Environment Modeling, Action Classification, and Control for Urban Automated Driving

This thesis discusses the design and implementation of WATonomous' Automated Driving Stack (ADS), which is capable of performing robo-taxi services in specific operational domains when deployed to WATonomous' research vehicle (Bolty). Three ADS modules are discussed in detail: (1) mapping, environment modeling, and behavioral planning, (2) action classification in video streams, and (3) trajectory planning and control. Additionally, the software architecture within which the ADS is developed and deployed, and the ADS data pipeline itself, are outlined. The thesis begins with preliminaries on WATonomous' Dockerized software architecture (coined watod) which runs and orchestrates the communication of the ADS modules. The watod ecosystem, due to its Dockerized and cloud-based design, enables rapid prototyping of new software modules, rapid onboarding of new team members, and parallel execution of many ADS development instances on the WATonomous server cluster's Virtual Machines (VMs). Cloud-based CARLA simulation development of the ADS and deployment to the Bolty research vehicle are also encapsulated in and facilitated by the watod ecosystem. The ADS can be developed in simulation and deployed to the physical research vehicle without modifications to the ADS modules due to the replication of the physical platform in the Carla ROS Bridge sensor configuration. The design of the ADS data pipeline is also presented, from raw sensor input to the Controlled Area Network Bus (CAN Bus) interface, as well as the human-computer interface. The first ADS module discussed is the mapping and environment modeling module. Environment modeling is the backbone of how autonomous agents understand the world, and therefore has significant implications for decision-making and verification. Motivated by the success of relational mapping tools such as Lanelet2, we present the Dynamic Relation Graph (DRG). The DRG is a novel method for extending prior relational maps to include online observations, creating a unified environment model which incorporates both prior and online data sources. Our prototype implementation models a finite set of heterogeneous features including road signage and pedestrian movement. However, the methodology behind the DRG can be expanded to a wider range of features in a fashion that does not increase the complexity of behavioral planning. Simulated stress tests indicate the DRG's effectiveness in decreasing decision-making complexity, and deployment to the WATonomous research vehicle demonstrates its practical utility. The prototype code is available at https://github.com/WATonomous/DRG. The second ADS module discussed is the action classification module. When applied in the context of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), action classification algorithms can help enrich an AV's environment model and understanding of the world to improve behavioral planning decisions. Towards these improvements in AV decision-making, we propose a novel online action recognition system, coined the Road Action Detection Network (RAD-Net). RAD-Net formulates the problem of active agent detection and adapts ideas about actor-context relations from human activity recognition in a straightforward two-stage pipeline for action detection and classification. We show that our proposed scheme can outperform the baseline on the ICCV 2021 Road Challenge dataset. Furthermore, by integrating RAD-Net with the ADS' perception stack and the DRG, we demonstrate how a higher-order understanding of agent actions in the environment can improve decisions on a real AV system. The last ADS module discussed is trajectory planning and control. Trajectory planning and control have historically been separated into two modules in automated driving stacks. Trajectory planning focuses on higher-level tasks like avoiding obstacles and staying on the road surface, whereas the controller tries its best to follow an ever changing reference trajectory. We argue that this separation is (1) flawed due to the mismatch between planned trajectories and what the controller can feasibly execute, and (2) unnecessary due to the flexibility of the Model Predictive Control (MPC) paradigm. Instead, in this thesis, we present a unified MPC-based trajectory planning and control scheme that guarantees feasibility with respect to road boundaries, the static and dynamic environment, and enforces passenger comfort constraints. The scheme is evaluated rigorously in a variety of scenarios focused on proving the effectiveness of the OCP design and real-time solution methods. The prototype code is available at github.com/WATonomous/control

Monitoring and Assessing Traffic Safety at Signalized Intersections Using Live Video Images

