Hasil untuk "Machine design and drawing"

Jiashuo Xu, Chunguang He, Ya Duan et al.

Decarbonizing the transport sector is crucial for achieving global carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Electric taxis (e-taxis), which play a vital role in urban public transportation, are central to this transition. However, their operational performance deteriorates significantly under extremely cold conditions. Existing planning models for charging infrastructure often overlook the impact of low temperatures, creating a critical research gap. To address this issue, we propose a novel planning framework using Urumqi, China (43.8° N, 87.6° E) as a case study. Urumqi is a major cold-region metropolis, where January temperatures regularly drop below <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>20</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> °C. Our methodology includes two key steps: integrating 412 driver questionnaires and 1.2 million high-resolution GPS trajectories to extract temperature-sensitive charging demand profiles; and incorporating these profiles into an integer linear programming (ILP) model to minimize lifecycle costs, considering climatic constraints, taxi operation patterns, and grid limitations. A key innovation is a temperature-correction coefficient, which dynamically adjusts vehicle energy consumption and driving range based on ambient temperature. Results show superiority over conventional (temperature-ignoring) and random plans: 14-fold lower annualized cost, 23-fold shorter average queuing time, 96.2% high-frequency demand coverage (+16.6%), and 78% charging station utilization (+50.0%). It achieves 29.8–32.3% cost savings at <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> °C (over 25.9% even at <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>35</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> °C) and scales stably for 5–50% e-taxi penetration, offering a transferable framework for cold-region e-taxi charging optimization.

Anis Hamza, Kamel Bousnina, Issam Dridi et al.

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) encompasses two primary strategies: adapting traditional designs for 3D printing and developing designs specifically optimized for additive manufacturing. The latter emphasizes consolidating assemblies and reducing weight, leveraging complex geometries and negative space through advanced techniques such as generative design and topology optimization. Critical considerations in the design phase include printing methods, material selection, support structures, and post-processing requirements. DfAM offers significant advantages over conventional subtractive manufacturing, including enhanced complexity, customization, and optimization, with transformative applications in aerospace, medical devices, and automotive industries. This review focuses on the automotive sector, systematically examining DfAM’s potential to redefine vehicle design, production processes, and industry standards. By conducting a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature and case studies, this research identifies gaps in the integration of additive manufacturing into broader manufacturing frameworks. The study contributes to the literature by providing insights into how 3D printing is currently reshaping automotive production by offering a forward-looking perspective on its future implications for the industry.

Oleksandr Kravchenko, Volodymyr Sakhno, Anatolii Korpach et al.

The presented research is focused on the development of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system, combining the high capacity of rail transport with the flexibility of bus routes. Classic BRT systems have certain limitations, particularly concerning a single rolling stock capacity. The main motivation of the work is to find efficient and cost-effective solutions to increase passenger traffic in the BRT system while optimizing fuel consumption. The main contribution of this study is the comprehensive analysis and optimization of various configurations of trailer bus trains, which represent a flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional single or articulated buses. Based on two schemes, four possible options for using trailer bus trains are offered, which differ in the number of sections and working engines. Among the suggested schemes of trailer bus trains, the two-section and three-section schemes with all engines running and the three-section scheme with one engine turned off are appropriate for use due to improved fuel efficiency indicators with better or acceptable traction and speed properties. Calculations carried out on a mathematical model show that, for example, a two-section bus train can provide a reduction of specific fuel consumption per passenger by 6.3% compared to a single bus at full load, while a three-section train can provide even greater savings of up to 8.4%. Selective shutdown of one of the engines in a multi-section train can lead to an additional improvement in fuel efficiency by 5–10%, without leading to a critical reduction in the required traction characteristics.

Changjian Ying, Kimitoshi Yamazaki

Abstract The manipulation of deformable linear objects (DLOs) such as ropes, cables, and hoses by robots has promising applications in various fields such as product assembly and surgical suturing. However, DLOs are more difficult to manipulate than rigid objects because their shape changes during manipulation. Furthermore, preventing a DLO from colliding with the environment is important to prevent it from becoming entangled and causing shape control to fail. In this paper, we proposed an obstacle avoidance and shape control scheme for DLOs based on differentiable simulation that does not require prior data or a specialized controller. First, we established a dynamic model of the DLO that allows for both forward dynamics transfer and error backpropagation to obtain gradients. Then, we employed model predictive control to optimize the embedded neural network for predicting the actions that would manipulate the DLO. Finally, the control scheme was made applicable to DLOs with different material properties by allowing online adaptation of the model parameters essential to deformation during manipulation. Simulations and real-world experiments demonstrate that the proposed control scheme could manipulate the DLO stably and accurately to avoid obstacles and achieve the goal state. In addition, the online adaptation of parameters helped mitigate the sim-to-real gap.

