Computational intelligence approaches to robotics, automation, and control [Volume guest editors]

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Air budJets: A VTOL virtual operator company in Portugal

The aeronautical industry is evolving very rapidly mainly due to the development of technology. These technological advances have allowed the Man to develop projects that are very ambitious as is the case of "flying cars". This concept has been developed since the '80s, but only now have arisen prototypes capable of satisfying this dream. With this, the appearance of VTOL aircraft, aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically, without needing any runways to do so. For this project, helicopters are not considered as VTOL aircraft because they are not very energy efficient. Many companies have developed VTOL aircraft, with design and consequently characteristics very different from each other, but having in common being hybrid or fully electric aircraft. For this study, a "fictitious" airline company was created using VTOL aircraft. The service characterization was then carried out, where using localization algorithms and trajectory optimization, we were able to elaborate an application (software) that treats the data of the flights to the marked ones by clients to optimize the routes/trajectories of the flights. Then the elaboration of a model and a business plan was made, and it is possible to observe the viability of the economic-financial results of the new (fictitious) company.A indústria aeronáutica está a evoluir muito rapidamente sobretudo devido ao desenvolvimento da tecnologia. Estes avanços tecnológicos têm permitido ao Homem desenvolver projetos há muito ambicionados como é o caso dos “carros voadores”. Este conceito tem vindo a ser desenvolvido desde os anos 80, mas só agora surgiram protótipos capazes de satisfazer este sonho. Com isto o aparecimento de aeronaves VTOL, aeronaves capazes de descolar e aterrar na vertical sem necessitar de quaisquer pistas para o fazer. Para este projeto não são considerados aeronaves VTOL os helicópteros pois estes são pouco eficientes energeticamente. Muitas empresas têm desenvolvido aeronaves VTOL, com design e consequentemente características muito diferentes entre si, mas que tendo em comum serem aeronaves híbridas ou totalmente elétricas. Para este estudo foi então criada uma empresa “fictícia” de transporte aéreo que utiliza aeronaves VTOL. Foi então feita a caracterização do serviço, onde utilizando algoritmos de localização e de otimização de trajetórias, fomos capazes de elaborar uma aplicação (software) que faz o tratamento dos dados dos voos já marcados por clientes para otimizar as rotas/trajetórias desses voos. Depois a elaboração de um modelo e de um plano de negócios foi possível observar a viabilidade dos resultados económico-financeiros da nova empresa (fictícia)

KYTC Maintenance Field Operations Guide Supplement

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is tasked with managing an asset portfolio that includes over 27,500 miles of roadway and 9,000 bridges. Keeping these assets in sound condition demands significant effort from KYTC’s Division of Maintenance, which includes activities ranging from mowing and litter pickup to cleaning out culverts and performing emergency roadway work. Despite the immense responsibilities shouldered by Maintenance personnel, until this project the Cabinet’s 12 districts lacked a systematic method for capturing and recording maintenance activities. Through a series of workshops held in each KYTC’s district with Section Engineer and Maintenance Supervisors, researchers at the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) facilitated efforts to inventory routine maintenance activities, document how frequently each activity is done, and capture the ways in which maintenance functions are adjusted in response to special projects (which generally receive priority over general maintenance functions). Key products of this research include a Statewide Maintenance Calendar, which defines — based on a combination of stakeholder feedback and statistical analysis — optimal time intervals for undertaking key maintenance activities, as well as district-specific maintenance calendars. Having recourse to these calendars will help district staff more efficiently plan, schedule, and coordinate maintenance functions

Management of Urban Air Mobility for Sustainable and Smart Cities: The Case of a Vertiport Network in Lisbon, Portugal, Using a User-Centred Approach

