Thinning of antenna arrays has been a popular topic for the last several decades. With increasing computational power, this optimization task acquired a new hue. This paper suggests a genetic algorithm as an instrument for antenna array thinning. The algorithm with a deliberately chosen fitness function allows synthesizing thinned linear antenna arrays with low peak sidelobe level (SLL) while maintaining the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of a full linear antenna array. Based on results from existing papers in the field and known approaches to antenna array thinning, a classification of thinning types is introduced. The optimal thinning type for a linear thinned antenna array is determined on the basis of a maximum attainable SLL. The effect of thinning coefficient on main directional pattern characteristics, such as peak SLL and HPBW, is discussed for a number of amplitude distributions.

Most of the existing direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms are applied under the assumption that the array manifold is ideal. In practical engineering applications, the existence of non-ideal conditions such as mutual coupling between array elements, array amplitude and phase errors, and array element position errors leads to defects in the array manifold, which makes the performance of the algorithm decline rapidly or even fail. In order to solve the problem of DOA estimation in the presence of amplitude and phase errors and array element position errors, this paper introduces the first-order Taylor expansion equivalent model of the received signal under the uniform linear array from the Bayesian point of view. In the solution, the amplitude and phase error parameters and the array element position error parameters are regarded as random variables obeying the Gaussian distribution. At the same time, the expectation-maximization algorithm is used to update the probability distribution parameters, and then the two error parameters are solved alternately to obtain more accurate DOA estimation results. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by simulation and experiment.

According to the measurement principle of the traditional interferometer, a narrowband signal model is established and used, however, for wideband signals or multiple signals, this model is invalid. For the problems of direction finding with interferometer for wideband signals and multiple signals scene, a frequency domain phase interferometer is proposed and the concrete implementation scheme is given. The proposed method computes the phase difference in frequency domain, and finds multi-target results with judging the spectrum amplitude changing, and uses the frequency phase difference to compute the arrival angle. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed method effectively solves the problem of the angle estimation with phase interferometer for wideband signals, and has good performance in multiple signals scene with non-overlapping spectrum or partially overlapping. In addition, the wider the signal bandwidth, the better direction finding performance of this algorithm.

Jamming suppression is traditionally achieved through the use of spatial filters based on array signal processing theory. In order to achieve better jamming suppression performance, many studies have applied blind source separation (BSS) to jamming suppression. BSS can achieve the separation and extraction of the individual source signals from the mixed signal received by the array. This paper proposes a perspective to recognize BSS as spatial band-pass filters (SBPFs) for jamming suppression applications. The theoretical derivation indicates that the processing of mixed signals by BSS can be perceived as the application of a set of SBPFs that gate the source signals at various angles. Simulations are performed using radar jamming suppression as an example. The simulation results suggest that BSS and SBPFs produce approximately the same effects. Simulation results are consistent with theoretical derivation results.

A mathematical model to determine the optimal production lot size for a deteriorating production system under an extended product inspection policy is developed. The last-K product inspection policy is considered so that the nonconforming items can be reduced, under which the last K products in a production lot are inspected and the nonconforming items from those inspected are reworked. Consider that the products produced towards the end of a production lot are more likely to be nonconforming, is proposed an extended product inspection policy for a deteriorating production system. That is, in a production lot, product inspections are performed among the middle K1 items and after inspections, all of the last K2 products are directly reworked without inspections. Our objective here is the joint optimization of the production lot size and the corresponding extended inspection policy such that the expected total cost per unit time is minimized. Since there is no closed form expression for our optimal policy, the existence for the optimal production inspection policy and an upper bound for the optimal lot size are obtained. Furthermore, an efficient solution procedure is provided to search for the optimal policy. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the proposed model and indicate that the expected total cost per unit time of our product inspection model is less than that of the last-K inspection policy.

Traditional multi-band frequency selective surface (FSS) approaches are hard to achieve a perfect resonance response in a wide band due to the limit of the onset grating lobe frequency determined by the array. To solve this problem, an approach of combining elements in different period to build a hybrid array is presented. The results of series of numerical simulation show that multi-periodicity combined element FSS, which are designed using this approach, usually have much weaker grating lobes than the traditional FSS. Furthermore, their frequency response can be well predicted through the properties of their member element FSS. A prediction method for estimating the degree of expected grating lobe energy loss in designing multi-band FSS using this approach is provided.

