Search results for: FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)

Authors: Prateek Bhattacharya

Abstract:

The definition of 'control' in India is a rapidly evolving concept, owing to varying rights attached to varying securities. Shares with differential voting rights (DVRs) provide the holder with differential rights as to voting, as compared to ordinary equity shareholders of the company. Such DVRs can amount to both superior voting rights and inferior voting rights, where DVRs with superior voting rights amount to providing the holder with golden shares in the company. While DVRs are not a novel concept in India having been recognized since 2000, they were placed on a back burner by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2010 after issuance of DVRs with superior voting rights was restricted. In June 2019, the SEBI rekindled the ebbing fire of DVRs, keeping mind the fast-paced nature of the global economy, the government's faith that India’s ‘new age technology companies’ (i.e., Start-Ups) will lead the charge in achieving its goal of India becoming a $5 trillion dollar economy by 2024, and recognizing that the promoters of such Start-Ups seek to raise capital without losing control over their companies. DVRs with superior voting rights guarantee promoters with up to 74% shareholding in Start-Ups for a period of 5 years, meaning that the holder of such DVRs can exercise sole control and material influence over the company for that period. This manner of control has the potential of causing both pro-competitive and anti-competitive effects in the markets where these companies operate. On the one hand, DVRs will allow Start-Up promoters/founders to retain control of their companies and protect its business interests from foreign elements such as private/public investors – in a scenario where such investors have multiple investments in firms engaged in associated lines of business (whether on a horizontal or vertical level) and would seek to influence these firms to enter into potential anti-competitive arrangements with one another, DVRs will enable the promoters to thwart such scenarios. On the other hand, promoters/founders who themselves have multiple investments in Start-Ups, which are in associated lines of business run the risk of influencing these associated Start-Ups to engage in potentially anti-competitive arrangements in the name of profit maximisation. This paper shall be divided into three parts: Part I shall deal with the concept of ‘control’, as deliberated upon and decided by the SEBI and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) under both company/securities law and competition law; Part II shall review this definition of ‘control’ through the lens of DVRs, and Part III shall discuss the aforementioned potential pro-competitive and anti-competitive effects caused by the DVRs by examining the current Indian Start-Up scenario. The paper shall conclude by providing suggestions for the CCI to incorporate a clearer and more progressive concept of ‘control’.

Keywords: competition law, competitive effects, control, differential voting rights, DVRs, investor shareholding, merger control, start-ups

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Taher Abofol, Yaakov Kareev, Judith Avrahami, Peter M. Todd

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Are children sensitive to their relative strength in competitions against others? Performance on tasks that require cooperation or coordination (e.g. the Ultimatum Game) indicates that early precursors of adult-like notions of fairness and reciprocity, as well as altruistic behavior, are evident at an early age. However, not much is known regarding developmental changes in interactive decision-making, especially in competitive interactions. Thus, it is important to study the developmental aspects of strategic behavior in these situations. The present research focused on cognitive-developmental changes in a competitive interaction. Specifically, it aimed at revealing how children engage in strategic interactions that involve the allocation of limited resources over a number of fields of competition, by manipulating relative strength. Relative strength refers to situations in which player strength changes midway through the game: the stronger player becomes the weaker one, while the weaker player becomes the stronger one. An experiment was conducted to find out if the behavior of children of different age groups differs in the following three aspects: 1. Perception of relative strength. 2. Ability to learn while gaining experience. 3. Ability to adapt to change in relative strength. The task was composed of a resource allocation game. After the players allocated their resources (privately and simultaneously), a competition field was randomly chosen for each player. The player who allocated more resources to the field chosen was declared the winner of that round. The resources available to the two competitors were unequal (or equal, for control). The theoretical solution for this game is that the weaker player should give up on a certain number of fields, depending on the stronger opponent’s relative strength, in order to be able to compete with the opponent on equal footing in the remaining fields. Participants were of three age groups, first-graders (N = 36, mean age = 6), fourth-graders (N = 36, mean age = 10), and eleventh-graders (N = 72, mean age = 16). The games took place between players of the same age and lasted for 16 rounds. There were two experimental conditions – a control condition, in which players were of equal strength, and an experimental condition, in which players differed in strength. In the experimental condition, players' strength was changed midway through the session. Results indicated that players in all age groups were sensitive to their relative strength, and played in line with the theoretical solution: the weaker players gave up on more fields than the stronger ones. This understanding, as well as the consequent difference in allocation between weak and strong players, was more pronounced among older participants. Experience led only to minimal behavioral change. Finally, the children from the two older groups, particularly the eleventh graders adapted quickly to the midway switch in relative strength. In contrast, the first-graders hardly changed their behavior with the change in their relative strength, indicating a limited ability to adapt. These findings highlight young children’s ability to consider their relative strength in strategic interactions and its boundaries.

