Bluetooth wireless technology based guidance system

Lyhyen kantaman langattomat kommunikaatioteknologiat tarjoavat mahdollisuuden toteuttaa erilaisia paikkasidonnaisia palveluita käyttäjille kohtuullisilla kustannuksilla. Opastejärjestelmä, joka ohjaa käyttäjän paikasta toiseen, on yksi tälläinen palvelu. Tässä työssä esitetään langattomaan Bluetooth teknologiaan perustuva opastejärjestelmä. Muita langattomia teknologioita verrataan Bluetoothiin opastejärjestelmän toteuttamisen kannalta. Erilaisia järjestelmän arkkitehtuuri vaihtoehtoja käyttäjän paikantamiseen esitellään. Paikkatietoja hyödynnetään opasteviestin muodostamisessa. Tapoja muodostaa käyttäjän reitti kahden paikan välillä toimistorakennuksessa esitetään. Työn tulos on halpa langatonta Bluetooth teknologiaa hyödyntävä opastejärjestelmä, jota voidaan käyttää myös muiden langattomien paikkasidonnaisten palveluiden tuottamiseen.

Industrial Organization: a Contract Based approach

Industrial Organization, a Contract Based approach (aka IOCB) offers an extensive and an up-to-date panorama of Industrial Organization. It is aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduates, academics and practitioners with an interest in the field. The analysis of market interactions, business strategies and public policy is performed using the standard framework of game theory and the recent advances of contract theory and information economics

Modelling and Administration of Contract-Based Systems

Mirroring the paper versions exchanged between businesses today, electronic contracts offer the possibility of dynamic, automatic creation and enforcement of restrictions and compulsions on agent behaviour that are designed to ensure business objectives are met. However, where there are many contracts within a particular application, it can be difficult to determine whether the system can reliably fulfil them all; computer-parsable electronic contracts may allow such verification to be automated. In this paper, we describe a conceptual framework and architecture specification in which normative business contracts can be electronically represented, verified, established, renewed, etc. In particular, we aim to allow systems containing multiple contracts to be checked for conflicts and violations of business objectives. We illustrate the framework and architecture with an aerospace example.

A contract-based system for aerospace aftercare

The logistics of the aerospace aftermarket raises a number of very interesting challenges from the perspective of electronic contracting. This is a highly dynamic domain, where contracts are established between airlines and engine manufacturers, as well as between engine manufacturers all the way down the supply lines, providing a particularly illustrative showcase for the technologies developed in the CONTRACT project. In this paper, we describe such a domain, as well as our modelling of it as a multiagent simulator where the CONTRACT framework has been used to monitor for compliance with norms.

Case studies for contract-based systems

Of the ways in which agent behaviour can be regulated in a multiagent system, electronic contracting – based on explicit representation of different parties' responsibilities, and the agreement of all parties to them – has significant potential for modern industrial applications. Based on this assumption, the CONTRACT project aims to develop and apply electronic contracting and contract-based monitoring and verification techniques in real world applications. This paper presents results from the initial phase of the project, which focused on requirements solicitation and analysis. Specifically, we survey four use cases from diverse industrial applications, examine how they can benefit from an agent-based electronic contracting infrastructure and outline the technical requirements that would be placed on such an infrastructure. We present the designed CONTRACT architecture and describe how it may fulfil these requirements. In addition to motivating our work on the contract-based infrastructure, the paper aims to provide a much needed community resource in terms of use case themselves and to provide a clear commercial context for the development of work on contract-based system.

Integrated information systems for a contract based company

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Enabling Leg-Based Guidance on Top of Waypoint-Based Autopilots for UAS

This paper presents a methodology to extend the guidance functionalities of Commercial Off-The-Shelf autopilots currently available for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Providing that most autopilots only support elemental waypoint-based guidance, this technique allows the aircraft to follow leg-based flight plans without needing to modify the internal control algorithms of the autopilot. It is discussed how to provide Direct to Fix, Track to Fix and Hold to Fix path terminators (along with Fly-Over and Fly-By waypoints) to basic autopilots able to natively execute only a limited set of legs. Preliminary results show the feasibility of the proposal with flight simulations that used a flexible and reconfigurable UAS architecture specifically designed to avoid dependencies with a single or particular autopilot solution.

Geometric versus Model Predictive Control based guidance algorithms for fixed-wing UAVs in the presence of very strong wind fields.

