University Of Calabria Research Articles

Drag coefficients and water surface profiles in channels with arrays of linear rigid emergent vegetation

Although vegetation in watercourses has an important ecological function, from a hydraulic point of view, it increases flow resistance, determinates higher water levels and generates a greater risk of flooding. In engineering practice, to determine water levels, the drag coefficient must be known, whose experimental values, in literature, are provided for uniform or quasi-uniform flow. In this paper, the expression of a drag coefficient, previously proposed by the authors for the case of emergent rigid vegetation arranged in a linear manner, was used to simulate experimental water surface profiles, employing the effective width for the first time. The formula was validated by simulating 26 experimental profiles observed at the University of Calabria, over 1100 points in total, plus 8 published in literature. In some of these applications, the vegetation density was much higher than that for which the drag coefficient expression was derived. For this reason, it is possible to consider a new, wider field of validity for it. The proposed equation is independent of the Reynolds stem number, so that it can be used in natural streams and rivers, provided that viscosity effects can be considered negligible. Finally, some comments are offered on the application of a new formula proposed in literature regarding the computation of the profile when downstream depth is taken as a boundary condition.

EFFICACY OF DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENTS (DESs) FOR MITIGATING BIODETERIORATION IN CULTURAL HERITAGE: IN SITU EVALUATION

The preservation of stone materials faces significant challenges due to biological deterioration, compromising the visual appearance and structural integrity of artifacts. Current cleaning treatments use toxic chemical biocides, with a high impact on the environment and human health. Research is turning to eco-friendly alternatives, such as Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs), which offer a promising combination of biocidal properties and eco-friendly, as well as features such as biodegradability, non-flammability and non-volatility. This study defines the efficacy of Choline Chloride-based DESs reported in the literature as biocides in a real case study on an outdoor exposed magmatic effusive rock at the University of Calabria. Several analytical techniques were used to define DESs biocidal efficacy, monitoring their action for 6 months. This study contributes to the evidence of DESs' ability to keep treated surfaces clean, thus promoting the long-term preservation of materials. Macroscopic and microscopic observations, spectrocolorimetry, bioluminometry and FTIR spectroscopy have highlighted the significant potential of DESs as sustainable biocidal solvents for the preservation of stone materials exposed outdoors.

The Strategic Role of the Third Mission in Universities: A Concrete Case Study

In addition to teaching and research, the goal of universities is to contribute to the development of civil society by promoting the direct application, valorization, and use of knowledge. In reality, it is a widespread and shared opinion that is no longer enough to carry out research on campus and publish subsequent works in scientific journals. It is also difficult to be fully satisfied with teaching only young people in university courses. This paper focuses on highlighting how an applied example can be taken as the best practice for future implementations. The methodology used is qualitative. The research question that initiated the study was to concretely verify how the Third Mission (TM) was integrated into the strategic choices of universities. In light of the new methods of evaluating universities, how can we highlight what they have done in terms of the third mission? Are organizational solutions possible in the approach to the TM? The objective was to verify what the impact and future development of the Third Mission (TM) in the universities will be. In light of its inclusion among the evaluation criteria of universities and teachers, the Third Mission (TM) is the new future frontier in terms of local and national openness and development, as well as their economic and financial sustainability. To this end, a case analysis was proposed as a model/best practice, and in particular the case of the Department of Business and Law of the University of Calabria was also presented. The application and implementation of rules and regulations are always difficult in any case and in any field. An example can be seen in public administration and universities, bureaucratically "plastered" and not very inclined to change and innovation, especially regarding performance evaluation. Therefore, seeing an application carried out relatively quickly allows the enhancement of the “DiScAG Model”, which is to be taken as an application example in the implementation of the Third Mission (TM) in universities. The study will contribute to increasing the literature and starting a discussion and a reflection on what has been done and what still needs to be done in this direction.

The dataset of the CLU lichen herbarium (Calabria, Italy).

