Robotic Warehouse Management System

The research task is to find a solution to the problem of reducing the risk of collisions while managing a set of auxiliary robots. This task can be solved in two ways. The first approach is the development of algorithms for choosing the motion trajectory of robots. The second one is to reduce the number of auxiliary robots to the minimum required in a certain amount of time. The study focuses on the second approach. Rigidly programmed systems, although they do the job, are not always flexible and adaptive. Systems that can independently analyze the state of certain data, find patterns, and predict, are more efficient and necessary for the further development of the industry. The study proposes a solution based on the use of a neural network in the management system of auxiliary work. An analytical unit was added to the control system to predict the optimal number of robots needed on the line by the number of applications. This gives the system a high level of flexibility in the overall loading and shipping process. Control systems with and without the analytical unit in two different scenarios are studied, both in the constant and randomized increment of applications. In both cases, the use of the analytical block in the control system allowed reducing the number of auxiliary robots in production. The experimental results show that the proposed solution gives the same amount of applications to be completed by fewer auxiliary robots in less time, and it results in reduction of the number of collisions during the movement of robots. The emergence of this structure improves navigation efficiency and allows reducing production maintenance costs. In addition, the results showed scalability for production. A well-established system for managing robotic devices can guarantee the efficiency of the production process

A Multiple Perspective Approach Towards the Assessment and Development of Expert Systems in Manufacturing. Volume 1

Current approaches to technology innovation often fail because they are conceived and assessed from a single perspective or dimension. Thus, current considerations in expert systems development are characterised by a strong focus upon the technology and technical issues without a prior process of wider appraisal and technology assessment. A central theme of this study is that the business, organisational and human factors, which determine how effectively the technology will be used in practice, must be an integral part of the assessment process. The thesis describes a ‘multiple perspective approach’ to technology assessment applied to expert systems innovation in a large manufacturing organisation. This research therefore embraces detailed technical, organisational and individual perspectives of expert systems assessment and development and describes how each perspective adds new concepts, methods and tools. In practice, this has meant modelling activities and information flows in a two-site manufacturing organisation, the identification of a variety of potential areas for expert systems development, the narrowing down and selection of particular areas according to technical, organisational, business and personal criteria, and the eventual design, development, ‘operationalisation’ and evaluation of a single application. This study is placed in a wider context by complementary analyses of other manufacturing users and suppliers of expert systems. The work aims to contribute towards an understanding of expert systems innovation and to improved methodologies for technology assessment and technology transfer.Ph

Live, virtual, and constructive environments for performance support

As military systems become more complex, the operation and support of these systems becomes intrinsically more difficult. The U.S. Army\u27s current procurement process relies on industry to provide embedded training and performance support tools for the systems they produce. These tools are relatively new and in the early stages of development. As yet, they have failed to meet the needs of the technicians that are required to support these complex systems. Current efforts to provide enabling technologies that enhance the capabilities of automotive maintenance technicians are concentrated in three professional communities. First is the Performance Improvement community where work is focused on developing and implementing performance support system technologies that deliver information that is stored in information systems. Second is the Knowledge Management community working on organizational knowledge management techniques that capture, store, and map information that is delivered to workers within an organization. The third is the Training and Education community focusing on developing curriculum and delivery systems that support life-long-learning requirements. This dissertation addresses an essential component of performance systems, namely the ability to deliver the knowledge needed to guide a problem solver to a solution state, thereby enhancing worker capabilities. This objective is met by developing the LockTel Framework that provides a construct for segmenting knowledge into three environments for performance support, the live, the virtual, and the constructive environments. It provides a means for the maintenance technician to gain knowledge associated with completing a given task. Seventy-eight maintenance technician trainees at an U.S. Army training center tested the framework. The hypothesis behind the proposed construct was strongly supported, thereby establishing the foundation for future work in live, virtual, and constructive environments for performance support

Space station automation of common module power management and distribution

The purpose is to automate a breadboard level Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) system which possesses many functional characteristics of a specified Space Station power system. The automation system was built upon 20 kHz ac source with redundancy of the power buses. There are two power distribution control units which furnish power to six load centers which in turn enable load circuits based upon a system generated schedule. The progress in building this specified autonomous system is described. Automation of Space Station Module PMAD was accomplished by segmenting the complete task in the following four independent tasks: (1) develop a detailed approach for PMAD automation; (2) define the software and hardware elements of automation; (3) develop the automation system for the PMAD breadboard; and (4) select an appropriate host processing environment

Human-computer interaction in distributed supervisory control tasks

An overview of activities concerned with the development and applications of the Operator Function Model (OFM) is presented. The OFM is a mathematical tool to represent operator interaction with predominantly automated space ground control systems. The design and assessment of an intelligent operator aid (OFMspert and Ally) is particularly discussed. The application of OFM to represent the task knowledge in the design of intelligent tutoring systems, designated OFMTutor and ITSSO (Intelligent Tutoring System for Satellite Operators), is also described. Viewgraphs from symposia presentations are compiled along with papers addressing the intent inferencing capabilities of OFMspert, the OFMTutor system, and an overview of intelligent tutoring systems and the implications for complex dynamic systems

eRider Starter Kit

Outlines the process for designing, implementing, and running technology assistance projects to assist nonprofits working in developing countries. Includes case studies, and templates and samples that have been used in eRider projects

Understanding Contradictions in Teacher-Learner Identity, Digital Video, and Goal-Directed Activity in a Blended Graduate Reading Education Course

More teachers are experiencing professional development within blended/virtual learning communities, which I consider a fruitful avenue for expansion of new literacies in K-12 classrooms. However, new literacies challenge traditional structures in education even as new rules of corporate-sponsored reform and high-stakes accountability serve to reinforce these structures. Within this context of contradictions, a cohort of teachers from a rural, remote county in the southeast United States participated in a blended learning environment in their final semester of graduate-level coursework in Reading Education. Some of the teacher-learners, whose own attitudes and motivations toward technology were as diverse as the tools themselves, resisted new modes of learning, especially self-reflection through digital video. To better understand situational forces as well as the participants’ own identities as sources of resistance, I designed an activity-theoretical study that draws upon Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), New Literacies, and multiple realities perspectives. My data sources included observations and field notes, analysis of course documents, and interactive interviews. I applied grounded theory to code the data and used the initial findings to draft a case study report. I then used CHAT’s heuristic tools to graphically depict the tensions of joint activity between the school system and university course settings. I also developed activity portraits of three teacher-learners. My findings suggest the following implications for blended learning in Reading Education: seek better coordination and articulation of joint activity, avoid being overly prescriptive of digital tools, and engage participants more frequently in open dialogue about problems and issues. The findings also point to an enhanced role for CHAT to stimulate a theory-to-practice feedback loop for the practitioner-researcher

Creating a virtual office : ten case studies for CPA firms

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1573/thumbnail.jp