Suggesting Research Directions for the User Experience in the Connected Age

With the rise of IoT, we are about to experience radical changes in the way we live and work. The growth of consumer IoT market, however, is reported to be slower than was originally expected. Analysts report that relentless realities caused by a premature user experience (UX) such as the use of unfamiliar techy terms, lack of empathic understandings of user needs, or lack of interoperability are among the worst barriers of consumer adoption. This is why UX is now considered crucial to the success of IoT business. The goal of this study is to address some UX challenges in the upcoming connected age and to suggest the desirable research directions. A systematic review and meta-analysis study was conducted to obtain the background data. Thisstudy is expected to ignite constructive discussions on how to make the IoT world more people-friendly.1

Water-assisted formation of amine-bridged carbon nitride: A structural insight into the photocatalytic performance for H2 evolution under visible light

© 2022 Elsevier B.V.Carbon nitride (C3N4) exhibits significant potential as a metal-free photocatalyst for H2 production using visible light. While the C3N4 network consists of tri-s-triazine building units linked by H bonds, it is still controversial how the H bonds affect the photocatalytic performance. In this study, we present a water-assisted method for production of polymeric carbon nitride to control intraplanar structures associated with H bonds and amine bridges. The C3N4 samples produced with a thermal treatment using water and humidified air gas (CN-H) exhibit excellent photocatalytic activities for the hydrogen evolution reaction. From structural and photophysical characterizations, it is found that CN-H samples contain fewer H bonds and more amine bridging groups as well as possess larger domains than C3N4 samples produced without using water (CN-A). These structural changes induced by the water treatment lead to efficient intraplanar migration of photoexcited charge carriers and thus are responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic performances.N

Spatio-spectral 4D coherent ranging using a flutter-wavelength-swept laser

Abstract Coherent light detection and ranging (LiDAR), particularly the frequency-modulated continuous-wave LiDAR, is a robust optical imaging technology for measuring long-range distance and velocity in three dimensions (3D). We propose a spatio-spectral coherent LiDAR based on a unique wavelength-swept laser to enable both axial coherent ranging and lateral spatio-spectral beam scanning simultaneously. Instead of the conventional unidirectional wavelength-swept laser, a flutter-wavelength-swept laser (FWSL) successfully decoupled bidirectional wavelength modulation and continuous wavelength sweep, which overcame the measurable distance limited by the sampling process. The decoupled operation in FWSL enabled sequential sampling of flutter-wavelength modulation across its wide spectral bandwidth of 160 nm and, thus, allowed simultaneous distance and velocity measurement over an extended measurable distance. Herein, complete four-dimensional (4D) imaging, combining real-time 3D distance and velocity measurements, was implemented by solid-state beam scanning. An acousto-optic scanner was synchronized to facilitate the other lateral beam scanning, resulting in an optimized solid-state coherent LiDAR system. The proposed spatio-spectral coherent LiDAR system achieved high-resolution coherent ranging over long distances and real-time 4D imaging with a frame rate of 10 Hz, even in challenging environments

A method for developing creative ideas: A case study of user experience of the mobility challenged

1

The Idea Generation Process for Support Tools Enhancing Pedestrian Experience of the Mobility Handicapped in Smart City

1

Suggesting Pedestrian Experience Principles of the Mobility Handicapped

The aim of this study is to establish pedestrian experience(PX) principles of the mobility handicapped. Due to the increasing attention to the pedestrian-friendly walking environment, walkability has been studied in the various field. However, walkability has been studied mainly in terms of ease and safety of walking although the walking environment has various functional aspects to a pedestrian as well as walking. It is difficult to reflect various experiences of the pedestrian as a concept of walkability. PX is a concept that expands the walkability to mirror diverse experiences of pedestrians. PX research needs to be given priority for those who often face with discomfort during walking. To constitute PX principles, we investigated which goals the existing studies set to design a pedestrian-friendly walking environment. The PX principles were supplemented by two methods; in-depth interview with the workers who works for the mobility handicapped and diary method with the mobility handicapped. The participants of in-depth interview worked for six types of the mobility handicapped; the visually impaired, hearing impaired, mentally handicapped, physically challenged, the aged, and a child. The types of those who participated in the diary method were the hearing impaired, mentally handicapped, physically challenged. Four PX principles and eight-teen sub-principles were derived. PX principles we suggested would help to design walking environment for the pedestrian.1

Preparation of carbon nitride nanotubes with P-doping and their photocatalytic properties for hydrogen evolution

Various carbon nitride (C3N4) materials show great potential as an eco-friendly, visible-light-active photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, a new route to produce one-dimensional (1D) P-doped carbon nitride nanotubes is developed via supramolecular self-assembly. The nanotubes are produced by thermal condensation of melamine and cyanuric acid. The addition of an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) improves the uniformity of the nanotubes. It is revealed that the C3N4 nanotubes are formed by thermal condensation of rod-shaped intermediates. The nanotubes show an excellent photocatalytic HER activity under visible light irradiation and are a superior catalyst to 3D C3N4 samples. From thorough structural and photophysical characterizations, it is found that the nanotubes contain larger surface areas, more amine bridges, better crystallinity, and more visible-light-absorption ability than control samples. These structural features are reasons for the enhanced photocatalytic performance.N

Development of Web based UX Diagnosis System for Small and Medium Sized Home Appliance Manufacturers in the IoT Era

The purpose of the study is to develop a web based User eXperience (UX) diagnosis system that helps the small and medium sized home appliance manufacturers prepare for the opportunities of Internet of Things (IoT) era. To provide a UX diagnostic system that is compatible with various product types of the home appliance manufacturers, a total 109 questionnaire items for UX evaluation were developed based on the UX design principles and design elements. The functional requirements of the proposed diagnosis system were constructed based on the needs and requirements that collected from the designers of the small and medium sized manufacturers though in-depth interviews. A UX diagnostic system was developed as a web based platform that supporting overall UX diagnosis process, from the questionnaire generation, survey distribution, user survey data collection, and visualization of the analyzed UX diagnosis result. The proposed system is designed to uncover various possible UX design flaws related to specific design elements and UX design principle. The proposed system provides both quantitative and qualitative diagnosis results, such as UX design scores and users' comments and opinions about the products. The usability, validity, and usefulness of the developed system were evaluated by the experts through case study. The developed system is expected to be useful for home appliance designers of the home appliance manufacturers by providing systems to evaluate the current state of their products and uncover the UX design issues through a web based survey. The following study will be focused to provide design elements, UX design principles, and questionnaire items for evaluation of the home appliances’ IoT features.1

Production of C, N Alternating 2D Materials Using Covalent Modification and Their Electroluminescence Performance

Carbon nitrides (C3N4) show excellent properties in various optical and optoelectronic applications. However, their application to electroluminescence (EL) devices is limited by the lack of production methods of homogeneous dispersions in organic solvents, which are critically required for device fabrication. Herein, a strategy to generate stable dispersions of fluorescent, 2D C3N4 materials, and demonstrate light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on them is proposed. The treatment of urea-driven C3N4 (UCN) with methoxy-benzene diazonium salt (MD) produces dispersions in organic solvents. Experimental and theoretical studies suggest that MD treatment passivates the surface defects of the UCN. The resulting LED devices show bright green luminescence with an external quantum efficiency of 0.91%. This unprecedented result opens an era of C3N4 emitters as future promising light emitters in displays and solid-state lighting.Y