Owen Ashby Johnson, Carolyn McCrorie, Ciarán McInerney et al.

Background Hospital ‘command centres’ use digital technologies to collect, analyse and present real-time information that may improve patient flow and patient safety. Bradford Royal Infirmary has trialled this approach and presents an opportunity to evaluate effectiveness to inform future adoption in the United Kingdom. Objective To evaluate the impact of the Bradford Command Centre on patient care and organisational processes. Design A comparative mixed-methods study. Operational data from a study and control site were collected and analysed. The intervention was observed, and staff at both sites were interviewed. Analysis was grounded in a literature review and the results were synthesised to form conclusions about the intervention. Setting The study site was Bradford Royal Infirmary, a large teaching hospital in the city of Bradford, United Kingdom. The control site was Huddersfield Royal Infirmary in the nearby city of Huddersfield. Participants Thirty-six staff members were interviewed and/or observed. Intervention The implementation of a digitally enabled hospital command centre. Main outcome measures Qualitative perspectives on hospital management. Quantitative metrics on patient flow, patient safety, data quality. Data sources Anonymised electronic health record data. Ethnographic observations including interviews with hospital staff. Cross-industry review including relevant literature and expert panel interviews. Results The Command Centre was implemented successfully and has improved staff confidence of better operational control. Unintended consequences included tensions between localised and centralised decision-making and variable confidence in the quality of data available. The Command Centre supported the hospital through the COVID-19 pandemic, but the direct impact of the Command Centre was difficult to measure as the pandemic forced all hospitals, including the study and control sites, to innovate rapidly. Late in the study we learnt that the control site had visited the study site and replicated some aspects of the command centre themselves; we were unable to explore this in detail. There was no significant difference between pre- and post-intervention periods for the quantitative outcome measures and no conclusive impact on patient flow and data quality. Staff and patients supported the command-centre approaches but patients expressed concern that individual needs might get lost to ‘the system’. Conclusions Qualitative evidence suggests the Command Centre implementation was successful, but it proved challenging to link quantitative evidence to specific technology interventions. Staff were positive about the benefits and emphasised that these came from the way they adapted to and used the new technology rather than the technology per se. Limitations The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted care patterns and forced rapid innovation which reduced our ability to compare study and control sites and data before, during and after the intervention. Future work We plan to follow developments at Bradford and in command centres in the National Health Service in order to share learning. Our mixed-methods approach should be of interest to future studies attempting similar evaluation of complex digitally enabled whole-system changes. Study registration The study is registered as IRAS No.: 285933. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR129483) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 41. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information. Plain language summary Safety-critical industries like airports often use ‘command centres’ to manage operations safely and efficiently. In contrast, most National Health Service hospitals have operational management that is fragmented across many departments and poorly co-ordinated. This may pose risks to the safety and care of patients and may partially explain excessive waiting times. Bradford Royal Infirmary is one of the first National Health Service hospitals to try out a command-centre approach using new digital technologies. Hospital staff at Bradford now work together in a purpose-built Command Centre room and monitor a ‘wall of analytics’ that displays real-time data from the hospital’s information systems. This study examines the implementation at Bradford in order to learn lessons that may help the National Health Service improve the way hospitals provide safe and efficient patient care. We reviewed what is known about the approach, analysed hospital data, observed teams working in the Command Centre, interviewed staff and ran workshops with patients. We also compared Bradford with a similar hospital that did not initially have a command centre. Our results showed the Bradford Command Centre does work. Staff told us the Command Centre helped them manage the hospital through the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff described how they used the new technology to improve efficiency and safety. We observed some challenges, including tension between the central team and local departments and concerns to make sure data were good quality. We could not measure the direct impact of the Command Centre on patient flow and safety using the hospital’s data because the pandemic disrupted normal operations so much. Patients expressed strong support for what they saw as modern methods but were concerned to ensure that the National Health Service tradition of personal care was preserved. Other National Health Service hospitals are interested in following a command-centre approach and our results should help them to learn from Bradford. Scientific summary Background A hospital command centre (CC) is a new approach to the management of hospital operations based on the colocation of decision-making staff and supported by digital technology to provide these staff with close to real-time information. Recent adoption of hospital CCs in the USA predominantly has demonstrated that the approach can be applied to manage hospital operations, despite their complexity. The supporting technology often includes decision-support algorithms that trigger digital notifications and alerts that identify potential safety or flow issues. These algorithms may be based on simple rules or more complex rules generated by machine learning from historic data, and the software technology has therefore been described as AI, meaning either artificial intelligence or, more accurately, augmented intelligence. In the UK, the implementation of a CC and associated technology by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust represents a first of type for the UK NHS. To date, there has been limited evidence of the effectiveness of the CC approach and this study aims to address that evidence gap. Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust manages Bradford Royal Infirmary, an 800-bed NHS hospital located in Bradford in northern England. The Bradford Hospital Command Centre was implemented at Bradford Royal Infirmary through a phased approach in late 2019, was operational through the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains operational to date. It is designed to integrate and centralise operational decision-making to improve patient flow and patient safety across the whole hospital. The Comand Centre (CC) is implemented in a dedicated room in which up to 30 trained non-clinical management and support staff from different operational functions can sit together in teams facing a wall on which 8 large digital display screens are mounted. Each staff member answers telephone calls and performs their operational role using Information Technology (IT) systems on their desktop computer, information on the wall of display screens and communicating with team members and other teams within the room. A senior clinician or manager supports decision-making. The CC was implemented in November 2019, several months before the COVID-19 pandemic began to have a major impact on hospitals in the UK and globally. It was operational throughout the pandemic and, to date, it is firmly established as the centre for operational management of the hospital. The implementation of the CC at Bradford Royal Infirmary presents an opportunity to evaluate the potential strengths and weaknesses of the approach and to generate learning that can inform other hospitals considering adopting the approach. Objectives We aimed to evaluate the impact of the Bradford Command Centre on patient care and organisational processes. We hypothesised that the CC would improve patient flow, reduce bottlenecks and delays, enhance situational awareness to support operational decision-making, and facilitate identification and timely mitigation of threats to patient safety. This study had four research objectives: to evaluate the impact of the CC on patient safety, hospital operational efficiency and related organisational processes to understand the process of implementation of the CC and its integration into hospital management to contextualise the findings using cross-sector and cross-industry perspectives to synthesise the research findings to inform future investment and practice. Methods We conducted a comparative mixed-method case study at two sites: Study site – the CC at Bradford Royal Infirmary. Control site – Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, a hospital in the city of Huddersfield. The control site was selected as being geographically close (15 miles) and part of a similar-sized NHS hospital trust with similar challenges serving areas of high deprivation. At the start of this study, the control site had no plans to implement a CC but, during the study, they learnt from the study site and replicated some aspects of the Bradford Command Centre as part of their own pandemic response. The study combined ethnographic observation and interviews with data analytics of time-series operational data. We accessed and analysed data in the form of anonymised electronic health records from the study and control sites between January 2018 and August 2021 to cover the period before and after implementation of the Bradford Command Centre in November 2019. We conducted 72 hours of ethnographic observations of the CC operation over a period of 9 months after implementation. We conducted 15 interviews with hospital staff at the study site and 4 interviews with staff at the control site. To evaluate the impact of the CC (Objective 1), we described (qualitatively) and evaluated (statistically) the effect on hospital operations and outcomes. We used Interrupted Time Series Analysis to analyse variation in key output indicators in patient safety, patient flow and data quality. We qualitatively investigated situational awareness, operational decision-making, risk and co-ordination/communication across organisational units, from multiple stakeholder perspectives. To understand the process of implementation (Objective 2) our interviews explored staff recall of the implementation, including critical implementation factors and exploring unintended consequences. We used the interviews with staff at the control site to understand how a similar organisation adapted and changed over the same study period. To contextualise the findings (Objective 3), we reviewed the literature on command and control processes in non-healthcare safety-critical operations to extract key principles and contextual factors that may influence transferability of these models into a hospital setting. We also searched for evidence of other hospital CC implementations in the UK and worldwide. To synthesise the research findings (Objective 4), we developed a logic model to map system preconditions, processes, technology and outcomes. Results We were unable to evaluate the impact of the CC as fully as we had planned because the study was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital staff were extremely busy and access on site was challenging. The additional work negotiating access and the direct impact of the pandemic on our own team meant that we had fewer resources and were unable to complete all our objectives. We were able to observe how the CC helped support the hospital manage its operations through the pandemic and received strong positive evidence of its success. Complex pandemic challenges and rapid innovation to meet these challenges made it difficult to attribute outcomes to the specific intervention of the CC. Evaluation of the impact of the Command Centre (Objective 1) Our ethnographic observations and interviews with 15 study-site staff provided documentary evidence of successful use in a complex environment. The CC made a significant impact on the management of the hospital through the pandemic including through the introduction of a COVID-19 ‘tile’ which was used to managed COVID-19-specific processes. The CC and its staff worked with the new technology to change the way that the hospital operated. We identified unintended consequences that included front-line staff developing a sense of being monitored and a fear of interventions from the CC team that were perceived as unwelcome. Linked to this were challenges keeping electronic records up to date and acting on evidence of operational issues that were seen as being under local autonomy or ownership. Data quality was a constant concern for staff working in and around the CC and there were limitations in how up to date and accurate (or complete) records were, often necessitating triangulation and verification from multiple sources and systems and discrepancy between the data in the systems and what front-line staff reported. Compromise, goodwill and a shared sense of purpose were necessary to ensure the CC was effective. We were able to extract time-series data on patient safety, patient flow and data quality from operational systems by selecting representative indicators and plotting these over time. We were able to measure changes in these indicators over time and evaluate statistically the long-term impact of the CC on these indicators. We were not able to isolate improvements in these indicators that could directly be attributed to the introduction of the CC. Similarly, we were unable to isolate noticeable improvements in these indicators