Design and Implementation of a Distributed Ledger Technology Platform to Support Customs Processes within Supply Chains

In international trade, customs clearance fulfills complex and country-specific tasks in the execution of supply chain processes. Importers and exporters have to integrate customs authorities into the information flow, as customs authorities require information, e.g., on the bill of lading and the commercial invoice apart from the customs declaration. In addition, involved sub-service providers increase the problem of information asymmetry and the required coordination effort. Practice and research consider Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as a potential solution since this technology maintains a mutually agreed and secure database of value-creation partners. However, research has hardly investigated the design of such DLT systems. Therefore, we present a requirements catalogue, a concept, and a prototype of a DLT platform to address the outlined problem of information asymmetry, especially with a focus on customs processes

Exploiting eye-hand coordination: a novel approach to remote manipulation

Twardon L, Finke A, Ritter H. Exploiting eye-hand coordination: a novel approach to remote manipulation. Presented at the IEEE International Conference on Robots and Systems (IROS), Tokyo, Japan

Gaze-based scene sonification for orientation in the dark

Koesling H, Twardon L, Finke A. Gaze-based scene sonification for orientation in the dark. Presented at the Fifth International Conference on Cognitive Science, Kaliningrad, Russia

Gaze-contingent audio-visual substitution for the blind and visually impaired

Twardon L, Koesling H, Finke A, Ritter H. Gaze-contingent audio-visual substitution for the blind and visually impaired. Presented at the 7th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare (Pervasive Health) 2013, Venice, Italy

Assessment of Risks and Benefits of ContextAdaptive Augmented Reality for Aerodrome Control Towers

The technical evolution of augmented reality devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens opened up completely new opportunities to air traffic management, particularly within the aerodrome control environment. Augmented reality can support air traffic controllers (ATCOs) in collecting and processing all information needed for an efficient and orderly guidance of air traffic, thus providing safety benefits. Within the project 'Adaptive Controller Support Components' (AdCoSCo) the German Aerospace Center (DLR) investigates this new approach and tries to maximize its advantages by combining augmented reality with a context-adaptive system design. Apart from other expected benefits this is thought to effectively improve human performance in terms of reduced workload and increased situation awareness. More specifically, operationally relevant information is presented to the ATCO exactly when it is needed. Within the present study a storyboard approach was applied to assess the benefits and risks of an adaptive system design. This method was applied for the first time on contextadaptive augmented reality in a tower simulator environment. Six aerodrome controllers passed through this storyboard assessment, giving ratings regarding several preselected criteria. As an outcome, this investigation confirms that the highest benefits were seen in terms of improved situation awareness. It also showed that the highest risks were related to over-trust and complacency. A detailed assessment of specific adaptations is also presented within this paper

Effect of Process Parameters, Protectants and Carrier Materials on the Survival of Yeast Cells during Fluidized Bed Granulation for Tableting

The administration of living microorganisms is of special interest, with regard to probiotic microorganisms providing health benefits to the patient. Effective dosage forms require the preservation of microbial viability until administration. Storage stability can be improved by drying, and the tablet is an especially attractive final solid dosage form due to its ease of administration and its good patient compliance. In this study, drying of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae via fluidized bed spray granulation is investigated, as the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii is a variety of it. Fluidized bed granulation enables faster drying than lyophilization on the one hand and lower temperatures than spray drying on the other hand, which are the two predominantly used techniques for life-sustaining drying of microorganisms. Yeast cell suspensions enriched with protective additives were sprayed onto the carrier particles of common tableting excipients, namely, dicalcium phosphate (DCP), lactose (LAC) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Different protectants, such as mono-, di-, oligo- and polysaccharides, but also skimmed milk powder and one alditol, were tested; as they themselves, or chemically similar molecules, are known from other drying technologies to stabilize biological structures such as cell membranes, and thus, improve survival during dehydration. With the combined use of trehalose and skimmed milk powder, survival rates were 300 times higher than without the use of protective additives. In addition to these formulation aspects, the influence of process parameters such as inlet temperature and spray rate were considered. The granulated products were characterized regarding their particle size distribution, moisture content and the viability of the yeast cells. It has been shown that thermal stress on the microorganisms is especially critical, which can be reduced, for example, by reducing the inlet temperature or increasing the spray rate; however, formulation parameters such as cell concentration also influenced survival. The results were used to specify the influencing factors on the survival of microorganisms during fluidized bed granulation and to derive their linkages. Granules based on the three different carrier materials were tableted and the survival of the microorganisms was evaluated and linked to the tablet tensile strength achieved. Using LAC enabled the highest survival of the microorganisms throughout the considered process chain