The wheel brake system safety is a complex problem which refers to its technical state, operating environment, human factors, etc., in aircraft landing taxiing process. Usually, professors consider system safety with traditional probability techniques based on the linear chain of events. However, it could not comprehensively analyze system safety problems, especially in operating environment, interaction of subsystems, and human factors. Thus, we consider system safety as a control problem based on the system-theoretic accident model, the processes (STAMP) model and the system theoretic process analysis (STPA) technique to compensate the deficiency of traditional techniques. Meanwhile, system safety simulation is considered as system control simulation, and Monte Carlo methods are used which consider the range of uncertain parameters and operation deviation to quantitatively study system safety influence factors in control simulation. Firstly, we construct the STAMP model and STPA feedback control loop of the wheel brake system based on the system functional requirement. Then four unsafe control actions are identified, and causes of them are analyzed. Finally, we construct the Monte Carlo simulation model to analyze different scenarios under disturbance. The results provide a basis for choosing corresponding process model variables in constructing the context table and show that appropriate brake strategies could prevent hazards in aircraft landing taxiing.

In this paper, we propose a beam space coversion (BSC)-based approach to achieve a single near-field signal localization under uniform circular array (UCA). By employing the centro-symmetric geometry of UCA, we apply BSC to extract the two-dimensional (2-D) angles of near-field signal in the Vandermonde form, which allows for azimuth and elevation angle estimation by utilizing the improved estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques (ESPRIT) algorithm. By substituting the calculated 2-D angles into the direction vector of near-field signal, the range parameter can be consequently obtained by the 1-D multiple signal classification (MUSIC) method. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can achieve a single near-field signal localization, which can provide satisfactory performance and reduce computational complexity.

In order to obtain better inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) image, a novel structure-enhanced spatial spectrum is proposed for estimating the incoherence parameters and fusing multiband. The proposed method takes full advantage of the original electromagnetic scattering data and its conjugated form by combining them with the novel covariance matrices. To analyse the superiority of the modified algorithm, the mathematical expression of equivalent signal to noise ratio (SNR) is derived, which can validate our proposed algorithm theoretically. In addition, compared with the conventional matrix pencil (MP) algorithm and the conventional root-multiple signal classification (Root-MUSIC) algorithm, the proposed algorithm has better parameter estimation performance and more accurate multiband fusion results at the same SNR situations. Validity and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by simulation data and real radar data.

To utilizing the characteristic of radar cross section (RCS) of the low detectable aircraft, a special path planning algorithm to eluding radars by the variable RCS is presented. The algorithm first gives the RCS changing model of low detectable aircraft, then establishes a threat model of a ground-based air defense system according to the relations between RCS and the radar range coverage. By the new cost functions of the flight path, which consider both factors of the survival probability and the distance of total route, this path planning method is simulated based on the Dijkstra algorithm, and the planned route meets the flight capacity constraints. Simulation results show that using the effective path planning algorithm, the low detectable aircraft can give full play to its own advantage of stealth to achieve the purpose of silent penetration.

Complex systems widely exist in nature and human society. There are complex interactions between system elements in a complex system, and systems show complex features at the macro level, such as emergence, self-organization, uncertainty, and dynamics. These complex features make it difficult to understand the internal operation mechanism of complex systems. Networked modeling of complex systems is a favorable means of understanding complex systems. It not only represents complex interactions but also reflects essential attributes of complex systems. This paper summarizes the research progress of complex systems modeling and analysis from the perspective of network science, including networked modeling, vital node analysis, network invulnerability analysis, network disintegration analysis, resilience analysis, complex network link prediction, and the attacker-defender game in complex networks. In addition, this paper presents some points of view on the trend and focus of future research on network analysis of complex systems.

The Ocean 4A scatterometer, expected to be launched in 2024, is poised to be the world’s first spaceborne microwave scatterometer utilizing a digital beamforming system. To ensure high-precision measurements and performance stability across diverse environments, stringent requirements are placed on the dynamic range of its receiving system. This paper provides a detailed exposition of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based automatic gain control (AGC) design for the spaceborne scatterometer. Implemented on an FPGA, the algorithm harnesses its parallel processing capabilities and high-speed performance to monitor the received echo signals in real time. Employing an adaptive AGC algorithm, the system generates gain control codes applicable to the intermediate frequency variable attenuator, enabling rapid and stable adjustment of signal amplitudes from the intermediate frequency amplifier to an optimal range. By adopting a purely digital processing approach, experimental results demonstrate that the AGC algorithm exhibits several advantages, including fast convergence, strong flexibility, high precision, and outstanding stability. This innovative design lays a solid foundation for the high-precision measurements of the Ocean 4A scatterometer, with potential implications for the future of spaceborne microwave scatterometers.

