Special-purpose Tools Research Articles

How could we make a social robot? A virtual bargaining approach.

What is required to allow an artificial agent to engage in rich, human-like interactions with people? I argue that this will require capturing the process by which humans continually create and renegotiate 'bargains' with each other. These hidden negotiations will concern topics including who should do what in a particular interaction, which actions are allowed and which are forbidden, and the momentary conventions governing communication, including language. Such bargains are far too numerous, and social interactions too rapid, for negotiation tobe conducted explicitly. Moreover, the very process of communication presupposes innumerable momentary agreements concerning the meaning ofcommunicative signals, thus raising the threat of circularity. Thus, the improvised 'social contracts' that govern our interactions must be implicit. I draw on the recent theory of virtual bargaining, according to which social partners mentally simulate a process of negotiation, to outline how these implicit agreements can be made, and note that this viewpoint raises substantial theoretical and computational challenges. Nonetheless, I suggest that these challenges must be met if we are ever to create AI systems that can work collaboratively alongside people, rather than serving primarily as valuable special-purpose computational tools. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Cognitive artificial intelligence'.

Assessment of Building Energy Simulation Tools to Predict Heating and Cooling Energy Consumption at Early Design Stages

Recent developments in dynamic energy simulation tools enable the definition of energy performance in buildings at the design stage. However, there are deviations among building energy simulation (BES) tools due to the algorithms, calculation errors, implementation errors, non-identical inputs, and different weather data processing. This study aimed to analyze several building energy simulation tools modeling the same characteristic office cell and comparing the heating and cooling loads on a yearly, monthly, and hourly basis for the climates of Boston, USA, and Madrid, Spain. First, a general classification of tools was provided, from basic online tools with limited modeling capabilities and inputs to more advanced simulation engines. General-purpose engines, such as TRNSYS and IDA ICE, allow users to develop new mathematical models for disruptive materials. Special-purpose tools, such as EnergyPlus, work with predefined standard simulation problems and permit a high calculation speed. The process of reaching a good agreement between all tools required several iterations. After analyzing the differences between the outputs from different software tools, a cross-validation methodology was applied to assess the heating and cooling demand among tools. In this regard, a statistical analysis was used to evaluate the reliability of the simulations, and the deviation thresholds indicated by ASHRAE Guideline 14-2014 were used as a basis to identify results that suggested an acceptable level of disagreement among the outcomes of all models. This study highlighted that comparing only the yearly heating and cooling demand was not enough to find the deviations between the tools. In the annual analysis, the mean percentage error values showed a good agreement among the programs, with deviations ranging from 0.1% to 5.3% among the results from different software and the average values. The monthly load deviations calculated by the studied tools ranged between 12% and 20% in Madrid and 10% and 14% in Boston, which were still considered satisfactory. However, the hourly energy demand analysis showed normalized root mean square error values from 35% to 50%, which were far from acceptable standards.

INVESTIGATION OF UNIVERSAL-ASSEMBLY DEVICE LAYOUT WITH CHANGE OF CONSTRUCTIVE PARAMETERS OF DISCONNECTED BUSHING ELEMENTS

In modern living conditions, when mechanization and automation of production processes becomes a characteristic feature of the development of mechanical engineering, the introduction of innovative projects in engineering and technology is relevant for domestic enterprises. This is especially true in the field of tool production, the field of design, advanced energy-saving technologies, the manufacture of special purpose tools and especially devices and equipment for machine tools. The use of modern advanced technological equipment, namely machine tools, as additional devices that significantly expand the technological capabilities of metalworking equipment and tools. An important place in the classification of machine tools is occupied by universal-assembly devices (USP). Due to the fact that 60% of USP configurations are drilling devices, the use and rational change of the design of the elements is relevant. Existing USP designs, in the vast majority, consist of standardized parts, and sometimes components. In most cases, from the elements of the USP can be practically assembled devices to perform various machining operations on machines of all types. Analyzing in detail the design features of the elements of the USP, we can propose the creation of new, more advanced designs. We substantiate the need to improve the elements of the USP on the example of a split sleeve. The location of the section parallel to the axis of the sleeve limits the capabilities of the existing elements, for example, the use of such conductor sleeves complicates the radial fixation in the layout of the USP. An improved design of the split sleeve has been developed to improve the operational capabilities by changing the orientation of the cut relative to the tool axis. The split sleeve is an intermediate element and is used to secure the conductor sleeve in the bar. As a result of contact with the covered surface, the calculation of contact stresses was performed. The proposed design solution will allow more technological use of USP elements. The new design of the split sleeve has proven its effectiveness due to the improvement of the radial fixation in the hole of the bar, which contributes to the accuracy of tool production operations.

