RFID Gesture Generating Robot [catalogue]

The installation invites visitors to touch a suitable RFID card, such as an Oystercard, against a reader and then generates a unique and repeatable gesture in space according to the serial number of the card, in a movement reminiscent of a conductor’s baton or magician’s wand. It explores the representation of data using physical movement and the generation of elegant motion

An adaptive differentiation filter for tracking instantaneous frequency in power systems

Copyright © 2007 IEEEThis paper presents an application of adaptive differentiation filter in tracking instantaneous frequency in electrical power systems. For each new sample, the filter automatically selects an optimal window length that maximizes measurement accuracy. Large window length is selected if the frequency is slow varying or steady state, to increase efficiency in filtering noise and harmonics. For fast-varying frequency, the window length is automatically reduced in order to make frequency tracking more accurate, sacrificing filtering efficiency. Automatic selection of the optimal window length that balances between tracking and filtering performance is the unique feature of this technique. This paper concludes with the presentation of the representative results obtained in the simulation study as well as in some practical applications. The results show the adaptive differentiation filter gives accurate frequency measurement under both steady-state and dynamic conditions.Rastko Zivanovi

Innovations in learning and teaching interactions between BA (Hons) Product Design and BSc (Hons) Product Design engineering students on design projects

This paper examines methodologies and strategies used to motivate BA (Hons) Product Design (BAs) and BSc (Hons) Product Design Engineering students (BScs) to successfully work in pairs to design innovative and unusual kitchen gadgets. This was a live project with an industrial partner, in this instance design-led leading kitchen gadget company ‘Joseph Joseph’ (JJ). It details motivational techniques championed by the tutor(s) to enhance the product outcomes, enthuse and benefit students including the pioneering pairing of BAs and BScs within the Product Design Engineering Department of Middlesex University for the very first time. Techniques such as enhanced visualisation through meditation, skill sharing, iterative prototyping, body-storming and presentation skills are examined to ascertain how the project received very high satisfaction and engagement rates from students as well as fulfilling the client brief to a very high standard. A detailed feedback questionnaire was filled in by each student and acts as statistical validation of method and satisfaction rate. Several outcomes from this project were of a high enough standard to be taken to the second stage of consideration for manufacture by the top stainless steel manufacturer in Germany. The paper concludes that creativity is greatly enhanced by skill sharing, many quick activities in the initial ideas stage and a long period of functionality development in the workshops. This is done before final designs can be more fully worked out using the best of BA/BSc knowledge and skills

Dissonant Heritage as a Learning Resource. Learning about Socialism in the Regional Museums in Serbia

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the capacity of the public regional museums in Serbia as to become a part of the lifelong learning environment of their communities. Their relation to heritage of Socialism is a lacmus of their capacity to change and take a place of the emancipatory subject of the society. Instead, by staying submissive to the daily politics they had to revoke even the basis of their professionalism and stay caught in an uncommunicative, traditional institutional discourse. They become proponents of heritage injustice and not capable to be centers of lifelong learning. Design/methodology/approach – The arguments of the paper are based on a comprehensive analysis of both primary and secondary sources. Findings – The results of the research shows that, deciding to take part in the historical revisionist processes dictated by the post-socialist Serbia, museums lost their position in the community. Due to to the effects of the prolonged (and violent) process of transition and the complexity of the transition itself (including economy, politics, ideology, boundaries of the country), the analysis have to go to the basics – to include both, the key aspects of profession and ethics of museology. Originality/value – This study focuses on the public regional museums as the places of informal learning about recent past/conflictual history in Serbia. It suggests that museums – revoking their capacity for critical thinking – become dissonant themselves. Thus, during this process, the museums became absolute, ingoring the needs of the community

Communicating simulated emotional states of robots by expressive movements

This research focuses on the non-verbal communication of non-android robots by comparing the results produced by three different emotional models: Russell’s circumplex model of affect, Tellegen-Watson-Clark model and PAD scale. The relationship between the motion of the robot and the perceived emotion is developed. The motion parameters such as velocity and acceleration are changed systematically to observe the change in the perception of affect. The embodiment is programmed to adopt the smooth human motion profile of the robot in contrast to the traditional trapezoidal velocity profile. From the results produced it can be concluded that the emotions perceived by the user is the same on all three scales, validating the reliability of all the three emotional scale models and also of the emotions perceived by the user. Moreover the selected motion parameters of velocity and acceleration are linked with the change of perceived emotions

