Modeling and Analyzing Adaptive User-Centric Systems in Real-Time Maude

Pervasive user-centric applications are systems which are meant to sense the presence, mood, and intentions of users in order to optimize user comfort and performance. Building such applications requires not only state-of-the art techniques from artificial intelligence but also sound software engineering methods for facilitating modular design, runtime adaptation and verification of critical system requirements. In this paper we focus on high-level design and analysis, and use the algebraic rewriting language Real-Time Maude for specifying applications in a real-time setting. We propose a generic component-based approach for modeling pervasive user-centric systems and we show how to analyze and prove crucial properties of the system architecture through model checking and simulation. For proving time-dependent properties we use Metric Temporal Logic (MTL) and present analysis algorithms for model checking two subclasses of MTL formulas: time-bounded response and time-bounded safety MTL formulas. The underlying idea is to extend the Real-Time Maude model with suitable clocks, to transform the MTL formulas into LTL formulas over the extended specification, and then to use the LTL model checker of Maude. It is shown that these analyses are sound and complete for maximal time sampling. The approach is illustrated by a simple adaptive advertising scenario in which an adaptive advertisement display can react to actions of the users in front of the display.Comment: In Proceedings RTRTS 2010, arXiv:1009.398

Development of a simulation and evaluation environment for a traffic flow analysis system.

A system for analysis of the traffic flow on public streets and highways through the use of Floating Car Data (FCD) relies completely on the number of simultaneously contributing vehicles, a fact that is no barrier for the phases of conception and development but poses a serious issue for the testing of such a system. Especially for smaller institutions or companies where the ability and resources to field the required number of participants is not given which in turn leads to the need for computational support to substitute the use of real vehicles by simulation. This thesis focuses on the task of the design and development of a simulation and evaluation environment for a pre-developed Traffic Flow Analysis System. The objective of this environment is to simulate the behavior of real vehicles on the existing street network including their most relevant characteristics for the purpose of congestion recognition. It is shown how simulation methods can be effectively used to create such an environment while using mathematical methods to model the characteristics of the participating system parts (vehicles) as well as the environmental influence on the external communication components (GPS, Radio)

An Open Source and Open Hardware Deep Learning-Powered Visual Navigation Engine for Autonomous Nano-UAVs

Nano-size unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with few centimeters of diameter and sub-10 Watts of total power budget, have so far been considered incapable of running sophisticated visual-based autonomous navigation software without external aid from base-stations, ad-hoc local positioning infrastructure, and powerful external computation servers. In this work, we present what is, to the best of our knowledge, the first 27g nano-UAV system able to run aboard an end-to-end, closed-loop visual pipeline for autonomous navigation based on a state-of-the-art deep-learning algorithm, built upon the open-source CrazyFlie 2.0 nano-quadrotor. Our visual navigation engine is enabled by the combination of an ultra-low power computing device (the GAP8 system-on-chip) with a novel methodology for the deployment of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We enable onboard real-time execution of a state-of-the-art deep CNN at up to 18Hz. Field experiments demonstrate that the system's high responsiveness prevents collisions with unexpected dynamic obstacles up to a flight speed of 1.5m/s. In addition, we also demonstrate the capability of our visual navigation engine of fully autonomous indoor navigation on a 113m previously unseen path. To share our key findings with the embedded and robotics communities and foster further developments in autonomous nano-UAVs, we publicly release all our code, datasets, and trained networks

Desenvolvimento de bancada virtual para simulação e monitorização de dispositivos de aquecimento de água

