Development of nanosecond range light sources for calibration of astroparticle cherenkov detectors

In this thesis the development of light emitting diodes (LED) is reviewed. The emphasis is put on devices emitting at the blue region of the spectrum. The physical characteristics of these devices are considered. The main interest is based around the ability of blue LEDs to generate nanosecond range optical flashes. The fast pulsing electronic circuits capable of driving the devices are also reviewed. These are complemented by the potentially exploitable techniques that could provide further benefits for required fast optical pulse generation. The simple, compact and inexpensive electronic oscillator for producing nanosecond range pulses is developed. The circuitry is adapted for generation of pulses necessary to switch on and assist with the turn off of blue InGaN based LEDs. The resulting nanosecond range blue optical pulses are suitable for, but not limited to, the calibration of scintillation counters. These devices used in neutrino detection experiments could provide a better understanding of cosmology and particle physics

Development of nanosecond range light sources for calibration of astroparticle cherenkov detectors

In this thesis the development of light emitting diodes (LED) is reviewed. The emphasis is put on devices emitting at the blue region of the spectrum. The physical characteristics of these devices are considered. The main interest is based around the ability of blue LEDs to generate nanosecond range optical flashes. The fast pulsing electronic circuits capable of driving the devices are also reviewed. These are complemented by the potentially exploitable techniques that could provide further benefits for required fast optical pulse generation. The simple, compact and inexpensive electronic oscillator for producing nanosecond range pulses is developed. The circuitry is adapted for generation of pulses necessary to switch on and assist with the turn off of blue InGaN based LEDs. The resulting nanosecond range blue optical pulses are suitable for, but not limited to, the calibration of scintillation counters. These devices used in neutrino detection experiments could provide a better understanding of cosmology and particle physics.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Enhancing Acceptance and Trust in Automated Driving trough Virtual Experience on a Driving Simulator

As vehicle driving evolves from human-controlled to autonomous, human–machine interaction ensures intuitive usage as well as the feedback from vehicle occupants to the machine for optimising controls. The feedback also improves understanding of the user satisfaction with the system behaviour, which is crucial for determining user trust and, hence, the acceptance of the new functionalities that aim to improve mobility solutions and increase road safety. Trust and acceptance are potentially the crucial parameters for determining the success of autonomous driving deployment in wider society. Hence, there is a need to define appropriate and measurable parameters to be able to quantify trust and acceptance in a physically safe environment using dependable methods. This study seeks to support technical developments and data gathering with psychology to determine the degree to which humans trust automated driving functionalities. The primary aim is to define if the usage of an advanced driving simulator can improve consumer trust and acceptance of driving automation through tailor-made studies. We also seek to measure significant differences in responses from different demographic groups. The study employs tailor-made driving scenarios to gather feedback on trust, usability and user workload of 55 participants monitoring the vehicle behaviour and environment during the automated drive. Participants’ subjective ratings are gathered before and after the simulator session. Results show a significant increase in trust ensuing the exposure to the driving automation functionalities. We quantify this increase resulting from the usage of the driving simulator. Those less experienced with driving automation show a higher increase in trust and, therefore, profit more from the exercise. This appears to be linked to the demanded participant workload, as we establish a link between workload and trust. The findings provide a noteworthy contribution to quantifying the method of evaluating and ensuring user acceptance of driving automation. It is only through the increase of trust and consequent improvement of user acceptance that the introduction of the driving automation into wider society will be a guaranteed success

Cigarette smoking worsens systemic inflammation in persons with metabolic syndrome

Background Emerging data suggests that the combination of smoking and metabolic syndrome (MetS) markedly increases cardiovascular disease risk well beyond that of either condition. In this study we assess if this interaction can be explained by an additive increase in the risk of systemic inflammation by MetS and cigarette smoking. Methods We evaluated 5,503 healthy non-diabetic Brazilian subjects (mean age of 43 ± 10 years, 79% males). Participants were divided into sub-groups of smokers and non-smokers with or without MetS. High-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) was measured to assess degree of underlying inflammation. Results Overall (19%) had hs-CRP \u3e 3 mg/L. In adjusted regression analyses, compared to non-smokers, there was a 0.19 mg/L (95% CI: 0.05, 0.32) increase in hs-CRP among smokers in the entire population and 0.63 mg/L (95% CI: 0.26, 1.01) increase among smokers with MetS while there was no significant increase among smokers without MetS (β = 0.09 95% CI: -0.05, 0.24). In a fully adjusted logistic regression model, smokers compared to non-smokers were 55% more likely to have elevated hs-CRP in the entire population (OR 1.55, 95% CI: 1.25, 1.92) and more than twice as likely to have elevated hs-CRP if they had MetS ( OR 2.05, 95% CI: 1.40, 3.01) while the risk was non-significant among those without MetS (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.69). Conclusion The study demonstrates an additive effect of cigarette smoking on the risk of systemic inflammation in MetS thus highlighting the need for determining smoking status among those with MetS and aggressively targeting smoking cessation in this population

