Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an atomic force microscope apparatus allowing tracking errors to be made as close to zero as possible to reduce images obtained through high-speed scanning from being degraded. To accomplish the object of the present invention, the present invention provides an atomic force microscope apparatus imaging a surface topography of a sample in a contact mode, the apparatus including a cantilever having a probe interacting with the sample surface via an atomic force and being subjected to a deflection by the atomic force, laser light provision means for allowing first laser light to enter the cantilever, light detection means, a controller estimating the surface topography of the sample surface, and data storage means for recording the estimated surface topography.

Abstract: The present invention has an object to provide a pitching control device of a vehicle that controls a pitching motion by controlling a torque of its driving wheels and a control method. In the motor vehicle that drives the driving wheels by the torque of a motor, a moment about the center of gravity of the motor vehicle is found from variations of loads applied to the wheels of the motor vehicle at the time of acceleration that include loads applied to th wheels of the motor vehicle at the time of standstill and an anti-dive force working on front wheels of the motor vehicle and an anti-lift force working on rear wheels of the motor vehicle at the time of braking by a brake. A pitch angle of the motor is computed from this moment. The motor torque of the motor is computed based on the computed pitch angle.

Abstract: A travel route generating method for an unmanned vehicle, which includes a condition input step of inputting a vehicle constraint condition including a vehicle width and a minimum turning radius of the unmanned vehicle, and a geometrical constraint condition including a travel route generation range in which the unmanned vehicle is to travel, an obstacle to avoid, and a position and a direction of an entrance point and an exit point; and a travel route generating step of generating a travel route such that the vehicle constraint condition and the geometrical constraint condition are satisfied, and such that a function value of a cost function having at least a magnitude of a curve and/or a rate of change in the curve as a cost element is minimized.

Abstract: A tank (10) of a ship (1) is provided with an inflow port (6) and an outflow port (7) opening through a bottom of the ship (13). The inflow and outflow ports are spaced apart from each other in a headway direction of the hull. The ports are equipped with closure means (9), which closes the ports so as to ensure hull buoyancy by means of air in the tank. The ports allow seawater outside the ship to flow into the tank through the inflow port and the seawater in the tank to flow out of the ship through the outflow port, with use of headway motion of the ship. A partition (2) provides a weir extending in a widthwise direction of the hull in the tank, and divides a region in the tank into an inflow area (3) and an outflow area (4). The tank, partition, inflow port, outflow port and closure means constitute a ship buoyancy control system.

Abstract: A fluorescent substance is provided, with includes a matrix composed of a compound having an AlN polytypoid structure represented by the following general formula (1), and a luminescence center element: (Al,M)a(N,X)b??(1) wherein, M is at least one metal excluding Al, X is at least one non-metal excluding N, and a and b are positive values.

Abstract: An initial polygon obtained from a point group is used as a control polygon, and a control point of the control polygon is offset in a normal direction by the shortest distance from a limit surface generated by the control polygon, so that the position of new control point is determined to allow a subdivision surface to interpolate the initial polygon, thereby generating the subdivision surface which interpolates the point group. A first process to determine the point on the subdivision surface at the shortest distance from each control point, and a second process to move and offset the control point in the normal direction from the surface by the distance between the point on the surface and the initial control point, are iterated until the distance between the initial point group and the point on the surface satisfies the threshold or becomes smaller than the threshold, thereby generating the subdivision surface interpolating the initial polygon.

Abstract: [Problem] To provide a photochromic compound that is rapidly colored upon irradiation with ultraviolet light, and is rapidly decolored rapidly upon heat application after termination of irradiation with ultraviolet light, and to provide a process for producing the same. [Means for Solving Problems] A photochromic compound represented by general formula (I). R1, R2 and R3 are each a hydrogen atom; a functional group containing an atom in groups 15-16 of the periodic table; a halogen atom; a hydrocarbon group optionally substituted with said functional group or a halogen atom; or an optionally substituted heterocyclic group. R1 and R2 as well as R2 and R3 may be bonded to each other to form an optionally substituted carbon or heterocyclic ring. Z is a polymantylidene group. W is a divalent organic group that forms an optionally substituted carbon aromatic or heterocyclic aromatic ring together with the carbon-carbon double bond to which it is bonded.

