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Denna studie undersöker uppfattningar som användare har gällande integritet, ansvar och säkerhet kring deras Smart TV:s. Det som har analyserats är vem användare anser att ansvaret angående säkerheten ligger hos, om det är tillverkare som står för den eller om andra aktörer bär på ansvaret. Vidare undersöker uppsatsen relaterade ämnen som användarvillkor, automatic content recognition (ACR), dark patterns samt integritetsparadoxen och kopplar dessa överlappande definitioner till hur dessa områden kan påverka användares syn på ansvarsfördelning och hur de kan ha påverkan på en användares agerande. Undersökningen består primärt av en kvantitativ studie. Genom en enkätundersökning som skickas ut genom sociala medier, har 187 respondenter från olika länder i Europa fått svara på vem eller vilka de tycker bär ansvaret för integritet och säkerhet av datainsamlingen som sker av smart TV:er. Vidare har de fått uppge om de känner någon oro kring datainsamlingen och om de vidtagit några åtgärder för att skydda sin integritet och säkerhet. Som komplement till enkätstudien har även en litteraturstudie gjorts för att kunna koppla studiens resultat till befintlig teori. Studien visar på att befintlig teori är i linje med enkätens resultat. Studien visar på att det inte finns någon korrelation mellan individens uppfattning om ansvar, individens oro och hur benägen individen är att vidta åtgärder. Detta fenomen benämns i teorin som “integritetsparadoxen”, som har visat att individer inte nödvändigtvis är mer benägna till att vidta åtgärder i förhållande till individens upplevda ansvar eller oro. Studien visar även på att majoriteten av användare tycker att ansvaret ligger hos tillverkarna och de flesta tycker inte att det är användaren i sig som bär på något ansvar för sin egen säkerhet. Majoriteten väljer att blint lita på tillverkarna i hopp om att deras data endast används till goda syften och gör därmed ingen research på egen hand. / This study examines the perceptions that users have regarding privacy, responsibility and security around their Smart TVs. The study analyzes who users consider to be responsible for security, whether it is the manufacturer who is responsible for it or whether other actors bear the responsibility. Furthermore, the paper examines related topics such as terms of use, automatic content recognition (ACR), dark patterns and the privacy paradox and connects these overlapping definitions to how these areas can affect users' views on the distribution of responsibilities and how they can have an impact on a user's actions. The survey primarily consists of a quantitative study. Through a survey sent out through social media, 187 respondents from different countries in Europe have had to answer who or who they think bears the responsibility for the integrity and security of the data collection that takes place by smart TVs. Furthermore, they have been told if they feel any concern about the data collection and if they have taken any measures to protect their privacy and security. As a complement to the survey study, a literature study has also been carried out in order to be able to connect the results of the study to existing theory. The study shows that existing theory is in line with the results of the survey. The study shows that there is no correlation between the individual's perception of responsibility, the individual's concern and how inclined the individual is to take action. This phenomenon is referred to in theory as the "integrity paradox", which means that individuals are not necessarily more inclined to take action in relation to the individual's perceived responsibility or concern. The study also shows that the majority of users think that the responsibility lies with the manufacturers and most do not think that it is the user themselves who bears any responsibility for their own safety. The majority choose to blindly trust the manufacturers in the hope that their data will only be used for good purposes and therefore does no research on their own.

