OPTIMAL SELECTION OF DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES: LEVERAGING ON COVENANT UNIVERSITY MODEL

The use of institutional repository (IR) has gained tremendous acceptance in several Higher Education Institution (HEI) in many countries. However, many HEIs report poor usage and enthusiasm. This paper develops a decision model to assist in characterization and selection of digital repository solutions in academic libraries. Five technologies, namely: Eprints, Dspace, Fedora Repository, Greenstone and SAP Document System explored. Using the model, these were evaluated with respect to installation process, functionality, performance, cost, security, usability, workflow, scalability and interoperability. The model was found to adequately address the critical transparency requirements for due diligence selection process in the establishment of Covenant University Institutional Repository. It is recommended that leveraging on this model would enhance adoption and usage of digital repositories in developing countries

Design and construction of tilting furnace for producing aluminium matrix composites

Aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) are a range of advanced engineering materials that can be used for a wide range of applications within the aerospace, automotive, biotechnology, electronic and sporting goods industries. AMCs consist of a non-metallic rein~orcemeht (SiC) incorporated into Aluminium matrix which provides advantageous properties over base metal (AI) alloys. These include improved thermal conductivity, abrasion resistance, creop resistance, dimensional stability, exceptionally good stiffness-toweight and strength-to-weight ratios and better high temperature performance. Oil fired 20 kG tilting furnace with integral mixing mechanism was designed and constructed for the production of AMC. This cost effective furnace can be used in cottage industries without electric power

Towards Making World-Class Universities: Case Study of the Role of Information and Communication Technology

Characteristics of a world-class university include indicators such as quality of faculty, research reputation, talented undergraduate, international presence, proper usage of resources, alliances and networks, embrace of many disciplines, technologically smart, good management practices, internationalism of all aspects of the university. Thus, economic activity, innovation, international diversity, institutional indicators and research indicators are manifestations of a world-class university. In today’s digitally connected world, it is impossible to attain this status without a world-class Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure. This paper presents impact of ICT activities on universities ranking of three Nigerian universities thus enhancing their quest towards world-class status

Design and simulation of a mobile robot platform for navigation and obstacle detection

Mobile platforms are expected to gain access to risk zones and hazardous environment. A typical example is the infectious disease environment to deliver items to a sick patient. The robot is aimed to manoeuver round flat grounds in indoor environment. Computer aided design (CAD) models of the selected concepts were developed in Fusion360 and imported into SolidWorks to optimize and improve the design. The design is focused on the development of the wheelbase. Arduino Microcontroller was the system and codes control board and it was developed using the Arduino software. The motor driver was used to drive the DC motor for robot navigation with ultrasonic sensor for obstacle detection at a range of 20 cm. Result shows that the robot was able to navigate round flat ground while detecting obstacles within 20 cm

A review on humanoid robotics in healthcare

Humanoid robots have evolved over the years and today it is in many different areas of applications, from homecare to social care and healthcare robotics. This paper deals with a brief overview of the current and potential applications of humanoid robotics in healthcare settings. We present a comprehensive contextualization of humanoid robots in healthcare by identifying and characterizing active research activities on humanoid robot that can work interactively and effectively with humans so as to fill some identified gaps in current healthcare deficiency

The Development of Molecular-Based Materials for Electrical and Electronic Applications

Aluminum silicon carbide (AlSiC) metal matrix composite materials have a unique set of material properties that are ideally suited for electronics, hence the development of molecular-based materials (MBM) for the electrical and electronic industries. The low material density of AlSiC (3 g/cm3) makes it ideal for weight-sensitive applications such as portable devices over traditional thermal management materials like copper molybdenum (10 g/cm3) and copper tungsten (16 g/cm3). The aim of this work is to develop MBM for electrical and electronic industries. Aluminum (99.66% C.P.) and silicon carbide (SiC) particulates of 240 grit (45 lm), 320 grit (29 lm), 600 grit (9 lm) and 1200 grit (3 lm) at 2.5% weight fraction were used to achieve the objective. The aluminum was melted at 750�C for 25 min in a graphite crucible tilting furnace designed for this work using oil as a firing medium. After melting, a two-step mixing method of stir casting technique was adopted. The cast samples were further analyzed for mechanical and electrical properties. The electrical properties were carried out by using a 4-point probe machine. The result showed that hardness increases at lower grit level, while the electrical properties marginally increased at higher grit. It is therefore recommended that, to make AlSiC composite materials for electrical industries, the higher grit of SiC should be preferre

