The Pull Paradigm : foundations of user-centric advanced driver assistant systems based on bidirectional car2X communication

This thesis develops applications for vehicular ad-hoc networks that go far beyond the currently established areas of driving safety and traffic efficiency. The ad-hoc network is regarded as a dynamic information resource which is available to any vehicle at any time. In contrast to current state-of-the-art research, the proposed Pull Paradigm starts at the user\u27s vehicle rather than at an information source somewhere in the network, e.g. a braking car. To access information from highly dynamic ad-hoc networks, bidirectional communication and information discovery and retrieval play a vital role. Therefore, in the course of the work, the applicability of the Pull Paradigm to established vehicular ad-hoc networks is thoroughly examined and missing aspects are identified. It turns out that a number of enhancements to almost all layers of the network stack are necessary in order to apply the Pull Paradigm using existing technology. The central elements here are two novel algorithms for managing information flow and dissemination in ad-hoc networks, which are at first formulated from the abstract perspective of graph theory. Using the knowledge gained leads to the development of PADE, a platform that supports development of vehicular ad-hoc network applications. The designed algorithms are then implemented as a routing scheme, integrated and evaluated in large, simulated city scenarios. Furthermore, PADE combines real\u27\u27 and simulated communication technologies and abstracts from them, so that applications can be transferred from the lab into a test vehicle with minimal effort. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, PADE builds on a number of existing simulation and communication technologies. The practical applicability of the Pull approach is shown in two demonstrators that are integrated into a BMW 5 series test vehicle. The presentation module of the PADE platform was tested in the currently largest field operational test for vehicular ad-hoc communication. Over 400 drivers in 120 vehicles experienced the system on a daily basis.In dieser Doktorarbeit werden Anwendungen für Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Netzwerke erarbeitet, die weit über die derzeit etablierten Bereiche der Fahrsicherheit und Verkehrseffizienz hinausgehen. Das Ad-hoc Netzwerk wird dabei als dynamische Informationsressource angesehen, die jedem Fahrzeug zu jedem Zeitpunkt zur Verfügung steht. Im Gegensatz zum derzeitigen Stand der Forschung geht das vorgestellte Pull Paradigma vom Fahrzeug des Benutzers und nicht von der Informationsquelle aus, z.B. einem bremsenden Fahrzeug. Für den Zugriff auf Informationen aus hochdynamischen Ad-hoc Netzen, spielen bidirektionale Kommunikation, Informationssuche und -rücktransport eine entscheidende Rolle. Im Verlauf der Arbeit wird deshalb die Anwendbarkeit des Pull Paradigmas auf etablierte Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Netze untersucht und fehlende Aspekte identifiziert. Es zeigt sich, dass eine Reihe an Erweiterungen auf fast allen Ebenen des Netzwerkstapels nötig sind damit die bestehende Technologie um das Pull Paradigma erweitert werden kann. Zentraler Punkt hierbei sind zwei neuartige Algorithmen zur Informationsverwaltung und -verbreitung in Ad-hoc Netzwerken die zunächst abstrakt aus Sicht der Graphentheorie formuliert werden. Mit Hilfe der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse wird PADE, eine Plattform zur Entwicklung von Anwendungen für Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Netze, entwickelt. Die entworfenen Algorithmen werden dann als Routingverfahren im Netzwerkstapel realisiert, in diesen integriert und auf großflächigen Stadtszenarien im Simulator evaluiert. Des Weiteren vereint PADE echte\u27\u27 und simulierte Kommunikationstechnologien und abstrahiert von diesen, sodass Anwendungen mit minimalem Aufwand vom Labor in ein Testfahrzeug überführt werden können. Um dieses ambitionierte Ziel zu erreichen, wird auf einer Reihe bereits bestehender Simulations- und Kommunikationstechnologien aufgebaut. Die praktische Anwendbarkeit des Pull Paradigmas wird anschließend in zwei Demonstratoren implementiert und in ein BMW 5er Testfahrzeug integriert. Das Präsentationsmodul der PADE Plattform wurde im derzeit weltgrößten Feldversuch für Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Kommunikation von über 400 Fahrern in 120 Fahrzeugen im Alltag getestet

High-level Architecture and Compelling Technologies for an Advanced Web-based Vehicle Routing and Scheduling System for Urban Freight Transportation

