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This paper focuses on appropriately measuring the accuracy of forecasts of load behavior and renewable generation in micro-grid operation. Common accuracy measures like the root mean square of the error are often difficult to interpret for system design, as they describe the mean accuracy of the forecast. Micro-grid systems, however, have to be designed to handle also worst case situations. This paper therefore suggests two error measures that are based on the maximum function and that better allow understanding worst case requirements with respect to balancing power and balancing energy supply.
Meeting the requirements of smart grids local, decentralized subnets will offer additional potentials to stabilize and compensate the utility grid mainly on the low voltage level. In a quite complex configuration these decentralized energy systems are combined power, heat and cooling power distributions. According to the regional and local availability of renewable energy sources advanced energy management concepts should consider climatic conditions as well as the state of the interacting utility grid and consumption profiles. The approach uses demonstrational setups to develop a forecast based energy management for trigeneration subnets by taking into account the running conditions of local electrical and thermal energy conversion units. This should lead to the best coverage of the demand and supporting/stabilizing the utility grid at the same time. For the first of three demonstrational projects the priorities of the subnet are given with the maximization of the CHP operation to substitute a major part of the heating and cooling power delivered by electric heaters or compression chillers.
A former remote area power supply was converted to a smart cogeneration subnet with combined heat and power to develop and validate a forecast based energy management at the University of Applied Sciences in Offenburg/Germany. Locally processed weather forecasts and forecasted demand profiles are integrated to allow a precise reaction to changes of fluctuating power sources, changes in scheduled demand profiles and to improve the energy efficiency of the supply. The management of the electrical and thermal storages is influenced by the forecasted energy contributions and the forecasted demand. Further approaches should improve the accuracy of forecasting algorithms and integrate parameter models gained of a detailed monitoring to realize predictive controllers.
Formal Description of Use Cases for Industry 4.0 Maintenance Processes Using Blockchain Technology
(2019)
Maintenance processes in Industry 4.0 applications try to achieve a high degree of quality to reduce the downtime of machinery. The monitoring of executed maintenance activities is challenging as in complex production setups, multiple stakeholders are involved. So, full transparency of the different activities and of the state of the machine can only be supported, if these stakeholders trust each other. Therefore, distributed ledger technologies, like Blockchain, can be promising candidates for supporting such applications. The goal of this paper is a formal description of business and technical interactions between non-trustful stakeholders in the context of Industry 4.0 maintenance processes using distributed ledger technologies. It also covers the integration of smart contracts for automated triggering of activities.
Although short range wireless communication explicitly targets local and very regional applications, range continues to be an extremely important issue. The range directly depends on the so called link budget, which can be increased by the choice of modulation and coding schemes. Especially, the recent transceiver generation comes with extensive and flexible support for Software Defined Radio (SDR). The SX127x family from Semtech Corp. is a member of this device class and promises significant benefits for range, robust performance, and battery lifetime compared to competing technologies. This contribution gives a short overview into the technologies to support Long Range (LoRa ™), describes the outdoor setup at the Laboratory Embedded Systems and Communication Electronics of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, shows detailed measurement results and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of this technology.
Over the last years, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have been the dominating neural architecture in a wide range of computer vision tasks. From an image and signal processing point of view, this success might be a bit surprising as the inherent spatial pyramid design of most CNNs is apparently violating basic signal processing laws, i.e. Sampling Theorem in their down-sampling operations. However, since poor sampling appeared not to affect model accuracy, this issue has been broadly neglected until model robustness started to receive more attention. Recent work in the context of adversarial attacks and distribution shifts, showed after all, that there is a strong correlation between the vulnerability of CNNs and aliasing artifacts induced by poor down-sampling operations. This paper builds on these findings and introduces an aliasing free down-sampling operation which can easily be plugged into any CNN architecture: FrequencyLowCut pooling. Our experiments show, that in combination with simple and Fast Gradient Sign Method (FGSM) adversarial training, our hyper-parameter free operator substantially improves model robustness and avoids catastrophic overfitting. Our code is available at https://github.com/GeJulia/flc_pooling
Printed electronics offers certain technological advantages over its silicon based counterparts, such as mechanical flexibility, low process temperatures, maskless and additive manufacturing process, leading to extremely low cost manufacturing. However, to be exploited in applications such as smart sensors, Internet of Things and wearables, it is essential that the printed devices operate at low supply voltages. Electrolyte gated field effect transistors (EGFETs) using solution-processed inorganic materials which are fully printed using inkjet printers at low temperatures are very promising candidates to provide such solutions. In this paper, we discuss the technology, process, modeling, fabrication, and design aspect of circuits based on EGFETs. We show how the measurements performed in the lab can accurately be modeled in order to be integrated in the design automation tool flow in the form of a Process Design Kit (PDK). We also review some of the remaining challenges in this technology and discuss our future directions to address them.
In a recent paper it has been shown that the effective nonlinear constant which is used in a P-Matrix approach to describe third-order intermodulation (IMD3) in surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices can be obtained from finite element (FEM) calculations of a periodic cell using nonlinear tensor data [1]. In this paper we extend this FEM calculation and show that the IMD3 of an infinite periodic array of electrodes on a piezoelectric substrate can be directly simulated in the sagittal plane. This direct approach opens the way for a FEM based simulation of nonlinearities for finite and generalized structures avoiding the simplifications of phenomenological approaches.
Logging information is more precious as it contains the execution of a system; it is produced by millions of events from simple application logins to random system errors. Most of the security related problems in the cloud ecosystem like intruder attacks, data loss, and denial of service, etc. could be avoided if Cloud Service Provider (CSP) or Cloud User (CU) analyses the logging information. In this paper we introduced few challenges, which are place of monitoring, security, and ownership of the logging information between CSP and CU.
Also we proposed a logging architecture to analyze the behaviour of the cloud ecosystem, to avoid data breaches and other security related issues at the CSP space. So that we believe our proposed architecture can provide maximum trust between CU and CSP.
In this paper, we propose an approach for gait phase detection for flat and inclined surfaces that can be used for an ankle-foot orthosis and the humanoid robot Sweaty. To cover different use cases, we use a rule-based algorithm. This offers the required flexibility and real-time capability. The inputs of the algorithm are inertial measurement unit and ankle joint angle signals. We show that the gait phases with the orthosis worn by a human participant and with Sweaty are reliably recognized by the algorithm under the condition of adapted transition conditions. E.g., the specificity for human gait on flat surfaces is 92 %. For the robot Sweaty, 95 % results in fully recognized gait cycles. Furthermore, the algorithm also allows the determination of the inclination angle of the ramp. The sensors of the orthosis provide 6.9 and that of the robot Sweaty 7.7 when walking onto the reference ramp with slope angle 7.9.
The isolation measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic brought light to discussions related to the importance of meaningful social relationships as a basic need to human well-being. But even before the pandemic outbreak in the years 2020 and 2021, organizations and scholars were already drawing attention to the growing numbers related to lonely people in the world (World Economic Forum, 2019). Loneliness is an emotional distress caused by the lack of meaningful social connections, which affects people worldwide across all age groups, mainly young adults (Rook, 1984). The use of digital technologies has gained prominence as a means of alleviating the distress. As an example, studies have shown the benefits of using digital games both to stimulate social interactions (Steinfield, Ellison & Lampe, 2008) and to enhance the effects of digital interventions for mental health treatments, through gamification (Fleming et al., 2017). It is with these aspects in mind that the gamified app Noneliness was designed with the intention of reducing loneliness rates among young students at a German university. In addition to sharing the related works that supported the application development, this chapter also presents the aspects considered for the resource's design, its main functionalities, and the preliminary results related to the reduction of loneliness in the target audience.
Gamification implies the application of methods and design patterns from gaming to non-gaming areas like learning or working. We applied an existing gamification design to production processes in an organization which provides sheltered employment for impaired persons. In contrast to existing work, we investigated not only a short period but a complete workday to measure the effects on the work performance. The study indicates that gamification has (1) a negative effect on workers with considerable cognitive impairments, (2) no significant effect on workers with medium cognitive impairments and (3) a positive effect on workers with mild cognitive impairments.
In this work we provide an overview of gamification, i.e. the application of methods from game design to enrich non-gaming processes. The contribution is divided into five subsections: an introduction focusing on the progression of gamification through the hype cycle in the recent years (1), a brief introduction to gamification mechanics (1) and an overview of the state of the art in established areas (3). The focus is a discussion of more recent attempts of gamification in service and production (4). We also discuss the ethical implications (5) and the future perspectives (6) of gamified business processes. Gamification has been successfully applied in the domains education (serious games) and health (exergames) and is spreading to other areas. In recent years there have been various attempts to “gamify” business processes. While the first efforts date back as far as the collection of miles in frequent flyer programs, we will portray some of the more recent and comprehensive software-based approaches in the service industry, e.g. the gamification of processes in sales and marketing. We discuss their accomplishments as well as their social and ethical implicatio. Finally a very recent approach is presented: the application of gamification in the domain of industrial production. We discuss the special requirements in this domain and the effects on the business level and on the users. We conclude with a prognosis on the future development of gamification.