CrySL: An Extensible Approach to Validating the Correct Usage of Cryptographic APIs

Various studies have empirically shown that the majority of Java and Android applications misuse cryptographic libraries, causing devastating breaches of data security. It is crucial to detect such misuses early in the development process. To detect cryptography misuses, one must <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">define</i> secure uses first, a process mastered primarily by cryptography experts but not by developers. In this paper, we present <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CrySL</small> , a specification language for bridging the cognitive gap between cryptography experts and developers. <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CrySL</small> enables cryptography experts to specify the secure usage of the cryptographic libraries they provide. We have implemented a compiler that translates such <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CrySL</small> specification into a context-sensitive and flow-sensitive demand-driven static analysis. The analysis then helps developers by automatically checking a given Java or Android app for compliance with the <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CrySL</small> -encoded rules. We have designed an extensive <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CrySL</small> rule set for the Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA), and empirically evaluated it by analyzing 10,000 current Android apps and all 204,788 current Java software artefacts on Maven Central. Our results show that misuse of cryptographic APIs is still widespread, with 95 percent of apps and 63 percent of Maven artefacts containing at least one misuse. Our easily extensible <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CrySL</small> rule set covers more violations than previous special-purpose tools that contain hard-coded rules, while still offering a more precise analysis.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of surface roughness, surface topography, and chip shape in ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning of Inconel 718

When processing difficult-to-cut materials, conventional turning (CT) typically suffers from the problems of large cutting force, difficult chip removal, and serious tool wear, resulting in deteriorated processing quality, reduced processing efficiency, and increased processing costs. In addition, special-purpose machine tools used for ultrasonic machining exhibit disadvantages, such as narrow application scope, high manufacturing cost, and poor universality; thus, they are not conducive to being popular in actual production and processing. Accordingly, this study analyzed the characteristics of ultrasonic wave, the mechanism of ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning (UAT), and the formation of a machined surface in UAT. Moreover, the machining system of UAT was established. This system applied an ultrasonic wave vibration device to an engine lathe to meet the requirements of vibration cutting in actual production. Simultaneously, Inconel 718, a typical and widely used difficult-to-cut material, was selected for the experimental study. The machining effect of UAT was analyzed in detail, including surface roughness, surface topography, and chip shape. Results indicated that ultrasonic amplitude, cutting speed, depth of cut, and feed rate exert considerable influences on the machining effect. UAT can achieve this effect, which is difficult to realize via CT, under the condition of a reasonable selection of technological parameters. This research can provide theoretical support and experimental basis for the development and practical application of UAT.

Generalized strain space formulations and eigenprojection tensors

The relations between the symmetric second-order tensors of deformation rate and of {q, r}-generalized strain rate are given by transformations with fourth-order tensors, which are determined by the eigenprojection algorithm and summed up from functions of the distinct eigenvalues multiplied with dyadic products of the corresponding eigenprojections of the stretch tensors. These fourth-order transformation tensors also define the tensors of {q, r}-generalized stress which are work-conjugate to the corresponding {q, r}-generalized strain (rate). For finite deformations, every tensor pair of {q, r}-generalized stress and strain constitutes a distinct material model and forms a unique element of the generalized strain space formulations. For $$q=r=0$$ , the tensors of logarithmic strain and stress emerge from the {q, r}-generalized strains and stresses together with the corresponding fourth-order logarithmic transformation tensors. The resulting logarithmic strain space formulation has proven as most accurate, stable, and efficient by its implementation into the special-purpose finite element simulation tools AutoForm, Pafix, and Urmel.

