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The Anthropocene is marked with a multilayered environmental crisis that requires cultural changes. Although a complex task, the contemporary Mexican artists studied here have explored this issue through literary means. In this paper, I analyse La máquina distópica (The Dystopian Machine) and El mono infinito (The Infinite Monkey) as technopoetical tools to understand the present from a historical perspective. I suggest that the usage of canonical figures such as Amparo Dávila and Ada Lovelace in these pieces provides a critical grounding that tensions the notion of individual authorship and affords a transhistorical and transtemporal approach to an endangered planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is concerned to show that a clear methodology exists for answering the question “How Can We Tell if a Machine is Conscious?” The methodology does not deliver certainty but rather rational preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terms of connecting seemingly disparate strands of thought relating to modernism and modernity, Philobiblon's special issue edited by Amalia Cotoi and Alexandru Matei, "Modernism and Bruno Latour. For a Resumption of Modernity" (2023), made a resounding start. Yet Latour's relationism will always be at odds with the purity, stability and autonomy characterizing certain models of modernism, particularly the formalist modernism envisioned by Clement Greenberg. In this article, I will explore a flat ontology that resolves this problem, namely object-oriented ontology (OOO). It emphasizes the nonrelational autonomy of objects, in the same way as Greenberg's modernism emphasizes compositional elements such as line and colour over and above context, disregarding any social or political relations or associations the work might have. As I will suggest, OOO connects with modern art and modernism on multiple levels, testifying to modernism's ongoing relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between machines and architectural inspiration has changed over the years as technology has become more and more virtual. The machine allegory has therefore edged towards invisibility, pervasively penetrated the integrity of the body, and manipulated matter atom by atom. Architect, artist and academic Peter J Baldwin explains architecture's machinic infatuations, their histories and their exponential acceleration in a time of emerging singularity and technological convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of machine analogies and allegories can help students liberate themselves from the tried and tested normative dogmas and doctrines propagated by architectural education. Daniel K Brown, Professor of Architecture at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and co‐guest‐editor of this AD, runs an extraordinary student design studio that has much success in conceptually intertwining machine aesthetics with history, culture and international literary narratives. Here he explains his modus operandi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Building Machines: From Prodigies to Progeny" explores the historical and contemporary relationship between architecture and machines. It delves into the aesthetic and functional aspects of machines in architectural design, tracing the evolution of machine practices from the early 20th century to the present day. The text also discusses the allegorical nature of machines in architecture, highlighting how they can be used as symbolic devices to convey narratives and provoke speculation. Additionally, the article examines the role of machines in speculative futures, pedagogical practices, and experimental models, showcasing a diverse range of perspectives and approaches within the field of architecture. [Extracted from the article]

Industry 5.0 is defined by the connection between technology and human skills, enhancing the field of accounting through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and advanced data analytics solutions. In this new industrial stage, the focus is not only on automation but also on supporting human activity through the personalization of processes and technology [14]. In this context, accounting professionals are challenged to expand their traditional roles, becoming involved in predictive analysis, strategic advisory, and risk assessment, supported by digital tools. A core element of Industry 5.0 in accounting is the use of AI to simplify complex operations. Through these technologies, financial data is processed quickly, enabling anomaly detection and improving the accuracy of reports[8]. For automating routine tasks, robots and software are used, such as account reconciliation, invoice management, and transaction auditing, freeing up human resources for higher-value activities. In this way, AI helps increase efficiency and reduce errors in accounting processes [10]. The collaboration between humans and machines, characteristic of Industry 5.0, opens new perspectives for accounting, supporting in-depth analysis and decision-making based on precise information. Accountants can use advanced digital platforms to assess risks, optimize cost structures, and anticipate market fluctuations, relying on data and advanced analytical models [6].

