7,337 research outputs found
Computational Simulation and 3D Virtual Reality Engineering Tools for Dynamical Modeling and Imaging of Composite Nanomaterials
An adventure at engineering design and modeling is possible with a Virtual
Reality Environment (VRE) that uses multiple computer-generated media to let a
user experience situations that are temporally and spatially prohibiting. In
this paper, an approach to developing some advanced architecture and modeling
tools is presented to allow multiple frameworks work together while being
shielded from the application program. This architecture is being developed in
a framework of workbench interactive tools for next generation
nanoparticle-reinforced damping/dynamic systems. Through the use of system, an
engineer/programmer can respectively concentrate on tailoring an engineering
design concept of novel system and the application software design while using
existing databases/software outputs.Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions
(http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions
Reducing the Barrier to Entry of Complex Robotic Software: a MoveIt! Case Study
Developing robot agnostic software frameworks involves synthesizing the
disparate fields of robotic theory and software engineering while
simultaneously accounting for a large variability in hardware designs and
control paradigms. As the capabilities of robotic software frameworks increase,
the setup difficulty and learning curve for new users also increase. If the
entry barriers for configuring and using the software on robots is too high,
even the most powerful of frameworks are useless. A growing need exists in
robotic software engineering to aid users in getting started with, and
customizing, the software framework as necessary for particular robotic
applications. In this paper a case study is presented for the best practices
found for lowering the barrier of entry in the MoveIt! framework, an
open-source tool for mobile manipulation in ROS, that allows users to 1)
quickly get basic motion planning functionality with minimal initial setup, 2)
automate its configuration and optimization, and 3) easily customize its
components. A graphical interface that assists the user in configuring MoveIt!
is the cornerstone of our approach, coupled with the use of an existing
standardized robot model for input, automatically generated robot-specific
configuration files, and a plugin-based architecture for extensibility. These
best practices are summarized into a set of barrier to entry design principles
applicable to other robotic software. The approaches for lowering the entry
barrier are evaluated by usage statistics, a user survey, and compared against
our design objectives for their effectiveness to users
Integration of decision support systems to improve decision support performance
Decision support system (DSS) is a well-established research and development area. Traditional isolated, stand-alone DSS has been recently facing new challenges. In order to improve the performance of DSS to meet the challenges, research has been actively carried out to develop integrated decision support systems (IDSS). This paper reviews the current research efforts with regard to the development of IDSS. The focus of the paper is on the integration aspect for IDSS through multiple perspectives, and the technologies that support this integration. More than 100 papers and software systems are discussed. Current research efforts and the development status of IDSS are explained, compared and classified. In addition, future trends and challenges in integration are outlined. The paper concludes that by addressing integration, better support will be provided to decision makers, with the expectation of both better decisions and improved decision making processes
Scalable BDI-based Multi-Agent System for Digital Design Reviews
The increasing complexity in product development and the lack of knowledge exchange, for example, between development and manufacturing lead to unnecessary iteration loops and high costs. To overcome this situation, an option is the execution of a design review using multi-agent systems to provide designers with a digital assistance system for checking their CAD (computer-aided design) models regarding manufacturability using a milling process. This paper explores how to increase the scalability and robustness of multi-agent systems (MAS) for manufacturability assessment by using runtime-generated BDI (belief-desire-intention) agents and graph-based feature recognition. The applicability and validation of the presented approach is carried out by evaluating different milled part designs
Standardizing the Palliative Care Referral Process
Standardizing the Palliative Care Referral Process
Problem: Heart failure (HF) is one of the most common causes of hospital admissions and emergency department visits in the United States. HF patients are at high risk for hospital readmission: 25% of HF patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 30 days of discharge, and 50% are readmitted within 6 months (Vedel & Khanossov, 2015).
Context: Palliative Care (PC) has been shown to be an effective way of managing distressing HF symptoms and thus of reducing hospital readmissions, yet patients are infrequently referred to PC services during their transition from hospital to home (Lowey & Liebel, 2016). Currently, there is no standardized referral process for patient care coordinators (PCCs) to refer HF patients to PC services.
Interventions: Standardized scripting was developed and implemented as a tool for PCCs to educate patients about the benefits of PC. Four PCCs implemented the intervention over the course of 30 days, and together, they identified 26 HF patients appropriate for PC referral.
