Pairing a Robot to a Virtual Entity to Provide Haptic Feedback in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) environments are most commonly used for entertainment and gaming, though are also employed in rehabilitative and professional contexts. Virtual reality systems currently have highly convincing visual and aural feedback, allowing for a superficially immersive experience for the user. However, these systems lack haptic feedback, breaking the immersive experience as soon as the user tries to interact with a virtual object or entity physically, which severely limits the uses of VR. To solve this, instead of the conventional approach of trying to simulate feeling something that isn’t actually there, a physical robot was created to exist in real space, programmed such that its movements were identical to those of a virtual object. The user can then reach out and touch the robot, and feel that they are touching the virtual entity in the virtual world. A version of this was created, which consists of a boxing dummy affixed to a motorized base. The robot was paired to a virtual Muay Thai fighter, such that any translation and rotation of the virtual entity was matched by the robotic base, and thereby the boxing dummy. The motion of the robot was tracked with an HTC Vive tracking puck, affixed within the base of the robot. The base was designed to withstand the impact equivalent of a professional roundhouse kick. The electronics housing is also contained within the base. The Virtual environment is hosted on an external main computer, which also has the VR operating system SteamVR installed. The motors of the robot are controlled by motor controllers, which themselves are controlled by a Raspberry Pi micro-controller, which communicates with the main computer over a local network created by the Raspberry Pi using socket connections. The project was ultimately successful in achieving the desired result, namely that it followed the player at a distance of between 0.5 and 0.75 meters, as dictated by the code. It achieved speeds and accelerations similar to those of a boxer in a boxing match, and the base was able to withstand the impact of a Taekwondo roundhouse kick without tipping

The Knowledge Test Under the CISG - A Global Threefold Distinction of Negligence, Gross Negligence and De Facto Knowledge

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Effects of Nutrition Education on Dietary Intake Quality and Nutrition Knowledge in Professional Soccer Players – A Pilot Study

Background and Aims: Nutrition is an important factor for optimal performance of professional athletes. Several studies have demonstrated that elite athletes, especially soccer players, don’t eat enough or a high quality diet. Research shows that a diet with 65-70% of calories from carbohydrates, 20-35% calories from fat and approximately 12% of calories from protein out of an approximate 5,000 kcal diet will show improvements in performance of athletes training at high intensities. This pilot study aimed to test the impact of a targeted nutrition education program on dietary intake quality and nutrition knowledge in professional soccer players. Methods: We initially evaluated 35 professional soccer players in San Antonio at the beginning and/or end of pre-season training. However, the number of intervention players (n=3) that 1) accurately completed the evaluation diet log and knowledge survey and 2) remained with the team throughout the preseason were very limited (n=3). The intervention players were on the team roster at the beginning of the pre-season. The non-intervention players (n=3) were added to the team well after the intervention itself and matched the experience level of the intervention players. Pre-intervention evaluation consisted of a dietary analysis and nutrition knowledge survey given the first week of preseason (intervention players only). Educational intervention was given during the second week of pre-season and was designed to address major dietary deficiencies identified in pre-intervention dietary analysis and performance nutrition knowledge survey. At week 9 of preseason, dietary analysis and nutrition knowledge surveys were administered to both the intervention and non-intervention groups. Results: We found no significant differences between the intervention group and the non-intervention group. Discussion: The power of this evaluation was highly limited due to unforeseen logistical issues associated with professional soccer teams. These included 1) poor player compliance with diet logs and survey, 2) very limited access to players during pre-season, 3) budgetary restrictions on training related hydration and recovery nutrition supplements, 4) high player turnover within the 9-week period, and 5) very low subject number. Anecdotally, several players and coaches expressed increased knowledge of appropriate performance nutrition and found themselves practicing what they learned during the education sessions and have invited the investigators back this season to provide nutrition education

Extravagant Currents

In this thesis, Brent Fogt explores the experiences and ideas embodied in his drawings. Fogt draws extravagant forms that, from a distance, resemble continents, animals or microscopic organisms. Within these forms are waves, explosions, paisleys and decorative patterns. Closer still, the drawings house thousands of circles of varying size and line weight. He chooses circles because they allow multiple interpretations ranging from the microscopic to the cosmic. Fogt combines story telling and analysis to create an accurate account of the thinking and experiments that led to these drawings, as well as situating his work in a broader historical and cultural context.Master of Fine Arts (MFA)http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55455/1/mfathesis_FOGT.pd