0013527Signalized intersections represent the most hazard spots on a roadway network. Road users are required to be alert and timely process and respond to a variety of information at signalized intersections, including traffic signal indications and changes, signage, pavement marking, road conditions, and a mix of various road users in conflict. Traditional road safety diagnosis has been conducted in a reactive manner based on crashes that had occurred. However, to effectively reduce and eventually eliminate crashes, proactive approaches are needed. Following this direction, traffic conflict events have been collected more frequently and used as a surrogate safety measure for traffic crashes. The goal of Vision Zero would only be possible if the inconsequential event data, such as traffic conflicts, can be objectively and systematically collected and effectively utilized to diagnose and improve road safety such that consequential crash events can be prevented. In this study, the art of deep learning, multiple objects detection and tracking were explored and tested in the domain of traffic conflict monitoring and assessing. As a result, an artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced computational system was developed to automate the detection and quantification of traffic conflict events as they occur in real time using traffic monitoring cameras currently installed by transportation agencies

Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Shells as Enabling Material for Information-Rich Design and Architecture.

The responsive and dynamic character of liquid crystals (LCs), arising from their ability to self-organize into long-range ordered structures while maintaining fluidity, has given them a role as key enabling materials in the information technology that surrounds us today. Ongoing research hints at future LC-based technologies of entirely different types, for instance by taking advantage of the peculiar behavior of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) subject to curvature. Spherical shells of CLC reflect light omnidirectionally with specific polarization and wavelength, tunable from the UV to the infrared (IR) range, with complex patterns arising when many of them are brought together. Here, these properties are analyzed and explained, and future application opportunities from an inter- disciplinary standpoint are discussed. By incorporating arrangements of CLC shells in smart facades or vehicle coatings, or in objects of high value subject to counterfeiting, game-changing future uses might arise in fields spanning infor- mation security, design, and architecture. The focus here is on the challenges of a digitized and information-rich future society where humans increasingly rely on technology and share their space with autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots

Safety and Environmental Design Consideration in the Use of Commercial Electronic Variable-Message Signage

This study reviews existing reported research and experience regarding use of commercial electronic variable-message signs (CEVMS), and evaluates research findings and methods in terms of implications for highway safety and environmental design. Aspects of CEVMS design and use that are capable of adversely affecting highway safety and/or environmental quality are identified and discussed in terms of the adequacy of existing research and experience to permit formulation of quantified standards for safe and environmentally compatible use. This report notes, with illustrations, the principal forms of variable-message signage developed for official traffic control and informational use, and the major forms of variable-message signage utilizing electronic processes or remote control for display of commercial advertising and public service information in roadside sites. Studies of highway safety aspects of outdoor advertising which are based on analysis of accident data are evaluated and reasons for apparent conflicts of their findings are discussed. Studies of highway safety aspects of outdoor advertising generally and CEVMS specifically based on human factors research and dealing with distraction and attentional demands of driving tasks are discussed in relation to issues involved in the development of standards

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) for Autonomous Driving: Concept and Analysis

The Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technique has achieved astonishing progress over the last few decades and has generated considerable interest in the autonomous driving community. With its conceptual roots in navigation and mapping, SLAM outperforms some traditional positioning and localization techniques since it can support more reliable and robust localization, planning, and controlling to meet some key criteria for autonomous driving. In this study the authors first give an overview of the different SLAM implementation approaches and then discuss the applications of SLAM for autonomous driving with respect to different driving scenarios, vehicle system components and the characteristics of the SLAM approaches. The authors then discuss some challenging issues and current solutions when applying SLAM for autonomous driving. Some quantitative quality analysis means to evaluate the characteristics and performance of SLAM systems and to monitor the risk in SLAM estimation are reviewed. In addition, this study describes a real-world road test to demonstrate a multi-sensor-based modernized SLAM procedure for autonomous driving. The numerical results show that a high-precision 3D point cloud map can be generated by the SLAM procedure with the integration of Lidar and GNSS/INS. Online four–five cm accuracy localization solution can be achieved based on this pre-generated map and online Lidar scan matching with a tightly fused inertial system

