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This contribution introduces MOBSY, a fully integrated, autonomous mobile service robot system. It acts as an automatic dialogue-based receptionist for visitors to our institute.
MOBSY incorporates many techniques from different research areas into one working stand-alone system. The techniques involved range from computer vision over speech understanding to classical robotics.
Along with the two main aspects of vision and speech, we also focus on the integration aspect, both on the methodological and on the technical level.
We describe the task and the techniques involved. Finally, we discuss the experiences that we gained with MOBSY during a live performance at our institute.
Die typischerweise gewünschten Einsatzgebiete für Dienstleistungsroboter, z. B. Krankenhäuser oder Seniorenheime, stellen sehr hohe Anforderungen an die Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstelle.
Diese Erfordernisse gehen im Allgemeinen über die Möglichkeiten der Standardsensoren, wie Ultraschalloder Infrarotsensoren, hinaus. Es müssen daher ergänzende Verfahren zum Einsatz kommen.
Aus der Sicht der Mustererkennung sind die Nutzung des Rechnersehens und des natürlichsprachlichen Dialogs von besonderem Interesse. Dieser Beitrag stellt das mobile System MOBS Y vor. MOBS Y ist ein vollkommen integrierter autonomer mobiler Dienstleistungsroboter.
Er dient als ein automatischer dialogbasierter Empfangsservice für Besucher unseres Instituts.
MOBSY vereinigt vielfältige Methoden aus unterschiedlichsten Forschungsgebieten in einem eigenständigen System. Die zum Einsatz kommenden Methoden aus dem Bereich der Bildverarbeitung reichen dabei von Objektklassifikation über visuelle Selbstlokalisierung und Rekalibrierung bis hin zu multiokularer Objektverfolgung.
Die Dialogkomponente umfasst Methoden der Spracherkennung, des Sprachverstehens und die Generierung von Antworten. Im Beitrag werden die zu erfüllende Aufgabe und die einzelnen Verfahren dargestellt.
Unternehmen sind häufig mit Situationen konfrontiert, in denen schnell Entscheidungen bezüglich der Auswahl mehrerer Handlungsalternativen gefunden werden müssen. Mathematische Verfahren können hierbei unterstützen, z. B. für die Ermittlung einer ersten Diskussionsbasis. Verfügbare Softwarelösungen errechnen zwar häufig optimale Ergebnisse, zeigen jedoch Schwächen bei der praktischen Anwendbarkeit. So ist eine Einarbeitung in komplexe Optimierungssoftware für die teilweise sporadisch auftretenden Probleme in der Regel für Unternehmen nicht möglich, unter anderem auch unter Anbetracht der teilweise hohen Kosten der Standardsoftware und dem benötigten hohen Einarbeitungsaufwand. Gerade Problemstellungen in Fachbereichen, die nicht auf mathematische Problemlösung spezialisiert sind, münden daher regelmäßig in Ineffizienzen. Basierend auf den in der Literatur diskutierten Lösungsansätzen wurde ein praxisorientierter Ansatz zur Entscheidungsunterstützung für Rucksackprobleme bzw. 0–1 Probleme mithilfe von Genetischen Algorithmen (GA) entwickelt und technisch in Microsoft Excel® umgesetzt. Ein Praxistest bei einem chinesischen Textilunternehmen belegt erhöhte Effektivität und Effizienz. Die Software kann kostenfrei nach MIT Lizenz unter http://www.solvega.de/ heruntergeladen werden.
