Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Conference Proceeding (1253)
- Article (reviewed) (681)
- Bachelor Thesis (590)
- Article (unreviewed) (566)
- Part of a Book (458)
- Contribution to a Periodical (287)
- Book (241)
- Master's Thesis (200)
- Other (141)
- Working Paper (104)
Conference Type
- Konferenzartikel (950)
- Konferenz-Abstract (156)
- Konferenzband (77)
- Sonstiges (42)
- Konferenz-Poster (32)
Language
- German (2847)
- English (1966)
- Other language (5)
- Russian (3)
- Multiple languages (2)
- French (1)
- Spanish (1)
Keywords
- Mikroelektronik (62)
- Digitalisierung (46)
- Marketing (46)
- COVID-19 (37)
- Social Media (37)
- E-Learning (35)
- RoboCup (33)
- Kommunikation (32)
- Künstliche Intelligenz (32)
- Dünnschichtchromatographie (29)
Institute
- Fakultät Maschinenbau und Verfahrenstechnik (M+V) (1112)
- Fakultät Medien und Informationswesen (M+I) (bis 21.04.2021) (1103)
- Fakultät Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik (E+I) (bis 03/2019) (917)
- Fakultät Wirtschaft (W) (646)
- Fakultät Elektrotechnik, Medizintechnik und Informatik (EMI) (ab 04/2019) (552)
- Fakultät Medien (M) (ab 22.04.2021) (374)
- INES - Institut für nachhaltige Energiesysteme (244)
- ivESK - Institut für verlässliche Embedded Systems und Kommunikationselektronik (159)
- Zentrale Einrichtungen (81)
- IMLA - Institute for Machine Learning and Analytics (77)
Open Access
- Closed Access (1706)
- Open Access (1682)
- Closed (733)
- Bronze (343)
- Diamond (90)
- Gold (72)
- Hybrid (48)
- Grün (16)
Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is the most promising time-deterministic wired communication approach for industrial applications. To extend TSN to "IEEE 802.11" wireless networks two challenging problems must be solved: synchronization and scheduling. This paper is focused on the first one. Even though a few solutions already meet the required synchronization accuracies, they are built on expensive hardware that is not suited for mass market products. While next Wi-Fi generation might support the required functionalities, this paper proposes a novel method that makes possible high-precision wireless synchronization using commercial low-cost components. With the proposed solution, a standard deviation of synchronization error of less than 500 ns can be achieved for many use cases and system loads on both CPU and network. This performance is comparable to modern wired real-time field busses, which makes the developed method a significant contribution for the extension of the TSN protocol to the wireless domain.
Diese Arbeit umfasst erste Tests und die Inbetriebnahme eines neuen Prüfplatzes bei der QMK-GmbH. Der Prüfplatz selbst soll in der Lage sein, Leistungsshuntwiderstände kalibrieren zu können. Leistungsshuntwiderstände sind meist eher groß und schwer, damit durch viel Material die Wärmeentwicklung kompensiert werden kann. Zudem sind die Kontaktflächen dementsprechend groß, damit der Übergangswiderstand an den Kontaktflächen möglichst gering ist. Der Widerstandswert selbst ist sehr klein. Standardmäßig liegen Widerstände hier im Bereich von 10 bis 100 Ω. Um so kleine Widerstände möglichst genau messen zu können, muss technisch viel Aufwand betrieben werden. In der Regel wird dies mit einer Vierleitermessung realisiert. Leistungsshuntwiderstände werden aber generell mit einem eher hohen Strom im Bereich von 100 bis 10 000 . Mit dem neuen Prüfplatz soll dies auch umgesetzt werden. Die Widerstände sollen mithilfe von hohen Strömen bis 2 kA kalibriert werden, damit der, für den Prüfling, zutreffende Arbeitsbereich unter Berücksichtigung seiner Eigenerwärmung abgebildet werden kann. Für diese Anwendung wurde ein Prüfplatz entwickelt, der 2 kA zur Verfügung stellen kann und mithilfe eines genauen und kalibrierten Referenzwiderstandes den Widerstand des Kalibriergegenstandes ermitteln kann. Würde man den Aufbau messtechnisch beschreiben, so wird durch eine Konstantstromquelle ein Gleichstrom erzeugt, der beide in Reihe geschalteten Widerstände durchströmt. Damit ist der Strom an beiden Widerständen identisch und kann ermittelt werden. An den Widerständen wird gleichzeitig dessen Spannungsabfall gemessen. Mit dem ermittelten Strom kann anschließend über das Ohmsche Gesetz der „unbekannte“ Widerstandswert des Kalibriergegenstandes ermittelt werden. Dieser wird mit dem Sollwert seines Datenblattes verglichen und in einem Protokoll unter Berücksichtigung der eigenen Messunsicherheit bewertet. Die Messergebnisse werden nach der Messung bzw. Kalibrierung in einem Zertifikat zusammen gefasst, und dem Kunden ausgestellt.
Ziel der Arbeit ist es, eine Kalibriereinrichtung zu entwickeln und zu bewerten, die den Richtlinien und Grundlangen der DAkkS entspricht oder zumindest als Grundlage für eine Akkreditierung bei der DAkkS dient. In erster Linie, soll es mit der Kalibriereinrichtung möglich sein, ISO-Kalibrierungen nach der 9001 Norm durchzuführen und zu bewerten.
Infolge des stetigen Wandels auf den Märkten und der heutigen Gesellschaft durch die Digitalisierung verändern sich auch die Maßnahmen im Bereich Marketing (Kaiser 2019). In den Unternehmen befinden sich Marketingaktivitäten stetig in der Umwandlung, um sich den sich verändernden Gegebenheit anzupassen. Die vielfältigen Möglichkeiten, die das Internet heutzutage bietet, sind ein wesentlicher Grund dafür, dass Käufer und Verbraucher der klassischen Werbung immer weniger Vertrauen schenken und stattdessen Empfehlungen von Freunden, Bekannten oder Experte folgen (Kaiser 2019). Diese Entwicklung wird im digitalen Bereich durch die Influencer Kooperationen bedient. Mit der Ausweitung von Onlineangeboten haben sich die Grenzen der Unternehmenskommunikation immer weiter verschoben und umfassen nun neue Kommunikationspartner, die Influencer (Herzmann 2015, S. 9). Influencer sind sogenannte Meinungsführer und Multiplikatoren in den Sozialen Medien. Das Thema der Zusammenarbeit mit Influencern ist schon lange nichts Neues mehr. Wenn man als Unternehmen Aufmerksamkeit erlangen möchte, kann dies mit Hilfe von Meinungsmachern erreicht werden. Denn Influencer haben mehr als nur Reichweite zu bieten, sie haben echte Anhänger und Fans, die auf die Glaubwürdigkeit der Influencer vertrauen, wodurch eine enge Bindung entstehen kann. Infolgedessen, dass es neue Kooperationspartner gibt, müssen die Kommunikationsinhalte und -strukturen im Unternehmen anders aufbereitet werden. Wer sich für Influencer Kooperationen in der Kommunikation entscheidet, muss sich des Stellenwerts erst einmal bewusst werden. Denn insbesondere durch das Beziehungsmanagement zu Influencern kann die digitale Reputation aufgebaut werden und maßgeblich zum Erfolg der Organisation führen (Herzmann 2015, S. 11). Wer sein Produkt oder seine Marke voranbringen will und auf eine genaue Zielgruppe ausrichten möchte, kommt nicht um das Thema Influencer herum. Denn Meinungsmacher haben extrem viele Facetten und kommunizieren über Social Media Kanäle.
Aus Ideen werden Produkte
(2020)
Amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (IGZO) is a high-mobility semiconductor employed in modern thin-film transistors for displays and it is considered as a promising material for Schottky diode-based rectifiers. Properties of the electronic components based on IGZO strongly depend on the manufacturing parameters such as the oxygen partial pressure during IGZO sputtering and post-deposition thermal annealing. In this study, we investigate the combined effect of sputtering conditions of amorphous IGZO (In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1) and post-deposition thermal annealing on the properties of vertical thin-film Pt-IGZO-Cu Schottky diodes, and evaluated the applicability of the fabricated Schottky diodes for low-frequency half-wave rectifier circuits. The change of the oxygen content in the gas mixture from 1.64% to 6.25%, and post-deposition annealing is shown to increase the current rectification ratio from 10 5 to 10 7 at ±1 V, Schottky barrier height from 0.64 eV to 0.75 eV, and the ideality factor from 1.11 to 1.39. Half-wave rectifier circuits based on the fabricated Schottky diodes were simulated using parameters extracted from measured current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics. The half-wave rectifier circuits were realized at 100 kHz and 300 kHz on as-fabricated Schottky diodes with active area of 200 μm × 200 μm, which is relevant for the near-field communication (125 kHz - 134 kHz), and provided the output voltage amplitude of 0.87 V for 2 V supply voltage. The simulation results matched with the measurement data, verifying the model accuracy for circuit level simulation.
Dem Titel gemäß behandelt die vorliegende Arbeit das Themenfeld der digitalen Zahlungssysteme und deren Auswirkungen auf die deutsche Volkswirtschaft, um festzustellen, ob diese Auswirkungen weiterführend einen Einfluss auf den Umgang der deutschen Bevölkerung mit ihrem Geld haben.
Die Themenfindung beruht auf zwei Motiven. Das erste ist ein besonderes persönliches Interesse an den Entwicklungen in unserer deutschen Volkswirtschaft. Das zweite Motiv ist herauszufinden, ob ein spezielles Verhalten beim Menschen durch die Versuchung zu erklären ist, sich bei Zahlungsdiensten wie z.B. „PayPal“ für den Online-Handel zu registrieren, oder per „ApplePay“ „mal eben schnell“ mit dem Smartphone im Einzelhandel seinen Wochenendeinkauf zu bezahlen. Die Anzahl dieser Dienste verzeichnet ein stetiges Wachstum und die Kooperationen der Dienstleister mit den Banken gewannen innerhalb der letzten Jahre zunehmend an Bedeutung. Doch wie beeinflusst all dies das Konsumverhalten des Konsumenten und dessen Einstellung zum Geld?
Zur Beantwortung dieser Frage behandelt vorliegende Arbeit verschiedene Angebote von Zahlungsdiensten, sowie deren technische Hintergründe. Um eine Übersicht in die reellen Auswirkungen der digitalen Zahlungsdienste zu erhalten, wurden Experten-Interviews durchgeführt. Die erste Interviewpartnerin arbeitet in einer Dienstleistungsfirma, die Zahlungsdienste und Services an Unternehmen verkauft. Durch den zweiten Interviewpartner, welcher aus dem Einzelhandel kommt, konnten wertvolle/fachkundige Einblicke in den B2B und B2C Markt gewonnen werden. Er hat dabei die unterschiedlichen Einflüsse auf den stationären Handel, sowie auf den Online-Handel aufgezeigt. An dieser Stelle ist zu erwähnen, dass die aus den Interviews gewonnen Erkenntnisse keine repräsentativen Ergebnisse sind und lediglich subjektive Sichtweisen der einzelnen Interviewpartner darstellen.
