Eye-tracking assistive technologies for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in the loss of muscle control. For individuals with ALS, where mobility is limited to the movement of the eyes, the use of eye-tracking-based applications can be applied to achieve some basic tasks with certain digital interfaces. This paper presents a review of existing eye-tracking software and hardware through which eye-tracking their application is sketched as an assistive technology to cope with ALS. Eye-tracking also provides a suitable alternative as control of game elements. Furthermore, artificial intelligence has been utilized to improve eye-tracking technology with significant improvement in calibration and accuracy. Gaps in literature are highlighted in the study to offer a direction for future research

Modelling of electroluminescence in polymeric material using dimensional analysis method: effect of applied voltage and frequency.

Electroluminescence (EL) method has been used by several researchers to observe the behaviour of an aged polymeric material. EL is a phenomenon that occurs when the atoms of a material are being excited due to the application of and external high electrical stresses. The changes in the energy level of these excitation states can be used as an indicator for the initiation of electrical ageing. There are several factors that affect the behaviour of EL emission such as, among others, applied voltage, applied frequency, ageing of material and types of materials and gases used are discussed in this paper. A mathematical approach relating these factors and the intensity of EL is proposed through the aid of Dimensional Analysis method. A close relationship is obtained between experimental and simulation that suggests this mathematical approach can be utilized as a tool to predict electrical ageing of insulation material

A blend of Traditional Visual Symbols in BIPV application; any Prospects?

Traditional Visual symbols are of great relevance, especially within the architectural space. Buildings may adopt symbols to depict culture, iconicity or identity. The quest to meet sustainable building targets and avert the looming effects of climate change has brought about renewable options such as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), which is the use of solar PVs to replace conventional building materials such that they form part of the building envelope. This paper discusses the nexus between traditional visual symbols and BIPV application. A hypothetical question is posed; will incorporating visual symbols in BIPV design influence its adoption? Although a detailed evidence-based result is not produced in this paper , architectural visualisation is used to depict the outlook of traditional Ghanaian symbols in BIPV application, while further studies is being conducted into the prospects of these symbols in BIPVs design using Traditional Ghanaian "Adinkra" symbols as case study

Solar Concentrators

Solar technology offers great potential in terms of supplying the world's energy needs. However, its current contribution to the world is still limited. The main factor is related to high initial cost of building the system. This paper will provide an up-to-date review of solar concentrators and their benefits to make solar technology affordable. It will also analyse on some of the existing solar concentrators used in the solar technology for the past four decades. The design and performance of each concentrator will be explained and compared

Solar Concentrators

Solar technology offers great potential in terms of supplying the world's energy needs. However, its current contribution to the world is still limited. The main factor is related to high initial cost of building the system. This paper will provide an up-to-date review of solar concentrators and their benefits to make solar technology affordable. It will also analyse on some of the existing solar concentrators used in the solar technology for the past four decades. The design and performance of each concentrator will be explained and compared

Distribution power loss minimization via distributed generation, capacitor and network reconfiguration

This paper presents a solution to solve the network reconfiguration, DG coordination (location and size) and capacitor coordination (location and size), simultaneously. The proposed solution will be determined by using Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). Various case studies are presented to see the impact on the test system, in term of power loss reduction and also voltage profiles. The proposed approach is applied to a 33-bus test system and simulate by using MATLAB programming. The simulation results show that combination of DG, capacitor and network reconfiguration gives a positive impact on total power losses minimization as well as voltage profile improvement compared to other case studies

Modelling the effect of applied voltage and frequency on electroluminescence in polymeric material

Electroluminescence method has been used by several researchers to observe the behaviour of an aged polymeric material. Electroluminescence is a phenomenon that occurs when the atoms of a material are being excited due to the application of and external high electrical stresses. The changes in the energy level of these excitation states can be used as an indicator for the initiation of electrical ageing. There are several factors that affect the behaviour of electroluminescence emission such as, among others, applied voltage, applied frequency, ageing of material and types of materials and gases used are discussed in this paper. A mathematical approach relating these factors and the intensity of electroluminescence is proposed through the aid of Dimensional Analysis method. A close relationship is obtained between experimental and simulation that suggests this mathematical approach can be utilized as a tool to predict electrical ageing of insulation material

A New Weak Area Identification Method in Power System Based on Voltage Stability

Identification of voltage stability weak area in power system plays an important role in preventing the occurrence of voltage collapse. A fast and accurate identification method helps power system operators to apply voltage stability control action on the weak area and thus avoids voltage collapse. This paper presents a new technique for weak area identification in a power system based on voltage stability named as Weak Area Indicator (WAI). WAI is derived from a newly developed voltage stability index, Voltage Stability Condition Indicator (VSCI). For verification purpose, the proposed WAI was tested with the existing method in the literature that used voltage stability variation method to detect weak area. Test results show that the proposed WAI is able to cluster weak areas correctly. All methods were tested on IEEE 30-bus and IEEE 118-bus test system

Annual energy output simulation of an optical concentrator based PV system for energy security

Concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system is an application of PV devices introduced with the aim of reducing the cost of BIPV systems through the use of an optical element to concentrate or focus the solar radiation from a large area, into a smaller area to which the solar cell is attached, thus reducing the overall cost by saving expensive PV material. This paper aims at presenting the simulation results of an annual prediction for a system comprising of CPV based on the Rotationally Asymmetrical Compound Parabolic Concentrator (RACPC) and compared it with a non-concentrated PV module installed in Bogota, Colombia under different weather conditions. The yearly energy yield of the CPV module was calculated to be 480 kWh whereas the non-concentrating PV module had a drop in the output - almost half of the CPV module output, having a final value of 231 kWh. This indicates that the RACPC can increase the output by a factor of 2.08. This study demonstrates that a CPV system can be used as an alternative to a conventional PV system; as it offers a lower cost without compromising its performance

Distribution power loss minimization via distributed generation, capacitor and network reconfiguration

This paper presents a solution to solve the network reconfiguration, DG coordination (location and size), and capacitor coordination (location and size), simultaneously. The proposed solution will be determined by using Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). Various case studies are presented to see the impact on the test system, in terms of power loss reduction and also voltage profiles. The proposed approach is applied to a 33-bus test system and simulated by using MATLAB programming. The simulation results show that combination of DG, capacitor and network reconfiguration gives a positive impact on total power losses minimization as well as voltage profile improvement compared to other case studies