This thesis is concerned with the development of a low cost resonant gyroscope, or rate of turn sensor, which is capable of being mass produced. The history and theory of the resonant gyroscope is reviewed, and then a survey of resonant gyroscope technology is presented. Two novel designs of resonant gyroscopes are described. These designs are developed using the finite element analysis method. The fabrication procedure required to manufacture these devices is also developed and presented. The fabrication procedures are based upon silicon micromachining technology developed from the semiconductor industry. Prototype structures are fabricated. The first of these devices has been demonstrated to operate successfully as a gyroscopic rate of turn sensor. A third design is also presented and developed using finite element analysis. This design demonstrates for the first time that it is possible to sense rates of turn about all three orthogonal axes independently, using just a single structure. A successful implementation of a structure of this type would eliminate the traditional requirement of one gyroscope per axis of rotation. The finite element simulations of the structure indicate that the design is suitable for mass production using silicon micromachining techniques.

This thesis contributes to a growing body of research conducted by the Interactive Systems Research Group (ISRG) at Nottingham Trent University within the fields of accessibility and accessible technologies. Core to this research is the exploration of how interactive technologies can be developed and applied as platforms for education, rehabilitation and social inclusion. To this end the group has been actively evolving the User Sensitive and Inclusive Design (USID) methodology for the design, development and evaluation of accessible software and related technologies. This thesis contributes to the further development of the USID method with a focus on its application for the design of assistive technology. Video Games are increasingly being recognised as an important resource for the development and improvement of the quality of life of those with a disability and/or impairment. Creating universally accessible games and related technologies is however no simple feat. Review of literature quickly highlights that the predominant barrier to the adoption of console gaming and also video gaming in general, by those with a disability or impairment, is that of the human-machine hardware interface. Drawing on both previous studies of the ISRG and the current innovations within the video gaming arena, this body of research aims to address four main objectives to: 1. Evaluate gaming interface controllers with regard to how well they support interaction for users with disabilities and impairments. 2. Investigate the paradigm of the Natural User Interface with regard to how well it can support the development of interaction for users with disabilities and impairments. 3. Enhance the practice of User Sensitive and Inclusive Design (USID) as conducted by the Interactive Systems Research Group for the development of accessible technology. 4. Examine the methods for involvement of users with disabilities in the design process and how this could be improved (using a product design approach). The thesis demonstrates how each of the objectives has been achieved via the development of a complimentary approach to the practice of USID, Flexible Object Orientated Design. The validity of this approach is proven via the application of three design studies, each formulated to reflect the mapping of existent abilities and skills as a platform for the definition of input modality, and thus also the emerging philosophy of the Natural User Interface.

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The deep sea exploration and exploitation is one of the biggest challenges of the next century. Military, oil & gas, o shore wind farming, underwater mining, oceanography are some of the actors interested in this eld. The engineering and technical challenges to perform any tasks underwater are great but the most crucial element in any underwater systems has to be the sensors. In air numerous sensor systems have been developed: optic cameras, laser scanner or radar systems. Unfortunately electro magnetic waves propagate poorly in water, therefore acoustic sensors are a much preferred tool then optical ones. This thesis is dedicated to the study of the present and the future of acoustic sensors for detection, identi cation or survey. We will explore several sonar con gurations and designs and their corresponding models for target scattering. We will show that object echoes can contain essential information concerning its structure and/or composition.

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The population of the oldest old (aged 85 years and over) is growing. It is estimated that 30% of the adults over the age of 65 years experience falls at least once a year. This figure rises to 50% per annum for adults over 80 years living either at home or in care home. Currently older people are the fastest growing segment of the population. In the UK alone, the proportion of people aged 85 years old has increased from 2% to 4% in the past six decades. This marked increase in growth of population aged over 85 years is expected to have substantial impact on overall falls rate and pose serious issues to meet care needs for social and health care departments. In the light of such negative consequences for the faller and the associated costs to society, simple and quantitative techniques for falls risk screening can contribute significantly. This study describes a semi-automated technique to estimate falls risk of community dwelling elderly adults (aged 85 and over). This study presents the detailed analysis of tri-axial accelerometer movement data recorded from the right wrist of individuals undertaking the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. The semi-automated assessment is evaluated here on 394 subjects’ data collected in their home environment. The study compares logistic regression models developed using accelerometer derived features against the traditional TUG measure ‘time taken to complete the test’. Gender based models were built separately across two groups of participants- with and without walking aid. The accelerometer derived feature model yielded a mean sensitivity of 63.95%, specificity of 63.51% and accuracy of 66.24% based on leave one-out cross validation compared to manually timed TUG (mean sensitivity of 52.64%, specificity of 45.41% and accuracy of 55.22%). Results show that accelerometer derived models offer improvement over traditional falls assessment. This automated method enables identification of older people at risk of falls residing both at home and in care homes and to monitor intervention effectiveness of falls management.

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This thesis investigates the effect of footway crossfall gradients (0 %, 2.5 % and 4 %) on wheelchair accessibility. This is done by instrumenting both a self-propelled and attendant-propelled wheelchair and asking a convenience sample of people to push the wheelchair in a straight line. Accessibility has been measured using the Capabilities Model. In particular the provided capabilities of the wheelchair users have been measured. These have been modelled as the interactions between the user and the wheelchair, specifically the amount of force it takes to start the wheelchair, the work needed to keep the wheelchair moving and the force needed to stop the wheelchair. It is found that although the amount of work needed to traverse a footway remains constant regardless of crossfall gradient, a positive crossfall requires a second provided capability: the ability to apply different levels of force, and as a result work, to the upslope and downslope sides of the wheelchair. How people produce this difference of force is investigated. It is found that for self-propulsion, there are four strategies employed: the first is to reduce the force on the upslope side by pushing less hard, the second to increase the force on the downslope side by pushing harder, the third is to apply braking forces to the upslope wheel and fourthly to travel at a slower speed. These are either used independently or in combination. For the crossfall gradients tested it was found that attendants did not have to apply a negative (pulling) force to the upslope handle, and were able to combat the increased gradient by simply pushing harder on the downslope side. The thesis concludes that current crossfall guidelines of 2.5% seem reasonable, and that inexperienced users may struggle when these guidelines are exceeded.

No description available.