Research Needs and Challenges in Application of Computer and Information Sciences for Industrial Engineering

By invitation from the Editor of IIE Transactions, a research forum was established in 1987 to develop and prepare this article. The objective: to write on the directions, needs and challenges for research by the IE com-munity in applying computer and information sciences. The motivation: realizing the major advancements in computer and information sciences in the recent decade and their significant impact on the IE profession, it is vital to examine how IE research activities can respond effectively to current and emerging needs. This article is viewed as a useful contribution to such an examination.

Forum members were invited from academia, government and industry based on their experience in and commitment to research in this area. The forum was chaired by Shimon Y. Nof and the members are the co-authors of this article.

Forum members communicated and deliberated throughout 1987 and met for a review and planning session dur-ing the IIE Conference in Washington, D.C. in May, 1987 (Forum, 1987). The following article summarizes the contributions and recommendations of the forum members, and was reviewed by four guest reviewers. The re-viewers, invited by the Editor, have provided comments that have been incorporated into this article     

On Optimizing Bin Picking and Insertion Plans for Assembly Robots

In robotic assembly stations robots pick a series of component parts from bins and then insert and assemble them. Several approaches are described and formulated for optimizing bin organization, picking, and insertion sequence and route. Solution procedures are developed for several modes of assembly tasks. The Simple Assembly Plan problem (SAP) is defined and solved. Extensions to this problem are heuristically solved by separating the SAP problem into the Bin Assignment Problem (BAP) and the Pick-Insert Sequencing (PIS) problem. We then define and formulate a new version of the assignment problem which is termed the Minimax Assignment Problem (MAP). An algorithm for the solution of this problem is developed and tested.     

Oil prices,speculation, and fundamentals: Interpreting causal relations among spot and futures prices

A consensus that the world oil market is unified begs the question, where do innovations in oil prices enter the market? Here we investigate where changes in the price of crude oil originate and how they spread by examining causal relationships among prices for crude oils from North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East on both spot and futures markets. Results indicate that innovations first appear in spot prices for Dubai–Fateh and spread to other spot and futures prices while other innovations first appear in the far month contract for West Texas Intermediate and spread to other exchanges and contracts. Links between spot and futures markets are relatively weak and this may have allowed the long-run relationship between spot and future prices to change after September 2004. Together, these results suggest that market fundamentals initiated a long-term increase in oil prices that was exacerbated by speculators, who recognized an increase in the probability that oil prices would rise over time.     

A Low-Pressure Excimer Light Source for a Spectral Region of 170–310 nm

A low-pressure excimer light source pumped by a longitudinal dc glow discharge operates on the B–X and D–X transitions of Ar, Kr, and Xe chlorides and on the D–A transition of chlorine molecules. The output characteristics of a source with a discharge region 100 mm long and an inner diameter of the discharge tube of 5 mm were optimized on Xe(Kr, Ar)/Cl₂, Ar/Kr/Cl₂, Ar/Xe/Cl₂, and Kr/Xe/Cl₂ mixtures. The light source operated within a spectral range of 170 to 310 nm. The average radiation power and operation efficiency were 1.8–8.2 W and 21%, respectively.     

Dynamical Emergence Theory (DET): A Computational Account of Phenomenal Consciousness

Minds and Machines - Scientific theories of consciousness identify its contents with the spatiotemporal structure of neural population activity. We follow up on this approach by stating and...     

Characteristics of transverse volume discharge in Cf2Cl2 and in Ar/Cf2Cl2 mixture

The conditions of ignition and the characteristics are given for a nanosecond transverse volume discharge in Freon-12 (CF₂C1₂) and in an Ar/CF₂C1₂ mixture. It is shown that, in the ultraviolet and visible ultraviolet spectral region, a plasma based on CF₂C1₂ molecules is a source of radiation of excited carbon atoms and Cl₂ molecules. The volumetric stage of the discharge exists atU _charge ≤ 12 kV and [CF₂C1₂] = 0.1–3 kPa, and the current and voltage oscillograms are similar to the respective characteristics of a transverse discharge with prior-to-prebreakdown electron multiplication in He(Ne)/SF6(F2) mixtures. A plasma of an Ar/CF2C12 mixture is a source of radiation of the λ = 258 nm bands for Cl ₂ ^* , 193 nm for ArF, and 175 nm for ArCl. Such sources may be used in short-wave pulse photometry, microelectronics, and photo- and biochemistry.     

A water-vapor electric-discharge vacuum ultraviolet source

The optical emission from a longitudinal dc glow discharge in water vapors (P=0.05–2.5 kPa) was studied in a wavelength range of λ=130–350 nm. It is shown that the discharge in low-pressure water vapors can be used as a source of the vacuum UV (VUV) radiation in the 140–190 nm wavelength range. As the vapor pressure was increased to 2.5 kPa, the emission intensity decreased by one-two orders of magnitude and the main peaks shifted to λ=286 and 306–315 nm. The bands of optical emission from the products of water decomposition agree in position with the emission band edges of the hydroxyl molecule. The obtained results are important for the development of a simple water-vapor electric-discharge VUV source.