Design and Evaluate Support for Non-musicians’ Creative Engagement with Musical Interfaces

PhD thesis and supplementary videos produced in support of explaining the prototypes designed and used in PhD thesisIn the past few decades of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) studies, experience related topics are proposed as central concerns beyond usability when designing an interactive system. Based on two existing research frameworks within HCI: creativity support and engagement, this research contributes to this trend by asking how to design and evaluate support for novices’ creative engagement with digital interfaces. Drawing on HCI theories of experience, flow, engagement, and research on creative engagement in different domains, this research defines creative engagement as when the user is engaged in an active and constructive cognitive process, and in pursuit of a creative outcome. This thesis presents findings from three case studies to explore the effects of factors that might affect non-musicians’ creative engagement while musicking with interactive music systems. These factors include 1) the control metaphors of interfaces (painterly control metaphor and reactive control metaphor), 2) the task motivations (experiential and utilitarian goal) and features of musicking modes (replay and edit records), 3) the abstract visual stimuli (abstract and straightforward graphical scores, participants playing with or without design information). Based on a number of empirical findings, a systematic understanding of the effects of factors that may influence novices’ creative engagement and a descriptive model of creative engagement are proposed and discussed. This research has direct implications for the design of similar musical interfaces for novices in fields such as New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), as well as interfaces that are aimed at engaging non-experts in creative activities in HCI. Moreover, the mixed-methods approach adopted in this thesis provides informative evidence to conclude the research questions. The empirical evidence that the correlations between participants’ subjective feedback on creative engagement also suggests the potential of using the mixed-methods approach to evaluate creative engagement

Designing Functional Carriage of High-Speed Medical Train – Systematic Analysis and Evaluation of Tasks, Functions and Flow Routes

This paper proposes a functional carriage design and an evaluation index system to improve the operational efficiency of high-speed medical trains. Hierarchical task analysis and human-machine-environment analysis were applied to model the transfer task and the functional modules of the medical train. The functional module configuration was obtained by performing a correlation analysis between the task and function. The relationship between carriages was elucidated by analysing material, personnel and information flow, and an optimal grouping diagram was obtained. Based on this design method, an innovative 6-carriage grouping design scheme was proposed. A functional evaluation index system for the carriage design was constructed, and the 6-carriage design was compared with the conventional 8-carriage design to verify the usability of the design method. The results showed that the 6-carriage high-speed trains can be flexibly configured to suit the changing task environment and are generally better than the 8-carriage design. This study provides theoretical and methodological support for constructing efficient and rational functional carriages for high-speed medical trains

WEAR Sustain Network: wearable technology innovation

Purpose: As wearable technologies and eTextile sectors mature they are being increasingly used in couture and high street fashion. However, much of the innovation in this space has been driven by technological and commercial imperatives. It is time to re-consider this technological landscape in the bigger picture of a sustainable human-centred world. Approach: This paper reports on initial findings from 48 projects supported through the EU funded WEAR Sustain network to examine sustainable and ethical approaches to wearable technology design. Case studies of collaborations between artists and technologists in designing and realising sustainable and ethical wearable technologies are presented. Findings: An initial set of themes emerging from detailed analysis of WEAR Sustain network project updates are outlined highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary hubs, mentors, and networks. A survey of wearable and eTextile stakeholders highlights the challenges faced in ethical manufacturing and production of wearable and eTextile products which blur the boundaries between digital and physical. Value: This paper offers the reader insight into challenges and opportunities in the emergent Creative Economy sector of wearables and eTextiles which have the potential to transform the fashion industry. By reporting on case studies of recent near-to-market projects this paper grounds concerns of ethics and sustainability in wearable and eTextile design and production in real-word experience

Designing Functional Carriage of High-Speed Medical Train – Systematic Analysis and Evaluation of Tasks, Functions and Flow Routes

This paper proposes a functional carriage design and an evaluation index system to improve the operational efficiency of high-speed medical trains. Hierarchical task analysis and human-machine-environment analysis were applied to model the transfer task and the functional modules of the medical train. The functional module configuration was obtained by performing a correlation analysis between the task and function. The relationship between carriages was elucidated by analysing material, personnel and information flow, and an optimal grouping diagram was obtained. Based on this design method, an innovative 6-carriage grouping design scheme was proposed. A functional evaluation index system for the carriage design was constructed, and the 6-carriage design was compared with the conventional 8-carriage design to verify the usability of the design method. The results showed that the 6-carriage high-speed trains can be flexibly configured to suit the changing task environment and are generally better than the 8-carriage design. This study provides theoretical and methodological support for constructing efficient and rational functional carriages for high-speed medical trains

