Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Smart instruments'

STREAM is a 4-year multi-site training network that aims at career development of Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) on scientific design, construction manufacturing and of advanced radiation instrumentation. STREAM targets the development of innovative radiation-hard, smart CMOS sensor technologies for scientific and industrial applications. The platform technology developed within the project will be tested in the demanding conditions posed by the CERN LHC detectors' environment as well as European industry leaders in the field of CMOS imaging, electron microscopy and radiation sensors. This leveraging factor will allow to fine-tune the technology to meet the requirements of industrial application cases on demand such as electron microscopy and medical X-ray imaging, as well as pathway towards novel application fields such as satellite environments, industrial X-ray systems and near-infrared imaging. The project will train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers and widen their academic career and employment opportunities. The STREAM consortium is composed of 10 research organisations and 5 industrial partners; the network will provide training to 17 ESRs. STREAM structures the research and training in four scientific work-packages which span the whole value-chain from research to application: CMOS Technologies Assessment, Smart Sensor Design and Layout, Validation and Qualification, Technology Integration, and Valorization.

L'architecture physique des réseaux électriques et les structures organisationnelles des industries électriques survenues à la suite des réformes ont principalement été conçues en fonction des caractéristiques relatives aux infrastructures de transport et aux parcs de production. Or, les nouveaux enjeux de transition énergétique, associés aux progrès réalisés dans les équipements de communication et d'automatisation, plaident pour une plus grande participation des activités décentralisées de production et des consommateurs finals. Nous constatons que les systèmes électriques sont à l'aube d'évolutions majeures qui partagent une double caractéristique. La première et que ces évolutions nécessiteront des apports en capitaux considérables pour adapter et moderniser les réseaux de distribution. La seconde est que l'activation de l'aval de la chaîne électrique libère des gains d'efficacité économique actuellement inexploités, mais est également porteuse de contraintes nouvelles.Partant de ce constat, l'objectif de cette thèse est double. Il s'agit dans un premier temps de proposer une analyse théorique des instruments de régulation qui encadrent et orientent les dépenses des opérateurs réseau. Nous cherchons en nous appuyant sur la littérature à caractériser les outils de régulation les mieux adaptés à l'investissement en smart technologies. Puisqu'il est nécessaire de confronter l'analyse théorique aux faits, nous entreprenons de recenser les gains clés d'efficacité économique escomptés de la généralisation des smart grids. Nous illustrons chacun de ces gains par une étude empirique qui nous permet de comparer les résultats issus de notre analyse théorique aux schémas de régulation existants et de formuler un certain nombre de recommandations.Le second objectif de la thèse se concentre sur les impacts de la diffusion de programmes de la gestion de la demande. Le raisonnement adopté s'articule autour de deux constats. D'importants bénéfices sont attendus des réductions substantielles des pointes de demande, réductions qui se traduisent par de moindres opportunités de profit pour les producteurs. Il s'agira de réaliser une estimation des gains et pertes que l'on peut attendre de la gestion de la demande. Pour cela, nous développons et utilisons un modèle d'optimisation dans lequel nous intégrons plusieurs pays interconnectés dotés de parcs de production différenciés.La thèse montre que les cadres de régulation dominants actuellement sont limités dans leur portée incitative pour favoriser un investissement efficace dans la technologie, ce qui est susceptible de retarder son introduction. La quantification des impacts de la gestion de la demande montre quant à elle que des efficacités significatives peuvent être activées via la généralisation de ces mesures. Toutefois, elles posent des problèmes nouveaux dans la rémunération de l'existant, l'adéquation future des capacités, et souligne l'antagonisme potentiel entre perte de revenus pour les unités de pointe les plus réactives et développement des énergies bas carbone.De toute évidence, les interrogations soulevées par le développement des smart grids nécessitent que soit mené un débat politique éclairé puisque l'industrie électrique est indispensable à nos sociétés. Parmi le nombre considérable d'éléments à aborder, arriveront en bonne place les questions relatives au financement des projets d'investissement et à l'inclusion des nouvelles sources de flexibilité induites par l'adoption de la technologie dans les marchés électriques libéralisés
The physical architecture of electricity grids and the organizational structure of power systems implemented after the reforms have traditionally be achieved according to the characteristics of the transmission infrastructures and power mixes. However, the new challenges related to energy transition favor a greater participation of decentralized generation and final consumers to system exploitation and competitive markets. This latter participation is made possible thanks to recent innovations in the fields of communication and remote control technologies.Significant evolutions are expected in power industries that share common characteristics. First, these evolutions suppose massive capital investments to modernize and adapt current power distribution grids. Second, it is expected the activation of distribution grids and final consumers will unleash substantial unexploited economic efficiency gains as well as impose new constraints.Taking these simple facts as a starting point, the objective of the thesis is twofold. In the first place, we provide a theoretical analysis of the regulatory instruments that monitor the system operators' expenses. Relying on the literature, we aim at characterizing what regulatory tools and incitation are suitable for investing in smart grids technologies. Since it is necessary to compare theoretical formulation to facts, we use an empirical approach that allows us to designate key benefits pursued by the development of smart grids and to compare our theoretical results with practical regulatory applications. Our findings eventually allow us to formulate recommendations.In the second place, the thesis focuses on the impacts of demand-side management during peak periods. We structure our approach around two general observations. Large benefits should be generated in lowering substantially peak demand. However, such situation also creates losses of profit for generators. We provide an estimation of efficiency gains and revenue losses induced by peak shedding. To this end, we develop and use a linear optimization model and expand our analysis to interconnected countries endowed with differentiated generation means.The thesis shows dominant regulatory frameworks are unsuited to provide the necessary sets of incentive to efficiently develop smart technologies. This can cause delays in their integration to power grids. The quantitative evaluation of the impacts generated by demand-side management shows significant efficiency gains are achievable through final consumers' flexibility. However, such measures create new discrepancies regarding installed capacities profitability, future capacity adequacy, and highlight potential antagonism between missing money for flexible peak capacities and the development of low carbon energies.It is clear the issues raised by the development of smart grids call for informed public debate as power industries are essential to our societies. Among the considerable amount of elements to discuss, issues relative to financing the investment projects and the inclusion of the new sources of flexibility induced by the technology in competitive markets will be of priority

