This body of work is the culmination of a two year investigation into the role of electronically enhanced apparel and artefacts in providing empathetic linkage between people who do not share physical space. The research draws from the diverse fields of philosophy, communications theory, neuropsychology, presence technologies and technologically advanced textiles, and proposes that a nexus of these disciplines may provide significant opportunities for enhancing the user interactivity of garments and artefacts. Remote emotional connection is investigated through the creation of sensor embedded garments and artefacts that have been developed in collaboration with a fashion designer and an electronics engineer. The prototypes encourage remote empathetic connection through the real-time transference of heartbeat. The exegesis is structured into five chapters which consider remote presence, flexible consciousness, the architecture of empathy, plasticity in sense perception and the development of prototypes. The project chapter focuses in the development of and testing of a rnage of garments and artefacts thatt conduct presence information between remotely located people. The garments sense, process, transmit and receive the heartbeat signal (ECG). They are enabled with ECG sensors, signal processing equipment, small vibration motors and radio transceivers which allow users to 'feel' the heartbeat of a remote friend/lover/relative as vibration through their garment. The prototypes aim to enrich the remote communications experience through reintroducing an embodied, tactile dimension that is present in face-to-face communication. A range of user testing trials are discussed in the thesis which have been undertaken to assess the impact of the garments at a conscious and a non-conscious level. Conscious experiences were gauged through qualitative testing by way of interviews and unsolicited written reactions. Non-conscious physiological ractions were assessed by recording ECG throughout user-testing periods. This data has been processed by using HRV (heart rate variability) analysis software, running on MatLab.

This paper addresses a design exploration focusing on interactive jewellery and wearable computing that could affect sexual harassment in social contexts in everyday life. Drawing on a design inquiry study that lead to the creation of an interactive and digital necklace named Sunshine, which is a personal alarm connected to an emergency center, this paper focuses on how a piece of digital jewellery can contribute to women’s empowerment in relation to sexual harassment. The functionality of Sunshine is based on a device that will be activated when the user presses a button on the necklace and an alert with the location of the user will be sent to an alarm center. The users press the button when in danger or exposed to violence and/or abuse. This study so forth addresses a design exploration of a piece of jewellery that can be seen as a symbol for women’s safety, unity and equality. The combination of digital technology and fashion design demonstrate that people can be brought together and especially be empowering in social contexts where sexual harassment might be a part of women’s everyday life. / <p>Självständigt Examensarbete (Forskningsartikel)</p>

Esta pesquisa busca delinear o contexto histórico e teórico sobre as tecnologias vestíveis de moda, enfatizando suas criações por meio da plataforma Arduino em mídia digital. Priorizam-se as possíveis relações com a reconfiguração dos espaços urbanos devidos à coexistência física dos lugares com o recente território informacional. Abrange-se, também, uma perspectiva sobre a relação corpo e tecnologia, na qual este último foi, e ainda é, essencial na gestão dos indivíduos nas grandes cidades. Por meio deste trabalho, acredita-se tanto na possibilidade de fomentar uma nova área de saber de moda quanto na reflexão de uma nova imagem de subjetividade que considere, simetricamente, a atuação de humanos e não-humanos, assim como as instâncias físicas e virtuais / This research aims to delineate the historical and theoretical context about fashionable wearable technology, emphasizing their creations through the Arduino platform in digital media. Possible relations with the reconfiguration of urban spaces due to physical coexistence of the places with the recent informational territory are given priority. It covers is also a perspective on the relationship body and technology, in which the latter was and still is essential in the management of individuals in large cities. Through this work, it is believed either the possibility of fostering a new area of knowledge of fashion, as the reflection of a new image of subjectivity to consider symmetrically the performance of humans and non-humans, as well as the physical and virtual instances

Adherence to medication is generally described as a huge problem in the health care system. The term adherence is generally preferred by many health care providers as the word 'compliance' describes a patient who is passively taking medication as advised/ordered by the doctor. This thesis goes in depth in identifying the problems faced to achieve maximum adherence to medication and the important factors contributing to it. The objective is to come up with an alternative approach to help improve medical adherence using a smart watch based application that reminds patients to consume their medicines in a timely fashion. It addresses precisely which medication to take and in what quantity. This form of reporting and alerting is believed to achieve higher levels of adherence based on grounded theory. Shedding light on the methodologies used while clearly identifies the assumptions and limitations such a system can have.