Various initiatives are carried out towards developing Smart cities that aim to make cities more sustainable. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key aspect, where sensors are integrated in various „things‟, creating devices that are aware of, and respond to their environment. Bus shelters are among the facilities that are highly used by people in the city while commuting. Despite this high usage, they have remained the same technologically over the years. However, with new IoT technologies, bus shelters have the potential to be improved, providing a better experience to commuters, as well as creating value for businesses and public transport providers.This paper proposes a novel method that integrates IoT in bus shelters, enhancing the way information is displayed to the public through display screens. The information in focus involves digital signage advertising, public announcements or other information concerning the happenings nearby. The location and the time that the information is displayed are key factors considered, to effectively communicate the relevant information to the target audience. Furthermore, through the use of sensors, data analytics can be generated that describe the commuter traffic flow, thus providing useful information for public transport providers.Various use case scenarios are considered whereby smart bus shelters can be useful and a small scale prototype is developed to illustrate a proof of concept for the proposed solution. From the prototype, we demonstrate dynamic advertising through social media and show the potential of machine learning in predicting commuter flow from sensor data. We evaluate our work using questionnaires for the business and commuters, in order to find out the value created through implementing such a system. Additionally, we conduct functional testing of the prototype to evaluate its functionality. Other benefits are considered, such as reducing energy consumption by appliances such as lights, screens and smart heating systems for bus shelters.With our work, we hope to inspire further research into more suitable and innovative ways, in which bus shelters can be technologically enhanced. Furthermore, we believe that enhancements in bus shelters to provide a better experience for commuters while waiting for the bus, is a factor that could encourage more use of public transportation, providing value to public transport providers and local municipalities.

Spiropyran (SP) is an effective mechanophore because it is easy to be covalently incorporated into polymers and capable of changing color upon mechanical loading. SP motif is a model mechanophore in fundamental studies of mechanochemistry. Therefore, it is of great significance to gain a deep and comprehensive knowledge of SP mechanochemistry for the exploration of mechanochemistry in general. In the beginning of this thesis, a review of SP mechanophore was presented from an engineering perspective. A workflow for SP mechanochemistry, applications in various polymeric systems, impacting factors and characterization techniques as well as conclusions were thoroughly presented. The review aimed to offer deep insight into polymer mechanochemistry and provide approaches to study other mechanophores using the example of SP mechanochemistry in polymers. So far there have been three types of SP mechanophores (SP1, SP2 and SP3) reported in the literature. SP1 and SP2 are sensitive to both UV light and mechanical force, whereas SP3 is sensitive to mechanical force but not to UV, which is an excellent candidate for outdoor applications. Due to the unique feature of SP3, this project is mainly focused on applying SP3 mechanophore into functional and structural polymeric materials. • We designed and synthesized divinyl SP3 mechanophore cross-linker, which can be employed in chain growth polymerization, accounting for more than 80% of total polymer products. As a demonstration, SP3 was incorporated as a cross-linker in the free radical polymerization of methyl acrylate (MA). The mechanoactivation and UV activation of SP3-cross-linked PMA were investigated in details. • SP3 mechanophore cross-linker was covalently incorporated into two widely used polyolefins through facile cross-linking. It represents the first example of smart polyolefins that feel the force by color changing, opening the possibilities of applying SP mechanophore into widely used polyolefin materials, accounting for more than half of the total polymer materials. • We prepared force sensitive acrylic latex coating via covalent incorporation of SP3 mechanophore cross-linker. It is the first example of mechanochromic acrylic latexes, and it provides insight into the design of force-sensitive and self-reporting polymer coatings. • We reported the CO2-breathing induced reversible activation of SP3 mechanophore within microgels. This work provides an effective approach to study the forces inside swollen microgels. It also demonstrates the biomimetic processes with shape deformation and concomitant color/fluorescence change. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Smart polymer has been a research focus for recent decades. One of the most critical responses is to monitor mechanical failures of structural materials, such as stress fraction, fatigue and hysteresis within the polymer by giving off early warnings to prevent the catastrophic failure from occurring. The most prevalent approaches to design a mechanoresponsive polymer is to incorporate a “mechanophore”, containing mechanically labile bonds that are subjective to change under exogenous forces. Spiropyrans (SP) are great candidates for stress/strain sensing in terms of mechanochromism. When mechanical force is applied onto Cspiro-O bond, SP undergoes reversible 6-π ring opening reaction to yield merocyanine (MC). The ring-closed form SP is colorless or yellow and nonfluorescent, whereas the ring-open form MC is purple or blue or red and fluorescent. In this project we first designed and synthesized divinyl spiropyran cross-linker, fitting for chain growth polymerization, which accounts for more than 80% of polymer products. Then the divinyl spiropyran cross-linker was covalently incorporated into polymethylacrylate, polyolefins, acrylic latex coating and CO2-breathing microgels, aiming to broaden the potential applications of mechanophore into various polymers. We also summarized the recent development and studies of spiropyran mechanophore into a comprehensive review from an engineering prospective to provide insights into polymer mechanochemistry and study approaches for other mechanophores.

