Addressing Internal Security Threats with Roaming User-Based Distributed Firewalls
Author(s): Andy Luse, Kevin Scheibe, Anthony Townsend
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Information Systems Security.
- Year: 2009
IT-Adventures -- A Program to Spark IT Interest in High School Students using Inquiry-Based Learning with Robotics, Game Design, and Cyber Defense
Author(s): J. Rursch, A. Luse, D. Jacobson
- Type: paper
- Citation: IEEE Transactions on Education.
- Year: 2009
Team conflict in ICT-rich environments:Roles of technologies in conflict management.
Author(s): Correia, A. P.
- Type: paper
- Citation: British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(1). pp 18-35.
- Year: 2008
Intersecting communities of practice in distance education.
Author(s): Correia, A. P, Davis, N.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Distance Education, 29 (3). Issue . pp 289-306.
- Year: 2008
A Usability and Accessibility Evaluation of the Census-in-Schools Web Site
Author(s): Rusch, M., Smith, B., Olmsted-Hawala, E. L., Murphy, E. D., Malakhoff, L.A.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Statistical Research Division, SSM2008/13; Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
- Year: 2008
Viability of virtual reality exposure therapy as a treatment alternative
Author(s): J. Bush
- Type: paper
- Citation: Computers in Human Behavior. Issue 3. pp 1032-1040.
- Year: 2008
Virtual reality (VR) has garnered the interest of many scientific communities over the last decade. One promising track of research lies in VR exposure therapy (VRET), where gradual exposure to a negative stimulus is used to reduce anxiety. Virtual exposure is desirable in many situations, as it can be less intimidating and less expensive than traditional in vivo treatment with much the same success. Examining the benefits and drawbacks of VRET is an important first step toward an accurate assessment of its viability as a treatment alternative. This paper will review current literature on the topic of VRET and answer several questions regarding the viability of the treatment. It will also provide some additional research direction for improving the case for mainstreaming VRET.
Firewalls and Intrusion Prevention Systems
Author(s): Anthony M. Townsend, Andrew Luse
- Type: paper
- Citation: Inside Supply Management. Issue 4.
- Year: 2008
Software Implementation using Hardware-Based Verification for Secure Content Delivery
Author(s): Andy Luse, Anthony M. Townsend, Kevin P. Scheibe
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Information Warfare. Issue 2.
- Year: 2008
Improving Quality of Public Domain Digital Elevation Models through Data Fusion
Author(s): Manoj Karkee, Brian Steward, Samsuzana Abd Aziz
- Type: paper
- Citation: Biosystems Engineering.
- Year: 2008
Investigating the use of 3D Graphics, Haptics, and Sound for Highway Location Planning.
Author(s): Harding, C., Souleyrette, R.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering.
- Year: 2008
Exploring the use of 3-D computer graphics for teaching relative geologic time concepts in large introductory geology classes.
Author(s): Harding, C., Cervato, C., Larsen. M.D., Windom, K.E, Dawson, J.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Teaching Earth Sciences (UK). Issue 2. pp 19-22.
- Year: 2008
Interactive Geovisualization and Geometric Modelling of 3D Data - A Case Study from the Aknes Rockslide Site, Norway
Author(s): T. Nordvik, Chris Harding
- Type: paper
- Citation: Headway in Spatial Data Handling. ed. Ruas.A., Gold, C., Springer Lecture notes in Geoinformation and Cartography . pp 368-384.
- Year: 2008
Customer training in self-service technology
Author(s): Zhao, X., Mattila, A., Tao, L. -S.E.
- Type: paper
- Citation: International Journal of Service Industry Management. Issue 5.
- Year: 2008
Audio Platform Game (APG) Design for Players with Visual Impairments
Author(s): Oren, M., Harding, C., Bonebright, T.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness.
- Year: 2008
A novel audio platform game (APG) that creates a spatial, interactive experience via audio cues was evaluated. A pilot user study with players with visually impairments and an experiment comparing the visual and audio game versions using both players with normal vision and with visual impairments revealed that all participants played APG successfully.
Firewalls: Continuing Solutions for Network Security
Author(s): Luse, A., Townsend, A.M., Scheibe, K.P.
- Type: paper
- Citation: (Forthcoming in) Handbook of Research on Information Security and Assurance.
- Year: 2008
A Multi-Fidelity Software Framework for Interactive Modeling of Advective and Diffusive Contaminant Transport in Groundwater
Author(s): Kalivarapu, V., Winer, E.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Environmental Modelling & Software Journal.
- Year: 2008
Improving Solution Characteristics of Particle Swarm Optimization Using Digital Pheromones
Author(s): Kalivarapu, V., Foo, J.L., Winer, E.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization Journal, Springer Publications..
- Year: 2008
A Framework for Interactive Visualization of Digital Medical Images
Author(s): Koehring, A., Foo, J.L., Miyano, G., Lobe, T., Winer, E.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Laparoendoscopic & Advanced Surgical Techniques.
- Year: 2008
A Virtual Reality Environment for Patient Data Visualization and Endoscopic Surgical Planning
Author(s): Foo, J.L., Lobe, T., Winer, E.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Laparoendoscopic & Advanced Surgical Techniques.
- Year: 2008
A Component-Based Framework for Visualization of Intrusion Detection Events
Author(s): Luse, A., Scheibe, K., Townsend, A.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Information Systems Security.
- Year: 2008
Podcast Pilots for Distance Planning, Programming and Development
Author(s): Cordes S.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning. Issue 4. pp 79-91.
- Year: 2007
Top Five Ways to Prepare for a Virtual Collaboration
Author(s): Correia A.P., Baran E.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Iowa Technology & Education Connection 2007 Conference.
- Year: 2007
Tumor Segmentation from Computed Tomography (CT) Image Data using a Probabilistic Pixel Selection Approach
Author(s): Foo J.L., Miyano G., Lobe T., Winer E.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Digital Imaging.
- Year: 2007
The Role of Effective Modeling in the Development of Self-efficacy: The Case of the Transparent Engine
Author(s): Scheibe, K.P., Mennecke B., Luse, A.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. pp 21-42.
- Year: 2007
Computing technology augments learning in education in a number of ways. One particular method uses interactive programs to demonstrate complex concepts. The purpose of this article is to examine one type of interactive learning technology, the transparent engine. The transparent engine allows instructors and students to view and directly interact with educational concepts such as Web-enabled software development. The article first presents a framework describing transparent engines. The framework details four types of transparent engines: (1) enactive mastery/manipulatable, (2) enactive mastery/nonmanipulatable, (3) vicarious experience/manipulatable, and (4) vicarious experience/nonmanipulatable. Following this, we present the results of an experiment designed to examine this framework by testing its predictions for one quadrant, vicarious experience/nonmanipulatable. The results support the framework in that students taught concepts with the aid of the vicarious experience/nonmanipulatable transparent engine had significantly higher domain-specific self-efficacy compared to those taught the same concepts without this tool.
A Comprehensive Tool for Recovering 3D Models from 2D Photos with Wide Baselines
Author(s): Lu, Yuzhu, Smith, Shana
- Type: paper
- Citation: Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering.
- Year: 2006
Recovering 3D objects from 2D photos is an important application in the areas of computer vision, computer intelligence, feature recognition, and virtual reality. This paper describes an innovative and systematic method that integrates automatic feature extraction, automatic feature matching, manual revision, feature recovery, and model reconstruction into an effective and integrated 3D object recovery tool. The proposed method is a convenient and inexpensive way to recover 3D scenes and models directly from 2D photos. New automatic key-point selection and hierarchical matching algorithms were developed for matching 2D photos with wide baselines. The method uses a universal camera intrinsic matrix estimation technique to eliminate the need for camera calibration experiments. A new automatic texture-mapping algorithm was also developed for finding the best textures in 2D photos. The paper includes some examples and results to show the capabilities of the new method.
Yield improvement via minimisation of step height non-uniformity in chemical mechanical planarisation (CMP) with pressure and velocity as control variables
Author(s): Kadavasal, M. S., Chandra, A., Eamkajornsire, S., Bastawros, A.
- Type: paper
- Citation: International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management (IJMTM). Issue 5/6. pp 467-489.
- Year: 2005
Obtaining local and global planarities is one of the prime criteria in dielectric and metal planarisations. Although chemical mechanical planarisation (CMP) helps us achieve these criteria in constant pattern density surfaces, the same is not true for variable pattern density surfaces. This results in formation of global step heights across the die. This paper provides open loop control algorithms for obtaining planarity across a die containing variations in pattern densities. Zonal pressure and/or velocity variations are used as control variables for this purpose. Based on the variation of pattern density and surface heights across the die, the surfaces are separated into zones and the pressure and velocity in individual zones are varied spatially and temporally. It is observed from simulations that the proposed algorithm can significantly improve the local and global planarities. The zonal pressure control improves the upper surface uniformity, whereas zonal velocity control significantly increases step height uniformity. The advantageous features of these two schemes are then combined to simultaneously maximise upper surface uniformity, and minimise step heights across the entire die. Work is currently in progress on physical realisation of these algorithms.
International Collaboration in Open Source Software Development: Implications for Enhancing Educational Practice
Author(s): Antonenko P., Udin V.
- Type: paper
- Citation: World Conference on E-Learning in Corp., Govt., Health, & Higher Education. pp 1058-1061.
- Year: 2004
Comparison of Mobile Text Entry Methods
Author(s): Cerney M., Mila B., Hill L.
- Type: paper
- Citation: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 48th Annual Meeting.
- Year: 2004
PC Based Virtual Reality for CAD Model Viewing
Author(s): Seth, A., Smith, S.
- Type: paper
- Citation: The Journal of Technology Studies. pp 32-37.
- Year: 2004
This article introduces the current status of VR applications in industry and the technologies involved in the low-cost VR systems. The number of companies producing low-cost VRrelated hardware and software is continuously increasing. New hardware and software technical terms are confusing or meaningless to people without any prior background in VR. Thus, choosing the right VR tool for a particular application is challenging for potential users. This article introduces different available stereo image rendering techniques, such as anaglyphic, page flipping, and sync doubling, and major low-cost VR hardware and software tools available for CAD model viewing. The purpose of this article is to help CAD users and product designers have a better understanding about VR technology so that they can develop their own VR systems to increase the efficiency of design communication.

