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Microcontroller-based sensor systems offer great opportunities for the implementation of safety features for potentially dangerous machinery. However, in general they are difficult to assess with regard to their reliability and failure rate. This paper describes the safety assessment of hardware and software of a new and innovative sensor system. The hardware is assessed by standardized methods according to norm EN ISO 13849-1, while the use of model checking is presented as an approach to solve the problem of validating the software.
Aufgrund eines nahezu gleichlautenden Beschlusses des Kreistages im Rhein-Sieg-Kreis (RSK) und des Hauptausschusses der Stadt Bonn im Jahr 2011 wurden die jeweiligen Verwaltungen beauftragt, gemeinsam mit den Energieversorgern der Region ein Starthilfekonzept Elektromobilität zu entwickeln. In Folge dieses Beschlusses konstituierte sich Ende 2011 ein Arbeitskreis, der aus den Verwaltungen des Rhein-Sieg-Kreises und der Stadt Bonn, den Energieversorgern SWB Energie und Wasser, der Rhenag, den Stadtwerken Troisdorf, der Rheinenergie und den RWE besteht. Die inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte, die inzwischen in drei Arbeitskreisen behandelt werden, umfassen den Ausbau der Ladeinfrastruktur, die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und die Bereitstellung von Strom aus regenerativen Quellen durch den Zubau entsprechender Anlagen in der Region. Während Maßnahmen zur Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und die Bereitstellung Grünen Stroms aus den Arbeitskreisen direkt bearbeitet und bewegt werden, ist dies aufgrund der Komplexität des Themas und der zahlreichen Einflussgrößen beim Ausbau der Ladeinfrastruktur nicht möglich. Daraus entstand die Überlegung einer Kooperation mit der Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg.
With the increasing average age of the population in many developed countries, afflictions like cardiovascular diseases have also increased. Exercising has a proven therapeutic effect on the cardiovascular system and can counteract this development. To avoid overstrain, determining an optimal training dose is crucial. In previous research, heart rate has been shown to be a good measure for cardiovascular behavior. Hence, prediction of the heart rate from work load information is an essential part in models used for training control. Most heart-rate-based models are described in the context of specific scenarios, and have been evaluated on unique datasets only. In this paper, we conduct a joint evaluation of existing approaches to model the cardiovascular system under a certain strain, and compare their predictive performance. For this purpose, we investigated some analytical models as well as some machine learning approaches in two scenarios: prediction over a certain time horizon into the future, and estimation of the relation between work load and heart rate over a whole training session.
During exercise, heart rate has proven to be a good measure in planning workouts. It is not only simple to measure but also well understood and has been used for many years for workout planning. To use heart rate to control physical exercise, a model which predicts future heart rate dependent on a given strain can be utilized. In this paper, we present a mathematical model based on convolution for predicting the heart rate response to strain with four physiologically explainable parameters. This model is based on the general idea of the Fitness-Fatigue model for performance analysis, but is revised here for heart rate analysis. Comparisons show that the Convolution model can compete with other known heart rate models. Furthermore, this new model can be improved by reducing the number of parameters. The remaining parameter seems to be a promising indicator of the actual subject’s fitness.
Analyzing training performance in sport is usually based on standardized test protocols and needs laboratory equipment, e.g., for measuring blood lactate concentration or other physiological body parameters. Avoiding special equipment and standardized test protocols, we show that it is possible to reach a quality of performance simulation comparable to the results of laboratory studies using training models with nothing but training data. For this purpose, we introduce a fitting concept for a performance model that takes the peculiarities of using training data for the task of performance diagnostics into account. With a specific way of data preprocessing, accuracy of laboratory studies can be achieved for about 50% of the tested subjects, while lower correlation of the other 50% can be explained.
The Fitness-Fatigue model (Calvert et al. 1976) is widely used for performance analysis. This antagonistic model is based on a fitness-term, a fatigue-term, and an initial basic level of performance. Instead of generic parameter values, individualizing the model needs a fitting of parameters. With fitted parameters, the model adapts to account for individual responses to strain. Even though in most cases fitting of recorded training data shows useful results, without modification the model cannot be simply used for prediction.
