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This paper presents the new Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) library RL-X and its application to the RoboCup Soccer Simulation 3D League and classic DRL benchmarks. RL-X provides a flexible and easy-to-extend codebase with self-contained single directory algorithms. Through the fast JAX-based implementations, RL-X can reach up to 4.5x speedups compared to well-known frameworks like Stable-Baselines3.
Optimal microgrid scheduling with peak load reduction involving an electrolyzer and flexible loads
(2016)
This work consists of a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model for defining optimized schedules of components in a grid-connected microgrid. The microgrid includes a hydrogen energy system consisting of an alkaline electrolyzer, hydrogen cylinder bundles and a fuel cell for energy storage. Local generation is provided from photovoltaic panels, and the load is given by a fixed load profile combined with a flexible electrical load, which is a battery electric vehicle. The electrolyzer has ramp-up constraints which are modeled explicitly. The objective function includes, besides operational costs and an environmental indicator, a representation of peak power costs, thus leading to an overall peak load reduction under optimized operation. The model is used both for controlling a microgrid in a field trial set-up deployed in South-West Germany and for simulating the microgrid operation for defined period, thus allowing for economic system evaluation. Results from defined sample runs show that the energy storage is primarily used for trimming the peak of electricity drawn from the public grid and is not solely operated with excess power. The flexible demand operation also helps keeping the peak at its possible minimum.
The use of renewable energy sources for heating and cooling in buildings today offers the best opportunities to avoid the use of fossil fuels and the associated climate-damaging emissions. However, unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy sources such as solar radiation are not available at the push of a button, but occur uncontrollably depending on weather conditions, the location of the building and the time of year. Their use is free of charge. However, complex converters and systems usually have to be installed in order to use them. These must be carefully planned and operated in order to avoid unnecessary costs and to generate the maximum possible yield. The regenerative energy systems are usually integrated into existing conventional systems. When designing the control and regulation equipment, it is crucial to design the automation of the systems in such a way that primarily renewable energy sources are used and the share of fossil energy sources is minimized.
Automation devices or automation stations (AS) take on the task of controlling, regulating, monitoring and, if necessary, optimising building systems and their system components (e.g. pumps, compressors, fans) based on recorded process variables. For this purpose, a wide range of control and regulation methods are used, starting with simple on/off controllers, through classic PID controllers, to higher-order controllers such as adaptive, model-predictive, knowledge-based or adaptive controllers.
Starting with a brief introduction to automation technology (Sect. 7.1), the chapter goes into the structure and functionality of the usual compact controllers using the application examples of solar thermal systems and heat pump systems (Sect. 7.2). Finally, the integration of system automation into a higher-level building automation system and into the building management system is described using specific application examples (Sect. 7.3).
This central book chapter now details the implementation of automation of solar domestic hot water systems, solar assisted building heating, rooms, solar cooling systems, heat pump heating systems, geothermal systems and thermally activated building component systems. Hydraulic and automation diagrams are used to explain how the automation of these systems works. A detailed insight into the engineering and technical interrelationships involved in the use of these systems, as well as the use of simulation tools, enables effective control and regulation. System characteristic curves and systematic procedures support the automation engineer in his tasks.
Renewable energy sources such as solar radiation, geothermal heat and ambient heat are available for energy conversion. With the help of special converters, these resources can be put to use. These include solar collectors, geothermal probes and chillers. They collect the energy and convert it to a temperature level high enough to be suitable for heat purposes. In the case of refrigeration machines, a distinction is made between electrically and thermally driven machines.
The isolation measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic brought light to discussions related to the importance of meaningful social relationships as a basic need to human well-being. But even before the pandemic outbreak in the years 2020 and 2021, organizations and scholars were already drawing attention to the growing numbers related to lonely people in the world (World Economic Forum, 2019). Loneliness is an emotional distress caused by the lack of meaningful social connections, which affects people worldwide across all age groups, mainly young adults (Rook, 1984). The use of digital technologies has gained prominence as a means of alleviating the distress. As an example, studies have shown the benefits of using digital games both to stimulate social interactions (Steinfield, Ellison & Lampe, 2008) and to enhance the effects of digital interventions for mental health treatments, through gamification (Fleming et al., 2017). It is with these aspects in mind that the gamified app Noneliness was designed with the intention of reducing loneliness rates among young students at a German university. In addition to sharing the related works that supported the application development, this chapter also presents the aspects considered for the resource's design, its main functionalities, and the preliminary results related to the reduction of loneliness in the target audience.
The transition from college to university can have a variety of psychological effects on students who need to cope with daily obligations by themselves in a new setting, which can result in loneliness and social isolation. Mobile technology, specifically mental health apps (MHapps), have been seen as promising solutions to assist university students who are facing these problems, however, there is little evidence around this topic. My research investigates how a mobile app can be designed to reduce social isolation and loneliness among university students. The Noneliness app is being developed to this end; it aims to create social opportunities through a quest-based gamified system in a secure and collaborative network of local users. Initial evaluations with the target audience provided evidence on how an app should be designed for this purpose. These results are presented and how they helped me to plan the further steps to reach my research goals. The paper is presented at MobileHCI 2020 Doctoral Consortium.
Loneliness, an emotional distress caused by the lack of meaningful social connections, has been increasingly affecting university students who need to deal with everyday situations in a new setting, especially those who have come from abroad. Currently there is little work on digital solutions to reduce loneliness. Therefore, this work describes the general design considerations for mobile apps in this context and outlines a potential solution. The mobile app Noneliness is used to this end: it aims to reduce loneliness by creating social opportunities through a quest-based gamified system in a secure and collaborative network of local users. The results of initial evaluations with the target audience are described. The results informed a user interface redesign as well as a review of the features and the gamification principles adopted.
During the periods of social isolation to contain the advance of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, educational institutions have had the challenge to adopt technological strategies not only to ensure continuity in students’ classes, but also to support their mental health in a period of uncertainty and health risks. Loneliness is an emotional distress caused by the lack of meaningful social connections; it has increasingly affected young adults worldwide during the pandemic's social isolation and still bears psychological effects in the current post-pandemic period. In the light of this challenge, the Nonenliness App was developed as a way to bring together university communities to address issues related to loneliness and mental health disorders through a gamified and social online environment. In this paper, we present the app and its main functionalities (Beta version) and discuss the preliminary results of a pilot clinical study conducted with university students in Germany (N = 12) to verify the app's efficacy and usability, alongside the challenges faced and the next steps to be taken regarding the platform's improvement.
