Meaning based search retrieves objects from search index repository based on user's search Meanings and meaning of objects rather than keyword matching. It requires techniques to capture user's search Meanings and meanings of objects, transform them to a representation that can be stored and compared efficiently on computers. Meaning of objects can be adequately captured in terms of a hierarchical composition structure called concept tree. This thesis describes the design and development of an algorithm that transforms the hierarchical concept tree to a tensor representation using tensor algebra theory. These tensor representations can capture the information need of a user in a better way and can be used for similarity comparisons in meaning based search. A preliminary evaluation showed that the proposed framework outperforms the TF-IDF vector model in 95% of the cases and vector based conceptual search model in 92% of the cases in adequately comparing meaning of objects. The tensor conversion tool also was used to verify the salient properties of the meaning comparison framework. The results show that the salient properties are consistent with the tensor similarity values of the meaning comparison framework.

The following thesis project has been done in direct collaboration with Autokaross i Floby AB Rescue Vehicle Department, in Sweden.  The report contains the design development of a protective cover against weather conditions for the extendable ladder in a fire vehicle.   The aim of the report has been to develop a functional and low cost solution cover for the FEL on a fire truck, which is allocated on the roof, with the express intention of providing adequate access and protection against weather conditions in Nordic countries, so as to prevent premature deterioration of the FEL unit. The company has set the technical and conceptual boundaries, with the help of the two previous concepts currently used, the BMC and the ACP.   The initial requirements laid out by the company were expressed through a number of specific demands which can be categorized in two main points:   Cost: Designing a solution keeping in mind cost limits, assembly cost and time, and space optimization. This was done by taking into account the two existing solutions, particularly the BMC, which represents the lowest, cost wise and function wise. Therefore it was used as the basis on which to apply improvements, rather than trying to lower the high cost on the overqualified function of the ACP.   Function: Providing the adequate protection and access to the FEL. In this case, the problem was solved by establishing the correct degree of protection relevant to the Nordic weather conditions and FEL needs, and regarding the access, this was assured by fully automating the opening/closing process with the existing extraction operating system of the FEL.     The result of this report is a concept solution which meets the company’s demands, obtained by creative detailing, together with an analysis regarding possible considerations that could improve the creative detailing result in this report in the form of future work.     The report documents the process that has taken place in exploration, concept generation, concept evaluation, concept selection, and detailed CAD development. Each section shows the requirements and adjustments taken to fulfil the company’s needs.