Moving Transportation toward Sustainable Development: The Need for a Paradigm Shift

Despite progress in controlling exhaust emissions, the increase of cars on the road will surpass progress in emission control technology. The automobile is currently responsible for 50% of world fossil fuel consumption, 15-20% of CO2 emissions worldwide and overwhelming particulate air pollution in many urban centers. Current efforts in emissions control have been focused on improving the efficiency of fuels and automobiles and their emissions. However, as a mode of transportation, the automobile is one of the most inefficient, both in environmental and economic costs. Even the most efficient cars developed today will still significantly contribute to the amount of global greenhouse gases based on the current rate of increase in automobile usage. Current trends in automobile development and research are not sustainable. This paper describes some novel approaches to offset and reduce automobile emissions that are currently under study

Implementing Case Tools in the Inteligent Telecommunication Systems

This paper discusses an intelligent and Internet-based Telecommunication System Specification Model (TSSM) using Computer Aided Systems Engineering tools (CASE tools). TSSM implements CASE tools to mechanize its lifecycle development maintenance and integration process. This model is developed to improve the system analysts (SA) efforts in their design and development of major software and hardware initiatives. This model also improves the SA effectiveness by guiding them through the system's Lifecycle Development Process (LDP). The CASE tools are used to support, integrate, and monitor all LDP functions of the system

Implementation of Advanced Technologies in a Medical Center\u27s Information System

This paper is based on the application of Systems Design and Development (SD&D) technologies to modernize a major medical center\u27s (Me) information system. The case addresses various technical problems confronting the corporation\u27s Systems Engineers and solutions applied to fully mechanize the information system (IS). The MC is located in a major US city and specializes in emergency care, gastrointestinal diseases, coronary care, and related diagnosis. The MC physicians provide both office-based, outpatient procedures, and inpatient visitations and consultations at several hospitals and private practices in the region

Global Convergence 1 in Partially Fully Connected Networks (PFCN) with Limited Relays

Abstract – In a distributed system, it is often necessary for nodes to agree on a particular event or to coordinate their activities. Applications of distributed agreement are many, such as Commit Protocols in distributed database systems, selection of a monitor node in a distributed system, detecting an intruder, or agreeing on the malicious behavior of a node. Among many forms of Distributed Agreement, one form is called Approximate Agreement (AA), in which the nodes, by exchanging their local values with other nodes, need to agree on values which are approximately equal to each other. Research on AA for fully connected networks is relatively mature. In contrast, the study of AA in partially connected networks has been very limited. More specifically, no general solution to the AA problem exists for such networks. This research solves the AA problem for a specific, scalable, partially connected network with limited relays. The research considers the worst failure mode of nodes, called Byzantine, and hybrid failure modes. The results show low communication cost in comparison to fully connected networks. The network is designed to take advantage of the results available for fully connected networks- thus the analysis for obtaining the expressions for Convergence Rate and Fault Tolerance becomes relatively easy

A Hybrid Bayesian Network Based Multi-Agent System and A Distributed Systems Architecture for the Drug Crime Knowledge Management A Hybrid Bayesian Network Based Multi-Agent System and A Distributed Systems Architecture for the Drug Crime Knowledge Manage

ABSTRACT In this paper, we describe an approach for building a hybrid bayesian network based multi-agent system for drug crime knowledge management. We use distributed artificial intelligence architecture to create a multi-agent information system that integrates distributed knowledge sources and information to aid decision-making. Our comparison of the hybrid system with a previously developed stand-alone expert system Sherpa, which was in use at a large drug crime investigation facility, shows that the current system compares similar to the existing system in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge management. We illustrate how the proposed hybrid bayesian network-based can be implemented in the distributed computing network environment

Planning of a Multi-Disciplinary Rapid Product Realization Program

This paper describes a multi-disciplinary rapid product realization program being planned at the University of Missouri-Rolla. The goal is to equip our engineering graduates with the necessary knowledge and skills that will make them ready to meet the challenges of rapid product realization when they go to work in industry. The developed program will provide the students with a solid technical knowledge about critical technologies of virtual reality, solid freeform fabrication, and supply chain networks; an ability to apply this knowledge and integrate the various critical technologies with conventional technologies to develop useful products; and an ability to apply both technical and professional skills in a team environment for distributed rapid development of real-world products. The plan of program development includes: 1) developing three new courses to introduce modern technologies for rapid product realization: one on virtual reality, one on rapid prototyping and manufacturing, and one on supply chain networks, 2) incorporating the modern technologies of virtual reality, rapid prototyping, and supply chain networks in the teaching of several existing courses related to rapid product realization, and 3) developing laboratories, including a virtual reality instruction laboratory, a rapid prototyping laboratory, and a distributed manufacturing simulation laboratory, to support the curriculum development. Evaluation of the overall impact of this program will be done in a manner analogous to the evaluation process described in the ABET Engineering Criteria 2000. It will make use of multiple (i.e., qualitative and quantitative) methodologies and will differentiate among multiple levels of knowledge (i.e., foundational, functional, and structural)