Mechanical Engineering
Ph.D.
Background: Majority of cancer interventions today are performed percutaneously using needle-based procedures, i.e. through the skin and soft tissue. Needle insertion is known as one of the recent needle-based techniques that is used in several diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures such as brachytherapy, thermal ablations and breast biopsy. The difficulty in most of these procedures is to attain a precise navigation through tissue reaching target locations. Insufficient accuracy using conventional surgical needles motivated researchers to provide actuation forces to the needle’s body for compensating the possible errors of surgeons/physicians. Therefore, active needles were proposed recently where actuation forces provided by shape memory alloys (SMAs) are utilized to assist the maneuverability and accuracy of surgical needles. This work also aims to introduce a novel needle insertion simulation to predict the deflection of a bevel tip needle inside the tissue. Development of a model to predict the behavior of the needle steering in the soft tissue has been always a point of interest as it could improve the performance of many percutaneous needle-based procedures. Methods: In this work first, the actuation capability of a single SMA wire was studied. The complex response of SMAs was investigated via a MATLAB implementation of the Brinson model and verified via experimental tests. The material characteristics of SMAs were simulated by defining multilinear elastic isothermal stress-strain curves. Rigorous experiments with SMA wires were performed to determine the material properties as well as to show the capability of the code to predict a stabilized SMA transformation behavior with sufficient accuracy. The isothermal stress-strain curves of SMAs were simulated and defined as a material model for the Finite Element Analysis of the active needle. In the second part of this work, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of the active steerable needle was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of using SMA wires as actuators to bend the surgical needle. In the FE model, birth and death method of defining boundary conditions, available in ANSYS, was used to achieve the pre-strain condition on SMA wire prior to actuation. This numerical model was validated with needle deflection experiments with developed prototypes of the active needle. The third part of this work describes the design optimization of the active using genetic algorithm aiming for its maximum flexibility. Design parameters influencing the steerability include the needle’s diameter, wire diameter, pre-strain, and its offset from the needle. A simplified model was developed to decrease the computation time in iterative analyses of the optimization algorithm. In the fourth part of this work a design of an active needling system was proposed where actuation forces of SMAs as well as shape memory polymers (SMPs) were incorporated. SMP elements provide two major additional advantages to the design: (i) recovery of the SMP’s plastic deformation by heating the element above its glass transition temperature, and (ii) achieving a higher needle deflection by having a softer stage of SMP at higher temperatures with less amount of actuation force. Finally, in the fifth and last part of this study, an Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation in LS-DYNA software was used to model the solid-fluid interactions between the needle and tissue. A 150mm long needle was considered to bend within the tissue due to the interacting forces on its asymmetric bevel tip. Some additional assumptions were made to maintain a reasonable computational time, with no need of parallel processing, while having practical accuracies. Three experimental tests of needle steering in a soft phantom were performed to validate the simulation. Results: The finite element model of the active needle was first validated experimentally with developed prototypes. Several design parameters affecting the needle’s deflection such as the needle’s Young’s modulus, the SMA’s pre-strain and its offset from the neutral axis of the cannula were studied using the FE model. Then by the integration of the SMA characteristics with the automated optimization schemes an improved design of the active needle was obtained. Real-time experiments with different prototypes showed that the quickest response and the maximum deflection were achieved by the needle with two sections of actuation compared to a single section of actuation. Also the feasibility of providing actuation forces using both SMAs and SMPs for the surgical needle was demonstrated in this study. The needle insertion simulation was validated while observing less than 10% deviation between the estimated amount of needle deflection by the simulation and by the experiments. Using this model the effect of needle diameter and its bevel tip angle on the final shape of the needle was investigated. Conclusion: The numerical and experimental studies of this work showed that a highly maneuverable active needle can be made using the actuation of multiple SMA wires in series. To maneuver around the anatomical obstacles of the human body and reach the target location, thin sharp needles are recommended as they would create a smaller radius of curvature. The insertion model presented in this work is intended to be used as a base structure for path planning and training purposes for future studies.
Temple University--Theses

