The integration of image sensors and high performance processors into embedded systems enabled the development of intelligent vision systems. In this thesis, we developed an active autonomous system to be used for surveillance applications. The proposed system detects a single moving object in the field of view automatically and tracks it in a wide area by controlling the pan-tilt-zoom features of the camera. The system can also go to an alarm state to warn the user. The processing unit of the system is a Texas Instruments DM642 Evaluation Module which is a low-cost high performance video &amp / imaging development platform designed to develop and evaluate video based applications.

Preponderant visual interface use for conveying information from machine to human admits failures due to overwhelming the visual channel. This thesis investigates the suitability of auditory feedback and certain related design choices in settings involving background speech. Communicating a tele-operated vehicle’s tilt angle was the focal application. A simulator experiment with pitch feedback on one system variable, tilt angle, and its safety threshold was conducted. Manipulated in a within-subject design were: (1) presence vs. absence of speech, (2) discrete tilt alarm vs. discrete alarm and tilt sonification (continuous feedback), (3) tilt sonification vs. tilt and threshold sonification, and (4) linear vs. quadratic transfer function of variable to pitch. Designs with both variable and reference sonification were found to significantly reduce the time drivers spent exceeding the safety limit compared to the designs with no sonification, though this effect was not detected within the set of conditions with background speech audio.

Objective: To determine the effects of head position and of different postural control demands on head tremor measures in participants with essential tremor. Methods: Seventeen participants with essential tremor (ET) of the head and 17 control participants took part. Individuals held their heads in varying degrees of rotation, flexion, and extension. Subsequently, individuals sat and stood in different postures, incorporating different foot placements (feet apart and together), surfaces (solid and foam), and vision conditions (eyes open and closed). Neck muscle activity was recorded from three muscles bilaterally (trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, splenius capitis). Three-dimensional head and thorax positions were recorded using an Optotrak system, and head angular velocity with respect to thorax was calculated by differentiating tilt-twist angles. Fourier analysis was used to determine tremor power. Results: ET participants showed sharp peaks at their tremor frequency in spectral plots of kinematic data, whereas CN participants did not. Electromyography data was too noisy for frequency analysis. ET participants displayed increased tremor power in head positions 25° from neutral compared to neutral and positions 50° from neutral. Tremor power increased with increasing difficulty of posture for both participant groups. Removal of vision resulted in decreased tremor power in ET participants; power was significantly decreased in the easier postures, and progressively less so with increasing difficulty of posture. Interestingly, tremor direction was inconsistent in both groups, and two ET participants displayed multiple tremor peaks. Conclusions: The tilt-twist method is a feasible way of measuring head kinematics. Changing stiffness of the neck likely mediates the effect of head position on head tremor power, with the resultant interplay of the central driver and the mechanical resonance driving the amplitude changes. Decreasing stability of posture increases head tremor, likely due to the associated increase in postural sway and stress on the postural control system. Vision appears to exacerbate head tremor through the addition of tremor-related visual noise and an implicit task to stabilize vision; this is possible evidence of a visuomotor deficit. However, stabilizing vision becomes less important with increasing difficulty of posture, resulting in a narrowing gap in tremor power between vision and no vision conditions. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2011-03-31 18:16:59.927

Preponderant visual interface use for conveying information from machine to human admits failures due to overwhelming the visual channel. This thesis investigates the suitability of auditory feedback and certain related design choices in settings involving background speech. Communicating a tele-operated vehicle’s tilt angle was the focal application. A simulator experiment with pitch feedback on one system variable, tilt angle, and its safety threshold was conducted. Manipulated in a within-subject design were: (1) presence vs. absence of speech, (2) discrete tilt alarm vs. discrete alarm and tilt sonification (continuous feedback), (3) tilt sonification vs. tilt and threshold sonification, and (4) linear vs. quadratic transfer function of variable to pitch. Designs with both variable and reference sonification were found to significantly reduce the time drivers spent exceeding the safety limit compared to the designs with no sonification, though this effect was not detected within the set of conditions with background speech audio.