between study and control site. We found improvements in mortality and reduced rates of re-admission at the study site but caution against drawing conclusions from this at a time when the pandemic was raging. Some indicators, notably data quality, worsened rather than improved. We reason that the pandemic had such a profound impact on all aspects of operation that it is not possible to separate out and measure the impact of the CC. Similarly, the later adoption of a CC approach by the control site means we cannot use it to draw strong comparisons. Understanding the process of implementation of the Command Centre (Objective 2) Our project started after the CC had been implemented so our results rely on staff recall of the implementation. We identified five phases in the implementation: (1) pre-intervention, (2) a patient flow change programme, (3) Command Centre tile roll-in, (4) Command Centre go-live and (5) post-intervention engagement. Phase 2 was an organisational change, Phase 3 represents a soft-implementation period of training and familiarisation and Phase 4 represents the hard implementation of the new technology and new ways of working. Staff interviews suggest that the overall implementation approach was effective but that they found the implementation challenging and identified some need for more training and software improvements. The intention had been for a period of post-intervention engagement to support staff in getting used to new ways of working and to adapt procedures and technologies to optimise the new approach. This was disrupted by the pandemic, which started to impact on hospital operations only a few months after Phase 4 was complete. Staff recollections are therefore mixed between the pandemic response and the new technology but there is strong evidence that staff worked well together to find ways of working that were consistent with the CC approach while solving immediate challenges. Analysis of time-series data on patient safety, patient flow and data quality at different stages of implantation revealed patterns of change in response to the implementation, but these were confounded by the impact of the pandemic on the same outcome measures. When only the technology part of the Command Centre was assumed as the intervention, there was no significant difference between the pre- and post-intervention periods in the patient safety and patient flow indicators. The data quality had largely worsened in the post-implementation phase and we attribute this to the impact of the pandemic. Qualitative results show that the Command Centre has had a long bedding-in process and that this is expected to be a long process as the hospital and its staff adapt to new ways of working. Our qualitative results suggest that major improvements in patient flow, patient safety and data quality have yet to be achieved. Contextualising the findings using cross-sector and cross-industry perspectives (Objective 3) Results from the literature review found a strong body of research to support the adoption of a CC approach as part of a successful and resilient organisation. CCs are described as supporting situational awareness, decision-making, team structure and workload with the main aim of successfully delivering safety-critical operations reliably over time and in the face of dynamic risks and variations in the operating environment and system conditions. Digital technologies need to be tailored to the work done in the respective domain and should contribute to system resilience. Most articles attribute performance improvements to the physical and functional features of the centres themselves; this often includes the use of technology to generate and display real-time and/or predictive data in the centres. The implementation process usually affects process and policy changes in the organisation, including introducing new ways of working and workload distribution, adding new roles and altering the existing hierarchy of decision-making and responsibility. The literature advises caution in attributing improvements to the physical and functional aspects of the CCs versus the process and policy changes within the organisation that often arise out of the implementation process. There is emerging evidence that a CC approach can be adopted in acute health care. Effective implementations are characterised by a strong sense of shared situational awareness within a team with a shared focus on specific focal points for intelligence and intensification of this focus as threat level increases. System resilience is maintained in these implementations through simultaneous responsive and anticipatory strategies with variable resource allocation for both proactive planning for expected deviations and events with varying timescales. One paper advised caution in using the term ‘command and control’, as it may overly restrict the exploring of new ideas and new approaches seen as important to meeting the specific needs of health care, hospitals and staff given the strong culture of autonomy on the clinical front line. Synthesis of research findings to inform future investment and practice (Objective 4) We found evidence that the approach to implementation was broadly successful but that benefits take time and significant additional innovation to realise. We consolidate our learning as an intervention logic model that can be used by other hospitals planning an implementation of a digitally enabled hospital CC. Conclusions This study has presented a case study of a successful implementation of a CC in the UK NHS. The Bradford Command Centre demonstrates that systems are available but it also reveals challenges in the reliability, timeliness and quality of these data that reduce transparency and limit confidence. Management and staff have managed to overcome many of these challenges through determination, negotiation and gradual improvements while also dealing with the pandemic. There was a strong sense that the CC had been invaluable during the pandemic but we were not able to empirically validate this. Our case study was affected by the pandemic and does not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate major benefits on its own. We therefore recommend: Command centres are a viable approach that should be considered. Reliable, modern hospital-wide information systems are an essential foundation for command-centre technology and poor data quality will undermine implementation if not addressed. Further work should follow the evolving use of the Bradford Command Centre and disseminate learning to other hospitals considering adoption. Further studies that use our time-series approach for performance metrics would allow comparison across more hospitals and support the evaluation of other implementations. Studies should consider mixed methods rather than relying solely on qualitative or quantitative approaches to draw conclusions. Study registration The study is registered as IRAS No.: 285933. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR129483) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 41. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Jochen Hahne