This Dissertation focuses on urban mobility three-dimensional (3D). Whilst prioritizing the development of sustainable mobility and smart cities, this study aims to provide conditions and practical tools to promote change in people's lives for the better and reverse global climate change. Currently, the transportation sector accounts for roughly 16 per cent of all annual greenhouse gases emissions in the world. In particular, the increase in urban road traffic has intensified pollution and noise in cities, deteriorating the quality of life of the citizens who inhabit them. Obviously, it is necessary to promote an innovative and rapid change in urban mobility. In this sense, airspace could ease this increase in urban movements by complementing traditional and emerging land transport systems. Innovation in urban mobility could occur by integrating urban air mobility (UAM) in every city in the world. Yet, UAM reveals a gap regarding the involvement of this technology with people, which interestingly represents the key to long-term success. In this way, by developing a consistent, people-centred UAM, we would spur world progress by changing the way we all travel in cities. At the same time, we would be one step closer to driving a third global mobility revolution and a new world of accessibility. However, the best opportunities for innovation are not only in creating new technologies that enable UAM but also in the ecosystem they together produce: vertiport networks. So, this study proposes to embed vertiport networks in cities using a user-centric design. As there is a lack of this type of research in Portugal, this Dissertation uses a conceptual approach to analyze the logistics and feasibility of integrating vertiport networks in cities by implementing a living lab in the capital of this country, Lisbon. This approach incorporates a user-centric design based on the ongoing engagement of Portuguese citizens in the decision-making process alongside a parallel interaction with five different stakeholders (specifically, ANA Airports of Portugal, NAV Portugal, ANAC Portugal, the Lisbon City Council, and the Government of Portugal). As a result, a three-step roadmap is proposed to implement a vertiport network in the Portuguese capital. This proposal has the virtue of supporting future advanced discussions to bring UAM to Portugal and humanizing UAM's technology in order to narrow the existent gap between the scientific community, public authorities, professional actors (i.e., the industry) and consumers (i.e., people). Lastly, to drive positive and meaningful global change in urban mobility through UAM, we must inspire people by considering their needs and concerns and then call them to act now. Because, in the end, both sustainable urban mobility and smart cities start foremost with the daily habits of each of us.Esta Dissertação foca-se na mobilidade urbana tridimensional (3D). Enquanto prioriza o desenvolvimento da mobilidade sustentável e cidades inteligentes, este estudo pretende fornecer condições e ferramentas práticas de modo a promover a mudança na vida das pessoas para melhor e reverter as alterações climáticas mundiais. Atualmente, o sector do transporte é responsável por cerca de 16 por cento de todas as emissões anuais de gases de efeito estufa no mundo. Particularmente, o aumento do tráfego rodoviário urbano tem intensificado a poluição e o ruído nas cidades, deteriorando a qualidade de vida dos cidadãos que as habitam. Obviamente, é necessário promover uma mudança inovadora e rápida na mobilidade urbana. Neste sentido, o espaço aéreo poderia aliviar este aumento de movimentos urbanísticos ao complementar os sistemas tradicionais e emergentes de transporte terrestres. Inovação na mobilidade urbana poderia ocorrer ao integrar-se a mobilidade aérea urbana (UAM) em todas as cidades do mundo. Contudo, a UAM revela uma lacuna relativamente ao envolvimento desta tecnologia com as pessoas, o que curiosamente representa a chave para o sucesso a longo prazo. Deste modo, ao desenvolver uma UAM consistente e centrada nas pessoas, estimularíamos o progresso mundial ao mudar a forma como todos nós viajamos nas cidades. Ao mesmo tempo, estaríamos um passo mais perto de impulsionar uma terceira revolução da mobilidade global e um novo mundo de acessibilidade. No entanto, as melhores oportunidades de inovação não estão só na criação de novas tecnologias que possibilitem a UAM, mas também no ecossistema que estas produzem juntas: as redes de vertiports. Assim, este estudo propõe incorporar redes de vertiports nas cidades usando um design centrado no utilizador. Sendo que existe falta deste tipo de investigação em Portugal, nesta Dissertação recorre-se a uma abordagem conceptual para analisar a logística e viabilidade da integração de redes de vertiports em cidades através da implementação de um living lab na capital deste país, Lisboa. Esta abordagem incorpora um design centrado no utilizador baseado no envolvimento contínuo dos cidadãos portugueses no processo de tomada de decisão a par de uma interacção paralela com cinco diferentes stakeholders (especificamente, a ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, a NAV Portugal, a ANAC Portugal, a Câmara Municipal de Lisboa e o Governo de Portugal). Como resultado, são propostas diretrizes de três etapas para a implementação de uma rede de vertiports na capital portuguesa. Esta proposta tem a virtude de apoiar futuras discussões avançadas para trazer a UAM para Portugal e de humanizar a tecnologia da UAM com o objetivo de reduzir a lacuna existente entre a comunidade científica, autoridades públicas, atores profissionais (ou seja, a indústria) e consumidores (ou seja, as pessoas). Por último, para impulsionar uma mudança global positiva e significativa na mobilidade urbana através da UAM, devemo-nos inspirar nas pessoas ao considerar as suas necessidades e preocupações e, de seguida, chamá-las para agir. Porque, no final das contas, tanto a mobilidade urbana sustentável como as cidades inteligentes começam principalmente com os hábitos diários de cada um de nós