L’inquiétude croissante concernant le futur des ressources énergétique a fait de l’optimisation énergétique une priorité dans tous les secteurs. De nombreux sujets de recherche se sont focalisés sur celui du bâtiment étant le principal consommateur d’énergie, en particulier à cause de ses besoins en chauffage. L’application des stratégies de contrôle et de gestion innovantes peuvent contribuer à des économies d'énergie. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'introduire le concept intelligent dans les bâtiments pour réduire la consommation d'énergie. L'étude vise à développer un modèle permettant de prédire le comportement thermique des bâtiments. La thèse propose une méthodologie basée sur la sélection des paramètres d'entrée pertinents, après une analyse de pertinence, pour développer un modèle simplifié de réseau de neurones artificiel, utilisé pour la prévision de température intérieure. Le domaine intelligent nécessite un processus automatisé pour comprendre la dynamique des bâtiments et décrire ses caractéristiques. L’utilisation des modèles thermiques réduits convient pour de telles stratégies. Ainsi, la thèse présente une étude préliminaire pour la génération d'un processus automatisé pour déterminer la prévision de température intérieure à court terme et les caractéristiques des bâtiments basées sur la modélisation en boîte grise. Cette étude est basée sur une méthodologie capable de trouver l'ensemble de données le plus fiable qui décrit le mieux la dynamique du bâtiment. L'étude montre que l'ordre le plus performant pour les modèles réduits est régi par la dynamique des données collectées utilisées
With the highly developing concerns about the future of energy resources, the optimization of energy consumption becomes a must in all sectors. A lot of research was dedicated to buildings regarding that they constitute the highest energy consuming sector mainly because of their heating needs. Technologies have been improved and several methods are proposed for energy consumption optimization. Energy saving procedures can be applied through innovative control and management strategies. The objective of this thesis is to introduce the smart concept in the building system to reduce the energy consumption, as well as to improve comfort conditions and users’ satisfaction. The study aims to develop a model that makes it possible to predict thermal behavior of buildings. The thesis proposes a methodology based on the selection of pertinent input parameters, after a relevance analysis of a large set of input parameters, for the development of a simplified artificial neural network (ANN) model, used for indoor temperature forecasting. This model can be easily used in the optimal regulation of buildings’ energy devices. The smart domain needs an automated process to understand the buildings’ dynamics and to describe its characteristics. Such strategies are well described using reduced thermal models. Thus, the thesis presents a preliminary study for the generation of an automated process to determine short term indoor temperature prediction and buildings characteristics based on grey-box modeling. This study is based on a methodology capable of finding the most reliable set of data that describes the best the building’s dynamics. The study shows that the most performant order for reduced-models is governed by the dynamics of the collected data used

Falling weight deflectometer (FWD) is currently used by most highway agencies to determine the structural condition of the highway network. Utilizing the deflections measured by the FWD, the resilient moduli of layers in the flexible pavement is determined using backcalculation software packages. The moduli can be input into semi-empirical mechanistic equations to estimate the remaining life of the pavement system and aid in informing pavement engineers about timing of maintenance and rehabilitation needs. There have been concerns among practitioners and the research community about the adequacy of the resilient moduli determined by the backcalculation software. Some of the backcalculation models have been simplified and field verification may be needed. Field-measured stresses and strains may be used to quantify the reliability of the backcalculated moduli. The Virginia Smart Road, which has 12 different flexible pavement designs and was built and instrumented with pressure cells, strain gages, thermocouples, frost probes and moisture sensors. To validate the backcalculated moduli theoretically and through instrument response, this research was conducted with following objectives: 1) to determine the resilient moduli of the unbound granular materials on the Virginia Smart Road using small and large plates of the FWD; 2) to investigate the extent of spatial and temporal variability of the FWD deflections among pavement sections; 3) to develop a temperature correction model for the backcalculated HMA resilient moduli; 4) to define an appropriate backcalculation approach and compare the four widely used software approaches; and 5) to correlate backcalculated and laboratory measured moduli. In addition, the FWD measurements were used to establish a comparison between in-situ measured and computed stresses and strains in the pavement. The analytical approaches used are linear elastic, viscoelastic, and viscoelastic combined with nonlinearity. Results show that estimation of unbound granular materials moduli using surface deflections is more reliable when 457-mm-diameter loading plate is used. Analysis of deflections from different sensors showed evidence of spatial and temporal variability. The lowest coefficient of variation of deflections (7%) within sections occurred at low temperatures (2 to 6 °C), while the highest coefficient of variation (42%) occurred at temperatures between 35 to 40 °C. This resulted in the development of a deflection temperature correction model. The model was validated at different temperature ranges. A backcalculation procedure was defined to achieve good root mean square error using four selected software packages. This resulted in the selection of the most reliable software to perform moduli backcalculation. A correlation was established between the nonlinear models produced by backcalculation and laboratory testing of the granular 21-B material. However, for the HMA materials, difference in loading period between laboratory testing and FWD loading pulse could affect the results. The study found that when utilizing the backcalculated moduli, computed strains using viscoelastic modeling were comparable to in-situ measured values. Similarly, calculated stresses compared well with the field-measured stresses; especially at high temperatures. Mix properties, temperature of testing and loading were found to have an effect on the agreement between the measured and computed strains in the wearing surface. The study also recommended further validation of FWD measurements using embedded instruments to calibrate analytical models and further analysis of deflection data so that optimum number of testing points can be determined to limit amount of testing performed for determination of deflection variability.
Ph. D.