A controller for thermal systems is normally equipped with many facilities to make it flexible and the heating systems more cost-efficient. This results in a number of input parameters to be given by the user. It is not obvious how to choose appropriate values for these parameters unless the user has a large experience in this field. Water heating is a very important part of a household's energy use, and tankless gas water heaters (TGWH) are widely used. There are design and engineering challenges to develop more efficient devices, with lower emissions of pollutant gases and providing comfort improvements from the user point of view. Mathematical and semi-empirical models of the thermal systems were developed in order to simulate the dynamic models of water heating devices. A simulated environment is a less expensive and fastest way of evaluating the relative merits of different control schemes for a given thermal system. A technique to accelerate the process for developing controllers was implemented. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) has proved to be very useful to test hardware controllers in virtual environments simulated in real-time. In the scope of the Smart Green Homes Project, a virtual test bench with a TGWH was proposed to support the multiple phases of controller's development, whether it is to control a real or a virtual system. The experimental platform was developed to test the implemented hybrid models performance in hardware-in-the-loop simulation experiences. The platform is composed by a TGWH with a group of sensors, by real-time hardware and by a package of software tools for data acquisition and control. In the final stage of this work, two case studies were carried out, in which the first was dedicated to the validation of the virtual bench concept and the second was to control and monitor a water heating device. Very satisfactory results, from a set of HILS experiences performed in real-time simulations, were obtained for the semi-empirical models proposed.Um controlador para sistemas térmicos está normalmente equipado com muitas instalações para o tornar flexível e os sistemas de aquecimento mais económicos. Isto resulta numa série de parâmetros de entrada a serem dados pelo utilizador. Não é óbvio como escolher valores apropriados para estes parâmetros, a menos que o utilizador tenha uma grande experiência neste campo. O aquecimento de água é uma parte muito importante do consumo de energia de um agregado familiar, e os aquecedores de água a gás sem tanque (TGWH) são amplamente utilizados. Há desafios de projeto e engenharia para desenvolver dispositivos mais eficientes, com menores emissões de gases poluentes e proporcionando melhorias de conforto do ponto de vista do utilizador. Foram desenvolvidos modelos matemáticos e semi-empíricos dos sistemas térmicos para simular os modelos dinâmicos dos dispositivos de aquecimento de água. Um ambiente simulado é uma forma menos dispendiosa e mais rápida de avaliar os méritos relativos de diferentes esquemas de controle para um determinado sistema térmico. Foi implementada uma técnica para acelerar o processo de desenvolvimento de controladores. A simulação Hardware-in-the-loop (HILS) provou ser muito útil para testar controladores de hardware em ambientes virtuais simulados em tempo real. No âmbito do projecto Smart Green Homes, foi proposta uma bancada de ensaios virtual com um TGWH para apoiar as múltiplas fases de desenvolvimento do controlador, seja para controlar um sistema real ou virtual. A plataforma experimental foi desenvolvida para testar o desempenho dos modelos híbridos implementados em experiências de simulação hardware-in-the-loop. A plataforma é composta por um TGWH com um grupo de sensores, por hardware em tempo real e por um pacote de ferramentas de software para aquisição e controlo de dados. Na fase final deste trabalho, foram realizados dois estudos de caso, em que o primeiro foi dedicado à validação do conceito da bancada virtual e o segundo foi para controlar e monitorizar um dispositivo de aquecimento de água. Foram obtidos resultados muito satisfatórios, a partir de um conjunto de experiências HILS realizadas em simulações em tempo real, para os modelos semi-empíricos propostos.Mestrado em Engenharia Mecânic

Development of a mapping system engineering approaches to classic product development processes of technical products: A work project of project management in product development

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementThe automotive industry faces the challenge of meeting customer requirements while ensuring technological advancements, fast and cost-effective development, and high-quality production. Information systems play a crucial role in efficiently designing internal processes and meeting customer demands. Personalized solutions are increasingly adopted to cater to individual preferences while maintaining up-to-date technology. Information systems are utilized to record and manage customer requirements, optimize production processes, control inventories, and facilitate effective communication between departments. Product data management (PDM) solutions are widely employed, with 77% of automotive companies implementing them. PDM encompasses the storage and management of data relevant to product development, supporting the entire product lifecycle. As product complexity grows, efficient management of product data becomes essential, along with the optimization of business processes to shorten development time and parallelize tasks. CAx coordination, involving computer-aided design (CAD), manufacturing (CAM), and engineering (CAE), ensures smooth communication and coordination across the product development process. PDM systems act as intermediaries between CAx coordination and enterprise resource planning systems, facilitating seamless integration of design and manufacturing processes. Leading providers of enterprise resource planning and CAD systems offer software solutions for product lifecycle management and PDM, enabling centralized and accessible product information, streamlining development and management processes

Commercial Vehicle Research Buggy For Active Driver Assistance Systems

This is the Final Design Report for Daimtronics, a senior project team sponsored by Professor Charles Birdsong of Cal Poly and by Daimler Trucks North America. This team integrated mechatronic systems into a scale semi-truck chassis using existing mechanical and software systems from three separate Cal Poly senior projects over the recent years: Daimscale, MicroLaren, and ProgreSSIV. The goal was to have a user-friendly platform capable of executing autonomous driving algorithms that are programmable at a high level in Simulink and Robotic Operating System (ROS). Advanced driver assistance and autonomous vehicle algorithms were not within the scope of this project, but the capability to upload the platform with such software was. Through research on existing products and technologies in the field today, as well as through communication with the sponsors, Daimtronics has compiled a list of customer needs and resulting engineering specifications that will verify whether the needs are met or not. Included is both the preliminary design direction, encompassing the selection of a motor, a computing platform and a middleware framework, as well as the final design direction as the project evolved. The sensor suite for object detection and detailed plans for the integration of the electronic, computing, and mechanical components are described. The proposed and final design of the motherboard integrating the electronic and computing platforms of the system is detailed. A description of the current state of the project is included, as well as suggested next steps for future teams who will be working on this platform. A timeline of key deliverables and their due dates throughout the 2018-2019 academic school year is included