Execution Steps Research Articles

Numerical Estimation of Stability Region of Self-Clocked Bipedal Robots with Inertial Disk

Bipedal robot control techniques implementing self clocking properties, as presented in Westervelt et al. (Feedback control of dynamic bipedal robot locomotion, Taylor & Francis LLC, Milton Park, 2007) and Novaes et al. (IFAC 19th world congress, 4843–4848, 2014), have desirable properties, like the ability to drive the robot step with respect to its own geometry. In this control technique, one of the possible angular coordinates of the robot is made monotonic during the step execution. The other angular coordinates will track reference functions of the former. One difficulty with this approach is to determine the region around the nominal step for which the stability is assured. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to estimate this stability region by computing numerically an interval matrix related to a Poincare return map. In conjunction with the algorithm proposed in Ahn and Chen (IEEE Trans Autom Control 52(3):510–514, 2007), we are able to determine the maximum singular value of this interval matrix and so determine a guaranteed stability region.

Context-aware security: Linguistic mechanisms and static analysis

Adaptive systems improve their efficiency by modifying their behaviour to respond to changes in their operational environment. Also, security must adapt to these changes and policy enforcement becomes dependent on the dynamic contexts. We study these issues within MLCoDa, (the core of) an adaptive declarative language proposed recently. A main characteristic of MLCoDa is to have two components: a logical one for handling the context and a functional one for computing. We extend this language with security policies that are expressed in logical terms. They are of two different kinds: context and application policies. The first, unknown ap riorito an application, protect the context from unwanted changes. The others protect the applications from malicious actions of the context, can be nested and can be activated and deactivated according to their scope. An execution step can only occur if all the policies in force hold, under the control of an execution monitor. Beneficial to this is a type and effect system, which safely approximates the behaviour of an application, and a further static analysis, based on the computed effect. The last analysis can only be carried on at load time, when the execution context is known, and it enables us to efficiently enforce the security policies on the code execution, by instrumenting applications. The monitor is thus implemented within MLCoDa, and it is only activated on those policies that may be infringed, and switched off otherwise.

IIR model identification using a modified inclined planes system optimization algorithm

Inclined planes system optimization (IPO) is a new optimization algorithm inspired by the sliding motion dynamic along a frictionless inclined surface. In this paper, with the aim of create a powerful trade-off between the concepts of exploitation and exploration, and rectify the complexity of their structural parameters in the standard IPO, a modified version of IPO (called MIPO) is introduced as an efficient optimization algorithm for digital infinite-impulse-response (IIR) filters model identification. The IIR model identification is a complex and practical challenging problem due to multimodal error surface entanglement that many researches have been reported for it. In this work, MIPO utilizes an appropriate mechanism based on the executive steps of algorithm with the constant damp factors. To do this, unknown filter parameters are considered as a vector to be optimized. In implementation, at first, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, 10 well-known benchmark functions have been considered for evaluating and testing. In addition, statistical analysis on the powerfulness, efficiency and applicability of the MIPO algorithm are presented. Obtained results in compared to some other popular methods, confirm the efficiency of the MIPO algorithm that makes the best optimal solutions and has a better performance and acceptable solutions.

Let’s talk about firm responsibility: the perception of individual Ghanaian shareholders on corporate social responsibility

