A high speed Tri-Vision system for automotive applications

Purpose: Cameras are excellent ways of non-invasively monitoring the interior and exterior of vehicles. In particular, high speed stereovision and multivision systems are important for transport applications such as driver eye tracking or collision avoidance. This paper addresses the synchronisation problem which arises when multivision camera systems are used to capture the high speed motion common in such applications. Methods: An experimental, high-speed tri-vision camera system intended for real-time driver eye-blink and saccade measurement was designed, developed, implemented and tested using prototype, ultra-high dynamic range, automotive-grade image sensors specifically developed by E2V (formerly Atmel) Grenoble SA as part of the European FP6 project – sensation (advanced sensor development for attention stress, vigilance and sleep/wakefulness monitoring). Results : The developed system can sustain frame rates of 59.8 Hz at the full stereovision resolution of 1280 × 480 but this can reach 750 Hz when a 10 k pixel Region of Interest (ROI) is used, with a maximum global shutter speed of 1/48000 s and a shutter efficiency of 99.7%. The data can be reliably transmitted uncompressed over standard copper Camera-Link® cables over 5 metres. The synchronisation error between the left and right stereo images is less than 100 ps and this has been verified both electrically and optically. Synchronisation is automatically established at boot-up and maintained during resolution changes. A third camera in the set can be configured independently. The dynamic range of the 10bit sensors exceeds 123 dB with a spectral sensitivity extending well into the infra-red range. Conclusion: The system was subjected to a comprehensive testing protocol, which confirms that the salient requirements for the driver monitoring application are adequately met and in some respects, exceeded. The synchronisation technique presented may also benefit several other automotive stereovision applications including near and far-field obstacle detection and collision avoidance, road condition monitoring and others.Partially funded by the EU FP6 through the IST-507231 SENSATION project.peer-reviewe

Improving Decision-making for Sustainable Urban Transport: An Introduction to The DISTILLATE Research Programme

The policy measures needed to achieve more sustainable urban transport systems are now well understood. However, there remain serious barriers to the development and delivery of effective strategies. These include split responsibilities, lack of clarity in the policy process, inappropriate financing rules, lack of data and skills, limited public support and lack of political resolve. The series of papers in this special issue describe the research undertaken in an integrated research programme, DISTILLATE, which has developed a set of decision-support tools designed to help overcome these barriers. This paper outlines the context of the programme, which was conducted with sixteen local authority partners involved in the UK Local Transport Plan process. It describes the research approach, which focused on the barriers which were of the greatest importance to practitioners and the most researchable, and which used case studies, and action research, to understand problems and test solutions. It outlines the more detailed analysis of the barriers faced by local authorities. This demonstrated that the policy measures which were the most important were the most difficult to implement, and that the problems in doing so arose in all six technical areas of the research programme: monitoring, option generation, finance, prediction, appraisal and coordination. It also emphasised the need to distinguish between strategy development and scheme design. The paper describes the approach adopted to developing and testing the programme’s 19 products for strategy development and scheme design, and the overarching decision-support tool developed to aid their dissemination. It concludes with an assessment of the growing challenges in urban transport policy and of the need to improve the take-up of decision-support tools

Governance responses to international agreements:The impact of the Kolpak ruling on cricket 1998-2021

This article investigates the impacts of global legal rulings and political agreements on domestic sport, and charts the responses of national governing bodies to these changes. The article studies rulings and agreements that impacted on employment practices within professional sport. The impact of the 2003 Kolpak ruling and the 2000 Cotonou Agreement on the movement of sportspeople is analysed. Through the context of English county cricket, this article develops Appadurai’s conceptualisation of global flows, particularly ethnoscapes and finanscapes, to investigate how these international rulings and agreements particularly impacted South African migration into the UK. The responses of cricketing governing bodies in England and South Africa are analysed, and the response of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to ‘Brexit’ is also examined. Longitudinal data were collected on the migration of cricket players within English county cricket from 1998 to 2021 (n = 2,192), a period encompassing the duration of which the Kolpak ruling applied. Further data were collected regarding the financial situation of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Cricket South Africa and the domestic cricket teams. We find four distinct periods within the timeframe, influenced by international policy. Despite cricket governing bodies in the UK and South Africa setting mitigating regulations, the Kolpak ruling led South African cricketers of international standard to migrate to the UK. Ultimately, it required Brexit for cricket’s governing bodies to control the migration of sportspeople into the UK

Seasoned Equity Offerings and Stock Price Crash Risk

Using a large sample of U.S. firms during 1987–2011, we find robust evidence that the issuance of seasoned equity is associated with abnormally high future stock price crash risk. The association between seasoned equity offerings and crash risk is stronger among offerings that involve the sale of secondary shares (existing shares sold by insiders or large blockholders). We also find that recent seasoned equity issuers are far less likely to experience sudden positive price jumps relative to firms that have not recently issued equity. Our findings of elevated crash risk and diminished jump risk, when taken together, are consistent with a heightened propensity for firms to hoard bad news but not good news when issuing equity

Self-oscillations in field emission nanowire mechanical resonators: a nanometric DC-AC conversion

We report the observation of self-oscillations in a bottom-up nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) during field emission driven by a constant applied voltage. An electromechanical model is explored that explains the phenomenon and that can be directly used to develop integrated devices. In this first study we have already achieved ~50% DC/AC (direct to alternative current) conversion. Electrical self-oscillations in NEMS open up a new path for the development of high speed, autonomous nanoresonators, and signal generators and show that field emission (FE) is a powerful tool for building new nano-components

Evaluating the use of ‘deschooled’ methods in a postgraduate teaching assessment

This article critically reflects upon the process of planning and executing a microteaching session undertaken as a unit of assessment on ‘Introduction to Learning, Teaching, and Assessment’ (ILTA), the first module studied for the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PgCap). Personal reflection and feedback from participants and the assessor for the microteaching session are used to assess the success of the session. The assessment utilised methodology suggested in Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society and the article reflects upon the utility of Illich’s work in contemporary higher education. In Deschooling Society Illich suggests that education should fundamentally change so that ‘convivial’ skills are taught, rather than subjects. The assessment attempted to teach a skill rather than an academic subject. The incongruence of attempting to pass an assessment using methods suggested by a theorist fundamentally opposed to the notion of academic assessment did affect the delivery of the session. However, it is possible to use some methods suggested by Illich. The use of an expert in co-delivery of the session, appearing via online video, was a success. The utilisation of full, one-to-one participation was also a success and the session demonstrated that these methods can be utilised in good teaching practice

Innovative Approaches to Option Generation

Central and local governments often employ sophisticated modelling and appraisal procedures to ensure that the transport strategies and schemes that are selected for implementation meet policy objectives and are economically efficient. But relatively little effort has been made by the profession to develop methods to assist with the generation of appropriate and innovative options which form the core inputs to this whole process. The paper first summarises UK local authority views about the importance of option generation and their current ability to develop suitable options. It then provides an overview of methods that have been used in a variety of disciplines and policy areas to generate options. Some mainly represent or package existing knowledge, while others encourage ‘outside-the-box’ thinking, with the aim of developing solutions that have not previously been thought of. Methods range from those that are highly quantitative and replicable, to others that are qualitative and much more subjective in nature. Four option generation tools developed as part of the DISTILLATE project are described and illustrated with case study examples. Two apply at the strategic level; one is designed to assist in selecting packages of measures that contribute to an urban transport/land use strategy, while the other assists in identifying accessibility problems experienced by different population groups, and in generating a range of potential solutions. The other two apply at the scheme level and are more participatory in nature; they deal with streetspace allocation and with the improvement of community spaces