Problems in Algorithmic Self-assembly and a Genetic Approach to Patterns

As it becomes increasingly harder to make transistors smaller, replacements for traditional silicon computers become sought after. To study the computing power of these potential computers, various theoretical models have been proposed, such as the abstract Tile Assembly Model (aTAM) and chemical reaction networks (CRNs). This thesis compiles research in various models such as the aTAM, Tile Automata, and CRNs. This work shows an investigation of covert computation in the aTAM and an evolutionary algorithm to approximate solutions to the pattern self-assembly tile set synthesis (PATS) problem. Next, optimal state complexity for building squares in Tile Automata is shown along with a Tile Automata simulation of the staged assembly model (SAM). Lastly, reachability for restricted general CRNs, reachability for feed-forward CRNs, and reachability for Void and Autogenesis CRNs are shown to be in various complexity classes

Towards an aspect weaving BPEL engine

This position paper proposes the use of dynamic aspects and the visitor design pattern to obtain a highly configurable and extensible BPEL engine. Using these two techniques, the core of this infrastructural software can be customised to meet new requirements and add features such as debugging, execution monitoring, or changing to another Web Service selection policy. Additionally, it can easily be extended to cope with customer-specific BPEL extensions. We propose the use of dynamic aspects not only on the engine itself but also on the workflow in order to tackle the problems of Web Service hot deployment and hot fixes to long running processes. In this way, composing aWeb Service "on-the-fly" means weaving its choreography interface into the workflow

IS PUTTING USERS FIRST AN ORGANISATIONAL KEY TO SUCCESS IN CROSS-PROFESSIONAL COOPERATION? An interview study about cooperation between service units to people affected by both intellectual disability and mental illness

Cooperation among professionals in health, social and educational sectors is much needed to let the patient/client/pupil experience an entirety of services provided. However, cooperation is not easy in general. It seems even more challenging when it comes to service provisions to people affected by dual diagnoses. Our research question is influenced by this challenge and reads: What promotes cross-units’ cooperation between professionals involved in service provisions for people affected by both intellectual disability and mental illness? The knowledge is constructed by means of interviewing municipality-employed professionals (N = 21) about their experiences with successful cases. The study shows that many aspects contribute to satisfactory cooperation, but three substantial findings are particularly emphasized: (1) Prioritizing user-focus; (2) The management and the organizational structure should be firm, target-explicit and predictable, but at the same time flexible in its use of resources; and (3) Both leaders and staff should show supportive attitudes

3D mesh metamorphosis from spherical parameterization for conceptual design

Engineering product design is an information intensive decision-making process that consists of several phases including design specification definition, design concepts generation, detailed design and analysis, and manufacturing. Usually, generating geometry models for visualization is a big challenge for early stage conceptual design. Complexity of existing computer aided design packages constrains participation of people with various backgrounds in the design process. In addition, many design processes do not take advantage of the rich amount of legacy information available for new concepts creation. The research presented here explores the use of advanced graphical techniques to quickly and efficiently merge legacy information with new design concepts to rapidly create new conceptual product designs. 3D mesh metamorphosis framework 3DMeshMorpher was created to construct new models by navigating in a shape-space of registered design models. The framework is composed of: i) a fast spherical parameterization method to map a geometric model (genus-0) onto a unit sphere; ii) a geometric feature identification and picking technique based on 3D skeleton extraction; and iii) a LOD controllable 3D remeshing scheme with spherical mesh subdivision based on the developedspherical parameterization. This efficient software framework enables designers to create numerous geometric concepts in real time with a simple graphical user interface. The spherical parameterization method is focused on closed genus-zero meshes. It is based upon barycentric coordinates with convex boundary. Unlike most existing similar approaches which deal with each vertex in the mesh equally, the method developed in this research focuses primarily on resolving overlapping areas, which helps speed the parameterization process. The algorithm starts by normalizing the source mesh onto a unit sphere and followed by some initial relaxation via Gauss-Seidel iterations. Due to its emphasis on solving only challenging overlapping regions, this parameterization process is much faster than existing spherical mapping methods. To ensure the correspondence of features from different models, we introduce a skeleton based feature identification and picking method for features alignment. Unlike traditional methods that align single point for each feature, this method can provide alignments for complete feature areas. This could help users to create more reasonable intermediate morphing results with preserved topological features. This skeleton featuring framework could potentially be extended to automatic features alignment for geometries with similar topologies. The skeleton extracted could also be applied for other applications such as skeleton-based animations. The 3D remeshing algorithm with spherical mesh subdivision is developed to generate a common connectivity for different mesh models. This method is derived from the concept of spherical mesh subdivision. The local recursive subdivision can be set to match the desired LOD (level of details) for source spherical mesh. Such LOD is controllable and this allows various outputs with different resolutions. Such recursive subdivision then follows by a triangular correction process which ensures valid triangulations for the remeshing. And the final mesh merging and reconstruction process produces the remeshing model with desired LOD specified from user. Usually the final merged model contains all the geometric details from each model with reasonable amount of vertices, unlike other existing methods that result in big amount of vertices in the merged model. Such multi-resolution outputs with controllable LOD could also be applied in various other computer graphics applications such as computer games

