A Study on Recent Developments and Issues with Obstacle Detection Systems for Automated Vehicles

This paper reviews current developments and discusses some critical issues with obstacle detection systems for automated vehicles. The concept of autonomous driving is the driver towards future mobility. Obstacle detection systems play a crucial role in implementing and deploying autonomous driving on our roads and city streets. The current review looks at technology and existing systems for obstacle detection. Specifically, we look at the performance of LIDAR, RADAR, vision cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and IR and review their capabilities and behaviour in a number of different situations: during daytime, at night, in extreme weather conditions, in urban areas, in the presence of smooths surfaces, in situations where emergency service vehicles need to be detected and recognised, and in situations where potholes need to be observed and measured. It is suggested that combining different technologies for obstacle detection gives a more accurate representation of the driving environment. In particular, when looking at technological solutions for obstacle detection in extreme weather conditions (rain, snow, fog), and in some specific situations in urban areas (shadows, reflections, potholes, insufficient illumination), although already quite advanced, the current developments appear to be not sophisticated enough to guarantee 100% precision and accuracy, hence further valiant effort is needed

Emerging technologies to measure neighborhood conditions in public health: Implications for interventions and next steps

Adverse neighborhood conditions play an important role beyond individual characteristics. There is increasing interest in identifying specific characteristics of the social and built environments adversely affecting health outcomes. Most research has assessed aspects of such exposures via self-reported instruments or census data. Potential threats in the local environment may be subject to short-term changes that can only be measured with more nimble technology. The advent of new technologies may offer new opportunities to obtain geospatial data about neighborhoods that may circumvent the limitations of traditional data sources. This overview describes the utility, validity and reliability of selected emerging technologies to measure neighborhood conditions for public health applications. It also describes next steps for future research and opportunities for interventions. The paper presents an overview of the literature on measurement of the built and social environment in public health (Google Street View, webcams, crowdsourcing, remote sensing, social media, unmanned aerial vehicles, and lifespace) and location-based interventions. Emerging technologies such as Google Street View, social media, drones, webcams, and crowdsourcing may serve as effective and inexpensive tools to measure the ever-changing environment. Georeferenced social media responses may help identify where to target intervention activities, but also to passively evaluate their effectiveness. Future studies should measure exposure across key time points during the life-course as part of the exposome paradigm and integrate various types of data sources to measure environmental contexts. By harnessing these technologies, public health research can not only monitor populations and the environment, but intervene using novel strategies to improve the public health

Review on smartphone sensing technology for structural health monitoring

Sensing is a critical and inevitable sector of structural health monitoring (SHM). Recently, smartphone sensing technology has become an emerging, affordable, and effective system for SHM and other engineering fields. This is because a modern smartphone is equipped with various built-in sensors and technologies, especially a triaxial accelerometer, gyroscope, global positioning system, high-resolution cameras, and wireless data communications under the internet-of-things paradigm, which are suitable for vibration- and vision-based SHM applications. This article presents a state-of-the-art review on recent research progress of smartphone-based SHM. Although there are some short reviews on this topic, the major contribution of this article is to exclusively present a compre- hensive survey of recent practices of smartphone sensors to health monitoring of civil structures from the per- spectives of measurement techniques, third-party apps developed in Android and iOS, and various application domains. Findings of this article provide thorough understanding of the main ideas and recent SHM studies on smartphone sensing technology