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Proceedings

Utilizing Visualization Mechanisms to Improve User Performance during Cyber Defense Competitions
Author(s): Andrew Luse, Janea Triplett
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 4th Annual Midwest Association for Information Systems Conference (MWAIS 2009).
- Year: 2009
An Augmented Reality Tool for Conceptual Design
Author(s): Andrew Koehring, Eliot Winer
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: ASME/AFM 2009 World Conference on Innovative Virtual Reality.
- Year: 2009
Supporting Interactive Haptic Shaping of 3D Geologic Surfaces with Deformation Property Painting
Author(s): Adam Faeth, Chris Harding
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Eurographics 2009 Conference, Munich, Germany.
- Year: 2009
Skype, Elluminate, Adobe Connect, and iVisit: A Comparison of Web-Based Video Conferencing Systems for Learning and Teaching.
Author(s): Karabult, A., Correia, A. P.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International..
- Year: 2008
"I don't want to be empowered:" The challenge of involving real-world clients in instructional design experiences.
Author(s): Correia, A. P., Yusop, F. D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In J. Simonsen, T. Robertson & D. Hakken (Eds.), Proceedings of the tenth anniversary conference on Participatory Design 2008 . pp 214-216.
- Year: 2008
A Practical Instructional Design Approach for Instructional Multimedia Production in an Instructional Consulting Environment.
Author(s): Yusop, F. D., Correia, A. P.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In M. Simonson (Ed.), 31st Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology . pp 400-404.
- Year: 2008
Students as Facilitators in Online Discussions: How Do Different Facilitation Strategies Impact the Quality of the Interaction?
Author(s): Baran, E., Correia, A. P.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In M. Simonson (Ed.), 31st Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology . pp 230-234.
- Year: 2008
Investigating Collaborative Learning Experiences: A Case of Cross-Border Virtual Teams.
Author(s): Correia, A. P., Baran, E., Yusop, F. D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In M. Simonson (Ed.), 31st Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology . pp 240-245.
- Year: 2008
Trust Building in Virtual Learning Teams
Author(s): Correia, A. P., Karpova, E., Baran, E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In M. Simonson (Ed.), 31st Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology . pp 246-249.
- Year: 2008
Virtual Reality Escapism: A New Approach to Coping with Workplace Stress
Author(s): Mandella Connors, James Bloedel
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 2008 2nd International Conference on Applied Ergonomics.
- Year: 2008
The objective is to present Escapism via Virtual Reality or VR as a new approach to managing workplace stress.
Combining 3-D Geovisualization with Force Feedback Driven User Interaction
Author(s): Adam Faeth, Michael Oren, Chris Harding
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 16th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS 2008). pp 211-218.
- Year: 2008
Metamodeling for the Quantitative Assessment of Conceptual Designs
Author(s): Andrew Koehring, Christian Noon, Ruqin Zhang, Eliot Winer, James Oliver, B. Gilmore, J. Duncan
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 12th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference, Victoria, British Columbia.
- Year: 2008
Interactive Deformation Through Mesh-Free Stress in Virtual Reality
Author(s): Faas D., Vance J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of IDETC/CIE 2008 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference.
- Year: 2008
Virtual reality (VR) techniques are used to create an environment that allows an engineer to modify the shape of a part and see the changes in the stress state immediately. A virtual reality application, Interactive Virtual Design Application (IVDA), that allows fast mesh-free analysis of multiple element types, including two-dimensional (2D) elements, is described in detail. Taylor series approximations and Pre-conditioned Conjugate Gradient (PCG) methods are used with mesh-free analysis to perform quick reanalysis during interactive shape modification. Prior to this work, only 3D elements were incorporated into the method. The addition of 2D elements greatly expands the potential application of this work. Several software packages including VR Juggler, OpenHaptics, OPCODE, Tahoe and OpenGL/GLM/GLUT libraries are combined in the resulting application to handle a variety of elements. This approach also supports concurrent product design and assembly methods prototyping. The addition of 2D analysis capability is discussed in this paper. The method is described and a sample problem presented.
Developing Effective Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge (TPACK) in PreK-6 Teachers
Author(s): Schmidt D.A., Seymour J., Baran E., Thompson A.D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International..
- Year: 2008
Learn to Use and Use to Learn: Technology in Virtual Learning Environments
Author(s): Correia A.P., Karpova E., Baran E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: American Educational Research Association 2008 Annual Meeting.
- Year: 2008
Convergence of Physical and Logical Security: A Pre-implementation Checklist
Author(s): Melendez J.C., Luse A., Townsend A.M., Mennecke B.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Midwest United States Association for Information Systems Conference (MWAIS 2008).
- Year: 2008
GuardDV: A Proximity Detection Device for Homeless Survivors of Domestic Violence
Author(s): Jordan Z., Marsh E., Luse A., Tao L.E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 26th Annual Computer Human Interaction Conference (CHI 2008).
- Year: 2008
Improving Direction-Giving Through Utilization of an RFID-Enabled Kiosk
Author(s): Luse A., Townsend A.M.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 2008 IEEE International Conference on Electro/Information Technology (EIT 2008).
- Year: 2008
A Location-based Approach for Distributed Kiosk Design
Author(s): Luse A., Vidrio-Baron S., Mennecke B., Townsend A.M.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 14th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2008).
- Year: 2008
Parallel Implementation of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Through Digital Pheromone Sharing
Author(s): Kalivarapu V., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE 2008).
- Year: 2008
Implementation of Digital pheromones in Particle Swarm Optimization for Constrained Optimization Problems
Author(s): Kalivarapu V., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the 49th AIAA/ASME/AHS/ACS Structures, Structural Dymanics, and Materials Conference, AIAA 2008.
- Year: 2008
Three-Dimensional Multi-Objective UAVPath Planner Using Meta-Paths for Decision Making and Visualization
Author(s): Swartzentruber L., Foo J.L., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 4th Annual AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference.
- Year: 2008
What determines where you look in photographs of complex objects?
Author(s): Still J.D., Dark V.J., Parkhurst D.J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association.
- Year: 2008
An Empirical Investigation of Affordances and Conventions
Author(s): Still J.D., Dark V.J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition.
- Year: 2008
There is a debate in the literature concerning whether a distinction between affordances and cultural conventions ought to be drawn. It is possible that in the absence of affordances users develop conventions to resolve interaction ambiguity. We explored whether a difference between affordances and conventions existed through a button pressing task. Our results show that affordances exist when the spatial button configuration is congruent with directional cues. When affordances were not available, most participants demonstrated consistent button-to-action mapping that sometimes represented a convention. Additionaly there was no differences in response time in the affordance and convention conditions.
Virtual Reality: A Treatment Oriented Approach to Workplace Stress, poster presentation
Author(s): Connors M., Bloedel J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Third ICOH International Conference on Psychosocial factors in the Workplace.
- Year: 2008
A Framework for Interactive Examination of Automatic Segmented Tumors in a Virtual Environment
Author(s): Foo J.L., Miyano G., Lobe T., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 16th Medicine Meets Virtual Reality (MMVR) Conference. pp 120-122.
- Year: 2008
Interactive Multi-Modal Visualization Environment for Complex System Decision Making
Author(s): Foo J.L., Lobe T., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference IDETC/CIE 2008.
- Year: 2008
Virtual Reality Based Multi-Modal Teleoperation Using Mixed Autonomy
Author(s): Kadavasal M., Seth A., Oliver J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference & CIE, 2008.
- Year: 2008
Enhancing Multi-user Interaction with Multi-touch Tabletop Displays using Hand Tracking
Author(s): Dohse K., Dohse T., Still J., Parkhurst D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings IEEE Advances in Computer Human Interaction, 2008.
- Year: 2008
A rear-projection multi-touch tabletop display was augmented with hand tracking utilizing computer vision techniques. Touch detection by frustrated total internal reflection is useful for achieving interaction with tabletop displays, but the technique is not always reliable when multiple users in close proximity simultaneously interact with the display. To solve this problem, we combine touch detection and hand tracking techniques in order to allow multiple users to simultaneously interact with the display without interference. Our hope is that by considering activities occurring on and above a tabletop display, multiuser interacbecome more natural and useful, which should ultimately support collaborative work.
Effectiveness of Using an Intelligent Tutoring System to Train Users on Off-the-Shelf Software
Author(s): Hategekimana C., Gilbert S., Blessing S.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education. pp 414-419.
- Year: 2008
Cutting, Deforming and Painting of 3D meshes in a Two Handed Viso-haptic VR System
Author(s): Faeth A., Oren M., Sheller J., Godinez S., Harding C.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Virtual Reality Conference 2008. pp 213-216.
- Year: 2008
Evaluation of Spatial Abilities within a 2D Auditory Platform Game
Author(s): Oren M., Harding C., Bonebright T.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: ASSETS 2008 Conference.
- Year: 2008
Designing cross-border online collaborative learning experiences.
Author(s): Correia, A. P., Baran, E., Yusop, F. D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of ED-MEDIA World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hyper media & Telecommunications 2007. pp 1769-1778.
- Year: 2007
Teacher Education Goes Into Virtual Schooling: Developing National Models for Virtual Schooling Experiences.
Author(s): Navis, N.E., Demiraslan, Y., Charania, A., Compton, L., Correia, A.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In M. Simonson (Ed.), 30th Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology . pp 103-109.
- Year: 2007
The Design of Collaboration in the Virtual Classroom.
Author(s): Correia, A. P., Davis, N.E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In M. Simonson (Ed.), 30th Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology . pp 84-87.
- Year: 2007
Improving Introductory Calculus Education with 3-D Visualization and Virtual Touch (Haptics).
Author(s): J. Boggess, Chris Harding
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: International Multi-Symposium of Computer and Computational Sciences IMSCCS 07. pp 312-318.
- Year: 2007
Invariant Features Detected with Computer Vision Allow Better Human Object Recognition in Photographs (poster)
Author(s): Wolff T., Still J.D., Parkhurst D.J., Dark V.J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Meeting of Midwestern Psychological Association.
- Year: 2007
Allowing for Greater Network Security Management through Incorporation of a Distributed Management System
Author(s): Luse A
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 5th Annual Big XII MIS Research Symposium.
- Year: 2007
Viewpoint invariant object features attract overt visual attention (poster)
Author(s): Still J.D., Dark V.J., Parkhurst D.J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Meeting of Vision Sciences Society.
- Year: 2007
Speed Sonic Across the Span: Building a Platform Audio Game
