Innovative teaching methods in Engineering

[EN] Engineering and innovation are inseparable concepts [1]. This symbiotic relationship is shown in engineers’ workplaces, in engineering research and development processes but also is present in engineers’ education methods

Space 4.0 – a common, democratic European space

Regardless of differences in political views on the scope and depth of the European integration, there are so many areas of possible and very beneficial integration that it is difficult to include them all in the area of ​​controversy. One such area of ​​necessary and extremely profitable European integration is, among others, space. Unless we go back a few decades and consider space, even today, to be the pride only of those nations that have overcome the space barrier. This would be an absurdity difficult to imagine in today\u27s Europe. Space 4.0 is, in its shortest definition and in relation to European context, a great, long-term effort by our entire community to democratize space over Europe. It was high time for ESA to make this decision in 2016. Space 4.0 is a large sector project with general social ambitions, contributing to the Industry 4.0 project and the idea of ​​European Society 4.0. Europe was maturing for this decision on many levels: political, social, but mainly economic and competitive. We will soon celebrate the 10th anniversary of this decision, so we would like to remind again where we direct our European space dreams, and maybe it is time for a slightly earlier summary of activities during this period of almost a decade, especially from our Polish, perhaps slightly subjective perspective. The English version of this article is published concurrently in IJET-The International Journal of Electronics and Telecommunications. Polish version is published in Elektronika.&nbsp

Camera Pose Optimization for 3D Mapping

Digital 3D models of environments are of great value in many applications, but the algorithms that build them autonomously are computationally expensive and require a considerable amount of time to perform this task. In this work, we present an active simultaneous localisation and mapping system that optimises the pose of the sensor for the 3D reconstruction of an environment, while a 2D Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree algorithm controls the motion of the mobile platform for the ground exploration strategy. Our objective is to obtain a 3D map comparable to that obtained using a complete 3D approach in a time interval of the same order of magnitude of a 2D exploration algorithm. The optimisation is performed using a ray-tracing technique from a set of candidate poses based on an uncertainty octree built during exploration, whose values are calculated according to where they have been viewed from. The system is tested in diverse simulated environments and compared with two different exploration methods from the literature, one based on 2D and another one that considers the complete 3D space. Experiments show that combining our algorithm with a 2D exploration method, the 3D map obtained is comparable in quality to that obtained with a pure 3D exploration procedure, but demanding less time.This work was supported in part by the Project ‘‘5R-Red Cervera de Tecnologías Robóticas en Fabricación Inteligente,’’ through the ‘‘Centros Tecnológicos de Excelencia Cervera’’ Program funded by the ‘‘Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI),’’ under Contract CER-20211007

An advanced grade control systems class and machine control file conversion study

The writer worked with representatives from Iowa State University, McAninch Corporation, Ziegler Caterpillar, and other organizations to develop advanced grade control classes at Iowa State University. Since these classes were the first known offerings of their kind, qualitative interviews were conducted to identify appropriate course curricula, educational outcomes, educational objectives, homework assignments, reading assignments, and quizzes. Educational outcomes and objectives were generated to expedite the process of becoming an advanced grade control specialist. These outcomes and objectives were helpful when determining course material, topics, and structure. Qualitative and quantitative surveys were administered after each course to evaluate course success and determine areas for improvement in future offerings. Furthermore, recommendations were developed for including advanced grade control in existing undergraduate courses. In addition, it was recognized that little academic information exists relating to file conversion for advanced grade control. As a result, a discussion of file conversion is included to enhance the reader\u27s understanding of this process. Attributes of various design files are discussed to help employees better anticipate time requirements for file conversion and help designers realize the benefits of sharing electronic files. To further increase comprehension, the reader is lead through a file conversion case study on a site development project in Iowa

Visual Design Process: Communicating with Storyboarding and Augmented Reality

In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety.In the building profession, it is essential for architects to communicate clearly and effectively to numerous people. This thesis introduces a design process utilizing two visual tools— Storyboarding and Augmented Reality—as a methodology for stronger visual communication. Storyboarding is a visual design tool that communicates concepts, ideas, and specifics quickly through clear illustrations. It allows designers to visually communicate to a team and change ideas during the development phase of a project. Augmented Reality is a visual tool that communicates superimposed digital information through a composite view of the real and digital world. This gives designers the ability to present more information about completed projects. Through further investigation of this design process, I have found that it is the balance between the two and the transition of information between design phases that allows for a brand new process of visual communication throughout a design project’s entirety

Programming Robots for Activities of Everyday Life

Text-based programming remains a challenge to novice programmers in\ua0all programming domains including robotics. The use of robots is gainingconsiderable traction in several domains since robots are capable of assisting\ua0humans in repetitive and hazardous tasks. In the near future, robots willbe used in tasks of everyday life in homes, hotels, airports, museums, etc.\ua0However, robotic missions have been either predefined or programmed usinglow-level APIs, making mission specification task-specific and error-prone.\ua0To harness the full potential of robots, it must be possible to define missionsfor specific applications domains as needed. The specification of missions of\ua0robotic applications should be performed via easy-to-use, accessible ways, and\ua0at the same time, be accurate, and unambiguous. Simplicity and flexibility in\ua0programming such robots are important, since end-users come from diverse\ua0domains, not necessarily with suffcient programming knowledge.The main objective of this licentiate thesis is to empirically understand the\ua0state-of-the-art in languages and tools used for specifying robot missions byend-users. The findings will form the basis for interventions in developing\ua0future languages for end-user robot programming.During the empirical study, DSLs for robot mission specification were\ua0analyzed through published literature, their websites, user manuals, samplemissions and using the languages to specify missions for supported robots.After extracting data from 30 environments, 133 features were identified.\ua0A feature matrix mapping the features to the environments was developedwith a feature model for robotic mission specification DSLs.Our results show that most end-user facing environments exist in the\ua0education domain for teaching novice programmers and STEM subjects. Mostof the visual languages are developed using Blockly and Scratch libraries.\ua0The end-user domain abstraction needs more work since most of the visualenvironments abstract robotic and programming language concepts but not\ua0end-user concepts. In future works, it is important to focus on the development\ua0of reusable libraries for end-user concepts; and further, explore how end-user\ua0facing environments can be adapted for novice programmers to learn\ua0general programming skills and robot programming in low resource settings\ua0in developing countries, like Uganda