Improving the methods of polar crane runway rail parameters during a geodesic control

The purpose of this work is to show that using electronic flexible rulers, digital gradienters, electronic motometers and other special-purpose tools effectively solves the problem of automating the measuring process of polar crane runway rails geodesic parameters. It is recommended to use the special modifications for eliminating appreciable and systematic errors. The existence of radiation in the Atomic Power Station premises offers insights into the process of geodesic works. People can access the reactor building only when the reactor is not working. That's why the developed methods of geodesic measurements should provide the highest quality and reliability of obtained results, as well a partial or full measurements automation. The results of geodesic measurements are influenced by the air vibration, oscillation, and temperature drops between the floor and runwail rails levels [1–3]. During this, the contractor has to take the necessary measurements as fast as possible, which can decrease the quality and cause raw miscounts. There are a lot of methods for determining the planned-high-altitude positions of runway rail. The most famous among them are Ruskov [4, 5] and Burak methods.[6, 7]. According to the Burak method, the rail axis is marked as the middle of the surveying rod and the distances between the rail axis points are measured. According to the measurements, the radius of rail axis and the deviation of rail axis points from the radius are determined. However, this famous method is too time-consuming. It requires using 50m tape measures for measuring the distances between the rail points. It doesn't provide efficiency of measurements and further control of rail lining. Except this, you have to lift or drop the crane mechanisms to take the measurements. Deformations of runway rails may lead to the outage of works. The geometric runway rail parameters are checked in the first days of PPR, before starting the technological repair operations [7, 8]. The periodicity of defining the runway rail parameters depends on the conditions of its operation and reliability of under the crain constructions. In average, it is one cycle a year during the PPR according to the requirements in regulatory documents. That's why increasing the efficiency of geodesic checking of runway rails reliability by incorporating new methods and technologies is a significant task.

Pktgen: Measuring performance on high speed networks

Pktgen is a tool for high-speed packet generation and testing. It runs in the Linux kernel, and is designed to accommodate a wide range of network performance tests. Pktgen consists of a packet generator, a receiver, and a protocol that defines the format for test packets. This paper describes the design of pktgen, and discusses its usage as a capable performance testing tool. The design is focused on performance, and in order to generate packets at high packet rate, pktgen takes advantage of multicore systems and multi-queue features on modern network cards. To support realistic heterogeneous traffic patterns, pktgen can generate multiple simultaneous UDP flows. Pktgen supports measurements of throughput, latency, packet inter-arrival time, and packet delay variation with a wide-range of fine-grained user specified rates.We evaluate and compare pktgen to other tools, and show that it is more than an order of magnitude faster than current Linux applications such as Iperf and Netperf, and has the same upper limit on performance as special-purpose high-speed tools, such as DPDK and Netmap, when it comes to throughput measurements with user-specified rate.

NEFI: Network Extraction From Images.

Networks are amongst the central building blocks of many systems. Given a graph of a network, methods from graph theory enable a precise investigation of its properties. Software for the analysis of graphs is widely available and has been applied to study various types of networks. In some applications, graph acquisition is relatively simple. However, for many networks data collection relies on images where graph extraction requires domain-specific solutions. Here we introduce NEFI, a tool that extracts graphs from images of networks originating in various domains. Regarding previous work on graph extraction, theoretical results are fully accessible only to an expert audience and ready-to-use implementations for non-experts are rarely available or insufficiently documented. NEFI provides a novel platform allowing practitioners to easily extract graphs from images by combining basic tools from image processing, computer vision and graph theory. Thus, NEFI constitutes an alternative to tedious manual graph extraction and special purpose tools. We anticipate NEFI to enable time-efficient collection of large datasets. The analysis of these novel datasets may open up the possibility to gain new insights into the structure and function of various networks. NEFI is open source and available at http://nefi.mpi-inf.mpg.de.

