Requirements, Issues, and Challenges for Sense and Avoid in Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The sense and avoid capability is one of the greatest challenges that has to be addressed to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems into civil and nonsegregated airspace. This paper gives a review of existing regulations, recommended practices, and standards in sense and avoid for unmanned aircraft systems. Gaps and issues are identified, as are the different factors that are likely to affect actual sense and avoid requirements. It is found that the operational environment (flight altitude, meteorological conditions, and class of airspace) plays an important role when determining the type of flying hazards that the unmanned aircraft system might encounter. In addition, the automation level and the data-link architecture of the unmanned aircraft system are key factors that will definitely determine the sense and avoid system requirements. Tactical unmanned aircraft, performing similar missions to general aviation, are found to be the most challenging systems from an sense and avoid point of view, and further research and development efforts are still needed before their seamless integration into nonsegregated airspace

Puupolttoaineen varastonhallinta- ja hankintamalli

Työssä luodaan energiapuun varastonhallintamalli ja hankintamalli energiantuotantolaitoksen näkökulmasta sekä kuvataan kustannustehokkaita ja toimitusvarmoja vaihtoehtoja puupolttoaineen varastoinnille ja haketukselle. Varastonhallintamallissa keskitytään varastotason hallintamenetelmiin toimintaympäristössään. Hankintamalli määrittää oman varaston ja suoran laitostoimituksen suhteen sekä auttaa pohtimaan strategisen hankinnan merkitystä hankinnan toteuttamiseen ja hankintakanavien valintaan. Työ antaa vastauksia koko hankintatoiminnan toteutukseen ja hallitsemiseen. Varastonhallintamallin skenaariotarkastelussa selvisi, että yrityksen oma varasto vaatii 18 – 37 % varmuusvaraston suhteessa käyttövarastoon. Hankintamallin mukaan oman varaston kannattavimman puupolttoainejakeen hankintaetäisyys voisi olla keskimäärin korkeintaan 96 km. Tarpeen, saatavuuden, jakeiden kustannustasojen ja toimintaympäristön mahdollisuuksien ollessa selvillä, on mahdollista tehdä päätöksiä hankintakanavista ja varmuusvarastoista kustannustehokkuuden perusteella. Yrityksen polttoainemäärien ohjauksen toteutukseen vaaditaan kehittämistoimia. Oman toimintaympäristön vakiointi ja toimintamallien dokumentointi on tärkeää tiedonjaon, toimitussopimusten mitoittamisen ja toiminnan kehittämisen kannalta. Toiminnan pullonkaulojen vähentäminen ja puupolttoaineen ohjaaminen kustannustehokkaimpien haketusketjujen kautta mahdollisimman tehokkaasti synnyttävät kustannussäästöjä toimitusketjussa.

Tridimensionalidade do Campo de Batalha

O presente Relatório Científico Final do Trabalho de Investigação Aplicada versa o emprego do Exército Português nas Operações de Combate em Ambiente Urbano, no âmbito das missões internacionais da North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Com a realização do presente trabalho pretende-se verificar e analisar a doutrina, organização, treino e meios do Exército Português para a condução de Operações de Combate em Ambiente Urbano em contexto das missões internacionais no âmbito da North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As características e tendências do atual ambiente operacional apontam para uma tipologia de Operações militares marcadas essencialmente por aspetos inerentes à complexidade do ambiente urbano. Apesar das suas particularidades, estas operações inserem-se em todo o espetro do conflito, inclusive em Operações de Apoio à Paz onde a ameaça pode provocar o escalar de violência. Desta forma o Exército Português terá que possuir capacidades militares que se adequem às possibilidades de atuação das forças em Teatros de Operações onde o ambiente é essencialmente urbano, possibilitando assim cumprir com a sua missão, assegurando os compromissos internacionais do Estado Português no âmbito militar. Assim, esta investigação iniciar-se-á com um enquadramento teórico, fundamentado numa pesquisa bibliográfica, seguida de uma componente prática, correspondente à análise documental e entrevistas que permitam obter respostas para a questão central em apreço. Estas duas componentes culminam com a conclusão do trabalho resultante do processo de investigação verificando que, apesar de algumas lacunas e limitações, as forças militares dispõem de inquestionáveis competências para conduzirem operações que envolvam combate em ambiente urbano no quadro das missões internacionais da North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Estudo sobre as principais características das viaturas táticas ligeiras blindadas para o Exército português.

