Research in computerized structural analysis and synthesis : research-in-progress papers presented at a symposium /

Incldues bibliographical references

IAS/RSX-11 I/O operations reference manual.

Includes index.

SymbolDesign: A User-centered Method to Design Pen-based Interfaces and Extend the Functionality of Pointer Input Devices

A method called "SymbolDesign" is proposed that can be used to design user-centered interfaces for pen-based input devices. It can also extend the functionality of pointer input devices such as the traditional computer mouse or the Camera Mouse, a camera-based computer interface. Users can create their own interfaces by choosing single-stroke movement patterns that are convenient to draw with the selected input device and by mapping them to a desired set of commands. A pattern could be the trace of a moving finger detected with the Camera Mouse or a symbol drawn with an optical pen. The core of the SymbolDesign system is a dynamically created classifier, in the current implementation an artificial neural network. The architecture of the neural network automatically adjusts according to the complexity of the classification task. In experiments, subjects used the SymbolDesign method to design and test the interfaces they created, for example, to browse the web. The experiments demonstrated good recognition accuracy and responsiveness of the user interfaces. The method provided an easily-designed and easily-used computer input mechanism for people without physical limitations, and, with some modifications, has the potential to become a computer access tool for people with severe paralysis.

The use of virtual prototyping to rehearse the sequence of construction work involving mobile cranes

Purpose – Rehearsing practical site operations is without doubt one of the most effective methods for minimising planning mistakes, because of the learning that takes place during the rehearsal activity. However, real rehearsal is not a practical solution for on-site construction activities, as it not only involves a considerable amount of cost but can also have adverse environmental implications. One approach to overcoming this is by the use of virtual rehearsals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate an approach to simulation of the motion of cranes in order to test the feasibility of associated construction sequencing and generate construction schedules for review and visualisation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes a system involving two technologies, virtual prototyping (VP) and four-dimensional (4D) simulation, to assist construction planners in testing the sequence of construction activities when mobile cranes are involved. The system consists of five modules, comprising input, database, equipment, process and output, and is capable of detecting potential collisions. A real-world trial is described in which the system was tested and validated. Findings – Feedback from the planners involved in the trial indicated that they found the system to be useful in its present form and that they would welcome its further development into a fully automated platform for validating construction sequencing decisions. Research limitations/implications – The tool has the potential to provide a cost-effective means of improving construction planning. However, it is limited at present to the specific case of crane movement under special consideration. Originality/value – This paper presents a large-scale, real life case of applying VP technology in planning construction processes and activities.

Nonvolatile multilevel data storage memory device from controlled ambipolar charge trapping mechanism

The capability of storing multi-bit information is one of the most important challenges in memory technologies. An ambipolar polymer which intrinsically has the ability to transport electrons and holes as a semiconducting layer provides an opportunity for the charge trapping layer to trap both electrons and holes efficiently. Here, we achieved large memory window and distinct multilevel data storage by utilizing the phenomena of ambipolar charge trapping mechanism. As fabricated flexible memory devices display five well-defined data levels with good endurance and retention properties showing potential application in printed electronics.

Slow light with a swept-frequency source.

ct: We introduce a new concept for stimulated-Brillouin-scattering-based slow light in optical fibers that is applicable for broadly-tunable frequency-swept sources. It allows slow light to be achieved, in principle, over the entire transparency window of the optical fiber. We demonstrate a slow light delay of 10 ns at 1.55 μm using a 10-m-long photonic crystal fiber with a source sweep rate of 400 MHz/μs and a pump power of 200 mW. We also show that there exists a maximal delay obtainable by this method, which is set by the SBS threshold, independent of sweep rate. For our fiber with optimum length, this maximum delay is ~38 ns, obtained for a pump power of 760 mW.

High-fidelity, broadband stimulated-Brillouin-scattering-based slow light using fast noise modulation.

We demonstrate a 5-GHz-broadband tunable slow-light device based on stimulated Brillouin scattering in a standard highly-nonlinear optical fiber pumped by a noise-current-modulated laser beam. The noisemodulation waveform uses an optimized pseudo-random distribution of the laser drive voltage to obtain an optimal flat-topped gain profile, which minimizes the pulse distortion and maximizes pulse delay for a given pump power. In comparison with a previous slow-modulation method, eye-diagram and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis show that this broadband slow-light technique significantly increases the fidelity of a delayed data sequence, while maintaining the delay performance. A fractional delay of 0.81 with a SNR of 5.2 is achieved at the pump power of 350 mW using a 2-km-long highly nonlinear fiber with the fast noise-modulation method, demonstrating a 50% increase in eye-opening and a 36% increase in SNR in the comparison.

