Automated topometric graph generation from floor plan analysis

The world is rich with information such as signage and maps to assist humans to navigate. We present a method to extract topological spatial information from a generic bitmap floor plan and build a topometric graph that can be used by a mobile robot for tasks such as path planning and guided exploration. The algorithm first detects and extracts text in an image of the floor plan. Using the locations of the extracted text, flood fill is used to find the rooms and hallways. Doors are found by matching SURF features and these form the connections between rooms, which are the edges of the topological graph. Our system is able to automatically detect doors and differentiate between hallways and rooms, which is important for effective navigation. We show that our method can extract a topometric graph from a floor plan and is robust against ambiguous cases most commonly seen in floor plans including elevators and stairwells.

Memory of past random wave conditions in submarine groundwater discharge

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an integral part of the hydrological cycle and represents an important aspect of land-ocean interactions. We used a numerical model to simulate flow and salt transport in a nearshore groundwater aquifer under varying wave conditions based on yearlong random wave data sets, including storm surge events. The results showed significant flow asymmetry with rapid response of influxes and retarded response of effluxes across the seabed to the irregular wave conditions. While a storm surge immediately intensified seawater influx to the aquifer, the subsequent return of intruded seawater to the sea, as part of an increased SGD, was gradual. Using functional data analysis, we revealed and quantified retarded, cumulative effects of past wave conditions on SGD including the fresh groundwater and recirculating seawater discharge components. The retardation was characterized well by a gamma distribution function regardless of wave conditions. The relationships between discharge rates and wave parameters were quantifiable by a regression model in a functional form independent of the actual irregular wave conditions. This statistical model provides a useful method for analyzing and predicting SGD from nearshore unconfined aquifers affected by random waves

Performance analysis and control design of a gyro-based wave energy converter

This paper analyses the performance of particular wave-energy converter that uses the gyroscopic effects of a large rotating fly-wheel in combination with a controlled power-take-off device. Controlled gyroscopic forces have been used successfully in the past to reduce the motion of marine structures. With appropriately designed power-take-off elements, gyroscopic forces can be controlled to optimise the extracted energy from the motion of marine structures.

A robust approach to design a single facility layout plan in dynamic manufacturing environments using a permutation-based genetic algorithm

During the past few decades, developing efficient methods to solve dynamic facility layout problems has been focused on significantly by practitioners and researchers. More specifically meta-heuristic algorithms, especially genetic algorithm, have been proven to be increasingly helpful to generate sub-optimal solutions for large-scale dynamic facility layout problems. Nevertheless, the uncertainty of the manufacturing factors in addition to the scale of the layout problem calls for a mixed genetic algorithm–robust approach that could provide a single unlimited layout design. The present research aims to devise a customized permutation-based robust genetic algorithm in dynamic manufacturing environments that is expected to be generating a unique robust layout for all the manufacturing periods. The numerical outcomes of the proposed robust genetic algorithm indicate significant cost improvements compared to the conventional genetic algorithm methods and a selective number of other heuristic and meta-heuristic techniques.

Power system stability implications from electromechanical wave propagation

Electromechanical wave propagation characterizes the first-swing dynamic response in a spatially delayed manner. This paper investigates the characteristics of this phenomenon in two-dimensional and one-dimensional power systems. In 2-D systems, the wave front expands as a ripple in a pond. In 1-D systems, the wave front is more concentrated, retains most of its magnitude, and travels like a pulse on a string. This large wave front is more impactful upon any weak link and easily causes transient instability in 1-D systems. The initial disturbance injects both high and low frequency components, but the lumped nature of realistic systems only permits the lower frequency components to propagate through. The kinetic energy split at a junction is equal to the generator inertia ratio in each branch in an idealized continuum system. This prediction is approximately valid in a realistic power system. These insights can enhance understanding and control of the traveling waves.

Finite element modelling of lamb wave propagation in prestress concrete and effect of the prestress force on the wave’s characteristic

In order to assess the structural reliability of bridges, an accurate and cost effective Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) technology is required to ensure their safe and reliable operation. Over 60% of the Australian National Highway System is prestressed concrete (PSC) bridges according to the Bureau of Transport and Communication Economics (1997). Most of the in-service bridges are more than 30 years old and may experience a heavier traffic load than their original intended level. Use of Ultrasonic waves is continuously increasing for (NDE) and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) in civil, aerospace, electrical, mechanical applications. Ultrasonic Lamb waves are becoming more popular for NDE because it can propagate long distance and reach hidden regions with less energy loses. The purpose of this study is to numerically quantify prestress force (PSF) of (PSC) beam using the fundamental theory of acoustic-elasticity. A three-dimension finite element modelling approach is set up to perform parametric studies in order to better understand how the lamb wave propagation in PSC beam is affected by changing in the PSF level. Results from acoustic-elastic measurement on prestressed beam are presented, showing the feasibility of the lamb wave for PSF evaluation in PSC bridges.

