‘Future Factories’: developing individualised production methods

'Future Factories' is an exploration of the possibilities for flexibility in the manufacture of artefacts inherent in digitally driven production techniques. The concept considers individualised production – in which a random element of variance over parameters such as the relative positioning of features, scale, proportion, surface texture, and the like is introduced by the computer within a parameter envelope defined by the designer. This paper is the feasibility study of, and design of, a production system for the 'Future Factories' concept. In 'Future Factories', a production system is envisaged in which the consumer is presented with a 3D digital model of the design. The design is presented as an animation showing the design morphing within a parameter envelope specified by the designer. At any given point the consumer may freeze the design, place an order, and generate the relevant digital production files (.stl etc.). A unique, individual artefact will then be manufactured using Rapid Prototyping techniques. This may be achieved directly, via Stereo Laser Sintering in a suitable material for example, or indirectly via the production of a single use tool or pattern. This paper presents results from research conducted as part of the Designer in Residence project at the School of Design Technology, University of Huddersfield. Firstly a selection of design concepts with associated parameter envelopes are created using relevant 3D design software. Animations are then created showing the design moving within its parameter envelope. A new computer program is being developed to enable the generation of digital production files direct from a selected animation frame. There will be a study of existing rapid prototyping techniques with regard to their suitability for direct manufacture of this type and speculation on future potential

Evolving individualised consumer products

The origins of this project began in 2002 with experimentation into the application of computer generated random form to 3D product design. Advances in the Rapid Prototyping industry were offering the possibility of mass-produced one-off consumer products. Computer based 3D solid models were created that would randomly mutate within parameter envelopes set by the designer. At any given point the mutation could be halted and a real-world product generated via digital manufacture (Rapid Prototyping). This fi rst stage of the work has already been reported on (Atkinson and Dean, 2003). The next phase of the program has been to introduce evolutionary development so that, via the computer generated random mutation, the model develops generation by generation in a desired direction (though not necessarily to a predictable outcome). This requires an element of selection. There are several examples of computer based evolutionary design experiments that use human by-eye selection methods, notably Richard Dawkins’ ‘Biomorph’ system (Dawkins 1993). The aim of this project is an automated system that selects on some measure of desirability and rejects outright any functional failures. Each FutureFactories product form is defined by a parametric CAD (Computer-Aided-Design) model. When evolution is initiated, a series of mutant designs are generated each with a single parameter, selected at random, adjusted by a small pre-determined step. The step may be positive or negative; this again is determined at random. The resulting set of mutant progeny is then assessed for their visual ‘success’ using a quotient. The quotient aims to access the level of visual interest in a form. As the application is 3D products, there are physical parameters to consider, for instance ‘hard points’ generated by the envelopes of internal components which may not be intruded upon. If any of the offspring do not meet the necessary physical criteria they are rejected. Animation is employed to extrapolate between iteration to present the evolution as a smooth metamorphosis. Product forms and associated development criteria have been created capable of evolutionary development over many generations. The resulting designs are both surprising and unpredictable

‘Future factories’: teaching Techné

The phenomenon of the ‘Artist-in-Residence’ has a long-standing precedent in many areas of social and business activity where the imperative to present a different perspective on a number of aspects of everyday activity and to bring art into otherwise aesthetically impoverished environments has been seen to be of great benefit. Consequently, their appearance in corporations and state institutions is well known. Their place in an art education setting is perhaps less frequent, but by no means unusual, as the educational value of regular exposure to a ‘qualified’ or ‘experienced’ practitioner carrying out their own work has long been recognised. However, the use of a ‘Designer-in-Residence’ in a design for production education setting (as opposed to a designer-maker or craft environment) is perhaps even less well documented. The School of Design Technology at the University of Huddersfield recently decided to allocate an amount of research funding to provide an ‘Artist-in-Residence’ to work alongside Fine Art students, and a ‘Designer-in-Residence’ to work alongside Product and Transport design students for a period of one year. The detailed description of the role of the Designer-in-Residence in educational terms; the benefits to students in improving project management and time planning; and seeing the pace of professional design work in real time are substantial, but perhaps the subject of a slightly different paper to this one. Here, we wish instead to concentrate not so much on the process of using a Designer-in-Residence, but on the content of the particular project being undertaken, the far-reaching implications the work has for the practice of design and design education both on a theoretical and philosophical as well as a more pragmatic level. The title of the project ‘Future Factories’ describes the exploration of the potential for the direct digital manufacturing, using the latest CAD 3D modelling and rapid prototyping techniques, in which a random element of variance is introduced by the computer software. The outputs from this practice-based research project are expected to consist of a number of inspirational products produced as a result of the residency itself, which will be exhibited in a traditional gallery environment and later digitally – either on-line or by CD-ROM dissemination. Alongside the practice-based research outputs, it is hoped there will be a publication describing the parallel Designer-in-Residence and Artist-in-Residence projects at Huddersfield in a pedagogic context, as well as a number of different academic papers (of which this is one) addressing the different theoretical and contextual issues raised by the content of the ‘Future Factories’ project