Measures: Process measures include: the development and implementation of the standardized PC referral process; the number of completed PC referrals after utilization of the standardized PC referral process.
Results: Among the 26 patients identified, 22 (85%) received the PC standardized scripting, and of those 22 patients, 12 (43%) provided verbal consent to the PC referral and were referred to PC services. An incidental finding is that the PC team was very limited in way of providing PC services and in-depth educational symptom management to HF patients in the inpatient and outpatient settings related to staffing resources.
Conclusions: The use of standardized scripting was successful in increasing and stream-lining the referral process of HF patients to PC services. However, there is an opportunity for the PC team to optimize symptom management and improve clinical outcomes by way of hiring more PC physicians and nurses to initiate PC consult in the hospital and to continue the management of HF patients regularly in the outpatient arena. It may also be beneficial to assess a PC department at a facility of like size and demographics to evaluate and possibly emulate their processes & successes
Evaluating diverse electronic consultation programs with a common framework.
BackgroundElectronic consultation is an emerging mode of specialty care delivery that allows primary care providers and their patients to obtain specialist expertise without an in-person visit. While studies of individual programs have demonstrated benefits related to timely access to specialty care, electronic consultation programs have not achieved widespread use in the United States. The lack of common evaluation metrics across health systems and concerns related to the generalizability of existing evaluation efforts may be hampering further growth. We sought to identify gaps in knowledge related to the implementation of electronic consultation programs and develop a set of shared evaluation measures to promote further diffusion.MethodsUsing a case study approach, we apply the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) and the Quadruple Aim frameworks of evaluation to examine electronic consultation implementation across diverse delivery systems. Data are from 4 early adopter healthcare delivery systems (San Francisco Health Network, Mayo Clinic, Veterans Administration, Champlain Local Health Integration Network) that represent varied organizational structures, care for different patient populations, and have well-established multi-specialty electronic consultation programs. Data sources include published and unpublished quantitative data from each electronic consultation database and qualitative data from systems' end-users.ResultsOrganizational drivers of electronic consultation implementation were similar across the systems (challenges with timely and/or efficient access to specialty care), though unique system-level facilitators and barriers influenced reach, adoption and design. Effectiveness of implementation was consistent, with improved patient access to timely, perceived high-quality specialty expertise with few negative consequences, garnering high satisfaction among end-users. Data about patient-specific clinical outcomes are lacking, as are policies that provide guidance on the legal implications of electronic consultation and ideal remuneration strategies.ConclusionA core set of effectiveness and implementation metrics rooted in the Quadruple Aim may promote data-driven improvements and further diffusion of successful electronic consultation programs
An approach to resource modelling in support of the life cycle engineering of enterprise systems
Enterprise modelling can facilitate the design, analysis, control and construction of
contemporary enterprises which can compete in world-wide Product markets. This
research involves a systematic study of enterprise modelling with a particular focus on
resource modelling in support of the life cycle engineering of enterprise systems.
This led to the specification and design of a framework for resource modelling. This
framework was conceived to:
classify resource types;
identify the different functions that resource modelling can support, with respect to
different life phases of enterprise systems;
clarify the relationship between resource models and other modelling perspectives
provide mechanisms which link resource models and other types of models;
identify guidelines for the capture of information - on resources, leading to the
establishment of a set of resource reference models.
The author also designed and implemented a resource modelling tool which conforms
to the principles laid down by the framework. This tool realises important aspects of
the resource modeffing concepts so defined.
Furthermore, two case studies have been carried out. One models a metal cutting
environment, and the other is based on an electronics industry problem area. In this
way, the feasibility of concepts embodied in the framework and the design of the
resource modelling tool has been tested and evaluated.
Following a literature survey and preliminary investigation, the CIMOSA enterprise
modelling and integration methodology was adopted and extended within this
research. Here the resource modelling tool was built by extending SEWOSA (System
Engineering Workbench for Open System Architecture) and utilising the CIMBIOSYS
(CINI-Building Integrated Open SYStems) integrating infrastructure.
The main contributions of the research are that: a framework for resource modelling has been established; means and mechanisms have been proposed, implemented and tested which link and coordinate different modelling perspectives into an unified enterprise model; the mechanisms and resource models generated by this research support each Pfe
phase of systems engineering projects and demonstrate benefits by increasing the
degree to which the derivation process among models is automated
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