TY - JOUR A1 - Thielemann, Frank A1 - Bock, Jürgen T1 - Organization and management of German-Russian joint ventures. Bock, Jürgen; Thielemann, Frank JF - International journal of technology management. 9 (1994), H. 8 Y1 - 1994 SN - 0267-5730 SP - 864 EP - 879 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thoma, Andreas A1 - Gardi, Alessandro A1 - Fisher, Alex A1 - Braun, Carsten T1 - Improving local path planning for UAV flight in challenging environments by refining cost function weights JF - CEAS Aeronautical Journal N2 - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) constantly gain in versatility. However, more reliable path planning algorithms are required until full autonomous UAV operation is possible. This work investigates the algorithm 3DVFH* and analyses its dependency on its cost function weights in 2400 environments. The analysis shows that the 3DVFH* can find a suitable path in every environment. However, a particular type of environment requires a specific choice of cost function weights. For minimal failure, probability interdependencies between the weights of the cost function have to be considered. This dependency reduces the number of control parameters and simplifies the usage of the 3DVFH*. Weights for costs associated with vertical evasion (pitch cost) and vicinity to obstacles (obstacle cost) have the highest influence on the failure probability of the local path planner. Environments with mainly very tall buildings (like large American city centres) require a preference for horizontal avoidance manoeuvres (achieved with high pitch cost weights). In contrast, environments with medium-to-low buildings (like European city centres) benefit from vertical avoidance manoeuvres (achieved with low pitch cost weights). The cost of the vicinity to obstacles also plays an essential role and must be chosen adequately for the environment. Choosing these two weights ideal is sufficient to reduce the failure probability below 10%. KW - Bio-inspired systems KW - Path planning KW - Obstacle avoidance KW - Unmanned aerial vehicles Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-024-00741-x SN - 1869-5590 (eISSN) SN - 1869-5582 N1 - Corresponding author: Andreas Thoma PB - Springer CY - Wien ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thoma, Andreas A1 - Ravi, Sridhar T1 - Significance of parallel computing on the performance of Digital Image Correlation algorithms in MATLAB N2 - Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a powerful tool used to evaluate displacements and deformations in a non-intrusive manner. By comparing two images, one of the undeformed reference state of a specimen and another of the deformed target state, the relative displacement between those two states is determined. DIC is well known and often used for post-processing analysis of in-plane displacements and deformation of specimen. Increasing the analysis speed to enable real-time DIC analysis will be beneficial and extend the field of use of this technique. Here we tested several combinations of the most common DIC methods in combination with different parallelization approaches in MATLAB and evaluated their performance to determine whether real-time analysis is possible with these methods. To reflect improvements in computing technology different hardware settings were also analysed. We found that implementation problems can reduce the efficiency of a theoretically superior algorithm such that it becomes practically slower than a suboptimal algorithm. The Newton-Raphson algorithm in combination with a modified Particle Swarm algorithm in parallel image computation was found to be most effective. This is contrary to theory, suggesting that the inverse-compositional Gauss-Newton algorithm is superior. As expected, the Brute Force Search algorithm is the least effective method. We also found that the correct choice of parallelization tasks is crucial to achieve improvements in computing speed. A poorly chosen parallelisation approach with high parallel overhead leads to inferior performance. Finally, irrespective of the computing mode the correct choice of combinations of integerpixel and sub-pixel search algorithms is decisive for an efficient analysis. Using currently available hardware realtime analysis at high framerates remains an aspiration. Y1 - 2019 SP - 1 EP - 17 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thoma, Andreas A1 - Thomessen, Karolin A1 - Gardi, Alessandro A1 - Fisher, A. A1 - Braun, Carsten T1 - Prioritising paths: An improved cost function for local path planning for UAV in medical applications JF - The Aeronautical Journal N2 - Even the shortest flight through unknown, cluttered environments requires reliable local path planning algorithms to avoid unforeseen obstacles. The algorithm must evaluate alternative flight paths and identify the best path if an obstacle blocks its way. Commonly, weighted sums are used here. This work shows that weighted Chebyshev distances and factorial achievement scalarising functions are suitable alternatives to weighted sums if combined with the 3DVFH* local path planning algorithm. Both methods considerably reduce the failure probability of simulated flights in various environments. The standard 3DVFH* uses a weighted sum and has a failure probability of 50% in the test environments. A factorial achievement scalarising function, which minimises the worst combination of two out of four objective functions, reaches a failure probability