This essay is a study of the use of IT technology by teachers of English and History at a Swedish upper secondary school. It is based on four interviews and four observations. In my analysis of these I have made use of the theory of Social Shaping of technology, a theory which puts emphasis on a teacher´s purpose regarding the use of IT technology in order to empower the teaching process. As a researcher I aim to explore the reasoning on the part of the teacher and to that end I use the method of interviews and observations. This study shows different ways of using IT technology varying from one teacher to another. The use of laptops and Ipads by students is frequent, laptops being used for writing and information seeking and Ipads for taking pictures, the recording of students´ own performance before making presentations in class and for communication with teachers. In addition to the methods mentioned above, I have used - "Som-seende" and half-structured interviews.

Le but de cette thèse en cinq chapitres est d’ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives autour de l’opposition qui existe entre la théorie de la diversification et le biais d’investissement domestique notamment pour les investisseurs Européens, Américains et Japonais. En effet, le développement des nouvelles technologies au sein des marchés financiers, a engendré, l’apparition de nouveaux types de produits : notamment les fonds indiciels cotés, qui permettent aux investisseurs d’accéder à une exposition indirecte dans leurs propres unités monétaires (Euro, Dollars et Yen) ou d’investir aisément dans n’importe quels secteurs ou classes d’actifs. L’arrivée de ces nouvelles technologies signe aussi l’émergence de nouvelles formes d’approches d’investissements basées sur des modèles algorithmiques automatisés nommés « Smart Beta ». A la lumière de ces innovations, ma thèse, ouvre de nouvelles perspectives sur le biais d’investissement domestique et pose certaines questions sur les approches classiques d’allocation internationales d’actifs. Le premier chapitre donne une vision globale de ma thèse. Le second tend à démontrer que sur les cinq grandes stratégies de « hedge funds », quatre sont accessibles de manière indirecte en utilisant une approche « Smart Beta » d’allocation d’actifs optimisée, composée de fonds indiciels cotés en Euro. Le troisième chapitre permet de montrer qu’il est possible d’atteindre des stratégies actions en Asie Pacifique de type « Momentum » en utilisant une allocation d’actifs composée de fonds indiciels uniquement cotés en Dollars permettant les mêmes rendements/risques sans aucun risque de change. Le quatrième chapitre, analyse la possibilité pour un investisseur Japonais d’atteindre de manière indirecte des expositions équivalente à des stratégies d’investissement internationale en matières premières en utilisant des fonds indiciels cotés en Yen. D’un point de vue scientifique, je contribue au développement des théories sur l’exposition indirecte des fonds indiciel côtés, en démontrant leurs utilités pour les allocations globales d’actifs. Mes résultats tendent aussi à démontrer que les investisseurs Européens, Américains et Japonais qui investissent seulement avec des produits financiers domestiques, ne perdent pas le bénéfice de la diversification internationale. Ma thèse ouvre aussi un nouvel aspect de la littérature sur les « smart beta » de troisième génération, permettant d’éviter le risque de change, en outrepassant le biais d’investissement domestique. Cette nouvelle approche factorielle permet aux investisseurs d’atteindre des expositions de stratégie « internationale active » dans leurs propres unités monétaires favorisant ainsi la diminution des biais cognitifs et comportementaux du biais d’investissement domestique. Le dernier chapitre offre une discussion générale autour de mes résultats ainsi qu’une conclusion finale. De plus chacun des chapitres contribue de manière spécifique à un thème scientifique donné. D’un point de vue méthodologique, différentes méthodes sont utilisées et combinées («data-driven », « optimization » et « heuristic ») pour créer des approches de type « Smart Beta ». Finalement, ma thèse ouvre de nouvelles questions par rapport à ces différents thèmes : est-ce que l’évolution des nouvelles technologies appliquée au marchés financiers diminue la valeur ajoutée de la diversification classique de portefeuille et tend à augmenter l’intégration financière mondiale ? Est-ce que ces nouveaux produits financiers ouvrent de nouvelles façons d’investir en améliorant l’accès à des stratégies d’investissement complexes ? Est-ce que ces nouveaux produits financiers permettent de trouver des solutions aux différents paradigmes de la finance comportementale ?
This five-chapter thesis provides new perspectives on diversification theory and the home-bias puzzle, which exists as an investment approach notably for European, American and Japanese investors. Indeed, information and communications technology (ICT) development has led to the emergence of new type of financial market product. Exchange-traded funds (ETF) allow investors to reach indirect exposure in their own currency (e.g. euro, U.S. dollars (USD) and yen) and invest in any sectors or asset classes. The ICT revolution has led to the emergence of new forms of algorithmic rules-based frameworks as investment approaches. One notable approach is called ‘smart beta’. In light of these, my thesis offers new insight about the home-bias puzzle and raises new questions about international investment approaches and global-asset allocations. Chapter I provides an overview of my thesis. My second chapter shows that a European investor who would like to attain ‘worldwide alternative investment exposure’ using a long-only optimised composition of euro liquid products can do it. Four out of the five most well-known worldwide alternative investment strategies are achievable through an optimised composition of ETFs denominated by euro. My third chapter shows that an American investor who would like to reach intermediate-term momentum exposure denominated by the South Korea won, Philippine peso, Indonesian rupiah, India rupiah, Australian dollars or New Zealand dollars can achieve the exact same risk/return characteristics using an optimised composition of USD ETFs. This implies that it is possible to reach an Asia–Pacific momentum factor without any exchange risk for an American investor. Finally, my fourth chapter analyses the possibility for a Japanese investor to reach ‘international commodities investment exposure’ with the same risk/return characteristics as a liquid yen product. From a scientific perspective, I first extend previous work about ETF indirect exposure and show the usefulness of ETFs in the global-asset allocation context. Second, I show that U.S., European and Japanese investors who invest only in domestically traded products do not have to lose the benefits of international diversification. Third, my thesis opens the door to third-generation smart-beta literature, explaining how to avoid exchange-rate risks and overcome the home-bias puzzle. This new ‘access factor’ approach allows investors to reach exposure in some international active investment strategies using their own currencies, allowing them to overcome the main cognitive and behavioural drivers of home-bias investing. The fifth chapter offers a final global discussion and a conclusion. Each chapter contributes to the scientific support of several specific topics. From a methodological perspective, different investment-strategy models (i.e. data-driven, optimisation and heuristic) are combined to reach the desired smart-beta exposure. Finally, my thesis asks new questions, such as ‘does ICT development and the new products coming with it on the financial markets (e.g. ETF, smart beta) tend to decrease the value added from classical diversification, and does it tend to increase financial integration?’ and ‘Do these new products create new investment approaches using an easy method to access complex investment strategies?’ ‘Do these new products overcome some of the behavioural finance paradigms?’