Modern society is more than ever striving for digital connectivity -- everywhere and at any time, giving rise to megatrends such as the Internet of Things (IoT). Already today, 'things' communicate and interact autonomously with each other and are managed in networks. In the future, people, data, and things will be interlinked, which is also referred to as the Internet of Everything (IoE). Billions of devices will be ubiquitously present in our everyday environment and are being connected over the Internet.
As an emerging technology, printed electronics (PE) is a key enabler for the IoE offering novel device types with free form factors, new materials, and a wide range of substrates that can be flexible, transparent, as well as biodegradable. Furthermore, PE enables new degrees of freedom in circuit customizability, cost-efficiency as well as large-area fabrication at the point of use.
These unique features of PE complement conventional silicon-based technologies. Additive manufacturing processes enable the realization of many envisioned applications such as smart objects, flexible displays, wearables in health care, green electronics, to name but a few.
From the perspective of the IoE, interconnecting billions of heterogeneous devices and systems is one of the major challenges to be solved. Complex high-performance devices interact with highly specialized lightweight electronic devices, such as e.g. smartphones and smart sensors. Data is often measured, stored, and shared continuously with neighboring devices or in the cloud. Thereby, the abundance of data being collected and processed raises privacy and security concerns.
Conventional cryptographic operations are typically based on deterministic algorithms requiring high circuit and system complexity, which makes them unsuitable for lightweight devices.
Many applications do exist, where strong cryptographic operations are not required, such as e.g. in device identification and authentication. Thereby, the security level mainly depends on the quality of the entropy source and the trustworthiness of the derived keys. Statistical properties such as the uniqueness of the keys are of great importance to precisely distinguish between single entities.
In the past decades, hardware-intrinsic security, particularly physically unclonable functions (PUFs), gained a lot of attraction to provide security features for IoT devices. PUFs use their inherent variations to derive device-specific unique identifiers, comparable to fingerprints in biometry.
The potentials of this technology include the use of a true source of randomness, on demand key derivation, as well as inherent key storage.
Combining these potentials with the unique features of PE technology opens up new opportunities to bring security to lightweight electronic devices and systems. Although PE is still far from being matured and from being as reliable as silicon technology, in this thesis we show that PE-based PUFs are promising candidates to provide key derivation suitable for device identification in the IoE.
Thereby, this thesis is primarily concerned with the development, investigation, and assessment of PE-based PUFs to provide security functionalities to resource constrained printed devices and systems.
As a first contribution of this thesis, we introduce the scalable PE-based Differential Circuit PUF (DiffC-PUF) design to provide secure keys to be used in security applications for resource constrained printed devices. The DiffC-PUF is designed as a hybrid system architecture incorporating silicon-based and inkjet-printed components. We develop an embedded PUF platform to enable large-scale characterization of silicon and printed PUF cores.
In the second contribution of this thesis, we fabricate silicon PUF cores based on discrete components and perform statistical tests under realistic operating conditions. A comprehensive experimental analysis on the PUF security metrics is carried out. The results show that the silicon-based DiffC-PUF exhibits nearly ideal values for the uniqueness and reliability metrics. Furthermore, the identification capabilities of the DiffC-PUF are investigated and it is shown that additional post-processing can further improve the quality of the identification system.
In the third contribution of this thesis, we firstly introduce an evaluation workflow to simulate PE-based DiffC-PUFs, also called hybrid PUFs. Hereof, we introduce a Python-based simulation environment to investigate the characteristics and variations of printed PUF cores based on Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. The simulation results show, that the security metrics to be expected from the fabricated devices are close to ideal at the best operating point.
Secondly, we employ fabricated printed PUF cores for statistical tests under varying operating conditions including variations in ambient temperature, relative humidity, and supply voltage. The evaluations of the uniqueness, bit aliasing, and uniformity metrics are in good agreement with the simulation results. The experimentally determined mean reliability value is relatively low, which can be explained by the missing passivation and encapsulation of the printed transistors. The investigation of the identification capabilities based on the raw PUF responses shows that the pure hybrid PUF is not suitable for cryptographic applications, but qualifies for device identification tasks.
The final contribution is to switch to the perspective of an attacker. To judge on the security capabilities of the hybrid PUF, a comprehensive security analysis in the manner of a cryptanalysis is performed. The analysis of the entropy of the hybrid PUF shows that its vulnerability against model-based attacks mainly depends on the selected challenge building method. Furthermore, an attack methodology is introduced to assess the performances of different mathematical cloning attacks on the basis of eavesdropped challenge-response pairs (CRPs). To clone the hybrid PUF, a sorting algorithm is introduced and compared with commonly used supervised machine learning (ML) classifiers including logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), as well as multi-layer perceptron (MLP).
The results show that the hybrid PUF is vulnerable against model-based attacks. The sorting algorithm benefits from shorter training times compared to the ML algorithms. If the eavesdropped CRPs are erroneous, the ML algorithms outperform the sorting algorithm.
Das im Rahmen psychosomatischer und neurologischer Grundlagenforschung an der Uniklinik Heidelberg entwickelte Experimentalsystem der „zweigriffigen Baumsäge“ kann als bio-kybernetisches Experimentalsystem erster Stunde bezeichnet werden. Der Psychosomatiker und Philosoph Martin Dornberg und der Medienkünstler Daniel Fetzner diskutieren in einem Gespräch Kontexte und Folgen der um den Heidelberger Psychosomatiker Victor v. Weizsäcker in den 1940/1950er Jahren durchgeführten medizinischen Experimente in den Bereichen von Medizin und Psychotherapie einerseits, aber auch in den Technik- und Medienwissenschaften, der Kybernetik und der Medienkunst. Herausgearbeitet werden Querbezüge zu den von den Autoren durchgeführten künstlerisch-philosophischen Forschungen in Form von Installationen, Performances und interaktiven Webdokumentationen.
The coronavirus affects the strongly export-oriented Swiss economy in a situation where political and economic developments are already making the cross-border exchange of goods and services difficult. For this reason, the question arises of how Switzerland can maintain or strengthen its position in global competition in the export business during an unprecedented period of crisis such as the current one.
In order to find an answer to this question, this paper critically examines the existing government support measures for Swiss exporters in times of COVID-19. The fact that Switzerland has so far not taken any specific support measures for exporters raises the actual research question of whether there is a specific necessity and demand for a special export promotion. To answer this research question, various expert opinions are compared and overall conclusions are drawn. By rapidly introducing and adapting the already existing instruments – liquidity assistance and an expansion of short-time work benefits – the federal government was able to ensure the survival of many companies. According to the authors of this paper, this focus of government support in times of crisis is just right for a small national economy in the short term and therefore preferable to a specific support of exporters. Nevertheless, given the high relative importance of foreign trade for Switzerland’s overall economic performance, there can be no recovery of national economy without a recovery of foreign trade.
Der Fernsehmarkt im Bereich Live-Sport hat sich in den letzten Jahren verändert. Wir erleben das Vordringen eines neuen Mediums in den Sportsektor. Streaming-Plattformen etablierten sich bereits in den frühen 2010er Jahren in der Gesellschaft. Online-Plattformen, mit Fokus auf Unterhaltungsformate wie Filmen und Serien, stellen eine moderne Form der heutzutage bereits fast ausgestorbenen Video-Mediatheken dar. Doch auch der Sport und vor allem der Fußball erweist sich als interessantes Produkt für die Online-Streaming-Anbieter. Fußball wird in der heutigen Zeit nicht mehr nur im klassischen, linearen Fernsehen konsumiert, sondern auch im Internet. Dabei zeichnen sich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Medienkanälen ab. Im Laufe der Zeit kommt es vor, dass ein altes Medium von einem neuen Medium komplett verdrängt oder in den Hintergrund gerückt wird. Das Radio nimmt beispielsweise in der heutigen Zeit eine komplett andere Rolle ein als noch vor 80 Jahren. Es wird in gewisser Weise vom Fernsehen abgelöst und muss sich neu positionieren. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Frage zu klären, ob eine ähnliche Entwicklung auch für den Sport- Fernsehmarkt denkbar ist. Außerdem soll die aktuelle Marktsituation analysiert und das Konsumverhalten der Menschen erleuchtet werden. Hinzu kommt eine qualitative Befragung, die neue Aspekte zur Forschung liefern soll. Basierend auf dieser Analyse und auf einer empirischen Datenerhebung, soll eine Prognose für die Zukunft getroffen werden.
E-Learning hat als ergänzendes Erlösmodell ein hohes Potenzial im Online-Journalismus, findet bisher allerdings wenig Beachtung. Insbesondere Garten- und Pflanzenthemen lassen sich aufgrund ihrer Praxisnähe gut über Onlinekurse vermitteln. Die Arbeit untersucht die Ansprüche der gartenjournalistischen Zielgruppe an einen entsprechenden Onlinekurs sowie an das dazugehörige Erlösmodell. Dazu gibt die Masterthesis theoretische Einblicke in die Themen Online-Journalismus, Erlösmodelle und E-Learning und betrachtet diese im Kontext der Erfolgsfaktoren von Onlinekursen. Neben der Themenrelevanz und dem Anbietervertrauen wurden die Motivierung und der Unterhaltungswert, Verständlichkeit und Praxisbezug sowie Betreuungsleistung und Kollaborationsmöglichkeiten als Erfolgsfaktoren ermittelt. Be- züglich des Erlösmodells stellen der Leistungsumfang sowie die Erlösform und Preisattraktivität ele- mentare Faktoren dar. Mit Hilfe qualitativer Sozialforschung am Beispiel der Zielgruppe von Mein schö- ner Garten wurden die Aspekte analysiert und deren Bedeutsamkeit bestätigt. Besonders die Wissens- vermittlung durch eine kompetente Lehrkraft, eine individuelle Betreuung, Live-Events und Community-Aspekte stellen einen Mehrwert gegenüber anderen gartenjournalistischen Angeboten dar. Jedoch unterscheiden sich die konkreten Ansprüche an die Gestaltung der Faktoren und die Gewichtung ihrer Relevanz ist abhängig vom Lerntyp. Das zeigt sich auch in einer variierenden Zahlungsbereitschaft, die wesentlich von den persönlichen Erwartungen und dem gebotenen Zusatznutzen abhängt. Individuelle Tarife und eine ergänzende Werbefinanzierung sind deshalb sinnvoll.
Diffracted waves carry high resolution information that can help interpreting fine structural details at a scale smaller than the seismic wavelength. Because of the low signal-to-noise ratio of diffracted waves, it is challenging to preserve them during processing and to identify them in the final data. It is, therefore, a traditional approach to pick manually the diffractions. However, such task is tedious and often prohibitive, thus, current attention is given to domain adaptation. Those methods aim to transfer knowledge from a labeled domain to train the model, and then infer on the real unlabeled data. In this regard, it is common practice to create a synthetic labeled training dataset, followed by testing on unlabeled real data. Unfortunately, such procedure may fail due to the existing gap between the synthetic and the real distribution since quite often synthetic data oversimplifies the problem, and consequently the transfer learning becomes a hard and non-trivial procedure. Furthermore, deep neural networks are characterized by their high sensitivity towards cross-domain distribution shift. In this work, we present deep learning model that builds a bridge between both distributions creating a semi-synthetic datatset that fills in the gap between synthetic and real domains. More specifically, our proposal is a feed-forward, fully convolutional neural network for imageto-image translation that allows to insert synthetic diffractions while preserving the original reflection signal. A series of experiments validate that our approach produces convincing seismic data containing the desired synthetic diffractions.