Purpose This paper aims to examine the perception of individual Ghanaian shareholders on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach In consequence of the largely unexplored nature of the issue of CSR, the authors use a qualitative analysis to offer the painstaking understanding needed about this issue. Individual Ghanaian shareholders who have absolute control over what companies they desire to invest were selected as the participants. Findings The findings show that individual shareholders believe there is the need for corporate directors and managers to take into consideration the interests of all corporate stakeholders-workers, customers, shareholders, suppliers, the local community and the environment- in fashioning out their CSR policies. It also shows the relevance individual shareholders attach to each of those CSRs within each corporate stakeholder group. For instance, the individual shareholders think that it is most relevant for firms to put implementable measures in place to reduce or minimise harm to the environment. Also, with respect to workers, firms are the first and foremost to ensure a hale and hearty and secured work environment. Further, with respect to customers, firms have to offer standard or quality products and services to them. More so, in regards to suppliers, corporate directors and managers have to offer them reasonable prices for their products. Finally, on the part of the local community, firms have to effectively assist them. Practical implications The practical approach to problems and affairs of individual Ghanaian shareholders is indicated by how much importance they attach to each corporate responsibility matter, and also they appreciate that a firm cannot thrive or survive for long if it refuses or totally abandons the needs of other corporate stakeholder categories. It will thus be of relevance to firms to take executable steps to deal with the needs of other corporate stakeholder groups brought up by the individual shareholders. As a matter of fact, the vivid descriptions of each of the matters concerning CSR of the individual shareholders present an important policy guideline for corporate directors and corporate managers to establish good-natured relationship between their firms and other corporate stakeholder groups. Originality/value This paper contributes to the knowledge on CSR by establishing that even though individual shareholders are interested in personal economic benefits, they want their firms to be socially responsible to meet the interests of other corporate stakeholder groups.

Busy beaver machines and the observant otter heuristic (or how to tame dreadful dragons)

The busy beaver is a well-known specific example of a non-computable function. Whilst many aspects of this problem have been investigated, it is not always easy to find thorough and convincing evidence for the claims made about the maximality of particular machines, and the phenomenal size of some of the numbers involved means that it is not obvious that the problem can be feasibly addressed at all. In this paper we address both of these issues. We discuss a framework in which the busy beaver problem and similar problems may be addressed, and the appropriate processes for providing evidence of claims made. We also show how a simple heuristic, which we call the observant otter, can be used to evaluate machines with an extremely large number of execution steps required to terminate. We also show empirical results for an implementation of this heuristic which show how this heuristic is effective for all known ‘monster’ machines.

Саміт НАТО – 2016: підсумки та перспективи для України

The article investigates the results and prospects of the NATO Summit in Warsaw in 2016 for Ukraine. It was determined that one of the Summit’s outcomes for Ukraine can be considered categorical NATO’s condemnation of aggression acts of the Russian Federation against our country, and also that will never be legitimized its actions on the change of borders, in particular the annexation of Crimea and support of separatism in Ukraine. It is proved that the approval of the Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine will contribute to the reforming of the defense and security structures based on NATO’s standards and principles, including the establishment of civilian democratic control over the armed forces and to ensure their interoperability with NATO. Reasoned argument that the presentation of the Strategic Defense Bulletin of Ukraine at the Summit is a demonstration of execution of the programming steps of Ukraine’s cooperation with NATO, but at the same time, its practical component of the full implementation raises a number of doubts. It is founded that the content of the joint statement of the Commission Ukraine – NATO at the highest level is, to a greater extent, declarative than practical. It made a conclusion that the outcomes of the NATO Summit on Ukraine could be more if the Ukrainian delegation had previously worked in more detail the practical component of their positions. It was determined that an important issue for Ukraine in the future will clearly define NATO’s position with regard to the Russian Federation. On how quickly this happens will depends the further determining (or, perhaps, transformation) of the course of cooperation with NATO.