Boron Stress Responsive MicroRNAs and Their Targets in Barley

Boron stress is an environmental factor affecting plant development and production. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to be involved in several plant processes such as growth regulation and stress responses. In this study, miRNAs associated with boron stress were identified and characterized in barley. miRNA profiles were also comparatively analyzed between root and leave samples. A total of 31 known and 3 new miRNAs were identified in barley; 25 of them were found to respond to boron treatment. Several miRNAs were expressed in a tissue specific manner; for example, miR156d, miR171a, miR397, and miR444a were only detected in leaves. Additionally, a total of 934 barley transcripts were found to be specifically targeted and degraded by miRNAs. In silico analysis of miRNA target genes demonstrated that many miRNA targets are conserved transcription factors such as Squamosa promoter-binding protein, Auxin response factor (ARF), and the MYB transcription factor family. A majority of these targets were responsible for plant growth and response to environmental changes. We also propose that some of the miRNAs in barley such as miRNA408 might play critical roles against boron exposure. In conclusion, barley may use several pathways and cellular processes targeted by miRNAs to cope with boron stress

Quantum properties of the Dirac field on BTZ black hole backgrounds

We consider a Dirac field on a $(1 + 2)$-dimensional uncharged BTZ black hole background. We first find out the Dirac Hamiltonian, and study its self-adjointness properties. We find that, in analogy to the Kerr-Newman-AdS Dirac Hamiltonian in $(1+3)$ dimensions, essential self-adjointness on $C_0^{\infty}(r_+,\infty)^2$ of the reduced (radial) Hamiltonian is implemented only if a suitable relation between the mass $\mu$ of the Dirac field and the cosmological radius $l$ holds true. The very presence of a boundary-like behaviour of $r=\infty$ is at the root of this problem. Also, we determine in a complete way qualitative spectral properties for the non-extremal case, for which we can infer the absence of quantum bound states for the Dirac field. Next, we investigate the possibility of a quantum loss of angular momentum for the $(1 + 2)$-dimensional uncharged BTZ black hole. Unlike the corresponding stationary four-dimensional solutions, the formal treatment of the level crossing mechanism is much simpler. We find that, even in the extremal case, no level crossing takes place. Therefore, no quantum loss of angular momentum via particle pair production is allowed.Comment: 19 pages; IOP styl

Quantum singularities in a model of f(R) Gravity

The formation of a naked singularity in a model of f(R) gravity having as source a linear electromagnetic field is considered in view of quantum mechanics. Quantum test fields obeying the Klein-Gordon, Dirac and Maxwell equations are used to probe the classical timelike naked singularity developed at r=0. We prove that the spatial derivative operator of the fields fails to be essentially self-adjoint. As a result, the classical timelike naked singularity remains quantum mechanically singular when it is probed with quantum fields having different spin structures.Comment: 12 pages, final version. Accepted for publication in EPJ

Unique and conserved MicroRNAs in wheat chromosome 5D revealed by next-generation sequencing

MicroRNAs are a class of short, non-coding, single-stranded RNAs that act as post-transcriptional regulators in gene expression. miRNA analysis of Triticum aestivum chromosome 5D was performed on 454 GS FLX Titanium sequences of flow sorted chromosome 5D with a total of 3,208,630 good quality reads representing 1.34x and 1.61x coverage of the short (5DS) and long (5DL) arms of the chromosome respectively. In silico and structural analyses revealed a total of 55 miRNAs; 48 and 42 miRNAs were found to be present on 5DL and 5DS respectively, of which 35 were common to both chromosome arms, while 13 miRNAs were specific to 5DL and 7 miRNAs were specific to 5DS. In total, 14 of the predicted miRNAs were identified in wheat for the first time. Representation (the copy number of each miRNA) was also found to be higher in 5DL (1,949) compared to 5DS (1,191). Targets were predicted for each miRNA, while expression analysis gave evidence of expression for 6 out of 55 miRNAs. Occurrences of the same miRNAs were also found in Brachypodium distachyon and Oryza sativa genome sequences to identify syntenic miRNA coding sequences. Based on this analysis, two other miRNAs: miR1133 and miR167 were detected in B. distachyon syntenic region of wheat 5DS. Five of the predicted miRNA coding regions (miR6220, miR5070, miR169, miR5085, miR2118) were experimentally verified to be located to the 5D chromosome and three of them : miR2118, miR169 and miR5085, were shown to be 5D specific. Furthermore miR2118 was shown to be expressed in Chinese Spring adult leaves. miRNA genes identified in this study will expand our understanding of gene regulation in bread wheat