Inspirational Bits - Towards a Shared Understanding of the Digital Material

In any design process, a medium’s properties need to be considered. This is nothing new in design. Still we find that in HCI and interactive systems design the properties of a technology are often glossed over. That is, technologies are black-boxed without much thought given to how their distinctive properties open up design possibilities. In this paper we describe what we call inspirational bits as a way to become more familiar with the design material in HCI, the digital material. We describe inspirational bits as quick and dirty but fully working systems in both hardware and software built with the aim of exposing one or several of the dynamic properties of a digital material. We also show how they provide a means of sharing design knowledge across the members of a multi-disciplined design team

Developing a Mini Smart House model

The work is devoted to designing a smart home educational model. The authors analyzed the literature in the field of the Internet of Things and identified the basic requirements for the training model. It contains the following levels: command, communication, management. The authors identify the main subsystems of the training model: communication, signaling, control of lighting, temperature, filling of the garbage container, monitoring of sensor data. The proposed smart home educational model takes into account the economic indicators of resource utilization, which gives the opportunity to save on payment for their consumption. The hardware components for the implementation of the Mini Smart House were selected in the article. It uses a variety of technologies to conveniently manage it and use renewable energy to power it. The model was produced in-dependently by students involved in the STEM project. Research includes sketching, making construction parts, sensor assembly and Arduino boards, programming in the Arduino IDE environment, testing the functioning of the system. Research includes sketching, making some parts, assembly sensor and Arduino boards, programming in the Arduino IDE environment, testing the functioning of the system. Approbation Mini Smart House researches were conducted within activity the STEM-center of Physics and Mathematics Faculty of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, in particular during the educational process and during numerous trainings and seminars for pupils and teachers of computer science

A System for Sketching in Hardware:Do-It-Yourself Interfaces for Sound and Music Computing

(Abstract to follow

Data as a design material: An analysis on the challenges of working with “big data” related technologies in an industrial context

In recent years, the ability to collect, store and analyse large datasets by private companies and government agencies has increased to the point where the term “big data” has been coined to describe the phenomena. Alongside “big data”, several data processing technologies are becoming more widespread due to their effectiveness and success in everyday products and services; these are artificial intelligence, with its subsets machine learning and deep learning, and data analytics amongst others. This study investigated the challenges designers face when working with new information and communication technologies in an industrial context. More specifically, it deals with “big data” and new data processing technologies and how designers engage with them as a design material when envisioning new products and services. The research questions were (1) what challenges are designers facing when working with “big data” in a data-rich industrial context? (2) how is working with “big data” and new data collecting and processing technologies different from other design materials? (3) how can designers overcome some of the challenges of working with data? This thesis adopted a research through design approach and data was collected between June 2015 and January 2016. Furthermore, a review of the material-centred design literature was used as a theoretical framework. To answer the research questions, this thesis investigated a six-month design project done for the energy company Vattenfall. Vattenfall was at the time going through a digitalisation phase and was interested in evaluating the possibility of combining their internal data with other data sources to explore new products and services. During the six-month period, I worked in Vattenfall’s Helsinki offices, designing different concepts under the supervision of the product development team and their programme manager as my direct supervisor. Data was gathered using different qualitative methods and focusing on three areas: the design practice, the design outcomes, and the interactions with the team and stakeholders. The key findings demonstrate how the practice of design in this new technological landscape faces multiple challenges. The main challenges being (a) the high level of complexity of these technologies, (b) the lack of education/experience of the designer to work in this context, (c) the lack of competence in the organization and (d) the missing frameworks and tools for collaboration between data experts and designers. Furthermore, it was also found and validated against the literature that these new technologies present different properties not comparable with previously well-studied ones like haptics, Bluetooth and RFID. Making existing frameworks and traditional approaches to exploring new digital materials hard to replicate. The results further suggest the need for developing novel concepts and frameworks to support new ways of understanding, describing and working with “big data” and its related technologies

Close range remote control with advanced capabilities

Treball desenvolupat dins el marc del programa 'European Project Semester'.When a marine underwater housing with electronic equipment is deployed it is usually switched off during transport to the deployment location, which can take days to weeks. The system is then switched on just before its final installation. Electronics and batteries are stored in sealed containers that can be difficult to manipulate especially while at sea; it is preferred not to open them unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, a rugged switch or connector might be installed on the exterior of the underwater housing. These external connectors come with extra cost and also add eventual path for water intrusion and might allow accidental manipulation. An alternative solution could be a radio linked remote control (RC) enough rugged and safe to be used confidently in these and other critical applications

