An Agent-based Modelling Framework for Driving Policy Learning in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

Due to the complexity of the natural world, a programmer cannot foresee all possible situations, a connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) will face during its operation, and hence, CAVs will need to learn to make decisions autonomously. Due to the sensing of its surroundings and information exchanged with other vehicles and road infrastructure, a CAV will have access to large amounts of useful data. While different control algorithms have been proposed for CAVs, the benefits brought about by connectedness of autonomous vehicles to other vehicles and to the infrastructure, and its implications on policy learning has not been investigated in literature. This paper investigates a data driven driving policy learning framework through an agent-based modelling approaches. The contributions of the paper are two-fold. A dynamic programming framework is proposed for in-vehicle policy learning with and without connectivity to neighboring vehicles. The simulation results indicate that while a CAV can learn to make autonomous decisions, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication of information improves this capability. Furthermore, to overcome the limitations of sensing in a CAV, the paper proposes a novel concept for infrastructure-led policy learning and communication with autonomous vehicles. In infrastructure-led policy learning, road-side infrastructure senses and captures successful vehicle maneuvers and learns an optimal policy from those temporal sequences, and when a vehicle approaches the road-side unit, the policy is communicated to the CAV. Deep-imitation learning methodology is proposed to develop such an infrastructure-led policy learning framework

Will TCP work in mmWave 5G Cellular Networks?

The vast available spectrum in the millimeter wave (mmWave) bands offers the possibility of multi-Gbps data rates for fifth generation (5G) cellular networks. However, mmWave capacity can be highly intermittent due to the vulnerability of mmWave signals to blockages and delays in directional searching. Such highly variable links present unique challenges for adaptive control mechanisms in transport layer protocols and end-to-end applications. This paper considers the fundamental question of whether TCP - the most widely used transport protocol - will work in mmWave cellular systems. The paper provides a comprehensive simulation study of TCP considering various factors such as the congestion control algorithm, including the recently proposed TCP BBR, edge vs. remote servers, handover and multi- connectivity, TCP packet size and 3GPP-stack parameters. We show that the performance of TCP on mmWave links is highly dependent on different combinations of these parameters, and identify the open challenges in this area.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. To be published in the IEEE Communication Magazin

Distributed solar micro generation- an enabler to Brazil’s economic development

Taking into account the fact that the sun’s radiation is estimated to be enough to cover 10.000 times the world’s total energy needs (BRAKMANN & ARINGHOFF, 2003), it is difficult to understand how solar photovoltaic systems (PV) are still such a small part of the energy source matrix across the globe. Though there is an ongoing debate as to whether energy consumption leads to economic growth or whether it is the other way around, the two variables appear correlated and it is clear that ensuring the availability of energy to match a country’s growth targets is one of the prime concerns for any government. The topic of centralized vs distributed electricity generation is also approached, especially in what regards the latter fit to developing countries needs, namely the lack of investment capabilities and infrastructure, scattered population, and other factors. Finally, Brazil’s case is reviewed, showing that the current cost of electricity from the grid versus the cost from PV solutions still places an investment of this nature with 9 to 16 years to reach breakeven (from a 25 year panel lifespan), which is too high compared to the required 4 years for most Brazilians. Still, recently passed legislation opened the door, even if unknowingly, to the development of co-owned solar farms, which could reduce the implementation costs by as much as 20% and hence reduce the number of years to breakeven by 3 years

How does development lead time affect performance over the ramp-up lifecycle? : evidence from the consumer electronics industry

In the fast-paced world of consumer electronics, short development lead times and efficient product ramp-ups are invaluable. The sooner and faster a firm can ramp-up production of a new product, the faster it can start to earn revenues, profit from early market opportunities, establish technology standards and release scarce development resources to support new product development projects. Yet, many companies fail to meet their time-to-market and time-to-volume targets and the complex interrelationships between product characteristics, development lead time and ramp-up performance are largely unexplored. In response to these limitations our study focuses on three research questions: (1) To what extent is ramp-up performance determined by development lead time and product complexity? (2) How do these relationships change in the course of the ramp-up lifecycle? and (3) How can the results be explained? Our results contribute to the field of operations management in three ways. First, we offer a more comprehensive and enriched analysis of the drivers for development lead time and ramp-up performance in the cell phone industry. Second, we demonstrate that late schedule slips – although disastrous for customer relations in which due dates are crucial – provide the opportunity to build up (semi-finished) product buffers which in turn increase the initial ramp-up performance. Third, we show that it is important to take these effects into account in a jointly and lifecycle-dependent manner. Thus, our insights support management efforts to anticipate the consequences of product design decisions, predict development schedule risk levels, and make informed decisions about production volume commitments

Conquering Process Variability: A Key Enabler for Profitable Manufacturing in Advanced Technology Nodes

