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From mystery to mastery:understanding autonomous exploration with UAVs
No full textWhen it comes to developing UAV autonomy, simultaneous localization andmapping (SLAM), autonomous path planning and next best view (NBV) are allcentral algorithms. This article explains these techniques individually and alsotheir interrelationships, highlighting the critical role each one plays in achievingfull autonomy in drone operations, which is important for many researchers and practitioners. The resulting clarity on the functions and interconnections of SLAM, path planning and NBV will help to fill existing knowledge gaps, while also showing the potential of integrating these techniques to drive future advances in autonomous surveying and mapping systems
Don’t Know, Don’t Care, Don’t Want, Don’t Dare:An Explorative Study into Predictors of Police Officers’ Support for Reform to Prevent Ethnic Profiling
Get PDFThis study examines how participation in learning activities on controversial topics can be increased. Specifically, we focus on police officers’ willingness to participate in activities to prevent ethnic profiling, a highly charged topic within the police organization and society alike. As with other controversial topics, not all police officers embrace such initiatives. In this paper, we explore individual (e.g. gender, service years) and work-related antecedents (e.g. psychological safety) of police officers’ support for reform training in two different studies. In the first explorative study, we interviewed 13 police professionals who volunteered to lead an ethnic-profiling reform in their units. The interview data confirmed the importance of the variables extracted from the literature and identified two additional factors: job satisfaction and political orientation. In total, we identified four sociopsychological constructs and five individual variables that we deemed relevant for further analysis. A second, quantitative survey study with 281 police officers tested the relationship between the identified constructs and police officers’ support for reform. The results showed that being male, warrior-minded, orientated towards the political right, and being dissatisfied with one’s job all corresponded with less support. Open text analysis revealed that police officers typically avoid reform activities for four key reasons: lack of awareness of potential bias (don’t know), indifference towards the topic (don’t care), opposition to the reform (don’t want), or fear of negative evaluation from colleagues (don’t dare). These findings highlight the importance of psychologically safe, informative, and appealing learning environments in reform strategies to prevent ethnic profiling.</p
Towards integrating process mining with agent-based modeling and simulation: State of the art and outlook
Get PDFAgent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS) is a valuable tool for assessing complex socio-technical systems and is becoming increasingly advanced through the integration with data-driven capabilities. Process mining is an emerging data-driven discipline that combines elements from data mining and process modeling to gain insights into process execution through tasks such as process discovery, conformance checking, and process enhancement using event data. This study explores the role of process mining and its impact on the ABMS paradigm, identifying the current state of the art, gaps in the literature, and future directions for integrating process mining with ABMS. A systematic literature review is conducted to examine how ABMS and process mining techniques are jointly employed to address challenges reported in the literature. From an initial pool of 189 publications, a final set of 20 papers was synthesized, their primary contributions were discussed, and open issues and challenges for future research were identified. Although the integrated field of process mining and ABMS shows an upward trend in publications, it remains modest and requires further efforts to achieve synergistic improvements in socio-technical systems. The findings offer initial guidance for promising research directions
Port-Hamiltonian discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods
Get PDFA port-Hamiltonian (pH) system formulation is a geometrical notion used to formulate conservation laws for various physical systems. The distributed parameter port-Hamiltonian formulation models infinite dimensional Hamiltonian dynamical systems that have a nonzero energy flow through the boundaries. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretizations of pH-systems. Linking DG methods with pH-systems gives rise to compatible structure preserving semidiscrete finite element discretizations along with flexibility in terms of geometry and function spaces of the variables involved. Moreover, the port-Hamiltonian formulation makes boundary ports explicit, which makes the choice of structure and power preserving numerical fluxes easier. We state the Discontinuous Finite Element Stokes–Dirac structure with a power preserving coupling between elements, which provides the mathematical framework for a large class of pH discontinuous Galerkin discretizations. We also provide an a priori error analysis for the port-Hamiltonian discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method (pH-DGFEM). The port-Hamiltonian discontinuous Galerkin finite element method is demonstrated for the scalar wave equation showing optimal rates of convergence
Cavitation-intensifying or vacuum bags for beef ultrasonication:effects on critical attributes for consumers and microstructure
