Gepubliceerd in Mikroniek, nr. 6 2018 In manufacturing environments where collaborative robots are employed, conventional computer vision algorithms have trouble in the robust localisation and detection of products due to changing illumination conditions and shadows caused by a human sharing the workspace with the robotic system. In order to enhance the robustness of vision applications, machine learning with neural networks is explored. The performance of machine-learning algorithms versus conventional computer vision algorithms is studied by observing a generic user scenario for the manufacturing process: the assembly of a product by localisation, identification and manipulation of building blocks.
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Senior co-housing communities offer an in-between solution for older people who do not want to live in an institutional setting but prefer the company of their age peers. Residents of co-housing communities live in their own apartments but undertake activities together and support one another. This paper adds to the literature by scrutinizing the benefits and drawbacks of senior co-housing, with special focus on the forms and limits of social support and the implications for the experience of loneliness. Qualitative fieldwork was conducted in eight co-housing communities in the Netherlands, consisting of document analysis, interviews, focus groups, and observations. The research shows that co-housing communities offer social contacts, social control, and instrumental and emotional support. Residents set boundaries regarding the frequency and intensity of support. The provided support partly relieves residents’ adult children from caregiving duties but does not substitute formal and informal care. Due to their access to contacts and support, few residents experience social loneliness. Co-housing communities can potentially also alleviate emotional loneliness, but currently, this happens to a limited degree. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for enhancing the benefits and reducing the drawbacks of senior co-housing. Original article at MDPI; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193776
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Housing associations make too small a contribution to society, the government has to step in too frequently because of maladministration, and the associations’ executives are often unaware of the far-reaching impact of their decisions. These are the conclusions of new academic research conducted by Jan Veuger of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM). In the author’s dissertation, he asserts that in numerous cases, there is no correlation between social and financial objectives. The Dutch House of Representatives debated the results of the report Ver van huis from the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry on Housing Associations in early December, 2014. The research that is being carried out at the moment is constructed in a manner that if we understand something about value thinking and what underlying motivation is, an approach can be deducted that will allow us to control them. After the introduction, an explanation of the theme of the research will be given and the choice for a four-phase model with a deepening as to what value(s) is (and are). From the perspective of the four-phase model, the emphasis will be put on the socialization and thinking capacities, and parallels will be drawn between the values within the four-phase model, the examined values, and in specific, public housing corporations.
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