1,254 research outputs found

    Image-based Decision Support Systems: Technical Concepts, Design Knowledge, and Applications for Sustainability

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    Unstructured data accounts for 80-90% of all data generated, with image data contributing its largest portion. In recent years, the field of computer vision, fueled by deep learning techniques, has made significant advances in exploiting this data to generate value. However, often computer vision models are not sufficient for value creation. In these cases, image-based decision support systems (IB-DSSs), i.e., decision support systems that rely on images and computer vision, can be used to create value by combining human and artificial intelligence. Despite its potential, there is only little work on IB-DSSs so far. In this thesis, we develop technical foundations and design knowledge for IBDSSs and demonstrate the possible positive effect of IB-DSSs on environmental sustainability. The theoretical contributions of this work are based on and evaluated in a series of artifacts in practical use cases: First, we use technical experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of innovative approaches to exploit images for IBDSSs. We show the feasibility of deep-learning-based computer vision and identify future research opportunities based on one of our practical use cases. Building on this, we develop and evaluate a novel approach for combining human and artificial intelligence for value creation from image data. Second, we develop design knowledge that can serve as a blueprint for future IB-DSSs. We perform two design science research studies to formulate generalizable principles for purposeful design — one for IB-DSSs and one for the subclass of image-mining-based decision support systems (IM-DSSs). While IB-DSSs can provide decision support based on single images, IM-DSSs are suitable when large amounts of image data are available and required for decision-making. Third, we demonstrate the viability of applying IBDSSs to enhance environmental sustainability by performing life cycle assessments for two practical use cases — one in which the IB-DSS enables a prolonged product lifetime and one in which the IB-DSS facilitates an improvement of manufacturing processes. We hope this thesis will contribute to expand the use and effectiveness of imagebased decision support systems in practice and will provide directions for future research

    Ponds as experimental arenas for studying animal movement: current research and future prospects

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    Animal movement is a multifaceted process that occurs for multiple reasons with powerful consequences for food web and ecosystem dynamics. New paradigms and technical innovations have recently pervaded the field, providing increasingly powerful means to deliver fine-scale movement data, attracting renewed interest. Specifically in the aquatic environment, tracking with acoustic telemetry now provides integral spatiotemporal information to follow individual movements in the wild. Yet, this technology also holds great promise for experimental studies, enhancing our ability to truly establish cause-and-effect relationships. Here, we argue that ponds with well-defined borders (i.e. "islands in a sea of land") are particularly well suited for this purpose. To support our argument, we also discuss recent experiences from studies conducted in an innovative experimental infrastructure, composed of replicated ponds equipped with modern aquatic telemetry systems that allow for unparalleled insights into the movement patterns of individual animals

    Beam scanning by liquid-crystal biasing in a modified SIW structure

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    A fixed-frequency beam-scanning 1D antenna based on Liquid Crystals (LCs) is designed for application in 2D scanning with lateral alignment. The 2D array environment imposes full decoupling of adjacent 1D antennas, which often conflicts with the LC requirement of DC biasing: the proposed design accommodates both. The LC medium is placed inside a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) modified to work as a Groove Gap Waveguide, with radiating slots etched on the upper broad wall, that radiates as a Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA). This allows effective application of the DC bias voltage needed for tuning the LCs. At the same time, the RF field remains laterally confined, enabling the possibility to lay several antennas in parallel and achieve 2D beam scanning. The design is validated by simulation employing the actual properties of a commercial LC medium