Calabria, the southernmost tip of the Italian Peninsula, is a biogeographically very interesting region for lichenologists, characterised by the abundance of oceanic and suboceanic species with subtropical affinities, but also by the presence of the southernmost outposts of several boreal species on the highest peaks. The lichen biota of Calabria, which began to be intensively studied only from the 1980s, hosts more than 1000 infrageneric taxa. The lichen herbarium of the Botanical Garden of the University of Calabria (CLU) is the most relevant lichen collection from this region. It was established in 1985 and it presently includes 16926 specimens, most of which were collected in Calabria, although there are also several specimens from other parts of Italy and from abroad. This dataset contains 16926 records of lichens for a total of 1316 species. Of the 15219 georeferenced specimens, 10254 were collected in Calabria, while 4965 in other administrative regions of Italy. The dataset is available through GBIF, as well as in ITALIC, the Information System of Italian Lichens.

Empowering Operator 5.0: human-centric design of an augmented reality tool for a learning factory

This study presents a human-centric design and prototype development of an Augmented Reality (AR)-based assistance tool aimed at supporting industrial maintenance technicians. Situated within the LEONARDO learning factory at the University of Calabria, the case study explores the potential of AR technology to prioritize the well-being, safety, and skill development of operators. Leveraging the 3I design thinking model, the study emphasizes the importance of inspiration, ideation, and implementation in developing effective AR solutions. Through user interviews and iterative design processes, the research identifies key insights into user preferences and learning styles, highlighting the need for practical, interactive educational methodologies. The resulting AR tool features intuitive guidance, task management support, safety reminders, troubleshooting assistance, training resources, and performance tracking functionalities, aligning with the principles of human-centric augmentation. The study underscores the significance of integrating human-centric values with technological advancements in fostering a proactive learning attitude among operators in smart manufacturing environments.

Progress in the energy upgrade of the Southern European Thomson back-scattering source (STAR)

The Southern European Thomson back-scattering source for Applied Research (STAR) is a high-energy photon facility located on the campus of the University of Calabria (UniCal). The facility was designed for its first phase to operate with an electron and photon energy up to 85 MeV and 140 keV respectively. For the second phase of the project the energy of the electrons, and thereby the photons, would be increased up to 150 MeV and 350 keV respectively. The Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) was awarded the project for installing, testing, and commissioning the energy upgrade of the electron beamline. In this article, we will outline the progress of this upgrade. In particular the completion of the site acceptance test of the RF system and the IT infrastructure combined with the control system software.

The International Space Station (ISS) Contest as STEM Educational Project

In the years 2015–2018, the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Italian Ministry of Defense proposed the joint initiative "Space for Your Future. The ISS: Innovatio, Scientia, Sapientia" in partnership with the Italian Space Agency. It was a competition addressed to secondary school students and aimed at developing innovative experiments to be conducted on the International Space Station, whose acronym (ISS) is the same of the Latin words "Innovatio, Scientia, Sapientia". Regardless of the odds of winning, "Space for Your Future" became a successful STEM educational project implemented in numerous schools. We illustrate how that Astronomy contest fostered a valid constructivist learning, a fruitful participatory science, and vast scientific research. We discuss, in particular, the activities of two teams of pupils from the Scientific High School "Giovanni Battista Grassi" in Latina (seat of the Planetarium "Livio Gratton") who participated within the thematic area No. 3 "Test the Sciences in Space". They all worked on chemical tests, suitable for the ISS microgravity, under the tutoring of Francesco Giuliano (Province Manager of the IYA 2009 and the IYC 2011 in Latina). The key reference is a talk given in the 104th annual congress of the Italian Physical Society at the University of Calabria (September 17–21, 2018) together with an invited lecture held in the 13th European Researchers’ Night by Frascati Scienza (September 28, 2018). Keywords: science contest, ISS, secondary school, educational project, TRL, STEM, constructivism, PBL, PrBL, learning by Doing, IBSE, citizen science, ESD, EDP.

