Implementing NX Remote Desktop technology in the LTSP system

This project focuses on studying and testing the benefits of the NX Remote Desktop technology in administrative use for Finnish Meteorological Institutes existing Linux Terminal Service Project environment. This was done due to the criticality of the system caused by growing number of users as the Linux Terminal Service Project system expands. Although many of the supporting tasks can be done via Secure Shell connection, testing graphical programs or desktop behaviour in such a way is impossible. At first basic technologies behind the NX Remote Desktop were studied, and after that started the testing of two possible programs, FreeNX and NoMachine NX server. Testing the functionality and bandwidth demands were first done in a closed local area network, and results were studied. The better candidate was then installed in a virtual server simulating actual Linux Terminal Service Project server at Finnish Meteorological Institute and connection from Internet was tested to see was there any problems with firewalls and security policies. The results are reported in this study. Studying and testing the two different candidates of NX Remote Desktop showed, that NoMachine NX Server provides better customer support and documentation. Security aspects of the Finnish Meteorological Institute had also to be considered, and since updates along with the new developing tools are announced in next version of the program, this version was the choice. Studies also show that even NoMachine promises a swift connection over an average of 20Kbit/s bandwidth, at least double of that is needed. This project gives an overview of available remote desktop products along their benefits. NX Remote Desktop technology is studied, and installation instructions are included. Testing is done in both, closed and the actual environment and problems and suggestions are studied and analyzed. The installation to the actual LTSP server is not yet made, but a virtual server is put up in the same place in the view of network topology. This ensures, that if the administrators are satisfied with the system, installation and setting up the system will go as described in this report.

Induction motor versus permanent magnet synchronous motor in motion control applications: a comparative study

High dynamic performance of an electric motor is a fundamental prerequisite in motion control applications, also known as servo drives. Recent developments in the field of microprocessors and power electronics have enabled faster and faster movements with an electric motor. In such a dynamically demanding application, the dimensioning of the motor differs substantially from the industrial motor design, where feasible characteristics of the motor are for example high efficiency, a high power factor, and a low price. In motion control instead, such characteristics as high overloading capability, high-speed operation, high torque density and low inertia are required. The thesis investigates how the dimensioning of a high-performance servomotor differs from the dimensioning of industrial motors. The two most common servomotor types are examined; an induction motor and apermanent magnet synchronous motor. The suitability of these two motor types indynamically demanding servo applications is assessed, and the design aspects that optimize the servo characteristics of the motors are analyzed. Operating characteristics of a high performance motor are studied, and some methods for improvements are suggested. The main focus is on the induction machine, which is frequently compared to the permanent magnet synchronous motor. A 4 kW prototype induction motor was designed and manufactured for the verification of the simulation results in the laboratory conditions. Also a dynamic simulation model for estimating the thermal behaviour of the induction motor in servo applications was constructed. The accuracy of the model was improved by coupling it with the electromagnetic motor model in order to take into account the variations in the motor electromagnetic characteristics due to the temperature rise.

The role of Bluetooth technology in transforming the value network of ICT industry

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää miten Bluetooth-teknologia voi vaikuttaa ICT-alan arvoverkkoon ja alan toimijoiden rooleihin. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin kvalitatiivisia menetelmiä ja siinä oli piirteitä tulevaisuuden tutkimuksesta, koska myös eksploratiivisia menetelmiä käytettiin. Tutkimus perustui laajalti kirjallisuuteen ja artikkeleihin, joiden perusteella muodostettiin skenaarioita ICT-alan tulevaisuuden arvoverkosta. Tutkimus sisälsi myös empiirisen osion, jossa järjestettiin kaksi ryhmäkeskustelua, joissa alan toimijat keskustelivat muodostetuista skenaarioista sekä yleisemmin Bluetoothin vaikutuksista arvoverkkoon. Tutkimuksen mukaan ICT-alan arvoverkko tulevaisuudessa on rakenteeltaan strateginen arvoverkko, jota johtaa eri toimija erilaisissa markkinatilanteissa. Verkon strateginen keskus voi muuttua ajan kuluessa kun Bluetoothin sovelluskohteet lisääntyvät ja se voi vaihdella markkina-alueesta toiseen. Bluetooth luo uuden kommunikaatiokanavan nykyisten rinnalle ja se voi paikallisesti korvata nykyisten kanavien käytön tiedon siirrossa. Bluetooth voi synnyttää lukuisia uusia liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia ja sen avulla voidaan tuottaa lisäarvopalveluita. Suurimpien muutosten voidaan olettaa koskevan teleoperaattoreiden ja sisällöntuottajien liiketoimintaa.