Neuroevolution methods evolve the weights of a neural network, and in some cases the topology, but little work has been done to analyze the effect of evolving the activation functions of individual nodes on network size, an important factor when training networks with a small number of samples. In this work we extend the neuroevolution algorithm NEAT to evolve the activation function of neurons in addition to the topology and weights of the network. The size and performance of networks produced using NEAT with uniform activation in all nodes, or homogenous networks, is compared to networks which contain a mixture of activation functions, or heterogenous networks. For a number of regression and classification benchmarks it is shown that, (1) qualitatively different activation functions lead to different results in homogeneous networks, (2) the heterogeneous version of NEAT is able to select well performing activation functions, (3) the produced heterogeneous networks are significantly smaller than homogeneous networks.
The MAP-Elites algorithm produces a set of high-performing solutions that vary according to features defined by the user. This technique has the potential to be a powerful tool for design space exploration, but is limited by the need for numerous evaluations. The Surrogate-Assisted Illumination algorithm (SAIL), introduced here, integrates approximative models and intelligent sampling of the objective function to minimize the number of evaluations required by MAP-Elites.
The ability of SAIL to efficiently produce both accurate models and diverse high performing solutions is illustrated on a 2D airfoil design problem. The search space is divided into bins, each holding a design with a different combination of features. In each bin SAIL produces a better performing solution than MAP-Elites, and requires several orders of magnitude fewer evaluations. The CMA-ES algorithm was used to produce an optimal design in each bin: with the same number of evaluations required by CMA-ES to find a near-optimal solution in a single bin, SAIL finds solutions of similar quality in every bin.
A new method for design space exploration and optimization, Surrogate-Assisted Illumination (SAIL), is presented. Inspired by robotics techniques designed to produce diverse repertoires of behaviors for use in damage recovery, SAIL produces diverse designs that vary according to features specified by the designer. By producing high-performing designs with varied combinations of user-defined features a map of the design space is created. This map illuminates the relationship between the chosen features and performance, and can aid designers in identifying promising design concepts. SAIL is designed for use with compu-tationally expensive design problems, such as fluid or structural dynamics, and integrates approximative models and intelligent sampling of the objective function to minimize the number of function evaluations required. On a 2D airfoil optimization problem SAIL is shown to produce hundreds of diverse designs which perform competitively with those found by state-of-the-art black box optimization. Its capabilities are further illustrated in a more expensive 3D aerodynamic optimization task.
The MAP-Elites algorithm produces a set of high-performing solutions that vary according to features defined by the user. This technique to 'illuminate' the problem space through the lens of chosen features has the potential to be a powerful tool for exploring design spaces, but is limited by the need for numerous evaluations. The Surrogate-Assisted Illumination (SAIL) algorithm, introduced here, integrates approximative models and intelligent sampling of the objective function to minimize the number of evaluations required by MAP-Elites.
The ability of SAIL to efficiently produce both accurate models and diverse high-performing solutions is illustrated on a 2D airfoil design problem. The search space is divided into bins, each holding a design with a different combination of features. In each bin SAIL produces a better performing solution than MAP-Elites, and requires several orders of magnitude fewer evaluations. The CMA-ES algorithm was used to produce an optimal design in each bin: with the same number of evaluations required by CMA-ES to find a near-optimal solution in a single bin, SAIL finds solutions of similar quality in every bin.
The use of wearable devices or “wearables” in the physical activity domain has been increasing in the last years. These devices are used as training tools providing the user with detailed information about individual physiological responses and feedback to the physical training process. Advantages in sensor technology, miniaturization, energy consumption and processing power increased the usability of these wearables. Furthermore, available sensor technologies must be reliable, valid, and usable. Considering the variety of the existing sensors not all of them are suitable to be integrated in wearables. The application and development of wearables has to consider the characteristics of the physical training process to improve the effectiveness and efficiency as training tools. During physical training, it is essential to elicit individual optimal strain to evoke the desired adjustments to training. One important goal is to neither overstrain nor under challenge the user. Many wearables use heart rate as indicator for this individual strain. However, due to a variety of internal and external influencing factors, heart rate kinetics are highly variable making it difficult to control the stress eliciting individually optimal strain. For optimal training control it is essential to model and predict individual responses and adapt the external stress if necessary. Basis for this modeling is the valid and reliable recording of these individual responses. Depending on the heart rate kinetics and the obtained physiological data, different models and techniques are available that can be used for strain or training control. Aim of this review is to give an overview of measurement, prediction, and control of individual heart rate responses. Therefore, available sensor technologies measuring the individual heart rate responses are analyzed and approaches to model and predict these individual responses discussed. Additionally, the feasibility for wearables is analyzed.