Degradation of Penicillinic Antibiotics and β-Lactamase Enzymatic Catalysis in a Biomimetic Zn-Based Metal-Organic Framework.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Jesús Ferrando-Soria, Donatella Armentano, Antonio Leyva-Pérez, Emilio Pardo and co-workers at University of Valencia, Technical University of Valencia and University of Calabria. The image depicts the crystal structure of a novel ZnII biological metal-organic framework that mimics β-lactamase enzymes. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202301325.

The solitary wave run-up on sloped beaches protected by submerged rigid breakwaters

The reduction of wave run-up induced by solitary waves at sloping beaches, by means of submerged barriers has been investigated. To this purpose, 198 laboratory tests were undertaken in the wave channel of the University of Calabria, by adopting three beach slopes, three water depths and square and rectangular rigid type-barriers. To make comparisons on the performance of the barriers in reducing the run-up, 99 tests were carried out considering the same experimental conditions, without the barriers. Two approaches were used to deduce the resulting solitary wave run-up in the presence of the barriers starting from the knowledge of wave parameters without them. The first approach uses the wave amplitude, whereas the second, more physically based, uses the wave energy, depending on the horizontal velocity and the wave pressure. Based on the calculation of the transmission coefficients using the dimensional analysis, the transmitted wave amplitude and energy after the barriers were deduced. Using these quantities, the recent semi-empirical formulas deduced by Casella et al. (2022) in the absence of the barriers were extended to determine the solitary wave run-up in their presence.

Teaching as a way of creating Italian transnational literature: A mission of the Italian Diaspora Studies Seminar at the University of Calabria

In this essay, I will illustrate the mission and the most significant innovative teaching activities promoted by the Italian Diaspora Studies Seminar, a research center founded in 2017 at the University of Calabria, where I work. The Seminar aims to promote scholarly research into the abovementioned fields while building educational programs inspired by them. In particular, we investigate the perspective of specific Italian transnationalism that identifies itself with the network of Italian diasporic literature disseminated worldwide. Our goal is not limited to research; we seek to pursue a proactive perspective. It is a fact that contemporary writers of Italian heritage are generally unaware of contemporary Italian writers and that many of them are not familiar even with the Italian canonical masterpieces from the past, and the same goes vice versa. For this reason, our mission is to create new bridges to fill these gaps. One of the purposes of the “Italian Diaspora Seminar” is the ambition to investigate the opportunity to create, both theoretically and pragmatically, an inclusive ground in which to detect and promote new connections among Italian, diasporic, and migrant Italian contemporary writers. Our goal is to reinforce a sense of community that will lay the foundations for the growth of inclusive, inter-dialoguing, and unified Italian transnational literature.

Contributions of digital social research to develop Telemedicine in Calabria (Southern Italy): identification of inequalities in post-COVID-19.

The paper discusses the role that sociology and digital social research methods could play in developing E-health and Telemedicine, specifically after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the possibility of dealing with new pandemics. In this article, we will reflect on an interdisciplinary research pilot project carried out by a team of sociologists, medical doctors, and software engineers at The University of Calabria (Italy), to give a proof of concept of the importance to develop Telemedicine through the contribution of digital social research. We apply a web and app survey to administrate a structured questionnaire to a self-selected sample of the University Community. Digital social research has highlighted socioeconomic and cultural gaps that affect the perception of Telemedicine in the University Community. In particular, gender, age, educational, and professional levels influence medical choices and behaviors during Covid-19. There is often an unconscious involvement in Telemedicine (people use it but don't know it is Telemedicine), and an optimistic perception grows with age, education, professional, and income levels; equally important are the comprehension of digital texts and the effective use of Telemedicine. Limited penetration of technological advances must be addressed primarily by overcoming sociocultural and economic barriers and developing knowledge and understanding of digital environments. The key findings of this study could help direct public and educational policies to reduce existing gaps and promote Telemedicine in Calabria.

