Audio games: investigation of the potential through prototype development

This article discusses the potential of audio games based on the evaluation of three projects: a story-driven audio role-playing game (RPG), an interactive audiobook with RPG elements, and a set of casual sound-based games. The potential is understood, both in popularity and playability terms. The first factor is connected to the degree of players’ interest, while the second one to the degree of their engagement in sound-based game worlds. Although presented projects are embedded within the landscape of past and contemporary audio games and gaming platforms, the authors reach into the near future, concluding with possible development directions for this non-visual interactive entertainment.

Development of a Polymer-carbon Nanotubes based Economic Solar Collector

A low cost solar collector was developed by using polymeric components as opposed to metal and glass components of traditional solar collectors. In order to utilize polymers for the absorber of the solar collector, Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) has been added as a filler to improve the thermal conductivity and the solar absorptivity of polymers. The solar collector was designed as a multi-layer construction with considering the economic manufacturing. Through the mathematical heat transfer analysis, the performance and characteristics of the designed solar collector have been estimated. Furthermore, the prototypes of the proposed system were built and tested at a state-of-the-art solar simulator facility to evaluate the actual performance of the developed solar collector. The cost-effective polymer-CNT solar collector, which achieved efficiency as much as that of a conventional glazed flat plate solar panel, has been successfully developed.

System integration design in MEMS - A case study of micromachined load cell

One of the critical issues in large scale commercial exploitation of MEMS technology is its system integration. In MEMS, a system design approach requires integration of varied and disparate subsystems with one of a kind interface. The physical scales as well as the magnitude of signals of various subsystems vary widely. Known and proven integration techniques often lead to considerable loss in advantages the tiny MEMS sensors have to offer. Therefore, it becomes imperative to think of the entire system at the outset, at least in terms of the concept design. Such design entails various aspects of the system ranging from selection of material, transduction mechanism, structural configuration, interface electronics, and packaging. One way of handling this problem is the system-in-package approach that uses optimized technology for each function using the concurrent hybrid engineering approach. The main strength of this design approach is the fast time to prototype development. In the present work, we pursue this approach for a MEMS load cell to complete the process of system integration for high capacity load sensing. The system includes; a micromachined sensing gauge, interface electronics and a packaging module representing a system-in-package ready for end characterization. The various subsystems are presented in a modular stacked form using hybrid technologies. The micromachined sensing subsystem works on principles of piezo-resistive sensing and is fabricated using CMOS compatible processes. The structural configuration of the sensing layer is designed to reduce the offset, temperature drift, and residual stress effects of the piezo-resistive sensor. ANSYS simulations are carried out to study the effect of substrate coupling on sensor structure and its sensitivity. The load cell system has built-in electronics for signal conditioning, processing, and communication, taking into consideration the issues associated with resolution of minimum detectable signal. The packaged system represents a compact and low cost solution for high capacity load sensing in the category of compressive type load sensor.

Desenvolvimento de protótipo de coletor automático destinado à coleta de amostras de água em corpos aquáticos para análise em laboratório

The aim of this approach is to describe the design and construction of a low-cost automated water sampler prototype. In recent years, there is an increasing need on the use of automated equipments for hydro climatic variables to be use in urban and rural environments. Such devices are always used to provide measured information which is of crucial importance on the development of water resources strategies at watershed scale. Actually, many research and water public institutions have been using these kinds of equipments. In most of the cases, automated equipments are expensive and need to be imported, generating a situation of technologic dependency. The prototype is based on an electronic system which controls a peristaltic pump functioning, five solenoid valves and an ultrasonic sensor connected to a datalloger. An interface with the user allows communication with a PC, when the equipment functioning parameters can be provided. The equipment has a hydraulic module composed by a 12V peristaltic pump connected to a distribution circuit composed by five solenoid valves, one of them being used to clean the circuit before each sampling procedure. Samples are collected by four 1.95 polyethylene bottles. The sampler body was made of acrylic material, with a cylindrical shape, and dimensions 0.72 m and 0.38 m height and diameter, respectively. The weight of the equipment without samples is approximately 15 kg, which infers to its portability. The prototype development total cost budget was approximately US$ 1,560.00. Laboratory tests aimed to evaluate the equipment performance and functioning demonstrated satisfactory results

Proposal of a dedicated telemetry device for real-time and remote measurements

This work aims to demonstrate an application of telemetry for monitoring process variables. The authors developed the prototype of a dedicated device capable of multiplexing, encoding and transmitting real-time data signals via amplitude-shift keying modulation to remotely located device(s). The prototype development is described in details, enabling the reproduction of the proposed telemetry system for a three-phase motor as well as for other devices. Furthermore, the proposed device has an easy implementation by using of accessible components and low cost, also presenting a tutorial and educational purpose. © 2011 IEEE.