Digital libraries are providing an increasing amount of data, which is normally structured in a classical way by documents and described by metadata as keywords. The data, even in scientific systems such as digital libraries and virtual research environments, will contain a great amount of noise or information unnecessary for our personal interests. Although there has been a lot of progress in the field of information retrieval, search techniques and other content finding methods, there is still much to be done in the field of information retrieval based on user behavior. This paper presents an approach deployed in the Humboldt Digital Library (HDL) to facilitate the retrieval of relevant information to the users of the system, making recommendations of paragraphs based on their profile and the behavior of other users who share similar profiles. The Humboldt digital library represents an innovative system of open access to the legacy of Alexander von Humboldt in a digital form on the Internet (www.avhumboldt.net). It contributes to the key question, how to present interconnected data in a proper form using information technologies.
The accurate diagnosis of state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) is of utmost importance for battery users and for battery manufacturers. State diagnosis is commonly based on measuring battery current and using it in Coulomb counters or as input for a current-controlled model. Here we introduce a new algorithm based on measuring battery voltage and using it as input for a voltage-controlled model. We demonstrate the algorithm using fresh and pre-aged lithium-ion battery single cells operated under well-defined laboratory conditions on full cycles, shallow cycles, and a dynamic battery electric vehicle load profile. We show that both SOC and SOH are accurately estimated using a simple equivalent circuit model. The new algorithm is self-calibrating, is robust with respect to cell aging, allows to estimate SOH from arbitrary load profiles, and is numerically simpler than state-of-the-art model-based methods.
In this paper we present the concept of the "KI-Labor Südbaden" to support regional companies in the use of AI technologies. The approach is based on the "Periodic Table of AI" and is extended with both new dimensions for sustainability, and the impact of AI on the working environment. It is illustrated on the basis of three real-world use cases: 1. The detection of humans with lowresolution infrared (IR) images for collaborative robotics; 2. The use of machine data from specifically designed vehicles; 3. State-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs) applied to internal company documents. We explain the use cases, thereby demonstrating how to apply the Periodic Table of AI to structure AI applications.
Marketing and sales have high expectations of new methods such as Big Data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics. But following the “garbage in—garbage out” principle, the results leave much to be desired. The reason is often insufficient quality in the underlying customer data. This article sheds light on this problem using the data quality and value pyramid as an example. The higher up the value-added pyramid the data is located, the higher its quality and the more value it generates for a company. In addition, we show how the use of monitoring systems, such as a data quality scorecard, makes data quality visible and improvements measurable. In this way, the actual value of data for companies becomes obvious and manageable.
We aim to debate and eventually be able to carefully judge how realistic the following statement of a young computer scientist is: “I would like to become an ethical correctly acting offensive cybersecurity expert”. The objective of this article is not to judge what is good and what is wrong behavior nor to present an overall solution to ethical dilemmas. Instead, the goal is to become aware of the various personal moral dilemmas a security expert may face during his work life. For this, a total of 14 cybersecurity students from HS Offenburg were asked to evaluate several case studies according to different ethical frameworks. The results and particularities are discussed, considering different ethical frameworks. We emphasize, that different ethical frameworks can lead to different preferred actions and that the moral understanding of the frameworks may differ even from student to student.
All business is local
(2016)
There is an ongoing debate about the use and scope of Clayton M. Christensen´s idea of disruptive innovation, including the question of whether it is a management buzz phrase or a valuable theory. This discussion considers the general question of how innovation in the field of management theories and concepts finds its way to the different target groups. This conceptual paper combines the different concepts of the creation and dissemination of management trends in a basic framework based on a short review of models for the dissemination of management ideas. This framework allows an analysis of the character of new management ideas like disruptive innovation. By measuring the impact of the theory on the academic sphere using a bibliometric statistic of the number of academic publications on Google scholar and Scopus and a meta-analysis of research papers, we show the significant influence of disruptive innovation beyond pure management fads.
With economic weight shifting toward net zero, now is the time for ECAs, Exim-Banks, and PRIs to lead. Despite previous success, aligning global economic governance to climate goals requires additional activities across export finance and investment insurance institutions. The new research project initiated by Oxford University, ClimateWorks Foundation, and Mission 2020 including other practitioners and academics from institutions such as Atradius DSB, Columbia University, EDC, FMO and Offenburg University focuses on reshaping future trade and investment governance in light of climate action. The idea of a ‘Berne Union Net Zero Club’ is an important item in a potential package of reforms. This can include realigning mandates and corporate strategies, principles of intervention, as well as ECA, Exim-Bank and PRI operating models in order to accelerate net zero transformation. Full transparency regarding Berne Union members’ activities would be an excellent starting point. We invite all interested parties in the sector to come together to chart our own path to net zero
Thin-layer chromatography is a rapid and reliable working method for quantification of mycotoxins which is suitable for checking EC legislation aflatoxin limits for dried figs without an RP-18 pre-column cleaning step. We describe normal-phase chromatography on silica gel plates with 2.4:0.05:0.1:0.05 ( v/v ) methyl t -butyl ether-water-methanol-cyclohexane as mobile phase and reversed-phase chromatography on RP-18 plates with methanol-4% aqueous ZnSO 4 solution-ethyl methyl ketone 15:15:3 ( v/v ) as mobile phase. Sample pretreatment was by modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) extraction with tetrahydrofuran or acetone. NaCl was used as QuEChERS salt. Response was a linear function of amount chromatographed in the ranges 3 to 100 pg per zone for aflatoxins B 2 and G 2 , 10 to 350 pg per zone for the aflatoxins B 1 and G 1 , and 0.25 to 2.5 ng per zone for ochratoxin A. Quantification limits for the aflatoxins were between 13 and 35 pg per zone (equivalent to 1.5 and 2.4 ppb, taking the pre-treatment procedure into account). Ochratoxin A was detectable with a limit of quantification of 970 pg per zone, corresponding to 56 ppb in the sample. Normal phase and RP-18 separations work rapidly, reliably, and at low cost. They are also suitable for checking the content of the mycotoxins patulin, penicillic acid, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol.