Author(s): Oren M., Harding C., Bonebright T.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: ICAD '07.
- Year: 2007
We describe the sound design and initial user study of an audio game created for gamers with visual impairments. Despite the wild popularity of platform games such as Super Mario [1] and the development of many audio games over the past decade, the platform genre has so far been all but ignored by audio game designers. To fill this gap and to add to the limited entertainment choices visually impaired gamers have, we developed a platform game that can be played via an audio-only interface. We conducted a study to test our game and audio design choices, to measure the users' performance and to find out if the game was fun to play. This usability study used 9 participants who played the game as a traditional video game (audio-visual input) and 9 participants who played the game as a pure audio game (audio-only input). The results show that, although it took the audio-only group considerably longer to play through the game, they did not make significantly more mistakes and they seemed to find the audio-only version challenging, yet enjoyable.
Towards Sensor Enhanced Virtual Reality Teleoperation in Dynamic Environment
Author(s): Kadavasal M.S., Oliver J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference & CIE.
- Year: 2007
Three-Dimensional Multi-objective Path Planner for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Particle Swarm Optimization
Author(s): Foo J.L., Knutzon J., Oliver J., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proc. 3rd Annual AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference, Paper No. AIAA-2007-1881.
- Year: 2007
Immersive Product Configurator for Conceptual Design
Author(s): Zhang R., Noon C., Winer E., Oliver J., Gilmore B., Duncan J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the ASME 2007 International Design Engineering Technical Conference, DETC2007-35390.
- Year: 2007
A Statistical Analysis of Particle Swarm Optimization With and Without Digital Pheromones
Author(s): Kalivarapu V., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proc. 3rd Annual AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference, Paper No. AIAA-2007-1882.
- Year: 2007
An Integrated Cerebro-Cerebellar Model Demonstrating Associative Learning and Motor Control
Author(s): Peck C., Streeter T., Kozloski J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the 10th Tamagawa-Riken Dynamic Brain Forum.
- Year: 2007
A model of the cerebellum is proposed that explains cerebellar contributions to motor function and associative learning. This model is consistent with a wide range of biological observations and it places the cerebellum into a global, integrated network. A computational model is implemented using Wilson-Cowan style models, and the capabilities of associative learning and complex reaching behaviors, using a one armed automaton, are demonstrated. It is shown how the integrated cerebro-cerebellar model learns to modulate the cortex to produce specific, expected behaviors and other capabilities attributed to the cerebellum.
Using Video-case Based Instruction in an Introduction to Teaching Profession Course
Author(s): Baran E., Kiraz E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the Society of Information Technology and Teacher Education International.
- Year: 2007
The Effects of Video-cases on Students' Perceptions of the Characteristics and Skills of a Good Teacher
Author(s): Baran E., Kiraz E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the Society of Information Technology and Teacher Education International. pp 1388-1392.
- Year: 2007
Designing cross-border online collaborative learning experiences
Author(s): Correia A.P., Baran E., Yusop F.D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of ED-MEDIA World Conference on Educational Multimedia Hyper media & Telecommunications 2007. pp 1769-1778.
- Year: 2007
Videoblogging as an Emerging Technology in Education
Author(s): Baran E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Selected School and Media papers presented at the 2007 International Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
- Year: 2007
3D Reconstruction and Non linear Finite Element Analysis of the Embryonic Left Ventricle
Author(s): Faas D., Buffinton C., Sedmera D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the ASME 2007 Summer Bioengineering Conference (SBC2007).
- Year: 2007
Changes in mechanical loading in the developing heart produce changes in morphology, mechanical material properties, and proliferative patterns [1-3]. Understanding the relationship of these changes to mechanical stress and strain requires a geometrically accurate model of the entire ventricle including the trabecular pattern and material property, boundary condition, and loading specification. A 3D reconstruction and finite element technique were developed to reconstruct the heart from serial confocal sections and then calculate stress and train distributions over the entire volume for the passive state. A sensitivity study to variations in pressure loading and material properties was also performed. Control hearts and two treatments, pressure overload and pressure underload, were modeled. The results show hat stresses in the trabeculae are much larger than those in the ventricular walls. Strains in the pressure-overloaded hearts were significantly smaller than control or underloaded, so a negative feedback system in strain level is not indicated.
Interactive Mesh-Free Stress Analysis for Mechanical Design Assembly with Haptics
Author(s): Faas D., Fischer A., Vance J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of IDETC/DAC 2007 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference.
- Year: 2007
This paper describes a virtual reality application that performs fast stress reanalysis coupled with virtual reality and haptics that allows rapid evaluation of multiple designs throughout the product design process. The Interactive Virtual Design Application (IVDA) allows the engineer to interactively explore new design geometry while simultaneously examining the finite element analysis results. In the presence of other parts in the assembly, the new shape can be analyzed and modified, taking into consideration mating part fits. This approach supports concurrent product design and assembly methods prototyping. A “two-step” approach utilizing Taylor series approximations and Pre-conditioned Conjugate Gradient methods is used to perform quick reanalysis during interactive shape modification. The virtual environment provides an immersive three-dimensional workspace. Haptics are used to provide feedback of the stress gradient as the part geometry is changed, thus facilitating the designer’s understanding of the impact of shape change on product performance.
Adaptive Fuzzy Segmentation of Tumors in Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography (CT) Image
Author(s): Foo J.L., Miyano G., Lobe T., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: ASME 2007 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC/CIE 2007.
- Year: 2007
Life Within the Empire: A Framework for Using the Internet as a Research Collaboration Space.
Author(s): C.S. Pilson, C. R. Foster
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Twelfth Americas Conference on Information Systems, Acapulco, Mexico.
- Year: 2006
A Multi-Modal Interface for Road Planning using Vision, Haptics and Sound
Author(s): Matthew Newcomb, Chris Harding
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: International Symposium of Visual Computing (ISVC) 2006, published as: Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). pp 417-426.
- Year: 2006
Excuse me professor but when are you passing out the podcasts?
Author(s): Sean Cordes
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Internet Librarian 2006, Integrated Experiences: Compelling Content Combinations.
- Year: 2006
Big wings, No bull: Do-it-yourself podcasts for the distributed course
Author(s): Sean Cordes
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of Brick & Click Libraries Academic Library Symposium.
- Year: 2006
Implementation of Digital Pheromones for Use in Particle Swarm Optimization
Author(s): Kalivarapu V., Foo J., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 11th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference.
- Year: 2006
This paper presents a new approach to particle swarm optimization (PSO) using digital pheremones to coordinate the movements of the swarm within an n-dimensional design space. In traditional PSO, an initial randomly generated population swarm propagates towards the global optimum over a series of iterations. Each particle in the swarm explores the design space based on the information provided by previous best particles. This information is used to generate a velocity vector indicating a search direction towards a promising design point, and to update the particle positions. This paper presents how digital pheromones can be incorporated into the velocity vector update equation. Digital pheromones are models simulating the real pheromones produced by insects for communication to indicate a source of food or a nesting location. This principle of communication and organization between each insect in a swarm offers substantial improvement when integrated into PSO. Particle swarms search the design space with digital pheromones aiding communication within the swarm to improve search efficiency. Through additional information from the pheromones, particles within the swarm exploring the design space and locate the solution more efficiently and accurately than traditional PSO. In this paper, the development of this method is described in detail along with the results from several optimization test problems.
Multinodal UAV Ground Control System
Author(s): Batkiewicz T., Dohse K.C., Kalivarapu V., Dohse T., Walter B., Knutzon J., Parkhurst D., Winer E., Olver J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 11th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference.
- Year: 2006
As unmanned units become more capable of self-control, and as their integration into our military forces increase, the role of the operator of these units is going to change. Current UAV ground control systems typically require to much of the operator’s attention per unit, and the role of the future operator will be more like that of a manager than that of a pilot. This paper describes research being done on a user interface for a future ground control system. Beginning with a visualization of a virtual battlefield, this next-generation UAV ground control system incorporates all available information and analyses in combination with a synthetic battlespace in a context-relevant manner. This marriage of synthetic and real information feeds, within a single visualization space, is designed to increase the situational awareness of a single operator. This virtual battlefield provides the operator with the information necessary to accomplish their task, with multiple modes of interaction for the user. The UAV Ground Control System detailed here utilizes a speech command interface, a wireless joystick interface, as well as a tablet-based direct manipulation interface similar to those used in general air unit ground control systems. Through these different types of interactions, an operator is presented with various sources of data to manage and command military units as clearly and simply as possible.
Customer training in self-service technology
Author(s): Li-Shan Eva Tao, Xinyuan Zhao, Anna S. Mattila
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 11th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism Conference.
- Year: 2006
Listening to guests' real voice from their experience with hotels
Author(s): Li-Shan Eva Tao, Miyoung Jeong
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 11th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism Conference.
- Year: 2006
Augmented Reality E-Commerce Assistant System: Designing While Shopping
Author(s): Yuzhu Lu, Smith Shana
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of IDETC/CIE'06.
- Year: 2006
Robot Self-Recognition Using Conditionally Probability Based Contigency
Author(s): Godby K.M., Lane J.A.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of the 21st National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).
- Year: 2006
As robots become more sophisticated and pervasive, they will be forced to operate in more dynamic and social environments. In order to develop a theory of mind to account for the intents, beliefs, and motivations of other individuals, a robot needs to be able to distinguish between another entity and itself. One proposed method of learning the difference between self and other is to use contingency, the time dependence of perception and action.