Augmented reality device for first response scenarios

A prototype of a wearable computer system is proposed and implemented using commercial off-shelf components. The system is designed to allow the user to access location-specific information about an environment, and to provide capability for user tracking. Areas of applicability include primarily first response scenarios, with possible applications in maintenance or construction of buildings and other structures. Necessary preparation of the target environment prior to system\u27s deployment is limited to noninvasive labeling using optical fiducial markers. The system relies on computational vision methods for registration of labels and user position. With the system the user has access to on-demand information relevant to a particular real-world location. Team collaboration is assisted by user tracking and real-time visualizations of team member positions within the environment. The user interface and display methods are inspired by Augmented Reality1 (AR) techniques, incorporating a video-see-through Head Mounted Display (HMD) and fingerbending sensor glove.*. 1Augmented reality (AR) is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real world and computer generated data. At present, most AR research is concerned with the use of live video imagery which is digitally processed and augmented by the addition of computer generated graphics. Advanced research includes the use of motion tracking data, fiducial marker recognition using machine vision, and the construction of controlled environments containing any number of sensors and actuators. (Source: Wikipedia) *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Adobe Acrobat; Microsoft Office; Windows MediaPlayer or RealPlayer

Charge-carrier dynamics in organic LEDs

Anyone who decides to buy a new mobile phone today is likely to buy a screen made from organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). OLEDs are a relatively new display technology and will probably account for the largest market share in the upcoming years. This is due to their brilliant colors, high achievable display resolution, and comparably simple processing. Since they are not based on the rigid crystal structure of classical semiconductors and can be produced as planar thin-film modules, they also enable the fabrication of large-area lamps on flexible substrates – an attractive scenario for future lighting systems. Despite these promising properties, the breakthrough of OLED lighting technology is still pending and requires further research. The charge-carrier dynamics in an OLED determine its device functionality and, therefore, enable the understanding of fundamental physical concepts and phenomena. From the description of charge-carrier dynamics, this work derives experimental methods and device concepts to optimize the efficiency and stability of OLEDs. OLEDs feature an electric current of charge carriers (electrons and holes) that are intended to recombine under the emission of light. This process is preceded by charge-carrier injection and their transport to the emission layer. These three aspects are discussed together in this work. First, a method is presented that quantifies injection resistances using a simple experiment. It provides a valuable opportunity to better understand and optimize injection layers. Subsequently, the charge carrier transport at high electrical currents, as required for OLEDs as bright lighting elements, will be investigated. Here, electro-thermal effects are presented that form physical limits for the design and function of OLED modules and explain their sudden failure. Finally, the dynamics and recombination of electro-statically bound charge carrier pairs, so-called excitons, are examined. Various options are presented for manipulating exciton dynamics in such a way that the emission behavior of the OLED can be adjusted according to specific requirements.:List of publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v List of abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.1 Light sources and the human society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.1.1 Human light perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.1.2 Physical light quantification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.1.3 Non-visual light impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2.1.4 Implications for modern light sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2.2 Organic semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 2.2.1 Molecular energy states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 2.2.2 Intramolecular state transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.2.3 Molecular films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 2.2.4 Electrical doping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2.2.5 Charge-carrier transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 2.2.6 Exciton formation and recombination . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 2.2.7 Exciton transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 2.3 Organic light-emitting diodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2.3.1 Structure and operation principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2.3.2 Metal-semiconductor interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 2.3.3 Typical operation characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 2.4 Colloidal nanocrystal emitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 2.4.1 Terminology: Nanocrystals and quantum dots . . . . . . . . 