Efektyvų saulės jėgainių veikimą labai lemia geografinė padėtis, nes Saulės spindulių srautas žemės paviršiuje pasiskirsto netolygiai. Lietuva yra vidutinio klimato juostos šiaurinėje dalyje, kur dažnas debesuotumas, rūkas, lietus, sniegas, įvairios kilmės dulkės, tai veiksniai lemiantys fotovoltinių sistemų efektyvumo sumažėjimą. Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjami saulės fotovoltiniai įrenginiai, gamybos technologijos, rūšys, pagrindinės charakteristikos, konstrukcijų montavimo ypatybės vidutinių platumų regionuose. Aptarta įvairių šalių patirtis eksploatuojant saulės jėgaines skirtingomis klimato sąlygomis. Išnagrinėti pagrindiniai veiksniai, lemiantys jėgainės našumą. Darbe analizuojamas sniego, dulkių, lietaus lašų poveikis fotovoltinių įrenginių charakteristikoms. Atlikus eksperimentinius tyrimus, vertinami patirti nuostoliai dėl atmosferinių veiksnių įtakos. Aprašyti tyrimų ir analizės metodai. Išnagrinėjus eksperimentinių tyrimų rezultatus, pateikiamos baigiamojo darbo išvados ir pasiūlymai. Darbą sudaro šešios dalys: įvadas, saulės energetikos srities literatūros apžvalga, tyrimams naudotos medžiagos, metodai ir aparatūra, tyrimų rezultatai ir jų aptarimas, išvados ir pasiūlymai, literatūros sąrašas. Darbo apimtis – 73 p. teksto be priedų, 63 pav., 4 lent., 41 bibliografinis šaltinis. / The efficiency of solar power plants is strongly influenced by geographic location, because the solar radiation flux on the surface is distributed very irregular. Lithuania is situated in a humid continental zone in the northern part, where is frequent cloud cover, fog, rain, snow, dust of various origins, these are the factors determining the efficiency of photovoltaic systems. The thesis deals with solar photovoltaic devices, manufacturing technology, types, main characteristics, structural features of mounting at medium latitude regions. Discussed the experience of different countries operating solar power plants in different climatic conditions. Analyzed the major factors affecting plant performance. This paper analyzes the impact of snow, dust, rain drops on the characteristics of solar photovoltaic equipment. After experimental study measured the efficiency and losses due to atmospheric factors. Described the research and analysis methods. After considering the experimental results, conclusions are presented. Structure: introduction, solar energy literature review, materials and methods used in research, results and discussion, conclusions, references. Thesis consist of: 73 p. text without appendixes, 63 pictures, 4 tables, 41 bibliographical entries.

Various models of simulated weightlessness and resulting cardiovascular effects have been researched in the last 50 years of space exploration. Examples of such models are the Alter-G (Alt-G) treadmill used for body unweighting and head-up-tilt (HUT) model each providing similar cardiovascular effects, but differing in their stimulation of vestibular centers . Advantages of using the Alt-G include: use of lower body positive pressure (LBPP) to simulate hypogravity, it acts as a countermeasure to alleviate negative cardiovascular effects of standing and provides a constant vestibular stimulus. In addition, the Alt-G shorts themselves may be providing a certain degree of LBPP, acting as a compression garment. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular effects of Alt-G shorts and how effective they are as countermeasure to deconditioning effects of space flight. This study tested cardiovascular changes in 12 men and women at 0 and 80 degrees head-up-tilt (HUT0 / HUT80) with and without Alt-G shorts using 5-lead ECG, 10-lead impedance, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements at finger and arm. The tilt-induced increase in mean heart rate (HR) was significantly smaller when subjects wore the Alt-G shorts. Shorts ended up reducing HR by 2.3 bpm in supine control and by 6.7 bpm at HUT80 (p0.05. Other cardiovascular variables did not show any significant effect from shorts. In conclusion, this study was in line with results from other studies that used compression garments to determine cardiovascular effects of LBPP.

