This thesis outlines the development of a control system for a series-parallel plugin hybrid electric vehicle. The vehicle, developed at McMaster University for the EcoCAR 3 Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition, was produced in an effort to provide a Chevrolet Camaro with a high-performance, fuel efficient, hybrid powertrain. A rational design methodology was adopted and guided the development of the control system and the implementation of its respective algorithms. A simulation tool was created using MATLAB and Simulink which, in turn, allowed for the effectiveness of the supervisory control logic to be evaluated by approximating the vehicle’s energy consumption, fuel consumption, and emissions. The impact of hybridizing the vehicle’s powertrain was similarly assessed by comparing it against its unelectrified counterpart, the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro LT. A solution to the vehicle’s energy management problem was proposed in the form of an Adaptive Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (A-ECMS) which was then evaluated against more common heuristic approaches as well as non-adaptive instantaneous minimization methods. An artificial neural network was selected as the strategy’s adaptation mechanism and it was used to identify specific vehicular driving patterns in real-time. The neural network addresses many issues that arise due to the sensitivity of algorithms that attempt to solve the energy management problem without prior knowledge of the driving cycle. The methods used during the process of the control system’s verification and calibration are also discussed in this thesis and, in addition, encompass the use of software representations of the vehicle’s Electronic Control Units (ECUs), the development of test cases, and the supervisory control software’s evaluation in the Model-in-the-Loop (MIL), Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) environments. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Compared to conventional combustion vehicles, an automobile with an electrified propulsion system has the potential to reduce fuel consumption and emissions due to the presence of an energy storage system and one or more electric machines. These benefits, however, come at the cost of increased control system complexity. The question of how and when to use alternative energy sources – whether it be electrical or fuel energy – in a hybrid vehicle is at the epicenter of research and development initiatives in the automotive industry. Traditional heuristic methods have proven to be unstable due to their sensitivity to driving conditions and that optimal control policies require prior knowledge of the vehicle’s route and destination, and therefore, are not suitable in most applications. Strategies which attempt to instantaneously minimize a vehicle’s fuel or energy consumption, however, can overcome these aforementioned obstacles. As such, this area of research and development has received much interest. The objective of this research was twofold: the first being to develop a control system for a series-parallel plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in a rational and systematic manner, and, secondarily, to evaluate the benefits of instantaneous minimization methods for energy management.

This thesis presents the design, modeling, and control of a fully-actuated multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Unlike conventional multi-rotors, which suffer from two degrees of underactuation in their propeller plane, the choice of an unconventional propeller configuration in the new drone leads to an even distribution of actuation across the entire force-torque space. This allows the vehicle to produce any arbitrary combination of forces and torques within a bounded magnitude and hence execute motion trajectories unattainable with conventional multi-rotor designs. This system, referred to as the \omninospace, decouples the position and attitude controllers, simplifying the motion control problem. Position control is achieved using a PID feedback loop with gravity compensation, while attitude control uses a cascade architecture where the inner loop follows an angular rate command set by the outer attitude control loop. A novel model is developed to capture the disturbance effects among interacting actuator airflows of the \omninospace. Given a desired actuator thrust, the model computes the required motor command using the current battery voltage and thrusts of disturbing actuators. A system identification is performed to justify the use of a linear approximation for parameters in the model to reduce its computational footprint in real-time implementation. The \omni benefits from two degrees of actuation redundancy resulting in a control allocation problem where feasible force-torques may be produced through an infinite number of actuator thrust combinations. A novel control allocation approach is formulated as a convex optimization to minimize the \omnis energy consumption subject to the propeller thrust limits. In addition to energy savings, this optimization provides fault tolerance in the scenario of a failed actuator. A functioning prototype of the \omni is built and instrumented. Experiments carried out with this prototype demonstrate the capabilities of the new drone and its control system in following various translational and rotational trajectories, some of which would not be possible with conventional multi-rotors. The proposed optimization-based control allocation helps reduce power consumption by as much as 6\%, while being able to operate the drone in the event of a propeller failure. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第23446号 / 経博第644号 / 新制||経||299(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 澤邉 紀生, 教授 草野 真樹 講師 鈴木 寛之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