Watson (1994) suggested contingency as a method used by infants when learning to detect self. He outlined four general ethods for detecting contingency: contiguity, temporal correlation, conditional probability, and causal implication.

For our experiment, we chose to implement Watson’s conditional probability method of contingency detection. Conditional probability keeps track of instances in which the behavior occurs and the stimulus does not, versus instances when the stimulus occurs but the behavior does not.
3D Reconstruction and Finite Element Stress/Strain Analysis of the 6-d Chick Heart
Author(s): Buffinton C., Faas D., Sedmera D.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Weinstein Cardiovascular Development Conference.
- Year: 2006
The morphology and material properties of the embryonic heart change in response to mechanical loading. Understanding the control system operative in this response requires modeling the entire ventricle to determine the distribution of mechanical stress and strain. A 3D reconstruction and finite element technique was developed to calculate this stress/strain distribution. Optical sections in 3mm steps in a dorsoventral direction were produced from confocal imaging of 6-d whole-mount chick hearts. Z-stacks contained 500-600 sections; two to four stacks of 512x512 x-y pixels covered the left and right ventricles. AMIRA software imported the image stacks which were then merged in x-y and downsampled to 6-mm cubic voxels. Tracing with interactive pen display segmented the left ventricle (LV) and interventricular septum from the atria, right ventricle, and valves, which were removed from the image. Thresholding techniques segmented the gray-scale image into myocardial tissue and background. Finally, the surface was triangulated into approximately 100K surface elements. The surface meshes were imported into Hypermesh to create a volumetric tetrahedral mesh of approximately 300K elements. Boundary conditions of fixation at the superior surface and internal pressure of ~500 Pa were applied. The tissue was represented by a Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic rubber model, u=0.475 and stress-strain properties from uniaxial tensile tests of LV strips. The k-file from Hypermesh was imported into LSDYNA for a nonlinear explicit finite element solution. The results show that, in passive diastolic loading, the stresses and strains in the trabeculae are large while those in the exterior LV wall are relatively much less. Thinner areas of the septum also have larger stresses and strains. Most of the trabeculae are in tension, but the compact wall shows both tension and compression. Thus the trabeculae may play an important role in sensing and actuating the myocardial response to mechanical load. Supported by NIH-NIBIBEB002077.
Storing 3D Models in a Relational Database.
Author(s): J. Zhang, S. Smith
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 2005 National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT) Conference..
- Year: 2005
A multi-phase, probabilistic approach to image segmentation in MRI and CT studies
Author(s): Foo J.L., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: BioMedicine 2005, 6th International Conference on Modeling in Medicine and Biology 2005.
- Year: 2005
An Approach to Convert Vertex-Based 3D Representations to Combinatorial B-Splines for Real-Time Visual Collaboration
Author(s): Kalivarapu V., Winer E.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 43rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit.
- Year: 2005
Scientific Visualization and Virtual Reality are increasingly being used for the design of complex systems. These
technologies offer powerful capabilities to make decisions that are cost and time effective. The next logical extension is to collaborate with these visual models in real-time, where parts of a design team are geographically separated. Specifically, visual collaboration enables ideas and proposed changes to be discussed exactly on a virtual model of a product. However, high-end visualization hardware and Internet technologies impede widespread use of real-time visual collaboration due to the large amount of data from which these epresentations are created. These data are typically in the form of 3D vertex-based models, which offer a high degree of realism when displayed, but at a price of storage, rendering speeds and processing efficiency. The more realistic the representation desired, the larger the number of vertices required and hence the higher the file size. In this paper, we propose a new data modeling and handling technique where traditional vertex-based models are converted into combinatorial B-Spline based wire-frame models that allow realtime visual collaboration in the context of typical virtual reality systems. Using appropriate filtering methods, parametric equations are computed for each curved segment in a vertexbased representation and bundled together with sampled linear segments of the model. The computed parametric equation based models occupy only a fraction of the size when compared to the original vertex-based models. These lightweight models can easily be transmitted over the Internet, in real-time, for viewing with a platform independent visual client program. The proposed methods were tested on several example data files to prove the method’s effectiveness.
Using a Web-Based Query Engine and Immersive Virtual Reality to Select and View 3D Anthropometry in Vehicle Operator Worstation Design
Author(s): Zhang J., Smith S.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: 46th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference.
- Year: 2005
This paper presents the development and testing of a tool for designing vehicle operator workstations using 3D anthropometry. The tool consists of two major modules: 1) a webbased engine to query a large database of human anthropometry for selecting human perators representative of a specified user population, and 2) an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) software application used to view the selected anthropometry in relation to vehicle CAD designs. This tool allows a designer to view and interact with fully immersive 3D representations of vehicle operator enclosures and controls from typical CAD models along with digital human models selected from the anthropometry database. This environment allows visualization to aid in the trade-off decisions that come between ergonomic and functional (i.e. structural, electrical, etc.) design. The environment makes use of a webbased interface for the querying of a large anthropometric dataset with over 4500 participants. A designer is presented with a rich set of features to build, store, and manage queries using attributes such as height, weight, reach, gender, and occupation to locate pertinent subsets of subjects for a specific vehicle design. A list of subjects obtained from the query engine can then be sent to a VR environment for viewing with vehicle CAD data. This linkage makes the selecting and viewing of subjects seamless. A detailed description of the design problem being addressed, software development, and sample test cases are presented to demonstrate the intuitive nature and ease of use of the environment.
A Desktop Network Haptic Interface for Mechanical Assembly
Author(s): Seth A., Su H. J., Vance J.M.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition.
- Year: 2005
Yield Improvement via minimization of step height non-uniformity in Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP)
Author(s): Kadavasal M., Eamkajornsiri S., Chandra A., Bastawros A.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Proceedings of NSF DMII Grantees Conference.
- Year: 2005
A Comprehensive Tool for Recovering 3D Models from 2D Photos with Wide Baselines
Author(s): Lu Y., Smith S.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: NAIT 2005 Convention.
- Year: 2005
A Comprehensive Tool for Recovering 3D Models from 2D Photos with Wide Baselines
Author(s): Lu Y., Smith S.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: IASTED International Conference: HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION.
- Year: 2005
A Low Cost Virtual Reality Human Computer Interface for CAD Model Manipulating
Author(s): Seth, A., Smith, S., Shelley, M., Qi, J.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: Engineering Deesign Graphics Journal. pp 31-38.
- Year: 2005
Interactions with high volume complex three-dimensional data using traditional two-dimensional computer interfaces have, historically, been inefficient and restrictive. However, during the past decade, virtual reality (VR) has presented a new paradigm for human-computer interaction. This paper presents a VR human-computer interface system, which aims at providing a solution to the human-computer interaction problems present in today’s computer-aided design (CAD) software applications. A data glove device is used as a 3D interface for CAD model manipulation in a virtual design space. To make the visualization more realistic, real-time active stereo vision is provided using LCD shutter glasses. To determine the ease of use and intuitiveness of the interface, a human subject study was conducted for performing standard CAD manipulation tasks. Analysis results and technical issues are also presented and discussed.
The Urge for Collaboration: The Evaluation of a Virtual Learning Collaboration across the Atlantic.
Author(s): Correia, A. P., Sorensen, E. K.
- Type: proceedings
- Citation: In C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of ED-MEDIA World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hyper media & Telecommunications . pp 1779-1785.
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Dissertations And Theses
- Real-time scenegraph creation and manipulation in an immersive environment using an iPhone
  Author(s): Brandon Newendorp
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2009
  Virtual reality (VR) display systems have undergone significant research and development since their introduction. Early systems used a head mounted display to provide users with a means of viewing a virtual environment. With the development of the CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE™) that used multiple projectors and display surfaces, users gained a three-dimensional (3D)sense of the virtual environment and a sense of depth and immersion in the synthetic environment without bulky headwear. One of the key challenges with creating VR environments is the creation and manipulation of 3D models to generate immersive scenes. Traditionally these models and scenes have been created on a desktop computer, using a twodimensional display system. Although these systems have seen widespread adoption throughout academia and industry, they have significant drawbacks. When creating 3D models, the need to understand model size and spatial relationships between models is critical. This can be difficult to perceive on a 2D display system. Another important challenge is controlling applications running in an immersive environment. Devices such as gamepads and wands are small and lightweight, making them easily carried inside an immersive environment. However, these devices require users to remember what behavior is tied to each physical button on the device. Other devices, such as Tablet PCs, overcome this limitation by offering a rich user interface, at the expense of being larger and usually requiring two hands to operate. Early handheld devices, such as PDAs, were investigated for use in immersive environments and provided users with a graphical interface in a small device, but were limited by low resolution screens and poor hardware capabilities. This thesis presents a two part solution to these issues, in the form of a VR application, known as iSceneBuilder, and a controlling iPhone application. Built using VR Juggler and OpenSceneGraph, iSceneBuilder allows users to create and manipulate a scenegraph — a common data structure for managing a 3D scene. By using a custom animation engine, iSceneBuilder smoothly animates changes to the scene, helping users understand how changes are being applied. iSceneBuilder was designed to run effectively on a large computer cluster and can take advantage of multiple processing cores by being designed for concurrency. The iPhone application, which communicates with iSceneBuilder via a TCP/IP socket, provides users with a means of controlling the immersive environment. Built using Cocoa Touch, the application offers a rich user interface on a small, handheld device that, because of iPhone's capacitive touch screen, can be controlled with no additional hardware. This application allows users to browse the remote filesystem to load models into the immersive application. It also displays the scenegraph, allowing users to select a node to manipulate. Available manipulations include translation, rotation and scaling, as well as changing the transparency of a node. Additionally, users can navigate inside the immersive environment by using iPhoneʼs built-in accelerometer. Several uses for this system were demonstrated by creating new scenes, with varying levels of complexity. Both scenes were constructed inside an immersive environment, which allowed users to immediately perceive the size of models and their spatial relationships to other models. The first use case involved loading several models, then moving and rotating them into their final locations. The completed scene was saved as a single file that can be used in other applications. The second use involved creating several smaller scenes, then combining those smaller scenes into a larger scene. This use took advantage of iSceneBuilderʼs ability to manipulate components inside a larger scenegraph. Finally, this system shows promise for future development into an application that can support engineering design work.
- 3D Hand gesture recognitioin using a ZCam and an SVM-SMO classifier
  Author(s): Lucas Bonansea
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2009
  The increasing number of new and complex computer-based applications has generated a need for a more natural interface between human users and computer-based applications. This problem can be solved by using hand gestures, one of the most natural means of communication between human beings. The difficulty in deploying a computer vision-based gesture application in a non-controlled environment can be solved by using new hardware which can capture 3D information. However, researchers and others still need complete solutions to perform reliable gesture recognition in such an environment. This paper presents a complete solution for the one-hand 3D gesture recognition problem, implements a solution, and proves its reliability. The solution is complete because it focusesboth on the 3D gesture recognition and on understanding the scene being presented (so the user does not need to inform the system that he or she is about to initiate a new gesture). The selected approach models the gestures as a sequence of hand poses. This reduces the problem to one of recognizing the series of hand poses and building the gestures from this information. Additionally, the need to perform the gesture recognition in real time resulted in using a simple feature set that makes the required processing as streamlined as possible. Finally, the hand gesture recognition system proposed here was successfully implemented in two applications, one developed by a completely independent team and one developed as part of this research. The latter effort resulted in a device driver that adds 3D gestures to an open-source, platform-independent multi-touch framework called Sparsh-UI.
- Improving path planning of unmanned aerial vehicles in an immersive environment using meta-paths and terrain information.
  Author(s): Levi Swartzentruber
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2009
  The thesis presents a multi modal teleoperation interface featuring an integrated virtual reality based simulation augmented by sensors and image processing capabilities onboard the remotely operated vehicle. The virtual reality interface fuses an existing VR model with live video feed and prediction states, thereby creating a multi modal control interface. Virtual reality addresses the typical limitations of video-based teleoperation caused by signallag and limited field of view thereby allowing the operator to navigate in a continuous fashion. The vehicle incorporates an on-board computer and a stereo vision system to facilitate obstacle detection. A vehicle adaptation system with a priori risk maps and real state tracking system enables temporary autonomous operation of the vehicle for local navigation around obstacles and automatic re-establishment of the vehicle’s teleoperated state. As both the vehicle and the operator share absolute autonomy in stages, the operation is referred to as mixed autonomous. Finally, the system provides real time update of the virtual environment based on anomalies encountered by the vehicle. The system effectively balances the autonomy between the human operator and on board vehicle intelligence. The reliability results of individual components along with overall system implementation and the results of the user study conducted helps show that the VR based multi modal teleoperation interface is more adaptable and intuitive when compared to other interfaces.
- Virtual reality based multi-modal teleoperation using mixed autonomy
  Author(s): Muthukkumar Kadavasal Sivaraman
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2009
  The thesis presents a multi modal teleoperation interface featuring an integratedvirtual reality based simulation augmented by sensors and image processing capabilities onboard the remotely operated vehicle. The virtual reality interface fuses an existing VR model with live video feed and prediction states, thereby creating a multi modal control interface. Virtual reality addresses the typical limitations of video-based teleoperation caused by signal lag and limited field of view thereby allowing the operator to navigate in a continuous fashion. The vehicle incorporates an on-board computer and a stereo vision system to facilitate obstacle detection. A vehicle adaptation system with a priori risk maps and realstate tracking system enables temporary autonomous operation of the vehicle for local navigation around obstacles and automatic re-establishment of the vehicle’s teleoperated state. As both the vehicle and the operator share absolute autonomy in stages, the operation is referred to as mixed autonomous. Finally, the system provides real time update of the virtual environment based on anomalies encountered by the vehicle. The system effectively balances the autonomy between the human operator and on board vehicle intelligence. The reliability results of individual components along with overall system implementation and the results of the user study conducted helps show that the VR based multi modal teleoperation interface is more adaptable and intuitive when compared to other interfaces.
- Exploring utilization of visualization for computer and network security
  Author(s): Andrew Luse
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2009
  The role of the network security administrator is continually morphing to keep pace with the ever-changing area of computer and network security. These changes are due in part to both the continual development of new security exploits by attackers as well as improvements in network security products available for use. One area which has garnered much research in the past decade is the use of visualization to ease the strain on network security administrators. Visualization mechanisms utilize the parallel processing power of the human visual system to allow for the identification of possible nefarious network activity. This research details the development and use of a visualization system for network security. The manuscript is composed of four papers which provide a progression of research pertaining to the system. The first paper utilizes research in the area of information visualization to develop a new framework for designing visualization systems for network security. Next, a visualization system is developed in the second paper which has been utilized during multiple cyber defense competitions to aid in competition performance. The last two papers deal with evaluating the developed system. First, an exploratory analysis provides an initial assessment using participant interviews during one cyber defense competition. Second, a quasi field experiment explores the intention of subjects to use the system based on the type of visualization being viewed.
- Massive model visualization: An investigation into spatial hierachies.
  Author(s): Jeremy Bennett
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2009
  The current generation of visualization software is incapable of handling the interactive rendering of arbitrarily large models. While many solutions have been proposed for Massive Model Visualization, very few are able to achieve the full capabilities needed for a computer visualization solution. In most cases this is due to overly complex approaches that, while achieving impressive frame rates, make it virtually impossible to implement features like part manipulation. What is needed is a simple approach with rendering performance bounded by screen complexity not model size, with primitive traceability to the original model to facilitate part manipulation, and capability to be modified in near-real-time. This thesis introduces MMDr, a simple system to achieve interactive frame rates on extremely large data sets, while retaining support for most if not all the features required for a computer visualization solution.
- Expressive cutting, deforming, and painting of three-dimensional digital shapes through asymmetric bimanual haptic manipulation.
  Author(s): Adam Faeth
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2009
  Practitioners of the geosciences, design, and engineering disciplines communicate complex ideas about shape by manipulating three- dimensional digital objects to match their conceptual model. However, the two-dimensional control interfaces, common in software applications, create a disconnect to three-dimensional manipulations. This research examines cutting, deforming, and painting manipulations for expressive three-dimensional interaction. It presents a cutting algorithm specialized for planning cuts on a triangle mesh, the extension of a deformation algorithm for inhomogeneous meshes, and the definition of inhomogeneous meshes by painting into a deformation property map. This thesis explores two-handed interactions with haptic force-feedback where each hand can fulfill an asymmetric bimanual role. These digital shape manipulations demonstrate a step toward the creation of expressive three-dimensional interactions.
- Conceptualizing design affordances from a cognitive perspective
  Author(s): Jeremiah Still
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2009
  The term affordance carries multiple meanings for designers. Traditionally, affordances were discussed within a Gibsonian framework as arising from direct perceptionof physical constraints. However, some authors extended the meaning to include learned cultural constraints, leading to a theoretical debate about whether designers should draw a distinction between perceptual affordances and learned cultural conventions. In this dissertation it is suggested that a broader meaning of affordance is more appropriate for designers and that a unified account of affordances can be achieved using a cognitive conceptualization of perceived affordances. Within this cognitive framework, perceived affordances arise from automatic processes in the user that either are inborn or have developed over time as consistent interactions produce changes in long-term memory. Well learned conventions are examples of the latter. The cognitive mechanisms responsible for how perceived affordances arise and how they affect the cognitive system are presented along with a flowchart to help guide designer decisions.
  