abstract: Wearable technology has brought in a rapid shift in the areas of healthcare and lifestyle management. The recent development and usage of wearable devices like smart watches has created significant impact in areas like fitness management, exercise tracking, sleep quality assessment and early diagnosis of diseases like asthma, sleep apnea etc. This thesis is dedicated to the development of wearable systems and algorithms to fulfill unmet needs in the area of cardiorespiratory monitoring. First, a pneumotach based flow sensing technique has been developed and integrated into a face mask for respiratory profile tracking. Algorithms have been developed to convert the pressure profile into respiratory flow rate profile. Gyroscope-based correction is used to remove motion artifacts that arise from daily activities. By using Principal Component Analysis, the follow-up work established a unique respiratory signature for each subject based on the flow profile and lung parameters computed using the wearable mask system. Next, wristwatch devices to track transcutaneous gases like oxygen (TcO2) and carbon dioxide (TcCO2), and oximetry (SpO2) have been developed. Two chemical sensing approaches have been explored. In the first approach, miniaturized low-cost commercial sensors have been integrated into the wristwatch for transcutaneous gas sensing. In the second approach, CMOS camera-based colorimetric sensors are integrated into the wristwatch, where a part of camera frame is used for photoplethysmography while the remaining part tracks the optical signal from colorimetric sensors. Finally, the wireless connectivity using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) in wearable systems has been explored and a data transmission protocol between wearables and host for reliable transfer has been developed. To improve the transmission reliability, the host is designed to use queue-based re-request routine to notify the wearable device of the missing packets that should be re-transmitted. This approach avoids the issue of host dependent packet losses and ensures that all the necessary information is received. The works in this thesis have provided technical solutions to address challenges in wearable technologies, ranging from chemical sensing, flow sensing, data analysis, to wireless data transmission. These works have demonstrated transformation of traditional bench-top medical equipment into non-invasive, unobtrusive, ergonomic & stand-alone healthcare devices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2020

E-learning refers to computer-based learning experiences, self-paced or instructor-led, supported and enabled by information technology. Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), as a major form of e-learning systems, are increasingly adopted in universities and educational institutions for supporting various types of learning. Student engagement is critical for successful teaching and learning in VLEs. In existing VLEs, feeling isolated without adequate supervision from teachers may cause negative emotions such as anxiety. Such emotions may in turn significantly weaken students'motivation to engage in learning activities. In addition, the lack of effective interaction in learning activities also results in poor performance and engagement, even dropouts from online courses. In this thesis, we explore a set of approaches and tools to enhance student engagement and interaction in e-learning environments: (1) extract valuable information from the user posts in online course forums to advise the content organization of web pages; (2) instantly monitor and visualize students' interaction statuses in instructor-led learning; (3) identify and highlight the hotspot time slots and contents of the lecture recordings; (4) dynamically provide biofeedback-based visualization via wearable devices to reduce students' anxiety in self-paced learning.;We present a page-segmentation-based wrapper (eCF-wrapper) designed for extracting learner-posted data in online course forums. It consists of a novel page segmentation algorithm and a decision tree classifier. We also develop a web-based interaction-aware VLE (WebIntera-classroom), which employs a ubiquitous interactive interface to enhance the learner-to-content interactions, and a learning analytics tool to instantly visualize learners'interactions in learning activities. Additionally, we propose a high--granularity Learning Analytics Engine (hgLAE) to play a lecture recording, identify hotspots in a lecture recording and raise students'awareness of these hotspots. A questionnaire survey, interview and case study were conducted to investigate the instruction effect of WebIntera-classroom. Besides, we develop a physiologically-state-aware self-paced learning environment (FishBuddy) to alleviate anxiety and promote student engagement in self-paced learning by using wearable technology. The between-groups evaluation result shows that FishBuddy is useful in promoting student engagement (i.e., the consistency of engagement), and the students' self-reports indicate that FishBuddy is helpful for reducing anxiety and experience of isolation during the self-paced learning exercises.;Finally, the thesis is concluded with a discussion on the future work. Keywords: Virtual Learning Environment; Learning Analytics; Interaction; Engagement; Wearable Technology.

