Control and application of minimally-actuated underwater vehicles

Establishing a persistent presence in the ocean with an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle capable of observing temporal variability of large-scale ocean processes requires a unique sensor platform. In this paper, we examine the utility of Lagrangian profiling floats for such extended deployments. We propose a strategy that utilizes ocean model predictions to facilitate a basic level of autonomy to achieve general control of this minimally-actuated underwater vehicle. We extend experimentally validated techniques for utilising ocean current models to control under-actuated autonomous underwater vehicles by presenting this investigation into the application of these methods on profiling floats. With the appropriate vertical actuation, and utilising spatiotemporal variations in water speed and direction, we show that broad controllability results can be met. First, we apply an A* planner to a local controllability map generated from predictions of ocean currents. This computes a path between start and goal waypoints that has the highest likelihood of successful execution over a given duration. The computed depth plan is generated with a model predictive controller, and selects the depths for the vehicle so that ambient currents guide it toward the goal. Mission constraints are included to simulate and motivate a practical data collection mission. Results are presented in simulation for a mission off the coast of Los Angeles, CA USA, that show surprising results in the ability of a drifting vehicle to maintain a prescribed course and reach a desired location.

Extending persistent monitoring by combining ocean models and Markov decision processes

Ocean processes are complex and have high variability in both time and space. Thus, ocean scientists must collect data over long time periods to obtain a synoptic view of ocean processes and resolve their spatiotemporal variability. One way to perform these persistent observations is to utilise an autonomous vehicle that can remain on deployment for long time periods. However, such vehicles are generally underactuated and slow moving. A challenge for persistent monitoring with these vehicles is dealing with currents while executing a prescribed path or mission. Here we present a path planning method for persistent monitoring that exploits ocean currents to increase navigational accuracy and reduce energy consumption.

Recognising the capacities of dynamic reconfiguration for the QoS assurance of running systems in concurrent and parallel environments

Recognizing the impact of reconfiguration on the QoS of running systems is especially necessary for choosing an appropriate approach to dealing with dynamic evolution of mission-critical or non-stop business systems. The rationale is that the impaired QoS caused by inappropriate use of dynamic approaches is unacceptable for such running systems. To predict in advance the impact, the challenge is two-fold. First, a unified benchmark is necessary to expose QoS problems of existing dynamic approaches. Second, an abstract representation is necessary to provide a basis for modeling and comparing the QoS of existing and new dynamic reconfiguration approaches. Our previous work [8] has successfully evaluated the QoS assurance capabilities of existing dynamic approaches and provided guidance of appropriate use of particular approaches. This paper reinvestigates our evaluations, extending them into concurrent and parallel environments by abstracting hardware and software conditions to design an evaluation context. We report the new evaluation results and conclude with updated impact analysis and guidance.

Issues in Green Criminology: Confronting Harms Against Environments, Humanity and Other Animals

Issues in Green Criminology: confronting harms against environments, humanity and other animals aims to provide, if not a manifesto, then at least a significant resource for thinking about green criminology, a rapidly developing field. It offers a set of specially written introductions and a variety of current and new directions, wide-ranging in scope and international in terms of coverage and contributors. It provides focused discussions of current and cutting edge issues that will influence the emergence of a coherent perspective on green issues. The contributors are drawn from the leading thinkers in the field. The twelve chapters of the book explore the myriad ways in which governments, transnational corporations, military apparatuses and ordinary people going about their everyday lives routinely harm environments, other animals and humanity. The book will be essential reading not only for students taking courses in colleges and universities but also for activists in the environmental and animal rights movements. Its concern is with an ever-expanding agenda - the whys, the hows and the whens of the generation and control of the many aspects of harm to environments, ecological systems and all species of animals, including humans. These harms include, but are not limited to, exploitation, modes of discrimination and disempowerment, degradation, abuse, exclusion, pain, injury, loss and suffering. Straddling and intersecting these many forms of harm are key concepts for a green criminology such as gender inequalities, racism, dominionism and speciesism, classism, the north/south divide, the accountability of science, and the ethics of global capitalist expansion. Green criminology has the potential to provide not only a different way of examining and making sense of various forms of crime and control responses (some well known, others less so) but can also make explicable much wider connections that are not generally well understood. As all societies face up to the need to confront harms against environments, other animals and humanity, criminology will have a major role to play. This book will be an essential part of this process.