Keywords: children, competition, decision making, developmental changes, strategic behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Manfred Szerencsits, Christine Weinberger, Maximilian Kuderna, Franz Feichtinger, Eva Erhart, Stephan Maier

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Cover or catch crops have beneficial effects for soil, water, erosion, etc. If harvested, they also provide feedstock for biogas without competition for arable land in regions, where only one main crop can be produced per year. On average gross energy yields of approx. 1300 m³ methane (CH₄) ha^-1 can be expected from 4.5 tonnes (t) of cover crop dry matter (DM) in Austria. Considering the total energy invested from cultivation to compression for biofuel use a net energy yield of about 1000 m³ CH₄ ha^-1 is remaining. With the straw of grain maize or Corn Cob Mix (CCM) similar energy yields can be achieved. In comparison to catch crops remaining on the field as green manure or to complete fallow between main crops the effects on soil, water and climate can be improved if cover crops are harvested without soil compaction and digestate is returned to the field in an amount equivalent to cover crop removal. In this way, the risk of nitrate leaching can be reduced approx. by 25% in comparison to full fallow. The risk of nitrous oxide emissions may be reduced up to 50% by contrast with cover crops serving as green manure. The effects on humus content and erosion are similar or better than those of cover crops used as green manure when the same amount of biomass was produced. With higher biomass production the positive effects increase even if cover crops are harvested and the only digestate is brought back to the fields. The ecological footprint of arable farming can be reduced by approx. 50% considering the substitution of natural gas with CH₄ produced from cover crops.

Keywords: biogas, cover crops, catch crops, land use competition, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Christa Fricke, Sibylle Meyer, Gert G. Wagner

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Our research focuses on the question of whether assistive and social robotics could pose a promising strategy to support the independent living of elderly people and potentially relieve relatives of any anxieties. To answer the question of how elderly people perceive the potential of robotics, we analysed the data from the Berlin Aging Study BASE-II (https://www.base2.mpg.de/de) (N=1463) and data from the German SYMPARTNER study (http://www.sympartner.de) (N=120) and compared those to a control group made up of people younger than 30 years (BASE II: N=241; SYMPARTNER: N=30). BASE-II is a cohort study of people living in Berlin, Germany. The sample covers more than 2200 cases; a questionnaire on the use and acceptance of assistive and social robots was carried out with a sub-sample of 1463 respondents in 2015. The SYMPARTNER study was done by SIBIS institute of Social Research, Berlin and included a total of 120 persons between the ages of 60 and 87 in Berlin and the rural German federal state of Thuringia. Both studies included a control group of persons between the ages of 20 and 35 (BASE II: N=241; SYMPARTNER: N=30). Additional data, representative for the whole population in Germany, will be surveyed in fall 2017 (Survey “Technikradar” [technology radar] by the National Academy of Science and Engineering). Since this survey is including some identical questions as BASE-II/SYMPARTNER, comparative results can be presented at 20th International Conference on Social Robotics in New York 2018. The complexity of the data gathered in BASE-II and SYMPARTNER, encompassing detailed socio-economic background characteristics as well as personality traits such as the personal attitude to risk taking, locus of control and Big Five, proves highly valuable and beneficial. Results show that participants’ expressions of resentment against robots are comparatively low. Participants’ personality traits play a role, however the effect sizes are small. Only 15 percent of participants received domestic robots with great scepticism. Participants aged older than 70 years expressed greatest rejection of the robotic assistant. The effect sizes however account for only a few percentage points. Overall, participants were surprisingly open to the robot and its usefulness. The analysis also shows that men’s acceptance of the robot is generally greater than that of women (with odds ratios of about 0.6 to 0.7). This applies to both assistive robots in the private household and in care environments. Men expect greater benefits of the robot than women. Women tend to be more sceptical of their technical feasibility than men. Interview results prove our hypothesis that men, in particular of the age group 60+, are more accustomed to delegate household chores to women. A delegation to machines instead of humans, therefore, seems palpable. The answer to the title question of this planned presentation is: social and assistive robots at home robots are not only accepted by men – but by fewer women than men.

Keywords: acceptance, care, gender, household

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Authors: N. G. Teik Hiang, Fathyah Hashim

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This is a case of how strategic management techniques can be used to help resolving problems faced by an ageing Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). Strategic way of resolving problems had been proven to be possible in this case despite general thought that strategic management is useful mostly for large corporations. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can also use strategic management in managing their business and determining their future cause of action and strategies in order to survive in this ever competent world. Strategic orientation is the key to survival and development of small and medium enterprises. In order to adapt to the fierce market competition, ageing SMEs should improve competitiveness and operational efficiency. They must therefore establish a sense of strategic management to improve the strategic management skills, combined with its own unique characteristics, and work out practical strategies to develop core competitiveness of enterprises in the fierce market competition in order to be sustainable. In this case, internal strengths and weaknesses of an SME had been identified. Strategic internal factors and external factors had been classified and further utilized to formulate potential strategies to encounter various problems faced by the SME. These strategies had been further match to take advantages of the opportunities and to overcome the weaknesses and minimize the threats it is facing. Tan, a consultant who was given the opportunity to formulate a plan for the business started with the environmental scanning (internal and external environmental analysis), assessing strengths and weaknesses for the company, strategies generation, analysis and evaluation. He had numerous discussions with the owner of the business and the senior management in order to match the key internal and external factors to formulate alternative strategies for solving the problems that the company facing. Some of the recommendations or solutions are generated from the inspiration of the owner of the business who is a very enterprising and experience businessman.