Questions of increased reliability of responsible connections at a stage of their assembly are considered in the paper. This step provides the necessary operational characteristics of outputs. The special place among such responsible connections is occupied with the group threaded connections. Their assembly technology provides reception in fixing details normalized relatively identical axial efforts in regular intervals loading a sealing layer. The presented work results of experimental research on the group threaded connection assemblage process are given. Alternate calculations of efforts change in tightened pairs of threaded connections and their graphic interpretation are presented. An algorithmic calculation model of overload factors for fixing details has been developed. Recommendations about the use of the received settlement dependences, taking into account comparative theoretical and experimental data on assembly of group threaded connection, are offered.

This work is aimed at a comprehensive solution to the problem of reliable and safe operation of a transport energy system with a high energy concentration based on a universal energy carrier - cryogenic liquid hydrogen. The article discusses the possibility of using various methods and techniques to assess the reliability of machines and equipment operated in emergency situations and extreme conditions. The obtained results are analyzed. Currently, the oil and gas complex pays great attention to the development of hydrogen technologies, as well as hydrogen energy in connection with the relevance of the Climate Agenda. In this regard, hydrogen energy facilities are of the greatest interest: cryogenic hydrogen reservoirs, cryogenic hydrogen pipelines, cryogenic oxygen reservoirs and cryogenic oxygen pipelines, as well as cryogenic reservoirs and pipelines for storing process nitrogen gas. An important role for global energy exchange is played by LH 2 tankers for transporting cryogenic hydrogen. For example, Australia and Japan built the first LH 2 tanker to transport hydrogen from Australia to Japan. In addition, another 85 LH 2 tankers are expected to be built. After transportation, cryogenic hydrogen is stored in cryogenic hydrogen storages, usually also representing cryogenic hydrogen tanks with piping in the form of cryogenic pipelines, as well as cryogenic nitrogen tanks for storing process nitrogen gas. Further, hydrogen is used in road transport, aviation, ship fleet, industry, and energy. The main elements of mobile, stationary and airborne hydrogen storage systems are under critical loads and are in the area of increased study and attention. In this regard, we considered the functions of changing the main operational characteristics, made proposals on the possibility of predicting the development of accumulated faults and proposals for ensuring safety and extending the life of objects, taking into account the determination of local and integral damage to cryogenic tanks and pipelines. Project for the creation of a main cryogenic hydrogen pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe across the Adriatic Sea. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions of increased reliability of responsible connections at a stage of their assembly are considered in the paper. This step provides the necessary operational characteristics of outputs. The special place among such responsible connections is occupied with the group threaded connections. Their assembly technology provides reception in fixing details normalized relatively identical axial efforts in regular intervals loading a sealing layer. The presented work results of experimental research on the group threaded connection assemblage process are given. Alternate calculations of efforts change in tightened pairs of threaded connections and their graphic interpretation are presented. An algorithmic calculation model of overload factors for fixing details has been developed. Recommendations about the use of the received settlement dependences, taking into account comparative theoretical and experimental data on assembly of group threaded connection, are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, one of the possible, effective methods of assessing the technical state of mining machinery and devices has been presented. The article's main goal is to show the possible methods and ways of measuring temperature, oscillations, and vibrations generated during the operation of mining equipment and machines’ gears, which are possible in underground conditions. Devices measuring temperatures without coming into contact with the given object are built based on different types of infrared radiation detectors or matrixes of such detectors. Thermal imaging devices picture the temperature distribution on the entire surface instead of pyrometers, which measure temperatures at a given point. However, vibrations and oscillations generated by the work of gears of devices and machinery have been made using a vibrometer pen and a machine condition tester, after which the obtained measurements were used to diagnose the degradation of individual elements of those machines. Such an assessment of the degradation of individual elements of machines in production conditions has been applied with positive results in one of the mines of the Polish Mining Group (Polska Grupa Górnicza – PGG).

