A novel Big Data analytics and intelligent technique to predict driver's intent

Modern age offers a great potential for automatically predicting the driver's intent through the increasing miniaturization of computing technologies, rapid advancements in communication technologies and continuous connectivity of heterogeneous smart objects. Inside the cabin and engine of modern cars, dedicated computer systems need to possess the ability to exploit the wealth of information generated by heterogeneous data sources with different contextual and conceptual representations. Processing and utilizing this diverse and voluminous data, involves many challenges concerning the design of the computational technique used to perform this task. In this paper, we investigate the various data sources available in the car and the surrounding environment, which can be utilized as inputs in order to predict driver's intent and behavior. As part of investigating these potential data sources, we conducted experiments on e-calendars for a large number of employees, and have reviewed a number of available geo referencing systems. Through the results of a statistical analysis and by computing location recognition accuracy results, we explored in detail the potential utilization of calendar location data to detect the driver's intentions. In order to exploit the numerous diverse data inputs available in modern vehicles, we investigate the suitability of different Computational Intelligence (CI) techniques, and propose a novel fuzzy computational modelling methodology. Finally, we outline the impact of applying advanced CI and Big Data analytics techniques in modern vehicles on the driver and society in general, and discuss ethical and legal issues arising from the deployment of intelligent self-learning cars

Efficient Machine-type Communication using Multi-metric Context-awareness for Cars used as Mobile Sensors in Upcoming 5G Networks

Upcoming 5G-based communication networks will be confronted with huge increases in the amount of transmitted sensor data related to massive deployments of static and mobile Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Cars acting as mobile sensors will become important data sources for cloud-based applications like predictive maintenance and dynamic traffic forecast. Due to the limitation of available communication resources, it is expected that the grows in Machine-Type Communication (MTC) will cause severe interference with Human-to-human (H2H) communication. Consequently, more efficient transmission methods are highly required. In this paper, we present a probabilistic scheme for efficient transmission of vehicular sensor data which leverages favorable channel conditions and avoids transmissions when they are expected to be highly resource-consuming. Multiple variants of the proposed scheme are evaluated in comprehensive realworld experiments. Through machine learning based combination of multiple context metrics, the proposed scheme is able to achieve up to 164% higher average data rate values for sensor applications with soft deadline requirements compared to regular periodic transmission.Comment: Best Student Paper Awar

Messages with Impact: Creativity in Traditional Outdoor Advertising Platforms in Castellón

Outdoor advertising is currently undergoing a transformation as both the variety and popularity of digital platforms increases. This will inevitably involve significant changes in both the conception and production of advertising materials designed for digital platforms, including ‘smartboards’. Notwithstanding the technological advantages of outdoor digital advertising platforms (such as the means to incorporate motion) in attracting the attention of audiences, as a consequence of the cost of this technology as well as logistical restrictions and strategic obstacles, it is expected that not all outdoor advertising supports will be digitalized. As explained by Creative Director David Thompson of Telling Stories: With the rise of digital technology, one might expect more animation and moving image to be attracting our attention. The fact is however that many companies won't spend a lot of money on expansive and expensive alternatives because the production of posters is much less expensive to roll-out across tens, hundreds or thousands of spots. Perhaps the fact that there is not yet any concrete evidence that expensive high tech solutions offer an adequate Return on Investment (ROI) explains why it isn't happening. (Thompson, 2012) Accordingly, traditional (reflective, print-based) materials and their (non-digital) platforms will continue to be widely used in outdoor advertising. It is necessary therefore, to recognise and exploit the unique characteristics of this medium in the design of the materials for non-digital platforms. To provide both advertisers (sponsors) and creatives with a set of guidelines to maximise the effectiveness of both traditional materials and non-digital platforms, this project has attempted to identify the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of these traditional materials and platforms, as well as the extent to which these factors are shaped by the cultural environments and contexts in which they are employed

