Comparison of constant rate factor and constant bitrate mode encoding for rPPG detection

Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) has gained attention as a non-intrusive camera-based contactless method for the remote monitoring of vital signs. rPPG is especially appealing for its suitability in telehealth settings as a way to provide healthcare professionals physiological measurements of their patients during video consultations, without the need of specialist equipment. Limited data transmission is a key concern in video conferencing and necessitates the need for video compression to mitigate the communication bottleneck. To ensure that their service is manageable at large scales, video communication providers often use a form of Constant Bitrate (CBR) mode encoding to keep bitrates constrained and consistent regardless of video content. In this paper, we study how video compression using Constant Bitrate mode encoding affects the accuracy of rPPG methods and compare this to video encoded using a Constant Rate Factor mode (CRF), more commonly used for asynchronous video. To this end, we analyse the behaviour of three typically used video codecs (AV1, H.264, and H.265) in both CRF and CBR modes on 129 videos from 3 different databases (UBFC-RPPG, LGI-PPGI-FVD and PURE). Our results show a noticeable difference between CRF and CBR mode encoded videos on rPPG signal quality that is inconsistent between encoders

Checklist based reading's influence on a developer's understanding

This paper addresses the influence the Checklist Based Reading inspection technique has on a developer's ability to modify inspected code. Traditionally, inspections have been used to detect defects within the development life cycle. This research identified a correlation between the number of defects detected and the successful code extensions for new functionality unrelated to the defects. Participants reported that having completed a checklist inspection, modifying the code was easier because the inspection had given them an understanding of the code that would not have existed otherwise. The results also showed a significant difference in how developers systematically modified code after completing a checklist inspection when compared to those who had not performed a checklist inspection. This study has shown that applying software inspections for purposesother than defect detection include software understanding and comprehension

Towards an agent-based framework for online after-sales services

The multi-agent paradigm for building intelligent systems has gradually been accepted by researchers and practitioners in the research field of artificial intelligence. There are also attempts of adapting agents and agent-based systems for creating industrial applications and providing e-services. In this paper, we present an attempt to use agents for constructing an online after-sale services system. The system is decomposed into four major cooperative agents, and in which each agent concentrates on particular aspects in the system and expresses intelligence by using various techniques. The proposed agent-based framework for the system is presented at both the micro-level and the macro-level according to the Gaia methodology. UML notations are also used to represent some software design models. As the result of this, agents are implemented into a framework for which exploits Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) technique to fulfil real life on-line services' diagnoses and tasks

Explaining and upsampling anomalies in time-series sensor data.

The aims of this research was to improve anomaly detection methods in multi-sensor data by extending current re-sampling and explanation methods to work in a time-series setting. While there is a plethora of literature surrounding XAI for tabular data, the same cannot be said for the multivariate time-series settings. It is also known that selecting an optimal baseline for attribution methods such as integrated gradients remains an open research question. Accordingly, the author is interested to explore the role of Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) in three ways: 1) to represent time series data from multiple sensors to enable effective anomaly detection; 2) to create explanation experiences (explanation-baseline pair) that can support the identification of suitable baselines to improve attribution discovery with integrated gradients for multivariate time-series settings; and 3) to represent the disagreements between past explanations in a case-base to better inform strategies for solving disagreement between explainers in the future. A common theme across my research is the need to explore how inherent relationships between sensors (causal or other ad-hoc inter-dependencies) can be captured and represented to improve anomaly detection and the follow-on explanation phases

