A Methodological Framework to Design a Machine-Readable Privacy Icon Set

in Schweighofer, Erich (Ed.) Data Protection / LegalTech Proceedings of the 21st International Legal Informatics Symposium IRIS 2018 (2018)

The GDPR suggests icons to convey data practices in a more straightforward way. Although vi- sualizations to represent legal terms have many benefits, there is fear that they could be misrep- resented by ... [more ▼]

The GDPR suggests icons to convey data practices in a more straightforward way. Although vi- sualizations to represent legal terms have many benefits, there is fear that they could be misrep- resented by designers and misinterpreted by individuals, thus hindering instead of facilitating the comprehension. In order to solve these issues, we present a methodology to generate legal visual representations that is based on an analysis of legal requirements, on an ontological representation of the legal knowledge, and on an iterative, multi-stakeholder design approach, followed by empirical evaluation. [less ▲]

Methods for Biochemical Model Decomposition and Quantitative Submodel Comparison

in Israel Journal of Chemistry (2011), 51(1), 151164

Microscopic energy consumption modelling of electric buses: model development, calibration, and validation

in Transportation Research. Part D, Transport and Environment (2021)

Minimal-time network reconstruction for DTLTI systems

in The proceedings of the 49th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC) (2010)

This paper considers the problem of obtaining in minimal time the “dynamical network structure” (DNS) from partial state observations of a discrete-time linear time-invariant system. From the DNS, we can ... [more ▼]

This paper considers the problem of obtaining in minimal time the “dynamical network structure” (DNS) from partial state observations of a discrete-time linear time-invariant system. From the DNS, we can not only obtain the network structure of the system at the measurement level, but also estimate the minimal number of hidden states which are not observed directly. First, we discuss when reconstruction of the DNS is and is not possible. Then, we give an algorithm to find the minimal number of successive outputs to find the DNS. Finally, we discuss extensions of the results to non-linear and noisy systems. These results can be directly applied to the decentralised network control problem of multi-agent systems to find network connections of the observed agents. [less ▲]

Minimum energy multiple crack propagation Part I: Theory.

in Engineering Fracture Mechanics (n.d.)

The three-part paper deals with energy-minimal multiple crack propagation in a linear elastic solid under quasi-static conditions. The principle of minimum total energy, i.e. the sum of the potential and ... [more ▼]

The three-part paper deals with energy-minimal multiple crack propagation in a linear elastic solid under quasi-static conditions. The principle of minimum total energy, i.e. the sum of the potential and fracture energies, which stems directly from the Griffith's theory of cracks, is applied to the problem of arbitrary crack growth in 2D. The proposed formulation enables minimisation of the total energy of the mechanical system with respect to the crack extension directions and crack extension lengths to solve for the evolution of the mechanical system over time. The three parts focus, in turn, on (I) the theory of multiple crack growth including competing cracks, (II) the discrete solution by the extended finite element method using the minimum-energy formulation, and (III) the aspects of computer implementation within the Matlab programming language. The key contributions of Part-I of this three-part paper are: (1) formulation of the total energy functional governing multiple crack behaviour, (2) three solution methods to the problem of competing crack growth for different fracture front stabilities (e.g. stable, unstable, or a partially stable configuration of crack tips), and (3) the minimum energy criterion for a set of crack tip extensions is posed as the criterion of vanishing rotational dissipation rates with respect to the rotations of the crack extensions. The formulation lends itself to a straightforward application within a discrete framework for determining the crack extension directions of multiple finite-length crack tip increments, which is tackled in Part-II, using the extended finite element method. In Part-III, we discuss various applications and benchmark problems. The open-source Matlab code, documentation, benchmark/example cases are included as supplementary material. [less ▲]

Minimum energy multiple crack propagation. Part III: XFEM computer implementation and applications.

in Engineering Fracture Mechanics (n.d.)

