Abstract: A semiconductor laser includes a substrate having a semiconductor layer sequence with an active layer that generates light during operation of the semiconductor laser, and a contact layer on a bottom side of the substrate opposite the semiconductor layer sequence, wherein the contact layer has at least one first partial region and at least one second partial region which are formed contiguously, the at least one first partial region is annealed, and the at least one second partial region is unannealed.

Abstract: An electromechanical roll stabilizer for a motor vehicle includes a housing, a rotor position sensor board, and an actuator torque sensor board. The housing has a motor unit that has a stator and a rotor integrated therein. The rotor position sensor board and the actuator torque sensor board are arranged between two stabilizer halves. The actuator torque sensor board has a digitization and transmission unit for digitizing the sensed torque and transmitting the digitized torque to a data forwarding module arranged on the rotor position sensor board. The rotor position sensor board has a rotor position detection unit for sensing and digitizing the rotor position and a data processing unit. The sensing of the rotor position can be triggered by at least one command signal of a controller to the rotor position detection unit. The data processing unit is provided to process the sensed measured values.

Abstract: An electromechanical roll stabilizer for a motor vehicle is disclosed. A housing has a motor unit that has a stator and a rotor integrated therein. A rotor position sensor board and an actuator torque sensor board are arranged between two stabilizer halves. The actuator torque sensor board has a digitization and transmission unit for digitizing the sensed torque and transmitting the digitized torque to a data forwarding module arranged on the rotor position sensor board. The rotor position sensor board has a rotor position detection unit for sensing and digitizing the rotor position and a data processing unit. The sensing of the rotor position can be triggered by at least one command signal of a controller to the rotor position detection unit. The data processing unit is provided to process the sensed measured values.

Abstract: Autonomous computational processes (“agents”) representing application-specific data items (e.g., representations of real-world entities or events, any-media documents, models, etc.) are provided with application-independent methods and data structures to arrange themselves (according to application specific relationship measures) relative to other such agents even when the agents' ability to sense or communicate with other agents is limited relative to the extent of the overall collection. A continuously executing arrangement decision process executed by each agent modifies the agent's position in the chosen topology (e.g., metric space, graph structure) such that the chosen distance measure between agent positions approximates the relationship structure among the currently available data-items.

Abstract: Computational processes and their associated data structures representing past events of interest in a geographic area and recent time period, contextual information such as terrain data, and labeled space-time probability fields are continuously executed to generate and update a spatial probability field that conveys the risk of similar such events occurring in the near future at given locations in the area of interest. The invention specifies two computational processes operating in shared data structures, one tracing back in time known past events to probable origin locations while accounting for movement constraints and location preferences, the other projecting event risk forward in time from likely origin locations, accounting for movement constraints and targeting preferences. The invention further specifies that these two processes may tune each others' parameters through the evaluation of the accuracy of the recall of past events, thus generating more accurate future event risk forecasts.

Abstract: Autonomous computational processes (“agents”) representing application-specific domain entities are provided with application-independent methods and data structures to monitor one or more streams of behavioral indicator data observed in their respective entities and detect and report the presence of application-defined patterns of satisfied constraints (signatures) in real time. The invention specifies two agent populations, one (“Host Agents”) representing each domain entity with a dedicated agent that maintains current signature detection probabilities (and their constraint components), the other (“Indicator Agents”) continuously monitoring the behavioral indicator data and updating constraint satisfaction and signature detection probabilities.

Abstract: Autonomous computational processes (“agents”) representing application-specific data items (e.g., representations of real-world entities or events, any-media documents, models, etc.) are provided with application-independent methods and data structures to spread information in a global topology even when the agents' ability to sense or communicate with other agents is limited relative to the extent of the overall collection. The invention specifies three agent roles (Gossip Producer, Gossip Sharer, Gossip Consumer) that define three unique agent processes from which the information sharing emerges. Any agent in a given application may execute one or more of these roles at any given time and additional agent movement in the chosen topology aids the information spreading.

Abstract: Individual autonomous computational processes (“agents”) representing application-specific data items (e.g., representations of real-world entities or events, any-media documents, models, etc.) are provided with an application-independent method and data structures to combine arbitrary objectives and constraints into a goal-oriented sequence of movement steps in a global topology based on virtual or physical sensor information. The invention specifies a cyclical two-step agent movement process where the first step determines the proposed movement step relative to the agent's current position and the second step attempts to attain the new position implied by the movement step. The first step in the process first combines movement proposals from each of the objectives defined by the application and then enforces any of the application-defined constraints. The invention includes a number of prescriptions on how standard agent movement objectives are to be realized in this agent process.

Abstract: Autonomous computational processes (“agents”) representing application-specific data items (e.g., representations of real-world entities or events, any-media documents, models, etc.) are provided with application-independent methods and data structures to arrange themselves (according to application specific relationship measures) relative to other such agents even when the agents' ability to sense or communicate with other agents is limited relative to the extent of the overall collection. A continuously executing arrangement decision process executed by each agent modifies the agent's position in the chosen topology (e.g., metric space, graph structure) such that the chosen distance measure between agent positions approximates the relationship structure among the currently available data-items.

Abstract: A clustering method yields a searchable hierarchy to speed retrieval, and can function dynamically with a changing document population. Nodes of the hierarchy climb up and down the emerging hierarchy based on locally sensed information. Like previous ant clustering algorithms, the inventive process is dynamic, decentralized, and anytime. Unlike them, it yields a hierarchical structure. For simplicity, and reflecting our initial application in the domain of textual information, the items being clustered are documents, but the principles may be applied to any collection of data items.

