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Fail-operational systems are a prerequisite for autonomous driving. Without a driver who can act as a fallback solution in a critical failure scenario, the system has to be able to mitigate failures on its own and keep critical applications operational. To reduce redundancy cost, graceful degradation can be applied by repurposing hardware resources at run-time. Critical applications can be kept operational by starting passive backups and shutting down non-critical applications instead to make sufficient resources available. In order to design such systems efficiently, the degradation effects on reliability and cost savings have to be analyzed. In this paper we present our approach to formally analyze the impact of graceful degradation on the reliability of critical and non-critical applications. We then quantify the effect of graceful degradation on the reliability of both critical and non-critical applications in distributed automotive systems and compare the achieved cost reduction with conventional redundancy approaches. In our experiments redundancy overhead could be reduced by 80% compared to active redundancy in a scenario with a balanced mix of critical and non-critical applications using our graceful degradation approach Overall, we present a detailed reliability and cost analysis of graceful degradation in distributed automotive systems. Our findings confirm that using graceful degradation can tremendously reduce cost compared to conventional redundancy approaches with no negative impact on the redundancy of critical applications if a reliability reduction of non-critical applications can be accepted. Our results show that a trade-off between the impact of the degradation on the reliability of non-critical applications and cost reduction has to be made.

A variety of methods exist to explain image classification models. However, whether they provide any benefit to users over simply comparing various inputs and the model's respective predictions remains unclear. We conducted a user study (N=240) to test how such a baseline explanation technique performs against concept-based and counterfactual explanations. To this end, we contribute a synthetic dataset generator capable of biasing individual attributes and quantifying their relevance to the model. In a study, we assess if participants can identify the relevant set of attributes compared to the ground-truth. Our results show that the baseline outperformed concept-based explanations. Counterfactual explanations from an invertible neural network performed similarly as the baseline. Still, they allowed users to identify some attributes more accurately. Our results highlight the importance of measuring how well users can reason about biases of a model, rather than solely relying on technical evaluations or proxy tasks. We open-source our study and dataset so it can serve as a blue-print for future studies. For code see, https://github.com/berleon/do_users_benefit_from_interpretable_vision, Published at ICLR 2022

Future autonomous vehicles will no longer have a driver as a fallback solution in case of critical failure scenarios. However, it is costly to add hardware redundancy to achieve a fail-operational behaviour. Here, graceful degradation can be used by repurposing the allocated resources of non-critical applications for safety-critical applications. The degradation problem can be solved as a part of an application mapping problem. As future automotive software will be highly customizable to meet customers' demands, the mapping problem has to be solved for each individual configuration and the architecture has to be adaptable to frequent software changes. Thus, the mapping problem has to be solved at run-time as part of the software platform. In this paper we present an adaptable demonstrator platform consisting of a distributed simulation environment to evaluate such approaches. The platform can be easily configured to evaluate different hardware architectures. We discuss the advantages and limitations of this platform and present an exemplary demonstrator configuration running an agent-based graceful degradation approach.

Two- or three-dimensional metals are usually well described by weakly interacting, fermionic quasiparticles. This concept breaks down in one dimension due to strong Coulomb interactions. There, low-energy electronic excitations are expected to be bosonic collective modes, which fractionalize into independent spin- and charge-density waves. Experimental research on one-dimensional metals is still hampered by their difficult realization, their limited accessibility to measurements, and by competing or obscuring effects such as Peierls distortions or zero bias anomalies. Here we overcome these difficulties by constructing a well-isolated, one-dimensional metal of finite length present in MoS2 mirror-twin boundaries. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy we measure the single-particle density of the interacting electron system as a function of energy and position in the 1D box. Comparison to theoretical modeling provides unambiguous evidence that we are observing spin-charge separation in real space.

