Area-delay Trade-offs of Texture Decompressors for a Graphics Processing Unit

Graphics Processing Units have become a booster for the microelectronics industry. However, due to intellectual property issues, there is a serious lack of information on implementation details of the hardware architecture that is behind GPUs. For instance, the way texture is handled and decompressed in a GPU to reduce bandwidth usage has never been dealt with in depth from a hardware point of view. This work addresses a comparative study on the hardware implementation of di���erent texture decompression algorithms for both conventional (PCs and video game consoles) and mobile platforms. Circuit synthesis is performed targeting both a recon���gurable hardware platform and a 90nm standard cell library. Area-delay trade-o���s have been extensively analyzed, which allows us to compare the complexity of decompressors and thus determine suitability of algorithms for systems with limited hardware resources.

Herramientas de programaci��n multimedia en IOS y Android

En este proyecto se realiza un estudio sobre herramientas que facilitan la creaci��n y distribuci��n de aplicaciones en distintas plataformas m��viles, con el fin de poder seleccionar la herramienta m��s apropiada en funci��n del proyecto a desarrollar. Previo al estudio de las herramientas para el desarrollo en plataformas m��ltiples se realiza un estudio de las herramientas y metodolog��as que facilitan los propietarios de los entornos IOS y Android. Este estudio previo permitir�� al lector conocer en m��s detalle las particularidades de cada uno de estos dos entornos, as�� como las pautas y buenas pr��cticas a seguir en el desarrollo de aplicaciones para dispositivos m��viles. Una vez finalizado el estudio, el lector sabr�� escoger una herramienta de desarrollo adaptada a cada proyecto en funci��n de su objeto, los recursos disponibles y las habilidades de los miembros del equipo de desarrollo. Adicionalmente al estudio, y como ejemplo de aplicaci��n, en el proyecto se realiza un caso pr��ctico de selecci��n de herramienta y aplicaci��n de la herramienta seleccionada a un proyecto de desarrollo concreto. El caso pr��ctico consiste en la creaci��n de un entorno que permite generar aplicaciones para la visualizaci��n de apuntes. Las aplicaciones permitir��n ver contenidos de tipo multimedia como ficheros de texto, sonidos, im��genes, v��deos y enlaces a contenidos externos. Adem��s estas aplicaciones se generar��n sin que el autor de las mismas tenga que modificar alguna de las l��neas del c��digo. Para ello, se han definido una serie de ficheros de configuraci��n en los que el autor de la aplicaci��n deber�� indicar los contenidos a mostrar y su ubicaci��n. Se han seleccionado recursos de tipo ���c��digo abierto��� para el desarrollo del caso pr��ctico, con el fin de evitar los costes asociados a las posibles licencias. El equipo de desarrollo del caso pr��ctico estar�� formado ��nicamente por el autor de este proyecto de fin de grado, lo que hace del caso de estudio un desarrollo sencillo, de manera que su futuro mantenimiento y escalabilidad no deber��an verse afectados por la necesidad de contar con equipos de desarrolladores con conocimientos espec��ficos o complejos. ABSTRACT. This document contains a study of tools that ease the creation and the distribution of the applications through different mobile platforms. The objective o this document is to allow the selection of the most appropriate tool, depending on the development objectives. Previous to this study about the tools for developing on multiple platforms, a study of IOS and Android tools and their methodologies is included on this document. This previous analysis will allow the reader to know in more detail the peculiarities of each of these environments, together with theirs requirements and the best practices of the applications development for mobile devices. By the end of this document the reader would be able to choose the adequate development tool for a project depending of its objective, its available resources and the developers team���s capabilities. Beside this study and as example of case study this final project includes a practical case of tool selection and its application to a specific development. The case study consists in the creation of an environment that allows generating applications to visualise notes. These applications will allow seeing contents of multimedia type such as: text files, sounds, images, videos, and links to external content. Furthermore these applications will be generated without their author having to modify any line of code, because a group of configuration files will be defined for such purpose. The author of the application only has to update this configuration with the content to show by the application and its location. The selected resources for the case study were of the type ���open source��� in order to avoid the cost associated to the potential licenses. The developers��� team for this case study has only one member, the author of this final project document and practical case developer. As a result the case study is a very simple development in a way that the future potential maintenance and scalability should not depend on the necessity of a highly qualified developers��� teams with a very specific knowledge on mobile platforms development.

