Computational Engineering Commons^™

The Legacy Of Colonization And Civil Societies In South Africa, Erika Frydenlund, Melissa Miller-Felton, Bolu Ayankojo

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

This research analyzes the unique ways that civil societies operate in Sub-Saharan Africa in the context of post-apartheid Cape Town, South Africa. Decades after the demise of apartheid, remnants of inequality remain without the promise of actionable change. We used a computational modeling approach to understand the dynamics of migrants in the receiving community as derived from qualitative interviews conducted with 24 stakeholders in Cape Town, South Africa between 2020 and 2021. Our findings show that the presence of NGOs can promote access to resources and reduce xenophobia if they can have the right influence on government policies.

Lidar Buoy Detection For Autonomous Marine Vessel Using Pointnet Classification, Christopher Adolphi, Dorothy Dorie Parry, Yaohang Li, Masha Sosonkina, Ahmet Saglam, Yiannis E. Papelis

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

Maritime autonomy, specifically the use of autonomous and semi-autonomous maritime vessels, is a key enabling technology supporting a set of diverse and critical research areas, including coastal and environmental resilience, assessment of waterway health, ecosystem/asset monitoring and maritime port security. Critical to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of an autonomous maritime vessel is its ability to perceive on-the-fly the external environment through onboard sensors. In this paper, buoy detection for LiDAR images is explored by using several tools and techniques: machine learning methods, Unity Game Engine (herein referred to as Unity) simulation, and traditional image processing. The Unity Game …

A Comparison Of Nonverbal And Paraverbal Behaviors In Simulated And Virtual Patient Encounters, Sarah Powers, Mark W. Scerbo, Matthew Pacailler, Macy Kisiel, Baillie Hirst, Ginger S. Watson, Lauren Hamel, Fred Kron

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

The present study assessed whether trainees display similar nonverbal and paraverbal behaviors when interacting with a simulated (SP) and virtual patient (VP). Sixty second slices of time following four interactions were rated for the presence and frequency of three nonverbal and paraverbal behaviors. Results revealed that students exhibited fewer behaviors in the VP interaction, possibly due to differences social inhibition or fidelity between the two formats.

Computational Decision Support For Socio-Technical Awareness Of Land-Use Planning Under Complexity—A Dam Resilience Planning Case Study, Andreas Tolk, Jennifer A. Richkus, F. Leron Shults, Wesley J. Wildman

VMASC Publications

Land-use planning for modern societies requires technical competence as well as social competence. We therefore propose an integrative solution enabling better land-use planning and management through better-informed decision-making. We adapt a method developed for cross-disciplinary team building to identify the stakeholders and their various objectives and value systems. We use these results to populate artificial societies embedded into a dynamic data analytics framework as a tool to identify, explore, and visualize the challenges resulting from the different objectives and value systems in land-use planning and management. To prove the feasibility of the proposed solution, we present two use cases from …

Development Of Guidelines For Collecting Transit Ridership Data, Hong Yang, Kun Xie, Sherif Ishak, Qingyu Ma, Yang Liu

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Transit ridership is a critical determinant for many transit applications such as operation optimizations and project prioritization under performance-based funding mechanisms. As a result, the quality of ridership data is of utmost importance to both transit administrative agencies and transit operators. Many transit operators in Virginia report their ridership data to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and the National Transit Database (NTD). However, with no specific guidelines available to transit agencies in Virginia for collecting ridership data, the heterogeneous mixture of diverse data collection methods and technologies has often raised concerns about the consistency and quality of …

Combining Green Metrics And Digital Twins For Sustainability Planning And Governance Of Smart Buildings And Cities, Casey R. Corrado, Suzanne M. Delong, Emily G. Holt, Edward Y. Hua, Andreas Tolk

VMASC Publications

Creating a more sustainable world will require a coordinated effort to address the rise of social, economic, and environmental concerns resulting from the continuous growth of cities. Supporting planners with tools to address them is pivotal, and sustainability is one of the main objectives. Modeling and simulation augmenting digital twins can play an important role to implement these tools. Although various green best practices have been utilized over time and there are related attempts at measuring green success, works in the published literature tend to focus on addressing a single problem (e.g., energy efficiency), and a comprehensive approach that takes …

Incorporating The 10th Edition Institute Of Traffic Engineers (Ite) Trip Generation Rates Into Virginia Department Of Transportation Guidelines, Kun Xie, Mecit Cetin, Hong Yang, Xiaomeng Dong

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) released the Trip Generation (TG) 10th edition in 2017, which significantly updated its database, and some of its trip generation rates were substantially lower than those of earlier editions. This study aims to investigate the applicability of the TG 10th edition in various Virginia contexts and to recommend how to incorporate the TG 10th edition into state guidelines. The research team surveyed 31 state transportation agencies to obtain a clear understanding of current practices in the adoption of trip rates and trip estimation approaches. We systematically compared trip rates of TG 9th and 10th …

Exploration Of Corridor-Based Tolling Strategies For Virginia’S Express Toll Lanes, Shanjiang Zhu, Mecit Cetin, Hong Yang, Olcay Sahin, Atabak Mardan

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Virginia has invested significant resources in the development of express toll lanes (ETLs), which adjust toll rates dynamically based on the level of toll lane usage. A tool is needed to investigate the potential impact of the I-66 Outside-the-Beltway (OTB) ETLs on regional traffic patterns. This study developed a microscopic traffic simulation model in TransModeler to evaluate a set of corridor-based tolling strategies for the I-66 ETLs in NOVA. This model also considered the changes in vehicle occupancy, mode split, and departure time among travelers because of tolls based on locally collected data. An interactive map-based analyzer based on the …

Guidelines For Using Streetlight Data For Planning Tasks, Hong Yang, Mecit Cetin, Qingyu Ma

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has purchased a subscription to the StreetLight (SL) Data products that mainly offer origin-destination (OD) related metrics through crowdsourcing data. Users can manipulate a data source like this to quickly estimate origin-destination trip tables. Nonetheless, the SL metrics heavily rely on the data points sampled from smartphone applications and global positioning services (GPS) devices, which may be subject to potential bias and coverage issues. In particular, the quality of the SL metrics in relation to meeting the needs of various VDOT work tasks is not clear. Guidelines on the use of the SL metrics …

A Ulysses Pact With Artificial Systems. How To Deliberately Change The Objective Spirit With Cultured Ai, Bruno Gransche

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

The article introduces a concept of cultured technology, i.e. intelligent systems capable of interacting with humans and showing (or simulating) manners, of following customs and of socio-sensitive considerations. Such technologies might, when deployed on a large scale, influence and change the realm of human customs, traditions, standards of acceptable behavior, etc. This realm is known as the "objective spirit" (Hegel), which usually is thought of as being historically changing but not subject to deliberate human design. The article investigates the question of whether the purposeful design of interactive technologies (as cultured technologies) could enable us to shape modes of …

A Google Earth-Based Framework For Visualization Of The Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System, Gary Lawson

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

For the persons who live near and travel the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, the data provided by the Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System (CBOFS) is invaluable. The information provided includes measurements and forecasts of surface wind velocity, water current velocity, salinity levels, water level, and temperature. Currently, this information is freely available on the CBQ_FS website hosted by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is offered as Nowcast, measured data, and Forecast data and is visualized using 2D images which describe a subset of the data in an easy to read chart. However, if the data were …

Modeling Geographic Population Dispersion Utilizing Geospatial Information System Environment Agents In An Agent Based Model, Karl D. Liebert

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

New capabilities in agent based model (ABM) environments are opening the door to the creation of ABM that may incorporate high-quality, real world environment data in the form of Geospatial Information System (GIS) files . In the past, GJS environments were only possible through extensive software development efforts focused on specific model applications.

This thesis explores the value and issues of using GIS data to provide an ABM environment. It examines the ability of ABM development environments (DE) to support GIS environment data. The selected ABM DE is then used to model population behavior in an environment defined by authoritative …

Integrating Game Technology And Discrete Event Simulation To Analyze Mass Casualty Scenarios, Jason Loveland

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In the last 10 years, video games have become complex simulation environments with high resolution 3D graphics enabled by powerhouse rendering engines, multi-player client server networks, user friendly displays and graphical user interface , while remaining relatively inexpensive. There is a critical need for systems engineering analysis and rapid trade studies due to changes in operations caused by current events such as terrorist attacks, asymmetric threats, natural disasters, etc. Modem games provide a unique way to visualize and interact with these complex environments, scenarios, missions, and operations. A discrete event simulator (DES) provides an environment to model system architecture behavior, …