Historic Downtown Streetscape Plan Price City, Utah

The idea of a small-town Main Street has profound meaning within the American culture that has prevailed for the past two centuries. Historically, Main Street serves as the beating heart of a community, a place where economic, social, cultural, and civic activities are centered (Francaviglia, 1996; Main Street America, n.d.). Since the beginning of the 19th century, many factors have led to the decline of Main Streets, and despite a variety of efforts from different stakeholders, that decline has only intensified in recent decades (Isenberg, 2008; Orvell, 2014 Howard, 2015). In 1980, after a three-year project conducted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Main Street Center (NMSC) was created. Since then, the program has helped thousands of communities revitalize their Main Streets through its Main Street Approach. Using its principles as a reference, thousands of main streets are seeing successful results. There is an urgent need for urban and rural communities to engage in the revitalization of historic Main Streets and downtowns. These efforts can strengthen community identity and support economic vitality (U.S. Department of Agriculture, n.d.). Price City, a small city 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, has pledged to improve its physical environment and the quality of life of its citizens by identifying a variety of areas for improvement in the city, including downtown revitalization (Price City Utah, 2016). The Historic Downtown Streetscape Plan is focused on the redesign of Historic Main Street and Carbon Avenue. The goal of this Plan is to create a lively place where the entire community can come together to feel a sense of shared identity and community pride. To accomplish this goal, a Case Study Methodology and supportive literature review have identified key principles and elements for a successful streetscape plan for Price. The Plan also includes a façade study to help tie key building locations and architectural character to the streetscape design. The Historic Downtown Streetscape Plan documents the best practices of comparable downtowns and provides a comprehensive strategy for the streetscape design of Historic Downtown Price

Restructuring the spaces under elevated expressways: a case study of the spaces below the Interstate-10 overpass at Perkins Road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

General information about the development the United States Interstate System, different theories of urban design, and samples of projects developed under elevated highways structures were used to illustrate the issues associated to the development of elevated highway within urban areas. After building the framework for the study of the spaces below elevated highways a comprehensive study of the contextual, spatial, and functional characteristics of the spaces below the Interstate-10 at Perkins Road was conducted over a period of 9 months. As a result of this study a master plan was developed to addresses the issues affecting the spaces below the Interstate-10 overpass at Perkins Road and surrounding communities. The areas surrounding the Interstate-10 overpass are part large area known by locals as the Perkins Road Historic Business District. This area of northern Perkins Road is an active commercial corridor surrounded by large subdivisions. During the development of the Interstate-10 overpass on the 1960’s this area suffered drastic changes causing the removal of businesses and relocation of entire families. Despite these adverse effects Perkins Road commercial corridor has maintained its unique character but the under develop state of the spaces below the Interstate-10 overpass have restricted further development of the area

The speed gateway: a facility for the upliftment and promotion of South Africa's motorsport culture

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Masters of Architecture (Professional) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2015Globally people are at the edge of their seats wide-eyed with passion and awe for the spectacular and entertaining world of motor racing, admiring the world’s most powerful machines and talented drivers battling through the race tracks with lightning speed and outstanding agility. Due to lack of public support, poor management and funding the motorsport culture is rapidly dying out and race tracks are becoming exceedingly underutilized in South Africa. Through Architectural intervention, the aim is to transform the underutilized Kyalami race track into a vibrant and entertaining motorsport venue that will integrate motorsport back into society and preserve this iconic race track that maintains the national motorsport culture alive. Apart from the shear entertainment value motorsport provides it has always united people from around the globe and enabled the production of some of the most technologically advanced machines of our time. Recognising the tremendous value motor racing had, the iconic Kyalami race track was built in South Africa, situated between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which hosted a great number of International Grand Prix events. Motorsport soon gained a major cultural, political, social, economic and spatial presence in South Africa. After almost three decades the race track was removed from the Formula 1 Grand Prix calendar, among other major motorsport calendars, due to sanctions. The poor entertainment value over recent years has led to a major decline in public and sponsor interest in local motorsport. In return Kyalami has become unsustainable which, in the past year, nearly led to the loss of the iconic race track which would have further rendered the local motorsport culture extinct. This recurring scenario around the country becomes the vital point of enquiry for this thesis; the role of Architecture in promoting the motorsport culture; the long-standing relationship between the automobile and Man and its influence on the urban fabric and architecture that is part of our everyday experience. Sited on the Kyalami race track, the architectural design will include an urban framework that will better integrate the current isolated race track with its surrounding context. The framework will include outdoor public activity spaces as well as research, training and workshop facilities that will accommodate the public’s needs and interests at the same time uplift and promote both the automobile and motorsport industry. The primary Kyalami Motorsport Centre sited by the existing southern pit complex will not only offer an enhanced trackside and racing experience to both spectators and race teams but the necessary auto-tecture that will host thrilling motorsport events and promote the nation’s young talented driversGR201