    Blending the Material and Digital World for Hybrid Interfaces

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    The development of digital technologies in the 21st century is progressing continuously and new device classes such as tablets, smartphones or smartwatches are finding their way into our everyday lives. However, this development also poses problems, as these prevailing touch and gestural interfaces often lack tangibility, take little account of haptic qualities and therefore require full attention from their users. Compared to traditional tools and analog interfaces, the human skills to experience and manipulate material in its natural environment and context remain unexploited. To combine the best of both, a key question is how it is possible to blend the material world and digital world to design and realize novel hybrid interfaces in a meaningful way. Research on Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) investigates the coupling between physical objects and virtual data. In contrast, hybrid interfaces, which specifically aim to digitally enrich analog artifacts of everyday work, have not yet been sufficiently researched and systematically discussed. Therefore, this doctoral thesis rethinks how user interfaces can provide useful digital functionality while maintaining their physical properties and familiar patterns of use in the real world. However, the development of such hybrid interfaces raises overarching research questions about the design: Which kind of physical interfaces are worth exploring? What type of digital enhancement will improve existing interfaces? How can hybrid interfaces retain their physical properties while enabling new digital functions? What are suitable methods to explore different design? And how to support technology-enthusiast users in prototyping? For a systematic investigation, the thesis builds on a design-oriented, exploratory and iterative development process using digital fabrication methods and novel materials. As a main contribution, four specific research projects are presented that apply and discuss different visual and interactive augmentation principles along real-world applications. The applications range from digitally-enhanced paper, interactive cords over visual watch strap extensions to novel prototyping tools for smart garments. While almost all of them integrate visual feedback and haptic input, none of them are built on rigid, rectangular pixel screens or use standard input modalities, as they all aim to reveal new design approaches. The dissertation shows how valuable it can be to rethink familiar, analog applications while thoughtfully extending them digitally. Finally, this thesis’ extensive work of engineering versatile research platforms is accompanied by overarching conceptual work, user evaluations and technical experiments, as well as literature reviews.Die Durchdringung digitaler Technologien im 21. Jahrhundert schreitet stetig voran und neue Geräteklassen wie Tablets, Smartphones oder Smartwatches erobern unseren Alltag. Diese Entwicklung birgt aber auch Probleme, denn die vorherrschenden berührungsempfindlichen Oberflächen berücksichtigen kaum haptische Qualitäten und erfordern daher die volle Aufmerksamkeit ihrer Nutzer:innen. Im Vergleich zu traditionellen Werkzeugen und analogen Schnittstellen bleiben die menschlichen Fähigkeiten ungenutzt, die Umwelt mit allen Sinnen zu begreifen und wahrzunehmen. Um das Beste aus beiden Welten zu vereinen, stellt sich daher die Frage, wie neuartige hybride Schnittstellen sinnvoll gestaltet und realisiert werden können, um die materielle und die digitale Welt zu verschmelzen. In der Forschung zu Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) wird die Verbindung zwischen physischen Objekten und virtuellen Daten untersucht. Noch nicht ausreichend erforscht wurden hingegen hybride Schnittstellen, die speziell darauf abzielen, physische Gegenstände des Alltags digital zu erweitern und anhand geeigneter Designparameter und Entwurfsräume systematisch zu untersuchen. In dieser Dissertation wird daher untersucht, wie Materialität und Digitalität nahtlos ineinander übergehen können. Es soll erforscht werden, wie künftige Benutzungsschnittstellen nützliche digitale Funktionen bereitstellen können, ohne ihre physischen Eigenschaften und vertrauten Nutzungsmuster in der realen Welt zu verlieren. Die Entwicklung solcher hybriden Ansätze wirft jedoch übergreifende Forschungsfragen zum Design auf: Welche Arten von physischen Schnittstellen sind es wert, betrachtet zu werden? Welche Art von digitaler Erweiterung verbessert das Bestehende? Wie können hybride Konzepte ihre physischen Eigenschaften beibehalten und gleichzeitig neue digitale Funktionen ermöglichen? Was sind geeignete Methoden, um verschiedene Designs zu erforschen? Wie kann man Technologiebegeisterte bei der Erstellung von Prototypen unterstützen? Für eine systematische Untersuchung stützt sich die Arbeit auf einen designorientierten, explorativen und iterativen Entwicklungsprozess unter Verwendung digitaler Fabrikationsmethoden und neuartiger Materialien. Im Hauptteil werden vier Forschungsprojekte vorgestellt, die verschiedene visuelle und interaktive Prinzipien entlang realer Anwendungen diskutieren. Die Szenarien reichen von digital angereichertem Papier, interaktiven Kordeln über visuelle Erweiterungen von Uhrarmbändern bis hin zu neuartigen Prototyping-Tools für intelligente Kleidungsstücke. Um neue Designansätze aufzuzeigen, integrieren nahezu alle visuelles Feedback und haptische Eingaben, um Alternativen zu Standard-Eingabemodalitäten auf starren Pixelbildschirmen zu schaffen. Die Dissertation hat gezeigt, wie wertvoll es sein kann, bekannte, analoge Anwendungen zu überdenken und sie dabei gleichzeitig mit Bedacht digital zu erweitern. Dabei umfasst die vorliegende Arbeit sowohl realisierte technische Forschungsplattformen als auch übergreifende konzeptionelle Arbeiten, Nutzerstudien und technische Experimente sowie die Analyse existierender Forschungsarbeiten