Vastu Purusha Mandala : A human ecological framework for designing living environments

This paper aims to present ‘vastu purusha mandala’(VPM), a symbolic diagram used in the indigenous system of Indian architecture as a human ecologic frame work for designing living environments. The article begins with an attempt to provide a working definition for the ‘living environment’ based on the theories developed by Rapoport (2005) and Lawrence (2001). It then discusses the symbolism and the human ecologic significance of VPM. This is substantiated through the works of Kramrisch (1976), Moore (1989), Shukla (1996) and Chakrabarthi (1998). Some recent papers on Vastu Shastra are also examined. Furthermore, VPM is compared with the livability guidelines developed for high-rise living by the Centre for Subtropical Design, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. A meaningful interpretation of vastushastra which is free from mysticism and symbolism is proffered through this paper.

Regulating virtual environments

Online gaming environments feature a number of challenging regulatory issues; a diverse player base, uneven power relationship, and lack of real dispute resolution mechanisms. By conducting an ethnographic study of the online environment Eve Online, and using as a comparative the offshore gaming industry, I consider how we might look to regulate, and resolve disputes within, online gaming environments. In doing so, I adopted a novel approach to the study of online gaming environments - that of norms - which gave significance not only to the terms of service dictated by platform providers and their legal advisors, but also to the social and ludic limitations and affordances players constructed themselves. Finally, through an account of the evolution of regulatory mechanisms and dispute resolution in the offshore gambling industry, I consider how an environment which features much in common with online gaming environments overcame a number of these challenges within the last 10-15 years, and what lessons might be taken from those experiences and applied to contemporary online gaming environments.

Selective essays in competitive environments

This thesis is a collection of essays that utilises descriptive and empirical tools to examine competitive environments such as in academia, superrich and sport. The essays capture different aspects of the winner-take-all phenomenon by looking at citation and publication inequality in a top tier economics journal namely the American Economic Review. How globalisation and corruption influence the accumulation of extraordinary wealth and finally, how in a fairly equal competition, that is in the National Rugby League in Australia, wearing red shirts could lead to a comparative advantage and hence, tip the balance between winning and losing. The results within academia indicate that a highly unequal distribution exist, in which only a few top authors or institutions produce the majority of output. Furthermore, the results obtained in the superrich environment indicate that corruption and globalisation enhances the accumulation of extraordinary wealth. Finally, the results in the sport environment are mixed. While we find support for a positive effect of wearing red jerseys in our descriptive analysis, we find a negative effect when we control at the team level. However, when we investigate the relative difference in the degree of redness between home and away team, we find a quite strong positive effect of wearing red shirts even after controlling at the team level.

The future shape of digital cars

Background. Digital information is increasingly becoming available on all aspects of the urban landscape, anywhere and any time. Physical objects (c.f. the Internet of Things) and people (c.f. the Social Web) are increasingly infused with actuators, sensors and tagged with a wealth of digital information. Urban Informatics explores these emerging digital layers of the city. However, very little is known about the challenges and new opportunities that these developments may offer to road users. As we gradually spend more time using our mobile devices as well as our car, the tension between appeasing our craving for connectedness and road safety requirements grow farther apart. Objective. The aims of this paper are to identify (a) new opportunities that Urban Informatics research can offer to our future cars and (b) potential benefits to road safety. Methods. 14 Urban Informatics research experts were grouped into seven teams of two to participate in a guided ideation (idea creation) workshop in a driving simulator. They were immersed into different driving scenarios to brainstorm innovative Urban Informatics applications in different driving contexts. This qualitative study was then evaluated in the context of road safety. Outcomes. There is a lack of articulation between Urban Informatics and Road Safety research. Several Urban Informatics applications (e.g., to enhance social interaction between people in urban environments) may provide benefits, rather than threats, towards road safety, provided they are implemented ergonomically and safely. Conclusions. This research initiates a much-needed dialogue between Urban Informatics and Road Safety disciplines, in the context of Intelligent Transport Systems, before the fast approaching digital wave invades our cars. The dialogue will help to avoid driver distraction issues similar to mobile phones use in cars. As such, it provides valuable information for future regulators and policy makers in charge of shaping our future road transport landscape.