Langattomien anturiverkkojen sotilas-, agroteknologia- ja energiatutkimussovelluksia

The physical quantities nowadays are widely measured by using electronic sensors. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are low-cost, low-power electronic devices capable of collecting data using their onboard sensors. Some wireless sensor nodes are equipped with actuators, providing the possibility to change the state of the physical world. The ability to change the state of a physical system means that WSNs can be used in control and automation applications. This research focuses on appropriate system design for four different wireless measurement and control cases. The first case provides a hardware and software solution for camera integration to a wireless sensor node. The images are captured and processed inside the sensor node using low power computational techniques. In the second application, two different wireless sensor networks function in cooperation to overcome seeding problems in agricultural machinery. The third case focuses on indoor deployment of the wireless sensor nodes into an area of urban crisis, where the nodes supply localization information to friendly assets such as soldiers, firefighters and medical personnel. The last application focuses on a feasibility study for energy harvesting from asphalt surfaces in the form of heat.Fysikaaliset suureet mitataan nykyisin elektronisten anturien avulla. Langattomat anturiverkot ovat kustannustasoltaan edullisia, matalan tehonkulutuksen elektronisia laitteita, jotka kykenevät suorittamaan mittauksia niissä olevilla antureilla. Langattomat anturinoodit voidaan myös liittää toimilaitteisiin, jolloin ne voivat vaikuttaa fyysiseen ympäristöönsä. Koska langattomilla anturi- ja toimilaiteverkoilla voidaan vaikuttaa niiden fysikaalisen ympäristön tilaan, niiden avulla voidaan toteuttaa säätö- ja automaatiosovelluksia. Tässä väitöskirjaty össä suunnitellaan ja toteutetaan neljä erilaista langattomien anturi- ja toimilaiteverkkojen automaatiosovellusta. Ensimmäisenä tapauksena toteutetaan elektroniikka- ja ohjelmistosovellus, jolla integroidaan kamera langattomaan anturinoodiin. Kuvat tallennetaan ja prosessoidaan anturinoodissa vähän energiaa kuluttavia laskentamenetelmiä käyttäen. Toisessa sovelluksessa kahdesta erilaisesta langattomasta anturiverkosta koostuvalla järjestelmällä valvotaan siementen syöttöä kylvökoneessa. Kolmannessa sovelluksessa levitetään kaupunkiympäristössä kriisitilanteessa rakennuksen sisätiloihin langaton anturiverkko. Sen anturinoodit välittävät paikkatietoa rakennuksessa operoiville omille joukoille, jotka voivat tilanteesta riippuen olla esimerkiksi sotilaita, palomiehiä tai lääkintähenkilökuntaa. Neljännessä sovelluksessa toteutetaan langaton anturiverkko, jonka keräämää mittausdataa käytetään arvioitaessa lämpöenergian keräämismahdollisuuksia asfalttipinnoilta.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

A responsive architectural strategy for the generations of smart communities: an integrated tech hub in Welbedacht, Durban.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The social and economic development of peri-urban communities are often overlooked by government contributing to a centralized development approach. This approach encourages migration to areas with more opportunity, preventing development of the underserved community. The uneven distribution of developmental resources and facilities leads to the manifestation of the assumption that opportunities to progress are centralized to certain areas of the city. This divide affects the communities’ morale to empower themselves within their locale thereby hindering their development and growth. In order for South Africa to foster a developmental state, it is vital to create initiatives in underserved peri-urban communities such as Welbedacht, that are more inclusive and empower individuals to control their own development. The theories presented in this research is an attempt to understand how architecture, responding to current issues in peri-urban communities, can act as a social agency for change to help enable, integrate and empower underserved peri-urban communities. Answering the research question, “What is the role of the built environment in enabling, integrating and empowering communities?” Place theories are applied to understanding people; linkage theories are applied in order to understand the needed infrastructure and theories of Socio-Ecological Resilience is applied in order to understand the design principles needed to achieve a holistically responsive architecture. Unilaterally connected, the theories will be applied so that connection between the theories provide a design strategy for sustainable development of smart peri-urban communities Explored in the research is architectural examples that encompass the principles identified through literature review, tectonic, technique and technology. Although the context of the precedent has similarities, no site is the same and therefore the community of Welbedacht is explored in detail (social, economic and environmental context). With an aim of sustainable development, the research focuses on a design outcome to encourage and facilitate active participation of citizens in the development of their communities

glueTK: A Framework for Multi-modal, Multi-display Interaction

This thesis describes glueTK, a framework for human machine interaction, that allows the integration of multiple input modalities and the interaction across different displays. Building upon the framework, several contributions to integrate pointing gestures into interactive systems are presented. To address the design of interfaces for the wide range of supported displays, a concept for transferring interaction performance from one system to another is defined