Book of abstracts of the 24th Euro Working Group on Transportation Meeting

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ICWIM8 - 8th Conference on Weigh-in-Motion - Book of proceedings

ICWIM8, 8th International Conference on Weigh-in-Motion, PRAGUE, TCHÈQUE, RÉPUBLIQUE, 20-/05/2019 - 24/05/2019The conference addresses the broad range of topics related to on-road and in-vehicle WIM technology, its research, installation and operation and use of mass data across variable end-uses. Innovative technologies and experiences of WIM system implementation are presented. Application of WIM data to infrastructure, mainly bridges and pavements, is among the main topics. However, the most demanding application is now WIM for enforcement, and the greatest challenge is WIM for direct enforcement. Most of the countries and road authorities should ensure a full compliance of heavy vehicle weights and dimensions with the current regulations. Another challenging objective is to extend the lifetimes of existing road assets, despite of increasing heavy vehicle loads and flow, and without compromising with the structural safety. Fair competition and road charging also require accurately monitoring commercial vehicle weights by WIM. WIM contributes to a global ITS (Intelligent Transport System) providing useful data on heavy good vehicles to implement Performance Based Standards (PBS) and Intelligent Access Programme (IAP, Australia) or Smart Infrastructure Access Programme (SIAP). The conference reports the latest research and developments since the last conference in 2016, from all around the World. More than 150 delegates from 33 countries and all continents are attending ICWIM8, mixing academics, end users, decision makers and WIM vendors. An industrial exhibition is organized jointly with the conference

Critical review and methodological issues in integrated life-cycle analysis on road networks

Life-cycle management of road network projects traditionally emphasise material production and construction stages, with less attention given to usage stage and functionality improvement. Increasingly there is a need to address: inconsistencies in cost attribute selection; adjusting for uncertainties and costs; clarifying system boundaries; data sources; functional units and regional or temporal applicability of life-cycle frameworks. The current study focuses on a critical literature review of life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) research published in the last decade (post 2008) towards identification of research gaps. Accurately analysing all life-cycle stages, feedback loops, future cash and resource flows, and interlinking performance with overall sustainability can aid the decision-making process towards sustainable alternatives for constructing new, or rehabilitating existing roads. This review finds that the use of recycled materials, base/sub-base stabilisers and asphalt binder replacement has the potential of energy saving (=34% or 3.1 TJ), mitigating landfill disposal issues, and greenhouse gas load reduction (=34.5% CDE). Lack of real world LCCA-LCA application and stakeholder prejudice against recycled material usage are addressable by better stakeholder (decision-makers and road users) engagement via a social component. The proposed enhancements identified in this study can increase LCA/LCCA attraction to policy-makers, planners and users and ultimately ensure a more sustainable asset