This essay speculates on the nuances of communication between the human being and artificial intelligences or artificial intercommunication, trying to show what are the chances, problematizations or adaptations that the future will challenge us, as a human species engaged in the progress of extreme technology. In this sense, various research laboratories are presented, which have the visionary ambition to propose a positive solution in the relationship between man and Machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert Willis's writing in the nineteenth century was foundational to the development of the discipline of architectural history. Closely related to other Cambridge scientists, including William Farish and William Whewell, Willis deployed similar methods and forms of conceptualization in his writings about medieval architecture. He focused on five areas in particular: the isometric projection, the building as kit-of-parts, detailed technical forms of description using illustrations and specialized vocabularies, the machine tool, and new tools for measuring cogwheels and architectural profiles. Using an interdisciplinary approach and drawing upon contemporary ideas of political economy by Karl Marx and Charles Babbage, this article resituates Willis's writing in the context of the separation of manual from intellectual labor under industrial capitalism, arguing that the architectural historian was complicit both with the forms of abstraction required of professionalization and with the alienation of labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we reassess Marxist notions of labour and value for our datafied societies, where data is allegedly becoming one of the dominant sources of economic value. Our contention is that the existing accounts of value, which assume that value is produced exclusively by human labour, are unable to fully account for the processes of exploitation that take place in our digital platform dominated economy. We begin addressing these shortcomings by critiquing the anthropocentric notion of agency that informs the Marxist account of labour. This notion of agency locates productive activity exclusively in human intentionality. After offering an overview of anthropocentric concepts of labour that still dominate (post-)Marxist theories today, we draw on the work of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to develop a post-anthropocentric account of agency that we term machinic agency. Machinic agency sees activity as a matter of connectivity between different human and nonhuman actors (technologies, organisms, minerals etc.), which productively combine and amplify their capacities to act. These affective connections precede and shape, but often also completely bypass, human consciousness. We make a case for the concept of machinic agency by comparing it with Actor-Network Theory (ANT), an established theory that conceptualises agency as arising from compositions of both human and nonhuman elements. Our contention is that, unlike ANT, machinic agency is able to collapse both, the distinction between human and nonhuman, and that between mechanism and vitalism. We conclude by suggesting that machinic agency allows us to demonstrate that data capitalism exploits and appropriates not only the surplus value produced by conscious human effort, but also the co-production of affective, technological, and ecological aspects of our existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Odeere is the property of Edicoes UESB and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

En 2010, une de mes sœurs vivant en Belgique nous a envoyé un livre rédigé par Günther Anders Hiroshima est partout et introduit par une préface très élogieuse de Jean-Pierre Dupuy. Ancien étudiant de Martin Heidegger et de Edmund Husserl, Günther Anders avait compris, longtemps avant ses contemporains, à quel point les humains s’étaient trompés sur l’impact que les rapports entre les humains et les machines avait eu sur la déshumanisation. Les machines se sont solidement imposées sur les humains.

Conservation tillage is a technology regarding sustainable agricultural development, which features less or no tillage and crop stubble covering and has brought significant economic, environmental, and social benefits to China’s agricultural production. As agricultural production in China develops toward the directions of large scale, high efficiency, and intelligence, promoting the development of conservation tillage becomes conducive to cultivated land protection, grain supply security, and agricultural technology improvement. This study reviews the development process of conservation tillage in China from the aspects of research and development of conservation tillage technologies and equipment, demonstration and ability construction, and utilization of black soil in Northeast China. It also summarizes the development status of conservation tillage technologies and equipment in China, involving representative technical models and key machines for surface straw and stubble treatment, shallow soil tillage, and no- or less-tillage sowing. The major factors that affect the development of conservation tillage in China are analyzed, including suitable model and equipment, support of laws and policies, and drive of large-scale planting households. Furthermore, suggestions are proposed to promote the rapid and stable development of conservation tillage in China. First, a national science and technology innovation platform should be built and high-standard demonstration projects should be implemented by counties. Second, national action plans on conservation tillage should be implemented to strengthen policy guidance. Third, publicity of conservation tillage should be further strengthened.