Get PDFThis study evaluated the high-intensity ultrasonication (HIU) and type of enveloping bags on important quality attributes for beef consumers. Thirty-six pieces of m. Semimembranosus (2.5 × 1.5 × 7 cm) were randomly allocated to one of five treatments: Control, fresh meat; NA, unpacked meat ultrasonicated; meat sonicated inside thin vacuum bags (VB40) or commercial vacuum bags (VB70); or meat sonicated inside cavitation-intensifying bags (CIB). HIU increased the colour change (ΔE) and lightness and reduced redness regardless of the type of bag. VB40 and CIB produced the highest ΔE after ultrasonication. HIU reduced the weight loss after cooking and the total shear, but no significant differences were observed among bags. HIU and cooking process affected all parameters regardless the meat packaging. Remarkably, the type of bag produced relevant micro-structure changes in beef, despite they were not reflected in the physicochemical parameters.</p
AI in therapeutic and assistive exoskeletons and exosuits:Influences on performance and autonomy
No full textTherapeutic and assistive exoskeletons and exosuits show promise in both clinical and real-world settings. Improving their autonomy can enhance usability, effectiveness, and cost efficiency. This Review presents a generic control framework for autonomous operation of upper and lower limb devices and reviews current advancements and future directions. We highlight how data-driven machine learning aids in intention recognition, synchronization, patient assessment, and task-agnostic control. In addition, we discuss how reinforcement learning optimizes control policies through digital human twins and how generative AI supports therapy planning and patient engagement. Richer patient-specific data and more accurate digital twins are needed for clinical validation and widespread deployment.</p
Strengthening Innovation Capacity in Health and Care Workforce::A Role-Based Framework for the Procurement Professionals
Get PDFBackground:The procurement function in the health and care workforce is pivotal for enabling innovation, sustainability, and value-based resource allocation. Yet, its workforce development remains underexplored in public health and health policy research.Objective:To develop a role-based model of innovation procurement capacity in health and care, identifying emerging roles and associated competencies needed within complex public health systems.Methods:We conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with procurement professionals from five European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain). Guided by the Dynamic Capabilities framework, thematic analysis identified role-based patterns in innovation procurement. Competency profiles were mapped against the European Commission’s ProcurCompEU framework.Results:Six emerging roles were identified: Strategic Business Partner, Digital/Automation Expert, Innovation Matchmaker, Sustainability Coordinator, Data Engineer, and Innovation Coordinator. These roles signal a shift from generalist procurement functions to specialised, distributed innovation capacities. The analysis extends the ProcurCompEU framework with sector-specific, innovation-oriented competencies.Conclusions:Building procurement competencies in the health and care workforce is essential for harnessing innovation in service delivery. This study offers a framework for competency development and highlights the institutional conditions required for effective application. Innovation procurement demands differentiated roles and capabilities aligned with system-wide goals for resilience, digital transformation, and sustainability. The proposed role-based model serves as a practical roadmap for policymakers, public institutions, and training providers to professionalise the procurement workforce and position it as a strategic enabler of health and care transformation.<br/
Fault-Tolerant Properties of Scale-Free Linear Protocols for Synchronization of Homogeneous Multiagent Systems
Get PDFOriginally, protocols were designed for multiagent systems using information about the network which might not be available. Recently, there has been a focus on scale-free synchronization where the protocol is designed without any prior information about the network. As long as the network contains a directed spanning tree, a scale-free protocol guarantees that the network achieves synchronization. If there is no directed spanning tree then synchronization cannot be achieved. But what happens when these scale-free protocols are applied to such a network where the directed spanning tree no longer exists? This article establishes that the network decomposes into a number of basic bicomponents that achieves synchronization among all nodes in this basic bicomponent. On the other hand, nodes which are not part of any basic bicomponent converge to a weighted average of the synchronized trajectories of the basic bicomponents. The weights are independent of the initial conditions and are independent of the designed protocol.</p
Towards Deployable Implants:Conceptual Designs of a Novel Deployable Interposition Wrist Implant Using Origami, Scissor, And Sliding Block Mechanisms
No full textObjective Minimally invasive joint replacement offers benefits like little tissue damage, reduced pain, and fast recovery. Traditionally, the surgery has been adapted to the (size of the) implant limiting the true surgical potential. The aim of this study was to explore and conceptualize deployable implant spacer for minimally invasive surgery. Methodology Different deployment mechanisms have been researched and evaluated according to the suitability for joint implants. Origami, scissor, and sliding block were identified as most promising and integrated into a quadri-elliptical-shaped wrist implant spacer. The final designs were prototyped out of PLA using 3D printing and underwent compression testing of up to 1000 N in the lab. Results The deployment ratios were 140% for the origami, 150% for the scissor, and 160% for the sliding block. In the compression test, the origami prototype failed at 925 N, whereas scissor and sliding block survived the maximum load. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, we explored for the first time a deployable implant spacer. Offering the highest deployment ratio and non-discrete height adaptation, the sliding block appeared to be most promising for in depth future research