The three-part paper deals with energy-minimal multiple crack propagation in a linear elastic solid under quasi-static conditions. The principle of minimum total energy, i.e. the sum of the potential and ... [more ▼]

The three-part paper deals with energy-minimal multiple crack propagation in a linear elastic solid under quasi-static conditions. The principle of minimum total energy, i.e. the sum of the potential and fracture energies, which stems directly from the Griffith's theory of cracks, is applied to the problem of arbitrary crack growth in 2D. The proposed formulation enables minimisation of the total energy of the mechanical system with respect to the crack extension directions and crack extension lengths to solve for the evolution of the mechanical system over time. The three parts focus, in turn, on (I) the theory of multiple crack growth including competing cracks, (II) the discrete solution by the extended finite element method using the minimum-energy formulation, and (III) the aspects of computer implementation within the Matlab programming language. The key contributions of Part-III of the three-part paper are as follows: (1) implementation of XFEM in Matlab with emphasis on the design of the code to enable fast and efficient computational times of fracture problems involving multiple cracks and arbitrary crack intersections, (2) verification of the minimum energy criterion and comparison with the maximum tension criterion via multiple benchmark studies, and (3) we propose a numerical improvement to the crack growth direction criterion that gives significant improvements in accuracy and convergence rates of the fracture paths, especially on coarse meshes. The comparisons of the fracture paths obtained by the maximum tension (or maximum hoop-stress) criterion and the energy minimisation approach via a multitude of numerical case studies show that both criteria converge to virtually the same fracture solutions albeit from opposite directions. In other words, it is found that the converged fracture path lies in between those obtained by each criterion on coarser meshes. Thus, a modified crack growth direction criterion is proposed that assumes the average direction of the directions obtained by the maximum tension and the minimum energy criteria. The numerical results show significant improvements in accuracy (especially on coarse discretisations) and convergence rates of the fracture paths. Finally, the open-source Matlab code, documentation, benchmarks and example cases are included as supplementary material. [less ▲]

Mixed hybrid and electric bus dynamic fleet management in urban networks: a model predictive control approach

Scientific Conference (2019, January)

Reducing pollutant emissions and promoting sustainable mobility solutions, including Public Transport, are increasingly becoming key objectives for policymakers worldwide. In order to jointly achieve ... [more ▼]

Reducing pollutant emissions and promoting sustainable mobility solutions, including Public Transport, are increasingly becoming key objectives for policymakers worldwide. In order to jointly achieve these goals, careful consideration should be put on the operational cost and management of PT services, in order to promote the adoption of green mobility solutions and advanced management techniques by operators. In this work we develop a dynamic fleet management approach for next generation Public Transportation systems, considering the instance of mixed electric / hybrid fleet. Our objective is that of investigating to what extent electrification, coupled with optimal fleet management, can yield operational cost savings for PT operators, explicitly considering real-time disturbances, including delays, service disruptions etc. We propose a Mixed Integer Linear Program to address the problem of optimal scheduling of a mixed fleet of electric and hybrid / non-electric buses, and employ it as predictor in a Model Predictive Control approach. Test results based upon a real-life scenario showcase how the proposed approach is indeed capable of yielding a sizable reduction in operational costs, even when considerable disturbances arise from the underlying system. [less ▲]

A mixed integer linear programming approach to pursuit evasion problems with optional connectivity constraints

in Autonomous Robots (2011), 31(4), 333-343

In this paper, we address the multi pursuer version of the pursuit evasion problem in polygonal environments. By discretizing the problem, and applying a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) framework ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we address the multi pursuer version of the pursuit evasion problem in polygonal environments. By discretizing the problem, and applying a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) framework, we are able to address problems requiring so-called recontamination and also impose additional constraints, such as connectivity between the pursuers. The proposed MILP formulation is less conservative than solutions based on graph discretizations of the environment, but still somewhat more conservative than the original underlying problem. It is well known that MILPs, as well as multi pursuer pursuit evasion problems, are NP-hard. Therefore we apply an iterative Receding Horizon Control (RHC) scheme where a number of smaller MILPs are solved over shorter planning horizons. The proposed approach is implemented in Matlab/Cplex and illustrated by a number of solved examples. [less ▲]

