Mobile-based Carbon footprint calculation: insights from a usability study

Human activities have been referred as key contributors to climate change since most of the warming of the climate is the result of increased anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases from such activities. Through their daily activities, human beings contribute to the emissions of greenhouse gases that principally consist of CO2. For individuals to effectively reduce CO2 emissions from their personal activities and to improve their behaviour towards the environment, it is essential to quantify such emissions. Recently, there has been the emergence of carbon footprint calculators that provide an estimate of the carbon dioxide emissions that an individual is directly responsible for over a given period of time. During the past few years, there has been a decreasing trend of such tools among Internet users and a recognised way to promote adoption of systems is through improved usability. This paper investigates the usability of a proposed carbon footprint calculator called Mau Carbon Footprint and provides recommendations on improving this quality attribute of such tools. In order to achieve the purpose of this paper, a usability study was conducted based on Nielsen’s usability principles. As results, an overall mean score of 3.98 was obtained for the usability of the proposed calculator

RaspiMonitor: a Raspberry Pi based smart home monitoring system

Novel technological infrastructure such as smart homes have undergone major developments during recent years. Owing to the numerous benefits brought about by smart homes, research on the topic has been increasing at an exponential rate, bringing quality properties such as security, usability, reliability, and others. Despite their various advantages, smart homes have not been in a positive spotlight regarding security and reliability. The main reason that people are hesitant towards adopting an implemented intelligent system at their domicile is due to the lack of trust they allocate to the electronics. As such, this paper provides insights on an innovative and low-cost smart home monitoring system named RaspiMonitor. While the central aim of the system is to offer a robust smart home architecture which discreetly caters for the safety and security of its environment, it also helps in reducing energy wastage. The RaspiMonitor was carefully designed using dynamic web-based services in addition to an evaluation which quantified its usability and acceptance through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with 6 constructs. Results in principle portray acceptance of the system with a mean score of 4.47. This indicates that a robust hardware and software architecture such as the RaspiMonitor is useful, convenient, and easy to use

Issues and Challenges for Network Virtualisation

In recent years, network virtualisation has been of great interest to researchers, being a relatively new and major paradigm in networking. This has been reflected in the IT industry where many virtualisation solutions are being marketed as revolutionary and purchased by enterprises to exploit these promised performances. Adversely, there are certain drawbacks like security, isolation and others that have conceded the network virtualisation. In this study, an investigation of the different state-of-the-art virtualisation technologies, their issues and challenges are addressed and besides, a guideline for a quintessential Network Virtualisation Environment (NVE) is been proposed. A systematic review was effectuated on selectively picked research papers and technical reports. Moreover a comparative study is performed on different Network Virtualisation technologies which include features like security, isolation, stability, convergence, outlay, scalability, robustness, manageability, resource management, programmability, flexibility, heterogeneity, legacy Support, and ease of deployment. The virtualisation technologies comprise Virtual Private Network (VPN), Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), Virtual Extensible Local Area Network (VXLAN), Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV). Conclusively the results exhibited the disparity as to the gaps of creating an ideal network virtualisation model which can be circumvented using these as a benchmark

An automated personal carbon footprint calculator for estimating carbon emissions from transportation use

Transportation is one of the biggest menaces to the planet, releasing several million tons of gases into the atmosphere on an annual basis. The growing use of transportation has expanded the concentration and release of these gases, which affect the environment in a number of ways such as depletion of the ozone layer, air pollution and more seriously, global warming and climate change. Among the different modes, road transportation is a significant contributor of greenhouse gas as it ejects dangerous gases directly into the atmosphere, and these emissions are predicted to increase drastically over the years. As such, it is essential to track and monitor emissions from transportation activities in an attempt to reduce the global emissions of greenhouse gases, through carbon footprint calculators. However, most of these calculators do not solely focus on transportation and the ones that do, require a substantial amount of effort and manual input. this paper investigates acceptance of an automated personal transportation-based carbon footprint calculator and its accuracy in monitoring and reducing carbon emissions. As part of this study, a mobile application called TCTracker was implemented using Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality and built-in artificial intelligence (AI) features. The acceptance of the tool was evaluated using the Technology Acceptance Model whereby involving forty users to evaluate four constructs notably, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and intention to use. Among these constructs, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness had the highest scores, to also depict the acceptance of the tool, while also sustaining interest in carbon footprint tracking