Explotaci��n de servicios de la Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales de Espa��a (IDEE) en dispositivos m��viles

En los ��ltimos a��os el n��mero de dispositivos m��viles y smartphones ha aumentado dr��sticamente, as�� como el n��mero de aplicaciones destinadas a estos. Los desarrolladores siempre se han visto frenados en la creaci��n de estas aplicaciones debido a la complejidad que supone la diversidad de sistemas operativos (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc), que utilizan lenguajes de programaci��n diferentes, haciendo que, para poder desarrollar una aplicaci��n que funcione en estas plataformas, en verdad haya que implementar una aplicaci��n independiente para cada una de las plataformas. Para solucionar este problema han surgido frameworks, como Appcelerator Titanium, que permiten escribir una sola vez la aplicaci��n y compilarla para las diferentes plataformas m��viles objetivo. Sin embargo, estos frameworks est��n a��n en estado muy temprano de desarrollo, por lo que no resuelven toda la problem��tica ni dan una respuesta completa a los desarrolladores. El objetivo de este Trabajo de Fin de Grado ha sido contribuir a la evoluci��n de estos frameworks mediante la creaci��n de un m��dulo para Appcelerator Titanium que permita construir de manera ��gil aplicaciones multiplataforma que hagan uso de visualizadores de informaci��n geogr��fica. Para ello se propone el desarrollo de un m��dulo de mapa con soporte para capas WMS, rutas y pol��gonos en WKT, KML y GeoJSON. Se facilitar�� adem��s que estas aplicaciones puedan acceder a capacidades del hardware como la br��jula y el GPS para realizar un seguimiento de la localizaci��n, a la vez que se hace uso de la aceleraci��n por el hardware subyacente para mejorar la velocidad y fluidez de la informaci��n visualizada en el mapa. A partir de este m��dulo se ha creado una aplicaci��n que hace uso de todas sus caracter��sticas y posteriormente se ha migrado a la plataforma Wirecloud4Tablet como componente nativo que puede integrarse con otros componentes web (widgets) mediante t��cnicas de mashup. Gracias a esto se ha podido fusionar por un lado todas las ventajas que ofrece Wirecloud para el r��pido desarrollo de aplicaciones sin necesidad de tener conocimientos de programaci��n, junto con las ventajas que ofrecen las aplicaciones nativas en cuanto a rendimiento y caracter��sticas extras. Usando los resultados de este proyecto, se pueden crear de manera ��gil aplicaciones composicionales nativas multiplataforma que hagan uso de visualizaci��n de informaci��n geogr��fica; es decir, se pueden crear aplicaciones en pocos minutos y sin conocimientos de programaci��n que pueden ejecutar diferentes componentes (como el mapa) de manera nativa en m��ltiples plataformas. Se facilita tambi��n la integraci��n de componentes nativos (como es el mapa desarrollado) con otros componentes web (widgets) en un mashup que puede visualizarse en dispositivos m��viles mediante la plataforma Wirecloud. ---ABSTRACT---In recent years the number of mobile devices and smartphones has increased dramatically as well as the number of applications targeted at them. Developers always have been slowed in the creation of these applications due to the complexity caused by the diversity of operating systems (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc), each of them using different programming languages, so that, in order to develop an application that works on these platforms, the developer really has to implement a different application for each platform. To solve this problem frameworks such as Appcelerator Titanium have emerged, allowing developers to write the application once and to compile it for different target mobile platforms. However, these frameworks are still in very early stage of development, so they do not solve all the difficulties nor give a complete solution to the developers. The objective of this final year dissertation is to contribute to the evolution of these frameworks by creating a module for Appcelerator Titanium that permits to nimbly build multi-platform applications that make use of geographical information visualization. To this end, the development of a map module with support for WMS layers, paths, and polygons in WKT, KML, and GeoJSON is proposed. This module will also facilitate these applications to access hardware capabilities such as GPS and compass to track the location, while it makes use of the underlying hardware acceleration to improve the speed and fluidity of the information displayed on the map. Based on this module, it has been created an application that makes use of all its features and subsequently it has been migrated to the platform Wirecloud4Tablet as a native component that can be integrated with other web components (widgets) using mashup techniques. As a result, it has been fused on one side all the advantages Wirecloud provides for fast application development without the need of programming skills, along with the advantages of native apps, such as performance and extra features. Using the results of this project, compositional platform native applications that make use of geographical information visualization can be created in an agile way; ie, in a few minutes and without having programming skills, a developer could create applications that can run different components (like the map) natively on multiple platforms. It also facilitates the integration of native components (like the map) with other web components (widgets) in a mashup that can be displayed on mobile devices through the Wirecloud platform.

