iServe:a serious game for servitization

Servitization concerns the process of manufacturers shifting from a focus on producing and selling tangible goods to service-based business models. Factors that drive adoption of servitization are financial, strategic (competitive advantage) and marketing. However, uptake is slow and active efforts are being made to transfer knowledge about servitization to the manufacturing sector. This paper presents early results from the first test of a serious computer game which has the goal of educating managers about what advanced services are and how they fit in supply chains. Results suggest the role-play scenario tested is appropriate for an audience of largely non-expert gamers, and that the approach has the potential to instruct users about the role of services in the supply chain.

Children's attentional skills and road behavior

Switching attention and concentration, 2 skills expected to be used by skillful pedestrians, were studied. A sample of 160 children (aged 4 years 3 months-10 years) played a computer game involving attention switching. To examine concentration, a subset of the children was distracted with a cartoon video while they attempted a difficult task that required matching familiar figures. The same subset was also observed crossing roads. Older children switched faster and were less distracted. Children who were better at switching were more likely to show awareness of traffic when about to cross a road. Children who maintained concentration when challenged by a distracting event crossed the road in a less reckless manner. Parents and educators designing safety programs should take into account the development of these skills.

Computer control of machines utilising independent drive mechanisms

The thesis describes an investigation into methods for the specification, design and implementation of computer control systems for flexible manufacturing machines comprising multiple, independent, electromechanically-driven mechanisms. An analysis is made of the elements of conventional mechanically-coupled machines in order that the operational functions of these elements may be identified. This analysis is used to define the scope of requirements necessary to specify the format, function and operation of a flexible, independently driven mechanism machine. A discussion of how this type of machine can accommodate modern manufacturing needs of high-speed and flexibility is presented. A sequential method of capturing requirements for such machines is detailed based on a hierarchical partitioning of machine requirements from product to independent drive mechanism. A classification of mechanisms using notations, including Data flow diagrams and Petri-nets, is described which supports capture and allows validation of requirements. A generic design for a modular, IDM machine controller is derived based upon hierarchy of control identified in these machines. A two mechanism experimental machine is detailed which is used to demonstrate the application of the specification, design and implementation techniques. A computer controller prototype and a fully flexible implementation for the IDM machine, based on Petri-net models described using the concurrent programming language Occam, is detailed. The ability of this modular computer controller to support flexible, safe and fault-tolerant operation of the two intermittent motion, discrete-synchronisation independent drive mechanisms is presented. The application of the machine development methodology to industrial projects is established.

An investigation into the use of knowledge representation in computer-integrated manufacturing

In a certain automobile factory, batch-painting of the body types in colours is controlled by an allocation system. This tries to balance production with orders, whilst making optimally-sized batches of colours. Sequences of cars entering painting cannot be optimised for easy selection of colour and batch size. `Over-production' is not allowed, in order to reduce buffer stocks of unsold vehicles. Paint quality is degraded by random effects. This thesis describes a toolkit which supports IKBS in an object-centred formalism. The intended domain of use for the toolkit is flexible manufacturing. A sizeable application program was developed, using the toolkit, to test the validity of the IKBS approach in solving the real manufacturing problem above, for which an existing conventional program was already being used. A detailed statistical analysis of the operating circumstances of the program was made to evaluate the likely need for the more flexible type of program for which the toolkit was intended. The IKBS program captures the many disparate and conflicting constraints in the scheduling knowledge and emulates the behaviour of the program installed in the factory. In the factory system, many possible, newly-discovered, heuristics would be awkward to represent and it would be impossible to make many new extensions. The representation scheme is capable of admitting changes to the knowledge, relying on the inherent encapsulating properties of object-centres programming to protect and isolate data. The object-centred scheme is supported by an enhancement of the `C' programming language and runs under BSD 4.2 UNIX. The structuring technique, using objects, provides a mechanism for separating control of expression of rule-based knowledge from the knowledge itself and allowing explicit `contexts', within which appropriate expression of knowledge can be done. Facilities are provided for acquisition of knowledge in a consistent manner.