  Three experiments examining empirical differences between affordances and conventions are reported. The first experiment asked whether users have developed conventions in the absence of affordances. A simple task was used in which participants pressed buttons in response to directional cues. The results showed that affordances exist when the spatial configuration of the buttons is congruent with directional cues. In the absence of affordances, most participants demonstrated consistent button-to-action mapping that represented a convention. Behavioral differences between affordances and conventions were not found. The second experiment confirmed that in ambiguous tasks, conventionsguide expectancies about button-to-action mappings. The cognitive attributes of affordances and conventions were examined in the third experiment by manipulating working memory load and expected interaction congruency. Results indicated some behavioral differences between acting on affordances and acting on conventions. However, violating the button-toaction mappings defining either an affordance or a convention produced similar performance costs. Taken together, the results suggest that after the initial learning period, conventions play a critical role in the perception of a design's available actions, just as do perceptual affordances. Therefore, designers ought to employ perceptual affordances when possible and when that is not feasible reuse established conventions.
- Situating digital tools through ubiquitous virtuality: Confluences of art, architecture, and activity in HCI
  Author(s): Romeu Luiz de Castro Bessa
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2008
  Over the last twenty years computer engineers introduced concepts such as "ubiquitous computing", "embodied virtualization" (Weiser, 1991), "embodied interaction" (Harrison and Dourish 1996), "tangible bits" (Ishii and Ulmer, 1997), and "seamful interweaving" (Chalmers and Galani, 2004) in an attempt to describe and explain the increased embedding of computer technology into designed objects and environments, and to emphasize the crucial agency of the human mind and body in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Since the mid-1990s the apparent 'dissolving' of computers and sensors into ordinary and extraordinary environments is the focus of research and concern across the humanities, social sciences, and engineering as scholars attempt to understand how HCI influences the psychological, social, economic, aesthetic and ethical context in which we live (Castells, 1996, 1997, 1998; Smith, 2000; Hallnäs and Redström, 2002; Cuff, 2003; Bohn et al., 2004; McCullough, 2004; Hayles, 2005; Grudin, 2006).
  
  Examples of how this understanding is being pursued can be found in Hayles' argument that humans have evolved by using their cognitive powers to shape artifacts and technology, which, in turn, have been instrumental in shaping human cognition (Hayles, 1999). She calls this symbiotic relationship between humans and technology a "feedback loop"--new cognitive powers generate new technology, which in turn generate new cognitive resources then used to generate new technology. Coming from an art historical point of view, Summers argues that cognitive "notional operations" (i.e., referring to dimensional relations such as ratios, sizes, etc.) are a consequence of facture, i.e., of the actual making of artifacts. Bringing together insights drawn from working on the development of technology and looking at the social implications of such development, Brown and Duguid (1994) argue that besides the intended use that motivated the development of particular artifacts or of a particular technology, it is their "latent border resources"--resources that lay beyond their original intended uses--that support our shared use of them.
  
