Introduction
Please find our last eNews for the year, which contains information about MATLAB training and interesting articles on some of our products.
---------------------------------------------------------
Trading hours and support over the summer period
---------------------------------------------------------
HRS will be shutting down for the Christmas break on mid-day Christmas eve (24 December) and opening again for normal business hours (8.30am to 5pm) in the new year on 12 January.
Our support email address support@hrs.co.nz will be monitored through the break and we will do our best to help you if you need it. In an emergency please leave a message at 021 1700 713.
---------------------------------------------------------
Use your budget before the end of the year
---------------------------------------------------------
Contact us today if you wish to place an order to spend the last of your annual budget. Purchasing additional copies of software, upgrading old copies or registering for training are just some ways to spend the last of your budget before it may be taken away. We are happy to invoice and take your payments this year for training next year.
---------------------------------------------------------
Talk to HRS
---------------------------------------------------------
You can talk to us on our NZ toll free number 0800 477 776 if you wish to discuss any of the products or items mentioned in this newsletter.
Best wishes,
The HRS Team
Table of Contents
(Click on the contents entry to read it)
Events
MATLAB Training Courses in February 2009
We are planning several training courses for February 2009 in Christchurch.
Proposed Training Titles:
- MATLAB Training: Introduction to MATLAB
- MATLAB Training: Advanced MATLAB & Simulink
- MATLAB Training: Optimisation using MATLAB
If you wish to register your interest in either of these courses, please contact Leon and we will let you know as soon as the details are confirmed, including dates, venue and costs.
You can also talk to Leon about in-house training options.
to contact Leon about MATLAB training.
Product News
PLECS Version 2.1 Released
Plexim have announced the immediate release of PLECS 2.1 - the software that makes the modelling and simulation of power electronic circuits simple. Have a look at the new exciting features offered by the updated software:
PLECS Scope
The new PLECS scope extends the capabilities of Simulink to view and evaluate simulation results. With advanced zooming and panning features, you can display exactly the part of curves you really want to see. The scope offers cursors for reading data values and measuring time differences, and can perform simple analyses such as obtaining the RMS value of a signal. Printing and saving your results has been made easy with the customisable export feature.
For more information about scope, please visit:http://www.plexim.com/product/plecs_scope.html
Support for Rapid Simulations
When you run a simulation using Simulink's Rapid Accelerator mode or when you generate an executable using the rapid simulation (RSim) target or the S-Function target of the Real-Time Workshop, PLECS will automatically create the code required to simulate your circuit models.
The updated manual can be downloaded from:
http://www.plexim.com/downloads/
If you or your colleagues want to test PLECS 2.1 just send bruce an email or fill in the web form on manufacturer's website:http://www.plexim.com/store/plecs_trial.html
Customers under maintenance will be contacted soon with a new license file to be used with PLECS 2.1.
to discuss PLECS with Bruce.
Canadians adopt NZ Technology
Climate change mitigation firm HYDRA Software has just signed a technology sharing deal with leading Canadian renewable energy specialists Synexus Global.
Announcing this in Hamilton, HYDRA CEO Dr Alastair Barnett (pictured) said that the locally developed AULOS water movement software had already been recognised in New Zealand by winning the 1998 Fulton Downer Gold Medal for the Te Papa tsunami protection design, and the Information Technology and Networks Category of the 2002 IPENZ Technical Awards for hydropower analysis.
"AULOS technology advances have also begun to be recognised in Europe, particularly Switzerland where the mountainous geography has similarities to New Zealand, and this new Synexus deal is welcome recognition that we can cut it in North America as well.”
to contact Bruce about AULOS
MATLAB Article: Developing a Motion-Stereo Parking Assistant at BMW
 |
| Vehicle equipped with side-view camera. As the vehicle moves, the side-view camera acquires images that are used to measure depth. |
For many drivers, finding and then navigating a vehicle into a suitable parking spot is a challenge—mainly because the driver cannot see around the vehicle or determine the size and shape of the parking space.
Click here to download and read the full article in PDF format.
to contact Bruce if you wish to learn about the MATLAB products mentioned in this article.
MATLAB Article: Converting Models from Floating Point to Fixed Point for Production Code Generation
 |
| Comparison with original floating-point results. |
An essential step in embedded software development, floating- to fixed-point conversion can be tedious, labor-intensive, and error-prone. System engineers frequently design algorithms in floating-point math, usually double-precision. This format represents the ideal algorithm behaviour but takes little account of the algorithm’s final realization in production software and hardware. Software engineers and suppliers in mass production environments often need to convert these algorithms to fixed-point math for their integer-only hardware. As a result, multiple iterations between system and software engineers are often required.
Click here to download and read the full article in PDF format.
to contact Bruce if you wish to learn about the MATLAB products mentioned in this article.
@RISK Used to Simulate Consequences of Subprime Mortgage Crisis
 |
| A graph showing expected losses to investors |
Presented at the Palisade Risk & Decision Analysis Conference by Roy Nersesian, Monmouth University
Roy Nersesian examines how the selling of mortgages as investments (collateralised mortgage obligations, or CMOs,) coupled with lax governmental regulation and the greed of house flippers fuelled the flames of the home buying and building frenzy. An @RISK simulation shows exactly how and where investors lost in the ensuing housing market meltdown.
Click here to download the presentation:
to contact Glen about @RISK.
STATISTICA Data Miner - One of the Top Three Software Systems in Recent Independent Survey of Data Mining Professionals
In September 2008, Rexer Analytics released the results of its Annual Data Mining Software Survey, a survey of the community of data mining professionals across all industries. The survey results report a number of findings to note:
-
STATISTICA Data Miner is one of the top three (6% range) software systems used for broad "data mining applications" and one of top two designated data mining applications reported as the users' "primary data mining software."
-
Primary applications for data mining are within the domains of CRM, Financial Services, Retail, and Telecommunications but a growing number are now in Manufacturing. Notably, the reported applications of data mining in "Manufacturing" increased from 6% in 2007 to 16% in 2008.
-
"Tree" methods and Cluster Analysis continue to be the most popular data mining methods.
-
Data Mining professionals spend more than one-third of their time aggregating and preparing the relevant data.
For more information about STATISTICA Data Miner, visit: http://www.hrs.co.nz/statisticadm.
Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the 40-page PDF research summary, including details of the methodology and results, should contact Rexer Analytics at www.RexerAnalytics.com.
to contact Glen about STATISTICA Data Miner
General News & Working with HRS
HRS Sponsorship
HRS has sponsored many association and society events over the years and we will continue to do this for events where delegates have a strong need for our products.
If you or an associate are organising a conference where the delegates could benefit from using the many mathematics based products sold and supported by HRS, please contact Leon by emailing leon@hrs.co.nz or by calling him on 0800 477 776.
User Stories
If you have any newsworthy user stories related to our products that you think our customers would be interested in reading, please contact Leon.
to email Leon or call him on
0800 477 776 to supply us with your product news.
Advertising your events on the HRS Website
If we sponsor your event, or your delegates are likely to be using one of our products, contact Leon to place details of your conference on our website.
to email Leon or call him on
0800 477 776 to advertise your event.
Best wishes,
Leon Tepania
Marketing Manager
Hoare
Research Software Ltd
Email: leon@hrs.co.nz