Most current augmented reality (AR) displays present content at a fixed focal demand. At the same time, real-world stimuli can occur at a variety of focal distances. To integrate information, users need to switch eye focus between virtual and real-world information continuously. Previously, Gabbard, Mehra, and Swan (2018) examined these issues, using a text-based visual search task on a monocular AR display. This thesis replicated and extended the previous experiment by including a new experimental variable stereopsis (stereo, mono) and fully crossing the variables of context switching and focal distance switching, using AR haploscope. The results from the monocular condition indicate successful replication, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the findings are a general property of AR. The outcome of the stereo condition supports the same adverse effects of context switching and focal distance switching. Further, participants have better performance and less eye fatigue in the stereo condition compared to the monocular condition.

A distinctive feature of run-time reconfigurable systems is the ability to change the configuration of programmable resources during execution. This opens a number of possibilities such as virtualisation of computational resources, simplified routing and in certain applications lower power. Seamless run-time reconfiguration requires rapid configuration. Commodity programmable devices have relatively long configuration time, which makes them poor candidates for run-time reconfigurable systems. Reducing this reconfiguration time to the order of nano seconds will enable rapid run-time reconfiguration. Having multiple configuration planes and switching between them while processing data is one approach towards achieving rapid reconfiguration. An experimental context switching programmable device, called the Context Switching Reconfigurable Computer (CSRC), has been created by BAE Systems, which provided opportunities to explore context-switching strategies for run-time reconfigurable systems. The work presented here studies this approach for run-time reconfiguration, by applying the concepts to develop applications on a context switching reconfigurable system. The work also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach and ways of leveraging the concept for efficient computing. / Master of Science

The reprogrammable nature of configurable computing machines has led to a wealth of research in run-time reconfigurable systems and applications. A limitation often encountered in this research is the slow configuration time with respect to the system clock speed. One technique to deal with these configuration delays has been to develop devices that can hold multiple rapidly interchangeable configurations. This technique is known as context-switching. This thesis discusses the development of a framework to support applications which execute on a run-time reconfigurable system containing context-switching devices. The framework is divided into a number of layers: hardware, middleware, software, and applications. The design, implementation, and details of each layer are presented. / Master of Science

The upcoming level 3 generation of self-driving vehicles will be characterized by the freedom of not having the driver’s hands on the steering wheel. This acquired freedom is posing new challenges on the traditional passenger comfort paradigm as the drivers will spend a higher amount of time doing non-driving tasks (NDRT). Certain constraints must be imposed as the level 3 generation systems will not be able to drive all the time without active feedback from the user. The driver needs to stay active enough to do takeover in a situation where it is needed to. What effect will different NDRT have on the behavior of a driver in a self-driving car? In our low fidelity driving simulator, we tested different simple actions (e.g. playing a simple 2D game). We then evaluated them based on their accident avoidance and situation awareness in the post-transition period. The results show a significant difference between the reaction speeds of the drivers before and after an active task.