Standard mass-production is a well-known manufacturing concept. To make small quantities or even single items of a product according to user specifications at an affordable price, alternative agile production paradigms should be investigated and developed. The system presented in this paper is based on a grid of cheap reconfigurable production units, called equiplets. A grid of these equiplets is capable to produce a variety of different products in parallel at an affordable price. The underlying agent-based software for this system is responsible for the agile manufacturing. An important aspect of this type of manufacturing is the transport of the products along the available equiplets. This transport of the products from equiplet to equiplet is quite different from standard production. Every product can have its own unique path along the equiplets. In this paper several topologies are discussed and investigated. Also, the planning and scheduling in relation to the transport constraints is subject of this study. Some possibilities of realization are discussed and simulations are used to generate results with the focus on efficiency and usability for different topologies and layouts of the grid and its internal transport system.
Standard mass-production is a well-known manufacturing concept. To make small quantities or even single items of a product according to user specifications at an affordable price, alternative agile production paradigms should be investigated and developed. The system presented in this paper is based on a grid of cheap reconfigurable production units, called equiplets. A grid of these equiplets is capable to produce a variety of different products in parallel at an affordable price. The underlying agent-based software for this system is responsible for the agile manufacturing. An important aspect of this type of manufacturing is the transport of the products along the available equiplets. This transport of the products from equiplet to equiplet is quite different from standard production. Every product can have its own unique path along the equiplets. In this paper several topologies are discussed and investigated. Also, the planning and scheduling in relation to the transport constraints is subject of this study. Some possibilities of realization are discussed and simulations are used to generate results with the focus on efficiency and usability for different topologies and layouts of the grid and its internal transport system.
Introduction: It has been suggested that physical education (PE) can make a meaningful contribution to children's physical activity (PA) levels. The amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in PE has been quantified in various manners, including heart rate monitoring and direct observation (Fairclough & Stratton, 2005). However, data on the contribution of PE to total PA is scarce, and PE's contribution to total physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) has to our knowledge never been determined. This is probably explained by the methodological complexity of determining PAEE (Welk, 2002). However, the fairly recent emergence of combined sensing methodology allows for low-invasive measurement of PAEE in free-living conditions. In this paper, we present the first data of an ongoing study using combined heart rate monitoring and accelerometry, together with activity diaries. We assessed the contribution of PE and other school-related activity to PAEE and MVPA. Methods: Nineteen secondary school students (16 ± 0,7 yrs, BMI 22 ± 4) were included after they and their parents had consented. All had 100 minutes of scheduled PE per week. Actiheart monitors (CamNtech, Cambridge, UK) were used to determine PAEE on four weekdays and two weekend days consecutively. Actiheart monitors combine a heart rate monitor and an uniaxial accelerometer in a single 10 gram unit, that is applied to the chest with electrodes. Using a step test, an individual heart rate-energy expenditure relationship was determinded in each subject. Through a validated branched equation model (Brage, S. et al., 2007), energy expenditure was calculated. In addition, subjects kept an activity diary for the same six-day period. They recorded predefined activities including PE and active transport. These activities were then retraced to the Actiheart data by visual inspection. Results: Table 1 shows the (contribution of) PE, and school-related active transport to PAEE, while table 2 shows similar data for MVPA. Data are mean (± SD). Table 1: PAEE for PE, and active transport (AT). Table 2: MVPA for PE and active transport (AT). PAEE (KJ) % of total % of school PE 805(474) 5(4) 16(7) AT 1698(1033) 11(6) 31(11) MVPA (min) % of total % of school PE 36(19) 9(8) 22(11) AT 90(56) 20(11) 48(14) Over all six days, the physical activity level (PAL, which is total EE/Resting EE) was 1,54 ± 0,12; total MVPA was 472 min ± 179, and total PAEE 16262 KJ ± 5267. PAEE at school (4 days, including AT) was 5311 ± 3065 KJ, amounting to 34 % of total PAEE during the six measurement days. Students accumulated 179 ± 77 minutes of MVPA at school, which was 38% of total MVPA. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to present data on PE's contribution to total physical activity energy expenditure. Over the six measurement days, PE contributed 5% to total PAEE, and 16% to school-related PAEE. This was substantially less than the amount of energy expended for active transport to and from school. However, it should be noted that in the Netherlands, the vast majority of secondary school students cycle to school. And while PE was scheduled on one day per week in all of the measured students, active transport takes place on all school days. The total amount of MVPA accumulated at school was 179 minutes. With adolescent physical activity guidelines generally recommending 60 min of MVPA per day, i.e. 420 minutes per week, this means that school-related PA covered ~43% of this. PE provided 36 minutes to this total, all on one day. It could be argued that daily PE could potentially provide a substantial amount of MVPA. But with current time allocated to PE in the curriculum, its contribution to