The search for a more efficient routing and scheduling, the improvement of service’s level and the increasing complexity of real-world distributive contexts are contingent variables that generate the need for a system’s architecture that may be holistic, innovative, scalable and reliable. Hence, new technologies and a lucid awareness of involved actors and infrastructures, provide the basis to create a more efficient routing and scheduling architecture for enterprises

Inter-firm collaboration in transportation

Dans la littérature académique et professionnelle relative au transport de marchandise, il y a longtemps que les méthodes de planification avancées ont été identifiées comme un moyen de dégager des économies grâce à une efficacité accrue des opérations de transport. Plus récemment, la collaboration interentreprises dans la planification du transport a été étudiée comme une source de gain supplémentaire en efficacité et, par conséquent, une opportunité pour dégager de nouvelles économies pour les collaborateurs. Cependant, la mise en œuvre d'une collaboration interentreprises en transports soulève un certain nombre d’enjeux. Cette thèse aborde trois thèmes centraux de la collaboration interentreprises et démontre les contributions via des études de cas dans l’industrie forestière et du meuble. Premièrement, les moyens technologiques pour soutenir une collaboration en planification du transport sont étudiés. Un système d’aide à la décision supportant la collaboration en transport forestier est présenté. Deuxièmement, le partage entre les collaborateurs du coût commun en transport est étudié. Une méthode de répartition du coût de transport tenant compte de l'impact - l’augmentation du coût de transport - des exigences inégales entre des collaborateurs est proposée. Troisièmement, la création de groupes collaboratifs - des coalitions - dans un ensemble de collaborateurs potentiel est étudiée. Un modèle réseau pour la formation d’une coalition selon les intérêts d’un sous-ensemble de collaborateurs adoptant ou pas un comportement opportuniste est détaillé. De plus, pour soutenir l'étude des thèmes précédents, la thèse comprend deux revues de la littérature. Premièrement, une revue sur les méthodes de planification et les systèmes d’aide à la décision en transport forestier est présenté. Deuxièmement, à travers la proposition d'un cadre pour créer et gérer une collaboration en transport et, plus généralement en logistique, une revue de travaux sur le transport et la logistique collaborative est offerte.In the academic and professional literature on freight transportation, computer-based planning methods have a long time ago been identified as a means to achieve cost reduction through enhanced transportation operations efficiency. More recently, inter-firm collaboration in transportation planning has been investigated as a means to provide further gains in efficiency and, in turn, to achieve additional cost reduction for the collaborators. However, implementation of inter-firm collaboration in transportation raises a number of issues. This thesis addresses three central themes in inter-firm collaboration and exemplifies the contributions in case studies involving collaboration in furniture and forest transportation. First, technological means to enable collaboration in transportation planning are studied. Embedding a computer-based planning method for truck routing, a decision support system enabling collaborative transportation is presented. Second, sharing the common transportation cost among collaborators is studied. A cost allocation method taking into account the impact – an increase of the transportation cost – of uneven requirements among collaborators is proposed. Third, building collaborating groups (i.e. coalitions) among a set of potential collaborators is studied. A network model for coalition formation by a subset of self-interested collaborators adopting or not an opportunistic behaviour is detailed. Moreover, to support the study of the aforementioned themes, the thesis includes two literature reviews. First, a survey on planning methods and decision support systems for vehicle routing problem in forest transportation is presented. Second, through the proposition of a framework for building and managing collaboration in transportation and, more generally in logistics, a survey of works on collaborative transportation and logistics is given

A decision support system for integrated semi-centralised urban wastewater treatment systems

The importance of adequate water supply and sanitation infrastructure as cornerstones for the development of civilizations is undeniable. Although a strategy based on centralised infrastructure has proven to be successful in the past, in some circumstances such conventional systems are inappropriate for future needs. A Semi-centralised Urban Wastewater Treatment System (SUWWTS) may be considered a viable sustainable urban water management solution to promote water security. A SUWWTS merges regulations of traditional centralised systems with the concepts of close-loop and resource recovery of decentralised systems. However, research on the design and feasibility of implementing semi-centralised systems is in its infancy. This Thesis is a first attempt to articulate the complexity, to systematize and to automatize the design of a SUWWTS. Here we show a novel method, referred to as framework, for the development of SUWWTS with allowance for the socio-economic and geographic context of any urban area. To demonstrate the proposed framework a Decision Support System (DSS) was developed; its output is a recommended design comprised of several wastewater treatment plants, their respective technology, and their associated sewerage and reclaimed water distribution networks. The results demonstrate the capabilities and the usefulness of the DSS; it applies the design engineers’ subjective preferences, such as regional technological inclinations and implementation strategies. The results from a feasibility study on the city of Rio de Janeiro validated and demonstrated how the DSS can be used to assist decision-makers. This Thesis discusses the framework, the DSS and the demonstration case. Overall, it will hopefully help both other researchers and practitioners by contributing to the discussion on how to promote urban water security, to decrease urban areas’ dependency on ecosystem services whilst delivering better social welfare

