Design of AGV systems in working environments shared with humans: A multi case study

To meet the challenges and needs of an ever-changing market and as part of the fourth industrial revolution, factories are transforming into increasingly automated environments. A widely used and well-established solution today is Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), which often work closely with humans in crowded environments. Thus, in addition to flexibility, another important criterion associated with automatic handling systems is safety. The purpose of this work is to show how the involvement of three different but equally important roles in the design of an AGV system can benefit the whole project. The advantage of considering three different perspectives is the possibility of obtaining a more complete vision from the earliest stages of implementation, avoiding, as far as possible, the need to make changes in the next stages, which would generate higher costs than necessary. The article is based on two case studies, each one set in a major European manufacturing company: the first one is an Italian automotive manufacturer and the second one is a Swedish manufacturer of mechanical components. Both case companies apply AGVs in their material handling processes and, accordingly, have experience of both implementing and operating AGV systems. The article applies semi-structured interviews to study the three key roles, highlighting the key points for each role and showing the common issues that emerged from the interviews

Automatic detection of cow/calf vocalizations in free-stall barn

Precision livestock farming dictates the use of advanced technologies to understand, analyze, assess and finally optimize a farm\u2019s production collectively as well as the contribution of each single animal. This work is part of a research project wishing to steer the dairy farms\u2019 producers to more ethical rearing systems. To study cow\u2019s welfare, we focus on reciprocal vocalizations including mother-offspring contact calls. We show the set-up of a suitable audio capturing system composed of automated recording units and propose an algorithm to automatically detect cow vocalizations in an indoor farm setting. More specifically, the algorithm has a two-level structure: a) first, the Hilbert follower is applied to segment the raw audio signals, and b) second the detected blocks of acoustic activity are refined via a classification scheme based on hidden Markov models. After thorough evaluation, we demonstrate excellent detection results in terms of false positives, false negatives and confusion matrix

Avoidance distance test in goats: a comparison with its application in cows

The present study investigates the feasibility in goats of an avoidance distance (AD) behaviour test set-up for cattle, and compares the results in the two species to assess the suitability of the test for on-farm welfare evaluation in goat farms. The tests were performed on 324 lactating cows (170 in small farms and 154 in large farms) and 271 lactating goats (108 in small farms and 163 in large farms), housed in free stall farms (12 dairy cattle and 17 dairy goat farms) in the Province of Sondrio, Northern Italy, following a protocol validated for dairy cows in the Welfare Quality\uae project. After the assessors were adequately trained, this test was relatively easy to perform and no major difficulties were faced in either species. Goats exhibited a higher level of confidence with humans, as showed by lower AD (goats: 68.60 \ub1 4.98 cm; cows: 71.36 \ub1 4.37 cm; p < 0.10) and higher frequency of contacts (AD = 0) (goats: 45.8%; cows: 31.2%; p < 0.001). Farm size significantly affected AD values (lower in small farms) and frequency of contacts (higher in small farms) in goats, but not in cows. This was probably due to the less marked management difference between large and small farms of cattle than those of goats. The AD test seems feasible in goats; however, the experimenter contacted nearly half of the goats. To improve the sensitivity, a further level - represented by the possibility of gently stroking the goat's head after the contact - may be included in the test in addition to contact

Evaluation of Maine Coon cat behavior during three different management situations

Today, cats are one of the most widespread and beloved companion animals: they share their life with people and are perceived as social partners by their owner. The knowledge and understanding of cat-human communication and of the behavior exhibited in response to different emotions is essential to improve the management of housed cats. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the behavior of cats in three different situations that can occur in house cats' lives. Ten Maine Coon cats, four males and six females, ranging in age from one to 13 years, belonging to a single private owner and managed under the same conditions, were exposed randomly to three different contexts for five minutes (waiting for food, isolation in unknown environment, and brushing). All the situations were video-recorded and subsequently analyzed. The behaviors oriented to environment, oriented to food bowl, locomotion, active interactions, yawning, lip licking and swallowing, and salivation mainly characterized waiting for food, while isolation appears principally characterized by behaviors such as hiding, scratching, worried positions, and exploration. Withdrawal, passive interactions, aggressive behaviors, facial discomfort, and purring characterized brushing. Vocalizations were significantly more frequent during isolation and brushing than during waiting for food, but it is possible that the characteristics of the vocalizations in these two situations are different. Our principal finding is that cats showed different behavioral patterns in the three situations and, in particular, their behavior during brushing was very different than in the two other situations. It can be hypothesized that these different behavioral responses are due to the different emotional states elicited by each of the three challenging and potentially stressful situations. Further investigation is being carried out to better understand cats' behaviors and emotions to improve cats' management in the household

How can we assess positive welfare in ruminants?