The construction of Gothic church towers with carved stone spires and often with significant height required the most advanced technology and financial support of their age, and the application of advanced machines was also inevitable for it. This article is an attempt to virtually reconstruct and visualise the process of a 15th-century tower construction, including the main auxiliary structures: scaffolding and machinery. A series of 3D models is created for that purpose, using the contemporary plans of the partly realised north tower of St. Stephen’s church in Vienna, the contemporary machine drawings of the Strasbourg-based master builder Hans Hammer, and contemporary and neo-Gothic drawings of scaffoldings together with survived exemplars as sources. An important question was whether medieval technical drawings contain enough data to model the structures or devices that they depict and if the construction process could be represented using them.

In order to optimize the rice productivity and quality, various aspects of production chains should be considered in an integrated way, including crucial steps to improve and conserve the rice grains. The lack of sufficient quantity of quality rice grains was husking methods, clearances between cylinder, and two rice cultivars is a major bottleneck to improve rice productivity and quality in Factory. This study is aimed to identify the effect of thresher machines on rice cultivars based on some technical indicators. Two types of rice husking machines (S-KB40 and YST50) were tested at three clearances of 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm and 0.9 mm, for two rice cultivars of JA and M-33. The experiments were conducted in a factorial experiment under complete randomized design with three replications. The clearance 0.9 mm was significantly superior to the other two levels of 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm in all studied parameters. For S-KB40 the machine productivity, power required, husking efficiency, broken rice ratio, head rice ratio, were 1.768 t hr-1, 14.432 kW, 77.151%, 6.816% and 59.724% respectively under the same operating conditions for Y-ST50. The results showed that the JA cultivar was significantly better than the M-33 in all studied conditions. The interaction among SKB40 husking machine, JA cultivar and the clearance between cylinder 0.9 mm gave the best results in all studied parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the manuscript of Codex Madrid I, Leonardo da Vinci's workshop drawings collection, is reviewed and the main mechanisms that appear in the aforesaid codex are analysed. It begins with a short reference to Leonardo da Vinci works and, subsequently, Leonardo's manuscripts and Codex Madrid I, in particular, are placed in their historical context. After analysing the historical scope of Codex Madrid I, a compilation of the 100 main drawings of the manuscript is made, composing nine Mechanisms Drawings Boxes. Each Mechanisms Drawings Box is a collage made up of 10 to 14 drawings of mechanical elements that appear in Codex Madrid I, with a brief description of each drawing. This compilation illustrates the wide range of mechanical elements and simple mechanisms of Codex Madrid I, forming, as a whole, a complete treatise on mechanisms, understanding mechanisms as basic elements of machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Balázs Zágoni’s two-volume novel series, Black Light, a mysterious Sphere helps Vik, the 13-year-old protagonist, navigate the dangers that await him: drones, a secret agent, the Network, and then an incipient war between city-states. The plot is set in the future, but it is a projection of the present: technological achievements that are already in operation or under development but are featured in a more heightened form. Vik and his friends are trying to make their way in this world – despite all their goodwill and ingenuity, without success. Machines are constantly and in many ways intruding on their well-being and prosperity, and what the human body and mind have to offer them cannot prevent this pernicious influence. Only spirituality, of which the Sphere is the embodiment, a drop from the Eternal Now, can bring relevant relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the relationship between the self-sufficient peasant household and machines from the perspective of innovation. It argues that ingenuity in peasant communities and the production of various structures made of wood or metal were present even before the Industrial Revolution. Another important claim is that these peasant communities learned to use the steam engine and internal combustion engines and to transform them according to their needs. Through a few examples, the text directs the focus to the specific rhythm of changes, the simultaneous presence of the old and the new, and questions of pattern-following and adoption. Finally, the text argues that even with all these characteristics, innovation can also be observed in a peasant environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of Gothic church towers with carved stone spires and often with significant height required the most advanced technology and financial support of their age, and the application of advanced machines was also inevitable for it. This article is an attempt to virtually reconstruct and visualise the process of a 15th-century tower construction, including the main auxiliary structures: scaffolding and machinery. A series of 3D models is created for that purpose, using the contemporary plans of the partly realised north tower of St. Stephen's church in Vienna, the contemporary machine drawings of the Strasbourg-based master builder Hans Hammer, and contemporary and neo-Gothic drawings of scaffoldings together with survived exemplars as sources. An important question was whether medieval technical drawings contain enough data to model the structures or devices that they depict and if the construction process could be represented using them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated cyber crimes and social media addictions: the role of perceived usage of conversational GPT-4 AI model among residents in Makurdi Nigeria. The cross-sectional survey design was used among 200 participants using the latest conversational GPT-4 AI model in their phones using the convenience sampling techniques. Hypothesis one results revealed there is a statistically significant between the usage of the conversational GPT-4 AI model and the incidence of cyber crime [R = .255, R2 = .065, [F (1,189) = 13.223, P< .01]. Hypothesis two showed that the baseline usage of the conversational GPT-4 AI model significantly predicts increase in social media addictions [R = .434, R2 = .188, [F (5,195) = 24.147, P

