The celebrity factory: new modes of fashion entrepreneurship

The aim of the paper is to analyze the contribution of celebrity culture to the re-shaping of the fashion industry, distancing from an oppositional view while embracing a systemic one, where celebrity is considered a fundamental engine of the contemporary cultural production of fashion and a global consumerist culture. The scope of our paper tries to overcome the endorsement point of view to address the relationship between celebrity and fashion as a two-way relationship which is re-wiring the fashion industry. The paper will explore the multiple manifestations of the so-called celebrity brand labels, from Kim Kardashian to Victoria Beckham

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Technology enablers for the implementation of Industry 4.0 to traditional manufacturing sectors: A review

The traditional manufacturing sectors (footwear, textiles and clothing, furniture and toys, among others) are based on small and medium enterprises with limited capacity on investing in modern production technologies. Although these sectors rely heavily on product customization and short manufacturing cycles, they are still not able to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0 surfaced to address the current challenges of shorter product life-cycles, highly customized products and stiff global competition. The new manufacturing paradigm supports the development of modular factory structures within a computerized Internet of Things environment. With Industry 4.0, rigid planning and production processes can be revolutionized. However, the computerization of manufacturing has a high degree of complexity and its implementation tends to be expensive, which goes against the reality of SMEs that power the traditional sectors. This paper reviews the main scientific-technological advances that have been developed in recent years in traditional sectors with the aim of facilitating the transition to the new industry standard.This research was supported by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the project CloudDriver4Industry TIN2017-89266-R

Augmented Reality: What Motivates Late Millennials towards Fashion Mobile Apps?

Generation Z is expected to be a dominant demographic and economic group. Cyber-waviness, constant reliance on smart devices that allows them to be always connected are among some of their intrinsic characteristics. The combination of this reality with the ever-changing technological environment is compelling retailers to reshape their business strategies, to meet this group desires and expectations and to foster their engagement. Augmented reality (AR) is emerging as a technological solution that pleases both consumers and retailers. This paper aims to answer two main questions: (1) How does generation Z evaluate an AR experience? (2) Which attributes/benefits do they value or not during an AR experience? Drawing on a qualitative methodology – content analysis of 34 interviewees – we discuss six main dimensions the potential customer value of the relationship between them and AR experiences under retailer context.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ExoBike : mechanical component development

Muitas das vezes o processo de reabilitação é monótono e desmotivador devido à repetibilidade dos exercícios e falta de feedback ou ferramentas que permitam avaliar o progresso. Assim, tendo em conta que o exercício de bicicleta é muito utilizado para a reabilitação dos membros inferiores, foi criado o projeto ExoBike. De modo a combater tais fatores, a ExoBike consiste numa bicicleta equipada com sensores de força nos principais pontos de interação entre bicicleta e paciente. Assim é possível adquirir dados importantes para avaliar o progresso do paciente, bem como estabelecer metas e ajustar os exercícios conforme as necessidades do paciente. Alem desta componente de aquisição de dados, o projeto ExoBike engloba ainda uma vertente de realidade virtual, que junta com a componente de aquisição de dados, proporciona ao paciente uma experiência mais imersiva, tornando assim a prática de exercício para reabilitação mais divertida e motivadora. Este documento foca-se no desenvolvimento dos dispositivos mecânicos instalados na bicicleta para a aquisição dos dados do paciente. Para tal foi desenvolvido um selim capaz de analisar a postura do paciente, um guiador que caracteriza a força que o paciente realiza com os membros superiores, uns pedais capazes de analisar o movimento de pedalada e uns punhos que adquirem a força de preensão que o paciente é capaz de efetuar. Sendo que as metodologias de aquisição de dados dos dispositivos se baseiam em células de carga, extensometria elétrica por resistência e inteligência artificial. Os dispositivos foram desenvolvidos e otimizados com recurso a programas de desenho computacional, analisados através de métodos numéricos e analíticos, ensaiados através de prototipagem rápida com impressão 3D e produzidos com recurso a máquinas de fabrico subtrativo com controlo numérico. De modo a garantir o correto funcionamento dos dispositivos, estes foram sujeitos a uma serie de calibrações e testes funcionais com grupos de 3, 5 e 31 voluntários para corroborar as metodologias adotadas e avaliar as capacidades das mesmas. Sendo que os dipositivos indicaram uma correlação de 0.7, entre a postura do voluntario e a sua altura, e uma correlação elevada de 0.9 entre a massa do voluntario e a força exercida pelos membros inferiores. Entre outro tipo de correlações, os dipositivos foram ainda capazes de determinar, com uma fiabilidade 95%, o efeito de recalcamento psicológico quando os voluntários foram sujeitos a uma reação de defesa induzida nos membros inferiores. Considerando assim, que as metodologias e dispositivos desenvolvidos se encontram mais do que aptos para o objetivo pretendido de avaliação e monitorização do processo de reabilitação dos membros inferiores com recurso a bicicleta estátic

