Abstract

International audience; People with disabilities may encounter many communication difficulties. Our main goal is to develop a communication system, called COMMOB, designed to assist people with cerebral palsy in different contexts: at home, at work and in public places. After a brief review of the different categories of as-sistive communication systems, our user-centered design approach is presented. It was tested in a public place in the context of a help request by a cerebral palsy person in a wheelchair. The result concerns particularly the response rate. The assistive power of COMMOB was rated from the respondents' and the user's point of view. The main lesson to be learned is that the most difficult was to attract the attention of people and to engage the interaction. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

International audience; Communication is an important act in the development and empowerment of human beings. Through language, humans communicate their needs, desires, moods... Unfortunately, many physical and mental disabilities deprive some people of such communication means. Nowadays various Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems exist in order to help people with disabilities. Virtual keyboards are the most common AAC systems for physical disabilities. Concerning mental disability, there are tools based on pictograms. This paper is divided into two parts. First, we put forward a critical review of various AAC systems with a focus on users with athetoid cerebral palsy. Second, the paper presents work in progress concerning a communication system for such users. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Within Innovation Program 2 (IP2) of the European Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking, a Technology Demonstrator (TD) “adaptable communications for all railways” activity was created to bring together key stakeholders, to investigate the future communication needs, define and specify key functions and finally develop prototypes to prove the feasibility and capabilities of an adaptable communication subsystem for railways."br" A key aspect of the future adaptable communication system will be the support of multiple access technologies, including but not limited to LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi or SatCom, combined with bearer independence to address availability, resiliency, performance, capacity, security, safety and maintainability requirements of existing and new railway applications."br" The first project within IP2 is named X2Rail-1 and it has already started to"br" • collect, assess and qualify user and system requirements from users and stakeholders, including railway operators, infrastructure managers, regulatory groups and related associations;"br" • undertake business model analysis with the aim to explore new operating and deployment models ranging from dedicated and hybrid networks to “network-as-a-service” approaches;"br" • specify the architecture, subsystems and functions needed to enable an adaptable communication system and"br" • assess key criteria and create guidelines for the selection of appropriate communication technologies or radio network candidates."br" The paper will outline the key findings and will provide an outlook of the prototype developments planned in upcoming X2Rail projects. It will also explain the expected improvements and benefits of the future adaptable communication systems for the different railway domains to support the goals of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