    Informationsströme in digitalen Kulturen

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    Wir sind umgeben von einer Vielzahl an Informationsströmen, die uns selbstverständlich erscheinen. Um diese digitalen Kulturen zu beschreiben, entwickeln medienwissenschaftliche Arbeiten Theorien einer Welt im Fluss. Dabei erliegen ihre Diagnosen oftmals einem Technikfetisch und vernachlässigen gesellschaftliche Strukturen. Mathias Denecke legt eine systematische Kritik dieser Theoriebildung vor. Dazu zeichnet er die Geschichte der Rede von strömenden Informationen in der Entwicklung digitaler Computer nach und diskutiert, wie der Begriff für Gegenwartsbeschreibungen produktiv gemacht werden kann

    Integrated By Design: An Investigation into Solid-State Battery Processing & the Elucidation of Reaction Mechanisms

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    Among the portable electronics market, Li-ion batteries remain the preferred choice for many applications, due to their high specific energy. However, current battery technologies have flaws associated with both their chemistries, manufacturing methods and architecture. Battery and device architectures are regularly kept as separate entities during product design, and only put together in the final design, unnecessarily increasing device footprint, costs and weight. Herein, we explore an alternative approach to these limitations, by developing an integrated battery antenna system. The three main components of the battery: the cathode, the electrolyte and the anode are investigated with an aim to design an all-solid-state flexible, wearable, body conformable antenna battery system. Li2FeSiO4 is explored as a high capacity, environmentally benign cathode material. Utilizing in-operando XAS and ex-situ XRS to explore the origin of the materials' additional capacity associated with the removal of >1Li+ per unit formula. It is found that oxygen contributes, reversibly, as a charge compensation mechanism to the additional capacity. A PEGDA based solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is explored as a high performance, high conductivity, flexible, stretchable and thermally stable alternative to liquid electrolytes. The PEM is found to be stable up to 4.7V vs Li/Li+ and yield a conductivity of 1.4x10-3Scm-1, which places it securely into the "superionic" region. For the first time, this system has been applied to a full-cell configuration, yielding strong cycling performance throughout, with full-cell capacities reaching as high as 151mAhg-1at room temperature. PEDOT:PSS is a mixed conductive polymer, assessed as a potential anode material. The material was deposited using three different techniques:(I) tape casting (II) spray-coating (III) inkjet printing. It was found that cycling performance was heavily dependent on the manufacturing technique employed. Inkjet printed, binder free films exhibited the greatest performance with capacities stable across all 50 cycles tested. Finally, the PEDOT:PSS anode was incorporated into an on-body electronic device - an RFID antenna, utilizing the antenna architecture as a dual purpose component. The antenna powered by the integrated battery exhibited strong performance characteristics, matching those of a commercial coin cell battery

