Search Results (4)

The construction industry is transforming significantly, with emerging technologies reshaping project management by enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and safety. This study examines the integration of these innovations into Chad’s construction sector, drawing on insights from 79 industry participants. Given Chad’s unique economic and infrastructural landscape, understanding the practical implementation of these technologies is crucial. This research demonstrated strong reliability and validity through exploratory factor analysis, with a KMO value above 0.75, statistical significance at p < 0.001, and a Cronbach’s Alpha exceeding 0.8. Using Promax rotation, this study identified 15 key factors, providing valuable insights into how technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Digital Twin technology are transforming construction processes. These tools enhance design accuracy, facilitate real-time decision-making, and minimize material waste while supporting global sustainability goals, including the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Examining the adoption of these technologies within Chad is particularly important, as the country faces unique challenges that demand tailored solutions. While digital transformation in the construction industry has been widely studied worldwide and in Africa, Chad’s industry remains relatively unexplored in this regard. This research bridges this gap by identifying both the opportunities and the barriers to technological integration in the sector. Embracing these innovations could help modernize Chad’s construction industry, addressing persistent inefficiencies and promoting environmental sustainability. However, widespread adoption is hindered by significant challenges, including high implementation costs, limited access to advanced tools, and a shortage of skilled professionals. Overcoming these obstacles will require strategic investments in education, infrastructure, and supportive policies. By fully leveraging technological advancements, Chad has the potential to build a more competitive, resilient, and sustainable construction industry, driving national development while aligning with global sustainability initiatives. Full article

Machine learning deals with creating algorithms capable of learning from the provided data. These systems have a wide range of applications and can also be a valuable tool for scientific research, which in recent years has been focused on finding new diagnostic techniques for particle accelerator beams. In this context, SPARC_LAB is a facility located at the Frascati National Laboratories of INFN, where the progress of beam diagnostics is one of the main developments of the entire project. With this in mind, we aim to present the design of two neural networks aimed at predicting the spot size of the electron beam of the plasma-based accelerator at SPARC_LAB, which powers an undulator for the generation of an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL). Data-driven algorithms use two different data preprocessing techniques, namely an autoencoder neural network and PCA. With both approaches, the predicted measurements can be obtained with an acceptable margin of error and most importantly without activating the accelerator, thus saving time, even compared to a simulator that can produce the same result but much more slowly. The goal is to lay the groundwork for creating a digital twin of linac and conducting virtualized diagnostics using an innovative approach. Full article

According to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about a third of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost or wasted—approximately 1.3 billion tons. Among this, the amount lost during the storage stage is about 15–20% for vegetables and 10–15% for fruits. It is 5–10% for vegetables and fruits during the distribution stage, resulting in a large amount of resource waste and economic losses. At the same time, the global population affected by hunger has reached 828 million, exceeding one-tenth of the total global population. The improvement of the cold chain system will effectively reduce the amount of waste and loss of food during the storage and transportation stages. Firstly, this paper summarizes the concept and development status of traditional preservation technology; environmental parameter sensor components related to fruit and vegetable spoilage in the intelligent cold chain system; the data transmission and processing technology of the intelligent cold chain system, including wireless network communication technology (WI-FI) and cellular mobile communication; short-range communication technology, and the low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN). The smart cold chain system is regulated and optimized through the Internet of Things, blockchain, and digital twin technology to achieve the sustainable development of smart agriculture. The deep integration of artificial intelligence and traditional preservation technology provides new ideas and solutions for the problem of food waste in the world. However, the lack of general standards and the high cost of the intelligent cold chain system are obstacles to the development of the intelligent cold chain system. Governments and researchers at all levels should strive to highly integrate cold chain systems with artificial intelligence technology, establish relevant regulations and standards for cold chain technology, and actively promote development toward intelligence, standardization, and technology. Full article

Nation Wide Digital Twin is an emerging paradigm that pushes the context of a classical Digital Twin to a whole country. Under this perspective, models, which are central for digital twins, will play a key role for the design and implementation of such a specific digital twin. However, to achieve a nation wide digital twin vision, a whole set of problems related to models have to be solved. In this paper, we detailed the notion of nation wide digital twin with respect to well known digital twin from a model point of view and discuss the problems the community is facing in this context. As a result, from the identified challenges, we propose a research road-map paving the way for future scientific contributions. Full article