52 2.4.2 The particle-in-a-box model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2.4.3 Surface passivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 3 Materials and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 3.1 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 3.1.1 OLED materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 3.1.2 Materials for photoluminescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 3.2 Sample preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 3.2.1 Thermal evaporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 3.2.2 Solution processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 3.3 Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 3.3.1 Absorbance spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 3.3.2 Photoluminescence quantum yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 3.3.3 Excitation sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 3.3.4 Sensitive EQE for absorber materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 3.4 Exciton-lifetime analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 3.4.1 Triplet lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 3.4.2 Singlet-state lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 3.4.3 Lifetime extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 3.5 OLED characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 3.5.1 Current-voltage-luminance and quantum efficiency . . . . . . 73 3.5.2 Temperature-controlled evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 4 Charge-carrier injection into doped organic films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 4.1 Ohmic injection contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 4.2 Device architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 4.2.1 Conception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 4.2.2 Device symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 4.2.3 Device homogeneity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 4.3 Resistance characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 4.3.1 Experimental results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 4.3.2 Equivalent-circuit development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 4.4 Impedance spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 4.4.1 Measurement fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 4.4.2 Thickness dependence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 4.4.3 Temperature dependence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 4.5 Depletion zone variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 4.6 Molybdenum oxide as a case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 5 Charge-carrier transport and self-heating in OLED lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 5.1 Joule self-heating in OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 5.1.1 Electrothermal feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 5.1.2 Thermistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 5.1.3 Cooling strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 5.2 Self-heating causes lateral luminance inhomogeneities in OLEDs . . 108 5.2.1 The influence of transparent electrodes . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 5.2.2 Luminance inhomogeneities in large OLED panels . . . . . . 110 5.3 Electrothermal OLED models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 5.3.1 Perceiving an OLED as thermistor array . . . . . . . . . . . 112 5.3.2 The OLED as a single three-layer thermistor . . . . . . . . . 114 5.3.3 A numerical 3D model of heat and current flow . . . . . . . 116 5.4 OLED stack and experimental conception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 5.5 The Switch-back effect in planar light sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 5.5.1 Predictions from numerical 3D modeling . . . . . . . . . . . 121 5.5.2 Experimental proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 5.5.3 Variation of vertical heat flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 5.5.4 Variation of the OLED area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 5.6 Electrothermal tristabilities in OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 5.6.1 Observing different burn-in schematics . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 5.6.2 Bistability and tristability in organic semiconductors . . . . 134 5.6.3 Experimental indications for attempted branch hopping . . . 138 5.6.4 Saving bright OLEDs from burning in . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 5.6.5 Taking another view onto the camera pictures . . . . . . . . 145 6 Charge-carrier recombination and exciton management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147 6.1 Optical down conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 6.1.1 Spectral reshaping of visible OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 6.1.2 Infrared-emitting OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 6.2 Dual-state Förster transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 6.2.1 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 6.2.2 Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 6.3 Singlet fission and triplet fusion in rubrene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 6.3.1 Photoluminescence of pure and doped rubrene films . . . . . 163 6.3.2 Electroluminescence transients of rubrene OLEDs . . . . . . 172 6.4 Charge transfer-state tuning by electric fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 6.4.1 CT-state tuning via doping variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 6.4.2 CT-state tuning via voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 6.5 Excursus: Exciton-spin mixing for wavelength identification . . . . 