Ethical and Social Aspects of Self-Driving Cars

As an envisaged future of transportation, self-driving cars are being discussed from various perspectives, including social, economical, engineering, computer science, design, and ethics. On the one hand, self-driving cars present new engineering problems that are being gradually successfully solved. On the other hand, social and ethical problems are typically being presented in the form of an idealized unsolvable decision-making problem, the so-called trolley problem, which is grossly misleading. We argue that an applied engineering ethical approach for the development of new technology is what is needed; the approach should be applied, meaning that it should focus on the analysis of complex real-world engineering problems. Software plays a crucial role for the control of self-driving cars; therefore, software engineering solutions should seriously handle ethical and social considerations. In this paper we take a closer look at the regulative instruments, standards, design, and implementations of components, systems, and services and we present practical social and ethical challenges that have to be met, as well as novel expectations for software engineering.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

Dependable and Certifiable Real-World Systems – Issue of Software Engineering Education

Embedded software and dedicated hardware are vital elements of the modern world, from personal electronics to transportation, from communication to aerospace, from military to gaming, from medical systems to banking. Combinations of even minor hardware or software defects in a complex system may lead to violation of safety with or even without evident system failure, a major problem that the computing profession faces is the lack of a universal approach to unite the dissimilar viewpoints presented by computer science, with its discrete and mathematical underpinnings, and by computer engineering, which focuses on building real systems and considering spatial and material constraints of space, energy, and time. Modern embedded systems include both viewpoints: microprocessors running software and programmable electronic hardware created with an extensive use of software. The gap between science and engineering approaches is clearly visible in engineering education. This survey paper focuses on exploring the commonalities between building software and building hardware in an attempt to establish a new framework for rejuvenating computing education, specifically software engineering for dependable systems. We present here a perspective on software/hardware relationship, aviation system certification, role of software engineering education, and future directions in computing

A View into the development of two comparable systems through the application of business re-engineering in an SME

Ideal Caravan Sales Ltd is a medium sized business with their headquarters in Durham, England. Their main business is the sale and transportation of static and touring caravans. Ideal Caravans (1С) have identified a process within their business which is not functioning adequately and does not allow the required control. As a result of this, they have decided to review that process and implement a computer system in order to rectify the problem. The company have also taken this opportunity to introduce a structured framework which they can apply to all future computer system developments. This thesis is an examination into the highlighted problem and discusses options available to the company. It considers off-the-shelf options as well as bespoke systems. The thesis also defines a structured approach for the company to use in the implementation of any future software systems. This will result in positioning the company so that it can clearly identify, design and implement new computer systems successfully whether internally or externally. The thesis also considers a comparison between two bespoke systems, identifying which is the most successful in solving the identified issue

Layout and process optimisation: using computer-aided design (CAD) and simulation through an integrated systems design tool

The design of production and logistic systems is a process of managing both technical and organisational variants in order to identify the best solution for a given system. This paper discusses design issues of production systems that are applied to an internal logistic system in the automotive industry. As far as the production systems design (PSD) is concerned, three basic classes of software tools usually pertain: computer-aided design (CAD), process simulation, and information systems. However, these software tools have been used with low levels of integration. Vik et al. (2010b, 2010c) proposed integrating these software resources in production systems and developed an advanced tool called integrated design of systems (IDS). The proposed IDS tool involves a wide set of functions for the most common tasks of PSD, from conceptualisation to implementation, including systems analysis (P-Q, cluster, and material flow analysis), automatic generation of simulation models, generation of alternatives for the layout of facilities and factories, material flows display, transportation system design, and iterative buffer size specification. The IDS approach takes advantage of simulation, CAD systems, and their integration. This paper will demonstrate the concept and functionalities of the proposed tool in a real industrial case study.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ МЕТОДОВ МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЯ И ОПТИМИЗАЦИИ ИНФОРМАЦИОННЫХ СТРУКТУР ДЛЯ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ТРАНСПОРТНЫМИ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯМИ

In this paper, we consider an approach related to the management of transportation-related companies using various types of software. In solving this problem, we considered the possibility of using computer technology, modeling and optimization techniques. В данной работе рассматривается подход, связанный с управлением в компаниях, связанных с перевозками, при помощи разных видов программного обеспечения. При решении данной задачи мы рассматривали возможности использования компьютерных технологий, методик моделирования и оптимизации.

Video analytics on the MLK Smart Corridor testbed

With the predicted boom of urban environment populations in the next 30 years, many new challenges in urban transportation will surface. In an effort to mitigate these, the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) has been introduced along with its testbed. One opportunity this testbed provides is the ability to utilize computer vision and video analytics to anonymously gather data on how citizens traverse the city. This thesis shall discuss an approach to real-time object tracking that serves as a basis for further analytics such as traffic flow data collection and near-miss detection. The proposed video analytics platform will aid citizens with their day-to-day commute through the corridor by deriving real-time data based on actual behavior seen in the citizens\u27 commute. Furthermore, since the testbed is ever-expanding in both hardware and size the algorithms and software proposed in this thesis are designed to prioritize scalability

A State-of-the-art Integrated Transportation Simulation Platform

Nowadays, universities and companies have a huge need for simulation and modelling methodologies. In the particular case of traffic and transportation, making physical modifications to the real traffic networks could be highly expensive, dependent on political decisions and could be highly disruptive to the environment. However, while studying a specific domain or problem, analysing a problem through simulation may not be trivial and may need several simulation tools, hence raising interoperability issues. To overcome these problems, we propose an agent-directed transportation simulation platform, through the cloud, by means of services. We intend to use the IEEE standard HLA (High Level Architecture) for simulators interoperability and agents for controlling and coordination. Our motivations are to allow multiresolution analysis of complex domains, to allow experts to collaborate on the analysis of a common problem and to allow co-simulation and synergy of different application domains. This paper will start by presenting some preliminary background concepts to help better understand the scope of this work. After that, the results of a literature review is shown. Finally, the general architecture of a transportation simulation platform is proposed

Performing Hybrid Recommendation in Intermodal Transportation – the FTMarket System’s Recommendation Module

Diverse recommendation techniques have been already proposed and encapsulated into several e-business applications, aiming to perform a more accurate evaluation of the existing information and accordingly augment the assistance provided to the users involved. This paper reports on the development and integration of a recommendation module in an agent-based transportation transactions management system. The module is built according to a novel hybrid recommendation technique, which combines the advantages of collaborative filtering and knowledge-based approaches. The proposed technique and supporting module assist customers in considering in detail alternative transportation transactions that satisfy their requests, as well as in evaluating completed transactions. The related services are invoked through a software agent that constructs the appropriate knowledge rules and performs a synthesis of the recommendation policy