컴퓨터공학 분야의 캡스톤디자인 모델 사례 연구

본 연구에서는 동양미래대학 컴퓨터정보공학과의 캡스톤디자인 관련 교과목을 소개하고, 2015년 1년 동안의 운영 사례를 통하여 컴퓨터공학 분야의 캡스톤디자인 모델을 제안한다. 2015학년도 1학기와 2학기에 각각 운영된 '시스템분석설계'와 '졸업작품(종합설계)'에 대한 운영 사례에서 수업 일정과 내용 등을 제시하고, 컴퓨터공학 분야에서 창의적 문제해결 능력을 갖춘 현장실무형 인재양성을 위한 캡스톤디자인의 성공적인 운영을 위해 캡스톤디자인 모델의 수행 단계를 교과목계획, 프로젝트계획, 개발 구현, 결과보고, 학생 및 교과목평가, 교과목환류의 6단계로 제안하며, 각 단계에서의 주요 사항을 제시한다. 본 연구의 캡스톤디자인 모델의 특징은 거시적인 관점에서 '교과목계획'과 '교과목환류'와 같은 사전 사후 단계의 필요성과 중요성을 제시하며, 소프트웨어공학 요소인 프로토타입과 형상관리 등을 활용한다는 점이다. In this paper, we describe capstone-related courses in the Computer information department of Dongyang-Mirae University and propose a capstone design model for computer engineering discipline based on operating experiences during the last year. Class schedules and contents, etc are presented from the case studies of two courses on system analysis and design and graduation work(capstone design) opened in 2015. Towards the successful operation of capstone design targeted to training practical and talented professionals with creative problem-solving skills, we propose six execution steps along with principal activities and outputs: Course plan, Project plan, Development, Reporting, Evaluation of students and coursework, and Course feedback. The capstone design model of this study is characterized by presenting the necessity and importance of pre and post steps such as 'Course Plan' and 'Course reflux' from a macroscopic view and by applying software engineering techniques such as prototyping, configuration managements, etc to it.

Organising LTL monitors over distributed systems with a global clock

Users wanting to monitor distributed systems often prefer to abstract away the architecture of the system by directly specifying correctness properties on the global system behaviour. To support this abstraction, a compilation of the properties would not only involve the typical choice of monitoring algorithm, but also the organisation of submonitors across the component network. Existing approaches, considered in the context of LTL properties over distributed systems with a global clock, include the so-called orchestration and migration approaches. In the orchestration approach, a central monitor receives the events from all subsystems. In the migration approach, LTL formulae transfer themselves across subsystems to gather local information. We propose a third way of organising submonitors: choreography, where monitors are organised as a tree across the distributed system, and each child feeds intermediate results to its parent. We formalise choreography-based decentralised monitoring by showing how to synthesise a network from an LTL formula, and give a decentralised monitoring algorithm working on top of an LTL network. We prove the algorithm correct and implement it in a benchmark tool. We also report on an empirical investigation comparing these three approaches on several concerns of decentralised monitoring: the delay in reaching a verdict due to communication latency, the number and size of the messages exchanged, and the number of execution steps required to reach the verdict.

O uso do método de revisão sistemática da literatura na pesquisa em logística, transportes e cadeia de suprimentos

A revisão da literatura é uma etapa chave da pesquisa em qualquer campo da ciência. Na área de logística e transportes se destaca o uso da Revisão Sistemática da Literatura (RSL). Este método apresenta um processo replicável e auditável de execução, mas não está livre do viés e da subjetividade do pesquisador e de falhas em sua execução que podem comprometer os resultados da revisão. Diante destas dificuldades, o trabalho propõe a adoção de critérios de avaliação da qualidade na condução da RSL de forma a identificar falhas e corrigi-las. Para demonstrar a aplicabilidade da proposta, três estudos de caso na área de logística e transportes são avaliados. A aplicação permitiu identificar falhas na execução da RSL e apontar formas de correção das mesmas. Ressalta-se que os critérios propostos são úteis também para a avaliação da qualidade de revisões narrativas da literatura.

