5G MEC-enabled vehicle discovery service for streaming-based CAM applications

Cooperative perception represents an important technology to fulfil the higher automation levels of connected and automated mobility (CAM). In cooperative perception, the sensor data, either raw or processed, is shared among neighbour vehicles with the objective of enhancing or complementing the perception obtained by on-board sensors. The vehicle that requests this external perception data needs to have this data quickly. However, it first needs to discover the network address of the neighbour vehicle that wants to connect to. Specially in a dense urban area or in a congested radio channel, an inefficient method for neighbour vehicle discovery could prevent a timely start of the cooperative perception session. This paper describes a novel 5G multi-access edge computing (MEC) solution that that boosts the selection of interesting neighbour vehicles according to a geographical region of interest (ROI) after applying pertinent adjustments considering vehicles’ dynamics and network communication latencies. In contrast to broadcast-based methods, in the proposed method the vehicles are only sending their periodical position data to a MEC service, which centralises the vehicle discovery requests. The objective of this Vehicle Discovery Service (VDS) is to support the startup of Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC)-based Extended Sensors CAM applications. The proposed VDS has been validated using a public vehicular traffic dataset evaluating geo-position accuracy. The WebRTC-based streaming pipeline has been validated testing its feasibility for a See-Through video streaming application.

     

Effect of the Chord-Brace Angle on the Strength of Rectangular Hollow Sections K- and N-Joints in Galvanized Structures

An important consideration when using hot-dip galvanized tubular structures is the uncertainty of the joint behaviour due to the possible reduction in the global joint resistance produced by the vent holes required for the galvanizing process. This paper assesses the effect on the joint strength of the angle between the brace members and the chord in a K- or N-joints made with rectangular hollow sections. The study is focused on the case when those brace members include characteristic holes required for the hot-dip galvanizing process. To accomplish the objective of the proposed work, some tests on full-scale K- and N-joints, including angles of 35°, 45°, 55° and 90°, were carried out. The experimental work was complemented by a validated numerical simulation in order to give some design recommendations and to extend the research to other joint configurations.     

Analysis of scenarios for the reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions in transport in the Basque Country

Fossil energy depletion and fight against climate change force humanity to decarbonize the economy. By year 2050 CO₂ emissions will have to reduce globally at least 85%, and probably over 95% in developed countries.The modeling of the transportation of people and commodities in the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain) in year 2008 has allowed us to draw some conclusions about the challenges ahead. The exploration of several scenarios modeled in order to reduce energy consumption in transport shows that mobility in a decarbonized world will have to be more efficient, electrified when moving people and freight on land, based on renewable generation, and organized in such a way that guarantees very high occupancies of vehicles. All these elements will be indispensable, and even not sufficient if they are still not complemented with a reduction of mobility in absolute terms, so that economic transportation intensity—the ratio between transportation and whole economic activity—recovers to levels seen in the world four decades ago, prior to the development of present hypermobility.     

Monitoring of drilling for burr detection using spindle torque

This work proposes and evaluates a monitoring method, based on internal signals from spindle torque, to detect non-desired burr formation during drilling operations. Five features of this signal showed to be related to burr height. The selected features were sensitive to the exit burr while comparatively insensitive to changes in process parameters. The experiments were performed in aeronautics aluminium, Al 7075-T6, under dry high speed conditions. A thresholding algorithm has been developed to distinguish if burr height is below or above a previously established onset. The predictability of the developed algorithm is above 92% for the tested range of process parameters. An appropriate implementation of this monitoring system can be used as an effective quality control of drilling operations.     

