Outdoor Environments Research Articles

Integration of two different road network models for emergency rescue pathfinding in indoor and outdoor environments

Abstract The environment of buildings and outdoor transportation in urban areas is becoming increasingly complex. This poses a challenge for rescue pathfinding once an emergency occurs, which relies on the generation of road network models. To better balance efficiency and accuracy in pathfinding, a three-dimensional integrated road network model (3D-IRNM) derived from grid and topological road network models was developed in this study. Firstly, a cross-platform data loading method from building information model to geographic information systems (GIS) is proposed, to serve as a data source for road network model generation, visual enhancement, and breaking the barriers between different spatial data format models. Then, the topological and grid road network models are generated in indoor spaces of different functions, with IRNM obtained by the integration strategy. The 3D-IRNM can be formed by extracting indoor vertical paths from the stairs and connecting them with the IRNM of each floor. To further combine the 3D-IRNM with outdoor environments, a CrossNode model is then proposed. Besides, an adaptive pathfinding algorithm is also proposed. Finally, the construction of an emergency pathfinding system based on GIS technology is achieved. The pathfinding algorithm and the structure of 3D-IRNM help the pathfinding both efficiency and accuracy. The practicability of the designed 3D-IRNM together with its pathfinding algorithm is well verified.

Superhydrophilic antireflection films with excellent optical and mechanical performance for perovskite solar cells

SiO2-based antireflection (AR) films can obviously improve the transmittance of the glass cover on the solar cells. Nevertheless, it’s still challenging to fabricate SiO2 films in a facile way with great antireflective properties, high hardness and good weather resistance to ensure their long-term use in outdoor environments. To solve this problem, a double-layer broadband SiO2 antireflective film with high transmittance increase and excellent mechanical properties was successfully prepared via an acid-catalyzed sol–gel method using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as pore-forming agent. The porous PEG2000-modified SiO2 films were selected as the outer layer for coating onto the pure SiO2 film to form double-layer SiO2 films with graded refractive index. When the mass ratio of PEG2000 to TEOS was 40 %, the obtained film showed the highest transmittance increase of 3.03 % in the wavelength range of 380–1100 nm and a high hardness of 3H. After applied to the perovskite solar cell, a significant enhancement of 1.19 % in photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) was achieved compared to the solar cell covered with bare substrate. Furthermore, the water contact angle (WCA) was also reduced to 6° while that of pure SiO2 film was 51.3°, endowing the double-layer SiO2 film superhydrophilic and anti-fogging performance. After the weather resistance test, the transmittance loss of the film was only 0.38 %. Therefore, this work demonstrated that the use of an appropriate amount of pore-forming agent PEG and the double-layer graded refractive index structure can enhance the transmittance of acid-catalyzed SiO₂ films, while maintaining high hardness and good weathering resistance for perovskite solar cells.

Path loss, angular spread and channel sparsity modeling for indoor and outdoor environments at the sub-THz band

In this paper, we present new measurement results to model large-scale path loss, angular spread and channel sparsity at the sub-THz (141–145 GHz) band, for both indoor and outdoor scenarios. Extensive measurement campaigns have been carried out, taking into account both line-of-sight (LoS) and non line-of-sight (NLoS) propagation. For all considered propagation scenarios, omni-directional and directional path loss models have been developed, based on the so-called close-in (CI) free-space reference distance model. A power angular spread analysis is further presented. The sparsity of the wireless channel has also been studied by employing suitable metrics, namely the so-called Gini index (GI), the Ricean K-factor and the root mean square (RMS) delay spread.

Highly Stable Polyimide Composite Nanofiber Membranes with Spectrally Selective for Passive Daytime Radiative Cooling.