In the current mechanistic-empirical (M-E) design procedures for flexible pavements, the primary transfer functions are those that relate (a) maximum tensile strain in the hot-mix asphalt (HMA) surface layer to fatigue cracking and (b) compressive strain at the top of the subgrade layer to rutting at the surface. These functions, called fatigue and rutting equations, are usually derived from statistically based correlations of pavement condition with observed laboratory specimen performance, full-scale road test experiments or by both methods. Hot-mix asphalt fatigue behavior is an important component of a M-E design procedure; unfortunately, most of the existing models do not reflect field fatigue behavior. This is manifested in the fact that HMA fatigue failure is achieved much faster under a laboratory setting than in a field environment. This difference has been typically accounted for by the use of a single shift factor based mainly on engineering experience. The flexible pavement portion of the Virginia Smart Road includes 12 different flexible pavement designs. Each section is approximately 100m long. The sections are instrumented with pressure cells, strain gages, time-domain reflectometry probes, thermocouples, and frost probes. The instruments were embedded as layers were built. Laboratory fatigue tests of field cores and field-mixed laboratory-compacted specimens along with measured response from the instrumented pavement sections at the Virginia Smart Road were used to quantify the differences between laboratory and field environments. Four shift factors were identified to correlate field and lab fatigue behavior: stress-state, material difference, traffic wander, and healing. Field-measured critical strains and strain energy exerted during truck loading were both used to determine the stress state shift factor. Strain measurements of truck loading distribution (wander) were used to determine the wander shift factor. Finally, results from laboratory fatigue tests on cores and laboratory compacted specimens were used to evaluated a shift factor to account for the difference in compaction procedures. While the derived shift factors utilize the measured stresses and strains at the Virginia Smart Road, calculated strains and stresses, based on appropriate pavement and loading modeling, may also be used.
Ph. D.

Today, more than forty percent of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of a coastal area, and population densities are only increasing. In recent years, extreme conditions have resulted in several failures of coastal protection structures around the world. During these failure events, the incurred cost of damages and loss of life has been nearly immeasurable. Rubble mound breakwaters have been used for millennia, and are critical even today for the protection of coastal areas. In the last several decades, the popularity of using concrete armour units in place of natural rock has risen greatly. However, the quantitative interaction between wave hydrodynamics and the armour layer is still not clearly understood. Due to highly complex, turbulent flow patterns that occur in the armour layer, direct assessment of forces acting on individual units has not been practical. This has prevented the coastal engineering field from applying a force-balance design approach that is commonplace in other civil engineering disciplines. Instead, a wealth of experimental testing and past case studies have resulted in a wide array of empirical formulae and design techniques. These approaches are often very idealized and do not account for all parameters that have been shown to affect armour unit stability. The current study aims to quantify the forces and pressures acting on units within an armour layer, using an experimental approach. This was achieved by developing an instrumented Core-Loc armour unit. This armour unit was outfitted with 6 pressure sensors, and the ability to be mounted on a force transducer. This unit was then put through a performance analysis and calibration procedure, before being extensively tested in a breakwater setting. Wide ranges of wave conditions were utilized, with the unit at three different locations along the breakwater slope. This was done to isolate both the effect of various sea state parameters, and the effect of unit location along a breakwater slope versus generated forces and pressures. In addition to the experimental study, an accompanying numerical study was performed in OpenFOAM. This had the intent of both developing general modeling rules of thumb for rubble mound breakwaters, and for replicating the experimental results. The results showed that using relatively low-tech, low-cost, and widely available instrumentation was capable of performing in a coastal engineering setting. The performance of the unit showed great promise for “smart-units” to usher in a new paradigm of experimental testing for rubble mound breakwaters. From the results of the performance analysis and calibration procedure, it was evident that the unit could record forces and pressures to a high degree of accuracy. From the breakwater testing program, notable relationships between unit location, surf similarity, and wave steepness emerged. It appeared that the largest hydrodynamic interaction with units occurs slightly below the SWL. As well, both decreased surf similarity, and increased wave steepness resulted in higher hydrodynamic interaction for all locations. General rules of thumb for modeling armour units, as well as wave conditions in a breakwater setting were developed for the numerical study in OpenFOAM. Additionally, the calibrated numerical model was capable of reproducing the experimental results with reasonable accuracy.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of loading during long bone fracture healing in-vitro and in-vivo. Fracture healing has until now only been monitored using radiographs and ultrasound. An intramedullary nail instrumented with strain gauges has the potential to monitor loading in-vivo during bone fracture healing. Strain has been previously monitored over time though external fixation devices however there has been no published data about monitoring through a nail. The load carried by a telemetric intramedullary nail during simulated fracture healing is monitored in-vitro with the aid of custom designed jigs, integrated in a biomechanical test frame. Clinically predetermined loading conditions are applied to the construct and synthetic bone composites are used developed to simulate mechanical strength of early to mature osteogenic bone, approximating natural healing processes. Four different synthetic bone composites have been designed and developed to mimic the mechanical properties of granulation tissue, fibrous tissue, cartilaginous tissue and immature bone. Three different generations (GEN I – IIIa) of intramedullary nails were developed and biomechanically tested in-vitro. GEN I and II were purely biomechanical nails that underwent compression, torsional and 4pt bend tests. Different fracture patterns and callus morphology were simulated and tested biomechanically. Circumferential and segmental application of the synthetic materials were applied on the artificial fractured bone instrumented with GEN I. Observations from live animal study provided x-rays from which callus growth patterns were extracted and repeated in-vitro. Cadaveric biomechanical tests and pre-clinical trial of GEN IIIa was conducted. The aim was to repeat the biomechanical tests while at the same time monitoring healing with an instrumented nail implanted in an induced fractured, ovine left hind limb. A loading rig was designed for the in-vivo test. The hypothesis proposed is that forces experienced by an intramedullary nail will progressively decrease as fracture heals. Results from GEN I have shown that strain measurement can be monitored during fracture healing in-vitro. The GEN IIIa nail is yet to be tested in-vivo for the same biomechanical tests for comparison. There is currently no published study on simulating fracture healing with accuracy.

