Augmented Reality Based on Object Recognition for Piping System Maintenance

Augmented Reality (AR) applications can be used to improve tasks and mitigate errors during facilities operation and maintenance. This article presents an AR system for facility management using a three-dimensional (3D) object tracking method. Through spatial mapping, the object of interest, a pipe trap underneath a sink, is tracked and mixed onto the AR visualization. From that, the maintenance steps are transformed into visible and animated instructions. Although some tracking issues related to the component parts were observed, the designed AR application results demonstrated the potential to improve facility management tasks

The Crafter’s Ear: Evaluating an Aural Theory Simulation in Minecraft

PDF document - Student Master's Paper: The Crafter's Ear: Evaluating an Aural Theory Simulation in Minecraft, PDF document - ppt from TCC 2019: The Crafter's Ear: Evaluating an Aural Theory Simulation in Minecraft, MP4 - Video walk-through of The Crafter's Ear Simulation, MP4 - TCC 2019 Espinosa Video PresentationWhile music educators throughout history have sought to develop effective training methods for their students, little innovation has been developed beyond “drill and practice” methods for aural music theory skills. In order to “show” what the musician already aurally perceives, a virtual simulation was developed for music educators to use with their 10- to 13-year-old beginning music students. The sandbox game Minecraft was chosen as the platform due to its ability to construct “redstone-powered,” musical note blocks. “Primitives” (single or multi-part objects) were provided for pitch identification and use as a template for constructing personal, interactive aural theory aids not dependent upon formal music notation or playing/singing ability. This usability study sought to evaluate the navigation and effectiveness of virtual content design and user satisfaction of the aural music theory simulation. Three iterations were conducted with thirteen participants. in the form of a PDF were also requested. This study discusses virtual world usability methods, evaluation instruments, participant data, design implications in a 3D-Virtual World (3D-VW) environment, simulation modifications, and platform preferences. The Crafter’s Ear tells a story of successful and unsuccessful adaptations of a 3D-VW usability study. Data supports the simulation’s potential as well as need for re-evaluation of the primary platform used for development. The researcher anticipates the results of this study will support a growing need to identify and improve upon best practices for 3D-VW simulation usability studies in the future

The Role of Python in Visual Effects Pipeline : Case: Talvi Tools

The purpose of this thesis was to study the concept of visual effects pipelines and analyze how programming language Python can fit into the post-production phase of film making. In the extremely competitive environment of visual effects industry, companies are forced to constantly look out for newer technologies and research more optimal production methodologies. In search of feasible solutions studios often come across Python. The theoretical part of the study outlines a brief history of Python and illustrates the power of this programming language with two exemplified use case applications. In addition to that, various possible Python implementations in the production of computer generated imagery are extensively reviewed. To give a more complete picture of how this programming language aids post-production, the adoption of Python by Industrial Light & Magic is examined. As it became clear that Python would prevail in the production of computer graphics, software vendors started embedding Python support in their products. This claim is further supported by the analysis of Python integration within major contect-creation applications. The outcome of this study is the add-on for Blender developed in Python. The purpose of the add-on is to facilitate and accelerate the export of character and camera animation data, which is specifically useful for projects that require a substantial amount of computer animation to be moved from Blender to another software for later use

Easing the Creation Process of Mobile Applications for Non-Technical Users

In this day and age, the mobile phone is becoming one of the most indispensable personal computing device. People no longer use it just for communication (i.e. calling, sending messages) but also for other aspects of their lives as well. Because of this rise in demand for different and innovative applications, mobile companies (i.e. mobile handset manufacturers and mobile network providers) and organizations have realized the power of collaborative software development and have changed their business strategy. Instead of hiring specific organizations to do programming, they are now opening up their APIs and tools to allow ordinary people create their own mobile applications either for personal use or for profit. However, the problem with this approach is that there are people who might have nice ideas of their own but do not possess the technical expertise in order to create applications implementing these ideas. The goal of this research is to find ways to simplify the creation of mobile applications for non-technical people by applying model-driven software development particularly domain-specific modeling combined with techniques from the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) particularly iterative, user-centered system design. As proof of concept, we concentrate on the development of applications in the domain of mHealth and use the Android Framework as the target platform for code generation. The iterative user-centered design and development of the front-end tool which is called the Mobia Modeler, led us to eventually create a tool that features a configurable-component based design and integrated modeless environment to simplify the different development tasks of end-users. The Mobia models feature both constructs specialized for specific domains (e.g. sensor component, special component ), and also those that are applicable to any type of domain (e.g. structure component, basic component ). In order to accommodate different needs of end-users, a clear separation between the front-end tools (i.e. Mobia Modeler ) and the underlying code generator (i.e. Mobia Processor ) is recommended as long as there is a consistent model in between, that serves as a bridge between the different tools

Digital Fabrication Approaches for the Design and Development of Shape-Changing Displays

Interactive shape-changing displays enable dynamic representations of data and information through physically reconfigurable geometry. The actuated physical deformations of these displays can be utilised in a wide range of new application areas, such as dynamic landscape and topographical modelling, architectural design, physical telepresence and object manipulation. Traditionally, shape-changing displays have a high development cost in mechanical complexity, technical skills and time/finances required for fabrication. There is still a limited number of robust shape-changing displays that go beyond one-off prototypes. Specifically, there is limited focus on low-cost/accessible design and development approaches involving digital fabrication (e.g. 3D printing). To address this challenge, this thesis presents accessible digital fabrication approaches that support the development of shape-changing displays with a range of application examples – such as physical terrain modelling and interior design artefacts. Both laser cutting and 3D printing methods have been explored to ensure generalisability and accessibility for a range of potential users. The first design-led content generation explorations show that novice users, from the general public, can successfully design and present their own application ideas using the physical animation features of the display. By engaging with domain experts in designing shape-changing content to represent data specific to their work domains the thesis was able to demonstrate the utility of shape-changing displays beyond novel systems and describe practical use-case scenarios and applications through rapid prototyping methods. This thesis then demonstrates new ways of designing and building shape-changing displays that goes beyond current implementation examples available (e.g. pin arrays and continuous surface shape-changing displays). To achieve this, the thesis demonstrates how laser cutting and 3D printing can be utilised to rapidly fabricate deformable surfaces for shape-changing displays with embedded electronics. This thesis is concluded with a discussion of research implications and future direction for this work