A GPU-based Soft Real-Time System for Simultaneous EEG Processing and Visualization

EEG processing is generally acknowledged as a computationally very intensive task. The execution of pre-processing steps, frequency domain operations and source localisation algorithms result in long execution times, which prohibit the use of high-resolution EEG brain imaging techniques outside research laboratory settings. We present a novel GPU-based streaming architecture, which has the potential to drastically reduce execution times and, at the same time, provide simultaneous 2D and 3D visualization facilities. The system uses a highly-optimised and re-configurable pipeline of CPU and GPU cores that attempts to exploit the tremendous computing power whenever possible. The system can process live data arriving from an EEG device or data stored in EEG data files. The computer drives a large display wall system consisting of four 46-inch monitors, which provides a 4K-resolution drawing surface for visualising raw EEG data, potential maps and various 3D views of the patient head. Two example brain imaging algorithms, the surface Laplacian and the spherical forward solution are used as an illustration for the effective use of the massively parallel GPU hardware in speeding up computations. The paper describes the architecture of the system, the key design decisions, and the performance optimization steps that were required to achieve sub-millisecond per-sample execution times. The control ow of the system is expressed in a very modular fashion in Java but the performance-critical algorithms are programmed in CUDA and run on the GPU. Relying on the CUDA-OpenGL interoperability bridge, the computing subsystem feeds visualisation results directly into the OpenGL pipeline, eliminating unnecessary GPU-Host data transfers. The system demonstrates that up to three orders of magnitude speedups are achievable compared to MATLAB implementations, and this processing speed can be maintained during simultaneous interactive 3D visualisation of the results.

Kinematic and behavioral analyses of protective stepping strategies and risk for falls among community living older adults

BackgroundProtective stepping evoked by externally applied lateral perturbations reveals balance deficits underlying falls. However, a lack of comprehensive information about the control of different stepping strategies in relation to the magnitude of perturbation limits understanding of balance control in relation to age and fall status. The aim of this study was to investigate different protective stepping strategies and their kinematic and behavioral control characteristics in response to different magnitudes of lateral waist-pulls between older fallers and non-fallers. MethodsFifty-two community-dwelling older adults (16 fallers) reacted naturally to maintain balance in response to five magnitudes of lateral waist-pulls. The balance tolerance limit (BTL, waist-pull magnitude where protective steps transitioned from single to multiple steps), first step control characteristics (stepping frequency and counts, spatial–temporal kinematic, and trunk position at landing) of four naturally selected protective step types were compared between fallers and non-fallers at- and above-BTL. FindingsFallers took medial-steps most frequently while non-fallers most often took crossover-back-steps. Only non-fallers varied their step count and first step control parameters by step type at the instants of step initiation (onset time) and termination (trunk position), while both groups modulated step execution parameters (single stance duration and step length) by step type. Group differences were generally better demonstrated above-BTL. InterpretationFallers primarily used a biomechanically less effective medial-stepping strategy that may be partially explained by reduced somato-sensation. Fallers did not modulate their step parameters by step type at first step initiation and termination, instances particularly vulnerable to instability, reflecting their limitations in balance control during protective stepping.

Synchrony of gaze and stepping patterns in people with Parkinson’s disease

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are more dependent than healthy individuals on visual information in an on-line manner to guarantee accurate foot placement into an intended stepping target. Patients with PD and age-matched healthy participants walked along a pathway and were required to step onto either one or two targets during the walk trial. Outcome measures included absolute error (accuracy) and error variability (precision) of foot placement onto the first target, and the time interval between the gaze transfer away from the first target and heel contact on the same target. When there was a single target in the travel path, both groups fixated the target until after heel contact on the target. However, when challenged with an additional target, both groups transferred their gaze from the first target prior to heel contact. Interestingly, only people with PD increased anterior-posterior absolute error (first target) when there was more than one target in the travel path. Premature gaze transfer was associated with decline in stepping accuracy (anterior-posterior absolute error) in people with PD. These findings suggest that both people with PD and healthy individuals prioritize the planning of future actions over the execution of ongoing steps, while walking. Additionally, current findings support the notion people with PD are more dependent on visual feedback to make on-line corrections and adjustments to their foot trajectory in order to guarantee accurate foot placement into an intended stepping target.

