With continuous advancement in silicon technology and high feature demands on consumer electronics, the complexity of embedded software has led the software development effort to dominate System-On-Chip (SoC) design. Virtual Prototype (VP) addresses the problem by enabling early software development before hardware arrival. However, VP still poses challenges: 1) Instruction Set Simulator (ISS) degrades simulation time, 2) Development is restricted to embedded processor specific tools and 3) Applications and drivers are dependent on system software completion. In this work, we propose an abstraction framework which: 1) Removes ISS from VP, achieving native host software execution time, 2) Activates rich suites of desktop development tools in host by compiling embedded software in host binary and 3) Allows system software independent application and driver development. With this framework, we successfully demonstrated up to 2000% speed-up in VP run-time over conventional VP and improved software development productivity significantly.

With continuous advancement in silicon technology and high feature demands on consumer electronics, the complexity of embedded software has led the software development effort to dominate System-On-Chip (SoC) design. Virtual Prototype (VP) addresses the problem by enabling early software development before hardware arrival. However, VP still poses challenges: 1) Instruction Set Simulator (ISS) degrades simulation time, 2) Development is restricted to embedded processor specific tools and 3) Applications and drivers are dependent on system software completion. In this work, we propose an abstraction framework which: 1) Removes ISS from VP, achieving native host software execution time, 2) Activates rich suites of desktop development tools in host by compiling embedded software in host binary and 3) Allows system software independent application and driver development. With this framework, we successfully demonstrated up to 2000% speed-up in VP run-time over conventional VP and improved software development productivity significantly.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2016-06-14T12:40:33Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Tese - versao para impressao (2).pdf: 20650405 bytes, checksum: fadce5f7df96f0068f4ff26a711ed388 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-14T12:40:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Tese - versao para impressao (2).pdf: 20650405 bytes, checksum: fadce5f7df96f0068f4ff26a711ed388 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-24 / CAPEs / A avaliação da usabilidade representa uma tarefa essencial no ciclo de desenvolvimento do produto ao buscar uma maior satisfação do usuário e, consequentemente, o sucesso do produto no mercado. Para tal, torna-se fundamental a colaboração e a comunicação eficiente entre os diversos membros da equipe. Neste âmbito, tecnologias são desenvolvidas no sentido de promover um design participativo em todas as fases do processo de design e tem provocado uma mudança de paradigmas. O objetivo desta tese consiste em investigar o potencial das principais tecnologias para a usabilidade de produtos, buscando soluções que tornem a avaliação mais eficiente e inclusiva. Uma revisão de literatura sobre usabilidade e métodos é realizada, contextualizando o tema da pesquisa. Em seguida, as tecnologias emergentes da prototipagem virtual, simulações em ambientes virtuais e a interface cérebro-computador, ou neurociência para o design, são identificadas e suas possíveis aplicações na avaliação da usabilidade apontadas. A aplicação das tecnologias emergentes e o relacionamento destas entre si é avaliada em dois estudos de caso. O primeiro estudo consiste em dois experimentos com profissionais e estudantes de Design. Um questionário foi aplicado para investigar a situação atual da aplicação das tecnologias prototipagem virtual e realidade virtual, como também realizou-se um estudo comparativo entre protótipos. No segundo estudo, um teste de usabilidade com usuários reais utilizando um sistema EEG wireless foi realizado para investigar as atividades cerebrais durante o uso de um produto de consumo. Como resultado, várias lições foram aprendidas, correspondendo a uma importante contribuição para pesquisas no campo do design de produtos. A tese é finalizada com as lições aprendidas e são apresentadas sugestões para futuras pesquisas. / The usability evaluation is an essential task in the product development process to seek a greater user satisfaction and, consequently, the product success in the marketplace. For this, it is necessary the collaboration and effective communication among stakeholders. In this context, technology is developed in order to promote a participatory design at all stages of the design process and has resulted in a paradigm shift. The aims of this thesis are to investigate the potential of key technologies for testing the usability of products, and exploring solutions that make usability evaluation more efficient and comprehensive. A comprehensive literature review on usability and testing methods is provided by contextualizing the research theme. Then the emergent technologies of virtual prototyping, virtual environment simulation and brain computer interfacing or neuroscience for design are identified and possible applications in usability evaluation are outlined. The emerging technologies, their applications and how they relate to each other are evaluated in two case studies. The first study consists of two experiments with professional settings and with design students. A questionnaire was applied to investigate the present situation of virtual prototyping and virtual reality technologies application, and also a comparative study between prototypes was conducted. In the second study, a usability test with real users using a wireless EEG system was performed to investigate the brain activity during the use of a consumer product. As results show, several lessons were learned, representing an important contribution to research in the field of product design. The thesis concludes with best practices (lessons learned) and suggestions for further research.