Passive radiative cooling technology without electric consumption is an emerging sustainability technology that plays a key role in advancing sustainable development. However, most radiative cooling materials are vulnerable to outdoor contamination and thermal/UV exposure, which leads to decreased performance. Herein, we report a hierarchically structured polyimide/zinc oxide (PINF/ZnO) composite membrane that integrates sunlight reflectance of 91.4% in the main thermal effect of the solar spectrum (0.78-1.1 μm), the mid-infrared emissivity of 90.0% (8-13 μm), UV shielding performance, thermal resistance, and ideal hydrophobicity. The comprehensive performance enables the composite membrane to yield a temperature drop of ∼9.3 °C, compared to the air temperature, under the peak solar irradiance of ∼800 W m-2. In addition, the temperature drop of as-obtained composite membranes after heating at 200 °C for 6 h in a nitrogen/air atmosphere can be well maintained at ∼9.0 °C, demonstrating their ideal radiative cooling effect in a high-temperature environment. Additionally, the PINF/ZnO composite membrane shows excellent chemical durability after exposure to the outdoor environment. This work provides a new strategy to integrate chemical durability and thermal resistance with radiative cooling, presenting great potential for passive radiative cooling materials toward practical applications in harsh environments.

Foothold selection during locomotion in uneven terrain: Results from the integration of eye tracking, motion capture, and photogrammetry.

Relatively little is known about the way vision is used to guide locomotion in the natural world. What visual features are used to choose paths in natural complex terrain? To answer this question, we measured eye and body movements while participants walked in natural outdoor environments. We incorporated measurements of the 3D terrain structure into our analyses and reconstructed the terrain along the walker's path, applying photogrammetry techniques to the eyetracker's scene camera videos. Combining these reconstructions with the walker's body movements, we demonstrate that walkers take terrain structure into account when selecting paths through an environment. We find that they change direction to avoid taking steeper steps that involve large height changes, instead of choosing more circuitous, relatively flat paths. Our data suggest walkers plan the location of individual footholds and plan ahead to select flatter paths. These results provide evidence that locomotor behavior in natural environments is controlled by decision mechanisms that account for multiple factors, including sensory and motor information, costs, and path planning.

Photo-Induced Degradation of Priority Air Pollutants on TiO2-Based Coatings in Indoor and Outdoor Environments—A Mechanistic View of the Processes at the Air/Catalyst Interface

Photo-Induced Degradation of Priority Air Pollutants on TiO2-Based Coatings in Indoor and Outdoor Environments—A Mechanistic View of the Processes at the Air/Catalyst Interface

ANALYSIS OF INFLUENCING PARAMETERS ON AN OFF-DESIGN INDIRECT EVAPORATIVE COOLING MODEL

Evaporative cooling has been considered for sustainable and efficient air-conditioning since ancient times. Nowadays, improved concepts have led to a large variety of applications from direct conditioning of indoor and outdoor environments up to sensible air-cooling through different configurations of Indirect Evaporative Cooling (IEC) schemes. However, better understanding and mathematical modelling of the process is still needed for design and operational optimization of such systems. This work addresses a MATLAB implementation of an off-design model for a crossflow IEC unit based on previous literature work. Then, multiple parametric runs are conducted to identify the influence of critical process characteristics and modelling aspects such as heat and mass transfer coefficients and surface wettability. Results provide insight to further modelling and simulation research, also extending the approach to other system designs and flow configurations.

3D spacer fabric structured airflow channel for enhanced solar desalination with efficient multi-energy harvesting

Solar steam generation (SSG) is a sustainable way to drive seawater desalination and wastewater purification with green environmental energies including solar radiation, ambient heat, and airflow. Airflow is ubiquitous in outdoor environments, however, the utilization of airflow for accelerated evaporation through structure engineering remains unclear. Herein, environmental energies are efficiently utilized in an integrated way with the rational design of 3D spacer fabric. Carbon fiber bundles with broadband photothermal conversion ability and Tencel yarns with superior hydrophilicity are fabricated into the 3D spacer fabric. The stereoscopic airflow channel, wide evaporation surface area, and separated layers are constructed to optimize airflow pathways. Heat loss is reduced through the accelerated evaporation cooling effect. Extra ambient heat is harvested for cold evaporation by efficient airflow utilization. The evaporation rate of 3D spacer fabric reaches 5.15 kg·m−2·h−1 under a convective airflow of 3.5 m·s−1, which is twice the rate of traditional plain fabrics. The outstanding salt resistance is realized due to the separate design of photothermal and water supply layers as well as the continuous water circulation. The structural engineering of condenser devices is also investigated for enhanced airflow utilization. Overall, this work presents an effective and comprehensive multi-energy harvesting strategy to achieve rapid and durable SSG for practical clean water production.

