From the viewpoint of applications, conventional cameras are usually limited in their fields of view. The omni-directional camera has a full range in all directions, which gains the complete field of view. In the past, a moving object can be detected, only when the camera is static or moving with a known speed. If those methods are employed to mobile robots or vehicles, it will be difficult to determine the motion of moving objects observed by the camera. In this paper, we assume the omni-directional camera is mounted on a moving platform, which travels with a planar motion. The region of floor in the omni-directional image and the brightness constraint equation are applied to estimate the ego-motion. The depth information is acquired from the floor image to solve the problem that cannot be obtained by single camera systems. Using the estimated ego-motion, the optical flow caused by the floor motion can be computed. Therefore, comparing its direction with the direction of the optical flow on the image leads to detection of a moving object. Due to the depth information, even if the camera is in the condition that combining translational and rotational motions, a moving object can still be accurately identified.

It is indisputable that the internet has become a necessary component of contemporary multi-channel retail, as more consumers are choosing to purchase goods online each year. As online spending continues to grow, many have called into question the future of brick-and-mortar retail. This thesis seeks to empirically prove that brick-and-mortar retail remains not only relevant, but indispensable in direct-to-consumer business models. The basis of this conjecture is the idea of channel synergism, in which online and brick-and-mortar operations are complementary. This theory is predicated on the emergence of the omni-channel retail, which is characterized by the integration of the various direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels to support cross-channel consumer interaction. To empirically test this hypothesis, key operating metrics were examined over the five year period from 2007 to 2011. By examining profitability trends and several D2C channel relationships, empirical support is developed to substantiate the claim that brick-and-mortar operations are not being driven into obsolescence by the growing prevalence of e-commerce transactions.

This thesis describes a method to create local maps from an omni-directional vision system (ODVS) mounted on a mobile robot. Range finding is performed by a structure-from-motion method, which recovers the three-dimensional position of objects in the environment from omni-directional images. This leads to map-making, which is accomplished using certainty grids to fuse information from multiple readings into a two-dimensional world model. The system is demonstrated both on noise-free data from a custom-built simulator and on real data from an omni-directional vision system on-board a mobile robot. Finally, to account for the particular error characteristics of a real omni-directional vision sensor, a new sensor model for the certainty grid framework is also created and compared to the traditional sonar sensor model.

Background Omni-channel retailing has developed as an extension of multi-channel retailing. The difference between the concepts is the level of integration, where an omni-channel requires seamless and complete channel integration compared to a multi-channel where the level of integration varies from non-existing to high. Today’s customers expect an integrated shopping experience where they can combine the different channels according to their preferences and omni-channel is a way for retailers to meet this need. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to explore the concept of omni-channel retailing and its implementation in retail firms operating in the Swedish market. Method This study is based on an interpretive approach and takes the form of an exploratory multiple case study through the investigation of four retailers. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and the findings were analyzed abductively. Conclusion The conclusion of this thesis is that the investigated retailers still have, more or less, a long way to go in their integrative efforts. The retailer that has come the furthest in their effort has only implemented nine out of fifteen omni-channel criteria. Three main incentives for implementing an omni-channel strategy were identified. These are to respond to customer demands, to optimize the individual sales channels and to gain a competitive advantage. Additionally, several challenges arise as the retailer moves towards an omni-channel. These include technological investments, change management, channel conflict, return management and consistency. Furthermore, five potential sources of these challenges were identified as technological requirements, organizational changes, sales accreditation policies, in-store returns and finally the franchise business model.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact Omni channel has on the ware-house activities in a central warehouse for electronic retailers. In order to fulfill the purpose the following research questions are analyzed and answered; “What are the challenges in the warehouse activities in a central warehouse for an electronic retailer when Omni channel is utilized?” and “How can the challenges in the warehouse activities be managed in a central warehouse for an electronic retailer using Omni channel?” Methodology: The research method for this study is qualitative with an abductive approach. A single case study has been conducted based on interviews and observations. Furthermore, the literature review is based on scientific articles. The empirical findings from the case study have been a complement to the limited literature of warehouse activities connected to Omni channel. The analysis has required the authors to continuously match the empirical findings and literature in order to be able to fulfill the purpose. In order to analyze the answer the first research question an Ishikawa diagram is used. Furthermore, a tree diagram is used in order to analyze the answer for the second research question. Findings: There are various challenges identified in the warehouse activities in a central warehouse for electronic retailers using Omni channel. Furthermore, the authors identifies challenges that have an impact on the warehouse activities where Omni channel is the cause for creating the challenges. Lastly, the authors provide the reader with improvement factors in order to manage the challenges identified. Theoretical implications: The authors identify five theoretical implications for this study; large pallets, non-integrated WMS, a non-suitable picking equipment, a non-suitable layout, and packing. These challenges occur as an outcome of Omni channel and therefore can be seen as a theoretical contribution to the limited literature. Managerial implications: It is crucial for electronic retailers to identify the challenges in the warehouse activities and understand the underlying reason for why the challenges arise. Furthermore, improvement factors can be identified and implemented by an extended anal-ysis. However, modifications are required since there are various factors that can differ be-tween electronic retailers using Omni channel.