183 6.5.1 Characteristics of the active film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 6.5.2 Conception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 6.5.3 Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 6.5.4 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 6.5.5 Application demonstrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 6.5.6 All-organic device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 6.5.7 Device limitations and prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 7 Conclusion and outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 7.1 Charge-carrier injection into doped films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 7.2 Charge-carrier transport in hot OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 7.2.1 Prospects for OLED lighting facing tristable behavior . . . . 209 7.2.2 Outlook: Accessing the hidden PDR 2 region . . . . . . . . . 210 7.3 Charge-carrier recombination and spin mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 7.3.1 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 7.3.2 Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Wer sich heute für ein neues Mobiltelefon entscheidet, kauft damit wahrscheinlich einen Bildschirm aus organischen Leuchtdioden (OLEDs). Durch ihre brillanten Farben, die hohe erreichbare Auflösung und eine vergleichsweise einfache Prozessierung werden OLEDs als relativ neue Bildschirmtechnologie in den nächsten Jahren wohl den größten Marktanteil ausmachen. Da sie nicht auf der starren Kristallstruktur klassischer Halbleiter beruhen und als planare Dünnschichtmodule produziert werden können, ermöglichen sie außerdem die Fertigung großer Flächenstrahler auf flexiblen Substraten – ein sehr attraktives Szenario für zukünftige Beleuchtungssysteme. Trotz dieser vielversprechenden Eigenschaften steht der Durchbruch der OLED-Technologie als Leuchtmittel noch aus und erfordert weitere Forschung. Die Dynamik der Ladungsträger (Elektronen und Löcher) in einer OLED charakterisiert wichtige Teile der Bauteilfunktion und ermöglicht daher das Verständnis grundlegender physikalischer Konzepte und Phänomene. Diese Arbeit leitet anhand dieser Beschreibung experimentelle Methoden und Bauteilkonzepte ab, um die Effizienz und Stabilität von OLEDs zu optimieren. OLEDs zeichnen sich dadurch aus, dass ein elektrischer Strom aus Ladungsträgern (Elektronen und Löchern) möglichst effizient unter Aussendung von Licht rekombiniert. Diesem Prozess geht eine Ladungsträgerinjektion und deren Transport zur Emissionsschicht voraus. Diese drei Aspekte werden in dieser Arbeit zusammenhängend diskutiert. Als erstes wird eine Methode vorgestellt, die Injektionswiderstände anhand eines einfachen Experimentes quantifiziert. Sie bildet eine wertvolle Möglichkeit, Injektionsschichten besser zu verstehen und zu optimieren. Anschließend wird der Ladungsträgertransport bei hohen elektrischen Strömen untersucht, wie sie für OLEDs als helle Beleuchtungselemente nötig sind. Hier werden elektro-thermische Effekte vorgestellt, die physikalische Grenzen für das Design und die Funktion von OLED Modulen bilden und deren plötzliches Versagen erklären. Abschließend wird die Dynamik der stark elektrostatisch gebundenen Ladungsträgerpaare, sogenannter Exzitonen, kurz vor deren Rekombination untersucht. Es werden verschiedene Möglichkeiten vorgestellt sie so zu manipulieren, dass sich das Abstrahlverhalten der OLED anhand bestimmter Anforderungen einstellen lässt.:List of publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v List of abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.1 Light sources and the human society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.1.1 Human light perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.1.2 Physical light quantification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.1.3 Non-visual light impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2.1.4 Implications for modern light sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2.2 Organic semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 2.2.1 Molecular energy states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 2.2.2 Intramolecular state transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.2.3 Molecular films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 2.2.4 Electrical doping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2.2.5 Charge-carrier transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 2.2.6 Exciton formation and recombination . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 2.2.7 Exciton transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 2.3 Organic light-emitting diodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2.3.1 Structure and operation principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2.3.2 Metal-semiconductor interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 2.3.3 Typical operation characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 2.4 Colloidal nanocrystal emitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 2.4.1 Terminology: Nanocrystals and quantum dots . . . . . . . . 52 2.4.2 The particle-in-a-box model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2.4.3 Surface passivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 3 Materials and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 3.1 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 3.1.1 OLED materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 3.1.2 Materials for photoluminescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 3.2 Sample preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 3.2.1 Thermal evaporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 3.2.2 Solution processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 3.3 Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 3.3.1 Absorbance spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 3.3.2 Photoluminescence quantum yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 3.3.3 Excitation sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 3.3.4 Sensitive EQE for absorber materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 3.4 Exciton-lifetime analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 3.4.1 Triplet lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 3.4.2 Singlet-state lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 3.4.3 Lifetime extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 3.5 OLED characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 3.5.1 Current-voltage-luminance and quantum efficiency . . . . . . 