A Decision-Centric Framework for Modeling Evolutionary Complex Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 499-531
Author(s):  
Zhenghui Sha ◽  
Jitesh H. Panchal
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Energy Sustainability ◽  
Engineering Product ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
New Challenges

The human society is facing new challenges, such as cyber-security, environmental safety, and energy sustainability, which cannot be solved by a single engineering product or system. When seeking ways to address the challenges in order to meet fundamental human needs, the solutions often lead to large-scale complex systems. In complex systems, there are large numbers of interactive entities that work together to form a system of value greater than the sum of the individuals.

scholarly journals Training for the Next Wave

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (03) ◽  
pp. 34-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed K. Noor
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
System Integration ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Workforce Needs

This article focuses on various aspects of an ecosystem that can accelerate the training, which the engineering workforce needs to realize and sustain complex systems. Several science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) improvement and pilot academic engineering programs have been proposed to address some of the needs and challenges of the high-tech workforce. Companies have launched their own educational programs to address some of the reskilling and large-scale system integration needs of complex systems. A step towards the implementation of the comprehensive strategy is the development of Intelligent Cyber-Physical Engineering Ecosystems to advance collaboration among engineering and research institutions, industry, professional societies, and other stakeholders working on complex systems. The ecosystems will consist of large numbers of distributed interacting components that are continually updated and expanded. The ecosystems are expected to grow and to reach unanticipated levels of complexity because of the relations among the continually expanding individual components. The ecosystems are expected to provide knowledge-rich, immersive environments for integrating engineering practice with learning, training, and workforce development needed for complex systems.

Computer Analyses in Preventive Health Research

1967 ◽  
Vol 06 (01) ◽  
pp. 8-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Collen
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Preventive Medicine ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Preventive Health ◽  
New Era ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Normal Test ◽  
Computer Analyses

The utilization of an automated multitest laboratory as a data acquisition center and of a computer for trie data processing and analysis permits large scale preventive medical research previously not feasible. Normal test values are easily generated for the particular population studied. Long-term epidemiological research on large numbers of persons becomes practical. It is our belief that the advent of automation and computers has introduced a new era of preventive medicine.

scholarly journals Stand-Alone Direct Current Power Network Based on Photovoltaics and Lithium-Ion Batteries for Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2772
Author(s):  
Vishwas Powar ◽  
Rajendra Singh
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Lithium Ion ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Power Network ◽  
Variable Effect ◽  
Desalination Plant ◽  
Reverse Osmosis Desalination

Plummeting reserves and increasing demand of freshwater resources have culminated into a global water crisis. Desalination is a potential solution to mitigate the freshwater shortage. However, the process of desalination is expensive and energy-intensive. Due to the water-energy-climate nexus, there is an urgent need to provide sustainable low-cost electrical power for desalination that has the lowest impact on climate and related ecosystem challenges. For a large-scale reverse osmosis desalination plant, we have proposed the design and analysis of a photovoltaics and battery-based stand-alone direct current power network. The design methodology focusses on appropriate sizing, optimum tilt and temperature compensation techniques based on 10 years of irradiation data for the Carlsbad Desalination Plant in California, USA. A decision-tree approach is employed for ensuring hourly load-generation balance. The power flow analysis evaluates self-sufficient generation even during cloud cover contingencies. The primary goal of the proposed system is to maximize the utilization of generated photovoltaic power and battery energy storage with minimal conversions and transmission losses. The direct current based topology includes high-voltage transmission, on-the-spot local inversion, situational awareness and cyber security features. Lastly, economic feasibility of the proposed system is carried out for a plant lifetime of 30 years. The variable effect of utility-scale battery storage costs for 16–18 h of operation is studied. Our results show that the proposed design will provide low electricity costs ranging from 3.79 to 6.43 ¢/kWh depending on the debt rate. Without employing the concept of baseload electric power, photovoltaics and battery-based direct current power networks for large-scale desalination plants can achieve tremendous energy savings and cost reduction with negligible carbon footprint, thereby providing affordable water for all.

scholarly journals Development of a Radar Reflector Kit for Older Adults to Use to Signal Their Location and Needs in a Large-Scale Earthquake Disaster

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1883
Author(s):  
Yuma Morisaki ◽  
Makoto Fujiu ◽  
Ryoichi Furuta ◽  
Junichi Takayama
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Synthetic Aperture Radar ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Synthetic Aperture ◽  
Earthquake Disaster ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The World ◽  
Vulnerable People

