Computational Tools and Facilities for the Next-Generation Analysis and Design Environment

This document contains presentations from the joint UVA/NASA Workshop on Computational Tools and Facilities for the Next-Generation Analysis and Design Environment held at the Virginia Consortium of Engineering and Science Universities in Hampton, Virginia on September 17-18, 1996. The presentations focused on the computational tools and facilities for analysis and design of engineering systems, including, real-time simulations, immersive systems, collaborative engineering environment, Web-based tools and interactive media for technical training. Workshop attendees represented NASA, commercial software developers, the aerospace industry, government labs, and academia. The workshop objectives were to assess the level of maturity of a number of computational tools and facilities and their potential for application to the next-generation integrated design environment

Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions

In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research

Uncovering the dynamics of everyday life through playful modeling

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-157).It is not easy to understand the dynamics underlying everyday life. The change around us is so ubiquitous; the processes governing change are invisible; the relationships between cause & effect are usually disconnected in time or space, and probabilistic causation adds uncertainty to the mix. This dissertation is about a new modeling language and a tangible simulation environment that together help children gain an intuitive understanding of the dynamics underlying everyday life phenomena, from fashion trends and financial markets fluctuations to vicious cycles of violence and virtuous cycles of popularity growth. I present the Flowness modeling language, a unique combination of Systems Thinking languages that results in an intuitive-to-understand yet computationally simulate-able language. I present FlowBlocks: a tangible learning technology designed in the spirit of early childhood construction kits (a field pioneered by Friedrich Froebel), with special attention to physical representation of abstract concepts (a field pioneered by Maria Montessori). FlowBlocks are a set of wooden blocks with embedded computation that simulate continuous flow using a moving light signal, making dynamic processes visible and manipulable.(cont.) I provide evidence that playful modeling using FlowBlocks is not only engaging for children but indeed helps them pay attention to the underlying causality of everyday life situations. Moreover, I show that a FlowBlocks workshop helps middle-school aged students understand core Systems Thinking concepts such as Inflows, Stocks, Outflows, Positive Feedback, and Negative Feedback - by generating their own analogies using FlowBlocks as an interactive model. I conclude that Flowness + FlowBlocks can serve as an effective learning aid to introduce children to Systems Thinking concepts in a collaborative playful modeling process, and develop children's intuitive understanding of the dynamics underlying everyday life situations.by Oren Zuckerman.S.M

Advanced Technology for Engineering Education

This document contains the proceedings of the Workshop on Advanced Technology for Engineering Education, held at the Peninsula Graduate Engineering Center, Hampton, Virginia, February 24-25, 1998. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the University of Virginia's Center for Advanced Computational Technology and NASA. Workshop attendees came from NASA, other government agencies, industry and universities. The objectives of the workshop were to assess the status of advanced technologies for engineering education and to explore the possibility of forming a consortium of interested individuals/universities for curriculum reform and development using advanced technologies. The presentations covered novel delivery systems and several implementations of new technologies for engineering education. Certain materials and products are identified in this publication in order to specify adequately the materials and products that were investigated in the research effort. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement of products by NASA, nor does it imply that the materials and products are the only ones or the best ones available for this purpose. In many cases equivalent materials and products are available and would probably produce equivalent results

Digital Twins: Review and Challenges

[EN] With the arises of Industry 4.0, numerous concepts have emerged; one of the main concepts is the digital twin (DT). DT is being widely used nowadays, however, as there are several uses in the existing literature; the understanding of the concept and its functioning can be diffuse. The main goal of this paper is to provide a review of the existing literature to clarify the concept, operation, and main characteristics of DT, to introduce the most current operating, communication, and usage trends related to this technology, and to present the performance of the synergy between DT and multi-agent system (MAS) technologies through a computer science approach.This work was partly supported by the Spanish Government (RTI2018-095390-B-C31)Juárez-Juárez, MG.; Botti, V.; Giret Boggino, AS. (2021). Digital Twins: Review and Challenges. Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering. 21(3):1-23. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.405024412321