73 3.5.2 Temperature-controlled evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 4 Charge-carrier injection into doped organic films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 4.1 Ohmic injection contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 4.2 Device architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 4.2.1 Conception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 4.2.2 Device symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 4.2.3 Device homogeneity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 4.3 Resistance characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 4.3.1 Experimental results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 4.3.2 Equivalent-circuit development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 4.4 Impedance spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 4.4.1 Measurement fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 4.4.2 Thickness dependence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 4.4.3 Temperature dependence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 4.5 Depletion zone variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 4.6 Molybdenum oxide as a case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 5 Charge-carrier transport and self-heating in OLED lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 5.1 Joule self-heating in OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 5.1.1 Electrothermal feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 5.1.2 Thermistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 5.1.3 Cooling strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 5.2 Self-heating causes lateral luminance inhomogeneities in OLEDs . . 108 5.2.1 The influence of transparent electrodes . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 5.2.2 Luminance inhomogeneities in large OLED panels . . . . . . 110 5.3 Electrothermal OLED models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 5.3.1 Perceiving an OLED as thermistor array . . . . . . . . . . . 112 5.3.2 The OLED as a single three-layer thermistor . . . . . . . . . 114 5.3.3 A numerical 3D model of heat and current flow . . . . . . . 116 5.4 OLED stack and experimental conception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 5.5 The Switch-back effect in planar light sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 5.5.1 Predictions from numerical 3D modeling . . . . . . . . . . . 121 5.5.2 Experimental proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 5.5.3 Variation of vertical heat flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 5.5.4 Variation of the OLED area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 5.6 Electrothermal tristabilities in OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 5.6.1 Observing different burn-in schematics . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 5.6.2 Bistability and tristability in organic semiconductors . . . . 134 5.6.3 Experimental indications for attempted branch hopping . . . 138 5.6.4 Saving bright OLEDs from burning in . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 5.6.5 Taking another view onto the camera pictures . . . . . . . . 145 6 Charge-carrier recombination and exciton management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147 6.1 Optical down conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 6.1.1 Spectral reshaping of visible OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 6.1.2 Infrared-emitting OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 6.2 Dual-state Förster transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 6.2.1 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 6.2.2 Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 6.3 Singlet fission and triplet fusion in rubrene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 6.3.1 Photoluminescence of pure and doped rubrene films . . . . . 163 6.3.2 Electroluminescence transients of rubrene OLEDs . . . . . . 172 6.4 Charge transfer-state tuning by electric fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 6.4.1 CT-state tuning via doping variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 6.4.2 CT-state tuning via voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 6.5 Excursus: Exciton-spin mixing for wavelength identification . . . . 183 6.5.1 Characteristics of the active film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 6.5.2 Conception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 6.5.3 Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 6.5.4 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 6.5.5 Application demonstrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 6.5.6 All-organic device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 6.5.7 Device limitations and prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 7 Conclusion and outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 7.1 Charge-carrier injection into doped films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 7.2 Charge-carrier transport in hot OLEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 7.2.1 Prospects for OLED lighting facing tristable behavior . . . . 209 7.2.2 Outlook: Accessing the hidden PDR 2 region . . . . . . . . . 210 7.3 Charge-carrier recombination and spin mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 7.3.1 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 7.3.2 Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Deriving and validating performance indicators for safety mobility for older road users in urban areas