Mixed-fleet single-terminal bus scheduling problem: Modelling, solution scheme and potential applications

in Omega: the International Journal of Management Science (2020), 96

Reducing pollutant emissions and promoting sustainable mobility solutions, including Public Transport (PT), are increasingly becoming key objectives for policymakers worldwide. In this work we develop an ... [more ▼]

Reducing pollutant emissions and promoting sustainable mobility solutions, including Public Transport (PT), are increasingly becoming key objectives for policymakers worldwide. In this work we develop an optimal vehicle scheduling approach for next generation PT systems, considering the instance of mixed electric / hybrid fleet. Our objective is that of investigating to what extent electrification, coupled with optimal fleet management, can yield operational cost savings for PT operators. We propose a Mixed In- teger Linear Program (MILP) to address the problem of optimal scheduling of a mixed fleet of electric and hybrid / non-electric buses, coupled with an ad-hoc decomposition scheme aimed at enhancing the scalability of the proposed MILP. Two case studies arising from the PT network of the city of Luxem- bourg are employed in order to validate the model; sensitivity analysis to fleet design parameters is performed, specifically in terms of fleet size and fleet composition. Conclusions point to the fact that careful modelling and handling of mixed-fleet conditions are necessary to achieve operational savings, and that marginal savings gradually reduce as more conventional buses are replaced by their electric counterparts. We believe the methodology proposed may be a key part of advanced decision support systems for policymakers and operators that are dealing with the on-going transition from conventional bus fleets towards greener transport solutions. [less ▲]

Model and mesh-burden reduction for multiscale fracture: applications to polycrystals, delamination and surgical simulation

Presentation (2014, April 23)

ABSTRACT We present recent results aiming at affording faster and error-controlled simulations of multi scale phenomena including fracture of heterogeneous materials and cutting of biological tissue. In a ... [more ▼]

ABSTRACT We present recent results aiming at affording faster and error-controlled simulations of multi scale phenomena including fracture of heterogeneous materials and cutting of biological tissue. In a second part, we describe methodologies to isolate the user from the burden of mesh generation and regeneration as moving boundaries evolve. Results include advances in implicit boundary finite elements, (enriched) isogeometric extended boundary elements/finite element methods for multi-crack propagation and an asynchronous GPU/CPU method for contact and cutting of heterogeneous materials in real-time with applications to surgical simulation. ABOUT THE PRESENTER In 1999, Stéphane Bordas joined a joint graduate programme of the French Institute of Technology (Ecole Spéciale des Travaux Publics) and the American Northwestern University. In 2003, he graduated in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics with a PhD from Northwestern University. Between 2003 and 2006, he was at the Laboratory of Structural and Continuum Mechanics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2006, he became permanent lecturer at Glasgow University’s Civil Engineering Department. Stéphane joined the Computational Mechanics team at Cardiff University in September 2009, as a Professor in Computational Mechanics and directed the institute of Mechanics and Advanced Materials from October 2010 to November 2013. He is the Editor of the book series “Advances in Applied Mechanics” since July 2013. In November 2013, he joined the University of Luxembourg as a Professor in Computational Mechanics. The main axes of his research team include (1) free boundary problems and problems involving complex geometries, in particular moving boundaries and (2) ‘a posteriori’ discretisation and model error control, rationalisation of the computational expense. Stéphane’s keen interest is to actively participate in innovation, technological transfer as well as software tool generation. This has been done through a number of joint ventures with various industrial partners (Bosch GmbH, Cenaero, inuTech GmbH, Siemens-LMS, Soitec SA) and the release of open-source software. In 2012, Stéphane was awarded an ERC Starting Independent Research Grant (RealTcut), to address the need for surgical simulators with a computational mechanics angle with a focus on the multi-scale simulation of cutting of heterogeneous materials in real-time. [less ▲]