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How does the implementation of a next generation network influence a telecommunication company?
(2009)
As the potential of a Next Generation Network (NGN) is recognized, telecommunication companies consider switching to it. Although the implementation of an NGN seems to be merely a modification of the network infrastructure, it may trigger or require changes in the whole company and even influence the company strategy. To capture the effects of NGN we propose a framework based on concepts of business engineering and technical recommendations for the introduction of NGN technology. The specific design of solutions for the layers "Strategy", "Processes" and "Information Systems" as well as their interdependencies are an essential characteristic of the developed framework. We have per-formed a case study on NGN implementation and observed that all layers captured by our framework are influenced by the introduction of an NGN.
Die Veränderungen des Telekommunikationsmarktes haben in der Praxis zu einer Vielzahl von Transformationsprojekten geführt. Was gehört aber zu einem “Transformationsprojekt”, welche Prozesse und Systeme werden verändert? Zur Beantwortung dieser Frage haben wir 184 Berichte zu Projekten analysiert, die als "Transformationsprojekte" bezeichnet waren. Für die Analyse haben wir einen Kodierungsrahmen konzipiert und anhand dessen die Berichte mit einem hierarchischen Clustering-Verfahren in Themen gruppiert. Die Ergebnisse liefern Hinweise über die in der Praxis gesetzten Schwerpunkte und Prioritäten. Sie können
somit als Unterstützung für Unternehmen dienen, die ein Transformationsprojekt planen. Sie weisen zudem darauf hin, in welchen Bereichen eines Unternehmens Unterstützung durch wissenschaftlich erprobte Werkzeuge und Modelle nötig ist.
Market changes have forced telecommunication companies to transform their business. Increased competition, short innovation cycles, changed usage patterns, increased customer expectations and cost reduction are the main drivers. Our objective is to analyze to what extend transformation projects have improved the orientation towards the end-customers. Therefore, we selected 38 real-life case studies that are dealing with customer orientation. Our analysis is based on a telecommunication-specific framework that aligns strategy, business processes and information systems. The result of our analysis shows the following: transformation projects that aim to improve the customer orientation are combined with clear goals on costs and revenue of the enterprise. These projects are usually directly linked to the customer touch points, but also to the development and provisioning of products. Furthermore, the analysis shows that customer orientation is not the sole trigger for transformation. There is no one-fits-all solution; rather, improved customer orientation needs aligned changes of business processes as well as information systems related to different parts of the company.
Low-thrust space propulsion systems enable flexible high-energy deep space missions, but the design and optimization of the interplanetary transfer trajectory is usually difficult. It involves much experience and expert knowledge because the convergence behavior of traditional local trajectory optimization methods depends strongly on an adequate initial guess. Within this extended abstract, evolutionary neurocontrol, a method that fuses artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms, is proposed as a smart global method for low-thrust trajectory optimization. It does not require an initial guess. The implementation of evolutionary neurocontrol is detailed and its performance is shown for an exemplary mission.
Solar sails enable missions to the outer solar system and beyond, although the solar
radiation pressure decreases with the square of solar distance. For such missions, the solar sail may gain a large amount of energy by first making one or more close approaches to the sun. Within this paper, optimal trajectories for solar sail missions to the outer planets and into near interstellar space (200 AU) are presented. Thereby, it is shown that even near/medium-term solar sails with relatively moderate performance allow reasonable transfer times to the boundaries of the solar system.
Interplanetary trajectories for low-thrust spacecraft are often characterized by multiple revolutions around the sun. Unfortunately, the convergence of traditional trajectory optimizers that are based on numerical optimal control methods depends strongly on an adequate initial guess for the control function (if a direct method is used) or for the starting values of the adjoint vector (if an indirect method is used). Especially when many revolutions around the sun are re-
quired, trajectory optimization becomes a very difficult and time-consuming task that involves a lot of experience and expert knowledge in astrodynamics and optimal control theory, because an adequate initial guess is extremely hard to find. Evolutionary neurocontrol (ENC) was proposed as a smart method for low-thrust trajectory optimization that fuses artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms to so-called evolutionary neurocontrollers (ENCs) [1]. Inspired by natural archetypes, ENC attacks the trajectoryoptimization problem from the perspective of artificial intelligence and machine learning, a perspective that is quite different from that of optimal control theory. Within the context of ENC, a trajectory is regarded as the result of a spacecraft steering strategy that maps permanently the actual spacecraft state and the actual target state onto the actual spacecraft control vector. This way, the problem of searching the optimal spacecraft trajectory is equivalent to the problem of searching (or "learning") the optimal spacecraft steering strategy. An artificial neural network is used to implement such a spacecraft steering strategy. It can be regarded as a parameterized function (the network function) that is defined by the internal network parameters. Therefore, each distinct set of network parameters defines a different network function and thus a different steering strategy. The problem of searching the optimal steering strategy is now equivalent to the problem of searching the optimal set of network parameters. Evolutionary algorithms that work on a population of (artificial) chromosomes are used to find the optimal network parameters, because the parameters can be easily mapped onto a chromosome. The trajectory optimization problem is solved when the optimal chromosome is found. A comparison of solar sail trajectories that have been published by others [2, 3, 4, 5] with ENC-trajectories has shown that ENCs can be successfully applied for near-globally optimal spacecraft control [1, 6] and that they are able to find trajectories that are closer to the (unknown) global optimum, because they explore the trajectory search space more exhaustively than a human expert can do. The obtained trajectories are fairly accurate with respect to the terminal constraint. If a more accurate trajectory is required, the ENC-solution can be used as an initial guess for a local trajectory optimization method. Using ENC, low-thrust trajectories can be optimized without an initial guess and without expert attendance.