AI at the Edge, 2021 EPoSS White Paper

In this paper members of the European Platform on Smart Systems Integration (EPoSS) have collected their views on the benefits of incorporating Artificial Intelligence in future Smart devices and defined the actions required to achieve this to implement "AI at the Edge"

Hydrophone calibration based on microcontrollers for acoustic detection of UHE neutrinos

This paper discuses hydrophone calibration for generation of artificial Ultra High Energy (UHE) neutrino-induced pulses. Signal processing techniques are applied to hydrophone modelling. A bipolar acoustic generation module is built using PIC microcontrollers for processing and control. The NI-USB6211 commercial module is used for comparison. The modelling is compared to experimental data generated in a laboratory water tank. The result from simulation and experiment are compared showing excellent agreement. This opens the way to excite steerable hydrophone arrays which is not possible with current hardware

Open Innovation Cultures

Multiple sectors are experiencing high uncertainty in terms of disruptive technologies and market changes. Continuous uncertainty in business evolution is triggering the need for concepts that explore distributed and open innovation, networking effects, and ambidexterity approaches. Therefore, open innovation, a term that is used to promote a mindset toward innovation that runs against the silo mentality and closed innovation of traditional corporates, is used frequently in multiple research areas. Nevertheless, these different research areas identify and specify open innovation in different ways. Therefore, this paper will concentrate on open innovation effects and implications from the different research perspectives of (a) the societal level, (b) the organizational level, (c) the human resource and (informal) leadership level, and (d) the engineering technology level perspective. The work establishes a basic mutual understanding of insights into open innovation from different research focuses.©2023 Springer. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42310-9_20fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Impact Maximisation of Collaborative Projects Through Informal Leadership

The practice of collaborative innovation promises added benefits for the concerned stakeholders based on the capacity that the product of the knowledge, experience, and skills shared by the collaborating parties outweighs the sum of all the inputs. However, collaborations also carry the challenge associated with leadership, which is often established through informal influence. The paper presents the best practices for impactful informal leadership in collaborative innovation networks in project execution. The research is based on expert interviews with European start-ups, SMEs, large enterprises, and universities. The findings and recommendations focus on enhancing the impact of the innovative solutions once they are institutionalised in the organisations. The impact generally leverages the consequence of informal leadership, a naturally occurring phenomenon, emphasising the variability and reciprocity of leading, the meaning of strategic goals, and investing in human relations, and deeply contributing to the transition towards Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0.©2022 Springer. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Collaborative Networks in Digitalization and Society 5.0: 23rd IFIP WG 5.5 Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises, PRO-VE 2022, Lisbon, Portugal, September 19–21, 2022, Proceedings. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14844-6fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Challenging Hierarchical Structure to Boost Technical Outcomes

As digital technologies are transforming businesses, the trend of digitalisation has also changed the ways we create value. Maximising value creation necessitates influencing decision-makers, especially in complex knowledge structures and network-based environments. This paper suggests the best practices of informal leadership deployed by technical experts aiming to influence others, especially formal leaders. Insights were gathered through interviews with Finnish technical experts and enhanced through consultations with international partners. The findings provide practices to manage work-related issues through human relations, and by doing this also challenge the hierarchical organisational structures. Crucially, informal leadership empowers employees to use their knowledge and competencies for the benefit of their organisations.©2022 Springer. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement: 29th European Conference, EuroSPI 2022, Salzburg, Austria, August 31 – September 2, 2022, Proceedings. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15559-8_49fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Simple techniques for generating nanosecond blue light pulses from light emitting diodes

The electronic drive requirements for producing nanosecond optical pulses from blue light emitting diodes are considered. Simple circuits are used to generate the fast current pulses necessary to switch on and assist with the turn off of these devices. The intensity of the emitted radiation can be controlled by the magnitude of the drive current. Optical pulses in the nanosecond range are suitable for, but not limited to, the calibration of scintillation counters. The circuits described can be either free running or externally triggered. Typically, the optical pulse full width half maximum (FWHM) is below 1 ns. The presented techniques are not limited to blue LEDs and should be applicable to devices of longer wavelengths