Modelling and use of SysML behaviour models for achieving dynamic use cases of technical products in different VR-systems

Digital methods and models help the product designers in performing early evaluations on a product that eventually help to gain understanding about a product’s behaviour and its interactions with neighbouring systems in its later life-phases. Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that can facilitate the early evaluation process by showing later life situations of a product as early as at the design stage. However, the application of VR in the industry is currently limited due to high model preparation effort and poor reusability of already prepared models. Therefore, this thesis pursues towards the development of a method that can facilitate the early evaluations of the product in VR and thus, facilitate the use of VR in the product development process. This method aims at achieving generic behavioural descriptions for use in VR that can be reused as well to form dynamic use cases of a product in different VR-systems. The focus lies on reducing the overall preparation effort of VR-models and on achieving high reusability of already created models. The core components of the thesis consist of the use of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to develop generic behavioural model descriptions, their use in building different use cases of a product in one VR-system and their reuse in different VR-systems as well. The Systems Modeling Language (SysML) is used to describe the behavioural models, the modelling process is described systematically and is also summarized in the form of general-purpose guidelines for later use. Furthermore, a dedicated physics engine is used to perform the physical calculations on virtual objects in VR and is integrated with the SysML. These SysML behaviour models together with the physics engine are used to achieve a real-time product use case simulation inside VR. The same SysML behaviour models are used across different VR-systems to achieve real-time simulations and to validate their reuse. Two VR prototypes are developed to demonstrate the effectivity and use of the presented method. Finally, one of the prototypes is put to the empirical evaluation performed with the help of experts from academia as well as the industry.Digitale Methode und Modellen ermöglichen den Produktdesignern eine frühzeitige Evaluierung des Produkts, damit sie das Verhalten des Produkts und seine Interaktionen mit benachbarten Systemen in seinen späteren Lebensphasen besser verstehen können. Virtual Reality (VR) ist eine Technologie, die zum frühen Evaluierungsprozess beitragen kann, indem spätere Lebenssituationen eines Produkts schon in der Entwurfsphase angezeigt werden können. Die Anwendung von VR in der Industrie ist jedoch derzeit aufgrund des hohen Modellaufbereitungsaufwands und der limitierten Wiederverwendbarkeit vorhandener Modelle begrenzt. Daher befasst sich diese Arbeit mit der Entwicklung einer Methode, die die frühzeitige Evaluierung des Produkts innerhalb von VR und die Verwendung von VR im Produktentwicklungsprozess erleichtern kann. Diese Methode befasst sich mit dem Prozess der Entwicklung allgemeiner Verhaltensbeschreibungen zur Verwendung in VR, die auch wiederverwendet werden können, um dynamische Anwendungsfälle eines Produkts in den verschiedenen VR-Systemen abzubilden. Der Fokus liegt auf der Reduzierung des gesamten Aufbereitungsaufwands von VR-Modellen und auf das Verwirklichen einer hohen Wiederverwendbarkeit bereits vorhandener Modelle. Die Kernkomponenten der Arbeit bestehen in der Verwendung von Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) zur Entwicklung allgemeingültiger Verhaltensmodellbeschreibungen, ihrer Verwendung beim Erstellen verschiedener Anwendungsfälle eines Produkts in einem VR-System und ihrer Wiederverwendung in den verschiedenen VR-Systemen. Die Systems Modeling Language (SysML) wird zur Beschreibung der Verhaltensmodelle verwendet, der Modellierungsprozess wird systematisch beschrieben und auch in Form allgemeiner Anwendungsrichtlinien für die spätere Verwendung zusammengefasst. Darüber hinaus wird eine dedizierte Physik-Engine verwendet, um die physikalischen Berechnungen für virtuelle Objekte in VR durchzuführen, welche auch mit SysML integriert ist. Diese SysML-Verhaltensmodelle zusammen mit der Physik-Engine bilden eine echtzeitfähige Produktanwendungssimulation in VR. Dieselben SysML-Verhaltensmodelle werden für verschiedene VR-Systeme verwendet, um Echtzeitsimulationen abzubilden und ihre Wiederverwendung zu validieren. Zwei VR-Prototypen wurden entwickelt, um die Wirksamkeit und Verwendung der vorgestellten Methoden zu demonstrieren. Schließlich wurde einer der Prototypen einer empirischen Untersuchung unterzogen, die mithilfe von Experten aus Wissenschaft und Industrie durchgeführt wurde

