Universitäten sind Magneten für Studenten, Doktoranden, Professoren – und großeUnternehmen. Während einige Städte dadurch einen Wachstumsschub erleben,versuchen andere durch eine Hochschulneugründung nicht den Anschluss zu verlieren. Eins haben jedoch alle Wissensstädte gemeinsam: Die Gefahr, in eine Parallelgesellschaft aus Wissenselite und übriger Stadtbevölkerung auseinanderzubrechen
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This whitepaper explores what the impact is of the operating system (OS) of a smartphone on its lifespan, costs and environmental impact.
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This paper describes some explorations on the concept of disassemblability as an important circularity indicator for products because of its severe impact on reuse value. Although usefulness of the concept for determining disassembly strategies and for improving circular product design clearly shows in earlier studies, the link with Industry 4.0 (I4.0)-related process innovation is still underexposed. For further technical development of the field of remanufacturing, research is needed on tools & training for operators, diagnostics, disassembly/repair instructions and forms of operator support. This includes the use of IoT and cobots in remanufacturing lines for automatic disassembly, sorting and recognition methods; providing guidance for operators and reduction of change-over times. A prototype for a disassembly work cell for a mobile phone has been developed together with researchers and students. This includes the removal of screws by means of a cobot using both vision & the available info in the product’s Bill-Of-Materials, the removal of covers, opening of snap fits and replacement of modules. This prototyping demonstrates that it is relatively easy to automate disassembly operations for an undamaged product, that has been designed with repairability in mind and for which product data and models are available. Process innovations like robotisation influence the disassemblability in a positive way, but current indicators like a Disassembly Index (DI) can’t reflect this properly. This study therefore concludes with suggestions for an evaluation of disassemblability by looking at the interaction between product, process and resources in a coherent way.
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We present a fully working prototype of NOOT, an interactive tangible system which supports (sharing of) moments of reflection during brainstorms. We discuss the iterative design process, informed by embodied situated cognition theory and by user studies in context using various versions of the prototype. Apart from a potentially useful product, NOOT served as a research-tool showing how physical materials and social interactions scaffold people’s sense-making efforts, and how technology might fit in to support this process.
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Quantifying measures of physical loading has been an essential part of performance monitoring within elite able-bodied sport, facilitated through advancing innovative technology. In wheelchair court sports (WCS) the inter-individual variability of physical impairments in the athletes increases the necessity for accurate load and performance measurements, while at the same time standard load monitoring methods (e.g. heart-rate) often fail in this group and dedicated WCS performance measurement methods are scarce. The objective of this review was to provide practitioners and researchers with an overview and recommendations to underpin the selection of suitable technologies for a variety of load and performance monitoring purposes specific to WCS. This review explored the different technologies that have been used for load and performance monitoring in WCS. During structured field testing, magnetic switch based devices, optical encoders and laser systems have all been used to monitor linear aspects of performance. However, movement in WCS is multidirectional, hence accelerations, decelerations and rotational performance and their impact on physiological responses and determination of skill level, is also of interest. Subsequently both for structured field testing as well as match-play and training, inertial measurement units mounted on wheels and frame have emerged as an accurate and practical option for quantifying linear and non-linear movements. In conclusion, each method has its place in load and performance measurement, yet inertial sensors seem most versatile and accurate. However, to add context to load and performance metrics, position-based acquisition devices such as automated image-based processing or local positioning systems are required.
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Electrification of transportation, communication, working and living continues worldwide. Televisions, telephones, servers are an important part of everyday life. These loads and most sustainable sources as well, have one thing in common: Direct Current. The Dutch research and educational programme ‘DC – road to its full potential’ studies the impact of feeding these appliances from a DC grid. An improvement in energy efficiency is expected, other benefits are unknown and practical considerations are needed to come to a proper comparison with an AC grid. This paper starts with a brief introduction of the programme and its first stages. These stages encompass firstly the commissioning, selection and implementation of a safe and user friendly testing facility, to compare performance of domestic appliances when powered with AC and DC. Secondly, the relationship between the DC-testing facility and existing modeling and simulation assignments is explained. Thirdly, first results are discussed in a broad sense. An improved energy efficiency of 3% to 5% is already demonstrated for domestic appliances. That opens up questions for the performance of a domestic DC system as a whole. The paper then ends with proposed minor changes in the programme and guidelines for future projects. These changes encompass further studying of domestic appliances for product-development purposes, leaving less means for new and costly high-power testing facilities. Possible gains are 1) material and component savings 2) simpler and cheaper exteriors 3) stable and safe in-house infrastructure 4) whilst combined with local sustainable generation. That is the road ahead. 10.1109/DUE.2014.6827758
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tract Micro wind turbines can be structurally integrated on top of the solid base of noise barriers near highways. A number of performance factors were assessed with holistic experiments in wind tunnel and in the field. The wind turbines underperformed when exposed in yawed flow conditions. The theoretical cosθ theories for yaw misalignment did not always predict power correctly. Inverter losses turned out to be crucial especially in standby mode. Combination of standby losses with yawed flow losses and low wind speed regime may even result in a net power consuming turbine. The micro wind turbine control system for maintaining optimal power production underperformed in the field when comparing tip speed ratios and performance coefficients with the values recorded in the wind tunnel. The turbine was idling between 20%–30% of time as it was assessed for sites with annual average wind speeds of three to five meters per second without any power production. Finally, the field test analysis showed that inadequate yaw response could potentially lead to 18% of the losses, the inverter related losses to 8%, and control related losses to 33%. The totalized loss led to a 48% efficiency drop when compared with the ideal power production measured before the inverter. Micro wind turbine’s performance has room for optimization for application in turbulent wind conditions on top of noise barriers. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14051288
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In this chapter it is argued that self-direction is currently well above the head of the majority of youngsters and even of many adults. Evidence for this conclusion stems from developmental and brain research. However, for various reasons it is important that people develop the competences that are necessary for self-direction. To what degree is it possible to develop these competences? Are they 'learnable'? What can education contribute?
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