Auswertungen von insgesamt 641 Vor-Ort-Messungen anerkannter Prüfstellen im Zeitraum von 2020 bis 2022 bei Schweinemastanlagen ergaben für Ammoniak – gemessen mit Prüfröhrchen – selbst unter Berücksichtigung verschiedener Messunsicherheiten eine Emissionsrate von mindestens 3,3 kg/(TP × a) bei einem durchschnittlichen Tiergewicht von 77,6 kg (SD = 22,1 kg) und ganzjähriger Belegung. Die jeweiligen Monatsmittelwerte für die Ammoniakkonzentration in der Schweinemast schwankten zwischen 11,5 ppm im August und 15,4 ppm im Februar und für die Stalltemperatur zwischen 19,0 °C im Februar und 24,9 °C im Juli. Die spezifischen Luftraten im Monatsmittel variierten zwischen 36,5 m³/(TP × h) im Januar und 78,4 m³/(TP × h) im August. Eine alternative Bestimmung der NH3-Emissionsrate über die Abschlämmung ordnungsgemäß betriebener Abluftreinigungsanlagen ergab mit 3,5 kg/(TP × a) einen vergleichbaren Wert. Entsprechende Auswertungen von 179 Vor-Ort-Messungen bei Anlagen zur Ferkelaufzucht im Zeitraum von 2019 bis 2023 ergaben eine NH3-Emissionsrate von mindestens 1,1 kg/(TP × a) bei einem durchschnittlichen Tiergewicht von 18,1 kg (SD = 6,5 kg) und ganzjähriger Belegung. Die jeweiligen Monatsmittelwerte für die Ammoniak-Konzentration in der Ferkelaufzucht bewegten sich zwischen 6,6 ppm im Januar und 13,3 ppm im April und für die Stalltemperatur zwischen 20,7 °C im Februar sowie 26,0 °C im Juli. Die spezifischen Luftraten im Monatsmittel variierten zwischen 15,6 m³/(TP × h) im Januar und 29,9 m³/(TP × h) im August. Die alternative Bestimmung der NH3-Emissionsrate über die Abschlämmung ordnungsgemäß betriebener Abluftreinigungsanlagen ergab einen Wert von 0,7 kg/(TP × a).