O presente Trabalho de Investigação Aplicada tem como estudo identificar as principais características das viaturas táticas ligeiras blindadas, que irão equipar o Exército Português, por forma a garantir a mobilidade tática terrestre. Com esta investigação pretende-se identificar a configuração do ambiente operacional, onde as viaturas das Forças Nacionais Destacadas tem sido empregues. De igual modo identificar as caraterísticas das viaturas táticas ligeiras blindadas disponíveis no mercado da indústria de defesa passíveis de serem adquiridas, descrevendo ainda o tipo de operações em que as forças do Exército Português tem participado, utilizando viaturas táticas ligeiras. Esta investigação tem como principal objetivo identificar as principais caraterísticas das viaturas táticas ligeiras blindadas a adquirir pelo Exército Português, para se adaptarem à realidade atual do ambiente operacional onde Portugal participa com forças, e fazer uma caracterização da mais recente viatura, a Pandur II 8x8, e a viatura com mais presenças em teatros de operações, o High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle. Para alcançar este objetivo principal, foi utilizado o método dedutivo partindo do ambiente operacional dos diversos Teatros de Operações em que Portugal tem empregue forças, para as principais caraterísticas das viaturas. O ambiente operacional que reside hoje em dia, nos teatros de operações, é caraterizado por assimetrias, resultantes de novas ameaças. Estas necessitam de esforços, por parte das forças militares para se adaptarem. As caraterísticas das viaturas táticas ligeiras blindadas têm vindo a sofrer algumas alterações na sua proteção e mobilidade, onde apresentam melhorias técnicas, face às inovações tecnológicas, mas há outras, como o poder de fogo que podem vir a ser colmatadas no futuro.

A Bateria de Artilharia de Campanha como Força Nacional Destacada numa Operação de Resposta a Crises

Tem-se assistido ao aumento das operações de resposta a crises onde são realizadas operações de média e baixa intensidade. O interesse nacional em participar em missões internacionais com a finalidade de contribuir para a imagem do país como cooperador de paz e segurança mundial, tem levado à constante participação nessa tipologia de missões. A participação da Artilharia neste âmbito tem sido pouco expressiva. Por este motivo, o presente trabalho pretende investigar as possibilidades de emprego de uma Bateria de Artilharia de Campanha como Força Nacional Destacada numa Operação de Resposta a Crises. Os objetivos deste trabalho passam por identificar as tarefas e as subtarefas requeridas no âmbito de uma operação de estabilização e quais destas poderão ser realizadas pela Artilharia de Campanha. Pretende-se de igual forma identificar quais as capacidades e possibilidades de atuação de uma Bateria de Artilharia de Campanha em operações de resposta a crises, tendo em conta a sua doutrina e treino operacional. De igual forma, objetivo passa por identificar as diferenças e semelhanças do treino individual e coletivo, entre as Unidades da Artilharia de Campanha e as que participaram em operações de resposta a crises. Por último aborda-se a forma como é feita a geração de forças e a edificação de capacidades do sistema de forças do Exército, no âmbito das Forças Nacionais Destacadas e das NATO Response Forces. A metodologia utilizada foi a dos seguintes autores: Santos, et al. (2016), Manuela Sarmento (2013) e Vilelas (2009). A abordagem para este trabalho é a qualitativa, utilizando o raciocínio o dedutivo, recorrendo à análise documental e à entrevista como técnicas de recolhas de dados. No que concerte à utilização da Artilharia em operações de resposta a crises, o seu emprego é significativamente reduzido, pelas características do ambiente operacional. No entanto, existe uma serie de tarefas que poderão ser realizadas pela Artilharia tais como: Apoio às unidades de manobra durante as suas operações, e proteção de Bases militares com fogos letais e não-letais; Operações de demonstração de força; realizar fogos de advertência, monitorização global das operações, contribuindo para a Comum Operational Picture; Ações de mentoria; Segurança a pontos e áreas críticas. É possível empregar de uma Bateria de Artilharia de Campanha como unidade de manobra, em missões não especificas de Artilharia de Campanha, se esta tiver o treino adequado. O período de aprontamento e treino orientado para a missão seria suficiente para dotar a força das capacidades necessárias para obterem a certificação, e posteriormente serem projetadas para o teatro de operações. No entanto não se perspetiva a necessidade de atuação de uma Bateria de Artilharia de Campanha, como Unidade de manobra. Por isso Artilharia de Campanha deverá continuar a manter o seu elevado nível de treino e operacionalidade reforçando a aposta em exercícios conjuntos e combinados de forma a manter-se como possibilidade de gerar subunidades aptas a participar nas NATO Response Forces.

