Deployment of an Distributed Strategic Material Flow Control for Automated Material Flow Systems Consisting of Autonomous Modules

The modularisation of hardware and software is one approach to handle the demand for increasing flexibility and changeability of automated material flow systems that are, for example, utilised in flexible production systems. In such automated material flow systems, autonomous modules communicate with each other to coordinate and execute transport tasks. In this paper a strategic material flow control is introduced, which is distributed on several modules realised with a multi-agent system. The strategic material flow control agent coordinates transport tasks with advanced logistical requirements, such as sequencing. A transport task states for a transport unit the system source and sink together with arrival criteria at the sink, e.g. sequence In order to fulfil the arrival criteria the strategic material flow agent selects additional destinations within the automated material flow system to buffer a transport unit. For the selection of suitable buffer modules, several strategies are proposed and evaluated in a simulation study

Deployment of an Distributed Strategic Material Flow Control for Automated Material Flow Systems Consisting of Autonomous Modules

Poster 1

Virtual learning environment for interactive engagement with advanced quantum mechanics

A virtual learning environment can engage university students in the learning process in ways that the traditional lectures and lab formats can not. We present our virtual learning environment \emph{StudentResearcher} which incorporates simulations, multiple-choice quizzes, video lectures and gamification into a learning path for quantum mechanics at the advanced university level. \emph{StudentResearcher} is built upon the experiences gathered from workshops with the citizen science game Quantum Moves at the high-school and university level, where the games were used extensively to illustrate the basic concepts of quantum mechanics. The first test of this new virtual learning environment was a 2014 course in advanced quantum mechanics at Aarhus University with 47 enrolled students. We found increased learning for the students who were more active on the platform independent of their previous performances.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Design, Application and Evaluation of a Multi Agent System in the Logistics Domain

The increasing demand for flexibility of automated production systems also affects the automated material flow systems (aMFS) they contain and demands reconfigurable systems. However, the centralized control concept usually applied in aMFS hinders an easy adaptation, as the entire control software has to be re-tested, when manually changing sub-parts of the control. As adaption and subsequent testing are a time-consuming task, concepts for splitting the control from one centralized to multiple, decentralized control nodes are required. Therefore, this paper presents a holistic agent-based control concept for aMFS, whereby the system is divided into so-called automated material flow modules (aMFM), each being controlled by a dedicated module agent. The concept allows the reconfiguration of aMFS, consisting of heterogeneous, stationary aMFM, during runtime. Furthermore, it includes aspects such as uniform agent knowledge bases through metamodel-based development, a communication ontology considering different information types and properties, strategic route optimization in decentralized control architecture and a visualization concept to make decisions of the module agents comprehensible to operators and maintenance staff. The evaluation of the concept is performed by means of material flow simulations as well as a prototypical implementation on a lab-sized demonstrator.Comment: 13 pages, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9042827

COVID-19-pandemian vaikutukset suomalaisten elämään - COVIDiSTRESS-hankkeen väliraportti

Tämä väliraportti käsittelee COVID-19-pandemian psykologisia vaikutuksia suomalaisille. Tulokset pohjautuvat yli 20 000 vastaukseen ja tarjoavat ainutlaatuisen näkökulman suomalaisten pandemianaikaisiin mielensisältöihin. Keskeisimmät löydökset viittaavat kuormitustason Suomessa olevan verrattain alhaista ja suomalaisten olevan 20 Euroopan maasta neljänneksi vähiten stressaantuneita. Eniten suomalaisia huolettavat kansantalous sekä oma ja läheisten terveys. Suomalaiset ovat muita eurooppalaisia huolestuneempia kansantaloudesta, yksinäisyydestä ja alle 12-vuotiaiden lasten kanssa selviytymisestä poikkeustilanteessa. Muiden muuttujien suhteen suomalaiset kokivat muita eurooppalaisia vähemmän huolta. Suomessa luotetaan hallitukseen enemmän kuin muissa Euroopan maissa, sekä pidetään hallituksen koronavirustoimenpiteitä tarkoituksenmukaisina ja oikein mitoitettuina. Aiempia tutkimuslöydöksiä mukaillen suomalaisilla on korkea luottamus instituutioihin. Yllättäen suomalaiset kuitenkin raportoivat hieman muita eurooppalaisia alhaisempaa mukautuvuutta rajoitustoimenpiteiden noudattamiseen. Yhteenvetona voidaan todeta Suomen reaktion COVID-19pandemiaan näyttäytyvän varsin hyvänä muihin Euroopan maihin verrattuna, joskin tietyt asiat painavat suomalaisten mieltä. Suomalaisten verrattain positiivisilta vaikuttavia psykologisia reaktioita voidaan lähestyä korkean luottamuksen ja selkeän tiedon ja ohjeiden välittämisen kautta. Viiden itselleen merkittävimmän selviytymismekanismin joukossa suomalaiset listaavatkin hallituksen välittämän tiedon ja tilanteeseen liittyvät selkeät toimintaohjeet. </p

Replicating the Disease framing problem during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic : A study of stress, worry, trust, and choice under risk

In the risky-choice framing effect, different wording of the same options leads to predictably different choices. In a large-scale survey conducted from March to May 2020 and including 88,181 participants from 47 countries, we investigated how stress, concerns, and trust moderated the effect in the Disease problem, a prominent framing problem highly evocative of the COVID-19 pandemic. As predicted by the appraisal-tendency framework, risk aversion and the framing effect in our study were larger than under typical circumstances. Furthermore, perceived stress and concerns over coronavirus were positively associated with the framing effect. Contrary to predictions, however, they were not related to risk aversion. Trust in the government’s efforts to handle the coronavirus was associated with neither risk aversion nor the framing effect. The proportion of risky choices and the framing effect varied substantially across nations. Additional exploratory analyses showed that the framing effect was unrelated to reported compliance with safety measures, suggesting, along with similar findings during the pandemic and beyond, that the effectiveness of framing manipulations in public messages might be limited. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, along with directions for further investigations