A Crowdsourcing Approach for Sustainable Last Mile Delivery

[EN] Sustainable transportation is one of the major concerns in cities. This concern involves all type of movements motivated by different goals (mobility of citizens, transportation of goods and parcels, etc.). The main goal of this work is to provide an intelligent approach for Sustainable Last Mile Delivery, by reducing (or even deleting) the need of dedicated logistic moves (by cars, and/or trucks). The method attempts to reduce the number of movements originated by the parcels delivery by taking advantage of the citizens' movements. In this way our proposal follows a crowdsourcing approach, in which the citizens that moves in the city, because of their own needs, become temporal deliverers. The technology behind our approach relays on Multi-agent System techniques and complex network-based algorithms for optimizing sustainable delivery routes. These artificial intelligent approaches help to reduce the complexity of the scenario providing an efficient way to integrate the citizens' routes that can be executed using the different transportation means and networks available in the city (public system, private transportation, eco-vehicles sharing systems, etc.). A complex network-based algorithm is used for computing and proposing an optimized Sustainable Last Mile Delivery route to the crowd. Moreover, the executed tests show the feasibility of the proposed solution, together with a high reduction of the CO2 emission coming from the delivery trucks that, in the case studies, are no longer needed for delivery.This research was carried out as a part of the SURF project under the grant TIN2015-65515- C4-1-R by the Spanish government.Giret Boggino, AS.; Carrascosa Casamayor, C.; Julian Inglada, VJ.; Rebollo Pedruelo, M.; Botti, V. (2018). A Crowdsourcing Approach for Sustainable Last Mile Delivery. Sustainability. 10(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124563S101

How to Choose the Greenest Delivery Plan: A Framework to Measure Key Performance Indicators for Sustainable Urban Logistics

Part 3: Smart City Interoperability and Cross-Platform Implementation; International audience; The sustainability of urban logistics is an important issue for rapidly growing cities worldwide. Although many cities and research works have developed strategies to move people more efficiently and safely within the urban environment, much less attention has been paid to the importance of optimizing the delivery of goods to people at work and home taking into account sustainable goals. In this work we propose a framework that aids to register and measure a set of sustainable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for delivery routes and plans in urban zones. The approach is general and based on a set of well defined KPIs from the specialized research field. Document type: Conference objec

Advanced Knowledge Application in Practice

The integration and interdependency of the world economy leads towards the creation of a global market that offers more opportunities, but is also more complex and competitive than ever before. Therefore widespread research activity is necessary if one is to remain successful on the market. This book is the result of research and development activities from a number of researchers worldwide, covering concrete fields of research