The recent and massive investments in Electric Vehicles (EVs) reveal a change of paradigm in the transports sector and the proliferation of EVs will contribute to an effective reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases. Nevertheless, for the electrical power grids EVs will be extra loads, which will require the demand energy to charge their batteries. With the advent of the Smart Grids, besides the usual battery charging mode (Grid-to-Vehicle – G2V), where the batteries receives energy from the power grid, arises a new concept for the users of EVs and for the power grid market, denominated as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G). In the V2G operation mode, EVs return to the power grid part of the energy stored in their batteries. The V2G concept requires the use of battery chargers for the EVs with bidirectional power flow capability and bidirectional communication with the Smart Grids through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications. It is important to highlight that the proliferation of EVs and the impact of their battery chargers on the power grid quality is a matter of concern, since conventional chargers present current harmonics and power factor problems. In this paper it is presented the preliminary studies resulting from a PhD work about a bidirectional battery charger for EVs, which was designed to operate in collaboration with the power grid as G2V and V2G through an ICT application. In this way, it is expectable to contribute to the technological innovation of the electric mobility in Smart Grids. To assess the behavior of the proposed battery charger under different scenarios of operation, a prototype has been developed, and some simulation and experimental results of the battery charger are presented. Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT); FEDER Funds, through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors – COMPETE, and by National Funds through FCT – Foun- dation for Science and Technology of Portugal, under the projects: FCOMP-01-0124- FEDER-022674 an d PTDC/EEA-EEL/104569/2008 Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Air traffic in Europe is expected to double by 2025 according to the last forecast of EUROCONTROL, with an average growth of 2.7%-3.7% per year. On a worldwide basis, the number of passengers is expected to grow by 4.5% per year over the same timeframe. Future passenger and freight fleets will bring higher efficiency and improved environmental performance, and will allow people all around the world to benefit from the essential connections that only air transport can deliver. (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation [EUROCONTROL], 2006) Till recently Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN) communications predominantly across continental regions used narrowband Very High Frequency (VHF) voice systems along with digital data links like the VHF Digital Link (VDL) Mode 2 (ICAO, 2001) and Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) (ARINC, 2011). Such narrowband air-ground data link technologies have several limitations like the susceptibility to access collisions, lack of data prioritization mechanism at the sub-network level and also the vulnerability of jamming in narrowband communication channels. Hence, other High Frequency (HF) radio link technology like the ARINC GLOBALink (Homans, 2002) and also satellite based system like the INMARSAT SwiftBroadband systems have been used to provide voice and data communications between the aircraft and the ground control centres (EUROCONTROL, 2006). A detailed study on the various communications systems suitable for Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems was carried out by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and EUROCONTROL with the support of NASA (NASA, 2005). It highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of the various communications systems and showed that it is important for the future ATN communication systems to provide fast, high-speed and high-data rate reliable communications not only between the aircraft and ground infrastructure but also between airplanes directly. Hence it is envisaged that in order to provide the most efficient form of reliable ATM communications, different heterogeneous networks need to be adopted. It is also envisaged that future aeronautical communication systems would be able to simultaneously operate the different radio communication technologies. The different technologies will provide various advantages and provide the flexibility to the system to provide very high reliability. Hence different data i.e. Air Traffic Service (ATS), Airline Operation Centre (AOC), Airline Administrative Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Abstract : The report covers the development of improved surveillance and communication subsystems to meet the demands of the automated NAS/ARTS Air Traffic Control system. Field measurements of the beacon interference environment were completed and studies to upgrade sensor efficiency were intensified. Effort toward the development of a discrete address interrogator with a data link was concentrated upon the core problem of designing the signaling waveforms for both up and down links of the system. Particular attention is being given to system performance in the interference and multipath environment, as well as to system and equipment compatibility with ATCRBS. The project to develop an airborne situation display of NAS/ARTS data has reached the stage for definition of an experimental system. The computer simulated cockpit display has evoked enthusiastic response from experienced pilots and traffic controllers. Preliminary work on the laser beam warning system for Logan Airport was completed with successful demonstration of the prototype hardware in the Laboratory. Document type: Report

Abstract

This paper provides a review of examples from the literature of shared communication resources and of agencies and/or organizations that share communication resources. The primary emphasis is on rural, intelligent transportation system communications involving transit. Citations will not be limited, however, to rural activities, or to ITS implementation, or even to transit. In addition, the term ''communication'' will be broadly applied to include all information resources. Literature references to issues that contribute to both successful and failed efforts at sharing communication resources are reviewed. The findings of this literature review indicate that: (1) The most frequently shared communication resources are information/data resources, (2) Telecommunications infrastructure and technologies are the next most frequently shared resources, (3) When resources are successfully shared, all parties benefit, (4) A few unsuccessful attempts of sharing resources have been recorded, along with lessons learned, (5) Impediments to sharing include security issues, concerns over system availability and reliability, service quality and performance, and institutional barriers, (6) Advantages of sharing include financial benefits to agencies from using shared resources and benefits to the public in terms of congestion mitigation, information transfer (e.g., traveler information systems), mobility (e.g., welfare-to-work paratransit), and safety (e.g., speed of incident response, incident avoidance),more » (7) Technology-based solutions exist to address technology-based concerns, and (8) Institutional issues can be addressed through leadership, enhanced knowledge and skills, open communication, responsiveness, and attractive pricing structures.« le Document type: Report