Publications by authors named "Xavier Bellekens"

Monitoring cattle behaviour is core to the early detection of health and welfare issues and to optimise the fertility of large herds. Accelerometer-based sensor systems that provide activity profiles are now used extensively on commercial farms and have evolved to identify behaviours such as the time spent ruminating and eating at an individual animal level. Acquiring this information at scale is central to informing on-farm management decisions.

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The COVID-19 pandemic was a remarkable, unprecedented event which altered the lives of billions of citizens globally resulting in what became commonly referred to as the in terms of societal norms and the way we live and work. Aside from the extraordinary impact on society and business as a whole, the pandemic generated a set of unique cyber-crime related circumstances which also affected society and business. The increased anxiety caused by the pandemic heightened the likelihood of cyber-attacks succeeding corresponding with an increase in the number and range of cyber-attacks.

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Cyber-attacks continue to grow, both in terms of volume and sophistication. This is aided by an increase in available computational power, expanding attack surfaces, and advancements in the human understanding of how to make attacks undetectable. Unsurprisingly, machine learning is utilised to defend against these attacks.

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Delaminations within aerospace composites are of particular concern, presenting within composite laminate structures without visible surface indications. Transmission based thermography techniques using contact temperature sensors and surface mounted heat sources are able to detect reductions in thermal conductivity and in turn impact damage and large disbonds can be detected. However delaminations between Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) plies are not immediately discoverable using the technique.

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Cyber situational awareness has been proven to be of value in forming a comprehensive understanding of threats and vulnerabilities within organisations, as the degree of exposure is governed by the prevailing levels of cyber-hygiene and established processes. A more accurate assessment of the security provision informs on the most vulnerable environments that necessitate more diligent management. The rapid proliferation in the automation of cyber-attacks is reducing the gap between information and operational technologies and the need to review the current levels of robustness against new sophisticated cyber-attacks, trends, technologies and mitigation countermeasures has become pressing.

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Sandwich panels consisting of two Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) outer skins and an aluminium honeycomb core are a common structure of surfaces on commercial aircraft due to the beneficial strength-weight ratio. Mechanical defects such as a crushed honeycomb core, dis-bonds and delaminations in the outer skins and in the core occur routinely under normal use and are repaired during aerospace Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) processes. Current practices rely heavily on manual inspection where it is possible minor defects are not identified prior to primary repair and are only addressed after initial repairs intensify the defects due to thermal expansion during high temperature curing.

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Regulatory requirements for sub-sea oil and gas operators mandates the frequent inspection of pipeline assets to ensure that their degradation and damage are maintained at acceptable levels. The inspection process is usually sub-contracted to surveyors who utilize sub-sea Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), launched from a surface vessel and piloted over the pipeline. ROVs capture data from various sensors/instruments which are subsequently reviewed and interpreted by human operators, creating a log of event annotations; a slow, labor-intensive and costly process.

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