In this paper, the newly-derived maximum correntropy Kalman filter (MCKF) is re-derived from the M-estimation perspective, where the MCKF can be viewed as a special case of the M-estimations and the Gaussian kernel function is a special case of many robust cost functions. Based on the derivation process, a unified form for the robust Gaussian filters (RGF) based on M-estimation is proposed to suppress the outliers and non-Gaussian noise in the measurement. The RGF provides a unified form for one Gaussian filter with different cost functions and a unified form for one robust filter with different approximating methods for the involved Gaussian integrals. Simulation results show that RGF with different weighting functions and different Gaussian integral approximation methods has robust anti-jamming performance.

The theory of compressed sensing (CS) provides a new chance to reduce the data acquisition time and improve the data usage factor of the stepped frequency radar system. In light of the sparsity of radar target reflectivity, two imaging methods based on CS, termed the CS-based 2D joint imaging algorithm and the CS-based 2D decoupled imaging algorithm, are proposed. These methods incorporate the coherent mixing operation into the sparse dictionary, and take random measurements in both range and azimuth directions to get high resolution radar images, thus can remarkably reduce the data rate and simplify the hardware design of the radar system while maintaining imaging quality. Experimentsfrom both simulated data and measured data in the anechoic chamber show that the proposed imaging methods can get more focused images than the traditional fast Fourier transform method. Wherein the joint algorithm has stronger robustness and can provide clearer inverse synthetic aperture radar images, while the decoupled algorithm is computationally more efficient but has slightly degraded imaging quality, which can be improved by increasing measurements or using a robuster recovery algorithm nevertheless

A specialized Hungarian algorithm was developed here for the maximum likelihood data association problem with two implementation versions due to presence of false alarms and missed detections. The maximum likelihood data association problem is formulated as a bipartite weighted matching problem. Its duality and the optimality conditions are given. The Hungarian algorithm with its computational steps, data structure and computational complexity is presented. The two implementation versions, Hungarian forest (HF) algorithm and Hungarian tree (HT) algorithm, and their combination with the naïve auction initialization are discussed. The computational results show that HT algorithm is slightly faster than HF algorithm and they are both superior to the classic Munkres algorithm.

In a cloud-native era, the Kubernetes-based workflow engine enables workflow containerized execution through the inherent abilities of Kubernetes. However, when encountering continuous workflow requests and unexpected resource request spikes, the engine is limited to the current workflow load information for resource allocation, which lacks the agility and predictability of resource allocation, resulting in over and under-provisioning resources. This mechanism seriously hinders workflow execution efficiency and leads to high resource waste. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose an adaptive resource allocation scheme named adaptive resource allocation scheme (ARAS) for the Kubernetes-based workflow engines. Considering potential future workflow task requests within the current task pod’s lifecycle, the ARAS uses a resource scaling strategy to allocate resources in response to high-concurrency workflow scenarios. The ARAS offers resource discovery, resource evaluation, and allocation functionalities and serves as a key component for our tailored workflow engine (KubeAdaptor). By integrating the ARAS into KubeAdaptor for workflow containerized execution, we demonstrate the practical abilities of KubeAdaptor and the advantages of our ARAS. Compared with the baseline algorithm, experimental evaluation under three distinct workflow arrival patterns shows that ARAS gains time-saving of 9.8% to 40.92% in the average total duration of all workflows, time-saving of 26.4% to 79.86% in the average duration of individual workflow, and an increase of 1% to 16% in centrol processing unit (CPU) and memory resource usage rate.

This paper presents a path planning approach for rotary unmanned aerial vehicles (R-UAVs) in a known static rough terrain environment. This approach aims to find collision-free and feasible paths with minimum altitude, length and angle variable rate. First, a three-dimensional (3D) modeling method is proposed to reduce the computation burden of the dynamic models of R-UAVs. Considering the length, height and tuning angle of a path, the path planning of R-UAVs is described as a tri-objective optimization problem. Then, an improved multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed. To render the algorithm more effective in dealing with this problem, a vibration function is introduced into the collided solutions to improve the algorithm efficiency. Meanwhile, the selection of the global best position is taken into account by the reference point method. Finally, the experimental environment is built with the help of the Google map and the 3D terrain generator World Machine. Experimental results under two different rough terrains from Guilin and Lanzhou of China demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed algorithm in finding Pareto optimal paths.

