Risk-management of UAS robust autonomy for its integration into civil aviation safety frameworks

This paper discusses a model of the civil aviation reg- ulation framework and shows how the current assess- ment of reliability and risk for piloted aircraft has limited applicability for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) with high levels of autonomous decision mak- ing. Then, a new framework for risk management of robust autonomy is proposed, which arises from combining quantified measures of risk with normative decision making. The term Robust Autonomy de- scribes the ability of an autonomous system to either continue or abort its operation whilst not breaching a minimum level of acceptable safety in the presence of anomalous conditions. The decision making associ- ated with risk management requires quantifying prob- abilities associated with the measures of risk and also consequences of outcomes related to the behaviour of autonomy. The probabilities are computed from an assessment under both nominal and anomalous sce- narios described by faults, which can be associated with the aircraft’s actuators, sensors, communication link, changes in dynamics, and the presence of other aircraft in the operational space. The consequences of outcomes are characterised by a loss function which rewards the certification decision

Experimental and numerical characteristics of portable water-filled road safety barrier system under different impact conditions

This research has developed an innovative road safety barrier system that will enhance roadside safety. In doing so, the research developed new knowledge in the field of road crash mitigation for high speed vehicle impact involving plastic road safety barriers. This road safety barrier system has the required feature to redirecting an errant vehicle with limited lateral displacement. Research was carried out using dynamic computer simulation technique support by experimental testing. Future road safety barrier designers may use the information in this research as a design guideline to improve the performance and redirectional capability of the road safety barrier system. This will lead to better safety conditions on the roadways and potentially save lives.

Revolute joint approach to model joint mechanism in water-filled road safety barriers

Portable water-filled road barriers (PWFB) are roadside structures placed on temporary construction zones to separate work site from traffic. Recent changes in governing standards require PWFB to adhere to strict compliance in terms of lateral displacement and vehicle redirectionality. Actual PWFB test can be very costly, thus researchers resort to Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in the initial designs phase. There has been many research conducted on concrete barriers and flexible steel barriers using FEA, however not many was done pertaining to PWFB. This research probes a new technique to model joints in PWFB. Two methods to model the joining mechanism are presented and discussed in relation to its practicality and accuracy. Moreover, the study of the physical gap and mass of the barrier was investigated. Outcome from this research will benefit PWFB research and allow road barrier designers better knowledge in developing the next generation of road safety structures.

Impact and energy absorption of portable water-filled road safety barrier system fitted with foam

Portable water-filled barriers (PWFBs) are roadside appurtenances that are used to prevent errant vehicles from penetrating into temporary construction zones on roadways. A numerical model of the composite PWFB, consisting of a plastic shell, steel frame, water and foam was developed and validated against results from full scale experimental tests. This model can be extended to larger scale impact cases, specifically ones that include actual vehicle models. The cost-benefit of having a validated numerical model is significant and this allows the road barrier designer to conduct extensive tests via numerical simulations prior to standard impact tests Effects of foam cladding as additional energy absorption material in the PWFB was investigated. Different types of foam were treated and it was found that XPS foam was the most suitable foam type. Results from this study will aid PWFB designers in developing new generation of roadside structures which will provide enhanced road safety.

Effect of joint mechanism on vehicle redirectional capability of water-filled road safety barrier systems

Portable water-filled barriers (PWFBs) are roadside appurtenances that prevent vehicles from penetrating into temporary construction zones on roadways. PWFBs are required to satisfy the strict regulations for vehicle re-direction in tests. However, many of the current PWFBs fail to re-direct the vehicle at high speeds due to the inability of the joints to provide appropriate stiffness. The joint mechanism hence plays a crucial role in the performance of a PWFB system at high speed impacts. This paper investigates the desired features of the joint mechanism in a PWFB system that can re-direct vehicles at high speeds, while limiting the lateral displacement to acceptable limits. A rectangular “wall” representative of a 30 m long barrier system was modeled and a novel method of joining adjacent road barriers was introduced through appropriate pin-joint connections. The impact response of the barrier “wall” and the vehicle was obtained and the results show that a rotational stiffness of 3000 kNm/rad at the joints seems to provide the desired features of the PWFB system to re-direct impacting vehicles and restrict the lateral deflection. These research findings will be useful to safety engineers and road barrier designers in developing a new generation of PWFBs for increased road safety.