Rapid prototyping of the SmartAR augmented reality control platform for multiple use cases

The technology of augmented reality (AR) is still in its infancy, but given the significant influence of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, it can be said to be the next big thing for the next generation. The goal of this study is to create, utilizing fast application development approaches, a low-cost platform that can be applied to a variety of Smart City and Smart Building use cases. The many AR use cases discussed in this paper are all implemented using the same methodology. The Node-Red platform, which is perfectly suited to the Internet of Things and online applications, was used to swiftly construct a number of augmented reality use cases for the platfor

A serial dual-channel library occupancy detection system based on Faster RCNN

The phenomenon of seat occupancy in university libraries is a prevalent issue. However, existing solutions, such as software-based seat reservations and sensors-based occupancy detection, have proven to be inadequate in effectively addressing this problem. In this study, we propose a novel approach: a serial dual-channel object detection model based on Faster RCNN. Furthermore, we develop a user-friendly Web interface and mobile APP to create a computer vision-based platform for library seat occupancy detection. To construct our dataset, we combine real-world data collec-tion with UE5 virtual reality. The results of our tests also demonstrate that the utilization of per-sonalized virtual dataset significantly enhances the performance of the convolutional neural net-work (CNN) in dedicated scenarios. The serial dual-channel detection model comprises three es-sential steps. Firstly, we employ Faster RCNN algorithm to determine whether a seat is occupied by an individual. Subsequently, we utilize an object classification algorithm based on transfer learning, to classify and identify images of unoccupied seats. This eliminates the need for manual judgment regarding whether a person is suspected of occupying a seat. Lastly, the Web interface and APP provide seat information to librarians and students respectively, enabling comprehensive services. By leveraging deep learning methodologies, this research effectively addresses the issue of seat occupancy in library systems. It significantly enhances the accuracy of seat occupancy recognition, reduces the computational resources required for training CNNs, and greatly improves the effi-ciency of library seat management

Hazard perception training and assessment of young drivers in Mauritius: investigating the acceptance of the MauHazard tool

During the past few years, there has been a growing concern over the number of road accidents taking place in Mauritius. A significant number of accidents involve young drivers and although various measures are being implemented by different stakeholders to address this issue, one factor that has not been well investigated is the hazard perception skills of these road users. This is also due to the unavailability of hazard perception training and test tool for drivers within Mauritius to use. In addition, from a research perspective, technology acceptance of such tools is important to study since it helps to comprehend issues that impact future adoptions. However, limited studies have been conducted to assess technology acceptance of hazard perception test tools. In order to address this limitation, this paper investigates and analyses the acceptance of a hazard perception training and test tool called MauHazard by young drivers in Mauritius. To investigate technology acceptance of such tool, the Technology Acceptance Model was applied in a study involving 40 participants to utilize the proposed tool. Results revealed positive acceptance of MauHazard by the young drivers although different issues were highlighted

Gamificación para la innovación de la educación: Una revisión sistemática de la literatura.