After the strong success of the previous edition, the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Machines and Applications (IECMA 2024) was held online from 18 to 20 June 2024. Machinery and engineering areas play a key role in an ever-increasing technological society. Transportation, renewable energies, and more efficient buildings are only some of the domains where the intensive application of these systems has been noticed the most. In all these applications, efficiency and reliability, automation and control, and advanced manufacturing are of major concern. The scope of this online conference was to bring together well-known worldwide experts in the fields of machinery and engineering while providing an online forum for presenting and discussing the latest results within such fields. The present report will start by providing an overview of the keynote speeches and the main axes around which the oral sessions were organized. Then, the topics addressed in the detailed abstracts submitted to the IECMA 2024 are presented.

Kazakhstan has become a leading grower and exporter of linseed; however, domestic enterprises are unable to ensure a complete cycle of processing of these crops. Especially pressing is the need for rational use of the stem biomass, which is simply wasted or burnt, causing irreparable damage to the ecosystems of the regions where it grows. The main problem of fiber in Kazakhstan is the lack of appropriate technology for bast fiber processing and the lack of specialists in this field. In search of ways to extract and spin linseed fibers, the authors of this article made an attempt to use worsted machines designed for wool for these purposes. The fibers obtained have satisfactory values for the following spinning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late nineteenth century, Canada has required modern construction machines for industrial growth. Thanks to their novelty and visibility, these machines entered the Canadian psyche, symbolizing hopes and fears about the relentless transformations of modernity. Metaphors depicting these machines as zoomorphic and monstruous reflected the environmental-technological infrastructures they built, which redefined nature through technologies like trains, ships, and automobiles. This article discusses how Anglo-Canadians, particularly Ontarians, interpreted technology, drawing parallels with the automobile's history. Both had a problematic coexistence with humans as equally empowering and oppressive mobile machines that were imposed on public spaces and constructed as necessary for progress. The builders used the machines' allure to present construction as an inclusive civic spectacle and foster public tolerance for their relentless disruptions. They accomplished this faster than the automobile industry came to dominate the streets, as evidenced by the celebration of "sidewalk superintendents," compared to the contentious reproach of "jaywalkers." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Artnodes is the property of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The importance of mobility in Canada's history can hardly be overstated. The built waterways, railways, and roadways that allowed for the movement of peoples, goods, and ideas within the country have long been considered cultural icons conveying collective ideas of Canadian identity. Yet, little has been written on the history of the modern construction machines that made this mobility infrastructure possible after Confederation, along with their designers, manufacturers, and operators. This article helps fill that gap by examining the technological development, manufacturing, and commercialization of earthmoving equipment in Canada (especially Ontario) in the 1860s-1920s, a period of great construction activity, including two of the world's largest civil engineering and earthmoving projects and one of the fastest-expanding road networks in North America. It discusses the role of the federal, provincial, and municipal governments in developing, adopting, and disseminating this technology, and their ultimate reliance on American manufacturers despite the National Policy's protectionism. This article supports the argument that technological development in Canada during the Second Industrial Revolution was continentally integrated in ways that involved technological dialogue with American companies, associations, and publications. While this manufacturing sector became dominated by American corporations by the First World War, the extent to and manner by which that happened varied depending on the type of machinery and the construction sectors in which they were used. The technological transition from steam-powered machines to electric, gasoline, and diesel motors and how it impacted Canadian manufacturers are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an efficient output reference trajectory tracking control scheme for direct current electric motor systems based on bio-inspired optimization is proposed. The differential flatness structural property of the electric motor along with dynamic tracking error compensation is suitably exploited for the backstepping control design. Off-line optimal selection of control parameters, implementing bio-inspired ant colony and particle swarm optimization algorithms, is addressed by minimizing an objective function where the decision variables are the tracking error and control input effort. A novel adaptive version of the control approach based on B-spline artificial neural networks is provided as well. The introduced flat output feedback tracking control design approach can be further extended for other differentially flat dynamic systems. Considerably perturbed, diverse velocity and position reference trajectory tracking scenarios are developed for demonstrating the acceptable closed-loop system performance. The results prove the efficient and robust tracking of the position and velocity reference profiles planned for the operation of the controlled electric motor system under variable torque disturbances using bio-inspired optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we enter the digital age, we realise that we are surrounded by machines that observe us, know our tastes, build our public image, judge who’s right and who’s wrong. This raises questions, especially as artificial intelligences process the tracks we leave in the infospace, identify our profile and seem to predict our future. More like a nightmare than a dystopia. The essay tries to reverse the perspective by considering some examples drawn from legal experience and asking whether the digital revolution is not rather hinting at a new era of responsibility