Pedestrian counting methods : a case study for Austin’s Pedestrian Program

The Pedestrian Program is the only program within the City of Austin that is devoted solely to pedestrian issues and planning within the City. Thus far, the program has been primarily concerned with pedestrian safety; with the release of the Pedestrian Safety Action plan this year, the program will soon be focusing on broader pedestrian issues. Namely, the Pedestrian Program would like to evaluate the walkability of Austin and collect data on pedestrian activity within the City that will help the City pass pedestrian-friendly policies and make improvements aimed at increasing the walkability of Austin. While there are many quantitative and qualitative measurements for evaluating walkability available, the Pedestrian Program would like to focus on counting pedestrians within Austin. The goal would be to implement a permanent pedestrian counting program within the Pedestrian Program, with specific goals the program would like to accomplish through the pedestrian counting program. This professional report will outline a plan for how the Pedestrian Program can best achieve their pedestrian counting goals. This professional report reviews the importance of planning for pedestrians as well as the current state of practice for pedestrian counting. Using case studies of pedestrian counting from around the United States, as well as an overview of readily available pedestrian counting techniques, I outline what the Pedestrian Program’s goals are for their permanent pedestrian counting program, and I offer specific techniques aimed at achieving each goal. I found that, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, the Pedestrian Program would be best served by a specific technique applied to each goal in order to obtain the best data that it can.Community and Regional Plannin

Benefits and challenges of collaborating with volunteers: examples from national wildlife roadkill reporting systems in Europe

Daily, a large number of animals are killed on European roads due to collisions with vehicles. A high proportion of these events, however, are not documented, as those obliged to collect such data, only record a small proportion; the police only register collisions that lead to traffic accidents, and hunters only collect data on game wildlife. Such reports disproportionately under-records small vertebrates such as birds, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles. In the last decade, however, national wildlife roadkill reporting systems have been launched, largely working with citizen scientists to collect roadkill data on a national basis that could fill this data gap. The aim of this study is, therefore, to describe for the first time, existing projects in Europe, and the user groups that submit data to them. To give a deeper understanding of such projects, we describe exemplar scientific roadkill reporting systems that currently exist in Austria, Belgium, Czechia and the United Kingdom. We define groups of people who contribute to such citizen science activities, and report our experience and best practice with these volunteers. We conclude that volunteers contribute significantly to collecting data on species that are not typically recorded in official databases. To ensure citizen-science projects perpetuate, (I) volunteers need to be motivated by the organisers to participate on a long-term basis, (II) volunteers need support in identifying roadkill species where required, and (III) regular feedback is required on how their contribution is used to produce new scientific knowledge

DRONE AMERICA: THE END OF PRIVACY?

Cutting-edge technological innovations have enabled law enforcement agencies to collect data over a geographical area in relatively short amounts of time. Drones (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles) are becoming increasingly acceptable and employed by state and local law enforcement to become force multipliers. While the Federal Aviation Administration has addressed the integration and safety of flight requirements for law enforcement agencies to utilize drones, federal privacy and data collection regulations are unresolved. This thesis argues that federal regulation is required and attempts to highlight the distinction between surveillance technology and delivery platforms to understand how to approach the regulation of data gathering. In doing so, this thesis uses a political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological (PEST) analysis to examine Title III and relative jurisprudence dealing with both surveillance and aerial platforms. The PEST analysis aims to bring forward the salient points in crafting recommendations and expansion in current legislation that support an increase in citizens’ safety and security, but remain within the bounds of constitutional liberty and the Fourth Amendment.Lieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release. distribution is unlimite

Networking Transportation

Networking Transportation looks at how the digital revolution is changing Greater Philadelphia's transportation system. It recognizes several key digital transportation technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, connected and automated vehicles, digital mapping, Intelligent Transportation Systems, the Internet of Things, smart cities, real-time information, transportation network companies (TNCs), unmanned aerial systems, and virtual communications. It focuses particularly on key issues surrounding TNCs. It identifies TNCs currently operating in Greater Philadelphia and reviews some of the more innovative services around the world. It presents four alternative future scenarios for their growth: Filling a Niche, A Tale of Two Regions, TNCs Take Off, and Moore Growth. It then creates a future vision for an integrated, multimodal transportation network and identifies infrastructure needs, institutional reforms, and regulatory recommendations intended to help bring about this vision