Here, new results for nuclear electric spacecraft and for solar sail spacecraft are presented and it will be shown that ENCs find very good trajectories even for very difficult problems. Trajectory optimization results are presented for 1. NASA's Solar Polar Imager Mission, a mission to attain a highly inclined close solar orbit with a solar sail [7] 2. a mission to de ect asteroid Apophis with a solar sail from a retrograde orbit with a very-high velocity impact [8, 9] 3. JPL's \2nd Global Trajectory Optimization Competition", a grand tour to visit four asteroids from different classes with a NEP spacecraft
The concept of a laser-enhanced solar sail is introduced and the radiation pressure force model for an ideal laser-enhanced solar sail is derived. A laser-enhanced solar sail is a “traditional” solar sail that is, however, not solely propelled by solar radiation, but additionally by a laser beam that illuminates the sail. The additional laser radiation pressure increases the sail's propulsive force and can give, depending on the location of the laser source, more control authority over the direction of the solar sail’s propulsive force vector. This way, laser-enhanced solar sails may augment already existing solar sail mission concepts and make novel mission concepts feasible.
The optical properties of the thin metalized polymer films that are projected for solar sails are assumed to be affected by the erosive effects of the space environment. Their degradation behavior in the real space environment, however, is to a considerable degree indefinite, because initial ground test results are controversial and relevant inspace tests have not been made so far. The standard optical solar sail models that are currently used for trajectory design do not take optical degradation into account, hence its potential effects on trajectory design have not been investigated so far. Nevertheless, optical degradation is important for high-fidelity solar sail mission design, because it decreases both the magnitude of the solar radiation pressure force acting on the sail and also the sail control authority. Therefore, we propose a simple parametric optical solar sail degradation model that describes the variation of the sail film’s optical coefficients with time, depending on the sail film’s environmental history, i.e., the radiation dose. The primary intention of our model is not to describe the exact behavior of specific film-coating combinations in the real space environment, but to provide a more general parametric framework for describing the general optical degradation behavior of solar sails. Using our model, the effects of different optical degradation behaviors on trajectory design are investigated for various exemplary missions.
Enceladus explorer - A maneuverable subsurface probe for autonomous navigation through deep ice
(2012)
Near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis provides a typical example for the evolution of asteroid orbits that lead to Earth-impacts after a close Earth-encounter that results in a resonant return. Apophis will have a close Earth-encounter in 2029 with potential very close subsequent Earth-encounters (or even an impact) in 2036 or later, depending on whether it passes through one of several so-called gravitational keyholes during its 2029-encounter. Several pre-2029-deflection scenarios to prevent Apophis from doing this have been investigated so far. Because the keyholes are less than 1 km in size, a pre-2029 kinetic impact is clearly the best option because it requires only a small change in Apophis' orbit to nudge it out of a keyhole. A single solar sail Kinetic Energy Impactor (KEI) spacecraft that impacts Apophis from a retrograde trajectory with a very high relative velocity (75-80 km/s) during one of its perihelion passages at about 0.75 AU would be a feasible option to do this. The spacecraft consists of a 160 m x 160 m, 168 kg solar sail assembly and a 150 kg impactor. Although conventional spacecraft can also achieve the required minimum deflection of 1 km for this approx. 320 m-sized object from a prograde trajectory, our solar sail KEI concept also allows the deflection of larger objects. In this paper, we also show that, even after Apophis has flown through one of the gravitational keyholes in 2029, solar sail Kinetic Energy Impactor (KEI) spacecraft are still a feasible option to prevent Apophis from impacting the Earth, but many KEIs would be required for consecutive impacts to increase the total Earth-miss distance to a safe value. In this paper, we elaborate potential pre- and post-2029 KEI impact scenarios for a launch in 2020, and investigate tradeoffs between different mission parameters.
