The modern smart grid would involve deep integration between measurement nodes, communication systems, artificial intelligence, power electronics and distributed resources. On one hand, this type of integration can dramatically improve the grid performance and efficiency, but on the other, it can also introduce new types of vulnerabilities to the grid. To obtain the best performance, while minimizing the risk of vulnerabilities, the physical power system must be designed as a security aware system. In this dissertation, an interoperability and communication framework for microgrid control and Cyber Physical system enhancements is designed and implemented taking into account cyber and physical security aspects. The proposed data-centric interoperability layer provides a common data bus and a resilient control network for seamless integration of distributed energy resources. In addition, a synchronized measurement network and advanced metering infrastructure were developed to provide real-time monitoring for active distribution networks. A hybrid hardware/software testbed environment was developed to represent the smart grid as a cyber-physical system through hardware and software in the loop simulation methods. In addition it provides a flexible interface for remote integration and experimentation of attack scenarios. The work in this dissertation utilizes communication technologies to enhance the performance of the DC microgrids and distribution networks by extending the application of the GPS synchronization to the DC Networks. GPS synchronization allows the operation of distributed DC-DC converters as an interleaved converters system. Along with the GPS synchronization, carrier extraction synchronization technique was developed to improve the system’s security and reliability in the case of GPS signal spoofing or jamming. To improve the integration of the microgrid with the utility system, new synchronization and islanding detection algorithms were developed. The developed algorithms overcome the problem of SCADA and PMU based islanding detection methods such as communication failure and frequency stability. In addition, a real-time energy management system with online optimization was developed to manage the energy resources within the microgrid. The security and privacy were also addressed in both the cyber and physical levels. For the physical design, two techniques were developed to address the physical privacy issues by changing the current and electromagnetic signature. For the cyber level, a security mechanism for IEC 61850 GOOSE messages was developed to address the security shortcomings in the standard.

Application specific instruction set processors become part of every day life although it's not always visible at first sight. During their development it's needed to somehow describe their architecture, instruction set and behavior. To make their developement worth, it's necessary to be able to create applications for these processors and during application development errors are always made. Debuggers serve to discover and help fixing them. This paper summarises some basic information to debugger development and describes implementation for processors created using the Lissom project.

Designing with and for People with Dementia: Wellbeing, Empowerment and Happiness is the International Conference 2019 of the MinD Consortium, the DRS Special Interest Group on Behaviour Change and the DRS Special Interest Group on Wellbeing and Happiness, hosted by the Technische Universität Dresden, in Dresden, Germany. The conference proceedings provide trans-disciplinary contributions for researchers, practitioners, end-users and policy makers from the design and health care professions in terms of new findings, approaches and methods for using design to improve dementia care and to support people with dementia and their carers. The conference has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 691001, and from the DFG German Research Foundation.

Over the last few decades, many factors, including increased electrification, have led to a critical need for fast and efficient transient cooling. Thermal management systems (TMSs) are typically designed using steady-state assumptions and to accommodate the most extreme operating conditions that could be encountered, such as maximum expected heat loads. Unfortunately, by designing systems in this manner, closed-loop transient performance is neglected and often constrained. If not constrained, conventional design approaches result in oversized systems that are less efficient under nominal operation. Therefore, it is imperative that \emph{transient} component modeling and subsystem interactions be considered at the design stage to avoid costly future redesigns. Simply put, as technological advances create the need for rapid transient cooling, a new design paradigm is needed to realize next generation systems to meet these demands. <br><br>In this thesis, I develop a new design approach for TMSs called hierarchical control co-design (HCCD). More specifically, I develop a HCCD algorithm aimed at optimizing high-fidelity design and control for a TMS across a system hierarchy. This is accomplished in part by integrating system level (SL) CCD with detailed component level (CL) design optimization. The lower-fidelity SL CCD algorithm incorporates feedback control into the design of a TMS to ensure controllability and robust transient response to exogenous disturbances, and the higher-fidelity CL design optimization algorithms provide a way of designing detailed components to achieve the desired performance needed at the SL. Key specifications are passed back and forth between levels of the hierarchy at each iteration to converge on an optimal design that is responsive to desired objectives at each level. The resulting HCCD algorithm permits the design and control of a TMS that is not only optimized for steady-state efficiency, but that can be designed for robustness to transient disturbances while achieving said disturbance rejection with minimal compromise to system efficiency. Several case studies are used to demonstrate the utility of the algorithm in designing systems with different objectives. Additionally, high-fidelity thermal modeling software is used to validate a solution to the proposed model-based design process. <br>

Current computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) tools are too focused on what technologies can do, rather than focusing on learner needs and pedagogy. They also lack an embodied perspective on learning. This thesis presents a Research through Design project exploring what kind of interactive design features can support second language learners’ pronunciation learning of segmental speech sounds with embodiment in mind. ComPron was designed: an open simulated prototype that supports learners in learning perception and production of new segmental speech sounds in a second language, by comparing them to native language speech sounds. ComProm was evaluated through think-aloud user tests and semi-structured interviews (N=4). The findings indicate that ComPron supports awareness of speech sound-movement connections, association building between sounds, and production of sounds. The design features that enabled awareness, association building, and speech sound production support are discussed and what ComPron offers in comparison to other CAPT-tools.

