Resonances: The sound of performance

It is a hot summer night in August 2013, as the audience gathers near the entrance of the large Gray Hall at the south side of the former coal mine Göttelborn (Germany). The sun has set, and there is only the gray light of dusk in the performance space inside, streaming through the large glass façade, falling onto a small array of stones laid out on the floor. Additional light from a video projector streams over the stones, and a tiny figure of a dancer is seen crawling over rocks, moving in the strange, a-syncopated rhythm of jump cuts. Slowly the sound of rocks scratching against a stone surface begins to be heard, it will remain the only sound for a while, then Japanese instrumentalist Emi Watanabe steps into the empty space with her flute

Internet of robotic things : converging sensing/actuating, hypoconnectivity, artificial intelligence and IoT Platforms

The Internet of Things (IoT) concept is evolving rapidly and influencing newdevelopments in various application domains, such as the Internet of MobileThings (IoMT), Autonomous Internet of Things (A-IoT), Autonomous Systemof Things (ASoT), Internet of Autonomous Things (IoAT), Internetof Things Clouds (IoT-C) and the Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) etc.that are progressing/advancing by using IoT technology. The IoT influencerepresents new development and deployment challenges in different areassuch as seamless platform integration, context based cognitive network integration,new mobile sensor/actuator network paradigms, things identification(addressing, naming in IoT) and dynamic things discoverability and manyothers. The IoRT represents new convergence challenges and their need to be addressed, in one side the programmability and the communication ofmultiple heterogeneous mobile/autonomous/robotic things for cooperating,their coordination, configuration, exchange of information, security, safetyand protection. Developments in IoT heterogeneous parallel processing/communication and dynamic systems based on parallelism and concurrencyrequire new ideas for integrating the intelligent “devices”, collaborativerobots (COBOTS), into IoT applications. Dynamic maintainability, selfhealing,self-repair of resources, changing resource state, (re-) configurationand context based IoT systems for service implementation and integrationwith IoT network service composition are of paramount importance whennew “cognitive devices” are becoming active participants in IoT applications.This chapter aims to be an overview of the IoRT concept, technologies,architectures and applications and to provide a comprehensive coverage offuture challenges, developments and applications

Discrete event simulation and virtual reality use in industry: new opportunities and future trends

This paper reviews the area of combined discrete event simulation (DES) and virtual reality (VR) use within industry. While establishing a state of the art for progress in this area, this paper makes the case for VR DES as the vehicle of choice for complex data analysis through interactive simulation models, highlighting both its advantages and current limitations. This paper reviews active research topics such as VR and DES real-time integration, communication protocols, system design considerations, model validation, and applications of VR and DES. While summarizing future research directions for this technology combination, the case is made for smart factory adoption of VR DES as a new platform for scenario testing and decision making. It is put that in order for VR DES to fully meet the visualization requirements of both Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet visions of digital manufacturing, further research is required in the areas of lower latency image processing, DES delivery as a service, gesture recognition for VR DES interaction, and linkage of DES to real-time data streams and Big Data sets

Wireless communication, identification and sensing technologies enabling integrated logistics: a study in the harbor environment

In the last decade, integrated logistics has become an important challenge in the development of wireless communication, identification and sensing technology, due to the growing complexity of logistics processes and the increasing demand for adapting systems to new requirements. The advancement of wireless technology provides a wide range of options for the maritime container terminals. Electronic devices employed in container terminals reduce the manual effort, facilitating timely information flow and enhancing control and quality of service and decision made. In this paper, we examine the technology that can be used to support integration in harbor's logistics. In the literature, most systems have been developed to address specific needs of particular harbors, but a systematic study is missing. The purpose is to provide an overview to the reader about which technology of integrated logistics can be implemented and what remains to be addressed in the future

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic (March 25 - 27, 2018 -- The University of New Hampshire) paired two of NSF\u27s 10 Big Ideas: Navigating the New Arctic and Growing Convergence Research at NSF. During this event, participants assessed economic, environmental, and social impacts of Arctic change on New England and established convergence research initiatives to prepare for, adapt to, and respond to these effects. Shipping routes through an ice-free Northwest Passage in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt will affect trade, fisheries, tourism, coastal ecology, air and water quality, animal migration, and demographics not only in the Arctic but also in lower latitude coastal regions such as New England. With profound changes on the horizon, this is a critical opportunity for New England to prepare for uncertain yet inevitable economic and environmental impacts of Arctic change

Designing requirements engineering research

Engineering sciences study different different topics than natural sciences, and utility is an essential factor in choosing engineering research problems. But despite these differences, research methods for the engineering sciences are no different than research methods for any other kind of science. At most there is a difference in emphasis. In the case of requirements engineering research - and more generally software engineering research - there is a confusion about the relative roles of research and about design and the methods appropriate for each of these activities. This paper analyzes these roles and provides a classification of research methods that can be used in any science—engineering or otherwise

Interoperability, Trust Based Information Sharing Protocol and Security: Digital Government Key Issues