Development of a cognitive robotic system for simple surgical tasks

The introduction of robotic surgery within the operating rooms has significantly improved the quality of many surgical procedures. Recently, the research on medical robotic systems focused on increasing the level of autonomy in order to give them the possibility to carry out simple surgical actions autonomously. This paper reports on the development of technologies for introducing automation within the surgical workflow. The results have been obtained during the ongoing FP7 European funded project Intelligent Surgical Robotics (I-SUR). The main goal of the project is to demonstrate that autonomous robotic surgical systems can carry out simple surgical tasks effectively and without major intervention by surgeons. To fulfil this goal, we have developed innovative solutions (both in terms of technologies and algorithms) for the following aspects: fabrication of soft organ models starting from CT images, surgical planning and execution of movement of robot arms in contact with a deformable environment, designing a surgical interface minimizing the cognitive load of the surgeon supervising the actions, intra-operative sensing and reasoning to detect normal transitions and unexpected events. All these technologies have been integrated using a component-based software architecture to control a novel robot designed to perform the surgical actions under study. In this work we provide an overview of our system and report on preliminary results of the automatic execution of needle insertion for the cryoablation of kidney tumours

How Participation In The Arts Impacts Learning Comprehension For High School Students During Stem Coursework At Two High Schools In Southwest Florida: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to understand how participation in the arts impacts Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) coursework for students at two Southwest Florida High Schools. Within the context of the study, the term “arts’ was used to collectively refer to all visual and performing arts courses, including painting, drawing, graphic arts, two-dimensional and three-dimensional, music, and theatre. Studies show that in order to be innovative, students need to have the experiences that the arts can foster in the right side of the brain, the side associated with creativity (Eisner, 2002). I chose a case study approach for this qualitative study, in which the participants had the opportunity to share their individual experiences in, and insight with, the arts and STEM coursework. The first theory guiding this study was associated with Elliot Eisner, who believed that the arts encourage exploration and play a key part in the development of the imagination and cognition (Eisner, 2002). The second theory that guided this study was Howard Gardner’s theory on multiple intelligences (1995), which states when students are able to approach their coursework from different perspectives, learning comprehension can be displayed in varying ways (Gardner, 1995). Lastly, Maslow’s (1943) theory of human motivation deals with how individuals prioritize their needs, including their need for self-respect and self-actualization (Maslow, 1943). Both sites for this case study offer arts and STEM coursework. Through open-ended interviews and observations with the participants, I collected and analyzed data. Based on the feedback provided by participants, the case study provided insight into how students use learning strategies, skills, and creative problem solving, resulting from their participation in the arts and in their STEM coursework

Voicing Kinship with Machines: Diffractive Empathetic Listening to Synthetic Voices in Performance.

This thesis contributes to the field of voice studies by analyzing the design and production of synthetic voices in performance. The work explores six case studies, consisting of different performative experiences of the last decade (2010- 2020) that featured synthetic voice design. It focusses on the political and social impact of synthetic voices, starting from yet challenging the concepts of voice in the machine and voice of the machine. The synthetic voices explored are often playing the role of simulated artificial intelligences, therefore this thesis expands its questions towards technology at large. The analysis of the case studies follows new materialist and posthumanist premises, yet it tries to confute the patriarchal and neoliberal approach towards technological development through feminist and de-colonial approaches, developing a taxonomy for synthetic voices in performance. Chapter 1 introduces terms and explains the taxonomy. Chapter 2 looks at familiar representations of fictional AI. Chapter 3 introduces headphone theatre exploring immersive practices. Chapters 4 and 5 engage with chatbots. Chapter 6 goes in depth exploring Human and Artificial Intelligence interaction, whereas chapter 7 moves slightly towards music production and live art. The body of the thesis includes the work of Pipeline Theatre, Rimini Protokoll, Annie Dorsen, Begüm Erciyas, and Holly Herndon. The analysis is informed by posthumanism, feminism, and performance studies, starting from my own practice as sound designer and singer, looking at aesthetics of reproduction, audience engagement, and voice composition. This thesis has been designed to inspire and provoke practitioners and scholars to explore synthetic voices further, question predominant biases of binarism and acknowledge their importance in redefining technology

A Domain-Specific Modeling approach for a simulation-driven validation of gamified learning environments Case study about teaching the mimicry of emotions to children with autism