Nowadays, the wide majority of Europeans uses smartphones. However, touch displays are still not accessible by everyone. Individuals with deafblindness, for example, often face difculties in accessing vision-based touchscreens. Moreover, they typically have few fnancial resources which increases the need for customizable, low-cost assistive devices. In this work-in-progress, we present four prototypes made from low-cost, every-day materials, that make modern pattern lock mechanisms more accessible to individuals with vision impairments or even with deafblindness. Two out of four prototypes turned out to be functional tactile overlays for accessing digital 4-by-4 grids that are regularly used to encode dynamic dot patterns. In future work, we will conduct a user study investigating whether these two prototypes can make dot-based pattern lock mechanisms more accessible for individuals with visual impairments or deafblindness.
In short-reach connections, large-diameter multimode fibres allow for robust and easy connections. Unfortunately, their propagation properties depend on the excitation conditions. We propose a launching technique using a fibre stub that can tolerate fabrication tolerances in terms of tilts and off-sets to a large extent. A study of the influence of displaced connectors along the transmission link shows that the power distributions approach a steady-state power distribution very similar to the initial distribution established by the proposed launching scheme.
To this date, it is difficult to find high-level statistics on YouTube that paint a fair picture of the platform in its entirety. This study attempts to provide an overall characterization of YouTube, based on a random sample of channel and video data, by showing how video provision and consumption evolved over the course of the past 10 years. It demonstrates stark contrasts between video genres in terms of channels, uploads and views, and that a vast majority of on average 85% of all views goes to a small minority of 3% of all channels. The analytical results give evidence that older channels have a significantly higher probability to garner a large viewership, but also show that there has always been a small chance for young channels to become successful quickly, depending on whether they choose their genre wisely.
A circuit arrangement of a motor vehicle includes a high-voltage battery for storing electrical energy, an electric machine for driving the motor vehicle, a converter via which high-voltage direct current voltage provided by the high-voltage battery is convertible into high-voltage alternating current voltage for operating the electric machine, and a charging connection for providing electrical energy for charging the high-voltage battery. The converter is a three-stage converter having a first switch unit which is assigned to a first phase of the electric machine. The first switch unit has two switch groups connected in series which each have two insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) connected in series, where a connection is disposed between the IGBTs of one of the two switch groups, which connection is electrically connected directly to a line of the charging connection.
Cryptographic protection of messages requires frequent updates of the symmetric cipher key used for encryption and decryption, respectively. Protocols of legacy IT security, like TLS, SSH, or MACsec implement rekeying under the assumption that, first, application data exchange is allowed to stall occasionally and, second, dedicated control messages to orchestrate the process can be exchanged. In real-time automation applications, the first is generally prohibitive, while the second may induce problematic traffic patterns on the network. We present a novel seamless rekeying approach, which can be embedded into cyclic application data exchanges. Although, being agnostic to the underlying real-time communication system, we developed a demonstrator emulating the widespread industrial Ethernet system PROFINET IO and successfully use this rekeying mechanism.
Towards a Formal Verification of Seamless Cryptographic Rekeying in Real-Time Communication Systems
(2022)
This paper makes two contributions to the verification of communication protocols by transition systems. Firstly, the paper presents a modeling of a cyclic communication protocol using a synchronized network of transition systems. This protocol enables seamless cryptographic rekeying embedded into cyclic messages. Secondly, we test the protocol using the model checking verification technique.
Vortex breakdown phenomena in rotating fluids are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The fluid is contained in a cone between two spherical surfaces. The primary swirling motion is induced ba the rotating lower boundary. The upper surface can be fixed with non-slip condition or can be a stress-free surface. Depending on these boundary conditions and on the Reynolds number, novel structures of recirculation zones are realized. The axisymmetric flow patterns are simulated numerically by a finite difference method. Experiments are done to visualize the topological structure of the flow pattern and to observe the existence ranges of the different recirculating flows. The comparison between theory and experiment shows good agreement with respect to the topological structure of the flow.
The free convection in a vertical gap is generalized to realize new analytical solutions of the Boussinesq-equations. The steady and time-dependent solutions for the temperature and velocity distribution are discussed in detail depending on the mass flux in vertical direction. The range of existence for flows with and without back flow is obtained. The transient behaviour of the solutions during the time-dependent development displays interesting physical behaviour.
Flows in nature and technology are often associated with specific structures and pattern. This paper deals with the development and behaviour of such flow pattern. Flow structures are important for the mass, momentum and energy transport. The behaviour of different flow pattern is used by engineers to obtain an efficient mass and energy consumption. Mechanical power is transmitted via the momentum of rotating machine parts. Therefore the physical and mathematical knowledge of these basic concepts is important. Theoretical and experimental investigations of principle experiments are described in the following. We start with the classical problem of the flow between two concentric cylinders where the inner cylinder rotates. Periodic instabilities occur which are called Taylor vortices. The analogy between the cylindrical gap flow, the heat transfer in a horizontal fluid layer exposed to the gravity field and the boundary layer flow along concave boundaries concerning their stability behaviour is addressed. The vortex breakdown phenomenon in a cylinder with rotating cover is also described. A generalization to spherical sectors leads then to investigations with different boundary conditions. The spherical gap flow exhibits interesting phenomena concerning the nonlinear character of the Navier-Stokes equations. Multiple solutions in the nonlinear regime give rise to different routes during the laminar-turbulent transition. The interaction of two rotating spheres results in flow structures with separation and stagnation lines. Experimental results are confirmed by numerical simulations.
Shapes and structures of vortex breakdown phenomena in rotating fluids are visualized. We investigate the flow in a cylindrical container and in a cone between two spherical surfaces. The primary swirling flow is induced by the rotating upper disk in the cylindrical case and by the lower boundary in the spherical case. The upper surface can be fixed with a no slip condition or can be a stress-free surface. Depending on these boundary conditions and on the Reynolds number novel structures of recirculation zones are realized. Experiments are done to visualize the topological structure of the flow and to determine their existence range as function of the geometry and rotation rate. A comparison between the experimental and theoretical approach shows a good agreement in respect to the topological structures of the flows.