In the past a variety of $^{18}$F-labeled aromatic amino acids have been developed, primarily for tumor diagnostics with positron-emission-tomography. Recently tryptophan got high attention, since evidence came up that some tumors exhibit an elevated consumption of it. So far, this amino acid could only be radiofluorinated by unsatisfactory approaches. In the work here, a simpler, 3-step method for a nucleophilic radiosynthesis of L-4-[$^{18}$F]fluorotryptophan was developed. For this a carbonyl activated precursor was radiofluorinated by isotopic exchange, followed by removal of the activating formyl group by reductive decarbonylation and subsequent hydrolysis of the protecting groups under acidic conditions. First, the influence of positions of fluorine and of the formyl group on the isotopic exchange was examined in several fluoro-$\textit{1H}$-indolecarbaldehydes where different protecting groups were attached to the indole nitrogen. Further, a decarbonylation reaction with Rh(PPh$_{3}$)$_{3}$ on those molecules was carried out and optimized. The best results regarding radiochemical yield and chemical stability were obtained with 1-benzyl-4-fluoro-1$\textit{H}$-indole-5-carbaldehyde. Based on these results a concept for the synthesis of precursors for L-6-[$^{18}$F]fluorotryptophan and L-4-[$^{18}$F]fluorotryptophan was developed. Hereby the compounds benzyl (2S,5S)-2-tertbutyl- 5-[(1-benzyl-4-fluoro-5-formyl-1$\textit{H}$–indol–3-yl)methyl]–3–methyl–4–oxoimidazolidine- 1-carboxylate and benzyl (2S,5S)–2–tert–butyl–5-[(1–Boc–4–fluoro–5–formyl-1$\textit{H}$–indol–3 yl) methyl]-3-methyl-4-oxoimidazolidine-1-carboxylate were prepared following 11-step linear synthetic pathways with overall yields of about 8 % and an enantiomeric purity of > 99 %. While the radiosynthesis of L-6-[$^{18}$F]fluorotryptophan was not successful due to the failing hydrolysis of the benzyl group, L-4-[$^{18}$F]fluorotryptophan was prepared by the three step radiosynthesis, consisting of an isotopic exchange, a reductive decarbonylation with Rh(PPh$_{3}$)$_{3}$ and the hydrolysis of the protecting groups with HCl, yielding an enantiomeric purity of > 99 %. After optimization of this procedure L-4-[$^{18}$F]fluorotryptophan was isolated in a radiochemical yield of ca. 13 % and a molar activity of > 70 MBq/mmol within about 115 min. Hence, a new and more efficient nucleophilic radiosynthesis of L-4-[$^{18}$F]fluorotryptophan was developed which is now available for preclinical evaluation.

Addressing building energy use is a pressing issue for building sector decision makers across Europe. In Sweden, some regions have adopted a target of reducing energy use in buildings by 50% until 2050. However, building codes currently do not support as ambitious objectives as these, and novel approaches to addressing energy use in buildings from a regional perspective are called for. The purpose of this licentiate thesis was to provide a deeper understanding of most relevant issues with regard to energy use in buildings from a broad perspective and to suggest pathways towards reaching the long-term savings objective. Current trends in building sector structure and energy use point to detached houses constructed before 1981 playing a key role in the energy transition, especially in the rural areas of Sweden. In the Swedish county of Dalarna, which was used as a study area in this thesis, these houses account for almost 70% of the residential heating demand. Building energy simulations of eight sample houses from county show that there is considerable techno-economic potential for energy savings in these houses, but not quite enough to reach the 50% savings objective. Two case studies from rural Sweden show that savings well beyond 50% are achievable, both when access to capital and use of high technology are granted and when they are not. However, on a broader scale both direct and indirect rebound effects will have to be expected, which calls for more refined approaches to energy savings. Furthermore, research has shown that the techno-economic potential is in fact never realised, not even in the most well-designed intervention programmes, due to the inherent complexity of human behaviour with respect to energy use. This is not taken account of in neither current nor previous Swedish energy use legislation. Therefore an approach that considers the technical prerequisites, economic aspects and the perspective of the many home owners, based on Community-Based Social Marketing methodology, is suggested as a way forward towards reaching the energy savings target.