Until now, most research has focused on the development of indicators of negative welfare, and relatively few studies provide information on valid, reliable, and feasible indicators addressing positive aspects of animal welfare. However, a lack of suffering does not guarantee that animals are experiencing a positive welfare state. The aim of the present review is to identify promising valid and reliable animal-based indicators for the assessment of positive welfare that might be included in welfare assessment protocols for ruminants, and to discuss them in the light of the five domains model, highlighting possible gaps to be filled by future research. Based on the existing literature in the main databases, each indicator was evaluated in terms of its validity, reliability, and on-farm feasibility. Some valid indicators were identified, but a lot of the validity evidence is based on their absence when a negative situation is present; furthermore, only a few indicators are available in the domains of Nutrition and Health. Reliability has been seldom addressed. On-farm feasibility could be increased by developing specific sampling strategies and/or relying on the use of video- or automatic-recording devices. In conclusion, several indicators are potentially available (e.g., synchronisation of lying and feeding, coat or fleece condition, qualitative behaviour assessment), but further research is required

How Can We Assess Positive Welfare in Ruminants?

Until now, most research has focused on the development of indicators of negative welfare, and relatively few studies provide information on valid, reliable, and feasible indicators addressing positive aspects of animal welfare. However, a lack of suffering does not guarantee that animals are experiencing a positive welfare state. The aim of the present review is to identify promising valid and reliable animal-based indicators for the assessment of positive welfare that might be included in welfare assessment protocols for ruminants, and to discuss them in the light of the five domains model, highlighting possible gaps to be filled by future research. Based on the existing literature in the main databases, each indicator was evaluated in terms of its validity, reliability, and on-farm feasibility. Some valid indicators were identified, but a lot of the validity evidence is based on their absence when a negative situation is present; furthermore, only a few indicators are available in the domains of Nutrition and Health. Reliability has been seldom addressed. On-farm feasibility could be increased by developing specific sampling strategies and/or relying on the use of video- or automatic-recording devices. In conclusion, several indicators are potentially available (e.g., synchronisation of lying and feeding, coat or fleece condition, qualitative behaviour assessment), but further research is required

Effect of slow-moving landslides on a vaulted masonry building: The case of San Carlo Borromeo church in Cassingheno (Genova)

This paper presents the structural analysis of San Carlo Borromeo church, a masonry building located in Cassingheno (Genoa, Italy) in an area affected by a slow-moving landslide. A deep knowledge of the building in terms of geometry, structural configuration, history and construction phases was acquired by means of on-site surveys and archival research. The crack patterns were surveyed in detail and the deformations were studied through a point cloud obtained from a LIDAR survey. The comparison between the landslide direction and the damage observed showed discrepancies and suggested the presence of foundation settlements due to other phenomena. To identify the actual causes of damage, a finite element model (FEM) of the building in its hypothetical undeformed configuration was created. The geometry of such configuration was reconstructed starting from the point cloud obtained from the LIDAR survey and removing geometrical defects such as leaning of walls, deformation of vaults and inclination of tie-rods. To simulate the effects produced by the landslide and the foundation settlements on the building over time, nonlinear analyses were performed by imposing different displacement fields at the foundation plane in multiple steps. The damage predicted numerically was then compared with the one experienced by the building, showing good agreement

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Quality Attributes of Fresh and Semi-Hard Goat Cheese from Low- and High-Input Farming Systems

In this study, we investigated the lipid composition of fresh and semi-hard goat cheese produced in three Italian farms as well as the welfare assessment of goats reared in these farms. The fatty acid (FA) profile of cheese samples were found to be strictly related to the livestock system. Cheese collected from farms in which goats were allowed to graze and were fed diets with a higher forage/concentrate (F/C) ratio showed a FA profile represented by higher contents of health-promoting fatty acids. In the same samples, the health lipid indices showed the most favorable values. Conversely, cheese samples collected from a conventional-lowland farm, where goats were fed with higher amounts of concentrates and lower F/C ratio, presented a lower nutritional quality, characterized by the worst results for what concerns the health lipid indices. Then, we built a multivariate model able to discriminate samples coming from farms managed by a low-input system from those coming from farm managed by a high-input system. The comparison of animal welfare measurements and fatty acids data showed that a better intrinsic quality of low-input farms did not always correspond to better extrinsic quality, suggesting that the information on the livestock system is not always enough to provide consumers with complete awareness of the total product quality

De novo 1q21.3q22 duplication revaluation in a “cold” complex neuropsychiatric case with syndromic intellectual disability

Syndromic intellectual disability often obtains a genetic diagnosis due to the combination of first and next generation sequencing techniques, although their interpretation may require revaluation over the years. Here we report on a composite neuropsychiatric case whose phenotype includes moderate intellectual disability, spastic paraparesis, movement disorder, and bipolar disorder, harboring a 1.802 Mb de novo 1q21.3q22 duplication. The role of this duplication has been reconsidered in the light of negativity of many other genetic exams, and of the possible pathogenic role of many genes included in this duplication, potentially configuring a contiguous gene-duplication syndrome