  Building on a cross-disciplinary discourse, I outline in this dissertation a conceptual outlook--which I call ubiquitous virtuality--to address the changing conditions of HCI in the context of 'smart' technology and pervasive computing. Addressing a condition in which 'smart' tools are interwoven in the material fabric and structure of everyday environments this dissertation explores how new individual and collective subjectivities are being built at the turn of this new millennium by putting together elements drawn from the history, theory and practices of art, architecture, and HCI. A number of archival and field researches situate these elements within the context of 'smart' technology. Activity Theory, an analytical framework that has been proposed to support the study of context in human-computer interaction, is used in an evaluation to help clarify how this cross-disciplinary discourse can be applied to HCI.
- A concept virtual harp with physical string vibrations using augmented reality for therapy
  Author(s): Tanasha Taylor
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  This thesis presents a multimodal three-dimensional harp for interactive musical experiences for use in therapy for individuals with disabilities. A preliminary harp model in OpenGL with user interaction being a mouse and keyboard tested on special education children lead the Virtual Harp program on a new design approach to provide more interaction and stimuli. This system provides individuals with three forms of feedback visual, audio, and haptic during interaction using a Sensable Phantom Omni haptic device and immersion in a portable augmented reality-based system using a video see-through head mounted display. Modeled as a realistic harp, the virtual harp uses realistic harp string vibrations modeled from Fourier analysis physics equations. The individuals play the virtual harp with the Phantom
  
  Omni haptic device by plucking or strumming the strings of the harp. They have the freedom to move the harp around the environment giving the feeling of playing a traditional musical instrument. A virtual therapist feature was developed to allow a therapist without musical knowledge to observe the individual during therapy exercises and allow the individual to engage in a self-motivating therapy exercises outside the therapy room by following a simple sequence of notes by following the color-coded strings. User testing was performed to measure usability and therapeutic effectiveness: development of skills, improvement in range of motion, and entertainment value. Results showed that there were no major usability issues discovered and responses were positive with regards to using this technology for therapy.
- Improving solution characteristics of particle swarm optimization through the use of digital pheromones, parallelization, and graphical processing units (GPUs)
  Author(s): Vijay Kalivarapu
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2008
  Optimization has its foundations dating back to the days of Newton, Lagrange, Cauchy, and Leibnitz when differential calculus methods were developed to minimize and maximize analytical functions. Substantial progress in optimization became more prominent in the mid to late twentieth century when digital computers showed promise in offloading analytical problem solving into numerical methods through computer code for faster evaluations of designs.
  
  Deterministic optimization methods such as steepest descent, conjugate gradient and Newton’s methods are known for their robustness in iteratively reducing the objective function value for minimization problems. However, they are primarily suitable for solving single objective function problems that are unimodal and continuous. With increased sophistication in engineering problems, multimodal and multi-objective problems have become more prevalent drastically reducing the effectiveness of deterministic methods. This led to the development of heuristic methods, particularly evolutionary methods such as Genetic Algorithms, Ant Colony Optimization, and Particle Swarm Optimization. These methods have multiple design points exploring the design space over iterations as opposed to a single design point as in the case of deterministic methods. Evolutionary methods come with the capability to solve multimodal discontinuous design spaces with increased reliability and efficiency, but at considerable computational expense.
- A Framework for Tumor Segmentation and Interactive Immersive Visualization of Medical Image Data for Surgical Planning
  Author(s): Jung Leng Foo
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2008
  Medical imaging technology has changed the way doctors and surgeons diagnose and operate in the last 100 years. Since the discovery of the X-ray, doctors and surgeons have successfully utilized the ability to “see” inside a patient to further improve patient care. The advancement of computed tomography and magnetic resonance technology with faster and higher resolution scans has improved the analysis and visualization of patient data. As technology continues to accommodate the need for higher quality medical imaging, there is a continuing need for additional research in efficient ways of extracting crucial information from these vast amounts of data. This dissertation presents the framework for analyzing and visualizing digital medical images. Two new segmentation methods have been developed: a probability based segmentation algorithm, and a segmentation algorithm that uses a fuzzy rule based system to generate “similarity” values for segmentation. A visualization software application has also been developed to effectively view and manipulate digital medical images on a desktop computer as well as
  
  in an immersive environment.
  
  For the probabilistic segmentation algorithm, image data are first enhanced by manually setting the appropriate window center and width, and if needed a sharpening or noise removal filter is applied. To initialize the segmentation process, a user places a seed point within the object of interest and defines a search region for segmentation. Based on the pixels’ spatial and intensity properties, a probabilistic selection criterion is used to extract pixels with a high probability of belonging to the object. To facilitate the segmentation of multiple slices, an automatic seed selection algorithm was developed to keep the seeds in the object as its shape and/or location changes between consecutive slices.
  
  The second segmentation method, a new segmentation method using a fuzzy rule based system to segment tumors in a three-dimensional CT data was also developed. To initialize the segmentation process, the user selects a region of interest (ROI) within the tumor in the first image of the CT study set. Using the ROI’s spatial and intensity properties, fuzzy inputs are generated for use in the fuzzy rules inference system. Using a set of predefined fuzzy rules, the system generates a defuzzified output for every pixel in terms of similarity to the object. Pixels with the highest similarity values are selected as tumor. This process is automatically repeated for every subsequent slice in the CT set without further user input, as the segmented region from the previous slice is used as the ROI for the current slice. This creates a propagation of information from the previous slices, used to segment the current slice. The membership functions used during the fuzzification and defuzzification processes are adaptive to the changes in the size and pixel intensities of the current ROI. The proposed method is highly customizable to suit different needs of a user, requiring information from only a single two-dimensional image. Segmentation results from both algorithms showed success in segmenting the tumor from seven of the ten CT datasets with less than 10% false positive errors and five test cases with less than 10% false negative errors. The consistency of the segmentation results statistics also showed a high repeatability factor, with low values of inter- and intra-user variability for both methods.
- An interactive color pre-processing method to improve tumor segmentation in digital medical images
  Author(s): Marisol Martinez Escobar
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  In the last few decades the medical imaging field has grown considerably, and new techniques such as computerized axial tomography (CAT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are able to obtain medical images in noninvasive ways. These new technologies have opened the medical field, offering opportunities to improve patient diagnosis, education and training, treatment monitoring, and surgery planning. One of these opportunities is in the tumor segmentation field.
  
  Tumor segmentation is the process of virtually extracting the tumor from the healthy tissues of the body by computer algorithms. This is a complex process since tumors have different shapes, sizes, tissue densities, and locations. The algorithms that have been developed cannot take into account all these variations and higher accuracy is achieved with specialized methods that generally work with specific types of tissue data.
  
  In this thesis a color pre-processing method for segmentation is presented. Most tumor segmentation methods are based on grayscale values of the medical images. The method proposed in this thesis adds color information to the original values of the image. The user selects the region of interest (ROI), usually the tumor, from the grayscale medical image and from this initial selection, the image is mapped into a colored space. Tissue densities that are part of the tumor are assigned an RGB component and any tissues outside the tumor are set to black. The user can tweak the color ranges in real time to achieve better results, in cases where the tumor pixels are non-homogenous in terms of intensity. The user then places a seed in the center of the tumor and begins segmentation. A pixel in the image is segmented as part of the tumor if it’s within an initial 10% threshold. This threshold is determined if the seed is within the average RGB values of the tumor, and within the search region. The search region is calculated by growing or shrinking the previous region using the information or previous segmented regions of the set of slices. The method automatically segments all the slices on the set from the inputs of the first slice. All through the segmentation process the user can tweak different parameters and visualize the segmentation results in real time. The method was run on ten test cases several runs were performed for each test cases. 10 out of the 20 test runs gave false positives of 25% or less, and 10 out of the 20 test runs gave false negatives of 25% or less. Using only grayscale thresholding methods the results for the same test cases show a false positive of up to 52% on the easy cases and up to 284% on the difficult cases, and false negatives of up to 14% on the easy cases and up to 99% on the difficult cases. While the results of the grayscale and color pre-processing methods on easy cases were similar, the results of color pre-processing were much better on difficult cases, thus supporting the claim that adding color to medical images for segmentation can significantly improve accuracy of tumor segmentation.
- Metamodeling for the quantitative assessment of conceptual designs in an immersive virtual reality environment
  Author(s): Christian Noon
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  The engineering design process has undergone extensive research in the area of detailed design. Many computer aided design (CAD) software packages have been developed from this research to provide an integral analysis tool for companies in the detailed design phase. However with the development of more complex technologies and systems, decisions made earlier in the design process have been crucial to product success. To help provide valuable information to assist these earlier decisions, tools have also been developed for conceptual design such as lightened CAD packages, concept elimination methods, and image processing software. Unfortunately, these tools have been proven ineffective based on the inability to provide a lower fidelity real-time analysis of each and every concept. By providing real-time analysis, engineers could spend more time evaluating every concept mathematically and base decisions on factual information instead of personal opinion.
  
  On a different note, companies continually undergo next generation development of their products. This continuous cycle of design iterations generates a stockpile of high fidelity analysis which we refer to as “legacy data.” Legacy data contains thousands of geometrical properties and analytical data used to assess the validity of previous designs. This data creates a vast amount of analytical engineering knowledge which can be harnessed to help evaluate the validity of future designs. Statistical approximations known as metamodels can be applied to summarize the general trends of the inputs and outputs of legacy dataset, and eliminate the need for recreating CAD analysis models for each concept. Metamodeling techniques cannot produce 100% accuracy, but at the conceptual design stage, 100% accuracy is not a necessity. This thesis presents an implementation scheme for incorporating Polynomial Response Surface (PRS) methods, Kriging Approximations, and Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBFNN) into conceptual design. A conceptual design software application, the Advanced Systems Design Suite (ASDS), has also been developed to incorporate these metamodeling techniques into assessment tools to evaluate conceptual design concepts in both a desktop and immersive virtual reality (VR) environment. The goal of the implementation scheme was to develop a strategy for constructing metamodels upon conceptual design datasets based upon their ability to perform under several conditions including various sample sizes, dataset linearity, interpolation within a domain, and extrapolation outside a domain. In order to develop the implementation scheme, two conceptual design datasets, wheel loading and stress analysis, were constructed due to a lack of available legacy data. The two datasets were setup using a design of experiments (DOE) to generate accurate sample points for the datasets. Once the DOE was formulated, digital prototypes were created in CAD software and the FEA test runs generated the responses of the
  
  DOE input parameters. The results of these FEA simulations generated the necessary conceptual design datasets required analyze the three metamodeling techniques. The performance results revealed that each metamodeling technique outperformed the others when tested again the various parameters. For instance, PRS metamodels performed very well when extrapolating outside its domain and with datasets consisting of more than 40 sample points. PRS metamodels require very setup and can be generated very quickly. If speed is the key consideration for metamodel construction, then PRS is the best option. Kriging metamodels showed the best performance with any non-linear dataset and large design space datasets exhibiting linear or non-linear behavior. Kriging metamodels are a very robust metamodeling technique especially when using a first-order global model on nonlinear datasets. On the downside, Kriging metamodels require slightly more time to setup and construct than PRS metamodels. RBFNN metamodels performed well when interpolating within a large design space and on any sample size of linear datasets. However to reach performance levels of either PRS or Kriging, the ideal radius value must be determined prior to constructing the final model which took hours on small datasets. If the datasets consisted of thousands of design variables, constructing a RBFNN metamodel would take days to weeks to generate. However if construction time is not an issue, RBFNN metamodels outperform both PRS and Kriging techniques on linear datasets.
  