Activities for rehabilitation and prevention are often lengthy and associated with pain and frustration. Their playful enrichment (hereafter: gamification) can counteract this, resulting in so-called “exergames”. However, in contrast to games designed solely for entertainment, the increased motivation and immersion in gamified training can lead to a reduced perception of pain and thus to health deterioration. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor activities continuously. However, only an AI-based system able to generate autonomous interventions could vacate the therapists’ costly time and allow better training at home. An automated adjustment of the movement training’s difficulty as well as individualized goal setting and control are essential to achieve such autonomy. This article’s contribution is two-fold: (1) We portray the potentials of gamification in the health area. (2) We present a framework for smart rehabilitation and prevention training allowing autonomous, dynamic, and gamified interactions.
In this work, we investigate how gamification can be integrated into work processes in the automotive industry. The contribution contains five parts: (1) An introduction showing how gamification has become increasingly common, especially in education, health and the service industry. (2) An analysis on the state of the art of gamified applications, discussing several best practices. (3) An analysis of the special requirements for gamification in production, regarding both external norms and the mindset of workers in this domain. (4) An overview of first approaches towards a gamification of production, focusing on solutions for impaired workers in sheltered work organizations. (5) A study with a focus group of instructors at two large car manufacturers. Based on the presentation of three potential designs for the gamification of production, the study investigates the general acceptance of gamification in modern production and determines which design is best suited for future implementations.
New employees are supposed to quickly understand their tasks, internal processes and familiarize with colleagues. This process is called “onboarding” and is still mainly realized by organizational methods from human resource management, such as introductory events or special employee sessions. Software tools and especially mobile applications are an innovative means to support provide onboarding processes in a modern, even remote, way. In this paper we analyze how the use of gamification can enhance onboarding processes. Firstly, we describe a mobile onboarding application specifically developed for the young, technically literate generations Y and Z, who are just about to start their career. Secondly, we report on a study with 98 students and young employees. We found that participants enjoyed the gamified application. They especially appreciated the feature “Team Bingo” which facilitates social integration and teambuilding. Based on the OCEAN personality model (“Big Five”), the personality traits agreeableness and openness revealed significant correlations with a preference for the gamified onboarding application.
Mit Gendering Marteloskope stellen wir Entwicklungsprozess dar: Entstanden ist videografisches Material in Marteloskopen, die im Wald Bäume, Tablets und Menschen in Dialog zueinander setzen. Die Videografie und die Erfahrungen vor Ort werden mit Ansätzen aus Gender in Science and Technlogy Studies reflektiert sowie mit digital unterstützter kollaborativer Didaktik über interaktive Webdokumentationen zu Open Science Modulen zusammengeführt.
To achieve Germany's climate targets, the industrial sector, among others, must be transformed. The decarbonization of industry through the electrification of heating processes is a promising option. In order to investigate this transformation in energy system models, high-resolution temporal demand profiles of the heat and electricity applications for different industries are required. This paper presents a method for generating synthetic electricity and heat load profiles for 14 industry types. Using this methodology, annual profiles with a 15-minute resolution can be generated for both energy demands. First, daily profiles for the electricity demand were generated for 4 different production days. These daily profiles are additionally subdivided into eight end-use application categories. Finally, white noise is applied to the profile of the mechanical drives. The heat profile is similar to the electrical but is subdivided into four temperature ranges and the two applications hot water and space heating. The space heating application is additionally adjusted to the average monthly outdoor temperature. Both time series were generated for the analysis of an electrification of industrial heat application in energy system modelling.
Bei einem neuen Kühldeckensystem wird die Luft im Deckenhohlraum oberhalb der abgehängten Decke durch Konvektoren gekühlt, wobei die Wärmeübertragung ausschließlich durch freie Konvektion und Strahlung erfolgt. Die abgehängte Decke nimmt durch Strahlung und freie Konvektion Wärme aus dem darunterliegenden Büroraum auf und gibt sie über freie Konvektion an die Luft im Deckenhohlraum sowie durch Strahlung an die Begrenzungsflächen des Deckenhohlraumes ab. Die vom Kühlwasser durchströmten Rippenrohre nehmen ihrerseits Wärme aus der Luft im Hohlraum auf, die infolge der freien Konvektion durch die Rippenrohre strömt. Zur Aufnahme des bei starker Belastung und Dauerbetrieb anfallenden Kondensats ist unterhalb des Konvektors eine Kondensatauffangwanne angebracht. Mit dem von Rutsch erstellten Rechenprogramm ist es möglich, für verschiedenste Randbedingungen die Rippenrohre auf maximale Kühlleistung zu optimieren. Voraussetzung für die direkte Anwendung dieses Berechnungsverfahrens sind jedoch ungestörte An- und Abströmbedingungen der Luft am Konvektor. Neben der Optimierung der Rippenrohre auf Kühlleistung ist für den Aufbau der eigentlichen Decke die Luftströmung im Deckenhohlraum und die Austrittstemperatur aus den Konvektoren von entscheidender Bedeutung. Die maximale Kühlleistung der Rippenrohre kann nur erreicht werden, wenn alle Einzelrippenrohre nahezu gleichmäßig durchströmt werden und günstige Abströmverhältnisse vorhanden sind. Die Strömungsverhältnisse im Deckenhohlraum und innerhalb der Konvektoren wurden durch Rauch sichtbar gemacht und auf Video aufgezeichnet. Entscheidenden Einfluß auf die Temperaturverteilung an der Kühldecke haben die Breite des Konvektors, die Konstruktion der Kondensatauffangwanne, der Abstand der Konvektoren voneinander und der Konvektortyp. Direkt unterhalb der Kondensatauffangwanne beträgt die Temperaturdifferenz ca. 3 K. Der Temperaturgradient im Abströmbereich liegt bei ca. 0,2 bis 0,3 K/m.
In online analytical processing (OLAP), filtering elements of a given dimensional attribute according to the value of a measure attribute is an essential operation, for example in top-k evaluation. Such filters can involve extremely large amounts of data to be processed, in particular when the filter condition includes “quantification” such as ANY or ALL, where large slices of an OLAP cube have to be computed and inspected. Due to the sparsity of OLAP cubes, the slices serving as input to the filter are usually sparse as well, presenting a challenge for GPU approaches which need to work with a limited amount of memory for holding intermediate results. Our CUDA solution involves a hashing scheme specifically designed for frequent and parallel updates, including several optimizations exploiting architectural features of Nvidia’s Fermi and Kepler GPUs.
Current training methods for deep neural networks boil down to very high dimensional and non-convex optimization problems which are usually solved by a wide range of stochastic gradient descent methods. While these approaches tend to work in practice, there are still many gaps in the theoretical understanding of key aspects like convergence and generalization guarantees, which are induced by the properties of the optimization surface (loss landscape). In order to gain deeper insights, a number of recent publications proposed methods to visualize and analyze the otimization surfaces. However, the computational cost of these methods are very high, making it hardly possible to use them on larger networks. In this paper, we present the GradVis Toolbox, an open source library for efficient and scalable visualization and analysis of deep neural network loss landscapes in Tesorflow and PyTorch. Introducing more efficient mathematical formulations and a novel parallelization scheme, GradVis allows to plot 2d and 3d projections of optimization surfaces and trajectories, as well as high resolution second order gradient information for large networks.
Auf dem Markt existiert eine Vielzahl an PDAs. Alle haben einen sehr hohen Funktionsumfang und übertreffen sich von Generation zu Generation und erfordern einen hohen Entwicklungsaufwand von ganzen Entwicklerteams.
Der in dieser Arbeit entwickelte PDA mit seiner Hard- und Software soll kein Konkurrenzprodukt darstellen, sondern aufzeigen, was mit hausinternen Mitteln der Hochschule Offenburg möglich ist und gegebenenfalls eine Benutzeroberfläche für bestehende oder noch kommende Projekte bilden.
Das hier entstandene Gerät ist im Akkumulator-Betrieb autonom und kann als eigenständiges System betrieben werden. Als Herzstück dient das Softcore SIRIUS Mikroprozessorsystem, das als VHDL-Modell in einem FPGA emuliert wird.