Pulse tube cryocoolers (PTCs) are among the most attractive choices of refrigerators for applications requiring up to 1 kW of cooling in the temperature range of 4-123 K as a result of the high relative efficiency of the Stirling cycle, the reliability of linear compressors, and the lack of cryogenic moving parts resulting in long life and low vibration signature. Recently, PTCs have been successfully used in applications in the 150 K range, extending the useful range of the device beyond the traditional cryogenic regime. A carefully designed cylindrical cavity referred to as the pulse tube replaces the mechanical expander piston found in a Stirling machine. A network consisting of the pulse tube, inertance tube, and surge volume invoke out-of-phase pressure and mass flow oscillations while eliminating all moving parts in the cold region of the device, significantly improving reliability over Stirling cryocoolers. Terrestrial applications of PTCs expose a fundamental flaw. Many PTCs only function properly in a narrow range of orientations, with the cold end of the pulse tube pointed downward with respect to gravity. Unfavorable orientation of the cold head often leads to a catastrophic loss of cooling, rendering the entire cryocooler system inoperable. Previous research indicates that cooling loss is most likely attributed to secondary flow patterns in the pulse tube caused by free convection. Convective instability is initiated as a result of non-uniform density gradients within the pulse tube. The ensuing secondary flow mixes the cryogen and causes enhanced thermal transport between the warm and cold heat exchangers of the cryocooler. This study investigates the nonlinear stabilizing effect of fluid oscillation on Rayleigh-Bénard instability in a cryogenic gas subject to misalignment between gravitational body force and the primary flow direction. The results are directly applicable to the flow conditions frequently experienced in PTCs. Research has shown that the convective component can be minimized by parametrically driven fluid oscillation as a result of sinusoidal pressure excitation; however, a reliable method of predicting the influence of operating parameters has not been reported. In this dissertation, the entire PTC domain is first fully simulated in three dimensions at various angles of inclination using a hybrid method of finite volume and finite element techniques in order to incorporate conjugate heat transfer between fluid domains and their solid containment structures. The results of this method identify the pulse tube as the sole contributor to convective instability, and also illustrate the importance of pulse tube design by incorporating a comparison between two pulse tubes with constant volume but varying aspect ratio. A reduced domain that isolates the pulse tube and its adjacent components is then developed and simulated to improve computational efficiency, facilitating the model’s use for parametric study of the driving variables. A parametric computational study is then carried out and analyzed for pulse tubes with cold end temperatures ranging from 4 K to 80 K, frequencies between 25-60 Hz, mass flow - pressure phase relationships of -30◦ and +30◦, and Stokes thickness-based Reynolds numbers in the range of 43-350, where the turbulent transition occurs at 500. In order to validate the computational models reported and therefore justify their suitability to perform parametric exploration, the CFD codes are applied to a commercially developed single stage PTR design. The results of the CFD model are compared to laboratory-measured values of refrigeration power at temperatures ranging from 60 K to 120 K at inclination angles of 0◦ and 91◦. The modeled results are shown to agree with experimental values with less than 8.5% error for simulation times of approximately six days using high performance computing (HPC) resources through Georgia Tech’s Partnership for Advanced Computing (PACE) cluster resource, and 10 days on a common quad-core desktop computer. The results of the computational parametric study as well as the commercial cryocooler data sets are compiled in a common analysis of the body of data as a whole. The results are compared to the current leading pulse tube convective stability model to improve the reliability of the predictions and bracket the range of losses expected as a function of pulse tube convection number. Results can be used to bracket the normalized cooling loss as a function of the pulse tube convection number NPTC. Experimental data and simulated results indicate that a value of NPTC greater than 10 will yield a loss no greater than 10% of the net pulse tube energy flow at any angle. A value of NPTC greater than 40 is shown to yield a loss no greater than 1% of the net pulse tube energy flow at all angles investigated. The computational and experimental study completed in this dissertation addresses static angles of inclination. Recent interest in the application of PTCs to mobile terrestrial platforms such as ships, aircraft, and military vehicles introduces a separate regime wherein the angle of inclination is dynamically varying. To address this research need, the development of a single axis rotating cryogenic vacuum facility is documented. A separate effects apparatus with interchangeable pulse tube components has also been built in a modular fashion to accommodate future research needs.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Solkraft kan täcka hela jordens energibehov många gånger utan att släppa ut växthusgaser eller andra giftiga ämnen vid drift och räknas därför till en hållbar och förnyelsebar energikälla. Solkraft är därför en lämplig kandidat till att ersätta dagens ej hållbara fossilbaserade energisystem. Priset för solceller har sjunkit mycket de senaste åren. Samtidigt som Sverige och EU har som mål att minska koldioxidutsläpp ges både skattereduktion för såld överskottsel från solkraft och ett investeringsstöd. Därför kan det eventuellt vara lönsamt att installera solceller i Sverige trots begränsad solinstrålning. Det krävs att återbetalningstiden är rimlig för att privatpersoner skall bestämma sig att investera i solceller. Miljövinster är inte alls motiverande för privatpersoner enligt undersökningar. Därför bör solcellsanläggningar optimera och dimensioneras för maximal ekonomisk lönsamhet för att öka chanserna att investeringen blir av. Det här arbetet undersöker hur ett optimalt solcellssystem ska se ut ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv för en bostadsförening bestående av 25 lägenheter i Mellansverige under olika ekonomiska förutsättningar. Störst fokus ligger på att analysera hur lutningsvinkeln förändrar resultatet. Elproduktionen hos olika konfigurationer av solcellsanläggningar simulerades fram. Dessa resultat ställdes mot byggnadens elanvändning för att beräkna hur mycket el som används till för att spara inköpt el och hur mycket som säljs för att utifrån det beräkna lönsamheten. Mest el produceras vid lutningsvinkeln 40° vilket ger marginellt mer än 30° som taket lutar. Det visar sig att lutningsvinkeln kan justeras för att öka lönsamheten men det är endast ett fåtal procent som mest. Skillnaden är som störst för små anläggningar som precis täcker baslasten för fastigheten. Bästa vinkeln för dessa mindre system är 45°. Det är svårt att motivera det dyrare montaget för att vinkla upp modulerna då taket redan lutar nära optimalt. Skillnaden mellan köpt och sparad el är liten om skattereduktion ges. Det är dock oklart hur länge skattereduktionen varar så det är därför säkrare att dimensionera utifrån sitt eget elbehov. Ett solcellssystem dimensionerat för att sälja mycket överskottsel skulle kunna bli en stor förlustaffär. Om solkraft får större plats i Sveriges elproduktion kan den ge upphov till högre globala koldioxidutsläpp beroende på vilket energislag den ersätter. Samtidigt tar det längre tid i Sverige jämfört med andra länder innan en solcell kan beräknas koldioxidneutral då det redan är mycket låga koldioxidutsläpp i Sveriges elmix kombinerat med relativt låg solinstrålning. Det innebär att solkraft ur ett miljöperspektiv är tvivelaktigt i Sverige. / Solar power is estimated to be able to cover the whole earths energy demand many times without releasing greenhouse gases or other pollutants while they operate and is therefore considered a renewable energy source. Solar power is therefore a suitable replacement to today’s fossil based energy systems. The cost for solar cells have decreased a lot in recent years. At the same time Sweden and the European Union have goals set for reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released so a tax reduction is given to those who sells overproduced electricity from solar power to the grid. This means it could eventual be profitable even in Sweden for installing solar power even though the sun doesn’t shine as much that close to the poles. It is suitable to install solar panels at buildings since it is the building and service sector that uses the most electricity in Sweden. It must be profitable for private investors before they make the choice to invest in solar panels. Environmental benefits are not as attractive for private investors. Should the solar arrays be optimized in such way that the profit is maximized the investment is more likely to occur. This paper examines how an optimal solar cell system should look like from a profitable perspective for a building with 25 apartments in the middle of Sweden under different economic conditions. Most focus is directed towards how the tilt angle affects the results. The electricity production of different configurations of solar panels was simulated. These results were then compared to the electricity demand for the building so the amount used for self-consumption and how much is sold to the grid could be calculated and from that calculate how profitable that system is. Most electricity is produced at the tilt angle of 40°, but marginally more than 30° which the roof is tilted. The difference between tilt angles are just a few percent at most. The difference is most noticeable when the system is just big enough to cover the base electricity demand. The best tilt angle for those systems are 45°. It is hard to advocate for more expensive mounting for bigger systems since the roof already is close to the optimal tilt angle. The value for saved and sold electricity is very close to each other if tax reduction is given. It’s however uncertain for how long tax reduction will last. It is much safer to size a solar array to cover the building’s electricity demand. It could be very costly to size a solar array which relies upon selling electricity with today’s economic condition. However, solar power is questionable in Sweden in an environmental perspective.