Aplicaci��n m��vil multiplataforma para el aprendizaje de lenguajes de programaci��n. Caso pr��ctico con Swift

En este proyecto se ha estudiado el abanico de posibilidades que las plataformas web y m��viles ofrecen para aprender lenguajes de programaci��n compilados. A continuaci��n, se ha realizado el dise��o y la implementaci��n de una plataforma para el aprendizaje de lenguajes de programaci��n desde dispositivos m��viles, con posibilidad de compilaci��n remota desde la aplicaci��n desarrollada, analizando el proceso y las elecciones de desarrollo tomadas. As��, se ha desarrollado una app mediante la plataforma de desarrollo Cordova, que puede ser distribuida para todas las plataformas m��viles que esta soporta, incluyendo las m��s populares: iOS y Android. Para la parte servidora se ha utilizado un servidor Apache (PHP) y el sistema NoSQL MongoDB para la base de datos. Para mayor facilidad en la gesti��n del contenido de la app, se ha desarrollado en paralelo un gestor web de la base de datos, el cual permite a��adir, editar y eliminar contenido de la misma a trav��s de una interfaz agradable y funcional. ABSTRACT. In this project I have studied the range of possibilities that web and mobile platforms offer to learn compiled programming languages. Next, I have designed and implemented a platform for learning programming languages from mobile devices, giving the possibility of remote compilation within the developed application. In this terms, I have developed an app with the Cordova development platform, which can be distributed for all the mobile platforms Cordova supports, including the most popular ones: iOS and Android. For the server part, I have used an Apache (PHP) server and the NoSQL database system MongoDB. In order to offer a more usable system and a better database management, I have also developed a web manager for the database, from which database content can be added, edited and removed, through a clear and functional interface.

El consumo tradicional de los nuevos medios. An��lisis de la usabilidad de las publicaciones aut��ctonas para tableta en el contexto universitario espa��ol y brasile��o

Esta investigaci��n aborda el consumo que los j��venes universitarios de Espa��a y Brasil realizan de las publicaciones para tabletas. A trav��s del estudio de seis casos ���las revistas espa��olas Don, Vis��Vis y Quality Sport, y los vespertinos brasile��os O Globo a Mais, de R��o de Janeiro; Estad��o Noite, de Sao Paulo; y Di��rio do Nordeste Plus, de Fortaleza��� se aplica una metodolog��a cualitativa, el test de usabilidad, para detectar qu�� aspectos ralentizan y entorpecen la navegaci��n en las nuevas generaciones de usuarios de medios m��viles. A pesar de la influencia de las revistas impresas en la configuraci��n de las publicaciones para tableta, los datos muestran que el usuario necesita ���entrenarse��� para conocer unas opciones de interacci��n a veces poco intuitivas o para las que carece de la madurez visual necesaria. Por ello las publicaciones m��s sencillas obtienen los mejores resultados de usabilidad.

Objective Methods for Characterizing Physical Exposures which may contribute to Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Agricultural Workers

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Personalised TV ads are the future ��� but is it time to panic?

TV Advertising is evolving quickly. This article examines how the popularity of viewing content on mobile platforms is changing the way we advertise. VOD and OTT media services have meant that advertisers can now automate and personalise their TV advertising. It's having a significant impact on the UK TV business model.