Near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 99942 Apophis provides a typical example for the evolution of asteroid orbits that lead to Earth-impacts after a close Earth-encounter that results in a resonant return. Apophis will have a close Earth-encounter in 2029 with potential very close subsequent Earth-encounters (or even an impact) in 2036 or later, depending on whether it passes through one of several less than 1 km-sized gravitational keyholes during its 2029-encounter. A pre-2029 kinetic impact is a very favorable option to nudge the asteroid out of a keyhole. The highest impact velocity and thus deflection can be achieved from a trajectory that is retrograde to Apophis orbit. With a chemical or electric propulsion system, however, many gravity assists and thus a long time is required to achieve this. We show in this paper that the solar sail might be the better propulsion system for such a mission: a solar sail Kinetic Energy Impactor (KEI) spacecraft could impact Apophis from a retrograde trajectory with a very high relative velocity (75-80 km/s) during one of its perihelion passages. The spacecraft consists of a 160 m × 160 m, 168 kg solar sail assembly and a 150 kg impactor. Although conventional spacecraft can also achieve the required minimum deflection of 1 km for this approx. 320 m-sized object from a prograde trajectory, our solar sail KEI concept also allows the deflection of larger objects. For a launch in 2020, we also show that, even after Apophis has flown through one of the gravitational keyholes in 2029, the solar sail KEI concept is still feasible to prevent Apophis from impacting the Earth, but many KEIs would be required for consecutive impacts to increase the total Earth-miss distance to a safe value
We propose a simple parametric OSSD model that describes the variation of the sail film's optical coefficients with time, depending on the sail film's environmental history, i.e., the radiation dose. The primary intention of our model is not to describe the exact behavior of specific film-coating combinations in the real space environment, but to provide a more general parametric framework for describing the general optical degradation behavior of solar sails.
The ”IceMole“ is a novel maneuverable subsurface ice probe for clean in-situ analysis and sampling of subsurface ice and subglacial water/brine. It is developed and build at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences’ Astronautical Laboratory. A first prototype was successfully tested on the Swiss Morteratsch glacier in 2010. Clean sampling is achieved with a hollow ice screw (as it is used in mountaineering) at the tip of the probe. Maneuverability is achieved with a differentially heated melting head. Funded by the German Space Agency (DLR), a consortium led by FH Aachen currently develops a much more advanced IceMole probe, which includes a sophisticated system for obstacle avoidance, target detection, and navigation in the ice. We intend to use this probe for taking clean samples of subglacial brine at the Blood Falls (McMurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica) for chemical and microbiological analysis. In our conference contribution, we 1) describe the IceMole design, 2) report the results of the field tests of the first prototype on the Morteratsch glacier, 3) discuss the probe’s potential for the clean in-situ analysis and sampling of subsurface ice and subglacial liquids, and 4) outline the way ahead in the development of this technology.
Within ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 plan, a mission to explore the Saturnian System, with special emphasis on its two moons Titan and Enceladus, was selected for study, termed TANDEM (Titan and Enceladus Mission). In this paper, we describe an optimized mission design for a TANDEM-derived solar electric propulsion (SEP) mission. We have chosen the SEP mission scenario for the interplanetary transfer of the TANDEM spacecraft because all feasible gravity assist sequences for a chemical transfer between 2015 and 2025 result in long flight times of about nine years. Our SEP system is based on the German RIT ion engine. For our optimized mission design, we have extensively explored the SEP parameter space (specific impulse, thrust level, power level) and have calculated an optimal interplanetary trajectory for each setting. In contrast to the original TANDEM mission concept, which intends to use two launch vehicles and an all-chemical transfer, our SEP mission design requires only a single Ariane 5 ECA launch for the same payload mass. Without gravity assist, it yields a faster and more flexible transfer with a fight time of less than seven years, and an increased payload ratio. Our mission design proves thereby the capability of SEP even for missions into the outer solar system.
Solar sailcraft provide a wide range of opportunities for high-energy low-cost missions. To date, most mission studies require a rather demanding performance that will not be realized by solar sailcraft of the first generation.
However, even with solar sailcraft of moderate performance, scientifically relevant missions are feasible. This is demonstrated with a Near Earth Asteroid sample return mission and various planetary rendezvous missions.
