Analysis of Impact of ICT Solutions in International Freight Management

The paper analyses a crucial problem in the international freight management and assesses the application of an innovative solution based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools. In order to improve the customs clearance procedures, the paper analyses the main anomalies and bottlenecks related to international freight management of a case study by modelling the customs clearance activities in the Unified Modelling Language framework. Moreover, some novel ICT based solutions are proposed in order to optimize suited performance indices. The flow of goods and information involved in the case study is simulated in different scenarios in order to highlight the improvements reached by using ICT solutions. The simulation results point out the huge impact of ICT on customs clearance operations

A coloured petri net models for automated storage and retrieval systems serviced by rail-guided vehicles: a control perspective

Abstract-An Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) automatically stores incoming material and retrieves stored parts with no direct human handling. This paper proposes a modular and unified modelling framework for heterogeneous automated storage and retrieval systems, comprising rail guided vehicles and narrow aisle cranes. We employ coloured timed Petri nets, representing a concise and computationally efficient tool for modelling the system dynamic behaviour, particularly suitable for real time control implementation. Indeed, the model can be utilized in a discrete event simulation to apply control policies in order to solve scheduling problems, as well as to avoid deadlock and collision occurrences

A metamodelling approach for performance evaluation of intermodal transportation networks

The paper proposes a metamodelling procedure devoted to provide a reference model to be used by decision makers in the performance evaluation of Intermodal Transportation Network (ITN). In order to obtain a generic model describing a nonspecific ITN from the structural and behavioural point of view, the metamodelling approach consists in applying a top down and modular procedure. The model is specified by the well known Unified Modelling Language (UML), a graphic and textual modelling formalism intended to describe systems from structural and dynamics viewpoints. Hence, the paper models a generic ITN starting from the network description and shows by a case study the metamodel of one of the most important nodes that compose it: the port subsystem. Moreover, the case study model is translated in a simulation software and the performance measures obtained by the simulation results are shown

Special Issue on Recent Advances in Petri Nets, Automata, and Discrete-Event Hybrid Systems

publishersversionpublishe

A Serious Game Approach for the Electro-Mobility Sector

Serious Games (SGs) represent a new approach to improve learning processes more effectively and economically than traditional methods. This paper aims to present a SG approach for the electro-mobility context, in order to encourage the use of electric light vehicles. The design of the SG is based on the typical elements of the classic "game" with a real gameplay with different purposes. In this work, the proposed SG aims to raise awareness on environmental issues caused by mobility and actively involve users, on improving livability in the city and on real savings using alternative means to traditional vehicles. The objective of the designed tool is to propose elements of fun and entertainment for tourists or users of electric vehicles in the cities, while giving useful information about the benefits of using such vehicles, discovering touristic and interesting places in the city to discover. In this way, the user is stimulated to explore the artistic and historical aspects of the city through an effective learning process: he/she is encouraged to search the origins and the peculiarities of the monuments.Comment: This paper has been presented at 2019 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC

Prediction of home energy consumption based on gradient boosting regression tree

Abstract Energy consumption prediction of buildings has drawn attention in the related literature since it is very complex and affected by various factors. Hence, a challenging work is accurately estimating the energy consumption of buildings and improving its efficiency. Therefore, effective energy management and energy consumption forecasting are now becoming very important in advocating energy conservation. Many researchers work on saving energy and increasing the utilization rate of energy. Prior works about the energy consumption prediction combine software and hardware to provide reasonable suggestions for users based on the analyzed results. In this paper, an innovative energy consumption prediction model is established to simulate and predict the electrical energy consumption of buildings. In the proposed model, the energy consumption data is more accurately predicted by using the gradient boosting regression tree algorithm. By comparing the performance index Root Mean Square Error of different prediction models through experiments it is shown that the proposed model obtains lower values on different testing data. More detailed comparison with other existing models through experiments show that the proposed prediction model is superior to other models in energy consumption prediction

The “Special” crystal-Stellate System in Drosophila melanogaster Reveals Mechanisms Underlying piRNA Pathway-Mediated Canalization

The Stellate-made crystals formation in spermatocytes is the phenotypic manifestation of a disrupted crystal-Stellate interaction in testes of Drosophila melanogaster. Stellate silencing is achieved by the piRNA pathway, but many features still remain unknown. Here we outline the important role of the crystal-Stellate modifiers. These have shed light on the piRNA pathways that defend genome integrity against transposons and other repetitive elements in the gonads. In particular, we illustrate the finding that HSP90 participates in the molecular pathways of piRNA production. This observation has relevance for the mechanisms underlying the evolutionary canalization process

A flexible platform for intermodal transportation and integrated logistics

This paper proposes an application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools and Internet of Things to support intermodal transport and integrated logistics. In particular, the design and development of a new ICT platform is presented in order to facilitate the connectivity of the logistics systems, applications or objects from stakeholders to any logistics collaborative environment. The proposed platform aims to i) provide technological solutions to enhance and simplify collaboration among actors along the supply chain; ii) adopt and provide core functionalities to improve, optimise and automate transport and logistics operations within supply collaborations; iii) simplify information exchange within an integrated security framework. Finally, we show a case study in order to enlighten the effectiveness of the proposed ICT platform