We propose in this work to solve privacy preserving set relations performed by a third party in an outsourced configuration. We argue that solving the disjointness relation based on Bloom filters is a new contribution in particular by having another layer of privacy on the sets cardinality. We propose to compose the set relations in a slightly different way by applying a keyed hash function. Besides discussing the correctness of the set relations, we analyze how this impacts the privacy of the sets content as well as providing privacy on the sets cardinality. We are in particular interested in how having bits overlapping in the Bloom filters impacts the privacy level of our approach. Finally, we present our results with real-world parameters in two concrete scenarios.
This paper describes a comparative study of two tactile systems supporting navigation for persons with little or no visual and auditory perception. The efficacy of a tactile head-mounted device (HMD) was compared to that of a wearable device, a tactile belt. A study with twenty participants showed that the participants took significantly less time to complete a course when navigating with the HMD, as compared to the belt.
Additive manufacturing is a rapidly growing manufacturing process for which many new processes and materials are currently being developed. The biggest advantage is that almost any shape can be produced, while conventional manufacturing methods reach their limits. Furthermore, a lot of material is saved because the part is created in layers and only as much material is used as necessary. In contrast, in the case of machining processes, it is not uncommon for more than half of the material to be removed and disposed of. Recently, new additive manufacturing processes have been on the market that enables the manufacturing of components using the FDM process with fiber reinforcement. This opens up new possibilities for optimizing components in terms of their strength and at the same time increasing sustainability by reducing materials consumption and waste. Within the scope of this work, different types of test specimens are to be designed, manufactured and examined. The test specimens are tensile specimens, which are used both for standardized tensile tests and for examining a practical component from automotive engineering used in student project. This project is a vehicle designed to compete in the Shell Eco-marathon, one of the world’s largest energy efficiency competitions. The aim is to design a vehicle that covers a certain distance with as little fuel as possible. Accordingly, it is desirable to manufacture the components with the lowest possible weight, while still ensuring the required rigidity. To achieve this, the use of fiber-reinforced 3D-printed parts is particularly suitable due to the high rigidity. In particular, the joining technology for connecting conventionally and additively manufactured components is developed. As a result, the economic efficiency was assessed, and guidelines for the design of components and joining elements were created. In addition, it could be shown that the additive manufacturing of the component could be implemented faster and more sustainably than the previous conventional manufacturing.
Propagation of acoustic waves is considered in a system consisting of two stiff quarter-spaces connected by a planar soft layer. The two quarter-spaces and the layer form a half-space with a planar surface. In a numerical study, surface waves have been found and analyzed in this system with displacements that are localized not only at the surface, but also in the soft layer. In addition to the semi-analytical finite element method, an alternative approach based on an expansion of the displacement field in a double series of Laguerre functions and Legendre polynomials has been applied.
It is shown that a number of branches of the mode spectrum can be interpreted and remarkably well described by perturbation theory, where the zero-order modes are the wedge waves guided at a rectangular edge of the stiff quarter-spaces or waves guided at the edge of a soft plate with rigid surfaces.
For elastic moduli and densities corresponding to the material combination PMMA–silicone–PMMA, at least one of the branches in the dispersion relation of surface waves trapped in the soft layer exhibits a zero-group velocity point.
Potential applications of these 1D guided surface waves in non-destructive evaluation are discussed.
Modern Franciscan Leadership
(2020)
This article combines two important areas of practical theology: Monastic rules and leadership in a cloistral organisation, using the Rule of Saint Francis as a prominent example. The aim of this research is to examine how living Christian tradition in a monastic order affects leadership today, discovering how the Rule and Franciscan spirituality impact managing a convent. The research question is answered within this inductive research applying the methodology of the ‘theology in four voices.’ Based on the results, it is possible to build a coherent leadership system based on Biblical and Franciscan sources.
To reach customers by dialog marketing campaigns is more and more difficult. This is a common problem of companies and marketing agencies worldwide: information overload, multi-channel-communication and a confusing variety of offers make it hard to gain the attention of the target group. The contribution of this paper is four-fold: we provide an overview of the current state of print dialog marketing activities and trends (I). Based on this corpus we identify the main key performance indicators of dialog marketing customer interaction (II). A qualitative user experience study identifies the customer wishes and needs, focusing on lottery offers for senior citizens (III). Finally, we evaluate the success of two different dialog marketing campaigns with 20,000 clients and compare the key performance indicators of the original hands-on experience-based print mailings with user experience tested and optimized mailings (IV).
Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts Professional UX entwickelt die Hochschule Offenburg gemeinsam mit dem Softwarehaus Dr. Hornecker in Freiburg eine innovative Systemlösung, die es ermöglicht, anhand von Mimik, Stimme und Blickverlauf beim Nutzer entstehende Emotionen bei der Nutzung interaktiver Anwendungen zu erfassen und zu interpretieren. Ziel der Untersuchung ist es, Indikatoren zu identifizieren, die eine exakte Zuordnung von wahrgenommenen Reizen zu den jeweils ausgelösten Emotionen erlauben. Sobald negative Emotionen wie Ärger oder Unsicherheit auftreten, kann dieser erfasst und im Nachgang der jeweils irritierende Reiz eliminiert werden. Das Projektteam hat einen ersten Prototyp für die Professional UX Systemlösung in Form von Hard- und Software entwickelt, mit dem es möglich ist, UX-Messungen während der User Interaktion durchzuführen und automatisiert mithilfe von KI auswerten zu lassen.
Analysis of Miniaturized Printed Flexible RFID/NFC Antennas Using Different Carrier Substrates
(2020)
Antennas for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) provide benefits for high frequencies (HF) and wireless data transmission via Near Field Communication (NFC) and many other applications. In this case, various requirements for the design of the reader and transmitter antennas must be met in order to achieve a suitable transmission quality. In this work, a miniaturized cost-effective RFID/NFC antenna for a microelectronic measurement system is designed and printed on different flexible carrier substrates using a new and low-cost Direct Ink Writing (DIW) technology. Various practical aspects such as reflection and impedance magnitude as well as the behavior of the printed RFID/NFC antennas are analyzed and compared to an identical copper-based antenna of the same size. The results are presented in this paper. Furthermore, the problems during the printing process itself on the different substrates are evaluated. The effects of the characteristics on the antenna under kink-free bending tests are examined and subsequently long-term measurements are carried out.
In the modern knowledge-based and digital economy, the value of knowledge is growing relative to other assets and new intellectual property is being created at an ever-increasing rate. Therefore, the ability to find non-trivial solutions, systematically generate new concepts, and create intellectual property rapidly become crucial to achieving competitive advantage and leveraging the intellectual potential of organizations.
„Nichts geschieht ohne Risiko, aber ohne Risiko geschieht auch nichts“, sagte der ehemalige Bundespräsident Walther Scheel. Der Ausspruch sensibilisiert dafür, dass in fast allen Themen und Prozessen Risiken stecken und die Akteure ein kalkulierbares Risiko eingehen sollten, um auch in komplexen Themen einen signifikanten Fortschritt zu erlangen. In unserem Fall sind die Akteure Projektleiter und Projektteammitglieder, die kaum eigene/persönliche Risiken eingehen, sondern Projektrisiken professionell managen müssen. Die Teammitglieder sind dabei von den Projekten selten persönlich bedroht, sondern das Projekt oder das Unternehmen und entsprechend sind die Risiken oft auch deutlich größer, als eine einzelne Person es sich vorstellen oder persönlich verantworten kann.
Im Archiv für Kriminologie wurden bislang drei Arbeiten zur 3-D-CAD-Rekonstruktion der ersten "Eisernen Hand" des berühmten Reichsritters Gottfried ("Götz") von Berlichingen (1480-1562) vorgestellt. Mittlerweile sind einige neue Gesichtspunkte herausgearbeitet worden, die hier kurz als Ergänzung mitgeteilt werden sollen.
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
Purpose
This work presents a new monocular peer-to-peer tracking concept overcoming the distinction between tracking tools and tracked tools for optical navigation systems. A marker model concept based on marker triplets combined with a fast and robust algorithm for assigning image feature points to the corresponding markers of the tracker is introduced. Also included is a new and fast algorithm for pose estimation.
Methods
A peer-to-peer tracker consists of seven markers, which can be tracked by other peers, and one camera which is used to track the position and orientation of other peers. The special marker layout enables a fast and robust algorithm for assigning image feature points to the correct markers. The iterative pose estimation algorithm is based on point-to-line matching with Lagrange–Newton optimization and does not rely on initial guesses. Uniformly distributed quaternions in 4D (the vertices of a hexacosichora) are used as starting points and always provide the global minimum.
Results
Experiments have shown that the marker assignment algorithm robustly assigns image feature points to the correct markers even under challenging conditions. The pose estimation algorithm works fast, robustly and always finds the correct pose of the trackers. Image processing, marker assignment, and pose estimation for two trackers are handled in less than 18 ms on an Intel i7-6700 desktop computer at 3.4 GHz.
Conclusion
The new peer-to-peer tracking concept is a valuable approach to a decentralized navigation system that offers more freedom in the operating room while providing accurate, fast, and robust results.
Generative convolutional deep neural networks, e.g. popular GAN architectures, are relying on convolution based up-sampling methods to produce non-scalar outputs like images or video sequences. In this paper, we show that common up-sampling methods, i.e. known as up-convolution or transposed convolution, are causing the inability of such models to reproduce spectral distributions of natural training data correctly. This effect is independent of the underlying architecture and we show that it can be used to easily detect generated data like deepfakes with up to 100% accuracy on public benchmarks. To overcome this drawback of current generative models, we propose to add a novel spectral regularization term to the training optimization objective. We show that this approach not only allows to train spectral consistent GANs that are avoiding high frequency errors. Also, we show that a correct approximation of the frequency spectrum has positive effects on the training stability and output quality of generative networks.
This paper presents a novel low-jitter interface between a low-cost integrated IEEE802.11 chip and a FPGA. It is designed to be part of system hardware for ultra-precise synchronization between wireless stations. On physical level, it uses Wi-Fi chip coexistence signal lines and UART frame encoding. On its basis, we propose an efficient communication protocol providing precise timestamping of incoming frames and internal diagnostic mechanisms for detecting communication faults. Meanwhile it is simple enough to be implemented both in low-cost FPGA and commodity IEEE802.11 chip firmware. The results of computer simulation shows that developed FPGA implementation of the proposed protocol can precisely timestamp incoming frames as well as detect most of communication errors even in conditions of high interference. The probability of undetected errors was investigated. The results of this analysis are significant for the development of novel wireless synchronization hardware.