We employed the well-established Horton-Strahler, hierarchical, stream-order (ω) scheme to investigate scaling of nutrient loads (P and N) from ~845 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) distributed along the river network in urbanized Weser River, the largest national basin in Germany (~46K km2; ~8.4 million population). We estimated hydrologic and water quality impacts at the reach- and basin-scales, at two steady river discharge conditions (median flow, QR50; low-flow, QR90). Of the five WWTPs class-sizes (1 ≤ k ≤ 5), ~68% discharge to small low-order streams (ω < 3). We found large variations in capacity to dilute WWTP nutrient loads because of variability in (1) treated wastewater discharge (QU) within and among different class-sizes, and (2) river discharge (QR) within low-order streams (ω < 3) resulting from differences in drainage areas. For QR50, reach-scale water quality impairment assessed by nutrient concentration was likely at 136 (~16%) locations for P and 15 locations (~2%) for N. About 90% of these locations were lower-order streams (ω < 3). At QR50 and only with dilution, basin-scale cumulative nutrient loads from multiple upstream WWTPs increase impaired locations to 266 (~32% of total) for P. Considering in-stream uptake decreased P-impaired streams to 225 (~27%), suggesting the dominant role of dilution in the Weser River basin. Role of in-stream uptake diminished along the flow paths, while dilution in larger streams (4 ≤ ω ≤ 7) minimizes the impact of WWTP loads. Under QR90 conditions [(QR50/QR90) ~ 2.5], water quality impaired locations will likely double for the basin-scale analyses. Long-term water quality data suggested that diffuse sources are the primary contributors for water quality impairments in large streams. Our data-modeling synthesis approach is transferable to other urbanized river basins and extends understanding of point source impacts on water quality across spatial scales.
Plastic waste is one of the biggest growing factors contributing to environmental pollution. So far there has been no established method to detect and identify plastics in environmental matrices. Thus, a method based on their characteristic fluorescence behavior is used to investigate whether plastics can be detected and identified in tap water under laboratory conditions. The experiments show that the identification of plastics as a function of water depth is possible. As the identification becomes more difficult with higher water depths, investigations with a highly sensitive imaging method were carried out to obtain an areal integration of the fluorescent light and thus better results.
The effectiveness of hot-melt coating depends on its uniformity and the extent to which the surface is completely covered. Compared with solvent-based coating, spreading is more limited in hot-melt coating; thus, the coating uniformity is more affected by the process parameters. This study presents a new method for identifying and quantifying factors influencing coating uniformity. The proposed method facilitates the determination of coating-thickness distribution and non-covered surface proportion based on micro-computed tomography measurements. The proposed method is based on particles that have undergone hot-melt coating in a fluidized bed, and it is compared to common methods for layer-thickness determination. The influencing factors are quantified in terms of the dependency of coating uniformity on the coating amount and material. Material properties have a significant impact because stearin and palm fat create different coating layers. The proposed method is confirmed to be well suited for analyzing coating qualities.
The necessity for resource-efficient manufacturing technologies requires new developments within the field of plastic processing. Lightweight design using wood fibers as sustainable reinforcement for thermoplastics might be one solution. The processing of wood fibers requires special attention to the applied thermal load. Even at low processing temperatures, the influence of the dwell time, temperature and shear force is critical to ensure the structural integrity of fibers. Therefore, this article compares different compounding rates for polypropylene with wood fibers and highlights their effects on the olfactory, visual and mechanical properties of the injection-molded part. The study compares one-step processing, using an injection-molding compounder (IMC), with two-step processing, using a twin-scew-extruder (TSE), a heating/cooling mixer (HCM) and an internal mixer (IM) with subsequent injection molding. Although the highest fiber length was achieved by using the IMC, the best mechanical properties were achieved by the HCM and IM. The measured oxidation induction time and volatile organic compound content indicate that the lowest amount of thermal damage occurred when using the HCM and IM. The advantage of one-time melting was evened out by the dwell time. The reinforcement of thermoplastics by wood fibers depends more strongly on the structural integrity of the fibers compared to their length and homogeneity
1. Understanding and explaining the structure of communities in response to environmental gradients is a central goal in ecology. Trait‐based approaches are promising but yet rarely applied to understand community dynamics in response to changing environmental conditions.
2. Here, we investigate seasonal succession patterns of functional traits in phytoplankton communities and how nutrient reductions (oligotrophication) alter these patterns. We used phytoplankton data from 40 years of observation from the Rappbode Reservoir (Germany), which underwent a strong shift in trophic conditions, and translated taxonomic composition into functional traits by assigning trait values compiled from the literature.
