59 research outputs found
A Case Study on Tool Support for Collaboration in Agile Development
We report on a longitudinal case study conducted at the Italian site of a
large software company to further our understanding of how development and
communication tools can be improved to better support agile practices and
collaboration. After observing inconsistencies in the way communication tools
(i.e., email, Skype, and Slack) were used, we first reinforced the use of Slack
as the central hub for internal communication, while setting clear rules
regarding tools usage. As a second main change, we refactored the Jira Scrum
board into two separate boards, a detailed one for developers and a high-level
one for managers, while also introducing automation rules and the integration
with Slack. The first change revealed that the teams of developers used and
appreciated Slack differently with the QA team being the most favorable and
that the use of channels is hindered by automatic notifications from
development tools (e.g., Jenkins). The findings from the second change show
that 85\% of the interviewees reported perceived improvements in their
workflow. Despite the limitations due to the single nature of the reported
case, we highlight the importance for companies to reflect on how to properly
set up their agile work environment to improve communication and facilitate
collaboration.Comment: 12 page
Motion Planning and Control for Multi Vehicle Autonomous Racing at High Speeds
This paper presents a multi-layer motion planning and control architecture
for autonomous racing, capable of avoiding static obstacles, performing active
overtakes, and reaching velocities above 75 . The used offline global
trajectory generation and the online model predictive controller are highly
based on optimization and dynamic models of the vehicle, where the tires and
camber effects are represented in an extended version of the basic Pacejka
Magic Formula. The proposed single-track model is identified and validated
using multi-body motorsport libraries which allow simulating the vehicle
dynamics properly, especially useful when real experimental data are missing.
The fundamental regularization terms and constraints of the controller are
tuned to reduce the rate of change of the inputs while assuring an acceptable
velocity and path tracking. The motion planning strategy consists of a
Fren\'et-Frame-based planner which considers a forecast of the opponent
produced by a Kalman filter. The planner chooses the collision-free path and
velocity profile to be tracked on a 3 seconds horizon to realize different
goals such as following and overtaking. The proposed solution has been applied
on a Dallara AV-21 racecar and tested at oval race tracks achieving lateral
accelerations up to 25 .Comment: Accepted to the 25th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent
Transportation Systems (IEEE ITSC 2022
Study of suitability of Fricke-gel-layer dosimeters for in-air measurements to characterize epithermal/thermal neutron beams for NCT
The reliability of Fricke gel dosimeters in form of layers for measurements aimed at the characterization
of epithermal neutron beams has been studied. By means of dosimeters of different isotopic composition
(standard, containing 10B or prepared with heavy water) placed against the collimator exit, the spatial
distribution of gamma and fast neutron doses and of thermal neutron fluence are attained. In order to
investigate the accuracy of the results obtained with in-air measurements, suitable MC simulations have
been developed and experimental measurements have been performed utilizing Fricke gel dosimeters,
thermoluminescence detectors and activation foils. The studies were related to the epithermal beam
designed for BNCT irradiations at the research reactor LVR-15 (Řež). The results of calculation and
measurements have revealed good consistency of gamma dose and fast neutron 2D distributions obtained
with gel dosimeters in form of layers. In contrast, noticeable modification of thermal neutron
fluence is caused by the neutron moderation produced by the dosimeter material. Fricke gel dosimeters
in thin cylinders, with diameter not greater than 3 mm, have proved to give good results for thermal
neutron profiling. For greater accuracy of all results, a better knowledge of the dependence of gel dosimeter
sensitivity on radiation LET is needed
er.autopilot 1.0: The Full Autonomous Stack for Oval Racing at High Speeds
The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) brought together for the first time in
history nine autonomous racing teams competing at unprecedented speed and in
head-to-head scenario, using independently developed software on open-wheel
racecars. This paper presents the complete software architecture used by team
TII EuroRacing (TII-ER), covering all the modules needed to avoid static
obstacles, perform active overtakes and reach speeds above 75 m/s (270 km/h).
In addition to the most common modules related to perception, planning, and
control, we discuss the approaches used for vehicle dynamics modelling,
simulation, telemetry, and safety. Overall results and the performance of each
module are described, as well as the lessons learned during the first two
events of the competition on oval tracks, where the team placed respectively
second and third.Comment: Preprint: Accepted to Field Robotics "Opportunities and Challenges
with Autonomous Racing" Special Issu
The PLASMONX Project for advanced beam physics experiments
The Project PLASMONX is well progressing into its
design phase and has entered as well its second phase of
procurements for main components. The project foresees
the installation at LNF of a Ti:Sa laser system (peak
power > 170 TW), synchronized to the high brightness
electron beam produced by the SPARC photo-injector.
The advancement of the procurement of such a laser
system is reported, as well as the construction plans of a
new building at LNF to host a dedicated laboratory for
high intensity photon beam experiments (High Intensity
Laser Laboratory). Several experiments are foreseen
using this complex facility, mainly in the high gradient
plasma acceleration field and in the field of mono-
chromatic ultra-fast X-ray pulse generation via Thomson
back-scattering. Detailed numerical simulations have
been carried out to study the generation of tightly focused
electron bunches to collide with laser pulses in the
Thomson source: results on the emitted spectra of X-rays
are presented
BriXs ultra high fluxinverse compton source based on modified push-pull energy recovery linacs
We present a conceptual design for a compact X-ray Source BriXS (Bright and compact
X-ray Source). BriXS, the first stage of the Marix project, is an Inverse Compton Source (ICS) of
X-ray based on superconducting cavities technology for the electron beam with energy recirculation
and on a laser system in Fabry-Pérot cavity at a repetition rate of 100 MHz, producing 20–180 keV
monochromatic X-Rays devoted mainly to medical applications. An energy recovery scheme based on
a modified folded push-pull CW-SC twin Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) ensemble allows us to sustain
an MW-class beam power with almost one hundred kW active power dissipation/consumption
Towards a muon collider
A muon collider would enable the big jump ahead in energy reach that is needed for a fruitful exploration of fundamental interactions. The challenges of producing muon collisions at high luminosity and 10 TeV centre of mass energy are being investigated by the recently-formed International Muon Collider Collaboration. This Review summarises the status and the recent advances on muon colliders design, physics and detector studies. The aim is to provide a global perspective of the field and to outline directions for future work
Sicilia—silicon carbide detectors for intense luminosity investigations and applications
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a compound semiconductor, which is considered as a possible alternative to silicon for particles and photons detection. Its characteristics make it very promising for the next generation of nuclear and particle physics experiments at high beam luminosity. Silicon Carbide detectors for Intense Luminosity Investigations and Applications (SiCILIA) is a project starting as a collaboration between the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and IMM-CNR, aiming at the realization of innovative detection systems based on SiC. In this paper, we discuss the main features of silicon carbide as a material and its potential application in the field of particles and photons detectors, the project structure and the strategies used for the prototype realization, and the first results concerning prototype production and their performance
Conceptual Design of a Soft X‐ray SASE‐FEL Source
FELs based on SASE are believed to be powerful tools to explore the frontiers of basic sciences, from physics to chemistry to biology. Intense R&D programs have started in the USA and Europe in order to understand the SASE physics and to prove the feasibility of these sources. The allocation of considerable resources in the Italian National Research Plan (PNR) brought about the formation of a CNR‐ENEA‐INFN‐University of Roma "Tor Vergata" study group. A conceptual design study has been developed and possible schemes for linac sources have been investigated, bringing to the SPARX proposal. We report in this paper the results of a preliminary start to end simulation concerning one option we are considering based on an S‐band normal conducting linac with high brightness photoinjector integrated in a RF compressor
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