Double Play

Abstract Sport has an intrinsic function to embrace the differences of all human beings that uncovers the similarity that we all truly share. This thesis project addresses the ways in which sport goes beyond fields of play, courts of performance, and lanes of winning and losing to inform connections that build upon the structures of meaningful life. This collection engages a unique poetic framework through the idea of choice. A poet makes countless decisions as he writes, just as the athlete makes intentional and spontaneous decisions as he competes. Each situation presents its own level of autonomy that has been balanced to create a structure of poems held within the regulations of sport. In many ways sport is poetic; a relationship that dates back to the ancient Greeks and the early days of the Olympics. Sport is poetry in motion and this collection makes visible the function of sport in uniting worlds. This collection seeks to create a new poetic form that takes some of the rules of sports as its guiding principles. Each standard of logic and language based on the foundation of sport showcasing the complexities of human emotion through competition in ways that adhere to both the mental and physical, and the internal and external. In form, in display, in pattern, and in rhythm this thesis illustrates the relationship between sport, people, and emotion all in the same right. Sport and poetry belong together — they share a deepened sense of creation and craftsmanship. There is a natural affinity between sport and poetry. Each is a form of play and each is cathartic. They both hold the power to take us out of our beings and lift us above ourselves. Poetry brings one into the arena while retaining the magic and mystery of sport

Haptically enabled interactivity and immersive virtual assembly

Virtual training systems are attracting paramount attention from the manufacturing industries due to their potential advantages over the conventional training practices such as general assembly. Within this virtual training realm for general assembly, a haptically enabled interactive and immersive virtual reality (HIVEx) system is presented. The idea is to imitate real assembly training scenarios by providing comprehensive user interaction as well as by enforcing physical constraints within the virtual environment through the use of haptics technology. The developed system employs a modular system approach providing flexibility of reconfiguration and scalability as well as better utilization of the current multi-core computer architecture. The user interacts with the system using haptics device and data glove while fully immersed into the virtual environment with depth perception. An evaluation module, incorporated into the system, automatically logs and evaluates the information through the simulation providing user performance and improvements over time. A ruggedized portable version of the system is also developed and presented with full system capabilities allowing easy relocation with different factory environments. A number of training scenarios has been developed with varying degree of complexity to exploit the potential of the presented system. The presented system can be employed for teaching and training of existing assembly processes as well as the design of new optimised assembly operations. Furthermore, the presented system can assist in optimizing existing practices by evaluating the effectiveness and the level of knowledge transfer involved in the process. Within the aforementioned conceptual. framework, a working prototype is developed.<br /

Haptically enabled interactive virtual reality prototype for general assembly

Desktop computers based virtual training systems are attracting paramount attention from manufacturing industries due to their potential advantages over the conventional training practices. Significant cost savings can be realized due to the shorter training-scenarios development times and reuse of existing engineering models. In addition, by using computer based virtual reality (VR) training systems, the time span from the product design to commercial production can be shortened due to non-reliance on hardware parts. Within the aforementioned conceptual framework, a haptically enabled interactive and immersive virtual reality (HIIVR) system is presented. Unlike existing VR systems, the presented idea tries to imitate real physical training scenarios by providing comprehensive user interaction, constrained within the physical limitations of the real world imposed by the haptics devices within the virtual environment. As a result, in contrast to the existing VR systems, capable of providing knowledge generally about assembly sequences only, the proposed system helps in procedural learning and procedural skill development as well, due to its high physically interactive nature.<br /

Haptically enable interactive virtual assembly training system development and evaluation

Virtual training systems are attracting paramount attention from the manufacturing industries due to their potential advantages over the conventional training practices. Significant cost savings can be realized due to the shorter times for the development of different training-scenarios as well as reuse of existing designed engineering (math) models. In addition, use of computer based virtual reality (VR) training systems can shorten the time span from computer aided product design to commercial production due to non-reliance on the hardware parts for training. Within the aforementioned conceptual framework, a haptically enabled interactive and immersive virtual reality (HIVEx) system is presented. Unlike existing VR systems, the presented idea tries to imitate real physical training scenarios by providing comprehensive user interaction, constrained within the physical limitations of the real world. These physical constrains are imposed by the haptics devices in the virtual environment. As a result, in contrast to the existing VR systems that are capable of providing knowledge generally about assembly sequences only, the proposed system helps in cognitive learning and procedural skill development as well, due to its high physically interactive nature.<br /

A study on the logistics and performance of a real &#039;virtual enterprise&#039;

Tenix won the ANZAC Ship Contract in November 1989 to build ten guided missile frigates for the navies of Australia and New Zealand. The ships are planned to have a service life of 25 to 30 years. Within this time period, there will be changes in the operational requirements for these vessels. The ANZAC Ship Alliance is a virtual enterprise formed by Tenix Defence, Saab Systems and the Australian Commonwealth with the aim to provide service support over the lifetime of the &#039;product&#039;. It is a framework of a dedicated supply chain that coordinates the service supplies across company boundaries. A two-stage study showed that significant changes have to be made within the supply chain in order to adapt practices in individual companies. This paper describes the processes that occurred in the alliance, the techniques that were used to identify the information and work flow in the supply chain