physical activity guidelines and PAEE is quite modest. The preliminary data presented here reflect a small subsample of a larger study that is still in progress. Therefore, care should be taken not to interpret these outcomes as representative for the whole of the Netherlands. However, they do provide a first indication for the order of magnitude of the contribution of PE and school-related activity to total PAEE. References: Fairclough, S. J. & Stratton, G. (2005) Physical Activity Levels in Middle and High School Physical Education: A Review. Pediatric Exercise Science, 17, 217. Welk, G. J. (2002) Physical activity assessments for health-related research, Champaign, Ill.; United States, Human Kinetics. Brage, S., Ekelund, U., Brage, N. Hennings, M.A., Froberg, K., Franks, P.W., Wareham. N.J. (2007). Hierarchy of individual calibration levels for heart rate and accelerometry to measure physical activity. J Appl Physiol, 103, (682-692)
The livability of the cities and attractiveness of our environment can be improved by smarter choices for mobility products and travel modes. A change from current car-dependent lifestyles towards the use of healthier and less polluted transport modes, such as cycling, is needed. With awareness campaigns, cycling facilities and cycle infrastructure, the use of the bicycle will be stimulated. But which campaigns are effective? Can we stimulate cycling by adding cycling facilities along the cycle path? How can we design the best cycle infrastructure for a region? And what impact does good cycle infrastructure have on the increase of cycling?To find answers for these questions and come up with a future approach to stimulate bicycle use, BUas is participating in the InterReg V NWE-project CHIPS; Cycle Highways Innovation for smarter People transport and Spatial planning. Together with the city of Tilburg and other partners from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and United Kingdom we explore and demonstrate infrastructural improvements and tackle crucial elements related to engaging users and successful promotion of cycle highways. BUas is responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the project. To measure the impact and effectiveness of cycle highway innovations we use Cyclespex and Cycleprint.With Cyclespex a virtual living lab is created which we will use to test several readability and wayfinding measures for cycle infrastructure. Cyclespex gives us the opportunity to test different scenario’s in virtual reality that will help us to make decisions about the final solution that will be realized on the cycle highway. Cycleprint will be used to develop a monitoring dashboard where municipalities of cities can easily monitor and evaluate the local bicycle use.
There is increasing interest for the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in the field of sustainable transportation and urban development. Even though much has been said about the opportunities of using VR technology to enhance design and involve stakeholders in the process, implementations of VR technology are still limited. To bridge this gap, the urban intelligence team of NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences developed CycleSPEX, a Virtual Reality (VR) simulator for cycling. CycleSpex enables researchers, planners and policy makers to shape a variety of scenarios around knowledge- and design questions and test their impact on users experiences and behaviour, in this case (potential) cyclists. The impact of infrastructure enhancements as well as changes in the surrounding built environment can be tested, analysed an evaluated. The main advantage for planners and policy makers is that the VR environment enables them to test scenarios ex-ante in a safe and controlled setting.“The key to a smart, healthy and safe urban environment lies in engaging mobility. Healthy cities are often characterized by high quality facilities for the active modes. But what contributes to a pleasant cycling experience? CycleSPEX helps us to understand the relations between cyclists on the move and (designed) urban environments”
Het RAAK Publiek project Vitale infrastructuur in de veerkrachtige delta is een praktijkgericht onderzoek naar uitval van vitale infrastructuur in Zeeland als gevolg van een overstroming. Overstromingen en uitval van vitale infrastructuur zoals elektriciteit, gas, drinkwater, telecom, transport, enzovoorts leidt tot maatschappelijke ontwrichting die verder strekt dan het overstroomde gebied alleen. In het project heeft de gemeente Reimerswaal als pilot gefungeerd. Reimerswaal ligt grotendeels in dijkring 31.Dit is het gebied tussen het Schelde-Rijn kanaal en het kanaal door Zuid-Beveland en is een doorvoergebied richting het westelijk gelegen deel van Zuid-Beveland en Walcheren. In het project is generieke kennis ontwikkeld over alle relevante vitale infrastructuur sectoren en de kwetsbaarheid bij overstromingen. Vervolgens zijn analyses uitgevoerd met overstromingsscenario’s onder verschillende extreme omstandigheden voor de casus Reimerswaal. Omdat de analyses grote hoeveelheden geodata omvatten is de online tool ‘Vitale Assets’ ontwikkeld, waarmee uitval op kaart gevisualiseerd kan worden. Assets (bv., een hoogspanningsstation) kleuren rood (uitval), oranje (onzeker) of groen (geen uitval) op een kaart afhankelijk van de geactiveerde overstromingsscenario’s. Door middel van diverse casestudies door studenten en workshops met de beroepspraktijk is deze kwetsbaarheidsanalyse in de praktijk gebracht en zijn handelingsperspectieven besproken ter versterking van de veerkracht. In een online omgeving is de ontwikkelde kennis samengebracht en ingebed in de Delta Expertise Wiki (www.deltaexpertise.nl/wiki/index.php/VI_Waterveiligheid_en_vitale_infrastructuur_in_Zeeland_VN). Hiermee kunnen beheerders voor de casus Reimerswaal beoordelen welke assets bij overstromingen uitvallen, welke cascade effecten optreden en wat het handelingsperspectief (pro-actie, respons en/of herstel) is om maatregelen te nemen. Op basis van de toepassing op de pilot Reimerswaal is er vanuit het werkveld de vraag gekomen de tool Vitale Assets door te ontwikkelen voor andere gebieden.