Abstract – Achieving the required time to market with economically acceptable yield levels and maintaining them in volume production has become a very challenging task in the most advanced technology nodes. One of the primary reasons is the relative increase in process variability in each generation. This paper will describe a comprehensive study of the main sources of variability and their effects on active devices, interconnect and ultimately product performance and yield. We will present benchmarking of yield loss components for different product classes. We will then propose several approaches for variability reduction in the design, yield ramp and volume manufacturing phases. EVOLUTION OF YIELD LOSS MECHANISMS In the older technology generations, manufacturing yield loss was dominated by random defects. By the time volum

Application of fuzzy integrated FMEA with product lifetime consideration for new product development in flexible electronics industry

Purpose: the aim of this paper is to minimize the risks of new product development and shorten time-to-market, particularly for high-tech enterprise where the complexity of the product generates vast amount of failure mode. Design/methodology/approach: first, the concept of Critical Consideration Factor (CCF) is introduced based on product-specific technical characteristics, expected lifetime, and yield requirement to identify and prioritize the critical failure mode in the subsequent Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), followed by process characterization on the high-risk failure mode and Critical Parameter Management (CPM) practice to realize a robust mass production system of the developed technology. The application on the development of advanced flexible substrate and surface finishes fabrication technique is presented. Findings: through the proposed methodology, the risk level of each potential failure mode can be accurately quantified to identify the critical variables. With process characterization, reliability of the product is ensured. Consequently, significant reduction in development resources and time-to-market can be achieved. Practical implications: the development strategy allows high tech enterprises to achieve a balanced ecosystem in which value created through adaption of new technology/product can be thoroughly captured through commercialization in a timely manner with no field failure. Originality/value: the proposed development strategy utilizes a unique approach with thorough considerations that enables high tech enterprise to deliver new product with rapid time-to-market without sacrificing product lifetime reliability, which is key to achieve competitive advantage in the highly dynamic market.Peer Reviewe

Enablers of Remote Monitoring Technology Utilization in Availability Solutions

Digitaaliset teknologiat muuttavat nopeasti tapaa, jolla yritykset kilpailevat. Täten yritysten tulee vastata kilpailuun muuttamalla liiketoimintamallejaan vastamaan jatkuvasti muuttuvia asiakkaiden strategisia ongelmia ja vastaavasti luomaan kilpailuetua digitaalisia teknologioita hyödyntämällä. Etävalvontatekniikalla on havaittu olevan tärkeä rooli näiden uusien liiketoi-mintamallien ja arvolupauksien mahdollistamisessa. Vaikka yritykset ovatkin käyttäneet etä-valvontatekniikkaa palvelullistettujen liiketoimintamallien ja täten arvolupauksien toteutta-misessa varsin laajasti, kirjallisuus on näiden kahden välisen yhteyden tarkastelun kannalta pinnallista. Täten, mahdollisia keinoja tulee tarkastella ja panostaa tämän alueen teoreetti-sen perustan kehittämiseen. Tämä pro gradu pyrkii edistämään ymmärrystä mahdollisista uusista arvolupauksista digitaa-lisen palvelullistamisen mahdollistamana, ja siten osallistua tämän alueen teoreettisen pe-rustan kehittämiseen. Tämä pro gradu tutkii saatavuuden arvolupauksen arvoa tuottavia mekanismeja ja etävalvontatekniikan käytön hyötyjä, sekä näiden kahden yhteyden mahdol-listajia. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten saatavuusratkaisut luovat mahdollisuuden uusien teknologioiden markkinoille viemiseen ja mitä tarvitaan, jotta etävalvontateknologia mahdol-listaa käytettävyyden arvolupauksen toteuttamisen. Tutkimuksessa käytettävä tapausorgani-saatio avaa erinomaisen väylän teorian kehittämiselle, sillä heidän matkansa edistyneiden palvelujen tarjoamiseen on vielä alussa. Tämä tutkimus on toteutettu käyttämällä kvalitatii-vista tapaustutkimus lähestymistapaa, joka koostuu asiakkaiden ja järjestelmätoimittajan haastatteluista. Tutkimus sisältää kuusi asiakashaastattelua arvoa luovien mekanismien to-dentamiseksi, sekä etävalvontateknologiaan kohdistuva asiantuntijahaastattelu analysoi-maan tarvittavia mahdollistajia. Tutkimuksessa havaitaan etenkin yhden arvonluontimekanismin olevan merkittävässä roolis-sa saatavuusratkaisujen tarjoamisessa sekä tarve organisaation uskottavalle kyvykkyydelle toteuttaa merkittävät arvolupaukset. Jotta etävalvontatekniikkaa voidaan hyödyntää saata-vuusratkaisujen tarjoamisessa ja riskien pienentämisessä, tulee organisaatiolla olla käytös-sään mahdollisuuden määritteleviä sekä laatua parantavia tekijöitä. Nämä havainnot rikas-tuttavat digitaalisen palvelullistamisen empiiristä perustaa, sekä edistää ymmärrystä palve-lullistettujen arvolupausten ja etävalvontatekniikan yhdistävistä tekijöistä

The development of factory templates for the integrated virtual factory framework

Páginas numeradas: I-XVI, 17-123Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores (Major Automação). Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201