In order to minimize makespan (Cmax) without causing tool delay with the fewest copies of each tool type, this study investigates the concurrent scheduling of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), machines (MCs), tool transporter (TT), and tools in a multi-machine flexible manufacturing system (FMS). The tools are housed in a central tool magazine (CTM), accessible to and utilized by several machines. AGVs and the tool transporter (TT) move jobs and tools between machines. Since it involves allocating tool copies and AGVs to job operations, sequencing job operations on machines, and related trip operations, such as AGVs' and TT's empty trip and loaded trip times, this simultaneous scheduling problem is highly complicated. This issue is resolved using the symbiotic organisms search algorithm (SOSA), based on the symbiotic interaction strategies that organisms adapt to survive in the ecosystem. This study proposes a mixed nonlinear integer programming formulation to address this problem. Verification is performed using an industrial problem from a manufacturing organization. The results show that employing two copies for two tool types out of 22 tool kinds and one copy for the remaining tool types results in no tool delay, which causes a reduction in the Cmax as well as cost. The industries that can benefit directly from this study are consumer electronics manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, and textile machine producers. The results demonstrate that the SOSA provides promising results compared to the flower pollination algorithm (FPA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In malleable job scheduling, jobs can be executed simultaneously on multiple machines with the processing time depending on the number of allocated machines. In this setting, jobs are required to be executed non-preemptively and in unison, in the sense that they occupy, during their execution, the same time interval over all the machines of the allocated set. In this work, we study generalizations of malleable job scheduling inspired by standard scheduling on unrelated machines. Specifically, we introduce a general model of malleable job scheduling, where each machine has a (possibly different) speed for each job, and the processing time of a job j on a set of allocated machines S depends on the total speed of S with respect to j. For machines with unrelated speeds, we show that the optimal makespan cannot be approximated within a factor less than e e - 1 , unless P = N P . On the positive side, we present polynomial-time algorithms with approximation ratios 2 e e - 1 for machines with unrelated speeds, 3 for machines with uniform speeds, and 7/3 for restricted assignments on identical machines. Our algorithms are based on deterministic LP rounding. They result in sparse schedules, in the sense that each machine shares at most one job with other machines. We also prove lower bounds on the integrality gap of 1 + φ for unrelated speeds (φ is the golden ratio) and 2 for uniform speeds and restricted assignments. To indicate the generality of our approach, we show that it also yields constant factor approximation algorithms for a variant where we determine the effective speed of a set of allocated machines based on the L p norm of their speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scheduling jobs and tools is a significant problem for manufacturing systems. Inefficient job scheduling and tool loading planning may result in the underutilization of capital-intensive machines and a high machine idle time. Tools are transferred by a tool transporter (TT) between machines. Therefore, efficient scheduling of jobs, TT, and the tools with alternate machines enables a manufacturing system to increase machines' utilization and decrease their idle times. This paper addresses machines, TT, and tools concurrent scheduling with alternate machines and only one copy of every tool variety is made available where the tools are costly, in a multi-machine flexible manufacturing system, taking into account tool transfer times for makespan (MS) minimization. The tools are placed in a central tool magazine, which shares and serves them to many machines to cut down the price of duplicating the tools in each machine. The problem is to assign machines from alternate machines, tools, and corresponding TT trips, including the deadheading trip and loaded trip, to job operations for MS minimization. This paper uses a nonlinear mixed-integer programming framework to present the problem, and a flower pollination algorithm (FPA) is employed to solve it. The results show that FPA outperforms the Jaya algorithm, and the usage of alternate machines for the operations reduces the MS. Reduction in MS indicates an improvement in utilization of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial systems require absolute productivity in order to achieve maximum profits and meet economic objectives. To accomplish this, systems need to be maintained and diagnosed in an adequate, precise, and reliable manner. Modern diagnostic techniques, such as vibration diagnostics, enable timely action to prevent potential major failures and unplanned downtime, which are the most undesirable costs within a production system. The implementation of vibration diagnostic controls provides a precise and clear picture of the condition of rotating equipment and machinery, such as pumps, compressors, and turbines. By analyzing signals collected from measurement points, the condition of the machines can be determined, and a maintenance plan can be established for the upcoming period.