CONCURRENT LOCALIZATION AND MAPPING WITH SONAR SENSORS AND CONSIDERATION OF VEHICLE MOTION

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is a procedure used to determine the location of a mobile vehicle in an unknown environment, while constructing a map of the unknown environment at the same time. Mobile platforms, which make use of SLAM algorithms, have industrial applications in autonomous maintenance, such as the inspection of flaws and defects in oil pipelines and storage tanks. A typical SLAM consists of four main components, namely, experimental setup (data gathering), vehicle pose estimation, feature extraction, and filtering. Feature extraction is the process of realizing significant features from the unknown environment such as corners, edges, walls, and interior features. In this work, an original feature extraction algorithm specific to distance measurements obtained through SONAR sensor data is presented. This algorithm has been constructed by combining the SONAR Salient Feature Extraction Algorithm and the Triangulation Hough Based Fusion with point-in-polygon detection. The reconstructed maps obtained through simulations and experimental data with the fusion algorithm are compared to the maps obtained with existing feature extraction algorithms. Based on the results obtained, it is suggested that the proposed algorithm can be employed as an option for data obtained from SONAR sensors in environment, where other forms of sensing are not viable. The algorithm fusion for feature extraction requires the vehicle pose estimation as an input, which is obtained from a vehicle pose estimation model. For the vehicle pose estimation, the author uses sensor integration to estimate the pose of the mobile vehicle. Different combinations of these sensors are studied (e.g., encoder, gyroscope, or encoder and gyroscope). The different sensor fusion techniques for the pose estimation are experimentally studied and compared. The vehicle pose estimation model, which produces the least amount of error, is used to generate inputs for the feature extraction algorithm fusion. In the experimental studies, two different environmental configurations are used, one without interior features and another one with two interior features. Numerical and experimental findings are discussed. Finally, the SLAM algorithm is implemented along with the algorithms for feature extraction and vehicle pose estimation. Three different cases are experimentally studied, with the floor of the environment intentionally altered to induce slipping. Results obtained for implementations with and without SLAM are compared and discussed. The present work represents a step towards the realization of autonomous inspection platforms for performing concurrent localization and mapping in harsh environments.

HTML5 no contexto de desenvolvimento e implementa����o de plataformas m��veis com interfaces t��cteis

Disserta����o apresentada ao Instituto Polit��cnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necess��rios �� obten����o do grau de Mestre em Desenvolvimento de Software e Sistemas Interativos, realizada sob a orienta����o cient��fica do Doutor Pedro Nuno Moreira da Silva, Professor Adjunto da Unidade T��cnico-Cient��fica de Inform��tica do Departamento da Escola Superior de Tecnologia do Instituto Polit��cnico de Castelo Branco.

Portveb.com : um site para programadores e webdesigners

As exig��ncias da sociedade atual obrigam a mudan��as tecnol��gicas cada vez mais r��pidas e constantes para satisfazer as necessidades empresariais, especialmente no que concerne �� transmiss��o de informa����es de forma cada vez mais r��pidas, mas sempre mantendo um elevado padr��o de qualidade de conte��dos, bem como n��veis de seguran��a elevados para impedir que os mesmos sejam corrompidos. Desde o aparecimento da Internet que a informa����o circula de forma cada vez mais veloz, em maiores quantidades e alcan��a cada vez mais pessoas. No entanto, nem todas as pessoas t��m acesso a conte��dos de qualidade, sendo nesse ponto que o desenvolvimento do presente trabalho ter�� import��ncia na respectiva ��rea. O portveb.com �� um website que pretende colmatar uma car��ncia de conte��dos de qualidade para especialistas web designers, programadores e optimizadores de motores de busca. A import��ncia do trabalho desenvolvido deve-se �� escassez de websites da referida tem��tica, sendo uma oportunidade para explorar a utiliza����o de solu����es t��cnicas como o Bootstrap, HTML, CSS, Javacript, PHP, MYSQL e desenvolver um website cuja funcionalidade n��o esteja s�� restrita a computadores pessoais, mas tamb��m a plataformas m��veis. O desenvolvimento do website portveb.com demonstrou que a utiliza����o das solu����es t��cnicas j�� referidas foram a melhor op����o do que concerne �� obten����o de resultados, por assentar em plataformas onde n��o foi necess��rio elaborar um design de ra��z, sendo que a interac����o com bases de dados como PHP e MySQL tornaram o website mais din��mico. A realiza����o deste trabalho possibilitou ainda a descoberta de potencialidades do website para solu����es t��cnicas futuras que se destinam a aumentar a partilha de conhecimento entre os utilizadores de forma mais pr��tica e eficiente.

