Conceptual Human-System Interface Design for a Lunar Access Vehicle

In support of the vision for humans to establish a large scale, economically viable, permanent human settlement on the Moon within the next 25 years (Space Frontier Foundation, 2005), the next generation lunar landing vehicle must be capable of achieving pinpoint, anytime, anywhere safe landing on the lunar surface with high precision (10- 100m). In addition, this vehicle should support both autonomous and manned lunar missions (NASA ASO-1160). Because of advances in technology over the past thirty-five years since the Apollo landings, the role of the human and automated systems in a new lunar lander system must be reevaluated and redesigned. This report details the design approach and resultant preliminary, conceptual design concepts for a Human-System Interface (H-SI) for a Lunar Access Vehicle (LAV).Prepared For Draper Labs Award #: SC001-018 PI: Dava Newma

Developing a skill profile prediction model for typologies of offsite construction

The aim of the current research was to develop a skill profile prediction model for the typologies of offsite construction (OSC). This research aim was achieved via five research objectives, from which the key findings and research outcomes were generated. OSC is perceived as an effective solution that can be implemented to address the issues evident in traditional construction. Some of the benefits OSC generated include better working conditions, improved productivity, efficiency, reduced wastage, and improved sustainability. Industry 4.0 has promoted OSC as a way to improve the uptake of new technologies in factory-based manufacturing and onsite assembly processes. Such technological advancements can have a significant impact on the skills used in OSC, as some of the existing skills in the construction industry may be eliminated or substituted (e.g., with those in other industries), and new skills may emerge based on industry needs. The magnitude of these possible OSC skill variations has not been a focus in previous studies on OSC. As such, the current research aimed to develop a skill profile prediction model for the typologies of OSC, through the adoption of a case-study based, qualitative research method. The research generated several significant outcomes: the validated OSC typology, the OSC skill classification developed through a logical approach, and a preliminary model for OSC skill prediction. The model can assist in forecasting future OSC skill requirements. Apart from the abovementioned outcomes, deriving a unit of measurement for skill prediction and identifying the complex, non-linear relationships between OSC types and skill variations represent the key outcomes of the research. As such, the research contributes to the current body of knowledge through its development of a unique OSC typology, a master list of onsite and offsite skills, an OSC skill prediction model and a methodology for the prediction of OSC skills. The focus on OSC elements in buildings rather than infrastructure projects, incorporating a limited number of case studies and developing a preliminary model rather than a market-ready product for OSC skill prediction represent the limitations of the research. Future research directions that could be taken to expand on the findings of the current research are as follows: evaluating the skill variations of different building types in the context of varying predominant materials and conducting a fundamentally quantitative study for OSC skills prediction

Improved Perception of AEC Construction Details via Immersive Teaching in Virtual Reality

This work proposes, implements and tests an immersive framework upon Virtual Reality (VR) for comprehension, knowledge development and learning process assisting an improved perception of complex spatial arrangements in AEC in comparison to the traditional 2D projection drawing-based method. The research focuses on the prototypical example of construction details as a traditionally difficult teaching task for conveying geometric and semantic information to students. Our mixed-methods study analyses test results of two test panel groups upon different questions about geometric and functional aspects of the construction detail as well as surveys and interviews of participating lecturers, students and laypersons towards their experience using the VR tool. The quantitative analysis of the test results prove that for participants with little pre-existing knowledge (such as novice students), a significantly better learning score for the test group is detected. Moreover, both groups rated the VR experience as an enjoyable and engaging way of learning. Analysis of survey results towards the VR experience reveals, that students, lecturers and professionals alike enjoyed the VR experience more than traditional learning of the construction detail. During the post-experiment qualitative evaluation in the form of interviews, the panel expressed an improved understanding, increased enthusiasm for the topic, and greater desire for other topics to be presented using VR tools. The expressed better understanding of design concepts after the VR experience by the students is statistically significant on average in the exam results. The results support our core assumption, that the presentation of contextual 3D models is a promising teaching approach to illustrate content

Necessity Is the Mother of Invention: How Minimum Wages Affect Innovation

This master's thesis investigates the impact of minimum wages on innovation in the United States. I construct a panel dataset with minimum wages and patent production across US states between 1983 and 2015. My estimates are based on a difference-in-differences approach that exploits the different timing of minimum wage raises across US states and the fact that federal minimum wage is not inflation adjusted. Two-way fixed-effects' estimates suggest that a 1 USD increase in the minimum wage is associated with approximately a 9 percent increase in patent production. Accounting for heterogeneous treatment effects suggests that this effect is potentially larger. Altogether, my results provide support for the Habakkuk thesis that labor scarcity encourages technological innovation. It also provides insights into recent debates surrounding the causes of automation as well as calls for the minimum wage to be raised in the United States.MasteroppgåveECON391PROF-SØKMASV-SØ

The Threat of Offensive AI to Organizations

AI has provided us with the ability to automate tasks, extract information from vast amounts of data, and synthesize media that is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. However, positive tools can also be used for negative purposes. In particular, cyber adversaries can use AI to enhance their attacks and expand their campaigns. Although offensive AI has been discussed in the past, there is a need to analyze and understand the threat in the context of organizations. For example, how does an AI-capable adversary impact the cyber kill chain? Does AI benefit the attacker more than the defender? What are the most significant AI threats facing organizations today and what will be their impact on the future? In this study, we explore the threat of offensive AI on organizations. First, we present the background and discuss how AI changes the adversary’s methods, strategies, goals, and overall attack model. Then, through a literature review, we identify 32 offensive AI capabilities which adversaries can use to enhance their attacks. Finally, through a panel survey spanning industry, government and academia, we rank the AI threats and provide insights on the adversaries

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

NACCS 32nd Annual Conference

Visión: Articulating, Imagining, and Contextualizing Chicana/o SpacesApril 13-17Hyatt Regencyhttps://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/naccs_programs/1022/thumbnail.jp