Zum Darstellen des grafischen Betriebsystems, welches speziell für dieses PDA entwickelt wurde, wird ein AMOLED-Display verwendet. Dieses besitzt ein Touchpanel, welches zur Steuerung des Systems genutzt wird. Softwareseitig sind Grundfunktionen zur Darstellung von Bildern und Texten entstanden, sowie Beispielanwendungen, die diese benutzen. Das grafische Betriebssystem ist modular und ermöglicht die direkte Weiterentwicklung von Anwendungen für das System.
Grey-box modelling combines physical and data-driven models to benefit from their respective advantages. Neural ordinary differential equations (NODEs) offer new possibilities for grey-box modelling, as differential equations given by physical laws and neural networks can be combined in a single modelling framework. This simplifies the simulation and optimization and allows to consider irregularly-sampled data during training and evaluation of the model. We demonstrate this approach using two levels of model complexity; first, a simple parallel resistor-capacitor circuit; and second, an equivalent circuit model of a lithium-ion battery cell, where the change of the voltage drop over the resistor-capacitor circuit including its dependence on current and State-of-Charge is implemented as NODE. After training, both models show good agreement with analytical solutions respectively with experimental data.
The paper describes a systematic approach for a precise short-time cloud coverage prediction based on an optical system. We present a distinct pre-processing stage that uses a model based clear sky simulation to enhance the cloud segmentation in the images. The images are based on a sky imager system with fish-eye lens optic to cover a maximum area. After a calibration step, the image is rectified to enable linear prediction of cloud movement. In a subsequent step, the clear sky model is estimated on actual high dynamic range images and combined with a threshold based approach to segment clouds from sky. In the final stage, a multi hypothesis linear tracking framework estimates cloud movement, velocity and possible coverage of a given photovoltaic power station. We employ a Kalman filter framework that efficiently operates on the rectified images. The evaluation on real world data suggests high coverage prediction accuracy above 75%.
We demonstrate how to exploit group sparsity in order to bridge the areas of network pruning and neural architecture search (NAS). This results in a new one-shot NAS optimizer that casts the problem as a single-level optimization problem and does not suffer any performance degradation from discretizating the architecture.
In this paper, we propose a unified approach for network pruning and one-shot neural architecture search (NAS) via group sparsity. We first show that group sparsity via the recent Proximal Stochastic Gradient Descent (ProxSGD) algorithm achieves new state-of-the-art results for filter pruning. Then, we extend this approach to operation pruning, directly yielding a gradient-based NAS method based on group sparsity. Compared to existing gradient-based algorithms such as DARTS, the advantages of this new group sparsity approach are threefold. Firstly, instead of a costly bilevel optimization problem, we formulate the NAS problem as a single-level optimization problem, which can be optimally and efficiently solved using ProxSGD with convergence guarantees. Secondly, due to the operation-level sparsity, discretizing the network architecture by pruning less important operations can be safely done without any performance degradation. Thirdly, the proposed approach finds architectures that are both stable and well-performing on a variety of search spaces and datasets.
Surface and interface acoustic waves are two-dimensionally guided waves, as their displacement field is plane-wave like regarding its dependence on the spatial coordinates parallel to the guiding plane, while it decays exponentially along the axis normal to that plane. When propagating at the planar surface or interface of homogeneous media, they are non-dispersive. Another type of non-dispersive acoustic waves which is, however, one-dimensionally guided, has displacement fields localized near the apex of a wedge made of an elastic material. In this short review, their propagation properties are described as well as theoretical and experimental methods which have been used for their analysis. Experimental findings are discussed in comparison with corresponding theoretical work and potential applications of this fascinating type of acoustic waves are presented.
The paper describes the hardware and software architecture of the developed multi MEMS sensor prototype module, consisting of ARM Cortex M4 STM32F446 microcontroller unit, five 9-axis inertial measurement units MPU9255 (3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer and temperature sensor) and a BMP280 barometer. The module is also equipped with WiFi wireless interface (Espressif ESP8266 chip). The module is constructed in the form of a truncated pyramid. Inertial sensors are mounted on a special basement at different angles to each other to eliminate hardware sensors drifts and to provide the capability for self-calibration. The module fuses information obtained from all types of inertial sensors (acceleration, rotation rate, magnetic field and air pressure) in order to calculate orientation and trajectory. It might be used as an Inertial Measurement Unit, Vertical Reference Unit or Attitude and Heading Reference System.
Novel manufacturing technologies, such as printed electronics, may enable future applications for the Internet of Everything like large-area sensor devices, disposable security, and identification tags. Printed physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are promising candidates to be embedded as hardware security keys into lightweight identification devices. We investigate hybrid PUFs based on a printed PUF core. The statistics on the intra- and inter-hamming distance distributions indicate a performance suitable for identification purposes. Our evaluations are based on statistical simulations of the PUF core circuit and the thereof generated challenge-response pairs. The analysis shows that hardware-intrinsic security features can be realized with printed lightweight devices.
Android is an operating system which was developed for use in smart mobile phones and is the current leader in this market. A lot of efforts are being spent to make Android available to the embedded world, as well. Many embedded systems do not have a local GUI and are therefore called headless devices. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the general suitability of Anroid in headless embedded systems and ponders the advantages and disadvantages. It focuses on the hardware related issues, i.e. to what extent Android supports hardware peripherals normally used in embedded systems.
Heart rhythm model and simulation of electrophysiological studies and high-frequency ablations
(2017)
Background: Target of the study was to create an accurate anatomic CAD heart rhythm model, and to show its usefulness for cardiac electrophysiological studies and high-frequency ablations. The method is more careful for the patients’ health and has the potential to replace clinical studies due to its high efficiency regarding time and costs.
Methods: All natural heart components of the new HRM were based on MRI records, which guaranteed electronic functionality. The software CST was used for the construction, while CST’s material library assured genuine tissue properties. It should be applicable to simulate different heart rhythm diseases as well as various diffusions of electromagnetic fields, caused by electrophysiological conduction, inside the heart tissue.
Results: It was achievable to simulate sinus rhythm and fourteen different heart rhythm disturbance with different atrial and ventricular conduction delays. The simulated biological excitation of healthy and sick HRM were plotted by simulated electrodes of four polar right atrial catheter, six polar His bundle catheter, ten polar coronary sinus catheter, four polar ablation catheter and eight polar transesophageal left cardiac catheter. Accordingly, six variables were rebuilt and inserted into the anatomic HRM in order to establish heart catheters for ECG monitoring and HF ablation. The HF ablation catheters made it possible to simulate various types of heart rhythm disturbance ablations with different HF ablation catheters and also showed a functional visualisation of tissue heating. The use of tetrahedral meshing HRM made it attainable to store the results faster accompanied by a higher degree of space saving. The smart meshing function reduced unnecessary high resolutions for coarse structures.
Conclusions: The new HRM for EPS simulation may be additional useful for simulation of heart rhythm disturbance, cardiac pacing, HF ablation and for locating and identification of complex fractioned signals within the atrium during atrial fibrillation HF ablation.
Heart rhythm model and simulation of electrophysiological studies and high-frequency ablations
(2017)
Background: The simulation of complex cardiologic structures has the potential to replace clinical studies due to its high efficiency regarding time and costs. Furthermore, the method is more careful for the patients’ health than the conventional ways. The aim of the study was to create an anatomic CAD heart rhythm model (HRM) as accurate as possible, and to show its usefulness for cardiac electrophysiological studies (EPS) and high-frequency (HF) ablations.
Methods: All natural heart components of the new HRM were based on MRI records, which guaranteed electronic functionality. The software CST (Computer Simulation Technology, Darmstadt) was used for the construction, while CST’s material library assured genuine tissue properties. It should be applicable to simulate different heart rhythm diseases as well as various diffusions of electromagnetic fields, caused by electrophysiological conduction, inside the heart tissue.
Results: It was achievable to simulate normal sinus rhythm and fourteen different heart rhythm disturbance with different atrial and ventricular conduction delays. The simulated biological excitation of healthy and sick HRM were plotted by simulated electrodes of four polar right atrial catheter, six polar His bundle catheter, ten polar coronary sinus catheter, four polar ablation catheter and eight polar transesophageal left cardiac catheter (Fig.). Accordingly, six variables were rebuilt and inserted into the anatomic HRM in order to establish heart catheters for ECG monitoring and HF ablation. The HF ablation catheters made it possible to simulate various types of heart rhythm disturbance ablations with different HF ablation catheters and also showed a functional visualisation of tissue heating. The use of tetrahedral meshing HRM made it attainable to store the results faster accompanied by a higher degree of space saving. The smart meshing function reduced unnecessary high resolutions for coarse structures.
