7 research outputs found

    Steampunk: Utopismo e Neovitorianismo nos séculos XX e XXI

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    Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Línguas, Literaturas e CulturasA dissertação centra-se no steampunk, tendo em conta paradigmas como utopia e neovitorianismo. Tem como objectivo identificar várias consequências deste revivalismo, bem como estabelecer uma consequente problematização da construção de utopias passíveis de serem encontradas em subculturas. Esta subcultura singular é estudada num contexto de revivalismo vitoriano que vê no steampunk uma encarnação da era vitoriana. Estando a dissertação inserida na especialização em Estudos Ingleses e Norte-Americanos, é feita uma distinção entre as duas variantes da subcultura: a norte-americana e a inglesa, mas tendo como componente principal a variante inglesa. Além disso, leva-se a cabo uma análise e contextualização de um corpus composto por obras que são apelidadas de steampunk, de forma a conseguir estabelecer várias características comuns na literatura e respectiva influência na subcultura. Também se realiza a análise crítica, fruto do contacto com membros da comunidade steampunk, de forma a obter uma melhor compreensão do movimento, da sua ideologia e características, e se poder estabelecer um estado da questão. Em suma, esta dissertação visa não só trazer uma nova perspectiva à ideia de utopia, ao aplicar esta noção a uma subcultura emergente e única, mas também contribuir para uma problematização das diferentes correntes de revivalismo da era vitoriana, a que se tem assistido nos últimos anos

    Machine learning of inteligent mobile robot based on arti ficial neural networks

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    Унутрашњи транспорт сировина, материјала и готових делова подразумева брзо, ефикасно и економично деловање постављеног транспортног задатка...Material Handling Systems in manufacturing environment imply efficient and economical transport solutions. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are a common choice made by many companies for Material Handling in manufacturing systems. Nowadays, AGV based internal transport of raw materials, goods and parts is becoming improved with advances in technology. Demands for fast, efficient and reliable transport imply the usage of the flexible AGVs with onboard sensing and special kinds of algorithms needed for daily operation. These transport solutions can be modified and enhanced by applying advanced methods and technologies. New generation of internal transport systems should operate autonomously, without direct human control. Level of development of mobile robots insures reliability and efficiency needed for dayily operations within manufacturing environemnt. In this thesis, the implementation of mobile robots for internal transport within Material Handling System is analyzed and new solutions are proposed. Focus of research efforts is devoted to the ability to estimate position and orientation of mobile robot within manufacturing environment using newly developed algorithms and sensory information. Simultaneous localization (of the mobile robot) and mapping (of the working environment) is one of the most important problems in mobile robotics community. The soultion to this problem insures autonomous navigation and henceforth autonomous operation for transport purposes within manufacturing/industrial facility without direct human control. In this thesis, new algorithm for state estimation is proposed and analyzed; the algorithm is based on integration of Extended Kalman Filter and feedforward neural networks (Neural Extended Kalman Filter) and camera is used as exteroceptive sensor. Furhermore, to achieve intelligent behavior, the X new robotic hybrid control architecture is developed and analyzed. Finally, the new hybrid control algorithm for guidance of mobile robot is proposed. Two building blocks form the hybrid algorithm: visual servoing and position based control. Neural Extended Kalman Filter is used for state estimation of the mobile robots, and at each time instant the robot knows its position and orientation..

    Conceptual and cognitive problems in cybernetics

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    This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Controversies have existed for some time about cybernetics as a subject and difficulties have existed for students in obtaining an overview despite the fact that at some level several cybernetics concepts can be grasped by twelve year olds. An attempt is made to unpack the notion of a subject entity and to indicate how far elements in cybernetics conform to such a concept within a generally acceptable philosophy of science. Ambiguities and controversies among key themes of cybernetics are examined and resolutions offered. How far the nature of cybernetics is likely to create problems of understanding is discussed, along with approaches towards the empirical examination of how cybernetic ideas are understood. An approach to better understanding is formulated and used in an investigation of how and how effectively the concept of feedback is grasped by various groups. Suggestions are offered from the foregoing analysis as to the balance of problems within cybernetics and effective strategies for the future