Improving safety for driverless city vehicles : real-time communication and decision making

This paper elaborates on the Cybercars-2 Wireless Communication Framework for driverless city vehicles, which is used for Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure communication. The developed framework improves the safety and efficiency of driverless city vehicles. Furthermore, this paper also elaborates on the vehicle control software architecture. On-road tests of both the communication framework and its application for real-time decision making show that the communication framework is reliable and useful for improving the safe operation of driverless city vehicles.

Towards increased road safety : real-time decision making for driverless city vehicles

This work elaborates on the topic of decision making for driverless city vehicles, particularly focusing on the aspects on how to develop a reliable approach which meets the requirements of safe city traffic. Decision making in this context refers to the problem of identifying the most appropriate driving maneuver to be performed in a given traffic situation. The overall decision making problem is decomposed into two consecutive stages. The first stage is safety-crucial, representing the decision regarding the set of feasible driving maneuvers. The second stage represents the decision regarding the most appropriate driving maneuver from the set of feasible ones. The developed decision making approach has been implemented in C++ and initially tested in a 3D simulation environment and, thereafter, in real-world experiments. The real-world experiments also included the integration of wireless communication between vehicles.

Development of an inter-vehicle communications & positioning platform for transport safety applications

This project is a breakthrough in developing new scientific approaches for the design, development and evaluation of inter-vehicle communications, networking and positioning systems as part of Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems ensuring the safety of both roads and rail networks. This research focused on the elicitation, specification, analysis and validation of requirements for Vehicle-to-Vehicle communications and networking, and Vehicle-to-Vehicle positioning, which are accomplished with the research platform developed for this study. A number of mathematical models for communications, networking and positioning were developed from which simulations and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the overall performance of the platform. The outcomes of this research significantly contribute to improving the performance of the communications and positioning components of Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Safety culture and the australian heavy vehicle industry : a concept in chaos : an industry in need

This research proposed a new framework for safety culture and examined the influence that culture has on safety in the heavy vehicle industry. The results gave evidence for an industry wide culture, allowing future safety interventions to be designed in a culturally-relevant manner. Designing culturally-relevant interventions may maximise their effectiveness and reduce the levels of resistance to safety that have been evident in past years.

Organizational work-related road safety situational analysis: More than just an audit tool

Although safety statistics indicate that road crashes are the most common form of work-related fatalities, many organizations fail to treat company vehicles in the same manner as other physical safety hazards within the workplace. Traditionally, work-related road safety has targeted primarily driver-related issues and not adequately addressed organizational processes, such as the organizations’ safety system and risk management processes and practice. This inadequacy generally stems from a lack of specific contextual knowledge and basic requirements to improve work-related road safety, including the supporting systems to ensure any intervention strategy or initiative’s ongoing effectiveness. Therefore, informed by previous research and based on a case study methodology, the Organizational Work-Related Road Safety Situational Analysis was developed to assess organizations’ current work-related road safety system, including policy, procedures, processes and practice. The situational analysis tool is similar to a safety audit however is more comprehensive in detail, application and provides sufficient evidence to enable organizations to mitigate and manage their work-related road safety risks. In addition, data collected from this process assists organizations in making informed decisions regarding intervention strategy design, development, implementation and ongoing effectiveness. This paper reports on the effectiveness of the situational analysis tool to assess WRRS systems across five differing and diverse organizations; including gas exploration and mining, state government, local government, and not for profit/philanthropy. The outcomes of this project identified considerable differences in the degree by which the organizations’ addressed work-related road safety across their vehicle fleet operations and provides guidelines for improving organizations’ work-related road safety systems.