Abstract: Reinforcement learning is one of the intellectual operations applied to autonomously moving robots etc. It is a system having excellent sides, for example, enabling operation in unknown environments. However, it has the basic problem called the “incomplete perception problem”. A variety of solution has been proposed, but none has been decisive. The systems also become complex. A simple and effective method of solution has been desired. A complex value function defining a state-action value by a complex number is introduced. Time series information is introduced into a phase part of the complex number value. Due to this, the time series information is introduced into the value function without using a complex algorithm, so the incomplete perception problem is effectively solved by simple loading of the method.

Abstract: The present invention provides a slip rate estimating device measuring a slip ratio without the need for a body speed and a slip ratio control device using the slip ratio estimating device. A motor torque measured by a torque measuring instrument is input to each of a vehicle model (601) and an SRE (602) that performs calculations including time differentiation of the slip ratio. The vehicle model (601) derives a wheel rotation speed, a wheel rotation acceleration, and a body speed. The vehicle model (601) outputs the wheel rotation speed and the wheel rotation acceleration to the SRE (602). The SRE (602) outputs the slip ratio based on the motor torque, the wheel rotation speed, and the wheel rotation acceleration.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a categorical color perception system which automatically judges a categorical color and aims to judge a categorical color name correctly under various ambient lights. Test color measured at an experiment is inputted to an input layer portion corresponding to test color components 101, illumination light components at the experiment are inputted to an input layer portion corresponding to illumination light components 102, and connection weights are obtained by learning with backpropagation method so as to output a categorical color judged by an examinee.

Abstract: An optical control device includes a photonic crystal and a line-defect waveguide formed in the photonic crystal wherein the optical control device is capable of guiding, through the line-defect waveguide, a light having a wavenumber larger than a wavenumber corresponding to an anti-intersection of an even-mode band and an odd-mode band, the even-mode band and odd-mode band being a waveguide band of the line-defect waveguide, wherein the even-mode band of the line-defect waveguide includes two or more inflection points in a wavenumber region larger than a wavenumber corresponding to an intersection of the even-mode band and said odd-mode band, the optical control device guiding a light having a frequency in the vicinity of the inflection point.

Abstract: A shape evaluation device performs simulation by using an annular light source or concentric light source instead of a rectilinear light source and calculates a characteristic line for performing shape evaluation. The shape evaluation device includes a calculation device (2) having: a distance vector calculation unit (2a) for acquiring a distance vector representing a distance between the circle and the vector, a distance function unit (2b) for acquiring a distance function from the distance vector, and a distance function calculation unit (2c) for acquiring a point on a curved surface where the value of the distance function is a predetermined value. By performing simulation using the annular or concentric light source, it is possible to obtain a characteristic line capable of observing distortion in all the directions by one calculation.

Abstract: A measuring apparatus has: a recording portion that optically records a flying body at intervals, to obtain a first image and a second image; an image information computing portion that detects a first outline region of the flying body from the first image and a second outline region of the flying body from the second image, and finds first image information from the first image and second image information from the second image: and a rotation amount computing portion that maps the first image information to a surface of a first visual spherical body, the second image information to a surface of a second virtual spherical body, and computes a rotation amount that is used for rotation processing when the rotation processing is performed on the first virtual spherical body to obtain a highest correlation between the first image information and the second image information.

Abstract: An optical control device includes a photonic crystal and a line-defect waveguide formed in the photonic crystal wherein the optical control device is capable of guiding, through the line-defect waveguide, a light having a wavenumber larger than a wavenumber corresponding to an anti-intersection of an even-mode band and an odd-mode band, the even-mode band and odd-mode band being a waveguide band of the line-defect waveguide, wherein the even-mode band of the line-defect waveguide includes two or more inflection points in a wavenumber region larger than a wavenumber corresponding to an intersection of the even-mode band and said odd-mode band, the optical control device guiding a light having a frequency in the vicinity of the inflection point.