State of the Art About Remote Laboratories Paradigms - Foundations of Ongoing Mutations

9 pages. Litterature review made fall 2007 on exisiting Remote Laboratories approaches and technologies.International audienceIn this paper, we provide a literature review of modern remote laboratories. According to this state-of-theart, we explain why remote laboratories are at a technological crossroad, whereas they were slugging for a decade. From various observations based on our review, we try to identify possible evolutions for the next generation of remote laboratories

Research Reports: 1997 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

For the 33rd consecutive year, a NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The program was conducted by the University of Alabama in Huntsville and MSFC during the period June 2, 1997 through August 8, 1997. Operated under the auspices of the American Society for Engineering Education, the MSFC program was sponsored by the Higher Education Branch, Education Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. The basic objectives of the program, which are in the 34th year of operation nationally, are: (1) to further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members; (2) to stimulate an exchange of ideas between participants and NASA; (3) to enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of the participants' institutions; and (4) to contribute to the research objectives of the NASA centers. The Faculty Fellows spent 10 weeks at MSFC engaged in a research project compatible with their interests and background and worked in collaboration with a NASA/MSFC colleague. This document is a compilation of Fellows' reports on their research during the summer of 1997. The University of Alabama in Huntsville presents the Co-Directors' report on the administrative operations of the program. Further information can be obtained by contacting any of the editors

MEMS DESIGN SIMPLIFICATION WITH VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING

MEMS design requires a good understanding of interactions in complex processes and highly specialized interdisciplinary skills. Traditional prototyping is not easy or cheap due to typically needing very expensive manufacturing facilities for its implementation. Progress towards faster, cheaper prototyping has been achieved but, it cannot be applied to MEMS fabrication in general.  This paper analyzes the benefits of Virtual Prototyping for a simplification and aid in MEMS design and proposes the continuation of MEMS Animated Graphic Design Aid (MAGDA) project. Its purpose is to simplify preliminary design stages and make MEMS design more accessible to a wider audience

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

Configuring electrochemical 3D printer for PCB production

In this document I look at an electrochemical 3D printer and compare it to a more established machine for the making of printing printed circuit board

Laboratórios remotos e virtuais no Brasil com foco no ensino: Uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Esta revisão sistemática foi realizada para se ter uma visão geral do estado da arte sobre o uso de laboratórios virtuais e remotos dedicados ao ensino no Brasil. Buscou-se identificar quais são as principais aplicabilidades, vantagens, desvantagens, e verificar a importância do uso destes laboratórios para o ensino. Os resultados mostram que a maioria dos laboratórios remotos ou virtuais são aplicados na área de exatas e nos artigos pouco tem-se explorado sobre a eficácia da implantação do projeto no aprendizado do aluno, notou-se que a maioria dos artigos apresenta o desenvolvimento técnico do laboratório, fazendo avaliações com os alunos sobre a aceitação e usabilidade do sistema, sem apresentar estudos relacionados aos processos de ensino e de aprendizagem nesse ambiente educacional

Technological framework for ubiquitous interactions using context–aware mobile devices

This report presents research and development of dedicated system architecture, designed to enable its users to interact with each other as well as to access information on Points of Interest that exist in their immediate environment. This is accomplished through managing personal preferences and contextual information in a distributed manner and in real-time. The advantage of this system architecture is that it uses mobile devices, heterogeneous sensors and a selection of user interface paradigms to produce a sociotechnical framework to enhance the perception of the environment and promote intuitive interactions. The thrust of the work has been on software development and component integration. Iterative prototyping was adopted as a development method in order to effectively implement the users’ feedback and establish a platform for collaboration that closely meets the requirements and aids their decision-making process. The requirement acquisition was followed by the system-modelling phase in order to produce a robust software prototype. The implementation includes component-based development and extensive use of design patterns over native programming. Conclusively, the software product has become the means to evaluate differences in the use of mixed reality technologies in a ubiquitous scenario. The prototype can query a number of context sources such as sensors, or details of the personal profile, to acquire relevant data. The data (and metadata) is stored in opensource structures, so that they are accessible at every layer of the system architecture and at any time. By proactively processing the acquired context, the system can assist the users in their tasks (e.g. navigation) without explicit input – e.g. by simply creating a gesture with the device. However, advanced interaction with the application via the user interface is available for requests that are more complex. Representations of the real world objects, their spatial relations and other captured features of interest are visualised on scalable interfaces, ranging from 2D to 3D models and from photorealism to stylised clues and symbols. Two principal modes of operation have been implemented; one, using geo-referenced virtual reality models of the environment, updated in real time, and second, using the overlay of descriptive annotations and graphics on the video images of the surroundings, captured by a video camera. The latter is referred to as augmented reality. The continuous feed of the device position and orientation data, from the GPS receiver and the digital compass, into the application, makes the framework fit for use in unknown environments and therefore suitable for ubiquitous operation. This is one of the novelties of the proposed framework, because it enables a whole range of social, peer-to-peer interactions to take place. The scenarios of how the system could be employed to pursue these remote interactions and collaborative efforts on mobile devices are addressed in the context of urban navigation. The conceptual design and implementation of the novel location and orientation based algorithm for mobile AR are presented in detail. The system is, however, multifaceted and capable of supporting peer-to-peer exchange of information in a pervasive fashion, usable in various contexts. The modalities of these interactions are explored and laid out in several scenarios, but particularly in the context of user adoption. Two evaluation tasks took place. The preliminary evaluation examined certain aspects that influence user interaction while being immersed in a virtual environment, whereas the second summative evaluation compared the utility and certain usability aspects of the AR and VR interfaces

The Future of the Internet III

Presents survey results on technology experts' predictions on the Internet's social, political, and economic impact as of 2020, including its effects on integrity and tolerance, intellectual property law, and the division between personal and work lives