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With the ever-pressing challenges of societal ageing, robotic technologies for older people are increasingly portrayed as a solution for better independent living for longer. However, the application of human-following robots for elderly citizens has not yet been considered, and any prospective benefits offered by the technology for active ageing have previously been overlooked. This qualitative research aimed to explore older people's needs and requirements towards the human-following robot through the reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data from 17 independent older adults, supported by a video-based demonstration of the robot. The results indicate that older people believed that human-following robot has the potential to provide social benefits to an independent older adult by encouraging walking trips and prompting social interaction with others in the community. Practical limitations and cost of the robot are barriers to adoption at present. The findings indicate that there is potential for human-following robots to support active ageing, through increasing opportunities for the social participation of an older adult, but further development of the robot is needed for this potential to be realised., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Connected and automated vehicles have the potential to deliver significant environmental, safety, economic and social benefits. The key advancement for automated vehicles with higher levels of automation (SAE Level 4 and over) is fail-operational. One possible solution for the failsafe mode of automated vehicles is a 5G-enabled teleoperation system controlled by remote drivers. However, knowledge is missing regarding understanding of the human-machine interaction in teleoperation from the perspective of remote drivers. To address this research gap, this study qualitatively investigated the acceptance, attitudes, needs and requirements of remote drivers when teleoperating a 5G-enabled Level 4 automated vehicle (5G L4 AV) in the real world. The results showed that remote drivers are positive towards the 5G L4 AV. They would like to constantly monitor the driving when they are not controlling the vehicle remotely. Improving their field of vision for driving and enhancing the perception of physical motion feedback are the two key supports required by remote drivers in 5G L4 AVs. The knowledge gained in this study provides new insights into facilitating the design and development of safe, effective and user-friendly teleoperation systems in vehicle automation.

The rate of urbanization in Europe is increasing rapidly. Traffic congestion has become one of the biggest challenges for cities. Additionally, thousands of people die each year in accidents on European roads. In addition, road transport is one of the biggest reasons for the increase in air pollution and greenhouse gases in Europe. To solve these problems, cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) have accelerated in Europe, after more than ten years of research and development. The European Commission has carried out significant work in this field in recent years and has prepared a strategy document for the deployment of C-ITS services in Europe. The Commission considers that C-ITS have significant potential in reducing the negative effects of road traffic and expects these systems to deploy rapidly in European cities. However, in order to achieve this, it is imperative to clearly identify the needs of cities in implementing and managing these systems, the extent to which these systems will respond to different mobility problems of the cities, and the important barriers to widespread deployment. This study focused on qualitatively examining the C-ITS deployment from the stakeholder perspective. The knowledge generated is useful to facilitate the large-scale future deployment of C-ITS.

The emergence of the level 3 automated vehicles (L3 AVs) can enable drivers to be completely disengaged from driving and safely perform other non-driving related tasks, but sometimes their takeover of control of the vehicle is required. The takeover of control is an important human-machine interaction in L3 AVs. However, little research has focused on investigating the effect of gender on takeover performance. In order to fill this research gap, a driving simulator study with 76 drivers (33 females and 43 males) was conducted. The participants took over control from L3 AVs, and the timing and quality of takeover were measured. The results show that although there was no significant difference in most of the measurements adopted to quantify takeover performance between female and male. Gender did affect takeover performance slightly, with women exhibited slightly better performance than men. Compared to men, women exhibited a smaller percentage of hasty takeovers and slightly faster reaction times as well as slightly more stable operation of the steering wheel. The findings highlight that it is important for both genders to recognise they can use and interact with L3 AVs well, and more hands-on experience and teaching sessions could be provided to deepen their understanding of L3 AVs. The design of the car interiors of L3 AVs should also take into account gender differences in the preferences of users for different non-driving related tasks., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The production of methane-rich biogas from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of microalgae is limited by an unfavorable biomass carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio; however, this may be ameliorated using a co-digestion strategy with carbon-rich feedstocks. For reliable plant operation, and to improve the economics of the process, secure co-feedstock supply (ideally as a waste-stream) is important. To this end, this study investigated the feasibility of co-digesting microalgae ( Chlorella vulgaris ) with potato processing waste (potato discarded parts, PPW dp ; potato peel, PPW p ) and glycerol, while monitoring the response of the methanogenic community. In this semi-continuous study, glycerol (1 and 2% v/v) added to mixtures of C. vulgaris  : PPW dp enhanced the specific methane yields the most, by 53-128%, whilst co-digestion with mixtures of C. vulgaris  : PPW p enhanced the methane yields by 62-74%. The microbial communities diverged markedly over operational time, and to a lesser extent in response to glycerol addition. The acetoclast Methanosaeta was abundant in all treatments but was replaced by Methanosarcina in the potato peel with glycerol treatment due to volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation. Our findings demonstrate that the performance of microalgae co-digestion is substantially improved by the addition of glycerol as an additional co-feedstock. This should improve the economic case for anaerobically digesting microalgae as part of wastewater treatment processes and/or the terminal step of a microalgae biorefinery., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)