of 26%; A weighted Chebyshev distance, which optimises the worst objective, has a failure probability of 30%. These results show promise for further enhancements and to support broader applicability. KW - Path planning KW - Cost function KW - Multi-objective optimization Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/aer.2023.68 SN - 0001-9240 (Print) SN - 2059-6464 (Online) IS - First View SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Cambridge University Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thomessen, Karolin A1 - Thoma, Andreas A1 - Braun, Carsten T1 - Bio-inspired altitude changing extension to the 3DVFH* local obstacle avoidance algorithm JF - CEAS Aeronautical Journal N2 - Obstacle avoidance is critical for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating autonomously. Obstacle avoidance algorithms either rely on global environment data or local sensor data. Local path planners react to unforeseen objects and plan purely on local sensor information. Similarly, animals need to find feasible paths based on local information about their surroundings. Therefore, their behavior is a valuable source of inspiration for path planning. Bumblebees tend to fly vertically over far-away obstacles and horizontally around close ones, implying two zones for different flight strategies depending on the distance to obstacles. This work enhances the local path planner 3DVFH* with this bio-inspired strategy. The algorithm alters the goal-driven function of the 3DVFH* to climb-preferring if obstacles are far away. Prior experiments with bumblebees led to two definitions of flight zone limits depending on the distance to obstacles, leading to two algorithm variants. Both variants reduce the probability of not reaching the goal of a 3DVFH* implementation in Matlab/Simulink. The best variant, 3DVFH*b-b, reduces this probability from 70.7 to 18.6% in city-like worlds using a strong vertical evasion strategy. Energy consumption is higher, and flight paths are longer compared to the algorithm version with pronounced horizontal evasion tendency. A parameter study analyzes the effect of different weighting factors in the cost function. The best parameter combination shows a failure probability of 6.9% in city-like worlds and reduces energy consumption by 28%. Our findings demonstrate the potential of bio-inspired approaches for improving the performance of local path planning algorithms for UAV. KW - UAV KW - Obstacle avoidance KW - Autonomy KW - Local path planning Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-023-00691-w SN - 1869-5590 (Online) SN - 1869-5582 (Print) N1 - Corresponding author: Karolin Thomessen PB - Springer CY - Wien ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thust, M. A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Naser, S. A1 - Müller-Veggian, Mattea A1 - Kordos, P. A1 - Lüth, H. T1 - Crosssensitivity of a capacitive penicillin sensor combined with a diffusion barrier JF - Proceedings : The Hague, The Netherlands, September 12 - 15, 1999 / [ed. by M. Bartek]. Vol 1. Y1 - 1999 SN - 90-76699-02-X N1 - Eurosensors ; (13, 1999, 's-Gravenhage) ; Eurosensors ; (13 : ; 1999.09.12-15 : ; The Hague) ; European Conference on Solid-State Transducers ; (13 : ; 1999.09.12-15 : ; The Hague) SP - 573 EP - 576 CY - The Hague, The Netherlands ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thust, M. A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Naser, S. A1 - Müller-Veggian, Mattea A1 - Kordos, P. A1 - Lüth, H. T1 - Cross-sensitivity of a capacitive penicillin sensor combined with a diffusion barrier JF - Proceedings : The Hague, The Netherlands, September 12 - 15, 1999 / [ed. by M. Bartek]. - Vol 1. Y1 - 1999 SN - 90-76699-02-X N1 - Eurosensors <13, 1999, 's-Gravenhage> ; Eurosensors <13, 1999, The Hague> ; European Conference on Solid-State Transducers <13, 1999, The Hague> SP - 573 EP - 576 CY - The Hague, The Netherlands ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thust, M. A1 - Schroth, P. A1 - Töpler, A. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Müller-Veggian, Mattea A1 - Kordos, P. A1 - Lüth, H. T1 - Improving the detection limit of a capacitive sensor by means of a diffusion barrier JF - Eurosensors XII : proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Solid-State Transducers and the 9th UK Conference on Sensors and their Applications, Southampton, UK, 13 - 16 September 1998 / ed. by N. M. White ; Vol. 1 Y1 - 1998 SN - 0-7503-0595-9 N1 - Eurosensors ; (12, 1998, Southampton) ; UK Conference on Sensors and Their Applications ; (9, 1998, Southampton) SP - 507 EP - 510 PB - Inst. of Physics Publ. CY - Bristol [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thust, M. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Schroth, P. A1 - Malkoc, Ü. A1 - Dicker, C. I. A1 - Steffen, A. A1 - Kordos, P. A1 - Lüth, H. T1 - Enzyme immobilisation on planar and porous silicon substrates for biosensor applications JF - Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic. 7 (1999), H. 1-4 Y1 - 1999 SN - 1381-1177 SP - 77 EP - 83 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thust, Marion A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Frohnhoff, S. A1 - Arens-Fischer, R. A1 - Kordos, P. A1 - Lüth, H. T1 - Porous silicon as a substrate material for potentiometric biosensors JF - Measurement Science and Technology Y1 - 1996 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/7/1/003 VL - 7 IS - 1 SP - 26 EP - 29 ER -