Yes / The Internet of Things (IoT) has improved our lives through various applications such as home automation, smart city monitoring, environmental monitoring, intelligent farming, and a host of others. IoT is increasingly being used for environmental monitoring to prevent fire incidents and other environmental hazards. However, for IoT systems to function effectively in preventing fire incidents, they must operate in a safe, reliable, and dependable manner. The intelligent sensors and devices that constitute the system are prone to different types of failures, which can lead to unsafe or dangerous conditions. Failure of a fire prevention system can pose significant risks to Health, Safety, and the Environment (HSE). To address these concerns, it is essential to understand how component failures can contribute to the overall system failure. This paper adopts Fault Tree Analysis, a widely used framework for failure behaviour analysis in other safety-critical domains, to qualitatively analyse an intelligent fire detection system in an industrial setting. The analysis outlines the ways in which the system can fail and the necessary prevention mechanism to guard against undesired system failure. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 27 Apr 2025.

Most modern control systems use digital controllers to ensure safe operation. We modify the traditional digital control system architecture to integrate a new component known as a trusted input/output processor (TIOP). TIOP interface to the inputs (sensors) and outputs (actuators) of the system through existing communication protocols. The TIOP also interface to the application processor (AP) through a simple message passing protocol. This removes any direct input/output (I/O) interaction from taking place in the AP. By isolating this interaction from the AP, system resilience against malware is increased by enabling the ability to insert run-time monitors to ensure correct operation within provided safe limits. These run-time monitors can be located in either the TIOP(s) or in independent hardware. Furthermore, monitors have the ability to override commands from the AP should those commands seek to violate the safety requirements of the system. By isolating I/O interaction, formal methods can be applied to verify TIOP functionality, ensuring correct adherence to the rules of operation. Additionally, removing sequential I/O interaction in the AP allows multiple I/O operations to run concurrently. This reduces I/O latency which is desirable in many control systems with large numbers of sensors and actuators. Finally, by utilizing a hierarchical arrangement of TIOP, scalable growth is efficiently supported. We demonstrate this on a Xilinx Zynq-7000 programmable system-on-chip device. / Master of Science / Complex modern systems, from unmanned aircraft system to industrial plants are almost always controlled digitally. These digital control systems (DCSes) need to be verified for correctness since failures can have disastrous consequences. However, proving that a DCS will always act correctly can be infeasible if the system is too complex. In addition, with the growth of inter-connectivity of systems through the internet, malicious actors have more access than ever to attempt to cause these systems to deviate from their proper operation. This thesis seeks to solve these problems by introducing a new architecture for DCSes that uses isolated components that can be verified for correctness. In addition, safety monitors are implemented as a part of the architecture to prevent unsafe operation.