Method for controlling a device, in particular, a prosthetic hand or a robotic arm (US20200327705A1)
(2020)
A method for controlling a device, in particular a prosthetic hand or a robotic arm, includes using an operator-mounted camera to detect at least one marker positioned on or in relation to the device. Starting from the detection of the at least one marker, a predefined movement of the operator together with the camera is detected and is used to trigger a corresponding action of the device. The predefined movement of the operator is detected in the form of a line of sight by means of camera tracking. A system for controlling a device, in particular a prosthetic hand or a robotic arm, includes a pair of AR glasses adapted to detect the at least one marker and to detect the predefined movement of the operator.
The recent successes and wide spread application of compute intensive machine learning and data analytics methods have been boosting the usage of the Python programming language on HPC systems. While Python provides many advantages for the users, it has not been designed with a focus on multiuser environments or parallel programming - making it quite challenging to maintain stable and secure Python workflows on a HPC system. In this paper, we analyze the key problems induced by the usage of Python on HPC clusters and sketch appropriate workarounds for efficiently maintaining multi-user Python software environments, securing and restricting resources of Python jobs and containing Python processes, while focusing on Deep Learning applications running on GPU clusters.
Oesophageal Electrode Probe and Device for Cardiological Treatment and/or Diagnosis (US20200261024)
(2020)
An oesophageal electrode probe for bioimpedance measurement and/or for neurostimulation is provided; a device for transoesophageal cardiological treatment and/or cardiological diagnosis is also provided; a method for the open-loop or closed-loop control of a cardiological catheter ablation device and/or a cardiological, circulatory and/or respiratory support device is also provided. The oesophageal electrode probe comprises a bioimpedance measuring device for measuring the bioimpedance of at least one part of tissue surrounding the oesophageal electrode probe. The bioimpedance device comprises at least one first and one second electrode. The at least one first electrode is arranged on a side of the oesophageal electrode probe facing towards the heart. The at least one second electrode is arranged on a side of the oesophageal electrode probe facing away from the heart. The device comprises the oesophageal electrode probe and a control and/or evaluation device.
Prediction of Claims in Export Credit Finance: A Comparison of Four Machine Learning Techniques
(2020)
This study evaluates four machine learning (ML) techniques (Decision Trees (DT), Random Forests (RF), Neural Networks (NN) and Probabilistic Neural Networks (PNN)) on their ability to accurately predict export credit insurance claims. Additionally, we compare the performance of the ML techniques against a simple benchmark (BM) heuristic. The analysis is based on the utilisation of a dataset provided by the Berne Union, which is the most comprehensive collection of export credit insurance data and has been used in only two scientific studies so far. All ML techniques performed relatively well in predicting whether or not claims would be incurred, and, with limitations, in predicting the order of magnitude of the claims. No satisfactory results were achieved predicting actual claim ratios. RF performed significantly better than DT, NN and PNN against all prediction tasks, and most reliably carried their validation performance forward to test performance.
Hybrid low-voltage physical unclonable function based on inkjet-printed metal-oxide transistors
(2020)
Modern society is striving for digital connectivity that demands information security. As an emerging technology, printed electronics is a key enabler for novel device types with free form factors, customizability, and the potential for large-area fabrication while being seamlessly integrated into our everyday environment. At present, information security is mainly based on software algorithms that use pseudo random numbers. In this regard, hardware-intrinsic security primitives, such as physical unclonable functions, are very promising to provide inherent security features comparable to biometrical data. Device-specific, random intrinsic variations are exploited to generate unique secure identifiers. Here, we introduce a hybrid physical unclonable function, combining silicon and printed electronics technologies, based on metal oxide thin film devices. Our system exploits the inherent randomness of printed materials due to surface roughness, film morphology and the resulting electrical characteristics. The security primitive provides high intrinsic variation, is non-volatile, scalable and exhibits nearly ideal uniqueness.
For the standard ISO 16842 cruciform test specimen, stresses obtained from the gauge area are far below the ultimate tensile strength due to high stress concentrations at the slit ends which lead to premature failure. Objective: To introduce a new cruciform specimen design which has been optimized with respect to the determination of yield surfaces. Methods: The proposed design differs from the ISO standard by an additional thinning of the gauge area and wider slits in the arms to avoid stress singularities. Compared to other cruciform test piece designs found in the literature, the stress distribution is still homogeneous and there is no need to reduce the size of the gauge area, thanks to the specimen’s well-balanced proportions. Results: Biaxial tensile tests have been conducted with aluminium 5754 alloy samples of different thicknesses. For the standard cruciform test piece, the maximum strain achieved at the gauge area is only 25% of the fracture strain. The optimized cruciform test piece can attain about 66% of the fracture strain before breaking. Conclusions: The optimized specimen design enables the measurement of yield surfaces at higher stress levels. In case of other materials such as elastomers, the slit length has be to adjusted accordingly.
A disturbed synchronization of the ventricular contraction can cause a highly developed systolic heart failure in affected patients with reduction of the left ventricular ejection fraction, which can often be explained by a diseased left bundle branch block (LBBB). If medication remains unresponsive, the concerned patients will be treated with a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) system. The aim of this study was to integrate His-bundle pacing into the Offenburg heart rhythm model in order to visualize the electrical pacing field generated by His-Bundle-Pacing. Modelling and electrical field simulation activities were performed with the software CST (Computer Simulation Technology) from Dessault Systèms. CRT with biventricular pacing is to be achieved by an apical right ventricular electrode and an additional left ventricular electrode, which is floated into the coronary vein sinus. The non-responder rate of the CRT therapy is about one third of the CRT patients. His- Bundle-Pacing represents a physiological alternative to conventional cardiac pacing and cardiac resynchronization. An electrode implanted in the His-bundle emits a stronger electrical pacing field than the electrical pacing field of conventional cardiac pacemakers. The pacing of the Hisbundle was performed by the Medtronic Select Secure 3830 electrode with pacing voltage amplitudes of 3 V, 2 V and 1,5 V in combination with a pacing pulse duration of 1 ms. Compared to conventional pacemaker pacing, His-bundle pacing is capable of bridging LBBB conduction disorders in the left ventricle. The His-bundle pacing electrical field is able to spread via the physiological pathway in the right and left ventricles for CRT with a narrow QRS-complex in the surface ECG.
OVVL (the Open Weakness and Vulnerability Modeller) is a tool and methodology to support threat modeling in the early stages of the secure software development lifecycle. We provide an overview of OVVL (https://ovvl.org), its data model and browser-based UI. We equally provide a discussion of initial experiments on how identified threats in the design phase can be aligned with later activities in the software lifecycle (issue management and security testing).
The development of Internet of Things (IoT) embedded devices is proliferating, especially in the smart home automation system. However, the devices unfortunately are imposing overhead on the IoT network. Thus, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) have introduced the IPv6 Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) to provide a solution to this constraint. 6LoWPAN is an Internet Protocol (IP) based communication where it allows each device to connect to the Internet directly. As a result, the power consumption is reduced. However, the limitation of data transmission frame size of the IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Network’s (RPL’s) had made it to be the running overhead, and thus consequently degrades the performance of the network in terms of Quality of Service (QoS), especially in a large network. Therefore, HRPL was developed to enhance the RPL protocol to minimize redundant retransmission that causes the routing overhead. We introduced the T-Cut Off Delay to set the limit of the delay and the H field to respond to actions taken within the T-Cut Off Delay. Thus, this paper presents the comparison performance assessment of HRPL between simulation and real-world scenarios (6LoWPAN Smart Home System (6LoSH) testbed) in validating the HRPL functionalities. Our results show that HRPL had successfully reduced the routing overhead when implemented in 6LoSH. The observed Control Traffic Overhead (CTO) packet difference between each experiment is 7.1%, and the convergence time is 9.3%. Further research is recommended to be conducted for these metrics: latency, Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), and throughput.
The authentication method of electronic devices, based on individual forms of correlograms of their internal electric noises, is well-known. Specific physical differences in the components – for example, caused by variations in production quality – cause specific electrical signals, i.e. electric noise, in the electronic device. It is possible to obtain this information and to identify the specific differences of the individual devices using an embedded analog-to-digital converter (ADC). These investigations confirm the possibility to identify and authenticate electronic devices using bit templates, calculated from the sequence of values of the normalized autocorrelation function of noise. Experiments have been performed using personal computers. The probability of correct identification and authentication increases with increasing noise recording duration. As a result of these experiments, an accuracy of 98.1% was achieved for a 1 second-long registration of EM for a set of investigated computers.
Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) provides mechanisms to enable deterministic and real-time networking in industrial networks. Configuration of these mechanisms is key to fully deploy and integrate TSN in the networks. The IEEE 802.1 Qcc standard has proposed different configuration models to implement a TSN configuration. Up until now, TSN and its configuration have been explored mostly for Ethernet-based industrial networks. However, they are still considered “work-in-progress” for wireless networks. This work focuses on the fully centralized model and describes a generic concept to enable the configuration of TSN mechanisms in wireless industrial networks. To this end, a configuration entity is implemented to conFigure the wireless end stations to satisfy their requirements. The proposed solution is then validated with the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication ultra-low energy (DECT ULE) wireless communication protocol.
Analysis of Amplitude and Phase Errors in Digital-Beamforming Radars for Automotive Applications
(2020)
Fundamentally, automotive radar sensors with Digital-Beamforming (DBF) use several transmitter and receiver antennas to measure the direction of the target. However, hardware imperfections, tolerances in the feeding lines of the antennas, coupling effects as well as temperature changes and ageing will cause amplitude and phase errors. These errors can lead to misinterpretation of the data and result in hazardous actions of the autonomous system. First, the impact of amplitude and phase errors on angular estimation is discussed and analyzed by simulations. The results are compared with the measured errors of a real radar sensor. Further, a calibration method is implemented and evaluated by measurements.
A Gamified and Adaptive Learning System for Neurodivergent Workers in Electronic Assembling Tasks
(2020)
Learning and work-oriented assistive systems are often designed to fit the workflow of neurotypical workers. Neurodivergent workers and individuals with learning disabilities often present cognitive and sensorimotor characteristics that are better accommodated with personalized learning and working processes. Therefore, we designed an adaptive learning system that combines an augmented interaction space with user-sensitive virtual assistance to support step-by-step guidance for neurodivergent workers in electronic assembling tasks. Gamified learning elements were also included in the interface to provide self-motivation and praise whenever users progress in their learning and work achievements.
Ecological concerns on the climatic effects of the emissions from electricity production stipulate the remuneration of electricity grids to accept growing amounts of intermittent regenerative electricity feed-in from wind and solar power. Germany’s eager political target to double regenerative electricity production by 2030 puts pressure on grid operators to adapt and restructure their transmission and distribution grids. The ability of local distribution grids to operate autonomous of transmission grid supply is essential to stabilize electricity supply at the level of German federal states. Although congestion management and collaboration at the distribution system operator (DSO) level are promising approaches, relatively few studies address this issue. This study presents a methodology to assess the electric energy balance for the low-voltage grids in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, assuming the typical load curves and the interchange potential among local distribution grids by means of linear programming of the supply function and for typical seasonal electricity demands. The model can make a statement about the performance and development requirements for grid architecture for scenarios in 2035 and 2050 when regenerative energies will—according to present legislation—account for more than half of Germany’s electricity supply. The study details the amendment to Baden-Württemberg’s electricity grid required to fit the system to the requirements of regenerative electricity production. The suggested model for grid analysis can be used in further German regions and internationally to systematically remunerate electricity grids for the acceptance of larger amounts of regenerative electricity inflows. This empirical study closes the research gap of assessing the interchange potential among DSO and considers usual power loads and simultaneously usual electricity inflows.