2 D game ediror on-line : A edi����o de videojogos em contexto web

Descreve-se, no presente trabalho, os esfor��os envidados no sentido de criar uma solu����o inform��tica generalista, para os problemas mais recorrentes do processo de produ����o de videojogos 20, baseados em sprites, a correr em plataformas m��veis. O sistema desenvolvido �� uma aplica����o web que est�� inserida no paradigma cloud��computing, usufruindo, portanto, de todas as vantagens em termos de acessibilidade, seguran��a da informa����o e manuten����o que este paradigma oferece actualmente. Al��m das quest��es funcionais, a aplica����o �� ainda explorada do ponto de vista da arquitetura da implementa����o, com vista a garantir um sistema com implementa����o escal��vel, adapt��vel e de f��cil manuten����o. Prop��e-se ainda um algoritmo que foi desenvolvido para resolver o problema de obter uma distribui����o espacial otimizada de v��rias ��reas retangulares, sem sobreposi����es nem restri����es a n��vel das dimens��es, quer do arranjo final, quer das ��reas arranjadas. ABSTRACT: This document describes the efforts taken to create a generic computing solution for the most recurrent problems found in the production of two dimensional, sprite��based videogames, running on mobile platforms. The developed system is a web application that fits within the scope of the recent cloud-computing paradigm and, therefore, enjoys all of its advantages in terms of data safety, accessibility and application maintainability. In addition, to the functional issues, the system is also studied in terms of its internal software architecture, since it was planned and implemented in the perspective of attaining an easy to maintain application, that is both scalable and adaptable. Furthermore, it is also proposed an algorithm that aims to find an optimized solution to the space distribution problem of several rectangular areas, with no overlapping and no dimensinal restrictions, neither on the final arrangement nor on the arranged areas.

Laying the path to consumer-level immersive simulation environment

Since the end of the long winter of virtual reality (VR) at the beginning of the 2010 decade, many improvements have been made in terms of hardware technologies and software platforms performances and costs. Many expect such trend will continue, pushing the penetration rate of virtual reality headsets to skyrocket at some point in the future, just as mobile platforms did before. In the meantime, virtual reality is slowly transitioning from a specialized laboratory-only technology, to a consumer electronics appliance, opening interesting opportunities and challenges. In this transition, two interesting research questions amount to how 2D-based content and applications may benefit (or be hurt) by the adoption of 3D-based immersive environments and to how to proficiently support such integration. Acknowledging the relevance of the former, we here consider the latter question, focusing our attention on the diversified family of PC-based simulation tools and platforms. VR-based visualization is, in fact, widely understood and appreciated in the simulation arena, but mainly confined to high performance computing laboratories. Our contribution here aims at characterizing the simulation tools which could benefit from immersive interfaces, along with a general framework and a preliminary implementation which may be put to good use to support their transition from uniquely 2D to blended 2D/3D environments.

Development of agnostic mobile applications with cross-platform cloud computing platforms

Smart phones became part and parcel of our life, where mobility provides a freedom of not being bounded by time and space. In addition, number of smartphones produced each year is skyrocketing. However, this also created discrepancies or fragmentation among devices and OSes, which in turn made an exceeding hard for developers to deliver hundreds of similar featured applications with various versions for the market consumption. This thesis is an attempt to investigate whether cloud based mobile development platforms can mitigate and eventually eliminate fragmentation challenges. During this research, we have selected and analyzed the most popular cloud based development platforms and tested integrated cloud features. This research showed that cloud based mobile development platforms may able to reduce mobile fragmentation and enable to utilize single codebase to deliver a mobile application for different platforms.

Mobile App Development Platforms

Tutorial Resources