Vägar till en halverad energianvändning i Dalarnas byggnadsbestånd

Modern, small-scale wastewater treatment faces a twofold challenge: On the one hand requirements from legal authorities regarding removal of eutrophying substances have become more demanding. On the other hand high-quality phosphorus reserves are dwindling, which has raised calls for increased recycling. The problem is acute in the county of Stockholm where about 34 000 households are identified to not possess adequate wastewater treatment facilities. In this master’s thesis, four treatment systems, of which three had some phosphorus recycling potential, were compared using life cycle assessment methodology. The small-scale treatment systems analyzed were infiltration, filter beds with Filtralite® P and Filtra P respectively as filter material and a chemical precipitation system. The system boundaries included the extraction of raw materials, production of materials and components, the construction and operation of the systems as well as deconstruction and recycling of the treatment plants. Apart from impacts on human health and acidification potential, which both proved to be of less relevance to the final results, energy usage, consumption of abiotic resources, global warming potential and eutrophication potential were taken into account in this study. The infiltration system attained the most favourable results in all impact categories save eutrophication potential, which was due to both the low usage of energy and resources as well as the system’s high life expectancy. The filter bed system using Filtralite® P demonstrated the best performance in reduction of eutrophying substances. However, the system’s energy demand and emissions of greenhouse gases by far exceeded the other systems’ results in these categories. Both the filter bed system using Filtra P and the chemical precipitation system fared relatively equal in the overall analysis, with moderate impacts in all categories. The nutrient recycling potential was shown to be limited by the waste products’ relatively high heavy metal content. Sludge from chemical precipitation had higher potential for replacement of fertilizer than filter bed material. The chemical precipitation system fared best in the overall assessment. Its technical immaturity and limited data foundation put the alternative using Filtra P into second place. The infiltration system’s limited treatment performance and inexistent recycling potential put this alternative into third place. The alternative using Filtralite® P was ruled out entirely because of its high impact on fossil fuel consumption and global warming. Based on this ranking recommendations were made. Even though the filter bed materials in this study showed excellent phosphorus removal capacity, further research into alternative filter bed materials will have to be made due to the materials’ environmental impacts in other areas. Focus should be on waste material and natural products (such as shell sand) with low environmental impacts from production. Ways of separating heavy metals from plant nutrients need to be explored if nutrient recycling is to be an aim. This study showed that good phosphorus removal characteristics can lead to an increase in other environmental impacts, which in some cases even may outweigh the positive effects of decreased eutrophication. Modern, småskalig avloppsreningsteknik står inför två utmaningar. Å ena sidan har kraven från lagstiftaren på rening av eutrofierande ämnen ökat. Problemet är akut i Stockholms län där det finns ca. 34 000 hushåll som inte anses uppfylla reningskraven. Å andra sidan minskar fosforförekomsterna av hög kvalitet i allt större takt, vilket har väckt krav på ökad återföring av växtnäring. I detta examensarbete undersöktes fyra olika reningstekniker, varav tre har en viss återföringspotential, med hjälp av metodik från livscykelanalys. Systemen som undersöktes var infiltration, filterbäddar dels med Filtralite® P och dels med Filtra P som filtermaterial, samt ett kemikaliefällningssystem. Systemgränserna omfattade extraktion av råmaterial, produktion av anläggningsmaterial och –komponenter, uppförande och drift av systemen samt avveckling av anläggningarna och återföring av restmaterial. Förutom påverkan på mänsklig hälsa och försurningspotential, som visade sig vara mindre relevanta för slutresultaten, omfattade analysen även en undersökning av energianvändning, förbrukning av abiotiska resurser, potential för global uppvärmning och eutrofieringspotential. Infiltrationslösningen fick de mest fördelaktiga resultatvärden i alla kategorierna förutom eutrofieringspotential, vilket kan förklaras med systemets låga energi- och resursbehov samt dess höga livslängd. Filterbädden med Filtralite® P som filtermaterial uppvisade den största förmågan att reducera eutrofierande substanser. Systemets energibehov och utsläpp av