Building a cognitive gaming platform : User centric gaming experiences with organic movement

The increasing focus on efficiency and optimizing the way people think and work has led to a new area of serious gaming – cognitive games. The rise of modern web rendering technologies has enabled the creation of visually interesting cognitive games on browser based technologies. The goal of this study was to assess the applicability of using modern browser technologies to create a user centric cognitive gaming platform and the use of mathematical formulas in organic rendering. The approach discusses the current market situation and the products and methods of cognitive gaming as well as the technologies involved. The user centric approach is studied through user experience design as well as graphic design and animation aspects. The reference implementation is project CCA; a user centric cognitive gaming platform built on top of Adobe Flash that uses seemingly organic movement rendering. The technical implementation is discussed from the platform client-server aspect as well as an overview of the structure of the front end architecture. The rendering engine methods go through the 2D –based rendering of mathematical formulas, the use of continuous Bezier curves in organic movement and the creative ways of using Perlin noise to generate textures as well as movement. Optimization of complex rendering and platform building is an essential part of the process. The results show the viability of using modern browser based technologies in the creation of a cognitive gaming platform. Through the use of optimization and creative mathematical solutions, as well as tending to user experience needs a successful product is built. The project platform is used in medical trials, as well as the Science Changing the World Exhibition shown in science centers around Europe. This study stands as a testament to the possibilities of cognitive end user training and a guide on the aspects of building a suc-cessful gaming platform.Tehokkuuden optimointi on johtanut muutoksiin ihmisten ajattelu- ja työtavoissa. Kognitiiviset pelit kehittyivät vakavan pelaamisen alalajiksi vastaamaan tehokkuuden asettamiin tarpeisiin. Samaan aikaan nykyaikaiset selainteknologiat ja renderöintitekniikat ovat kehittyneet sille tasolle, että niillä voidaan luoda visuaalisesti näyttäviä kognitiivisia pelejä. Opinnäytetyön kohteena oli arvioida nykyaikaisten selainteknologioiden sopivuutta käyttäjäkeskeisen kognitiopelialustan luomiseen ja matemaattisten kaavojen käyttöä luonnollisen liikkeen ja muodon renderöinnissä. Tutkimuksen lähtökohtana oli nykyinen markkinatilanne kognitiopelaamisen alueella sekä siihen liittyvät tuotteet ja teknologiat. Käyttäjäkeskeistä lähestymistapaa tutkittiin käyttökokemussuunnittelun sekä graafisen suunnittelun ja animaatioiden kautta. Referenssitoteutuksena kehitettiin projekti CCA, käyttäjäkeskeinen kognitiivisen pelaamisen alusta, joka pohjautuu Adobe Flash-teknologiaan. CCA:n renderöintiteknologia perustuu luonnollisen liikkeen optimointiin. Pelialustan tekninen toteutus on modulaarinen palvelinintegroitu ratkaisu, jonka tarkoituksena on olla mahdollisimman muokattava taustajärjestelmän kautta. Renderöinti perustuu matemaattisten kaavojen 2-ulotteiseen ilmaisuun, jatkuvien Bezier-käyrien sekä erilaisten Perlin-kohinoiden luoviin käyttötapauksiin. Optimointi on elintärkeä osa monimutkaisen renderöintialustan rakentamisessa. Opinnäytetyön tulosten mukaan nykyaikaisilla selainteknologioilla voidaan rakentaa onnistunut kognitiivinen pelialusta. Optimoinnin ja luovien matemaattisten ratkaisujen sekä käyttäjälähtöisen suunnittelun ja toteutuksen avulla luodaan onnistunut tuote. Projektin tuote on käytössä kliinisissä kokeissa Suomessa ja Virossa, ja siitä eriytetty moninpeliversio kiertää tiedekeskuksissa ympäri Eurooppaa. Opinnäytetyön lopputulos on esimerkki käyttäjäkeskeisten kognitiopelien mahdollisuuksista ja toimii ohjeena selainpohjaisen pelialustan kehittämiselle

Taistelualusten hankintasuunnitelmat kylmän sodan ensimmäisinä vuosina

In the late 1940s and early 1950s Finland planned to build a navy capable of anti-landing operations and protection of maritime traffic. In the battles of the Continuation War several vessels had been destroyed. Also, the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1944 denied the use of submarines and motor torpedo boats. The armored vessel Väinämöinen had been sold to the Soviet Union in 1947. Thus, at the end of the 1940s, the Navy had no vessels capable of combat operations. The image of war of the period and the threat of attack by western countries motivated the procurement of combat vessels. However, the political reasons varied. During the first years after the war, mine clearing was used as the reason to acquire new vessels. In the 1950s, the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual assistance as well as the national employment situation were the most widely used arguments. The ship building plans from the late 1940s are, from today’s point of view, quite ambitious. After the war there were even hopes that a navy larger than that stipulated in the Paris Peace Treaty (10 000 tons) could be built. At the same time there were plans to relaunch the submarines that were denied in the Peace Treaty. The intention was to defend the country with all means possible. The ship building plans made in the first years of the Cold War did not remain drafts; some, for example the Minelayer Keihässalmi and the R-Class mineclearing vessels, were realized in the 1950s and 1960s. The full text is in Finnish. Artikkeli on suomenkielinen