Orientador: Rubens Nisie Tango / Coorientador: João Carlos da Rocha / Banca: Symone Cristina Teixeira / Banca: João Paulo Barros Machado / Resumo: A realidade cotidiana de uma pessoa com necessidades especiais (PNE) e de seus responsáveis ou cuidadores é cercada de desafios impostos pelos diferentes impedimentos ou restrições apresentadas. A dificuldade de se executar uma higienização oral adequada, muitas vezes por causa dos comprometimentos motores do PNE, impedem a abertura e manutenção da boca em posição colaborativa para os movimentos escovatórios provocando agravamento do quadro de saúde bucal. A pesquisa desenvolve um novo produto acessório e inovador chamado de dedeira rígida que proporciona a abertura e estabilização da boca em posição aberta de forma segura, confortável e facilitada, possibilitando as práticas de higienização oral da PNE pelos seus responsáveis. Os testes em voluntária com paralisia cerebral, realizados com o uso do protótipo da dedeira, prototipado em material ABS Plus (copolímero de acrilonitrila butadieno estireno), provaram sua efetividade e eficiência, proporcionando adequadamente a escovação dental com o uso da escova dental e pasta. Os objetivos da proposta foram não só alcançados, viabilizando a introdução, movimentação da escova livremente na boca e visualização do interior da cavidade bucal, como também se mostrou possível sua abrangência de utilização por outros profissionais da saúde, como cirurgião dentista e enfermeiros. A aceitação da paciente voluntária foi total, bem como de sua responsável, que pode perceber as facilitações de utilidade e segurança que a dedeira proporciona. ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The daily reality of a person with special needs and their guardians or caregivers is surrounded by challenges imposed by the different impediments or restrictions presented. The difficulty of performing adequate oral hygiene, often due to the motor impairment, prevents the opening and maintenance of the mouth in a collaborative position for the brush movements causing worsening of oral health. The research develops a new and innovative accessory product called rigid finger that provides the opening and stabilization of the mouth in an open position safely, comfortably and easily, enabling the oral hygiene practices by their guardians in a person with special needs. The tests in volunteers with cerebral palsy, performed using the prototype of the rigid finger, prototyped in ABS Plus material (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer), proved its effectiveness and efficiency, providing adequate brushing with the use of toothbrush and paste. The objectives of the proposal were not only achieved, enabling the introduction, movement of the brush freely in the mouth and visualization of the interior of the oral cavity, but it was also possible its use by other health professionals such as dental surgeon and nurses. The acceptance of the volunteer patient was complete, as well as that of her guardian, who can perceive the facilitations of usefulness and safety that the rigid finger provides. The difficulties found are related to the exchange the rigid finger to the other hand of t... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The objectives of this dissertation include 1) to review accelerometry and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) derived measures used to monitor training load, 2) to investigate the validity and reliability of accelerometers (ACCs) to identify stepping events and quantify training load, 3) to assess the relationship between accelerometry and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) derived measures in quantifying training load. In Study I, acceleration data was collected via two tri-axial ACC (Device A and Device B) sampling at 100Hz mounted closely together at the xiphoid process level. Each participant (n=30) performed two trials of straight-line walking, running, and sprinting on a 20m course. Device A was used to assess ACC validity to identify steps and the test-retest reliability of the instrument to quantify the external load. Device A and Device B were used to assess inter-device reliability. The reliability of accelerometry derived metrics Impulse Load (IL) and Magnitude g (MAG) were assessed. In Study II, known distance (DIST) was predicted via acceleration data collected by a tri-axial ACC sampling at 100Hz mounted at the xiphoid process level, simultaneously positional data collected using a triple GNSS unit sampling at 10Hz placed between scapulae. Each participant (n=30) walked different DIST around various movement constraints (small and large circles). Thirty distances were completed around each circle and ranged from 12.57–376.99m. In Study I, the instrument demonstrated a positive predictive value (PPV) of 96.98-99.41% and an agreement of 93.08-96.29% for step detection during all conditions. Good test-retest reliability was found with a coefficient of variation (CV) < 5% for IL and MAG during all locomotor conditions. Good inter-device reliability was also found for all locomotor conditions (IL and MAG CV < 5%). These results indicated that tri-axial ACCs are a valid and reliable tool used to identify steps and quantify external load when movement is completed at a range of speeds. In Study 2, all linear regression models performed well for both movement constraints (R2=0.922-0.999; RMSE=0.047-0.242, p

Skills inherent in the creative thinking process such as reflecting and collaborating are needed for success in many careers. However, a focus on standardized testing in K-12 schools in the United States has resulted in the restructuring, reduction, and in some cases, elimination of arts in the curriculum to the detriment of students' creative thinking process. The purpose of this study was to discover whether creative thinking and collaborative skills were positive unintended consequences of a curriculum that includes the design of wearable technologies. Jonassen's modeling using Mindtools for conceptual change and Rosen's culture of collaboration provided the conceptual framework. This qualitative case study explored students' and teachers' perceptions of collaborative and creative thinking skill development while designing wearable technologies. The data analysis used interviews with 3 students and 1 teacher and an evaluation of participant wearable technology artifacts. Rich themes and patterns were determined through open coding. The themes identified to explain the perceived development of creative thinking skills were divergent thinking, stimulation of the imagination, generation of new knowledge, and creative climate. The themes identified to explain the perceived development of collaborative skills were diverse membership, culture of collaboration, and community building. The design of wearable technologies as a Mindtool showed promise as a new way to integrate art with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This study may effect positive social change by informing educational policy and influencing school budgetary consideration toward including art as a value-added benefit to STEM curriculum.

Padel involves repetitive and high-velocity upper limb movements, which can be associated with overuse injuries. There is a lack of evidence regarding injury prevention in padel and a necessity of developing and evaluating ways to monitor workload. The objective of this study was to use a new mobile measurement method (Delsys Trigno Light System) to evaluate muscle activation and movement of the forearm during padel. The percentage of MVC (%MVC) of Mm. Extensor carpi radialis (ECR) longus et brevis and M. flexor carpi radialis (FCR), angular velocities of the wrist and co-contraction between ECR and FCR were measured and analyzed. The main results showed a relatively low general muscle activation; 1.42 (0.44 – 2.33) %MVC of FCR and 8.02 (4.23 – 12.62) %MVC of ECR, with significantly greater muscle activation of the ECR than the FCR (p&lt;0.001), high angular wrist velocities; 17.0 (13.2 – 34.6) °/s, and a weak positive correlation for co-contraction with peak values of FCR &gt; 0.15 V and concurrent ECR, Spearman’s r = 0.326, p&lt;0.001 and peak values of ECR &gt; 0,15 V and concurrent FCR, Spearman’s r = 0.181, p&lt;0.001. This study indicates that this mobile measurement method may be used to evaluate biomechanical workload on the forearm during padel play and may serve as an injury preventive tool.