Conclusions: The new HRM for EPS simulation may be additional useful for simulation of heart rhythm disturbance, cardiac pacing, HF ablation and for locating and identification of complex fractioned signals within the atrium during atrial fibrillation HF ablation.
Heart rhythm model and simulation of electrophysiological studies and high-frequency ablations
(2017)
Background: The simulation of complex cardiologic structures has the potential to replace clinical studies due to its high efficiency regarding time and costs. Furthermore, the method is more careful for the patients’ health than the conventional ways. The aim of the study was to create an anatomic CAD heart rhythm model (HRM) as accurate as possible, and to show its usefulness for cardiac electrophysiological studies (EPS) and high-frequency (HF) ablations.
Methods: All natural heart components of the new HRM were based on MRI records, which guaranteed electronic functionality. The software CST (Computer Simulation Technology, Darmstadt) was used for the construction, while CST’s material library assured genuine tissue properties. It should be applicable to simulate different heart rhythm diseases as well as various diffusions of electromagnetic fields, caused by electrophysiological conduction, inside the heart tissue.
Results: It was achievable to simulate normal sinus rhythm and fourteen different heart rhythm disturbance with different atrial and ventricular conduction delays. The simulated biological excitation of healthy and sick HRM were plotted by simulated electrodes of four polar right atrial catheter, six polar His bundle catheter, ten polar coronary sinus catheter, four polar ablation catheter and eight polar transesophageal left cardiac catheter (Fig.). Accordingly, six variables were rebuilt and inserted into the anatomic HRM in order to establish heart catheters for ECG monitoring and HF ablation. The HF ablation catheters made it possible to simulate various types of heart rhythm disturbance ablations with different HF ablation catheters and also showed a functional visualisation of tissue heating. The use of tetrahedral meshing HRM made it attainable to store the results faster accompanied by a higher degree of space saving. The smart meshing function reduced unnecessary high resolutions for coarse structures.
Conclusions: The new HRM for EPS simulation may be additional useful for simulation of heart rhythm disturbance, cardiac pacing, HF ablation and for locating and identification of complex fractioned signals within the atrium during atrial fibrillation HF ablation.
In automotive parking scenario, where the curb shall be detected and classified to be traversable or not, radars play an important role. There are different approaches already proposed in other works to estimate the target height. This paper assesses and compares two methods. The first is based on Angle of Arrival (AoA) estimation of input signals of multiple antennas using the Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) principle. The second method uses the geometry in multipath propagation of the radar echo signal for one antenna input. In this work a modified method of calculation of the curb height based on the second method is proposed. The theory of approach is mathematically proved and effectiveness is demonstrated by evaluation of measurements with a 77 GHz Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar. In order to evaluate the performance of the introduced method the mean square error (MSE) is used in the proposed scenario. This method, using only one antenna input, produced up to 3.4 times better results for curb height detection in comparison with former methods.
Hintergrund: Richtung und Stärke des elektrischen Feldes (E-Feld) der biventrikulären (BV) Stimulation und elektrische interventrikuläre Desynchronisation sind bei Patienten mit Herzinsuffizienz und verbreitertem QRS Komplex von Bedeutung für den Erfolg der kardialen Resynchronisationstherapie (CRT). Das 3D Herzrhythmusmodell (HRM) ermöglicht die
Simulation von CRT und Hochfrequenz (HF) Ablation. Das Ziel der Studie besteht in der Integration von Schrittmacher- und Ablationselektroden in das HRM zur E-Feld Simulation der BV Stimulation und thermischen Feld (T-Feld) Simulation der HF Ablation von Vorhofflimmern (AF).
Methoden: Es wurden fünf multipolare linksventrikuläre (LV) Elektroden, eine epikardiale LV Elektrode, vier bipolare rechtsatriale (RA) Elektroden, zwei rechtsventrikuläre (RV) Elektroden und ein HF Ablationskatheter mit CST (Computer Simulation Technology, Darmstadt) modelliert und das HRM (Schalk et al: Clin Res Cardiol 106, Suppl 1, April 2017, P1812) um den Koronarvenensinus (CS) erweitert (HRM-CS). E-Feld Simulationen bei vorhofsynchroner BV Stimulation und bei RA Stimulation mit RV und LV Ableitung erfolgten mit den Elektroden Select Secure 3830, Capsure VDD-2 5038 und Attain OTW 4194 im HRM+CS (Fig.). F-Feld Simulationen der HF Ablation von AF bei CRT wurden mit integriertem Ablationskatheter AlCath G FullCircle (Biotronik) simuliert.
Ergebnisse: HRM-CS ermöglichte 3D E-Feld Simulationen bei vorhofsynchroner bipolarer BV Stimulation und bei bipolarer RA Stimulation mit bipolarer RV und LV Ableitung. RV und LV Stimulation erfolgten zeitgleich bei einer Amplitude von 3 V an der LV Elektrode und 1 V an der RV Elektrode mit einer Impulsbreite von jeweils 0,5 ms. Die von der BV Stimulationen erzeugten Fernpotentiale konnten von der RA Elektrode wahrgenommen werden. Das Fernpotential an der RA Elektrodenspitze betrug 32,86 mV und in 1 mm Abstand von der RA Elektrodenspitze ergab sich ein Fernpotential von 185,97 mV. HRM-CS ermöglichte 3D T-Feld Simulationen der HF Ablation von AF bei CRT. Das T-Feld bei HF Ablation des AV-Knotens wurde mit einer anliegenden Leistung von 5 W bei 420 kHz an der distalen 8 mm Ablationselektrode simuliert. Die Temperatur an der Katheterspitze betrug nach 5 s Ablationsdauer 88,66 °C, in 1 mm Abstand von der Katheterspitze im Myokard 42,17 °C und in 2 mm Abstand 37,49 °C.
Schlussfolgerungen: HRM-CS und Elektrodenmodelle ermöglichen die 3D Simulationen von E-Feldern bei vorhofsynchroner BV Stimulation, RA Stimulation mit RV und LV Wahrnehmung und von T-Feldern bei HF Ablation. E-Feld Simulationen von RA, RV und LV Stimulation und Sensing können möglicherweise zur Vorhersage von CRT Respondern genutzt werden.
Top-level staff prefers to live in urban areas with perfect social infrastructure. This is a common problem for excellent companies (“hidden champions”) in rural areas: even if they can provide the services qualified applicants appreciate for daily living, they fail to attract them because important facts are not presented sufficiently in social media or on the corporate website. This is especially true for applicants with families. The contribution of this paper is four-fold: we provide an overview of the current state of online recruiting activities of hidden champions (1). Based on this corpus, we describe the applicant service gap for company information in rural communes (2). A study on user experience (UX) identifies the applicants’ wishes and needs, focusing on a family-oriented information system on living conditions in rural areas (3). Finally, we present the results of an online survey on the value of such information systems with more than 200 participants (4).
Wireless synchronization of industrial controllers is a challenging task in environments where wired solutions are not practical. The best solutions proposed so far to solve this problem require pretty expensive and highly specialized FPGA-based devices. With this work we counter the trend by introducing a straightforward approach to synchronize a fairly cheap IEEE 802.11 integrated wireless chip (IWC) with external devices. More specifically we demonstrate how we can reprogram the software running in the 802.11 IWC of the Raspberry Pi 3B and transform the receiver input potential of the wireless transceiver into a triggering signal for an external inexpensive FPGA. Experimental results show a mean-square synchronization error of less than 496 ns, while the absolute synchronization error does not exceed 6 μs. The jitter of the output signal that we obtain after synchronizing the clock of the external device did not exceed 5.2 μs throughout the whole measurement campaign. Even though we do not score new records in term of accuracy, we do in terms of complexity, cost, and availability of the required components: all these factors make the proposed technique a very promising of the deployment of large-scale low-cost automation solutions.
HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography) is a well known and versatile separation method which shows a lot of advantages and options in comparison to other separation techniques. The method is fast and inexpensive and does not need time-consuming pretreatments. Using fiber-optic elements for controlled light-guiding, the TLC-method was significantly improved: the new HPTLC-system is able to measure simultaneously at different wavelengths without destroying the plate surface or the analytes on the surface. For registration of the sample distribution on a HPTLC-plate we developed a new and sturdy diode-array HPTLC- scanner which allows registration of spectra on the TLC- plates in the range of 198 nm to 610 nm with a spectral resolution better than 1.2 nm. The spatial resolution on plate is better than 160 micrometers . In the spectral mode, the new HPTLC-scanner delivers much more information than the commonly used TLC-scanner. The measurement of 450 spectra of one separation track does not need more than three minutes. However, in the fixed wavelength mode the contour plot can be measured within 15 seconds. In this case, the signal will be summarized and averaged over a spectral range having FWHM from 10 nm to 25 nm depending on the substance under test. The new diode-array HPTLC-scanner makes various chemometric applications possible. The new method can be used easily in clinical diagnostic systems easily, e.g. for blood and uring investigations. In addition, new applications are possible. For example, the rich structured PAHs were studied. Although the separation is incomplete the 16 compounds can be quantified using suitable wavelengths.