The interaction between agents in multiagent-based control systems requires peer to peer communication between agents avoiding central control. The sensor nodes represent agents and produce measurement data every time step. The nodes exchange time series data by using the peer to peer network in order to calculate an aggregation function for solving a problem cooperatively. We investigate the aggregation process of averaging data for time series data of nodes in a peer to peer network by using the grouping algorithm of Cichon et al. 2018. Nodes communicate whether data is new and map data values according to their sizes into a histogram. This map message consists of the subintervals and vectors for estimating the node joining and leaving the subinterval. At each time step, the nodes communicate with each other in synchronous rounds to exchange map messages until the network converges to a common map message. The node calculates the average value of time series data produced by all nodes in the network by using the histogram algorithm. The relative error for comparing the output of averaging time series data, and the ground truth of the average value in the network will decrease as the size of the network increases. We perform simulations which show that the approximate histograms method provides a reasonable approximation of time series data.
With the increasing degree of interconnectivity in industrial factories, security becomes more and more the most important stepping-stone towards wide adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). This paper summarizes the most important aspects of one keynote of DESSERT2020 conference. It highlights the ongoing and open research activities on the different levels, from novel cryptographic algorithms over security protocol integration and testing to security architectures for the full lifetime of devices and systems. It includes an overview of the research activities at the authors' institute.
Threat Modelling is an accepted technique to identify general threats as early as possible in the software development lifecycle. Previous work of ours did present an open-source framework and web-based tool (OVVL) for automating threat analysis on software architectures using STRIDE. However, one open problem is that available threat catalogues are either too general or proprietary with respect to a certain domain (e.g. .Net). Another problem is that a threat analyst should not only be presented (repeatedly) with a list of all possible threats, but already with some automated support for prioritizing these. This paper presents an approach to dynamically generate individual threat catalogues on basis of the established CWE as well as related CVE databases. Roughly 60% of this threat catalogue generation can be done by identifying and matching certain key values. To map the remaining 40% of our data (~50.000 CVE entries) we train a text classification model by using the already mapped 60% of our dataset to perform a supervised machine-learning based text classification. The generated entire dataset allows us to identify possible threats for each individual architectural element and automatically provide an initial prioritization. Our dataset as well as a supporting Jupyter notebook are openly available.
Partial substitution of Al atoms with Sc in wurtzite AlN crystals increases the piezoelectric constants. This leads to an increased electromechanical coupling, which is required for high bandwidths in piezo-acoustic filters. The crystal bonds in Ah-xScxN (AlScN) are softened as function of Sc atomic percentage x, leading to reduction of phase velocity in the film. Combining high Sc content AlScN films with high velocity substrates favors higher order guided surface acoustic wave (SAW) modes [1]. This study investigates higher order SAW modes in epitaxial AlScN on sapphire (Al2O3). Their dispersion for Pt metallized epitaxial AlScN films on Al2O3was computed for two different propagation directions. Computed phase velocity dispersion branches were experimentally verified by the characterization of fabricated SAW resonators. The results indicated four wave modes for the propagation direction (0°, 0°, 0°), featuring 3D polarized displacement fields. The sensitivity of the wave modes to the elastic constants of AlScN was investigated. It was shown that due to the 3D polarization of the waves, all elastic constants have an influence on the phase velocity and can be measured by suitable weighting functions in material constant extraction procedures.
Diffracted waves carry high‐resolution information that can help interpreting fine structural details at a scale smaller than the seismic wavelength. However, the diffraction energy tends to be weak compared to the reflected energy and is also sensitive to inaccuracies in the migration velocity, making the identification of its signal challenging. In this work, we present an innovative workflow to automatically detect scattering points in the migration dip angle domain using deep learning. By taking advantage of the different kinematic properties of reflected and diffracted waves, we separate the two types of signals by migrating the seismic amplitudes to dip angle gathers using prestack depth imaging in the local angle domain. Convolutional neural networks are a class of deep learning algorithms able to learn to extract spatial information about the data in order to identify its characteristics. They have now become the method of choice to solve supervised pattern recognition problems. In this work, we use wave equation modelling to create a large and diversified dataset of synthetic examples to train a network into identifying the probable position of scattering objects in the subsurface. After giving an intuitive introduction to diffraction imaging and deep learning and discussing some of the pitfalls of the methods, we evaluate the trained network on field data and demonstrate the validity and good generalization performance of our algorithm. We successfully identify with a high‐accuracy and high‐resolution diffraction points, including those which have a low signal to noise and reflection ratio. We also show how our method allows us to quickly scan through high dimensional data consisting of several versions of a dataset migrated with a range of velocities to overcome the strong effect of incorrect migration velocity on the diffraction signal.
Wow, You Are Terrible at This!: An Intercultural Study on Virtual Agents Giving Mixed Feedback
(2020)
While the effects of virtual agents in terms of likeability, uncanniness, etc. are well explored, it is unclear how their appearance and the feedback they give affects people's reactions. Is critical feedback from an agent embodied as a mouse or a robot taken less serious than from a human agent? In an intercultural study with 120 participants from Germany and the US, participants had to find hidden objects in a game and received feedback on their performance by virtual agents with different appearances. As some levels were designed to be unsolvable, critical feedback was unavoidable. We hypothesized that feedback would be taken more serious, the more human the agent looked. Also, we expected the subjects from the US to react more sensitively to criticism. Surprisingly, our results showed that the agents' appearance did not significantly change the participants' perception. Also, while we found highly significant differences in inspirational and motivational effects as well as in perceived task load between the two cultures, the reactions to criticism were contrary to expectations based on established cultural models. This work improves our understanding on how affective virtual agents are to be designed, both with respect to culture and to dialogue strategies.
The term attribute transfer refers to the tasks of altering images in such a way, that the semantic interpretation of a given input image is shifted towards an intended direction, which is quantified by semantic attributes. Prominent example applications are photo realistic changes of facial features and expressions, like changing the hair color, adding a smile, enlarging the nose or altering the entire context of a scene, like transforming a summer landscape into a winter panorama. Recent advances in attribute transfer are mostly based on generative deep neural networks, using various techniques to manipulate images in the latent space of the generator.
In this paper, we present a novel method for the common sub-task of local attribute transfers, where only parts of a face have to be altered in order to achieve semantic changes (e.g. removing a mustache). In contrast to previous methods, where such local changes have been implemented by generating new (global) images, we propose to formulate local attribute transfers as an inpainting problem. Removing and regenerating only parts of images, our Attribute Transfer Inpainting Generative Adversarial Network (ATI-GAN) is able to utilize local context information to focus on the attributes while keeping the background unmodified resulting in visually sound results.
Advances in printed electronics (PE) enables new applications, particularly in ultra-low-cost domains. However, achieving high-throughput printing processes and manufacturing yield is one of the major challenges in the large-scale integration of PE technology. In this article, we present a programmable printed circuit based on an efficient printed lookup table (pLUT) to address these challenges by combining the advantages of the high-throughput advanced printing and maskless point-of-use final configuration printing. We propose a novel pLUT design which is more efficient in PE realization compared to existing LUT designs. The proposed pLUT design is simulated, fabricated, and programmed as different logic functions with inkjet printed conductive ink to prove that it can realize digital circuit functionality with the use of programmability features. The measurements show that the fabricated LUT design is operable at 1 V.
Time-of-Flight Cameras Enabling Collaborative Robots for Improved Safety in Medical Applications
(2020)
Human-robot collaboration is being used more and more in industry applications and is finding its way into medical applications. Industrial robots that are used for human-robot collaboration, cannot detect obstacles from a distance. This paper introduced the idea of using wireless technology to connect a Time-of-Flight camera to off-the-shelf industrial robots. This way, the robot can detect obstacles up to a distance of five meters. Connecting Time-of-Flight cameras to robots increases the safety in human-robot collaboration by detecting obstacles before a collision. After looking at the state of the art, the authors elaborated the different requirements for such a system. The Time-of-Flight camera from Heptagon is able to work in a range of up to five meters and can connect to the control unit of the robot via a wireless connection.
The TriRhenaTech alliance presents a collection of accepted papers of the cancelled tri-national 'Upper-Rhine Artificial Intelligence Symposium' planned for 13th May 2020 in Karlsruhe. The TriRhenaTech alliance is a network of universities in the Upper-Rhine Trinational Metropolitan Region comprising of the German universities of applied sciences in Furtwangen, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, and Offenburg, the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Loerrach, the French university network Alsace Tech (comprised of 14 'grandes écoles' in the fields of engineering, architecture and management) and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. The alliance's common goal is to reinforce the transfer of knowledge, research, and technology, as well as the cross-border mobility of students.
RETIS – Real-Time Sensitive Wireless Communication Solution for Industrial Control Applications
(2020)
Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) has been always a vital component of many industrial applications. The paper proposes a new wireless URLLC solution called RETIS, which is suitable for factory automation and fast process control applications, where low latency, low jitter, and high data exchange rates are mandatory. In the paper, we describe the communication protocol as well as the hardware structure of the network nodes for implementing the required functionality. Many techniques enabling fast, reliable wireless transmissions are used – short Transmission Time Interval (TTI), Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA), MIMO, optional duplicated data transfer, Forward Error Correction (FEC), ACK mechanism. Preliminary tests show that reliable end-to-end latency down to 350 μs and packet exchange rate up to 4 kHz can be reached (using quadruple MIMO and standard IEEE 802.15.4 PHY at 250 kbit/s).
The number of use cases for autonomous vehicles is increasing day by day especially in commercial applications. One important application of autonomous vehicles can be found within the parcel delivery section. Here, autonomous cars can massively help to reduce delivery efforts and time by supporting the courier actively. One important component of course is the autonomous vehicle itself. Nevertheless, beside the autonomous vehicle, a flexible and secure communication architecture also is a crucial key component impacting the overall performance of such system since it is required to allow continuous interactions between the vehicle and the other components of the system. The communication system must provide a reliable and secure architecture that is still flexible enough to remain practical and to address several use cases. In this paper, a robust communication architecture for such autonomous fleet-based systems is proposed. The architecture provides a reliable communication between different system entities while keeping those communications secure. The architecture uses different technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), cellular networks and Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) to achieve its goals.