Keywords: strategic orientation, strategic management, SME, core competitiveness, sustainable

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Authors: Muhammad Anjum Aqueel, Muhammad Jaffar Hussain, Abu Bakar Muhammad Raza

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Diaeretiella rapae (M’Intosh) attack most of the aphid species. However, it is specialized in feeding on crucifer aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae. Biological potential of parasitoid is its density-dependency due to sharing of limited resources in few cases. The present study was carried out to check the biotic potential of D. rapae at its different densities (1, 2, 4, 8 and 10 pairs) on fixed number of B. brassicae (100 in number) as a host. The present study was performed under laboratory conditions (25 ± 2 ºC temperature and 65-70 % R.H.). Different biological parameters for parasitoid (e.g. percent parasitism, adult emergence, adult longevity and per pair parasitism) were evaluated to check its biotic potential. The present findings showed that maximum parasitism (43.09 % ± 0.63) was observed in highest density (10 pairs) and minimum parasitism (16.59 % ± 1.28) in lowest density (1 pair) of the parasitoid. Maximum adult emergence (80.31 % ± 1.33) was observed in highest density (10 pairs) and minimum parasitism (45.99 % ± 1.27) in lowest density (1 pair) of the parasitoid. In the case of adult longevity, highest (8.2 days ± 0.38) and lowest (6 days ± 0.32) longevity were observed in lowest (1 pair) and highest (10 pairs) densities of parasitoids respectively. However, per pair parasitism rate decreased with the increase in parasitoid densities due to intra-specific competition, developed between the parasitoids for parasitism. The positive but close relationship was observed between percent parasitism and adult emergence. The increase in parasitoid densities increased the percent parasitism and adult emergence of the parasitoid. So, we conclude that an inter-specific competition negatively affected the efficacy of parasitoids and may reduce the fitness of the emerging parasitoid.

Keywords: Diaeretiella rapae, Parasitoid densities, Percent parasitism, adult emergence

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Authors: Yi-An Liao, Lu-Wei Kuo, Yu-Jen Shih, Yao-Hui Huang

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Abstract—Imidacloprid (IMI, a widely used pesticide, iImidacloprid (IMI), a widely used pesticide, is known to affect the bee populations. A sulfate radical-based oxidation method was utilized to remove the commercial pesticide consisted of IMI, dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and methanol (TOC0 = 497 ppm). The experimental results evidenced that sulfate radicals created by UV activation (254nm, 6.4 mW/cm2) of S2O82- could remove 97% of total organic carbon (TOC) from the synthetic wastewater in 4 h using 120 mM of oxidant dosage. The dose of oxidant, temperature and the light flux were the key factors to further improve the mineralization efficiency, while the ferrous ions decreased the efficacy of UV/S2O82- reaction due to the competition of UV-adsorption by complex formation of FeSO4+.s known to affect the bee populations. A sulfate radical-based oxidation method was utilized to remove the commercial pesticide consisted of IMI, dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and methanol (TOC0 = 497 ppm). The experimental results evidenced that sulfate radicals created by UV activation (254nm, 6.4 mW/cm2) of S2O82- could remove 97% of total organic carbon (TOC) from the synthetic wastewater in 4 h using 120 mM of oxidant dosage. The dose of oxidant, temperature and the light flux were the key factors to further improve the mineralization efficiency, while the ferrous ions decreased the efficacy of UV/S2O82- reaction due to the competition of UV-adsorption by complex formation of FeSO4+.

Keywords: organic nitrogen, photochemical oxidation, imidacloprid, UV-persulfate, mineralization

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Mounir Filali

Abstract:

Companies use many innovative ways to reach their customers to stay ahead of the competition. Along with the growing demand for innovative business solutions is the demand for new technology. The most noticeable area of demand for business innovations is the mobile application industry. Recently, companies have recognized the growing need to integrate proprietary mobile applications into their suite of services; Companies have realized that developing mobile apps gives them a competitive edge. As a result, many have begun to rapidly develop mobile apps to stay ahead of the competition. Mobile application development helps companies meet the needs of their customers. Mobile apps also help businesses to take advantage of every potential opportunity to generate leads that convert into sales. Mobile app download growth statistics with the recent rise in demand for business-related mobile apps, there has been a similar rise in the range of mobile app solutions being offered. Today, companies can use the traditional route of the software development team to build their own mobile applications. However, there are also many platform-ready "low-code and no-code" mobile apps available to choose from. These mobile app development options have more streamlined business processes. This helps them be more responsive to their customers without having to be coding experts. Companies must have a basic understanding of mobile app architecture to attract and maintain the interest of mobile app users. Mobile application architecture refers to the buildings or structural systems and design elements that make up a mobile application. It also includes the technologies, processes, and components used during application development. The underlying foundation of all applications consists of all elements of the mobile application architecture; developing a good mobile app architecture requires proper planning and strategic design. The technology framework or platform on the back end and user-facing side of a mobile application is part of the mobile architecture of the application. In-application development Software programmers loosely refer to this set of mobile architecture systems and processes as the "technology stack."