On the relationship between neuronal codes and mental models

Das übergeordnete Ziel meiner Arbeit an dieser Dissertation war ein besseres Verständnis des Zusammenhangs von mentalen Modellen und den zugrundeliegenden Prinzipien, die zur Selbstorganisation neuronaler Verschaltung führen. Die Dissertation besteht aus vier individuellen Publikationen, die dieses Ziel aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven angehen. Während die Selbstorganisation von Sparse-Coding-Repräsentationen in neuronalem Substrat bereits ausgiebig untersucht worden ist, sind viele Forschungsfragen dazu, wie Sparse-Coding für höhere, kognitive Prozesse genutzt werden könnte noch offen. Die ersten zwei Studien, die in Kapitel 2 und Kapitel 3 enthalten sind, behandeln die Frage, inwieweit Repräsentationen, die mit Sparse-Coding entstehen, mentalen Modellen entsprechen. Wir haben folgende Selektivitäten in Sparse-Coding-Repräsentationen identifiziert: mit Stereo-Bildern als Eingangsdaten war die Repräsentation selektiv für die Disparitäten von Bildstrukturen, welche für das Abschätzen der Entfernung der Strukturen zum Beobachter genutzt werden können. Außerdem war die Repräsentation selektiv für die die vorherrschende Orientierung in Texturen, was für das Abschätzen der Neigung von Oberflächen genutzt werden kann. Mit optischem Fluss von Eigenbewegung als Eingangsdaten war die Repräsentation selektiv für die Richtung der Eigenbewegung in den sechs Freiheitsgraden. Wegen des direkten Zusammenhangs der Selektivitäten mit physikalischen Eigenschaften können Repräsentationen, die mit Sparse-Coding entstehen, als frühe sensorische Modelle der Umgebung dienen. Die kognitiven Prozesse hinter räumlichem Wissen ruhen auf mentalen Modellen, welche die Umgebung representieren. Wir haben in der dritten Studie, welche in Kapitel 4 enthalten ist, ein topologisches Modell zur Navigation präsentiert, Es beschreibt einen dualen Populations-Code, bei dem der erste Populations-Code Orte anhand von Orts-Feldern (Place-Fields) kodiert und der zweite Populations-Code Bewegungs-Instruktionen, basierend auf der Verknüpfung von Orts-Feldern, kodiert. Der Fokus lag nicht auf der Implementation in biologischem Substrat oder auf einer exakten Modellierung physiologischer Ergebnisse. Das Modell ist eine biologisch plausible, einfache Methode zur Navigation, welche sich an einen Zwischenschritt emergenter Navigations-Fähigkeiten in einer evolutiven Navigations-Hierarchie annähert. Unser automatisierter Test der Sehleistungen von Mäusen, welcher in Kapitel 5 beschrieben wird, ist ein Beispiel von Verhaltens-Tests im Wahrnehmungs-Handlungs-Zyklus (Perception-Action-Cycle). Das Ziel dieser Studie war die Quantifizierung des optokinetischen Reflexes. Wegen des reichhaltigen Verhaltensrepertoires von Mäusen sind für die Quantifizierung viele umfangreiche Analyseschritte erforderlich. Tiere und Menschen sind verkörperte (embodied) lebende Systeme und daher aus stark miteinander verwobenen Modulen oder Entitäten zusammengesetzt, welche außerdem auch mit der Umgebung verwoben sind. Um lebende Systeme als Ganzes zu studieren ist es notwendig Hypothesen, zum Beispiel zur Natur mentaler Modelle, im Wahrnehmungs-Handlungs-Zyklus zu testen. Zusammengefasst erweitern die Studien dieser Dissertation unser Verständnis des Charakters früher sensorischer Repräsentationen als mentale Modelle, sowie unser Verständnis höherer, mentalen Modellen für die räumliche Navigation. Darüber hinaus enthält es ein Beispiel für das Evaluieren von Hypothesn im Wahr\-neh\-mungs-Handlungs-Zyklus.The superordinate aim of my work towards this thesis was a better understanding of the relationship between mental models and the underlying principles that lead to the self-organization of neuronal circuitry. The thesis consists of four individual publications, which approach this goal from differing perspectives. While the formation of sparse coding representations in neuronal substrate has been investigated extensively, many research questions on how sparse coding may be exploited for higher cognitive processing are still open. The first two studies, included as chapter 2 and chapter 3, asked to what extend representations obtained with sparse coding match mental models. We identified the following selectivities in sparse coding representations: with stereo images as input, the representation was selective for the disparity of image structures, which can be used to infer the distance of structures to the observer. Furthermore, it was selective to the predominant orientation in textures, which can be used to infer the orientation of surfaces. With optic flow from egomotion as input, the representation was selective to the direction of egomotion in 6 degrees of freedom. Due to the direct relation between selectivity and physical properties, these representations, obtained with sparse coding, can serve as early sensory models of the environment. The cognitive processes behind spatial knowledge rest on mental models that represent the environment. We presented a topological model for wayfinding in the third study, included as chapter 4. It describes a dual population code, where the first population code encodes places by means of place fields, and the second population code encodes motion instructions based on links between place fields. We did not focus on an implementation in biological substrate or on an exact fit to physiological findings. The model is a biologically plausible, parsimonious method for wayfinding, which may be close to an intermediate step of emergent skills in an evolutionary navigational hierarchy. Our automated testing for visual performance in mice, included in chapter 5, is an example of behavioral testing in the perception-action cycle. The goal of this study was to quantify the optokinetic reflex. Due to the rich behavioral repertoire of mice, quantification required many elaborate steps of computational analyses. Animals and humans are embodied living systems, and therefore composed of strongly enmeshed modules or entities, which are also enmeshed with the environment. In order to study living systems as a whole, it is necessary to test hypothesis, for example on the nature of mental models, in the perception-action cycle. In summary, the studies included in this thesis extend our view on the character of early sensory representations as mental models, as well as on high-level mental models for spatial navigation. Additionally it contains an example for the evaluation of hypotheses in the perception-action cycle