Control of permanent magnet linear synchronous motor in motion control applications

The aim of the thesis is to study the principles of the permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (PMLSM) and to develop a simulator model of direct force controlled PMLSM. The basic motor model is described by the traditional two-axis equations. The end effects, cogging force and friction model are also included into the final motor model. Direct thrust force control of PMLSM is described and modelled. The full system model is proven by comparison with the data provided by the motor manufacturer.

Commercializing technology in transitional economies. Case: Nanotechnology in Russia

The aim of the study is to find out “What are the challenges to overcome for the successful nanotechnology commercialization in Russia?” Working closely with the case country was definitely an advantage when it comes to the understanding of the research subject. The thesis is divided to two parts: first part examines the concept of technology commercialization and identifies unique aspects of the process in context of nanotechnology. Second part is dedicated to an empirical research, investigating current status of nanotechnology commercialization in Russia. For the purpose of this study, Russian and international scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, industry and government representatives were interviewed systematically during 2007 – 2009. Based on the research done it can be concluded that immense public funding provides necessary support for the development of Russian nanotechnology industry. However, investments alone do not address important structural shortcomings of a national innovation system, which in turn slow down the progress. Taking into consideration gap between science and business and challenging IPR legislation, expected significant economic impact in Russia may be overestimated. Nevertheless it should be noted that development of nanotechnology is advancing rapidly and therefore, the state of commercialization is changing accordingly, even while this lines are written.

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN CREATING SUSTAINABILITY VALUE FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN 2020 : a scenario planning approach

The growing importance of global sustainability issues has been causing many changes to the financial services industry. Facts such as climate change, social development and the financial crisis in 2008 have been making banks reconsider the manner that they consider environmental, social and economic factors in their decision-making process. At the same time, information technology (IT) has been transforming the financial service industry and its fast development has casted doubts on the way it should be managed within an organization. This current changing environment brings a number of uncertainties to the future that cannot be addressed using traditional forecasting techniques. This research investigates how IT can bring value to sustainability in the financial service industry in 2020. Through the use of a scenario planning technique, we analyzed how trends in the current environment (considering the relation between sustainability, financial institutions an IT) can lead to four different future scenarios. Then, we discussed how IT can improve a bank’s sustainability performance, considering the limitations of each scenario.

Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence Detection Technology in Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Control of the world-wide spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been unsuccessful in most developed countries. A few countries have been able to maintain a low MRSA prevalence, plausibly due to their strict MRSA control policies. Such policies require wide-scale screening of patients with suspected MRSA colonization, in order to nurse the MRSA-positive patients in contact isolation. The aim of this study was to develop and introduce a 2-photon excited fluorescence detection (TPX) technique for screening of MRSA directly from clinical samples. The assay principle involves specific online immunometric monitoring of S. aureus growth under selective antibiotic pressure. After the novel TPX approach had been set up, its applicability for the detection of MRSA was evaluated using a large MRSA collection including practically all epidemic MRSA strains identified in Finland between 1991 and 2009. The TPX assay was found both sensitive (97.9%) and specific (94.1%) in this epidemiological setting, illustrating that the method is tolerant to wide biological variation as well as to environments with rapidly emerging MRSA strains. When MRSA was screened directly from colonization samples, all patients positive for MRSA by conventional methods were positive also by the TPX assay. The assay capacity was 48 samples per a test run, and the median time required for confirmation of a true-positive screening test result was 3 h 26 min. Collectively, the findings presented in this thesis suggest that the TPX MRSA screening assay could be applicable for direct screening of MRSA colonization samples without any prior steps of isolation. This can potentially mean that contact isolation of suspected carriers testing negative could be discontinued earlier, thereby reducing the costs and burden associated with the containment of MRSA. In case of infection, a positive test result would ensure an early onset of effective therapy.

