Behzad Bayat, Julita Bermejo-Alonso, Joel Carbonera, Tullio Facchinetti, Sandro Fiorini, Paulo Goncalves, Vitor A.M. Jorge, Maki Habib, Alaa Khamis, Kamilo Melo, Bao Nguyen, Joanna Isabelle Olszewska, Liam Paull, Edson Prestes, Veera Ragavan, Sajad Saeedi, Ricardo Sanz, Mae Seto, Bruce Spencer, Amirkhosro Vosughi and Howard Li
IEEE Ontologies for Robotics and Automation Working Group were divided into subgroups that were in charge of studying industrial robotics, service robotics and autonomous…
Abstract
Purpose
IEEE Ontologies for Robotics and Automation Working Group were divided into subgroups that were in charge of studying industrial robotics, service robotics and autonomous robotics. This paper aims to present the work in-progress developed by the autonomous robotics (AuR) subgroup. This group aims to extend the core ontology for robotics and automation to represent more specific concepts and axioms that are commonly used in autonomous robots.
Design/methodology/approach
For autonomous robots, various concepts for aerial robots, underwater robots and ground robots are described. Components of an autonomous system are defined, such as robotic platforms, actuators, sensors, control, state estimation, path planning, perception and decision-making.
Findings
AuR has identified the core concepts and domains needed to create an ontology for autonomous robots.
Practical implications
AuR targets to create a standard ontology to represent the knowledge and reasoning needed to create autonomous systems that comprise robots that can operate in the air, ground and underwater environments. The concepts in the developed ontology will endow a robot with autonomy, that is, endow robots with the ability to perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous explicit human guidance.
Originality/value
Creating a standard for knowledge representation and reasoning in autonomous robotics will have a significant impact on all R&A domains, such as on the knowledge transmission among agents, including autonomous robots and humans. This tends to facilitate the communication among them and also provide reasoning capabilities involving the knowledge of all elements using the ontology. This will result in improved autonomy of autonomous systems. The autonomy will have considerable impact on how robots interact with humans. As a result, the use of robots will further benefit our society. Many tedious tasks that currently can only be performed by humans will be performed by robots, which will further improve the quality of life. To the best of the authors’knowledge, AuR is the first group that adopts a systematic approach to develop ontologies consisting of specific concepts and axioms that are commonly used in autonomous robots.
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Supuck Prugsiganont and Tanut Waroonkun
This study aims to investigate the physical environmental problems of two Thai community hospitals’ outpatient departments (OPDs) during the COVID-19 outbreak and to provide…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the physical environmental problems of two Thai community hospitals’ outpatient departments (OPDs) during the COVID-19 outbreak and to provide design guidelines for respiratory disease prevention.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-step method was used. The first step involved walk-through observations at Mae Wang Hospital and Doi Saket Hospital to assess the physical environment. The second step consisted of interviews with 22 medical staff working in the two hospitals. Third, the observation and interview data were used to develop a preliminary design guideline, which was evaluated by two focus groups comprising the same interview participants.
Findings
The observational findings showed that the two hospitals had difficulties following the COVID-19 prevention protocol due to physical environmental problems. Four different themes emerged from the analysis of the medical staff interviews. The preliminary design guidelines that were evaluated through two focus group discussions resulted in design recommendations for four areas (the overall building, clinical, support and staff areas) in the Mae Wang and Doi Saket OPD buildings. Three topics of design recommendations were provided to reduce the spread of COVID-19: improving hospital management, space design and air quality.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide design guidelines for COVID-19 and respiratory disease prevention in Thai community hospital OPD buildings.
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Hannah R. Marston, Linda Shore, Laura Stoops and Robbie S. Turner
The comparative study between urban regions gathered by the 2010 National Project of Relevant Interest financed by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR…
Abstract
Purpose
The comparative study between urban regions gathered by the 2010 National Project of Relevant Interest financed by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR – PRIN 2010) re-opened, in Italy, the debate on regional comparison of data, especially the ones of land use monitoring, which are difficult to collect, and to compare. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate some results of comparative studies based on regional and national data sets of land use indicators. Further considerations of land use change (LUC) assessment and its effect on environmental policies extended to the whole metropolitan area of Milan are outlined.
