Additions to the book "Systems Design and Engineering" by Bonnema et.al. Subjects were chosen based on the Systems Engineering needs for Small and Medium Enterprises, as researched in the SESAME project. The
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The inefficiency of maintaining static and long-lasting safety zones in environments where actual risks are limited is likely to increase in the coming decades, as autonomous systems become more common and human workers fewer in numbers. Nevertheless, an uncompromising approach to safety remains paramount, requiring the introduction of novel methods that are simultaneously more flexible and capable of delivering the same level of protection against potentially hazardous situations. We present such a method to create dynamic safety zones, the boundaries of which can be redrawn in real-time, taking into account explicit positioning data when available and using conservative extrapolation from last known location when information is missing or unreliable. Simulation and statistical methods were used to investigate performance gains compared to static safety zones. The use of a more advanced probabilistic framework to further improve flexibility is also discussed, although its implementation would not offer the same level of protection and is currently not recommended.
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The final of a four-part series that explores Dynamic Systems Theory (DST). DST has taught us that phase transitions are based on self-organization and that they are not predictable a priori. They can be described, but not explained. This is well established in physics, but not at all in the social sciences and everyday life. It also takes a lot of practice to learn to see dynamic systems in everyday life. A few examples are given.
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Physical rehabilitation programs revolve around the repetitive execution of exercises since it has been proven to lead to better rehabilitation results. Although beginning the motor (re)learning process early is paramount to obtain good recovery outcomes, patients do not normally see/experience any short-term improvement, which has a toll on their motivation. Therefore, patients find it difficult to stay engaged in seemingly mundane exercises, not only in terms of adhering to the rehabilitation program, but also in terms of proper execution of the movements. One way in which this motivation problem has been tackled is to employ games in the rehabilitation process. These games are designed to reward patients for performing the exercises correctly or regularly. The rewards can take many forms, for instance providing an experience that is engaging (fun), one that is aesthetically pleasing (appealing visual and aural feedback), or one that employs gamification elements such as points, badges, or achievements. However, even though some of these serious game systems are designed together with physiotherapists and with the patients’ needs in mind, many of them end up not being used consistently during physical rehabilitation past the first few sessions (i.e. novelty effect). Thus, in this project, we aim to 1) Identify, by means of literature reviews, focus groups, and interviews with the involved stakeholders, why this is happening, 2) Develop a set of guidelines for the successful deployment of serious games for rehabilitation, and 3) Develop an initial implementation process and ideas for potential serious games. In a follow-up application, we intend to build on this knowledge and apply it in the design of a (set of) serious game for rehabilitation to be deployed at one of the partners centers and conduct a longitudinal evaluation to measure the success of the application of the deployment guidelines.
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.
Wat is de mogelijke rol van lokale duurzame energiesystemen en –initiatieven in de overgang naar een duurzame samenleving? En hoe kunnen op lokale toepassing gerichte innovaties worden ontwikkeld en toegepast op een zodanige manier dat deze bij lokale systemen en initiatieven aansluiten?Deze vragen staan centraal in dit onderzoeksproject dat zich richt op innovaties die rekening houden met een grotere rol van burgers bij een duurzame energievoorziening. Het project behelst echter meer dan het verrichten van onderzoek. Het beoogt bouwstenen te leveren voor een duurzame samenleving waarin meer ruimte is voor lokale (burger)initiatieven. We stellen drie deelprojecten voor:1. een vergelijkende studie naar energiecoöperaties en vergelijkbare innovatieve initiatieven, binnen en buiten Nederland, in heden en verleden. Daarbij hopen we lering te kunnen trekken uit de succesvolle ervaringen in Denemarken en Oostenrijk en van innovaties door coöperatiesen collectieven in het verleden.2. een analyse van energie-innovaties die beogen aan te sluiten bij lokale energiesystemen. Concreet zal het onderzoek zich richten op speciale batterijen, ontwikkeld dor het bedrijf Dr.Ten, en een soort slimme grote zoneboiler, ontwikkeld door het gelijknamige bedrijf Ecovat.3. De ontwikkeling van drie scenario’s, gebaseerd op inzichten uit studies 1 en 2. De scenario’s zullen bijvoorbeeld inhoudelijk verschillen in de mate waarin deze geïntegreerd zijn in bestaande energiesystemen. Deze zullen worden ontwikkeld en besproken met relevante stakeholders.Het onderzoek moet leiden tot een nauwkeurig overzicht van de mate van interesse en betrokkenheid van stakeholders en van de beperkingen en mogelijkheden van lokale energiesystemen en daarbij betrokken technologie. Ook leidt het tot een routemap voor duurzame energiesystemen op lokaal niveau. Het project heeft een technisch aspect, onderzoek naar verfijning en ontwikkeling van de technologie en een sociaal en normatief aspect, studies naar aansluitingsmogelijkheden bij de wensen en mogelijkheden van burgers, instanties en bedrijven in Noord-Nederland. Bovenal is het integratief en ontwerpend van karakter.This research proposal will explore new socio- technical configurations of local community-based sustainable energy systems. Energy collectives successfully combine technological and societal innovations, developing new business and organization models. A better understanding of their dynamics and needs will contribute to their continued success and thereby contribute to fulfilling the Top Sector’s Agenda. This work will also enhance the knowledge position of the Netherlands on this topic. Currently, over 500 local energy collectives are active in The Netherlands, many of them aim to produce their own sustainable energy, with thousands more in Europe. These collectives search for a new more local-based ways of organizing a sustainable society, including more direct democratic decision-making and influence on local living environment. The development of the collectives is enabled by openings in policy but –evenly important - by innovations in local energy production technologies (solar panels, windmills, biogas installations). Their future role in the sustainable energy transition can be strengthened by careful aligning new organizational and technological innovations in local energy production, storage and smart micro-grids.