Instrument independent diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy with a fiber optic probe is a powerful tool for quantitative tissue characterization and disease diagnosis. Significant systematic errors can arise in the measured reflectance spectra and thus in the derived tissue physiological and morphological parameters due to real-time instrument fluctuations. We demonstrate a novel fiber optic probe with real-time, self-calibration capability that can be used for UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in biological tissue in clinical settings. The probe is tested in a number of synthetic liquid phantoms over a wide range of tissue optical properties for significant variations in source intensity fluctuations caused by instrument warm up and day-to-day drift. While the accuracy for extraction of absorber concentrations is comparable to that achieved with the traditional calibration (with a reflectance standard), the accuracy for extraction of reduced scattering coefficients is significantly improved with the self-calibration probe compared to traditional calibration. This technology could be used to achieve instrument-independent diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in vivo and obviate the need for instrument warm up and post∕premeasurement calibration, thus saving up to an hour of precious clinical time.

Perception and haptics

For people with motion impairments, access to and independent control of a computer can be essential. Symptoms such as tremor and spasm, however, can make the typical keyboard and mouse arrangement for computer interaction difficult or even impossible to use. This paper describes three approaches to improving computer input effectivness for people with motion impairments. The three approaches are: (1) to increase the number of interaction channels, (2) to enhance commonly existing interaction channels, and (3) to make more effective use of all the available information in an existing input channel. Experiments in multimodal input, haptic feedback, user modelling, and cursor control are discussed in the context of the three approaches. A haptically enhanced keyboard emulator with perceptive capability is proposed, combining approaches in a way that improves computer access for motion impaired users.

Gestão verde de tecnologia da informação e comunicação: fatores que influenciam a sua adoção em grandes empresas usuárias no Brasil

A crescente utilização de recursos de informática e comunicação nas empresas, visando modernização, agilidade, redução de custos e outros, tem trazido diversos benefícios, mas tem também se tornado um enorme problema para o planeta. A quantidade de lixo eletrônico (e-waste) gerada pelos equipamentos de informática e comunicação tem dobrado a cada cinco anos, se tornando um dos principais focos de atenção nos últimos anos. O volume de lixo eletrônico gerado pelo descarte de equipamentos de informática e comunicação (TIC), já ultrapassa a marca de 50 milhões de toneladas por ano, o que equivale a oito vezes a produção total de resíduos da cidade de São Paulo. O mercado brasileiro total de eletrônicos é considerado o quinto do mundo, depois da China, Estados Unidos, Japão e Rússia. A produção total de lixo eletrônico no Brasil em 2011 foi de um milhão de toneladas e a parte referente a equipamentos de TIC foi estimada em 98 mil toneladas. Frente a este contexto este estudo visa contribuir para a expansão do conhecimento na gestão verde da cadeia de suprimentos (GSCM) aplicado à realidade empresarial brasileira de TIC. Especificamente pretende-se identificar quais fatores influenciam o processo de adoção e aplicação da gestão verde de TIC, em grandes empresas usuárias de TIC no Brasil, a partir dos modelos propostos por Molla (2008) e Molla e Coopers (2008). Desta forma buscou-se responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: quais fatores influenciam grandes empresas usuárias de tecnologia da informação e comunicação (TIC) no Brasil na adoção de conceitos de gestão de verde? Para isto, foi realizado estudo de caso em seis grandes empresas, todas lideres em seus setores, representando grandes áreas de serviços e manufatura. Como resultado final, foi proposto um novo modelo analítico, que pareceu mais adequado ao setor de serviços. O estudo também identificou que na gestão verde de TIC empresas manufatureiras tem prioridades diferentes das de serviço. Muitas vezes seus desafios operacionais são mais críticos em relação à sustentabilidade, que a gestão verde de TIC em si. Por outro lado, o estudo dos serviços prestados pelo setor público apesar dos grandes orçamentos anuais, apontou restrições quanto aos aspectos legais e deficiência de qualificação e capacitação de seus colaboradores como fatores limitantes para a implantação de programas de gestão verde mais abrangentes.

On Nonlinear Dynamics and Control of A Particular Portal Frame Foundation Model, Excited by a Non-Ideal Motor

The nonlinear dynamic response and a nonlinear control method of a particular portal frame foundation for an unbalanced rotating machine with limited power (non-ideal motor) are examined. Numerical simulations are performed for a set of control parameters (depending on the voltage of the motor) related to the static and dynamic characteristics of the motor. The interaction of the structure with the excitation source may lead to the occurrence of interesting phenomena during the forward passage through the several resonance states of the systems. A mathematical model having two degrees of freedom simplifies the non-ideal system. The study of controlling steady-state vibrations of the non-ideal system is based on the saturation phenomenon due to internal resonance.

Implementação de um sistema eletrônico para avaliar a distribuição da força na região plantar de pacientes

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica - FEIS

1992 census of manufactures.

Mode of access: Internet.

1987 census of manufactures.

Mode of access: Internet.