    Multimodal, Embodied and Location-Aware Interaction

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    This work demonstrates the development of mobile, location-aware, eyes-free applications which utilise multiple sensors to provide a continuous, rich and embodied interaction. We bring together ideas from the fields of gesture recognition, continuous multimodal interaction, probability theory and audio interfaces to design and develop location-aware applications and embodied interaction in both a small-scale, egocentric body-based case and a large-scale, exocentric `world-based' case. BodySpace is a gesture-based application, which utilises multiple sensors and pattern recognition enabling the human body to be used as the interface for an application. As an example, we describe the development of a gesture controlled music player, which functions by placing the device at different parts of the body. We describe a new approach to the segmentation and recognition of gestures for this kind of application and show how simulated physical model-based interaction techniques and the use of real world constraints can shape the gestural interaction. GpsTunes is a mobile, multimodal navigation system equipped with inertial control that enables users to actively explore and navigate through an area in an augmented physical space, incorporating and displaying uncertainty resulting from inaccurate sensing and unknown user intention. The system propagates uncertainty appropriately via Monte Carlo sampling and output is displayed both visually and in audio, with audio rendered via granular synthesis. We demonstrate the use of uncertain prediction in the real world and show that appropriate display of the full distribution of potential future user positions with respect to sites-of-interest can improve the quality of interaction over a simplistic interpretation of the sensed data. We show that this system enables eyes-free navigation around set trajectories or paths unfamiliar to the user for varying trajectory width and context. We demon- strate the possibility to create a simulated model of user behaviour, which may be used to gain an insight into the user behaviour observed in our field trials. The extension of this application to provide a general mechanism for highly interactive context aware applications via density exploration is also presented. AirMessages is an example application enabling users to take an embodied approach to scanning a local area to find messages left in their virtual environment

    Multimodal, Embodied and Location-Aware Interaction

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    This work demonstrates the development of mobile, location-aware, eyes-free applications which utilise multiple sensors to provide a continuous, rich and embodied interaction. We bring together ideas from the fields of gesture recognition, continuous multimodal interaction, probability theory and audio interfaces to design and develop location-aware applications and embodied interaction in both a small-scale, egocentric body-based case and a large-scale, exocentric `world-based' case. BodySpace is a gesture-based application, which utilises multiple sensors and pattern recognition enabling the human body to be used as the interface for an application. As an example, we describe the development of a gesture controlled music player, which functions by placing the device at different parts of the body. We describe a new approach to the segmentation and recognition of gestures for this kind of application and show how simulated physical model-based interaction techniques and the use of real world constraints can shape the gestural interaction. GpsTunes is a mobile, multimodal navigation system equipped with inertial control that enables users to actively explore and navigate through an area in an augmented physical space, incorporating and displaying uncertainty resulting from inaccurate sensing and unknown user intention. The system propagates uncertainty appropriately via Monte Carlo sampling and output is displayed both visually and in audio, with audio rendered via granular synthesis. We demonstrate the use of uncertain prediction in the real world and show that appropriate display of the full distribution of potential future user positions with respect to sites-of-interest can improve the quality of interaction over a simplistic interpretation of the sensed data. We show that this system enables eyes-free navigation around set trajectories or paths unfamiliar to the user for varying trajectory width and context. We demon- strate the possibility to create a simulated model of user behaviour, which may be used to gain an insight into the user behaviour observed in our field trials. The extension of this application to provide a general mechanism for highly interactive context aware applications via density exploration is also presented. AirMessages is an example application enabling users to take an embodied approach to scanning a local area to find messages left in their virtual environment

    Mensch-Computer-Interface: Zur Geschichte und Zukunft der Computerbedienung

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    Die gegenwärtige Interface-Krise bei digitalen Medien nehmen Informatiker und Informatikhistoriker in diesem Band zum Anlass für eine Langzeitbilanz der Mensch-Computer-Interaktion. Sie legen sowohl Gesamtüberblicke der Entwicklung aus technik- und geistesgeschichtlicher Sicht vor als auch spezielle Studien zur Bedienproblematik einzelner Epochen. Dadurch entsteht ein großer Bogen von den Bedienschnittstellen der frühen Mainframe-Welt über die interaktiven PC-Interfaces bis zu den neuesten Entwicklungen des Wearable Computing und der proaktiven Ambient Intelligence. Die historisch-genetischen Analysen münden in theoretische Betrachtungen und kritische Rückblicke auf die Forschung zu Mensch-Computer-Interfaces sowie Ausblicke auf die Zukunft
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