L’Internet des Objets (IdO) intègre les réseaux de capteurs à Internet, et ouvre la voie pour des systèmes ou des écosystèmes ayant pour but d’aider les gens à vivre dans des mondes à la fois physiques et cybernétiques. L’IdO offre l’omniprésence d’objets capables d'interagir les uns avec les autres et de coopérer avec leurs voisins pour atteindre des objectifs communs. Ces objets dits"Intelligents" (OI), peuvent détecter l'environnement et communiquer avec d’autres objets. La création d’OI et de systèmes d’IdO fait intervenir des acteurs d’expertises très diverses. Ainsi, il devient indispensable d’avoir des descriptions standardisées et sémantiques pour résoudre les problèmes liés à l’interopérabilité et l’hétérogénéité sémantique entre les différentes ressources disponibles d’une part, et entre les différents intervenants à la conception/fabrication des OI, d’autre part. De ce fait, nous avons proposé le Framework sémantique et générique FSMS, structuré en un ensemble de modules ontologiques pour la conception/fabrication d’un OI. Une méthodologie de support à ce Framework a été proposée. Elle se fonde sur les mêmes modules ontologiques identifiés dans la composante sémantique du FSMS. Ces modules ontologiques forment l’ontologie SMS pierre angulaire de cette thèse. Un processus générique basé sur une description sémantique des composants structurels et comportementaux d’un OI a été également proposé en vue d'une gestion intelligente de la conceptiond’un OI. Ce processus a ensuite été mis en application pour des Vêtements Intelligents de sport. Un OI étant destiné à être réutilisé à différents contextes d’usage, une approche de reconfiguration/adaptationdu fonctionnement de l'OI a été proposée. Celle-ci trouve à son tour son fondement dans l’ontologie modulaire SMS
The Internet of Things (IoT) integrates sensor networks with the Internet, and paves the way for systems or ecosystems to help people live in both physical and cyber worlds. IoT offers the ubiquity of objects that are able to interact with each other and cooperate with their neighbors to achieve common goals. These objects, called "Smart" (SO), can detect the environment and communicate with other objects. The creation of SO and IoT system involves actors of very diverse expertise. Hence, it becomes essential to have standardized and semantic descriptions to solve the problems related to the interoperability and the semantic heterogeneity between the different available resources on the one hand, and between the different stakeholders designing/manufacturing the SO, on the other hand. Therefore, we have proposed the FSMS semantic and generic framework, which is structured into a set of ontological modules to design/manufacture a given SO. A support methodology for this framework has been equally proposed. It is based on the same ontological modules identified in the semantic component of the FSMS. These ontological modules form the SMS ontology that is proposed and constitutes the corner stone of this thesis. In order to intelligently manage an SO design, we proposed a generic process based on a semantic description of the structural and behavioral components of an SO. This process was thereafeter implemented for Smart Clothing of sports. This Sportswear is intended to be used in different contexts of use, an approach to reconfiguration/adaptation of the operation of the Smart Clothing has been proposed. This one is also based on the modular ontology SMS