Abstract The concept design of small handheld electronic and telecommunication devices is a creative and dynamic process. Interaction between the designers plays an important role in the creation of new products. This thesis addresses the communication between product concept designers. The aim of this thesis is to examine new ways of developing computer systems for remote collaboration. Multiple research methods have been used so as to enrich the view of the research subject. Product concept design has been studied in field studies and at co-located concept design workshops where the object of design was uncertain. Co-located workshops were organised to examine the moment to moment interaction between designers to discover how designers collaborate when designing a design object in common. By applying the concepts of activity theory, the concept of instrument is elaborated. Four types of instruments to mediate between a designer and the object of design and collaborating designers are identified. These are the instruments used to externalize an understanding of the design object, the concrete means of interaction, the future artefact and the hypothetical user activity. The latter two make up the design object which designers' strive for, and can also be instruments for scaffolding each other. A conceptual model was developed to describe the design action and the instruments for collaboration. This model was used to gain insight into the creation of computer support for remotely collaborating designers by posing questions for computer systems design. To develop computer systems to support designers in remote collaboration, an understanding of both the requirements set by the field and the technological feasibility is needed. Three application prototypes are presented as proof of the concept and as an experiment with virtual prototyping technology. The concept of design action has been defined on the basis of activity theory. Computer-supported geographically distributed workshops have been organised and analysed using the design action as an analytical tool for the research material. I conclude that, in order to support remote collaboration of concept designers, computer systems should support collaborative construction of the object of design. Instruments, such as the future artefact, its various representations and the conceptual construct of hypothetical user activity are potential instruments for computation.

Diploma thesis is devoted to tractor cabin's suspension. First part of the work consists of the overview of used suspension designs and their various modifications. Next, law requirements for roll-over protective structure are described. Subsequently, the suspension design for small-sized tractor is explored. Law compliance is revised via ROPS procedure simulation using finite element method. In the last part of the work, virtual prototype of agricultural tractor in Multi-body environment is built and it is used for studying the dynamic characteristics of proposed cabin suspension design.

O processo de desenvolvimento de produtos (PDP) é formado por um conjunto de atividades organizadas e interativas com o propósito de se planejar, desenvolver e fabricar um produto que seja técnico e economicamente viável, além de ser atrativo e atender, quando possível, todas as expectativas dos usuários. Para que tais atividades sejam realizadas e concluídas faz-se o uso de ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP. Entre estas ferramentas estão os protótipos virtuais e os protótipos físicos. A utilização de protótipos virtuais e físicos no PDP traz maturidade ao projeto, reduz as incertezas, e auxilia na conservação do fluxo de informação durante todo projeto, desenvolvimento, implementação e operação da unidade fabril. Desta forma diferentes protótipos são utilizados para diferentes necessidades, de modo que o desenvolvimento do produto seja concluído e, em paralelo, se inicie o projeto do processo de fabricação. Esta tese apresenta o desenvolvimento de um modelo de referência específico para o processo de desenvolvimento do produto automotivo, denominado de PDP-Automotivo. A partir deste modelo de referência, um conjunto de diretrizes para a seleção de protótipos virtuais e físicos é proposto. O PDP-Automotivo foi validado por meio de uma pesquisa de campo envolvendo profissionais pertencentes à montadoras, autopeças e empresas de projeto automotivo. As diretrizes também foram analisadas e validadas por profissionais atuantes no setor automotivo. / The product development process (PDP) consists of a set of organized and interactive activities aiming to plan, develop and manufacture a technically and economically feasible product. Moreover, this product is intended to be attractive and, when possible, meet all users expectations. PDP-aiding tools, such as virtual prototypes and physical prototypes, are used in order to perform and complete these activities. The use of virtual prototypes and physical prototypes in PDP brings maturity to the design, reduces uncertainties and helps to maintain the information flow during the design, development, implementation and operation of the manufacturing unit. Therefore, different prototypes are used to meet distinct needs allowing the achievement of the products development process simultaneously to the start of the manufacturing process design. This doctoral study presents the development of a reference model specific for the automotive product development process, named Automotive PDP. A set of guidelines for the selection of virtual and physical prototypes is proposed from this reference model. Automotive PDP was validated by a field research involving professional members from automakers, auto parts and automotive design companies. The guidelines were also analyzed and validated by professional individuals from the automotive sector.