Calcium (Ca) homeostasis is the maintenance of a stable plasma Ca concentration in the human body in the presence of Ca variability in the physiological environment (e.g. by ingestion and/or excretion). For normal physiological function, the total plasma Ca concentration must be maintained within a very narrow range (2.2-2.4mM). Meeting such stringent requirements is the task of a regulatory system that employs parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitriol (CTL) to regulate Ca flux between the plasma and the kidneys, intestines and bones. On the other hand, plasma phosphate control is less tightly, but simultaneously, regulated via the same hormonal actions. Chronic imbalances in plasma Ca levels are associated with disorders of the regulatory organs, which cause abnormal hormonal secretion and activity. These changes in hormonal activity may lead to long-term problems, such as, osteoporosis (increased loss of bone mineral density), which arises from primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) – hyper secretion of PTH. Existing in silico models of Ca homeostasis in humans are often cast in the form of a single monolithic system of differential equations and are not easily amenable to the sort of tractable quantitative analysis from which one can acquire useful fundamental insight. In this research, the regulatory systems of plasma Ca and plasma phosphate are represented as an engineering control system where the physiological sub-processes are mapped onto corresponding block components (sensor, controller, actuator and process) and underlying mechanisms are represented by differential equations. Following validation of the overall model, Ca-related pathologies are successfully simulated through induced defects in the control system components. A systematic approach is used to differentiate PHPT from other diseases with similar pathophysiologies based on the unique hormone/ion responses to short-term Ca disturbance in each pathology model. Additionally, based on the changes in intrinsic parameters associated with PTG behavior, the extent of PHPT progression can be predicted and the enlarged gland size estimated a priori. Finally, process systems engineering methods are used to explore therapeutic intervention in two Ca-related pathologies: Primary (PHPT) and Secondary (SHPT) Hyperparathyroidism. Through parametric sensitivity analysis and parameter space exploration, the calcium-sensing receptor (sensor) is identified as a target site in both diseases and the extent of potential improvement is determined across the spectrum of severity of PHPT. The findings are validated against existing drug therapy, leading to a method of predicting drug dosage for a given stage of PHPT. Model Predictive Control is used in drug therapy in SHPT to customize the drug dosage for individual patients given the desired PTH outcome, and drug administration constraints. / Ph. D.

Risk analysis is a powerful science-based tool that can be used to control and mitigate microbial food safety hazards. Codex recommends conducting preliminary risk management activities (PRMAs) to initiate risk analysis and to plan the risk assessment process. The information learned from these PRMAs should be utilized to construct a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model. Then, risk management activities can utilize the QMRA model to identify and select microbial risk management (MRM) options. In this project, Codex recommendations for conducting risk analysis were followed to analyze the risk of acquiring salmonellosis from whole broiler (meat chickens) consumption within the United States. At the first stage, the risk of Salmonella on whole broilers was quantitatively estimated by attributing reported annual salmonellosis to whole broilers. A quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model was constructed to build an informative risk analysis model based on performance criteria, while minimizing associated modeling complications. The QMRA model was constructed in Excel® (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) with the @RISK® Add-ins software (Palisade Corp., Ithaca, NY, USA). @RISK® software was used to perform Monte Carlo simulations that account for attendant uncertainties. After the model was tested and calibrated, it estimated the annual salmonellosis cases from whole broilers as 216,408 case/year that corresponds to the number of salmonellosis reported by Center for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC). Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was performed where 16 sensitive inputs (potential places for food safety interventions) and 10 data gaps (inputs that significantly affect the overall uncertainty) were reported. Some QMRA model results were transformed to MRM metrics. These MRM metrics, including ALOPs (Appropriate Level of Protection), FSOs (Food Safety Objectives), POs (Performance Objectives), and PC (Performance Criteria), were calculated along with a sampling plan for a food safety control system. The MRM metrics were utilized to identify and plan food control interventions such as risk communication, auditing, inspection, and monitoring. Furthermore, the QMRA model was utilized to identify and to quantitatively evaluate food safety interventions that affect Salmonella prevalence and/or concentration. / Ph. D.

With the introduction of electronic control units to automotive vehicles, system complexity has increased. With this change in complexity, new standards have been created to ensure safety at the system level for these vehicles. Furthermore, vehicles have become increasingly complex with the push for electrification of automotive vehicles, which has resulted in the creation of hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. The goal of this thesis is to provide an example of a hazard and operability analysis as well as a hazard and risk analysis for a hybrid electric vehicle. Additionally, the safety standards developed do not align well with educational prototype vehicles because the standards are designed for corporations. The hybrid vehicle supervisory controller example within this thesis demonstrates how to define a system and then perform system-level analytical techniques to identify potential failures and associated requirements. Ultimately, through this analysis suggestions are made on how best to reduce system complexity and improve system safety of a student built prototype vehicle. / Master of Science / With the introduction of electronic control units to automotive vehicles, system complexity has increased. With this change in complexity, new standards have been created to ensure safety at the system level for these vehicles. Furthermore, vehicles have become increasingly complex with the push for electrification of automotive vehicles, which has resulted in the creation of hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. There are different ways for corporations to demonstrate adherence to these standards, however it is more difficult for student design projects to follow the same standards. Through the application of hazard and operability analysis and hazard and risk analysis on the hybrid vehicle supervisory controller, an example is provided for future students to follow the guidelines established by the safety standards. The end result is to develop system requirements to improve the safety of the prototype vehicle with the added benefit of making design changes to reduce the complexity of the student project.

