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Fruits (follicles) of Hakea salicifolia and Hakea sericea (Proteaceae) are characterised by pronounced lignification and open via a ventral suture and the dorsal side. The opening along both sides is unique within the Proteaceae. Both serotinous species are obligate seeders, whose spreading benefits from bush fire events. The different tissues and the course of the vascular bundles must allow the opening mechanism. While their 2D-arrangements are known to some extent from light-microscopy images of cross-sections, this work presents their three-dimensional structures and discusses their contribution to the opening of Hakea fruits. For this purpose, 3D greyscale images, reconstructed from µCT-projection data of both fruits are segmented, assisted by a deep learning algorithm (AI algorithm). 3D renderings from these segmentations show strongly interconnected vascular bundles that build a double-dome shaped network in each valve of H. salicifolia and a dome shaped honeycomb-structure in each valve of H. sericea. However, the vascular bundles of both species show no interconnection between the two lateral valves of the fruit but leave gaps for predetermined fracture tissues on the ventral and dorsal side. The opening of the fruits after a fire or after separation from the mother plant can be explained by the anisotropic shrinkage in the two valves of the fruit.
Many fluids transported by pipelines are in some sense hazardous. It is therefore often necessary to install leak detection (and locating) systems (LDS), especially due to legal regulations like the "Code for Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 49 Part 195", API 1130 2nd Ed., both for the USA, or the "Technische Regeln für Fernleitungen" (TRFL) (Technical Rules for Pipelines) in Germany. This paper gives a survey of methodologies, methods and techniques for leak detection and locating. The survey starts with some remarks concerning (legal) regulations both for the USA and for Germany. Some few words about externally based systems (due to API 1130 2nd Ed.) follow next. A significant part of the paper deals with internally based systems (also due to API 1130 2nd Ed.) like balancing systems (line balance, volume balance, compensated mass balance etc.), Real Time Transient Model LDS (RTTM-LDS), pressure/flow monitoring and statistical analysis LDS. Different methods for leak locating (gradient intersection method, wave propagation analysis etc.) will also be shown. The presentation of an Extended RTTM approach (E-RTTM) combining advantages of conventional RTTM LDS and statistical analysis follows next, together with the demonstration of applicability by means of two examples, a liquid multi-batch pipeline, and a gas pipeline. Sketching future work and the conclusion conclude the survey.
Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP21) is a highly interesting therapeutic growth factor due to its strong osteogenic/osteoinductive potential. However, its pronounced aggregation tendency renders recombinant and soluble production troublesome and complex. While prokaryotic expression systems can provide BMP2 in large amounts, the typically insoluble protein requires complex denaturation-renaturation procedures with medically hazardous reagents to obtain natively folded homodimeric BMP2. Based on a detailed aggregation analysis of wildtype BMP2, we designed a hydrophilic variant of BMP2 additionally containing an improved heparin binding site (BMP2-2Hep-7M). Consecutive optimization of BMP2-2Hep-7M expression and purification enabled production of soluble dimeric BMP2-2Hep-7M in high yield in E. coli. This was achieved by a) increasing protein hydrophilicity via introducing seven point mutations within aggregation hot spots of wildtype BMP2 and a longer N-terminus resulting in higher affinity for heparin, b) by employing E. coli strain SHuffle® T7, which enables the structurally essential disulfide-bond formation in BMP2 in the cytoplasm, c) by using BMP2 variant characteristic soluble expression conditions and application of L-arginine as solubility enhancer. The BMP2 variant BMP2-2Hep-7M shows strongly attenuated although not completely eliminated aggregation tendency.
The article highlights gender codes in design, particularly in web design, by means of current examples. Different aspects of gender-specific design are looked at in detail and their inherent problems discussed: on the one hand the development of a special solution (gender-specific for women), on the other hand, web design with reduced functionality and simplification of information (i.e. image representation) which sometimes even leads to a negation of technology. The article illustrates that gender codes and stereotypical role models can be embodied on different design levels of web design (use and artefact): in structure/navigation, in creative elements by the use of shape, colour and imagery and on a textual level. These design decisions have an impact on the power of users to act, their individual gender identity and the structural gender identity/social perception of gender. The article demonstrates that gender codes in current web design are very present and aims to sensitize the topic.
We investigated the formation of Artemia franciscana swarms of freshly hatched instar I nauplii larvae. Nauplii were released into light gradients but then interrupted by light-direction changes, small obstacles, or long barriers. All experiments were carried out horizontally. Each experiment used independent replicates. Freshly produced Artemia broods were harvested from independent incubators thus providing true replicate cohorts of Artemia subjected as replicates to the experimental treatments.
