A new approach to analysing human-related accidents by combined use of HFACS and activity theory-based method

This study proposes a new method for modelling and analysing human-related accidents. It integrates HFACS (Human Factors Analysis and Classification System), which addresses most of the socio-technical system levels and offers a comprehensive failure taxonomy for analysing human errors, and AT (Activity Theory)-based approach, which provides an effective way for considering various contextual factors systematically in accident investigation. By combining them, the proposed method makes it more efficient to use the concepts and principles of AT. Additionally, it can help analysts use HFACS taxonomy more coherently to identify meaningful causal factors with a sound theoretical basis of human activities. Therefore, the proposed method can be effectively used to mitigate the limitations of traditional approaches to accident analysis, such as over-relying on a causality model and sticking to a root-cause, by making analysts look at an accident from a range of perspectives. To demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method, we conducted a case study in nuclear power plants. Through the case study, we could confirm that it would be a useful method for modelling and analysing human-related accidents, enabling analysts to identify a plausible set of causal factors efficiently in a methodical consideration of contextual backgrounds surrounding human activities

Mapless Online Detection of Dynamic Objects in 3D Lidar

This paper presents a model-free, setting-independent method for online detection of dynamic objects in 3D lidar data. We explicitly compensate for the moving-while-scanning operation (motion distortion) of present-day 3D spinning lidar sensors. Our detection method uses a motion-compensated freespace querying algorithm and classifies between dynamic (currently moving) and static (currently stationary) labels at the point level. For a quantitative analysis, we establish a benchmark with motion-distorted lidar data using CARLA, an open-source simulator for autonomous driving research. We also provide a qualitative analysis with real data using a Velodyne HDL-64E in driving scenarios. Compared to existing 3D lidar methods that are model-free, our method is unique because of its setting independence and compensation for pointcloud motion distortion.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Learning a Bias Correction for Lidar-only Motion Estimation

This paper presents a novel technique to correct for bias in a classical estimator using a learning approach. We apply a learned bias correction to a lidar-only motion estimation pipeline. Our technique trains a Gaussian process (GP) regression model using data with ground truth. The inputs to the model are high-level features derived from the geometry of the point-clouds, and the outputs are the predicted biases between poses computed by the estimator and the ground truth. The predicted biases are applied as a correction to the poses computed by the estimator. Our technique is evaluated on over 50km of lidar data, which includes the KITTI odometry benchmark and lidar datasets collected around the University of Toronto campus. After applying the learned bias correction, we obtained significant improvements to lidar odometry in all datasets tested. We achieved around 10% reduction in errors on all datasets from an already accurate lidar odometry algorithm, at the expense of only less than 1% increase in computational cost at run-time.Comment: 15th Conference on Computer and Robot Vision (CRV 2018

Velocity selection problem for combined motion of melting and solidification fronts

We discuss a free boundary problem for two moving solid-liquid interfaces that strongly interact via the diffusion field in the liquid layer between them. This problem arises in the context of liquid film migration (LFM) during the partial melting of solid alloys. In the LFM mechanism the system chooses a more efficient kinetic path which is controlled by diffusion in the liquid film, whereas the process with only one melting front would be controlled by the very slow diffusion in the mother solid phase. The relatively weak coherency strain energy is the effective driving force for LFM. As in the classical dendritic growth problems, also in this case an exact family of steady-state solutions with two parabolic fronts and an arbitrary velocity exists if capillary effects are neglected. We develop a velocity selection theory for this problem, including anisotropic surface tension effects. The strong diffusion interaction and coherency strain effects in the solid near the melting front lead to substantial changes compared to classical dendritic growth.Comment: submitted to PR

Magnetoelectric Effects on Composite Nano Granular Fe/TiO2−δFe/TiO_{2-\delta} Films

Employing a new experimental technique to measure magnetoelectric response functions, we have measured the magnetoelectric effect in composite films of nano granular metallic iron in anatase titanium dioxide at temperatures below 50 K. A magnetoelectric resistance is defined as the ratio of a transverse voltage to bias current as a function of the magnetic field. In contrast to the anomalous Hall resistance measured above 50 K, the magnetoelectic resistance below 50 K is significantly larger and exhibits an even symmetry with respect to magnetic field reversal $H\to -H$. The measurement technique required attached electrodes in the plane of the film composite in order to measure voltage as a function of bias current and external magnetic field. To our knowledge, the composite films are unique in terms of showing magnetoelectric effects at low temperatures, $<$ 50 K, and anomalous Hall effects at high temperatures, $>$ 50 K.Comment: ReVTeX, 2 figures, 3 page

Free Energy Approach to the Formation of an Icosahedral Structure during the Freezing of Gold Nanoclusters

The freezing of metal nanoclusters such as gold, silver, and copper exhibits a novel structural evolution. The formation of the icosahedral (Ih) structure is dominant despite its energetic metastability. This important phenomenon, hitherto not understood, is studied by calculating free energies of gold nanoclusters. The structural transition barriers have been determined by using the umbrella sampling technique combined with molecular dynamics simulations. Our calculations show that the formation of Ih gold nanoclusters is attributed to the lower free energy barrier from the liquid to the Ih phases compared to the barrier from the liquid to the face-centered-cubic crystal phases