Direct modeling techniques in the conceptual design stage in immersive environments for DfA&D

Due to the fast – growing competition of the mass – products markets, companies are looking for new technologies to maximize productivity and minimize time and costs. In the perspective of Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP), companies want to optimize fixture design and assembly planning for different goals. To meet these demands, the designers' interest in Design for Assembly and Disassembly is growing considerably and is increasingly being integrated into the CAPP. The work described in this thesis aims to exploit immersive technologies to support the design of mating elements and assembly / disassembly, by developing a data exchange flow between the immersive environment and the modeling environment that provides the high – level modeling rules, both for modeling features and for assembly relationships. The main objective of the research is to develop the capability to model and execute simple coupling commands in a virtual environment by using fast direct modeling commands. With this tool the designer can model the coupling elements, position them and modify their layout. Thanks to the physical engine embedded in the scene editor software, it is possible to take into consideration physical laws such as gravity and collision between elements. A library of predefined assembly features has been developed through the use of an external modeling engine and put into communication with the immersive interaction environment. Subsequently, the research involved the study of immersive technologies for workforce development and training of workers. The research on immersive training involved industrial case studies, such as the projection of the disassembly sequence of an industrial product on a head mounted display, and less industrial case studies, such as the manual skills development of carpenters for AEC sectors and the surgeon training in the pre – operative planning in medical field

The Post-Screen Through Virtual Reality, Holograms and Light Projections

Screens are ubiquitous today. They display information; present image worlds; are portable; connect to mobile networks; mesmerize. However, contemporary screen media also seek to eliminate the presence of the screen and the visibilities of its boundaries. As what is image becomes increasingly indistinguishable against the viewer’s actual surroundings, this unsettling prompts re-examination about not only what is the screen, but also how the screen demarcates and what it stands for in relation to our understanding of our realities in, outside and against images. Through case studies drawn from three media technologies – Virtual Reality; holograms; and light projections – this book develops new theories of the surfaces on and spaces in which images are displayed today, interrogating critical lines between art and life; virtuality and actuality; truth and lies. What we have today is not just the contestation of the real against illusion or the unreal, but the disappearance itself of difference and a gluttony of the unreal which both connect up to current politics of distorted truth values and corrupted terms of information. The Post-Screen Through Virtual Reality, Holograms and Light Projections: Where Screen Boundaries Lie is thus about not only where the image’s borders and demarcations are established, but also the screen boundary as the instrumentation of today’s intense virtualizations that do not tell the truth. In all this, a new imagination for images emerges, with a new space for cultures of presence and absence, definitions of object and representation, and understandings of dis- and re-placement – the post-screen

The Post-Screen Through Virtual Reality, Holograms and Light Projections

Screens are ubiquitous today. They display information; present image worlds; are portable; connect to mobile networks; mesmerize. However, contemporary screen media also seek to eliminate the presence of the screen and the visibilities of its boundaries. As what is image becomes increasingly indistinguishable against the viewer’s actual surroundings, this unsettling prompts re-examination about not only what is the screen, but also how the screen demarcates and what it stands for in relation to our understanding of our realities in, outside and against images. Through case studies drawn from three media technologies – Virtual Reality; holograms; and light projections – this book develops new theories of the surfaces on and spaces in which images are displayed today, interrogating critical lines between art and life; virtuality and actuality; truth and lies. What we have today is not just the contestation of the real against illusion or the unreal, but the disappearance itself of difference and a gluttony of the unreal which both connect up to current politics of distorted truth values and corrupted terms of information. The Post-Screen Through Virtual Reality, Holograms and Light Projections: Where Screen Boundaries Lie is thus about not only where the image’s borders and demarcations are established, but also the screen boundary as the instrumentation of today’s intense virtualizations that do not tell the truth. In all this, a new imagination for images emerges, with a new space for cultures of presence and absence, definitions of object and representation, and understandings of dis- and re-placement – the post-screen

