Integrating VR and knowledge-based technologies to facilitate the development of operator training systems and scenarios to improve process safety

Process safety can be regarded of paramount importance since any malfunction or mal-operation of a hazardous processing plant may lead to accidents that will cause damage to properties, injury to people and may even result in fatalities. This project investigates how Virtual Reality (VR) and knowledge-based (in particular rule-based)...

A chain information model for structured knowledge management: Towards effective and efficient food product improvement

New food products often fail, because they are not designed according to consumers' wishes or not produced efficiently. Frequently, the information required for an effective and efficient product development process is not relayed to the appropriate actor in the chain. This article presents a conceptual model to gather and disseminate...

Teleknowledge, knowledge-at-a-distance

Manning reduction on future navy ships is a necessity if a significant reduction in operating costs and a solution to the availability problem of highly specialized personnel are to be achieved. One way to accomplish this is to remove knowledge and expertise that is only required for infrequently occurring tasks (e.g. system malfunction...

Training teams for emergency management

Emergency management (EM), the decision making involved in directing the relief operation after a disaster or otherwise catastrophic accident is an issue of great public and private concern because of the high stakes involved. Due to the nature of emergencies, and especially mass emergencies, EM teams are faced with decision making in stressful...

Structuring automated vehicle guidance knowledge in The Netherlands

This paper describes the set-up of a AVG knowledge database from the AVV Transport Research Centre from the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. The database provides a categorised overview of all research performed in The Netherlands in the area of Automatic Vehicle Guidance (AVG). Two analyses are performed on the...

prEN 1005-4: Evaluation of working postures in relation to machinery

The evaluation of working postures in relation to machinery was described. The health risk was analyzed together with contributing risk factors. The recommendations were based on current ergonomic knowledge and were subjected to changes according to future research. The recommendations were intended to reduce the risks for all healthy adults.

Making technology work in intelligent manufacturing by participative simulation

Nowadays it is essential to anticipate on fast changes in production due to turbulent and demanding markets. The manufacturing workforce, e.g. specialized staff, management and production personnel, plays a crucial role in this process. Therefore, the EU-project 'PSIM' is started. PSIM is Participative Simulation environment for Integral (i.e.,...

Controlling the power output of a nuclear reactor with fuzzy logic

The application of fuzzy logic control (FLC) in the domain of nuclear industry presents a tremendous challenge. The main reason for this is the public awareness of the risks of nuclear reactors and the very strict safety regulations in force for nuclear power plants. The very same regulations prevent a researcher from quickly introducing novel...

Modeling driver behaviour with different degrees of automation: a hierarchical decision framework of interacting mental models

Knowledge-based segmentation for automatic Map interpretation

In this paper, a knowledge-based framework for the top-down interpretation and segmentation of maps is presented. The interpretation is based on a priori knowledge about map objects, their mutual spatial relationships and potential segmentation problems. To reduce computational costs, a global segmentation is used when possible, but an...

Knowledge and strategies in diagnostic skill

A theoretical framework for diagnosis in technical environments is presented, consisting of three layers. At the first layer, the task structure, top-level goals of the diagnostic tasks are identified that have to be fulfilled during task execution. This task structure may also be viewed as a global strategy to carry out the diagnostic task. The...