Das Verstehen und Extrahieren von Informationen aus Dokumenten stellt eine Herausforderung dar, welche den Einsatz weiterer Technologien bedarf. Vorliegende
Masterarbeit untersucht die Anwendbarkeit von Methoden des maschinellen Lernens im Bereich der Wissensextraktion auf Basis von Angebotsdokumenten. Hierbei gilt die Frage zu klären, inwiefern sich diese Dokumente eignen, um Strukturen
für die Modellierung mit einem Produktkonfigurator zu lernen. Kern der Arbeit stellen die Datenaufbereitung von PDF-Dokumenten sowie das Modeling multimodal
lernender Algorithmen dar. Abgesehen von Texten werden zusätzlich Layoutinformationen für das Lernen der Strukturen genutzt. Zudem werden die Ergebnisse der
erstellten Modelle evaluiert und die Güte in Anbetracht des vorliegenden Problems
bewertet.
Mit der prototypischen Implementierung einer automatisierten Dokumentengenerierung wird demonstriert, wie das extrahierte Wissen in der Software CAS Configurator Merlin genutzt werden kann.
Analyse der Finanzierungs- und Überlebensstrategien von Bands im Streaming-Zeitalter in Deutschland
(2020)
Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit befasst sich mit der Analyse der Finanzierungs- und Überlebensstrategien von Bands im Streaming-Zeitalter in Deutschland. Hierbei soll untersucht werden, wie Musikstreaming die finanziellen Einkünfte für Musiker verändert hat, warum Musiker vom Streaming nur in geringem Maße profitieren und wie sie versuchen den geringen Streaming-Einnahmen entgegenzuwirken.
Die Arbeit führt durch theoretische Betrachtungen der Musikindustrie auf die heute herrschende Problematik durch Streaming hin. Dabei werden einzelne Akteure der Musikindustrie, die Erlösquellen für Musiker und Bands, der Einfluss des Musikkonsums auf die finanziellen Erlöse und die Veränderungen, die Streaming für die Musikwelt mit sich bringt, betrachtet. Darüber hinaus wurde eine multiple Fallstudie mit fünf Bands unterschiedlicher Bekanntheit durchgeführt. Zu den in der Studie untersuchten Bands zählen die Leoniden, Heisskalt, Blackout Problems, Killerpilze und City Light Thief. Die Studie soll einen Einblick geben, welche Möglichkeiten deutsche Bands nutzen, um im Streaming-Zeitalter erfolgreich zu sein. Daraus werden abschließend einige Faktoren abgeleitet, die zur Finanzierung und zum Überleben deutscher Bands
beitragen können.
The three lines of defense model (TLoD) aims to provide a simple and effective way to improve coordination and enhance communications on risk management and control by clarifying the essential roles and duties of different governance functions. Without effective coordination of these governance functions, work can be duplicated or key risks may be missed or misjudged. To address these challenges, professional standards recommend that the chief audit executive (CAE) coordinates activities with other internal and external governance stakeholders (assurance providers). We consider survey responses from 415 CAEs from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland to analyze determinants that help to implement the TLoD without any challenges and to explore the extent of (coordination) challenges between the internal audit function and the respective governance stakeholders. Our results show a great variance in the extent of coordination challenges dependent on different determinants and the respective governance stakeholder.
Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Biomechanik der Halswirbelsäule (HWS) beim Umgang mit dem Smartphone. Die Kräfte, die auf Wirbelkörper, Wirbelgelenke, Bandscheiben, Muskeln und Bänder wirken, werden mit steigendem Flexionswinkel der HWS größer. Die Beschwerden hingegen, welche der Smartphone-Nacken hervorruft, sind meist akut und mit regelmäßiger Bewegung und der Stärkung der Nackenmuskulatur gut zu behandeln. Eine Therapie ist somit auch zur Vorbeugung geeignet. Doch die Langzeitauswirkungen sind nicht außer Acht zu lassen, denn durch die steigenden Nutzungsmöglichkeiten der Smartphones steigt auch der durchschnittliche tägliche Gebrauch stärker an. So wird vor allem die tägliche Bildschirmzeit bei Jugendlichen immer länger. Das aktuell noch akute Krankheitsbild des Smartphone-Nackens, das nur selten einen chronischen Verlauf nimmt und Langzeitschäden verursacht, könnte sich durch fehlende oder zu späte Maßnahmen zu einem größeren chronischen Krankheitsbild entwickeln.
Im Beitrag wird gezeigt, wie sich die Ackermann’sche Formel zur Polvorgabe bei zeitkontinuierlichen
Ein- und Mehrgrößenzustandsregelungen in einfacher
Weise auf nicht vollständig steuerbare Regelstrecken
erweitern lässt. Das vorgestellte Verfahren basiert
auf einer teilsystemorientierten Zustandstransformation
in Verbindung mit der Einführung zusätzlicher fiktiver Stellgrößen, über die nichtsteuerbare Streckeneigenwerte
formal beeinflusst werden könnten, aber durch Nullsetzen
dieser Stellgrößen nicht beeinflusst werden. Dem
Reglerentwurf vorausgehende Maßnahmen zur Elimination
von nicht steuerbaren Anteilen aus dem Streckenmodell
sind daher nicht erforderlich. Im Vergleich zum Fall
einer vollständig steuerbaren Regelstrecke erfordert die
Anwendung des vorgestellten Verfahrens kaum Mehraufwand,
was am Beispiel eines Eingrößen- und eines Mehrgrößensystems
illustriert wird.
Die Physik des Fahrrades
(2020)
Jeder kann Fahrradfahren, keiner weiß,warum es klappt: Anders als beim Reiten, Laufen oder Skifahren muss man sich mit dem Fahrrad immer vorwärtsbewegen, um nicht umzufallen. Prof. Giel von der Hochschule Offenburg erklärt dieses und andere Geheimnisse des Radfahrens. Zum Beispiel, ob man mit der Fahrradpumpe auch Autoreifen aufpumpen kann, warum normale Fahrradfahrer die Marathon-Distanz schneller als die weltbesten Läufer zurücklegen und welche legalen Tuning-Methoden das eigene Fahrrad noch schneller machen.
During the year 2015 almost 1.4 million refugees arrived in Europe (eurostat, 2020). Germany was with 1.1 million individuals the major destination (Statista, 2018). A huge political divide occurred over this influx. While welcoming scenes dominated the media in the advent of the so called ‘refugee crisis’, criticism over the ‘We’ll-make-it policy’ by Angela Merkel increased also among Christian Democrats.1A sudden human influx of such size into a society might not only have political, cultural and social impacts, but may also lead to economic disruptions. Human beings embody consumers as well as labour force. A significant increase in population might thus cause an increase in demand for commodities and in labour supply, which ceteris paribus simultaneously lead to increasing GDP and decreasing wages. Previous literature utilized quasi-natural experiments which can be exploited in social sciences for the detection of causal relations and the usage of methods, not applicable otherwise. The present paper applies the synthetic control methodology to wages, unemployment and economic growth in Germany in order to measure the causal impact of the 2015- refugee influx on these economic key elements. No impact on either of the economic factors has been found.
European Union labour market and welfare policies are concerned with the protection of European citizens from disruptive processes. Falling wages and increasing unemployment, as well as decreasing production and consumption embody highly disruptive political potential. Thus, the findings concerning the impact of refugee migration into the European Union might influence EU-policies in the prospect of increased migration to Europe in the upcoming century due climate change and new crises. The remainder of the article is organized as follows: The lessons from the key literature concerning quasi- natural experiments and the impact of migration on wages, unemployment and economic growth are provided in section 2. Section 3 comprises the theoretical framework concerning the differences between refugees and economic migrants. Section 4 introduces the estimation strategy, while section 5 presents data and descriptive statistics. Section 6 shows the simulation results, followed by the concluding discussion in section 7.
Wer sich als Pädagoge und Wissenschaftler mit dem Thema Digitalisierung im Kontext von Unterricht, Lehre und Bildungsprozessen befasst, stellt schnell fest: Kaum jemand realisiert die Tragweite der durch Digitaltechnik und Netzwerke möglichen und von IT-Konzernen forcierten Transformation von Bildungseinrichtungen zu immer stärker automatisierten, kybernetisch gesteuerten Beschulungs- und Prüfanstalten. „It’s the economy, stupid“ wird zum Mantra auch der Bildung. Der Begriff Learning Analytics als Teilaspekt von Big Data Analytics weist ebenso auf Automatisierungstechnik für Lernprozesse wie der Begriff der datengestützten Schulentwicklung (Hartong, Learning Analytics und Big data in der Bildung, 2019). Mit Summit Learning (Facebook), Google Classroom oder Apple Education sind vollautomatisierte Systeme in den USA bereits im Einsatz. Der DigitalPakt Schule schafft die technischen Voraussetzungen für die Beschulung per Netz und Cloud in Deutschland (Lankau, Bildungsmarkt Schule. Tatsächliche Kosten des Digitalpakt Schule und verdeckte Interessen, 2019a).
Die Diskussionen über die Bedeutung und Folgen der Digitalisierung sind kaum noch überschaubar. Einig sind sich die meisten, dass Digitalisierung und die sogenannte „Künstliche Intelligenz“ (sKI) sowohl „alternativlos“ wie entscheidend für die Zukunft seien. Wer bei diesen Techniken nicht an der Spitze stünde, würde wirtschaftlich abgehängt und letztlich zum Verlierer. Die erste Frage ist aber: Wer steht denn an der Spitze und ist es erstrebenswert, sich dazu zu gesellen? Die zweite Frage ist, was sich konkret an technischen Systemen hinter Schlagworten wie Big Data, Künstlicher Intelligenz und autonomen Systemen verbirgt. Nicht zuletzt steht in Frage, welche Konsequenzen diese Systeme für den Einzelnen haben (können und/oder werden).
Ein Windenergieprojekt ist eine hochindividuelle Kraftwerksplanung und das Projektmanagement hierzu ist geprägt von zahlreichen Besonderheiten, die berücksichtigt werden müssen. Die mehrjährigen Planungszeiträume, die Energiewende, der technische Fortschritt, die hohen Kosten, die Internationalisierung der Branche und die Diskussionen über den Klimawandel beeinflussen die Durchführung der Projekte, die Entscheidungen eines Projektmanagers und die der weiteren Projektbeteiligten.
Das Buch richtet sich an alle Projektentwickler, Anlagenhersteller und Gutachter aus der Windenergiebranche und jene, die mit dieser Branche zusammenarbeiten. Es vermittelt bewusst praxisnahe Erfahrungen und Erkenntnisse von Projektmanagementthemen über die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette von Wind Onshore.