Modularity and Innovation in Complex Systems

The problem of designing, coordinating, and managing complex systems has been central to the management and organizations literature. Recent writings have tended to offer modularity as, at least, a partial solution to this design problem. However, little attention has been paid to the problem of identifying what constitutes an appropriate modularization of a complex system. We develop a formal simulation model that allows us to carefully examine the dynamics of innovation and performance in complex systems. The model points to the trade-off between the destabilizing effects of overly refined modularization and the modest levels of search and a premature fixation on inferior designs that can result from excessive levels of integration. The analysis highlights an asymmetry in this trade-off, with excessively refined modules leading to cycling behavior and a lack of performance improvement. We discuss the implications of these arguments for product and organization design.

Production Engineering and Management

The annual International Conference on Production Engineering and Management takes place for the sixth time his year, and can therefore be considered a well - established event that is the result of the joint effort of the OWL University of Applied Sciences and the University of Trieste. The conference has been established as an annual meeting under the Double Degree Master Program ‘Production Engineering and Management’ by the two partner universities. The main goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for students, researchers and professionals from Germany, Italy and abroad, to meet and exchange information, discuss experiences, specific practices and technical solutions used in planning, design and management of production and service systems. In addition, the conference is a platform aimed at presenting research projects, introducing young academics to the tradition of Symposiums and promoting the exchange of ideas between the industry and the academy. Especially the contributions of successful graduates of the Double Degree Master Program ‘Production Engineering and Management’ and those of other postgraduate researchers from several European countries have been enforced. This year’s special focus is on Direct Digital Manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0, a topic of great interest for the global industry. The concept is spreading, but the actual solutions must be presented in order to highlight the practical benefits to industry and customers. Indeed, as Henning Banthien, Secretary General of the German ‘Plattform Industrie 4.0’ project office, has recently remarked, “Industry 4.0 requires a close alliance amongst the private sector, academia, politics and trade unions” in order to be “translated into practice and be implemented now”. PEM 2016 takes place between September 29 and 30, 2016 at the OWL University of Applied Sciences in Lemgo. The program is defined by the Organizing and Scientific Committees and clustered into scientific sessions covering topics of main interest and importance to the participants of the conference. The scientific sessions deal with technical and engineering issues, as well as management topics, and include contributions by researchers from academia and industry. The extended abstracts and full papers of the contributions underwent a double - blind review process. The 24 accepted presentations are assigned, according to their subject, to one of the following sessions: ‘Direct Digital Manufacturing in the Context of Industry 4.0’, ‘Industrial Engineering and Lean Management’, ‘Management Techniques and Methodologies’, ‘Wood Processing Technologies and Furniture Production’ and ‘Innovation Techniques and Methodologies

Multi-Agent Systems

This Special Issue ""Multi-Agent Systems"" gathers original research articles reporting results on the steadily growing area of agent-oriented computing and multi-agent systems technologies. After more than 20 years of academic research on multi-agent systems (MASs), in fact, agent-oriented models and technologies have been promoted as the most suitable candidates for the design and development of distributed and intelligent applications in complex and dynamic environments. With respect to both their quality and range, the papers in this Special Issue already represent a meaningful sample of the most recent advancements in the field of agent-oriented models and technologies. In particular, the 17 contributions cover agent-based modeling and simulation, situated multi-agent systems, socio-technical multi-agent systems, and semantic technologies applied to multi-agent systems. In fact, it is surprising to witness how such a limited portion of MAS research already highlights the most relevant usage of agent-based models and technologies, as well as their most appreciated characteristics. We are thus confident that the readers of Applied Sciences will be able to appreciate the growing role that MASs will play in the design and development of the next generation of complex intelligent systems. This Special Issue has been converted into a yearly series, for which a new call for papers is already available at the Applied Sciences journal’s website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/Multi-Agent_Systems_2019