Ambient gamma radiation level around Kaveri river basin, Karnataka state, India.

Studies on ambient gamma radiation in indoor and outdoor environment and their effect on human health have created interest among the researchers across the world. The present study represents the results of indoor and outdoor ambient gamma dose rates around the Kaveri river basin from Talakaveri (Madikeri district) to Mekedatu (Ramanagara district) by using portable Environmental Radiation Dosemeter. The annual effective dose in the present study area varies between 0.14mSv.y-1 and 0.58mSv.y-1 with an average value of 0.30mSv.y-1 for indoor radiation. The outdoor annual effective dose ranged between 0.01mSv.y-1 and 0.14mSv.y-1 with an average value of 0.06mSv.y-1. The total annual effective dose varies from 0.17 to 0.72mSv.y-1 with an average value of 0.36mSv.y-1. The calculated values of indoor and outdoor annual effective dose in the study area (are found to be lower than the world average values (1mSv.y-1 and 0.48mSv.y-1).

Editorial Note

Abstract This Special Issue (SI) on Advanced Data Analytics and Technologies for Decoding Human Health & Well-being in Built Environments that comes to partial closure in this issue is a necessary first step in a larger and longer conversation centered on the well-being of the people within built environments. The discussion started in 2022 with an International Workshop in Nottingham, UK, funded by the US National Science Foundation. The workshop, titled “Biosensing-enabled, Wellbeing-Centric Sustainable Built Environment Ecosystems,” covers the topics of human health and well-being, and the use of data and building energy technologies were discussed amply by a group of experts from the US and the UK. Fundamental questions in this conversation include how it may be possible to measure and quantify human well-being in different contexts of indoor and outdoor environments, workplaces, or health centers and how technology at different scales and components, from the individual scale to the outdoor, community environments, can enable a reasonable state of well-being.

Improving energy consumption for dynamic intake and exhaust FAÇADES: A new setup design: Part B

Dynamic insulation technology adjusts thermal resistance to reduce building energy consumption in response to climate changes. Sustainable building practices prioritize optimizing the building envelope to enhance energy efficiency and regulate the interaction between indoor and outdoor environments. The previous part of this study (Part A) provided an overview of dynamic insulation technology and its potential effectiveness in Iraqi structures with intermittent heating and cooling. The successful implementation of dynamic thermal insulation necessitates careful planning and design solutions that balance performance and efficiency. This paper (Part B) three wall models (static, dynamic, modified dynamic) to evaluate their thermal performance during the heating season. The results demonstrate that the intake facade achieves a preheating efficiency of 77% for the dynamic wall and 81.8% for the modified dynamic wall at the maximum permissible fresh air limit. This improvement in efficiency enhances the quality and conditions of fresh air intake. Additionally, the modified dynamic wall exhibits a notable 50% reduction in pressure loss compared to the dynamic wall, resulting in lower intake or exhaust fan power and thus energy consumption. The results of this paper will guide the presentation of cooling season results and the experimental aspect of future work, offering valuable insights for further exploration. Practical applications This study aims to enhance the efficiency of dynamic facades by investigating the physical phenomena within wall layers. The paper delves into the determination of optimal airflow patterns within facades, the assessment of airflow path modifications, and the evaluation of energy efficiency achieved by implementing dynamic insulation at the intake and exhaust facades during the heating season. The findings contribute to streamlining design complexities and expanding design options for specific climates, thereby ensuring the pragmatic implementation of this technology.

