Integrating the AUTOSAR tool chain with Eclipse based model transformations

International audienceAUTOSAR is establishing itself as a prominent standard in automotive systems and is expected to significantly improve software architecture and the software development processes. However, the introduction of AUTOSAR also poses some challenges

Deep Denoising for Hearing Aid Applications

Reduction of unwanted environmental noises is an important feature of today's hearing aids (HA), which is why noise reduction is nowadays included in almost every commercially available device. The majority of these algorithms, however, is restricted to the reduction of stationary noises. In this work, we propose a denoising approach based on a three hidden layer fully connected deep learning network that aims to predict a Wiener filtering gain with an asymmetric input context, enabling real-time applications with high constraints on signal delay. The approach is employing a hearing instrument-grade filter bank and complies with typical hearing aid demands, such as low latency and on-line processing. It can further be well integrated with other algorithms in an existing HA signal processing chain. We can show on a database of real world noise signals that our algorithm is able to outperform a state of the art baseline approach, both using objective metrics and subject tests.Comment: submitted to IWAENC 201

Urbane Photovoltaikproduktion auf österreichischen Großparkplätzen: ein Beitrag zu nachhaltiger Energieversorgung, zukünftiger Elektromobilität und Bewusstseinsbildung bei Entscheidungsträgern/-innen

Die Photovoltaikbranche erlebte in den vergangenen Jahren stetige Zuwachsraten im zweistelligen Prozentbereich (International Energy Agency 2014; European Photovoltaic Industry 2014). Dennoch stößt der Ausbau der Photovoltaik zunehmend auf Grenzen, da die Nutzung von Photovoltaik zur Energieproduktion viel Platz beansprucht und in Konkurrenz mit traditionellen Nutzungen wie Siedlungswesen, Landwirtschaft, Tourismus, Naturschutz etc. steht, was dazu führt, dass Photovoltaikenergie nur dort produziert werden kann, wo ausreichend Platz verfügbar ist. Dies ist umso zutreffender, je weniger Raum für die verschiedenen Nutzungsansprüche zur Verfügung steht. Für die Photovoltaiknutzung bedeutet dies, dass eine Nutzung auf Flächen mit starkem Nutzungsdruck schwierig ist, es sei denn eine multifunktionale Nutzung ist möglich. Die Eignung ländlicher Freiflächen zur Photovoltaiknutzung ist bereits gut erforscht (Bundesamt für Naturschutz 2012; Bundesamt für Naturschutz und Technische Universität Berlin 2013; Knoll Planung & Beratung 2011; Naturschutzbund Deutschland und BSW-Solar 2005; Stadt Wien 2013). Weit weniger gut ist die Photovoltaiknutzung im Siedlungsgebiet untersucht, da diesen Gebieten, mit Ausnahme horizontaler Dachflächen, ein allgemein zu geringes Potenzial attestiert wird (Hunter und Baldwin 2013; Genske et al. 2009). Hier ist anzumerken, dass vor allem in urbanen Bereichen der Fokus der Potenzialanalysen auf öffentlich verfügbaren Flächen liegt und Potenziale auf privaten Flächen erst gar nicht in die Berechnungen Einzug finden. Eine Flächenkategorie, die derzeit in Österreich kaum im Zusammenhang mit der Photovoltaikproduktion beachtet wird, ist jene der Großparkplätze. Studien geben Auskunft über die Potenziale der vereinzelten Nutzung dieser Flächen (Strauss et al. 2009; Neumann et al. 2012; Tulpule et al. 2013; Chukwu und Mahajan 2014; Serrano-Luján et al. 2015), doch gibt es derzeit keine Übersicht über die Anzahl von möglicherweise geeigneten Parkplätzen in Österreich, noch über die damit verbundene Bedeutung für heimische Photovoltaikunternehmen und die nachhaltige österreichische Stromproduktion. Durch die Mehrfachnutzung der Parkplätze zur Energieerzeugung und zur niederschwelligen Verwendung (Abstellfläche für PKWs), können Synergieeffekte bei ursprünglich konkurrierenden Flächennutzungen erzielt werden. So bedeutet eine mehrdimensionale Nutzung verfügbarer Fläche auch eine Vermeidung von zusätzlicher Flächenversiegelung, die vor allem für Österreich und Europa ein anhaltendes Problem darstellt (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung et al. 2015). Weiter wird dadurch ein Mehrwert für die Nutzerinnen und Nutzer (z. B. zusätzlicher Komfort durch Beschattung), sowie für Verwalterinnen und Verwalter (z. B. geringere Betriebserhaltungskosten, zusätzliche Einnahmen aus der Energieproduktion, neue Dienstleistungen) der Fläche geschaffen, was zu erhöhter Akzeptanz in siedlungsnahen Gebieten führen kann. Bislang gibt es keinen Überblick über Möglichkeiten einer energieorientierten Bewirtschaftung von Großparkplätzen in Österreich und deren potenziellen Beitrag zur Energiewende und zur Stärkung der heimischen Photovoltaikindustrie. Weiter ist bislang nicht bekannt, für welche Branchen sich durch eine Hebung des Erwartungspotenzials auf Großparkplätzen neue Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten öffnen. Dieses Paper trägt zur Identifikation von zur Energienutzung geegneten Großparkplätzen in Österreich bei. Hierfür wurden sämtliche Großparkplätze (Parkplätze > 600 m²) untersucht und basierend auf Langzeitdaten (klimatologisch, atmospärisch) und aufgrund der räumlich umgebenden Infrastruktur (3D-Gebäude) analysiert