La gamificación nace como una herramienta de innovación educativa con la finalidad de mejorar las competencias en la educación. En este trabajo se propone llevar a cabo una revisión sistemática de la literatura, centrándose en investigaciones que hayan explorado los efectos de esta técnica de aprendizaje en estudiantes de secundaria y universitarios. Se utilizó el método de Kitchenham & Carters con el planteamiento de tres preguntas directrices, en base a aspectos como enfoques, metodologías y aportes al proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje. En efecto, tras aplicar criterios de inclusión y exclusión, se identificaron 26 documentos relevantes provenientes de las bases de datos electrónicas de IEEE, Springer y ScienceDirect, recopilados durante los últimos 5 años. Los resultados apuntan a que la gamificación es una herramienta valiosa para la innovación educativa puesto que promueve la motivación, el compromiso, el aprendizaje activo, la retroalimentación inmediata, la colaboración y la personalización.Gamification was born as an educational innovation tool to improve skills in education. This paper proposes to carry out a systematic review of the literature, focusing on research that has explored the effects of this learning technique on high school and university students. The Kitchenham & Carters method was used with the formulation of three guiding questions, based on aspects such as approaches, methodologies, and contributions to the teaching-learning process. Indeed, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 26 relevant documents were identified from the electronic databases of IEEE, Springer and ScienceDirect, collected during the last 5 years. The results suggest that gamification is a valuable tool for educational innovation since it promotes motivation, commitment, active learning, immediate feedback, collaboration, and personalization

Design and Realization of an Unmanned Aerial Rotorcraft Vehicle Using Pressurized Inflatable Structure

Unmanned aerial rotorcraft vehicles have many military, commercial and civil applications. There is a necessity to advance the performance on several ranges of rotorcraft for using these vehicles successfully in the expanded future roles. A lower flight time, noise disturbance and safety issues remain the key obstacles in increasing the efficiency of the rotorcraft for various applications. This work presents the design and realization of a rotorcraft using pressurized inflatable structure filled with lighter than air gas such as helium or hydrogen to provide lift assistance for the vehicle. Two iterative design procedures were developed for designing the vehicle. One is based on the net weight of the vehicle and the other based on the diameter of the pressurized structure. Fabrication of a design based on the diameter of the pressurized structure is analysed and evaluated. Gross static lift, the correlation between the size of the inflatable structure and lift force produced, lifting gas properties in the flight range, stress on the structure, and the maximum achievable altitude is also discussed. The vehicle possesses the potential to overcome some inherent limitations of the current unmanned aerial rotorcraft vehicles. This work holds an excellent prospect for future research and more isolated development in all the applications this particular system can be employed

Systematic mapping of software engineering management with an agile approach

El enfoque ágil ha generado una amplia variedad de estrategias para administrar con éxito diversos proyectos de software en todo el mundo. Además, podemos asegurar que los proyectos de software se han beneficiado de los métodos ágiles ya conocidos. En este sentido, este artículo busca demostrar cómo se aplica el enfoque ágil en las áreas de la gestión en la ingeniería del Software. Para ello, este estudio realiza un mapeo sistemático para identificar las principales tendencias en la gestión de la ingeniería de software con un enfoque ágil. Se han identificado un total de 1137 artículos, de los cuales 165 son relevantes para los fines de este estudio, estos indican que la entrega temprana de valor, un principio clave de la agilidad, sigue siendo la principal tendencia para el uso de métodos ágiles. Sin embargo, también existen fuertes tendencias enfocadas en puntos clave de la gestión en ingeniería de software, como optimizar la gestión de calidad, optimizar la especificación de requisitos, optimizar la gestión de riesgos y mejorar la comunicación y coordinación del equipo, estos resultados permitirán generar nuevas líneas de investigación para cada punto clave de la gestión en la ingeniería del software impactado por el enfoque ágil.The agile approach has generated a wide variety of strategies to successfully manage various software projects worldwide. In addition, we can ensure that software projects have benefited from the already known agile methods. In this sense, this article seeks to demonstrate how the agile approach is applied in Software engineering management areas. To do this, this study performs a systematic mapping to identify the main trends in software engineering management with an agile approach. A total of 1137 articles have identified, of which 165 are relevant for the purposes of this study, these indicate that early value delivery, a key principle of agility, continues to be the main trend for the use of agile methods. However, there are also strong trends focused on key points of management in software engineering, such as optimize quality management, optimize requirements specification, optimize risk management, and improve team communication and coordination, these results will allow generating new lines of research for each key point of management in software engineering impacted by the agile approach