Is there an heir apparent to the Crown? A more informed understanding of connectivity and networked environmental governance in the Crown of the Continent

2014 Spring.Multi-actor and multi-level processes characterize contemporary environmental governance where a multiplicity of actors and modes of governance are operating in diverse and overlapping spheres of authority. No fixed spatial or temporal level is appropriate for governing ecosystems and their services sustainably, effectively, and equitably. Rather, ecological processes interact across a range of spatial scales, which has led to an increased interest in the way networks operate and govern environmental processes across landscapes. These governance schemes involve communication and coordinated action by federal, state, and local agencies working with private landowners, nonprofit organizations, and industry. They involve multiple, interconnected issues within contexts that are complex, dynamic, and involve uncertainties. Working across multiple levels reveals governance and coordination challenges that often outstrip capacities, structures, and decision-making processes of the individuals or organizations involved. The processes of initiating multi-actor governance is not politically neutral, nor does it exist in a vacuum. It rather reflects competing interpretations of the appropriate distribution of power in a network and how information and knowledge are created and acted upon for environmental governance. Through this dissertation, I maintain that making progress towards these challenges requires a concerted effort and focus on the role of community-based conservation within the broader and emerging cross-scale networks of environmental governance. These cross-scale networks of landscape governance can either strengthen the role of community-based natural resource management or undermine them. To this end, my dissertation entitled: "Is there an Heir Apparent to the Crown? A More Informed Understanding of Connectivity and Networked Environmental Governance in the Crown of the Continent" uses social network analysis and qualitative interviews to explain the mechanisms that nurture cross-scale linkages that enhance collaborative community capacity in environmental governance. Building on a fundamental premise of landscape conservation, ecological connectivity, I develop three conceptual ideas in this dissertation: that social connectivity is a necessary prerequisite for network governance and landscape-scale conservation. Social connectivity includes concepts of social networks and is concerned with how information flows between individuals and organizations. Discourse connectivity is that crucial next step that links the social and the ecological together through a process of narrative and problem framing. Finally, I develop the idea of assemblage connectivity. The interest here is how the previous three concepts (ecological, social, and discourse) catalyze the conditions for cross-scale conservation that strengthens the role of community-based natural resource management. This framework is then applied across three empirical issue 'case-studies', invasive species management, grizzly bear conservation, and climate adaptation

“Wearable Metal Origami”? The Design and Manufacture of Metallised Folding Textiles

“Wearable Metal Origami” is a research leading to a collection of wearable objects, made from metallised folding textile. The research engages with current concerns in industrialised society, where new materials and innovative products are in demand. The material I have developed is influenced by historical and contemporary jewellery and clothing as well as by deployable structures; folding patterns are based on folding patterns in nature and on the knowledge of origami mathematicians; production processes include traditional printing and jewellery techniques. Bridging all these disciplines, the outcome is a novel material that could be used in various design fields but is particularly relevant to jewellery for its striking visual character, its flexible movement which easily adjusts to the human body, and the possibility to use precious metals. I based my research in the department of Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery because this department had helped me develop the initial material during my MA course, so I knew it could provide me with the necessary equipment and support in designing wearable pieces. My project was finally conducted within a departmental team research project (Deployable Adaptive Structures) in which my colleagues investigated the broader application of metallised or otherwise tessellated folded textile in such fields as interior architecture, sunscreens and water sculptures, and ways of actuating the material either virtually or by mechanical means. ““Wearable Metal Origami”?” is based on MA project work, where I had used one folding pattern and found one production method. I strongly believed that this material would be ideal for the creation of jewellery and larger wearable objects if I could expand the range of flexibly moving patterns, improve the production process of the material and develop appropriate design processes. My research set out to fulfil these requirements and prove the value of the material in the context of metalwork and jewellery and the applied arts. To expand the range of folding patterns I collected and analysed existing tessellating origami patterns. With this knowledge I created my own variations. All patterns were evaluated on their suitability for “Wearable Metal Origami” and a basic classification was made, based on their folding properties. A small selection of patterns was then tested to get an understanding of the influence of plate thickness, hinge width and hinge flexibility by making card-textile and plywood-textile models. I developed and tested new processes for the production of the metallised folding textile. These included preparatory processes (before electroforming), electroforming and various ways of treating the material after electroforming. Each process was evaluated on its practicality. To develop appropriate design processes for wearable objects of Metallised Folding Textile I ran four case studies, each with its own design brief. I set the briefs in such a way that they addressed different parts of the body and different qualities of the material, such as changing shape and flexibility. For each application an origami pattern was chosen and adjusted through a process of trial and error until it had the correct proportions and movement