I denna studie som utgår från Huizingas begrepp ”den magiska cirkeln” undersöksapplikationen Tilt Brush för VR headsetet HTC Vive med avseende på dess bild ochljud samt hur detta tolkas och används under interaktionen med applikationens verktyg.Begreppet utgår ifrån att användaren kan låta sig uppslukas i ett spel så längeförväntningarna enligt spelets regler inte störs. Genom en fallstudie har applikationenstuderats med metoder som autoetnografi och multimodal analys utifrånsocialsemiotiska begrepp, samt öppna intervjuer med inslag av ”think-aloud”. Deliknande iakttagelser som framkommit med hjälp av olika metoder får anses styrkastudiens resultat. Resultaten i studien pekar på att det för interaktionens del är viktigt attvissa aspekter av ljudet, som har med positionering eller fysikens lagar att göra,stämmer överens med våra erfarenheter från verkligheten och att detta i sin tur stämmeröverens med det visuellt representerade. För bildens och ljudens meningserbjudanden iövrigt är användaren beredd att gå med på vilka oerhörda illusioner som helst så längebild och ljud kommuniceras i överensstämmelse och på ett trovärdigt sätt som lever upptill användarens förväntningar inom den magiska cirkeln, platsen för själva spelet.Förväntningarna behöver då inte ha med verkligheten att göra. Vad som uppfattas somhög modalitet styrs av vilken genre användaren förväntar sig att möta. Detta i sin turrelateras till användarens tidigare erfarenheter och sociala och kulturella bakgrund.