Development of Human-Computer Interaction for Holographic AIs

Virtual humans and embodied conversational agents play diverse roles in real life, including game characters, chatbots, and teachers. In Augmented Reality (AR), such agents are capable of interacting with the real world. To distinguish between both types of virtual agents, AR agents were conceptually redefined as "holographic Artificial Intelligences (AIs)". Holographic AIs are embodied virtual agents interacting with real objects in Augmented Reality (AR), and can respond to events both in virtual and real environments. This thesis provides a comprehensive investigation into holographic AIs, spanning from their design to their user experience. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the creation and use of holographic AIs, by creating specific holographic AIs, and then examining how users perceive such entities in order to contribute to the improvement of the user experience. As a result, this thesis explores the design space for and methods for creating holographic AIs, proposing the novel PICS model which include the dimensions of persona, intelligence, conviviality, and senses. Following the PICS model, a set of holographic AIs are designed by using a method of semi-automatic reconstruction. An AI that resembles a human being in appearance and behaviour is endowed with multimodal interactions capable of creating the illusion of physicality. The initial proposed model is then refined based on the experience of creation. Basic body language gestures, such as nodding and opening the arms, are insufficient to engage users, particularly when it comes to intelligent tutoring systems. Therefore, this thesis specifically focuses on an open problem, the generation of re-usable standard instructional gestures. In an experiment, key instructional movements that can be employed by holographic AIs were identified and extracted as animations. The hitherto known range of representational gestures is, epistemologically, further expanded by transformational and imitation gestures, which show how humans manipulate spatio-motor information and characterise posture using hand motion. Therefore, the model can be extended to describe the holographic AI’s behaviour. Moreover, in order to assess the empirical validity of holographic AIs, this research explores learners' trustworthiness towards this novel technology - as a key criterion for efficacy of this AI approach. Trust and trustworthiness, in terms of holographic AIs, refers to a mindset that aids users in achieving objectives based on good intentions. Young learners’ perception of trust is largely influenced by affective aspects of trust, determined by how emotionally responsive a holographic AI is. These findings contribute to the design of personal holographic AIs that can perform a series of meaningful gestures that engage the learner’s attention for learning, which in turn fosters a reliable and trustworthy relationship. Both experiments are able to extend elements by adding gestures and holistic perception to this model

Augmented Reality and Robotics: A Survey and Taxonomy for AR-enhanced Human-Robot Interaction and Robotic Interfaces

This paper contributes to a taxonomy of augmented reality and robotics based on a survey of 460 research papers. Augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR) have emerged as a new way to enhance human-robot interaction (HRI) and robotic interfaces (e.g., actuated and shape-changing interfaces). Recently, an increasing number of studies in HCI, HRI, and robotics have demonstrated how AR enables better interactions between people and robots. However, often research remains focused on individual explorations and key design strategies, and research questions are rarely analyzed systematically. In this paper, we synthesize and categorize this research field in the following dimensions: 1) approaches to augmenting reality; 2) characteristics of robots; 3) purposes and benefits; 4) classification of presented information; 5) design components and strategies for visual augmentation; 6) interaction techniques and modalities; 7) application domains; and 8) evaluation strategies. We formulate key challenges and opportunities to guide and inform future research in AR and robotics

An Education 4.0 Pedagogical Approach for Introducing Smart Manufacturing to 5th grade students