Yes / The paper examines the level of financial development of initial twenty shortlisted smart cities in India. • Results of the study revealed high inter-state and intra-state inequality as the cities with high FSI values and those with low FSI values are both located in the developed western and southern states. • A similar mixed picture emerges even for the less developed low income states such as Madhya Pradesh. • The study also highlighted large inter-state variations across the smart cities in financial development. • For a holistic approach to smart city development, a vibrant and developed financial sector is required.

Linear vibration absorbers are a valuable tool used to suppress vibrations due to harmonic excitation in structural systems. Limited evaluation of the performance of nonlinear vibration absorbers for nonlinear structures exists in the current literature. The state of the art is extended in this work to vibration absorbers in their three major physical implementations: the mechanical vibration absorber, the inductive-resistive shunted piezoelectric vibration absorber, and the electronic vibration absorber (also denoted a positive position feedback controller). A single, consistent, physically similar model capable of examining the response of all three devices is developed. The performance of vibration absorbers attached to single-degree-of-freedom structures is next examined for performance, robustness, and stability. Perturbation techniques and numerical analysis combine to yield insight into the tuning of nonlinear vibration absorbers for both linear and nonlinear structures. The results both clarify and validate the existing literature on mechanical vibration absorbers. Several new results, including an analytical expression for the suppression region's location and bandwidth and requirements for its robust performance, are derived. Nonlinear multiple-degree-of-freedom structures are next evaluated. The theory of Nonlinear Normal Modes is extended to include consideration of modal damping, excitation, and small linear coupling, allowing estimation of vibration absorber performance. The dynamics of the N+1-degree-of-freedom system reduce to those of a two-degree-of-freedom system on a four-dimensional nonlinear modal manifold, thereby simplifying the analysis. Quantitative agreement is shown to require a higher order model which is recommended for future investigation. Finally, experimental investigation on both single and multi-degree-of-freedom systems is performed since few experiments on this topic are reported in the literature. The experimental results qualitatively verify the analytical models derived in this work. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of future work which remains to allow nonlinear vibration absorbers, in all three physical implementations, to enter the engineer's toolbox. / Ph. D.

Active control of sound radiation from vibrating structures has been an area of much research in the past decade. In Active Structural Acoustic Control (ASAC), the minimization of sound radiation is achieved by modifying the response of the structure through structural inputs rather than by exciting the acoustic medium (Active Noise Control, ANC). The ASAC technique often produces global far-field sound attenuation with relatively few actuators as compared to ANC. The structural control inputs of ASAC systems are usually constructed adaptively in the time domain based on a number of error signals to be minimized. One of the primary concerns in active control of sound is then to provide the controller with appropriate ``error'' information. Early investigations have implemented far-field microphones, thereby providing the controller with actual radiated pressure information. Most structure-borne sound control approaches now tend to eliminate the use of microphones by developing sensors that are integrated in the structure. This study presents a new sensing technique implementing such an approach. A structural acoustic sensor is developed for estimating radiation information from vibrating structures. This technique referred to as Discrete Structural Acoustic Sensing (DSAS) provides time domain estimates of the radiated sound pressure at prescribed locations in the far field over a broad frequency range. The structural acoustic sensor consists of a set of accelerometers mounted on the radiating structure and arrays of digital filters that process the measured acceleration signals in real time. The impulse response of each filter is constructed from the appropriate radiation Green's function for the source area associated with each accelerometer. Validation of the sensing technique is performed on two different systems: a baffled rectangular plate and a baffled finite cylinder. For both systems, the sensor is first analyzed in terms of prediction accuracy by comparing estimated and actual sound pressure radiated in the far field. The analysis is carried out on a numerical model of the plate and cylinder as well as on the real structures through experimental testing. The sensor is then implemented in a broadband radiation control system. The plate and cylinder are excited by broadband disturbance inputs over a frequency range encompassing several of the first flexural resonances of the structure. Single-sided piezo-electric actuators provide the structural control inputs while the sensor estimates are used as error signals. The controller is based on the filtered-x version of the adaptive LMS algorithm. Results from both analytical and experimental investigations are again presented for the two systems. Additional control results based on error microphones allow a comparison of the two sensing approaches in terms of control performance. The major outcome of this study is the ability of the structural acoustic sensor to effectively replace error microphones in broadband radiation control systems. In particular, both analytical and experimental results show the level of sound attenuation achieved when implementing Discrete Structural Acoustic Sensing rivaled that achieved with far-field error microphones. Finally, the approach presents a significant alternative over other existing structural sensing techniques as it requires very little system modeling. / Ph. D.