Lisbon public parks: Development of real-world user scenarios

A população mundial está a aumentar. Até 2030, a população mundial poderá atingir 8,6 mil milhões de pessoas. Nos dias que correm, cerca de 53,9% da população mundial reside em cidades. Até 2050 a previsão é que este número aumente para 68,4%. Ao mesmo tempo, prevê-se que a percentagem de pessoas com mais de 60 anos aumente de 12% para 22%, e que em países este número atinja 33%. Diversos estudos referem a importância que parques públicos e espaços verdes têm na contribuição para uma maior qualidade de vida e bem-estar. O principal objetivo desta Tese é compreender que tipo de problemas existem nos parques públicos de Lisboa e perceber como o design pode melhorar a experiência do utilizador nos parques públicos de Lisboa. Esta Tese está dividida em seis capítulos: Introdução, Estado da arte, Metodologia de investigação, Discussão, Cenários reais de utilizador e Conclusão. Os resultados deste trabalho reforçam a importância da utilização de metodologias de Design Thinking e Design participativo na reflexão e/ou reformulação de parques públicos. Além disso, este trabalho destaca a importância de entender o verdadeiro utilizador, visto que soluções não são universais e precisam ser pensadas de acordo com a localização de cada parque. Esta Tese pretende inspirar novas ideias de investigação, através da identificação de lacunas no conhecimento. Questões abertas e desafiantes sobre novas soluções para parques públicos são propostas e identificadas para trabalhos futuros, abrindo espaço para pensar em novas soluções que possam contribuir para futuros parques públicos “inteligentes”.The global population is growing. By 2030, the world population will reach 8.6 billion people. Nowadays, about 53.9% of the world's population resides in cities, and by 2050, the percentage is expected to rise to 68.4%. At the same time, the percentage of people over 60 is expected to rise from 12% to 22%, and 33% residing in developed countries. Studies have shown that public parks and green spaces can contribute to a higher quality of life and well being. The main purpose of this study is to understand the type of problems exist in Lisbon public parks and to speculate how design and technology could improve the user experience at Lisbon public parks. The thesis is divided into six chapters: Introduction, State of the Art, Research Methodology, Discussion, Real-world user scenarios, and Conclusion. The findings of this study underscore the significance of incorporating Design Thinking and participatory Design approaches when conceptualizing or revitalizing public parks. Additionally, this research underscores the necessity of comprehending the specific park user demographic, as solutions cannot be one-size-fits-all and must be tailored to the park's unique context. The thesis aims to stimulate fresh avenues of research by pinpointing knowledge gaps. It presents forward-looking and formidable challenges in the realm of innovative public park solutions for future exploration. This paves the way for contemplating novel approaches that can contribute to the evolution of “smart” public parks in the future

