receiving considerable attention.

The objective of this book is to introduce basic model-based FDI schemes, advanced analysis and design algorithms and the needed mathematical and control theory tools at a level for graduate students and researchers as well as for engineers.

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Price: $60.70 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Successfully classroom-tested at the graduate level, Linear Control Theory: Structure, Robustness, and Optimization covers three major areas of control engineering (PID control, robust control, and optimal control). It provides balanced coverage of elegant mathematical theory and useful engineering-oriented results.

The first part of the book develops results relating to the design of PID and first-order controllers for continuous and discrete-time linear systems with possible delays. The second section deals with the robust stability and performance of systems under parametric and unstructured uncertainty. This section describes several elegant and sharp results, such as Kharitonov’s theorem and its extensions, the edge theorem, and the mapping theorem. Focusing on the optimal control of linear systems, the third part discusses the standard theories of the linear quadratic regulator, H_∞ and l₁ optimal control, and associated results.

Written by recognized leaders in the field, this book explains how control theory can be applied to the design of real-world systems. It shows that the techniques of three term controllers, along with the results on robust and optimal control, are invaluable to developing and solving research problems in many areas of engineering..
Price: $149.18 [Notify me when price goes down.]