Physical sketching tools and techniques for customized sensate surfaces

Sensate surfaces are a promising avenue for enhancing human interaction with digital systems due to their inherent intuitiveness and natural user interface. Recent technological advancements have enabled sensate surfaces to surpass the constraints of conventional touchscreens by integrating them into everyday objects, creating interactive interfaces that can detect various inputs such as touch, pressure, and gestures. This allows for more natural and intuitive control of digital systems. However, prototyping interactive surfaces that are customized to users' requirements using conventional techniques remains technically challenging due to limitations in accommodating complex geometric shapes and varying sizes. Furthermore, it is crucial to consider the context in which customized surfaces are utilized, as relocating them to fabrication labs may lead to the loss of their original design context. Additionally, prototyping high-resolution sensate surfaces presents challenges due to the complex signal processing requirements involved. This thesis investigates the design and fabrication of customized sensate surfaces that meet the diverse requirements of different users and contexts. The research aims to develop novel tools and techniques that overcome the technical limitations of current methods and enable the creation of sensate surfaces that enhance human interaction with digital systems.Sensorische Oberflächen sind aufgrund ihrer inhärenten Intuitivität und natürlichen Benutzeroberfläche ein vielversprechender Ansatz, um die menschliche Interaktionmit digitalen Systemen zu verbessern. Die jüngsten technologischen Fortschritte haben es ermöglicht, dass sensorische Oberflächen die Beschränkungen herkömmlicher Touchscreens überwinden, indem sie in Alltagsgegenstände integriert werden und interaktive Schnittstellen schaffen, die diverse Eingaben wie Berührung, Druck, oder Gesten erkennen können. Dies ermöglicht eine natürlichere und intuitivere Steuerung von digitalen Systemen. Das Prototyping interaktiver Oberflächen, die mit herkömmlichen Techniken an die Bedürfnisse der Nutzer angepasst werden, bleibt jedoch eine technische Herausforderung, da komplexe geometrische Formen und variierende Größen nur begrenzt berücksichtigt werden können. Darüber hinaus ist es von entscheidender Bedeutung, den Kontext, in dem diese individuell angepassten Oberflächen verwendet werden, zu berücksichtigen, da eine Verlagerung in Fabrikations-Laboratorien zum Verlust ihres ursprünglichen Designkontextes führen kann. Zudem stellt das Prototyping hochauflösender sensorischer Oberflächen aufgrund der komplexen Anforderungen an die Signalverarbeitung eine Herausforderung dar. Diese Arbeit erforscht dasDesign und die Fabrikation individuell angepasster sensorischer Oberflächen, die den diversen Anforderungen unterschiedlicher Nutzer und Kontexte gerecht werden. Die Forschung zielt darauf ab, neuartigeWerkzeuge und Techniken zu entwickeln, die die technischen Beschränkungen derzeitigerMethoden überwinden und die Erstellung von sensorischen Oberflächen ermöglichen, die die menschliche Interaktion mit digitalen Systemen verbessern

The Music Bluetooth Controller: An Intersection Between Technology and Music

The modern musician faces a new challenge: how can technology be used to enhance a performance? This thesis documents the development of a Bluetooth remote controller that will aid today’s performing musicians by interacting with a digital display (e.g., an iPad) to flip musical score pages remotely. At its core, while mimicking a Bluetooth pedal (the current industry standard), this device attaches to the musician’s hand. In its pilot stages, the device has been referred to “MBC” (Music Bluetooth Controller)

Prototyping tangibles : exploring form and interaction

In order to better explore the opportunities for tangible interaction in new areas such as the home or cultural heritage sites, we used multiple rapidly-developed prototypes that take advantage of existing technology. Physical prototypes allow us to give form to ideas and to evaluate the integration of form and function, two core components of tangible interaction. We discuss potentials and pitfalls when using off-the-shelf digital devices (by embedding a device, cracking it open and building on it, or collating board and parts) through six prototypes developed in two studies. Hacking devices to materialize our ideas proved excellent for fast prototyping. Technology imposed constraints and prompted different design solutions than initially intended offering unexpected ways to engage. On the basis of this experience we outline a process and offer guidelines for the fast prototyping of tangible interactions

5 degree of freedom robotic Arm

This thesis report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2016.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis report.Includes bibliographical references (page 96).A robotic arm is one type of mechanical arm which is similar to a human arm and can do most of the works that a human arm can do. It can do various works which is very risky for a human. A robotic arm is programmable and can do the works through instructions. In today’s world robotic arms are used in industries, rescue purpose and various research works. Considering the facts we thought of designing and making some improvements in robotic arm. Our robotic arm is an arduino controlled six degree freedom robot arm which can move 360 degree and in 6 directions and can do almost all the works of gripping. First of all, the unique part of our robotic arm is, a counter weight is used here to balance the arm while some object is gripped. Secondly, it is able to move to a specific point of its workspace through x, y and z axis values automatically if the points are given. For giving command we are using Bluetooth serial communication system through an Application. This work presents a 6 degree robotic arm with a gripper, controlled with an android application and Arduino MEGA via Bluetooth to carry or load materials. Here, the app searches for the Bluetooth connection, if the Bluetooth device connected with robot is open for connection, then the android app connects with it. Then the app sends command to the Arduino MEGA connected with the robot which is the brain of the robot, this command is fetched by the Arduino MEGA and according to the command it moves the robot forward, backward, left turn, right turn, stop and it expands the gripper to pick a material, squeezes the gripper when a material is picked and it can also move the gripper in left or right direction according to need.Md. Rashed IqbalUmme AyshaTanjila RobyatB. Electrical and Electronic Engineerin