Research Database: Projects

The analysis of the microscopic distribution of compounds can help solving various analytical problems, many of which are relevant to safety and security. Ideally, the identification of compounds should be accomplished in a precise and quick way and leave the compounds undamaged. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy are complementary methods that are based on the distinct interactions of molecules with visible or infrared light. In the course of the project a coupled microscopic-spectroscopic platform was set up that allows for the analysis of spatially resolved dispersive and FT-Raman spectra, as well as FT IR spectra and IR microscopy. The ability to detect the distribution of smallest and particle-bound analytes will support and promote existing and novel R&D activities of several research groups.

Project management at the H-BRS

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Smart cities offer a unique opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of using a variety of robotic applications in different living contexts for all European citizens.  SciRoc will call for leading European robotics developers from European companies and research labs to send teams to demonstrate their technologies and systems in high profile competitive demonstrations in a smart city environment. SciRoc continues to build the European Robotics League; raising interest through public engagement, validating and disseminating new benchmarks, and accelerating development through demonstrating the performance of components and techniques against these benchmarks.  Setting competitions based on these benchmarks in the Smart City context drives development towards real societal needs. SciRoc will offer companies as well as researchers a unique opportunity to demonstrate their systems and technology to a wide public audience in a realistic and believable context, and will foster an informed, fact-based communication about robotics and its societal implications with public stakeholders and the media.  The synergy between smart robots and smart cities adds value to both, and showcases the technologies which will shape our living spaces in the near future.

Aims The objective of the SelfOG project is a systematic analysis of the relative contributions of visual and gravity based information to the perception of orientation (where is up?). The perception of the perceptual upright (PU) varies in dependency of the weighting of different gravity and body based attributes, between contexts and depending on individual differences. Once we get a better understanding of this perception process, we will be able to develop mechanisms helping us to prevent accidents in special environments (like space or underwater) in the future. The same is true for the situation of elderly people, who sometimes suffer from lack of orientation which often leads to downfall.

The fingerprint in the passport or the identification at the entrance, for example in security zones of buildings, since long have become the target of criminals - the aim is to pretend a false identity or to conceal one's own identity: Evidence includes skin transplants, stickers with the imprint of other persons or the removal of the visible lines of the skin relief. Advanced methods are therefore needed to identify people quickly and reliably. The optical coherence tomography (OCT) method, which originated in medicine, promises greater reliability: In the "3D Finger" project, it is to be used in a new type of OCT fingerprint scanner. This opto-electronic process provides additional biometric information for the secure identification of a person and reliably prevents attempts to fool the system. This is made possible by being able to image much finer structures located deeper in the skin. If the system is suitably designed, sweat glands, for example, are imaged, but also whether the structure of the superimposed skin layers - epidermis, dermis and subcutis - match. This is like a second, "internal" fingerprint. Even blood flow can potentially be included to detect fakes with foreign fingerprints on dead carrier material. With the BMBF-funded project "3D-Finger", the Institute for Safety and Security Research (ISF) at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences aims to achieve automatic evaluation of these biometric features in the registration and authentication of persons. The aim is to improve access controls for critical infrastructure, airports, when crossing borders or at major events by means of automatic access control systems in such a way that even the rush of large crowds can be handled sufficiently quickly and secured against so called "spoofing attacks" - formally specified as Presentatation Attacks according to ISO/IEC 30107.

