A BBN-based Method to Manage Adaptive Behavior of a Smart User Interface☆

Abstract The present study proposes a new method to manage adaptation behaviour of adaptive system according to the output information provide by a user model based on Bayesian Belief Network (BBN). Such method has been applied in the development of smart interfaces for cooking and kitchen management, such as meal preparation and interaction with the major kitchen appliances, pandering the user's skills, expertise and disabilities. Nevertheless, this method is flexible and suitable enough to be used in other application contexts. The validity of the decision making algorithm has been tested through simulation of real user case scenarios

a method to estimate the total voc emission of furniture products

Abstract In the last decade, the environmental sustainability has become an important issue that drives more and more the consumer decisions. Consequently, industrial companies are called to meet the growing demand for more sustainable products. Especially in the furniture sector, customers pay serious attention to the emissions that negatively affect human health and so they request products with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. This represents a big challenge because it requires the strictly control of each component provided by all the supply chain actors through expensive laboratory tests. For this aim, the present paper proposes a method to estimate the total VOCs emissions of furniture products starting from the characteristics of all semi-finished products (e.g., geometric features, product composition, process information and functionality) and through the definition of an appropriate impact scale based on historical data. It allows making the supply chain (SC) more sustainable, limiting costly chamber tests

Consumers vs Internet of Things: A Systematic Evaluation Process to Drive Users in the Smart World☆

Abstract Smart Objects (SOs) market offers a wide variety of products apparently similar but characterized by different features that the average users fail to perceive. Consequently, their purchasing is often based on price and brand affection. In this context, users need a tool able to guide them in choosing the most suitable object to satisfy their expectations. To this purpose, this paper proposes a new systematic method to assess SOs in a comprehensive way: it allows to objectively assess and compare products and provides evaluation results tailored on users' needs. A first validation is carried out on three different SO typologies

Preliminary Validation of a Low-Cost Motion Analysis System Based on RGB Cameras to Support the Evaluation of Postural Risk Assessment

This paper introduces a low-cost and low computational marker-less motion capture system based on the acquisition of frame images through standard RGB cameras. It exploits the open-source deep learning model CMU, from the tf-pose-estimation project. Its numerical accuracy and its usefulness for ergonomic assessment are evaluated by a proper experiment, designed and performed to: (1) compare the data provided by it with those collected from a motion capture golden standard system; (2) compare the RULA scores obtained with data provided by it with those obtained with data provided by the Vicon Nexus system and those estimated through video analysis, by a team of three expert ergonomists. Tests have been conducted in standardized laboratory conditions and involved a total of six subjects. Results suggest that the proposed system can predict angles with good consistency and give evidence about the tool’s usefulness for ergonomist

Trematocine, a Novel Antimicrobial Peptide from the Antarctic Fish Trematomus bernacchii: Identification and Biological Activity

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short peptides active against a wide range of pathogens and, therefore, they are considered a useful alternative to conventional antibiotics. We have identified a new AMP in a transcriptome derived from the Antarctic fish Trematomus bernacchii. This peptide, named Trematocine, has been investigated for its expression both at the basal level and after in vivo immunization with an endemic Antarctic bacterium (Psychrobacter sp. TAD1). Results agree with the expected behavior of a fish innate immune component, therefore we decided to synthesize the putative mature sequence of Trematocine to determine the structure, the interaction with biological membranes, and the biological activity. We showed that Trematocine folds into a \u3b1-helical structure in the presence of both zwitterionic and anionic charged vesicles. We demonstrated that Trematocine has a highly specific interaction with anionic charged vesicles and that it can kill Gram-negative bacteria, possibly via a carpet like mechanism. Moreover, Trematocine showed minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria similar to other AMPs isolated from Antarctic fishes. The peptide is a possible candidate for a new drug as it does not show any haemolytic or cytotoxic activity against mammalian cells at the concentration needed to kill the tested bacteria

Study and development of methodologies and advance solutions to support design of smart and inclusive environment