Collective fast delivery by energy-efficient agents

We consider k mobile agents initially located at distinct nodes of an undirected graph (on n nodes, with edge lengths) that have to deliver a single item from a given source node s to a given target node t. The agents can move along the edges of the graph, starting at time 0 with respect to the following: Each agent i has a weight w_i that defines the rate of energy consumption while travelling a distance in the graph, and a velocity v_i with which it can move. We are interested in schedules (operating the k agents) that result in a small delivery time T (time when the package arrives at t), and small total energy consumption E. Concretely, we ask for a schedule that: either (i) Minimizes T, (ii) Minimizes lexicographically (T,E) (prioritizing fast delivery), or (iii) Minimizes epsilon*T + (1-epsilon)*E, for a given epsilon, 0<epsilon<1. We show that (i) is solvable in polynomial time, and show that (ii) is polynomial-time solvable for uniform velocities and solvable in time O(n + k log k) for arbitrary velocities on paths, but in general is NP-hard even on planar graphs. As a corollary of our hardness result, (iii) is NP-hard, too. We show that there is a 3-approximation algorithm for (iii) using a single agent.Comment: In an extended abstract of this paper [MFCS 2018], we erroneously claimed the single agent approach for variant (iii) to have approximation ratio

Collaboration in Automotive - The Eclipse Automotive Industry Working Group

International audienceThe Automotive Industry is constantly introducing new and improved features based on advanced electronics and software. The use of these consumer electronics and software has required the automotive industry to define processes and tools that manage the interactions within an organization and within their extended supply chain. To address the growing complexity and time-to-market pressures , the automotive industry needs a common development tool-chain to support the development and testing of these new types of features. Today, many automotive companies use Eclipse to assist in the development of new features. However, a lack of integration between technology stacks, consistent use of tools throughout the supply chain and missing functionality has limited the effectiveness of create a complete development tool-chain. OEMs, 1st-tiers and consutling companies are founding the Eclipse Autmotive Industry Working Group to coordinate the activites within companies

TALKING INSTITUTIONS IN THE SHARING ECONOMY: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF ACTOR QUOTES IN THE PRINT MEDIA AND A TAXONOMY OF DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES

We study how actors engage in institutional work to manage legitimacy by influencing media discourse in the face of discontinuous innovation. We content-analyze actor quotes reproduced in newspaper articles about the ‘sharing economy’ in the taxi and lodging industries to survey this aspect of media discourse and offer a taxonomy of the discursive strategies used in the public debate on institutional change. We find that actor quotes are dominantly from offensive actors striving for institutional change, mostly due to a relatively low share of voice of incumbent firms as defensive actors aiming at institutional maintenance. Whereas offensive actors aimed for legitimacy in their discursive strategies by balancing attacks on existing institutions with assertions of new institutions, defensive actors aimed for legitimacy more by attacking new institutions than by reinforcing existing ones. Our findings suggest that, contrary to prior beliefs, preventing the emergence of new institutions plays a crucial role for defensive institutional work