This thesis derives and validates Performance Indicators for Safe Mobility for Older Road Users in Urban Areas. Performance Indicators are objective, auditable parameters, which when used as a set can provide additional information to decision-makers about the operation of the transport system. Great Britain, in common with many countries across Europe has an ageing population. The proportion of older people who hold a driving licence and have the use of a car is also expected to rise, with future generations of older people travelling further and more frequently than previous generations. Older road users are already over-represented in traffic fatalities, particularly in urban areas. Measures to protect older road users from risk in traffic will be of crucial importance as the population ages. However, against this background the need remains for them to access key facilities such as shops, leisure activities and health care. Maintaining independent mobility is essential in maintaining mental and physical health. Traditionally, outcomes-based measures such as accident or casualty figures have been used to monitor road safety. Techniques such as hotspot analysis have identified locations on the road network where accident numbers are high, allowing modifications to road infrastructure to be designed and implemented. Using outcomes measures alone however, it is difficult to ascribe improvements in accident or casualty figures to particular policy interventions. Moreover, the effect of road safety interventions on other related policy areas mobility being one is impossible to assess without access to detailed, disaggregated exposure data. To make fully informed policy decisions about infrastructure design and how it affects older users, a better understanding of the linkages between safety and mobility is required. Performance Indicators offer the possibility to look at these linked policy objectives within a single framework. Focus group data was used in conjunction with the results of previous studies to identify the infrastructure features which present a barrier to older users safe mobility in urban areas. These included factors which increased risk, such as wide carriageways, complex junctions and fast-moving traffic, and factors which hindered mobility, such as uneven or poorly maintained pavements, poor lighting and traffic intrusion. A thematic audit of infrastructure in a case study city (Coventry) was undertaken, in order that the incidence of such infrastructure could be recorded. It was found that in many areas of the city, safe mobility for older road users was not well provided for, with the majority of locations having barriers to safety and/or mobility for both drivers and pedestrians. The audit data was then used to calculate a set of Performance Indicators, presented via spider graphs, which describe the degree to which the infrastructure caters for the safety and mobility of older drivers and pedestrians. The spider graphs allow for easy comparisons between the different geographical areas, and also between the different policy areas, allowing policy priorities to be identified. The calculated Performance Indicators were validated using case studies collected from the focus group participants. The case studies identified features that affected travel habits by causing a change of route or change of mode, providing evidence of the link between infrastructure design and safe mobility for older users. The results of the Performance Indicator analysis were then compared to accident figures, in order to identify differences between the two approaches, and to understand what policy implications would result from a monitoring framework that used Performance Indicators for safe mobility, rather than outcomes-based measures alone. One implication of the Performance Indicator approach is that it may identify different areas for priority action from those identified by accident or casualty figures. A location which does not have high accident numbers may nevertheless perform poorly on a Safety Performance Indicator measure. This is because older users who feel at risk make different route or mode choices to avoid the infrastructure, the lower accident rate being explained by lower exposure to risk. Conversely, measures to promote independent mobility for older users may increase their accident involvement, not because the environment becomes more risky, but because the exposure of older users to risk increases, because they are willing and able to walk or drive in an area they previously avoided. The thesis concludes that infrastructure design does not currently cater well for the needs of older pedestrians and drivers, and that a framework which incorporated Performance Indicators could make more explicit the trade-offs between safety and mobility, and between different categories of user. This additional information would enable policy makers and practitioners to make more informed decisions about how to prioritise competing objectives in complex urban areas