Defining Configurable Virtual Reality Templates for End Users

This paper proposes a solution for supporting end users in configuring Virtual Reality environments by exploiting reusable templates created by experts. We identify the roles participating in the environment development and the means for delegating part of the behaviour definition to the end users. We focus in particular on enabling end users to define the environment behaviour. The solution exploits a taxonomy defining common virtual objects having high-level actions for specifying event-condition-Action rules readable as natural language sentences. End users exploit such actions to define the environment behaviour. We report on a proof-of-concept implementation of the proposed approach, on its validation through two different case studies (virtual shop and museum), and on evaluating the approach with expert users

Feasibility of Using Virtual Reality in Requirements Elicitation Process

Contemporary Virtual Reality (VR) technologies offer an increasing number of functionalities including head-mounted displays (HMD), haptic and sound feedback, as well as motion tracking. This gives us the opportunity to leverage the immersive power offered by these technologies in the context of requirements elicitation, especially to surface those requirements that cannot be expressed via traditional techniques such as interviews and focus groups. The goal of this thesis is to survey uses of VR in requirements engineering, and to describe a method of elicitation using VR as a tool. To validate the methodology, a research plan is developed with a strong empirical focus. According to this plan, after an identification of VR technologies in the market, the most appropriate hardware and software is selected for experimentation based on the degree of immersion. An experiment is designed and conducted for gathering landmarks for a navigational system (e.g., buildings, point of interest,), in addition to distance and time, to provide directions to users. The experiment aims to: gather these tacit components of the navigational system, and gather the usability of VR methodology compared to other traditional elicitation methods. Overall, this research will clarify and understand the usability of VR in a requirements elicitation setting. The methodology will be useful when highly immersive VR technologies - currently expensive for consumers - will become available at limited costs, and a more widespread exploitation will be possible for requirements elicitation

Augmenting forearm crutches with wireless sensors for lower limb rehabilitation

Forearm crutches are frequently used in the rehabilitation of an injury to the lower limb. The recovery rate is improved if the patient correctly applies a certain fraction of their body weight (specified by a clinician) through the axis of the crutch, referred to as partial weight bearing (PWB). Incorrect weight bearing has been shown to result in an extended recovery period or even cause further damage to the limb. There is currently no minimally invasive tool for long-term monitoring of a patient's PWB in a home environment. This paper describes the research and development of an instrumented forearm crutch that has been developed to wirelessly and autonomously monitor a patient's weight bearing over the full period of their recovery, including its potential use in a home environment. A pair of standard forearm crutches are augmented with low-cost off-the-shelf wireless sensor nodes and electronic components to provide indicative measurements of the applied weight, crutch tilt and hand position on the grip. Data are wirelessly transmitted between crutches and to a remote computer (where they are processed and visualized in LabVIEW), and the patient receives biofeedback by means of an audible signal when they put too much or too little weight through the crutch. The initial results obtained highlight the capability of the instrumented crutch to support physiotherapists and patients in monitoring usage

Re-distributed Manufacturing (RdM) Studio: Simulation Model Development

[EN] Consumer Goods Industry has gone through significant changes during the last years. A challenging economic climate, advances in technology and shifts in the consumer¿s attitude have led manufacturers to transform their operating models. Re-Distributed Manufacturing (RdM) aims to address these changes moving towards smaller-scale local manufacture to create a more resilient and connected system, providing not only an agile, user-driven approach that will allow for personalisation and customisation for Product-Service Systems (PSS); but also sustainability through the circular economy. This research aims to develop a simulation environment based on a current RdM business model, also predicting a future RdM business model based on data-driven decisions. Thus, the model has been employed to compare existing and future RdM scenarios to quantify and spot potential benefits of future RdM models. To achieve this, a System Dynamics Simulation has been built. For this study, changing input parameters regarding recyclability, transportation, the level of automation and level of servitization has been the way of representing the future that RdM will bring to this particular case; showing their impact on operating costs and service efficiency. The SD business simulation has been validated by experts and is a good example of how data-driven experimentation can predict the future of RdM, with the parameters and variables selected being critical for the model. The simulation model produced by this research showed promising results: operating costs reduced by 40%, PSS revenues in 6 months and immediate response of the system to customer demand.Rivas Pizarroso, JL. (2016). Re-distributed Manufacturing (RdM) Studio: Simulation Model Development. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/144650TFG