Smart antenna systems are employed to overcome multipath fading, extend range, and increase capacity by using diversity or beamforming techniques in wireless communication systems. Understanding of the smart base antenna performance mechanisms for various environments is important to design cost effective systems and network. This dissertation focuses on the experimental characterization and modeling of the smart base station antenna performance for various propagation environment scenarios. An eight-channel Virginia Tech smart base station antenna testbed was developed to investigate performances of three reverse link diversity methods. The experiment campaign resulted in 245 sets of collected data over 83 measurement sites, which were used to compare the performance of space, polarization, and angle diversity under identical conditions. Measured propagation path loss, envelope correlation coefficients, power imbalances, and mean effective gain (MEG) are characterized as a function of distance between the base station and the mobile terminal to illustrate the diversity performance mechanisms over different propagation environments. The performance of the three base station diversity methods with selection combining (SC), maximal ratio combining (MRC), and equal gain combining (EGC) techniques for both urban and suburban non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environments are presented and summarized using the measured data. Forward-link performance of a twelve-fixed narrow-beam base station antenna system for urban NLOS environments is investigated using the same measured data. A new procedure is introduced to experimentally model the forward-link performance of muitlple-fixed narrow-beam (MFNB) antennas using the measured reverse-link vector channel response. The experimentally calculated lower bound performance result shows that it achieves 2.5 to 2.8 times higher average RF SIR compared to the conventional three-sector base station system for typical urban NLOS multipath fading environment conditions. Also, a new mobile user angle estimation algorithm using the muitlple-fixed narrow-beam antennas for NLOS multipath fading environment conditions is developed and the experiment results are presented. / Ph. D.

Fiber optic sensors have been utilized as corrosion sensors by depositing metal coatings to the surface of the sensors. Three types of fiber optic sensors were investigated as candidates for corrosion detection: the extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI), the absolute extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (AEFPI), and the long period grating (LPG) fiber optic sensor. The corrosion monitoring technique used with the EFPI and AEFPI sensors exploits the ability of a thick coating of metal to maintain strain information in fiber optic strain sensors. The sensors are placed under tensile stress, and while in the resulting strained position, a thick coating of metal is applied. Due to an increase in the quantity of material, the sensor does not return to its original position upon release, and strain is maintained within the sensor element. As the metal thickness decreases due to corrosion, this residual strain is released, providing the sensing mechanism for corrosion detection. LPG fiber optic sensors have demonstrated their ability as bandstop filters, by coupling the fundamental guided mode to circularly symmetric cladding modes. The cladding modes are extremely lossy due to the fiber jacket and bending along the fiber. Losses at discrete wavelengths can be monitored to determine the onset and progress of metal corrosion. Background theory and experimental results are discussed and reported for EFPI, AEFPI, and LPG fiber optic corrosion sensors. The study is preceded with an overview of different corrosion sensor designs and methods which are used in the area of non-destructive evaluation. / Master of Science

Before the recent advances in sensing, actuation, computing and communication technologies, the integration between the digital and the physical environment was limited. Humans linked those two worlds by collecting data about the physical environment before feeding it into the digital environment, and by changing the state of the physical environment based on the state of the digital environment. The incorporation of computing, communication, sensing, and actuation technologies into everyday physical objects has empowered the vision of the Internet of Things (IoT). Things can autonomously collect data about the physical environment, exchange information with other things, and take actions on behalf of humans. Application domains that can benefit from IoT include smart buildings, smart cities, smart water, smart agriculture, smart animal farming, smart metering, security and emergencies, retail, logistics, industrial control, and health care. For decades, building automation, intelligent buildings, and