The recent years have witnessed increased development of small, autonomous fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In order to unlock widespread applicability of these platforms, they need to be capable of operating under a variety of environmental conditions. Due to their small size, low weight, and low speeds, they require the capability of coping with wind speeds that are approaching or even faster than the nominal airspeed. In this thesis, a nonlinear-geometric guidance strategy is presented, addressing this problem. More broadly, a methodology is proposed for the high-level control of non-holonomic unicycle-like vehicles in the presence of strong flowfields (e.g. winds, underwater currents) which may outreach the maximum vehicle speed. The proposed strategy guarantees convergence to a safe and stable vehicle configuration with respect to the flowfield, while preserving some tracking performance with respect to the target path. As an alternative approach, an algorithm based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) is developed, and a comparison between advantages and disadvantages of both approaches is drawn. Evaluations in simulations and a challenging real-world flight experiment in very windy conditions confirm the feasibility of the proposed guidance approach.

Tilaus-toimitusketjun toimivuus kiinteistö- ja aluepalveluissa kaupunkikonsernin näkökulmasta

Imatralla tilaaja-tuottaja-malliin liittyvä nykyinen sopimusohjausmalli otettiin käyttöön teknisellä toimialalla marraskuussa 2014, jolloin kiinteistö- ja aluepalveluiden tuottamiseen perustettiin oma yhtiö. Tilaaminen ja tuottaminen muodostaa tilaus-toimitusketjun. Tämän työn tarkoituksena oli saada tietoa nykyisen kiinteistö- ja aluepalveluiden tilaus-toimitusketjun toimivuudesta sekä vahvuuksista ja puutteista. Työn teoriaosassa perehdyttiin strategiaprosessiin kunnissa, tilaaja-tuottaja-toimintatapaan sekä yhtiöittämiseen ja tuloksellisuuteen. Käytännön tietoa tilaus-toimitusketjusta saatiin strukturoidulla haastattelulla. Haastattelu jaettiin strategiseen, sopimusohjaustasoon sekä operatiiviseen tasoon. Haastateltavina oli toimitusketjun eri osapuolia. Työn tuloksena voidaan todeta, että strategian täytäntöönpanossa on vielä tekemistä, etenkin operatiivisella puolella. Sopimusohjausmalliin oltiin tyytyväisiä vaikka myös siitä löytyi vielä kehitettävää. Operatiivisella tasolla toiminnan tehokkuus on noussut verrattuna entiseen malliin, tehokkuutta voidaan kuitenkin vielä monin keinoin nostaa. Yleisesti nähtiin, että koko tilaus-toimitusketjun toiminta on tehostunut ja selkiytynyt.

@neurIST infrastructure for advanced disease management through integration of heterogeneous data, computing, and complex processing services

The increasing volume of data describing humandisease processes and the growing complexity of understanding, managing, and sharing such data presents a huge challenge for clinicians and medical researchers. This paper presents the@neurIST system, which provides an infrastructure for biomedical research while aiding clinical care, by bringing together heterogeneous data and complex processing and computing services. Although @neurIST targets the investigation and treatment of cerebral aneurysms, the system’s architecture is generic enough that it could be adapted to the treatment of other diseases.Innovations in @neurIST include confining the patient data pertaining to aneurysms inside a single environment that offers cliniciansthe tools to analyze and interpret patient data and make use of knowledge-based guidance in planning their treatment. Medicalresearchers gain access to a critical mass of aneurysm related data due to the system’s ability to federate distributed informationsources. A semantically mediated grid infrastructure ensures that both clinicians and researchers are able to seamlessly access andwork on data that is distributed across multiple sites in a secure way in addition to providing computing resources on demand forperforming computationally intensive simulations for treatment planning and research.

An insight into the public acceptance of nutrigenomic-based personalised nutrition.

It is predicted that non-communicable diseases will account for over 73 % of global mortality in 2020. Given that the majority of these deaths occur in developed countries such as the UK, and that up to 80 % of chronic disease could be prevented through improvements in diet and lifestyle, it is imperative that dietary guidelines and disease prevention strategies are reviewed in order to improve their efficacy. Since the completion of the human genome project our understanding of complex interactions between environmental factors such as diet and genes has progressed considerably, as has the potential to individualise diets using dietary, phenotypic and genotypic data. Thus, there is an ambition for dietary interventions to move away from population-based guidance towards 'personalised nutrition'. The present paper reviews current evidence for the public acceptance of genetic testing and personalised nutrition in disease prevention. Health and clear consumer benefits have been identified as key motivators in the uptake of genetic testing, with individuals reporting personal experience of disease, such as those with specific symptoms, being more willing to undergo genetic testing for the purpose of personalised nutrition. This greater perceived susceptibility to disease may also improve motivation to change behaviour which is a key barrier in the success of any nutrition intervention. Several consumer concerns have been identified in the literature which should be addressed before the introduction of a nutrigenomic-based personalised nutrition service. Future research should focus on the efficacy and implementation of nutrigenomic-based personalised nutrition.