Game elements are rarely explicit when designing serious games or gamified learning activities. We think that the overall design, including instructional design aspects and gamification elements, should be validate by involved experts in the earlier stage of the general design & develop process. We tackle this challenge by proposing a Domain-specific Modeling orientation to our proposals: a metamodeling formalism to capture the gamified instructional design model, and a specific validation process involving domain experts. The validation includes a static verification , by using this formalism to model concrete learning sessions based on concrete informations from real situations described by experts, and a dynamic verification, by developing a simplified simulator for 'execut-ing' the learning sessions scenarios with experts. This propositions are part of the EmoTED research project about a learning application, the mimicry of emotions, for children with ASD. It aims at reinforce face-to-face teaching sessions with therapists by training sessions at home with the supervision of the children's parents. This case-study will ground our proposals and their experimentations

Developing Secure and Safe Systems with Knowledge Acquisition for Automated Specification

On spetsiaalsed tehnikad, mida kasutatakse riskihalduses nii turvalisuse kui ohutuse konstrueerimise domeenides. Nende tehnikate väljundid, mida tuntakse artefaktidena, on üksteisest eraldatud, mis toob kaasa mitmeid probleeme, kuna domeenid on sõltumatud ja ei ole domeeni, mis ühendaks neid mõlemat. Probleemi keskmes on see, et turvalisus- ja ohutusinsenerid töötavad erinevates meeskondades kogu süsteemiarenduse elutsükli jooksul, mille tulemusena riskid ja ohud on ebapiisavalt kaetud. Käesolevas magistritöös rakendatakse struktuurset lähenemist, turvalisuse ja ohutuse integreerimiseks läbi SaS (Safety and Security) domeeni mudeli loomise, mis integreerib neid mõlemaid. Lisaks töö käigus näidatakse, et on võimalik kasutada eesmärgipõhist KAOS (Knowledge Acquisition in autOmated Specification) keelt ohtude ja riskide analüüsiks, nii et kaetud saavad nii ohutus- kui ka turvadomeen, muutes nende väljundid e. artefaktid hästi struktureerituks, mille tulemusena toimub põhjalik analüüs ja suureneb usaldatavus. Me pakume välja lahenduse, mis sisaldab sellise domeeni mudeli loomist, milles on integreeritud ohtutuse ja turvalisuse domeenid. See annab parema võrdlus- ja integreerimisvõimaluse, leidmaks kahe domeeni vahelise kesktee ning ühendavad definitsioonid läbi nende kaardistamise üldises ontoloogias. Selline lahendus toob kokku turvalisuse ja ohutusedomeenide integratsiooni ühtsesse mudelisse, mille tulemusena tekib ohutus- ja turvalisustehnikate vahel vastastikune mõjustus ning toodab väljundeid, mida peetakse usaldusartefaktideks ning kasutab KAOSt domeeni mudeliga, mis on ehitatud juhtumianalüüsi põhjal. Peale vastloodud mudeli rakendumist viiakse läbi katse, milles analüüsitakse sedasama juhtumit, võrdlemaks selle tulemusi teiste juba olemasolevate mudelite tulemustega, et uurida sellise domeeni mõttekust. Struktureeritud lähenemine võib seega toimida liidesena, mis lihtsustab aktiivset interaktsiooni riski- ja ohuhalduses, aidates leida lahendusi probleemidele ja vastuoludele, mille lahendamiseks on vaja integreerida ohutuse ja turvalisuse domeenid ja kasutada unifitseeritud süsteemianalüüsi tehnikat, mille tulemusena tekib analüüsi tsentraalsus.There are special techniques languages that are used in risk management in both domains of safety engineering and security engineering. The outputs, known as artifacts, of these techniques are separated from each other leading to several difficulties due to the fact that domains are independent and that there is no one unifying domain for the two. The problem is that safety engineers and security engineers work in separated teams from throughout the system development life cycle, which results in incomplete coverage of risks and threats. The thesis applies a structured approach to integration between security and safety by creating a SaS (Safety and Security) domain model. Furthermore, it demonstrates that it is possible to use goal-oriented KAOS (Knowledge Acquisition in automated Specification) language in threat and hazard analysis to cover both safety and security domains making their outputs, or artifacts, well-structured and comprehensive, which results in dependability due to the comprehensiveness of the analysis. The structured approach can thereby act as an interface for active interactions in risk and hazard management in terms of universal coverage, finding solutions for differences and contradictions which can be overcome by integrating the safety and security domains and using a unified system analysis technique (KAOS) that will result in analysis centrality

Undergraduate and Graduate Course Descriptions, 2007 Winter

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Winter 2007

Undergraduate and Graduate Course Descriptions, 2006 Fall

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Fall 2006