Analysis of Multilevel Risk Measurement Algorithm of Software Projects Based on Grey Variable Weight Clustering Model

The development process of the software system is influenced by multi factors, thus the risk control of software projects is of vital importance. Targeting at the features including multi-factor, multilayer, fuzziness and uncertainty during the process of risk assessment of software projects, this paper analyzed the risk measurement of software projects and proposed a multilevel risk measurement algorithm of software projects based on grey variable weight clustering model. This algorithm firstly analyzed the influencing factors of the risk control of software projects, establishing a multilevel risk measurement system for software projects; next, establishing the whitenization weight functions of different measurement indexes and different measurement grades of software projects risks respectively on the basis of the grey system theory, and under the condition of considering the degree of importance of the indexes of different levels, the corresponding risk measurement algorithm of software projects based on grey variable weight clustering model was established; then the paper presented the detailed execution steps of this algorithm and discussed the detailed process to achieve the algorithm. Finally, the algorithm was verified through the case study.

Unexpected perturbations training improves balance control and voluntary stepping times in older adults - a double blind randomized control trial.

BackgroundFalls are common among elderly, most of them occur while slipping or tripping during walking. We aimed to explore whether a training program that incorporates unexpected loss of balance during walking able to improve risk factors for falls.MethodsIn a double-blind randomized controlled trial 53 community dwelling older adults (age 80.1±5.6 years), were recruited and randomly allocated to an intervention group (n = 27) or a control group (n = 26). The intervention group received 24 training sessions over 3 months that included unexpected perturbation of balance exercises during treadmill walking. The control group performed treadmill walking with no perturbations. The primary outcome measures were the voluntary step execution times, traditional postural sway parameters and Stabilogram-Diffusion Analysis. The secondary outcome measures were the fall efficacy Scale (FES), self-reported late life function (LLFDI), and Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA).ResultsCompared to control, participation in intervention program that includes unexpected loss of balance during walking led to faster Voluntary Step Execution Times under single (p = 0.002; effect size [ES] =0.75) and dual task (p = 0.003; [ES] = 0.89) conditions; intervention group subjects showed improvement in Short-term Effective diffusion coefficients in the mediolateral direction of the Stabilogram-Diffusion Analysis under eyes closed conditions (p = 0.012, [ES] = 0.92). Compared to control there were no significant changes in FES, LLFDI, and POMA.ConclusionsAn intervention program that includes unexpected loss of balance during walking can improve voluntary stepping times and balance control, both previously reported as risk factors for falls. This however, did not transferred to a change self-reported function and FES.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Registration number: NCT01439451.

A methodological framework for the development of feasible CO2 conversion processes

Converting captured CO2 feedstock into valuable chemical products is viewed as one of the potential ways to reduce atmospheric CO2 emission. To this end, a methodological framework is suggested to support the development of feasible CO2 conversion processes that can contribute to the CO2 reduction by replacing non-CO2 utilizing processes or non CO2-based products. The framework encompasses several execution and decision steps and uses three main criteria, which are the demand availability, CO2 reduction feasibility, and economic feasibility. As an illustrative example, a methanol plant employing combined reforming (CR) of methane reaction is developed. To supply the CO2 feedstock, the aMDEA-based CO2 capture applied to a SMR-based H2 plant is considered. A baseline process is developed and is compared with a non-CO2 utilizing conventional methanol plant (process substitution) and a gasoline production process (product substitution) in terms of the established criteria. For the former, it is verified that the methanol production via combined reforming leads to cheaper unit production cost as well as lower net CO2 emission compared to the conventional methanol plant. For the latter, it is shown that the feasibility of the CO2-based methanol as an alternative fuel to gasoline highly depends on the type and price of the raw materials. To improve the developed baseline CO2 conversion process further, (1) some of the combined reforming reaction related design variables are fine-tuned using a sensitivity analysis and an equilibrated syngas plot, and (2) utilization of various renewable energy resources for the internal electricity demand is examined.

Geena 2, improved automated analysis of MALDI/TOF mass spectra.