3. All studied traits (morphological, behavioural and physiological traits) responded to changing environmental conditions and showed consistent, reoccurring seasonal developments. The seasonal succession of phytoplankton communities was shaped by a trade‐off between small‐celled, fast‐growing species that are able to rapidly incorporate existing resources (r ‐strategists) and large‐celled species with more complex and efficient mechanisms to exploit scarce mineral nutrients or acquire previously unexploited nutrient pools (k ‐strategists). In summer, when nutrients were scarce, the k ‐strategy was prevailing (important traits: phosphate affinity, nitrogen fixation, motility and mixotrophy). During the rest of the year, nutrients and turbulence were high and r ‐strategists dominated (important traits: maximum growth rate and light affinity).
4. A comparison between eutrophic and oligotrophic years revealed that the main features of functional trait succession were largely preserved, but intra‐annual fluctuations from spring to summer were stronger during eutrophic years. Nutrient reductions mainly affected functional traits and biomass in spring, while in summer the functional community composition changed little.
5. Synthesis. This study provides for the first time a quantitatively supported functional template for trait‐based succession patterns in lakes under different nutrient conditions. By translating taxonomic composition into trait information, we demonstrate that the quantification of functional characteristics enables ecological interpretation of observed community dynamics and provides not only a testable template but also a powerful tool towards a more mechanistic understanding. The quantification of functional traits further improves the predictability of community shifts in response to changing environmental conditions and thus opens new perspectives for predictive limnology using lake ecosystem models.
1. To counteract the severe consequences of eutrophication on water quality and ecosystem health, nutrient inputs have been reduced in many lakes and reservoirs during the last decades. Contrary to expectations, in some lakes phytoplankton biomass did not decrease in response to oligotrophication (nutrient reduction). The underlying mechanisms preventing a decrease in biomass in these lakes are the subject of ongoing discussion.
2. We used a hitherto unpublished long-term data set ranging from 1961 until 2016 from a German drinking water reservoir (Rappbode Reservoir) to investigate the underlying mechanisms preventing a decrease in biomass. Total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the Rappbode Reservoir dropped abruptly in 1990 from 0.163 to 0.027 mg/L within three consecutive years, as a result of banning phosphate-containing detergents. Despite substantial reductions in TP, total annual phytoplankton biomass did not decline in the long-run, and therefore, the yield of total phytoplankton biomass per unit phosphorus largely increased.
3. Regression analysis revealed a positive association between the yield and potentially phagotrophic mixotrophs (R2 = .465, p < .001). We infer that by ingesting bacteria, mixotrophic species were capable of exploiting additional P sources that are not accessible to obligate autotrophic phytoplankton, eventually preventing a decrease in algal biomass after TP reductions.
4. Long-term epilimnetic phosphorus concentrations during the winter mixing period decreased to a greater degree than summer phosphorus concentrations. Apparently, TP losses over the season were less intense. Spring diatom biomass also markedly decreased after oligotrophication. In fact, spring diatom biomass was positively related to the TP loss over the season suggesting diatoms play an
important role in P reduction. However, this intraannual P processing was not the primary factor when focusing on the average yearly yield, which remained to be fully explained by mixotrophs.
5. Our study demonstrates this ecosystem’s ability to compensate for changes in resource availability through changes in phytoplankton community composition and functional strategies. We conclude that an increase in mixotrophy and the ability to make bacterial phosphorus available for phytoplankters were the main factors that allowed the phytoplankton community of the Rappbode Reservoir to adapt to lower nutrient levels without a loss in total biomass.
Generating a more detailed understanding of domestic electricity demand is a major topic for energy suppliers and householders in times of climate change.
Over the years there have been many studies on consumption feedback systems to inform householders, disaggregation algorithms for Non-Intrusive-Load-Monitoring (NILM), Real-Time-Pricing (RTP) to promote supply aware behavior through monetary incentives and appliance usage prediction algorithms. While these studies are vital steps towards energy awareness, one of the most fundamental challenges has not yet been tackled: Automated detection of start and stop of usage cycles of household appliances. We argue that most research efforts in this area will benefit from a reliable segmentation method to provide accurate usage information.
We propose a SVM-based segmentation method for home appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines. The method is evaluated using manually annotated electricity measurements of five different appliances recorded over two years in multiple households.