växthusgaser översteg dock de andra systemens resultat i dessa kategorier kraftigt. Både anläggningen med Filtra P och kemikaliefällningslösningen fick liknande resultat, med måttlig påverkan i alla kategorier. Systemens återföringspotential visade sig vara begränsad av restprodukternas höga tungmetallhalt. Kemikaliefällt slam hade högre återföringspotential än filterbäddsmaterial. Kemikaliefällning klarade sig totalt sett bäst i studien. Den relativt obeprövade tekniska utformning och det osäkra dataunderlaget ledde till att Filtra P hamnade i rangordningen efter kemikaliefällning. Infiltrationssystemets begränsade reningsförmåga och den obefintliga återföringspotentialen ledde till att alternativet hamnade näst sist. Filtralite® P-alternativet blev placerat sist i rangordningen på grund av dess stora påverkan på förbrukning av fossila bränslen och global uppvärmning. Baserat på rangordningen utfärdades rekommendationer. Trots att filtermaterialen som undersöktes i denna studie har en utmärkt fosforreningsförmåga, kommer det att krävas fler studier med avseende på alternativa filtermaterial, eftersom materialens användning av icke-förnybara energikällor är mycket stor vid tillverkningen. Fokus borde ligga på återvunna eller naturliga material (som t.ex. snäcksand) med låg miljöpåverkan vid tillverkning. Om återföring av växtnäring ska bli ett mål inom småskalig avloppsvattenrening, måste effektiva sätt att separera tungmetaller från växtnäringsämnen utforskas. Denna studie visade att goda fosforavskiljningsegenskaper kan medföra att andra typer av miljöpåverkan ökar, vilket i vissa fall kan leda till att de negativa konsekvenserna överväger nyttan av minskad eutrofiering. Moderne, dezentrale Abwassertechnik steht zwei großen Herausforderungen gegenüber. Zum einen sind die Ansprüche von Seiten des Gesetzgebers gestiegen, die effektivere Abwasserreinigungstechniken erfordern. Zum andern werden Phosphorvorkommen von hoher Qualität zunehmend knapper, was Rufe nach verstärkter Rückführung von Phosphor hat laut werden lassen. Im Verwaltungsbezirk Stockholm, in dem es ungefähr 34 000 Haushalte mit unzureichender Abwasserreinigung gibt, ist das Problem von besonderer Bedeutung. In dieser Diplomarbeit wurden vier Abwasserreinigungssysteme, wovon drei ein gewisses Potential für Phosphorrückführung haben, mit Hilfe einer Ökobilanzierung untersucht. Folgende Systeme wurden untersucht: Eine Infiltrationsanlage, zwei Filterbettsanlagen, eine mit Filtralite® P und eine mit Filtra P als Filtermaterial sowie ein System mit Chemikaliefällung. Die Systemgrenzen umfassten die Gewinnung und Verarbeitung von Rohstoffen, das Errichten der jeweiligen Anlage, deren Betrieb sowie Rückgewinnung und Entsorgung von Restmaterialien. Neben Auswirkungen auf die menschliche Gesundheit und Versauerungspotential, die sich im Nachhinein als weniger relevant erwiesen, wurden Energiebedarf, Verbrauch abiotischer Resourcen, Potential für globale Erwärmung und Eutrophierungspotential untersucht. Die niedrigsten Resultate in allen Kategorien außer Eutrophierungspotential wurden vom Infiltrationssystem erreicht. Filtralite® P erwies sich als am leistungsstärksten, was die Reduktion von eutrophierenden Substanzen angeht. Der Energiebedarf und die Emissionen von Treibhausgasen dieser Alternative überstieg die Ergebnisse der anderen Alternativen in diesen Kategorien doch bei weitem. Filtra P und Chemikaliefällung erzielten moderate Auswirkungen in allen Kategorien. Das Potential für die Rückführung von Pflanzennährstoffen wird, wie die Ergebnisse zeigen, vom relativ hohen Schwermetallhalt in den Restprodukten begrenzt. Chemikaliefällung ist in dieser Studie die beste Alternative. Filtra P zeigte sich als technisch noch zu wenig ausgereift und die Datenunterlage als zu unvollständig, weswegen diese Alternative an zweiter Stelle steht. Die begrenzte Reinigungsfähigkeit des Infiltrationssystemes und das nicht vorhandene Potential für Rückführung von Phosphor führten dazu, dass diese Lösung an dritter Stelle steht. Das System mit Filtralite® P als Filtermaterial wurde wegen seines großen Verbrauchs von fossilen Brennstoffen für wenig brauchbar befunden und steht damit an letzter Stelle. Trotz ihrer hervorragenden phosphorreduzierenden Eigenschaften, wird weitere Forschung im Bereich alternativer Filtermaterialien notwendig werden. Hierbei sollten natürliche Materialien (wie Muschelsand) oder Restprodukte im Mittelpunkt des Interesses stehen, um die Umweltauswirkungen gering zu halten. Wenn die Rückführung von Phosphor ein Ziel der Abwasserreinigung sein soll, müssen Lösungen, Schwermetalle von Pflanzennährstoffen zu trennen, gefunden werden. Diese Studie hat gezeigt, dass gute phosphorreduzierende Eigenschaften zu verstärkten Umweltauswirkungen in anderen Bereichen führen können, welche in manchen Fällen sogar die Vorteile einer verringerten Eutrophierung übersteigen können.