Multiplatform marketplace for activities and communication

There has been a rapid change in user access requirements for people to be on the internet. And most of the population has been successfully adapted to this situation with more or less comfortability. Except the elderlies, as one of the side effects of being old age is the inability to learn and adapt to changes quickly as of humans of other ages. This woudln't be any problem except for the new requirement of people to be connected thgrough Internet. Which requires lot of effort and has a steep learning curve. This added with the fact of non human contact for the elderlies have given in a rise in psychological issues which has given rise to trauma and health consequences. As a solution to this problem, The Terrassa Health Consortium had proposed a solution to tackle all of the issues aforementioned. The proposed solution is a Single application Multiplatform Marketplace with communication, news, videos and a personal identity which might resolve the need to not change to various different tools(applications) resulting in distraction and confusion free place with easier curve of the connected Internet World

Addressing the complexity of multimedia wireless computing solutions

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-100).by William W. Graylin.S.M.M.B.A

Design and control of components-based integrated servo pneumatic drives

On-off traditional pneumatic drives are most widely used in industry offering low-cost, simple but flexible mechanical operation and relatively high power to weight ratio. For a period of decade from mid 1980's to 1990's, some initiatives were made to develop servo pneumatic drives for most sophisticated applications, employing purpose-designed control valves for pneumatic drives and low friction cylinders. However, it is found that the high cost and complex installation have discouraged the manufacturer from applying servo pneumatic drives to industrial usage, making them less favourable in comparison to their electric counterpart. This research aims to develop low-cost servo pneumatic drives which are capable of point-to-point positioning tasks, suitable for applications requiring intermediate performance characteristics. In achieving this objective, a strategy that involves the use of traditional on-off valve, simple control algorithm and distributed field-bus control networks has been adopted, namely, the design and control of Components-based Integrated Pneumatic Drives (CIPDs). Firstly, a new pneumatic actuator servo motion control strategy has been developed. With the new motion control strategy, the processes of positioning a payload can be achieved by opening the control valve only once. Hence, lowspeed on-off pneumatic control valves can be employed in keeping the cost low, a key attraction for employing pneumatic drives. The new servo motion control strategy also provides a way of controlling the load motion speed mechanically. Meanwhile, a new PD-based three-state closed-loop control algorithm also has been developed for the new control scheme. This control algorithm provides a way of adapting traditional PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) control theories for regulating pneumatic drives. Moreover, a deceleration control strategy has been developed so that both high-speed and accurate positioning control can be realised with low cost pneumatic drives. Secondly, the effects of system parameters on the transient response are studied. In assisting the analysis, a second order model is developed to encapsulate the velocity response characteristics of pneumatic drives to a step input signal. Stability analyses for both open loop and closed-loop control have also been carried out for the CIPDs with the newly developed motion control strategy. Thirdly, a distributed control strategy employing Lon Works has been devised and implemented, offering desirable attributes, high re-configurability, low cost and easy in installation and maintenance, etc to keep with the traditional strength for using pneumatic drives. By applying this technology, the CIPDs become standard components in "real" and "virtual" design environments. A remote service strategy for CIPDs using TCP/IP communication protocol has also been developed. Subsequently a range of experimental verifications has been carried out in the research. The experimental study of high-speed motion control indicates that the deceleration control strategy developed in the research can be an effective method in improving the behaviour of high speed CIPDs. The verification of open loop system behaviour of CIPDs shows that the model derived is largely indicative of the likely behaviour for the system considered, and the steady state velocity can be estimated using the Velocity Gain Kv. The evaluation made on a pneumatically driven pick-and-place machine has also confirmed that the system setup, including wiring, tuning, and system reconfiguration can be achieved in relative ease. This pilot study reveals the potential for employing CIPDs in building highly flexible cost effective manufacturing machines. It can thus be concluded that this research has developed successfully a new dimension and knowledge in both theoretical and practical terms in building low-cost servo pneumatic drives, which are capable of point-to-point positioning through employing traditional on-off pneumatic valves and actuators and through their integration with distributed control technology (LonWorks) by adopting a component-based design paradigm