Operational Reliability Analysis of a Three-Tiered Thin-Client ERP-system in an International Corporate Environment

Internationalization and the following rapid growth have created the need to concentrate the IT systems of many small-to-medium-sized production companies. Enterprise Resource Planning systems are a common solution for such companies. Deployment of these ERP systems consists of many steps, one of which is the implementation of the same shared system at all international subsidiaries. This is also one of the most important steps in the internationalization strategy of the company from the IT point of view. The mechanical process of creating the required connections for the off-shore sites is the easiest and most well-documented step along the way, but the actual value of the system, once operational, is perceived in its operational reliability. The operational reliability of an ERP system is a combination of many factors. These factors vary from hardware- and connectivity-related issues to administrative tasks and communication between decentralized administrative units and sites. To accurately analyze the operational reliability of such system, one must take into consideration the full functionality of the system. This includes not only the mechanical and systematic processes but also the users and their administration. All operational reliability in an international environment relies heavily on hardware and telecommunication adequacy so it is imperative to have resources dimensioned with regard to planned usage. Still with poorly maintained communication/administration schemes no amount of bandwidth or memory will be enough to maintain a productive level of reliability. This thesis work analyzes the implementation of a shared ERP system to an international subsidiary of a Finnish production company. The system is Microsoft Dynamics Ax, currently being introduced to a Slovakian facility, a subsidiary of Peikko Finland Oy. The primary task is to create a feasible base of analysis against which the operational reliability of the system can be evaluated precisely. With a solid analysis the aim is to give recommendations on how future implementations are to be managed.

Operational Methods in the Environment of a Computer Algebra System

This article presents the principal results of the doctoral thesis “Direct Operational Methods in the Environment of a Computer Algebra System” by Margarita Spiridonova (Institute of mathematics and Informatics, BAS), successfully defended before the Specialised Academic Council for Informatics and Mathematical Modelling on 23 March, 2009.

The effect of key process operational conditions on enhanced biological phosphorus removal from wastewater

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is the most economic and sustainable option used in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for phosphorus removal. In this process it is important to control the competition between polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs), since EBPR deterioration or failure can be related with the proliferation of GAOs over PAOs. This thesis is focused on the effect of operational conditions (volatile fatty acid (VFA) composition, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and organic carbon loading) on PAO and GAO metabolism. The knowledge about the effect of these operational conditions on EBPR metabolism is very important, since they represent key factors that impact WWTPs performance and sustainability. Substrate competition between the anaerobic uptake of acetate and propionate (the main VFAs present in WWTPs) was shown in this work to be a relevant factor affecting PAO metabolism, and a metabolic model was developed that successfully describes this effect. Interestingly, the aerobic metabolism of PAOs was not affected by different VFA compositions, since the aerobic kinetic parameters for phosphorus uptake, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) degradation and glycogen production were relatively independent of acetate or propionate concentration. This is very relevant for WWTPs, since it will simplify the calibration procedure for metabolic models, facilitating their use for full-scale systems. The DO concentration and aerobic hydraulic retention time (HRT) affected the PAO-GAO competition, where low DO levels or lower aerobic HRT was more favourable for PAOs than GAOs. Indeed, the oxygen affinity coefficient was significantly higher for GAOs than PAOs, showing that PAOs were far superior at scavenging for the often limited oxygen levels in WWTPs. The operation of WWTPs with low aeration is of high importance for full-scale systems, since it decreases the energetic costs and can potentially improve WWTP sustainability. Extended periods of low organic carbon load, which are the most common conditions that exist in full-scale WWTPs, also had an impact on PAO and GAO activity. GAOs exhibited a substantially higher biomass decay rate as compared to PAOs under these conditions, which revealed a higher survival capacity for PAOs, representing an advantage for PAOs in EBPR processes. This superior survival capacity of PAOs under conditions more closely resembling a full-scale environment was linked with their ability to maintain a residual level of PHA reserves for longer than GAOs, providing them with an effective energy source for aerobic maintenance processes. Overall, this work shows that each of these key operational conditions play an important role in the PAO-GAO competition and should be considered in WWTP models in order to improve EBPR processes.