  This implementation scheme for incorporating metamodels into conceptual design provides a method for generating rapid assessment capabilities as an alternative to high fidelity analysis. Future work includes evaluating additional conceptual design datasets to create a more robust implementation scheme. More research will also be done in implementing additional types and varying setup parameters of both Kriging Approximations and Radial Basis Function Neural Networks.
- Applications of narrative to the engineering decision making process and the pedagogy of engineering education
  Author(s): Todd Dusold
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  Narrative is defined as a basic form of human communication. It is through narrative that humans experience and comprehend life. Using narrative as a tool to improve communication and comprehension requires incorporating several components into a complete narrative structure. The components of a narrative consist of a story; that is, a sequence of events providing chronological order and context to a subject, and a method of discourse; that is, the means in which the story is told. Creating narrative allows for increased cognitive understanding of a subject because it is the way in which we as humans naturally communicate. This paper examines how narrative may be used in engineering decision making. Engineering is a field where data is often presented with little context. This data is difficult to understand at first glance and occasionally requires explanation from experts closest to the data set. Engineering courses are not much different in that students are often faced with computational problems that are taken out of context. Practice in solving problems is necessary; however, these problems are often out of context and use idealized situations, thus hindering students’ ability to transfer knowledge to new situations. Using narrative to place problems in a real world context allows the students to experience situations closer to real world working environments. Outside of the engineering classroom, engineers face large amounts of data generated from projects with large design teams. Arranging the data into a narrative by adding layers of context can aid in comprehension of project data and also help bridge communication gaps between multiple engineering disciplines. Engineering groups tend to do this today, and indeed many companies have formalized engineering processes that unknowingly create a narrative. Understanding the nature of narrative can improve these processes. In addition, engineering software today is like a shattered mosaic of brilliant colors, and building software that brings these pieces of the mosaic into a coherent, integrated picture would significantly benefit the engineering decision making process.
- The application of polynomial response surface and polynomial chaos expansion metamodels within an augmented reality conceptual design environment
  Author(s): Andrew Koehring
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  The engineering design process consists of many stages. In the conceptual phase, potential designs are generated and evaluated without considering specifics. Winning concepts then advance to the detail design and high fidelity simulation stages. At this point in the process, very accurate representations are made for each design and are then subjected to rigorous analysis. With the advancement of computer technology, these last two phases have been very well served by the software community. Engineering software such as computeraided design (CAD), finite element analysis (FEA), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have become an inseparable part of the design process for many engineered products and processes. Conceptual design tools, on the other hand, have not undergone this type of advancement, where much of the work is still done with little to no digital technology. Detail oriented tools require a significant amount of time and training to use effectively. This investment is considered worthwhile when high fidelity models are needed. However, conceptual design has no need for this level of detail. Instead, rapid concept generation and evaluation are the primary goals. Considering the lack of adequate tools to suit these needs, new software was created. This thesis discusses the development of that conceptual design application.
  
  Traditional design tools rely on a two dimensional mouse to perform three dimensional actions. While many designers have become familiar with this approach, it is not intuitive to an inexperienced user. In order to enhance the usability of the developed application, a new interaction method was applied. Augmented reality (AR) is a developing research area that combines virtual elements with the real world. This capability was used to create a three dimensional interface for the engineering design application. Using specially tracked interface objects, the user’s hands become the primary method of interaction. Within this AR environment, users are able perform many of the basic actions available within a CAD system such as object manipulation, editing, and assembly. The same design environment also provides real time assessment data. Calculations for center of gravity and wheel loading can be done with the click of a few buttons. Results are displayed to the user in the AR scene. In order to support the quantitative analysis tools necessary for conceptual design, additional research was done in the area of metamodeling. Metamodels are capable of providing approximations for more complex analyses. In the case of the wheel loading calculation, the approximation takes the place of a time consuming FEA simulation. Two different metamodeling techniques were studied in this thesis: polynomial response surface (PRS) and polynomial chaos expansion (PCE). While only the wheel loading case study was included in the developed application, an additional design problem was analyzed to assess the capabilities of both methods for conceptual design. In the second study, the maximum stresses and displacements within the support frame of a bucket truck were modeled. The source data for building the approximations was generated via an FEA simulation of digital mockups, since no legacy data was available. With this information, experimental models were constructed by varying several factors, including: the distribution of source and test data, the number of input trials, the inclusion of interaction effects, and the addition of third order terms. Comparisons were also drawn between the two metamodeling techniques.
  
  For the wheel loading models, third order models with interaction effects provided a good fit of the data (root mean square error of less than 10%) with as few as thirty input data points. With minimal source data, however, second order models and those without interaction effects outperformed third order counterparts. The PRS and PCE methods performed almost equivalently with sufficient source data. Difference began to appear at the twenty trial case. PRS was more suited to wider distributions of data. The PCE technique better handled smaller distributions and extrapolation to larger test data. The support frame problem represented a more difficult analysis with non-linear responses. While initial third order results from the PCE models were better than those for PRS, both had significantly higher error than in the previous case study. However, with simpler second order models and sufficient input data (more than thirty trials) adequate approximation results were achieved. The less complex responses had error around 10%, and the model predictions for the nonlinear response were reduced to around 20%. These results demonstrate that useful approximations can be constructed from minimal data. Such models, despite the uncertainty involved, will be able to provide designers with helpful information at the conceptual stage of a design process.
- Relationships between user performance and spatial ability in using map-based software on pen-based devices
  Author(s): Michelle Rusch
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2008
  This thesis explored the association between individual differences and software user performance. The primary goal was to investigate the relationship between spatial ability and user performance in the context of map software. Two studies were conducted to investigate this goal. There were two hypotheses that applied to both user studies. First, we expected that performance measures such as time to complete a task or accuracy would be positively correlated with spatial ability, as measured by scores on cognitive assessments for sub-factors of spatial ability. Second, we hypothesized that differences between subjects with low spatial ability and subjects with high spatial ability would be more pronounced with complex tasks and interfaces, such as a map interface or a task to compare ground settings with a map, relative to simpler tasks, such as finding a button that matched a target color or using map software with guidance on how to use the software to execute the task protocol.
  