Moving beyond the business plan in enterprise education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to approach the debate surrounding the role of business plans in enterprise/entrepreneurship education from a different perspective; that of the student. The paper argues that much of the consternation within this stubborn debate derives from a lack of appreciation of the context actually occurring in the lives of our students. The paper aims to explore several arguments directly related to these contexts. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to build around a combining of cycles of reflective practice via the authors' iterative consultation with each other. The paper seeks to explore the world of the student via an enfolding of the literature, but ultimately we do not claim to have hidden our personal biases. Findings It is important to separate enterprise education (EE) from entrepreneurship education when discussing the role of the business plan. While the business plan has a place in the latter, it makes little sense for it to be a focal learning activity in the former. In addition, we see this outcome as a positive outcome for our field with little point in continuing on with what has become a fairly pointless debate. Practical implications: The paper concludes that once EE is viewed as being distinctly different from entrepreneurship education it is free to be considered with more precision what learning needs exist. Focusing on learning needs changes the direction of the discussion, with the business plan only up for discussion if it contributes a learning activity related to pre-determined learning outcomes. Originality/value The paper offers a constructive way forward from a debate that has been beset with extreme vested interests for too long.

The student business plan: Useful or not?

This article offers a critical discussion of the role of the business plan in current enterprise educational practice. In addition to reviewing recent work that considers the ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments about the use of business plans in higher education, the authors suggest that the context of student learning is largely omitted from these discussions. As such, they contextualize the debate so that the purpose of the business plan can be better appreciated. They build on recent work that offers alternatives to the business plan – approaches directly focused on customer discovery and explicit testing of assumptions. In doing so, recent concerns about the value of business plans and, conversely, the views of those who argue in favour of the role of business plans in enterprise education, are noted. The article provides insights into emerging alternative practices in the field of enterprise education, practices based on students’ use of such education as a vehicle for skills and knowledge development and/or wealth creation. It is acknowledged that various biases are present in the current debate, including those of the present authors: whilst it is accepted that these biases are unlikely to disappear, the article contextualizes their origins.

G20 tax reform plan should prevent another Lux leaks

The G20 Communique is good news on the international tax reform front. As part of the G20 commitment to boost economic resilience the Communique commits G20 nations to taking action to ensure fairness in the international tax system. This means they are looking at ways to ensure profits are taxed where economic activities deriving the profits are performed and where value is created.

Performance based planning in Queensland : A case of unintended plan-making outcomes

Performance based planning (PBP) is purported to be a viable alternative to traditional zoning. The implementation of PBP ranges between pure approaches that rely on predetermined quantifiable performance standards to determine land use suitability, and hybrid approaches that rely on a mix of activity based zones in addition to prescriptive and subjective standards. Jurisdictions in the USA, Australia and New Zealand have attempted this type of land use regulation with varying degrees of success. Despite the adoption of PBP legislation in these jurisdictions, this paper argues that a lack of extensive evaluation means that PBP is not well understood and the purported advantages of this type of planning are rarely achieved in practice. Few empirical studies have attempted to examine how PBP has been implemented in practice. In Queensland, Australia, the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (IPA) operated as Queensland's principal planning legislation between March 1998 and December 2009. While the IPA did not explicitly use the term performance based planning, the Queensland's planning system is widely considered to be performance based in practice. Significantly, the IPA prevented Local Government from prohibiting development or use and the term zone was absent from the legislation. How plan-making would be advanced under the new planning regime was not clear, and as a consequence local governments produced a variety of different plan-making approaches to comply with the new legislative regime. In order to analyse this variation the research has developed a performance adoption spectrum to classify plans ranging between pure and hybrid perspectives of PBP. The spectrum compares how land use was regulated in seventeen IPA plans across Queensland. The research found that hybrid plans predominated, and that over time a greater reliance on risk adverse drafting approaches created a quasi-prohibition plan, the exact opposite of what was intended by the IPA. This paper concludes that the drafting of the IPA and absence of plan-making guidance contributed to lack of shared understanding about the intended direction of the new planning system and resulted in many administrative interpretations of the legislation. It was a planning direction that tried too hard to be different, and as a result created a perception of land use risk and uncertainty that caused a return to more prescriptive and inflexible plan-making methods.

A submission to the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services consultation “Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan”

This submission will address a number of questions raised in section 5.2, “Potential Future Initiatives to target smoking”, of the Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan – Community Consultation Draft. Each question has been answered within this submission. This submission will also address the possibility of legal challenges to these proposed changes, a pivotal consideration when implementing any tobacco control laws. This is due to the aggressive nature of the tobacco industry, as illustrated by their attempts to challenge plain packaging laws in the country and through international treaties. The evidence provided in my submission illustrates that prevention of initiation of smoking during adolescence has various benefits in terms of reduction of negative smoking behaviors in later life. I argue that increasing the minimum legal age of purchasing for tobacco to 21 will benefit both the levels of underage smoking as well as the age of onset of initiation of smoking, due to the greater difficulties that those who are underage would experience in accessing tobacco products. I will also address the question of whether the minimum smoking age should be increased to 25.