Rotating flow systems are often used to study stability phenomena and structure developments. The closed spherical gap problem is generalized into an open flow system by superimposing a mass flux in meridional direction. The basic solutions at low Reynolds numbers are described by analytical methods. The nonlinear supercritical solutions are simulated numerically and realized in experiments. Novel steady and time-dependent modes of flows are obtained. The extensive results concern the stability behaviour, non-uniqueness of supercritical solutions, symmetry behaviour and transitions between steady and time-dependent solutions. The experimental investigations concern the visualization of the various instabilities and the quatitative description of the flow structures including the laminar-turbulent transition. A comparison between theoretical and experimental results shows good agreement within the limit of rotational symmetric solutions from the theory.
Jürgen Zierep passed away on July 29, 2021, at the age of 92. To him, science and education was not only a profession, but an affair of the heart. His impressive contributions in fluid mechanics comprise about 200 scientific publications in the fields of gas dynamics, similarity laws, flow instabilities, flows with energy transfer, and non-Newtonian fluids. In addition, he wrote eleven textbooks with great dedication. Those books by the “scientist who loves to teach” are nowadays available in different languages and regularly appear in new editions.
Within this work, the benefits of using predictive control methods for the operation of Adsorption Cooling Machines (ACMs) are shown on a simulation study. Since the internal control decisions of series-manufactured ACMs often cannot be influenced, the work focuses on optimized scheduling of an ACM considering its internal functioning as well as forecasts for load and driving energy occurrence. For illustration, an assumed solar thermal climate system is introduced and a system model suitable for use within gradient-based optimization methods is developed. The results of a system simulation using a conventional scheme for ACM scheduling are compared to the results of a predictive, optimization-based scheduling approach for the same exemplary scenario of load and driving energy occurrence. The benefits of the latter approach are shown and future actions for application of these methods for system control are addressed.
Electrolyte-gated thin-film transistors (EGTs) with indium oxide channel, and expected lifetime of three months, enable low-voltage operation (~1 V) in the field of printed electronics (PEs). The channel width of our printed EGTs is varied between 200 and 1000 μm, whereas a channel length between 10 and 100 μm is used. Due to the lack of uniform performance p-type metal oxide semiconductors, n-type EGTs and passive elements are used to design circuits. For logic gates, transistor-resistor logic has been employed so far, but depletion and enhancement-mode EGTs in a transistor-transistor logic boost the circuit performance in terms of delay and signal swing. In this article, the threshold voltage of the EGT, which determines the operation mode, is tuned through sizing of the EGTs channel geometry. The feasibility of both transistor operation modes is demonstrated for logic gates and ring oscillators. An inverter operating at a supply voltage of 1 V shows a maximum gain of 9.6 and a propagation delay time of 0.7 ms, which represents an improvement of ~ 2x for the gain and oscillation frequency, in comparison with the resistor-transistor logic design. Moreover, the power consumption is reduced by 6x.
Electrolyte-Gated Field-Effect Transistors Based on Oxide Semiconductors: Fabrication and Modeling
(2017)
Printed electronics offers certain technological advantages over its silicon based counterparts, such as mechanical flexibility, low process temperatures, maskless and additive manufacturing process, leading to extremely low cost manufacturing. However, to be exploited in applications such as smart sensors, Internet of Things and wearables, it is essential that the printed devices operate at low supply voltages. Electrolyte gated field effect transistors (EGFETs) using solution-processed inorganic materials which are fully printed using inkjet printers at low temperatures are very promising candidates to provide such solutions. In this paper, we discuss the technology, process, modeling, fabrication, and design aspect of circuits based on EGFETs. We show how the measurements performed in the lab can accurately be modeled in order to be integrated in the design automation tool flow in the form of a Process Design Kit (PDK). We also review some of the remaining challenges in this technology and discuss our future directions to address them.
Oxide semiconductors have the potential to increase the performance of inkjet printed microelectronic devices such as field-effect transistors (FETs), due to their high electron mobilities. Typical metal oxides are n-type semiconductors, while p-type oxides, although realizable, exhibit lower carriermobilities. Therefore, the circuit design based on oxide semiconductors is mostly in n-type logic only. Here we present an inkjet printed pn-diode based on p- and n-type oxide semiconductors.Copper oxide or nickel oxide is used as p-typesemiconductor whereas n-typesemiconductor is realized with indium oxide. Themeasurements show that the pn-diodes operate in the voltage window typical for printed electronics and the emission coefficient is 1.505 and 2.199 for the copper oxide based and nickel oxidebased pn-diode, respectively.Furthermore, a pn-diode model is developed and integrable into a circuit simulator.
In the domain of printed electronics (PE), field-effect transistors (FETs) with an oxide semiconductor channel are very promising. In particular, the use of high gate-capacitance of the composite solid polymer electrolytes (CSPEs) as a gate-insulator ensures extremely low voltage requirements. Besides high gate capacitance, such CSPEs are proven to be easily printable, stable in air over wide temperature ranges, and possess high ion conductivity. These CSPEs can be sensitive to moisture, especially for high surface-to-volume ratio printed thin films. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive experimental study on the effect of humidity on CSPE-gated single transistors. At the circuit level, the performance of ring oscillators (ROs) has been compared for various humidity conditions. The experimental results of the electrolyte-gated FETs (EGFETs) demonstrate rather comparable currents between 30%-90% humidity levels. However, the shifted transistor parameters lead to a significant performance change of the RO frequency behavior. The study in this paper shows the need of an impermeable encapsulation for the CSPE-gated FETs to ensure identical performance at all humidity conditions.