Private 5G and its Suitability for Industrial Networking

5G was and is still surrounded by many promises and buzzwords, such as the famous 1 ms, real-time, and Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (URLLC). This was partly intended to get the attention of vertical industries to become new customers for mobile networks, which shall be deployed in their factories. With the allowance of federal agencies, companies deployed their own private 5G networks to test new use cases enabled by 5G. But what has been missing, apart from all the marketing, is the knowledge of what 5G can really do? Private 5G networks are envisioned to enable new use cases with strict latency requirements, such as robot control. This work has examined in great detail the capabilities of the current 5G Release 15 as private network, and in particular its suitability with regard to time-critical communications. For that, a testbed was designed to measure One-Way Delays (OWDs) and Round-Trip Times (RTTs) with high accuracy. The measurements were conducted in 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) net-works and are the first published results. The evaluation revealed results that were not obvious or identified by previous work. For example, a strong impact of the packet rate on the resulting OWD and RTT was found. It was also found that typically 95% of the SA downlink end-to-end packet delays are in the range of 4 ms to 10 ms, indicating a fairly wide spread of packet delays, with the Inter-Packet Delay Variation (IPDV) between consecutive packets distributed in the millisecond range. Surprisingly, it also seems to matter for the RTT from which direction, i.e. Downlink (DL) or Uplink (UL), a round-trip communication was initiated. Another important factor plays especially the Inter-Arrival Time (IAT) of packets on the RTT distribution. These examples from the results found demonstrate the need to critically examine 5G and any successors in terms of their real-time capabilities. In addition to the end-to-end OWD and RTT, the delays caused by 4G and 5G Core processing has been investigated as well. Current state-of-the-art 4G and 5G Core implementations exhibit long-tailed delay distributions. To overcome such limitations, modern packet processing have been evaluated in terms of their respective tail-latency. The hardware-based solution was able to process packets with deterministic delay, but the software-based solutions also achieved soft real-time results. These results allow the selection of the right technology for use cases depending on their tail-latency requirements. In summary, many insights into the suitability of 5G for time-critical communications were gained from the study of the current 5G Release 15. The measurement framework, analysis methods, and results will inform the further development and refinement of private 5G campus networks for industrial use cases

Development and Evaluation of Clinker Stabilized Fly Ash Based Composite Material for Haul Road Application

India is expected to generate more than 2, 50, 000 MW during 12th five year plan period. The coal production would be 1000 MT per year. Opencast mining plays a major role in meeting the demand of fossil fuel for thermal power generation. Mine activities have to be expanded to meet this demand. It would lead to use of large capacity haul trucks. Carrying capacity of trucks/dumpers used in opencast mines has grown from 10 T to 200 T in recent years, with higher capacity being considered at places. Introduction of large capacity haul trucks demands well-designed haul roads. At present design of new haul roads is based on past experience and empirical methods. Opencast mines displace large amount of overburden as waste material. The sub-grade, sub-base and/or base of haul road typically uses those overburden materials. This investigation wants to focus on replacing a part of overburden material with another suitable and better material. There are about 170 opencast coal mines and many are near to thermal power stations. Problems associated with vehicular breakdown and poor performances as well as low morale work force of manpower have been attributed to the poor condition of haul road. The current fly ash production is about 180 MT that will rise to about 600 MT by 2030. The usage percentage of fly ash is about 50% leaving the rest as plant waste occupying huge land area and creating environmental problems. Dumped fly ash adversely affects land, air and water resources. So its gainful bulk utilization is a major challenge to India’s growing power sectors. The investigation has characterized fly ash, mine overburden material as well as clinker. Data pertaining to existing practice and layout of haul road were reported. Geo technical properties of untreated fly ash, mine overburden, fly ash-mine overburden mixes and clinker treated fly ash-mine overburden mixes were determined. Numerical analyses were carried out to determine stress and strain of haul road for both conventional material and developed FCMs. Clinker percentage, curing period as well as fly ash percentage were observed to have strong bearing on the strength parameters of the developed FCMs. The best material obtained was 62% FA+30%O/B+8% CL with highest CBR and UCS values. Existing dimension was evaluated and found to be inadequate. A few different dimensions for haul road pavement have been proposed. Model equations have been developed to correlate between different variables. Micro structural analyses as well as ultrasonic pulse velocity measurement were carried out to confirm the values. Maximum Dry Density, Optimum Moisture Content, CBR, UCS, BTS and P-wave velocity of best developed material is 1559 kg/m3, 16.9%, 140%, 1.4 MPa, 150 kPa and 1785 m/s respectively

Patient-centered Coordination in Healthcare Service Networks - Measuring and Improving Inter-organizational Information Flow

This thesis investigates the idea of a coordination service that improves the information flow between independent stakeholders along the patient care pathway. Based on identified requirements regarding process, ICT-structure, and legal constraints, a stroke-specific coordination service was developed, validated, implemented, and evaluated. A randomized controlled trial showed improved patients\u27 HRQoL and competences, positive cost-benefit ratio, and acceptance by the involved stakeholders