Wild Songs, Sweet Songs: The Albanian Epic in the Collections of Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord

Part of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature at Harvard University (MPCOL) is the corpus of Albanian epic recordings, which consists of both audio recordings and texts. The audio recordings include 70 items recorded on aluminum discs by Milman Parry during 1934 and 1935 in the Balkans, consisting of songs and text recited in the Albanian language along with the conversations and recitations in South Slavic languages. The textual materials include 13 notebooks containing more than 22,000 verses of songs, dictated by 38 singers and collected by Albert Lord in various areas of Northern Albania in 1937. The first 10 notebooks were compiled during Lord's travel and the last three collected at Lord's request by two local collaborators. Although MPCOL has labeled the 13 notebooks “Heroic Ballads and Folksongs from Albania,” only Lord's recordings are from his visits in Albania and direct meetings with Albanian singers. Parry's Albanian recordings are from Bosnian singers who sung in two languages, Serbo-Croatian and Albanian, although he planned but never managed to go to Albania.Lord wrote about these recordings in Serbo-Croatian Heroic Songs (1954), noting that he intended to publish the Albanian recordings in another volume, which he never completed. Although scholars have had direct access in the MPCOL to the Albanian materials, the materials remained unpublished until Nicola Scaldaferri, David Elmer, Zymer Neziri, and John Kolsti met at an annual international seminar on Albanian culture and language in Prishtina, Kosovo, in 2003, and then continued their work with other meetings in the United States and Kosovo, with support from the University of Calabria and the University of Milan in Italy. Their work culminated in this volume published under the auspices of Nicola Scaldaferri, with additional contributions by Victor A. Friedman, John Kolsti, and Zymer U. Neziri. According to Scaldaferri, the reasons for the publication's delay are various, but are largely due to complex and well-known political events in the Balkans, which resulted in some significant barriers to communication.Why did they title the book Wild Songs, Sweet Songs? Local folk singers refer to the cyclic rhapsodies and heroic songs as kânge t'egra (wild songs), and to love songs as kânge të buta (soft or gentle songs). Both categories of songs characterize this volume's subject matter. The book's first part comprises essays by the aforementioned scholars, which provide very relevant but also analytical data for the methods of recording used by Lord and Parry; skills of the epic singers who sang successfully in two languages; the content and context related to the singers that Lord met; the texts, music, and performances of these recordings; and the admirative mood (used to express surprise or disbelief) of Albanian epic poetry, which makes this genre so distinctive and literally untranslatable in the Balkan context. This section opens many windows to enlighten cultural and professional issues on Albanian epics that folklorists have lacked for comparative studies on Balkan epics.The book's second part is a catalog that lists the Albanian recordings collected by Parry and Lord. Albanian recordings in the Milman Parry Collection are on aluminum discs as well as on wire spools and are listed with the PN prefix. The 13 notebooks in the Albert B. Lord Collection of Epics from Northern Albania are listed with the LN prefix. Because it contains detailed notes for each recording, the book's catalog is invaluable for researchers working with these materials.The book's most important and most voluminous part is the anthology, which brings together the best Albanian materials from the Epic Collections of Parry and Lord for the first time in one volume. The anthology presents the text songs—in the original Albanian and translated into English—of 12 recordings, five by Milman Parry and seven by Albert Lord. There are also two original texts sung in Albanian: one by Salih Ugljanin from 1934 and one by Fatima Biberović (originally from Prizren, Kosovo), which represents the phenomenon of female singers to whom Parry and Lord paid special attention. Another part of the anthology is the “Song of Sirotin Ali,” which Lord collected in 1937 as the longest Albanian epic text from oral tradition transcribed and known to scholarship. Dictated to Lord by Adem Brahimi, it has 2,165 verses. Also part of the volumes are appendices with photos, letters, manuscripts, and maps from Lord's archive, which add documentary value to this volume.With many of its materials published for the first time, Wild Songs, Sweet Songs: The Albanian Epic in the Collections of Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord offers opportunities for both Albanian and international scholars to compare and observe the differences and peculiarities of the Albanian oral epic—opportunities that were not available for nearly a century.