Esta investigação é desenvolvida no âmbito do projeto Europeu "ShapiNG" (Shaping the next Generation of Manufacturing Professionals), cujo objetivo principal é atrair estudantes para atividades no campo da indústria. Proporcionar aos estudantes experiências de aprendizagem que os ajudem a compreender as competências necessárias para ser bem sucedido no local de trabalho é uma proposta desafiante no mundo de hoje em rápida mudança e dominado pela tecnologia. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar as tecnologias e abordagens-chave que, combinadas, podem constituir uma arquitetura pedagógica adequada para criar consciência e motivação entre os jovens estudantes, a fim de os inspirar a escolher uma carreira em Engenharia. Com base na teoria de aprendizagem de David Ausubel, foi realizado um estudo de caso para avaliar a eficácia da arquitetura concebida. A população da metodologia de pesquisa consistiu em 60 alunos do 5º ano de escolaridade que frequentavam a aula de "STEM" na "Escola Global". Os tópicos abordados foram modelação e impressão 3D. Após uma revisão minuciosa da literatura e um profundo trabalho de campo envolvendo observação direta e participante, questionários e entrevistas foram feitas com o objetivo de recolher dados relativos a (a) conhecimentos obtidos sobre os tópicos abordados, (b) benefícios de trabalhar colaborativamente e individualmente, (c) eficácia do material instrucional, e (d) motivação para seguir uma carreira em Engenharia. Por fim, através do trabalho realizado conseguimos obter os seguintes resultados principais: não há diferenças significativas no conhecimento adquirido entre o trabalho individual e colaborativo para as atividades propostas; os benefícios do trabalho colaborativo estão associados à possibilidade de negociar conceitos e aprimorar as competências de liderança e organização, enquanto os benefícios do trabalho individual estão relacionados com a possibilidade de auto-superação e de ser criativo; a motivação influenciou a qualidade percebida do material instrucional, sendo que os estudantes motivados classificaram melhor o material instrucional do que os não motivados; os estudantes do sexo masculino estão mais motivados a seguir uma carreira na Engenharia do que os do sexo feminino. Em última análise, os principais resultados deste estudo proporcionam um ponto de partida conceptual e prático para o desenvolvimento de abordagens eficazes em futuros trabalhos de investigação e para atividades que pretendam motivar jovens estudantes para seguir uma carreira na Engenharia.This research is developed within the scope of the European project "ShapiNG" (Shaping the next Generation of Manufacturing Professionals), whose main goal is to attract young students for activities in the field of manufacturing. Providing students with learning experiences that help them to understand the skills they need to succeed in the workplace is a difficult proposition in today's quickly changing world pervaded by technology. The purpose of this study is to identify key technologies and approaches that combined may constitute a suitable pedagogical architecture to create awareness and motivation among young students as to inspire them to pursue a career in Engineering. Drawing on David Ausubel's theory of learning, a case study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the conceived architecture. The research methodology population consisted of 60 students from the 5th grade attending the "STEM" class at "Escola Global". The covered topics were 3D modeling and 3D printing. After a thorough literature review and an in-depth fieldwork involving both direct and participant observation, questionnaires and interviews were done in order to collect data regarding the (a) knowledge obtained on the covered topics, (b) benefits of working collaboratively and individually, (c) effectiveness of the instructional material, and (d) motivation to pursue a career in Engineering. Ultimately, through our research we were able to obtain the following main results: there are no significant differences on the acquired knowledge between individual and collaborative work for the proposed activities; benefits of collaborative work are related to the possibility of negotiating concepts and enhancing leadership and organizational skills, whilst benefits of individual work are related to the possibility of self-overcoming and being creative; motivation influenced the perceived quality of instructional material with motivated students rating better the instructional material than the unmotivated ones; male students are more motivated to pursue a career in Engineering than female. Ultimately, the main results of this study provide a conceptual and practical gateway to bring in effective approaches to future research and activities focused on motivating young students to pursue a career in Engineering

The Augmented Learner : The pivotal role of multimedia enhanced learning within a foresight-based learning model designed to accelerate the delivery of higher levels of learner creativity