We discovered that Artemia nauplii swarms can: 1. repeatedly react to non-obstructed light gradients that undergo repeated direction-changes and do so in a consistent way, 2. find their way to a light source within maze-like arrangements made from small transparent obstacles, 3. move as a swarm around extended transparent barriers, following a light gradient. This paper focuses on the recognition of whole-swarm behaviors, the description thereof and the recognition of differences in whole-swarm movements comparing non-obstructed swarming with swarms encountering obstacles. Investigations of the within-swarm behaviors of individual Artemia nauplii and their interactions with neighboring nauplii are in progress, e.g. in order to discover the underlying swarming algorithms and differences
thereof comparing non-obstructed vs. obstructed pathways.
Problem
- How to effectively use aerial robots to support rescue forces?
- How to achieve good flight characteristics and long flight times?
- How to enable simple and intuitive control?
- How to efficiently record image data of the environment?
- How to generate flight and image data for rescue forces?
Implementation:
The flying robot was designed in Autodesk Fusion360. In order to achieve high stability as well as low weight, the frame was milled from carbon. Mounts such as for GPS and 360° camera were 3D printed. A special feature is that the flying robot is not visible in the panoramic view of the 360° camera. The flight controller of the robot was set up using Ardupilot. The communication with the robot is done via MAVLink (UDP).To support different platforms, a software was realized as a web application. The front end was created using HTML, CSS and Javascript.
The back end is based on Flask-Socket-IO (Python). For the intelligent recognition of motor vehicles a micro controller with an integrated camera is used. For the post-processing of flight and video data a pipeline was implemented for automation.
The video shows a very high resolution 3D point cloud !!! of the outdoor area of the German Rescue Robotics Center. For the recording, a 25-second POI flight was performed with a Mavic 3. From the 4K video footage captured during this flight, 77 images were cropped and localized within 4 minutes using colmap and processed using Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF). The nerfacto model of Nerfstudio was trained on an Nvidia RTX 4090 for 8 minutes. In summary, a top 3D model is available to task forces after about 13 minutes. The calculation is performed locally on site by the RobLW of the DRZ. The video shown here shows a free camera path rendered at 60 hz (Full HD).
Competency-oriented exams offer a wide range of advantages, especially where the use and mastery of third-party applications and tools play an important role. Therefore, we developed a competency-oriented setup for both our programming classes and exams ensuring their constructive alignment.
Exams were moved to the computer lab and designed to test both conceptional skills as well as the use of state-of-the-art programming tools. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when exams had to be moved from lab to online, we needed to design an online setup for our practical programming exams preserving the competency-oriented approach and its constructive alignment as well as the validity, reliability and fairness of the exams. The key was to use the same online tools that have been introduced
for running lectures and practical classes offering almost the same learning experience as before the pandemic. However, to ensure the validity and fairness of the exams, some kind of online supervision needed to be implemented as technical solutions were found to be either unusable or not working
properly in our case. This paper discusses the driving factors, the resulting technical and organizational setup as well as students’ feedback and lessons learned for further improvements. Therefore, COVID-19 has not been able to ruin our competency-oriented programming exams.
This paper reveals various approaches undertaken over more than two decades of teaching undergraduate programming classes at different Higher Education Institutions, in order to improve student activation and participation in class and consequently teaching and learning effectiveness.
While new technologies and the ubiquity of smartphones and internet access has brought new tools to the classroom and opened new didactic approaches, lessons learned from this personal long-term study show that neither technology itself nor any single new and often hyped didactic approach ensured sustained improvement of student activation. Rather it needs an integrated yet open approach towards a participative learning space supported but not created by new tools, technology and innovative teaching methods.
This paper presents a pragmatic approach for stepwise introduction of peer assessment elements in undergraduate programming classes, discusses some lessons learned so far and directions for further work. Students are invited to challenge their peers with their own programming exercises to be submitted through Moodle and evaluated by other students according to a predefined rubric and supervised by teaching assistants. Preliminary results show an increased activation and motivation of students leading to a better performance in the final programming exams.
This chapter describes a new concept and experiences of a distributed interdisciplinary learning program for students across continents. The aim is to provide students with a truly Global Intercultural Project Experience (GIPE) by working together with peers from around the world and solving real-life client’s problems. We have received seed-funding for four annual projects to engage students from Germany (Europe), Namibia (Africa), Indonesia (Asia), and Peru (South America). In 2020 and 2021, 28 and 44 students from four continents engaged in a one-semester distributed interdisciplinary project for a Namibian and Indonesian client, respectively. Despite Covid-19 they successfully completed the project expressing deep appreciation for the learning opportunities overcoming challenges of working across widespread time zones, cultures, changing requirements, and various technical difficulties. Considering the vast learning benefits, we suggest incorporating such projects in all tertiary education curricula across the globe, while streamlining organizational efforts based on lessons learned.
