Power control in cognitive radios, Internet-of Things (IoT) for factories and industrial automation

Cognitive radio (CR) is fast emerging as a promising technology that can meet the machine-to machine (M2M) communication requirements for spectrum utilization and power control for large number of machines/devices expected to be connected to the Internet-of Things (IoT). Power control in CR as a secondary user can been modelled as a non-cooperative game cost function to quantify and reduce its effects of interference while occupying the same spectrum as primary user without adversely affecting the required quality of service (QoS) in the network. In this paper a power loss exponent that factors in diverse operating environments for IoT is employed in the non-cooperative game cost function to quantify the required power of transmission in the network. The approach would enable various CRs to transmit with lesser power thereby saving battery consumption or increasing the number of secondary users thereby optimizing the network resources efficiently.

Front end development for building automation systems using JavaScript Frameworks

Automation technologies are widely acclaimed to have the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption and energy-related costs in buildings. However, despite the abundance of commercially available technologies, automation in domestic environments keep on meeting commercial failures. The main reason for this is the development process that is used to build the automation applications, which tend to focus more on technical aspects rather than on the needs and limitations of the users. An instance of this problem is the complex and poorly designed home automation front-ends that deter customers from investing in a home automation product. On the other hand, developing a usable and interactive interface is a complicated task for developers due to the multidisciplinary challenges that need to be identified and solved. In this context, the current research work investigates the different design problems associated with developing a home automation interface as well as the existing design solutions that are applied to these problems. The Qualitative Data Analysis approach was used for collecting data from research papers and the open coding process was used to cluster the findings. From the analysis of the data collected, requirements for designing the interface were derived. A home energy management functionality for a Web-based home automation front-end was developed as a proof-of-concept and a user evaluation was used to assess the usability of the interface. The results of the evaluation showed that this holistic approach to designing interfaces improved its usability which increases the chances of its commercial success.

Towards a 21st-century roadmap for biomedical research and drug discovery: consensus report and recommendations

Decades of costly failures in translating drug candidates from preclinical disease models to human therapeutic use warrant reconsideration of the priority placed on animal models in biomedical research. Following an international workshop attended by experts from academia, government institutions, research funding bodies, and the corporate and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) sectors, in this consensus report, we analyse, as case studies, five disease areas with major unmet needs for new treatments. In view of the scientifically driven transition towards a human pathway-based paradigm in toxicology, a similar paradigm shift appears to be justified in biomedical research. There is a pressing need for an approach that strategically implements advanced, human biology-based models and tools to understand disease pathways at multiple biological scales. We present recommendations to help achieve this.

Roteiro Tecnológico (roadmap) da Captação, Utilização e Armazenamento de Dióxido de Carbono (CCUS) em Portugal