BackgroundMass spectrometry (MS) is producing high volumes of data supporting oncological sciences, especially for translational research. Most of related elaborations can be carried out by combining existing tools at different levels, but little is currently available for the automation of the fundamental steps.For the analysis of MALDI/TOF spectra, a number of pre-processing steps are required, including joining of isotopic abundances for a given molecular species, normalization of signals against an internal standard, background noise removal, averaging multiple spectra from the same sample, and aligning spectra from different samples.In this paper, we present Geena 2, a public software tool for the automated execution of these pre-processing steps for MALDI/TOF spectra.ResultsGeena 2 has been developed in a Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP web development environment, with scripts in PHP and Perl. Input and output are managed as simple formats that can be consumed by any database system and spreadsheet software. Input data may also be stored in a MySQL database. Processing methods are based on original heuristic algorithms which are introduced in the paper.Three simple and intuitive web interfaces are available: the Standard Search Interface, which allows a complete control over all parameters, the Bright Search Interface, which leaves to the user the possibility to tune parameters for alignment of spectra, and the Quick Search Interface, which limits the number of parameters to a minimum by using default values for the majority of parameters.Geena 2 has been utilized, in conjunction with a statistical analysis tool, in three published experimental works: a proteomic study on the effects of long-term cryopreservation on the low molecular weight fraction of serum proteome, and two retrospective serum proteomic studies, one on the risk of developing breat cancer in patients affected by gross cystic disease of the breast (GCDB) and the other for the identification of a predictor of breast cancer mortality following breast cancer surgery, whose results were validated by ELISA, a completely alternative method.ConclusionsGeena 2 is a public tool for the automated pre-processing of MS data originated by MALDI/TOF instruments, with a simple and intuitive web interface. It is now under active development for the inclusion of further filtering options and for the adoption of standard formats for MS spectra.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-016-0911-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Biomechanics of Step Initiation After Balance Recovery With Implications for Humanoid Robot Locomotion.

Balance-recovery stepping is often necessary for both a human and humanoid robot to avoid a fall by taking a single step or multiple steps after an external perturbation. The determination of where to step to come to a complete stop has been studied, but little is known about the strategy for initiation of forward motion from the static position following such a step. The goal of this study was to examine the human strategy for stepping by moving the back foot forward from a static, double-support position, comparing parameters from normal step length (SL) to those from increasing SLs to the point of step failure, to provide inspiration for a humanoid control strategy. Healthy young adults instrumented with joint reflective markers executed a prescribed-length step from rest while marker positions and ground reaction forces (GRFs) were measured. The participants were scaled to the Gait2354 model in opensim software to calculate body kinematic and joint kinetic parameters, with further post-processing in matlab. With increasing SL, participants reduced both static and push-off back-foot GRF. Body center of mass (CoM) lowered and moved forward, with additional lowering at the longer steps, and followed a path centered within the initial base of support (BoS). Step execution was successful if participants gained enough forward momentum at toe-off to move the instantaneous capture point (ICP) to within the BoS defined by the final position of both feet on the front force plate. All lower extremity joint torques increased with SL except ankle joint. Front knee work increased dramatically with SL, accompanied by decrease in back-ankle work. As SL increased, the human strategy changed, with participants shifting their CoM forward and downward before toe-off, thus gaining forward momentum, while using less propulsive work from the back ankle and engaging the front knee to straighten the body. The results have significance for human motion, suggesting the upper limit of the SL that can be completed with back-ankle push-off before additional knee flexion and torque is needed. For biped control, the results support stability based on capture-point dynamics and suggest strategy for center-of-mass trajectory and distribution of ground force reactions that can be compared with robot controllers for initiation of gait after recovery steps.