Análise, aplicação e otimização de metodologias para a elaboração de websites: o design ergonômico na busca da usabilidade e melhor interação humano-computador

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Laser guide stars wavefront sensors for the EELT

The Adaptive Optics is the measurement and correction in real time of the wavefront aberration of the star light caused by the atmospheric turbulence, that limits the angular resolution of ground based telescopes and thus their capabilities to deep explore faint and crowded astronomical objects. The lack of natural stars enough bright to be used as reference sources for the Adaptive Optics, over a relevant fraction of the sky, led to the introduction of artificial reference stars. The so-called Laser Guide Stars are produced by exciting the Sodium atoms in a layer laying at 90km of altitude, by a powerful laser beam projected toward the sky. The possibility to turn on a reference star close to the scientific targets of interest has the drawback in an increased difficulty in the wavefront measuring, mainly due to the time instability of the Sodium layer density. These issues are increased with the telescope diameter. In view of the construction of the 42m diameter European Extremely Large Telescope a detailed investigation of the achievable performances of Adaptive Optics becomes mandatory to exploit its unique angular resolution . The goal of this Thesis was to present a complete description of a laboratory Prototype development simulating a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor using Laser Guide Stars as references, in the expected conditions for a 42m telescope. From the conceptual design, through the opto-mechanical design, to the Assembly, Integration and Test, all the phases of the Prototype construction are explained. The tests carried out shown the reliability of the images produced by the Prototype that agreed with the numerical simulations. For this reason some possible upgrades regarding the opto-mechanical design are presented, to extend the system functionalities and let the Prototype become a more complete test bench to simulate the performances and drive the future Adaptive Optics modules design.

Implementación de un sistema multicanal de medida de temperatura con termopares

Este proyecto fin de carrera tiene como finalidad el diseño e implementación de un sistema multicanal de medida de temperaturas con termopares con procesado digital. Se ha realizado un prototipo de cuatro canales con conexión de termopar, que es el tipo de sensor utilizado para realizar dichas medidas. La tensión generada por el termopar es procesada mediante un conversor de termopar a digital con salida en interfaz modo serie o SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface). El control de dicha comunicación se realiza por medio de un Array de Puertas Lógicas Programables o FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), en concreto se ha utilizado una plataforma de desarrollo modelo Virtex-5 de la empresa Xilinx. Esta tarjeta se ha programado también para el procesado software y la posterior comunicación serie con el PC, el cual consta de una interfaz de usuario donde se muestran los resultados de las medidas en tiempo real. El proyecto ha sido desarrollado en colaboración con una empresa privada dedicada principalmente al diseño electrónico. La finalidad de este prototipo es el estudio de una actualización del bloque de medida para el control de las curvas de temperatura de un equipo de reparación aeronáutica. En esta memoria se describe el proceso realizado para el desarrollo del prototipo, incluye la presentación de los estudios realizados y la información necesaria para llevar a cabo el diseño, la fabricación y la programación de los diferentes bloques que componen el sistema. ABSTRACT. The aim of this project is to implement a multichannel temperature measurement system with digital processing, using thermocouples. A four-channel prototype with thermocouple connection has been built. The thermocouple voltage is converted to digital line using a Thermocouple-to-Digital Converter with a Serial Perpheral Interface (SPI) output. The master which controls this communication is embedded in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), specifically the Xilinx Virtex-5 model. This FPGA also has the code for software temperature processing and the prototype to PC serial communication embedded. The PC user interface displays the measurement results in real time. This project has been developed at a private electronics design company. The company wants to study an update to change the analogue temperature controller equipment to a digital one. So this prototype studies a digital version of the temperature measurement block. The processes accomplished for the prototype development are detailed in the next pages of this document. It includes the studies and information needed to develop the design, manufacturing process and programming of the blocks which integrate with the global system.

A knowledge based application for industrialization design

After being designed, a product has to be manufactured, which means converting concepts and information into a real, physical object. This requires a big amount of resources and a careful planning. The product manufacturing must be designed too, and that is called Industrialization Design. An accepted methodology for this activity is starting defining simple structures and then progressively increasing the detail degree of the manufacturing solution. The impact of decisions taken at first stages of Industrialization Design is remarkable, and software tools to assist designers are required. In this paper a Knowledge Based Application prototype for the Industrialization Design is presented. The application is implemented within the environment CATIA V5/DELMIA. A case study with a simple Product from aerospace sector illustrates the prototype development.

