From geospatial data capture to the delivery of GIS-ready information : improved management within a GIS environment

This thesis presents the research undertaken to investigate how geospatial data handling techniques and technology can be potentially used to enhance the existing management of entire survey datasets from their captured stage to a GIS-ready state and the delivery of this to the user. Discovery of the current systems for managing survey data and information in the Survey and Mapping Department Malaysia (JUPEM) has been presented. In addition, the surveying practice and processes carried out have been examined, especially the different type of data and information existed within the raw data capture right through to the production of GIS-ready information. The current GIS technology and techniques for managing geospatial data have been inspected to gain an in-depth understanding of them. Geospatial object as an approach to model reality of the world has been discovered and used to model the raw, processed, the GIS-ready information. To implement the management, a prototype Database Management System (DBMS) has been implemented, and a trial data population and processing steps have been carried out. An enhancement of the managemenot f the datasetsf rom geospatiald ata capturet o the GIS-ready infori-nation has beend emonstratedT. o deliver online the final product, demonstrationo f available methods were illustrated, and then contrasted. A range of datasets around Malaysian context were used in the research. The investigation revealed that raw, processed and GIS-ready information can be successfully modelled as object in an object-relational spatial database. Using inherent GIS tools, survey datasets management and processing steps within the same system are evidently achieved in a prototype implemented DBMS. An improved management showing the capability of 'drill-down search' and 'two-way traceability' to access and search spatial and non-spatial information in the system is effectively illustrated. Demonstration of the vendor specific and open source technology for the GIS-ready information delivery leads to the comparison between them. The thesis concludes by recognising that a management for raw captured data, processed set of data and GIS-ready information, and the delivery of this, within GIS environment is possible. The inherent GIS tools and DBMS have presented a single-view system for geospatial data management providing superior interfaces that are easy to learn and use, and users are able to specify and perform the desired tasks efficiently. Delivery of data has some constraints that need to be considered before embarking into either vendor specific application or open source technology. In JUPEM, time and cost can be reduced by applying and implementing the suggested GIS application for cadastral and topographic surveys right up to the creation of GIS-ready information, as detailed in the thesis. The research also finds that the in-depth understanding and experience, practically and theoretically, of all aspects of current GIS technologies and techniques gained through this research has achieved an overarching inspiration: equalisation of a high level of awareness and ability of staff in handling GIS project development within currently developing countries with those in the developed countries, and within the national survey and mapping department with those of other government departments and commercial GIS contractors.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServicePublic Service Department of Malaysia : Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia : University of Newcastle upon TyneGBUnited Kingdo

The normal vehicle forces effects of a two in-wheel electric vehicle towards the human brain on different road profile maneuver

Noise, harshness and vibrations are a non-trivial aspect of ride or human comfort, and car manufacturers often sought to improve the aforesaid comfort level. In previous studies, human biodynamic model and vehicle model are often modelled separately. Human model is used to study human alertness level and health while vehicle model is used to study on the car vibration to specifically understand the impact of vibration towards the model independently. In this study, a twelve degrees of freedom (12 DOF) human biodynamic model is incorporated with a two in-wheel electric car model to investigate the effect of vertical vibration towards the human brain based on different types of road profile and maneuver. MATLAB simulation environment is used to carry out the investigation, and it was established from the present study that the proposed model is able to provide significant insights on the impact experienced by the human brain to the skull based on the given vertical input of different road profile. The impact on the human brain to the skull is often associated with human alertness while driving where vibration exposure towards human driver influence the sleepiness level, human reaction times and lapses of attention which may lead to road accidents

A Simulated Kalman Filter (SKF) approach in identifying optimum speed during cornering

Safety and human comfort are of paramount importance towards vehicle performance. This study aims to recognize the optimum cornering speed of a two-in wheel vehicle by means of a metaheuristic optimization technique known as Simulated Kalman Filter (SKF). The algorithm is used to minimize the normal forces experienced by the driver based on the identified speed. The system combines a biodynamic model with a two-in-wheel car model. It was demonstrated from the study that the conservative optimum speed of 20 km/h was determined by the SKF algorithm. The outcome of the investigation is non-trivial towards ensuring human comfort as well as safety to the driver

Normal forces effects of a two in-wheel electric vehicle towards the human body

Traditionally, in order to comprehend the impact of vibration on human and vehicle ride comfort, past research often models the human biodynamic and vehicle models individually. Recent trends suggest that a better understanding of the behaviour could be achieved by fusing the models instead of analysing it separately. The present study evaluates the impact of the normal forces on specific parts of the human body. A human biodynamic model with five degrees of freedom is modelled together with a two in-wheel electric car model travelling at a speed of 10 km/h to investigate the effect of the normal forces. From the present investigation, it could be observed that the proposed model could highlight the impact of the normal forces on the body parts when the car is travelling either on a straight path or in taking corners

The vibration effects of a two in-wheel electric vehicle towards the human brain

The human biodynamic and vehicle models are often modelled separately in order to understand the impact of vibration on the human itself and vehicle ride comfort, respectively. Nonetheless, several studies have recently combined both models into a single system to investigate the dynamic response and ride comfort during travelling. In this study, five degrees of freedom (5DOF) human biodynamic model is incorporated with a two in-wheel electric car model to correlate the impact of vibration on a tire towards the human brain. The model is analysed through MATLAB simulation with a car travelling at a speed of 10 km/h. It could be observed from the present investigation that the proposed model is able to highlight a significant impact of the brain to the skull when the car is on the move or in cornering mode

An overview of the spark plug engine profile in a spark ignition engine

The main concern regarding on the spark plug usage is their ignition efficiency and lifetime capabilities. This article reviews on the spark plug engine profile in a spark ignition. An intelligent practical approach needs to be developed to be the indicator to know when the spark plug should be changed. Due to its promising effect on the spark ignition engine, the study of spark plugs profile is increasing day by day. For safety, mechanical vibration of a vehicle is a very important phenomenon. Moreover, it specifically affects passenger comfort in some applications. Due to the effects on vehicle structure components and passenger comfort as well as safety, the mechanical vibration through the spark ignition engine has acquired great significance. However, there are many problems in researching existing running engines with a spark ignition system, such as slower ignition, increased cyclic variance and possible misfire. The higher spark energy will improve the ignitibility, but due to electrode corrosion, the life of the spark plug will decrease, and electrodes serve as a sink of thermal energy that will affect the spark plug’s health. For instance, the conditions such as the spark plug gap, the plug thickness and the carbon dissipated on the spark plug that influences the output of a spark ignition, are highlighted in this article

A hybrid active force control of a lower limb exoskeleton for gait rehabilitation

Owing to the increasing demand for rehabilitation services, robotics have been engaged in addressing the drawbacks of conventional rehabilitation therapy. This paper focuses on the modelling and control of a three-link lower limb exoskeleton for gait rehabilitation that is restricted to the sagittal plane. The exoskeleton that is modelled together with a human lower limb model is subjected to a number of excitations at its joints while performing a joint space trajectory tracking, to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in compensating disturbances. A particle swarm optimised active force control strategy is proposed to facilitate disturbance rejection of a conventional proportional-derivative (PD) control algorithm. The simulation study provides considerable insight into the robustness of the proposed method in attenuating the disturbance effect as compared to the conventional PD counterpart without compromising its tracking performance. The findings from the study further suggest its potential employment on a lower limb exoskeleton