more recently smart buildings have received a considerable attention in both academia and industry. We use the term smart built environments (SBE) to describe smart, intelligent, physical, built, architectural spaces ranging from a single room to a whole city. Legacy SBEs were often closed systems operating their own standards and custom protocols. SBEs evolved to Internet-connected systems leveraging the Internet technologies and services (e.g., cloud services) to unleash new capabilities. IoT-enabled SBEs, as one of the various applications of the IoT, can change the way we experience our homes and workplaces significantly and make interacting with technology almost inevitable. This can provide several benefits to modern society and help to make our life easier. Meanwhile, security, privacy, and safety concerns should be addressed appropriately. Unlike traditional computing devices, things usually have no or limited input/output (I/O) capabilities. Leveraging the ubiquity of general-purpose computing devices (e.g., smartphones), thing vendors usually provide interfaces for their products in the form of mobile apps or web-based portals. Interacting with different things using different mobile apps or web-based portals does not scale well. Requiring the user to switch between tens or hundreds of mobile apps and web-based portals to interact with different things in different smart spaces may not be feasible. Moreover, it can be tricky for non-domestic users (e.g., visitors) of a given SBE to figure out, without guidance, what mobile apps or web-based portals they need to use to interact with the surrounding. While there has been a considerable research effort to address a variety of challenges associated with the thing-to-thing interaction, human-to-thing interaction related research is limited. Many of the proposed approaches and industry-adopted techniques rely on more traditional, well understood and widely used Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) methods and techniques to support interaction between humans and things. Such techniques have mostly originated in a world of desktop computers that have a screen, mouse, and keyboard. However, SBEs introduce a radically different interaction context where there are no centralized, easily identifiable input and output devices. A desktop computer of the past is being replaced with the whole SBE. Depending on the task at hand and personal preferences, a user may prefer to use one interaction modality over another. For instance, turning lights on/off using an app may be more cumbersome or time-consuming compared to using a simple physical switch. This research focuses on leveraging the recent advances in IoT and related technologies to support user interactions with SBEs. We explore how to support flexible and adaptive multimodal interfaces and interactions while providing a consistent user experience in an SBE based on the current context and the available user interface and interaction capabilities. / PHD / The recent advances in sensing, actuation, computing, and communication technologies have brought several rewards to modern society. The incorporation of those technologies into everyday physical objects (or things) has empowered the vision of the Internet of Things (IoT). Things can autonomously collect data about the physical environment, exchange information with other things, and take actions on behalf of humans. Several application domains can benefit from the IoT such as smart buildings, smart cities, security and emergencies, retail, logistics, industrial control, and health care. For decades, building automation, intelligent buildings, and more recently smart buildings have received considerable attention in both academia and industry. We use the term smart built environments (SBE) to describe smart, intelligent, physical, built, architectural spaces ranging from a single room to a whole city. SBEs, as one of the various applications of the IoT, can change the way we experience our homes and workplaces significantly and make interacting with technology almost inevitable. While there has been a considerable research effort to address a variety of challenges associated with the thing-to-thing interaction, human-to-thing interaction related research is limited. Many of the proposed approaches and industry-adopted techniques to support human-to-thing interaction rely on traditional methods. However, SBEs introduce a radically different interaction context. Therefore, adapting the current interaction techniques and/or adopting new ones is crucial for the success and wide adoption of SBEs. This research focuses on leveraging the recent advances in the IoT and related technologies to support user interactions with SBEs. We explore how to support a flexible, adaptive, and multimodal interaction experience between users and SBEs using a variety of user interfaces and proposed interaction techniques.