Critical Success Factors in the Development and Implementation of Special Purpose Industrial Tools: An Ergonomic Perspective

The variety of different manual tasks performed in industry is infinite. In many circumstances, these tasks are carried out under difficult conditions with ergonomic concerns about the postures, force or repetitions involved. These tasks are sometimes performed using a dedicated special purpose tool, often developed by the workers themselves. These special tools are generally task-oriented only, with very little consideration of basic ergonomics. Therefore, in many cases, the design of a new or improved special purpose tool is one of the solutions that could enhance the ergonomics of the performed task. However, developing and implementing a new or improved tool is not an easy assignment and the ergonomist could face many unexpected challenges and pitfalls. This paper discusses the pitfalls that could compromise these ergonomic interventions and the critical success factors that should be considered. The main difficulties that could arise during such a project include the poor understanding of the user's needs, the hidden constraints related to the requirements of the task to be performed, the construction and testing of the prototypes, and the users’ resistance to change. Critical success factors related to worker participation, needs and constraints analysis, and the implementation of prototypes, are presented. Examples from industrial projects involving the development and implementation of special purpose tools are used to support the discussion. This paper should provide some guidance in this particular field of applied ergonomics.

Fracture mechanics of idealised bituminous mixes

The durability of asphalt pavements is strongly impaired by cracks, caused primarily by traffic loads and environmental effects. In this work, fracture behaviour of idealised asphalt mixes is investigated. Experiments on idealised asphalt mixes under pure-tension mode (mode I cracking) were performed and fracture parameters were evaluated. In these three-point bend fracture tests, the test variables were temperature and load rate. The test data were stored in an asphalt materials database and special-purpose tools were implemented to analyse and handle the laboratory data automatically. Fracture mechanism maps were constructed, showing the conditions associated with ductile, brittle and ductile–brittle transition regimes of behaviour. The mechanism maps show the failure response of the material in terms of the stress intensity factor, strain energy release rate and J-integral as a function of the temperature-compensated crack mouth opening strain rate. Fracture behaviour of asphalt mix specimens was simulated by cohesive zone model in conjunction with a novel material constitutive model for asphalt mixes. The finite element model agrees well with the experimental results and provides insights into fracture response of the notched asphalt mix beam specimens.

Design Evolution of Drilling Tools To Mitigate Vibrations

Summary The development of modeling methods to characterize the relative vibration tendency of alternative bottomhole assemblies (BHAs) has enabled deliberate tool redesign to reduce vibrations. To achieve the greatest benefit, tool redesign is most effective if applied early in the tool-design cycle in which important configuration parameters are most easily adjusted. This paper outlines several design issues to resolve so that future generations of tools have inherently lower vibration levels. The use of multiple special-purpose tools [such as logging tools, rotary-steerable assemblies, and ream-while-drilling (RWD) tools] generates significant constraints on BHA-configuration options. A redesign methodology to achieve lower vibration indices can be used to investigate modified components, dimensions, and configurations to select the best BHA configuration for specific drilling-operating conditions. Case studies are used to investigate BHA designs with flex stabilizers above rotary-steerable tools. The flex stabilizer is composed of a stabilizer with a smaller-diameter connecting flex sub to facilitate rotary-steerable directional objectives. It is typically wired for tool signals and is frequently run by vendors. In one case study, the spacing below a reamer is evaluated, and drilling data are compared with other assemblies in the same formation. In this example, the spacer provides an increase in the distance between contact points, to allow both the stabilizer and the reamer to seek the centerline with less interference. Another case study evaluates changing contact locations in the BHA by swapping the order of logging tools, resulting in different borehole-contact positions. Finally, a theoretical modeling study illustrates how changing BHA components and dimensions affects the vibration indices. The operator has field experience with BHA redesign that has directly led to significant improvement in drilling performance. The benefits include a higher rate of penetration (ROP), a longer time on the bottom, less wear of drilling-tool components, and a reduced frequency of trips.

