In this paper, the importance of modern technology in forensic investigations is discussed. Recent technological developments are creating new possibilities to perform robust scientific measurements and studies outside the controlled laboratory environment. The benefits of real-time, on-site forensic investigations are manifold and such technology has the potential to strongly increase the speed and efficacy of the criminal justice system. However, such benefits are only realized when quality can be guaranteed at all times and findings can be used as forensic evidence in court. At the Netherlands Forensic Institute, innovation efforts are currently undertaken to develop integrated forensic platform solutions that allow for the forensic investigation of human biological traces, the chemical identification of illicit drugs and the study of large amounts of digital evidence. These platforms enable field investigations, yield robust and validated evidence and allow for forensic intelligence and targeted use of expert capacity at the forensic institutes. This technological revolution in forensic science could ultimately lead to a paradigm shift in which a new role of the forensic expert emerges as developer and custodian of integrated forensic platforms.
Game development businesses often choose Lua for separating scripted game logic from reusable engine code. Lua can easily be embedded, has simple interfaces, and offers a powerful and extensible scripting language. Using Lua, developers can create prototypes and scripts at early development stages. However, when larger quantities of engine code and script are available, developers encounter maintainability and quality problems. First, the available automated solutions for interoperability do not take domain-specific optimizations into account. Maintaining a coupling by hand between the Lua interpreter and the engine code, usually in C++, is labour intensive and error-prone. Second, assessing the quality of Lua scripts is hard due to a lack of tools that support static analysis. Lua scripts for dynamic analysis only report warnings and errors at run-time and are limited to code coverage. A common solution to the first problem is developing an Interface Definition Language (IDL) from which ”glue code”, interoperability code between interfaces, is generated automatically. We address quality problems by proposing a method to complement techniques for Lua analysis. We introduce Lua AiR (Lua Analysis in Rascal), a framework for static analysis of Lua script in its embedded context, using IDL models and Rascal.
Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges nowadays. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration brought by anthropogenic emissions has been recognized as the primary driver of global warming. Therefore, currently, there is a strong demand within the chemical and chemical technology industry for systems that can covert, capture and reuse/recover CO2. Few examples can be seen in the literature: Hamelers et al (2013) presented systems that can use CO2 aqueous solutions to produce energy using electrochemical cells with porous electrodes; Legrand et al (2018) has proven that CDI can be used to capture CO2 without solvents; Shu et al (2020) have used electrochemical systems to desorb (recover) CO2 from an alkaline absorbent with low energy demand. Even though many efforts have been done, there is still demand for efficient and market-ready systems, especially related to solvent-free CO2 capturing systems. This project intends to assess a relatively efficient technology, with low-energy costs which can change the CO2 capturing market. This technology is called whorlpipe. The whorlpipe, developed by Viktor Schauberger, has shown already promising results in reducing the energy and CO2 emissions for water pumping. Recently, studies conducted by Wetsus and NHL Stenden (under submission), in combination with different companies (also members in this proposal) have shown that vortices like systems, like the Schauberger funnel, and thus “whorlpipe”, can be fluid dynamically represented using Taylor-Couette flows. This means that such systems have a strong tendency to form vortices like fluid-patterns close to their air-water interface. Such flow system drastically increase advection. Combined with their higher area to volume ratio, which increases diffusion, these systems can greatly enhance gas capturing (in liquids), and are, thus, a unique opportunity for CO2 uptake from the air, i.e. competing with systems like conventional scrubbers or bubble-based aeration.
Lightweight, renewable origin, mild processing, and facile recyclability make thermoplastics the circular construction materials of choice. However, in additive manufacturing (AM), known as 3D printing, mass adoption of thermoplastics lags behind. Upon heating into the melt, particles or filaments fuse first in 2D and successively in 3D, realizing unprecedented geometrical freedom. Despite a scientific understanding of fusion, industrial consortium experts are still confronted with inferior mechanical properties of fused weld interfaces in reality. Exemplary is early mechanical failure in patient-specific and biodegradable medical devices based on Corbion’s poly(lactides), and more technical constructs based on Mitsubishi’s poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET. The origin lies in contradictory low rate of polymer diffusion and entangling, and too high rate of crystallization that is needed to compensate insufficient entangling. Knowing that Zuyd University in close collaboration with Maastricht University has eliminated these contradictory time-scales for PLA-based systems, Corbion and Mitsubishi contacted Zuyd with the question to address and solve their problem. In previous research it has been shown that interfacial co-crystallization of alternating depositioned opposite stereo-specific PLA grades resulted in strengthening of the interface. To promote mass adoption of thermoplastics AM industries, the innovation question has been phrased as follows: What is a technically scalable route to induce toughness in additively manufactured thermoplastics? High mechanical performance translates into an intrinsic brittle to tough transition of stereocomplex reinforced AM products, focusing on fused deposition modeling. Taking the professional request on biocompatibility, engineering performance and scalability into account, the strategies in lowering the yield stress and/or increasing the network strength comprise (i) biobased and biocompatible plasticizers for stereocomplexed poly(lactide), (ii) interfacial co-crystallization of intrinsically tough polyester based materials formulations, and (iii) in-situ interfacial transesterification of recycled PET formulations.
HKU en Wintertuin geven met het onderzoeksproject Robotstories vorm aan een nieuwe visie op auteurschap in de 21ste eeuw: van literair schrijver en scheppend individu naar een cocreatief makerschap met maatschappelijk impact. Met deze KIEM-aanvraag in samenwerking met VU en ArtEZ verkennen we of literaire verteltechnieken de mogelijkheid bieden om met verbeelding de robot tot leven te wekken en een narratief te creëren dat verbindend werkt. Hoe kunnen de aan Wintertuin verbonden schrijvers, in co-creatie met andere disciplines, hun literaire vaardigheden inzetten ten behoeve van het bezielen van een interactief en performatief platform, zoals de Pepperrobot, in de sociale context van ouderenzorg en specifiek het welzijn van oudere mensen met dementie woonachtig in een woonzorglocatie. Met dit KIEM-project ontwikkelen we nieuwe strategieën, voor het maakproces en voor het product, die specifiek zijn voor literaire schrijvers en sociale robots als interactief platform. Hiervoor onderzoeken we hoe auteurschap, AI en de gebruiker zich tot elkaar verhouden. Collectieven van schrijvers, werken daarvoor in cocreatie met andere makers, zoals ontwerpers, computerwetenschappers en theatermakers. Hierbij gebruiken we bestaande modellen voor co-creatie , en ontwikkelen we innovatieve schrijfmethodes, gebruiksvriendelijke interfaces en iteratieve processen. Hiermee zullen we nieuwe ontwerpstrategieën en lesmodules voor het schrijven van interactieve verhalen ontwikkelen, zal de status van de tekst binnen de creatieve industrie veranderen, en zal storytelling voor interactieve platformen zoals robots een stap vooruit maken en nieuwe hybride praktijken binnen de creatieve industrie ontwikkeld worden. De centrale onderzoeksvraag is: welke (nieuwe) ontwerpmethode(n) en schrijfstrategie(ën) leiden tot betekenisvolle verhalen voor de Pepper-Robot (AI platform), tot content die bijdraagt aan sociale interactie tussen robot en mensen met dementie?