Al-Humairi Sadiq Kamel Obaid, Ali Mahmood Fahad Abd, Abbas Ali Abdulhassan

There is a paradigm shift occurring in organizations towards sustainable production through cleaner production strategies. This cleaner production concept has been proven to be cost-effective, result-oriented, environment-savvy and provides the organizations a cutting edge over their counterparts. However, there is a lack of awareness about cleaner production practices in Iraq while the current study analyzed one of the most important factories in Iraq for sugar production to understand the factors required for successful application of cleaner production strategy and the challenges to be expected. In this study, the researchers followed an exploratory research approach. For this study, a questionnaire was designed, validated and distributed randomly among 700 potential respondents working in various departments of the organization under study. Out of the total responses, 482 responses were considered and SEM-PLS analysis was conducted. The cleaner production strategies were applied through nine dimensions and the relationship between the performance of the factory and sustainable supply chain was found to be prominent. With a few limitations such as the choice of a single factory, weak relationship between the variables identified from hypothesis testing, the study is a first-of-its-kind in this domain, especially in dealing with sugar refineries. Based on the outcomes, policy recommendations were made to the decision makers and the government. It can be concluded that the application of modern technologies and effective resource management can help in achieving the goal of the study.

Raphael Mieth, Frank Gauterin

The development of vehicle drive systems targets different goals, which are partly contradictory. While the focus is often on increasing efficiency and—depending on the type of drive system—performance, the aim is to simultaneously reduce costs, weight, and volume as much as possible. This goal generally presents a conflict of objectives; for example, a gain in efficiency usually correlates with higher costs, or an increase in performance reduces the maximum achievable efficiency. Therefore, each drive system represents a compromise among these goals, and depending on the main focus, the development can be influenced. The methods presented in this work serve as a methodological framework for the evaluation of vehicle drive systems. The procedure involves evaluating different drive concepts based on defined criteria and comparing these evaluations with one another. These criteria can be selected freely and weighted differently, depending on the individual focus. In the sense of a holistic assessment, a system evaluation factor ultimately serves as an indicator, which is composed of the rating values of the individual criteria, taking into account their specific weightings. With the help of the novel method presented in this paper, the complexity of comparing differently designed powertrains is reduced, and a holistic assessment covering relevant viewpoints is possible. Such an all-encompassing view is helpful in the early development phase and is required as an evaluation basis for further, groundbreaking decisions in concept development.

Shohei Hotta, Yusuke Mitsui, Mizuki Suka et al.

Abstract This paper reports the development of a lightweight remotely operated vehicle that performs underwater excavation work for archaeological surveys. Discovering underwater artifacts is generally difficult because they are in high risk areas and are often covered with sediment. To discover them, divers and large remotely operated vehicles must conduct excavation work with a manipulator(s). Nevertheless, accomplishing such tasks is difficult for small and portable underwater robots without a manipulator(s). As described herein, we developed a lightweight underwater robot of 35 kg that can remove sediment from the seabed or lake bottom using its thrusters instead of a manipulator. Numerous redundant thrusters are equipped with the robot to compensate the reaction force of the thrusters for sediment removal. Eight thrusters are arranged not only for sediment removal but also for fine maneuvering. First, through preliminary experiments, we investigated the potential use of a water flow generated using a pair of small marine thrusters to remove surface sediment. Next, we described the design and development of a lightweight underwater robot with eight thrusters and high-definition cameras for archaeological surveys. Finally, we conducted field experiments to demonstrate the sediment removal performance and usefulness of the developed robot.

Biagio Boi, Tarush Gupta, Marcelo Rinhel et al.

The increasing usage of autonomous and automatic systems within the automotive industry is steering us towards a more interconnected world. This enhanced interconnectivity fosters a more streamlined driving experience, reduces costs, and provides timely driver assistance. The electric/electronic (EE) architectures of modern vehicles are inherently complex due to the multitude of components they encompass. Contemporary architectures reveal that these components converge at an electronic control unit (ECU) called the central gateway, which could potentially represent a single point of failure. While this central unit is typically adequately safeguarded, the same cannot be said for the connected components, which often remain vulnerable to cyber threats. The ISO/SAE 21434 standard paved the way for automotive cybersecurity and could be used in parallel with other standards such as ISO 26262 and ISO PAS 21488. Automatic collision notification (ACN) is one of the most typical systems in a vehicle, and limited effort has been dedicated to identifying the most suitable architecture for this feature. This paper addresses the existing security and privacy gap of this feature by conducting a comparative analysis of security threats in two distinct ACN architectures. Notably, despite ACN architectures exhibiting inherent similarities, the primary distinction between the two architectures lies in their strategies for crash estimation and detection, followed by subsequent communication with emergency response teams. A rigorous security assessment was conducted using the ISO/SAE 21434 standard, employing the TARA and STRIDE methodologies through the Ansys medini analyze software. This analysis identified an average of 310 threats per architecture, including a significant number of high-level threats (11.8% and 15%, respectively), highlighting the importance of a comprehensive evaluation.