What are the opportunities and challenges of cloud computing technology in the healthcare information systems

This thesis discusses the opportunities and challenges of the cloud computing technology in healthcare information systems by reviewing the existing literature on cloud computing and healthcare information system and the impact of cloud computing technology to healthcare industry. The review shows that if problems related to security of data are solved then cloud computing will positively transform the healthcare institutions by giving advantage to the healthcare IT infrastructure as well as improving and giving benefit to healthcare services. Therefore, this thesis will explore the opportunities and challenges that are associated with cloud computing in the context of Finland in order to help the healthcare organizations and stakeholders to determine its direction when it decides to adopt cloud technology on their information systems.

Bridging the digital divide in developing countries: The role of mobile technology in bridging the digital divide

This thesis investigates how mobile technology usage could help to bring Information and communication technologies (ICT) to the people in developing countries. Some people in developing countries have access to use ICT while other people do not have such opportunity. This digital divide among people is present in many developing countries where computers and the Internet are difficult to access. The Internet provides information that can increase productivity and enable markets to function more efficiently. The Internet reduces information travel time and provides more efficient ways for firms and workers to operate. ICT and the Internet can provide opportunities for economic growth and productivity in developing countries. This indicates that it is very important to bridge the digital divide and increase Internet connections in developing countries. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how can mobile technology and mobile services help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries. Theoretical background of this thesis consists of a collection of articles and reports. Theoretical material was gathered by going through literature on the digital divide, mobile technology and mobile application development. The empirical research was conducted by sending a questionnaire by email to a selection of application developers located in developing countries. The questionnaire’s purpose was to gather qualitative information concerning mobile application development in developing countries. This thesis main result suggests that mobile phones and mobile technology usage can help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries. This study finds that mobile technology provides one of the best tools that can help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries. Mobile technology can bring affordable ICT to people who do not have access to use computers. Smartphones can provide Internet connection, mobile services and mobile applications to a rapidly growing number of mobile phone users in developing countries. New low-cost smartphones empower people in developing countries to have access to information through the Internet. Mobile technology has the potential to help to bridge the digital divide in developing countries where a vast amount of people own mobile phones.

The radio frequency identification technology in the supply chain management: a case of a big logistics company

Nowadays global business trends force the adoption of innovative ICTs into the supply chain management (SCM). Particularly, the RFID technology is on high demand among SCM professionals due to its business advantages such as improving of accuracy and veloc-ity of SCM processes which lead to decrease of operational costs. Nevertheless, a question of the RFID technology impact on the efficiency of warehouse processes in the SCM re-mains open. The goal of the present study is to experiment the possibility of improvement order picking velocity in a warehouse of a big logistics company with the use of the RFID technology. In order to achieve this goal the following objectives have been developed: 1) Defining the scope of the RFID technology applications in the SCM; 2) Justification of the RFID technology impact on the SCM processes; 3) Defining a place of the warehouse order picking process in the SCM; 4) Identification and systematization of existing meth-ods of order picking velocity improvement; 5) Choosing of the study object and gathering of the empirical data about number of orders, number of hours spent per each order line daily during 5 months; 6) Processing and analysis of the empirical data; 7) Conclusion about the impact of the RFID technology on the speed of order picking process. As a result of the research it has been found that the speed of the order picking processes has not been changed as time has gone after the RFID adoption. It has been concluded that in order to achieve a positive effect in the speed of order picking process with the use of the RFID technology it is necessary to simultaneously implement changes in logistics and organizational management in 3PL logistics companies. Practical recommendations have been forwarded to the management of the company for further investigation and procedure.

