We like food. We like eating. The gastronomy is fashionable. TV channels and programs dedicated exclusively to cookery, children chefs, kitchenware that before only used to have the chefs come to our homes, blogs with a plenty of recipes, and culinary criticisms, even TV programs about the science of food or how do it. We can make our own beer, wine or cheese at home, buy us a bakery machine, any of us have access now or all kinds of ingredients to emulate our favorite chefs. So how can we explain that every year tons of food are thrown away?
From this perspective starts the plot of the movie Just eat it, a 2014 documentary which attempts scrutinizing the causes of the current global problem of food waste.
Currently all groups of experts, scientists and government agencies agree that the food losses and waste (FLW) as one of the great problems of our planet, and we have to solve it right away because of its ethical, environmental, social and economic implications.
If in the world, 800 million people go hungry, being the cause for the death of 3 million children per year, while we throw tons of food (about 1.3 billion tons per year), something is not working well. This is the first fact that alarms us and hurts us morally regarding to the FLW, thinking about how many people could be fed with the food we throw away.
But there are other concerns and impacts associated with the problem of the food losses and waste, such as environmental implications. Overexploitation of natural resources in the process of production, processing and distribution, such as salinization and soil erosion or abusive use of rivers and groundwater, besides the externalities due to the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, like air pollution and water or health problems for workers and consumers.
The exactly numbers of the quantity of food that it is wasted are currently estimated data, but the FAO estimates that we waste a third of the food that we produce, ¡¡a third!!, this is equivalent to about 1.300 millions of tons, and in every stage of the chain, from the primary production to the consumption of these at households.
The reasons for this food wasting are many, lack of adequate infrastructure in the producers’ storage, mismanagement during transport, high standards of market (fruits and vegetables with an “imperfect” or “ugly” appearance are discarded), excessive size the portions in restaurants, lack of planning on shopping by consumers, etc …
It is true that governments, institutions and citizen groups are beginning to worry and launch initiatives to change this situation, but it is necessary that all the actors involved go in the same direction and begin to act immediately.
The estimation of a successful manufacturing realization is often linked to the project criteria quality, time and costs. Often it’s not possible to find optimum solutions for all criteria. For example, an exceeding quality leads to higher costs as normal. Thus, a well-elaborated project organization that focuses on a steady work flow and efficient capacity utilization is necessary to realize a manufacturing project successfully. Hence, high competence and extensive project experience are essential.
Production simulation is a very useful tool concerning the possibilities of gains in the process of production and as result, cost reduction. In order to achieve an optimum integration design vs. production, it is necessary to model not only the product but also the factories facilities and integrate them into a single simulation model. Best results are achieved when this model is linked to other optimization systems. The simulation allows finding the best workshop layout and assembly sequence according to the building strategy of the product.
In CARTIF we have experience in implementing the complexity of the production facilities in discrete simulation tools (Witness). The models allow us to ensure optimizationin order to reduce production costs. We have created models for large plants (eg Renault), but also SMEs are benefiting from these advantages. For our purpose the production system can be modelled as a system where the input variables are:
These variables can have a stochastic or a deterministic value. For instance, a timetable can be considered as a deterministic value, whereas the time between failures is a stochastic value.
The main output variables obtained from the simulation are:
Our advice, when we think of improving our productive process, especially if it involves an investment, and we want to measure the final impact, discrete simulation is the ideal tool.
It is usual, during our work as researchers at CARTIF, we have to model and solve (with the help of advanced software) complex mechanical systems. Their behaviour is affected by the interaction effects, with different levels of coupling, among several physical phenomena of differing nature (structural deformation, heat transfer, electromagnetic fields, etc). These cases are known as multiphysics problems and are solved using computational multiphysics, a new discipline which sets out theoretical and numerical challenges. Mathematically, multiphysics problems are defined by a set of strongly coupled partial differential equations that require the development of strong algorithms to be solved in an efficient way.
In the past, because of the lack of computing power, the effects of the connection between the different physical fields could only be considered in a rough way or be completely ignored. Nowadays, the improvement of software and hardware makes possible to solve most of this problems using multipurpose calculus commercial codes, e.g., ANSYS or ABAQUS. The possibility of including connection effects leads to a better understanding of the causes and the consequences of the involved natural phenomena. From an engineering perspective, it is possible to approach problems from a more general perspective, making feasible to obtain a closer estimation of the actual performance of each of the different proposals for any prototype. Products obtained by this method are safer and more cost-effective, meeting customer’s needs in a better way.