Design/methodology/approach
The adopted methodology collects different types of information from the existent databases on land uses/land covers (national/regional) and presents an assessment between the selected case of studies (urban regions), leading a shift from a quantitative evaluation to a qualitative one. A comparative study was conducted applying a geographical and statistical difference of land uses among different time thresholds. Subsequently, a cross-tabulation analysis allows an in-depth LUC analysis for the Milan urban region.
Findings
The results of the study display an autonomous pattern for the Milan urban region, which is the most densely populated area in Italy and seems to be the only comparable to other international cases of studies due to its extension and characteristics. Nevertheless, it is not the urban region that is affected by the highest rate of land take, which takes place in the Italian context where densities of settlements are lower and sprawled. According to Soja’s (2011) interpretation, the post-metropolitan condition of Milan seems to be proved.
Originality/value
The study was aimed at creating the first online National Atlas which has been used to overcome traditional problems of homogenization of LUC data in Italy. The quantification and qualification of LUC patterns allow us to understand if, and where, post-metropolis condition occurs. This research gives a clear indication of the kind of ongoing phenomena for policy orientation to planners and administrators, especially the one of the green infrastructure approach at the city-region level to solving the emerging environmental challenges.
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Adarsh Chandra Nigam and Ruby Soni Chanda
The utilization of mobile fitness applications (apps) is on the rise, making user retention and engagement critical factors in the commercial success of these apps. However…
Abstract
The utilization of mobile fitness applications (apps) is on the rise, making user retention and engagement critical factors in the commercial success of these apps. However, research in this area is limited and fragmented. The objective of this study is to conduct a thorough review of the available literature on the effects of digital innovations, gamification, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) on user engagement with fitness mobile apps. The findings reveal the relationships between gamification, the use of AI/ML and technology adoption on user engagement, interaction and intent to use. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of understanding how user experience, customer experience and brand experience impact customer retention and contribute to the overall success of mobile fitness apps. Furthermore, the study also identifies the gaps in the current research and recommends further studies to be conducted in these areas. Future research is encouraged to incorporate elements from the experience domains to provide consumers with engaging interactions and improve retention and commercial success for mobile fitness apps.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nanoscale electric performance of NiO thin films in grain boundary and grain face.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nanoscale electric performance of NiO thin films in grain boundary and grain face.
Design/methodology/approach
PeakForce tunnel atomic force is applied to visualize the nanoscale current imaging of the NiO thin film on fluorine tin oxide substrate.
Findings
The results show that the grain boundary has a significant impact on the nanoscale current of the NiO film. The electronic conductivity and in grain boundary is higher than that of the NiO film in grain face. The width of the conductive zone in the NiO film over grain boundaries is ∼ 60 nm. The tunnel current between the tip and the NiO film is consistent with the Fowler–Nordheim tunnel model.
Originality/value
The higher tunnel current in grain boundary is probably attributed to the enhanced energy band bending and adhesion force.
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Haoyao Chen, Hailin Huang, Ye Qin, Yanjie Li and Yunhui Liu
Multi-robot laser-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) in large-scale environments is an essential but challenging issue in mobile robotics, especially in situations…
Abstract
Purpose
Multi-robot laser-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) in large-scale environments is an essential but challenging issue in mobile robotics, especially in situations wherein no prior knowledge is available between robots. Moreover, the cumulative errors of every individual robot exert a serious negative effect on loop detection and map fusion. To address these problems, this paper aims to propose an efficient approach that combines laser and vision measurements.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-robot visual laser-SLAM is developed to realize robust and efficient SLAM in large-scale environments; both vision and laser loop detections are integrated to detect robust loops. A method based on oriented brief (ORB) feature detection and bag of words (BoW) is developed, to ensure the robustness and computational effectiveness of the multi-robot SLAM system. A robust and efficient graph fusion algorithm is proposed to merge pose graphs from different robots.
Findings
The proposed method can detect loops more quickly and accurately than the laser-only SLAM, and it can fuse the submaps of each single robot to promote the efficiency, accuracy and robustness of the system.
Originality/value
Compared with the state of art of multi-robot SLAM approaches, the paper proposed a novel and more sophisticated approach. The vision-based and laser-based loops are integrated to realize a robust loop detection. The ORB features and BoW technologies are further utilized to gain real-time performance. Finally, random sample consensus and least-square methodologies are used to remove the outlier loops among robots.
