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Due to slipstream effects, platooning leads to a significant decrease of the fuel consumption of the heavy-duty vehicles (HDV). Measurements with a platoon consisting of three vehicles were performed at the Zalazone proving ground. The goal of these measurements was to get the static pressure at the front and the rear of the second vehicle to calibrate computational fluid dynamics simulation and to measure the fuel consumption directly. Measurements were done at a vehicle speed of 80 km/h and varying inter-vehicle distances. Platooning leads to a reduction of the pressure coefficients in the centre of the HDV front and an increase of the pressure coefficient at the top and the rear of the HDV. Furthermore, a reduction of the fuel consumption of the leading vehicle of 7.9% at an inter-vehicle distance of 6 m and 3.7% at a distance of 22 m was determined. A comparison to CFD simulation showed a similar fuel reduction for an inter-vehicle distance of 6 m and 22 m. CFD simulation showed an increase of fuel consumption at an inter-vehicle distance of 15 m. This increase was experimentally not validated. Also, results for the following vehicle are presented.

Mit Drahtlostechnologie in der Messdatenerfassung ist es möglich, durch einfachen Einbau am Versuchsträger und schnellere Auswertung der Daten Kosten zu reduzieren. An diesem Punkt setzt das Messgerät „Data.Beam“ an. Es berücksichtigt Neuentwicklungen im Bereich der zuverlässigen Sensornetzwerke sowie der drahtlosen Zeitsynchronisation und ermöglicht durch eine hohe Flexibilität der erfassbaren Messgrößen die Erfassung komplexer Szenarien. Eine Programmierschnittstelle erlaubt neben einem Webinterface die Integration in bestehende Systeme, Prüfstände und Arbeitsabläufe – wobei die Basisfunktionalität als Stand-Alone Lösung immer gegeben ist.

At the clinical department of Dermatology at the Medical University Hospital in Graz, approximately 30 outpatients consult the pigmented lesion clinic each day. During the visit, the patients are asked to complete a questionnaire, which is necessary, both for the clinical information system and for a scientific database for research in skin cancer. However, motorically and visually handicapped people usually have problems in completing paper based questionnaires. Consequently, a system was built, using a mobile touch computer with a specially designed interface, in order to assist these people and to allow full mobility within the clinical department, as well as the possibility of completing questionnaires, for example: during a cancer survey even in the open-air swimming resort. The system was developed by applying a User Centered Design including four levels: paper mock-up studies, low-fi prototypes, hi-fi prototypes and the system in real life. Scientifically this work provided insights into the technical possibilities, Human-Computer Interaction and Usability Engineering, user acceptance in the clinical field and the possible optimization potential of clinical workflows