    Artificial Intelligence and International Conflict in Cyberspace

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    This edited volume explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming international conflict in cyberspace. Over the past three decades, cyberspace developed into a crucial frontier and issue of international conflict. However, scholarly work on the relationship between AI and conflict in cyberspace has been produced along somewhat rigid disciplinary boundaries and an even more rigid sociotechnical divide – wherein technical and social scholarship are seldomly brought into a conversation. This is the first volume to address these themes through a comprehensive and cross-disciplinary approach. With the intent of exploring the question ‘what is at stake with the use of automation in international conflict in cyberspace through AI?’, the chapters in the volume focus on three broad themes, namely: (1) technical and operational, (2) strategic and geopolitical and (3) normative and legal. These also constitute the three parts in which the chapters of this volume are organised, although these thematic sections should not be considered as an analytical or a disciplinary demarcation

    Polymeric semiconductor and transition-metal dichalcogenide nanocomposites for inkjet-printed thin-film transistor devices

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    Patterned using subtractive processes, conventional thin-film deposition techniques inevitably require high-vacuum deposition and photolithography to define functional layers to create a device structure. Inkjet printing technology has received considerable attention to realize low-cost and potential mass production of large-area electronics at low temperatures using an additive process approach. However, the materials used in the printing process are based on solution-based electronic inks formulated with organic electronic materials. Among them, conjugated polymers are widely used as a semiconductor for thin-film transistor (TFT) applications, but they possess poor charge transport properties compared to other single or polycrystalline inorganic semiconductors. Moreover, the inkjet printing method has a weakness for depositing polymeric solution that form thin films having a highly ordered molecular structure. To overcome this limitation when using printed polymers, a hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductor ink was explored. The hybrid semiconductor ink was prepared by mixing two different materials, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets and solution-based poly(3-hexylthiopene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT), the former is a two-dimensional semiconductor and the latter a conjugated polymer. To enhance the level of exfoliation and stability of MoS₂ nanosheets in P3HT, the surfactant trichloro(dodecyl)silane (DDTS), was used to functionalize the MoS₂ surface. Printed TFTs using the nanosheet suspension were found to enhance the field-effect mobility by approximately 3× compared to TFTs without the suspension. The introduced single-crystalline MoS₂ nanosheets in the P3HT matrix improved the electrical and structural properties of the inkjet-printed thin-film polymer. Based on these findings and insights, the observed effects can be extended to second-generation polymeric semiconductors, specifically the donor-acceptor (D-A) co-polymers. These materials are renowned for exhibiting the highest mobilities among printable polymers while maintaining ambipolarity, a desirable trait for configuring complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. In light of this, novel nanocomposite semiconductor inks were developed to demonstrate the influence of 2D nanoparticles on the electronic properties of D-A copolymers, diketopyrrolopyrrole-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DPPT-TT). Printed TFTs using this new hybrid semiconductor showed that the field-effect mobility of the devices increased by 33 % and 140 % in both hole (p-type) and electron (n-type) transports, respectively. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) results of the printed hybrid thin film revealed that strongly aggregated polymer domains were observed in films containing the MoS₂ nanosheets. In ultraviolet–visible–near infrared spectroscopy (UV-vis-NIR) measurement, increased intensity of 0-0 and 0-1 peaks from hybrid film indicates improved charge transport was due to enhanced intermolecular charge transfer in the microstructure of the polymer film. Furthermore, the incorporation of hybrid nanocomposites proved particularly beneficial for inkjet-printed TFTs utilizing metal electrodes, as the latter had a tendency to augment contact resistance and thereby compromise device performance. However, the introduction of hybrid nanocomposites effectively counteracted the performance degradation arising from the printed metal electrodes by enhancing the crystallinity of the polymeric film. Moreover, these findings also highlight the feasibility of employing lower sintering temperatures for inkjet-printed metal electrodes. This is attributed to the fact that the result of increased contact resistance associated with lower sintering temperatures can be effectively mitigated by the nanocomposite semiconductor. Consequently, an overall enhancement in device performance was achieved by applying the hybrid nanocomposite ink. This study elucidated the advantageous influence of solution-processed MoS₂ nanosheets on the crystallinity and electrical properties of polymeric thin films, consequently leading to significant improvements in the performance parameters of inkjet-printed TFTs
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