Elimination of doubt : methods for a predictive design to direct and optimize the flow of visitors

Ympäristömme globaalistuu ja monimutkaistuu kaiken aikaa. Prosessi näkyy muun muassa kansainvälisen liikenteen solmukohdissa. Esimerkiksi lentokentät ovat kyseisiä eri kulttuurien keskinäisen vuorovaikutuksen kohtia. Eri kulttuureista tulevien ihmisten pitää osata orientoitua vieraassa ja usein sekavassa ympäristössä. Jotta toiminta olisi sujuvaa näissä solmukohdissa, on suunnistamiseen tarvittavan tiedon oltava nopeasti omaksuttavaa ja ymmärrettävää. Monet muotoilijat ja suunnittelijat ajattelevat, että opastejärjestelmät ovat reduktionistisia ja mekanistisia syy-seuraus systeemejä. On kuitenkin ilmeistä, että kansainvälisesti harmonisoimattomien piktogrammien kyky välittää informaatiota on epäonnistunutta. Nykyiset kognitiotieteen havainnot osoittavat, että visuaalisen havaitsemisen ja tilallisen orientaation aikaisemmat mallit ovat vain osittain toimivia. Siispä oli syytä kysyä ”onko mahdollista tuottaa ennakoiva malli jonka avulla voi kehittää, toteuttaa ja varmistaa suunnitteluratkaisuja, jotka ohjaavat ja optimoivat vierailijoiden virtaa laajoissa julkisissa tiloissa.“ Tutkimuksen keskiössä on tästä syystä tilallisessa orientoitumisessa tapahtuva kulttuurinen merkityksellistäminen ja paikkatietoisuuden lisääminen (situation awareness). Juuri tuo yksilöllinen merkityksen tuottaminen voi tarkoittaa laajaa kirjoa erilaisia tulkintoja. Paikkatietoisuuden syntymisen erilaiset mahdollisuudet yhdessä erilaisten menetelmien kanssa voivat tuottaa ratkaisuja suunnitteluprosessiin. Suunnitteluprosessissa voidaan ottaa huomioon myös havaintopsykologisia näkökulmia. Kaiken kaikkiaan tämä johtaa systeemis-holistiseen ja käyttäjäkeskeiseen ajatteluun julkisten tilojen opastejärjestelmien suunnittelun kehityksessä. Esitän myös käytännöllisen ratkaisun opastejärjestelmien suunnitteluun ja arviointiin tarkastelemalla olemassa olevien järjestelmien rakennetta ja parametreja sekä niiden kehitystyötä. Työ sisältää yhteensä yhdeksän tapaustarkastelua. Tutkimusmenetelminä käytin laadullista havainnointia ja kvantitatiivista analyysiä. Havainnoin ja tulkitsin etnisiä tottumuksia ja henkilökohtaisia näkemyksiä. Tekemäni kyselyjen perusteella näyttää siltä, että konstruoimaani mallia voitaisiin käyttää kehittämisen ja todentamisen välineenä.The rapid development of international traffic characterizes our increasingly globalized and ever more complex world. Nodal points (for example, airports) have formed where people from various cultural backgrounds and with differing levels of educational attainment need to reorient themselves in a unfamiliar and often confusing environment. A key condition to ensure everything works smoothly in such an international junction is the extremely fast reception and processing of information by everyone involved. The dominant school of thought among many designers and planners of guidance and routing systems is still a reductionist and mechanistic one (cause - effect). It has become apparent that the use of non-internationally harmonized pictograms as information carriers has failed completely. Recent findings in the field of cognitive science demonstrate convincingly that previous models of visual perception and spatial orientation can only highlight partial aspects. For these aspects, the question has arisen: “Is there a possibility to evolve a predictive system to develop, implement and verify design solutions to direct and optimize the flow of visitors in large public spaces?” Therefore, the moment of semiosis of the orientation seekers moved into the focus of the investigation. This moment of meaning-making, which is perceived by every individual differently, spans the entire spectrum of the perception of the designated item (the optical characteristic of the character substrate) between manifold interpretation or absolute certainty. The various viewing options of “situational awareness” with the help of various methodologies provide solutions for the design process. Taking the aspects of perceptual psychology into account leads to the development of a systemic/holistic and user-centred design of orientation systems in public spaces. Identifying and consulting the predictive parameters in a systematic process could show a practicable solution for the planning and evaluation of guidance and routing systems. In various national and international case studies, the process reliability and processing quality of this solution were demonstrated. Involving mixed research methodologies of qualitative observation and quantitative analysis, it was possible to develop a workable model. Through observation and interpretation, ethnic habits and personal views were taken into account to develop the methods. The use of questionnaires or surveys created statistics to prove or disprove the hypothetical model. The capacity of the presented model and the operationalization of the research demonstrated an effective method for overcoming barriers of age, language and culture. The publication satisfies, therefore, the criteria of the academic quality of a practice-based Ph.D