Innovative interplanetary deep space missions, like a main belt asteroid sample
return mission, require ever larger velocity increments (∆V s) and thus ever
more demanding propulsion capabilities. Providing much larger exhaust velocities than chemical high-thrust systems, electric low-thrust space-propulsion
systems can significantly enhance or even enable such high-energy missions. In
1995, a European-Russian Joint Study Group (JSG) presented a study report
on “Advanced Interplanetary Missions Using Nuclear-Electric Propulsion”
(NEP). One of the investigated reference missions was a sample return (SR)
from the main belt asteroid (19) Fortuna. The envisaged nuclear power plant,
Topaz-25, however, could not be realized and also the worldwide developments
in space reactor hardware stalled. In this paper, we investigate, whether such
a mission is also feasible using a solar electric propulsion (SEP) system and
compare our SEP results to corresponding NEP results.
The so-called "compound solar sail", also known as "Solar Photon Thruster" (SPT), holds the potential of providing significant performance advantages over the flat solar sail. Previous SPT design concepts, however, do not consider shadowing effects and multiple reflections of highly concentrated solar radiation that would inevitably destroy the gossamer sail film. In this paper, we propose a novel advanced SPT (ASPT) design concept that does not suffer from these oversimplifications. We present the equations that describe the thrust force acting on such a sail system and compare its performance with respect to the conventional flat solar sail.
The so-called "compound solar sail", also known as "Solar Photon Thruster" (SPT), is a solar sail design concept, for which the two basic functions of the solar sail, namely light collection and thrust direction, are uncoupled. In this paper, we introduce a novel SPT concept, termed the Advanced Solar Photon Thruster (ASPT). This model does not suffer from the simplified assumptions that have been made for the analysis of compound solar sails in previous studies. We present the equations that describe the force, which acts on the ASPT. After a detailed design analysis, the performance of the ASPT with respect to the conventional flat solar sail (FSS) is investigated for three interplanetary mission scenarios: An Earth-Venus rendezvous, where the solar sail has to spiral towards the Sun, an Earth-Mars rendezvous, where the solar sail has to spiral away from the Sun, and an Earth-NEA rendezvous (to near-Earth asteroid 1996FG3), where a large orbital eccentricity change is required. The investigated solar sails have realistic near-term characteristic accelerations between 0.1 and 0.2mm/s2. Our results show that a SPT is not superior to the flat solar sail unless very idealistic assumptions are made.
We present the novel concept of a combined drilling and melting probe for subsurface ice research. This probe, named “IceMole”, is currently developed, built, and tested at the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences’ Astronautical Laboratory. Here, we describe its first prototype design and report the results of its field tests on the Swiss Morteratsch glacier. Although the IceMole design is currently adapted to terrestrial glaciers and ice shields, it may later be modified for the subsurface in-situ investigation of extraterrestrial ice, e.g., on Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. If life exists on those bodies, it may be present in the ice (as life can also be found in the deep ice of Earth).
We present the novel concept of a combined drilling and melting probe for subsurface ice research. This probe, named “IceMole”, is currently developed, built, and tested at the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences’ Astronautical Laboratory. Here, we describe its first prototype design and report the results of its field tests on the Swiss Morteratsch glacier. Although the IceMole design is currently adapted to terrestrial glaciers and ice shields, it may later be modified for the subsurface in-situ investigation of extraterrestrial ice, e.g., on Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. If life exists on those bodies, it may be present in the ice (as life can also be found in the deep ice of Earth).
Evaluation of fragility curves for a three-storey-reinforced-concrete mock-up of SMART 2013 project
(2016)
Architecture for platform- and hardware-independent mesh networks : how to unify the channels
(2013)
This paper will prove that mesh networks among different platforms and hardware channels can help to channel valuable information even if public telecommunication infrastructure is not available due to arbitrary reasons. Therefore, results of a simulation for mesh networks on mass events will be provided, followed by the developed architecture and an outlook on future research. The developed architecture is currently being implemented and field tested on mass events.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) of metallic workpieces faces a continuously rising technological relevance and market size. Producing complex or highly strained unique workpieces is a significant field of application, making AM highly relevant for tool components. Its successful economic application requires systematic workpiece based decisions and optimizations. Considering geometric and technological requirements as well as the necessary post-processing makes deciding effortful and requires in-depth knowledge. As design is usually adjusted to established manufacturing, associated technological and strategic potentials are often neglected. To embed AM in a future proof industrial environment, software-based self-learning tools are necessary. Integrated into production planning, they enable companies to unlock the potentials of AM efficiently. This paper presents an appropriate methodology for the analysis of process-specific AM-eligibility and optimization potential, added up by concrete optimization proposals. For an integrated workpiece characterization, proven methods are enlarged by tooling-specific figures.
