Engineering data compendium. Human perception and performance. User's guide

The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product of a research and development program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design and military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from the existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by systems designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is the first volume, the User's Guide, containing a description of the program and instructions for its use

Neuromorphic cross correlation of digital spreading codes

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-88).The study of neural networks is inspired by the mystery of how the brain works. In a quest to solve this mystery, scientists and engineers hope that they will learn how to build more powerful computational systems that are capable of processing information much more efficiently than today’s digital computer systems. This dissertation involves a biologically inspired circuit which can be used as an alternative for a cross correlation engine. Cross correlation engines are widely used in spread spectrum, wireless communication systems that use digital spreading codes to divide a single communication medium into separate channels. This technology is used in many systems such as GPS, ZigBee and GSM mobile communications. The technology is renowned for its robustness and security since it is highly tolerant to signal jamming and spoofing. Digital spreading in wireless communication is also widely used in military systems and has recently been proposed for use in the medical sector for neural prostheses. A limitation of using digital spreading is that the computational demands on the cross correlation engine are normally quite high and is generally considered to be the limiting factor in designing low-power portable devices. In recent developments proposed by Tapson, it was shown that a two-neuron mutual inhibition network can be used to generate a cross correlation like function (Tapson et al., 2008). In this work, the two-neuron cross correlation engine is analysed specifically for application on a particular set of digital spreading codes called Gold codes. Based on the analysis, the neuron’s response to an input signal is optimised in favour of yielding a neural cross correlation that resembles the mathematical cross correlation more closely. The aim is to find a biologically inspired computer that is practically viable in an electrical engineering application involving a digital spread spectrum communication system

Designing a Clinically Viable Brain Computer Interface for the Control of Neuroprosthetics

Currently no brain computer interfaces exist that can control the individual fingers of a hand prosthesis and is suitable for permanent implantation in and individual with a single limb amputation. Within this thesis a design for a novel minimally invasive brain computer interface system is proposed that would be relatively low risk, allow for control of a prosthesis using existing cortical structures and be suitable for patients with loss of a single limb. The early stage development and proof of concept work has been done taking into account relevant regulatory requirements, so that a finalised version of the design would be suitable for regulatory certification. This novel design is found to be worth pursuing and may in turn open up new research opportunities

Ultrasound data communication system for bioelectronic medicines

PhD ThesisThe coming years may see the advent of distributed implantable devices to support bioelectronic medicinal treatments. Such treatments could be complementary and, in some cases, may even prove superior to pharmaceutical treatments for certain chronic disease conditions. Therefore, a significant research effort is being undertaken in the bioelectronics domain. Target conditions include diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, and arthritis. Modern active medical implantable devices require communications to transmit information to the outside world or other implantable sub-systems. This can include physiological data, diagnostics, and parameters to optimise the therapeutic protocol. However, the communication scheme can be very challenging especially for deeper devices. Challenges include absorption and scattering by tissue, and the need to ensure there are no undesirable heating effects. Wired connectivity is undesirable and tissue absorption of traditional radio frequency and optical methods mean that ultrasound communications have significant potential in this niche. In this thesis, a reliable and efficient ultrasonic communication telemetry is presented. An omnidirectional transducer has been employed to implement intra body communication inside a model of the human body. A prototype has been implemented to evaluate the system performance in saline and up to 30 distance between the transmitter and receiver. Short pulses sequences with guard intervals have been employed to minimise the multipath effect that leads to an increase in the bit and thus packet error rates with distance. Error detection and correction code have been employed to improve communication at a low signal to noise ratio. The data rate is limited to 0.6 due to the necessary guard intervals. Energy per bit and current consumption for the transmitter and receiver main parts are presented and discussed in terms of battery life. Transmission can be achieved at an energy cost of 642 per bit data packet using on/off power cycling in the electronics