This paper describes a new concept and experiences of a distributed interdisciplinary learning programme for students across continents. The aim is to provide students with a truly Global Intercultural Project Experience (GIPE) by working together with peers from around the world, and solving real-life client’s problems. We have received seed-funding for four annual projects to engage students from Germany (Europe), Namibia (Africa), Indonesia (Asia), and Peru (Latin-America). In 2020, 30 students from four continents engaged in a one-semester distributed software development project for a Namibian client. Despite Covid-19 they successfully completed the project expressing deep appreciation for the learning opportunities overcoming challenges of working across wide-spread time zones, cultures, changing requirements, and various technical challenges. Considering the vast learning benefits, we suggest to incorporate such projects in all tertiary education curricula across the globe.
Since the 1980’s, against the backdrop of global warming and the decline of conventional energy resources, low emission and renewable energy systems have gotten into the focus of politics as well as research and development. In order to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases Germany intents to generate 80% of its electrical energy from renewable and low emission sources by 2050. For low emission electricity generation hydrogen operated fuel cells are a potential solution. However, although fuel cell technology has been well known since the 19th century cost effective materials are needed to achieve a breakthrough in the market.
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells with Carbon Nanotubes as Electrode Material
At the Westphalian Energy Institute of the Wesphalian University of Applied Sciences one main focus is on the research of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). PEMFC membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) consist of a polymer membrane with electrolytic properties covered on both sides by a catalyst layer (CL) as well as a porous and electrical conductive gas diffusion layer (GDL).
For PEMFC carbon nanotubes (CNT) have ideal properties as electrode material concerning electrical conductivity, oxidation resistance and media transport. CNTs are suitable for the use as catalyst support material within the CL due to their large surface in comparison to conventional carbon supports. Furthermore, oxygen plasma treated CNTs show electrochemical activity referred to hydrogen adsorption and desorption, which has been shown by cyclic voltammetry in 0.5 M sulfuric acid solution. According to the PEMFCs anode a GDL coated with oxygen plasma activated CNTs has promising properties to significantly reduce catalyst content (e.g. platinum) of the anodic CL.
The activated sludge respiration inhibition test and the luminescent bacteria test with Vibrio fischeri are important bacterial test systems for evaluation of the toxicity of chemical compounds. These test systems were further optimized to result in better handling, reliability and sensitivity. Concerning the Vibrio fischeri test, media components such as yeast extract and bivalent cation concentrations like Ca2+ and Mg2+ were optimized. The cultivation, storage conditions and reactivation process of the stored bacteria were also improved, which enabled simpler handling and led to good reproducibility. Additionally, the respiration inhibition test with a prolonged incubation time was further analyzed using different chlorinated phenols as reference compounds. It could be stated that a longer incubation period significantly improved the sensitivity of the test system.
The two churches, San Francesco and Sant'Agostino in Amatrice, Italy was hit by an earthquake on August 24 2016. Both churches are in a state of partial collapse, in need of shoring to prevent potential further destruction and to preserve the national heritage. The video show the mission at 1.Sept.2016 in clips of 10 seconds.
The TRADR project was asked by the Italian firebrigade Vigili del Fuoco to provide 3D textured models of two churches.
The team entered San Francesco with two UGVs (ground robots) and one UAV (drone, flown by Prof. Surmann), teleoperating them entirely out of line of sight and partially in collaboration. We entered Sant'Agostino with one UAV (also flown by Prof. Surmann) while two other UAVs were providing a view from different angles to facilitate maneuvering them entirely out of line of sight.
Venice 2018: Tradr Review
(2018)
The video shows an orthopoto and a textured 3D model of the location. 300 images were recorded in two short flights with a Mavic Pro in 50 meter height. The first one was a single grid while the camera facing down and the second one was a double grid facing the camera at an 60 degree angle. The 3D model is computed with OpenDroneMap.
Challenging visual localization of an UAV while flying out of a room into a snowy environment (~ 4:50). The UAV is equipped with a 360° camera. The localization is done with OpenVSLAM.
