The purpose of this thesis is a design of an automated heating regulation system for an old building. The thesis consists of a system architecture design, an implementation of the system, including prototype manufacturing of the required devices, and testing of the whole system in practice, with focus on functionality and efficiency. Several hardware devices were designed and manufactured, for which appropriate controlling software was implemented. The implemented software architecture enables users to control the system using a graphical user interface, and allows for an easy extension of the system. The graphical user interface, which is accessible both locally through a touchscreen and remotely using a web application, enables users to easily configure connected devices and regulated zones, and to set temperature level in the defined zones variably depending on a week day and time. The user interface also provides statistics about the heating system. The implemented automated heating regulation system was successfully tested in real conditions of a flat in a historical building. The system can be extended both hardware-wise and software-wise.

The aim of this dissertation is to focus on the systems design of a multi purpose engine tester, a device for diagnostic techniques of self propelled motor vehicles to be used in a car mechanics work shop. The principle aim is to combine a permanently installed PC, a portable laptop and a workshop trolley containing all the necessary assembly tools and accessories. These three pieces used together will serve as a self contained unit within the workshop. I will compare the quality of the devices with others on the market. I will talk about the layout of the individual parts such as the design, structure and shape of the unit, as well as the ergonomics of the designed pieces. An important factor will be reducing the size of the device without compromising the quality and keeping it a similar price to other similar products on the market.

The aim of this work is to design and construct a printed circuit board with touchscreen connection that will serve as a universal platform for controlling a variety of devices including industrial devices. The functionality of the board is demonstrated on control of gas boiler application. The first part attends to currently used and available graphic displays, touchscreens, communication interfaces and microcontrollers that allow control of a graphic display. The main focus is put on LCD TFT displays, resistive touch panels and microcontrollers with LCD TFT controller. The second part describes the selection of system components, design of printed circuit board and implementation of thermostat. The end of the work evaluates the produced device and discusses possible future extensions.

Two of the biggest issues facing large organizations today are knowledge transfer from the retiring Baby Boomers to their younger replacements, the Gamers, and the retention of those younger employees. Retirees are replaced by people 34 years old or younger who think, learn, believe, respond, and work differently further increasing the cultural gap that must be traversed in order to successfully transfer knowledge. This younger demographic is raised on technology and may not remember a time when there were no computers, video games, mobile devices, and the Internet. Large organizations aspiring to stay relevant must learn to take advantage of these unique traits. For organization that utilize repetitive work processes involving ruggedized handheld computing tools, both of these issues mentioned can be remediated through the adoption of modern technology. Some ruggedized handheld device manufacturers, however, have been hesitant to embrace consumer-implemented solutions such as the removal of all physical keys in order to incorporate touchscreen only input. Using Baby Boomer and Gamer-aged workers from a large transportation company experienced with ruggedized handheld devices, a time and error evaluation was performed to determine which input type is best by generation. This study found that moving from physical keyed devices to ruggedized handhelds with touchscreens only is a productive move for an industrial workforce but it’s the Boomers who stand to benefit from this change the most, not the Gamers. This study also identified near future requirements for the next iteration of ruggedized handheld devices based on the expectations of members of the current and future workforce. Results showed that participants from all generations selected a device that followed the touchscreen only model for data input. Experienced users from all generations preferred a smaller device with a large screen size. Lastly, Lean and Six Sigma were combined and their benefits explored in an effort of implementing manufacturing quality tools into a global, service-based, logistics organization. These tools and principles were used to improve the quality and timeliness of selecting and implementing a new ruggedized handheld device for the line-level workers on a global scale.

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(Not) Drawing The Line: Technology Re-examined is the culmination of interdisciplinary research exploring the nature of materiality and process in the fields of art, science, and technology. Exploration and experimentation in these diverse disciplines have helped to illuminate many of the ideas and concepts that have guided the overall research process. These explorations have also honed the ability to critically examine how technology is perceived and represented, post-internet.   This document illustrates the processes involved in the conception and creation of a body of work manifested through visual and technological problem solving, investigative research of materials and technologies, and the fundamental concerns of art, technology, form and pattern. These empirical areas of research are punctuated by literary texts on the philosophy of art and technology that have informed many of the visual comparisons represented. This body of evidence is an exploration of the idea that the evolution of technological developments can often be attributed to the creation of art through the heuristic experimentation and visual explorations of the artist. / Master of Fine Arts

In a short time touchscreens has become one of the most used methods for input to smartphones and other machines such as cash registers, card terminals and ATMs. While the technology change was quick it introduces the possibility of new security holes. Compromising emanations is a possible security hole in almost all electronic equipment. These emanations can be used in a side-channel attack if they leak information that compromise the security of the device. This thesis studies a single-board computer (SBC) with a touchscreen and a smartphone in order to evaluate if any usable information leaks regarding what is done on the touchscreen i.e. where on the screen a user touches. It is shown that the location of a touch can be read out from information leaking through the power cable and wirelessly from the single-board computer. It is also shown that basic information can be read out wirelessly from the smartphone but further testing is required to evaluate the possibility to extract usable information from the device.