Responder-rate in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) of patients in sinus rhythm (SR) or atrial fibrillation (AF) mainly depends on accurat selection, optimal position of the left ventricular electrode and individualization of hemodynamical parameters of the implanted biventricular pacing system during follow-up. High resolution esophageal left heart electrocardiography offers a quick and semi-invasive approach to the electrical activity of left atrium and left ventricle. It was used in 62 heart failure patients in sinus rhythm and 11 in atrial fibrillation after implantation of CRT systems to compare the semi-invasive interventricular conduction delay (IVCDE) with QRS width. In all of the patients, guideline decision for CRT was linked with IVCDE of about 40ms and up. From logical point of view, IVCDE provides the minimal target interval for the left ventricular electrode placement in order to exclude non-responders. Esophageal measurement of interatrial conduction intervals in VDD and DDD pacing was utilized to individualize the AV delay and to exclude adverse hemodynamic effects.
Since direct current high energy shock fulguration was initially performed in the mid 1980s, ablation of cardiac arrhythmias has come to widespread use. Today the most frequently used energy source for catheter ablation is radio frequency (RF). It was the German engineer Peter Osypka who made available the HAT 100 as the first simple commercial RF ablator.
Nevertheless, in the first years of ablation, physicians were effectively working in the dark. Until today with an increasing understanding of arrhythmia mechanisms, both at the atrial and ventricular levels, this curative technology has made tremendous progress. Now, due to crucial improvement of RF ablation generators, temperature and contact force sensor catheters in combination with non-flouroscopic electroanatomical mapping technologies, computerized temperature and impedance controlled radiofrequency catheter ablation can be used to cure all types of arrhythmias including atrial and ventricular fibrillation. For the latter, cooled ablation by saline solution irrigated catheters has been developed to a widely used standard method. This procedure resulting in pulmonary vein isolation requires transseptal puncture and is technically demanding. Nevertheless, it has shown to be more effective than antiarrhythmic drug therapy.
While earliest RF ablations were performed with non-steerable catheters, today are used steerable sensor catheters without or with external and internal cooling and tips of 4mm or 8mm length. Further innovations like integration of mapping and cardiac imaging give exact information of the number of pulmonary veins and branching patterns and help to correlate electrical signals with anatomical structures.
The magnetic navigation significantly improved the success rates and safety of catheter ablation. Thus, in most cases RF catheter ablation has developed in the treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias from an alternative approach to drug therapy into the first therapeutic choice providing low complication rates.
In future, robotic navigation will further simplify procedures and reduce radiation exposure of this curative approach.
Durch eine stetige Preissteigerung der fossilen Energieträger werden auch im Bereich der mobilen Arbeitsmaschinen neben einer hohen Zuverlässig u.a. Forderungen nach steigenden Gesamtwirkungsgraden, mit der hierdurch einhergehenden Energieeffizienz, forciert. Auch bei mobilen Arbeitsmaschinen ist der häufig eingeschränkt zur Verfügung stehende Bauraum für Traktionsantriebe eine Herausforderung. Ziel dieser Veröffentlichung ist ein allgemeingültiger Vergleich verschiedener elektrischer Antriebsarten als Traktionsantrieb für mobile Arbeitsmaschinen.
Kleinstlebewesen vorgestellt, das Vitalparameter erfasst und diese in einem FRAM-Speicher bis zum Auslesen abspeichert. Durch eine drahtlose RFID-/NFC-Ausleseschnittstelle kann die erfasste Körpertemperatur und der Puls der letzten Wochen ausgelesen werden. Alle Einstellungen des Messsystems können durch einen geeigneten RFID-Reader für Laptops oder durch Smartphones über die NFC-Schnittstelle geändert werden. Das vollständige Aufladen des nur 3 g leichten und 15 mm x 25 mm großen Messsystems erfolgt durch eine selbstgedruckte RFID-Reader-Antenne in Verbindung mit einem RFID-Reader und benötigt hierzu weniger als 21 Stunden. Bei vollständig aufgeladenem Energiespeicher ist ein Betrieb von 47 Tagen möglich. Dies wird durch ein speziell für das Messsystem konzipiertes Lade- und Powermanagement erreicht. Neben der Auswahl von energiesparenden Komponenten für die Hardware und deren bestmöglichen Nutzung, wurde die Software so optimiert, dass das Programm schnell und stromsparend abgearbeitet wird. Die Erweiterbarkeit und Anpassung wird durch das modulare Konzept auch in anderen Bereichen gewährleistet.
Hochspannungs-Mischstrom-Übertragung (HMÜ) - Eine Ergänzung zu bestehenden Übertragungstechnologien?
(2019)
Bei der Mischstromübertragung wird einem Wechselstrom direkt ein Gleichstrom überlagert. Wechselstrom und Gleichstrom werden also auf dem gleichen Seil geführt.
Dadurch könnten die bereits bestehenden Drehstrom-Übertragungs-Strecken des Übertragungsnetzes genutzt werden.
Durch eine Aufschaltung des Gleichstromes auf vorhandene Freileitungen kann theoretisch bei kurzen Leitungen (<150km) bis zu 50% mehr Wirkleistung und bei großen Übertragungsstrecken (>300km) in etwa eine Verdopplung der übertragbaren Wirkleistung erwartet werden.
Theoretisch betrachtet ist die Mischstrom-Übertragung eine geometrische Addition aller Strom- und Spannungskomponenten, was zu einer Erhöhung der Leiter-Erde-Spannung führt, ohne dabei Einfluss auf die verkettete Spannung zu nehmen.
Außerdem wird die Übertragung von Blindströmen unnötig, da ein natürlicher Betrieb von Leitungen des HDÜ-Netzes empfehlenswert ist.
Die theoretischen Betrachtungen konnten mathematisch bewiesen und die technische Umsetzung mit einem 1:1000-Modellsystem demonstriert und bestätigt werden.
An import ban of Russian energy sources to Germany is currently being increasingly discussed. We want to support the discussion by showing a way how the electricity system in Germany can manage low energy imports in the short term and which measures are necessary to still meet the climate protection targets. In this paper, we examine the impact of a complete stop of Russian fossil fuel imports on the electricity sector in Germany, and how this will affect the climate coals of an earlier coal phase-out and climate neutrality by 2045.
Following a scenario-based analysis, the results gave a point of view on how much would be needed to completely rely on the scarce non-renewable energy resources in Germany. Huge amounts of investments would be needed in order to ensure a secure supply of electricity, in both generation energy sources (RES) and energy storage systems (ESS). The key findings are that a rapid expansion of renewables and storage technologies will significantly reduce the dependence of the German electricity system on energy imports. The huge integration of renewable energy does not entail any significant imports of the energy sources natural gas, hard coal, and mineral oil, even in the long term. The results showed that a ban on fossil fuel imports from Russia outlines huge opportunities to go beyond the German government's climate targets, where the 1.5-degree-target is achieved in the electricity system.
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.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the RoboCup WorldCup 2021 was held completely remotely. For this competition the Webots simulator (https://cyberbotics.com/) was used, so all teams needed to transfer their robot to the simulation. This paper describes our experiences during this process as well as a genetic learning approach to improve our walk engine to allow a more stable and faster movement in the simulation. Therefore we used a docker setup to scale easily. The resulting movement was one of the outstanding features that finally led to the championship title.
This article sets the focus on methods of information technology in the Humboldt Portal, which represents an ongoing research project to develop a virtual research environment on the Internet for the legacy of Alexander von Humboldt. Based on the experiences of developing and providing the Humboldt Digital Library (www.avhumboldt.net) for more than a decade, we defined a working plan to create an Internet portal for comprehensive access to Humboldt’s writings, no matter if documents are provided as PDF files, scan images or XML-TEI documents on external archives (Google Books, Internet Archive, Deutsches Textarchiv, Bibliotheque National de France). Going far beyond services of a digital library we will provide an information network with multimedia assets, which are containing objects like terms, paragraphs, data tables, scan images, or illustrations, together with correlated properties like thematic linkage to other objects, relevant keywords with optional synonyms and dynamic hyperlinks to related translations in different languages. So the Humboldt Portal can contribute to the key question, how to present interconnected data in an appropriate form using information technologies on the Web.