In Japan, older adults account for the highest proportion of the population of any country in the world. When large-scale earthquake disasters strike, large numbers of casualties are known to particularly occur among seniors. Many are physically or mentally vulnerable and require assistance during the different phases of disaster response, including rescue, evacuation, and living in an evacuation center. However, the growing number of older adults has made it difficult, after a disaster, to quickly gather information on their locations and assess their needs. The authors are developing a proposal to enable vulnerable people to signal their location and needs in the aftermath of a disaster to response teams by deploying radar reflectors that can be detected in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery. The purpose of this study was to develop a radar reflector kit that seniors could easily assemble in order to make this proposal feasible in practice. Three versions of the reflector were tested for detectability, and a sample of older adults was asked to assemble the kits and provide feedback regarding problems they encountered and regarding their interest in using the reflectors in the event of a large-scale disaster.

scholarly journals System design for inferring colony-level pollination activity through miniature bee-mounted sensors

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haron M. Abdel-Raziq ◽  
Daniel M. Palmer ◽  
Phoebe A. Koenig ◽  
Alyosha C. Molnar ◽  
Kirstin H. Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Cluttered Environments ◽  
Robotic Mapping ◽  
Large Scale Data ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Engineered Systems

AbstractIn digital agriculture, large-scale data acquisition and analysis can improve farm management by allowing growers to constantly monitor the state of a field. Deploying large autonomous robot teams to navigate and monitor cluttered environments, however, is difficult and costly. Here, we present methods that would allow us to leverage managed colonies of honey bees equipped with miniature flight recorders to monitor orchard pollination activity. Tracking honey bee flights can inform estimates of crop pollination, allowing growers to improve yield and resource allocation. Honey bees are adept at maneuvering complex environments and collectively pool information about nectar and pollen sources through thousands of daily flights. Additionally, colonies are present in orchards before and during bloom for many crops, as growers often rent hives to ensure successful pollination. We characterize existing Angle-Sensitive Pixels (ASPs) for use in flight recorders and calculate memory and resolution trade-offs. We further integrate ASP data into a colony foraging simulator and show how large numbers of flights refine system accuracy, using methods from robotic mapping literature. Our results indicate promising potential for such agricultural monitoring, where we leverage the superiority of social insects to sense the physical world, while providing data acquisition on par with explicitly engineered systems.

Change in abundance of dugongs in Shark Bay, Ningaloo and Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia: evidence for large-scale migration

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Gales ◽  
Robert D. McCauley ◽  
Janet Lanyon ◽  
Dave Holley
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Demographics ◽  
Shark Bay ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Aerial Surveys ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Plausible Hypothesis ◽  
Exmouth Gulf ◽  
Regional Abundance

The third in a series of five-yearly aerial surveys for dugongs in Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf was conducted in July 1999. The first two surveys provided evidence of an apparently stable population of dugongs, with ~1000 animals in each of Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef, and 10 000 in Shark Bay. We report estimates of less than 200 for each of Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef and ~14 000 for Shark Bay. This is an apparent overall increase in the dugong population over this whole region, but with a distributional shift of animals to the south. The most plausible hypothesis to account for a large component of this apparent population shift is that animals in Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef moved to Shark Bay, most likely after Tropical Cyclone Vance impacted available dugong forage in the northern habitat. Bias associated with survey estimate methodology, and normal changes in population demographics may also have contributed to the change. The movement of large numbers of dugongs over the scale we suggest has important management implications. First, such habitat-driven shifts in regional abundance will need to be incorporated in assessing the effectiveness of marine protected areas that aim to protect dugongs and their habitat. Second, in circumstances where aerial surveys are used to estimate relative trends in abundance of dugongs, animal movements of the type we propose could lead to errors in interpretation.

The Role of African Students in Technology Transfer

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 50-51
Author(s):  
Ephraim Nkwute Aniebona
Keyword(s):  
Human Society ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
African Students ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
Human Effort ◽  
Basic Human Needs ◽  
Developed Nations

The term, “technology,” as used here, refers basically to: (1) the science or art of devising tools and instruments and how to use them; (2) the development of new materials and substances and their application; (3) the development of machines to supplement or replace human effort, where desirable and feasible; (4) the development of energy and power resources for running the machines; and (5) the development of efficient methods of doing work—that is, using tools, machines, and instruments. From an observation of human efforts throughout the world, it is clear that every human society is concerned with technology, for it is a proven means by which man has extended his power beyond his physical capacity and gained some control over his environment. Although technology exists in every society, it is the amount and quality of the technology that separates nations today on a scale of economic development. Whilst the developing, technologically backward countries of Africa constantly face the basic human needs of food, shelter, and clothing, the developed nations consume and enjoy a disproportionate amount of the world’s resources and wealth by reason of their technological advancement.

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