Augmented reality (AR) is a field of research that has seen a steep incline in attention over the last years. Recently, it has been driven by simple cell phone applications as well as the appearance of low-cost head-worn display devices such as Google Glass, and will likely see further uptake through Microsoft Hololens. Nonetheless, the field of research itself has steadily been growing for well over a decade, driven primarily by research systems, but also by increasing industry interest. The basic premise of AR is the overlay of digital imagery over real-world footage. However, how we present information in an effective way, reflecting the potential and limitations of the human perceptual system, is still an open issue. To improve the usability and performance of AR systems and applications, perceptual issues must be approached systematically: there is a need to understand the mechanisms behind these problems, to derive requirements and subsequently find solutions to mitigate effects. To focus our scope, in the proposed work we will predominantly look into advancing view management techniques, while mainly dealing with labels as main information visualization technique. Labels are the predominant mode of information communication in most AR applications and highly intertwined with view management. Labels generally hold text, numerical data or small graphical representations in a flag-like form that point towards the real-world object it refers to. The management thereof can be very challenging: for example, it may be required to order a larger number of labels that likely cause clutter and occlusion, which results in difficulties processing the provided information. Hence, without adequate view management techniques we will not be able to design effective interfaces especially when complexity rises. This is especially true once a narrow field-of-view (FOV) head-worn display device is used. These display devices are increasingly popular as high quality and affordable commercial versions become available and a higher uptake is expected. Yet, adequate view management methods specifically designed for narrow FOV are not available.   Aims and Objectives In the project, we will advance the state of the art in the following areas: Create a benchmark system that supports the research effort – it is specifically intended to create a platform for performing validations und comparative conditions, both within the frame of the research program as well as by other researchers. Create a better understanding of perceptual and interrelated cognitive issues arising when using narrow FOV AR displays for exploring increasingly complex information, and comparing these findings to medium and wide FOV displays. Develop innovative view management techniques specifically tuned towards narrow FOV displays, hereby encompassing both (a) improvements to visual management of information represented through labels as well as (b) exploring the potential and developing view management methods based on auditory and tactile cues. Create guidelines to guide the design of novel interfaces.

Project management at the H-BRS

The development of sustainable electromobility is one of the social challenges our time, which is considered in the research project eTa. The energy efficiency of vehicles is addressed in aerodynamic projects and optimized operating strategies. In particular, non-classic vehicle concepts are in focus. Alternative mobility concepts based on non-fossil fuels need new supply structures. The optimized expansion of the loading infrastructure is therefore another issue. But even the best mobility concept is useless if it is not accepted by society and implemented by politics and business. Therefore, acceptance questions are a central element of eTa, which will be further developed. The following areas are addressed primarily by the need to reduce energy consumption: Efficiency of the vehicles Alternative mobility concepts Efficiency of mobility concepts Technical acceptance In particular, these are questions which arise only from the combined consideration of these subject areas and are usually not fully answered in classical manner. Examples of this are optimization of hybrid controls for muscle-electric hybrid light vehicles and study of the aerodynamics of ultralight vehicles where results of the classic wind tunnel tests often do not correspond to the results of the practice. Other topics that we are dealing with are predictive operational strategies for electric combustion hybrid vehicles and loss optimization, optimization of multi-stage placement of charging stations, acceptance of alternative mobility concepts.

A sustainable energy future requires that we both do more with less, and that we fully exploit the renewable energy sources we have available. In this project we explore a common thread between these two approaches, developing tools to better explore and understand aerodynamic design. On the one hand our tools can be used to improve the performance of aerodynamic vehicles, and on the other improving our ability to harvest energy from wind. We develop automated methods for the design of complete aerodynamic structures, using machine-learning techniques to guide iterative experimentation with novel designs. We focus on: Optimization of entire structures, rather than iterative improvement on existing designs Human-machine collaborative design exploration, to discover innovative design concepts Inclusion of structural mechanics and fluid structure interaction into the optimization, design, and modeling process Modeling techniques to support these goals, using data-driven approaches to approximate computationally intensive techniques and simulations In particular we face challenges when creating tools which address these issues in tandem, such as: modeling the performance of designs produced with non-traditional parameterizations broad exploration of possible designs in computationally demanding contexts optimization and modeling of aerodynamic and structural properties simultaneously  

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Objectives Develop and implement a disruptive concept for automatically guided vehicles (AGVs) that lowers the still existing barrier in logistics by offering • cost-effective, automated or semi-automated indoor transportation of goods, • while coping with existing legacy in terms of size, shape, and weight of goods and containers, • without imposing disruptive changes in existing logistic solutions, such as rebuilding entire warehouses or switching to new containers or storage technology.

Project management at the H-BRS