Sustainable Aspects force a building manager to continuous observation of actual states and developments concerning building use, energy and media flows.In the presented approach a communication structure was built up to use different software applications and tools in order to optimize the operation of the building.
This paper presents an approach for implementing an automated hit detection and score calculation system for a steel dartboard using a standard webcam. First, the rectilinear field separations of the dartboard are described mathematically by means of line slopes and are than stored. These slopes serve as a basis for later score calculation. In addition, thrown darts have to be detected and the pixel at which the dart cuts the dartboard has to be determined. When this information is known, a comparison is made using the line slopes, allowing the field number of the hit to be detected. The decision for single, double or triple hit is made by evaluating the defined colors on the dartboard. All these functions are then packaged in a Matlab GUI.
In this work, we explore three deep learning algorithms apply to seismic interpolation: deep prior image (DPI), standard, and generative adversarial networks (GAN). The standard and GAN approaches rely on a dataset of complete and decimated seismic images for the training process, while the DPI method learns from a decimated image itself, without training images. We carry out two main experiments, considering 10%, 30%, and 50% of regular and irregular decimation. The first tests the optimal situation for the GAN and the standard approaches, where training and testing images are from the same dataset. The second tests the ability of GAN and standard methods to learn simultaneously from three datasets, and generalize to a fourth dataset not used during training. The standard method provides the best results in the first experiment, when the training distribution is similar to the testing one. In this situation, the DPI approach reports the second best results. In the second experiment, the standard method shows the ability to learn simultaneously and effectively three data distributions for the regular case. In the irregular case, the DPI approach is more effective. The GAN approach is the less effective of the three deep learning methods in both experiments.
Remote measurement of the physiology, so-called biotelemetry, is a key technology in the modern veterinary medicine. The usage of wireless implants has less impact on the behavior of animals than manual measurement methods and cause less disturbance than wired devices. But, common biotelemetry still uses proprietary communication and power concepts focused on small systems with one animal. Therefore, the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg is developing a low-cost RFID system called muTrans1, which is able to measure ECG, pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation and activity. The muTrans uses an own RFID sensor transponder and standardized commercial components and combines them to a scalable RFID system able to build-up RFID sensor networks with a nearly unlimited size.
For the past few years Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) have emerged as key technologies for the connectivity of many applications in the Internet of Things (IoT) combining low-data rates with strict cost and energy restrictions. Especially LoRa/LoRaWAN enjoys a high visibility on today’s markets, because of its good performance and its open community. Originally LoRa was designed for operation within the Sub-GHz ISM bands for Industrial, Scientific and Medical applications. However, at the end of 2018, a LoRa-based solution in the 2.4GHz ISM-band was presented promising higher bandwidths and higher data rates. Furthermore, it overcomes the limited duty-cycle prescribed by the regulations in the ISM-bands and therefore also opens doors to many novel application fields. Also, due to higher bandwidths and shorter transmission times, the use of alternative MAC layer protocols becomes very interesting, i.e. for TDMA based-approaches. Within this paper, we propose a system architecture with 2.4GHz LoRa components combining two aspects. On the one hand, we present a design and an implementation of a 2.4GHz based LoRaWAN solution that can be seamlessly integrated into existing LoRaWAN back-hauls. On the other hand, we describe deterministic setup using a Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) approach as defined in the IEEE802.15.4-2015 standard for industrial applications. Finally, measurements show the performance of the system.
Implementation of interdisciplinary student teams in design education for additive manufacturing
(2018)
Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are becoming increasingly popular in all areas of product development. Therefore, it is imperative that students be taught Design for AM. However, due to the rapid development of new methods and materials for AM, it does not make sense to only teach particular design guidelines, as these can quickly become obsolete. Rather, students should acquire the competence to develop guidelines themselves, that take into account the current state of the art. Thus, they will be able to react to changing processes and new materials
in the future. In order to convey the independent development of design guidelines for additive manufacturing by students, a new concept was developed, which is presented in this contribution. In this process, the learning goal is worked out by a group of students on the basis of a practical
task. The group consists of an interdisciplinary team in order to combine different competencies and to provide different perspectives on the task. A case study will show the design and manufacture of a miniature aircraft using Fused Layer Modelling. The aim of the development is above all the design for additive manufacturing. In addition, a low use of resources in combination with lightweight construction should be achieved. In the implementation of the task, the students are confronted with challenging aerodynamic design of wings as well as with the economic evaluation of the development process. An examination of the level of knowledge before and after the case study examines the learning success.
Implementation of lightweight design in the product development process of unmanned aerial vehicles
(2017)
The development and manufacturing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) require a multitude of design rules. Thereby, additive manufacturing (AM) processes provide a number of significant advantages over conventional production methods, particularly for implementing requirements with regard to lightweight construction and sustainability. A new, promising approach is presented, with which, through the combination of very light structural elements with a ribbed construction, an attached covering by means of foil is used. This contribution develops and presents a development process that is based on various development cycles. Such cycles differ in their effort and scope within the overall development, and may only comprise one part of the development process, or the entire development process. The applicability of this development process is demonstrated within the framework of a comprehensive case study. The aim is to develop an additively manufactured product that is as light as possible in the form of a UAV, along with a sustainable manufacturing process for such product. Finally, the results of this case study are analyzed with regard to the improvement of lightweight construction.
6LoWPAN (IPv6 over Low Power Wireless Personal Area Networks) is gaining more and more attraction for the seamless connectivity of embedded devices for the Internet of Things (IoT). Whereas the lower layers (IEEE802.15.4 and 6LoWPAN) are already well defined and consolidated with regard to frame formats, header compression, routing protocols and commissioning procedures, there is still an abundant choice of possibilities on the application layer. Currently, various groups are working towards standardization of the application layer, i.e. the ETSI Technical Committee on M2M, the IP for Smart Objects (IPSO) Alliance, Lightweight M2M (LWM2M) protocol of the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), and OneM2M. This multitude of approaches leaves the system developer with the agony of choice. This paper selects, presents and explains one of the promising solutions, discusses its strengths and weaknesses, and demonstrates its implementation.
The communication technologies for automatic meter reading (smart metering) and for energy production and distribution networks (smart grid) have the potential to be one of the first really highly scaled machine-to-machine-M2M-applications. During the last years, two very promising developments around the wireless part of the smart grid communication were initialized, which possibly could have an impact on the network architectures and the markets far beyond Germany and far beyond energy automation. Besides the specification of the OMS Group of a security extension to the Wireless M-Bus protocol (EN13757-4), the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI) has designed a Protection Profile (PP) and a Technical Directive (TR) for the communication unit of an intelligent measurement system (Smart Meter Gateway), which were released in March 2013. This design uses state of the art technologies and prescribes their implementation in real-life systems. At first, the proposed paper will present the most important characteristics of this architecture. It will then give an insight into the implementation of the OMS security protocols, which imply the usage of a mutually authenticated SSL protocol also in the Local Metrological Network. This is achieved with the help of an additional Authentication and Fragmentation Layer (AFL). This secure communication will be terminated in a BSI conformant secure smart meter gateway, which is developed in a different project and described in the second step. Finally, the contribution will discuss the integration of such a metering network into an overall telecommunication network and PKI infrastructure.
Today the methods of numerical simulation of sheet metal forming offer a great diversity of possibilities for optimization in product development and in process design. However, the results from simulation are only available as virtual models. Because there are any forming tools available during the early stages of product development, physical models that could serve to represent the virtual results are therefore lacking. Physical 3D-models can be created using 3D-printing and serve as an illustration and present a better understanding of the simulation results. In this way, the results from the simulation can be made more “comprehensible” within a development team. This paper presents the possibilities of 3D-colour printing with particular consideration of the requirements regarding the implementation of sheet metal forming simulation. Using concrete examples of sheet metal forming, the manufacturing of 3D colour models will be expounded upon on the basis of simulation results.