Analysis on Node Position of Imperfect Resonators for Cylindrical Shell Gyroscopes

For cylindrical shell gyroscopes, node position of their operating eigenmodes has an important influence on the gyroscopes’ performance. It is considered that the nodes are equally separated from each other by 90° when the resonator vibrates in the standing wave eigenmode. However, we found that, due to manufacturing errors and trimming, the nodes may not be equally distributed. This paper mainly analyzes the influences of unbalanced masses on the cylindrical resonators’ node position, by using FEM simulation and experimental measurement

A Novel Vibration Mode Testing Method for Cylindrical Resonators Based on Microphones

Non-contact testing is an important method for the study of the vibrating characteristic of cylindrical resonators. For the vibratory cylinder gyroscope excited by piezo-electric electrodes, mode testing of the cylindrical resonator is difficult. In this paper, a novel vibration testing method for cylindrical resonators is proposed. This method uses a MEMS microphone, which has the characteristics of small size and accurate directivity, to measure the vibration of the cylindrical resonator. A testing system was established, then the system was used to measure the vibration mode of the resonator. The experimental results show that the orientation resolution of the node of the vibration mode is better than 0.1°. This method also has the advantages of low cost and easy operation. It can be used in vibration testing and provide accurate results, which is important for the study of the vibration mode and thermal stability of vibratory cylindrical gyroscopes

Analysis of the Damping Characteristics of Cylindrical Resonators Influenced by Piezoelectric Electrodes

The cylindrical resonator gyroscope (CRG) is a typical Coriolis vibratory gyroscope whose performance is mostly influenced by the damping characteristic of the cylindrical resonator. However, the tremendous damping influences caused by pasting piezoelectric electrodes on the gyroscope, which degrades the performance to a large extent, have rarely been studied. In this paper, the dynamical model is established to analyze various forms of energy consumption. In addition, a FE COMSOL model is also created to discuss the damping influences of several significant parameters of the adhesive layer and piezoelectric electrodes, respectively, and then explicit influence laws are obtained. Simulation results demonstrate that the adhesive layer has some impact on the damping characteristic, but it not significant. The Q factor decreases about 30.31% in total as a result of pasting piezoelectric electrodes. What is more, it is discovered that piezoelectric electrodes with short length, locations away from the outside edges, proper width and well-chosen thickness are able to reduce the damping influences to a large extent. Afterwards, experiments of testing the Q factor are set up to validate the simulation values

Research on cylindrical resonators’ damping asymmetry trimming method utilizing damping characteristic of piezoelectric electrodes

The damping asymmetry of cylindrical resonators is one of the major sources which result in the gyroscope’s drift. In this paper, a new approach for trimming the damping asymmetry of cylindrical resonators is proposed. The damping asymmetry trimming model is established to analyze the additional damping’s influences. Furthermore, piezoelectric electrodes’ effects on the cylindrical resonator’s damping characteristic are figured out through the finite element simulation. The procedures of this trimming method are also summarized based on theoretical analysis. At last, these theoretical analysis and simulation results are utilized to compensate the damping asymmetry of cylindrical resonators and the procedures of this trimming method are also summarized. Experiments are also implemented to verify this trimming method

Structural-Acoustic Coupling Effects on the Non-Vacuum Packaging Vibratory Cylinder Gyroscope

The resonant shells of vibratory cylinder gyroscopes are commonly packaged in metallic caps. In order to lower the production cost, a portion of vibratory cylinder gyroscopes do not employ vacuum packaging. However, under non-vacuum packaging conditions there can be internal acoustic noise leading to considerable acoustic pressure which is exerted on the resonant shell. Based on the theory of the structural-acoustic coupling, the dynamical behavior of the resonant shell under acoustic pressure is presented in this paper. A finite element (FE) model is introduced to quantitatively analyze the effect of the structural-acoustic coupling. Several main factors, such as sealing cap sizes and degree of vacuum which directly affect the vibration of the resonant shell, are studied. The results indicate that the vibration amplitude and the operating frequency of the resonant shell will be changed when the effect of structural-acoustic coupling is taken into account. In addition, an experiment was set up to study the effect of structural-acoustic coupling on the sensitivity of the gyroscope. A 32.4 mV/°/s increase of the scale factor and a 6.2 Hz variation of the operating frequency were observed when the radial gap size between the resonant shell and the sealing cap was changed from 0.5 mm to 20 mm