O objetivo primordial deste trabalho foi estabelecer um roteiro tecnológico para aplicação das tecnologias de “Captação, Utilização e Sequestração de Carbono - CCUS” em Portugal. Para o efeito procedeu-se à identificação da origem das maiores fontes emissoras estacionárias industriais de CO2, adotando como critério o valor mínimo de 1×105 ton CO2/ano e limitado apenas ao território continental. Com base na informação recolhida e referente aos dados oficiais mais recentes (ano de 2013), estimou-se que o volume de emissões industriais de CO2 possível de captar em Portugal, corresponde a cerca de 47 % do valor global das emissões industriais, sendo oriundo de três setores de atividade industrial: produção de cimento, de pasta de papel e centrais termoelétricas a carvão. A maioria das grandes fontes emissoras industriais localiza-se no litoral do país, concentrando-se entre Aveiro e Sines. Pelas condicionantes geográficas do país e, sobretudo pela vantagem de já existir uma rede de gasodutos para o transporte de gás natural, com as respetivas infraestruturas de apoio associadas, admitiu-se que o cenário mais favorável para o transporte do CO2 captado será a criação de um sistema de transporte por gasoduto específico para o CO2. Como critério de compatibilização da proximidade das fontes emissoras de CO2 com potenciais locais para o armazenamento geológico das correntes captadas, adotou-se a distância máxima de 100 km, considerada adequada perante a dimensão do território nacional e as características do tecido industrial nacional. Efetuou-se a revisão das tecnologias de captação de CO2 disponíveis, quer comercialmente, quer em níveis avançados de demonstração e procedeu-se à análise exploratória da adequação desses diferentes métodos de captação a cada um dos setores de atividade industrial previamente identificados com emissões de CO2 suscetíveis de serem captadas. Na perspetiva da melhor integração dos processos, esta análise preliminar tomou em consideração as características das misturas gasosas, assim como o contexto industrial correspondente e o processo produtivo que lhe dá origem. As possibilidades de utilização industrial do CO2 sujeito à captação no país foram tratadas neste trabalho de forma genérica dado que a identificação de oportunidades reais para a utilização de correntes de CO2 captadas exige uma análise de compatibilização das necessidades efetivas de utilização de CO2 por parte de potenciais utilizadores industriais que carece da caracterização prévia das propriedades dessas correntes. Este é um tipo de análise muito específico que pressupõe o interesse mútuo de diferentes intervenientes: agentes emissores de CO2, operadores de transporte e, principalmente, potenciais utilizadores de CO2 como: matéria-prima para a síntese de compostos, solvente de extração supercrítica na indústria alimentar ou farmacêutica, agente corretor de pH em tratamento de efluentes, biofixação por fotossíntese, ou outra das aplicações possíveis identificadas para o CO2 captado. A última etapa deste estudo consistiu na avaliação das possibilidades de armazenamento geológico do CO2 captado e envolveu a identificação, nas bacias sedimentares nacionais, de formações geológicas com características reconhecidas como sendo boas indicações para o armazenamento de CO2 de forma permanente e em segurança. Seguiu-se a metodologia preconizada por organizações internacionais aplicando à situação nacional, critérios de seleção e de segurança que se encontram reconhecidamente definidos. A adequação para o armazenamento de CO2 das formações geológicas pré-selecionadas terá que ser comprovada por estudos adicionais que complementem os dados já existentes sobre as características geológicas destas formações e, mais importante ainda, por testes laboratoriais e ensaios de injeção de CO2 que possam fornecer informação concreta para estimar a capacidade de sequestração e de retenção de CO2 nestas formações e estabelecer os modelos geológicos armazenamento que permitam identificar e estimar, de forma concreta e objetiva, os riscos associados à injeção e armazenamento de CO2.

Utformning av tak och möjligheter med automation av takstolstillverkning i trä

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to increase the possibilities of designing building components for specific demands to increase the building’s value, and to investigate how the possibilities can be affected by automating the production process. Method: The theoretical framework, which this study is based on, was collected using literature studies and was thereafter combined with the empirics, which were retrieved from qualitative methods as interviews and planned observations. A case study was made of the building Ormhuset in Jönköping. Findings: The objective of this work is to investigate the possibilities for designing roofs by using new automation methods for the production process of wooden roof structures. This study implies that parametric design can be used to generate new innovative shapes and designs that are optimised according to specific criteria. Furthermore, an increased use of automation in the production process of wooden roof trusses result in cheaper roof trusses, regardless of their shapes. The generated optimized designs are therefore cheaper and easier to produce using more automation in the production process. Implications: If parametric design is used, almost any kind of shapes can be generated and optimised. To ensure manufacturability of a design, an early connection between architect and manufacturer is important. Furthermore, increased use of automation can lead to easier and faster production of roof trusses and investing in more automation can be relevant for companies with large production volumes. Using digital files to control the manufacturing machines is time saving. There are alternative manufacturing methods for advanced roof structurers in wood, which are better suited for production, which cannot be rationalized as for roof trusses. Constraints for increased automation are often a high investment cost and limited space. Limitations: If the study is performed on another case than Ormhuset and with other respondents, the result might have differed but could be similar, why this study is not generally valid but only shows one possible outcome.