Printed electrolyte-gated oxide electronics is an emerging electronic technology in the low voltage regime (≤1 V). Whereas in the past mainly dielectrics have been used for gating the transistors, many recent approaches employ the advantages of solution processable, solid polymer electrolytes, or ion gels that provide high gate capacitances produced by a Helmholtz double layer, allowing for low-voltage operation. Herein, with special focus on work performed at KIT recent advances in building electronic circuits based on indium oxide, n-type electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGFETs) are reviewed. When integrated into ring oscillator circuits a digital performance ranging from 250 Hz at 1 V up to 1 kHz is achieved. Sequential circuits such as memory cells are also demonstrated. More complex circuits are feasible but remain challenging also because of the high variability of the printed devices. However, the device inherent variability can be even exploited in security circuits such as physically unclonable functions (PUFs), which output a reliable and unique, device specific, digital response signal. As an overall advantage of the technology all the presented circuits can operate at very low supply voltages (0.6 V), which is crucial for low-power printed electronics applications.
Skills, abilities and capability of our freshmen are increasingly heterogeneous, regarding age, attained levels of education and motivational aspects. Additionally, students tend to recoil from subjects dealing with mathematical backgrounds. As a result high, drop-out numbers are a huge problem in technical degree programs.
Since mechanics is based on physics and mathematics our students face enormous difficulties. To deal with them, a form of teaching and learning has been developed that is composed of the following arrangements:
1. Problems and tasks of different levels are solved during lessons. The access to theoretical issues is being developed by or rather as a result of solving these problems. By doing so, especially students with yet insufficient skills are enabled to develop their methodological skills.
2. Challenging students to independently transfer these skills on other problems is helpful. At the end of each lecture two students are selected randomly. Each of them is faced with an exercise they have to solve and present at the beginning of the next lecture. Because of small student numbers, chances are high that every student participates at least once by the end of semester. Surveys show that particularly weaker students benefit from that kind of model learning.
3. We are surrounded by mechanical issues. Given that, students are presented with “every-day-life” problems which students can apply their theoretical knowledge on. The problems are analyzed by groups of students, which leads to an enhanced and reflective perception of each and every one. Some examples are: “A broomstick in equilibrium”, “Sensitive cups”, “Transforming a roman basilica into a gothic cathedral”.
4. All lectures have been filmed by the staff of the Information Center of the Offenburg University during the previous term. Additionally to the notes taken by the students individually during the lectures, these recordings are helpful in the process of preparation and post-processing of the material. The recordings are accessible via the university’s learning management system “Moodle”.
Surveys show that students benefit from the great variety of the provided, interactive learning arrangements. It is interesting to discover that students not only take positive advantages in the lecture “mechanics 1/statics” but tend to transfer these positive experiences on other subjects.
Lithium-ion batteries play a vital role in a society more and more affected by the spectre of climate change: hence the need of lowering CO2 emissions and reducing the fossil fuel consumption. At the moment, lithium-ion batteries appear as the ideal candidates for this challenge but further research and development is required to understand their behaviour, predict their issues and therefore improve their performance. In this regard, mathematical modelling and numerical simulation have become standard techniques in lithium-ion battery research and development and have proven to be highly useful in supporting experimental work and increasing the predictability of model-based life expectancy.
This study focuses on the electrochemical ageing reactions at the anode, especially on the topic of lithium plating and its interaction with the solid electrolyte interface (SEI). The purpose of this work is a deeper understanding of these degradation processes through the construction of refined modelling frameworks and the analysis of simulations carried out over a wide range of operating conditions. The governing equations are implemented in the in-house multiphysics software package DENIS, while the electrochemistry model is based on the use of the open-source chemical kinetics code CANTERA.
The development, parameterisation and experimental validation of a comprehensive pseudo-three-dimensional multiphysics model of a commercial lithium-ion cell with blend cathode and graphite anode is presented. This model is able to describe and simulate both multiscale heat and mass transport and complex electrochemical reaction mechanisms, including also as extra feature the capability of reproducing a composite electrode where multiple active materials are subject to intercalation/deintercalation reaction.
A further extension to include reversible lithium plating process and predict ageing behaviour over a wide range of conditions, with a focus on the high currents and low temperatures particularly interesting for the fast charging topic, follows. This extended model is verified by comparison with published experimental data showing voltage plateau and voltage drop as plating indicators and optionally includes an explicit re-intercalation reaction that is shown to suppress macroscopic plating hints in the specific case of a cell not showing evident plating signs. This model is used to create degradation maps over a wide range of conditions and an in-depth spatiotemporal analysis of the anode behaviour at the mesoscopic and microscopic scales, demonstrating the dynamic and nonlinear interaction between the intercalation and plating reactions.
A deeper outlook on the SEI formation and growth is presented, together with the qualitative description of three different 1D-models with a decreasing level of detail, developed with the purpose of ideally being included in future in more comprehensive multiscale frameworks.
Finally, the extended model is successfully coupled with a previously developed SEI model to result in an original modelling framework able to simulate both degradation processes and their continuous positive feedback.
Objective: This paper deals with the design and the optimization of mechatronic devices.
Introduction: Comparing with existing works, the design approach presented in this paper aims to integrate optimization in the design phase of complex mechatronic systems in order to increase the efficiency of this method.
Methods: To solve this problem, a novel mechatronic system design approach has been developed in order to take the multidisciplinary aspect and to consider optimization as a tool that can be used within the embodiment design process to build mechatronic solutions from a set of solution concepts designed with innovative or routine design methods.
Conclusions: This approach has then been applied to the design and optimization of a wind turbine system that can be implemented to autonomously supply a mountain cottage.
Process engineering focuses on the design, operation, control and optimization of chemical, physical and biological processes and has applications in many industries. Process Intensification is the key development approach in the modern process engineering. The proposed Advanced Innovation Design Approach (AIDA) combines the holistic innovation process with the systematic analytical and problem solving tools of the theory of inventive problem solving TRIZ. The present paper conceptualizes the AIDA application in the field of process engineering and especially in combination with the Process Intensification. It defines the AIDA innovation algorithm for process engineering and describes process mapping, problem ranking, and concept design techniques. The approach has been validated in several industrial case studies. The presented research work is a part of the European project “Intensified by Design® platform for the intensification of processes involving solids handling”.