Keywords: mobile applications, development, architecture, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Mounir Filali

Abstract:

Companies use many innovative ways to reach their customers to stay ahead of the competition. Along with the growing demand for innovative business solutions is the demand for new technology. The most noticeable area of demand for business innovations is the mobile application industry. Recently, companies have recognized the growing need to integrate proprietary mobile applications into their suite of services; Companies have realized that developing mobile apps gives them a competitive edge. As a result, many have begun to rapidly develop mobile apps to stay ahead of the competition. Mobile application development helps companies meet the needs of their customers. Mobile apps also help businesses to take advantage of every potential opportunity to generate leads that convert into sales. Mobile app download growth statistics with the recent rise in demand for business-related mobile apps, there has been a similar rise in the range of mobile app solutions being offered. Today, companies can use the traditional route of the software development team to build their own mobile applications. However, there are also many platform-ready "low-code and no-code" mobile apps available to choose from. These mobile app development options have more streamlined business processes. This helps them be more responsive to their customers without having to be coding experts. Companies must have a basic understanding of mobile app architecture to attract and maintain the interest of mobile app users. Mobile application architecture refers to the buildings or structural systems and design elements that make up a mobile application. It also includes the technologies, processes, and components used during application development. The underlying foundation of all applications consists of all elements of the mobile application architecture, developing a good mobile app architecture requires proper planning and strategic design. The technology framework or platform on the back end and user-facing side of a mobile application is part of the mobile architecture of the application. In-application development Software programmers loosely refer to this set of mobile architecture systems and processes as the "technology stack".

Keywords: mobile applications, development, architecture, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 64

Authors: Ramiz Kuliev, Fuad Kuliev-Smirnov

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The 'Shadow Sparring' training exercise is widely used in the training of boxers and martial artists. The main disadvantage of the usual shadow sparring is that the trainer cannot fully control such training and evaluate its results. During the competition, the athlete, preparing for the upcoming fight, imagines the Shadow (upcoming opponent) in accordance with his own imagination. A ‘Smart-Shadow Sparring’ (SSS) is an innovative version of the ‘Shadow Sparring’. During SSS, the fighter will see the Shadow (virtual opponent that moves, defends, and punches) and understand when he misses the punches from the Shadow. The task of a real athlete is to spar with a virtual one, move around, punch in the direction of unprotected areas of the Shadow and dodge his punches. Moves and punches of Shadow are set up before each training. The system will give the coach full information about virtual sparring: (i) how many and what type of punches has the fighter landed, (ii) accuracy of these punches, (iii) how many and what type of virtual punches (punches of Smart-Shadow) has the fighter missed, etc. SSS will be recorded as animated fighting of two fighters and will help the coach to analyze past training. SSS can be configured to fit the physical and technical characteristics of the next real opponent (size, techniques, speed, missed and landed punches, etc.). This will allow to simulate and rehearse the upcoming fight and improve readiness for the next opponent. For amateur fighters, SSS will be reconfigured several times during a tournament, when the real opponent becomes known. SSS can be used in three versions: (1) Digital Shadow: the athlete will see a Shadow on a monitor (2) VR-Shadow: the athlete will see a Shadow in a VR-glasses (3) Smart Shadow: a Shadow will be controlled by artificial intelligence. These technologies are based on the ‘semi-real simulation’ method. The technology allows coaches to train athletes remotely. Simulation of different opponents will help the athletes better prepare for competition. Repeat rehearsals of the upcoming fight will help improve results. SSS can improve results in Boxing, Taekwondo, Karate, and Fencing. 41 sets of medals will be awarded in these sports at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Keywords: boxing, combat sports, fight simulation, shadow sparring

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: C. Watson, T. Glare, M. O'Callaghan, M. Hurst

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The endemic New Zealand grass grub (Costelytra giveni, Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is an economically significant grassland pest in New Zealand. Due to their impacts on production within the agricultural sector, one of New Zealand's primary industries, several methods are being used to either control or prevent the establishment of new grass grub populations in the pasture. One such method involves the use of a biopesticide based on the bacterium Serratia entomophila. This species is one of the causative agents of amber disease, a chronic disease of the larvae which results in death via septicaemia after approximately 2 to 3 months. The ability of S. entomophila to cause amber disease is dependant upon the presence of the amber disease associated plasmid (pADAP), which encodes for the key virulence determinants required for the establishment and maintenance of the disease. Following the collapse of grass grub populations within the soil, resulting from either natural population build-up or application of the bacteria, non-pathogenic plasmid-free Serratia strains begin to predominate within the soil. Whilst the interactions between S. entomophila and grass grub larvae are well studied, less information is known on the interactions between plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free strains, particularly the potential impact of these interactions upon the efficacy of an applied biopesticide. Using a range of constructed strains with antibiotic tags, in vitro (broth culture) and in vivo (soil and larvae) experiments were conducted using inoculants comprised of differing ratios of isogenic pathogenic and non-pathogenic Serratia strains, enabling the relative growth of pADAP+ and pADAP- strains under competition conditions to be assessed. In nutrient-rich, the non-pathogenic pADAP- strain outgrew the pathogenic pADAP+ strain by day 3 when inoculated in equal quantities, and by day 5 when applied as the minority inoculant, however, there was an overall gradual decline in the number of viable bacteria for both strains over a 7-day period. Similar results were obtained in additional experiments using the same strains and continuous broth cultures re-inoculated at 24-hour intervals, although in these cultures, the viable cell count did not diminish over the 7-day period. When the same ratios were assessed in soil microcosms with limited available nutrients, the strains remained relatively stable over a 2-month period. Additionally, in vivo grass grub co-infections assays using the same ratios of tagged Serratia strains revealed similar results to those observed in the soil, but there was also evidence of horizontal transfer of pADAP from the pathogenic to the non-pathogenic strain within the larval gut after a period of 4 days. Whilst the influence of competition is more apparent in broth cultures than within the soil or larvae, further testing is required to determine whether this competition between pathogenic and non-pathogenic Serratia strains has any influence on efficacy and disease progression, and how this may impact on the ability of S. entomophila to cause amber disease within grass grub larvae when applied as a biopesticide.