Kopiika Nadiia, Vegera Pavlo, Vashkevych Rostyslav et al.

Each structure is exposed to different influences during operation. As a result, there are various defects and damages of these elements that affect their safe operation. The article presents the results of experimental studies of reinforced concrete beams with damages to stretched reinforcement made with and without initial load application. As the damages were accepted one or five Ø5.6 mm holes. In one case, the damage was made until the beam destruction (up to the 8.4 mm opening) Control samples of both series were destroyed due to crushing of the compressed zone of concrete. Samples that were damaged without initial loading collapsed due to rupture of the stretched reinforcement. The same type of failure was identified for damages at the operational load level.

Tomoki Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Yokoyama, Takeshi Hayakawa

Abstract This paper presents fabrication and actuation methods for a soft microrobot with a hybrid structure composed of soft microactuators and a rigid supporting body. This hybrid structure enables actuation of the microrobot with independent driving of multiple actuators to provide complex movement like that of living microorganisms. We use the temperature-responsive hydrogel poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) as a soft microactuator. PNIPAAm swells with water at low temperature but shrinks at high temperature. This volume change thus allows PNIPAAm to be used as an actuator by controlling its temperature. We successfully fabricated the microrobot with its soft-rigid hybrid structure composed of PNIPAAm and rigid photoresist using a multilayered microfabrication process. In addition, we used a sacrificial layer process to release the fabricated microrobot from the substrate to allow it to move freely. To actuate the microrobot, we mixed PNIPAAm with graphene, which has a high photothermal conversion efficiency. The temperature of the soft actuator when mixed with graphene can be increased by irradiating it with light. Therefore, actuation of the microrobot is achieved by sequentially irradiating the microactuators with focused light. We present the fabrication, release and partial actuation of the microrobot to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed microrobot with the soft-rigid hybrid structure in this paper.

Kazuto Takashima, Keisuke Ota, Masaki Yamamoto et al.

Abstract To achieve quantitative palpation in vivo, we developed a catheter-type tactile sensor composed of a polyvinylidene fluoride film for minimally invasive surgery. We evaluated the fundamental performance of the prototype sensor by a weight-drop test. We also measured the output of the prototype sensor as it was inserted into a blood vessel model with shapes mimicking lesions. The ø2-mm sensor passed easily into the blood vessel model with lesion-like shapes. Sensor outputs corresponded to the shape of the inner wall of the blood vessel model, making it possible to determine the position of a protrusion and the convexity interval of a rough surface by filtering and frequency analysis of the output.

Schmid Michal

The windshield defrost system, in general, is a vehicle safety feature. Thus, its restricted by variety of directives. However, the OMEs’ benchmark targets could be even more demanding as the deicing process is in addition also part of passengers comfort. From vehicle design point of view the wind-shield defrost system is typically connected to HVAC unit (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning). In the technical solution the windshield is heated via hot air convection. Nevertheless, other methods are becoming more and more popular, like directly heated glass by hot wire ohmic heating (heated glasses). The defrost CFD model should predict the ice layer thickness in time and space and in environmental conditions defined according to appropriate directives and technical solution. The accurate and fast modelling technique is essential part of a vehicle development, especially nowadays, where the optimization techniques area widely used and requires hundreds of simulations runs. Modelling requests are even increasing with modern pure electric vehicles (EVs), were the thermal and energy management is more demanding compared to the classical internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The aim of the work is to verify possibility to model the ice layer thickness with simplified approach, which could be beneficial from computational time burden.

