The consequences of an increase in heavy goods vehicles for passenger car drivers' mental workload and behaviour: a simulator study

The effects of an increase in Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) on merging behaviour and on mental workload of motorists during filtering in and out of traffic were studied. Participants drove in a driving simulator in a total of 12 conditions; twice in each of two weather conditions and in three traffic conditions. The weather conditions were clear weather and foggy weather. The traffic conditions were without HGVs (i.e. only private cars), the current mix of HGVs and private cars, and a condition with a 70% increase of HGVs leading to an HGV column in the slow lane. The focus of the study was on assessing effects on behaviour and mental workload during filtering into traffic, and during exiting from the motorway. During the experiment driving performance was registered, behaviour was observed, self reports were collected, and the participant's heart rate was recorded. The results showed that directly after filtering into traffic the variation in driving speed increased and the minimum time headway decreased with an increase in the proportion of HGVs. Joining motorway traffic was considered to involve greater effort and risk in the condition with a column of HGVs. The effects of the conditions on heart rate are less clear, although the moment when the participants joined the traffic is clearly visible. The effects of weather conditions were limited, drivers adapting their driving behaviour in adverse weather by reducing speed. To exit the motorway is not a difficult manoeuvre. For that reason the lane change from the left hand to the right hand lane that preceded the exit was analysed. Although increased mental effort was reported and the lane change was visible in the heart rate record, no critical changes as a result of increase in proportion of HGVs were found for this manoeuvre. However, in the condition with a column of HGVs, the exit that had to be taken was most frequently missed as HGVs obstructed the view of the exit signs. It is concluded that an increase in HGVs will make merging into traffic more mentally demanding and will decrease safety margins.     

景观设计展望:国际性和中国特色

中国的当代景观设计仍然在传统的范例和国际的范例之间探寻其自己的风格。北京土人景观规划设计研究院所做的项目展示了当代的、同时又是自己的设计语言,彰显了全球化背景下当代中国人的身份。     

高炉炉衬和冷却技术

介绍了达涅利康力斯板式冷却器炉衬和冷却概念,并介绍炉役期已达16年的康力斯IJmuiden6号高炉。在连续生产3430万t铁水之后,最近对这座高炉的炉底和炉缸区进行大修。康力斯IJmuiden6号高炉炉腹上部区、炉腰区和炉身区的设计表现非常好,仅在上述部分看到轻微的侵蚀现象。达涅利康力斯在其他许多高炉上也采用同样的设计,达到很长的炉龄。康力斯IJmuiden6号高炉达到这样长的炉龄,证明了采用具有良好传热性能的耐火材料结合板式冷却器设计,具有很高的可靠性。     

Selection and fusion of color models for image feature detection

The choice of a color model is of great importance for many computer vision algorithms (e.g., feature detection, object recognition, and tracking) as the chosen color model induces the equivalence classes to the actual algorithms. As there are many color models available, the inherent difficulty is how to automatically select a single color model or, alternatively, a weighted subset of color models producing the best result for a particular task. The subsequent hurdle is how to obtain a proper fusion scheme for the algorithms so that the results are combined in an optimal setting. To achieve proper color model selection and fusion of feature detection algorithms, in this paper, we propose a method that exploits nonperfect correlation between color models or feature detection algorithms derived from the principles of diversification. As a consequence, a proper balance is obtained between repeatability and distinctiveness. The result is a weighting scheme which yields maximal feature discrimination. The method is verified experimentally for three different image feature detectors. The experimental results show that the fusion method provides feature detection results having a higher discriminative power than the standard weighting scheme. Further, it is experimentally shown that the color model selection scheme provides a proper balance between color invariance (repeatability) and discriminative power (distinctiveness)     

康力斯公司荷兰埃伊默登6号高炉

康力斯(原霍高文)6号高炉在荷兰的埃伊默登,自1985年检修后开始第四代炉役,到2002年停炉检修。高炉生产期间始终保持高利用系数,高风温、高喷煤率。到2002年停炉时,已经连续生产一代炉役16年无中修,创造了高炉长寿的历史,其中仅炉缸铁口区耐火材料部分破损,其他部位耐材保持完好。介绍了6号高炉的发展历史、耐火材料和冷却系统设计、操作、炉衬检测以及停炉后的检修方案。2002年检修仅对炉缸的耐火材料和部分冷却板进行了更换,预计高炉还将服役15年。     

从灰到绿的基础设施——城市可持续设计与水资源综合管理

水基础设施是非常基本的,它可以解决很多重要的问题。现在,大多数的基础设施都是看不见的,人们一般只是使用这些设施,觉得从水龙头当中会流出无穷无尽的水。但是对于规划人员,景观设计师来说不是这样,从工程师的角度来说,这往往是灰色的角度。灰色概念从未来的角度来说,已经不太能适应城市未来的设计了,新的方式是绿色的,是非常好的。灰色的设计是在工业化时期,现代化开始的初期做的,     

Classifying color edges in video into shadow-geometry, highlight, or material transitions

We aim at using color information to classify the physical nature of edges in video. To achieve physics-based edge classification, we first propose a novel approach to color edge detection by automatic noise-adaptive thresholding derived from sensor noise analysis. Then, we present a taxonomy on color edge types. As a result, a parameter-free edge classifier is obtained labeling color transitions into one of the following types: 1) shadow-geometry, 2) highlight edges, and 3) material edges. The proposed method is empirically verified on images showing complex real world scenes.