The video was recorded in Jan. 2019 at the Fire Brigade training center in Dortmund
To achieve nearly real time conditions the original resolution of 5k (30 fps) was reduced to 2k (ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vf scale=1920:-1 -crf 25 vido-small.mp4) with high compression (-crf 25). This reduce the original size from 3.2 GB to 93MB (~ 4 MBit/s which could be transmitted online via a radio link). The localization shown did not use frameskip. With a frameskip above 1 the localization fails while the UAV is flying through the window. Indoor localization can be done with a frameskip of 3 in real time.
360° Camera at a small UAV
(2021)
In the realm of digital situational awareness during disaster situations, accurate digital representations,
like 3D models, play an indispensable role. To ensure the
safety of rescue teams, robotic platforms are often deployed
to generate these models. In this paper, we introduce an
innovative approach that synergizes the capabilities of compact Unmaned Arial Vehicles (UAVs), smaller than 30 cm, equipped with 360° cameras and the advances of Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs). A NeRF, a specialized neural network, can deduce a 3D representation of any scene using 2D images and then synthesize it from various angles upon request. This method is especially tailored for urban environments which have experienced significant destruction, where the structural integrity of buildings is compromised to the point of barring entry—commonly observed post-earthquakes and after severe fires. We have tested our approach through recent post-fire scenario, underlining the efficacy of NeRFs even in challenging outdoor environments characterized by water, snow, varying light conditions, and reflective surfaces.
This technical report is about the architecture and integration of very small commercial UAVs (< 40 cm diagonal) in indoor Search and Rescue missions. One UAV is manually controlled by only one single human operator delivering live video streams and image series for later 3D scene modelling and inspection. In order to assist the operator who has to simultaneously observe the environment and navigate through it we use multiple deep neural networks to provide guided autonomy, automatic object detection and classification and local 3D scene modelling. Our methods help to reduce the cognitive load of the operator. We describe a framework for quick integration of new methods from the field of Deep Learning, enabling for rapid evaluation in real scenarios, including the interaction of methods.
In this paper, we present a method for detecting objects of interest, including cars, humans, and fire, in aerial images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) usually during vegetation fires. To achieve this, we use artificial neural networks and create a dataset for supervised learning. We accomplish the assisted labeling of the dataset through the implementation of an object detection pipeline that combines classic image processing techniques with pretrained neural networks. In addition, we develop a data augmentation pipeline to augment the dataset with utomatically labeled images. Finally, we evaluate the performance of different neural networks.
This technical report is about the mission and the experience gained during the reconnaissance of an industrial hall with hazardous substances after a major fire in Berlin. During this operation, only UAVs and cameras were used to obtain information about the site and the building. First, a geo-referenced 3D model of the building was created in order to plan the entry into the hall. Subsequently, the UAVs were used to fly in the heavily damaged interior and take pictures from inside of the hall. A 360° camera mounted under the UAV was used to collect images of the surrounding area especially from sections that were difficult to fly into. Since the collected data set contained similar images as well as blurred images, it was cleaned from non-optimal images using visual SLAM, bundle adjustment and blur detection so that a 3D model and overviews could be calculated. It was shown that the emergency services were not able to extract the necessary information from the 3D model. Therefore, an interactive panorama viewer with links to other 360° images was implemented where the links to the other images depends on the semi dense point cloud and located camera positions of the visual SLAM algorithm so that the emergency forces could view the surroundings.
In an effort to better understand the various forms of social innovation, mapping has become a common and widely applied method for gaining insights into social innovation practices. The transdisciplinary nature of social innovation research has led to a plurality of distinct approaches and methods. Given the increasing interest in social innovation, and the apparent endeavour among policymakers to utilise social innovation to address current societal challenges, it is argued that mapping efforts need to be streamlined in order to make better use of their results. The article describes 17 ongoing or recently finalised research projects on social innovation and their methodological approaches on “mapping” social innovations. It provides a systematic overview on project objectives, SI definitions and mapping approaches for each of the scrutinised projects and ends with a synoptical analysis on methods, objectives and missing research.
Solutions to empower and (re-)engage vulnerable and marginalised populations to unfold their hidden potential allowing them to fully participate the social, economic, cultural and political life, necessarily involve institutional change. This in turn necessitates understanding the processes and mechanisms by which social innovations lead to in-stitutional change. Considering the specific nature of social innova-tions as interactive, generative and contextualised phenomena while maintaining that many practices at the micro-level can add up to patterns and regularities at the macro-level, middle-range theorising (MRT) is proposed as an appropriate method to theoreti-cally underpin and substantiate theoretical advancements towards a multidisciplinary perspective on the economic dimensions of social innovation, identifying the direction of future empirical inquiries.
