Miladin Stefanovic

A LabVIEW‐based remote laboratory experiments for control engineering education

This paper deals with remote access to a real laboratory equipment using contemporary computer and network technology for creating the environment that will enable a remote user to perform the required laboratory exercises and control the laboratory equipment. Architecture and characteristics of WebLab will be described with special attention to the latest implemented laboratory experiment for control of the coupled water tanks (using LabVIEW). This paper will also give results of researches among student population in order to determine advantages and effects of using web laboratory in control engineering education.

An evaluation of quality goals by using fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methodology

There is no defined methodological approach that would rank the quality goals of a process in uncertain environments, which is one of the basic problems in process management. In this paper, the considered problem is stated as a multi-criteria decision problem. The criteria present performances which are defined by the knowledge and experience of the decision makers. The fuzzy rating weights of each pair of the considered criteria and uncertain criteria values for the defined quality goals are described by linguistic expressions which are modeled by triangular fuzzy numbers. The weights vector of criteria is calculated by the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process AHP. The extension of the fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution TOPSIS is applied to rank quality goals. The proposed model is illustrated by an example.

Web-based laboratory for engineering education

Laboratory experiments and practical work by their nature are unavoidable, important, and costly in the engineering education environment. The web laboratory is an educational tool for teaching students the basic principles and methodology in performing a series of experiments on different equipment at any time and from any location through the Internet. In this paper, pre‐requests, architecture, and software realization of the Web Laboratory at University of Kragujevac are presented. Organization, development, goals, and possible demands of the laboratory exercise: The inverted pendulum/gantry crane controls (with the capability to test different control algorithms) are also discussed. The applications of the web lab have been tested with the students enrolled at University of Kragujevac and the initial educational results of the implementation of this laboratory exercise are presented.

Evaluation and Ranking of Organizational Resilience Factors by Using a Two-Step Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS

We presented a novel fuzzy multicriteria decision making approach to evaluate and rank organizational resilience factors with respect to user preference orders. Due to vagueness of the decision data, the precise numerical data are inadequate for real-life business situations. Human judgements can be expressed by linguistic expressions which are modeled by fuzzy sets. The complexity of the considered problem calls for analytic methods rather than intuitive decisions. Two fuzzy multi-criteria methods are proposed for solving the treated problem: Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process (FAHP) is applied to determine the relative importance of business processes and the relative importance of organizational resilience factors under each business process, and an extension of the fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS) is applied to rank the organizational resilience factors. With respect to complexity and the type of considered management problem, we introduce a modified fuzzy decision matrix. The proposed algorithm has efficiently been applied in the assessment of organizational resilience factors to small and medium enterprises of the process industry.

An assessment of distance learning laboratory objectives for control engineering education

The concept of web laboratories with remotely controlled laboratory set ups or virtual laboratories with different simulations have an important role in engineering education and training. This paper presents an evaluation of the fundamental objectives of laboratories for distance education, comparing the effectiveness of a remotely controlled approach versus simulations. The results and analysis show that students prefer remotely controlled laboratories compared to simulation labs. The results show that remotely controlled laboratories better fulfill objectives important for laboratory exercises.

The evaluation and ranking of medical device suppliers by using fuzzy topsis methodology

The aim of this study is to propose a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making approach (MCDM) to evaluate suppliers of one kind of medical device with respect to numerous criteria, simultaneously taking into account the type of each criteria and its relative importance. Two fuzzy MCDM methods are proposed for solving the treated problem. In the first step, the fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix of the relative importance of criteria is constructed. The weight vector is calculated by using the developed procedure, and in the second step, the fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS) is applied in order to rank possible suppliers of the considered kind of medical device. The rank is obtained using the process of fuzzy number comparison. A case study with real-life data is presented to verify the proposed method.

The development and implementation of a thermal process trainer for control and measurement via the Internet

In engineering education, it is very important to provide solid knowledge and practice to students in order to deal with architectures, mechanisms, and algorithms for the control of processes. In this article we will present the concept, detailed technical requirements, description, implementation, and verification of a process (thermal) trainer. In addition three possible educational tasks will be presented with a developed software infrastructure for the remote control of a laboratory set‐up via the Internet.

A fuzzy model for assessing risk of occupational safety in the processing industry

Abstract Managing occupational safety in any kind of industry, especially in processing, is very important and complex. This paper develops a new method for occupational risk assessment in the presence of uncertainties. Uncertain values of hazardous factors and consequence frequencies are described with linguistic expressions defined by a safety management team. They are modeled with fuzzy sets. Consequence severities depend on current hazardous factors, and their values are calculated with the proposed procedure. The proposed model is tested with real-life data from fruit processing firms in Central Serbia.

Development of 3D parametric model of human spine and simulator for biomedical engineering education and scoliosis screening

Engineering education has been changing during the time and starting to cover many interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields. We are witnessing the growing importance of biomedical engineering (BME). It leads to increasing needs for development of effective education in BME on the one side, and development of different models and simulation tools for both education and medical purposes on the other hand. BME is a highly interdisciplinary field, influenced by various other engineering and medical fields. This article describes the instrumentation, technique and the results in development of 3D parametric model of human spine and its kinematics using 3D computer aided modeling and simulation. Based on 3D parametric model of spine, software for simulation and visualization of scoliosis (deformation of spine) is also developed. The presented solutions, 3D model and scoliosis simulator could improve education in the field of BME and become useful tool in spinal deformities detection and treatment.

The evaluation and improvement of process quality by using the fuzzy sets theory and genetic algorithm approach

The performance evaluation of business processes in uncertain environments has important consequences for investors, stakeholders and has critical importance for the improvement of business processes, which is one of the requirements of ISO 9001. In this paper, a new fuzzy model is proposed for evaluation and improvement of process quality. The fuzzy ratings of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are stated as fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrices (by analogy to the AHP framework). By using the developed procedure, the fuzzy weights of KPIs are given. The KPI values are based on the assessment of decision makers. The developed solution, based on the genetic algorithm approach, is presented and tested on data from 53 Serbian manufacturing SMEs. The presented solution enables quality assessment of a purchasing process, the fuzzy ranking of KPIs, the selection of critical KPIs by using an exact approach, optimization and the provision of the basis for successful improvement of purchasing