Abstract: A clustering method yields a searchable hierarchy to speed retrieval, and can function dynamically with a changing document population. Nodes of the hierarchy climb up and down the emerging hierarchy based on locally sensed information. Like previous ant clustering algorithms, the inventive process is dynamic, decentralized, and anytime. Unlike them, it yields a hierarchical structure. For simplicity, and reflecting our initial application in the domain of textual information, the items being clustered are documents, but the principles may be applied to any collection of data items.

Abstract: A continuous, emergent, anytime process clusters input documents according to a similarity function within a node-based, distributed computing environment, for example, within a client/server environment. An agent (DAg) assigned to each document determines whether its document should remain at a node or be moved to another node to increase similarity clustering. An agent (SAg) assigned to each node may be operative to manage storage requirements within its node, and/or manage communications between the nodes of the environment as the DAgs operate. Typically a move request is issued to another node if it is determined that clustering would increase by moving a document to that node. In such an instance, the SAg assigned to that other node would probabilistically consider the move request in view of other such requests in sequence to avoid overloading. To enhance performance, documents may be preprocessed and given values representative of similarity.

Abstract: A method of predicting the behavior of software agents in a simulated environment involving modeling a plurality of software agents representing entities to be analyzed, which may be human beings. Using a set of parameters that governs the behavior of the agents, the internal state of at least one of the agents is estimated by its behavior in the simulation, including its movement within the environment. This facilitates a prediction of the likely future behavior of the agent based solely upon its internal state; that is, without recourse to any intentional agent communications. In one embodiment, the simulated environment is based upon a digital pheromone infrastructure. The simulation integrates knowledge of threat regions, a cognitive analysis of the agent's beliefs, desires, and intentions, a model of the agent's emotional disposition and state, and the dynamics of interactions with the environment.

Abstract: A method of predicting the behavior of software agents in a simulated environment involves modeling a plurality of software agents representing entities to be analyzed, which may be human beings. Using a set of parameters that governs the behavior of the agents, the internal state of at least one of the agents is estimated by its behavior in the simulation, including its movement within the environment. This facilitates a prediction of the likely future behavior of the agent based solely upon its internal state; that is, without recourse to any intentional agent communications. In the preferred embodiment the simulated environment is based upon a digital pheromone infrastructure. The simulation integrates knowledge of threat regions, a cognitive analysis of the agent's beliefs, desires, and intentions, a model of the agent's emotional disposition and state, and the dynamics of interactions with the environment.

Abstract: A continuous, emergent, anytime process clusters input documents according to a similarity function within a node-based, distributed computing environment, for example, within a client/server environment. An agent (DAg) assigned to each document determines whether its document should remain at a node or be moved to another node to increase similarity clustering. An agent (SAg) assigned to each node may be operative to manage storage requirements within its node, and/or manage communications between the nodes of the environment as the DAgs operate. Typically a move request is issued to another node if it is determined that clustering would increase by moving a document to that node. In such an instance, the SAg assigned to that other node would probabilistically consider the move request in view of other such requests in sequence to avoid overloading. To enhance performance, documents may be preprocessed and given values representative of similarity.

Abstract: A swarming agent architecture provides a distributed, decentralized, agent-based computing environment applicable to ground-based surveillance. The approach, called Sensor Network Integration through Pheromone Fusion, or “SNIPF,” provides an end-to-end demonstration that integrates self-contained sensor/communication nodes with novel swarming algorithms to detect foot and vehicular movement through a monitored area with minimal configuration and maintenance. A plurality of computational nodes distributed within the environment and, depending upon the way in which they are deployed, the various nodes are operative to sense the local environment, receive a message from a neighboring node, and transmit a message to a neighboring node. Given these capabilities, the nodes can collectively determine the presence and/or movement of a target and communicate this information to a user.

Abstract: A system and process uses pheromone propagation to provide direction and/or distance information to a remote destination through the use of localized decision making processes. Locally available information is exchanged and translated with global information through the use of a pheromone vocabulary and multi-layer grid systems. Self-organizing networks of sensors provide remote monitoring of a space.

Abstract: An Adaptive, Any-Time Case Retrieval process combines existing knowledge (emergent clustering, case retrieval with CRN) in a novel and advantageous way. Although ideally suited to the Digital Body Development System (DBDS), the method is applicable to any problem solving environment involving iterative simulations. Given a description of a problem to be solved, a candidate solution is applied to generate a problem solving base case. The description of the problem is modified and the modification is recorded. Candidate solutions are applied to the problem as modified, thereby generating a problem solving event case. These steps are repeated so as to rank the relevance of the cases generated to arrive at an optimal solution to the problem. In the preferred embodiment a case retrieval network (CRN) structure is used in the ranking process.

Abstract: Swarming agents in networks of preferably physically distributed processing nodes are used for data acquisition, data fusion, and control applications. An architecture for active surveillance systems is presented in which simple mobile agents collectively process real-time data from heterogeneous sources at or near the origin of the data. System requirements are specifically matched to the needs of a surveillance system for the early detection of large-scale bioterrorist attacks on a civilian population, but the same architecture is applicable to a wide range of other domains. The pattern detection and classification processes executed by the proposed system emerge from the coordinated activities of agents of two populations in a shared computational environment. Detector agents draw each other's attention to significant spatio-temporal patterns in the observed data stream. Classifier agents rank the detected patterns according to their respective criterion.

Abstract: A clustering method yields a searchable hierarchy to speed retrieval, and can function dynamically with a changing document population. Nodes of the hierarchy climb up and down the emerging hierarchy based on locally sensed information. Like previous ant clustering algorithms, the inventive process is dynamic, decentralized, and anytime. Unlike them, it yields a hierarchical structure. For simplicity, and reflecting our initial application in the domain of textual information, the items being clustered are documents, but the principles may be applied to any collection of data items.