Design and Self-Assembly of Responsive Scaffolds for Food and Sensing Applications

Developing an understanding of how molecules, materials and complex systems contribute to biological functions is important since the interpretation of such mechanisms paves the way to further the development of materials that replicate natural functions or impart the observed properties to synthetic materials. The self-assembly of stimuli-responsive scaffolds based on micelles, liposomes, hydrogels and thin films has been of considerable interest. These systems need to be endowed with certain design features which influence the self-assembly and the responsiveness of the scaffold when subjected to external stimuli which could be physical, chemical or biological in nature. This kind of insight is still lacking in our understanding of how these systems respond to various stimuli. In this thesis, our objective is to establish structure-property relationships between the influence of structural design and the target material properties. Of interest to us are pH, temperature (chemical) and enzyme/proteins (biological) as stimuli and we have performed experiments to validate the responsive features of these systems. The design principles for oligomeric peptides to exhibit a unique temperature-dependent size transition were elucidated and it was found that incorporation of aromatic hydrophobic groups diminishes the thermo-sensitivity of the peptide nanoassemblies. Since these molecules are designed to incorporate FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved components and the assembly is biodegradable, this system has interesting applications in the food industry and in cryptic catalysis. Parameters that dictate the morphology of calcium cross-linked alginate gels and the release of an artificial sweetener, aspartame from these hydrogels were studied. We have validated the effect of cross link densities and sizes on the release kinetics of the microgel spheres and bulk hydrogels. The release data was fitted to kinetic models available from literature to elucidate the pathway constraints which were further, found to dictate the release pathway. Lastly, structure-property relationships were developed using libraries of oligomeric amphiphiles to make possible rational design of triggers for amplification via liquid crystal (LC) response. To this end, we synthesized a wide range of amphiphilic oligomers that responded to a protein, carbonic anhydrase (CA II). The mechanism of binding-induced anchoring transition at the LC/aqueous interface was corroborated using addition of inhibitor by modulating the strength of binding. The design rules established here provide insight into the rational design of oligomers with triggers that can couple specific molecular events to LCs to achieve highly amplified responses. This paves way to develop principles based on LCs that permit incorporation of feedback for massive amplification that can be leveraged for targeting, sensing and triggering

Begone, Euclid!: Leasing Custom and Zoning Provision Engaging Retail Consumer Tastes and Technologies in Thriving Urban Centers

Is urban center retailing in a death spiral? Competition for consumers with Internet vendors is afoot; winners and losers shall be anointed. The threats to physical retailing in an era of the “Internet of Goods” initially are described below. Adaptations by tenants, landlords, and stakeholders in urban centers will be required quickly, and new perspectives and partnerships, including those among local and regional governments, are instrumental if physical retail operations in municipal cores are to survive. The balance of this article describes these needs from the vantage point of each stakeholder; but this article argues that integrating information and communication technological infrastructure into retail leasing practices and land use planning and zoning strategies is inescapable for the maintenance of resilient town centers. Part II of this article describes the overwhelming impact of Internet consumerism upon physical retailing while Part III explains the physical milieu’s remaining but shrinking opportunities to remain competitive with the online consumer realm. Parts IV and V demonstrate how information and communication technologies, with innovative strategizing by retailers and their landlords, can be leveraged to incite lasting consumer interest in physical shopping environments within a community’s commercial nodes. Parts VI and VII articulate the municipal imperatives, including policies to implement robust technology infrastructure and capitalizing on ICT’s inherent “intelligence,” required to maintain commercial core competitiveness