Keywords: biological control, entomopathogen, microbial ecology, New Zealand

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Authors: Dionysios Kakaroumpas, Jesseka Farago, Stephen Webber

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Athletes and spectators depend on the tennis ranking system to represent the truest caliber of athletic prowess; a careful look at the current ranking system though, reveals its main weakness: it undermines expectations of fans and players. Our study proposes several key changes to the existing ranking formula that provide a fair and accurate approach to measure player performance. The study proposes a modification of the system to value: participation, continued advancement, and overall achievement. The new ranking formula facilitates closing the trust gap, encouraging competition equality, engaging the fan base, attracting investment, and promoting tennis involvement worldwide. To probe the crux of our main contention we performed week-by-week comparisons between results procured from the current and proposed formulae. After performing this rigorous case-study of top players of each gender, the findings strongly indicated that there is identifiable inflation in the ranks and enhanced the conviction that the current system should be updated. The new system is accompanied by a web-based software package freely available to anyone involved or interested in tennis rankings. The software package is designed to automatically calculate new player rankings based on a responsive, multi-faceted formula that also generates projected point scenarios and provides separate rankings for the three different court surfaces. By taking a critical look at the current tennis ranking system with consideration to the perspective of fans, players, and businesses involved, an upgrade is in order for it to maintain the balance of trust between fans and the evaluation process. In closure, this proposed solution increases fair play competition, eliminates rank inflation, and better engages fans, players, and sponsors by bringing in a new era of professional tennis.

Keywords: measurement and evaluation, rules and regulations, sports management and marketing, tennis ranking system

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Meera Shanker

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Excellent education and financial need have encouraged Indian women to go out and work in well-paid and high-status occupations. In the era of cutthroat competition, women are expected to work hard to produce the desired result; hence, workload and expectations haveincreased. At home, they are anticipated to take care of family members, children, and household work. Women are stretching themselves mechanically to remain in the job competition and try to give their best at home. Consequentially, they are under tremendous pressure, stressed, and having issues related to physical-mental wellness. Mental healthcare is often ignored and not accepted due to a lack of awareness and cultural barriers. These further compounds the problem, resulting in decreased productivity in economic terms and an increase in stress-related physical-mental ailments. The main objective of the study was to find out the impact of stress on the physical-mental wellbeing of working women in India, along with their awareness and acceptability related to mental health. Six hundred and one woman working at various levels took part in this study, responding to the items related to stress and physical-mental illness. Finally, 21 items were retained under four meaningful factors measuring stress dimensions along with 17 items with three factors measuring physical-mental wellbeing. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), path analysis, in Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), was used to get a relationship, validity of the instruments. The psychometric properties of items and Cronbach’s Alpha reliabilities calculated for the subscales were relatively acceptable. The subscale correlations, regression, and path analysis of stress dimensions with physical-mental illness were found to be positive, indicating the growing stress among working women in India, which is impacting their physical-mental health. Single item analysis revealed that 77 percent of women have never visited psychologists. However, 70 percent of working women were not ready to seek the help of a psychologist.

Keywords: working women, stress, physical-mental well-being, confirmatory factor analysis

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Authors: Sebastian van Delden, Matthew Anuszkiewicz, Jayse White, Scott Stolarski

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Industrial robotic manipulators have been commonplace in the manufacturing world since the early 1960s, and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have only begun to realize their full potential in the service industry and the military. The omnipresence of these technologies in their respective fields will only become more potent in coming years. While these technologies have greatly evolved over the years, the typical approach to human interaction with these robots has not. In the industrial robotics realm, a manipulator is typically jogged around using a teach pendant and programmed using a networked computer or the teach pendant itself via a proprietary software development platform. Drones are typically controlled using a two-handed controller equipped with throttles, buttons, and sticks, an app that can be downloaded to one’s mobile device, or a combination of both. This application-oriented work offers a novel approach to human interaction with both unmanned aerial vehicles and industrial robotic manipulators via hand gestures and movements. Two systems have been implemented, both of which use a Myo™ armband to control either a drone (DJI Spark™) or a robotic arm (Stäubli™ TX40). The methodologies developed by this work present a mapping of armband gestures (fist, finger spread, swing hand in, swing hand out, swing arm left/up/down/right, etc.) to either drone or robot arm movements. The findings of this study present the efficacy and limitations (precision and ergonomic) of hand gesture control of two distinct types of robotic technology. All source code associated with this project will be open sourced and placed on GitHub. In conclusion, this study offers a framework that maps hand and arm gestures to drone and robot arm control. The system has been implemented using current ubiquitous technologies, and these software artifacts will be open sourced for future researchers or practitioners to use in their work.

