93887 research outputs found
Sort by
Development of Commercial EV Truck Depots With Real-World Experience
Get PDFEvery 2 years, NACFE demonstrates state-of-the-art truck fleet operations. In 2021, it was focused on electric vehicle (EV) truck pilots with 13 different OEMs, and in late 2023, the focus was on EV truck depots that had a minimum of 15 EV trucks on one depot charging system. We welcome audience questions as we share NACFE’s truck charging data, operational data, fleet feedback and truck driver inputs
An Analysis of MSE Wall Engineering Behavior
Get PDFAs part of contract R-39231, INDOT specified construction of an instrumented MSE wall at the CR550S overpass of I-65 in Boone County. The instrumentation has yielded continuous measurements of stresses/strains that INDOT is using to better understand MSE wall engineering behavior. Results from those measurements and their potential implications for MSE wall design/analysis procedures will be presented
The Relevance of Team Processes for Different Task Characteristics during Performance Episodes and Over Time in Astronaut Crews and Their Support Teams
Get PDFTeams working in spaceflight missions belong to the group of extreme teams, as ineffective performance can have serious consequences. Thus, research focuses on understanding team (transition, action, and interpersonal) processes of those teams and their influence on performance. This study investigates the development of team processes in tasks incorporating different task characteristics (generate, choose, negotiate, and execute tasks) on two temporal dimensions (short-term and long-term) in two teams—analog astronauts (AAs) = stable throughout mission and the Mission Support Centre (MSC) = fluctuating members throughout mission—during a four-week analog Mars mission. There were six performance episodes, each incorporating one task that represents one task characteristic, which both teams had to work on within their own team. Video recordings of the performance episodes were used to descriptively evaluate the team processes of each team using the Communication Analysis Tool. Results demonstrate that depending on the task characteristic and the timing during a given performance episode, AAs and the MSC display similar but also contrasting short-term patterns in their team processes, providing insights into which processes are crucial for achieving high performance when considering a particular task characteristic. Long-term, AAs used action processes more often, whereas the MSC implemented transition processes more frequently. This indicates that AAs move to operational work quickly, since their team is stable and they know each other, whereas the MSC needs to find common ground first as the team is fluctuating
Finding Geometric Variances from Nominal Measurements
Get PDFThis study worked to find differences between the measurements of what parts should be and what they actually were. When a part is manufactured, it is given a nominal measurement which provides the exact geometric numbers representing that section of the part. The true measurements of parts are almost never exactly the same as the nominal measurement, due to varying production issues during component manufacture. A Hexagon Laser Scanner (LS) was used to create computer generated figures of the parts, while Siemens NX, CATIA V5, Creo, Solidworks, and Inventor softwares were used to create Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models of the parts. A Hexagon Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) evaluated accurate dimensions for each part. The tolerances between the nominal measurements of the parts and the measurements found by the CMM were determined. This study served to find differences in parts between their design and manufactured artifact, by creating multiple versions of computer-generated models and operating a CMM on the parts themselves. It is important to accurately assess graphics standards for the betterment of products in industry
Extended Reality-Enabled Teleoperation Platform for Industrial Operations
Get PDFExtended Reality (XR) environments enhance the efficacy of teleoperation systems, overcoming the limitations of 2D settings. This work aims to advance industrial teleoperations by investigating the capabilities of remote XR environments, selecting the optimal configuration, and developing an XR-Enabled Teleoperation Platform that integrates advanced controllers, allowing minimizing latency. The XR-Enabled Teleoperation Platform is designed integrating control protocols, including Adaptive Smoothing & Model Predictive Control to minimize latency and enhance synchronization. This framework is tested on a 6-DOF robotic arm, serving as a Digital Twin (DT), enabling bi-directional data exchange between the physical robotic arm and its virtual shado
Effect of Response Bias on Threshold Estimates in Confounded N-Alternative Optional Choice Experiments
Get PDFThree modifications of the familiar 2-AFC task can be useful when collecting data to estimate sensory thresholds from unpracticed participants: (1) Make responding optional, which relieves the participant from having to guess when they are uncertain; (2) Provide N\u3e2 alternatives, which reduces the number of trials to estimate threshold; and (3) Confound the alternatives with an independent variable, for example by having participants choose visual field locations as alternatives when measuring threshold separately at each visual field location, which reduces the number of trials through multiplexing. The N-alternative optional-choice experiment (N-AOC) and its confounded variant have not been studied systematically. Confounded N-AOC has recently been adopted for use in clinical settings (e.g. Chia et al, Ophthalmology Glaucoma 2024) so it is important to understand its limitations. What happens when the participant prefers one response alternative to the others? How should this bias be modeled, what is its effect on threshold measurements, and can it be corrected for?