Combining data driven programming with component based software development:with applications in geovisualisation and dynamic data driven application systems

Software development methodologies are becoming increasingly abstract, progressing from low level assembly and implementation languages such as C and Ada, to component based approaches that can be used to assemble applications using technologies such as JavaBeans and the .NET framework. Meanwhile, model driven approaches emphasise the role of higher level models and notations, and embody a process of automatically deriving lower level representations and concrete software implementations. The relationship between data and software is also evolving. Modern data formats are becoming increasingly standardised, open and empowered in order to support a growing need to share data in both academia and industry. Many contemporary data formats, most notably those based on XML, are self-describing, able to specify valid data structure and content, and can also describe data manipulations and transformations. Furthermore, while applications of the past have made extensive use of data, the runtime behaviour of future applications may be driven by data, as demonstrated by the field of dynamic data driven application systems. The combination of empowered data formats and high level software development methodologies forms the basis of modern game development technologies, which drive software capabilities and runtime behaviour using empowered data formats describing game content. While low level libraries provide optimised runtime execution, content data is used to drive a wide variety of interactive and immersive experiences. This thesis describes the Fluid project, which combines component based software development and game development technologies in order to define novel component technologies for the description of data driven component based applications. The thesis makes explicit contributions to the fields of component based software development and visualisation of spatiotemporal scenes, and also describes potential implications for game development technologies. The thesis also proposes a number of developments in dynamic data driven application systems in order to further empower the role of data in this field.

Computer automation of land evaluation procedures

This study was concerned with the computer automation of land evaluation. This is a broad subject with many issues to be resolved, so the study concentrated on three key problems: knowledge based programming; the integration of spatial information from remote sensing and other sources; and the inclusion of socio-economic information into the land evaluation analysis. Land evaluation and land use planning were considered in the context of overseas projects in the developing world. Knowledge based systems were found to provide significant advantages over conventional programming techniques for some aspects of the land evaluation process. Declarative languages, in particular Prolog, were ideally suited to integration of social information which changes with every situation. Rule-based expert system shells were also found to be suitable for this role, including knowledge acquisition at the interview stage. All the expert system shells examined suffered from very limited constraints to problem size, but new products now overcome this. Inductive expert system shells were useful as a guide to knowledge gaps and possible relationships, but the number of examples required was unrealistic for typical land use planning situations. The accuracy of classified satellite imagery was significantly enhanced by integrating spatial information on soil distribution for Thailand data. Estimates of the rice producing area were substantially improved (30% change in area) by the addition of soil information. Image processing work on Mozambique showed that satellite remote sensing was a useful tool in stratifying vegetation cover at provincial level to identify key development areas, but its full utility could not be realised on typical planning projects, without treatment as part of a complete spatial information system.

Comparing interaction techniques for serious games through brain-computer interfaces:a user perception evaluation study

This paper examines the application of commercial and non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG)-based brain-computer (BCIs) interfaces with serious games. Two different EEG-based BCI devices were used to fully control the same serious game. The first device (NeuroSky MindSet) uses only a single dry electrode and requires no calibration. The second device (Emotiv EPOC) uses 14 wet sensors requiring additional training of a classifier. User testing was performed on both devices with sixty-two participants measuring the player experience as well as key aspects of serious games, primarily learnability, satisfaction, performance and effort. Recorded feedback indicates that the current state of BCIs can be used in the future as alternative game interfaces after familiarisation and in some cases calibration. Comparative analysis showed significant differences between the two devices. The first device provides more satisfaction to the players whereas the second device is more effective in terms of adaptation and interaction with the serious game.

How do practitioners understand? Practitioner perceptions of an object-oriented programming.

In the computer science community, there is considerable debate about the appropriate sequence for introducing object-oriented concepts to novice programmers. Research into novice programming has struggled to identify the critical aspects that would provide a consistently successful approach to teaching introductory object-oriented programming. Starting from the premise that the conceptions of a task determine the type of output from the task, assisting novice programmers to become aware of what the required output should be, may lay a foundation for improving learning. This study adopted a phenomenographic approach. Thirty one practitioners were interviewed about the ways in which they experience object-oriented programming and categories of description and critical aspects were identified. These critical aspects were then used to examine the spaces of learning provided in twenty introductory textbooks. The study uncovered critical aspects that related to the way that practitioners expressed their understanding of an object-oriented program and the influences on their approach to designing programs. The study of the textbooks revealed a large variability in the cover of these critical aspects.