Advances in Human Robot Interaction for Cloud Robotics applications

In this thesis are analyzed different and innovative techniques for Human Robot Interaction. The focus of this thesis is on the interaction with flying robots. The first part is a preliminary description of the state of the art interactions techniques. Then the first project is Fly4SmartCity, where it is analyzed the interaction between humans (the citizen and the operator) and drones mediated by a cloud robotics platform. Then there is an application of the sliding autonomy paradigm and the analysis of different degrees of autonomy supported by a cloud robotics platform. The last part is dedicated to the most innovative technique for human-drone interaction in the User’s Flying Organizer project (UFO project). This project wants to develop a flying robot able to project information into the environment exploiting concepts of Spatial Augmented Realit

Logic-based Technologies for Multi-agent Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

Precisely when the success of artificial intelligence (AI) sub-symbolic techniques makes them be identified with the whole AI by many non-computerscientists and non-technical media, symbolic approaches are getting more and more attention as those that could make AI amenable to human understanding. Given the recurring cycles in the AI history, we expect that a revamp of technologies often tagged as “classical AI” – in particular, logic-based ones will take place in the next few years. On the other hand, agents and multi-agent systems (MAS) have been at the core of the design of intelligent systems since their very beginning, and their long-term connection with logic-based technologies, which characterised their early days, might open new ways to engineer explainable intelligent systems. This is why understanding the current status of logic-based technologies for MAS is nowadays of paramount importance. Accordingly, this paper aims at providing a comprehensive view of those technologies by making them the subject of a systematic literature review (SLR). The resulting technologies are discussed and evaluated from two different perspectives: the MAS and the logic-based ones

Enabling technologies for urban smart mobility: Recent trends, opportunities and challenges

The increasing population across the globe makes it essential to link smart and sustainable city planning with the logistics of transporting people and goods, which will significantly contribute to how societies will face mobility in the coming years. The concept of smart mobility emerged with the popularity of smart cities and is aligned with the sustainable development goals defined by the United Nations. A reduction in traffic congestion and new route optimizations with reduced ecological footprint are some of the essential factors of smart mobility; however, other aspects must also be taken into account, such as the promotion of active mobility and inclusive mobility, encour-aging the use of other types of environmentally friendly fuels and engagement with citizens. The Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Big Data technology will serve as the main entry points and fundamental pillars to promote the rise of new innovative solutions that will change the current paradigm for cities and their citizens. Mobility‐as‐a‐service, traffic flow optimization, the optimization of logistics and autonomous vehicles are some of the services and applications that will encompass several changes in the coming years with the transition of existing cities into smart cities. This paper provides an extensive review of the current trends and solutions presented in the scope of smart mobility and enabling technologies that support it. An overview of how smart mobility fits into smart cities is provided by characterizing its main attributes and the key benefits of using smart mobility in a smart city ecosystem. Further, this paper highlights other various opportunities and challenges related to smart mobility. Lastly, the major services and applications that are expected to arise in the coming years within smart mobility are explored with the prospective future trends and scope

Analysis of the ŠKODA brand perceptions on different markets

Lately, brands are becoming increasingly important across all industries. Consumers are forming relationships with brands attributing brand building process a great significance. Automotive industry belongs to the most competitive industries with high brand loyalty attributing the brand even greater importance. This study focuses on a carmaker ŠKODA and perception of its brand between Czech, German and Finnish markets. In order to find the similarities and differences between the researched markets and provide future brand development, following objectives were set. First objective was to develop a theoretical framework integrating the brand equity components and the brand identity model on in-depth literature review, which serve as a basis for the empirical part. Second objective was to develop an overview regarding the branding benchmarks and current trends in the automotive industry. Thirdly, the objective was to analyze the three markets’ similarities and differences in brand perceptions of the case company ŠKODA based on the conducted survey and compare the results with previous studies. Lastly, based on the theory background, benchmarks, trends and conducted research, provide suggestions on how to improve brand perceptions of ŠKODA on researched markets. A quantitative research method, specifically an online questionnaire, has been chosen for this research. Total amount of 195 respondents from the three analyzed markets approached the questionnaire. However, not all respondents were admitted to participate in the research after the introductory question due to their possible influence on the findings which resulted in having 54 respondents from Czech Republic, 64 from Germany and 59 from Finland who fully completed the questionnaire. The research findings confirmed a strong position of ŠKODA brand on the Czech market, where perceptions predominantly surpassed the remaining markets. The situation between the respondent’s perceptions in Germany and Finland was, however, not as evident. Previous studies already examined the brand perception of ŠKODA to some extent on the Czech market, however, no similar studies have been made on the markets of Germany and Finland. Therefore, this study compares the findings between individual researched markets as well as compares the findings with previous studies from Czech Republic. Despite different target groups, the results from previous studies on the Czech market were mostly in line with this study. A cross market comparison has been made with a study examining the brand perceptions of ŠKODA between United Kingdom and Poland. Common findings across markets and differences between genders have also been examined in this study. For further brand development, establishment of a car-sharing platform, communication of the vehicle connectivity features, communication through social media, consideration of subscription services and use of AR and VR tech-nologies in connection with COVID-19 pandemic was advised with regard to the researched target group

Costs and benefits of superfast broadband in the UK

This paper was commissioned from LSE Enterprise by Convergys Smart Revenue Solutions to stimulate an open and constructive debate among the main stakeholders about the balance between the costs, the revenues, and the societal benefits of ‘superfast’ broadband. The intent has been to analyse the available facts and to propose wider perspectives on economic and social interactions. The paper has two parts: one concentrates on superfast broadband deployment and the associated economic and social implications (for the UK and its service providers), and the other considers alternative social science approaches to these implications. Both parts consider the potential contribution of smart solutions to superfast broadband provision and use. Whereas Part I takes the “national perspective” and the “service provider perspective”, which deal with the implications of superfast broadband for the UK and for service providers, Part II views matters in other ways, particularly by looking at how to realise values beyond the market economy, such as those inherent in neighbourliness, trust and democrac

TechNews digests: Jan - Mar 2010

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

The Labor of Informational Democracy: A Library and Information Science Framework for Evaluating the Democratic Potential in Socially- Generated Information

This essay outlines a framework that LIS can use to analyze socially-generated information. The proposed evaluative framework involves three democratic horizons of analysis: the level of access, the level of production, and the level of communicative speech. This inquiry synthesizes the political economy of communication/librarianship, autonomist Marxist insights about the dematerialization of labor in late capitalism, and the concerns of contemporary democratic theory. The essay concludes with a set of proposals for LIS to pursue research and policies that use a critical theoretical framework linking the realm of production (i.e., labor) with communicative democracy