Thermal performance assessment of exterior building walls under intermittent air-conditioning operation in China's hot summer and cold winter zone

Optimizing the design and accurately assessing the performance of building envelopes are critical for substantially reducing energy use in the building sector. Existing studies on methods for evaluating the thermal performance of building envelopes have primarily focused on periodic unsteady conditions (often associated with continuous air-conditioning operation). This study aims to investigate the initial transient thermal performance of exterior building envelopes. Specifically, we examined varying insulation distributions considering the hot summer and cold winter zone of China as an example. To simulate real-world conditions, we developed a dynamic hot box facility that mimics both outdoor and indoor environments, enabling the measurement of key parameters of the dynamic thermal process of the wall. We evaluated the thermal response, energy performance, and heat storage metrics of the wall to understand the impact of the insulation distribution and air-conditioning operation modes on the thermal performance of opaque building walls. This assessment covered six intermittent operation stages—four construction structures and two types of building usage—for both summer and winter conditions. The proposed methodology provides a quantitative approach for assessing the dynamic thermal processes of the wall, with the results indicating that the heat transmission of walls during intermittent operation exhibited initial transient characteristics. As a result, thermal performance indices suitable for periodic unsteady conditions could not be directly applied to initial transient conditions. To address this issue, the metrics of daily mean dynamic thermal transmittance and daily mean dynamic thermal resistance were proposed and validated. These metrics accurately reflected the actual fluctuations in total transmission loads, thus providing an accurate rapid index-oriented method for assessing the energy-saving performance of walls. Overall, this study lays the groundwork for evaluating dynamic thermal behaviour of building envelopes.

Analysis of preschool children’s outdoor play behaviours

AbstractThis research aimed to observe preschoolers' outdoor play behaviours, gather their opinions about the outdoors and examine their drawings related to outdoor activities. Methodology: Using a mixed methods approach, children aged 60 to 69 months were studied over a 4-week period in a preschool setting. Observation, interviews, and drawing tasks were used as data sources, ensuring triangulation. The children's outdoor play behaviours were video-recorded, and their opinions were taken through one-on-one interviews. The children were asked to draw pictures of the materials they wanted to see in the playground. This study explored how the outdoor environment impacts children's play behaviour. Research Findings: Using content analysis and frequency distribution, we found that the most frequently played in the schoolyard was functional play, and they most often played alone and solitarily. Physical conditions, such as the schoolyard grounds, material diversity, and material types within the play environment, affected children's outdoor play behaviours. The schoolyard setting led children to consider alternative play types and toys. The children stated that they mostly preferred to play in the park area and playhouse within the schoolyard. The children also stated that they wanted to see fixed park components, sports, dramatic play, arts, entertainment, and natural areas. In addition, the observed play behaviours and children's views regarding the schoolyard supported one another. Practice and Policy: These results support the theory that the environment impacts behaviour and show that outdoor spaces tailored to children's wishes and needs are an effective way to encourage quality play behaviours.

Enhancing outdoor comfort through tensile membrane structures and pavement Surfaces: A case study report in Évora, Portugal

The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), developed in 2009 through collaboration among experts in human thermophysiology, aims to evaluate the relationship between the outdoor environment and human well-being. The case study focused on assessing the impact of shadowing and thermal masses on occupant outdoor thermal comfort as measured by the UTCI. The study specifically examined the effects of various designs of tensile membrane structures (TMS) on a U-shaped patio enclosed by nine maritime containers arranged in three groups of three levels in Évora, Portugal. The model tested fourteen TMS with varying slopes, overlap angles, lengths, repetitions, and four different pavements with distinct thermal mass layouts. The methodology employed dynamic simulation software, the energy engine EnergyPlus 2022, to assess the monthly variation of UTCI temperatures, comparing them to the scenario of an uncovered patio for each pavement configuration. The best-performing patio follows a TMS with a slope of 38.2°, an overlap of 74.4°, a length of 3.88 m, and five repetitions, accompanied by a full-concrete pavement. During winter (>9°C), the best-performing TMS underperforms against the uncovered patio by adding 1.1 °C but during summer (>26 °C), outperforms by reducing user discomfort by 9.4 °C. The global temperature deviation with the best-performing TMS sets at 3.3 °C, where the uncovered patio at 11.8 °C, is out of the comfort gap (9 °C to 26 °C) by 8.3 °C, benefiting user comfort across the year. The study highlights the potential of optimizing outdoor spaces based on UTCI measurements to create comfortable and user-friendly environments.

