Zoekresultaten

How Smart Airport is Paving the way for a Smart Access Concept: Technology’s Role in the Digital Ecosystem of the Access Control Process

Airports have undergone a significant digital evolution over the past decades, enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, and user-friendliness through various technological advancements. Initially, airports deployed basic IT solutions as support tools, but with the increasing integration of digital systems, understanding the detailed digital ecosystem behind airports has become crucial. This research aims to classify technological maturity in airports, using the access control process as an example to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed taxonomy. The study highlights the current digital ecosystem and its future trends and challenges, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between different levels of technological maturity. The role of biometric technology in security access control is examined, highlighting the importance of proper identification and classification. Future research could explore data collection, privacy, and cybersecurity impacts, particularly regarding biometric technologies in Smart Access Level 4.0. The transition from Smart Access Level 3.0 to 4.0 involves process automation and the introduction of AI, offering opportunities to increase efficiency and improve detection capabilities through advanced data analytics. The study underscores the need for global legislative frameworks to regulate and support these technological advancements.

Zooming in on mechanistic predator-prey ecology

Camera trap technology has galvanized the study of predator-prey ecology in wild animal communities by expanding the scale and diversity of predator-prey interactions that can be analyzed. While observational data from systematic camera arrays have informed inferences on the spatiotemporal outcomes of predator-prey interactions, the capacity for observational studies to identify mechanistic drivers of species interactions is limited. Experimental study designs that utilize camera traps uniquely allow for testing hypothesized mechanisms that drive predator and prey behavior, incorporating environmental realism not possible in the lab while benefiting from the distinct capacity of camera traps to generate large data sets from multiple species with minimal observer interference. However, such pairings of camera traps with experimental methods remain underutilized. We review recent advances in the experimental application of camera traps to investigate fundamental mechanisms underlying predator-prey ecology and present a conceptual guide for designing experimental camera trap studies. Only 9% of camera trap studies on predator-prey ecology in our review mention experimental methods, but the application of experimental approaches is increasing. To illustrate the utility of camera trap-based experiments using a case study, we propose a study design that integrates observational and experimental techniques to test a perennial question in predator-prey ecology: how prey balance foraging and safety, as formalized by the risk allocation hypothesis. We discuss applications of camera trap-based experiments to evaluate the diversity of anthropogenic influences on wildlife communities globally. Finally, we review challenges to conducting experimental camera trap studies. Experimental camera trap studies have already begun to play an important role in understanding the predator-prey ecology of free-living animals, and such methods will become increasingly critical to quantifying drivers of community interactions in a rapidly changing world. We recommend increased application of experimental methods in the study of predator and prey responses to humans, synanthropic and invasive species, and other anthropogenic disturbances.

OPTIMAX 2018: a focus on education in Radiology

OPTIMAX

This year, OPTIMAX was warmly welcomed by University College Dublin. For the sixth time students and teachers from Europe, South Africa, South America and Canada have come together enthusiastically to do research in the Radiography domain. As in previous years, there were several research groups consisting of PhD-, MSc- and BSc students and tutors from the OPTIMAX partner Universities or on invitation by partner Universities. OPTIMAX 2018 was partly funded by the partner Universities and partly by the participants.

Using feedback through digital technology to disrupt and change habitual behavior

Habitual behavior is often hard to change because of a lack of self-monitoring skills. Digital technologies offer an unprecedented chance to facilitate self-monitoring by delivering feedback on undesired habitual behavior. This review analyzed the results of 72 studies in which feedback from digital technology attempted to disrupt and change undesired habits. A vast majority of these studies found that feedback through digital technology is an effective way to disrupt habits, regardless of target behavior or feedback technology used.

Analyzing airport capacity by simulation

Air transportation has grown in an unexpected way during last decades and is expected to increase even more in the next years. Traffic growth tendencies forecast an expansion in the demand and greater aviation connectivity, but also higher workload to the different airspace users, especially for airport and services. Therefore, it is essential to employ strategies designed to use efficiently valuable corporate resource. Airport authorities around the world are investing in large capital projects, including new or improved runways, terminal expansions, and entirely new airports. However, this effort is sometimes limited due to their geographic location. In this work, two main objectives are pursued: first, to highlight the importance of the industry by exposing the current situation and future trends all over the world focusing in the Mexican industry; and second, to introduce a simulation model which can be used as a decision making tool for the upcoming demand. The analysis of the scenarios illustrates how to develop strategies to cope with the different airspace user's needs.