Jun Wang, Yasutake Takahashi

Abstract This paper proposes a low-cost infrared (IR) LED system with a novel arrangement that enables the self-localization of an indoor mobile robot. The proposed system uses only low-cost IR LED emitters installed on the ceiling of a building and low-cost IR receivers, each equipped with a photodiode, located on top of the mobile robot for detection. The IR LEDs, which are driven by an on-off keying modulator with various frequencies, are used as active landmarks. The mobile robot localizes itself based on the IR LED signals it receives. Although it would be desirable to assign a unique ID to each emitter, this would be difficult to realize because of the limited number of available frequencies and the production cost resulting from the use of independent microcontrollers. Therefore, we designed a novel landmark configuration consisting of an IR LED array with unique ID-encoding capabilities based on a combination of different frequencies and the repeated use of each ID encoding LED to address the problem of limited frequencies. The novel landmark arrangement reduces the costs associated with production, ID encoding, and computation. A Monte-Carlo localization method with a belief function is utilized to estimate the position and orientation of the mobile robot based on the decoded ID information and received signal strength. The proposed system was tested in a real environment and the experimental results confirmed the validity and accuracy of the system and method.

Ingo Schuch, Dennis Dannehl, Martina Bandte et al.

Die Minimierung von Chlorat bei der elektrolytischen Gießwasserdesinfektion ist aufgrund problematischer Chloratrückstände in pflanzlichen Lebensmitteln von Bedeutung. Im Hinblick auf verfahrenstechnische Optimierungsvorschläge wurde daher am Beispiel einer Salzelektrolyseanlage (Einkammersystem) geprüft, wie viel Chlorat beim Herstellungsprozess des Desinfektionsmittels entsteht und wie sich dessen Anteil bei einer Lagerung unter warmen Temperaturbedingungen im Gewächshaus verändert. Zudem wurde untersucht, wie sich der Pflanzendünger Ammonium auf das Desinfektionsmittel auswirkt. Dabei ergab sich, dass die Chloratbildung durch eine Kühlung des Elektrolysereaktors sowie des Desinfektionsmitteltanks und durch ein zur Kurzzeitlagerung ausgelegtes Bevorratungssystem von Desinfektionsmittel minimiert werden könnte. Ferner wurde bestätigt, dass Ammonium den Desinfektionsmittelverbrauch bzw. Chlorateintrag deutlich erhöht. Daher empfiehlt sich eine sensorbasierte Dosierung, um sich ändernde chemische Vorgänge im Gießwasser (Chlorzehrung) zu berücksichtigen.

L. Leahu, P. Sengers

Čavoj Ondřej, Blaťák Ondřej, Hejtmánek Petr et al.

In general, tire deformations caused by wheel rotation are not taken into account when developing vehicle aerodynamics. On the road the tires radially expand as speed increases, which affects the actual ride height of a vehicle. In turn this often increases the real aerodynamic drag compared to values obtained using CFD or a wind tunnel as the mass flow across the relatively rough underbody increases with ground clearance. In this study, on-road ride heights were measured while running a vehicle in a straight line with fixed velocity whilst the aerodynamic lift of the vehicle was determined in a wind tunnel. Subsequently, the relationships between ride height and axle load were obtained by loading the vehicle at standstill with ballast. By comparing the ride heights at high and very low velocities with expected vertical displacement caused purely by aerodynamic lift force as computed according to the ride height - axle load equations, the ride height change due to tire radial expansion was determined.

Marek Krynke

The article discusses the methods of dynamic state monitoring of bearings system. A vibration signal contains important technical information about the machine condition and is currently the most frequently used in diagnostic bearings systems. One of the main ad-vantages of machine condition monitoring is identifying the cause of failure of the bearings and taking preventative measures, otherwise the operation of such a machine will lead to frequent replacement of the bearings. Monitoring changes in the course of the operation of machin-ery repair strategies allows keeping the conditioned state of dynamic failure conditioned preventive repairs and repairs after-failure time. In addition, the paper also presents the fundamental causes of bearing failure and identifies mechanisms related to the creation of any type of damage.

Rastislav Beňo, Petra Marková, Vanessa Prajová et al.

In the EU, the quality of education in recent years has become a priority topic. In the context of university education and meeting the requirements of industrial practice, in the countries of the EU, different activities are carried out. These activities are focused on the techniques and methods by which we can achieve excellence in the educational process, creative solutions and innovative forms. The aim is to adapt educational processes to the current digital age. Therefore, in the educational process it is necessary to apply new forms and methods of education. With application of this method we can streamline the educational process and also increase the initiative and interest of students in acquiring new knowledge, skills and abilities. The aim of the article is to present the project, which is focused on improving the educational process by using a new approach to learning - Games Learning