Celebrating Calabria: Writing Heritage and Memory

This impressive volume resulted from a program, launched primarily by the Italian Diaspora Studies Association in collaboration with the Department of Humanities of the University of Calabria, that focused on investigating the Italian diaspora from a transnational perspective. In May 2019, professional and amateur writers from diverse backgrounds (not just Italian Americans) gathered in Morano Calabro and then later in Albidona, Cosenza to participate in a writing seminar focused on a topic that engaged all participants: “Heritage and Memory.” The poems, reflections, and short stories they wrote under the guidance of Maria Mazziotti Gillan constitute the main body of this volume, enriched by the marvelous photographs by Mark Hillringhouse. Yet Celebrating Calabria is much more than a collection, and the volume does not simply aim at glorifying the beauties of Calabria and its cultural heritage: unquestionably, its scope is much wider and more profound. This wonderfully invigorating anthology is a polyphonic book structured around two interlaced concepts: the broadening of (often stereotypical) ideas and conceptions regarding identity and self-definition, and the construction of an imaginary community beyond borders. In the process of working out these concepts, the book is a celebration of life.The reasons that prompted each of the participants to join the workshop were multiple: some longed to rediscover their roots; others were curious; still others came to experience Italy and its beauties; and a few were attracted by the very presence of Maria Mazziotti Gillan, an extraordinarily gifted human being who acts as a source of inspiration to those who approach her and her empowering poems. To all participants, Calabria became a mirror (a recurrent theme), which enabled them finally to perceive and accept their own image as a whole and as beyond partialities, ingrained stereotypes regarding ethnic background, and self-imposed emotional restrictions. The landscape featured in Celebrating Calabria may be equated to a cradle, to an ancestral womb from which to be reborn. Reading the verses and narratives included in the collection means undertaking a journey of self-discovery. But it also means facing one's inner monsters—striving to piece together the various facets of a fragmented identity, while excavating the past, and allowing traumas to surface and be worked through.Celebrating Calabria contributes strongly toward fostering a renewed sense of community: different voices stemming from diverse contexts echo one another; unexpected consonances emerge; personal stories intersect and illumine one another. In their dual capacity as inspirers and healers, Margherita Ganeri and Maria Mazziotti Gillan have succeeded in encouraging the workshop participants to spin individual threads that, woven together, form beautiful patterns. Lastly, a few words should be spared to commend Hillringhouse's insightful photographs; instead of offering the usual picturesque, prepackaged version of Italy to which we have grown accustomed, he lingers on dark corners, on beautiful secluded spaces off the beaten track, on the relationships among men, women, and their pets and animals. There is music and poetry in every photo.At a time when social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and its memory) still undermines our deepest sense of a shared humanity, Celebrating Calabria functions as a powerful balm on open wounds, thus reminding us that we—human beings, animals, nature—are all interconnected.

Bioengineering and medical informatics education in MD programs: perspectives from three Italian experiences

BackgroundGiven the impact of bioengineering and medical informatics technologies in health care, the design and implementation of education programs able to combine medical curricula with a proper teaching on engineering and informatics is now of paramount importance. In Italy, this goal has to fit in with the existing higher education system, which is structured into Bachelor programs and Master programs. Medicine and Surgery programs, instead, are designed as a six-year single-cycle Degree Program in Medicine and Surgery which comprises both class attendance and hospital internship and training. This program allows students to become Medical Doctors (MD). The different organization of this University program makes it not easy to introduce further contents, namely hard science courses, in the educational program. Notwithstanding this, we present here some recent innovative programs aimed at widening MD curriculum by including biomedical engineering and informatics subjects. In particular, we will introduce three of them. Two are joint-degree programs, the first between Humanitas University and Politecnico di Milano (MEDTEC School), and the second between University of Calabria and University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro (Medicina e Chirurgia TD). The Third one is a Professional Master coupled with an MD degree, based on a joint program among Pavia University, Pisa University, the Institute of Advanced studies in Pavia and the Scuola Superiore S. Anna in Pisa (MEET). ContributionThe paper provides a description of the fundamental design principles of the three above mentioned programs, and explores some aspects of the teaching modules, highlighting their positive aspects. In particular, we show how the three different programs allow students to enrich their knowledge by studying engineering subjects and innovative methods and technologies, as well as their applications to patient care. ConclusionsThe MEDTEC program is the first degree program at Italian and international scale which integrates medical and engineering subjects. In the following years, other programs were issued in Italy, defining similar education programs to couple a degree in medicine education with bioengineering and medical informatics, among which Medicina e Chirurgia TD and MEET. We believe the experiences described here in this paper represent the possibility of bridging the gap between medical and technological competencies.