Examining Levels of Automation in the Wood Processing Industry - A case study

Companies operating in the wood processing industry need to increase their productivity by implementing automation technologies in their production systems. An increasing global competition and rising raw material prizes challenge their competitiveness. Yet, too extensive automation brings risks such as a deterioration in situation awareness and operator deskilling. The concept of Levels of Automation is generally seen as means to achieve a balanced task allocation between the operators’ skills and competences and the need for automation technology relieving the humans from repetitive or hazardous work activities. The aim of this thesis was to examine to what extent existing methods for assessing Levels of Automation in production processes are applicable in the wood processing industry when focusing on an improved competitiveness of production systems. This was done by answering the following research questions (RQ): RQ1: What method is most appropriate to be applied with measuring Levels of Automation in the wood processing industry? RQ2: How can the measurement of Levels of Automation contribute to an improved competitiveness of the wood processing industry’s production processes? Literature reviews were used to identify the main characteristics of the wood processing industry affecting its automation potential and appropriate assessment methods for Levels of Automation in order to answer RQ1. When selecting the most suitable method, factors like the relevance to the target industry, application complexity or operational level the method is penetrating were important. The DYNAMO++ method, which covers both a rather quantitative technical-physical and a more qualitative social-cognitive dimension, was seen as most appropriate when taking into account these factors. To answer RQ 2, a case study was undertaken at a major Swedish manufacturer of interior wood products to point out paths how the measurement of Levels of Automation contributes to an improved competitiveness of the wood processing industry. The focus was on the task level on shop floor and concrete improvement suggestions were elaborated after applying the measurement method for Levels of Automation. Main aspects considered for generalization were enhancements regarding ergonomics in process design and cognitive support tools for shop-floor personnel through task standardization. Furthermore, difficulties regarding the automation of grading and sorting processes due to the heterogeneous material properties of wood argue for a suitable arrangement of human intervention options in terms of work task allocation.  The application of a modified version of DYNAMO++ reveals its pros and cons during a case study which covers a high operator involvement in the improvement process and the distinct predisposition of DYNAMO++ to be applied in an assembly system.

Marketing Automation – en studie om ett modernt marknadsföringsverktyg i en svensk kontext

I takt med att digitala medier har utvecklats under de senaste åren har köpresan för-ändrats till att kunder idag i ett mycket senare skede släpper in leverantörer i dialogen. Marketing Automation adresserar den problembilden och har växt fram som en brygga mellan sälj- och marknadsprocessen. Systemet ger möjlighet att effektivt och automatiserat utveckla leads (potentiell kund). Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur Marketing Automation påverkar sälj- och marknadsprocesserna. Vilka förutsättningar krävs för en implementation? Ökar lönsamheten? Vi har därför valt att i det teoretiska ramverket beskriva Marketing Automation och bland annat undersöka om ett införande av Marketing Automation medför att sälj- och marknadsorganisationerna slås samman till en organisatorisk enhet. I studien har vi dessutom kartlagt och beskrivit den moderna köpresan och det som ibland kallas intäktsorganisationen. Vi har funnit att Marketing Automation är relativt outforskat i en svensk kontext. För att utröna om teorin, som i stor utsträckning bygger på internationell litteratur och internationella undersökningar, går att överföra till en svensk kontext har vi valt att genomföra en kvalitativ studie i form av en fallstudie av leverantörer av produkter och tjänster inom området samt företag, med den gemensamma nämnaren att de re-presenterar ett kunskapsintensivt erbjudande och har implementerat lösningar för Marketing Automation. I vår analys finns en samsyn mellan leverantörer och kunder i förutsättningar för ett införande, men vi kan även se hur resultaten divergerar och pekar på implikationer, inte minst avseende måluppfyllnad och samverkan mellan sälj- och marknadsorgani-sationerna. Vår slutsats visar bland annat att Marketing Automation kan leda till uppfyllnad av mjuka värden i företaget men har inte bevisats leda till ökad lönsamhet per automatik. Vi ser lönsamhet och Return on Investment (ROI) som ett område som bör utforskas vidare.

Task analysis for HMI design. Level of automation study of aircraft navigation functions

Advancements in technology have enabled increasingly sophisticated automation to be introduced into the flight decks of modern aircraft. Generally, this automation was added to accomplish worthy objectives such as reducing flight crew workload, adding additional capability, or increasing fuel economy. Automation is necessary due to the fact that not all of the functions required for mission accomplishment in today’s complex aircraft are within the capabilities of the unaided human operator, who lacks the sensory capacity to detect much of the information required for flight. To a large extent, these objectives have been achieved. Nevertheless, despite all the benefits from the increasing amounts of highly reliable automation, vulnerabilities do exist in flight crew management of automation and Situation Awareness (SA). Issues associated with flight crew management of automation include: • Pilot understanding of automation’s capabilities, limitations, modes, and operating principles and techniques. • Differing pilot decisions about the appropriate automation level to use or whether to turn automation on or off when they get into unusual or emergency situations. • Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) are not always easy to use, and this aspect could be problematic when pilots experience high workload situations. • Complex automation interfaces, large differences in automation philosophy and implementation among different aircraft types, and inadequate training also contribute to deficiencies in flight crew understanding of automation.