The spatial ecology of lion (Panthera leo) and spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park : implications for the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.The ecological role of apex predators in ecosystems is increasingly recognized not only as a result of their affects on prey species, but also on the numbers and behaviour of other predator species within their guilds. In an African context, dominant apex predators such as lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) have been implicated in limiting endangered intraguild species such as wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) via direct intraguild interactions, such as interference and predation. As a result of this it has been predicted that spatial and temporal refugia are critical for wild dogs to co-exist with lions and spotted hyaenas. Whether such refugia are actually present within small protected areas, such as Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park (HiP), within which these three species co-exist, has been questioned. For wild dogs, interference or predation refugia may be equated to areas or periods which contain a relatively low level of encounter probability with spotted hyaenas and lions respectively. By combining well established field research techniques, such as radio telemetry and audio playbacks, with novel geographic information system tools, I investigated the two key drivers of the probability of encounter with spotted hyaenas and lions, namely density and utilization intensity. Results from the analyses showed that substantial spatial and temporal variation existed in the utilization intensity of lions, as well as the density of both lions and spotted hyaenas, at short and intermediate time scales, in HiP. The spatial scale across which these patterns resolved appear to be well suited to the movement capabilities of wild dogs. This indicated that wild dogs may be able to exploit such areas of temporary lower density and/or utilization intensity, suggesting the dynamic nature of refugia involved in the interactions within these two species-pairs. Results from the lion analyses further suggest that groups rather than individuals are the basic units around which intraguild interactions of social predator and prey species should be investigated, and that social grouping in combination with predator territoriality may stabilize intraguild interactions. An important prediction emerging from this work is that wild dogs, or other subordinate African large predator species, may be forced to trade-off safety from hyaena interference vs. safety from lion predation.National Research Foundation, The Green Trust (WWF–SA), The Wildlands Conservation Trust, University of KwaZulu-Natal, The Endangered Wildlife Trust, Smithsonian Institution, Sichel Family Endowment, Friends of the National Zoo, THRIP, Wild about Cats, Hluhluwe Tourism Association, Bateleurs, Third World Academy of Science, The Wild Dog Foundation, and The Sally Club

Reviews Left and Right: The Link Between Reviewers’ Political Ideology and Online Review Language

Online reviews, i.e., evaluations of products and services posted on websites, are ubiquitous. Prior research observed substantial variance in the language of such online reviews and linked it to downstream consequences like perceived helpfulness. However, the understanding of why the language of reviews varies is limited. This is problematic because it might have vital implications for the design of IT systems and user interactions. To improve the understanding of online review language, the paper proposes that consumers’ personality, as reflected in their political ideology, is a predictor of such online review language. Specifically, it is hypothesized that reviewers’ political ideology as measured by degree of conservatism on a liberal–conservative spectrum is negatively related to review depth (the number of words and the number of arguments in a review), cognitively complex language in reviews, diversity of arguments, and positive valence in language. Support for these hypotheses is obtained through the analysis of a unique dataset that links a sample of online reviews to reviewers’ political ideology as inferred from their online news consumption recorded in clickstream data

Process Stabilization at welding Copper by Laser Power Modulation

AbstractDue to their material properties such as high electrical and thermal conductivity, copper materials are more and more demanded for industrial applications. The same material properties make laser welding of copper a challenging task. Laser welds often suffer from defective weld seams with ejections, pores and a large fluctuation in the penetration depth. In this paper the influence of laser power modulation during copper welding on weld imperfections is discussed. It is shown that a sinusoidal power modulation leads to a strong reduction of melt ejections and also to an increase in penetration depth

Second-Order Digital Inequality: the Case of E-Commerce

“Second-order digital inequality describes that certain individuals profit less from digital opportunities not only due to limited access but also due to limited abilities to use information and communication technologies (ICT). This study extends research on second-order digital inequality to the realm of e-commerce. We introduce a novel conceptualization of effective, potentially beneficial, e-commerce use that encompasses two dimensions: (1) the diversity of e-commerce platforms used by an individual; (2) the degree to which an individual uses supporting e-commerce features. Building on technology acceptance theory and social psychology, we argue that socio-economically disadvantaged individuals are less likely to use e-commerce effectively than socio-economically advantaged individuals. We empirically test our hypotheses on clickstream data that tracks the online behavior of 2819 US e-commerce users for six month. Our findings reveal that, despite equal access, the socio-economically advantaged use e-commerce more effectively regarding both dimensions. Implications for research and practice are discussed