Total variation (TV) is widely applied in image processing. The assumption of TV is that an image consists of piecewise constants, however, it suffers from the so-called staircase effect. In order to reduce the staircase effect and preserve the edges when textures of image are extracted, a new image decomposition model is proposed in this paper. The proposed model is based on the total generalized variation method which involves and balances the higher order of the structure. We also derive a numerical algorithm based on a primal-dual formulation that can be effectively implemented. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method
can achieve a better trade-off between noise removal and texture extraction, while avoiding the staircase effect efficiently.

Cloud manufacturing is a specific implementation form of the "Internet + manufacturing" strategy. Why and how to develop cloud manufacturing platform (CMP), however, remains the key concern of both platform operators and users. A microscopic model is proposed to investigate advantages and diffusion forces of CMP through exploration of its diffusion process and mechanism. Specifically, a three-stage basic evolution process of CMP is innovatively proposed. Then, based on this basic process, a more complex CMP evolution model has been established in virtue of complex network theory, with five diffusion forces identified. Thereafter, simulations on CMP diffusion have been conducted. The results indicate that, CMP possesses better resource utilization, user satisfaction, and enterprise utility. Results of simulation on impacts of different diffusion forces show that both the time required for CMP to reach an equilibrium state and the final network size are affected simultaneously by the five diffusion forces. All these analyses indicate that CMP could create an open online cooperation environment and turns out to be an effective implementation of the "Internet + manufacturing" strategy.

Ant colony optimization (ACO) is a random search algorithm based on probability calculation. However, the uninformed search strategy has a slow convergence speed. The Bayesian algorithm uses the historical information of the searched point to determine the next search point during the search process, reducing the uncertainty in the random search process. Due to the ability of the Bayesian algorithm to reduce uncertainty, a Bayesian ACO algorithm is proposed in this paper to increase the convergence speed of the conventional ACO algorithm for image edge detection. In addition, this paper has the following two innovations on the basis of the classical algorithm, one of which is to add random perturbations after completing the pheromone update. The second is the use of adaptive pheromone heuristics. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed Bayesian ACO algorithm has faster convergence and higher precision and recall than the traditional ant colony algorithm, due to the improvement of the pheromone utilization rate. Moreover, Bayesian ACO algorithm outperforms the other comparative methods in edge detection task.

To address the issue of neglecting scenarios involving joint operations and collaborative drone swarm operations in air combat target intent recognition. This paper proposes a transfer learning-based intention prediction model for drone formation targets in air combat. This model recognizes the intentions of multiple aerial targets by extracting spatial features among the targets at each moment. Simulation results demonstrate that, compared to classical intention recognition models, the proposed model in this paper achieves higher accuracy in identifying the intentions of drone swarm targets in air combat scenarios.

The earth observation satellites (EOSs) scheduling problem for emergency tasks often presents many challenges. For example, the scheduling calculation should be completed in seconds, the scheduled task rate is supposed to be as high as possible, the disturbance measure of the scheme should be as low as possible, which may lead to the loss of important observation opportunities and data transmission delays. Existing scheduling algorithms are not designed for these requirements. Consequently, we propose a rolling horizon strategy (RHS) based on event triggering as well as a heuristic algorithm based on direct insertion, shifting, backtracking, deletion, and reinsertion (ISBDR). In the RHS, the driven scheduling mode based on the emergency task arrival and control station time window events are designed to transform the long-term, large-scale problem into a short-term, small-scale problem, which can improve the schedulability of the original scheduling scheme and emergency response sensiti-vity. In the ISBDR algorithm, the shifting rule with breadth search capability and backtracking rule with depth search capability are established to realize the rapid adjustment of the original plan and improve the overall benefit of the plan and early completion of emergency tasks. Simultaneously, two heuristic factors, namely the emergency task urgency degree and task conflict degree, are constructed to improve the emergency task scheduling guidance and algorithm efficiency. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments by means of simulations to compare the algorithms based on ISBDR and direct insertion, shifting, deletion, and reinsertion (ISDR). The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can improve the timeliness of emergency tasks and scheduling performance, and decrease the disturbance measure of the scheme, therefore, it is more suitable for emergency task scheduling.

