KM3NeT:a large underwater neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea

High energy neutrinos produced in astrophysical processes will allow for a new way of studying the universe. In order to detect the expected flux of high energy neutrinos from specific astrophysical sources, neutrino telescopes of a scale of a km^3 of water will be needed. A Northern Hemisphere detector is being proposed to be sited in a deep area of the Mediterranean Sea. This detector will provide complimentary sky coverage to the IceCube detector being built at the South Pole. The three neutrino telescope projects in the Mediterranean (ANTARES, NEMO and NESTOR) are partners in an effort to design, and build such a km^3 size neutrino telescope, the KM3NeT. The EU is funding a 3-year Design Study; the status of the Design Study is presented and some technical issues are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Prepared for the 10th International Conference on Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP 2007), Sendai, Japan, 11-15 Sep 200

Architecture Specifications in CλaSH

This paper introduces CλaSH, a novel hardware specification environment, by discussing several non-trivial examples. CλaSH is based on the functional language Haskell, and exploits many of its powerful abstraction mechanisms such as higher order functions, polymorphism, lambda abstraction, pattern matching, type derivation. As a result, specifications in CλaSH are concise and semantically clear, and simulations can be directly executed within a Haskell evaluation environment. CλaSH generates synthesizable low-level VHDL code by applying several transformation rules to a functional specification of a digital circuit

Hiding State in CλaSH Hardware Descriptions

Synchronous hardware can be modelled as a mapping from input and state to output and a new state, such mappings are referred to as transition functions. It is natural to use a functional language to implement transition functions. The CaSH compiler is capable of translating transition functions to VHDL. Modelling hardware using multiple components is convenient. Components in CaSH can be considered as instantiations of functions. To avoid packing and unpacking state when composing components, functions are lifted to arrows. By using arrows the chance of making errors will decrease as it is not required to manually (un)pack the state. Furthermore, the Haskell do-syntax for arrows increases the readability of hardware designs. This is demonstrated using a realistic example of a circuit which consists of multiple components

Nuevas catedrales de consumo desde el mercado alemán del automóvil.

La industria automotriz alemana ha buscado revitalizar las relaciones con sus clientes a través del diseño y desarrollo de nuevos espacios de exhibición y tiendas insignia. En muchos casos el mismo techo incorpora museos, restaurantes y otras atracciones de ocio. Más allá de la extensión de la esfera de la producción a los espacios de consumo, estos Últimos se inscriben en la «economía de la experiencia» que se ha impuesto durante los diez últimos años. Autostadt de Volkswagen, localizada cerca de Wolfsburg en Alemania, nos ofrece un buen ejemplo. Este artículo describe los varios aspectos de este caso y lo compara con otros proyectos del mercado alemán del automóvil. La cadena de negocios está experimentando una reorganización que lleva a la emergencia de una nueva red espacial de actividades de consumo. Los fabricantes están buscando oportunidades de distribución y al mismo tiempo la esfera de consumo se llena con «ocio» y «experiencias». El artículo aporta alguna clarificación histórica a las nuevas catedrales del consumo y resalta como esta metáfora se está agotando en algunos casos. El concepto de 'atracción adyacente' (Sennett) resulta útil al analizar la importancia de la nueva arquitectura en la industria automovilística y para precisar las variadas ambiciones del marketing. La sistemática observación de casos alemanes ha servido de material documental. También las entrevistas con tres arquitectos (Henn, Qua, Van Berkel) involucrados en el diseño y con varios representantes de marcas en Alemania.German automobile manufacturers have been busy revitalizing their relations with their customer base by designing and developing new showrooms and flagship stores. In many cases these include museums, restaurants and other leisure attractions under the same roof. Beyond the extension of the production sphere with consumption spaces, the erected consumption spaces are all about the 'experience economy' which has become en vogue during the past ten years. AutoCAD from Volkswagen, located near Wolfsburg in Germany, is a good example. The paper will describe the various aspects of this case and compare them to the projects of the other German car makers. The business chain is undergoing a shakeup, resulting in the emergence of a new spatial network of consumer activities. Producers are looking for distribution opportunities and at the same time the consumption sphere is filled with 'leisure' and 'experiences'. The paper will shed some historical light on the new cathedrals of consumption, and notes that this metaphor is wearing thin in places. The concept of 'adjacent attraction' (Sennett) was helpful to analyze the importance of the new architecture of the automotive industries en to pinpoint the various marketing ambitions. The empirical material for this article came from our systematic observation of German cases. Also interviews were held with three architects who were involved in the design (Henn, Qua, Van Berkel) and with various representatives of the brands in Germany