To allow access to the network at all times a base station has to continuously stay active. While being active, a base station does not usually transmit data constantly. Typically, the base stations either send out lots of data or barely anything at all, yet, the network is actively drawing power the whole time. Succeeding in lowering the power consumed when the data rate is often so low would therefore lead to great benefits, both economically and environmentally, as well as new prospects of innovation in engineering. The process of how to dynamically change from a capacity optimized mode to an energy optimized mode as well as when to do this change is studied in this thesis for LTE. By using methods such as antenna muting and psi-omni coverage, the power consumption can decrease. These solutions however also decreases performance, and has to be activated with great care in mind not to cause any major impact on user performance. The dynamic configuration is dependent on the load of the system, changing to an energy efficient mode when traffic is low and to a capacity optimized mode when the network needs to supply high data rates. Simulations show that most energy savings can be found in rural and urban environments. Dynamic antenna muting achieved, summarizing macro environments, 24.9% energy savings with 95.27% downlink data rates compared to the reference case of using sector mode continuously i.e MIMO. In the same environments, dynamic psi-omni coverage together with antenna muting achieved energy savings of 43.8% with 89.3% downlink data rates compared to typical sector mode. Traffic rates are based on future demands in Europe by 2015, assuming that 20% of the subscribers are downloading 900 MB/h and the other 80% subscribers, at 112.5 MB/h.

It is indisputable that the internet has become a necessary component of contemporary multi-channel retail, as more consumers are choosing to purchase goods online each year. As online spending continues to grow, many have called into question the future of brick-and-mortar retail. This thesis seeks to empirically prove that brick-and-mortar retail remains not only relevant, but indispensable in direct-to-consumer business models. The basis of this conjecture is the idea of channel synergism, in which online and brick-and-mortar operations are complementary. This theory is predicated on the emergence of the omni-channel retail, which is characterized by the integration of the various direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels to support cross-channel consumer interaction. To empirically test this hypothesis, key operating metrics were examined over the five year period from 2007 to 2011. By examining profitability trends and several D2C channel relationships, empirical support is developed to substantiate the claim that brick-and-mortar operations are not being driven into obsolescence by the growing prevalence of e-commerce transactions.

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to deepen the understanding of how showrooming affect the exploited brick-and-mortar businesses. This was done by investigating an industry characterized by high levels of employee knowledge where the expertise of the personnel create showrooming incentives. Methodology - The study applied a qualitative case study where semi-structured interviews was held with employees of a firm representing the case of an exploited firm. Findings - The empirical findings suggest that showrooming may affect the exploited firm in the areas; profits, offerings, channels, and personnel. Profit-losses due to showrooming may force the exploited firm to reduce number of personnel and working hours, decrease store areas and close of unprofitable stores, change the product and services offered, change how products are displayed, and in what channels the products are available. Further it may give rise to internal channel conflicts, and affect personnel motivation and sales performance. Practical Implications - A perceived showroomer should be treated as a paying customer to avoid misjudgment of character and a loss in service level. Private labels and exclusive selling rights allow for higher profits while reducing showrooming opportunities. In addition to this, rewards for cross-channel retention, synchronized channel information, and price consistency across channels may reduce internal conflicts. Contribution - This study contributes to the young research area of showrooming by assessing the effects an exploited firm may encounter when faced with showroomers.

Banking through insufficiently coordinated and non-integrated channels (Multi-Channel) is slowly being discarded. With Omni-Channel banking, where channels are integrated and data and information are shared across cross channels, customers are in control of the channels they wish to use. Factors influencing the organisational decision to transition from Multi-Channel to Omni-Channel hasn't been fully explored. Is this decision responding to internal factors like efficiency improvements, or is it driven by external factors like customer demands, trying to enhance customer experience, gaining competitive advantage over the competitors, expanding the business by introducing new business models, or trying to gain access to smart technologies for financial benefit? This dissertation presents research findings into the investigation of factors that influence the organisational decision to transition from Multi-Channel to Omni-Channel banking. A positivist case study with inductive reasoning was adopted. Qualitative data was collected from a single organisation through interviews together with observations of the strategy documents between January 2019 and April 2019. An initial conceptual model was derived from the literature review to guide data collection, after which thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and develop an emergent theory. The key findings from the research study are that a customer centric approach informs the decision to transition. The customer is at the centre of the omni-channel strategy: that is through an enhanced customer experience or timeously responding to customer demands. Other factors are either enabling this strategy, like technological innovations, and efficiency improvements or are the outcome of the strategy like customer satisfaction, revenue or cost optimisation, and competitive advantage. The key implications are that organisations must pay more attention to the customer journey and ensure that they advance in the Customer Experience Capability Maturity Model. Most successful business transitions to the Omni-Channel strategy require a transformation in organizational culture, operations and processes, and the underlying technologies.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In this dissertation, I develop a regression-based approach to the specification and estimation of the effect of a presumed causal variable on a count-valued outcome of interest. Statistics for relevant causal inference are also derived. As an illustration and as a basis for comparing alternative parametric specifications with respect to ease of implementation, computational efficiency and statistical performance, the proposed models and estimation methods are used to analyze household fertility decisions. I estimate the effect of a counterfactually imposed additional year of wife’s education on actual family size (AFS) and desired family size (DFS) [count-valued variables]. In order to ensure the causal interpretability of the effect parameter as I define it, the underlying regression model is cast in a potential outcomes (PO) framework. The specification of the relevant data generating process (DGP) is also derived. The regression-based approach developed in the dissertation, in addition to taking explicit account of the fact that the outcome of interest is count-valued, is designed to account for potential sample selection bias due to a particular data deficiency in the count data context and to accommodate the possibility that some structural aspects of the model may vary with the value of a binary switching variable. Moreover, my approach loosens the equi-dispersion constraint [conditional mean (CM) equals conditional variance (CV)] that plagues conventional (poisson) count-outcome regression models. This is a particularly important feature of my model and method because in most contexts in empirical economics the data are either over-dispersed (CM < CV) or under-dispersed (CM > CV) – fertility models are usually characterized by the latter. Alternative count data models were discussed and compared using simulated and real data. The simulation results and estimation results using real data suggest that the estimated effects from my proposed models (models that loosen the equi-dispersion constraint, account for the sample selection, and accommodate variability in structural aspect of the models due to a switching variable) substantively differ from estimates from a conventional linear and count regression specifications.