Process engineering (PE) focuses on the design, operation, control and optimization of chemical, physical and biological processes and has applications in many industries. Process intensification (PI) is the key development approach in the modern process engineering. The theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) is today considered as the most comprehensive and systematically organized invention knowledge and creative thinking methodology. This paper analyses the opportunities of TRIZ application in PE and especially in combination with PI. In this context the paper outlines the major challenges for TRIZ application in PE, conceptualizes a possible TRIZ-based approach for process intensification and problem solving in PE, and defines the corresponding research agenda. It also presents the results of the original empirical innovation research in the field of solid handling in the ceramic industry, demonstrates a method for identification and prediction of contradictions and introduces the concept of the probability of contradiction occurrence. Additionally, it describes a technique of process mapping that is based on the function and multi-screen analysis of the processes. This technique is illustrated by a case study dealing with granulation process. The research work presented in this paper is a part of the European project “Intensified by Design® platform for the intensification of processes involving solids handling”.
First year Business Administration students tend to regard themselves as “non-computer scientists” and often have a lack of motivation about taking IT courses in general, either because they perceive them as too technical, too difficult or somewhat irrelevant. In an attempt to counteract this perception and increase the levels of engagement and willing attendance to class, we decided to flip the traditional lecture model and develop a new teaching and learning approach for the IT Fundamentals course using an open source Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system as the platform from which to draw the various underlying IT concepts and through which the relevant competences can be acquired.
This paper describes the implementation process of this new contextualized learning framework “IT via ERP” and the changes in the didactical methods to support it.
Due to its performance, the field of deep learning has gained a lot of attention, with neural networks succeeding in areas like Computer Vision (CV), Neural Language Processing (NLP), and Reinforcement Learning (RL). However, high accuracy comes at a computational cost as larger networks require longer training time and no longer fit onto a single GPU. To reduce training costs, researchers are looking into the dynamics of different optimizers, in order to find ways to make training more efficient. Resource requirements can be limited by reducing model size during training or designing more efficient models that improve accuracy without increasing network size.
This thesis combines eigenvalue computation and high-dimensional loss surface visualization to study different optimizers and deep neural network models. Eigenvectors of different eigenvalues are computed, and the loss landscape and optimizer trajectory are projected onto the plane spanned by those eigenvectors. A new parallelization method for the stochastic Lanczos method is introduced, resulting in faster computation and thus enabling high-resolution videos of the trajectory and secondorder information during neural network training. Additionally, the thesis presents the loss landscape between two minima along with the eigenvalue density spectrum at intermediate points for the first time.
Secondly, this thesis presents a regularization method for Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) that uses second-order information. The gradient during training is modified by subtracting the eigenvector direction of the biggest eigenvalue, preventing the network from falling into the steepest minima and avoiding mode collapse. The thesis also shows the full eigenvalue density spectra of GANs during training.
Thirdly, this thesis introduces ProxSGD, a proximal algorithm for neural network training that guarantees convergence to a stationary point and unifies multiple popular optimizers. Proximal gradients are used to find a closed-form solution to the problem of training neural networks with smooth and non-smooth regularizations, resulting in better sparsity and more efficient optimization. Experiments show that ProxSGD can find sparser networks while reaching the same accuracy as popular optimizers.
Lastly, this thesis unifies sparsity and neural architecture search (NAS) through the framework of group sparsity. Group sparsity is achieved through ℓ2,1-regularization during training, allowing for filter and operation pruning to reduce model size with minimal sacrifice in accuracy. By grouping multiple operations together, group sparsity can be used for NAS as well. This approach is shown to be more robust while still achieving competitive accuracies compared to state-of-the-art methods
Current training methods for deep neural networks boil down to very high dimensional and non-convex optimization problems which are usually solved by a wide range of stochastic gradient descent methods. While these approaches tend to work in practice, there are still many gaps in the theoretical understanding of key aspects like convergence and generalization guarantees, which are induced by the properties of the optimization surface (loss landscape). In order to gain deeper insights, a number of recent publications proposed methods to visualize and analyze the otimization surfaces. However, the computational cost of these methods are very high, making it hardly possible to use them on larger networks. In this paper, we present the GradVis Toolbox, an open source library for efficient and scalable visualization and analysis of deep neural network loss landscapes in Tesorflow and PyTorch. Introducing more efficient mathematical formulations and a novel parallelization scheme, GradVis allows to plot 2d and 3d projections of optimization surfaces and trajectories, as well as high resolution second order gradient information for large networks.
In this paper, we propose a unified approach for network pruning and one-shot neural architecture search (NAS) via group sparsity. We first show that group sparsity via the recent Proximal Stochastic Gradient Descent (ProxSGD) algorithm achieves new state-of-the-art results for filter pruning. Then, we extend this approach to operation pruning, directly yielding a gradient-based NAS method based on group sparsity. Compared to existing gradient-based algorithms such as DARTS, the advantages of this new group sparsity approach are threefold. Firstly, instead of a costly bilevel optimization problem, we formulate the NAS problem as a single-level optimization problem, which can be optimally and efficiently solved using ProxSGD with convergence guarantees. Secondly, due to the operation-level sparsity, discretizing the network architecture by pruning less important operations can be safely done without any performance degradation. Thirdly, the proposed approach finds architectures that are both stable and well-performing on a variety of search spaces and datasets.
We demonstrate how to exploit group sparsity in order to bridge the areas of network pruning and neural architecture search (NAS). This results in a new one-shot NAS optimizer that casts the problem as a single-level optimization problem and does not suffer any performance degradation from discretizating the architecture.
The use of artificial intelligence continues to impact a broad variety of domains, application areas, and people. However, interpretability, understandability, responsibility, accountability, and fairness of the algorithms' results - all crucial for increasing humans' trust into the systems - are still largely missing. The purpose of this seminar is to understand how these components factor into the holistic view of trust. Further, this seminar seeks to identify design guidelines and best practices for how to build interactive visualization systems to calibrate trust.