Keywords: human robot interaction, drones, gestures, robotics

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Authors: Akaash Tawade, Manan Khattar, Lucas Spangher, Costas J. Spanos

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Many grids are increasing the share of renewable energy in their generation mix, which is causing the energy generation to become less controllable. Buildings, which consume nearly 33% of all energy, are a key target for demand response: i.e., mechanisms for demand to meet supply. Understanding the behavior of office workers is a start towards developing demand response for one sector of building technology. The literature notes that dynamic computational modeling can be predictive of individual action, especially given that occupant behavior is traditionally abstracted from demand forecasting. Recent work founded on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) has provided a promising conceptual basis for modeling behavior, personal states, and environment using control theoretic principles. Here, an adapted linear dynamical system of latent states and exogenous inputs is proposed to simulate energy demand amongst office workers engaged in a social energy shifting game. The energy shifting competition is implemented in an office in Singapore that is connected to a minigrid of buildings with a consistent 'price signal.' This signal is translated into a 'points signal' by a reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm to influence participant energy use. The dynamic model functions at the intersection of the points signals, baseline energy consumption trends, and SCT behavioral inputs to simulate future outcomes. This study endeavors to analyze how the dynamic model trains an RL agent and, subsequently, the degree of accuracy to which load deferability can be simulated. The results offer a generalizable behavioral model for energy competitions that provides the framework for further research on transfer learning for RL, and more broadly— transactive control.

Keywords: energy demand forecasting, social cognitive behavioral modeling, social game, transfer learning

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Authors: Jeonghwan Jeon

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With the advent of IPTV in the fierce competition with existing broadcasting system, it is emerged as an important issue to predict how much the adoption of IPTV service will be. This paper aims to suggest a prediction model for adopting IPTV using classification and Ranking Belief Simplex (CaRBS). A simplex plot method of representing data allows a clear visual representation to the degree of interaction of the support from the variables to the prediction of the objects. CaRBS is applied to the survey data on the IPTV adoption.

Keywords: prediction, adoption, IPTV, CaRBS

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Authors: Antonio Aguilar Aguilar, Eliezer Braun Guitler

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Using a previously developed procedure and with the aid of algebraic software, a two-dimensional generalized Ising model with a 4×2 unitary cell (UC), we obtain a Kagome Lattice with twelve different spin-spin values of interaction, in order to determine the partition function per spin L(T). From the partition function we can study the magnetic behavior of the system. Because of the competition phenomenon between spins, a very complex behavior among them in a variety of magnetic states can be observed.

Keywords: correlations, Ising, Kagome, exact functions

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Authors: Titus G. Kassem, Izang A. Nyam

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A mathematical model is constructed to study the effect of predation on two competing species in which one of the competing species is a prey to the predator whilst the other species are not under predation. Conditions for the existence and stability of equilibrium solutions were determined. Numerical simulation results indicate the possibility of a stable coexistence of the three interacting species in form of stable oscillations under certain parameter values. We also noticed that under some certain parameter values, species under predation go into extinction.

Keywords: competition, predator-prey, species, ecology

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Authors: Mostafa Ahmed Shokshok

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Libyan industrial companies face many challenges in today's competitive market. Quality management culture approaches is one of these challenges which may furnish the road to the Libyan industrial companies to effectively empower their employees and improve their ability to respond to the international competition. The primary objective of this paper is to design a practical approach to guide Libyan industrial companies toward successful quality culture implementation.

Keywords: TQM, quality culture, Libyan manufacturing industries, quality framework

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Authors: Fatima Homor

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The new era in business has started, according to my research paper findings, corporate social responsibility leads organizations to an incomparable advantage phase, where competition is secondary and financial growth is a result. Those who join later, lose their active advantage and cause passive disadvantage for their organizations. The main purpose of this presentation is to state the obvious and shed the light of the advantages of doing good, while doing well for multinational enterprises, extremely low fluctuation (preventing one of the highest costs), significantly lower marketing budget, enhanced reputation causing customer and supplier loyalty, employee commitment results in higher motivation level leading to better quality at each stages, Corporate Social Responsibility brings Unique Selling Proposition incomparable to others. The paper is based on a large research work conducted for the University of Liverpool Masters in Business Administration program, with the title of Corporate Social Responsibility for Multinational Enterprises to gain incomparable advantage. The research is based on both recent secondary data, but most importantly on 25 interviews with Chief Executive Officers at Multinational Enterprises and / or the Human Resources / corporate communications directors. The direct gains on Corporate Social Responsibility are analyzed when it is embedded into the core of the business. It is evident that project based Corporate Social Responsibility is not effective neither from the supported topic, Non-governmental Organizations point of view nor from the organization’s long-term sustainability point of view. Surveys have been conducted, data compared and consequences drawn. Corporate Social Responsibility must be started inside of the business to strengthen it. First, commit employees. It must come from the Chief Executive Officer. It must be related to the business profile. It has to be long term. They will commit customers. B-corps are coming (e.g. Unilever); the phenomenon of social enterprises has become a leading one.