Five Facets of 6G: Research Challenges and Opportunities

Whilst the fifth-generation (5G) systems are being rolled out across the globe, researchers have turned their attention to the exploration of radical next-generation solutions. At this early evolutionary stage we survey five main research facets of this field, namely {\em Facet~1: next-generation architectures, spectrum and services, Facet~2: next-generation networking, Facet~3: Internet of Things (IoT), Facet~4: wireless positioning and sensing, as well as Facet~5: applications of deep learning in 6G networks.} In this paper, we have provided a critical appraisal of the literature of promising techniques ranging from the associated architectures, networking, applications as well as designs. We have portrayed a plethora of heterogeneous architectures relying on cooperative hybrid networks supported by diverse access and transmission mechanisms. The vulnerabilities of these techniques are also addressed and carefully considered for highlighting the most of promising future research directions. Additionally, we have listed a rich suite of learning-driven optimization techniques. We conclude by observing the evolutionary paradigm-shift that has taken place from pure single-component bandwidth-efficiency, power-efficiency or delay-optimization towards multi-component designs, as exemplified by the twin-component ultra-reliable low-latency mode of the 5G system. We advocate a further evolutionary step towards multi-component Pareto optimization, which requires the exploration of the entire Pareto front of all optiomal solutions, where none of the components of the objective function may be improved without degrading at least one of the other components

Visions in the Ville: Looking toward the next 125 years. Volume 2: Design proposals

The 2014 “Visions in the Ville” summer studio explored Aggieville’s potential as the community looks toward the future. The studio spanned eight weeks and was offered by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning at Kansas State University. Associate Professors Blake Belanger and Howard Hahn directed the efforts of fourteen mid-level graduate landscape architecture students, and documented the studio’s research and design findings in two volumes: Volume 1: Critical Mapping and Volume 2: Design Proposals. The intent of the studio was to identify ideas, visions, and strategies that will contribute to a community dialogue about enhancing Aggieville’s future. The studio researched the history, character, economics, demographics, and ecological conditions of Aggieville, as well as the district’s broader role in the evolving community and regional context. Volume 2 builds on the studio’s research and strategies developed through critical mapping, and presents five planning and design proposals for Aggieville and its context. Students repeatedly engaged community stakeholders to discuss design development and presented their final ideas in various venues, including a public open house, a presentation to the Manhattan City Commission, and a public exhibit at “Aggieville’s 125th Birthday Street Fair and Dance.” Primary findings include design proposals for improving physical connectivity and partnerships across the community, providing medium to high-density mixed-use urban infill, developing permanent and temporary regional attractions, and enhancing civic space in and around Aggieville

BICYCLE TOURISM PLAN FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A TEMPLATE FOR RURAL AGRICULTURAL TOWNS AND A CASE STUDY FOR THE CITY OF WINTERS, CALIFORNIA

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level. The increasing popularity and prominence of bicycle tourism, among both domestic and international travelers, carries great potential for economic benefit to local communities. Rural and agricultural communities can particularly benefit from bicycle tourism, as these communities do not normally experience the benefits of tourism as significantly as their urban, coastal or mountainous neighbors. Tourism that is developed in accordance with the size, scale, constraints and character of a particular community can have a beneficial effect on the economics and industry of the area. Infrastructure projects to this effect, such as development of a town or regional trail system, wayfinding features, or other resources come with benefits for visitors and locals in the form of recreation, public health, mobility, and access to food, drink, amenities, scenic areas, jobs and commerce. Trails may further improve the economy of the local housing market, as proximity to trails has a positive effect on housing values. Incorporation of agricultural destinations into local tourism planning creates a draw for visitors and can become a mutually beneficial relationship – contributing to the economic stability of the agriculture industry, preserving local farm lands, increasing tourism revenue and educating the public on the importance of local farming. Through careful planning of the touristic components of the destination, rural communities can achieve multifaceted economic benefits of diverse and versatile tourism amenities