A Nonlinear FEM Model to Calculate Third-Order Harmonic and Intermodulation in TC-SAW Devices
(2018)
Nonlinearities in Temperature Compensated SAW (TC-SAW) devices in the 2 GHz range are investigated using a nonlinear finite element model by simultaneously considering both third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD3)and third harmonic (H3). In the employed perturbation approach, different contributions to the total H3, the direct and indirect contribution, are discussed. H3 and IMD3 measurements were fitted simultaneously using scaling factors for SiO 2 film and Cu electrode nonlinear material tensors in TC-SAW devices. We employ a P-Matrix simulation as intermediate step: Firstly, measurement and nonlinear P-Matrix calculations for finite devices are compared and coefficients of the P-Matrix simulation are determined. The nonlinear tensor data of the different materials involved in periodic nonlinear finite element method (FEM) computations are optimized to fit periodic P-Matrix calculations by introducing scaling factors. Thus, the contribution of different materials to the nonlinear behavior of TC-SAW devices is obtained and the role of materials is discussed.
The growing complexity in RF front-ends, which support carrier aggregation and a growing number of frequency bands, leads to tightened nonlinearity requirements in all sub-components. The generation of third order intermodulation products (IMD3) are typical problems caused by the non-linearity of SAW devices. In the present work, we investigate temperature compensating (TC) SAW devices on Lithium Niobate-rot128YX. An accurate FEM simulation model [1] is employed, which allows to better understand the origin of nonlinearities in such acoustic devices.
Nonlinearity can give rise to intermodulation distortions in surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices operating at high input power levels. To understand such undesired effects, a finite element method (FEM) simulation model in combination with a perturbation theory is applied to find out the role of different materials and higher order nonlinear tensor data for the nonlinearities in such acoustic devices. At high power, the SAW devices containing metal, piezoelectric substrate, and temperature compensating (TC) layers are subject to complicated geometrical, material, and other nonlinearities. In this paper, third-order nonlinearities in TC-SAW devices are investigated. The materials used are LiNbO 3 -rot128YX as the substrate and copper electrodes covered with a SiO 2 film as the TC layer. An effective nonlinearity constant for a given system is determined by comparison of nonlinear P-matrix simulations to third-order intermodulation measurements of test filters in a first step. By employing these constants from different systems, i.e., different metallization ratios, in nonlinear periodic P-matrix simulations, a direct comparison to nonlinear periodic FEM-simulations yields scaling factors for the materials used. Thus, the contribution of the different materials to the nonlinear behavior of TC-SAW devices is obtained and the role of metal electrodes, substrate, and TC film are discussed in detail.
In the present work, nonlinearities in temperature compensating (TC) SAW devices are investigated. The materials used are LiNbO₃-rot128YX as the substrate and Copper electrodes covered with a SiO₂-layer as the compensating layer. In order to understand the role of these materials for the nonlinearities in such acoustic devices, a FEM simulation model in combination with a perturbation approach is applied. The nonlinear tensor data of the different materials involved in TC-SAW devices have been taken from literature, but were partially modified to fit experimental data by introducing scaling factors. An effective nonlinearity constant is determined by comparison of nonlinear P-matrix simulations to IMD3 measurements of test filters. By employing these constants in nonlinear periodic P-matrix simulations a direct comparison to nonlinear periodic FEM-simulations yields the scaling factors for the material used. Thus, the contribution of different materials to the nonlinear behavior of TC-SAW devices is obtained and the role of metal electrodes is discussed in detail.
Design of next-generation cdma using orthogonal complementary codes and offset stacked spreading
(2007)
This article presents an innovative code-division multiple access system architecture that is based on orthogonal complementary spreading codes and time-frequency domain spreading. The architecture has several advantages compared to conventional CDMA systems. Specifically, it offers multiple-access-interference-free operation in AWGN channels, reduces co-channel interference significantly, and has the potential for higher capacity and spectral efficiency than conventional CDMA systems. This is accomplished by using an "offset stacked" spreading modulation technique followed by quadrature amplitude modulation, which optimizes performance in a fading environment. This new spreading modulation scheme also simplifies the rate matching algorithms relevant for multimedia services and IP-based applications.
Flashcards are a well known and proven method to learn and memorise. Such a way of learning is perfectly suited for “learning on the way,” but carrying all the flashcards could be awkward. In this scenario, a mobile device (mobile phone) is an adequate solution. The new mobile device operating system Android from Google allows for writing multimedia-enriched applications.
The developed solution enables the presentation of animations and 3D virtual reality (VR) on mobile devices and is well suited for mobile learning, thus creating new possibilities in the area of e-learning worldwide. Difficult relations in physics as well as intricate experiments in optics can be visualised on mobile devices without need for a personal computer.
“Today’s network landscape consists of quite different network technologies, wide range of end-devices with large scale of capabilities and power, and immense quantity of information and data represented in different formats” [9]. A lot of efforts are being done in order to establish open, scalable and seamless integration of various technologies and content presentation for different devices including mobile considering individual situation of the end user. This is very difficult because various kinds of devices used by different users or in different times/parallel by the same user which is not predictable and have to be recognized by the system in order to know device capabilities. Not only the devices but also Content and User Interfaces are big issues because they could include different kinds of data format like text, image, audio, video, 3D Virtual Reality data and upcoming other formats. Language Learning Game (LLG) is such an example of a device independent application where different kinds of devices and data formats, as a content of a flashcard is used for a collaborative learning. The idea of this game is to create a short story in a foreign language by using mobile devices. The story is developed by a group of participants by exchanging sentences/data via a flashcard system. This way the participants can learn from each other by knowledge sharing without fear of making mistakes because the group members are anonymous. Moreover they do not need a constant support from a teacher.
The invention concerns a method for spectrum monitoring a given frequency band, in which the spectral power density (S(f)) within the given frequency band is determined for all noise and signal components in the frequency band and, in order to detect the presence of one or more signals within the given frequency band, it is evaluated whether the spectral power density (S(f)) exceeds a threshold value (&lgr;). According to the invention, the threshold value (&lgr;) is calculated in accordance with an estimation of a distribution density (hR(S)) for the noise component of the spectral power density (S(f)) within the given frequency band and in accordance with a predefined value for the false-alarm probability (Pfa).