Keywords: B-corps, embedded into core business, first inside, unique advantage

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Authors: Zahra Mohajer, Afsaneh Soltani

Abstract:

Doping is a major issue in competitive sports and is favored by vast groups of athletes. The feeling of being higher-ranking than others and gaining fame has caused many athletes to misuse drugs. The definition of doping is to use prohibited substances and/or methods that help physical or mental performances or both. Doping counts as the illegal use of chemical substances or drugs, excessive amounts of physiological substances to increase the performance at or out of competition or even the use of inappropriate medications to treat an injury to gain the ability to participate in a competition. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have forbidden these substances to ensure fair and equal competition and also the health of the competitors. As of 2004 WADA has published an international list of illegal substances used for doping, which is updated annually. In the process of the Genome Project scientists have gained the ability to treat numerous diseases by gene therapy, which may result in bodily performance increase and therefore a potential opportunity to misuse by some athletes. Gene doping is defined as the non-therapeutic direct and indirect genetic modifications using genetic materials that can improve the performances in sports events. Biosynthetic drugs are a form of indirect genetic engineering. The method can be performed in three ways such as injecting the DNA directly into the muscle, inserting the genetically engineered cells, or transferring the DNA using a virus as a vector. Erythropoietin is a hormone majorly released by the kidney and in small amounts by the liver. Its function is to stimulate the erythropoiesis and therefore the more production of red blood cells (RBC) which causes an increase in Hemoglobin (Hb). During this process, the oxygen delivery to muscles will increase, which will improve athletic performance and postpone exhaustion. There are ways to increase the oxygen transferred to muscles such as blood transfusion, stimulating the production of red blood cells by using Erythropoietin (EPO), and also using allosteric effectors of Hemoglobin. EPO can either be injected as a protein or can be inserted into the cells as the gene which encodes EPO. Adeno-associated viruses have been employed to deliver the EPO gene to the cells. Employing the genes that naturally exist in the human body such as the EPO gene can reduce the risk of detecting gene doping. The first research about blood doping was conducted in 1947. The study has shown that an increase in hematocrit (HCT) up to 55% following homologous transfusion makes it more unchallenging for the body to perform the exercise at the altitude. Thereafter athletes’ attraction to blood infusion escalated. Also, a study has demonstrated that by reinfusing their own blood 4 weeks after being drawn, three men have shown a rise in Hb level which improved the oxygen uptake, and a delay in exhaustion. The list of performance-enhancing drugs is published by WADA annually and includes the following drugs: anabolic agents, hormones, Beta-2 agonists, Beta-blockers, Diuretics, Stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids, and corticosteroids.

Keywords: doping, PEDs, sports, WADA

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Authors: Saradha Priya

Abstract:

Developing virtual human is very important to meet the challenges occurred in many applications where human find difficult or risky to perform the task. A robot is a machine that can perform a task automatically or with guidance. Robotics is generally a combination of artificial intelligence and physical machines (motors). Computational intelligence involves the programmed instructions. This project proposes a robotic vehicle that has a camera, PIR sensor and text command based movement. It is specially designed to perform surveillance and other few tasks in the most efficient way. Serial communication has been occurred between a remote Base Station, GUI Application, and PC.

Keywords: Zigbee, camera, pirsensor, wireless transmission, DC motor

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Authors: Svetlana Petrikova, Alexander Yu Kostinskiy

Abstract:

Management of research evaluation in the Higher School of Economics (HSE) originates from the HSE Academic Fund created in 2004 to facilitate and support academic research and presents its results to international academic community. As the means to inspire the applicants, science projects went through competitive selection process evaluated by the group of experts. Drastic development of HSE, quantity of applied projects for each Academic Fund competition and the need to coordinate the conduct of expert evaluation resulted in founding of the Office for Research Evaluation in 2013. The Office’s primary objective is management of research evaluation of science projects. The standards to conduct the evaluation are defined as follows: - The exercise of the process approach, the unification of the functioning of department. - The uniformity of regulatory, organizational and methodological framework. - The development of proper on-line evaluation system. - The broad involvement of external Russian and international experts, the renouncement of the usage of own employees. - The development of an algorithm to make a correspondence between experts and science projects. - The methodical usage of opened/closed international and Russian databases to extend the expert database. - The transparency of evaluation results – free access to assessment while keeping experts confidentiality. The management of research evaluation of projects is based on the sole standard, organization and financing. The standard way of conducting research evaluation at HSE is based upon Regulations on basic principles for research evaluation at HSE. These Regulations have been developed from the moment of establishment of the Office for Research Evaluation and are based on conventional corporate standards for regulatory document management. The management system of research evaluation is implemented on the process approach basis. Process approach means deployment of work as a process, which is the aggregation of interrelated and interacting activities processing inputs into outputs. Inputs are firstly client asking for the assessment to be conducted, defining the conditions for organizing and carrying of the assessment and secondly the applicant with proper for the competition application; output is assessment given to the client. While exercising process approach to clarify interrelation and interacting main parties or subjects of the assessment are determined and the way for interaction between them forms up. Parties to expert assessment are: - Ordering Party – The department of the university taking the decision to subject a project to expert assessment; - Providing Party – The department of the university authorized to provide such assessment by the Ordering Party; - Performing Party – The legal and natural entities that have expertise in the area of research evaluation. Experts assess projects in accordance with criteria and states of expert opinions approved by the Ordering Party. Objects of assessment generally are applications or HSE competition project reports. Mainly assessments are deployed for internal needs, i.e. the most ordering parties are HSE branches and departments, but assessment can also be conducted for external clients. The financing of research evaluation at HSE is based on the established corporate culture and traditions of HSE.