Spatial light assisted femtosecond laser direct writing of a bionic superhydrophobic Fresnel microlens arrays

High quality imaging and self-cleaning function are two significant factors for Fresnel Microlens Arrays (FMLAs) to operate properly in outdoor environment. Bionic superhydrophobic FMLAs are explored for outdoor uses due to their ability allowing free rolling down of water droplets taking away dust particles. Current photolithographic method of fabricating FMLAs involves multi-processing steps, which increase the complexity of the microlens array structure as well as reduces the optical imaging capability of the lenses. In this study, we report a method for creating bionic superhydrophobic FMLAs by integrating the Nepenthes Alata crescent structures with FMLAs fabricated by spatial light assisted femtosecond laser direct writing, i.e. Two-Photon Polymerization (TPP). The fabricated FMLAs were further modified with Perfluorooctyltrimethoxysilane (F13) to enhance hydrophobicity and surface uniformity. Results show that the optimized bionic FMLAs exhibit superhydrophobicity in different liquid media and excellent self-cleaning ability. The water contact angle (CA) reached 156.3°, a low rolling angle of 4.7°, and surface adhesion force of 25.5 μN. The FMLAs designed have excellent imaging characteristics and focusing ability. This research provides insights into the fabrication and performance optimization of bionic superhydrophobic FMLAs, offering potential applications for outdoor optical systems.

Nurtured by nature: Body appreciation and adaptive appearance management increase with nature exposure

Nature-based interventions have demonstrated positive effects on health behaviours and psychological states. Recent research has expanded to investigate the impact of nature exposure on body image, leaving ample room for further exploration into the influence of nature exposure on positive concerns related to appearance management. This paper examined the effect of nature exposure on body appreciation, adaptive appearance management, and the underlying psychological mechanism through an outdoor field study and two psychological experiments. Study 1 demonstrated that natural outdoor recreation increased body appreciation, and this effect was mediated by individuals' level of nature connectedness. Study 2 found that viewing images of natural outdoor environments facilitated greater adaptive appearance management. This relationship was sequentially mediated by both nature connectedness and body appreciation. Study 3 conducted a field study and revealed that viewing images of natural outdoor environments not only fostered body appreciation but also influenced participants’ intention to purchase grooming products, which are regarded as practices related to adaptive appearance management. These findings provide empirical evidence regarding the beneficial outcomes of exposure to natural outdoor environment, thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge in the domain of body image and appearance management.

Recent Developments in AI and ML for IoT: A Systematic Literature Review on LoRaWAN Energy Efficiency and Performance Optimization.

The field of the Internet of Things (IoT) is dominating various areas of technology. As the number of devices has increased, there is a need for efficient communication with low resource consumption and energy efficiency. Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) have emerged as a transformative technology for the IoT as they provide long-range communication capabilities with low power consumption. Among the various LPWAN technologies, Long Range Wide Area Networks (LoRaWAN) are widely adopted due to their open standard architecture, which supports secure, bi-directional communication and is particularly effective in outdoor and complex urban environments. This technology is helpful in enabling a variety of IoT applications that require wide coverage and long battery life, such as smart cities, industrial IoT, and environmental monitoring. The integration of Machine Leaning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into LoRaWAN operations has further enhanced its capability and particularly optimized resource allocation and energy efficiency. This systematic literature review provides a comprehensive examination of the integration of ML and AI technologies in the optimization of LPWANs, with a specific focus on LoRaWAN. This review follows the PRISMA model and systematically synthesizes current research to highlight how ML and AI enhance operational efficiency, particularly in terms of energy consumption, resource management, and network stability. The SLR aims to review the key methods and techniques that are used in state-of-the-art LoRaWAN to enhance the overall network performance. We identified 25 relevant primary studies. The study provides an analysis of key findings based on research questions on how various LoRaWAN parameters are optimized through advanced ML, DL, and RL techniques to achieve optimized performance.