Les avancées scientifiques sont de plus en plus dépendantes de l’évolution des technologies et des approches expérimentales. Dans la continuité des travaux initiés par Fagot, nous avons développé un nouveau dispositif expérimental permettant l’étude des capacités cognitives de singes vivant en groupes sociaux. Cet outil est automatisé, portable, muni d’un système d’apprentissage autonome, et il permet aux singes de réaliser plusieurs tâches cognitives en parallèle. Ce design expérimental nous a permis, pour la première fois, d’étudier l’évolution conjointe de différentes fonctions cognitives sur une échelle de temps réduite. Nos résultats révèlent un apprentissage des tâches rapide par les sujets qui présentent en outre des performances élevées et stables dans le temps. Ces travaux ouvrent ainsi des perspectives prometteuses à travers une utilisation de cet outil dans le cadre d’études i) sur les bases sous-jacentes à des processus cérébraux complexes, ii) sur les liens entre différentes fonctions cognitives, ou encore iii) pharmaceutiques, testant les l’effets de molécules sur une ou plusieurs fonctions cognitives simultanément. / Scientific advances are increasingly dependent on the evolution of both technologies and experimental approaches. Following on from Fagot's research, we developed a new experimental device to study cognitive abilities in nonhuman primates living in social groups. This tool is automated, portable, equipped with an autonomous self-learning system, and it allows the subjects to perform several complex cognitive tasks concurrently. This experimental design allowed us, for the first time, to study the co-evolution of different cognitive functions on a small time scale. Our results reveal the subjects learned the tasks rules rapidly and additionally they archieved high and stable performances over time. This developmental work thus opens up new investigation prospects in cognition for studies interested in i) the underlying bases of cerebral complex processes, ii) the links between several cognitive functions, or iii) testing the effects of drugs on one or more cognitive functions concurrently.

Ce travail visait à évaluer le potentiel d’une méthodologie innovante récemment adaptée à la Souris sur la base de tests neuropsychologiques utilisés en clinique humaine. Après optimisation de 3 tâches (PAL, VMCL, PVD) ciblant différentes fonctions cognitives chez l’animal, nos études ont établi : (1) l’existence possible d’interférences proactives lors d’apprentissages consécutifs ; (2) l’absence de déficit d’acquisition chez les souris de la lignée Tg2576 (modèle transgénique de la maladie d’Alzheimer), quelle que soit l’étendue de la charge amyloïde ; (3) l’implication spécifique du striatum dorsal lors de l’acquisition des tâches de VMCL et PAL, et celle de l’hippocampe lors du rappel de cette dernière tâche. Ces derniers résultats suggèrent qu’en dépit des efforts déployés pour s’assurer du caractère translationnel d’une tâche cognitive dans le paradigme du touchscreen, certaines adaptations inhérentes à chaque espèce influencent profondément les bases neurobiologiques associées. / This thesis work aimed to specify the potential of an innovative methodology latterly adapted in mice from neuropsychological tasks used in Humans. After the optimization of 3 assays (PAL, VMCL, PVD) taxing various cognitive functions in animals, different behavioral studies have gradually revealed: (1) the putative existence of proactive interferences over consecutive learnings in touchscreen tasks; (2) no acquisition deficit in Tg2576 mice (a transgenic model of Alzheimer’s Disease) in these paradigms, whatever the amyloid load considered; (3) the specific involvement of the dorsal striatum during the acquisition of VMCL and PAL tasks and the key role of the hippocampus during the recall of the latter task. As exemplified by the PAL task, our results suggest that despite momentous efforts in order to ensure the translational feature of touchscreen cognitive tasks, certain adaptations inherent to each species deeply influence the nature of underlying neurobiological substrates.

This thesis describes the possibilities of local and remote sensors configuration. Summary overview of the most common Fieldbus and protocols for remote configuration is performed. The focus is mainly dedicated to the HART protocol that is analyzed from the physical layer to the application layer. Circuit diagram and printed circuit board (PCB) of smart sensor with thermistor probe Pt1000 was designed. The HART protocol allows the smart sensor parameters setting as well. The functionality of remote configuration was tested in HARTWinConf program. The control elements for local sensor configuration, such as buttons, matrix keyboards and touchscreens, are described in the following chapter. Representation of the measurement values on display module is introduced too. The most important parameters and aspect of character LCD, graphics LCD and OLED displays are described in greater details. The DD12864YO-3A OLED display was selected to use with designed temperature smart sensor module. The display shows the loop current, the percentage of current range and the primary value - temperature. As the last step the EMI and EMS tests for all modules were performed.