A knowledge based application for industrialization design

After being designed, a product has to be manufactured, which means converting concepts and information into a real, physical object. This requires a big amount of resources and a careful planning. The product manufacturing must be designed too, and that is called Industrialization Design. An accepted methodology for this activity is starting defining simple structures and then progressively increasing the detail degree of the manufacturing solution. The impact of decisions taken at first stages of Industrialization Design is remarkable, and software tools to assist designers are required. In this paper a Knowledge Based Application prototype for the Industrialization Design is presented. The application is implemented within the environment CATIA V5/DELMIA. A case study with a simple Product from aerospace sector illustrates the prototype development.

Desarrollo de una plataforma de gestión de un laboratorio automatizado

El presente TFG está enmarcado en el contexto de la biología sintética (más concretamente en la automatización de protocolos) y representa una parte de los avances en este sector. Se trata de una plataforma de gestión de laboratorios autónomos. El resultado tecnológico servirá para ayudar al operador a coordinar las máquinas disponibles en un laboratorio a la hora de ejecutar un experimento basado en un protocolo de biología sintética. En la actualidad los experimentos biológicos tienen una tasa de éxito muy baja en laboratorios convencionales debido a la cantidad de factores externos que intervienen durante el protocolo. Además estos experimentos son caros y requieren de un operador pendiente de la ejecución en cada fase del protocolo. La automatización de laboratorios puede suponer un aumento de la tasa de éxito, además de una reducción de costes y de riesgos para los trabajadores en el entorno del laboratorio. En la presente propuesta se pretende que se dividan las distintas entidades de un laboratorio en unidades funcionales que serán los elementos a ser coordinados por la herramienta resultado del TFG. Para aportar flexibilidad a la herramienta se utilizará una arquitectura orientada a servicios (SOA). Cada unidad funcional desplegará un servicio web proporcionando su funcionalidad al resto del laboratorio. SOA es esencial para la comunicación entre máquinas ya que permite la abstracción del tipo de máquina que se trate y como esté implementada su funcionalidad. La principal dificultad del TFG consiste en lidiar con las dificultades de integración y coordinación de las distintas unidades funcionales para poder gestionar adecuadamente el ciclo de vida de un experimento. Para ello se ha realizado un análisis de herramientas disponibles de software libre. Finalmente se ha escogido la plataforma Apache Camel como marco sobre el que crear la herramienta específica planteada en el TFG. Apache Camel juega un papel importantísimo en este proyecto, ya que establece las capas de conexión a los distintos servicios y encamina los mensajes oportunos a cada servicio basándose en el contenido del fichero de entrada. Para la preparación del prototipo se han desarrollado una serie de servicios web que permitirán realizar pruebas y demostraciones de concepto de la herramienta en sí. Además se ha desarrollado una versión preliminar de la aplicación web que utilizará el operador del laboratorio para gestionar las peticiones, decidiendo que protocolo se ejecuta a continuación y siguiendo el flujo de tareas del experimento.---ABSTRACT---The current TFG is bound by synthetic biology context (more specifically in the protocol automation) and represents an element of progression in this sector. It consists of a management platform for automated laboratories. The technological result will help the operator to coordinate the available machines in a lab, this way an experiment based on a synthetic biological protocol, could be executed. Nowadays, the biological experiments have a low success rate in conventional laboratories, due to the amount of external factors that intrude during the protocol. On top of it, these experiments are usually expensive and require of an operator monitoring at every phase of the protocol. The laboratories’ automation might mean an increase in the success rate, and also a reduction of costs and risks for the lab workers. The current approach is hoped to divide the different entities in a laboratory in functional units. Those will be the elements to be coordinated by the tool that results from this TFG. In order to provide flexibility to the system, a service-oriented architecture will be used (SOA). Every functional unit will deploy a web service, publishing its functionality to the rest of the lab. SOA is essential to facilitate the communication between machines, due to the fact that it provides an abstraction on the type of the machine and how its functionality is implemented. The main difficulty of this TFG consists on grappling with the integration and coordination problems, being able to manage successfully the lifecycle of an experiment. For that, a benchmark has been made on the available open source tools. Finally Apache Camel has been chosen as a framework over which the tool defined in the TFG will be created. Apache Camel plays a fundamental role in this project, given that it establishes the connection layers to the different services and routes the suitable messages to each service, based on the received file’s content. For the prototype development a number of services that will allow it to perform demonstrations and concept tests have been deployed. Furthermore a preliminary version of the webapp has been developed. It will allow the laboratory operator managing petitions, to decide what protocol goes next as it executes the flow of the experiment’s tasks.