The first stage of the approach specifies the model’s initialization. A learning set of tooling components is described using the developed key figure system. Based on this, a set of applicable rules for workpiece-specific result determination is generated through clustering and expert evaluation. Within the following application stage, strategic orientation is quantified and workpieces of interest are described using the developed key figures. Subsequently, the retrieved information is used for automatically generating specific recommendations relying on the generated ruleset of stage one. Finally, actual experiences regarding the recommendations are gathered within stage three. Statistic learning transfers those to the generated ruleset leading to a continuously deepening knowledge base. This process enables a steady improvement in output quality.
The paper deals with the development of the probabilistic approach to the assessment of risk due to lightning. Sources of damage, types of damage and types of loss are defined and, accordingly, the procedure for risk analysis and the way of assessment of different risk components is proposed. The way to evaluate the influence of different protection measures (lightning protection system; shielding of structure, cables and equipment; routing of internal wiring; surge protective device) in reducing such probabilities is considered. The paper has been prepared within the framework of the activity of IEC TC81-WG9/CLC TC81-WG4 directed to prepare the draft IEC 62305-2 Risk Management, in cooperation with the Secretary of IEC/CLC TC81.
In this paper we report on CO2 Meter, a do-it-yourself carbon dioxide measuring device for the classroom. Part of the current measures for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is proper ventilation in indoor settings. This is especially important in schools with students coming back to the classroom even with high incidents rates. Static ventilation patterns do not consider the individual situation for a particular class. Influencing factors like the type of activity, the physical structure or the room occupancy are not incorporated. Also, existing devices are rather expensive and often provide only limited information and only locally without any networking. This leaves the potential of analysing the situation across different settings untapped. Carbon dioxide level can be used as an indicator of air quality, in general, and of aerosol load in particular. Since, according to the latest findings, SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted primarily in the form of aerosols, carbon dioxide may be used as a proxy for the risk of a virus infection. Hence, schools could improve the indoor air quality and potentially reduce the infection risk if they actually had measuring devices available in the classroom. Our device supports schools in ventilation and it allows for collecting data over the Internet to enable a detailed data analysis and model generation. First deployments in schools at different levels were received very positively. A pilot installation with a larger data collection and analysis is underway.
Funktionsprinzip Emissionsrechtehandel, Betroffene Anlagen und Branchen, Erstverteilung der Emissionsrechte, Bereits erbrachte Emissionsreduktionen (early actions), Ausstieg von betroffenen Unternehmen (opt-out), Teilnahme von nicht betroffenen Unternehmen, Einsatz von Biobrennstoffen, Erfassung und Dokumentation der Emissionen
Ausgangslage, Funktionsprinzip des virtuellen Kraftwerkes, Energiemanagementsysteme (EMS), Einsatzgebiete, Anlagesysteme eines VKW's, Einsatzbereich der verschiedenen dezentralen Energieanlagen, Vorteile des virtuellen Kraftwerkes, Auswirkungen auf das elektrische Netz, Wirtschaftliche Aspekte, Beispielprojekte
A melting probe equipped with autofluorescence-based detection system combined with a light scattering unit, and, optionally, with a microarray chip would be ideally suited to probe icy environments like Europa’s ice layer as well as the polar ice layers of Earth and Mars for recent and extinct live.
Mechanical stimulation of the cells resulted in evident changes in the cell morphology, protein composition and gene expression. Microscopically, additional formation of stress fibers accompanied by cell re-arrangements in a monolayer was observed. Also, significant activation of p53 gene was revealed as compared to control. Interestingly, the use of CellTech membrane coating induced cell death after mechanical stress had been applied. Such an effect was not detected when fibronectin had been used as an adhesion substrate.
Recently, SHARP corporation has developed the world’s first “Plasma Cluster Ions (PCI)” air purification technology, which uses plasma discharge to generate cluster ions. The new plasma cluster device releases into the air positive and negative ions, which are harmless to humans and are able to decompose and deactivate airborne substances by chemical reactions. A lot of phenomenological tests of the PCI air purification technology on microbial cells have been conducted. And, in most cases, it has been shown that PCI demonstrate strongly pronounced killing effect. Although, the particular mechanisms of PCI action are still not evident. We studied variations in resistance to PCI among gram-positive airborne microorganisms, as well as some dose-dependent, spatial, cultural and biochemical properties of PCI action in respect of Staphylococcus spp, Enterococcus spp, Micrococcus spp.
Recently, the SHARP Corporation, Japan, has developed the world’s first "Plasma Cluster Ions (PCI)" air purification technology using plasma discharge to generate cluster ions. The new plasma cluster device releases positive and negative ions into the air, which are able to decompose and deactivate harmful airborne substances by chemical reactions. Because cluster ions consist of positive and negative ions that normally exist in the natural world, they are completely harmless and safe to humans. The amount of ozone generated by cluster ions is less than 0.01 ppm, which is significantly less than the 0.05-ppm standard for industrial operations and consumer electronics. This amount, thus, has no harming effects whatsoever on the human body. But particular properties and chemical processes in PCI treatment are still under study. It has been shown that PCI in most cases show strongly pronounced irreversible killing effects in respect of airborne microflora due to free-radical induced reactions and can be considered as a potent technology to disinfect both home, medical and industrial appliances.