Fire Service - Management and Command of Major Incidents

This study has concentrated upon the decision-making processes used at major incidents by the fire service in the United Kingdom rather than the more routine decisions made on the fireground. This partly because major incidents are safety critical events, involving complex technical or communication issues involving large volumes of information and many agencies, and also because the decisions made and judgements exercised have to demonstrate a robustness in application that will withstand considerable external scrutiny, since often major incidents involve losses that are subject to insurance or legal investigations. The research undertaken indicates that improvements are possible. The research places the current decision system in context. It does this by considering the cultural traditions of the fire service together with the managerial and organisational arrangements that set the parameters within which judgements and decisions will be made. This approach provides an insight as to how the fire service functions at operations and importantly the relationship between those decisions and time pressured environment in which they are often reached. Practical case studies that were attended by the author as the senior fire service commander are used to illustrate these features and help provide useful learning outcomes. This foundation is then used to consider in detail the whole decision support system employed and to offer objective improvements. Explanation of the operational practice employed is assisted by the provision of a number of tables and figures that illustrate the critical parts of the decision system, such as information trees and components and observed inter-agency issues, which are summarised in a systethatic decision process. Having collated and reviewed these findings it is postulated that command competency and situational awareness, the essential pre-requisites, can be improved through use of a new paradigm that emphasises the better use of data derived from a wider range of sources than are currently used. To assist in gaining this improvement greater integration of technology is suggested and options that exploit technology, such as electronic data communications, sensing devices, robotics and visualisátion, explored. Additional to the main study a number of allied supportive areas of research have been undertaken. These have included issues like fire service culture, public reaction to a serious fire, emergency action procedures, and toxic plume modelling and fireball impacts together with brief commentaries on September 11th and the future fire service in the United Kingdom. This research contributes to a relatively new area of study, the fire service decision process used to command and control resources, at major incidents

A taxonomy of cyber-physical threats and impact in the smart home

In the past, home automation was a small market for technology enthusiasts. Interconnectivity between devices was down to the owner’s technical skills and creativity, while security was non-existent or primitive, because cyber threats were also largely non-existent or primitive. This is not the case any more. The adoption of Internet of Things technologies, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and an increasingly wide range of sensing and actuation capabilities has led to smart homes that are more practical, but also genuinely attractive targets for cyber attacks. Here, we classify applicable cyber threats according to a novel taxonomy, focusing not only on the attack vectors that can be used, but also the potential impact on the systems and ultimately on the occupants and their domestic life. Utilising the taxonomy, we classify twenty five different smart home attacks, providing further examples of legitimate, yet vulnerable smart home configurations which can lead to second-order attack vectors. We then review existing smart home defence mechanisms and discuss open research problems

The Importance of Technology Design and Usability

Technology is playing an increasing role in our daily personal and professional lives. While the capabilities of new technologies (i.e., “hi-tech” solutions) have enabled people to be more productive at work and at home, I argue there is an increasing gap between hi-tech capabilities, and how hi-tech solutions interface with end users. This gap has the potential to negatively affect human and individual capital, which is why it is important to highlight the issues, challenges and impact of the usability and design of these hi-tech solutions. This thesis will take the humanistic perspective and argue that technology design has not kept up with technology capabilities, creating undesirable effects on people’s productivity -- and enjoyment -- as they interact with hi-tech devices, software and information systems. In addition, suggestions for how to overcome this gap are offered through the analysis of existing organizational dynamics, as well as offering new models from which to base usability and hi-tech design

Stripes — A Conceptual Operating System User Interface

Perinteiset käyttöjärjestelmien graafiset käyttöliittymät suunniteltiin vuosikym- meniä sitten ja ovat muodostuneet osaksi jokapäiväistä elämäämme. Viime vuosien tietoteknillinen kehitys ja tietokoneiden muuttuneet käyttötarpeet ovat tuoneet esille nykyisten käyttöliittymien heikkoudet. Tämä lopputyö esittää vaihtoehtoisen käyttöliit- tymätoteutuksen, nimeltään Juovat, joka painottaa käytettävyyttä, yksinkertaisuutta, tuotteliaisuutta ja muita käyttäjäkeskeisiä arvoja. Työ kattaa ja analysoi nykyisten käyttöliittymien historian sekä viime vuosien tärkeimmät innovaatiot. Alan tutkiminen helpottaa nykyisten käyttöliittymien heik- kouksien ja vahvuuksien kartoittamisessa sekä auttaa muodostamaan selkeät kriteerit suunnitellulle käyttöliittymätoteutukselle. Juovat-käyttöliittymän kokonaisvaltainen suunnittelu ja useat yksityiskohdat esitel- lään seikkaperäisesti. Toimivuutta analysoidaan vertaamalla toteutuksen vahvuuksia ja heikkouksia olemassa oleviin käyttöliittymiin sekä testaamalla käytännön toimivuutta prototyypin avulla. Lopuksi testituloksia peilataan alkuperäisiin suunnittelukritee- reihin ja pohditaan työn onnistumista.Traditional computer operating system graphical user interfaces were designed decades ago have since become an integral part of our everyday lives. While fundamentally excellent, recent changes in the industry and use cases for computers are exposing the weaknesses in the implementations of current operating system user interfaces. This thesis is an attempt to propose an alternative, modernized user interface design — entitled Stripes — based on usability, simplicity, productivity, and other design guidelines. The history and recent innovative additions to the current implementations of WIMP- based operating system user interfaces are outlined and analyzed. This contextual mapping of the field helps in identifying key problems and strengths of modern computer user interfaces, and, in addition to the aforementioned guidelines, form a basis for the design of the proposed concept. The fundamental design choices, as well as several details of Stripes are described and explained. Its theoretical improvements and disadvantages over current user interface implementations are first discussed, then tested with the help of an interactive proto- type. The favorable and critical test outcomes are described in detail, and reflected against the original design guidelines of the concept. Finally, conclusions on the success of the proposed interface are provided

Evolution and usability of mobile phone interaction styles

Over one billion people own or use cellular mobile telephones. Therefore, industry practitioners are faced with a question: how big steps can they take when designing the user interfaces for their new products, or how closely should they stick with the already existing user interface conventions that may already be familiar to the consumers. The objective of this research work is to create and communicate new knowledge for design and usability practitioners about how to design and evolve interaction style conventions in mainstream, voice-centric mobile telephones. In the context of this study, interaction style denotes the framework consisting of the physical interaction objects, the abstract interaction elements, and the associated behavior or interaction conventions that are applied throughout the core functionality of the mobile phone, but excludes the stylistic appearance elements of the user interface. The main research problem — how do mobile phone interaction style changes affect the initial usability of a mobile phone for users with earlier experience with mobile phones — is approached via several methods. A literature study compares the interaction styles applied in mainstream computing domains against the aspects relevant in the mobile phones domain. A heuristic analysis of contemporary mobile phones is used to formulate an understanding of the available interaction styles and analyze whether there is convergence towards specific types of interaction styles in the industry. An empirical usability testing experiment with 38 test users is conducted with a novel mobile phone interaction style to investigate differences between users who are already familiar with different mobile phone interaction styles. The study reveals that interaction styles applied in contemporary mobile telephones are designed around menu navigation, and they implement the three primary operations — Select, Back and Menu access — with dedicated hardkeys, context-sensitive softkeys, or using special control devices like joysticks or jog dials. The control keys in the contemporary interaction styles are converging around various two- and three-softkey conventions. The aspects related to indirect manipulation and small displays pose specific usability and UI design challenges on mobile phone user interfaces. The study shows that the mobile handset manufacturers are applying their usually proprietary interaction styles in a rather consistent manner in their products, with the notable exception of mobile Internet browsers that often break the underlying interaction style consistency. Based on the results from the empirical usability testing, we claim that despite differences between interaction styles in contemporary mobile phones, users do not face significant difficulties when transferring to a novel mobile phone model.reviewe

Sustainability in design: now! Challenges and opportunities for design research, education and practice in the XXI century

Copyright @ 2010 Greenleaf PublicationsLeNS project funded by the Asia Link Programme, EuropeAid, European Commission

The digitally 'Hand Made' object

This article will outline the author’s investigations of types of computer interfaces in practical three-dimensional design practice. The paper contains a description of two main projects in glass and ceramic tableware design, using a Microscribe G2L digitising arm as an interface to record three-dimensional spatial\ud design input.\ud \ud The article will provide critical reflections on the results of the investigations and will argue that new approaches in digital design interfaces could have relevance in developing design methods which incorporate more physical ‘human’ expressions in a three-dimensional design practice. The research builds on concepts indentified in traditional craft practice as foundations for constructing new types of creative practices based on the use of digital technologies, as outlined by McCullough (1996)