The effect of selected parameters of formation on properties of alginate/Ca2+/oligochitosan capsules

Optimization of the technological parameters affecting the mechanical properties and permeability of capsules is essential to produce capsules with improved properties for cell immobilization. In the present paper, the effect of different parameters on the technological properties of alginate/Ca²⁺/oligochitosan capsules has been investigated. The correct adjustment of the alginate concentration in the polymer matrix and the oligochitosan molar mass, concentration and coating time, have been found to be key parameters in obtaining porous and mechanically stable alginate/Ca²⁺/oligochitosan capsules. Results showed that an increase in the coating time and concentration of the alginate generated more stable capsules with a reduced membrane cut‐off. Furthermore, we have established some correlations between capsule properties and the effectiveness of chitosan binding within the capsule's membrane. Data addressed herein could be a valid tool to fabricate optimized alginate/Ca²⁺/oligochitosan capsules with a potential for use in cell immobilization technology. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Human-to-Human authorization for resource sharing in SHAD: Roles and protocols

One aim of pervasive computing is to allow users to share their resources so that they seem to be part of a single pervasive computer. This is just an illusion, the result of the synergy between different systems and resources. SHAD, introduced in PerCom 2007, is the first architecture that offers actual Single Sign-On to avoid authentication obtrusiveness and maintain the illusion of a single, pervasive computer. This paper describes how SHAD allows users to securely share their resources in a easy, natural, and intuitive way. It also describes its role-based Human-to-Human architecture, the threat model, and the protocols involved. Last but not the least, it presents results of further evaluation for our working implementation.     

Optomagnetic Nanoplatforms for In Situ Controlled Hyperthermia

Magnetic nanoparticles (M:NPs) are unique agents for in vivo thermal therapies due to their multimodal capacity for efficient heat generation under optical and/or magnetic excitation. Nevertheless, their transfer from laboratory to the clinic is hampered by the absence of thermal feedback and by the influence that external conditions (e.g., agglomeration and biological matrix interactions) have on their heating efficiency. Overcoming these limitations requires, first, the implementation of strategies providing thermal sensing to M:NPs in order to obtain in situ thermal feedback during thermal therapies. At the same time, M:NPs should be modified so that their heating efficiency will be maintained independently of the environment and the added capability for thermometry. In this work, optomagnetic hybrid nanostructures (OMHSs) that simultaneously satisfy these two conditions are presented. Polymeric encapsulation of M:NPs with neodymium‐doped nanoparticles results in a hybrid structure capable of subtissue thermal feedback while making the heating efficiency of M:NPs independent of the medium. The potential application of the OMHSs herein developed for fully controlled thermal therapies is demonstrated by an ex vivo endoscope‐assisted controlled intracoronary heating experiment.     

Real-time monitoring and diagnosing in wire-electro discharge machining

This paper presents the design and development of a real-time monitoring and diagnostic system for diagnosing the degraded behaviour in wire-electro discharge machining. The detection in advance of the degraded behaviour is crucial since this can lead to the breakage of the cutting tool (the wire), reducing the process productivity and the required accuracy (Ho et al., Tools Manuf 44:1247–1259, 2004). This work presents the design and development of a real-time monitoring system that alerts the degraded behaviour. It can detect different types of degraded behaviours that have been previously identified during the analysis phase. Unlike other works found in the literature review, which are focussed on proprietary hardware, the present paper proposes a flexible real-time platform based on a commercial data acquisition board that can be easily configured for different purposes. It has been applied to develop a real-time monitoring and diagnostic system that uses virtual sensors to diagnose the degradation of the process. The results of this work show a satisfactory performance of the presented approach.     

Social projection and social comparison of opinions.

Using the notion of "social projection," in which a person self-generates a consensus for his or her own opinion, Festinger's (1954) theory of social comparison processes was reformulated, and predictions derived from the new model were tested. A 2?×?3 factorial design that cross-cut two levels of background similarity of a comparison other (similar, dissimilar) and three levels of comparison information (agree, disagree, no information control) on a legal case was used. The subject, believing that he or she was paired with another subject who either shared (similar) or did not share (dissimilar) a common background, subsequently compared his or her opinion on the case with the other's opinion. Emotional and cognitive reactions were measured using questionnaire and skin resistance. Results supported the predictions: Only disagreement with a similar other produced a negatively toned emotional response as well as decreases in opinion confidence, opinion importance, and readiness to act on the opinion. Positively toned reactions generated by agreement with a dissimilar other are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)