Extended Reality and Internet of Things for Hyper-Connected Metaverse Environments

The Metaverse encompasses technologies related to the internet, virtual and augmented reality, and other domains toward smart interfaces that are hyper-connected, immersive, and engaging. However, Metaverse applications face inherent disconnects between virtual and physical components and interfaces. This work explores how an Extended Metaverse framework can be used to increase the seamless integration of interoperable agents between virtual and physical environments. It contributes an early theory and practice toward the synthesis of virtual and physical smart environments anticipating future designs and their potential for connected experiences.Comment: In Proceedings of 2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), Christchurch, New Zealand, 202

Extending the Metaverse: Hyper-Connected Smart Environments with Mixed Reality and the Internet of Things

The metaverse, i.e., the collection of technologies that provide a virtual twin of the real world via mixed reality, internet of things, and others, is gaining prominence. However, the metaverse faces challenges as it grows toward mainstream adoption. Among these is the lack of strong connections between metaverse objects and traditional physical objects and environments, which leads to inconsistencies for users within metaverse environments. To address this issue, this work explores the design and development of a framework for bridging the physical environment and the metaverse through the use of internet-of-things objects and mixed reality designs. The contributions of this include: i) an architectural framework for extending the metaverse, ii) design prototypes using the framework. Together, this exploration charts the course toward a more cohesive and hyper-connected metaverse smart environment

Space-Based Capstone: Public-Private-Academic Partnership in the Making

The Electronic Systems Engineering Technology (ESET) Program at Texas A&M University provides a recognized undergraduate program with an emphasis in electronics, communication, embedded systems, testing, instrumentation and control systems. The program combines engineering and industrial knowledge and methods to develop, design, and implement new innovative products through a two-semester long Senior Capstone Project. Capstone is designed to prepare future engineers by bridging the gap between the classroom and industry. Students are required to form teams of two to six members which allows them to develop the skills necessary to succeed in a diverse industry setting. Each team is required to use their knowledge and skills to design, develop, document, and deliver a real-world project equivalent to the assignments they will soon receive as professional engineers. Following NASA’s approval for funding the development of a research facility named Hermes, a Capstone team, named Microgravity Automated Research Systems (MARS), was sponsored by T STAR, a local space commercialization company, to develop the electronics portion of the facility. Hermes will reside on the International Space Station for five years in the hopes of streamlining the development of experiments that require extended periods of time in microgravity environments. The Hermes facility will host and manage up to four experiments at a time while allowing for the downlink of experiment data to an Earth station, and the uplink of commands to change experiment parameters. Experiments will adhere to a power budget and communication standard established by MARS so that experiments can be swapped out during the facility’s lifetime. MARS will work with the Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory (MISL), an undergraduate applied research lab, in order to prepare them to maintain support for Hermes in the future.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Cross-Reality for Extending the Metaverse: Designing Hyper-Connected Immersive Environments with XRI

The Metaverse comprises technologies to enable virtual twins of the real world, via mixed reality, internet of things, and others. As it matures unique challenges arise such as a lack of strong connections between virtual and physical worlds. This work presents design frameworks for cross-reality hybrid spaces. Contributions include: i) clarifying the metaverse "disconnect", ii) extended metaverse design frameworks, iii) prototypes, and iv) discussions toward new metaverse smart environments

The 13th Kilbrandon Lecture – University of Strathclyde, 19 November 2015 – Leadership and child protection

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted and not a little alarmed to have the privilege of delivering the Kilbrandon Lecture this evening. My theme tonight is leadership particularly focused on child protection. Over the years, like many of you here, I have had to complete questionnaires about personality traits and decision making preferences which are then converted into leadership styles. There was The KAI score on the adaptive innovative continuum, the Myers Briggs scales, and various colour related tests, to mention the ones I can remember, all derived from psychometric testing and interpretation whose validity has subsequently been called into question. The body of knowledge and theory about leadership is mostly dull and dry as dust - and so unlike the many colourful leaders we are familiar with

Supporting Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in Engineering: K-12 and Beyond

Individuals with disabilities, including individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. With the importance of STEM skills in future employment and other disciplines, effective instructional strategies must be identified to enhance early and sustained access to STEM for students with ASD. However, the literature identifying effective STEM-specific supports and practices for this population of students is sparse and regarding engineering, there are no empirical studies that focus on teaching engineering skills to students with ASD. Therefore, the article aims to provide an overview of the available literature on the perspectives of engineering educators and suggested strategies aimed at supporting students with ASD in K-12 instruction and higher education. Additionally, recommendations regarding employment preparation and shifting the workplace environment to support individuals with ASD are presented. The available literature reveals limitations and implications for future research including the presentation of the voices of individuals with ASD across the spectrum. Furthermore, there continues to be work that must be done to prepare educators, employers, peers, and colleagues to better understand the disability and support individuals with ASD in all contexts

Plume Diagnostics of the RSRM Static Firings for the Pressure Perturbation Studies

During the STS-54 launch (RSRM-29), the right hand solid rocket motor experienced a 13.9 psi chamber pressure perturbation at 67 seconds into the motor operation. This pressure augmentation equated to a thrust change of 51 klb. Concerns were raised regarding the adverse effects of this thrust imbalance on the shuttle system and the overall thrust into the external tank structural elements. Pressure perturbations have been observed in solid rocket motors due to expulsion of igniter or insulation materials; the motor thrust during such events drop abruptly before rising. However, the RSRM motors do not exhibit such behavior during the large chamber pressure perturbation events. Several scenarios were investigated to explain these pressure perturbations in the RSRM motors based on a fault tree developed after STS-54. Of these, the expulsion of the slag accumulated in the submerged nozzle region appeared to be the most plausible scenario to explain the observations. Slag is a natural combustion product of aluminized solid rocket motors. The RSRM propellant contains 16% by weight of aluminum. Any ejection of this slag mass during nozzle vectoring or other side loads on the motor will result in the chamber pressure perturbation. Two RSRM static firings were instrumented extensively to further understand the slag expulsion phenomenon in the RSRM and the associated pressure perturbations

Correlation of Slag Expulsion with Ballistic Anomalies in Shuttle Solid Rocket Motors

During the Shuttle launches, the solid rocket motors (SRM) occasionally experience pressure perturbations (8-13 psi) between 65-75 s into the motor burn time. The magnitudes of these perturbations are very small in comparison with the operating motor chamber pressure, which is over 600 psi during this time frame. These SRM pressure perturbations are believed to he caused primarily by the expulsion of slag (aluminum oxide). Two SRM static tests, TEM-11 and FSM-4, were instrumented extensively for the study of the phenomena associated with pressure perturbations. The test instrumentation used included nonintrusive optical and infrared diagnostics of the plume, such as high-speed photography, radiometers, and thermal image cameras. Results from all of these nonintrusive observations provide substantial circumstantial evidence to support the scenario that the pressure perturbation event in the Shuttle SRM is caused primarily by the expulsion of molten slag. In the static motor tests, the slag was also expelled preferentially near the bottom of the nozzle because of slag accumulation at the bottom of the aft end of the horizontally oriented motor