Using BDI agents to improve driver modelling in a commuter scenario

The use of multi-agent systems to model and to simulate real systems consisting of intelligent entities capable of autonomously co-operating with each other has emerged as an important field of research. This has been applied to a variety of areas, such as social sciences, engineering, and mathematical and physical theories. In this work, we address the complex task of modelling drivers’ behaviour through the use of agent-based techniques. Contemporary traffic systems have experienced considerable changes in the last few years, and the rapid growth of urban areas has challenged scientific and technical communities. Influencing drivers’ behaviour appears as an alternative to traditional approaches to cope with the potential problem of traffic congestion, such as the physical modification of road infrastructures and the improvement of control systems. It arises as one of the underlying ideas of intelligent transportation systems. In order to offer a good means to evaluate the impact that exogenous information may exert on drivers’ decision making, we propose an extension to an existing microscopic simulation model called Dynamic Route Assignment Combining User Learning and microsimulAtion (DRACULA). In this extension, the traffic domain is viewed as a multi-agent world and drivers are endowed with mental attitudes, which allow rational decisions about route choice and departure time. This work is divided into two main parts. The first part describes the original DRACULA framework and the extension proposed to support our agent-based traffic model. The second part is concerned with the reasoning mechanism of drivers modelled by means of a Beliefs, Desires, and Intentions (BDI) architecture. In this part, we use AgentSpeak(L) to specify commuter scenarios and special emphasis is given to departure time and route choices. This paper contributes in that respect by showing a practical way of representing and assessing drivers’ behaviour and the adequacy of using AgentSpeak(L) as a modelling language, as it provides clear and elegant specifications of BDI agents.     

Exploring relationships between recruitment of European hake (Merluccius merluccius L. 1758) and environmental factors in the Ligurian Sea and the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean)

This paper explores the relationships between the spatial patterns of the distribution of the young hakes of the year (YOY) and the oceanographical features in two areas of the Central Mediterranean (the Ligurian Sea and the Strait of Sicily), characterised by the occurrence of straits and channels. Comparative and correlative approaches were used to investigate coupling between biological and physical patterns. Density indices of the YOY were derived from annual trawl surveys from 1994 to 2004 in spring and autumn. Mean patterns of the YOY distributions were compared with the mesoscale oceanographical features reported in literature. No evident trends in recruitment strength were found in either areas. Inter-annual variability in YOY abundance in the Ligurian Sea was higher than in the Strait of Sicily. The location of nursery grounds in the study areas coincides with zones of relatively higher production, where upwelling and other enrichment processes regularly occur. The presence of predictable eddies and the frontal systems play a major role in the localization of nursery areas in the Strait of Sicily, maintaining their stable position throughout the years. The strongest transport of southern waters from the Tyrrhenian to the Ligurian Sea, due to the East Corsica Current, which is negatively correlated to winter North Atlantic Oscillation, is associated with the highest abundance of hake recruits in the nurseries of the Northern Ligurian Sea.     

On the Parametric Resonance of Tumblehome Hullforms in a Longitudinal Seaway

This work presents a numerical study of the influence of topside shape on parametric roll in longitudinal seas. The ONR 3 Topsides hulls are used to compare the single degree-of-freedom rolling response of a destroyer-sized vessel with flared (model 5613), tumblehome (model 5613-1), and wallsided (model 5613-2) shapes above the waterline. Through this relative comparison, the key aspects of parametric resonance of a tumblehome hullform are highlighted, namely the reduction in head seas forward speed required to encounter parametric roll. A variant on the Mathieu equation is used to simulate roll motions.     

The combined effect of rain and wind on air–water gas exchange: A feasibility study

A series of experiments were conducted at University of Delaware's Air–Sea Interaction Laboratory to examine the combined effects of rain and wind on air–water gas exchange. During this study, ASIL WRX I, a combination of 3 rain rates and 4 wind speeds were used, for a total of 12 different environmental conditions. The SF₆ evasion method was used to determine the bulk gas transfer velocities, and airside profiles of wind and CO₂ were used to estimate flux–profiles of momentum and carbon dioxide. In addition to measurements of fluxes with and without rain in a wind–wave boundary layer, measurements of wave properties were also obtained. Rain is shown to alter the wind profile in the flume, and dampen surface waves. Also, SF₆ evasion indicates that with the present experimental setup, for most of the experimental conditions, rain and wind combine linearly to influence air–water gas exchange. Flux–profile relationships for marine atmospheric boundary layers, which were performed to scale up to field measurements, were explored by a comparison between SF₆-derived bulk fluxes and airside CO₂ profile measurements.     