O processo de desenvolvimento de produtos (PDP) é formado por um conjunto de atividades organizadas e interativas com o propósito de se planejar, desenvolver e fabricar um produto que seja técnico e economicamente viável, além de ser atrativo e atender, quando possível, todas as expectativas dos usuários. Para que tais atividades sejam realizadas e concluídas faz-se o uso de ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP. Entre estas ferramentas estão os protótipos virtuais e os protótipos físicos. A utilização de protótipos virtuais e físicos no PDP traz maturidade ao projeto, reduz as incertezas, e auxilia na conservação do fluxo de informação durante todo projeto, desenvolvimento, implementação e operação da unidade fabril. Desta forma diferentes protótipos são utilizados para diferentes necessidades, de modo que o desenvolvimento do produto seja concluído e, em paralelo, se inicie o projeto do processo de fabricação. Esta tese apresenta o desenvolvimento de um modelo de referência específico para o processo de desenvolvimento do produto automotivo, denominado de PDP-Automotivo. A partir deste modelo de referência, um conjunto de diretrizes para a seleção de protótipos virtuais e físicos é proposto. O PDP-Automotivo foi validado por meio de uma pesquisa de campo envolvendo profissionais pertencentes à montadoras, autopeças e empresas de projeto automotivo. As diretrizes também foram analisadas e validadas por profissionais atuantes no setor automotivo. / The product development process (PDP) consists of a set of organized and interactive activities aiming to plan, develop and manufacture a technically and economically feasible product. Moreover, this product is intended to be attractive and, when possible, meet all users expectations. PDP-aiding tools, such as virtual prototypes and physical prototypes, are used in order to perform and complete these activities. The use of virtual prototypes and physical prototypes in PDP brings maturity to the design, reduces uncertainties and helps to maintain the information flow during the design, development, implementation and operation of the manufacturing unit. Therefore, different prototypes are used to meet distinct needs allowing the achievement of the products development process simultaneously to the start of the manufacturing process design. This doctoral study presents the development of a reference model specific for the automotive product development process, named Automotive PDP. A set of guidelines for the selection of virtual and physical prototypes is proposed from this reference model. Automotive PDP was validated by a field research involving professional members from automakers, auto parts and automotive design companies. The guidelines were also analyzed and validated by professional individuals from the automotive sector.

The doctoral thesis introduces a study of possibilities for utilization of virtual reality technology in risk analysis and safety of production machines. The main goal of the thesis is to analyse and examine possible means of integrating visualization and interaction techniques of virtual reality into the risk identification process in the early stage of the production machine life cycle. The proposed work provides a methodological approach to the theoretical implementation of these techniques in the definition of dangerous areas of a machine, identification of sources of possible risks and verification of applied measures built-in in the machine structure. A system approach is used for forming and optimizing the introduced methodological procedures. The solution includes the design of the methodology for effective transfer of 3D design data into immersion virtual reality domain. This enables overcoming existing barriers in exploitation of virtual reality technologies in industrial applications. The next section introduces a procedure of implementation of real tools and equipment in immersion virtual reality domain, including an option for detection of collisions between the real tools and virtual objects. Experimental tests confirm its capability of practical utilization. The impact of the final practical contribution is shown by a decrease in the number of accidents during assembly work, due to its appropriate planning and thanks to training of the personnel on a virtual prototype, carried out already before the manufacturing of the actual machine. The result of the presented doctoral thesis contributes to further qualitative improvement of techniques and methods for preventive increase of safety and reliability of developed machines, particularly of machining centres, which will help increase their competitiveness. The properties of the designed procedures are documented and verified on real industrial cases.

