Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a short range radio technology for communication between two objects namely, a reader and a tag. Design of an RFID tag with the best range is always the motive of an RFID designer. In this thesis two RFID tags were simulated, designed and manufactured. The first one is a semi-passive RFID tag, which also serves as a discrete prototype tag for the research group to master RFID tag designs. The user can program and further extend the use of this tag according to the requirements. This RFID tag is provided with JTAG interface to program and debug. The read range of this prototype tag is found to be 1m with reader EIRP of 30dBm. The second design is a passive tag which can be commercialized. It achieves a competitive read range of 2.9m for reader EIRP of 21dBm. The read range when measured in a practical implementation inside a building corridor was 15m.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-109).

During my research, I’ve studied craft through various lenses as a way to explore the realm of meaningful experiences within material culture. It is through an understanding of materials and process, through craft, that we may appreciate the value and impact of our material culture. By considering both the object and the systems it exists in, I have clarified my understanding of sustainable material culture. My explorations with reuse materials culminate in utilizing standardized, industrially manufactured parts, which can be found in multiples, to facilitate small batch production of crafted items. These explorations are not about the singular crafted object, but multiple crafted products. Craft, unlike conventional industrial design, accommodates a conversation between material, maker and methods. An understanding of both practical conventions and experimental methods paired with an appreciation for materials and technique, craft is the foundation for thoughtful making. The convergence of design and craft is rich territory for developing sensible and purposeful objects that are truthful and valuable. / text

Electromechanical actuators are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional hydraulic actuators for ship, aircraft, vehicle suspension, robotic, and other applications. These actuators generally include an electric motor, gear train, bearings, shafts, sensors, seals, and a controller integrated into a single housing. This integration provides the advantages of a single shaft, fewer bearings, and ultimately, reduced weight and volume. Research has shown that the motor and gear train are the most critical, performance-limiting components in an actuator, and balancing the performance parameters (torque, weight, inertia, torque density, and responsiveness) among them is not trivial. The Robotics Research Group currently addresses this task by using intuitive rules of thumb and the designers’ experience, and this often requires multiple design iterations between the motor and gear train. In this regard, this research will provide preliminary guidelines for choosing the gear ratios and relative sizes of the motor and gear train when integrating a switched reluctance motor (SRM) with three different gear trains (hypocyclic gear train (HGT), star gear train coupled with a parallel eccentric gear train (Star+PEGT), and star compound gear train coupled with a parallel eccentric gear train (Star Compound+PEGT)) in the preliminary design stage. Research has also shown that there are cost benefits to developing actuator product families to meet the needs of a particular application domain. In this regard, scaling rules for the SRM, HGT, PEGT, and integrated actuators built from them (with diameters ranging from 6 to 50 inches and gear ratios from 100 to 450) will be developed. These scaling rules describe how the performance parameters vary as the size (diameter and aspect ratio) is varied and are useful for quickly sizing motor, gear train, and actuator designs. These scaling rules are useful for two purposes: 1) learning the relationships between the performance and dominant design parameters and 2) obtaining intermediate sizes not previously considered. The rules will be simple enough for designers to learn and use to make intelligent design parameter choices (purpose 1) but will also have sufficient accuracy for obtaining intermediate designs (purpose 2). The scaling rules are summarized in a series of three-dimensional design maps, with an emphasis on the development of visual decision-making tools. This research also formulates an actuator design procedure that incorporates the two central concepts of this research, balancing parameters and scaling, and this procedure is embedded within computational (MatLab) and solid modeling (SolidWorks) software programs. In addition to developing rules for scaling and balancing parameters, the procedure was also used for the following purposes. First, direct drive and geared actuators were compared in terms of their torque density and responsiveness to determine which alternative is superior for different gear ratio, diameter, and load inertia combinations. Second, alternative minimum sets of actuators were developed for an illustrative application, and the anticipated performance losses due to using common parameters among the sets were quantified. / text

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Der Untersuchungsgegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit ist, die mit dem Begriff „Design Thinking“ verbundenen Diskurse zu bestimmen und deren Themen, Konzepte und Bezüge herauszuarbeiten. Diese Zielstellung ergibt sich aus den mehrfachen Widersprüchen und Vieldeutigkeiten, die die gegenwärtigen Verwendungen des Design-Thinking-Begriffs charakterisieren und den kohärenten Gebrauch in Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft erschweren. Diese Arbeit soll einen Beitrag dazu leisten, „Design Thinking“ in den unterschiedlichen Diskurszusammenhängen grundlegend zu verstehen und für zukünftige Verwendungen des Design-Thinking-Begriffs eine solide Argumentationsbasis zu schaffen. / This thesis’ research objective is to distinguish the discourses to which the term “design thinking” refers, to carve out their central themes and concepts, as well as to debate the conceptual relations between them. The background of this objective lies in the ambiguity and the inherent contradictions of how “design thinking” is generally applied and referred to, hindering coherent and consistent usage both in academia and the business world. This thesis shall therefore contribute to elucidate the diversity of meanings of design thinking as well as to point out conceptual interrelations and coherences in order to establish a more solid foundation for future design thinking discourse.

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