Utilization of AMI-Technology in a Multilayered Demand Response Service Environment

This thesis studied the performance of Advanced metering infrastructure systems in a challenging Demand Response environment. The aim was to find out what kind of challenges and bottlenecks could be met when utilizing AMI-systems in challenging Demand Response tasks. To find out the challenges and bottlenecks, a multilayered demand response service concept was formed. The service consists of seven different market layers which consist of Nordic electricity market and the reserve markets of Fingrid. In the simulations the AMI-systems were benchmarked against these seven market layers. It was found out, that the current generation AMI-systems were capable of delivering Demand Response on the most challenging market layers, when observed from time critical viewpoint. Additionally, it was found out, that to enable wide scale Demand Response there are three major challenges to be acknowledged. The challenges hindering the utilization of wide scale Demand Response were related to poor standardization of the systems in use, possible problems in data connectivity solutions and the current electricity market regulation model.

A Template for Cloud Technology Deployment in an Energy Trading Environment

Nykyaikaiset pilvipalvelut tarjoavat suurille yrityksille mahdollisuuden tehostaa laskennallista tietojenkäsittelyä. Pilvipalveluiden käyttöönotto tuo mukanaan kuitenkin esimerkiksi useita tietoturvakysymyksiä, joiden vuoksi käyttöönoton tulee olla tarkasti suunniteltua. Tämä tutkimus esittelee kirjallisuuskatsaukseen perustuvan, asteittaisen suunnitelman pilvipalveluiden käyttöönotolle energialiiketoimintaympäristössä. Kohdeyrityksen sisäiset haastattelut ja katsaus nykyisiin energiateollisuuden pilviratkaisuihin muodostavat kokonaiskuvan käyttöönoton haasteista ja mahdollisuuksista. Tutkimuksen päätavoitteena on esittää ratkaisut tyypillisiin pilvipalvelun käyttöönotossa esiintyviin ongelmiin käyttöönottomallin avulla. Tutkimuksessa rakennettu käyttöönottomalli testattiin esimerkkitapauksen avulla ja malli todettiin toimivaksi. Ulkoisten palveluiden herättämien tietoturvakysymysten takia käyttöönoton ensimmäiset osiot, kuten lopputuotteen määrittely ja huolellinen suunnittelu, ovat koko käyttöönottoprosessin ydin. Lisäksi pilvipalveluiden käyttöönotto vaatii nykyiseltä käyttöympäristöltä uusia teknisiä ja hallinnollisia taitoja. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat pilvipalveluiden monipuolisen hyödyn erityisesti laskentatehon tarpeen vaihdellessa. Käyttöönottomallin rinnalle luotu kustannusvertailu tukee kirjallisuuskatsauksessa esille tuotuja hyötyjä ja tarjoaa kohdeyritykselle perusteen tutkimuksen eteenpäin viemiselle.

Suitability of LiDAR technology for forest inventory in Russia

LiDAR is an advanced remote sensing technology with many applications, including forest inventory. The most common type is ALS (airborne laser scanning). The method is successfully utilized in many developed markets, where it is replacing traditional forest inventory methods. However, it is innovative for Russian market, where traditional field inventory dominates. ArboLiDAR is a forest inventory solution that engages LiDAR, color infrared imagery, GPS ground control plots and field sample plots, developed by Arbonaut Ltd. This study is an industrial market research for LiDAR technology in Russia focused on customer needs. Russian forestry market is very attractive, because of large growing stock volumes. It underwent drastic changes in 2006, but it is still in transitional stage. There are several types of forest inventory, both with public and private funding. Private forestry enterprises basically need forest inventory in two cases – while making coupe demarcation before timber harvesting and as a part of forest management planning, that is supposed to be done every ten years on the whole leased territory. The study covered 14 companies in total that include private forestry companies with timber harvesting activities, private forest inventory providers, state subordinate companies and forestry software developer. The research strategy is multiple case studies with semi-structured interviews as the main data collection technique. The study focuses on North-West Russia, as it is the most developed Russian region in forestry. The research applies the Voice of the Customer (VOC) concept to elicit customer needs of Russian forestry actors and discovers how these needs are met. It studies forest inventory methods currently applied in Russia and proposes the model of method comparison, based on Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach, mainly on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Required product attributes are classified in accordance with Kano model. The answer about suitability of LiDAR technology is ambiguous, since many details should be taken into account.