With devastating natural disasters on the rise, technological improvements are needed in the field of search and rescue (SAR). Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would be ideal for the search function such that manned vehicles can be prioritized to distributing first-aid and ultimately saving lives. One of the major reasons that UAVs are under utilized in SAR is that they lack a long flight endurance which compromises their effectiveness. Dirigibles are well suited for SAR missions since they can hover and maintain lift without consuming energy and can be easily deflated for packaging and transportation. This research focuses on extending flight endurance of small-scale airship UAVs through improvements to the infrastructure design and flight trajectory planning. In the first area, airship design methodologies are reviewed leading to the development and experimental testing two hybrid fuel-electric power plants. The prevailing hybrid power plant design consists of a 4-stroke 14cc gasoline engine in-line with a brushless DC motor/generator and variable pitch propeller. The results show that this design can produce enough mechanical and electrical power to support 72 hours of flight compared to 1-4 hours typical of purely electric designs. A power plant configuration comparison method was also developed to compare its performance and endurance to other power plant configurations that could be used in dirigible UAVs. Overall, the proposed hybrid power plant has a 600% increase in energy density over that of a purely electric configuration. In the second area, a comprehensive multi-objective cost function is developed using spatially variable wind vector fields generated from computational fluid dynamic analysis on digital elevations maps. The cost function is optimized for time, energy and collision avoidance using a wavefront expansion approach to produce feasible trajectories that obey the differential constraints of the airship platform. The simulated trajectories including 1) variable vehicle velocity, 2) variable wind vector field (WVF) data, and 3) high grid resolutions were found to consume 50% less energy on average compared to planned trajectories not considering one of these three characteristics. In its entirety, this research addresses current UAV flight endurance limitations and provides a novel UAV solution to SAR surveillance.

Background: A business rescue plan has to comply with a new and vague set of obligations regulated by South African legislation. Expectations of the plan are largely unknown, yet crucial in determining compliance. Establishing an effective benchmark for the plan is essential for the growth and success of the industry. Purpose: The study set out to answer these questions: What are the most crucial elements needed to fill the gap between the specifics of the Companies Act (2008) and the further elements needed to meet the plan’s primary objective of providing adequate information to stakeholders? What are the international principles applicable to rehabilitation plans and what elements underpin them? Method: Thirteen industry experts were selected and interviewed to identify the most crucial elements of the business rescue plan. Sampling was a combination of convenience and purposive sampling. Data collection obtained data on subjects’ opinions, rankings, agreement and ratings. Results: The study was able to confirm that there is indeed a gap between the mandatory elements prescribed in section 150(2) and the provision of sufficient information required by section 150(1) of the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008. The survey revealed that in the subjects’ expert opinion, the international principles are applicable to the business rescue plan. Conclusion: The crucial elements of the rehabilitation plan selected by the experts offer insight and clarity in terms of what is expected of the plan. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / gm2015 / Business Management / MCom / Unrestricted

No description available.

Thesis (M. Law. (Development and Management)) --University of Limpopo, 2016 / One of the fundamental objectives of the new Companies Act 71 of 2008 is to provide for efficient rescue of financially distressed companies. It is almost four years since the Act introduced the regime of business rescue, therefor details about its success or lack thereof must be examined so as to consider its viability in South Africa. With a very higher degree of certainty, the regime has so far shown some inherent shortcomings embodied in its application. Business rescue has had implications on corporate governance and taxation in South Africa. Against this new corporate scene, mini-dissertation analyses the most controversial aspects and the most telling implications of the business rescue regime since its inception in South African company law. Furthermore, this minidissertation analyses the call for further modification of the business rescue regime. Most importantly it spells out several recommendations which if considered pragmatically will constructively contribute to the viability of the business rescue regime in South Africa. It finds that the business rescue regime in South Africa is almost likely to be viable. KEY WORDS: business rescue, financially distressed and affected persons.

This dissertation critically analyses the business rescue regime, with a specific focus on those attributes of the regime which detrimentally affect creditors. The main aspects which will be critically analysed include, the moratorium, the effect of business rescue on suretyships and the costs of business rescue. Examples will be used to illustrate the ways in which the business rescue regime is disproportionately slanted in favour of debtor companies as opposed to their creditors. Proposals as to how the regime can be developed to balance the competing interests of debtor companies and their creditors will also be made. / Mini Dissertation (LLM (Corporate Law))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Mercantile Law / LLM (Corporate Law) / Unrestricted

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第23505号 / 工博第4917号 / 新制||工||1768(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科機械理工学専攻 / (主査)教授 松野 文俊, 教授 泉田 啓, 教授 小森 雅晴 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

This diploma thesis is concerned with design of amphibious rescue vehicle. The aim of this work is to design external shape of the vehicle and to create a modul container which fullfills technical, contructional, ergonomic and aestethic features of the vehicle. The work is meant to show variety of new shapes of amphibious vehicles and the advancement from former shapes towards newer and more suitable ones.

Annotation Following work deals with the design proposal of the screw drive vehicle designed for the rescue and evacuation from the places which are unavailable to reach with usual vehicles. The intention was to diversify the current drive to design an innovative concept which will be in line with today‘s technological knowledge and modern trends. The main objective of the thesis is to solve the design and the shape of the vehicle which implements the requirements for an emergency car not only in terms of the appearance, but also in the way of functionality and variability of the interior. The thesis is divided into three general parts. The first one includes the historical development, the analysis and the description of technologies. The second part deals with the design, options and their ergonomic and technical solutions. In the last part is the end-point analysis of the proposal.

The thesis is focused on the design of rescue snowmobile. This type of snowmobile is utility and is unusual because of bonneted cab. The snowmobile is suitable for snowy area for rescue purposes. The size of the snowmobile can seat three people, driver, attendant and lying patient. The thesis is focused on design of the exterior of snowmobile. Less attention is attended to interior of the snowmobile. Everything inside follows an ergonomic design. The result is the emergency snowy vehicle with rescue equipment.

This thesis solves design of rescue helicopters. It is a machine designed especially for rescuing injured people. It does not exclude the possibility of other uses. The aim is to design an extraordinary and timeless construction machine compliance with all technical and technological requirements. Emphasis is placed on innovative design and functionality. Design is designed after a detailed analysis and using the experience and information gained during their studies at the college.