Fault diagnosis is integral to maintenance practices, ensuring optimal machinery functionality. While traditional methods relied on human expertise, intelligent fault diagnosis techniques, propelled by machine learning (ML) advancements, now offer automated fault identification. Despite their efficiency, a research gap exists, emphasizing the need for methods providing not just reliable fault identification but also in-depth causal factor analysis. This research introduces a novel approach using an extra tree classification algorithm and feature selection to identify fault importance in manufacturing processes. Compared with SVM, neural networks, and tree-based ML, the method enhances training and computational efficiency, achieving over 99% classification accuracy on prognostics and health management 2021 dataset. Importantly, the algorithm enables researchers to analyze individual fault causes, addressing a critical research gap. The study provides guidelines for further research, aiming to refine the proposed strategy. This work contributes to advancing fault diagnosis methodologies, combining automation with comprehensive causal analysis, crucial for both academic and industrial applications.

This article examines a long-standing question in the history of technology concerning the trope of the living machine. The authors do this by using a cutting-edge computational method, which they apply to large collections of digitized texts. In particular, they demonstrate the affordances of a neural language model for historical research. In a deliberate maneuver, the authors use a type of model, often portrayed as sentient today, to detect figures of speech in nineteenth-century texts that portrayed machines as self-acting, automatic, or alive. Their masked language model detects unusual or surprising turns of phrase, which could not be discovered using simple keyword search. The authors collect and close read such sentences to explore how figurative language produced a context that conceived humans and machines as interchangeable in complicated ways. They conclude that, used judiciously, language models have the potential to open up new avenues of historical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karl Marx took technological development to be the heart of capitalism's drive and, ultimately, its undoing. Machines are initially engineered to perform functions that otherwise would be performed by human workers. The economic logic pushed to its limits leads to the prospect of full automation: a world in which all labor required to meet human needs is superseded and performed by machines. To explore the future of automation, the paper considers a specific point of resemblance between human beings and machines: intelligence. Examining the development of machine intelligence through the Marxist concepts of alienation and reification reveals a tension between certain technophilic post-labor visions and the reality of capitalistic development oriented towards intelligent technology. If the prospect of a post-labor world depends on technologies that closely resemble humans, the world can no longer be described as post-labor. The tension has implications for the potential moral status of machines and the possibility of full automation. The paper considers these implications by outlining four possible futures of automation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]