Methods and tools for supporting industrial design innovation

The introduction of information technology (IT) systems to support designers’ activities and data management have profoundly affected company structure and design organization. This evolution has brought the introduction of systematic methods, close to information tools skills and prerogatives, using computer management and data recovery skills as main design support. The use of the IT also improved information exchange among different work figures involved during product development process. In this direction authors have intended to analyze the role and the implementation of systematic methods and tools within industrial designer area of the design process and their impact on the conceptual design phase in particular. Consequently, the research has been developed primarily in reference to design methods able to support the strict ideation stage of the Conceptual Design, that can be referred to two typologies: knowledge based and functional approaches. Subsequently authors have analyzed the information tools currently used during design process, as CAD systems, and some innovative, as Virtual and Augmented Reality tools, that can be used within industrial design area. The result of the study has been a formalization of the course followed during idea conceptual phase in order to include and to arrange the design methods and tools analysed. The research proposes a structured view of a process of product conceptualization, usually considered as mainly heuristic, focusing on the integration of methods and tools to support project and its communication. In this area the research has highlighted industrial designer role characteristics during design process, changeable in reference of project development level, and also some important new questions have been identified about the interaction between industrial designers and the other design areas involved in the process. In this direction the study has highlighted the need to support knowledge exchange and recovery, introducing the possibility to extend the research to the whole process and integrate industrial design and engineering collaboration in a more effective way. Keywords: Conceptual design process, Systematic innovation, Knowledge management, Integration</p

MMM: May I Mine Your Mind?

Consider the following set-up for the plot of a possible future episode of the TV series Black Mirror: human brains can be connected directly to the net and MiningMind Inc. has developed a technology that merges a reward system with a cryptojacking engine that uses the human brain to mine cryptocurrency (or to carry out some other mining activity). Part of our brain will be committed to cryptographic calculations (mining), leaving the remaining part untouched for everyday operations, i.e., for our brain's normal daily activity. In this short paper, we briefly argue why this set-up might not be so far fetched after all, and explore the impact that such a technology could have on our lives and our society.Comment: 4 pages, 0 figure, Accepted at the "Re-Coding Black Mirror" workshop of the International World Wide Web Conferences (WWW

Electromagnetic self-force in curved spacetime: New insights from the Janis-Newman algorithm

We present an original approach to compute the electromagnetic self-force acting on a static charge in Kerr spacetime. Our approach is based on an improved version of the Janis-Newman algorithm and extends its range of applicability. It leads to a closed expression which generalizes the existing one and, since it does not involve the electromagnetic potential, it simplifies the calculation of the self-force.Comment: 4 pages. Minor corrections, added references. Version accepted by Physical Review

Creation of magnetic spots at the neutron star surface

According to the partially screened gap scenario, an efficient electron-positron pair creation, a general precondition of radio-pulsar activity, relies on the existence of magnetic spots, i.e., local concentrations of strong and small scale magnetic field structures at the surface of neutron stars. They have a strong impact on the surface temperature, which is potentially observable. Here we reinforce the idea that such magnetic spots can be formed by extracting magnetic energy from the toroidal field that resides in deep crustal layers, via Hall drift. We study and discuss the magneto-thermal evolution of qualitatively different neutron star models and initial magnetic field configurations that lead to the creation of magnetic spots. We find that magnetic spots can be created on a timescale of $10^4$ years with magnetic field strengths $\gtrsim 5\times 10^{13}$ G, provided almost the whole magnetic energy is stored in its toroidal component, and that the conductivity in the inner crust is not too large. The lifetime of the magnetic spots is at least $\sim$one million of years, being longer if the initial field permeates both core and crust.Comment: Accepted by M.N.R.A.

Smart Humans... WannaDie?

It won't be long until our prostheses, ECG personal monitors, subcutaneous insulin infusors, glasses, etc. become devices of the Internet of Things (IoT), always connected for monitoring, maintenance, charging and tracking. This will be the dawn of the Smart Human, not just a user of the IoT but a Thing in the Internet. How long would it then take for hackers to attack us like they have been attacking IoT devices? What would happen if hackers were able to blackmail us threatening our IoT body parts? Smart Humans may become victims of the devastating attack of WannaDie, a new ransomware that could provide the plot-line for a possible future episode of the Black Mirror TV series.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Accepted at the "Re-Coding Black Mirror" workshop of the International Conference Data Protection and Democracy (CPDP

CCOs and the hidden magnetic field scenario

CCOs are X-ray sources lying close the center of supernova remnants, with inferred values of the surface magnetic fields significantly lower (less than about 1e11 G) than those of standard pulsars. In this paper, we revise the hidden magnetic field scenario, presenting the first 2D simulations of the submergence and reemergence of the magnetic field in the crust of a neutron star. A post-supernova accretion stage of about 1e-4-1e-3 solar masses over a vast region of the surface is required to bury the magnetic field into the inner crust. When accretion stops, the field reemerges on a typical timescale of 1-100 kyr, depending on the submergence conditions. After this stage, the surface magnetic field is restored close to its birth values. A possible observable consequence of the hidden magnetic field is the anisotropy of the surface temperature distribution, in agreement with observations of several of these sources. We conclude that the hidden magnetic field model is viable as alternative to the anti-magnetar scenario, and it could provide the missing link between CCOs and the other classes of isolated neutron stars.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, MNRA