OPEN SOURCE SCHOOL : Neue Synergien zwischen Schule und Kiez in Gropiusstadt

Zugleich gedruckt erschienen im Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin unter der ISBN 978-3-7983-2273-8.Unter dem Titel "Open Source School" haben 75 Bachelor-Studierende des Institutes für Architektur der TU Berlin Erweiterungen der Bildungslandschaft in Gropiusstadt, eine Großsiedlung am südlichen Rand Berlins, entwickelt. Gemeinsam mit Prof. Susanne Hofmann und den wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeitern Sven Pfeiffer und Urs Walter haben sie individuelle Ansätze gesucht, die auf die speziellen sozialen und baulichen Bedingungen des Ortes eingehen und die Integration unterschiedlicher Interessengruppen in Gropiusstadt gewährleisten. Die Projekte knüpfen an die Ziele des Kooperationsvorhabens Bildungsmeile Wutzkyallee an. In dieser Bildungsmeile suchen mehrere Schulen und Freizeiteinrichtungen gemeinsam nach Möglichkeiten für mehr Synergien zur Verbesserung der Bildungschancen und Stärkung der nachbarschaftlichen Strukturen im Kiez

A Theory-Based Approach for a Modular System of Interactive Decision Aids

In web stores, a large amount of product information is easily available for consumers. This often leads to information overload on the consumer-side which decreases user-satisfaction and can cause purchase deferral. Therefore, our goal is to prevent consumers from information overload by supporting the cumbersome process of comparing and evaluating products. We propose easy to understand, interactive decision aids, called interactive information management tools such as filtering, sorting and scoring. The contribution of this paper is to (1) retrieve guidelines for designing such tools from both literature on decision behavior research and information systems, and (2) build a prototype following these guidelines. The prototype is evaluated in two usability studies

Automated Generation of Explicit Port-Hamiltonian Models from Multi-Bond Graphs

Port-Hamiltonian system theory is a well-known framework for the control of complex physical systems. The majority of port-Hamiltonian control design methods base on an \emph{explicit} input-state-output port-Hamiltonian model for the system under consideration. However in the literature, little effort has been made towards a systematic, automatable derivation of such explicit models. In this paper, we present a constructive, formally rigorous method for an explicit port-Hamiltonian formulation of multi-bond graphs. Two conditions, one necessary and one sufficient, for the existence of an explicit port-Hamiltonian formulation of a multi-bond graph are given. We summarise our approach in a fully automated algorithm of which we provide an exemplary implementation along with this publication. The theoretical and practical results are illustrated through an academic example

Imaging characteristics of intravascular spherical contrast agents for grating-based x-ray dark-field imaging - effects of concentrations, spherical sizes and applied voltage

This study investigates the x-ray scattering characteristics of microsphere particles in x-ray-grating-based interferometric imaging at different concentrations, bubble sizes and tube voltages (kV). Attenuation (ATI), dark-field (DFI) and phase-contrast (PCI) images were acquired. Signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios with water (CNRw) and air as reference (CNRa) were determined. In all modalities, a linear relationship between SNR and microbubbles concentration, respectively, microsphere size was found. A significant gain of SNR was found when varying kV. SNR was significantly higher in DFI and PCI than ATI. The highest gain of SNR was shown at 60kV for all media in ATI and DFI, at 80kV for PCI. SNR for all media was significantly higher compared to air and was slightly lower compared to water. A linear relationship was found between CNRa, CNRw, concentration and size. With increasing concentration and decreasing size, CNRa and CNRw increased in DFI, but decreased in PCI. Best CNRa and CNRw was found at specific combination of kV and concentration/size. Highest average CNRa and CNRw was found for microspheres in ATI and PCI, for microbubbles in DFI. Microspheres are a promising contrast-media for grating-based-interferometry, if kV, microsphere size and concentration are appropriately combined

Facilitating HRI by Mixed Reality Techniques

Renner P, Lier F, Friese F, Pfeiffer T, Wachsmuth S. Facilitating HRI by Mixed Reality Techniques. In: HRI '18 Companion: 2018 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction Companion. ACM/IEEE; 2018.Mobile robots start to appear in our everyday life, e.g., in shopping malls, airports, nursing homes or warehouses. Often, these robots are operated by non-technical staff with no prior experience/education in robotics. Additionally, as with all new technology, there is certain reservedness when it comes to accepting robots in our personal space. In this work, we propose making use of state-of-the-art Mixed Reality (MR) technology to facilitate acceptance and interaction with mobile robots. By integrating a Microsoft HoloLens into the robot's operating space, the MR device can be used to a) visualize the robot's behavior-state and sensor data, b) visually notify the user about planned/future behavior and possible problems/obstacles of the robot, and c) to actively use the device as an additional external sensor source. Moreover, by using the HoloLens, users can operate and interact with the robot without being close to it, as the robot is able to \textit{sense with the users' eye

Situated learning in the mobile age: mobile devices on a field trip to the sea

This study focuses on learning about fish biodiversity via mobile devices in a situated learning scenario. Mobile devices do not only facilitate relating the presented information to the real world in a direct way; they also allow the provision of dynamic representations on demand. This study asks whether mobile devices are suited to support knowledge acquisition in a situated learning scenario and whether providing dynamic content is an additional benefit of mobile devices in combination with a real-world experience. The study was conducted during a regular university course at the Mediterranean Sea. Students had to acquire knowledge on 18 Mediterranean fish species by using either static (n = 16) or dynamic learning materials (n = 17). An initial classroom activity was followed by a real-world experience with mobile devices (snorkelling activity). Learning outcomes were measured before and after snorkelling. A 2×2 mixed ANOVA revealed that students performed better after than before the mobile learning experience, whereas no main effect for learning material could be found. However, an interaction between both factors indicated that the knowledge gain in the dynamic group exceeded the knowledge gain in the static group. These results indicate that mobile devices are helpful to unfold the potential of dynamic visualisations for learning biodiversity in a situated learning scenario