Managing distraction in 21st century learning environments

First year students attend face-to-face classes armed with an arsenal of internet enabled digital devices. The conundrum is that while these devices offer scope for enhancing opportunities for engagement in face-to-face learning, they may simultaneously distract students away from learning and compound isolation issues. This paper considers how to best to use these devices for maximum engagement in first year face-to-face learning so as to assist students in connecting with other learners and instructors within the learning environment

Integrating driving and traffic simulators to study railway level crossing safety interventions : a methodology

Safety at Railway Level Crossings (RLXs) is an important issue within the Australian transport system. Crashes at RLXs involving road vehicles in Australia are estimated to cost $10 million each year. Such crashes are mainly due to human factors; unintentional errors contribute to 46% of all fatal collisions and are far more common than deliberate violations. This suggests that innovative intervention targeting drivers are particularly promising to improve RLX safety. In recent years there has been a rapid development of a variety of affordable technologies which can be used to increase driver’s risk awareness around crossings. To date, no research has evaluated the potential effects of such technologies at RLXs in terms of safety, traffic and acceptance of the technology. Integrating driving and traffic simulations is a safe and affordable approach for evaluating these effects. This methodology will be implemented in a driving simulator, where we recreated realistic driving scenario with typical road environments and realistic traffic. This paper presents a methodology for evaluating comprehensively potential benefits and negative effects of such interventions: this methodology evaluates driver awareness at RLXs , driver distraction and workload when using the technology . Subjective assessment on perceived usefulness and ease of use of the technology is obtained from standard questionnaires. Driving simulation will provide a model of driving behaviour at RLXs which will be used to estimate the effects of such new technology on a road network featuring RLX for different market penetrations using a traffic simulation. This methodology can assist in evaluating future safety interventions at RLXs.

Methodology to assess safety effects of future Intelligent Transport Systems on railway level crossings

There is consistent evidence showing that driver behaviour contributes to crashes and near miss incidents at railway level crossings (RLXs). The development of emerging Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure technologies is a highly promising approach to improve RLX safety. To date, research has not evaluated comprehensively the potential effects of such technologies on driving behaviour at RLXs. This paper presents an on-going research programme assessing the impacts of such new technologies on human factors and drivers’ situational awareness at RLX. Additionally, requirements for the design of such promising technologies and ways to display safety information to drivers were systematically reviewed. Finally, a methodology which comprehensively assesses the effects of in-vehicle and road-based interventions warning the driver of incoming trains at RLXs is discussed, with a focus on both benefits and potential negative behavioural adaptations. The methodology is designed for implementation in a driving simulator and covers compliance, control of the vehicle, distraction, mental workload and drivers’ acceptance. This study has the potential to provide a broad understanding of the effects of deploying new in-vehicle and road-based technologies at RLXs and hence inform policy makers on safety improvements planning for RLX.

An investigation on the accuracy of regional ocean models through field trials

Recent efforts in mission planning for underwater vehicles have utilised predictive models to aid in navigation, optimal path planning and drive opportunistic sampling. Although these models provide information at a unprecedented resolutions and have proven to increase accuracy and effectiveness in multiple campaigns, most are deterministic in nature. Thus, predictions cannot be incorporated into probabilistic planning frameworks, nor do they provide any metric on the variance or confidence of the output variables. In this paper, we provide an initial investigation into determining the confidence of ocean model predictions based on the results of multiple field deployments of two autonomous underwater vehicles. For multiple missions conducted over a two-month period in 2011, we compare actual vehicle executions to simulations of the same missions through the Regional Ocean Modeling System in an ocean region off the coast of southern California. This comparison provides a qualitative analysis of the current velocity predictions for areas within the selected deployment region. Ultimately, we present a spatial heat-map of the correlation between the ocean model predictions and the actual mission executions. Knowing where the model provides unreliable predictions can be incorporated into planners to increase the utility and application of the deterministic estimations.