“Elephant´s foot” buckling localized at the tank base
The most important multiphysic simulation method in structural engineering is the Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI), this method is the one with more practical uses at industrial level and the most developed of all. It consists on analysing the interaction produced between a deformable solid and the fluid (liquid or gas) surrounding it or circulating inside of it. This interaction happens when the pressure applied by the fluid over the solid produces a deformation of the structure that modifies the boundary conditions of the fluid flux. This modification changes the pressure applied over the solid and so on, when this happens it is said that the structure and the fluid are coupled and therefore they cannot be analysed separately (with the exception of weak-coupled systems). FSI method is widely used at many industries, such as automotive (airbag deployment), aerospace (sustentation surfaces fluttering), biomechanics (aneurysms), energy (combustion at boilers), etc.
The figure shows the multiphysic simulation of the dimpling produced at the bottom of an open tank when is under seismic action, phenomena known as “elephant’s foot”.
At this moment you are visiting our blog and after reading the title of this post, you are thinking about finding a text based on the current social context, where the word “change” appears again and again. Not this time. Here, we want to present our skills and it is time for the environmental chapter today. And with the title of this post, we would like to defend the need for changing the air. Literally speaking.
News about air pollution appears in the media, as headlines, more often than we would like during the last months. But, what does the term mean exactly? If we begin with the definition, air pollution occurs when the air contains gases, dust, fumes or odour in harmful amounts. That is, amounts which could be harmful to the health or comfort of humans and animals, or which could cause damage to plants and materials. And if we finish with the epilogue, nowadays the World Health Organization is qualifying it as a public health emergency.
Although it is known the self-purification capacity of the air from natural resources, anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants concentration is increasing at a higher rate, especially during recent years, and the limits are being exceeded. For example, in large cities, current levels of air pollution cause direct (and serious) damages to the health of humans, animals and plants that live in it. This happens in Madrid, with its necessary traffic restrictions due to the frequent pollution peaks, or even in Valladolid, which could have suffered around a hundred days of poor air quality in 2015 (if we consider the limits established by WHO and taking into account the parameters which define it). And we can’t forget other cities around the world, where the situation becomes more troubling due to the high levels of pollution. New Delhi and Tiananmen photos are kept in our mind, always associated with a big gray cloud.
For this reason, environmental pollution is now one of the biggest technological, economic and social challenge, to be overcome by the society. In fact, CARTIFis working actively on the concept “Air Quality” and some technologies are being developed. A formulation design to be applied on asphalt paving for nitrogen oxide removal in urban environments is an example, as well as a new analytical technique for the quantification of dioxin in air. Moreover, we are committed to innovation, and we are working on proposals that include Nature Based solutions, that is, solutions that are inspired by, supported by or copied from nature, where ecosystem services could be used, for example, to reduce the nitrogen oxides concentration and to conserve and expand carbon sinks. Even to act as barriers to reduce particle air pollution and to regulate the humidity and temperature of the cities, improving, consequently, citizens well-being regard to health & comfort.
Let’s think about this issue, about the importance of the quality of the air we breathe, winds of change must necessarily reach. In our opinion, the formula for success is Research & Development & Awareness, and we bet (and work) on it.
And it is always important to remember that the role of people can be crucial to contribute to mitigate this problem, since motor vehicles are one of the largest sources of pollution.
Therefore, to choose options considered as sustainable mobility, like cycling, is an interesting alternative because, apart from improving the health of those who practice it, helps to keep air clean. Or car sharing to go to work. Or to include more, and better, green space in sustainable urban plans. It is also in our hands to be an active part of the solution… “Think globally, act locally”.
The activity in R&D is very diverse. The results are visible every day, although they need important periods of time in order to bear fruit. Success in this field is the result of a constant effort. Clearly, the maturing period is higher than political mandates, and probably this is the main difficulty in achieving a political consensus.
The Spanish society is not aware that their standard of living is linked to the rate of advancement of science and technology in our country. Therefore, our leaders do not feel any political pressure to avoid the lack of public resources dedicated to R&D. It is as if almost no one is interested in changing this situation. The famous cry of the Spanish writer Unamuno, ‘Let them invent’ is seen as the reflection of suicidal thought of lots of Spanish people.