Sustainable urban planning: parameters to the operational process

In modern society, energy consumption and respect for the environment have become essential aspects of urban planning. The rising demand for alternative sources of energy, coupled with the decline in the construction sector and material usage, gives the idea that the thinking on modern cities, where attention is given to reduced energy consumption, savings, waste recycling and respect for the surrounding environment, is being put into practice. If we examine development of the city over recent centuries, by means of the theories of the most famous and influential urban planners, it is possible to identify the major problems caused by this type of planning. For this reason, in recent urban planning the use of systems of indicators that evaluate and certify land environmentally and energetically guides the master plan toward a more efficient city model. In addition the indicators are targeted on key factors determined by the commissioner or the opportunities the territory itself provides. Due the complexity of the environmental mechanics, the process of design and urban planning has become a challenging issue. The introduction of the indicators system has made it possible to register the life of the process, with a spiral route that allows the design itself to be refined. The aim of this study, built around the creation of a system of urban sustainability indicators that will evaluate highly eco-friendly cities, is to develop a certification system for cities or portions of them. The system will be upgradeable and objective, will employ real data and will be concerned with energy production and consumption.

Modeling competencies and capabilities in knowledge intensive business environment

Tämän diplomityön päämääränä oli tutkia Perloksen teknologiaosaamisia. Perloksen tavoitteena on tulevaisuudessa yhdistää ja soveltaa uusia teknologioita ja älykkäitä materiaaleja muovimekaniikkaan.Ideana oli mallintaa Perloksen osaamisia ja osaamisgapeja ottaen huomioon heidän tulevaisuuden visionsa. Projektituotteena osaamisten mallintamisessa oli Perlos Healthcaren asiakkaan analysoiva mittauslaite. Tutkimuksen arvo on huomattava sillä tunnistamalla osaamisensa ja kyvykkyytensä yritys pystyy luomaan paremman tarjooman vastatessaan koko ajan kasvaviin asiakasvaatimuksiin. Tutkimus on osa TEKESin rahoittamaa LIIMA -projektia. Työn ensimmäisessä osassa esitellään osaamiseen ja partneroitumiseen liittyviä teorioita. Osaamisten mallintaminen tehtiin Excel -pohjaisella työkalulla. Se sisältää projektituotteeseen liittyen osaamisriippuvuuksien mallintamisen ja gap -analyysin. Yhtenä tutkimusmetodina käytettiin haastattelututkimusta. Työ ja sen tulokset antavat operatiivista hyötyä teknologioiden ja markkinoiden välisessä kentässä.

Introducing massively parallel computers into operational weather forecasting

Numerical weather prediction and climate simulation have been among the computationally most demanding applications of high performance computing eversince they were started in the 1950's. Since the 1980's, the most powerful computers have featured an ever larger number of processors. By the early 2000's, this number is often several thousand. An operational weather model must use all these processors in a highly coordinated fashion. The critical resource in running such models is not computation, but the amount of necessary communication between the processors. The communication capacity of parallel computers often fallsfar short of their computational power. The articles in this thesis cover fourteen years of research into how to harness thousands of processors on a single weather forecast or climate simulation, so that the application can benefit as much as possible from the power of parallel high performance computers. The resultsattained in these articles have already been widely applied, so that currently most of the organizations that carry out global weather forecasting or climate simulation anywhere in the world use methods introduced in them. Some further studies extend parallelization opportunities into other parts of the weather forecasting environment, in particular to data assimilation of satellite observations.

