scholarly journals Measuring Drivers’ Physiological Response to Different Vehicle Controllers in Highly Automated Driving (HAD): Opportunities for Establishing Real-Time Values of Driver Discomfort

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnu Radhakrishnan ◽  
Natasha Merat ◽  
Tyron Louw ◽  
Michael G. Lenné ◽  
Richard Romano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Automated Driving ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Road Geometry ◽  
Lane Keeping ◽  
Vehicle Controllers ◽  
Subjective Discomfort

This study investigated how driver discomfort was influenced by different types of automated vehicle (AV) controllers, compared to manual driving, and whether this response changed in different road environments, using heart-rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA). A total of 24 drivers were subjected to manual driving and four AV controllers: two modelled to depict “human-like” driving behaviour, one conventional lane-keeping assist controller, and a replay of their own manual drive. Each drive lasted for ~15 min and consisted of rural and urban environments, which differed in terms of average speed, road geometry and road-based furniture. Drivers showed higher skin conductance response (SCR) and lower HRV during manual driving, compared to the automated drives. There were no significant differences in discomfort between the AV controllers. SCRs and subjective discomfort ratings showed significantly higher discomfort in the faster rural environments, when compared to the urban environments. Our results suggest that SCR values are more sensitive than HRV-based measures to continuously evolving situations that induce discomfort. Further research may be warranted in investigating the value of this metric in assessing real-time driver discomfort levels, which may help improve acceptance of AV controllers.

Damage assessment mapping of rural environments; integration of SAR and Optical data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiran Havivi ◽  
Stanley R. Rotman ◽  
Dan G. Blumberg ◽  
Shimrit Maman
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Optical Data ◽  
Damage Level ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Rural And Urban

<p>The damage caused by a natural disaster in rural areas differs in nature, extent, landscape and in structure, from the damage in urban environments. Previous and current studies focus mainly on mapping damaged structures in urban areas after catastrophe events such as an earthquake or tsunami. Yet, research focusing on the damage level or its distribution in rural areas is absent. In order to apply an emergency response and for effective disaster management, it is necessary to understand and characterize the nature of the damage in each different environment. </p><p>Havivi et al. (2018), published a damage assessment algorithm that makes use of SAR images combined with optical data, for rapid mapping and compiling a damage assessment map following a natural disaster. The affected areas are analyzed using interferometric SAR (InSAR) coherence. To overcome the loss of coherence caused by changes in vegetation, optical images are used to produce a mask by computing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and removing the vegetated area from the scene. Due to the differences in geomorphological settings and landuse\landcover between rural and urban settlements, the above algorithm is modified and adjusted by inserting the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) to better suit rural environments and their unique response after a disaster. MNDWI is used for detection, identification and extraction of waterbodies (such as irrigation canals, streams, rivers, lakes, etc.), allowing their removal which causes lack of coherence at the post stage of the event. Furthermore, it is used as an indicator for highlighting prone regions that might be severely affected pre disaster event. Thresholds are determined for the co-event coherence map (≤ 0.5), the NDVI (≥ 0.4) and the MNDWI (≥ 0), and the three layers are combined into one. Based on the combined map, a damage assessment map is generated. </p><p>As a case study, this algorithm was applied to the areas affected by multi-hazard event, following the Sulawesi earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Palu, Indonesia, which occurred on September 28th, 2018. High-resolution COSMO-SkyMed images pre and post the event, alongside a Sentinel-2 image pre- event are used as inputs. The output damage assessment map provides a quantitative assessment and spatial distribution of the damage in both the rural and urban environments. The results highlight the applicability of the algorithm for a variety of disaster events and sensors. In addition, the results enhance the contribution of the water component to the analysis pre and post the event in rural areas. Thus, while in urban regions the spatial extent of the damage will occur in its proximity to the coastline or the fault, rural regions, even in significant distance will experience extensive damage due secondary hazards as liquefaction processes.     </p>

scholarly journals Does a rural location matter for innovative small firms? How rural and urban environmental contexts shape strategies of agri-business innovative small firms

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1567-1588
Author(s):  
David Deakins ◽  
Jo Bensemann
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
The Way

