Exploring Human-robot Interaction by Simulating Robots

As collaborative robots enter industrial shop floors, logistics, and manufacturing, rapid and flexible evaluation of human-machine interaction has become more important. The availability of consumer headsets for virtual and augmented realities has lowered the barrier of entry for virtual environments. In this paper, we explore the different aspects of using such environments for simulating robots in user studies and present the first findings from our own research work. Finally, we recommend directions for applying and using simulation in human-robot interaction

my2cents: enabling research on consumer-product interaction

Barcode scanners for smartphones enable mobile product-centric services for consumers. We have developed a mobile app that enables consumers to share their use of and opinions about products with their friends and others. Our goal is to establish a product-centric information stream generated by users to benefit other consumers and retail businesses and to enable large-scale research on consumer-product interaction. This paper describes our approach to create a sustainable service. We report first experiences and an initial evaluation after releasing the app to the public, give an overview over possible business models, and discuss some of the challenges we experienced during implementatio

Electric Mobility Roaming for Extending Range Limitations

Electric vehicles (EVs) are currently promoted by government and industry as an alternative to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) propelled vehicles. However, e-mobility has not yet reached a level of technological maturity that allows for the same degree of mobility offered by ICE propelled vehicles. In this paper, we argue that the adaption of roaming concepts to enable EV charging across geographical and service provider boundaries is likely to be a crucial element for e-mobility to be successful. To that end, we derive requirements and design principles for roaming concepts in e-mobility. Furthermore, we present and briefly evaluate a prototype implementation of an e-mobility roaming platform as a proof-of-concept

The Distribution of Local Food Through Consumer Cooperatives in the Northeast

There is growing consumer interest in locally produced food and farmers and retailers play an important part in this growing niche market. Up-to-date and reliable data are necessary to create efficient distribution lines, but there is currently a dearth of aggregate data available to assess the distribution channels of local foods. The research questions for this thesis are motivated by the potential for growth in the local food market, and a need to investigate the role of consumer co-ops in achieving that potential. In Article 1, results from 67 surveys by consumer co-op managers and memberworkers from the American Northeast are reported. A conservative estimate for the Northeast co-ops’ contribution to the local food market is $21,253,750 annually, an average of 17.2% of co-ops’ expenditure being spent on local food. Article 1 identifies the consistency with which various food categories are sourced locally by co-op, and identifies the reasons for and barriers to sourcing locally. An ordinary least squares model reveals that the average percent locally sourced by co-ops whose mission includes sourcing locally is 12.7-percent higher than those whose mission does not include sourcing locally. No difference in percent locally sourced is found between co-ops from different settings (urban, suburban, rural), or Cooperative Grocer ranking (large, medium, small). Article 2 reports on the follow-up unstructured interviews with 58 co-op managers and member-workers. The five principal barriers to sourcing locally – locating local producers, co-op cooperation, organic certification, competition, and distribution – are discussed and various solutions that co-op managers have implemented are described. It is argued that co-ops act as local food hubs in the local food market, providing local producers with a year-round outlet for their products. Alleviating the specific barriers to sourcing locally will allow co-ops to achieve their potential in that role. Overall, improved communication among co-ops and between co-ops and farmers can begin to address some barriers to sourcing locally. Further, other groups such as NOFA, regional localvore groups, state agricultural extension agencies, and others can continue to facilitate communication and share pertinent information. It further suggests that filling some of the gaps can contribute to alleviating barriers identified by co-op managers and member workers. If co-ops are interested in sourcing more of what they sell from local producers, using percent of expenditure locally sourced as a marker can be useful for setting specific goals, while addressing the barriers to sourcing locally can help co-ops and producers meet these goals

Estudo comparativo entre modelos estruturais de um edifício garagem e sua relação com a arquitetura

No presente trabalho foi desenvolvida uma análise comparativa entre diferentes modelos estruturais em concreto armado. Tendo em vista que poucos se preocupam com um estudo mais aprofundado sobre a relação harmoniosa que deveria existir entre espaços arquitetônicos e as estruturas resultantes das necessidades estáticas da estabilização desses espaços, o objetivo foi mostrar que com um estudo prévio, é possível otimizar os projetos, conseguindo encontrar uma solução que se adapte da melhor forma possível às necessidades arquitetônicas e estruturais. A análise comparativa foi feita entre diferentes modelos estruturais de um edifício garagem, considerando-se vãos entre pilares de 5; 7,5 e 10 m, mostrando a relação da modulação dos pilares com os esforços internos, deformações e quantitativos de materiais. À partir da análise, foi possível concluir que para o aspecto estrutural, quando mais perto forem os pilares, mais econômica será a edificação. Já pelo ponto de vista arquitetônico e da funcionalidade, o aumento da distância entre pilares, embora gere um maior consumo de materiais, permite uma maior racionalidade no uso da edificação. Porém, foi observado que a melhor solução a ser adotada deve ser a que gere um maior equilíbrio entre os interesses arquitetônico e estrutural

Estimating Data Volumes of RFID-enabled Supply Chains

The widespread application of RFID tags in supply chains is said to cause enormous data volume problems and thus unprecedented challenges for systems and infrastructures. In order to unleash the potential of item-level RFID applications, such as data sharing and discovery across company boundaries, an unbiased understanding of emerging data volumes is necessary. However, quantitative data that provides factual argument is still scarce. Therefore, we present a simulation study based on a real-world scenario that reveals quantitative characteristics of the data volumes problem in an RFID-enabled supply chain and discuss its implications. Our results suggest that data volumes will be much lower than currently anticipated, but still bear significant challenges for researchers and developers of RFID infrastructures

Crowdsourcing for “Kiosk of the Future” – A Retail Store Case Study

This article reports on a case study which describes how Valora Retail, the company that operates the majority of Kiosks inSwitzerland, successfully completed a intermediary mediated Crowdsourcing project as well as the results they achievedusing this open innovation approach to generate ideas for the internal project named the “Kiosk of the Future”. Out of the626 ideas virtually submitted by the crowdsourcing community, 64 ideas were evaluated to be relevant for the project and the19 best ideas were given rewards and were considered for further internal analysis and development. This case study detailsthe process by which the top ideas were chosen and clearly demonstrates a successful application of Crowdsourcing for ideageneration for the early innovation process. It was reported that the achieved outcome of this project would unlikely haveoriginated from the company itself due to high internal barriers

Mercadorias entre a Europa Central e o Atlântico

Resenha do livro: Wimmler, Jutta e Weber, Klaus, org. Globalized Peripheries. Central Europe and the Atlantic World, 1680-1850. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2020, 285 p