Development of advanced silicon radiation detectors for harsh radiation environment

This thesis describes the development of advanced silicon radiation detectors and their characterization by simulations, used in the work for searching elementary particles in the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN. Silicon particle detectors will face extremely harsh radiation in the proposed upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider, the future high-energy physics experiment Super-LHC. The increase in the maximal fluence and the beam luminosity up to 1016 neq / cm2 and 1035 cm-2s-1 will require detectors with a dramatic improvement in radiation hardness, when such a fluence will be far beyond the operational limits of the present silicon detectors. The main goals of detector development concentrate on minimizing the radiation degradation. This study contributes mainly to the device engineering technology for developing more radiation hard particle detectors with better characteristics. Also the defect engineering technology is discussed. In the nearest region of the beam in Super-LHC, the only detector choice is 3D detectors, or alternatively replacing other types of detectors every two years. The interest in the 3D silicon detectors is continuously growing because of their many advantages as compared to conventional planar detectors: the devices can be fully depleted at low bias voltages, the speed of the charge collection is high, and the collection distances are about one order of magnitude less than those of planar technology strip and pixel detectors with electrodes limited to the detector surface. Also the 3D detectors exhibit high radiation tolerance, and thus the ability of the silicon detectors to operate after irradiation is increased. Two parameters, full depletion voltage and electric field distribution, is discussed in more detail in this study. The full depletion of the detector is important because the only depleted area in the detector is active for the particle tracking. Similarly, the high electric field in the detector makes the detector volume sensitive, while low-field areas are non-sensitive to particles. This study shows the simulation results of full depletion voltage and the electric field distribution for the various types of 3D detectors. First, the 3D detector with the n-type substrate and partial-penetrating p-type electrodes are researched. A detector of this type has a low electric field on the pixel side and it suffers from type inversion. Next, the substrate is changed to p-type and the detectors having electrodes with one doping type and the dual doping type are examined. The electric field profile in a dual-column 3D Si detector is more uniform than that in the single-type column 3D detector. The dual-column detectors are the best in radiation hardness because of their low depletion voltages and short drift distances.

Identification and Management of Operational Risks in IT Organization of Financial Service Provider

Työn tavoitteena on tunnistaa toiminnallisia riskitekijöitä rahoituspalveluita tarjoavan yrityksen IT-organisaatiossa sekä löytää arkipäiväisiä keinoja hallita näitä riskejä. Työssä riskejä on myös tarkasteltu mahdollisen ulkoistuksen yhteydessä. Fuusiot ovat yleisiä rahoitusalan yrityksissä. Yhteenliittymien tuloksena yritysten IT-arkkitehtuuri voi olla monimutkainen ja kulttuurierot yrityksessä suuria. Synergia- ja mittakaavaetuja saadakseen yritys keskittää toimintojaan ja IT-ratkaisujaan. Riskien tunnistaminen on riskienhallintaprosessin tärkein vaihe. Tässä tutkimuksessa riskit ja riskitekijät tunnistettiin itsearvioinnin avulla kysymyssarjoja hyväksikäyttäen. Monet riskitekijät liittyivät sisäisen valvonnan ja seurannan puutteisiin. Myöhemmin näille riskeille pohdittiin työryhmässä käytännönläheisiä hallintakeinoja. Yritys voi siirtää tai jakaa IT -riskejä ulkoistamalla. Ulkoistaminen voi kuitenkin tuoda mukaan myös uusia riskitekijöitä. Ennen ulkoistamispäätöstä yrityksen sisäisten prosessien ja organisaation on oltava järjestyksessä, jotta sopimuksen kannattavuutta voidaan verrata luotettavasti saman palvelun tuottamiseen sisäisesti.

Adjusting for the environment in DEA: a comparison of alternative models based on empirical data

Due to the existence of free software and pedagogical guides, the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been further democratized in recent years. Nowadays, it is quite usual for practitioners and decision makers with no or little knowledge in operational research to run their own efficiency analysis. Within DEA, several alternative models allow for an environmental adjustment. Four alternative models, each user-friendly and easily accessible to practitioners and decision makers, are performed using empirical data of 90 primary schools in the State of Geneva, Switzerland. Results show that the majority of alternative models deliver divergent results. From a political and a managerial standpoint, these diverging results could lead to potentially ineffective decisions. As no consensus emerges on the best model to use, practitioners and decision makers may be tempted to select the model that is right for them, in other words, the model that best reflects their own preferences. Further studies should investigate how an appropriate multi-criteria decision analysis method could help decision makers to select the right model.