Implementierung von Softcore-Prozessoren und/oder weiteren IPs (Intellectual Property) in FPGAs
(2018)
Die zunehmende Integration von kompletten Systemen auf einem Chip (System-on-Chip, SoC) erfordert auch immer die Integration einer Recheneinheit bzw. eines Prozessorkerns. Möchte man insbesondere Low-Power-SoC-Systeme entwickeln, z.B. drahtlose Sensor-SoC-Systeme für Anwendungen im Rahmen von Industrie 4.0, ist die Implementierung eines solchen Prozessorkerns mit hohen Herausforderungen verbunden. Prinzipiell können hierfür verschiedene Ansätze verfolgt werden, nämlich die Implementierung einer Hardcore Prozessor-IP (IP = Intellectual Property) oder einer Softcore-Prozessor-IP. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird zunächst auf den derzeitigen Stand der Technik verfügbarer Hardcore- oder Softcore-Prozessoren unter den Randbedingungen der Low-Power-Anforderungen und der weiten Verbreitung des Cores in industriellen Anwendungen eingegangen. Schließlich werden die Ergebnisse der Implementierung und Evaluierung eines derzeit frei verfügbaren 16-bit MSP430-kompatiblen Softcore Prozessors auf einem Altera-Cyclon-FPGA vorgestellt. Aus den Ergebnissen wird ein entsprechendes Fazit für die Implementierung von Low-Power-SoC-Systeme gegeben.
Non-responder rate in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) could be partly decreased by individualized parameter optimization excluding adverse hemodynamic timing. In heart failure patients with sinus rhythm, an atrial kick enables the completion of atrial contraction and may significantly enhance the ventricular filling. Compared to that, exclusion of atrial kick is a sign of suboptimal atrioventricular timing. However, the recognition of atrial kick by echocardiography will be negatively affected in patients requiring a very short or long AV delays.
The integration of additive manufacturing processes into the teaching of students is an important prerequisite for the further dissemination of this new technology. In this context, the DfAM is of particular importance. For this reason, this paper presents an approach in which a connection is made between methodical product development and practical implementation by AM. Using a model racing car as an example, students independently develop significant improvements of particular assemblies. A final evaluation shows that the students have significantly improved their skills and competencies.
Introduction: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) with atrioventricular (AV) and interventricular (VV) optimized biventricular pacing (BV) is an established therapy for heart failure (HF) patients with electrical interventricular conduction delay (IVCD). The aim of the study was to compare AV and VV delay optimization with cardiac output (CO) and acceleration index (ACI) impedance cardiographic (ICG) methods.
Methods: HF patients with IVCD 86.8 ± 33 ms (n=15, age 66 ± 10 years; 2 females, 13 males), New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class 3.1 ± 0.4, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction 21.3 ± 7.8 % and QRS duration 176.1 ± 31.7 ms underwent AV and VV delay optimization with CO and ACI methods (Cardioscreen, Medis GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany). After evaluation of optimal AV delay, we evaluated optimal VV delay during simultaneous LV and right ventricular (RV) pacing (LV=RV), LV before RV pacing (LV-RV) and RV before LV pacing (RV-LV).
Results: Optimal VV delay was -12.3 ± 25.9 ms LV-RV pacing with VV delay range from -80 ms LV-RV pacing to +20 ms RV-LV pacing and RV=LV pacing. Optimal AV delay after atrial sensing was 108.6 ± 20.3 ms (n=14) and optimal AV delay after atrial pacing 190 ± 14.1 ms (n=2) with AV delay range from 80 ms to 200 ms. RV versus BV pacing mode resulted in improvement of CO from 3.4 ± 1.2 l/min to 4.4 ± 1.4 l/min (p<0.001) and ACI from 0.667 ± 0.227 1/s² to 0.834 ± 0.282 1/s² (p<0.002). During 34 ± 26 month BV pacing, the NYHA class improved from 3.1 ± 0.4 to 2.1 ± 0.4 (p<0.001).
Conclusion: AV and VV delay optimized BV pacing acutely improve ICG CO and ACI and their NYHA class during long-term follow-up. ICG may be a simple and useful technique to optimize AV and VV delay in CRT.
In recent years, the additive manufacturing processes have rapidly developed. The additive manufacturing processes currently present a high-performance alternative to conventional manufacturing methods. In particular, they offer the opportunity of previously hardly imaginable design freedom, i.e. the implementation of complex forms and geometries. This capability can, for example, be applied in the development of especially light but still loadable components in automotive engineering. In addition, waste material is seldom produced in additive manufacturing which benefits a sustainable production of building components. Until now, this design freedom was barely used in the construction of technical components and products because, in doing so, both specific design guidelines for additive manufacturing and complex strength calculations must be simultaneously observed. Yet in order to fully take advantage of the additive manufacturing potential, the method of topology optimization, based on FEM simulation, suggests itself. It is with this method that components that are precisely matched and are especially light, thereby also resource-saving, can be produced. Current literature research indicates that this method is used in automotive manufacturing for reducing weight and improving the stability of both individual parts and assembly units. This contribution will study how this development method can be applied in the example of a brake mount from an experimental vehicle. In this, the conventional design is improved by means of a simulation tool for topology optimization in various steps. In an additional processing step, the smoothing of the thus developed component occurs. Finally, the component is generatively manufactured by means of selective laser melting technology. Models are manufactured using binder jetting for the demonstration of the process. It will also be determined how this weight reduction affects the CO2 emissions of a vehicle in use.
During the day-to-day exploitation of localization systems in mines, the technical staff tends to incorrectly rearrange radio equipment: positions of devices may not be accurately marked on a map or their positions may not correspond to the truth. This situation may lead to positioning inaccuracies and errors in the operation of the localization system.This paper presents two Bayesian algorithms for the automatic corrections of positions of the equipment on the map using trajectories restored by the inertial measurement units mounted to mobile objects, like pedestrians and vehicles. As a basis, a predefined map of the mine represented as undirected weighted graph was used as input. The algorithms were implemented using the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) approach.The results prove that both methods are capable to detect misplacement of access points and to provide corresponding corrections. The discrete Bayesian filter outperforms the unscented Kalman filter, which, however, requires more computational power.
In this paper, a new method is demonstrated for online remote simulation of photovoltaic systems. The required communication technology for the data exchange is introduced and the methods of PV generator parameter extraction for the simulation models are analysed. The method shown for parameter extraction from the manufacturer data is especially useful for the commissioning procedure, where the measured installed power is transferred to standard test conditions using the simulation model and can then be easily compared with the design power. At a simulation accuracy of 2% using the software environment INSEL ® any problems with the PV generator can reliably be detected. Online simulation of a grid connected PV generator is then carried out during the operation of the photovoltaic plant. The visualisation includes both the monitored and the simulated online data sets, so that a very efficient fault detection scheme is available. The method is implemented and validated on several grid connected photovoltaic power plants in Germany. It is excellently suited to provide automatic and real time fault detection and significantly improve the commissioning procedure for photovoltaic plants of all sizes.
Autonomous humanoid robots require light weight, high torque and high speed actuators to be able to walk and run. For conventional gears with a fixed gear ratio the product of torque and velocity is constant. On the other hand desired motions require maximum torque and speed. In this paper it is shown that with a variable gear ratio it is possible to vary the relation between torque and velocity. This is achieved by introducing systems of rods and levers to move the joints of our humanoid robot ”Sweaty II”. On the basis of a variable gear ratio low speed and high torque can be achieved for those joint angles, which require this motion mode, whereas high speed and low torque can be realized for those joint angles, where it is favorable for the desired motion.
In-vivo and in-vitro comparison of implant-based CRT optimization - What provide new algorithms?
(2011)
Introduction: In cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), individual AV delay (AVD) optimization can effectively increase hemodynamics and reduce non-responder rate. Accurate, automatic and easily comprehensible algorithms for the follow-up are desirable. QuickOpt is the first attempt of a semi-automatic intracardiac electrogram (IEGM) based AVD algorithm. We aimed to compare its accuracy and usefulness by in-vitro and in-vivo studies.
Methods: Using the programmable ARSI-4 four-chamber heart rhythm and IEGM simulator (HKP, Germany), the QuickOpt feature of an Epic HF system (St. Jude, USA) was tested in-vitro by simulated atrial IEGM amplitudes between 0.3 and 3.5mV during both, manual and automatic atrial sensing between 0.2 and 1.0mV. Subsequently, in 21 heart failure patients with implanted biventricular defibrillators, QuickOpt was performed in-vivo. Results of the algorithm for VDD and DDD stimulation were compared with echo AV delay optimization.
Results: In-vitro simulations demonstrated a QuickOpt measuring accuracy of ± 8ms. Depending on atrial IEGM amplitude, the algorithm proposed optimal AVD between 90 and 150ms for VDD and between 140 and 200ms for DDD operation, respectively. In-vivo, QuickOpt difference between individual AVD in DDD and VDD mode was either 50ms (20pts) or 40ms (1pt). QuickOpt and echo AVD differed by 41 ± 25ms (7 – 90ms) in VDD and by 18 ± 24ms (17-50ms) in DDD operation. Individual echo AVD difference between both modes was 73 ± 20ms (30-100ms).