本发明涉及一种用于生物阻抗测量和/或用于神经刺激的食道电极探针(10);用于经食道心脏病治疗和/或心脏病诊断的设备(100);以及一种用于控制或调节用于心脏导管消融装置和/或心脏、循环和/或肺支持装置的方法。食道电极探针包括生物阻抗测量装置,用于测量围绕食道电极探针的组织中的至少一部分组织的生物阻抗。生物阻抗装置包括至少一个第一电极和至少一个第二电极,其中至少一个第一电极(12A)布置在食道电极探针的面向心脏的一侧(14)上,并且至少一个第二电极(12B)布置在食道电极探针背离心脏的一侧(16)上。装置(100)包括食道电极探针(10)和控制和/或评估装置(30),其被配置用于从至少一个第一电极(12A)接收第一生物阻抗测量信号并从至少一个第二电极(12B)接收第二生物阻抗测量信号,并对这些信号进行比较,并且在比较的基础上产生控制信号。该控制信号可以是用于控制或调节心脏导管消融装置和/或心脏、循环和/或肺支持装置的信号。
Many different methods, such as screen printing, gravure, flexography, inkjet etc., have been employed to print electronic devices. Depending on the type and performance of the devices, processing is done at low or high temperature using precursor- or particle-based inks. As a result of the processing details, devices can be fabricated on flexible or non-flexible substrates, depending on their temperature stability. Furthermore, in order to reduce the operating voltage, printed devices rely on high-capacitance electrolytes rather than on dielectrics. The printing resolution and speed are two of the major challenging parameters for printed electronics. High-resolution printing produces small-size printed devices and high-integration densities with minimum materials consumption. However, most printing methods have resolutions between 20 and 50 μm. Printing resolutions close to 1 μm have also been achieved with optimized process conditions and better printing technology.
The final physical dimensions of the devices pose severe limitations on their performance. For example, the channel lengths being of this dimension affect the operating frequency of the thin-film transistors (TFTs), which is inversely proportional to the square of channel length. Consequently, short channels are favorable not only for high-frequency applications but also for high-density integration. The need to reduce this dimension to substantially smaller sizes than those possible with today’s printers can be fulfilled either by developing alternative printing or stamping techniques, or alternative transistor geometries. The development of a polymer pen lithography technique allows scaling up parallel printing of a large number of devices in one step, including the successive printing of different materials. The introduction of an alternative transistor geometry, namely the vertical Field Effect Transistor (vFET), is based on the idea to use the film thickness as the channel length, instead of the lateral dimensions of the printed structure, thus reducing the channel length by orders of magnitude. The improvements in printing technologies and the possibilities offered by nanotechnological approaches can result in unprecedented opportunities for the Internet of Things (IoT) and many other applications. The vision of printing functional materials, and not only colors as in conventional paper printing, is attractive to many researchers and industries because of the added opportunities when using flexible substrates such as polymers and textiles. Additionally, the reduction of costs opens new markets. The range of processing techniques covers laterally-structured and large-area printing technologies, thermal, laser and UV-annealing, as well as bonding techniques, etc. Materials, such as conducting, semiconducting, dielectric and sensing materials, rigid and flexible substrates, protective coating, organic, inorganic and polymeric substances, energy conversion and energy storage materials constitute an enormous challenge in their integration into complex devices.
Knight Götz von Berlichingen (1480–1562) lost his right hand distal to the wrist due to a cannon ball splinter injury in 1504 in the Landshut War of Succession at the age of 24. Early on, Götz commissioned a gunsmith to build the first “Iron Hand,” in which the artificial thumb and two finger blocks could be moved in their basic joints by a spring mechanism and released by a push button. Some years later, probably around 1530, a second “Iron Hand” was built, in which the fingers could be moved passively in all joints. In this review, the 3D computer-aided design (CAD) reconstructions and 3D multi-material polymer replica printings of the first “Iron hand“, which were developed in the last few years at Offenburg University, are presented. Even by today’s standards, the first “Iron Hand”—as could be shown in the replicas—demonstrates sophisticated mechanics and well thought-out functionality and still offers inspiration and food for discussion when it comes to the question of an artificial prosthetic replacement for a hand. It is also outlined how some of the ideas of this mechanical passive prosthesis can be translated into a modern motorized active prosthetic hand by using simple, commercially available electronic components.
Seit 2009 nimmt das Team ”magmaOffenburg” an der 3D-Simulationsliga des RoboCups teil. Für das erfolgreiche Abschneiden in Turnieren ist die Qualität der erlernten Bewegungsabläufe ein zentraler Faktor. Bisher wurden genetische Algorithmen verwendet, um verschiedenste Aktionen zu erlernen sowie zu optimieren. In dieser Arbeit wird der Deep Reinforcement Learning Algorithmus Proximal Policy Optimization für das Erlernen bestimmter Bewegungen verwendet. Um ein Verständnis für dessen einflussreichen Parameter zu erhalten, werden Größen wie paralleles Lernen, Hyperparameter, Netzwerktopologie, Größe des Observationspace sowie asynchronem Lernen anhand dem Kicken aus dem Stand evaluiert. Durch die Ergebnisse der Evaluierung konnte der erlernte Kick signifikant verbessert werden und sein genetisch erlerntes Gegenstück im Spiel ablösen. Drüber hinaus wurden die Erkenntnisse anhand dem Laufen lernen evaluiert und Zusammenhänge bzw. Unterschiede der zwei Lernprobleme festgestellt.
Das Messstellenbetriebsgesetz sieht bis 2032 einen Pflichteinbau von modernen Messeinrichtungen bzw. intelligenten Messsystemen bei allen Verbrauchern und Erzeugern vor. Des Weiteren ist die Anbindung von regenerativen Erzeugungsanlagen und steuerbaren Verbrauchern sowie die netzdienliche Steuerung dieser Einrichtungen über das Smart Meter Gateway durch das Messstellenbetriebsgesetz vorgeschrieben. Diese netzdienliche Steuerung wird unter dem Begriff CLS-Management zusammengefasst und muss von allen Netzbetreibern und Messstellenbetreibern künftig umgesetzt werden. Im Rahmen der Bachelorarbeit wurde ein Testaufbau mit einem intelligenten Messsystem inklusive entsprechender Steuereinrichtung aufgebaut, um das CLS-Management an einfachen Schalthandlungen zu erproben. Die daraus gewonnenen Erfahrungen sollen dem Messstellenbetreiber dabei helfen, das Thema in der Wirkumgebung platzieren zu können. Ziel dieses Aufbaus ist es, über die Kommunikationsart LTE eine Schalthandlung an einer Steuerbox in der Rolle des externen Marktteilnehmers vornehmen zu können. Für die Umsetzung wird eine entsprechende Software des Gateway Herstellers zur Verfügung gestellt, um die Versuche außerhalb des zertifizierten Bereiches durch-führen zu können.
Als konkreten Anwendungsfall wird im Rahmen der Thesis die Ablösung der Funkrundsteuertechnik durch das CLS-Management betrachtet. Mit dem Rollout der intelligenten Messsystemen müssen künftig die steuerbaren Verbrauchseinrichtungen und regenerativen Erzeugungsanlagen über das Smart Meter Gateway gesteuert werden können. Dies hat gegenüber der Funkrundsteuertechnik den entscheidenden Vorteil, dass die Informationen über eine gesicherte TLS-Verbindungen übertragen werden und durch einen Rückkanal auch Informationen über das korrekte Ausführung der Schalthandlung beim externen Marktteilnehmer ankommen.
Als weiteren Anwendungsfall wird untersucht, wie über ein Smart Meter Gateway außer Steuersignale auch Energiedaten und Sollwerte von externen Marktteilnehmer an Smart Grid Infrastrukturen übertragen werden können, um diese optimal betreiben zu können. Als Grundlage dient hierfür das Micro Grid am INES der Hochschule Offenburg
Das Projekt „Tilty“ befässt sich mit der Konstruktion eines Speed- Pedelecs. Dieses verfügt über eine Vorderachse mit 2 Rädern und Neigemechanismus. Hinten besitzt es ein Rad. Der Sitz dieses Fahrzeuges sollte ein Fahren in aufrechter Sitzhaltung ermöglichen. Dabei ist der Sitz auf derselben Höhe wie bei einem Auto, um im Straßenverkehr besser wahrgenommen werden zu können als bei einem Liegefahrrad. Ein Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, einen Sitz unter Berücksichtigung der Physiologie eines Menschen zu konstruieren. Die Position der Kurbel war ebenso ein zentrales Thema dieser Arbeit. Dabei spielte der sogenannte runde Tritt eine wichtige Rolle. Beide Komponenten mussten ebenfalls gemeinsam betrachtet werden um eine Aussage treffen zu können. Die Lenkung und damit die Position der Arme sind auch von Bedeutung. Die Konstruktion dieser Lenkung übernimmt eine Masterstudentin, daher ist die Lenkung nur ein Randthema. Eine Aussage über die Position der Arme konnte ebenfalls aufgrund der physiologischen Parameter getroffen werden.
In this report, we have studied field-effect transistors (FETs) using low-density alumina for electrolytic gating. Device layers have been prepared starting from the structured ITO glasses by printing the In 2 O 3 channels, low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), and printing graphene top gates. The transistor performance could be deliberately changed by alternating the ambient humidity; furthermore, ID,ON/ID,OFF-ratios of up to seven orders of magnitude and threshold voltages between 0.66 and 0.43 V, decreasing with an increasing relative humidity between 40% and 90%, could be achieved. In contrast to the common usage of Al 2 O 3 as the dielectric in the FETs, our devices show electrolyte-typegating behavior. This is a result from the formation of protons on the Al 2 O 3 surfaces at higher humidities. Due to the very high local capacitances of the Helmholtz double layers at the channel surfaces, the operation voltage can be as low as 1 V. At low humidities (≤30%), the solid electrolyte dries out and the performance breaks down; however, it can fully reversibly be regained upon a humidity increase. Using ALD-derived alumina as solid electrolyte gating material, thus, allows low-voltage operation and provides a chemically stable gating material while maintaining low process temperatures. However, it has proven to be highly humidity-dependent in its performance.
Rectifiersare vital electronic circuits for signal and power conversion in various smart sensor applications. The ability to process low input voltage levels, for example, from vibrational energy harvesters is a major challenge with existing passive rectifiers in printed electronics, stemming mainly from the built-in potential of the diode's p-njunction. To address this problem, in this work, we design, fabricate, and characterize an inkjet-printed full-wave rectifier using diode-connected electrolyte-gated thin-film transistors (EGTs). Using both experimental and simulation approaches, we investigate how the rectifier can benefit from the near-zero threshold voltage of transistors, which can be enabled by proper channel geometry setting in EGT technology. The presented circuit can be operated at 1-V input voltage, featuring a remarkably small voltage loss of 140 mV and a cutoff frequency of ~300 Hz. Below the cutoff frequency, more than 2.6-μW dc power is obtained over the load resistances ranging from 5 to 20 kQ. Furthermore, experiments show that the circuit can work with an input amplitude down to 500 mV. This feature makes the presented design highly suitable for a variety of energy-harvesting applications.
Fully Printed Inverters using Metal‐Oxide Semiconductor and Graphene Passives on Flexible Substrates
(2020)
Printed and flexible metal‐oxide transistor technology has recently demonstrated great promise due to its high performance and robust mechanical stability. Herein, fully printed inverter structures using electrolyte‐gated oxide transistors on a flexible polyimide (PI) substrate are discussed in detail. Conductive graphene ink is printed as the passive structures and interconnects. The additive printed transistors on PI substrates show an on/off ratio of 106 and show mobilities similar to the state‐of‐the‐art printed transistors on rigid substrates. Printed meander structures of graphene are used as pull‐up resistances in a transistor–resistor logic to create fully printed inverters. The printed and flexible inverters show a signal gain of 3.5 and a propagation delay of 30 ms. These printed inverters are able to withstand a tensile strain of 1.5% following more than 200 cycles of mechanical bending. The stability of the electrical direct current (DC) properties has been observed over a period of 5 weeks. These oxide transistor‐based fully printed inverters are relevant for digital printing methods which could be implemented into roll‐to‐roll processes.
