2,897 research outputs found
A Survey of Agent-Based Modelling and Simulation Tools for Educational Purpose
Simulation is an experimentation with the imitation or model of the observed system, and observation of its behaviour over time, with the purpose of better understanding and/or improving the system. It is often used in situations where research cannot include the real system because of its inaccessibility, dangerous or unacceptable involvement, the fact that the system is designed but not built yet, in situations where the system is abstract or simply does not exist. Elements of these systems can be implemented as software entities which can percept their environment and autonomously react to the stimulation, i.e. intelligent agents. These tools, which allow the research of complex natural, social and technical phenomena and systems, are called agent-based modelling and simulation tools. This paper presents a review of some of these modern computer tools that can be successfully implemented in the teaching process
Constrained multi-agent ergodic area surveying control based on finite element approximation of the potential field
Heat Equation Driven Area Coverage (HEDAC) is a state-of-the-art multi-agent
ergodic motion control guided by a gradient of a potential field. A finite
element method is hereby implemented to obtain a solution of Helmholtz partial
differential equation, which models the potential field for surveying motion
control. This allows us to survey arbitrarily shaped domains and to include
obstacles in an elegant and robust manner intrinsic to HEDAC's fundamental
idea. For a simple kinematic motion, the obstacles and boundary avoidance
constraints are successfully handled by directing the agent motion with the
gradient of the potential. However, including additional constraints, such as
the minimal clearance dsitance from stationary and moving obstacles and the
minimal path curvature radius, requires further alternations of the control
algorithm. We introduce a relatively simple yet robust approach for handling
these constraints by formulating a straightforward optimization problem based
on collision-free escapes route maneuvers. This approach provides a guaranteed
collision avoidance mechanism, while being computationally inexpensive as a
result of the optimization problem partitioning. The proposed motion control is
evaluated in three realistic surveying scenarios simulations, showing the
effectiveness of the surveying and the robustness of the control algorithm.
Furthermore, potential maneuvering difficulties due to improperly defined
surveying scenarios are highlighted and we provide guidelines on how to
overpass them. The results are promising and indiacate real-world applicability
of proposed constrained multi-agent motion control for autonomous surveying and
potentially other HEDAC utilizations.Comment: Revised manuscrip
Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation
This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any productās acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion
An Optimizing Java Translation Framework for Automated Checkpointing and Strong Mobility
Long-running programs, e.g., in high-performance computing, need to
write periodic checkpoints of their execution state to disk to allow
them to recover from node failure. Manually adding checkpointing code
to an application, however, is very tedious. The mechanisms needed
for writing the execution state of a program to disk and restoring it
are similar to those needed for migrating a running thread or a mobile
object. We have extended a source-to-source translation scheme that
allows the migration of mobile Java objects with running threads to
make it more general and allow it to be used for automated
checkpointing. Our translation scheme allows serializable threads to
be written to disk or migrated with a mobile agent to a remote
machine. The translator generates code that maintains a serializable
run-time stack for each thread as a Java data structure. While this
results in significant run-time overhead, it allows the checkpointing
code to be generated automatically. We improved the locking mechanism
that is needed to protect the run-time stack as well as the translation
scheme. Our experimental results demonstrate an speedup of the
generated code over the original translator and show that the approach
is feasible in practice
Conflict resolution in virtual locations
The growing use of telematic ways of communication and of the new developments of
Artificial Intelligence, brought along new ways of doing business, now in an electronic
format, and requiring a new legal approach. Thus, there is an obvious need for legal changes
and adaptations, not only concerning a new approach of traditional legal institutes, but also
concerning a need for new developments in procedural means.
Transactions are now undertaken in fractions of seconds, through the telematic networks,
requiring more efficient ways for solving conflicts; on the other hand, the fact that we must
now consider commercial transactions totally undertaken within an electronic environment
(āonline transactionsā) leads to an obligation of rethinking the ways of solving disputes, that
will inevitably arise from electronic commerce. It is an important change already taking place,
pointing out to various ways of alternative dispute resolution and, among all these ways,
letting us already perceive different possibilities of using the new technologies in order to
reach faster and more efficient ways (still also āfairā) of solving commercial disputes. It is a
whole new evolution towards a growing use not only alternative dispute resolution, but also,
towards the so-called on-line dispute resolution.The work described in this paper is included in TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial
Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006), which is a
research project supported by FCT (Science & Technology Foundation), Portugal
Microgrids
Microgrids are a growing segment of the energy industry, representing a paradigm shift from centralized structures toward more localized, autonomous, dynamic, and bi-directional energy networks, especially in cities and communities. The ability to isolate from the larger grid makes microgrids resilient, while their capability of forming scalable energy clusters permits the delivery of services that make the grid more sustainable and competitive. Through an optimal design and management process, microgrids could also provide efficient, low-cost, clean energy and help to improve the operation and stability of regional energy systems. This book covers these promising and dynamic areas of research and development and gathers contributions on different aspects of microgrids in an aim to impart higher degrees of sustainability and resilience to energy systems
Accountability in Health Systems and the Potential of mHealth
The rapid spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) (and of mobile
phones in particular) across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has generated
considerable excitement in development circles regarding their potential to revolutionise
service delivery in health systems. Broadly speaking, such innovations, widely referred to as mHealth, make possible new ways of collecting, collating and managing health and health service-related data, and novel means of communication between and among citizens, civil society, health service personnel and government actors. This can empower citizens to better understand, care and advocate for their own health; health workers to deliver improved services; and government actors to enforce or build health policies that uphold the health rights of all citizens, including poor and marginalised groups who are often systematically excluded from health systems.
As mHealth is in its infancy, and most projects to date have been small in scale, this potential is still being tested. Furthermore, most research has focused on the extent to which mHealth has improved service delivery and/or health outcomes in the short term. There has been little explicit attention given to whether and how mHealth might improve accountability for public health services ā that is, to what extent mHealth can enhance citizensā abilities to demand improved services from providers and government in line with their rights, and/or augment the capacity and willingness of providers and government to respond to citizensā needs and demands ā both in the short and the long term.
This Working Paper aims to begin to fill this gap by exploring literature on accountability in
health systems and on mHealth and to build theoretical and empirical bridges between them. In so doing, we lay out a clearer understanding of the role that mHealth can play in
accountability for public health services in LMICs, as well as its limitations. At the centre of
this role is technology-facilitated information which, for instance, can help governments
enforce and improve existing health policy, and which can assist citizens and civil society to
communicate with each other to learn more about their rights, and to engage in data
collection, monitoring and advocacy. Ultimately however, information, facilitated as it may be by mHealth, does not automatically lead to improved accountability. Different forms of health care come with different accountability challenges to which mHealth is only variably up to task. Furthermore, health systems, embedded as they are in diverse political, social and economic contexts, are extremely complex, and accountability requires far more than
information. Thus, mHealth can serve as a tool for accountability, but is likely only able to
make a difference in institutional systems that support accountability in other ways (both
formal and informal) and in which political actors and health service providers are willing and able to change their behaviour.Future Health Systems Research Programme ConsortiumMaking All Voices CountUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentSwedish International Development Cooperation AgencyOmidyar NetworkUK Department for International DevelopmentEconomic and Social Research Counci
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