Summary and Conclusions PCIs were clearly effective in terms of their antibacterial effects with the strains tested. This efficacy increased with the time the bacteries were exposed to PCIs. The bactericidal action has proved to be irreversible. PCIs were significantly less effective in shadowed areas. PCI exposure caused multiple protein damages as observed in SDS PAGE studies. There was no single but multiple molecular mechanism causing the bacterial death.
Recently, SHARP corporation has developed the world’s first "Plasma Cluster Ions® (PCI)" air purification technology, which uses plasma discharge to generate cluster ions. The new Plasma Cluster Device releases positive and negative ions into the air, which are harmless to humans and are able to decompose and deactivate airborne substances by chemical reactions. In the past, phenomenological tests on the efficacy of the PCI air purification technology on microbial cells have been conducted. In most cases, it has been shown that PCI demonstrated strongly pronounced killing effects on microorganisms. However, the particular mechanisms of PCI action still have to be uncovered.
Composite improvement of textile reinforced concrete by polymeric impregnation of the textiles
(2006)
Application of polymers in textile reinforced concrete : from the interface to construction elements
(2006)
With the many achievements of Machine Learning in the past years, it is likely that the sub-area of Deep Learning will continue to deliver major technological breakthroughs [1]. In order to achieve best results, it is important to know the various different Deep Learning frameworks and their respective properties. This paper provides a comparative overview of some of the most popular frameworks. First, the comparison methods and criteria are introduced and described with a focus on computer vision applications: Features and Uses are examined by evaluating papers and articles, Adoption and Popularity is determined by analyzing a data science study. Then, the frameworks TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch and Caffe are compared based on the previously described criteria to highlight properties and differences. Advantages and disadvantages are compared, enabling researchers and developers to choose a framework according to their specific needs.
Competence Developing Games (CDGs) are a new concept of how to think about games with serious intentions. In order to emphasize on this topic, a new framework has been developed. It basically relies on learning and motivation theories. This ‘motivational Competence Developing Game Framework’ demonstrates how it is possible to use these theories in a CDG development process. The theoretical derivation and use of the framework is explained in this paper.
Untersuchungen zur Tragfähigkeit und Steifigkeit eines neuartigen Wandelements in Holzbauweisen
(2018)
We present first results from a newly developed monitoring station for a closed loop geothermal heat pump test installation at our campus, consisting of helix coils and plate heat exchangers, as well as an ice-store system. There are more than 40 temperature sensors and several soil moisture content sensors distributed around the system, allowing a detailed monitoring under different operating conditions.In the view of the modern development of renewable energies along with the newly concepts known as Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 (high-tech strategy from the German government), we created a user-friendly web application, which will connect the things (sensors) with the open network (www). Besides other advantages, this allows a continuous remote monitoring of the data from the numerous sensors at an arbitrary sampling rate.Based on the recorded data, we will also present first results from numerical simulations, taking into account all relevant heat transport processes.The aim is to improve the understanding of these processes and their influence on the thermal behavior of shallow geothermal systems in the unsaturated zone. This will in turn facilitate the prediction of the performance of these systems and therefore yield an improvement in their dimensioning when designing a specific shallow geothermal installation.
Plasma-Spritzen
(1991)
Thematisch widmet sich das Projekt Coolplan- AIR der Fortentwicklung und Feldvalidierung eines Berechnungs- und Auslegungstools zur energieeffizienten Kühlung von Gebäuden mit luftgestützten Systemen. Neben dem Aufbau und der Weiterentwicklung von Simulationsmodellen erfolgen Vermessungen der Gesamtsysteme anhand von Praxisanlagen im Feld. Der Schwerpunkt des Projekts liegt auf der Vermessung, Simulation und Integration rein luftgestützter Kühltechnologien. Im Bereich der Kälteerzeugung wurden Luft‐ Luft‐ Wärmepumpen, Anlagen zur adiabaten Kühlung bzw. offene Kühltürme und VRF‐ Multisplit‐ Systeme (Variable Refrigerant Flow) im Feld bzw. auf dem Teststand der HSD vermessen. Die Komponentenmodelle werden in die Matlab/Simulink‐ Toolbox CARNOT integriert und anschließend auf Basis der zuvor erhaltenen Messdaten validiert.