Response biases occur for two reasons: (1) the criterion for responding is lower at one of the alternatives (N≥1), or (2) the lapse rate is high and the participant has a bias when guessing. Although catch (no-signal) trials are always included in yes-no experiments, they are not usually included in unconfounded N-AFC because the alternatives can be randomized. However, for confounded N-AFC and confounded N-AOC, catch trials must be included for the experimenter to detect or characterize response bias and to correct its pernicious effect on threshold estimates
A model of V1 complex cells based on factorizing amplitude and phase
Get PDFHow does visual cortex form increasingly complex and invariant representations? We address this question starting from our understanding of natural images and V1. Although it is well-known that the relative phases of frequency components in images contain important structure, the standard model of V1 complex cells discards phase information within the receptive field. We propose a model for disentangling invariances and their accompanying transformations based on a complex-valued sparse coding model adapted from Cadieu & Olshausen 2012. This model makes phase information explicit by factorizing images into both phase and amplitude components, with structure represented by amplitude and phase patterns, and local deformations as coordinated phase shifts. The resulting amplitude and phase representation allows us to analyze the higher-order statistics of natural images, and provides a basis for building models of feature selectivity and invariance in V2
Black Pragmatism and Honesty
No full textThis review essay takes up challenges posed by Sarah M. Stitzlein’s Teaching Honesty in a Populist Era: Emphasizing Truth in the Education of Citizens by suggesting Black pragmatists add crucial questions to the pragmatist project of honesty. Pushing us to consider a more critical answer to the questions “Who are we?” and “How does it feel to be a problem?,” writers in the Black pragmatist traditions call for a clearer analysis of what civics can and likely cannot yet do
Embodied Investments: The Truth about Bodies and Publics
No full textIn this reflection on Sarah M. Stitzlein’s Teaching Honesty in a Populist Era: Emphasizing Truth in the Education of Citizens, I attend to the process of public-making and complicate the neat vignette of inquiry (the practice of truth-seeking and truth-telling) that undergirds Stitzlein’s account of honesty in democracy. In so doing, I demonstrate that our pragmatist archive needs attention. I argue contemporary pragmatists and philosophers of education ought to consult companion theories, like feminism, that take account of the historicity of ontology and the ontological roots of community making
A Life Cycle Approach to Circular Economy in Construction: Strategies for Sustainable Transformation
Get PDFThe construction industry’s reliance on linear economic models has resulted in significant environmental challenges, including resource depletion and excessive waste generation. While circular economy principles offer a sustainable alternative, existing research lacks a comprehensive understanding of how these strategies apply across the entire construction life cycle. Many studies focus on isolated stages, such as material procurement or waste management, without considering the interdependencies between life cycle phases. Additionally, there is a gap in structured frameworks that guide construction companies in implementing circular practices effectively. To address these gaps, this study conducts a thematic literature review of 70 peer-reviewed studies to systematically examine circular economy strategies applicable to the construction industry. A key contribution of this research is categorising these strategies according to the life cycle stages of construction projects—design, construction, operation, and end-of-life—highlighting the importance of a life cycle perspective in circular construction. The findings reveal that while various circular strategies exist, their fragmented adoption is often hindered by regulatory barriers, financial constraints, and supply chain limitations. By integrating circular strategies within a life cycle framework, this study provides a structured understanding that supports construction companies, policymakers, and researchers in advancing circular economy adoption. The significance of this research lies in bridging knowledge gaps and providing a foundation for structured frameworks and assessment methods that enable a more systematic transition toward sustainability in the built environment