The central theme for this dissertation lies at the intersection of multisensory technology enhanced learning, the field of foresight and transformative pedagogy and their role in helping to develop greater learner creativity. These skills will be key to meeting the needs of the projected growing role of the creative class within the emerging global workforce structure and the projected growth in R&D and the advancement of human-machine resource management. Over the past two decades, we have traversed from the Industrial Age through the Information Age into what we now call postnormal times, manifested partly in Industry 4.0. It is widely considered that the present education system in countries with developed economies is not optimised for delivering the much-needed creative skills, which are prominent amongst the critical 21st C skills required by the creative class, (also known as creatives), which will be increasingly dominant in terms of near future employability. Consequently, there will be a potential shortfall of creatives unless this issue is rapidly addressed. To ensure that the creative skills I aimed to enhance were relevant and aligned with emerging demands of the changing landscape, I deconstructed the critical dimensions, context, and concept of creativity in postnormal times as well as undertaking in-depth research on the potential future workscape and the future of education and learning, applying a comprehensive foresight approach to the latter using a 2030-2040 horizon. Based upon the outcomes of these studies I designed an experimental integrative learning system that I have applied, researched, and evolved over the past 4 years with over 150 students at PhD and master’s level. The system is aimed at generating higher levels of creative engagement and development through a focus on increased immersion and creativity-inducing approaches. The system, which I call the Living Learning System, is based upon eight integrated elements, supported by course development pillars aimed at optimizing learner future skill competencies and levels of creativity for which I apply severalevaluation techniques and metrics. Accordingly, as the central hypothesis of this dissertation, I argue that by integrating the critical elements of the Living Learning System, such as emerging multisensory technology enhanced learning coupled with optimised transformative and experiential learning approaches, framed within the field of foresight, with its futures focus and decentralised thinking approaches, students increase their ability to be creative. This increased ability is based on the student attaining a richer level of personal ambience through deeper immersion generated through higher incidence of self-direction, constructivism-based blended pedagogy, futures literacy, and a balance of decentralised and systems-based thinking, as well as cognitive and social platforms aimed at optimizing learner creative achievement. This dissertation demonstrates how the application of the combined elements of the Living Learning System, with its futures focus and its ensuing transdisciplinary curricula and courses, can provide a clear path towards significantly increased learner creativity. The findings of the quantitative, questionnaire-based research set out in detail in Chapter 9, together with the performance and creativity evaluation models applied against the selected case studies of student projects substantiate the validity of the hypothesis that the application of the Living Learning System with its futures focus leads to increased creativity in line with the needs of the postnormal era.publishedVersio

Hybridity and Habitation: A Rhetorical Analysis of Interior Design in Live-Action Cyberpunk Films Through the Lens of Posthumanism and Thing Theory

Characterized by hyper-urban environments, extreme class division, and an abundance ofcorporate oversight, the cyberpunk subgenre of science-fiction is a prime candidate for scholarly research on speculative interior design and associated technologies. Using the theoretical frameworks of posthumanism, or the concept that humans will transcend their current biological form in the near future, and thing theory, or the worldview that objects are able to enact their autonomy on living subjects, interior design in three live-action films in the cyberpunk subgenre were analyzed in order to determine how depictions of future spaces reflect present ideations of our potential real future. Metaphor analysis was employed as this thesis’ methodology, as the ideologies implemented in design and technology are often understood through tactile or visual interactions with artifacts. After applying metaphor analysis to one domestic space, one workspace, and one decorative element in each film, it has become evident that in our inevitable posthuman future, human scale and the corporeal form of our species must be taken into account when creating spaces and technologies for us to inhabit and use. Though it may be inaccurate to surmise that design can solve all of the institutional problems that plague societies, there is reason to believe that the inanimate spaces and technologies that occupy our lives do play a role in affecting our psyche and ability to foster healthy relationships

Annals of Scientific Society for Assembly, Handling and Industrial Robotics

This Open Access proceedings present a good overview of the current research landscape of industrial robots. The objective of MHI Colloquium is a successful networking at academic and management level. Thereby the colloquium is focussing on a high level academic exchange to distribute the obtained research results, determine synergetic effects and trends, connect the actors personally and in conclusion strengthen the research field as well as the MHI community. Additionally there is the possibility to become acquainted with the organizing institute. Primary audience are members of the scientific association for assembly, handling and industrial robots (WG MHI)