Einerseits erlauben die Messungen das Betriebsverhalten von Anlagenkomponenten zu analysieren. Andererseits soll mit der Vermessung im Feld geprüft werden, inwieweit die Simulationsmodelle, welche im Vorgängerprojekt aus Prüfstandmessungen entwickelt wurden, auch für größere Geräteleistungen Gültigkeit besitzen. Die entwickelten und implementierten Systeme, bestehend aus verschiedensten Anlagenmodellen und Regelungskomponenten, werden geprüft und dahingehend qualifiziert, dass sie in Standard- Auslegungstools zuverlässig verwendet werden können.
Zusätzlich wird ein energetisches Monitoring eines Hörsaalgebäudes am Campus Jülich durchgeführt, das u. a. zur Validierung der Kühllastberechnungen in gängigen Simulationsmodelle genutzt werden kann.
New coupled finite-infinite element approach for wave propagation simulation of unbounded soil media
(2014)
Digital start-ups are perceived as an engine for innovation and job promotor. While success factors for non-IT start-ups have already been extensively researched, this study sheds light on digital entrepreneurs, whose business model relies primarily on services based on digital technologies. Applying the Grounded Theory method, we identify relevant environmental success factors for digital entrepreneurs. The study’s research contribution is threefold. First, we provide 16 relevant and less relevant environmental success factors, which enables a comparison with prior identified factors. We found out that several prior environmental success factors, such as accessibility to transportation or the availability of land and facilities are less relevant for a digital entrepreneur. Second, we derive and discuss hypotheses for the influence of these factors on digital start-up success. Third, we present a theoretical model that lays the foundation for explaining the environmental influence on digital
entrepreneurship success.
Process mining gets more and more attention even outside large enterprises and can be a major benefit for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to gain competitive advantages. Applying process mining is challenging, particularly for SMEs because they have less resources and process maturity. So far, IS researchers analyzed process mining challenges with a focus on larger companies. This paper investigates the application of process mining by means of a case study and sheds light into the particular challenges of an IT SME. The results reveal 13 SME process mining challenges and seven guidelines to address them. In this way, the paper contributes to the understanding of process mining application in SME and shows similarities and differences to larger companies.
Gamification and gamified information systems (GIS) apply video game elements to encourage the work on boring and everyday tasks. Meanwhile, several research works provide evidence that gamification increases efficiency and effectivity of such tasks. The paper at hand investigates the health care sector, which is challenged with cost pressure and suffers in process efficiency. We hypothesize that GIS may improve the efficiency and quality of care processes. By applying an interview-based content analysis, the paper at hand evaluates gamification elements in an assisted living environment and provides three research contributions. First, insights into relevant GIS affordances and application examples for assisted living facilities are given. Second, assisted living experts evaluate GIS design guidelines. Both the relevant affordances and design principles comprise a basis for the development of a GIS for social workers in assisted living facilities. Third, potential adoption barriers and design guidelines for GIS in assisted living are presented.
A Gamified Information System (GIS) implements game concepts and elements, such as affordances and game design principles to motivate people. Based on the idea to develop a GIS to increase the motivation of software developers to perform software quality tasks, the research work at hand aims at investigating relevant requirements from that target group. Therefore, 14 interviews with software development experts are conducted and analyzed. According to the results, software developers prefer the affordances points, narrative storytelling in a multiplayer and a round-based setting. Furthermore, six design principles for the development of a GIS are derived.
Generating synthetic LiDAR point cloud data for object detection using the Unreal Game Engine
(2024)
Object detection based on artificial intelligence is ubiquitous in today’s computer vision research and application. The training of the neural networks for object detection requires large and high-quality datasets. Besides datasets based on image data, datasets derived from point clouds offer several advantages. However, training datasets are sparse and their generation requires a lot of effort, especially in industrial domains. A solution to this issue offers the generation of synthetic point cloud data. Based on the design science research method, the work at hand proposes an approach and its instantiation for generating synthetic point cloud data based on the Unreal Engine. The point cloud quality is evaluated by comparing the synthetic cloud to a real-world point cloud. Within a practical example the applicability of the Unreal Game engine for synthetic point cloud generation could be successfully demonstrated.
Integrated voice assistants (IVA) receive more and more attention and are widespread for entertainment use cases, such as radio hearing or web searches. At the same time, the health care segment suffers in process inefficiency and missing staff, whereas the usage of IVA has the potential to improve caring processes and patient satisfaction. By applying a design science approach and based on a qualitative study, we identify IVA requirements, barriers and design guidelines for the health care sector. The results reveal three important IVA functions: the ability to set appointments with care service staff, the documentation of health history and the communication with service staff. Integration, system stability and volume control are the most important nonfunctional requirements. Based on the interview results and project experiences, six design and implementation guidelines are derived.