In wideband noncooperative interference cancellation, the reference signals obtained through auxiliary antennas are weighted to cancel with the interference signal. The correlation between the reference signal and the interference signal determines interference cancellation performance, while the auxiliary antenna array affects the correlation by influencing the amplitude and phase of the reference signals. This paper analyzes the effect of auxiliary antenna array on multiple performances of wideband noncooperative interference cancellation. Firstly, the array received signal model of wideband interference is established, and the weight vector coupled with the auxiliary antennas array manifold is solved by spectral analysis and eigen-subspace decomposition. Then, multiple performances which include cancellation resolution, grating null, wideband interference cancellation ratio (ICR), and convergence rate are quantitatively characterized with the auxiliary antenna array. It is obtained through analysis that the performances mutually restrict the auxiliary antenna array. Higher cancellation resolution requires larger array aperture, but when the number of auxiliary antennas is fixed, larger array aperture results in more grating nulls. When the auxiliary antennas are closer to the main antenna, the wideband ICR is improved, but the convergence rate is reduced. The conclusions are verified through simulation of one-dimensional uniform array and two-dimensional nonuniform array. The experiments of three arrays are compared, and the results conform well with simulation and support the theoretical analysis.

In this paper, we study the orthogonal time frequency space signal transmission over multi-path channel in the presence of phase noise (PHN) at both sides of millimeter wave (mmWave) communication links. The statistics characteristics of the PHN-induced common phase error and inter-Doppler interference are investigated. Then, a column-shaped pilot structure is designed, and training pilots are used to realize linear-complexity PHN tracking and compensation. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheme enables the signal to noise ratio loss to be restrained within 1 dB in contrast to the no PHN case.

For the rapidly developing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm, the system-of-systems (SoS) oriented design is a prospective conceptual design methodology due to the competence for complex mission requirements and subsystems interactions. In the SoS oriented design, the subsystems performance trade-off is the basis of design decisions. In the trade-off for surveillance missions, most previous works do not consider track reporting and mainly focus on the design of platforms. An improved method for the subsystems performance trade-off in the SoS oriented UAV swarm design is proposed. Within an improved design framework with subsystems disaggregation, this method is characterized by treating platforms, sensors, and communications as equally important subsystems, integrating operational strategies into the trade-off, and enabling the trade-off for track reporting. Those advantages are achieved by a behavior-based modular model structure for agent-based operational modeling and simulation. In addition, a method of analyzing the bounds of the communication range is also presented. Simulation experiments are conducted by using precision-based simulation replication rules and surrogate modeling methods. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and show that the configuration of area partitioning changes the trade space of subsystems performances, indicating the necessity of integrating operational strategies into the conceptual design.

This paper proposes a parallel cyclic shift structure of address decoder to realize a high-throughput encoding and decoding method for irregular-quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (IR-QC-LDPC) codes, with a dual-diagonal parity structure. A normalized min-sum algorithm (NMSA) is employed for decoding. The whole verification of the encoding and decoding algorithm is simulated with Matlab, and the code rates of 5/6 and 2/3 are selected respectively for the initial bit error ratio as 6% and 1.04%. Based on the results of simulation, multi-code rates are compatible with different basis matrices. Then the simulated algorithms of encoder and decoder are migrated and implemented on the field programmable gate array (FPGA). The 183.36 Mbps throughput of encoder and the average 27.85 Mbps decoding throughput with the initial bit error ratio 6% are realized based on FPGA.

With the continuous improvement of radar intelligence, it is difficult for traditional countermeasures to achieve ideal results. In order to deal with complex, changeable, and unknown threat signals in the complex electromagnetic environment, a waveform intelligent optimization model based on intelligent optimization algorithm is proposed. By virtue of the universality and fast running speed of the intelligent optimization algorithm, the model can optimize the parameters used to synthesize the countermeasure waveform according to different external signals, so as to improve the countermeasure performance. Genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) are used to simulate the intelligent optimization of interrupted-sampling and phase-modulation repeater waveform. The experimental results under different radar signal conditions show that the scheme is feasible. The performance comparison between the algorithms and some problems in the experimental results also provide a certain reference for the follow-up work.