L’aumento della popolazione anziana avrà nei prossimi anni un forte impatto sulla nostra società, in particolare sul finanziamento del Welfare. Per garantire che il sistema del welfare sia sostenibile è essenziale sostenere gli anziani nel mantenersi indipendenti: questo è il motivo per cui il design for inclusion è un tema importante per l'Unione Europea. In questo contesto, le tecnologie domotiche possono giocare un ruolo chiave nel supportare gli anziani nella vita quotidiana e nell’aumentare il loro benessere. Tuttavia, nonostante la domanda di questi prodotti è in aumento e la tecnologia necessaria esiste già da decenni, esse rimangono scarsamente utilizzate. Il fallimento delle soluzioni disponibili è dovuto al fatto esse non sono inclusive. Infatti i progettisti spesso si concentrano più sui problemi tecnologici o sulle funzionalità dei prodotti che sui bisogni e le abilità degli utenti, oppure si limitano a seguire le linee guida progettuali, senza considerarne il contesto d’uso. Durante gli ultimi anni, sono stati proposti molti approcci che mirano a supportare la progettazione di prodotti più inclusivi. Tuttavia, non è ancora stato definito un metodo che fornisca strumenti pratici in grado di guidare il progettista in modo sistematico nelle scelte progettuali. In questo contesto, il lavoro di ricerca propone una metodologia, basata su un approccio centrato sull’utente che grazie a strumenti in grado di guidare le scelte progettuali a seconda dei bisogni e delle abilità degli utenti finali, mira a supportare la progettazione di prodotti inclusivi, modulari e adattabili. Il metodo e gli strumenti proposti sono stati utilizzati nella progettazione di un ambiente cucina, grazie anche a tecnologie domotiche risultasse accessibile e utilizzabile per le persone anziane e disabili. I risultati sperimentali dimostrano che il metodo e gli strumenti proposti consentono di supportare efficacemente la progettazione di prodotti inclusivi.Demographic changes resulting in increasing of elderly population will have substantial societal implications, ranging from the workforce to the funding of welfare system. Maintaining independent living for longer is essential to ensure a sustainable welfare system: this is why inclusion is an important topic for European Union. In this context, technology may play a key role in alleviating a number of these problems. In particular, Smart Home technology has the potential to prolong the independence living of elderly people and may increase their wellbeing. However, despite the demand of these products is rising and the necessary technology already exists for decades, they remain scarcely implemented. The failure of solutions currently available is due to the fact that they are not inclusive, because designers focus more on technological issues or individual product functions then on users’ needs and skills. Otherwise, products are merely designed according to design guidelines, without considering their effective context of use. Over the last years, several approaches have been defined to support the design of more inclusive product, but it has not yet been developed a method that allows supporting inclusive design process in a systematic way. In particular, there is the need for a systematic approach that offers practical and measurable design criteria. In this context, this research work propose a new ability-oriented methodology, based on a User-centred approach, and tools able to support the definition of modular and adaptive design product, where for product we mean any device, artefact, building, or service. The proposed methods and tools are used to support the re-design process of a domestic kitchen, with the aims to define a new inclusive and smart home environment, accessible and usable for elderly and wheelchair people. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method and tools effectively supports designing of successful inclusive product

Study and development of methodologies and advance solutions to support design of smart and inclusive environment

L’aumento della popolazione anziana avrà nei prossimi anni un forte impatto sulla nostra società, in particolare sul finanziamento del Welfare. Per garantire che il sistema del welfare sia sostenibile è essenziale sostenere gli anziani nel mantenersi indipendenti: questo è il motivo per cui il design for inclusion è un tema importante per l'Unione Europea. In questo contesto, le tecnologie domotiche possono giocare un ruolo chiave nel supportare gli anziani nella vita quotidiana e nell’aumentare il loro benessere. Tuttavia, nonostante la domanda di questi prodotti è in aumento e la tecnologia necessaria esiste già da decenni, esse rimangono scarsamente utilizzate. Il fallimento delle soluzioni disponibili è dovuto al fatto esse non sono inclusive. Infatti i progettisti spesso si concentrano più sui problemi tecnologici o sulle funzionalità dei prodotti che sui bisogni e le abilità degli utenti, oppure si limitano a seguire le linee guida progettuali, senza considerarne il contesto d’uso. Durante gli ultimi anni, sono stati proposti molti approcci che mirano a supportare la progettazione di prodotti più inclusivi. Tuttavia, non è ancora stato definito un metodo che fornisca strumenti pratici in grado di guidare il progettista in modo sistematico nelle scelte progettuali. In questo contesto, il lavoro di ricerca propone una metodologia, basata su un approccio centrato sull’utente che grazie a strumenti in grado di guidare le scelte progettuali a seconda dei bisogni e delle abilità degli utenti finali, mira a supportare la progettazione di prodotti inclusivi, modulari e adattabili. Il metodo e gli strumenti proposti sono stati utilizzati nella progettazione di un ambiente cucina, grazie anche a tecnologie domotiche risultasse accessibile e utilizzabile per le persone anziane e disabili. I risultati sperimentali dimostrano che il metodo e gli strumenti proposti consentono di supportare efficacemente la progettazione di prodotti inclusivi.Demographic changes resulting in increasing of elderly population will have substantial societal implications, ranging from the workforce to the funding of welfare system. Maintaining independent living for longer is essential to ensure a sustainable welfare system: this is why inclusion is an important topic for European Union. In this context, technology may play a key role in alleviating a number of these problems. In particular, Smart Home technology has the potential to prolong the independence living of elderly people and may increase their wellbeing. However, despite the demand of these products is rising and the necessary technology already exists for decades, they remain scarcely implemented. The failure of solutions currently available is due to the fact that they are not inclusive, because designers focus more on technological issues or individual product functions then on users’ needs and skills. Otherwise, products are merely designed according to design guidelines, without considering their effective context of use. Over the last years, several approaches have been defined to support the design of more inclusive product, but it has not yet been developed a method that allows supporting inclusive design process in a systematic way. In particular, there is the need for a systematic approach that offers practical and measurable design criteria. In this context, this research work propose a new ability-oriented methodology, based on a User-centred approach, and tools able to support the definition of modular and adaptive design product, where for product we mean any device, artefact, building, or service. The proposed methods and tools are used to support the re-design process of a domestic kitchen, with the aims to define a new inclusive and smart home environment, accessible and usable for elderly and wheelchair people. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method and tools effectively supports designing of successful inclusive product

A systematic approach to support conceptual design of inclusive products

Over the last years, several approaches have been defined to support Universal Design. However, a method that allows supporting universal design process in a systematic way is still lacking. Consequently, very often, products are merely designed according to design guidelines, without considering their effective context of use, while the success of products is often determined by the experience, intuition and sensitivity of designers, rather than by a real good design practice. In this context, the paper propose a systematic approach to support the conceptual design of modular and adaptive products, where for products we mean any device, tool, artefact, building, or service