In this study, various stability control systems are developed to remove the lateral instability of a conventional articulated steer vehicle (ASV) during the oscillatory yaw motion or “snaking mode”. First, to identify the nature of the instability, some analyses are performed using several simplified models. These investigations are mainly focused on analyzing the effects of forward speed and of two main subsystems of the vehicle, the steering system and tires, on the stability. The basic insights into the stability behavior of the vehicle obtained from the stability analyses of the simplified models are verified by conducting some simulations with a virtual prototype of the vehicle in ADAMS. To determine the most critical operating condition with regard to the lateral stability and to identify the effects of vehicle parameters on the stability, various studies are performed by introducing some modifications to the simplified models. Based on these studies, the disturbed straight-line on-highway motion with constant forward speed is recognized as the most critical driving condition. Also, the examinations show that when the vehicle is traveling with differentials locked, the vehicle is less prone to the instability. The examinations show that when the vehicle is carrying a rear-mounted load having interaction with ground, the instability may happen if the vehicle moves on a relatively good off-road surface. Again, the results gained from the analyses related to the effects of the vehicle parameters and operating conditions on the stability are verified using simulations in ADAMS by making some changes in the virtual prototype for any case. To stabilize the vehicle during its most critical driving condition, some studies are directed to indicate the shortcomings of passive methods. Alternative solutions, including design of different types of stability control systems, are proposed to generate a stabilizing yaw moment. The proposed solutions include an active steering system with a classical controller, an active torque vectoring device with a robust full state feedback controller, and a differential braking system with a robust variable structure controller. The robust controllers are designed by using simplified models, which are also used to evaluate the ability to deal with the uncertainties of the vehicle parameters and its variable operating conditions. These controllers are also incorporated into the virtual prototype, and their capabilities to stabilize the vehicle in different operating conditions and while traveling on different surfaces during the snaking mode are shown.

In this study, various stability control systems are developed to remove the lateral instability of a conventional articulated steer vehicle (ASV) during the oscillatory yaw motion or “snaking mode”. First, to identify the nature of the instability, some analyses are performed using several simplified models. These investigations are mainly focused on analyzing the effects of forward speed and of two main subsystems of the vehicle, the steering system and tires, on the stability. The basic insights into the stability behavior of the vehicle obtained from the stability analyses of the simplified models are verified by conducting some simulations with a virtual prototype of the vehicle in ADAMS. To determine the most critical operating condition with regard to the lateral stability and to identify the effects of vehicle parameters on the stability, various studies are performed by introducing some modifications to the simplified models. Based on these studies, the disturbed straight-line on-highway motion with constant forward speed is recognized as the most critical driving condition. Also, the examinations show that when the vehicle is traveling with differentials locked, the vehicle is less prone to the instability. The examinations show that when the vehicle is carrying a rear-mounted load having interaction with ground, the instability may happen if the vehicle moves on a relatively good off-road surface. Again, the results gained from the analyses related to the effects of the vehicle parameters and operating conditions on the stability are verified using simulations in ADAMS by making some changes in the virtual prototype for any case. To stabilize the vehicle during its most critical driving condition, some studies are directed to indicate the shortcomings of passive methods. Alternative solutions, including design of different types of stability control systems, are proposed to generate a stabilizing yaw moment. The proposed solutions include an active steering system with a classical controller, an active torque vectoring device with a robust full state feedback controller, and a differential braking system with a robust variable structure controller. The robust controllers are designed by using simplified models, which are also used to evaluate the ability to deal with the uncertainties of the vehicle parameters and its variable operating conditions. These controllers are also incorporated into the virtual prototype, and their capabilities to stabilize the vehicle in different operating conditions and while traveling on different surfaces during the snaking mode are shown.