Keywords: expert assessment, management of research evaluation, process approach, research evaluation

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Authors: Manish Kumar Pillai, Madhavi Pathak Pillai, Rajender Lal, Dinesh P. Sharma

Abstract:

India has not yet been able to produce many weightlifters in the past years. Karnam Malleshwari is the only woman to win a medal for India in Olympics. When we try to introspect, there seem to be different reasons. One of the probable cause could be the lack of biomechanical analysis for technique improvements. The analysis of motion in sports has gained prime importance for technical improvement. It helps an athlete to develop a better understanding of his own skills and increasing the rate of technical learning process. Kinematics is concerned with describing and quantifying both the linear and angular position of bodies and their time derivatives. The techniques analysis of barbell movement is very important in weightlifting. But women weightlifting has a shorter history than men’s. Research on women weightlifting based on video analysis is less; there is a lack of scientific evidence based on kinematic analysis of especially on Indian weightlifters at national level are limited. Hence, the present investigation was aimed to analyze the barbell kinematics of women weightlifters in India. The study was delimited to the medal winners of 69-kilogram weight category in the All India Inter-University Competition, age ranging between 18 and 28 years. The variables selected for the mechanical analysis of Barbell kinematics included barbell trajectory, velocity, acceleration, potential energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, and average power output. The performance was captured during the competition by two DV PC-60 Digital cameras (Panasonic Company, Ltd). Two cameras were placed 6-meters perpendicular to the plane of the motion, 130 cm. above the ground to record/capture the frontal and lateral view of the lifters simultaneously. Video recordings were analyzed by using Dartfish software, and barbell kinematics were analyzed with the information derived with the help of software. The result documented on the basis of the finding of the study clearly states that there are differences in the selected kinematic variables in all three lifters in respect to their technique in five phases during snatch technique using by them.

Keywords: dartfish, digital camera, kinematic, snatch, weightlifting

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Authors: J. Harrison Kurunathan, R. Jayaparvathy

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"Assistive Robotics" is the field that deals with the study of robots that helps in human motion and also empowers human abilities by interfacing the robotic systems to be manipulated by human motion. The proposed model is a robotic arm that works as a haptic interface on the basis on accelerometers and DC motors that will function with respect to the movement of the human muscle. The proposed model would effectively work as a haptic interface that would reduce human effort in the field of defense and rescue. This can be used in very critical conditions like fire accidents to avoid causalities.

Keywords: accelerometers, haptic interface, servo motors, signal processing

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Authors: Jayden Leonard, Nguyen Que Huong

Abstract:

In this work, we study the Trion state in a spherical quantum dot of a direct band gap semiconductor with a shell of organic material. The electronic structure of the Trion due to degenerate valence band will be considered. The coupling between the wannier exciton inside the dot and the Frenkel exciton in the shell will make the Trion state become hybrid. The competition between “semiconductor” and “organic” phases of the Trion and the transitions between them depend on Parameters of the system such as the materials, the size of the dot and the thickness of the shell, etc… and could be manipulated using those parameters.

Keywords: trion, exciton, quantum dot, heterostructure

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Authors: Vinicius Binotte, Guilherme Baldo, Christiane Goulart, Carlos Valadão, Eliete Caldeira, Teodiano Bastos

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Socially assistive robotic has become increasingly active and it is present in therapies of people affected for several neurobehavioral conditions, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In fact, robots have played a significant role for positive interaction with children with ASD, by stimulating their social and cognitive skills. This work introduces a mobile socially-assistive robot, which was built for interaction with children with ASD, using non-linear control techniques for this interaction.

Keywords: socially assistive robotics, mobile robot, autonomous control, autism

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Authors: Jaber Nikpouri, Arsalan Amralizadeh

Abstract:

In robotics manipulators, the trajectory should be optimum, thus the torque of the robot can be minimized in order to save power. This paper includes an optimal path planning scheme for a robotic manipulator. Recently, techniques based on metaheuristics of natural computing, mainly evolutionary algorithms (EA), have been successfully applied to a large number of robotic applications. In this paper, the improved BBO algorithm is used to minimize the objective function in the presence of different obstacles. The simulation represents that the proposed optimal path planning method has satisfactory performance.

Keywords: biogeography-based optimization, path planning, obstacle detection, robotic manipulator

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Authors: Odoh Dickson Akpegi

Abstract:

The paper is about the need for an indigenous language in order to meaningfully harness both our human and material resources for the nation’s integration. It then examines the notty issue of the national language question and advocates a piece meal approach in solving the problem. This approach allows for the development and use of local languages in minority areas, especially in Benue State, as a way of preparing them for consideration as possible replacement for English language as Nigeria’s national or official language. Finally, an arrangement to follow to prepare the languages for such competition at the national level is presented.

Keywords: indigenous language, English language, official language, National integration

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Authors: Rasha Alhendawi

Abstract:

This research will give the introductory ideas for cultural adaption of B2C E-Service design in Germany. By the intense competition of E-Service development, many companies have realized the importance of understanding the emotional and cultural characteristics of their customers. Ignoring customers’ needs and requirements throughout the E-Service design can lead to faults, mistakes, and gaps. The term of E-Service usability now is changed not only to develop high quality E-Services, but also to be extended to include customer satisfaction and provide for them to feel local.

Keywords: human computer interaction (HCI), usability, cultural usability, E-Services, business-to-consumer (B2C), e-services

Procedia PDF Downloads 410