A system for knowledge discovery in e-learning environments within the European Higher Education Area – Application to student data from Open University of Madrid, UDIMA

In today's open and dynamic learning environment, a significant percentage of students have a preference for flexible learning systems whereby they can reconcile their academic pursuits with their job responsibilities and family obligations.Non face-to-face educational models, like e-learning (electronic learning), evolved in order to offer such flexibility. E-learning systems have major strengths but also pose major challenges to the educational community.One such challenge is the large spatial and temporal gap between the teacher and student, which is an obstacle to student follow-up by teachers. The information generated by virtual learning systems sometimes overwhelms instructors who are unable to process the data without the support of special-purpose techniques and tools that are useful for analysing large dataflows.

Special Issue on Radar Rainfall Data Analyses and Applications

Special Issue on Radar Rainfall Data Analyses and Applications

Development of Waterproof Warm Glove

This paper discusses a special purpose development methods and tools with the dual function of waterproof and warm glove. This methods and tools ensure that the waterproof warm glove meet the performance requirements from the glove form, fabric weaving, glove forming and the use of special coating technology etc.

Efficient Simulation of Power Grids

Modern deep sub-micron ultra-large scale integration designs with hundreds of millions of devices require huge grids for power distribution. Such grids, operating with decreasing power supply voltages, are a design limiting factor and accurate analysis of their behavior is of paramount importance as any voltage drops can seriously impact performance or functionality. As power grid models have millions of unknowns, highly optimized special-purpose simulation tools are required to handle the time and memory complexity of solving for their dynamic behavior. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical matrix representation of the power grid model that is both space and time efficient. With this representation, reduced storage matrix factors are efficiently computed and applied in the analysis at every time-step of the simulation. Results show an almost linear complexity growth, namely <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">O</i> (n log <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">a</sup> (n)), for some small constant a, in both space and time, when using this matrix representation. Comparisons of our academic implementation with production-quality code prove this method to be very efficient when dealing with the simulation of large power grid models.

A review of recent developments in the design of special-purpose machine tools with a view to identification of solutions for portable in situ machining systems

With the ever increasing diversity of manufacturing and maintenance needs for modern products, the realm of machine tool design has expanded considerably in recent years. While machine tools for producing singular parts are widely documented, there is much less information available about machine tools for specialist tasks such as repair and maintenance. The paper aims to give an overview of the developments in the field of specialist machine tools and machining systems with a particular emphasis on maintenance operations and in situ machining. The difficulties of performing maintenance on large-scale systems are outlined along with the potential benefits of in situ machining in these applications. A number of examples of specialist machines for applications in various fields are described. The developing area of micro machine tools and micro factories is introduced along with examples of systems which have been developed or proposed. The possible advantages and draw-backs of the various technologies described are discussed. The paper goes on to comment on the potential for a new approach which combines these technologies to produce small in situ machine tools for performing macro-scale machining operations on large workpieces. These machining systems could offer increased versatility of in situ maintenance machining, compared to machines designed for a single repair operation, while reducing costs and environmental impacts.