Modeling & Simulation as Industry 4.0 enabling technology to support manufacturing process design: a real industrial application

This research work, first, briefly describes the educational offer of University of Calabria (UNICAL) related to Modeling & Simulation (M&S) and, secondly, presents a case study, developed by UNICAL students, as attempt to transfer the theoretical knowledge on M&S, gained over the university studies, into a real industrial application. As case study, the development of a new racing car front wing, from the mechanical design to the manufacturing process design and optimization, is presented. The manufacturing process design and optimization has been achieved by proposing an approach based on the combination of M&S tools, multiple design parameters and multiple performance measures. In particular, a simulation model has been used to assess the effect of different design parameters on several performance measure. The quantitative evaluation of the effects of the multiple design parameters on the multiple performance measures is achieved by using the Design of Experiments (DOE) being validated by means of the analysis of variance (ANOVA).

A Methodology to identify appropriate refurbishment strategies towards zero energy buildings in a hot and humid climate

Significant actions on the building stock are required to reduce energy consumption and emissions from buildings and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Consistently, the renovation approach of existing buildings could aim to obtain nearly Zero Energy Buildings or Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB). In particular, the solutions to obtain zero-energy buildings vary according to the reference climatic conditions and the technical-constructive characteristics of the buildings undergoing renovation. As part of a research project involving the Technological University of Panama (UTP) and the University of Calabria (UNICAL), this work presents a preliminary investigation aimed at identifying the most appropriate technological solutions to convert existing buildings in Panama into zero-energy buildings. In particular, the study seeks to characterize the energy demand of buildings in the research area, consisting of Panama City, and to identify a set of possible energy efficiency measures applicable in hot and humid climates through dynamic simulations. The preliminary results from the sensitivity and optimization analyses highlight the capacity of local regulations and buildings’ capacity towards achieving zero-energy buildings by enhancing the efficiency of appliances, lighting, and air conditioner system, but also by implementing passive strategies such as the bioclimatic strategies.

Preface

The 4th International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Technology (ISRIMT 2022) was successfully held on September 23-25, 2022 in Changzhou, China (virtual conference). ISRIMT 2022 provided a platform for scientific research achievements and cutting-edge technologies sharing, and for all the participants to understand the academic development trends in related fields, promoting cooperation in the industrialization of academic achievements.We had the honor of having invited Prof. Dequn Li from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China to serve as our Honorary Chairman. The conference covered keynote speeches, oral presentations, and online Q&A discussion, attracting 90 individuals. Firstly, keynote speakers were each allocated 30-45 minutes to hold their speeches. Then in the oral presentations, the excellent papers selected were presented by their authors by turns.During the conference, twelve distinguished professors were invited to address their keynote speeches. Among them, Prof. Yu Tian from Tsinghua University, China addressed a thought-provoking speech Bio-inspired Adhesion: From Interfacial Mechanism to Robotic Applications. In this presentation, he introduced the research progress of his group in the field of bio-inspired adhesion, focusing on the design strategy from the understanding of interfacial mechanics to the applications of grasping robotics. And then, Prof. Giuseppe Carbone from University of Calabria, Italy made a speech on the Examples of Innovative Robot Designs with Embodied Intelligence. Illustrative examples were outlined to show the feasibility and practical usefulness of this approach as referring to recent designs such as parallel/hybrid manipulators, humanoid robots, cable-driven robots for conventional or non-conventional applications including healthcare, agriculture, cultural heritage/space exploration. Last but not the least, Prof. Dunbing Tang from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China delivered a presentation on Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning for Online Scheduling in Smart Factories. This paper presented new cyber-physical integration in smart factories for online scheduling of low-volume-highmix orders. Their dramatic speeches had triggered heated discussion in the conference. And every participant praised this conference for disseminating useful and insightful knowledge.The proceedings of ISRIMT 2022 are a compilation of the accepted papers and represent an interesting outcome of the conference. These papers feature but are not limited to the following topics: Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Manufacturing, Distributed Robot Systems, Intelligent Optimization Method, etc. All the papers have been checked through rigorous review and processes to meet the requirements of publication.We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the keynote speakers, peer reviewers, and all the participants who supported ISRIMT 2022. Particularly, our special thanks go to the Journal of Physics: Conference Series, for all the efforts of its colleague in publishing this paper volume. We firmly believe that ISRIMT 2022 have contributed to not only scientific and engineering progress but also other new products and processes.The Committee of ISRIMT 2022List of Committee member, Honorary Chairman are available in this Pdf.