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Liyuan Xu, Jie He, Shihong Duan, Xibin Wu and Qin Wang
Sensor arrays and pattern recognition-based electronic nose (E-nose) is a typical detection and recognition instrument for indoor air quality (IAQ). The E-nose is able to monitor…
Abstract
Purpose
Sensor arrays and pattern recognition-based electronic nose (E-nose) is a typical detection and recognition instrument for indoor air quality (IAQ). The E-nose is able to monitor several pollutants in the air by mimicking the human olfactory system. Formaldehyde concentration prediction is one of the major functionalities of the E-nose, and three typical machine learning (ML) algorithms are most frequently used, including back propagation (BP) neural network, radial basis function (RBF) neural network and support vector regression (SVR).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper comparatively evaluates and analyzes those three ML algorithms under controllable environment, which is built on a marketable sensor arrays E-nose platform. Variable temperature (T), relative humidity (RH) and pollutant concentrations (C) conditions were measured during experiments to support the investigation.
Findings
Regression models have been built using the above-mentioned three typical algorithms, and in-depth analysis demonstrates that the model of the BP neural network results in a better prediction performance than others.
Originality/value
Finally, the empirical results prove that ML algorithms, combined with low-cost sensors, can make high-precision contaminant concentration detection indoor.
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Monique Delforterie, Jan Willem van den Berg, Betto Bolt, Teunis van den Hazel, Leam Craig and Robert Didden
While there is a significant proportion of people with a mild intellectual disability (MID) or borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) who commit sexual offenses, little…
Abstract
Purpose
While there is a significant proportion of people with a mild intellectual disability (MID) or borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) who commit sexual offenses, little research has focused on the risk factors for sexual recidivism in people with MID-BIF. The purpose of this paper is to compare the scores on the STATIC-99R and STABLE-2007 between persons with sexual offense histories with and without MID-BIF.
Design/methodology/approach
Data using the STATIC-99R and STABLE-2007 were collected in 85 male patients divided into an MID-BIF group (IQ 50–85, n=50) and comparison group (IQ>95, n=35).
Findings
The MID-BIF group and comparison group did not differ significantly on the static risk factors and total score of the STATIC-99R. However, of the 13 dynamic risk factors of the STABLE-2007, the MID-BIF group scored significantly higher on the items Impulsive acts, Poor problem solving skills and Lack of concern for others, while the comparison group scored significantly higher on the item Deviant sexual preference.
Originality/value
The higher score on a number of dynamic risk factors for patients with MID-BIF could partly be explained by the characteristics associated with MID-BIF. Although dynamic criminogenic risk factors which are usually identified as targets for treatment appear the same for people with and without MID-BIF who commit sexual offenses, adaptations to the modality of treatment will still need to be made for people with MID-BIF.
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Pengyi Shen, Demin Wan and Jinxiong Li
In recent years, the application of artificial intelligence and digital technology has increasingly become a priority for online retailers. It is crucial to choose a way to make…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, the application of artificial intelligence and digital technology has increasingly become a priority for online retailers. It is crucial to choose a way to make use of human–computer interaction (HCI) design to exert the positive influence of intelligent technology on consumer welfare. Despite the increasing use of HCI design in online retail context, there remain limitations in their effect of consumer well-being improvement. Although there is extensive literature in the field of consumer well-being improvement, few studies have empirically examined how HCI design drives the improvement of consumer well-being in the online retail context. Therefor, this study aims to deeply and systematically analyze the psychological mechanism between HCI and consumer well-being in the online retail environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is based on data collection of 476 samples of online shoppers through the online survey method. From the perspective of autonomy, this study deeply analyzes the influence mechanism of different dimensions of HCI perception on consumer well-being.
Findings
The results indicated that autonomy plays a positive intermediary role in the impact of perceived connectivity, perceived personalization, perceived control and perceived responsiveness on the eudaimonia and hedonic enjoyment. Also, it revealed that psychological resistance negatively regulates the impact of perceived connectivity, perceived personalization and perceived control on autonomy, while experience purchase positively regulates the impact of autonomy on hedonic enjoyment.
Originality/value
This paper expands the research situation of consumer well-being by making integration of the dual structure of subjective well-being and psychological well-being to define the psychological mechanism and boundary conditions of the impact of HCI perception on consumer well-being. The main contribution of this study is to provide enlightenment for online retail enterprises to improve HCI design and help consumers enhance long-term well-being.