The popularity of social media and particularly Instagram grows steadily. People use the different platforms to share pictures as well as videos and to communicate with friends. The potential of social media platforms is also being used for marketing purposes and for selling products. While for Facebook and other online social media platforms the purchase decision factors are investigated several times, Instagram stores remain mainly unattended so far. The present research work closes this gap and sheds light into decisive factors for purchasing products offered in Instagram stores. A theoretical research model, which contains selected constructs that are assumed to have a significant influence on Instagram user´s purchase intention, is developed. The hypotheses are evaluated by applying structural equation modelling on survey data containing 127 relevant participants. The results of the study reveal that ‘trust’, ‘personal recommendation’, and ‘usability’ significantly influences user’s buying intention in Instagram stores.
Autonomous agents require rich environment models for fulfilling their missions. High-definition maps are a well-established map format which allows for representing semantic information besides the usual geometric information of the environment. These are, for instance, road shapes, road markings, traffic signs or barriers. The geometric resolution of HD maps can be as precise as of centimetre level. In this paper, we report on our approach of using HD maps as a map representation for autonomous load-haul-dump vehicles in open-pit mining operations. As the mine undergoes constant change, we also need to constantly update the map. Therefore, we follow a lifelong mapping approach for updating the HD maps based on camera-based object detection and GPS data. We show our mapping algorithm based on the Lanelet 2 map format and show our integration with the navigation stack of the Robot Operating System. We present experimental results on our lifelong mapping approach from a real open-pit mine.
Laser-based Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes for the use of metals out of the powder bed have been investigated profusely and are prevalent in industry. Although there is a broad field of application, Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), also known as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) of glass is not fully developed yet. The material properties of glass are significantly different from the investigated metallic material for LPBF so far. As such, the process cannot be transferred, and the parameter limits and the process sequence must be redefined for glass. Starting with the characterization of glass powders, a parameter field is initially confined to investigate the process parameter of different glass powder using LPBFprocess. A feasibility study is carried out to process borosilicate glass powder. The effects of process parameters on the dimensional accuracy of fabricated parts out of borosilicate and hints for the post-processing are analysed and presented in this paper.
In this paper, we present the structure, the simulation the operation of a multi-stage, hybrid solar desalination system (MSDH), powered by thermal and photovoltaic (PV) (MSDH) energy. The MSDH system consists of a lower basin, eight horizontal stages, a field of four flat thermal collectors with a total area of 8.4 m2, 3 Kw PV panels and solar batteries. During the day the system is heated by thermal energy, and at night by heating resistors, powered by solar batteries. These batteries are charged by the photovoltaic panels during the day. More specifically, during the day and at night, we analyse the temperature of the stages and the production of distilled water according to the solar irradiation intensity and the electric heating power, supplied by the solar batteries. The simulations were carried out in the meteorological conditions of the winter month (February 2020), presenting intensities of irradiance and ambient temperature reaching 824 W/m2 and 23 °C respectively. The results obtained show that during the day the system is heated by the thermal collectors, the temperature of the stages and the quantity of water produced reach 80 °C and 30 Kg respectively. At night, from 6p.m. the system is heated by the electric energy stored in the batteries, the temperature of the stages and the quantity of water produced reach respectively 90 °C and 104 Kg for an electric heating power of 2 Kw. Moreover, when the electric power varies from 1 Kw to 3 Kw the quantity of water produced varies from 92 Kg to 134 Kg. The analysis of these results and their comparison with conventional solar thermal desalination systems shows a clear improvement both in the heating of the stages, by 10%, and in the quantity of water produced by a factor of 3.
Design and Development of a Hot S-Parameter Measurement System for Plasma and Magnetron Applications
(2020)
This paper presents the design, development and calibration procedures of a novel hot S-parameter measurement system for plasma and magnetron applications with power level up to 6 kW. Based on a vector network analyzer, a power amplifier and two directional couplers, the input matching hotS 11 and transmission hotS 21 of the device under test are measured at 2.45 GHz center frequency and 300MHz bandwidth, while the device is driven by the magnetron. This measurement system opens a new horizon to develop many new industrial applications such as microwave plasma jets, dryer systems, dryers and so forth. Furthermore, the developing, controlling and monitoring a 2kW 2.45GHz plasma jet and a dryer system using the measurement system are presented and explained.
Tool supported requirements analysis for the user centered development of mobile enterprise software
(2008)
A user centered development method has proved satisfactory for the development of mobile enterprise software. To make use of this method, detailed information about the user and the place where the user interacts with his mobile device is required. This article describes how both can be modeled by a stereotypical and conceptual extended UML extension. Finally, a software tool is presented that supports the developed UML extension.