4.3 Aktywność badawcza uczniów w edukacji fizycznej w szkole ponadpodstawowej

Na zajęciach z fizyki większość eksperymentów, ćwiczeń laboratoryjnych i obserwacjiuczniowie wykonują w grupach. Indywidualne eksperymentowanie najczęściej ogranicza brak odpowiedniej ilości sprzętu, miejsca, niekiedy czasu. Oczywiście grupowe przeprowadzanie badań też ma swoje zalety. Metodą nauczania, w której od dobrej pracy zespołu zależy sukces uczniów, jest metoda projektów. W kształtowaniu postawy badawczej u uczniów właśnie ta metoda wykorzystywana jest najczęściej. Poza tym praca zespołowa sprzyja rozwijaniu kompetencji społecznych, inicjatywności i przedsiębiorczości

Lehrerbiographien als Spiegel der Entwicklung des Berufsstandes im 19. Jahrhundert

Im Rahmen einer größeren Forschungsarbeit befasst sich der Autor mit einem Teilbereich des Gesangunterrichts, der Gesangausbildung der Volksschullehrer im Bayern des 19. Jahrhunderts. Dabei interessiert ihn u.a. die Beantwortung folgender Fragen: - Ab wann und nach welchen Kriterien fand dieser Unterricht statt? - Welche Gesangschulen wurden benutzt? - Nach welchen Methoden wurde unterrichtet? - Wurden neue stimmphysiologische Erkenntnisse berücksichtigt? - Auf welche Weise versuchten Staat und Kirche auf das zu singende Liedgut Einfluß zu nehmen? - Welche gesanglichen Leistungen konnten z.B. in Seminaren erreicht werden? - Wie und in welchem Umfang fand eine Fortbildung nach Abschluß der Ausbildung statt? - Wer unterrichtete und was ist über diese Lehrerpersönlichkeiten zu erfahren? (DIPF/Orig.

A Rhetorical Approach to Assessing Source Credibility: Digital Natives, Lateral Reading, and the Need for Media Literacy Curriculum

Abstract: The overwhelming amount of (mis)information housed online and on various social media platforms in the age of “fake news” requires the development of a first-year writing curriculum that supports students’ ability to assess source credibility. While both Millennials and Generation Z, or “zoomers,” have been labeled as “digital natives,” recent research indicates that, though these generational groups have grown up with constant access to technology, they are not necessarily experts when it comes to evaluating the credibility of online sources (Belinha 59). In fact, according to the Stanford History Education Group, “young people’s ability to reason about the information on the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak” (Wineburg and McGrew, “Evaluating Information” 4). Many students surveyed for the case study described herein expressed that while they are aware of the amount of misinformation available online, they are unsure of how to effectively sift through the content available to them. One challenge of media literacy is teaching students to not only think and write critically about written sources, but also about images, videos, and audio files. Therefore, as Thoman and Jolls suggest, “If our children are to be able to navigate their lives through this multimedia culture, they need to be fluent in ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ the language of images and sounds just as we have always taught them to ‘read’ and ‘write’ the language of printed communications” (180). The common first-year writing curriculum in CORE English I courses at Seton Hall University requires that faculty focus on a rhetorical genre approach to teaching reading and writing. Over the course of the semester, students in CORE English I are exposed to a rhetorical genre vocabulary that transfers well into an approach for media literacy and serves as a framework for students to follow as they sift through information. After posing a research paper prompt to a select group of first-year writing students, this case study examined the effectiveness of transferring the rhetorical genre approach to evaluating source credibility for online news platforms. Using this familiar approach allowed students to apply their knowledge of the rhetorical situation to identify and analyze the author, sponsor/publisher, genre, medium, audience, stance, purpose, design, tone, and content of online platforms. To gather the information necessary to complete this case study, I utilized personal interviews, student writing samples, student in-class pre-writing activities, and anonymous surveys. At the end of their interviews, consenting students were also asked about their consumption of news and how likely they are to continue thinking about the rhetorical genre strategies when consuming news as a student in their other courses and as an informed citizen beyond their higher education. I assessed the impact and longevity of the project on students’ own personal lives as informed citizens by asking about the likelihood of applying the rhetorical genre framework to their own personal consumption of news. This case study draws on this data, as well as on research from the fields of information literacy, media literacy, and media education

Calibrating the Faraday Cup for Ion Beams Using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy

Particle accelerators are useful pieces of technology for a variety of experiments, from testing for contaminants in the water supply to testing the durability of materials exposed to radiation. In order to measure the amount of radiation being delivered by the accelerator’s beam, a Faraday cup is used. This tool can measure the amount of ions impacting a surface by measuring the current generated by the incident ions; however, they often overestimate current due to the emission of secondary electrons. This is an inherent property of the Faraday cup, but we still want an accurate measurement of the beam current. So we set out to calibrate the cup. Our research explored the use of the properties of Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and software known as SIMNRA to calibrate the Faraday cup of ion beams