Imaging of the asymmetric DC discharge: visualization to adjust plasma in the novel PECVD reactor

Normal asymmetric glow dc discharge in the thermal furnace converted into the efficient PECVD system was imaged to adjust the structure of the plasma column to the two possible localizations of the process zone. The visualization revealed the possibility to use short and long discharge configurations for the plasma-enabled growth and processing of various nanostructures in the modified setup. Images of the discharge in the two localizations are presented.

Plasma nanofabrication and nanomaterials safety

The fast advances in nanotechnology have raised increasing concerns related to the safety of nanomaterials when exposed to humans, animals and the environment. However, despite several years of research, the nanomaterials safety field is still in its infancy owing to the complexities of structural and surface properties of these nanomaterials and organism-specific responses to them. Recently, plasma-based technology has been demonstrated as a versatile and effective way for nanofabrication, yet its health and environment-benign nature has not been widely recognized. Here we address the environmental and occupational health and safety effects of various zero- and one-dimensional nanomaterials and elaborate the advantages of using plasmas as a safe nanofabrication tool. These advantages include but are not limited to the production of substrate-bound nanomaterials, the isolation of humans from harmful nanomaterials, and the effective reforming of toxic and flammable gases. It is concluded that plasma nanofabrication can minimize the hazards in the workplace and represents a safe way for future nanofabrication technologies.

E and H regimes of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of diamond-like carbon film in low frequency inductively coupled plasma reactor

This paper reports on the efficient deposition of hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) film in a plasma reactor that features both the capacitively and inductively coupled operation regimes. The hydrogenated DLC films have been prepared on silicon wafers using a low-frequency (500 kHz) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system. At low RF powers, the system operates as an asymmetric capacitively coupled plasma source, and the film deposition process is undertaken in the electrostatic (E) discharge regime. Above the mode transition threshold, the high-density inductively coupled plasma is produced in the electromagnetic (H) discharge regime. It has been shown that the deposition rate and hardness of the DLC film are much higher in the H-mode deposition regime. For a 2.66-Pa H-mode CH4 + Ar gas mixture discharge, the deposited DLC film exhibits a mechanical hardness of 18 GPa, Young's modulus of 170 GPa, and compressive stress of 1.3 GPa.

A qualitative exploration of sun safety beliefs among Australian adults

Informed broadly by the theory of planned behaviour, this study used qualitative methodology to understand Australian adults' sun-protective decisions. Forty-two adults participated in focus groups where they discussed behavioural (advantages and disadvantages), normative (important referents), and control (barriers and facilitators) beliefs, as well as potential social influences and images of tanned and non-tanned people. Responses were analysed using the consensual qualitative research approach to determine the dominant themes. Themes of fashion and comfort were prominent, the important role of friends and family in sun safe decision-making was highlighted, as was the availability of sun-protective measures (e.g., in an accessible place or in the environment). Additional themes included the need to model sound sun-protective behaviours to (current and future) children, the emphasis on personal choice and personal responsibility to be sun safe, and the influence of Australian identity and culture on tanning and socially acceptable forms of sun protection. These beliefs can be used to inform interventions and public health campaigns targeting sun safety among Australians, a population with the highest skin cancer incidence in the world.

Food safety : maximising impact by understanding the food business context

In Australia there are 5.4 million cases of food-borne illness annually which costs the community $1.2 billion per annum (Department of Health and Ageing 2006). As a co-regulator in food safety, local government has a significant interest in ensuring adherence to good food safety practices. This research project involved focus groups or interviews with food business operators and young food handlers to explore their food safety understanding, attitudes, practices and the organisational culture in which they participated. By its nature qualitative research is not intended to provide definitive generalizable findings. Rather the advantage of a small sample size qualitative study is to provide depth rather than breadth. Thus the findings here provide insight into the complexities and nuances of food safety regulation in a manner which a large scale quantitative study could not.