Die transösophageale Neurostimulation ist eine neue Therapieform und könnte unter anderem zur Schmerzlinderung während einer transösophagealen Linksherzstimulation angewendet werden. Sie ist in die Kategorie der Rückenmarksstimulation (SCS) einzuordnen, die die meist verwendete Technik der Neurostimulation ist. Die derzeit auf dem Markt vorhandenen Ösophaguskatheter werden bei einer elektrophysiologischen Untersuchung mit Ablation und transösophagealer Echokardiographie zur Temperaturüberwachung eingesetzt. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war, das vorhandene Offenburger Herzrhythmusmodell, um die Wirbelsäule zu erweitern, einen neuen Ösophagus-Elektroden- Katheter für die transösophageale elektrische Stimulation des Rückenmarks zu modellieren und mittels 3D-Computer-Simulationen auf Ihre Wirksamkeit zu untersuchen.
Um medizinische Behandlungsverfahren in der Praxis besser verstehen und anwenden zu können, gewinnt die Visualisierung der Prozesse an immer größerer Bedeutung. Durch Anwendung der Computer-Simulationssoftware CST können elektromagnetische und thermische Simulationen zur Analyse verschiedener Herzrhythmusstörungen durchgeführt werden. Eine weitere Form der Visualisierung erfolgt durch haptische, dreidimensionale Druckmodelle. Diese Modelle können mit einem generativen Herstellungsverfahren, wie z. B. einem 3D-Drucker, in kürzester Zeit hergestellt werden.
In this study, a facile method to fabricate a cohesive ion‐gel based gate insulator for electrolyte‐gated transistors is introduced. The adhesive and flexible ion‐gel can be laminated easily on the semiconducting channel and electrode manually by hand. The ion‐gel is synthesized by a straightforward technique without complex procedures and shows a remarkable ionic conductivity of 4.8 mS cm−1 at room temperature. When used as a gate insulator in electrolyte‐gated transistors (EGTs), an on/off current ratio of 2.24×104 and a subthreshold swing of 117 mV dec−1 can be achieved. This performance is roughly equivalent to that of ink drop‐casted ion‐gels in electrolyte‐gated transistors, indicating that the film‐attachment method might represent a valuable alternative to ink drop‐casting for the fabrication of gate insulators.
Annotated training data is essential for supervised learning methods. Human annotation is costly and laborsome especially if a dataset consists of hundreds of thousands of samples and annotators need to be hired. Crowdsourcing emerged as a solution that makes it easier to get access to large amounts of human annotators. Introducing paid external annotators however introduces malevolent annotations, both intentional and unintentional. Both forms of malevolent annotations have negative effects on further usage of the data and can be summarized as spam. This work explores different approaches to post-hoc detection of spamming users and which kinds of spam can be detected by them. A manual annotation checking process resulted in the creation of a small user spam dataset which is used in this thesis. Finally an outlook for future improvements of these approaches will be made.
Generative adversarial networks (GANs) provide state-of-the-art results in image generation. However, despite being so powerful, they still remain very challenging to train. This is in particular caused by their highly non-convex optimization space leading to a number of instabilities. Among them, mode collapse stands out as one of the most daunting ones. This undesirable event occurs when the model can only fit a few modes of the data distribution, while ignoring the majority of them. In this work, we combat mode collapse using second-order gradient information. To do so, we analyse the loss surface through its Hessian eigenvalues, and show that mode collapse is related to the convergence towards sharp minima. In particular, we observe how the eigenvalues of the G are directly correlated with the occurrence of mode collapse. Finally, motivated by these findings, we design a new optimization algorithm called nudged-Adam (NuGAN) that uses spectral information to overcome mode collapse, leading to empirically more stable convergence properties.
This seminar paper examines government measures to support export-oriented companies in Belgium. After a short overview of the Belgian economy and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, the paper introduces the available government measures for exporters. In particular, the role of Credendo as a Belgian export-credit insurance company will be discussed, and its measures will be examined in more detail. In addition, federal measures of the Belgian government will be identified, and a summary of the most important regional measures will be provided. The entirety of government measures available to export-oriented companies will be reviewed and options for the future activities of export-oriented companies will be pointed out.
Da die hohe Anzahl an Steuergeräten in einem Fahrzeug von den unterschiedlichsten Automobilzulieferern entwickelt und produziert werden, ist es den einzelnen Steuergeräte-Herstellern nicht möglich, diese während des Entwicklungsprozesses in einem realen Fahrzeug zu testen. Restbussimulationen, womit Fahrzeugnetzwerke softwaretechnisch nachgebaut werden, schaffen hierbei Abhilfe.
Für die Entwicklung konkurrenzfähiger, effizienter und wirtschaftlicher Steuergerätesoftware wird die Embedded Software in einzelne Module unterteilt. Dieser modulare Prozess ermöglicht das Implementieren der Embedded Softwaremodule in Steuergeräte unterschiedlicher Fahrzeughersteller, sodass es zu Kosteneinsparungen während der Entwicklung und Wartung kommt. Steuergeräte, welche in unterschiedlichen Fahrzeugen zum Einsatz kommen und eine hohe Anzahl an gleichen Softwaremodulen besitzen, werden in sogenannten „Plattformen“ gehandelt.
Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird, analog zu der Plattformsoftware der Steuergeräte eine Plattform-Restbussimulation entworfen. Sie stellt dem Softwareentwickler während des kompletten Entwicklungszyklus eine lauffähige Testumgebung zur Verfügung, welche wichtige Steuergeräte eines Fahrzeugnetzwerks nachbildet. So werden in dieser Arbeit Konzepte erstellt und implementiert, welche eine effiziente und intuitive Benutzung der Plattform-Restbussimulation ermöglichen und alle Plattformkunden mit einer einzigen Simulationsumgebung abdecken. Dies führt zu einer zeitlichen Einsparung bei der Implementierung, Verwaltung und Bedienung.
Communication protocols enable information exchange between different information systems. If protocol descriptions for these systems are not available, they can be reverse-engineered for interoperability or security reasons. This master thesis describes the analysis of such a proprietary binary protocol, named the DVRIP or Dahua private protocol from Dahua Technology. The analysis contains the identification of the DVRIP protocol header format, security mechanisms and vulnerabilities inside the protocol implementation. With the revealing insights of the protocol, an increase of the overall security is achieved. This thesis builds the foundation for further targeted security analyses.
Sollen soziale Roboter Teil unserer Gesellschaft werden?
Eingebettet in eine spannende Kriminalgeschichte vermittelt der Wissenschaftscomic von Oliver Korn und Jonas Grund den aktuellen Stand und Ausblick der Wissenschaft auf Social Robots.
Die Geschichte spielt in der nahen Zukunft: In einem internationalen Projekt erforschen Wissenschaftler die Anforderungen an soziale Roboter für den Gesundheitsbereich. Kurz bevor der Prototyp eines Pflegeroboters in einer Feldstudie zum Einsatz kommt, verschwindet er spurlos. In ihrem ersten großen Fall begibt sich die junge Kommissarin Kira auf eine Reise in die Welt der Wissenschaft. Dabei lernt sie viel über soziale Roboter, KI und die Welt internationaler wissenschaftlicher Kooperationen. Immer wieder kommen kritische Stimmen zu Wort: Anti-Roboter-Aktivisten protestieren gegen Automatisierung und ein Schwinden von Menschlichkeit und Empathie. Selbst in der Familie der Kommissarin wird die mögliche Pflege älterer Menschen durch Roboter kontrovers diskutiert.
Übergreifendes Ziel ist es, über alle Altersstufen hinweg Wissen aufzubauen, damit die Vor- und Nachteile dieser neuen Technologien kontrovers, aber kenntnisreich diskutiert werden können. „Soziale Roboter – ein Science Comic“ ist ein Beitrag zu einer informierten Diskussion in den Feldern Robotik, künstliche Intelligenz, Ethik und Politik und damit auch als Lehr- und Lernmittel geeignet.
Der Comic wurde für Jugendliche und Erwachsene konzipiert und gestaltet. Insbesondere aber für jene, die bisher kaum in Berührung mit sozialen Robotern und künstlicher Intelligenz gekommen sind. Eine weitere Zielgruppe sind im Gesundheitswesen tätige Personen, denn die Betreuung und Pflege älterer Menschen gelten als einer der zukünftig wichtigsten Anwendungsbereiche für soziale Roboter.
DINA4 Hochformat, Hardcover Fadenheftung, erschienen in Deutsch und Englisch. Herausgegeben im Selbstverlag Affective & Cognitive Institute (ACI), Hochschule Offenburg
Machine learning (ML) has become highly relevant in applications across all industries, and specialists in the field are sought urgently. As it is a highly interdisciplinary field, requiring knowledge in computer science, statistics and the relevant application domain, experts are hard to find. Large corporations can sweep the job market by offering high salaries, which makes the situation for small and medium enterprises (SME) even worse, as they usually lack the capacities both for attracting specialists and for qualifying their own personnel. In order to meet the enormous demand in ML specialists, universities now teach ML in specifically designed degree programs as well as within established programs in science and engineering. While the teaching almost always uses practical examples, these are somewhat artificial or outdated, as real data from real companies is usually not available. The approach reported in this contribution aims to tackle the above challenges in an integrated course, combining three independent aspects: first, teaching key ML concepts to graduate students from a variety of existing degree programs; second, qualifying working professionals from SME for ML; and third, applying ML to real-world problems faced by those SME. The course was carried out in two trial periods within a government-funded project at a university of applied sciences in south-west Germany. The region is dominated by SME many of which are world leaders in their industries. Participants were students from different graduate programs as well as working professionals from several SME based in the region. The first phase of the course (one semester) consists of the fundamental concepts of ML, such as exploratory data analysis, regression, classification, clustering, and deep learning. In this phase, student participants and working professionals were taught in separate tracks. Students attended regular classes and lab sessions (but were also given access to e-learning materials), whereas the professionals learned exclusively in a flipped classroom scenario: they were given access to e-learning units (video lectures and accompanying quizzes) for preparation, while face-to-face sessions were dominated by lab experiments applying the concepts. Prior to the start of the second phase, participating companies were invited to submit real-world problems that they wanted to solve with the help of ML. The second phase consisted of practical ML projects, each tackling one of the problems and worked on by a mixed team of both students and professionals for the period of one semester. The teams were self-organized in the ways they preferred to work (e.g. remote vs. face-to-face collaboration), but also coached by one of the teaching staff. In several plenary meetings, the teams reported on their status as well as challenges and solutions. In both periods, the course was monitored and extensive surveys were carried out. We report on the findings as well as the lessons learned. For instance, while the program was very well-received, professional participants wished for more detailed coverage of theoretical concepts. A challenge faced by several teams during the second phase was a dropout of student members due to upcoming exams in other subjects.