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present qualitative evidence on strategies undertaken by 34 innovative small firms. Design/methodology/approach The sample of innovative firms is solely recruited from the agri-business sector that are located in contrasting environments varying from rural areas with low urban influence to areas with high urban influence and “main” urban or city areas. The authors discuss strategies in the light of a theoretical approach that incorporates a resource-based view, dynamic capabilities (DCs) and social network theory. Findings Although there is diversity in strategies across the 34 innovative small firms, irrespective of their “rural” or “urban” environment, qualitative evidence sheds light on differences in the way that strategies are pursued. Research limitations/implications The study indicates that small firms in rural environments can be just as innovative as their counterparts in urban environments; however, the authors demonstrate that they adopt different strategies, which have been shaped by their environment, to achieve innovation. The authors use the qualitative evidence to develop the theory of DCs and classify the sample into four clusters which marries the environmental context and innovative DCs. Originality/value The paper makes a contribution to a research gap on the way that the environment can shape management strategies in innovative small firms. It contributes to a limited literature in this area.

scholarly journals Parasitic infections of digestive tract of dogs in territory of Branicevo District

2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 223-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boban Djuric ◽  
Tamara Ilic ◽  
Dragisa Trailovic ◽  
Zoran Kulisic ◽  
Sanda Dimitrijevic
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Toxocara Canis ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Dipylidium Caninum ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Trichuris Vulpis

This paper presents the results of two-year investigations of parasitic infections of the digestive tract of dogs originating from the territories of eight municipalities of Branicevo District. Investigations were performed on 345 dogs of different breeds and age categories, originating from rural and urban environments. The investigations encompassed dogs bred in decent hygiene conditions, as well as dogs living in unhygienic conditions. Some of the dogs covered by these analyses were dewormed, but the bulk of the sampled material originated from dogs that were not treated with antihelminthics. Eight species of parasites of the digestive tract were diagnosed in the examined dogs from the territory of the Branicevo District: Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma caninum, Uncinaria stenocephala, Trichuris vulpis, coccidiae, Dipylidium caninum, Taenia spp. and Alaria alata. Today, it is still necessary to keep dogs in rural environments and isolated areas, since these animals are used to guard real estate and cattle. For quite some time now, there has also been wide-spread interest in keeping dogs in urban areas as well. It is evident on the grounds of data from big towns that the number of dogs in urban environments has been increasing constantly all over the world. However, the conditions for naturally maintaining dogs in towns have become increasingly more difficult and complicated. The amount of free space and the number of yards are constantly being reduced, so that dog owners are compelled to keep their pets in apartments. These altered living and diet conditions have resulted in more complex and varied health problems of dogs.

Urban Countryside Biogeography: a decade of comparing the avifauna of a Sydney suburb and reserve

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Ehrlich
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
The Other ◽  
Natural Areas ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Countryside Biogeography ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Human Enterprise

As the human enterprise expands, the task of preserving biodiversity increasingly must be carried out in areas heavily modified by humanity ? the domain of countryside biogeography (Daily 2001; Daily et al. 2001). Countrysides normally are thought of as rural environments. The dividing line between rural and urban is often blurred by suburbs; urban environments represent the expanding end of a continuum of disturbance, the other end of which is the shrinking domain of relatively undisturbed natural areas and wilderness. Because of the growing preponderance of urbanization, ecologists over the past quarter century have increasingly turned their attention to conservation in urban areas.

scholarly journals Real-Time Motion Planning Approach for Automated Driving in Urban Environments

IEEE Access ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 180039-180053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Artunedo ◽  
Jorge Villagra ◽  
Jorge Godoy
Keyword(s):  
Motion Planning ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Automated Driving ◽  
Time Motion ◽  
Planning Approach

scholarly journals Real-Time High-Level Acute Pain Detection Using a Smartphone and a Wrist-Worn Electrodermal Activity Sensor

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 3956
Author(s):  
Youngsun Kong ◽  
Hugo F. Posada-Quintero ◽  
Ki H. Chon
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Real Time Processing ◽  
Pain Stimulation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Electrical Pulses ◽  
Pain Detection ◽  
High Level

The subjectiveness of pain can lead to inaccurate prescribing of pain medication, which can exacerbate drug addiction and overdose. Given that pain is often experienced in patients’ homes, there is an urgent need for ambulatory devices that can quantify pain in real-time. We implemented three time- and frequency-domain electrodermal activity (EDA) indices in our smartphone application that collects EDA signals using a wrist-worn device. We then evaluated our computational algorithms using thermal grill data from ten subjects. The thermal grill delivered a level of pain that was calibrated for each subject to be 8 out of 10 on a visual analog scale (VAS). Furthermore, we simulated the real-time processing of the smartphone application using a dataset pre-collected from another group of fifteen subjects who underwent pain stimulation using electrical pulses, which elicited a VAS pain score level 7 out of 10. All EDA features showed significant difference between painless and pain segments, termed for the 5-s segments before and after each pain stimulus. Random forest showed the highest accuracy in detecting pain, 81.5%, with 78.9% sensitivity and 84.2% specificity with leave-one-subject-out cross-validation approach. Our results show the potential of a smartphone application to provide near real-time objective pain detection.