Social innovations «meet social needs», are «good for society» and «enhance society’s capacity to act». But what does their rising importance tell us about the current state of public policy in Europe and its effectiveness in achieving social and economic goals? Some might see social innovation as a critique of public intervention, filling the gaps left by years of policy failure. Others emphasise the innovative potential of cross-boundary collaboration between the public sector, the private sector, the third sector and the household.
This paper explores the conditions under which the state either enables or constrains effective social innovation by transcending the boundaries between different actors. We argue that social innovation is closely linked to public sector innovation, particularly in relation to new modes of policy production and implementation, and to new forms of organisation within the state that challenge functional demarcations and role definitions.
This thesis evaluates the effects of the GDPR using a technical and human-centric approach. We assess challenges service providers face when they want to design GDPR-proof web applications. On the technical side, we perform two large-scale measurement studies. The first study aims to illuminate third party loading dependencies in web applications. The second study provides a detailed analysis of the information-sharing networks between online adver-tising companies. The human-centric analysis studies how companies implemented the Right to Access and if users can profit from the new right.
Renewable and sustainable energy production by many small and distributed producers is revolutionizing the energy landscape as we know it. Consumers produce energy, making them to prosumers in the smart grid. The interaction between prosumers and other entities in the grid and the optimal utilization of new smart grid components (electric cars, freezers, solar panels, etc.) are crucial for the success of the smart grid. The Power Trading Agent Competition is an open simulation platform that allows researchers to conduct low risk studies in this new energy market. In this work we present Maxon16, an autonomous energy broker and champion of the 2016's Power Trading Agent Competition. We present the strategies the broker used in the final round and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies by analyzing the tournament's results.
As a rule, an experiment carried out at school or in undergraduate study
courses is rather simple and not very informative. However, when the experiments
are to be performed using modern methods, they are often abstract and
difficult to understand. Here, we describe a quick and simple experiment,
namely the enzymatic characterization of ptyalin (human salivary amylase)
using a starch degradation assay. With the experimental setup presented here,
enzyme parameters, such as pH optimum, temperature optimum, chloride
dependence, and sensitivity to certain chemicals can be easily determined. This
experiment can serve as a good model for enzyme characterization in general,
as modern methods usually follow the same principle: determination of the
activity of the enzyme under different conditions. As different alleles occur in
humans, a random selection of test subjects will be quite different with regard
to ptyalin activities. Therefore, when the students measure their own ptyalin
activity, significant differences will emerge, and this will give them an idea of
the genetic diversity in human populations. The evaluation has shown that the
pupils have gained a solid understanding of the topic through this experiment.
Biomimetics is the interdisciplinary co-operation of various scientific disciplines and fields of innovation, and it aims to solve practical problems using biological models. Biomimetic research and its fields of application are manifold, and the community is made up of a wide range of disciplines, from biologists and engineers to designers. Guidelines and standards can build a common ground for understanding of the field, communication across disciplines, present and future projects and implementation of biomimetic knowledge. Since 2015, three international standards have been published and defined terms and definitions, as well as specific applications. The scientific literature and patents in several databases were searched for citations of the published standards. Standards or technical guidelines on biomimetics are represented both in the scientific literature and in patents. However, taking into account the increasing number of publications in biomimetics, the number of publications (52) citing the international standards is low. This shows that the perception of technical rules is still underrepresented in the academic field. Greater awareness and acceptance of the importance of standards for quality assurance even in the academic environment is discussed, and active participation in the corresponding International Organization for Standardization committee on biomimetics is asked for.
Biomimetics is a well-known approach for technical innovation. However, most of its influence remains in the academic field. One option for increasing its application in the practice of technical design is to enhance the use of the biomimetic process with a step-by-step standard, building a bridge to common engineering procedures. This article presents the endeavor of an interdisciplinary expert panel from the fields of biology, engineering science, and industry to develop a standard that links biomimetics to the classical processes of product development and engineering design. This new standard, VDI 6220 Part 2, proposes a process description that is compatible and connectable to classical approaches in engineering design. The standard encompasses both the solution-based and the problem-driven process of biomimetics. It is intended to be used in any product development process for more biomimetic applications in the future.
Proof of Existence as a blockchain service has first been published in 2013 as a public notary service on the Bitcoin network and can be used to verify the existence of a particular file in a specific point of time without sharing the file or its content itself. This service is also available on the Ethereum based bloxberg network, a decentralized research infrastructure that is governed, operated and developed by an international consortium of research facilities. Since it is desirable to integrate the creation of this proof tightly into the research workflow, namely the acquisition and processing of research data, we show a simple to integrate MATLAB extension based solution with the concept being applicable to other programming languages and environments as well.