Benchmark footbridge for vibration serviceability assessment under the vertical component of pedestrian load

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Society of Civil Engineers via the DOI in this recordData availability: the electronic format of the data used is available at www.warwick.ac.uk/go/civileng/crg/structures/publications/dataVibration serviceability criteria are governing the design and determining the cost of modern, slender footbridges. Efficient and reliable evaluation of dynamic performance of these structures usually requires a detailed insight into the structural behavior under human-induced dynamic loading. Design procedures are becoming ever more sophisticated and versatile, and for their successful use, a thorough verification on a range of structures is required. The verification is currently hampered by a lack of experimental data that are presented in the form directly usable in the verification process. This study presents a comprehensive experimental data set acquired on a box-girder footbridge that is lively in the vertical direction. The data are acquired under normal operating conditions and are presented using a range of descriptors suitable for easy extraction of desired information. This will allow researchers and designers to use this bridge as a benchmark structure for vibration serviceability checks under the vertical component of the pedestrian loading. In addition, capabilities of a sophisticated force model (developed for walking over rigid surfaces) to predict vibrations on this lively bridge are investigated. It was found that there are discrepancies between computed and measured responses. These differences most likely are a consequence of the pedestrian-structure interaction on this lively bridge. The interaction was then quantified in the form of pedestrian contribution to the overall damping of the human-structure system. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Methodologies and strategies for enhancing the undergraduate experience for BA/BSC product design students through collaborations with designer Moritz Waldemeyer

This paper examines methodologies and strategies used to enhance learning and the Undergraduate experience for BA(Hons) and BSc(Hons) Product Design students. Specifically, it details a number of projects in collaboration with an external designer, (Waldemeyer) Moritz Waldemeyer and how this has led to enhanced student experiences and high profile work opportunities both during studies and upon graduation. This includes work with Mercedes, Ellie Goulding, Take That, Electrabel, Laikingland and The Olympic Closing Ceremony and Paralympics, 2012. The paper describes the progression of Waldemeyer from a one-off guest lecturer to becoming a visiting lecturer at Middlesex University facilitating a live Design Project as part of the curriculum along with Laikingland. This led to the placement of students on commercial projects outside of the University and finally, to Waldemeyer becoming a Designer in Residence. The paper demonstrates how the live projects motivated the partaking students to develop vital skills leading to a high proportion of high level degree outcomes. Their increased confidence and competency on working to live deadlines has led to a number of them setting up or working in successful design studios, launching products on Kickstarter and being taken on as Graduate Teaching Assistants at Middlesex University. Techniques such as presentation and visualisation skills, thinking on the job, iterative prototyping, physical computing skills and group work contributed to the success of this approach alongside encouragement and facilitation from the participating tutors

c-AMP dependent protein kinase A inhibitory activity of six algal extracts from South Eastern Australia and their fatty acid composition

c-AMP dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A, PKA) is an important enzyme involved in the regulation of an increasing number of physiological processes including immune function, cardiovascular disease, memory disorders and cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the PKA inhibitory activity of a range of algal extracts, along with their fatty acid composition. Six algal species were investigated including two Chlorophyta (Codium dimorphum and Ulva lactuca), two Phaeophyta (Phyllospora comosa and Sargassum sp.) and two Rhodophyta (Prionitis linearis and Corallina vancouveriensis), with the order of PKA inhibitory activity of their extracts identified as follows: brown seaweeds \u3e red seaweeds \u3e green seaweeds with the brown alga Sargassum sp. exhibiting the highest PKA inhibitory activity (84% at 100 microg/mL). GC/MS analysis identified a total of 18 fatty acids in the six algal extracts accounting for 72-87% of each extract, with hexadecanoic acid and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid as the dominant components. The most active extract (Sargassum sp.) also contained the highest percentage of the saturated C14:0 fatty acid (12.8% of the total extract), which is a known to inhibit PKA. These results provide the first description of the PKA inhibitory activity of marine algae along with the first description of the fatty acid composition of these six algal species from South Eastern Australian waters. Importantly, this study reveals that abundant and readily available marine algae are a new and relatively unexplored source of PKA inhibitory compounds