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
With improvements in actuation technology and sensory systems, it is becoming increasingly feasible to create powered exoskeletal garments that can assist with the movement of human limbs. This class of robotics referred to as human-machine interfaces will one day be used for the rehabilitation of paralysed, damaged or weak upper and lower extremities. The focus of this project was the development of an exoskeletal interface for the rehabilitation of the hands. A novel sensor was designed for use in such a device. The sensor uses simple optical mechanisms centred on a spring to measure force and position simultaneously. In addition, the sensor introduces an elastic element between the actuator and its corresponding hand joint. This will allow series elastic actuation (SEA) to improve control and safely of the system. The Hand Rehabilitation Device requires multiple actuators. To stay within volume and weight constraints, it is therefore imperative to reduce the size, mass and efficiency of each actuator without losing power. A method was devised that allows small efficient actuating subunits to work together and produce a combined collective output. This work summation method was successfully implemented with Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) based actuators. The actuation, sensory, control system and human-machine interface concepts proposed were evaluated together using a single-joint electromechanical harness. This experimental setup was used with volunteer subjects to assess the potentials of a full-hand device to be used for therapy, assessment and function of the hand. The Rehabilitation Glove aims to bring significant new benefits for improving hand function, an important aspect of human independence. Furthermore, the developments in this project may one day be used for other parts of the body helping bring human-machine interface technology into the fields of rehabilitation and therapy.

De nombreux progrès techniques ont vu les jour ces dernières années en médecine et en chirurgie. Ils permettent de vivre mieux et plus longtemps. Si les efforts ont été mis dans le développement de dispositifs innovants, leur surveillance in vivo présente des lacunes, notamment en ce qui concerne les dispositifs implantables, entités critiques implantées dans un milieu fragile. Ainsi, à l’heure actuelle, le constat est fait qu’un produit de l'industrie agroalimentaire est bien mieux suivi qu'un dispositif médical implanté chez un patient. Les problématiques soulevées par cette lacune de traçabilité sont nombreuses : impossibilité de contrôler les dispositifs médicaux une fois implantés, impossibilité d'avoir des registres de matériovigilance bien remplis, par exemple. Par ailleurs, il existe également un manque de données sur le comportement des implants in vivo, données qui sont pourtant indispensables pour leur surveillance et leur amélioration. Les travaux de cette thèse ont pour objet le développement d'un dispositif capable à la fois d'identifier et de tracer toutes les prothèses de genou du monde, et de délivrer un moyen de contrôle de ces prothèses une fois implantées. Pour cela, deux dispositifs sont étudiés : un implant électronique passif long terme (avec toutes les contraintes imposées par ce type d'implants : biocompatibilité, biostabilité) et un système d'imagerie innovant, bas coût et n'exploitant ni rayonnements, ni produits d'injection
Many technical advances have emerged in recent years in medicine and surgery. They allow to live better and longer. While efforts have been made in the development of innovative devices, their in vivo monitoring has shortcomings, particularly with regard to implantable devices, critical entities implanted in a fragile environment. Thus, at present, the fact is that a product of the agri-food industry is better followed than a medical device implanted in a patient. The problems raised by this lack of traceability are numerous: impossibility of controlling medical devices once implanted, impossibility of having well-filled materovigilance registers, for example. In addition, there is also a lack of data on the behavior of implants in vivo, which are essential for their monitoring and improvement. The aim of this thesis is to develop a device capable of both identifying and tracing all knee prostheses in the world, and to provide a means of control of these prostheses once implanted. For this, two devices are studied: a long-term passive electronic implant (with all the constraints imposed by this type of implants: biocompatibility, biostability) and an innovative imaging system, low cost and not exploiting any radiation or products injection

Many older adults desire to maintain their quality of life by living and aging independently in their own homes. However, it is difficult for older adults to notice and track the subtle changes in their own abilities because these abilities can change gradually over a long period of time. Technology in the form of ubiquitous sensors embedded in objects in the home can play a role in keeping track of the functional abilities of individuals unobtrusively, objectively, and continuously over a long period of time. This work introduces a sensing technique called “task-based embedded assessment” that monitors how well specific tasks important for independence are carried out using everyday objects found in the home with which individuals regularly interact. Following formative studies on the information needs of older adults and their caregivers, a sensing system called “dwellSense” that can monitor, assess, and provide feedback about how well individuals complete tasks, such as taking medications, using the phone, and making coffee, was designed, built, and evaluated. Multiple longterm (over 10 months) field deployments of dwellSense were used to investigate how the data collected from the system could support greater self-awareness of abilities and intentions to improve in task performance. Presenting and reflecting on data from ubiquitous sensing systems such as dwellSense is challenging because it is both highly dimensional as well as large in volume, particularly if it is collected over a long period of time. Thus, this work also investigates the time dimension of reflection and has identified that real-time feedback is particularly useful for supporting behavior change, and longer-term trended feedback is useful for greater awareness of abilities. Traditional forms of assessing the functional abilities of individuals tend to be either biased, lacking ecological validity, infrequent, or expensive to conduct. An automated sensor-based approach for assessment is compared to traditional performance testing by a trained clinician and found to match well with clinician-generated ratings that are objective, frequent, and ecologically valid. The contributions from this thesis not only advance the state of the art for maintaining quality of life and care for older adults, but also provide the foundations for designing personal sensing systems that aim to assess an individual’s abilities and support behaviors through the feedback of objective, timely sensed information.

