A Social Internet of Things Smart City Solution for Traffic and Pollution Monitoring in Cagliari

In the last years, the smart city (SC) paradigm has been deeply studied to support sustainable mobility and to improve human living conditions. In this context, a new SC based on the Social Internet of Things paradigm is presented in this article. Starting from the tracking of all vehicles (that is, private and public) and pedestrians, integrated with air quality measurements (that is, in real time by mobile and fixed sensors), the system aims to improve the viability of the city, both for pedestrian and vehicular users. A monitoring network based on sensors and devices hosted on board in local public transport allows real-time monitoring of the most sensitive areas both from traffic congestion and from an environmental point of view. The proposed solution is equipped with an appropriate intelligence that takes into account instantaneous speed, type of traffic, and instantaneous pollution data, allowing to evaluate the congestion and pollution condition in a specific moment. Moreover, specific tools support the decisions of public administration facilitating the identification of the most appropriate actions for the implementation of effective policies relating to mobility. All collected data are elaborated in real time to improve traffic viability suggesting new directions and information to citizens to better organize how to live in the city

A Social Internet of Things Smart City Solution for Traffic and Pollution Monitoring in Cagliari

In the last years, the smart city paradigm has been deeply studied to support sustainable mobility and to improve human living conditions. In this context, a new smart city based on Social Internet of Things paradigm is presented in this article. Starting from the tracking of all vehicles (that is, private and public) and pedestrians, integrated with air quality measurements (that is, in real time by mobile and fixed sensors), the system aims to improve the viability of the city, both for pedestrian and vehicular users. A monitoring network based on sensors and devices hosted on board in local public transport allows real time monitoring of the most sensitive areas both from traffic congestion and from an environmental point of view. The proposed solution is equipped with an appropriate intelligence that takes into account instantaneous speed, type of traffic, and instantaneous pollution data, allowing to evaluate the congestion and pollution condition in a specific moment. Moreover, specific tools support the decisions of public administration facilitating the identification of the most appropriate actions for the implementation of effective policies relating to mobility. All collected data are elaborated in real time to improve traffic viability suggesting new directions and information to citizens to better organize how to live in the city

Developing a method to search for the causes of uncertainty in a nascent transport planning project

PhD ThesisThe transport planning decision process is, in theory, underpinned by rational analysis of travel behaviour and application of transport economics but project outcomes do not always follow the results of that analysis. Uncertainty is evident at all stages of the project development; as the concept emerges and as it moves through the subsequent assessment and decision processes. This research has investigated and demonstrated a method that identifies uncertainty focussing on the early stages of the project lifecycle and also provides an understanding of the factors that drive it. The method used a backcast scenario to elicit the causal relationships between elements of the planning and decision process in structured interviews with stakeholders. Qualitative analysis techniques were used to identify the active elements of the process, the causality between the elements was explored using the Cross Impact Matrix Model to evaluate their influences and dependencies and identify those driving uncertainty in the planning process. In this research, the Cross Impact Matrix Model was extended to analyse stakeholder opinions both individually and collectively, and investigation was undertaken into the parameter sensitivity of the analysis method. The case study was based on a disused railway where several studies into re-opening it have resulted in contradictory views on its mode of use and on the achievable benefits. In the scenario used in the case study, the rail service is re-instated for light rail use in conjunction with a new sustainable urban area anchored on an existing small village. The findings in this case study were that presence of strong leadership and collaboration between Local Authorities were the most influential determinants for progress and the prime causes of uncertainty were the economic environment, planning policies, and perceptions of passenger utility. Although these results emerged from a specific scenario, the methodology was demonstrated to be a powerful generic tool to identify the elements that create criticalities in planning for any scheme

Classification algorithms for Intelligent Transport Systems

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) consists in the application of ICT to transport to offer new and improved services to the mobility of people and freights. While using ITS, travellers produce large quantities of data that can be collected and analysed to study their behaviour and to provide information to decision makers and planners. The thesis proposes innovative deployments of classification algorithms for Intelligent Transport System with the aim to support the decisions on traffic rerouting, bus transport demand and behaviour of two wheelers vehicles. The first part of this work provides an overview and a classification of a selection of clustering algorithms that can be implemented for the analysis of ITS data. The first contribution of this thesis is an innovative use of the agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm to classify similar travels in terms of their origin and destination, together with the proposal for a methodology to analyse drivers’ route choice behaviour using GPS coordinates and optimal alternatives. The clusters of repetitive travels made by a sample of drivers are then analysed to compare observed route choices to the modelled alternatives. The results of the analysis show that drivers select routes that are more reliable but that are more expensive in terms of travel time. Successively, different types of users of a service that provides information on the real time arrivals of bus at stop are classified using Support Vector Machines. The results shows that the results of the classification of different types of bus transport users can be used to update or complement the census on bus transport flows. Finally, the problem of the classification of accidents made by two wheelers vehicles is presented together with possible future application of clustering methodologies aimed at identifying and classifying the different types of accidents

Electric Car Cultures: An ethnography of the everyday use of electric vehicles in the UK

This study uses ethnographic methods to study drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK to add a user perspective to current knowledge of the developing technology of EVs. EVs have had a revival in popularity since their near extinction in the early twentieth century. There is interest from support industries in how a further resurgence in popularity will affect demand for support services, and how increased EV use could re-shape the infrastructure and the landscapes that have been written by decades of combustion-engine vehicle use. Some ethnographic studies of EV drivers have been done, although these are small in number and on a limited scale. This study will look closely at a number of UK based EV drivers and their households, and use ethnographic methods to document patterns of use and driving styles, as well as discuss the attitudes and values of current EV drivers. EV drivers today are an informal collective of innovators and early adopters who form communities to facilitate social learning, and this forming of, and use of networks will be explored. This study will provide an insight into how EV drivers use their EVs on an everyday basis, and find out if there are any problems which EV drivers currently face, which need to be addressed before EVs can become a mass market product

Research reports: 1990 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

Reports on the research projects performed under the NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program are presented. The program was conducted by The University of Alabama and MSFC during the period from June 4, 1990 through August 10, 1990. Some of the topics covered include: (1) Space Shuttles; (2) Space Station Freedom; (3) information systems; (4) materials and processes; (4) Space Shuttle main engine; (5) aerospace sciences; (6) mathematical models; (7) mission operations; (8) systems analysis and integration; (9) systems control; (10) structures and dynamics; (11) aerospace safety; and (12) remote sensin

MISSUS experiment on BEXUS programme: temperature data analysis and correlation

MISSUS is a multi-sensors scientific package for the characterization of the atmosphere, that flew on-board BEXUS 15 stratospheric balloon. The flight constituted a unique opportunity to test an innovative temperature sensor, which will be accommodated on DREAMS suite onboard ExoMars 2016. The thesis concerns the project management of the experiment and the data analysis, which has been carried out according to the data fusion concept which relies on the cross correlation between measurement

Fretting corrosion of tin-plated separable connectors used in automotive applications

Greater demands are being placed on the separable connector to perform with higher reliability in harsher automotive environments. Corrosion in its various forms is a major mechanism which affects contact reliability and this current work focuses on surface oxidation and the related phenomenon of fretting corrosion, from which hot dipped tin (HDT), a common automotive connector coating, is known to suffer. For an in-depth study of high contact resistance, in both static conditions and when subjected to relative micromovement, an interdisciplinary approach was necessary, drawing on the results of published work carried out in the fields of contact and surface science, corrosion and tribology. [Continues.