Date: 2024-05-29 Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Robert Bildt, Ebrahim Alibhai, Sebastian Karlsson Title: The Organizational Puzzle: Congruence and its Impact on Change Processes Supervisor: Johan Grinbergs Keywords: Congruence, Communication, Organizational change, Management ControlSystems, Leadership, Contingency Theory Research question: How does congruence between the leader and their organizationalcontext affect organizational changes? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze how congruence betweenthe leader and their organizational context affects adaptability to changes in the organization.By examining these aspects, we can gain deeper insight and understanding of howcongruence can influence the implementation of organizational change. Method: A case study was conducted using a qualitative method for data collection and dataprocessing. To gather empirical data, semi-structured interviews were conducted, which werelater used for a thematic analysis. Conclusion: The conclusion is that communication is crucial for achieving congruencewithin an organization. Effective communication helps leaders adapt to the organizationalcontext, motivate employees and manage changes efficiently. In the studied organization,respondents indicated that involvement, communication and transparency were central toachieving congruence, despite the challenges varying between departments. Leadersprioritized communication in change management, which facilitated employees'understanding and acceptance of changes.

Att utveckla pålitlig och säker mjukvara är av stor vikt gällande inbyggda system, och i synnerhet mjukvara som hanterar kritiska tjänster såsom fordonsstyrning. En stor utmaning vid utveckling av inbyggda system är att hantera minnessäkerheten samtidigt som prestandan kvarhålls, ett område där äldre programspråk ofta uppvisar brister som kan leda till säkerhetsrisker och i vissa fall systemkrascher. Denna uppsats undersö- ker möjligheten att använda det relativt nya programspråket Rust i inbyggda system och jämför Rust med det väletablerade språket C. Med hjälp av en mikrokontroller (ESP32-C3-DEVKIT-RUST1), MQTT för kommunikationshantering och de angivna programspråken implementeras en prototyp av ett system för att styra fordon via WiFi. Prototyperna i Rust och C jämförs sedan kvantitativt och kvalitativt. Den kvantitativa jämförelsen fokuserar på prestanda och den kvalitativa jämförelsen på våra upplevelser kring att utveckla systemen i de två programspråken. Resultaten visar på skillnad i den kvantitativa mätningen där C var 15% snabbare samt hade en mer konsekvent exekveringstid. Trots den begränsning givet de bibliotek som finns tillgängligt för Rust anser vi att programspråket är att föredra sett till utvecklingsmiljön, kompilatorn och dokumentation. / To develop reliable and secure software is of great importance regarding embedded systems, and especially software that handles critical functionality such as control systems. A major challange for embedded systems is to manage memory security while maintai- ning performance, an area where older programming languages often show deficiencies that may lead to security risks and in some cases even system crashes. This paper explo- res the possibility to use Rust for embedded systems, and compare this programming language with the already established language C. With the help of a microcontroller (ESP32-C3-DEVKIT-RUST1), MQTT for communication management, and the spe- cified programming languages a prototype of a system for controlling vehicles via Wifi is implemented. The prototypes in Rust and C are then used in a quantitative and qualitative comparison. The quantitative comparison focuses on the performance and the qualitative comparison on the experiences from developing the system in the programming languages. The results shows differencies in the quantitative measurement where C was 15% faster while having a more consistent time of execution. Despite the limitation of available libraries for Rust, we consider the programming language preferable in the terms of environment for development, compiler and documentation.