Towards automation of constellation management with analytical models for collision avoidance

The growing interest for constellation of small, less expensive satellites is bringing space junk and traffic management to the attention of space community. At the same time, the continuous quest for more efficient propulsion systems put the spotlight on electric (low thrust) propulsion as an appealing solution for collision avoidance. Starting with an overview of the current techniques for conjunction assessment and avoidance, we then highlight the possible problems when a low thrust propulsion is used. The need for accurate propagation model shows up from the conducted simulations. Thus, aiming at propagation models with low computational burden, we study the available models from the literature and propose an analytical alternative to improve propagation accuracy. The model is then tested in the particular case of a tangential maneuver. Results show that the proposed solution significantly improve on state of the art methods and is a good candidate to be used in collision avoidance operations. For instance to propagate satellite uncertainty or optimizing avoidance maneuver when conjunction occurs within few (3-4) orbits from measurements time.

1° level of automation: the effectiveness of adaptive cruise control on driving and visual behaviour

The research activities have allowed the analysis of the driver assistance systems, called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in relation to road safety. The study is structured according to several evaluation steps, related to definite on-site tests that have been carried out with different samples of users, according to their driving experience with the ACC. The evaluation steps concern: •The testing mode and the choice of suitable instrumentation to detect the driver’s behaviour in relation to the ACC. •The analysis modes and outputs to be obtained, i.e.: - Distribution of attention and inattention; - Mental workload; - The Perception-Reaction Time (PRT), the Time To Collision (TTC) and the Time Headway (TH). The main purpose is to assess the interaction between vehicle drivers and ADAS, highlighting the inattention and variation of the workloads they induce regarding the driving task. The research project considered the use of a system for monitoring visual behavior (ASL Mobile Eye-XG - ME), a powerful GPS that allowed to record the kinematic data of the vehicle (Racelogic Video V-BOX) and a tool for reading brain activity (Electroencephalographic System - EEG). Just during the analytical phase, a second and important research objective was born: the creation of a graphical interface that would allow exceeding the frame count limit, making faster and more effective the labeling of the driver’s points of view. The results show a complete and exhaustive picture of the vehicle-driver interaction. It has been possible to highlight the main sources of criticalities related to the user and the vehicle, in order to concretely reduce the accident rate. In addition, the use of mathematical-computational methodologies for the analysis of experimental data has allowed the optimization and verification of analytical processes with neural networks that have made an effective comparison between the manual and automatic methodology.

Analysis and development of interface components and procedures for the design and commissioning toolchains in automation systems

The objective of the thesis project, developed within the Line Control & Software Engineering team of G.D company, is to analyze and identify the appropriate tool to automate the HW configuration process using Beckhoff technologies by importing data from an ECAD tool. This would save a great deal of time, since the I/O topology created as part of the electrical planning is presently imported manually in the related SW project of the machine. Moreover, a manual import is more error-prone because of human mistake than an automatic configuration tool. First, an introduction about TwinCAT 3, EtherCAT and Automation Interface is provided; then, it is analyzed the official Beckhoff tool, XCAD Interface, and the requirements on the electrical planning to use it: the interface is realized by means of the AutomationML format. Finally, due to some limitations observed, the design and implementation of a company internal tool is performed. Tests and validation of the tool are performed on a sample production line of the company.

Development of a Robotic Wires Storage System for Switchgear Manufacturing Automation

Considering the great development of robotics in industrial automation, the Remodel project aims to reproduce, through the use of Cobots, the wiring activity typical of a human operator and to realize an autonomous storage work. My researches focused on this second topic. In this paper, we will see how to realize a gripper compatible with an Omron TM5X-900, able to perform a pick and place of different types of cables, but also how to compute possible trajectories. In particular, what I needed, was a trajectory going from the Komax, the cables production machine, to a Warehouse taking into account the possible entangles of cables with the robot during its motion. The last part has been dedicated to the synchronization between robot and main machine work.