During development of control systems for power electronic systems, it is desirable to test the controller in real-time, by interfacing it with an emulator device. In this context, this work comprises the development of an emulator that can model accurately the dynamics of high speed power electronic systems and provides interfaces that are compatible with the real hardware. The realtime state calculations, based on discrete models, were performed on custom logic, implemented on an FPGA. The realized system allows to emulate Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) systems, achieving sampling rates up to 12MHz using a low cost Xilinx FPGA. As a result, power electronic systems with very high switching frequencies can be modeled. In addition, the FPGA incorporates a soft-core processor that allows a designer to easily re-configure the system model through software. The emulator system has been validated for a multiphase DC-DC converter, by comparing its results with the real hardware setup.

Involuntary loneliness is today considered to be a public health problem, and studies show that feeling lonely can have major negative effects on one's health. Project Omtanke and the social administration in Helsingborg has mapped a big problem with loneliness in Helsingborg, and has come to the conclusion that they need a website with the purpose of mitigating loneliness. Thus, this research project explores how a website should be designed to make people feel less lonely.  This thesis essay explores the research question with the approach Research Through Design (RtD). The research was conducted by conducting user research, creating a prototype and validating the design with users.  This thesis has come to the conclusion that a website with the purpose of supporting lonely individuals should include content providing help and support to all relevant target groups, such as educational content and help alternatives. It should also be designed with the goal to decrease the gap between available help and the people in need of help, by increasing awareness and reassuring personal relevance of available help. The website should also include functions that promote social contact between people, and be designed with the goal of being perceived as inclusive. The website prototype that was created in this thesis was well received by potential users. The users expressed in the validation of the website that they would like to use it, and that they believe it could help them with their loneliness.

UX designers define digital products that shape our modern world. They are at the very beginning of product development and can directly influence the impact the products generate. However, little attention is paid to sustainability values in day-to-day business, which has a counterproductive effect on all dimensions of sustainable development. This thesis explores how a digital co-design toolkit can help UX design (UXD) practitioners find ways to integrate sustainable values into their daily work. Thematically, this project focuses on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On the one hand, to ensure a holistic point of view on the topic of sustainable development. On the other hand, to provide an approach to contribute to the SDGs from the UXD field. This research builds upon Sustainable Interaction Design (SID) theories, and a participatory design approach is pursued using a co-design process. The result of this work is a digital toolkit, which is designed for a collaborative online whiteboard platform for UX practitioners. The thesis contributes knowledge to the field of Interaction Design by proposing a toolkit for sustainable UX design.

This document serves as a mini dissertation in the professional Master of Architecture degree in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pretoria. It focuses on the educational ecosystem within the context of South Africa, with emphasis placed on the economically distressed environment of Mamelodi East. Mamelodi is a township situated in the north east of the City of Tshwane, Gauteng. Due to the location of the University of Pretoria’s Mamelodi Campus, this area has been a study of investigation for many faculties over the years. The spatial consequences of architecture on the educational ecosystem are questioned, with focus placed on the shift in the learning environment towards lifelong learning. The dissertation deals with this concept from the perspective of the holistic development of a person through the qualitative social activities of learning. Lifelong learning is explored throughout the dissertation from a spatial and non-spatial point of view. The spatial conversation deals with the intersection between architecture and education, whilst the non-spatial conversation advocates for a relationship between a community and its school, as integral in achieving lifelong learning. The study is grounded in a typological understanding of the schooling environment that arises as a result of South African educational policy documents. A critical stance is taken where the resulting school typology is challenged in relation to context. The intention is to redefine the current teacher-centric classroom and corridor typology. It is proposed that the schooling environment should be publicly redefined and serve as a support structure within its context, instead of isolating the educational experience. This is explored through the concepts of building as a boundary and building for pedagogy with the resulting development of a spatial matrix to provide architectural definition to South African educational policy. Tsako Thabo Secondary School was used as a case study school for the application of the matrix principles, however it is intended that these principles could be applied to other schools within similar contexts and typologies to achieve lifelong learning potential. Both the research and design process of the dissertation has been directed through the lens of Participatory Action Research (PAR) involving co-design and spatial agency theories. Particular focus within the co-design process was given to the development of design games as a mediation tool. An intimate use of both analogue and digital design games has been applied throughout. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Departmental National Research Foundation (NRF) project titled, Stitching the city: From micro-data to macro-views (STINT), aimed at establishing a “transdisciplinary collaboration” to develop a “methodological framework and digital platform for the collection, storage, and sharing of spatial, socio-economic data at a street and precinct level” (Roussou, Brandao, Adelfio & Thuvander 2019). The STINT project was a collaborative effort between the University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa (Departments of Architecture and GeoInformatics) and Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden (Department of Architecture) from 2019 to 2020. In particular, the collaboration was between the Unit for Urban Citizenship (UUC) and the Social Inclusion Studio (SIS) from Chalmers University’s architecture department. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted

This research focuses on the connection between voice-based interactions and harassment in online games, from the point of interaction design. It points out severe faults in privacy afforded by voice-based communication and explores beyond this medium to design a communication system that relies only on non-verbal communication (NVC). Such system was co-created with the players supporting the idea that inclusion starts even in the early design stages. Through the playtesting of the NVC system the research shows the many ways in which the type of communication impacts the game and how players experience cooperation, cohabitation, and inclusion in online games. However, to achieve this, this research had to create a framework and mapping methods that focus on the players and their communicative intention. Hence, the “levels of multiplayer communication” is proposed as a tool to analyze and a method to design for communication in games, and it stands as a knowledge contribution along with the information acquired through its use.