Fused Deposition Modeling Printed Patterns for Sand Casting in a Nigerian Foundry: A Review

There has been a gradual adoption of Three-Dimensional (3D) printing in pattern making for sand casting absolutely because of its reduced lead-time and higher dimensional accuracy.Pattern making is the most central activity in the production line of any casting operation. A delay in pattern making or a defect in pattern usually translates to increased production cost and time or poor quality castings respectively. Many foundry industries have been concerned with reducing the duration for pattern making and improving the dimensional accuracy of patterns. Adoption of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) based patterns have only provided a limited solution to the challenges of traditional pattern making for sand casting.Some patterns are not suitable for FDM printing due to their size volume which is not usually cost-effective to print. Also,the surface quality and mechanical properties of patterns produced with FDM are usually affected by process parameters thereby leading to post-manufacturing treatment before the patterns are suitable for moulding operation. This study investigated the problems of traditional pattern making and the challenges of FDM-printed PLA-patterns for sand casting and suggested solutions and areas for future research. Related researches on 3D printing in the foundry carried out around the worldwide are discussed

A Systematic Human Counting at Guest House using Sensing Device Technique

The application of vision detector using sensing device techniques is important in systematic counting of people both indoors and outdoors. This technique is broadly used in auditorium, lecture theatre and public market. In this paper, the technique uses a camera attached to an Android-based mobile phone which is then applied to capture images that are then transferred to a storage system via USB for image processing and counting. Also, a model for counting people indoors and outdoors is developed. Also, accurate human counting is observe

Aluminum Silicon Carbide Particulate Metal Matrix Composite Development Via Stir Casting Processing

In this paper, conventional simple methods of Q1 producing MMC with attained properties through the dis persion of silicon carbide in the matrix were investi11 gated. To achieve these objectives two step-mixing method of stir casting technique has been employed. Aluminum (99.66 %C.P) and SiC (320 and 1200 grits) were chosen as matrix and reinforcement materials respectively. Exper iments were conducted by varying weight fraction of SiC for 2.5 %, 5.0 %, 7.5 % and 10 %. The result indicated that the stir casting method was quite successful to obtain uniform dispersion of reinforcement in the matrix. This was evident by the improvement properties of composites over the base metal. Reinforced Aluminium Silicon Car bide (ASC) showed increase in Young’s Modulus (E) and hardness above the unreinforced case and marginal reduc tion of electrical conductivity was recorded for the com posites. The silicon carbide of 1200 grits (3 μm) showed increased Young’sModulus (E) and hardness of 1517.6Mpa and 26.1 Hv values at 7.5% volume fraction silicon carbidewhen compared with the silicon carbide 320 grit (29 μm)Also; the electrical conductivity properties of the two grit sizes of the Silicon Carbides were less than the base metal for all the volume fraction of Silicon Carbid

Modeling and Design of a Humanoid Robot by Additive Manufacturing Process

By the year 2030, it is estimated that 800 million workers all over the world could be replaced by robots and this is evident of a robotic revolution happening in healthcare worldwide. This study aims to model and design a humanoid robot with additive manufacturing process. Computer aided design (CAD) models of the selected concepts were developed in Fusion360 and imported into SolidWorks to optimise and improve the design. The first stage of the design focused on the development of the main body and wheelbase, while the second phase focused on the arms and manipulators. To meet the project requirement of a payload of 500 g we selected a tough and low density material with appropriate servo motor with a torque of 9.4 kg/cm at each joint. The parts of the robot were produced by additive manufacturing process with an extrusion technique called fused deposition modelling (FDM) where a continuous filament of thermoplastic material, Polylactic acid (PLA) was fed from a coil via a moving heated extruder head and gradually deposit on the work. Overall, the robot proved that the proposed design is able to achieve the design requirements while mimicking basic human movements