PM10-bound microplastics and trace metals: A public health insight from the Korean subway and indoor environments

Inhalable airborne microplastics (MPs) presented in indoor and outdoor environments, can deeply penetrate the lungs, potentially triggering inflammation and respiratory illnesses. The present study aims to evaluate human health risks from respirable particulate matter (PM)-bound trace metals and MPs in indoor (SW- subway and IRH- indoor residential houses) and outdoor (OD) environments. This research provides an initial approach to human respiratory tract (HRT) mass depositions of PM10-bound total MPs and nine specific MP types to predict potential human health threats from inhalation exposure. Results indicate that PM-bound trace metals and MPs were around 4 times higher in SW microenvironments compared to OD locations. In IRH, cancer risk (CR) levels were estimated 9 and 4 times higher for PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. Additionally, MP particle depositions per gram of lung cell weight were highest in IRH (23.77), followed by OD and SW. Whereas, lifetime alveoli depositions of MPs were estimated at 13.73 MP/g, which exceeds previously reported respiratory disease fatality cases by 10 to 5 times. Prolonged exposure duration at IRH emerged as a key factor contributing to increased CR and MP lung deposition levels. This research highlights severe lung risks from inhaling PM-bound MPs and metals, offering valuable health insights.

Stereo-RIVO: Stereo-Robust Indirect Visual Odometry

Mobile robots and autonomous systems rely on advanced guidance modules which often incorporate cameras to enable key functionalities. These modules are equipped with visual odometry (VO) and visual simultaneous localization and mapping (VSLAM) algorithms that work by analyzing changes between successive frames captured by cameras. VO/VSLAM-based systems are critical backbones for autonomous vehicles, virtual reality, structure from motion, and other robotic operations. VO/VSLAM systems encounter difficulties when implementing real-time applications in outdoor environments with restricted hardware and software platforms. While many VO systems target achieving high accuracy and speed, they often exhibit high degree of complexity and limited robustness. To overcome these challenges, this paper aims to propose a new VO system called Stereo-RIVO that balances accuracy, speed, and computational cost. Furthermore, this algorithm is based on a new data association module which consists of two primary components: a scene-matching process that achieves exceptional precision without feature extraction and a key-frame detection technique based on a model of scene movement. The performance of this proposed VO system has been tested extensively for all sequences of KITTI and UTIAS datasets for analyzing efficiency for outdoor dynamic and indoor static environments, respectively. The results of these tests indicate that the proposed Stereo-RIVO outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in terms of robustness, accuracy, and speed. Our implementation code of stereo-RIVO is available at: https://github.com/salehierfan/Stereo-RIVO.

Uncertainty‐aware LiDAR‐based localization for outdoor mobile robots

AbstractAccurate and robust localization is essential for autonomous mobile robots. Map matching based on Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors has been widely adopted to estimate the global location of robots. However, map‐matching performance can be degraded when the environment changes or when sufficient features are unavailable. Indiscriminately incorporating inaccurate map‐matching poses for localization can significantly decrease the reliability of pose estimation. This paper aims to develop a robust LiDAR‐based localization method based on map matching. We focus on determining appropriate weights that are computed from the uncertainty of map‐matching poses. The uncertainty of map‐matching poses is estimated by the probability distribution over the poses. We exploit the normal distribution transform map to derive the probability distribution. A factor graph is employed to combine the map‐matching pose, LiDAR‐inertial odometry, and global navigation satellite system information. Experimental verification was successfully conducted outdoors on the university campus in three different scenarios, each involving changing or dynamic environments. We compared the performance of the proposed method with three LiDAR‐based localization methods. The experimental results show that robust localization performances can be achieved even when map‐matching poses are inaccurate in various outdoor environments. The experimental video can be found at https://youtu.be/L6p8gwxn4ak.