Conclusion: The study demonstrates the value of in-vitro studies. It predicted QuickOpt deficiencies regarding IEGM amplitude dependent AVD proposals constrained to fixed individual differences between DDD and VDD mode. Consequently, in-vivo, the algorithm provided AVD of predominantly longer duration than echo in both modes. Accepting echo individualization as gold standard, QuickOpt should not be used alone to optimize AVD in CRT patients.
Increased knowledge transfer through the integration of research projects into university teaching
(2019)
This paper describes the integration of the research project "Characterization of Color Vision using Spectroscopy and Nanotechnology: Application to Media Photonics" into an engineering course in the field of media technology. The aim is to develop the existing learning concept towards a more research-oriented teaching. Involving students in research projects as part of the learning process provides a deeper insight into current research topics and the key elements of scientific work. This makes it easier for students to recognize the importance of the acquired theoretical knowledge for the practice, which enables them to derive new insights of their own.
The present paper addresses the research question: What recommendations for action and potential adjustments should an online magazine for beauty and fashion implement in order to make affiliate articles in these sections even more appealing to the target group and provide added value for them?
To be able to answer this research question, three hypotheses were defined and tested with using qualitative and quantitative research. The qualitative research consisted of user experience testings, where four affiliate articles in the fields of beauty and fashion were tested with 13 participants. The quantitative research involved collecting, analyzing and evaluating data from the four affiliate articles conducted with the company's real-life target group. Based on these results, recommendations for action were derived, which should not only improve the quality of the content in the future, but also increase the efficiency of the implementation of those articles.
Bei modernen Lokomotiven mit Drehstrom-Asynchronmotoren und mit bis zu 7 Megawatt Leistung, neigt das Antriebssystem bei nicht ausreichendem Kraftschluß zwischen Treibradsatz und Schiene zum 'Durchdrehen'. Bei diesem Vorgang wird nahezu die gesamte Energie zur Beschleunigung des Radsatzes eingesetzt, was zu mechanischen Schäden an den Rädern und Schienen führen kann. Beim Bremsen ist dies ähnlich, die Räder gleiten auf den Schienen, wenn zuviel Bremskraft gefordert wird. Die übertragbaren Zug- und Bremskräfte werden primär durch die Radsatzlast und den Kraftschlußbeiwert bestimmt, wobei der Verlauf der Kraftschlußkennlinie als Funktion des Schlupfs oder der Schlupfgeschwindigkeit im wesentlichen durch den Schienenzustand (naß oder trocken) bestimmt wird. Eine hohe Kraftschlußnutzung wird dann erreicht, wenn man laufend denjenigen Schlupfwert einstellt, der zum jeweiligen Kraftschlußmaximum führt. Hierzu werden in der Praxis verschiedene Konzepte und Methoden eingesetzt, es ist bis heute jedoch keine Methode bekannt, den Verlauf der Kraftschlußkennlinie meßtechnisch laufend zu erfassen oder rechentechnisch zu bestimmen. Bei der hier vorgestellten Vorgehensweise wurde der mechanische Antrieb zusammen mit dem Rad-Schiene-Kontakt als Zustandsraumodell beschrieben. Die Betrachtungen beruhen dann auf einer Frequenzganguntersuchung des eingeführten linearen Zustandsraummodells. Aufgrund der Linearisierung gelten die Ergebnisse der Frequenzgangsberechnung nur für den jeweiligen Betriebspunkt der Kraftschlußkennlinie, also für eine bestimmte Steigung. Variiert man nun die Steigung, so läßt sich der Einfluß der nichtlinearen Kraftschlußkennlinien ermitteln. Zur Messung von Frequenzgängen eignen sich insbesondere Verfahren der Orthogonalen Korrelation. Die technische Realisierung wird skizziert. Die Meßinformation ist dann die Basis für eine Regelung, die ein permanentes optimales Fahren im Kraftschlußmaximum zuläßt und zwar beim Beschleunigen und beim Bremsen. Das beschriebene Meß- und Regelungsverfahren ist derzeit in der Schweiz in der Betriebserprobung.
This study aims to investigate the individual response concerning BRFs for AT when the mid-sole hardness underneath the rearfoot was systematically altered. We first identified FGs based on the footwear condition that minimised the risk for AT across BRFs. We then tested the FGs for differences in anthropometrics, footwear comfort, and running characteristics.
Landing heel first has been associated with elevated external knee abduction moments (KAM), thereby potentially increasing the risk of sustaining a non-contact ACL injury. Apart from the foot strike angle, knee valgus angle (VAL) and vertical center of mass velocity at initial ground contact (IC) have been associated with increased KAM in females across different sidestep cuts. While real-time biofeedback training has been proven effective for gait retraining [4], the highly dynamic, non-cyclical nature of cutting maneuvers makes real-time feedback unsuitable and alternative approaches necessary. This study aimed at assessing the efficacy of immediate software-aided feedback on cutting technique in reducing KAM during handball-specific cutting maneuvers.
This paper is discussing the development of a wireless Indoor Smart Gardening System with the focus on energy autonomous working. The Smart Gardening System, which is presented in this paper consists of a network of energy autonomous wireless sensor nodes which are used for monitoring important plant parameters like air temperature, soil moisture, pressure or humidity and in future to control an actuator for the plant irrigation and to measure further parameter as light and fertilizer level. Solar energy harvesting is used for powering the wireless nodes without the usage of a battery. Comparable Smart Gardening Systems are usually battery-powered. Furthermore, the overall Smart Gardening System consists of a battery powered gateway based on a Raspberry Pi 3 system, which controls the wireless nodes and collects their sensor data. The gateway is able to send the information to an internet server application and via Wi-Fi to mobile devices. Particularly the architecture of the energy autonomous wireless nodes will be considered because fully energy autonomous wireless networks could not be implemented without special concepts for the energy supply and architecture of the wireless nodes.
The ability to detect a target signal masked by noise is improved in normal-hearing listeners when interaural phase differences (IPDs) between the ear signals exist either in the masker or in the signal. To improve binaural hearing in bilaterally implanted cochlear implant (BiCI) users, a coding strategy providing the best possible access to IPDs is highly desirable. Outcomes of a previous study (Zirn, Arndt et al. 2016) revealed that a subset of BiCI users showed improved IPD detection thresholds with the fine structure processing strategy FS4 compared to the constant rate strategy HDCIS using narrowband stimuli. In contrast, little differences between the coding strategies were found for broadband stimuli with regard to binaural speech intelligibility level differences (BILD) as an estimate of binaural unmasking. Compared to normalhearing listeners (7.5 ± 1.2 dB) BILD were small in BiCI users (around 0.5 dB with both coding strategies).
In the present work, we investigated the influence of binaural fitting parameters on BILD. In our cohort of BiCI users many were implanted with electrode arrays differing in length left versus right. Because this length difference typically corresponded to the distance of two electrode contacts the first modification of bilateral fitting was a tonotopic adjustment by deactivation of the most apical electrode contact on the side with the deeper inserted array (tonotopic approach).
The second modification was the isolation of the residual, most apical electrode contacts by deactivation of the basally adjacent electrode contact on each side (tonotopic sparse approach). Applying these modifications, BILD improved by up to 1.5 dB.
Printed electronics (PE) is a fast growing technology with promising applications in wearables, smart sensors and smart cards since it provides mechanical flexibility, low-cost, on-demand and customizable fabrication. To secure the operation of these applications, True Random Number Generators (TRNGs) are required to generate unpredictable bits for cryptographic functions and padding. However, since the additive fabrication process of PE circuits results in high intrinsic variation due to the random dispersion of the printed inks on the substrate, constructing a printed TRNG is challenging. In this paper, we exploit the additive customizable fabrication feature of inkjet printing to design a TRNG based on electrolyte-gated field effect transistors (EGFETs). The proposed memory-based TRNG circuit can operate at low voltages (≤ 1 V ), it is hence suitable for low-power applications. We also propose a flow which tunes the printed resistors of the TRNG circuit to mitigate the overall process variation of the TRNG so that the generated bits are mostly based on the random noise in the circuit, providing a true random behaviour. The results show that the overall process variation of the TRNGs is mitigated by 110 times, and the simulated TRNGs pass the National Institute of Standards and Technology Statistical Test Suite.
Inner Congo
(2023)
This research-creation project, part of the DE\GLOBALIZE artistic research cycle presented at the #IFM2022 Conference, investigates the complexities of Congo violence, care, and colonialism. Drawing on Michel Serres' metaphor of the great estuaries, the study explores the topology of interactive documentaries, blending theory, emotion, and personal experiences. Accessible through the interactive web documentation at http://deglobalize.com, the platform offers a media-archaeological archive for speculative ethnography, enabling the forensic processing of single documents in line with actor-network theory.