A system of systems (SoS) composes a set of independent constituent systems (CSs), where the degree of authority to control the independence of CSs varies, depending on different SoS types. Key researchers describe four SoS types with descending levels of central authority: directed, acknowledged, collaborative and virtual. Although the definitions have been recognized in SoS engineering, what is challenging is the difficulty of translating these definitions into models and simulation environments. Thus, we provide a goal-based method including a mathematical baseline to translate these definitions into more effective agent-based modeling and simulations. First, we construct the theoretical models of CS and SoS. Based on the theoretical models, we analyze the degree of authority influenced by SoS characteristics. Next, we propose a definition of SoS types by quantitatively explaining the degree of authority. Finally, we recognize the differences between acknowledged SoS and collaborative SoS using a migrating waterfowl flock by an agent-based model (ABM) simulation. This paper contributes to the SoS body of knowledge by increasing our understanding of the degree of authority in an SoS, so we may identify suitable SoS types to achieve SoS goals by modeling and simulation.

Solar radio burst (SRB) is one of the main natural interference sources of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals and can reduce the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), directly affecting the tracking performance of GPS receivers. In this paper, a tracking algorithm based on the adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) with carrier-to-noise ratio estimation is proposed and compared with the conventional second-order phase-locked loop tracking algorithms and the improved Sage-Husa adaptive Kalman filter (SHAKF) algorithm. It is discovered that when the SRBs occur, the improved SHAKF and the AKF with carrier-to-noise ratio estimation enable stable tracking to loop signals. The conventional second-order phase-locked loop tracking algorithms fail to track the receiver signal. The standard deviation of the carrier phase error of the AKF with carrier-to-noise ratio estimation outperforms 50.51% of the improved SHAKF algorithm, showing less fluctuation and better stability. The proposed algorithm is proven to show more excellent adaptability in the severe environment caused by the SRB occurrence and has better tracking performance.

Performance-based warranties (PBWs) are widely used in industry and manufacturing. Given that PBW can impose financial burdens on manufacturers, rational maintenance decisions are essential for expanding profit margins. This paper proposes an optimization model for PBW decisions for systems affected by Gamma degradation processes, incorporating periodic inspection. A system performance degradation model is established. Preventive maintenance probability and corrective renewal probability models are developed to calculate expected warranty costs and system availability. A benefits function, which includes incentives, is constructed to optimize the initial and subsequent inspection intervals and preventive maintenance thresholds, thereby maximizing warranty profit. An improved sparrow search algorithm is developed to optimize the model, with a case study on large steam turbine rotor shafts. The results suggest the optimal PBW strategy involves an initial inspection interval of approximately 20 months, with subsequent intervals of about four months, and a preventive maintenance threshold of approximately 37.39 mm wear. When compared to common cost-minimization-based condition maintenance strategies and PBW strategies that do not differentiate between initial and subsequent inspection intervals, the proposed PBW strategy increases the manufacturer’s profit by 1% and 18%, respectively. Sensitivity analyses provide managerial recommendations for PBW implementation. The PBW strategy proposed in this study significantly increases manufacturers’ profits by optimizing inspection intervals and preventive maintenance thresholds, and manufacturers should focus on technological improvement in preventive maintenance and cost control to further enhance earnings.

A three-dimensional path-planning approach has been developed to coordinate multiple fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) while avoiding collisions. The hierarchical path-planning architecture that divides the path-planning process into two layers is proposed by designing the velocity-obstacle strategy for satisfying timeliness and effectiveness. The upper-level layer focuses on creating an efficient Dubins initial path considering the dynamic constraints of the fixed wing. Subsequently, the lower-level layer detects potential collisions and adjusts its flight paths to avoid collisions by using the three-dimensional velocity obstacle method, which describes the maneuvering space of collision avoidance as the intersection space of half space. To further handle the dynamic and collision-avoidance constraints, a priority mechanism is designed to ensure that the adjusted path is still feasible for fixed-wing UAVs. Simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A novel feature fusion method is proposed for the edge detection of color images. Except for the typical features used in edge detection, the color contrast similarity and the orientation consistency are also selected as the features. The four features are combined together as a parameter to detect the edges of color images. Experimental results show that the method can inhibit noisy edges and facilitate the detection for weak edges. It has a better performance than conventional methods in noisy environments.