Digital Exhaustion in relation to Video Games – The Consumer Perspective

This thesis regards exhaustion of copyright’s distribution right in intangible transfers of video games. It analyses whether, under the current law of the European Union, the phenomenon of digital exhaustion, especially in relation to games exists. The thesis analyses the consumers’ position in the market for copyright protected goods. It uses video games market as an example of the wider phenomenon of the effect of latest technological developments on consumers. The research conducted for the thesis is mostly legal dogmatic, although also comparative analysis, law and economics and law and technology methods are utilised. The thesis evaluates the effects of the most recent case law of the European Court of Justice to analyse the current state of digital exhaustion. In the analysis of effects that the existence of digital exhaustion has, the thesis uses the consumers’ point of view. The thesis introduces the current state of technology in the field of video games from a legal perspective. Furthermore the thesis analyses the effects on consumers of a scenario that no digital exhaustion exists in the future. Such scenario under the recent European case law at the moment seems realistic. The conclusion of my research is most importantly that the consumer position in the market for digital goods has deteriorated and that the probable exclusion of the exhaustion for digital goods is another piece of evidence of this development. Most importantly however, the state of affairs where no certainty prevails on whether digital exhaustion exists, creates injustice from the consumers’ point of view. Accordingly, acts by EU legislators of the Court of Justice of the European Union are required to clarify the issue.

Explaining the intention to play and behavior of playing sports betting games of young Finnish adults : an application of the theory of planned behavior

The aim of this Master’s Thesis was to examine the determinants of intention and behavior of playing sports betting games in order to explain the intention to play in a more precise way and to be able to understand the behavior of playing. The theory of planned behavior was applied in explaining the intention of young Finnish adults aged 18 to 34. A quantitative research method was applied and an online survey was sent to the students of Lappeenranta University of Technology and to the subscribers of Urheilulehti in order to reach a sample that present the young population of Finland. The theory of the study focused on the theory of planned behavior and its antecedents, attitude towards behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control as well as motivation. By analyzing the data, causal relationships were found through which the explanation of intention was possible. The results showed that attitude towards playing, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and motivation impact the formation of intention significantly. The results also indicated that intention impacts significantly to the playing frequency.

Development of a Control System for a Tele Operated Mobile Robot

Mobile robots are capable of performing spatial displacement motions in different environments. This motions can be calculated based on sensorial data (autonomous robot) or given by an operator (tele operated robot). This thesis is focused on the latter providing the control architecture which bridges the tele operator and the robot’s locomotion system and end effectors. Such a task might prove overwhelming in cases where the robot comprises a wide variety of sensors and actuators hence a relatively new option was selected: Robot Operating System (ROS). The control system of a new robot will be sketched and tested in a simulation model using ROS together with Gazebo in order to determine the viability of such a system. The simulated model will be based on the projected shape and main features of the real machine. A stability analysis will be performed first theoretically and afterwards using the developed model. This thesis concluded that both the physical properties and the control architecture are feasible and stable settling up the ground for further work with the same robot.

Quadcopter assistant for a mobile assembly robot

Science has revolutionized the human life. The advance progress in science and research is making human life easier and more comfortable. The new and emerging technology of micro drone is penetrating and widening the scientific research. This thesis is a part of work in which a unique work is carried out, although related research paper and journal are available. Design and development of automatic charging station for a ready to fly quadcopter is rare and unusual work. The work is carried out as an standard engineering process that include requirements gathering, creating the required document (this thesis is a part of required document as well), selection of suitable hardware, configuring the hardware, generate the code for software, uploading code to the microcontroller, troubleshooting and rectification, finalized prototype and testing. Thesis describe how mechatronics engineering is useful in generating a customized and unique project. At the starting phase of this project (before purchasing a ready to fly quadcopter) every single aspect of this work was known. The only unknown alternatives was a battery and charger. Several task was achieved including design and development of automatic charging station, accurate landing and telecast a live video on additional screen. At starting it was decided that quadcopter should follow the mobile robot, during study it was concluded there is no such quadcopter available in market to auto follow a robot indoor. This works starts with a market survey and comparing the different brands of quadcopter that meets all the requirements and specifications of the mobile robot assembly. Selection of quadcopter is a result of discussion and meeting with the team members, supervisor, professor and project manage.

Design of traction transmission and suspension systems for an omni-directional mobile robot

This project aims to design and manufacture a mobile robot with two Universal Robot UR10 mainly used indoors. In order to obtain omni-directional maneuverability, the mobile robot is constructed with Mecanum wheels. The Mecanum wheel can move in any direction with a series of rollers attached to itself. These rollers are angled at 45º about the hub’s circumference. This type of wheels can be used in both driving and steering with their any-direction property. This paper is focused on the design of traction system and suspension system, and the velocity control of Mecanum wheels in the close-loop control system. The mechanical design includes selection of bearing housing, couplers which are act as connection between shafts, motor parts, and other needed components. The 3D design software SolidWorks is utilized to assemble all the components in order to get correct tolerance. The driving shaft is designed based on assembled structure via the software as well. The design of suspension system is to compensate the assembly error of Mecanum wheels to guarantee the stability of the robot. The control system of motor drivers is realized through the Robot Operating System (ROS) on Ubuntu Linux. The purpose of inverse kinematics is to obtain the relationship among the movements of all Mecanum wheels. Via programming and interacting with the computer, the robot could move with required speed and direction.

Chassis frame design of a mobile platform equipped with robotic arms

The overall objective of the thesis is to design a robot chassis frame which is a bearing structure of a vehicle supporting all mechanical components and providing structure and stability. Various techniques and scientific principles were used to design a chassis frame.Design principles were applied throughout the process. By using Solid-Works software,virtual models was made for chassis frame. Chassis frame of overall dimension 1597* 800*950 mm3 was designed. Center of mass lieson 1/3 of the length from front wheel at height 338mm in the symmetry plane. Overall weight of the chassis frame is 80.12kg. Manufacturing drawing is also provided. Additionally,structural analysis was done in FEMAP which gives the busting result for chassis design by taking into consideration stress and deflection on different kind of loading resembling real life case. On the basis of simulated result, selected material was verified. Resulting design is expected to perform its intended function without failure. As a suggestion for further research, additional fatigue analysis and proper dynamic analysis can be conducted to make the study more robust.

Viable Health Games: Elements for Success

The main purpose of this study is to identify the elements of children's health games that have a positive impact on children’s health. The investigation is done by evaluating previous health game studies concentrating on children and five health affairs (such as asthma, cancer, diabetes, nutrition and obesity). In order to do so, firstly the topic of children’s health games is explained through its roots, as it is an interdisciplinary topic pertinent with many other fields. For this reason, the topics regarding the children’s health games as games, video games, children’s gameplay, and serious games along with health, relevant health affairs, and health promotion were covered. Secondly, the meta-study was conducted with the 56 articles on children’s health games. These 56 articles were analyzed with the coding technique defined by Charmaz’s Grounded Theory Method (Charmaz, 2006) for finding out which elements of children’s health games have a positive impact on children’s health promotion. The main result suggests that, although there are 24 different elements found and listed which all positive in their nature, their positive impact is a matter of how they are used or implemented through the consumption cycle of children’s health games and how all these elements interact with each other. In addition to this, a pragmatic proposal is formulated for possibly better or more successful health games. The study concludes with the declaration of the limitations encountered through the research and the recommendations for future research.