Here, there are some data of 2014, last released by the Spanish Statistics Institute. The Spanish R&D resources rise to 12.821 million euros, 1,5% less than the previous year. This represents 1,23% of GDP and with this data, we go back to the situation of 2003, a trend that began in 2010. Our position is below the EU average: 2,02%. It is too below Portugal, 1,34%, and far from Germany and the Nordic countries, whose spending is approximately 3% of their GDP. Unlike in Spain, the EU average continued to rise in the year of the Great Recession. The situation is even worse if we compare ourselves with world leaders; South Korea spent 4,04% in 2012, and very near Japan and USA.
Data become more unfavorable if we delve into 2014, because the Spanish Government reduced the resources devoted to R&D by 1,1%, and enterprises 1,8%.
The public sector data are real. The companies’ percentages of the annual survey are made by the Spanish Statistics Institute, following the methodology of the Frascati Manual. However, it could be possible that many companies, for tax reasons or prestige, declare as R&D maintenance expenses and others. There are more circumstances that may affect survey numbers, such as capacity expansions.
There are four regions that increased their R&D spending in 2014: La Rioja, Murcia, Galicia and Valencia. The rest reduced them. In relative value in % of GDP, there is a big dispersion: The Basque Country with 2,03%, Navarra with 1,75%, Madrid with 1,68%, Catalonia with 1,47%, above the national average. A great distance followed by other regions, like Andalucía with 1,03% or Baleares with 0,32%. These percentages show the lack of interest from both administrations, central and regional, in encouraging basic engine of economic and social progress.
Can a robot have feelings? According to the science fiction world, the answer would clearly be affirmative. Films like Blade Runner; 2001: A Space Odyssey; I, Robot or ex Machina, show machines able to experience human feelings such as fear, anger or love. Despite the growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and the many discussions about the implications of the development of machines endowed with an greater intelligence than humans (also known as strong AI) it seems clear, however, that current technology is far from reaching the levels of “near-human” behavior that science fiction authors show in their films.
Strong AI is therefore, a hypothetical type of artificial intelligence that would surpass the AI known so far. It would be an artificial intelligence which purpose would be to emulatethe human intelligence, allowing the troubleshooting of general problems. It has to be noted that the term “general” means that instead of specializing in solving one type of problem (as current AI does), the system would be able to emulate what any human being can do.
Admitting that technology had reached a sufficient level of development as to reach an AI able to go beyond human intelligence in solving problems and daily activities, could such AI be able to feel emotions? Recent advances in the field of affective computing show machines with more and more elaborated “emotional intelligence” (although still very basic when compared to human intelligence) and have caused that an increasing number of researchers believe it is only a matter of time to merge “fiction” and science as emotional intelligence is concerned. However, many are still convinced that advances in AI will as much allow to “simulate” human emotions. And that even when we would be able to build machines endowed with strong AI, these systems’ intelligence will not be more than that: a clever way of simulation.
But, what are emotions? Emotions are psycho-physicological reactions that represent modes of adaptation to certain stimuli when we perceive an object, person, place, or event.Psychologically, emotions alter attention and activate relevant associative networks in memory. Physiologically, the emotions organize the answers of different biological systems, including facial expressions, muscles, voice, endocrine system, to establish an optimal internal environment for a more effective behavior. Behaviorally, emotions serve to establish our position regarding our environment, and move us towards certain people, objects, actions, ideas while taking us away from others. The emotions also act as deposits of innate and learned influences, and have certain invariable characteristics and others that vary between individuals, groups and cultures.
Given the definition of emotion, it is clear that an emotional reaction from a physiological point of view requires more than just an advanced Artificial Intelligence. However, it seems clear that with an appropriate level of technological development it would be possible to create a machine able to adapt to external stimuli, to change its behavior by activating various internal systems and generate sounds, expressions, and other changes in its components to be able to perform a more effective behavior. In short, to create an emotional reaction to external stimuli. Whether this emotional reaction is real or shall be considered as a mere simulation of human behavior is a current hot debate. A debate that will gain interest as we get closer to the levels of technological development that allow us to develop “sensitive” machines.