scholarly journals Assessments of Real-Time Communications over TSN Automotive Networks

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 556
Author(s):  
Lucia Lo Bello ◽  
Gaetano Patti ◽  
Giancarlo Vasta
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Communication System ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Mac Layer ◽  
Automated Driving ◽  
Real Time Traffic ◽  
Management Scheme ◽  
Event Driven ◽  
Automotive Networks

The IEEE 802.1Q-2018 standard embeds in Ethernet bridges novel features that are very important for automated driving, such as the support for time-driven communications. However, cars move in a world where unpredictable events may occur and determine unforeseen situations. To properly react to such situations, the in-car communication system has to support event-driven transmissions with very low and bounded delays. This work provides the performance evaluation of EDSched, a traffic management scheme for IEEE 802.1Q bridges and end nodes that introduces explicit support for event-driven real-time traffic. EDSched works at the MAC layer and builds upon the mechanisms defined in the IEEE 802.1Q-2018 standard.

scholarly journals Gut Microbiota Dynamics in Natural Populations of Pintomyia evansi under Experimental Infection with Leishmania infantum

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1214
Author(s):  
Rafael José Vivero ◽  
Victor Alfonso Castañeda-Monsalve ◽  
Luis Roberto Romero ◽  
Gregory D. Hurst ◽  
Gloria Cadavid-Restrepo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Leishmania Infantum ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Illumina Miseq ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
High Load ◽  
Leishmania Infection ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Negative Effect

Pintomyia evansi is recognized by its vectorial competence in the transmission of parasites that cause fatal visceral leishmaniasis in rural and urban environments of the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The effect on and the variation of the gut microbiota in female P. evansi infected with Leishmania infantum were evaluated under experimental conditions using 16S rRNA Illumina MiSeq sequencing. In the coinfection assay with L. infantum, 96.8% of the midgut microbial population was composed mainly of Proteobacteria (71.0%), followed by Cyanobacteria (20.4%), Actinobacteria (2.7%), and Firmicutes (2.7%). In insect controls (uninfected with L. infantum) that were treated or not with antibiotics, Ralstonia was reported to have high relative abundance (55.1–64.8%), in contrast to guts with a high load of infection from L. infantum (23.4–35.9%). ASVs that moderately increased in guts infected with Leishmania were Bacillus and Aeromonas. Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric variance statistical inference showed statistically significant intergroup differences in the guts of P. evansi infected and uninfected with L. infantum (p < 0.05), suggesting that some individuals of the microbiota could induce or restrict Leishmania infection. This assay also showed a negative effect of the antibiotic treatment and L. infantum infection on the gut microbiota diversity. Endosymbionts, such as Microsporidia infections (<2%), were more often associated with guts without Leishmania infection, whereas Arsenophonus was only found in guts with a high load of Leishmania infection and treated with antibiotics. Finally, this is the first report that showed the potential role of intestinal microbiota in natural populations of P. evansi in susceptibility to L. infantum infection.

scholarly journals Factors Contributing to the Relationship between Driving Mileage and Crash Frequency of Older Drivers

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee ◽  
Guldmann ◽  
Choi
Keyword(s):  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Vehicle Miles Traveled ◽  
Crash Frequency ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Lower Likelihood ◽  
Conditional Autoregressive ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Binomial Models

As a characteristic of senior drivers aged 65 +, the low-mileage bias has been reported in previous studies. While it is thought to be a well-known phenomenon caused by aging, the characteristics of urban environments create more opportunities for crashes. This calls for investigating the low-mileage bias and scrutinizing whether it has the same impact on other age groups, such as young and middle-aged drivers. We use a crash database from the Ohio Department of Public Safety from 2006 to 2011 and adopt a macro approach using Negative Binomial models and Conditional Autoregressive (CAR) models to deal with a spatial autocorrelation issue. Aside from the low-mileage bias issue, we examine the association between the number of crashes and the built environment and socio-economic and demographic factors. We confirm that the number of crashes is associated with vehicle miles traveled, which suggests that more accumulated driving miles result in a lower likelihood of being involved in a crash. This implies that drivers in the low mileage group are involved in crashes more often, regardless of the driver’s age. The results also confirm that more complex urban environments have a higher number of crashes than rural environments.

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