Towards definition of the global biotechnology value chain using cases from Australian biotechnology SMEs

The generic pharmaceutical value chain model has been employed to describe both the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries till now. This research investigates the organisational value chain in Australian biotechnology companies in order to assess the appropriateness of the pharmaceutical value chain to small-and medium-sized biotechnology companies. The main theme of the research is: Can a generic model of the organisational value chain be defined for the biotechnology industry? Emanating from the literature, two research propositions were developed. RP1: there are eight major definable elements/activities of the organisational value chain for the biotechnology industry. RP2: Coverage of the elements in the biotechnology value chain ranges from focused to broad. A multiple case study methodology was used to explore these propositions. To develop a number of case studies, data was collected from senior managers of small and medium Australian biotechnology companies using an interview instrument, as well as from publicly available documentation and through observation. The results were analysed using cross-case comparisons. The results showed that an aggregation of the value chains of each organisation can be reduced to these eight definable elements that constitute the biotechnology value chain: basic research, applied research, development, verification and validation, prototype development, clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing. However, the findings also indicate that these major elements of the value chain need to be further reduced into sub-activities or sub-tasks to cater for the unique differences between biotechnology companies. Generally, the findings were consistent with the literature. However, a wider sampling, including international biotechnology organisations should be studied. The major contribution of this research is in the development of a value chain model, including general sub-tasks, for the Australian biotechnology industry.

Designing a mobile diet diary application with and for older adults with AMD:a case ctudy

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the UK’s leading cause of severe visual impairment amongst the elderly. It accounts for 16,000 blind/partial sight registrations per year and is the leading cause of blindness among people aged 55 years and older in western countries (Bressler, 2004). Our research aims to design and develop a self-monitoring, ability-reactive technology (SMART) for users with AMD to support their dietary-based AMD risk mitigation and progression retardation over time. In this paper, we reflect on our experience of adapting and applying a participatory design (PD) approach to support the effective design of our application with and for older adults with AMD. We introduce the outcome of a series of PD sessions with older adults with AMD - that is, a paper prototype of our proposed application which focuses on accessibility for our target users - and discuss implications for the eventual prototype development

Medisuite + Iplate Integration EAFIT & Ilimitada S.A.

Force plate or pressure plate analysis came as an innovative tool to biomechanics and sport medicine -- This allows engineers, scientists and doctors to virtually reconstruct the way a person steps while running or walking using a measuring system and a computer -- With this information they can calculate and analyze a whole set of variables and factors that characterize the step -- Then they are able to make corrections and/or optimizations, designing appropriate shoes and insoles for the patient -- The idea is to study and understand all the hardware and software implications of this process and all the components involved, and then propose an alternative solution -- This solution should have at least similar performance to existing systems -- It should increase the accuracy and/or the sampling frequency to obtain better results -- By the end, there should be a working prototype of a pressure measuring system and a mathematical model to govern it -- The costs of the system have to be lower than most of the systems in the market

Localização em espaços interiores por luz visível para robôs móveis

Esta dissertação investiga a localização em espaços interiores através da comunicação por luz visível para robôs móveis, com base nos LEDs fixos nos edifícios, dando particular atenção à simulação e desenho do sensor, com vista ao desenvolvimento de um sensor de localização. Explica-se o crescimento da tecnologia LED e da constante necessidade de localização do homem em espaços interiores. Apresentado algumas características do LED e dos foto-detetores existentes. Com uma breve referencia a algumas das comunicações por luz visível de baixo débito possíveis de implementar. O desenvolvimento do protótipo do sensor inicia-se, principalmente, pela simulação de alguns dispositivos essenciais e das suas caraterísticas, como o emissor LED no controlo do ^angulo de meia potência (HPA) e a altura a que se encontra, e no recetor foto-díodo e a sua restrição de campo de visão (FOV). Simula-se o sensor pretendido com o número de foto-díodos necessários otimizando o espaço físico disponível e fazendo não só um refinamento no FOV mas também na distribuição espacial dos foto-díodos com funções predefinidas para a redução de incertezas de decisão de localização do robô. Estes resultados permitiram a construção física do sensor, desde o suporte para os foto-díodos, tendo em conta todas as medidas durante as simulações, e terminando com o desenvolvimento dos sensores e a sua integração completa. O tratamento de dados da leitura dos sinais recebidos do sensor são tratados por um microcontrolador, permitindo calcular parâmetros fundamentais no cálculo da posição. No final, os resultados teóricos bem como os práticos obtidos ao longo do desenvolvimento e possíveis propostas para trabalhos futuros que beneficiam desta investigação