Wood juice, a liquid produced during wood processing, is a harmful waste that requires utilization. To achieve a circular economy, biowastes should be recycled, reducing fossil carbon usage. Therefore, the objective of this work was to examine the potential of wood juice as a feedstock for bioplastic synthesis by Bacillus sp. G8_19. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) syntheses using wood juice from Douglas fir trees and that from a mixture of spruce/fir trees were compared. It was found that the PHA content was higher after using wood juice from spruce/fir trees than that from Douglas fir trees (18.0% vs 6.1% of cell dry mass). Gas chromatography analysis showed that, with both wood juices, Bacillus sp. G8_19 accumulated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate). The content of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) monomers was higher when spruce/fir wood juice was used (10.7% vs 1.9%). The C/N ratio did not have a statistically significant effect on the copolymer content in biomass, but it did significantly influence the 3HV content. The proposed concept may serve as an approach to wood waste valorization via production of biodegradable materials.
We present a novel scheme for Slotted ALOHA random access systems that combines physical-layer network coding (PLNC) with multiuser detection (MUD). The PLNC and MUD are applied jointly at the physical layer to be able to extract any linear combination of messages experiencing a collision within a slot. The set of combinations extracted from a whole frame is then processed by the receiver to recover the original packets. A simple precoding stage at the transmitting terminals allows the receiver to further decrease the packet loss rate. We present results for the decoding at the physical layer as well as several performance measures at frame level, namely, throughput, packet loss rate, and energy efficiency. The results we present are promising and suggest that a cross-layer approach leveraging on the joint use of PLNC and MUD can significantly improve the performance of random access systems in the presence of slow fading.
The title expresses goals the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) has been working toward for some time. This report extends concepts and objectives developed while working on an earlier effort for effective interactive digital maps on the Internet. That work was reported to the 1998 DMT Workshop in Champaign, Illinois (Ross, 1998). The current project goes beyond previous efforts that focused on methods for serving the contents of a geographic information system (GIS); the points, lines, and polygons representing features of the digital geologic map and the data in the attribute tables of the GIS describing those features.
The current methods used to assess the energy performance of ventilation devices do not consider all the aspects necessary for a comprehensive evaluation of decentralised ventilation concepts and can only be partially adapted to their needs. In order to improve the energy evaluation and to ensure the comparability of different systems, a calorimetric method was developed and implemented in test facilities for the evaluation of two decentralised devices: one equipped with a recuperative counter flow heat exchanger and one with a regenerative heat exchanger. This method, based on direct measurements of the heating load in an insulated test room, includes the effect of the electrical consumption of the fans on the energy performance of the ventilation devices. The calorimetric evaluation method was extended to a seasonal evaluation on the basis of a heating-degree-day method implemented for a warm, a cool and a moderate location in Europe: Athens, Strasbourg and Copenhagen. All the results are above 50% efficiency for both devices, even in Athens where the use of heat recovery ventilation is not usual.
This paper presents an overview of the coding aspects of a GNSS receiver. Coding allows detection and correction of channel-induced errors at the receiver, here the focus is on the mitigation of threats from malicious interferences. Although the effects of interference at different stages of GNSS baseband processing has been deeply analyzed in the literature, little attention was devoted to its impact on the navigation message decoding stage. Theis paper provides an introduction to the various coding schemes employed by current GNSS signals, discussing their performance in the presence of noise in terms of block-error rate. Additionally, the benefits of soft-decoding schemes for navigation message decoding are highlighted when jamming interferences are present. The proposed scheme requires estimating the noise plus interference power, yielding to enhanced decoding performances under severe jamming conditions. Finally, cryptographic schemes as a means of providing anti-spoofing for geosecurity location-based services, and their potential vulnerability are discussed, with particular emphasis on the dependence on the dependence of the scheme on successful navigation message decoding
Member Lens
(2013)
The paper will focus on the activities of the International Year of Light and Optical Technologies 2015 (IYL) with their impact in life, science, art, culture, education and outreach as well as the importance in promoting the objectives for sustainable development. It describes our activities carried out in the run-up to or during the IYL, as well as reports on the generic projects that led to the success of the IYL. The success of the IYL is illustrated by examples and statistics. Relating to the potential and success of the IYL, the impact and the genesis of the International Day of Light (IDL) is presented. Impressions from the opening ceremony of the IYL in Paris at UNESCO headquarters and the Inaugural Ceremony of the IDL will then be covered. A second focus is placed on the interdisciplinary media projects realized by the students of our university dedicated to these events. Finally, an analysis of the impact and legacy of IYL and IDL will be presented.
Optical Möbius Strip
(2011)
After Image
(2013)
The University for Children is a very successful event aiming to spark children‧s interest in science, in this particular lecture in Optics and Photonics. It is from brain research that we know about the significant dependence of successful learning on the fun factor. Researchers in this field have shown that knowledge acquired with fun is stored for a longer time in the long-term memory and can be used both more efficiently and more creatively [1], [2]. Such an opportunity to inspire the young generation for science must not be wasted. The world of Photonics and Optics provides us with a nearly inexhaustible source of opportunities of this kind.
This paper focuses on the effects of differential mode delay (DMD) on the bandwidth of multimode optical fibres. First an analytical solution for the computation of the differential mode time delay is presented. The electrical field of each mode is calculated by the numerical solution of the Helmholtz equation. Based on this solution the modal power distribution as well as the fibre's impulse response under different launching conditions can be obtained.
Next, the refractive-index profile of two fibres is modelled on the basis of DMD measurements. It is shown that these measurements provide enough information to predict the fibre's propagation characteristics under different launch conditions (excitation conditions).
The United Nations have declared 2015 as the International Year of Light (IYL2015) and light-based technologies [1]. As a main result, the public interest is focused on both the achievements and the new frontiers of optics and photonics. This opens up new perspectives in the teaching and training of optics and photonics. In the first part of the paper, the author presents the numerous anniversaries occurring in the International Year of Light 2015 together with their importance to the development of science and technology. In the second part, we report on an interactive video projection at the opening ceremony of the IYL2015 in Paris on January 19-20, 2015. Students of Offenburg University have established an interactive video projection which visualizes Twitter and Facebook messages posted with the hashtag #iyl2015 in a mapping technique. Thus, the worldwide community can be interactively part of the opening ceremony. Finally, upcoming global community projects related to optics and astronomy events are presented.