A ROS-Based GNC Architecture for Autonomous Surface Vehicle Based on a New Multimission Management Paradigm

This paper presents the design and implementation of BAICal (Intelligent Autonomous Buoy by the University of Calabria), an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) developed at the Autonomous Systems Lab (LASA) of the Department of Computer Science, Modeling, Electronics, and Systems Engineering (DIMES), University of Calabria. The basic project was born as a research program in marine robotics with multiple applications, either in the sea or in lake/river environments, for data monitoring, search and rescue operations and diver support tasks. Mechanical and hardware designs are discussed by considering a three-degree-of-freedom (3DoF) dynamical model of the vehicle. An extension to the typical guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) software architecture is presented. The software design and the implementation of a manager module (M-GNC architecture) that allows the vehicle to autonomously coordinate missions are described. Indeed, autonomous guidance and movement are only one of several more complex tasks that mobile robots have to perform in a real scenario and that allow a long-term life cycle. Module-based software architecture is developed by using the Robot Operating System (ROS) framework that is suitable for different kinds of autonomous vehicles, such as aerial, ground, surface or underwater drones.

Data-driven and research-based learning approaches to environmental education in university contexts: two case studies in Italy and Germany

AbstractThis work is a contribution to the usefulness of climate-related authentic material for pedagogical purposes in Higher Education. The two case studies had the aim of raising environmental awareness of a sustainable future among university students, while encouraging them to explore language use and draw their own conclusions and considerations through different methodologies. Specifically, we highlight how posts from the social networking platform Instagram can help learners with different levels of language proficiency in Higher Education, approach specific topics using authentic language samples and visual data, and simultaneously develop new skills that may be integrated within their field of study. The case studies occurred in a distance learning context at the University of Calabria and Humboldt University of Berlin. They present two possible ways of increasing climate change awareness among university students while applying data-driven and research-based learning interdisciplinary approaches to climate change communication.

A Thermal Model to Estimate PV Electrical Power and Temperature Profile along Panel Thickness

The production of electricity from photovoltaic panels has experienced significant developments. To manage the energy flows introduced into the electricity grid, it is necessary to estimate the productivity of PV panels under the climatic conditions. In this study, a photovoltaic panel is modelled from thermal and electrical points of view to evaluate electrical performance and identify the temperature distribution in the layers. The analysis performed is time dependent and the problem is solved using the finite difference technique. A methodology is introduced to estimate the cloudiness of the sky, which affects radiative heat exchange. The calculation method is validated using experimental data recorded in a laboratory of the University of Calabria. Temperature and electrical power are predicted with RMSE of 1.5–2.0 °C and NRMSE of 1.2–2.1%, respectively. The evaluation of the temperature profile inside the panel is essential to understand how heat is dissipated. The results show that the top surface (glass) is almost always colder than the back of the panel, despite being exposed to radiation. In addition, the upper surface dissipates more heat power than the lower one. Cooling systems, such as spray cooling, work better if they are installed on the back of the panel.