Design optimization techniques are often used at the beginning of the design process to explore the space of possible designs. In these domains illumination algorithms, such as MAP-Elites, are promising alternatives to classic optimization algorithms because they produce diverse, high-quality solutions in a single run, instead of only a single near-optimal solution. Unfortunately, these algorithms currently require a large number of function evaluations, limiting their applicability. In this article we introduce a new illumination algorithm, Surrogate-Assisted Illumination (SAIL), that leverages surrogate modeling techniques to create a map of the design space according to user-defined features while minimizing the number of fitness evaluations. On a two-dimensional airfoil optimization problem SAIL produces hundreds of diverse but high-performing designs with several orders of magnitude fewer evaluations than MAP-Elites or CMA-ES. We demonstrate that SAIL is also capable of producing maps of high-performing designs in realistic three-dimensional aerodynamic tasks with an accurate flow simulation. Data-efficient design exploration with SAIL can help designers understand what is possible, beyond what is optimal, by considering more than pure objective-based optimization.
Surrogate-assistance approaches have long been used in computationally expensive domains to improve the data-efficiency of optimization algorithms. Neuroevolution, however, has so far resisted the application of these techniques because it requires the surrogate model to make fitness predictions based on variable topologies, instead of a vector of parameters. Our main insight is that we can sidestep this problem by using kernel-based surrogate models, which require only the definition of a distance measure between individuals. Our second insight is that the well-established Neuroevolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT) algorithm provides a computationally efficient distance measure between dissimilar networks in the form of "compatibility distance", initially designed to maintain topological diversity. Combining these two ideas, we introduce a surrogate-assisted neuroevolution algorithm that combines NEAT and a surrogate model built using a compatibility distance kernel. We demonstrate the data-efficiency of this new algorithm on the low dimensional cart-pole swing-up problem, as well as the higher dimensional half-cheetah running task. In both tasks the surrogate-assisted variant achieves the same or better results with several times fewer function evaluations as the original NEAT.
In mathematical modeling by means of performance models, the Fitness-Fatigue Model (FF-Model) is a common approach in sport and exercise science to study the training performance relationship. The FF-Model uses an initial basic level of performance and two antagonistic terms (for fitness and fatigue). By model calibration, parameters are adapted to the subject’s individual physical response to training load. Although the simulation of the recorded training data in most cases shows useful results when the model is calibrated and all parameters are adjusted, this method has two major difficulties. First, a fitted value as basic performance will usually be too high. Second, without modification, the model cannot be simply used for prediction. By rewriting the FF-Model such that effects of former training history can be analyzed separately – we call those terms preload – it is possible to close the gap between a more realistic initial performance level and an athlete's actual performance level without distorting other model parameters and increase model accuracy substantially. Fitting error of the preload-extended FF-Model is less than 32% compared to the error of the FF-Model without preloads. Prediction error of the preload-extended FF-Model is around 54% of the error of the FF-Model without preloads.
Are quality diversity algorithms better at generating stepping stones than objective-based search?
(2019)
The route to the solution of complex design problems often lies through intermediate "stepping stones" which bear little resemblance to the final solution. By greedily following the path of greatest fitness improvement, objective-based search overlooks and discards stepping stones which might be critical to solving the problem. Here, we hypothesize that Quality Diversity (QD) algorithms are a better way to generate stepping stones than objective-based search: by maintaining a large set of solutions which are of high-quality, but phenotypically different, these algorithms collect promising stepping stones while protecting them in their own "ecological niche". To demonstrate the capabilities of QD we revisit the challenge of recreating images produced by user-driven evolution, a classic challenge which spurred work in novelty search and illustrated the limits of objective-based search. We show that QD far outperforms objective-based search in matching user-evolved images. Further, our results suggest some intriguing possibilities for leveraging the diversity of solutions created by QD.