A função social do contrato como concretização de direitos fundamentais nas relações privadas

This dissertation deals with the social function of the contract, based on constitutional principles, especially those relating to fundamental rights. The social function of the contract (general clause) is described in the Civil Code so intentionally generic, no precise criteria to define it. Because of the fluidity of this principle, it is justified its closer study, seeking to assess its various meanings and looking away from the legal uncertainty that an unlimited conceptual vagueness can cause. The social function of the contract arises from a transformation experienced in private law from the inflows received from the Constitutional Law, the result of an evolutionary process by which it became the state structure, leaving the foundations of the classical liberal state and moving toward a vision guided by existential human values that give the keynote of the Welfare State. Arose, then the concern about the effectiveness of fundamental rights in relations between individuals, which is studied from the inapplicability of fundamental rights in private relations (U.S. doctrine of State action), passing to the analysis of the Theory of indirect horizontal effect of fundamental rights (of German creation and majority acceptance), reaching the right horizontal efficacy Theory of fundamental rights, prevailing Brazilian doctrine and jurisprudence. It has also been investigated the foundations of the social contract, pointing out that, apart from the provisions of the constitutional legislation, that base the principle on screen, there have also been noticed foundations in the Federal Constitution, in devices like the art. 1, III, the dignity of the human person is the north of the relationship between contractors. Also art. 3rd, I CF/88 bases the vision of social covenants, equipping it for the implementation of social solidarity, as one of the fundamental objectives of the Republic. Still on art. 170 of the Constitution it is seen as a locus of reasoning in the social function of the contract, the maintenance of the economic order. It is also studied the internal and external aspects of the social function of the contract, being the first part the one that considers the requirement of respect for contractual loyalty, through the objective good faith, as a result of the dignity of the hirer may not be offended by the other through the contract. On the other hand, the external facet of the social function of the contract, in line with the constitutional mandate of solidarity, indicates the need for contractors to respect the rights of society, namely the diffuse, collective and individual third party. In this external appearance, it is also pointed the notion of external credit protection, addressing the duty of society to respect the contract. There has been shown some notions of the social contract in comparative law. Then, there has been investigated the content of principle study, through their interrelationships with other provisions of private and constitutional law, namely equality, objective good faith, private autonomy and dignity of the human person. We study the application of the social contract in contractual networks as well as the guidance of conservation of contracts, especially those denominated long-term captive contracts, considering the theory of substantive due performance, concluding with an analysis of the social contract in code of Consumer Protection

Risk-based Modeling to Develop Zoning Criteria for Land-use Near Canadian Airports

Land development in the vicinity of airports often leads to land-use that can attract birds that are hazardous to aviation operations. For this reason, certain forms of land-use have traditionally been discouraged within prescribed distances of Canadian airports. However, this often leads to an unrealistic prohibition of land-use in the vicinity of airports located in urban settings. Furthermore, it is often unclear that the desired safety goals have been achieved. This paper describes a model that was created to assist in the development of zoning regulations for a future airport site in Canada. The framework links land-use to bird-related safety-risks and aircraft operations by categorizing the predictable relationships between: (i) different land uses found in urbanized and urbanizing settings near airports; (ii) bird species; and (iii) the different safety-risks to aircraft during various phases of flight. The latter is assessed relative to the runway approach and departure paths. Bird species are ranked to reflect the potential severity of an impact with an aircraft (using bird weight, flocking characteristics, and flight behaviours). These criteria are then employed to chart bird-related safety-risks relative to runway reference points. Each form of land-use is categorized to reflect the degree to which it attracts hazardous bird species. From this information, hazard and risk matrices have been developed and applied to the future airport setting, thereby providing risk-based guidance on appropriate land-uses that range from prohibited to acceptable. The framework has subsequently been applied to an existing Canadian airport, and is currently being adapted for national application. The framework provides a risk-based and science-based approach that offers municipalities and property owner’s flexibility in managing the risks to aviation related to their land use.