Development and assessment of a tractor driving simulator with immersive virtual reality for training to avoid occupational hazards

Tractor overturns are the leading cause of fatalities in the agricultural sector. When drivers misuse the foldable roll over protective structure (ROPS) in tractors, it becomes highly inefficient as a rollover protection system. To solve this problem, the purpose of the present paper is to detail the development and assessment of a tractor driving simulator with immersive virtual reality for training to minimize this risk. In the agricultural sector, tractor driving simulators make it possible to train drivers in risk situations that are not feasible in the real field due to the high risk of roll over. The simulator includes a motion platform for this particular application. The findings of this study suggest that participants with safety knowledge make fewer errors in deploying the ROPS. To reduce the consequences of tractor accidents in the agricultural sector, the promotion of training courses is essential to avoid the misuse of the ROPS. On the contrary, the perception of risk and safety increased after the tractor driving simulator experience for all of the participants but increased significantly more so for non-frequent users of tractors. All of the groups of participants reported that the use of the tractor driving simulator was a positive experience because it can help them to drive more safely, and they feel that they need more training programmes in occupational safety.The authors would like to thank Instituto de Seguridad y Salud Laboral de la Región de Murcia for financing the project of “New Safety Devices in Machinery.” The authors would also like to thank all of the participants for their cooperation in this study

Dynamic simulation modelling of agricultural tractors with automatic deployment of ROPS

Tractor overturns are the leading cause of fatalities in the agricultural industry. An inadequate use of the deployable ROPS in agricultural tractors contributes to causing accidents. To help resolve this problem, an automatically deployable ROPS was designed, constructed and tested to be used for agricultural tractors with a front-mounted ROPS. Computer-based dynamic simulation modeling techniques, validated by practical rollover trials, were employed to investigate tractor lateral rollover behavior, with particular respect to the automatic deployment devices of protective structures for tractors with a front-mounted ROPS. The simulation model developed for this investigation was produced using SolidWorks 3D software in combination with SolidWorks Motion dynamic simulation software, and for motion analysis ADAMS has been used as the calculation engine. The virtual scenarios always comprised two elements: tractor and ramp. A 1:16 scale tractor (New Holland T6070) has been modelled as the vehicle that is moved along the ramp. The tractor was equipped with the safety device for the automatic deployment of a ROPS, developed by the research team of the project. A spiral ramp was selected as the most appropriate method to obtain the rollover of the tractor. For validation by real rollover trials with the scale tractor, a real scale ramp (1:16) was built in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene using a 3D printer, and the scale remote-control tractor was propelled along the ramp to the point of rollover. A high speed camera was used to determine the time and point of rollover. The results showed that the simulation scenarios of overturning have allowed us to obtain the values of the lateral slope angle of the tractor at each time, speed, and force by each of the wheels on the ramp and angular velocity of the tractor. Through real rollover trials with a scale tractor on a spiral ramp it has been possible to validate a simulated scenario. The simulation has shown good accuracy in the prediction of the roll angle; the maximum relative error between the simulated result and experimental data was -3.01%.The Instituto de Seguridad y Salud Laboral de la Región de Murcia for financing the project of ‘‘new safety devices in machinery”

Prevención de riesgos desde el diseño. Diseño 3D, simulación y escenas de realidad virtual inmersiva. Casos prácticos

El importante desarrollo que han tenido en las últimas décadas las técnicas asociadas al diseño y más concretamente de paquetes informáticos de diseño como Solidworks o Catia permite desarrollar desde su origen máquinas y equipos de trabajo en los que incorporar dispositivos de seguridad y someter al conjunto a simulaciones de comportamiento mecánico en las que, modificando determinadas variables, observar la respuesta de todo el sistema con el fin de comprobar su eficacia, lo cual supone un importante avance en muchos casos en los que ensayar la utilidad de un nuevo dispositivo de seguridad en caso de accidente podría conllevar riesgos innecesarios y costes muy elevados. Por otra parte, una vez hecho el desarrollo del trabajo, las escenas creadas en las que se reproduce un determinado accidente pueden ser utilizadas mediante la técnica de inmersión en realidad virtual como herramientas para formar e informar a los trabajadores. En este trabajo se presenta el desarrollo de varias escenas asociadas a dos tipos de accidentes que bien por frecuencia bien por gravedad son considerados muy importantes dentro del ámbito de la seguridad. Concretamente se trata de una serie de escenas en las que se ha provocado el vuelco de un tractor y de las que se ha conseguido obtener información del comportamiento del mismo cuando es sometido a distintas variables (velocidad, inclinación, aceleración o combinaciones de cualquiera de las anteriores). También se presenta otra serie de escenas asociadas con un accidente en el que se produce atrapamiento (riesgo mecánico) como consecuencia del excesivo acercamiento de una extremidad a una curvadora de rodillos. En ambos casos se muestra la utilidad de la realidad virtual inmersiva que se presenta de un modo hiperrealista y en la que hay una implicación sensorial por parte del individuo y que permite al operador experimentar de un modo controlado un supuesto accidente.El presente trabajo ha sido posible gracias a la financiación y el apoyo de la Dirección General de Trabajo y el Instituto de Seguridad y Salud de la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murci

Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three genomic nomenclature systems to all sequence data from the World Health Organization European Region available until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation, compare the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2

Search for Physics beyond the Standard Model in Events with Overlapping Photons and Jets

Results are reported from a search for new particles that decay into a photon and two gluons, in events with jets. Novel jet substructure techniques are developed that allow photons to be identified in an environment densely populated with hadrons. The analyzed proton-proton collision data were collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in 2016 at root s = 13 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The spectra of total transverse hadronic energy of candidate events are examined for deviations from the standard model predictions. No statistically significant excess is observed over the expected background. The first cross section limits on new physics processes resulting in such events are set. The results are interpreted as upper limits on the rate of gluino pair production, utilizing a simplified stealth supersymmetry model. The excluded gluino masses extend up to 1.7 TeV, for a neutralino mass of 200 GeV and exceed previous mass constraints set by analyses targeting events with isolated photons.Peer reviewe

Measurement of b jet shapes in proton-proton collisions at root s=5.02 TeV

We present the first study of charged-hadron production associated with jets originating from b quarks in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The data sample used in this study was collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 27.4 pb(-1). To characterize the jet substructure, the differential jet shapes, defined as the normalized transverse momentum distribution of charged hadrons as a function of angular distance from the jet axis, are measured for b jets. In addition to the jet shapes, the per-jet yields of charged particles associated with b jets are also quantified, again as a function of the angular distance with respect to the jet axis. Extracted jet shape and particle yield distributions for b jets are compared with results for inclusive jets, as well as with the predictions from the pythia and herwig++ event generators.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy of Y(1S) and Y(2S) mesons in PbPb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

The second-order Fourier coefficients (v(2)) characterizing the azimuthal distributions of Y(1S) and Y(2S) mesons produced in PbPb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV are studied. The Y mesons are reconstructed in their dimuon decay channel, as measured by the CMS detector. The collected data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 nb(-1). The scalar product method is used to extract the v2 coefficients of the azimuthal distributions. Results are reported for the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.4, in the transverse momentum interval 0 < pT < 50 GeV/c, and in three centrality ranges of 10-30%, 30-50% and 50-90%. In contrast to the J/psi mesons, the measured v(2) values for the Y mesons are found to be consistent with zero. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the Jet Mass Distribution and Top Quark Mass in Hadronic Decays of Boosted Top Quarks in pp Collisions at root s=13 TeV

A measurement is reported of the jet mass distribution in hadronic decays of boosted top quarks produced in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The measurement is performed in the lepton + jets channel of t (t) over bar events, where the lepton is an electron or muon. The products of the hadronic top quark decay t -> bW -> bq (q) over bar' are reconstructed as a single jet with transverse momentum larger than 400 GeV. The t (t) over bar cross section as a function of the jet mass is unfolded at the particle level and used to extract a value of the top quark mass of 172.6 +/- 2.5 GeV. A novel jet reconstruction technique is used for the first time at the LHC, which improves the precision by a factor of 3 relative to an earlier measurement. This highlights the potential of measurements using boosted top quarks, where the new technique will enable future precision measurements.Peer reviewe

Calibration of the CMS hadron calorimeters using proton-proton collision data at root s=13 TeV

Methods are presented for calibrating the hadron calorimeter system of theCMSetector at the LHC. The hadron calorimeters of the CMS experiment are sampling calorimeters of brass and scintillator, and are in the form of one central detector and two endcaps. These calorimeters cover pseudorapidities vertical bar eta vertical bar ee data. The energy scale of the outer calorimeters has been determined with test beam data and is confirmed through data with high transverse momentum jets. In this paper, we present the details of the calibration methods and accuracy.Peer reviewe