Weather related pedestrians' slip risks and predicting sidewalk slipperiness

Wintertime slip injuries are a very common problem in Finland as well as in other countries where winter conditions are frequent. According to surveys, on average every third person in Finland slips each winter and more than 50,000 persons are injured needing medical attention. Slipping causes human suffering as well as significant financial costs due to medical expenses and sick leaves. On some of the most slippery days, the number of slipping injuries can be so high that the hospital emergency departments are crowded with patients requiring surgery. The severity of slipping injuries typically increases with age. In addition, the number of slips and slip related injuries are more common among women than men. Finland has set a goal to increase the share of sustainable transport modes, such as walking and cycling, in the future. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport and improve public health. Walking and cycling are to be the primary means of transport, especially for short distances in dense urban areas. In addition, the aim is to improve traffic safety and to develop walking and cycling infrastructure. This dissertation presents in which weather situations slips occur more than usual. In addition, the work presents a meteorological tool to help predicting weather conditions that cause pedestrian sidewalk slipperiness. Weather has a significant role in pedestrian’s wintertime slips and resulting injuries. In this dissertation, it has been investigated what are the weather situations that increase the risk of slipping and what is the spatio-temporal distribution of slips. Special attention has been given to situations with clearly more slips than usual, i.e. so called peak days of slipping injuries. The results show that snow and ice significantly increase the risk of slipping, and that most of the wintertime slips occur when the temperature is near zero degrees or slightly below it. This dissertation presents a numerical model predicting slipperiness from the pedestrian’s point of view. The model is developed at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The thesis presents the physical principles of the model and how the slipperiness classification is implemented. The model is a tool for meteorologists to supports the decision making when issuing warnings about slippery sidewalk conditions. In addition, the model benefits winter road maintenance personnel and also public with better sidewalk condition and issued warnings. Climate change will have a major impact on future winters, especially in the northern latitudes. The winter season is shortened and near zero temperatures are becoming more frequent also during mid-winter, meaning more slippery conditions during that period. It is expected that the slip period will become shorter but at the same time more intense.Talvikauden liukastumisonnettomuudet ovat hyvin yleinen ongelma Suomessa niin kuin myös muissa maissa, joissa talviolosuhteet ovat yleisiä. Kyselytutkimusten perusteella noin joka kolmas suomalainen liukastuu talvisin ja noin 50 000 liukastuu niin pahasti, että joutuu käymään sairaalassa tai ensiavussa liukastumisvammojen vuoksi. Liukastumista aiheutuu inhimillistä kärsimystä sekä merkittäviä taloudellisia kustannuksia niin sairaanhoitokulujen kuin sairauspoissaolojen kautta. Pahimpina päivinä liukastumisia saattaa tapahtua niin paljon, että sairaaloiden päivystykset ruuhkautuvat leikkausta tarvitsevista potilaista. Liukastumisvammojen vakavuus kasvaa yleensä iän myötä. Lisäksi liukastumisia ja niistä aiheutuvia vammoja sattuu enemmän naisille kuin miehille. Suomi on asettanut tavoitteeksi lisätä kestävien liikennemuotojen, kuten kävelyn ja pyöräilyn, kulkutapaosuutta tulevaisuudessa. Tavoitteena on liikenteestä aiheutuvia kasvihuonepäästöjen vähentäminen sekä kansanterveyden parantaminen. Kävely ja pyöräily halutaan saada ensisijaiseksi liikkumismuodoksi etenkin tiiviillä kaupunkiseudulla lyhyillä matkoilla. Lisäksi tavoitteena on parantaa liikenneturvallisuutta sekä kehittää kävely- ja pyöräilyinfrastruktuuria. Tämä väitöskirjatyö esittelee säätilanteita, joissa liukastumisia sattuu tavanomaista enemmän. Lisäksi työssä esitellään meteorologinen työkalu, joka auttaa jalankulkuliukkautta aiheuttavien säätilanteiden ennustamisessa. Säällä on merkittävä vaikutus jalankulkijoiden talvikauden liukastumismääriin. Tässä väitöskirjatyössä on tutkittu, mitkä säätekijät lisäävät liukastumisriskiä ja miten liukastumismäärät jakautuvat alueellisti ja ajallisesti. Erityishuomio on tilanteissa, joissa liukastumisia sattuu selvästi tavanomaista enemmän, eli ns. liukastumisten piikkipäivissä. Tulokset osoittavat, että lumi ja jää lisäävät selvästi liukastumisriskiä ja suurin osa talvikauden liukastumisista sattuu silloin, kun lämpötila on nollan vaiheilla tai vähän pakkasen puolella. Tässä väitöskirjatyössä esitellään Ilmatieteen laitoksella kehitetty numeerinen malli, joka ennustaa jalkakäytävien liukkautta. Työ esittelee mallin fysikaalisen toiminnan ja sen, miten liukkauden mallintaminen on toteutettu. Malli toimii päivystävien meteorologien apuvälineenä ja päätöksenteon tukena, kun annetaan varoituksia erittäin liukkaista jalkakäytävistä. Meteorologien lisäksi mallista hyötyvät myös kaupungin teiden talvikunnossapito sekä varoitusten kautta myös kansalaiset. Ilmastonmuutos tulee vaikuttamaan voimakkaasti tulevaisuuden talviin etenkin pohjoisilla leveyspiireillä. Talvikausi tulee lyhenemään ja nollan läheisiä lämpötiloja ennustetaan olevan tulevaisuudessa enemmän. Tämä tarkoittaa, että liukkautta esiintynee tulevaisuudessa enemmän myös keskitalvella. On odotettavissa, että liukastumiskausi tulee muuttumaan lyhyemmäksi mutta samalla intensiivisemmäksi