Nutrient and organic matter patterns across the Mackenzie River, estuary and shelf during the seasonal recession of sea-ice

Suspended material, nutrients and organic matter in Mackenzie River water were tracked along a 300 km transect from Inuvik (Northwest Territories, Canada), across the estuarine salinity gradient in Kugmallit Bay, to offshore marine stations on the adjacent Mackenzie Shelf. All particulates measured (SPM, POC, PN, PP) declined by 87–95% across the salinity gradient and levels were generally below conservative mixing. Organic carbon content of suspended material decreased from 3.1% in the river to 1.7% in shelf surface waters while particulate C:N concurrently decreased from 17.1 to 8.6. Nitrate and silicate concentrations declined by more than 90% across the salinity gradient, with nitrate concentrations often below the conservative mixing line. Phosphate concentrations increased from 0.03 μmol/L in the river to 0.27 μmol/L over shelf waters, thereby changing the inorganic nutrient regime downstream from P to N limitation. Dissolved organic carbon decreased conservatively offshore while dissolved organic N and P persisted at high levels in the Mackenzie plume relative to river water, increasing 2.7 and 25.3 times respectively. A deep chlorophyll-a maximum was observed at two offshore stations and showed increases in most nutrients, particulates and organic matter relative to the rest of the water column. During river passage through the Mackenzie estuary, particulate matter, dissolved organic carbon and inorganic nutrients showed sedimentation, dilution and biological uptake patterns common to other arctic and non-arctic estuaries. Alternatively, inorganic content of particles increased offshore and dissolved organic N and P increased substantially over the shelf, reaching concentrations among the highest reported for the Arctic Ocean. These observations are consistent with the presence of a remnant ice-constrained (‘stamukhi’) lake from the freshet period and a slow flushing river plume constrained by sea-ice in close proximity to shore. Nutrient limitation in surface shelf waters during the ARDEX cruise contributed to the striking deep chlorophyll-a maximum at 21 m where phytoplankton communities congregated at the margin of nutrient-rich deep ocean waters.     

NARX Neural Network Modelling of Hydraulic Suspension Dampers for Steady-state and Variable Temperature Operation

Summary Two NARX-type neural networks are developed for modelling nonlinear dynamic characteristics of passive twin-tube hydraulic dampers used in vehicle suspension systems. Quasi-isothermal and variable temperature NARX models are rigorously tested and compared with a state-of-the-art physical model proposed by Duym and Reybrouck (1998) and Duym (2000). Measured damper data, generated under isothermal and temperature varying conditions, is used for NARX training, physical model calibration, and predictive comparisons. Test kinematics include high amplitude sinusoidal displacements up to 14 Hz, and realistic random road profiles. The NARX models are trained via 'teacher forcing' and the feedforward backpropagation algorithm using both 'Early Stopping' and Bayesian Regularisation. Stable network design is also examined using the minimum posterior prediction error as the criterion for selecting a good network from a small number of tests. Calibration of the physical model proves highly complicated owing to considerable nonlinearity-in-the-parameters, requiring use of Sequential Quadratic Programming with an implicitly nonlinear constraint. The paper shows that NARX neural network modelling is vastly superior in terms of calibration efficiency, and prediction times, whilst offering roughly similar, if not better, model accuracy.     

欧洲的高速运输--列车方案的比较

近年来城市和干线的铁路运输得到复兴.在旅客运输中,高速列车为解决道路堵塞和空域拥挤,以及提高环保意识发挥了积极作用.在高速路网紧密相连的欧洲,这种高速列车具有特殊的运输政治意义,轨道高速运输(HGV)在国际上也显得越来越重要.文章对欧洲几种高速列车方案,即动力集中和动力分散动车组、单个车辆方案和铰接式列车、双层列车和加宽车辆列车以及ICE 3和磁悬浮列车进行了比较.     

A variational formulation of kinematic waves: Solution methods

This paper presents improved solution methods for kinematic wave traffic problems with concave flow-density relations. As explained in part I of this work, the solution of a kinematic wave problem is a set of continuum least-cost paths in space-time. The least cost to reach a point is the vehicle number. The idea here consists in overlaying a dense but discrete network with appropriate costs in the solution region and then using a shortest-path algorithm to estimate vehicle numbers. With properly designed networks, this procedure is more accurate than existing methods and can be applied to more complicated problems. In many important cases its results are exact.     

准连续电流型变压变流器及其新型ZVS结构

提出了一种优化变压器,它可将输入电压用整数因数2、3、4进行乘、除,具有很高的性能.逐步介绍了准连续电流型变压变流器,最后介绍了全双向零电压开关(ZVS)变流器.理论研究表明,只要降低变压器磁化电感的值便可实现ZVS工作.ZVS工作条件产生了有利的变流器控制方法,并提出了一种离散变频控制方法.变压器中允许有三角形电流使ZVS具有较高的电流有效值.对电流的估算进行了理论研究.实验结果显示其效率高于97.5%,并证实了理论研究的精确性.     

Numerical Model of a Tilting Body Railway Vehicle Compared With Rig and on Track Tests

The aim of the paper is to describe and verify a numerical model for the simulation of the dynamic behaviour of a tilting body railway vehicle, with particular attention to the curve negotiation conditions. In the model the dynamics of the tilting active control devices are reproduced, combining the numerical mechanical model of the vehicle with the control software used on the real vehicle. In order to validate the numerical simulation model, numerical results and experimental ones, from both a test rig and out-door tests, were compared.