Integrated teleoperation and automation for nuclear facility cleanup

PurposeThe objective of this work was to demonstrate a novel approach to human machine interaction that seamlessly uses teleoperation and automation in a complex environment.Design/methodology/approachThis work leverages developments in the area of operational software Operational Software Components for Advanced Robotics (OSCAR), decision making, human‐machine interface, and motion planning. This demonstration uses a 17 degrees‐of‐freedom (DOF) dual arm robot that is equipped with modern tool changers, crash protectors, force‐torque sensors and electrical and pneumatic power at the tools. Four different end‐effector tools are also provided. These are electric grippers, electric rotary saw, electric drill, and a pneumatic spray gun. The system can be used both in teleoperation and automation mode. In teleoperation mode, the user has a choice of five different input devices. These are computer keyboard, spaceball and spacemouse, RSI manual controller and kraft force feedback controller. Automation is performed using a novel graphical user interface with 3D graphics used for previewing and verifying manipulator motion. Automation tasks that are demonstrated include automatic grasping, sawing, drilling, spray painting, point‐to‐point motion, and teaching. The controller for the dual arm system is developed using OSCAR and supports a variety of decision‐making algorithms and obstacle avoidance. The integration of this controller with the input devices and human machine interface is done using a novel protocol that is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) for maximum reuse and distributed integration. This protocol is further based on a well‐defined and scalable XML schema that can be easily extended as controller functionality is changed and/or additional input devices are added.FindingsIt is necessary to combine automation with teleoperation to reduce worker fatigue and also provide higher value robotic functions. This is possible as most remote tasks can be broken down into structured and unstructured components. On the integration front, we see XML‐based integration providing a loosely coupled system that can make interoperability between various robot systems possible. For end‐effector tooling, it is better to have special purpose tools that can be switched out versus the use of a general purpose tool such as a robotic hand.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was done in a laboratory environment, and as such, its application in the field will require partnering with a commercial entity. Force‐feedback on manual controllers during teleoperation was not very effective. In fact, providing visual queues to the operator about the forces were a better guide to the operator.Practical implicationsThe software for this work provides obstacle avoidance capability. The obstacle avoidance is based on a known world model that is derived from a CAD environment. In reality, this model will have to be sensed in real‐time, and decoded into a geometric model. Significant work in this area needs to be done.Originality/valueThe software developed for this work was based on the OSCAR software framework. This is a unique framework that at its core uses performance criteria to control the behavior of the robot during teleoperation and automation. The value of this work is that it shows as completely feasible the control of a 17 DOF dual arm system using the latest integration technologies (such as XML), integrated simulation, multiple tools and multiple input devices. It also shows that all these choices can be provided to an operator through a single user interface.

Presentation and simulation of computer architectures

Understanding modern computer architectures requires a good knowledge of the dynamic behavior of processors. A new alternative platform for creating and delivering presentations that successfully combines positive issues of both general and special-purpose presentation tools for computer architectures is proposed in this paper. Proposed platform introduces the concept of dynamic usage of data providers during the presentation and creating slide templates instead of slide creation. Originally developed presentation/simulation tool SimArch that implements almost all key features from the new platform is described. SimArch is designed for teaching/research purposes and devoted to description and visualization of computer architectures. Crucial novelties in SimArch related to involving of slide templates, behavior cases and selection of examples are demonstrated on examples based on MIPS architecture subsets.

Simplified Discrete-Event Simulation Approach for Construction Simulation

The methodology of discrete-event simulation provides a promising alternative solution to designing and analyzing dynamic, complicated, and interactive construction systems. In this paper, an attempt is made to extend the previous work of simplifying construction simulation by delving into the fundamental approaches for discrete-event simulation. A new simplified discrete-event simulation approach (SDESA) is presented through extracting the constructive features from the existing event/activity-based simulation methods; both the algorithm and the model structure of simulation are streamlined such that simulating construction systems is made as easy as applying the critical path method (CPM). Two applications based on real road construction projects in Hong Kong serve as case studies to illustrate the methodology of simulation modeling with SDESA and reveal the simplicity and effectiveness of SDESA in modeling complex construction systems and achieving the preset objectives of such modeling. They are a granular base-course construction system featuring both cyclic and linear processes and an asphalt paving construction system with complicated technological/logical constraints. As a general-purpose method for construction planning, SDESA enables practitioners to deal with what the CPM-based network analysis method fails to solve by offering discrete-event simulation capabilities. Furthermore, the SDESA can potentially be adapted to special-purpose simulation tools to tackle large and complicated construction systems of practical size that have yet to find convenient solutions with existing simulation methods.