碩士
國立高雄師範大學
光電與通訊工程學系
106
In the thesis we have proposed an asset stocktaking system based on cloud storage and mobile transmission techniques. We employ mobile device applications as the human-machine interface to make the stocktaking system portable as well as flexible. In the aspects of firmware and hardware, the single chip Arduino® is used to integrate the control of both the RFID and Bluetooth transmissions, which identifies the records of assets through cross-platform. The back-end database adopts cloud data access technology. The real-time update and backup of data can be achieved by multiple sharing such that the proposed scheme can improve the efficiency of inventory and reliability of data storage. The system also provides two record identification technologies including QR-code scanning and RFID wireless sensing. The purpose is to reduce the probability of reading errors due to a single class of tags. Other value-added services include: instant repair registration, inquiry of assets, and online video help for users’ operation of diverse equipment. These features increase the diversity and integrity of our system functions. According to the practical tests, the presented inventory system in the thesis can indeed achieve our expected functions and provide advantages over the traditional inventory systems.

碩士
國立臺中教育大學
管理學院國際經營管理碩士在職專班
107
With the advancement of science and technology in the era, it is increasingly difficult for traditional industries to differentiate themselves in the product itself. The only way to avoid price competition in the Red Sea market is to transform the enterprise and the commodity, and apply the service innovation function to make market differences. Sex, and the Internet of Things has opened up an opportunity for enterprise transformation, recording device data through the cloud platform, and then establishing an innovative service model through data analysis to achieve transformation goals. The purpose of this study is to explore how the IoT application and the instrument box should be integrated, so that the instrument box creates unlimited business opportunities. Let traditional musical instrument box manufacturers transform into smart technology manufacturers and break away from the competitive Red Sea market. And the instrument management platform can be used to create a new service model for management services, to achieve enterprise improvement and create new business opportunities. For musicians, the intelligent instrument box can be used to conveniently manage the instrument, and relying on the application of the IoT perception layer, the environmental data is digitized, and the technology of the network layer is uploaded to the cloud for data collection and analysis, and the environment data is provided all the time. First-hand information ensures that the instrument is stored in an optimal environment, reducing the damage to the instrument in a bad environment and destroying its value. The intelligent musical instrument box instantly monitors the temperature and humidity changes in the instrument box. The temperature and humidity deviate from the ideal environment setting value, and the user mobile device will immediately receive a notification reminder. Wisdom anti-lost function, automatic lock when leaving, and the mobile device will receive an alert notification. Use the global mobile communication network to achieve truly global IoT connectivity and master the location of the instrument box with the GPS Global Positioning System. Through the exclusive APP or cloud platform interface of the instrument box, you can view the temperature and humidity data and historical curve of the instrument box anytime and anywhere and you can find the instantaneous position and historical track to prevent the loss of the instrument box.

Dissertação de Mestrado em Direito apresentada à Faculdade de Direito
O novo paradigma da pós-modernidade trouxe consigo o desenvolvimento tecnológico, a intensificação de problemáticas no meio urbano e, no universo do Direito, uma evolução para a concertação público-privada.Após a caracterização da evolução dos conceitos de inovação – enquanto fenômeno existente nos setores privado e público e objeto de políticas públicas – e de cidades inteligentes – considerando-se uma acepção holística de interação sustentável da tecnologia como meio de consecução dos interesses dos cidadãos – expõe-se o argumento de que o incentivo à inovação urbana para o desenvolvimento de cidades mais sustentáveis e inteligentes é uma realidade necessária e que, como tal, vem sendo perseguida pela União Europeia e por Portugal.A partir dessa delimitação, são analisados os principais instrumentos jurídicos de incentivo à inovação urbana já implementados nos contextos europeu e português, tais como a regulação das diretrizes estratégicas, os fundos europeus, as inovações de processos no setor público português, a participação eletrônica de cidadãos na planificação urbana municipal e os laboratórios vivos urbanos, que em conjunto contribuem para a construção de cidades mais sustentáveis e inteligentes.Por fim, analisa-se em maior detalhe a contratação pública de e para a inovação urbana, outro instrumento jurídico já utilizado no contexto europeu e presente – ainda que de maneira fragmentada – no ordenamento jurídico português, mas ainda inexistente na realidade nacional, concluindo-se assim pela necessidade de adoção de tais instrumentos contratuais pelas municipalidades portuguesas dentro de um contexto coordenado de políticas de inovação urbana.
The new paradigm of postmodernity brought technological development, an intensification of the problematic in the urban environment and, in the legal universe, an evolution to a public-private concertation.After an evolutionary characterization of the concepts of innovation – as a phenomenon present in both private and public sector as well as object of public policies – and smart cities – considering a holistic approach of sustainable interaction of technology as a means of achieving citizens' interests – we argue that the encouragement of urban innovation for the development of more sustainable and smart cities is a necessary reality, and as such has been pursued by the European Union and Portugal.Based on such delimitation, we analyze the main legal instruments already used to foster urban innovation in European and Portuguese contexts, such as regulation of strategic guidelines, European funds, process innovation in the Portuguese public sector, electronic participation of citizens in municipal urban planning and urban living labs, which jointly help to build more sustainable and smart cities.Finally, we also analyze public procurement of and for urban innovation, another legal instrument already implemented in the European context and present – although fragmentarily – in the Portuguese legal system, but still nonexistent in the national reality, leading thus to our proposal of adoption by Portuguese municipalities of such contractual instruments within a coordinated urban innovation policy context.