Improved interoperability between public and private organizations is of key significance to make digital government newest triumphant. Digital Government interoperability, information sharing protocol and security are measured the key issue for achieving a refined stage of digital government. Flawless interoperability is essential to share the information between diverse and merely dispersed organisations in several network environments by using computer based tools. Digital government must ensure security for its information systems, including computers and networks for providing better service to the citizens. Governments around the world are increasingly revolving to information sharing and integration for solving problems in programs and policy areas. Evils of global worry such as syndrome discovery and manage, terror campaign, immigration and border control, prohibited drug trafficking, and more demand information sharing, harmonization and cooperation amid government agencies within a country and across national borders. A number of daunting challenges survive to the progress of an efficient information sharing protocol. A secure and trusted information-sharing protocol is required to enable users to interact and share information easily and perfectly across many diverse networks and databases globally.Comment: 20 page

MIROR-Musical Interaction Relying On Reflexion. Project Final Report

open7siIl progetto è stato valutato dalla Commissione Europea con il massimo del punteggio (15/15) con la seguente valutazione sintetica: Excellent. The proposal successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion in question. Any shortcomings are minor". Ha superato le tre valutazioni annuali con giudizio molto positivo (good) e con brillante giudizio finale. Progetto co-finanziato dalla Comunità Europea, 7° Programma Quadro, ICT-Challenge 4.2, Technology enhanced-learning, Programma Cooperation, no 258338. Il Programma “COOPERATION” è identificato dal DM del 1/7/2011 (Identificazione dei programmi di ricerca di alta qualificazione, finanziati dall'Unione europea o dal Ministero dell'istruzione, dell'universita' e della ricerca di cui all'articolo 29, comma 7, della legge n. 240/2010) come uno dei due programmi di ricerca di alta qualificazione finanziati dall’UE. In dettaglio, dal Coordinatore sono stati ricoperti i seguenti ruoli: • Preparazione della proposta e Coordinameto scientifico del Progetto • Responsabile dei contatti con la Commissione Europea • Supervisione e monitoraggio del lavoro svolto dal Consorzio, attraverso workshops, report tecnici e scientifici e coordinamento dei deliverable • Lieder dei seguenti Work-Packages: • WP1. Project Management • WP5. Psychological Experiments • WP8. Dissemination and Exploitation • Coordinatore dell’ALB • Coordinamento scientifico e organizzativo del gruppo di ricerca dell'Università di Bologna, composto da: o 2 assegni di ricerca post-dottorato o 1 assegno di ricerca o 2 contratti di assistenza alla ricerca o 1 contratto per il sito web o 15 studenti-collaboratori o 3 insegnanti collaboratori • Responsabile delle collaborazioni e convenzioni con l’Istituto Comprensivo di Casalecchio di Reno, la Nuova Scuola di Musica Baroncini di Imola, Il Centro Danza Musikè-Bologna. • Supervisione del Project Management (Dipartimento della Ricerca Europea dell'Università di Bologna - ARIC).The MIROR (Musical Interaction Relying On Reflexion) project is co‐funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme, Theme ICT‐2009.4.2, Technology‐enhanced learning. MIROR is a three‐years project and started on September 1st, 2010. All information regarding MIROR is available through the MIROR Portal at http://www.mirorproject.eu. The MIROR Project-Final Report deals with the description of the development of an adaptive system for music learning and teaching based on the “reflexive interaction” paradigm. The system is developed in the context of early childhood music education. It acts as an advanced cognitive tutor, designed to promote specific cognitive abilities in the field of music improvisation, both in formal learning contexts (kindergartens, primary schools, music schools) and informal ones (at home, kinder centres, etc.). The reflexive interaction paradigm is based on the idea of letting users manipulate virtual copies of themselves, through specifically designed machine‐learning software referred to as “Interactive Reflexive Musical Systems” (IRMS). By definition IRMS are able to learn and configure themselves according to their understanding of the learner's behaviour. In MIROR the IRMS paradigm is extended with the analysis and synthesis of multisensory expressive gesture to increase its impact on the musical pedagogy of young children, by developing new multimodal interfaces. The project is based on a spiral design approach involving coupled interactions between technical and psychopedagogical partners. MIROR integrates both psychological case‐study experiments, aiming to investigate cognitive hypotheses concerning the mirroring behaviour and the learning efficacy of the platform, and validation studies aiming at developing the software in concrete educational settings. The project contributes to promoting the reflexive interaction paradigm not only in the field of music learning, but more generally as a new paradigm for establishing a synergy between learning and cognition in the context of child/machine interaction.openopenA. R. Addessi ; C. Anagnostopoulou; S. Newman; B. Olsson; F. Pachet; G. Volpe; S. YoungA. R. Addessi ; C. Anagnostopoulou; S. Newman; B. Olsson; F. Pachet; G. Volpe; S. Youn

MusA: Using Indoor Positioning and Navigation to Enhance Cultural Experiences in a museum

In recent years there has been a growing interest into the use of multimedia mobile guides in museum environments. Mobile devices have the capabilities to detect the user context and to provide pieces of information suitable to help visitors discovering and following the logical and emotional connections that develop during the visit. In this scenario, location based services (LBS) currently represent an asset, and the choice of the technology to determine users' position, combined with the definition of methods that can effectively convey information, become key issues in the design process. In this work, we present MusA (Museum Assistant), a general framework for the development of multimedia interactive guides for mobile devices. Its main feature is a vision-based indoor positioning system that allows the provision of several LBS, from way-finding to the contextualized communication of cultural contents, aimed at providing a meaningful exploration of exhibits according to visitors' personal interest and curiosity. Starting from the thorough description of the system architecture, the article presents the implementation of two mobile guides, developed to respectively address adults and children, and discusses the evaluation of the user experience and the visitors' appreciation of these application

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio