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Social distancing requirements urged by the COVID-19 pandemic along with high transportation cost reduced inperson meetings significantly in recent times. In consequence, many people are seeking for virtual reality (VR) to feel a similar experiences of visiting and enjoying places that are unaccessible. VR has immense success in domains, such as automotive industry, healthcare, tourism, entertainment, sports etc. It is observed that traditional online synchronous and asynchronous class structure is not quite effective in engaging students in class participation and discussion. Therefore, we introduce a novel VRbased class structure that will simulate the classroom environment for students participating a class virtually. We equipped the classroom with several internet of things (IoT) devices that collects information from the classroom, analyze those information, and determine some interesting information to display for the students participating the class virtually. We design a classroom prototype and validate the prototype with simulation. The result of the simulation shows that such a VR-based classroom model is feasible and can introduce in classrooms. © 2023 IEEE.
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Corrugated box is an important transport packaging container in the global logistics. The research on its raw material, that is, corrugated fibreboard, has always been an important topic in the packaging field. However, the research objects nearly focus on the corrugated fibreboard of traditional corrugated medium. The innovative research on the structure of corrugated fibreboard is also still rare. Since the pandemic COVID-19 in 2020, the international corrugated packaging industry has faced new dilemma. The development of new corrugated boxes and fibreboard is the way to break the situation in innovation and transformation. This study aims to design a new fibreboard with laminated structure medium for obtaining a new type of corrugated fibreboard for packaging with better cushioning and anti-vibration performance than traditional corrugated fibreboard. The verification experiments show that the new fibreboard has better recovery and structural stability due to its unique three-layer structure. The static and dynamic cushioning performance and anti-vibration performance of the proposed fibreboard have been greatly improved compared with those of the traditional one. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Ecological conditions, especially in large cities, active urbanization and the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of architecture, which exterior and interior both care about the human health, taking into consideration the influence of architectural forms on physical, mental and socio-cultural states of a person being around those structures, living in them or using them on a daily basis. The article clarifies the methodological foundations and conceptual apparatus of design, which can be referred to as the "healthy” architecture meaning it is aimed at maintaining the health of its users. The author refers to concepts of "healthy”, "sustainable” and "living” architecture, biomorphic approach and biophilia. It is implemented not only in the material environment (i.e. objectively) but also as an architect's design setting, the design algorithms that are being used today require a change towards greater individualization of the form. It is dictated, on the one hand, by the characteristics of users and, on the other hand, by the natural and social context. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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In pandemic conditions, where the COVID-19 infection is increasing exponentially, quarantine centres have become very necessary to separate and restrict the movement of people. These structures are also helpful in similar situations like disaster management, defence purposes and housing for poor people. Planning and Designing of Steel Intensive Quarantine Centre' takes on the task of designing and analysing an economical, ecological and rapid construction solution of a modular quarantine centre building. It facilitates a faster construction facility due to steel construction instead of RCC, which takes almost 70–80% more time and is not recyclable like steel. The schematic and elevation plans have been tweaked with additional architectural features to ensure ventilation, sunlight and accessible transit of patients. For economical structural design, the iterative method is incorporated to find columns with the minimum size and shape to achieve ample carpet area, i.e., star-shaped. While designing the structures, i.e., portal frame and truss roof frame are subjected to the same loading conditions. For resisting the lateral forces, different types of bracings have been incorporated in plan and elevation. The construction of a portal frame requires specialized labour to handle compound sections and connections, whereas construction of truss sections is possible by skilled labour or directly use prefabricated truss sections with the help of unskilled labour. Compound sections pose a significant challenge due to their unavailability and transportation difficulties. In contrast, the sections for trusses are readily available even in the remote market. Moreover, the construction of both structures provides rapid construction. The portal frame costs about 16% cheaper than the steel frame due to smaller sections and absence of compound sections. For validation of our work, we have used manual and automated calculation to minimize the error. The structure is expandable for future expansion by techniques such as expansion joint and satellite arrangement. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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Understanding the role of architectural design in identifying the risk of disease transmission is essential for creating resilience in buildings. Here we used a Grasshopper simulation workflow to execute aerosol disease transmission risk estimation coupled with EnergyPlus simulation inputs to assess the impact of architectural factors on the risk of COVID-19 transmission. We simulated the risk for a simple geometry with different window configurations and geographic locations. We observed that increasing the fractional opening of a single window as well as cross ventilation design can increase the outdoor air exchange, which corresponds to substantially reduced risk of disease transmission. Furthermore, indoor relative humidity in cold climates can be significantly lower in winter due to the impacts of increased mechanical heating which translates to an increased risk of infection. We demonstrate that early architectural design decisions implicate the resultant risk of disease transmission indoors that should be prioritized in the future. © 2022 Society for Modeling & Simulation International (SCS)
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With the increasing requirements for fresh air supply in buildings after the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising energy demand from buildings, there has been an increased emphasis on passive cooling techniques such as natural ventilation. While natural ventilation devices such as windcatchers can be a sustainable and low-cost solution to remove indoor pollutants and improve indoor air quality, it is not as reliable as mechanical systems. Integration with low-energy cooling, heating or heat recovery technologies is necessary for operation in unfavourable outdoor conditions. In this research, a novel dual-channel windcatcher design consisting of a rotary wind scoop and a chimney was proposed to provide a fresh air supply irrespective of the wind direction. The dual-channel design allows for passive cooling, dehumidification and heat recovery technology integration to enhance its thermal performance. In this design, the positions of the supply and return duct are "fixed” or would not change under changing wind directions. An open wind tunnel and test room were employed to experimentally evaluate the ventilation performance of the proposed windcatcher prototype. A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model was developed and validated to further evaluate the system's ventilation performance. The results confirmed that the system could supply sufficient fresh air and exhaust stale air under changing wind directions. The ventilation rate of the rotary scoop windcatcher was higher than that of a conventional 8-sided multidirectional windcatcher of the same size. © 2023 The Author(s)
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Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world, people's diet environment has also changed, and gastrointestinal diseases have become a common disease around us so far, and the prevalence is on the rise. But because traditional treatments for gastrointestinal diseases are unfriendly to patients, they often require the administration of anesthetics, which can cause side effects. Wireless capsule endoscope is a kind of medical robot that can alleviate the pain of patients, and the research on wireless capsule endoscope has been gradually mature at home and abroad, this paper designed a new four-page propeller-driven biopsy capsule robot. The optimal number of propeller pages is obtained by comparing the velocity of three different numbers of propeller blades in the pipeline. The three axis Helmholtz coil driving system and biopsy module based on CAM structure are also introduced. At the same time, the anchoring module used for precise biopsy of the robot is introduced, so as to ensure that the biopsy capsule robot can reach the specified position quickly and accurately and complete the biopsy task. Finally, we use simulation software to simulate the velocity and pressure of different propeller blades in the same liquid. © 2022 IEEE.
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Purpose: The global pandemic and the resulting rapid and large-scale digitization changed the way firms recognized and understood knowledge curation and management. The changing nature of work and work systems necessitated changes in knowledge management (KM), some of which are likely to have a long-term impact. Using the lens of technology in practice, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of technology agency on KM structures and practices that evolved across five knowledge-intensive global organizations. This study then argues that sustainable knowledge management (SKM) systems evolve in specific contexts. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a qualitative case study design to examine five multinational knowledge-intensive global organizations’ KM systems and practices across diverse industry sectors. Findings: Based on the findings, the authors develop SKM systems and practices model relevant to a post-pandemic organizational context. The authors argue that KM digitization and adoption support socialization in knowledge sharing. Further formalization through organizational enabling systems aids the externalization of knowledge sharing. Deliberate practices promoted with leadership support are likely to sustain in the post-COVID era. Further, organizations that evolved ad-hoc or idiosyncratic approaches to managing hybrid working are more likely to revert to legacy KM systems. The authors eventually theorize about the socialization of human-to-human and technology-mediated human interactions and develop the three emerging SKM structures. Originality/value: This study contributed to practitioners and researchers by developing the various tenets of SKM. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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Structural Engineering is an field of study that relies heavily on students' ability to visualize. Due to the scale of structural projects (e.g. bridges, buildings), it is not possible to provide students hands-on experiences manipulating and handling structural elements. Bringing students to the construction site is one of the most effective ways of reinforcing the subject matter as well as instilling a sense of awe and motivation for academic progress. However, the scheduling of field trips is very difficult due to students' academic and work schedules along with changes in site access due to COVID-19. San Francisco State University's Virtual Reality Engineering Program (VR Engine) was born out of a necessity to apply technology to advance efforts to engage and motivate students through inclusive teaching. This work in progress is using VR to develop immersive experiences to expand structural engineering students' perspectives and create interactive exercises to reinforce course material. As this work is being done in collaboration with the Computer Science department, this work also serves as an excellent opportunity to further research related to human-technology interfacing. VR is an emerging and affordable technology that immerses users in an artificial interactive environment using visual and auditory stimulation along with controllers for active engagement. Current efforts are utilizing common industry software, e.g., SAP2000 and Revit, to develop structural models and expand their potential through VR development using toolkits such as Unity. The VR exercises currently under development are generating structural systems to expose students to seismic technology, including seismic isolation. Through the implementation of these VR exercises, we aim to increase students' engagement and material comprehension in upper division structural engineering courses. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022
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With the advent of the internet, a revolution occurred not in the field of economy, communications and industries, but rather in the field of education, which led to the spread and development of virtual reality (VR) and its integration into e-learning, which is an interesting technique for learning, especially in the topics of anatomy, structures, human parts, and chronic diseases. The educational reality of medical and nursing colleges depends on plastic structures for interpretation and explanation as they are subject to breakage and damage and do not contain any interaction from students with the difficulty of carrying them from one place to another when explaining with their small number compared to the number of students. Designing an interactive platform based on ADDIE model that integrates 3D models of virtual reality of virtual reality into complex topics such as anatomy, human organs and chronic diseases, especially the spread of the Corona pandemic and the student's lack of access to college. Through this platform, he can access anytime and anywhere into complex topics such as anatomy, human organs and chronic diseases, especially the spread of the Corona pandemic and the student's lack of access to college. Through this platform, he can access anytime and anywhere. © 2022 IEEE.
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With the spread of COVID-19,elevators as a confined space and a frequently used tool in human life, have a very urgent need for disinfection. Currently, most elevator disinfection products on the market focus on local disinfection. However, when elevators carry a large number of people and the distance between people is too close, the probability of virus transmission is greatly increased. Then simple local disinfection will not meet the high disinfection requirements. At this point, the expectations generated by the overall disinfection product increase. In this paper, a hard systems approach-Hall 3D structure is used to create a 3D model for the design of elevator disinfection equipment based on the propagation environment of COVID-19. The design process can be carried out in a smooth manner with continuous progress and optimization. This paper presents the whole process of investigation and experimentation for the design of elevator disinfection equipment in a temporal dimension, complemented by a logical dimension and a knowledge dimension to help designers get timely feedback, identify problems in the design process, and conduct actual user experience. The design of the elevator disinfection device was finalized through experimental research. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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This paper shows the structure of a mechanical system with 9 DOFs for driving robot eyes, as well as the system's ability to produce facial expressions. It consists of three subsystems which enable the motion of the eyeballs, eyelids, and eyebrows independently to the rest of the face. Due to its structure, the mechanical system of the eyeballs is able to reproduce all of the motions human eyes are capable of, which is an important condition for the realization of binocular function of the artificial robot eyes, as well as stereovision. From a kinematic standpoint, the mechanical systems of the eyeballs, eyelids, and eyebrows are highly capable of generating the movements of the human eye. The structure of a control system is proposed with the goal of realizing the desired motion of the output links of the mechanical systems. The success of the mechanical system is also rated on how well it enables the robot to generate non-verbal emotional content, which is why an experiment was conducted. Due to this, the face of the human-like robot MARKO was used, covered with a face mask to aid in focusing the participants on the eye region. The participants evaluated the efficiency of the robot's non-verbal communication, with certain emotions achieving a high rate of recognition.
Subject(s)
Robotic Surgical Procedures , Robotics , Emotions , Facial Expression , Humans , MovementABSTRACT
The Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) Liquid Rocket Lab project teams in the 2020-2021 academic year further developed the planning of the engine injector water flow testing, oxygen compatibility and cleaning procedures and further advanced the Mobile Rocket Engine Test Stand piping and structural design. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis were also performed on the system elements to be able to target the critical components for failure mitigation design and procedure development. The CPP revised system for FMEAs is shown. These items were needed to be accomplished in order to perform an engine hot firing for the Bronco 1 Launch Vehicle. This paper describes briefing some the status of the CPP FAR-Mars competition progress and the vehicle systems manufacturing and assembly modifications related to safety developed during our program activity. Some of our testing objectives were postponed due to the COVID19 activity constraints. © 2021, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc.. All rights reserved.
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Baylor University holds weekend-long Invitation to Excellence (I2E) events to recruit high-achieving high school seniors. Each prospective engineering student attends two engagement sessions: one hosted by the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) and the other by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In this work, we present design challenges from the ME engagement sessions. In the ME engagement session, students are assigned to teams for a design challenge. Each team receives 60 drinking straws plus one yard of duck tape with which they build a structure to support a stack of course catalogs over a wooden block. Teams are allowed 20 minutes for design-build after which all teams test their structures. The structure is placed over a wooden block. Course catalogs are stacked on it until either one of the catalogs falls to the floor or the structure contacts the top of the block. The engagement session concludes with sharing of reflections on the design experience and recognition of the winning team. Recently, we began providing some teams with tools (i.e., tape measures and scissors) to use during the design challenge. Anecdotally we observed during the January 2019 event that some teams spent excessive amounts of time using the tools to measure and cut straws while failing to complete their structures. Out of curiosity we planned the November 2019 and January 2020 I2E events to explore this phenomenon by using half of our ME breakout sessions as Control groups (No Tools) and the other half as Test groups (Tools). Our reported findings include analysis of differences between Control and Test groups in both load bearing capacity and variety of design concepts. Our null hypothesis was that there would be no difference in average load-bearing capacity between the Control and Test group's structures. With the COVID-19 global pandemic, we were tasked with providing a virtual design experience using Zoom sessions. We will also provide a discussion of the individual design challenges that involved building a bridge from 1/2 sheet of paper that spanned the opening of a ceramic mug and held as much ballast (in the form of coins) as possible without failing. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
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As the global interest in renewable energy generation continues, the need to develop new and innovative solutions is being explored every day throughout the world by researchers and innovators. Hybrid renewable energy innovations are gaining progressive interest not only because of the threat of climate change but also due to the technological advancements seen in renewables. Ocean waves have immense potential as a renewable energy source, and related technologies have advanced continuously over the past few decades. In response, this paper extensively studies wave energy converters (WECs) based on the power take-off (PTO) technique, and presents a novel hybrid wave-plus-photon energy (HWPE) harvester called Wavevoltaics, based on wave and solar energy capture systems for coastal communities’ power needs, in line with decarbonization measures. The HWPE harvester uses a simple rack-and-pinion mechanism in combination with solar cell technology to convert the wave energy into usable electrical energy in a water column structural design. This novel HWPE device can be used to provide power for lighting and gadgets for coastal communities that rely heavily on fossil fuels for their lighting and electrical needs. Later in the paper, the challenges faced in hybrid wave energy development are presented.
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The first Architectural Engineering (AE) class at the University of Waterloo (UW) began in fall of 2018. The compulsory co-op work experience, architectural studio component each semester, and collaboration with the UW School of Architecture are features of the program that make it unique in North America, just to name a few. In order to provide an introduction at the beginning of the school year that would adequately capture the essence of the program, a tried-and-true hands-on engineering project model at UW called 'Design Days' was adapted for the AE program. In 2018, the inaugural two-day design-build project called 'AE Design Days' was held wherein first-year students worked in groups to design a piece, or set, of furniture that enhanced an assigned site in a UW Engineering building. The objectives of the project were to provide an 'ice-breaking' opportunity between students, as well as with the faculty;introduce the students to the AE program content, especially as it relates to the design process;provide opportunities for the students to work with their hands building models;and, to allow for the course instructors to gauge the skillset and prior knowledge of the incoming students [1]. Following the success of the first AE Design Days event, the same project model was implemented in 2019, with minor modifications to improve the event logistics and student experience. This paper discusses the planning and implementation of the most recent edition of the event held in 2020 and the dramatic overhaul required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to online/remote learning. With new constraints and potential opportunities associated with the online learning platform, the event saw its overall intent and structure shift to prime the students for working online in an AE context, and to provide a vessel to introduce students to the program and build new relationships, since these efforts are crucial at the start of the program, and do not come as naturally when online. The event drew a large crowd, with nearly 100% of the 124 students participating and dozens of volunteers coming from various groups (students, faculty, and industry), and was shown to be well-received by the results of surveys. The paper concludes with a reflection of the perceived successes and challenges of the event. Also, recommendations are discussed in the context of the virtual event platform, which can be extended to general AE online learning. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
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During the years 2020 - 2021, students and lecturers have faced motivational and academical challenges like no other generation before them. Lecturers have found themselves looking for innovative activities that make the interaction student-teacher more dynamic and less screen-based, while maintaining all the fundamental elements of the academic program. Like many curricula, Civil Engineering programs have had to endure important changes to adapt to the necessities of the contingency due to COVID-19. One of the most important changes has been the inability of attending construction sites due to the pandemic conditions. Using technological tools such as Zoom Meetings and Facebook Live, we are proposing virtual visits as an alternative that makes construction sites visits plausible during a pandemic. The main objective of this work is to present the positive impact of virtual construction site visits in students during a contingency period, both in academical and emotional aspects. This study will also reinforce the benefits of construction site visits and the importance of maintaining them via a virtual visit for the completion of a Civil Engineering program particularly in the area of Structural Design. Construction site visits has always been a highly valuable element of Civil Engineering programs. It allows students to visualize construction processes and translate the numerical activities studied in the classroom to tangible projects. With the pandemic and the stay-at-home guidelines, construction site visits have a positive distraction factor from reality, becoming an element that motivates the students to participate and divert themselves from the current situation, additionally to the academical benefits that the visits provides. We did a qualitative investigation by interviewing 121 undergraduate students from different courses of the Civil Engineering program just after our virtual visit activity, to find out their perspective of the benefits they obtained academically and emotionally. We arrived at the conclusion that the alternative of a virtual site visit has indeed motivated the students and that they value being able to maintain the academical elements of the construction site visit. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
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This work presents the latest results on how to successfully apply a hybrid and flexible model for teaching Engineering Courses, particularly Structural Mechanics courses to students from Architecture and Civil Engineering programs during emergency conditions such as those due to the Covid19 Pandemic. This model has been used for the last few years with tremendous success in the performance of the students and their overall satisfaction as it has been shown in [1]. For the pandemic conditions, the synchronous sessions were changed from the classroom on campus to the online classroom with videoconferencing. Some new types of activities were included for online teaching such as video documentaries and also some modifications were made to the standard synchronous sessions, which are discussed in this work. A total of 200 students have taken the courses that use this model during the spring term, summer term and fall term of 2020. The students come from different cities across Mexico and are located in three different time zones. These students answered a survey that include several aspects of the online experience: problems faced by students when connecting online, type of connections available at their homes, preferred type of sessions, courses that are better suited for online teaching and their personal experience with the course, among others. This paper shows the results of the analysis of the questions answered by the students and some important graphs are included. Some recommendations are also given that future implementations of hybrid and flexible (HyFlex) models can take into account for a better overall experience of both, students and professors in Structural Engineering courses. This model can also be applied for the new normality where some toggle terms are expected, that is, some weeks on campus and some weeks with online teaching as new covid19 cases are detected in each region. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
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Newly imposed educational delivery modalities such as mixed-mode or fully remote instruction due to the Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in creative, innovative instructional approaches to undergraduate engineering education. However, given the unique circumstances caused by the pandemic and the constraints it placed on students, some instructional techniques have been more successful than others. It is crucial for future efforts in remote and hybrid teaching environments to use this opportunity to document the realized benefits, unforeseen negative consequences, and student perceptions of various teaching strategies. This paper traces lessons learned through mixed-mode and remote instruction of structural engineering courses for three different courses and student populations: (1) introduction to steel design and (2) indeterminate analysis for structural engineering concentrators, and (3) steel and concrete design for engineering concentrators in other sub-disciplines. Across these courses, initial teaching strategies included a mixture of flipped classroom, traditional lectures, and interactive group problem solving. Collectively, the instructors determined through ongoing formal and informal student surveys, as well as additional unstructured feedback, that proposed teaching strategies required adjustments as the semester progressed. Some technological limitations were discovered after rigorous testing with live students, while successful technological strategies included digital problem sessions with document cameras, and chat-based questions with discussions. Furthermore, depending on course size and student population, students tended to engage more readily compared to verbal questions directed to the instructor during remote live classes. This engagement varied among written e-mails and chats, discussion boards, and Teaching Assistant (TA) office hours. To build on initial findings from individual course feedback, all three classes were evaluated using a common mid-term and end-of-term survey soliciting student reactions to content delivery, technology aides, and interactions with instructors/TAs. Overall, lessons learned through mixed-mode and remote instruction in structural engineering can inform future educators in this field, reducing time spent surveying available technologies and pointing towards strategies shown to be effective in this context. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021