Synchronized Illumination Modulation for Digital Video Compositing

Informationsaustausch ist eines der Grundbedürfnisse der Menschen. Während früher dazu Wandmalereien,Handschrift, Buchdruck und Malerei eingesetzt wurden, begann man später, Bildfolgen zu erstellen, die als sogenanntes ”Daumenkino” den Eindruck einer Animation vermitteln. Diese wurden schnell durch den Einsatz rotierender Bildscheiben, auf denen mit Hilfe von Schlitzblenden, Spiegeln oder Optiken eine Animation sichtbar wurde, automatisiert – mit sogenannten Phenakistiskopen,Zoetropen oder Praxinoskopen. Mit der Erfindung der Fotografie begannen in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts die ersten Wissenschaftler wie Eadweard Muybridge, Etienne-Jules Marey und Ottomar Anschütz, Serienbildaufnahmen zu erstellen und diese dann in schneller Abfolge, als Film, abzuspielen. Mit dem Beginn der Filmproduktion wurden auch die ersten Versuche unternommen, mit Hilfe dieser neuen Technik spezielle visuelle Effekte zu generieren, um damit die Immersion der Bewegtbildproduktionen weiter zu erhöhen. Während diese Effekte in der analogen Phase der Filmproduktion bis in die achtziger Jahre des 20.Jahrhunderts recht beschränkt und sehr aufwendig mit einem enormen manuellen Arbeitsaufwand erzeugt werden mussten, gewannen sie mit der sich rapide beschleunigenden Entwicklung der Halbleitertechnologie und der daraus resultierenden vereinfachten digitalen Bearbeitung immer mehr an Bedeutung. Die enormen Möglichkeiten, die mit der verlustlosen Nachbearbeitung in Kombination mit fotorealistischen, dreidimensionalen Renderings entstanden, führten dazu, dass nahezu alle heute produzierten Filme eine Vielfalt an digitalen Videokompositionseffekten beinhalten. ...Besides home entertainment and business presentations, video projectors are powerful tools for modulating images spatially as well as temporally. The re-evolving need for stereoscopic displays increases the demand for low-latency projectors and recent advances in LED technology also offer high modulation frequencies. Combining such high-frequency illumination modules with synchronized, fast cameras, makes it possible to develop specialized high-speed illumination systems for visual effects production. In this thesis we present different systems for using spatially as well as temporally modulated illumination in combination with a synchronized camera to simplify the requirements of standard digital video composition techniques for film and television productions and to offer new possibilities for visual effects generation. After an overview of the basic terminology and a summary of related methods, we discuss and give examples of how modulated light can be applied to a scene recording context to enable a variety of effects which cannot be realized using standard methods, such as virtual studio technology or chroma keying. We propose using high-frequency, synchronized illumination which, in addition to providing illumination, is modulated in terms of intensity and wavelength to encode technical information for visual effects generation. This is carried out in such a way that the technical components do not influence the final composite and are also not visible to observers on the film set. Using this approach we present a real-time flash keying system for the generation of perspectively correct augmented composites by projecting imperceptible markers for optical camera tracking. Furthermore, we present a system which enables the generation of various digital video compositing effects outside of completely controlled studio environments, such as virtual studios. A third temporal keying system is presented that aims to overcome the constraints of traditional chroma keying in terms of color spill and color dependency. ..

Engineering data compendium. Human perception and performance, volume 3

The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product of a research and development program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design of military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by system designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is Volume 3, containing sections on Human Language Processing, Operator Motion Control, Effects of Environmental Stressors, Display Interfaces, and Control Interfaces (Real/Virtual)

Virtual Reality Customized 360-Degree Experiences for Stress Relief

The latest studies in virtual reality (VR) have evidenced the potential of this technology to reproduce environments from multiple domains in an immersive way. For instance, in stress relief research, VR has been presented as a portable and inexpensive alternative to chromotherapy rooms, which require an adapted space and are expensive. In this work, we propose a portable and versatile alternative to the traditional chromotherapy color-loop treatment through four different 360-degree virtual experiences. A group of 23 healthy participants (mean age 22.65 ± 5.48) were conducted through a single-session experience divided into four phases while their electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. First, they were stressed via the Montreal imaging stress task (MIST), and then relaxed using our VR proposal. We applied the Wilcoxon test to evaluate the relaxation effect in terms of the EEG relative gamma and self-perceived stress surveys. The results that we obtained validate the effectiveness of our 360-degree proposal to significantly reduce stress (p-value = 0.0001). Furthermore, the participants deemed our proposal comfortable and immersive (score above 3.5 out of 5). These results suggest that 360-degree VR experiences can mitigate stress, reduce costs, and bring stress relief assistance closer to the general public, like in workplaces or homes