MOOTTORITORPEDOVENEISTÄ JA JÄREÄSTÄ TYKISTÖSTÄ OHJUSTULENKÄYTTÖÖN – MERIPUOLUSTUKSEN KAUKOTORJUNNAN KEHITYS JATKOSODAN PÄÄTTYMISESTÄ 1980-LUVULLE

Meripuolustuksen kaukotorjuntakyvyn ylläpito ja sen kehittäminen olivat oleellinen osa merivoimien ja rannikkotykistön valmistautumista maihinnousuntorjuntaan kylmän sodan aikana. Mikäli hyökkäys suuntautuisi kriisitilanteessa Suomen rannikolle, tuli rannikkotykistön sekä laivastovoimien aloittaa vihollisen kuluttaminen avomereltä alkaen. Tällöin maavoimilla olisi riittävät edellytykset vihollisen lyömiseen maihinnousurannalla. Artikkelissa tarkastellaan meripuolustuksen kaukotorjuntakyvyn kehittämistä jatkosodan päättymisestä vuoteen 1980 saakka. Meripuolustuksen kaukotorjunta perustui vuodesta 1944 aina 1970-luvun puoliväliin saakka torpedoilla varustettavien moottoritykkiveneiden operaatioihin, joihin pyrittiin yhdistämään järeän rannikkotykistön tuli. Miinoitustoiminta miellettiin tuolloin lähinnä puolustukselliseksi toiminnaksi saariston reuna-alueilla, eikä miinoitteita pidetty varsinaisena kaukotorjunnan osana muutoin kuin joissain poikkeustapauksissa. Vuonna 1965 tehty päätös meritorjuntaohjuksen hankinnasta käynnisti hitaan, mutta väistämättömän muutoksen. Sen seurauksena meritorjuntaohjuksesta tuli 1980-luvun alkuun mennessä kaukotorjunnan pääase sekä rannikkotykistön ja merivoimien yhteinen asejärjestelmä

SOTAKOKEMUSTEN HYÖDYNTÄMINEN MERIVOIMIEN OPERAATIOTAIDON JA TAKTIIKAN KEHITTÄMISESSÄ

Because of the general situation during the Continuation War, open sea warfare was emphasized in the development of naval tactics whereas the coastal artillery concentrated on the development of firing methods. These developments were based on the observations of the tactics used by the Soviet Navy and Marines as well as the lessons learned in the tests and exercises carried out by friendly forces. The observations and lessons learned were related to the troops in reports named � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � “Naval and Coastal War Experiences” and “Fleet War Experiences”. During the war also Germans helped in the developing of Finnish naval tactics. The German Naval Attache to Finland, Rear Admiral Reimar von Bonin, suggested that Finnish naval officers be ordered to visit Germany in November 1941. The purpose of these visits was to teach the Finnish officers about the tactics of the German Navy as well as increase their combat experience. Von Bonin’s suggestion was motivated by the idea that the Finnish Navy’s area of operations might expand to the White and Arctic Seas. The visits of Finnish navy and coastal artillery officers started in the winter of 1942. Altogether dozens of Finnish officers as well as a few petty officers visited Germany in 1942–1944. As a result of these visits the Finns were able to develop, amongst other things, their motor torpedo boat and anti-submarine warfare tactics. They also gained valuable information about the operational principles of coastal troops and the countermeasures against influence mines. The tactical and technical lessons learned in Germany were still in use in the 1950’s. The collection of war experiences began in the Finnish Navy in October 1944, only a month after the war between Finland and the Soviet Union had ended. The collection was completed during the winter months of 1944–1945. The objective was to gather material for regulations and manuals. The collected material emphasized the experiences gained from the defensive battles in the summer of 1944. They also gave well reasoned arguments on how to renew organisation and tactics. The Navy, unlike the Army, never organized face-to-face discussion events for her officers. Instead, the units’ COs drafted their own statements based on the views of their subordinates and these were sent directly to the Navy and Fleet HQ. Since the naval and coastal artillery forces continued - as was agreed in the terms of the Temporary Peace Treaty between Finland and the Soviet Union - protecting the Soviet Navy in the vicinity of the coast, and since the Navy was making preparations to start the clearance of wartime mines, there was no time to carefully analyse the experiences of war. Soon after the war ended the Navy began to draft new manuals and regulations. At the beginning of this work attention was paid to wartime experiences; they were also utilized in training. The development of coastal infantry tactics waned away in 1952 when the Coastal Artillery became a part of the Ground Forces and the Army took the main responsibility for repelling landing operations. What was learned about coastal warfare in the Continuation War was forgotten in the late of 1950’s. For a long time the Navy had no tactics for the archipelago environment because the Continuation War produced few experiences of archipelago warfare. Thus the development of archipelago warfare was continued well into the 1950’s

Stoffenmanager-Suomi

Raportin tarkoituksena on kuvata Stoffenmanagerin käännös- ja lanseeraustyön haasteita, sekä avata työkalujen sisältöä niille, jotka haluavat perehtyä tarkemmin esimerkiksi control banding -periaatteeseen, kvantitatiiviseen altistumisenarviointiin tai nanomateriaalien riskinhallintaan