A concurrency semantics for relaxed atomics that permits optimisation and avoids thin-air executions

Despite much research on concurrent programming languages, especially for Java and C/C++, we still do not have a satisfactory definition of their semantics, one that admits all common optimisations without also admitting undesired behaviour. Especially problematic are the ``thin-air'' examples involving high-performance concurrent accesses, such as C/C++11 relaxed atomics. The C/C++11 model is in a per-candidate-execution style, and previous work has identified a tension between that and the fact that compiler optimisations do not operate over single candidate executions in isolation; rather, they operate over syntactic representations that represent all executions. In this paper we propose a novel approach that circumvents this difficulty. We define a concurrency semantics for a core calculus, including relaxed-atomic and non-atomic accesses, and locks, that admits a wide range of optimisation while still forbidding the classic thin-air examples. It also addresses other problems relating to undefined behaviour. The basic idea is to use an event-structure representation of the current state of each thread, capturing all of its potential executions, and to permit interleaving of execution and transformation steps over that to reflect optimisation (possibly dynamic) of the code. These are combined with a non-multi-copy-atomic storage subsystem, to reflect common hardware behaviour. The semantics is defined in a mechanised and executable form, and designed to be implementable above current relaxed hardware and strong enough to support the programming idioms that C/C++11 does for this fragment. It offers a potential way forward for concurrent programming language semantics, beyond the current C/C++11 and Java models.

Trigger Detection for Adaptive Scientific Workflows Using Percentile Sampling

The increasing complexity of both scientific simulations and high-performance computing system architectures are driving the need for adaptive workflows, in which the composition and execution of computational and data manipulation steps dynamically depend on the evolutionary state of the simulation itself. Consider, for example, the frequency of data storage. Critical phases of the simulation should be captured with high frequency and with high fidelity for postanalysis; however, we cannot afford to retain the same frequency for the full simulation due to the high cost of data movement. We can instead look for triggers, indicators that the simulation will be entering a critical phase, and adapt the workflow accordingly. In this paper, we present a methodology for detecting triggers and demonstrate its use in the context of direct numerical simulations of turbulent combustion using S3D. We show that chemical explosive mode analysis (CEMA) can be used to devise a noise-tolerant indicator for rapid increase in heat release. However, exhaustive computation of CEMA values dominates the total simulation, and thus is prohibitively expensive. To overcome this computational bottleneck, we propose a quantile sampling approach. Our sampling-based algorithm comes with provable error/confidence bounds, as a function of the number of samples. Most importantly, the number of samples is independent of the problem size, and thus our proposed sampling algorithm offers perfect scalability. Our experiments on homogeneous charge compression ignition and reactivity controlled compression ignition simulations show that the proposed method can detect rapid increases in heat release, and its computational overhead is negligible. Our results will be used to make dynamic workflow decisions regarding data storage and mesh resolution in future combustion simulations.

Modelling Dependencies to Improve the Cross-domain Collaboration in the Engineering Process of Special Purpose Machinery

Due to individual customer demands the efficiency of the engineering process becomes more and more important for special purpose machine manufacturers. The engineering process is a cross-domain challenge between mechanics, electrics and software, but a lack of collaboration and information transfer between the domains leads to suboptimal efficiency of engineering. To improve the cross-domain collaboration this paper presents the Manufacturing System Dependency Model (MaSDeM). The basic idea of MaSDeM is to install a cross-domain solution model at the beginning of the engineering process in order to design, discuss and harmonise the principle solution with all participants involved in this project. This solution model is based on partial models, representing the performance specification by the customer, the physical layout and the detailed execution of the manufacturing steps. The partial models and their specific elements are strongly interconnected. The interconnections are realised with dependencies between the elements representing the influence that the elements have on each other. The creation of a network of dependencies provides advanced information on the system and enables the engineer to take profound decisions. This improves the cross-domain collaboration and thereby increases the efficiency of engineering. The benefit of modelling dependencies is related to the effort involved in creating and updating the model. The realisation of MaSDeM in a software tool is therefore presented concentrating on the efficient usability of the tool.