  Each user study also incorporated additional questions unique to the study. Our first user study investigated how the relationship between spatial ability and performance might be affected by the relevance of the button label and alternative button layouts. This research indicated that good button labeling helps to mitigate performance differences among subjects with varying spatial ability. Additionally, we found support that performance differences related to spatial ability were most apparent in complex conditions. The second study investigated whether the association between spatial ability and user performance was affected by offering guidance on performing a task and whether orientation and visualization were dissociable factors for a task involving ground to map comparisons. While there were no benefits found from the guidance, visualization and orientation skills were found to be dissociable from one another for accuracy and tool use. Findings from both studies underscore the importance of interface design in potentially reducing costs and burden for users of map-based software in a small screen computing environment.
- Cognition and Technology: Effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems for software training
  Author(s): Claver Hategekimana
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2008
  This study addresses the potential of using an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to tutor on off-the-shelf (OTS) software. ITSs have been successfully used to tutor on a variety of learning domains, but there has been little research comparing ITS-based training on an OTS application with traditional software training approaches such as books or interactive software simulations. The work presented here includes procedures and results for Paint.NET training and evaluation using three methods: book-based, interactive simulation, and an ITS. It is reported that there were some associations between the training method and training experiences. Book-based training exhibited higher scores on both task performance and system usability perception, while better times were recorded for the simulation approach. Concept acquisition score was not found to significantly correlate with training method, however. Additionally, it was found that interactions between training mode and spatial ability or general self-efficacy (GSE) significantly affected system usability perception. It was also learned that within ITS high computer self-efficacy (CSE) learners outperformed these with low CSE on task performance measure. Similar findings were reported for simulation group where high-spatial learners recorded better training times than low-spatial learners. Overall, results indicated that four individual characteristics to succeed indicators explored in this study significantly correlated with total training time and system usability measures. It is concluded that if an ITS is to be a tutor on OTS application then further refinements are needed.
- BioN: a novel interface for biological network visualization
  Author(s): Lisa McGarthwaite
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  Information Visualization impacts every day life. As life continues to become more technologically enhanced, increasing amounts of data are being collected, stored, and analyzed. Technology assists researchers and scientists not only to make new discoveries, but also to create new ways to explore the information they collect. This paper contains a small preview of the vast field of Information Visualization. From the various fields of visualization, visualization history, and current findings, we investigate the field’s impact. After studying the current technologies and tools for visualizing networks, we believe there is a more optimal solution than ones currently in use. We propose BioN, a new, novel touchbased interface for exploration and discovery of large, multivariate biological networks. The new program incorporates the ability to see the networked data in multi-windowed and multigraphed representation. This ability will allow users to exploit the inherent strengths in the different graphs formats.
- Design patterns in level design: common practices in simulated environment construction
  Author(s): Denise Bacher
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  The creation of video game levels is an inexact and often intuitive process. Currently, much of level design focuses on the “how” as opposed to the “why.” That is to say, level designers know how to build a level, but do not know why they built it the way they did. Before more immersive player experiences can occur, an understanding of what levels are, what common functionality exists between them, and a means of consistently reproducing player behaviors is necessary. The author advances the premise that by examining the use of design patterns in architecture, computer science, and interaction design, a foundation can be created to better characterize commonly occurring problems and solutions within level design. When multiple patterns are applied, the group becomes a language. This language can then be used as a means for creating novel levels as well as a lexicon for analyzing existing games.
- The acceptance of domestic technology: TAM as applied to a proposed classification scheme
  Author(s): Helen Colvin
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2008
  Information systems researchers have studied technology acceptance for decades. Domestic technologies, such as ambient computing devices or smart homes have more recently begun to show up in scientific literature, mostly in the area of computing design. Such studies often use an ethnographic method, or study the development and potential use of particular gadgets or systems. Consumers have largely not embraced these technologies. In asking why this is the case, a previously proven method to study technology acceptance was sought and found in Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This study seeks to demonstrate the applicability of TAM to the study of emerging domestic technologies. In addition, a classification scheme is proposed for domestic technologies, classifying technologies based on task goal and technology type. Participants in the study were exposed to technologies from each of the four classification quadrants. Standard TAM measures, along with measures of gender, sex role attitude, and product class involvement were administered to 113 participants and path analysis was performed to determine the effect on behavioral intention (i.e., the intention to use the technology) of these factors.
- Design and evaluation of auditory spatial cues for decision making within a game environment for persons with visual impairments
  Author(s): Michael Oren
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  An audio platform game was created and evaluated in order to answer the question of whether or not an audio game could be designed that effectively conveys the spatial information necessary for persons with visual impairments to successfully navigate the game levels and respond to audio cues in time to avoid obstacles. The game used several types of audio cues (sounds and speech) to convey the spatial setup (map) of the game world. Most audio-only players seemed to be able to create a workable mental map from the game’s sound cues alone, pointing to potential for the further development of similar audio games for persons with visual impairments. The research also investigated the navigational strategies used by persons with visual impairments and the accuracy of the participants’ mental maps as a consequence of their navigational strategy. A comparisons of the maps created by visually impaired participants with those created by sighted participants playing the game with and without graphics, showed no statistically significant difference in map accuracy between groups. However, there was a marked difference between the number of “invented” objects when we compared this value between the sighted audio-only group and the other groups, which could serve as an area for future research.
- Ethnic-Identity Intensity as a Moderator of the technology acceptance model and its antedecents
  Author(s): Marcus Alexander
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2008
  The goal of this dissertation is oriented to study the longitudinal motivation of minorities to adopt and learn new, innovative technologies. The primary research question: is there some reason the African-American experience is driving certain sub-groups of the population to the wrong side of the digital divide? To examine this, I introduce ethnic identity as a moderating variable to a leftward extended technology acceptance model (TAM). Additionally, both components of the classic TAM (ease of use and usefulness) are broken down into two antecedents: 1) ease of use- a) trait efficacy and b) state efficacy and 2) usefulness (completely replaced by) - a) symbolic utility and b) functional utility. State efficacy has a significant relationship to both ease of use as well as intent to use. Functional utility has a significant relationship to intent to use. Ethnic-Identity and its intensity does have a moderating effect to a more parsimonious model (were significant paths are compared for invariance. Implications for innovative technology development and adoption as a function of one's motivations and experiences are discussed.
- Computer Aided Process Planning for Rapid Prototyping using a Genetic Algorithm
  Author(s): Alex Renner
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2008
  This thesis presents a new method for Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) for a subtractive Rapid Prototyping (RP) process. The “CNC-RP” process uses a 4-axis CNC machining center to create parts with flat end-mills. The objective is to determine the optimal system parameters for the RP process - those that enable parts to be created in a shorter amount of time. Two main contributions make this possible. First, a method of generating different machining orientation sets enables the part to be created with the same level of safety and quality available with the current system. Second, machining time is related to tool selection. These two contributions are combined into a single objective function. A Genetic Algorithm technique is implemented to determine the best machining tool sizes and machining orientations. The results show that a Genetic Algorithm can be applied to a RP process plan to reduce the total processing time.
- Design and evaluation of a perceptually adaptive rendering system for immersive virtual reality environments
  Author(s): Kimberly Weaver
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
  This thesis presents the design and evaluation of a perceptually adaptive rendering system for immersive virtual reality. Rendering realistic computer generated scenes can be computationally intensive. Perceptually adaptive rendering reduces the computational burden by rendering detail only where it is needed. A rendering system was designed to employ perceptually adaptive rendering techniques in environments running in immersive virtual reality. The rendering system combines lessons learned from psychology and computer science. Eccentricity from the user‟s point of gaze is used to determine when to render detail in an immersive virtual environment, and when it can be omitted. A pilot study and a full study were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of the perceptually adaptive rendering system. The studies showed that frame rates can be improved without overly distracting the user when an eccentricity-based perceptually adaptive rendering technique is employed. Perceptually adaptive rendering techniques can be applied in older systems and enable them to display higher quality environments without reducing interactivity.
- The Paleontological Stratigraphic Interval Construction and Analysis Tool
  Author(s): Josh Reed
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
  Core description diagrams are the primary record of the cylindrical rock samples that result from the scientific drilling process. Typically, these diagrams are drawn by hand in field books and then drafted up in a graphics program for publication. Very rarely are the actual data encoded in the diagrams, e.g., depth in core, grain size, and lithology, captured in a format that can be manipulated and analyzed. This thesis introduces the Paleontological Stratigraphic Interval Construction and Analysis Tool (PSICAT), an interactive, cross-platform environment for creating, viewing, and editing core description diagrams, and discusses the design and implementation of its extensible software architecture and data model which allows it to seamlessly capture and visualize core description data. PSICAT was used to log nearly 1300 meters of sediment core drilled during ANtarctic DRILLing (ANDRILL) project's McMurdo Ice Shelf expedition.
- Medium of Gameplay
  Author(s): Chad Kilgore
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
- The effect of leads on cognitive load and learning in a conceptually rich hypertext environment
  Author(s): Pavlo D. Antonenko
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2007
  The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether leads affect cognitive load and learning from conceptually rich hypertext. Measures of cognitive load included selfreport of mental effort, reading time, and event-related desynchronization percentage of alpha, beta, and theta brain wave rhythms. Conceptual and structural knowledge tests, as well as a recall measure were used to determine learning performance. Measures of learners’ reading ability, prior knowledge, and metacognitive awareness were employed to establish the effect of individual differences on cognitive load and learning from traditional and leadaugmented hypertext. Results demonstrated that while leads appeared to reduce brain wave activity associated with split attention, processing of redundant information contained in hypertext nodes may have increased extraneous cognitive load, and decreased germane load that is required for learning to take place. Whereas the benefits of leads relative to cognitive load and learning may have been mediated by the redundancy effect, learners with better developed metacognitive skills tended to use leads as a tool to review information in the linked nodes while revisiting content in the primary text passage. Limitations of the currently available cognitive load measures are discussed as applied to direct assessment of this theoretical construct.
- Painter training in virtual reality: conceptualization, design, and implementation
  Author(s): Steven Pautz
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
  This thesis describes the conceptualization, design, and implementation of a tool which simulates the activity of spray painting, intended to augment the training of industrial spray painters at John Deere. Spray painting is a difficult task, and current methods of training do not result in the desired level of trainee expertise and performance. Through close cooperation with stakeholders at John Deere, a virtual reality-based simulation tool has been created, which provides a realistic recreation of the spray painting experience--particularly the feedback offered by the behavior and visual appearance of paint sprayed onto a surface. This paper discusses the motivation, intent, structure, and technical details which define and direct that simulation. A number of technologies were used in this simulation, and a number of algorithms developed, in order to provide an accurate and effective reproduction of the spray painting experience. These include the use of a physical paint spray gun, the software modeling of various system components and their interactions with each other, the creation of several different tools and features for feedback and review, and the detailed simulation of both the behavior and the visual appearance of wet paint applied to a surface, in accordance with the specific attributes of the paint. These features provide feedback similar to—and in some cases greater than—the feedback available during the actual paint spraying process, allowing a trainee to develop the skills necessary to ensure proper paint application without incurring the monetary, material, and environmental costs associated with physical painting.
- Combining physical constraints with geometric constraint-based modeling for virtual assembly
  Author(s): Abhishek Seth
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2007
  The human-computer interface technology provided in modern CAD systems makes the use of two dimensional (2D)
  computer interfaces, e.g. a keyboard and mouse, to generate and interact with CAD models. In addition, all CAD systems project complex 3D CAD models on a two dimensional computer screen, and the designer has to understand the spatial relationship of the different parts in the assembly by visualizing it in his/her mind. Because of the 2D nature of the keyboard and mouse, his/her interaction with complex 3D CAD models is restrictive and unintuitive. As compared to the traditional computer interface, VR provides a more interactive and intuitive interface for interacting with complex 3D CAD models; however, the high cost related to the VR equipment and the high level of technical skill required for implementing these technologies have restricted the widespread acceptance of such useful technologies. With the development of low-cost VR technologies in recent years, VR solutions have become more accessible. The objective of the research presented in this thesis is to implement the currently available low-cost VR technology for providing solution to the human-computer interaction problems present in today's CAD applications. The thesis first reviews and analyzes some of the low-cost VR applications which are available in the market for interacting with CAD models. It then elucidates the development and implementation of a low-cost VR human-computer interface, the "VR CAD Model Viewer," which is capable of importing and rendering stereo views of CAD models made in CAD systems like Pro/Engineer. The application developed also provides the user with the 3D 6-degree of freedom Data Glove device to interact with CAD models using his/her hands. A human subjects study is also performed which aims at recording the interface performance and user feedback about the use and intuitiveness of the interface. Studying this new type of learning experience and charting its strengths and limits is an important frontier for cognitive science research, scientific modeling, and constructive pedagogy.
- Developing virtual watersheds for evaluating the dynamics of land use change
  Author(s): Sumit Sharma
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
- Development of an immersive game-based virtual reality training program to teach fire safety skills to children
  Author(s): Emily Ericson
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
  Injuries from residential fires are often overlooked as a dangerous safety concern for children. While lectures and
  classroom learning techniques can be effective in mitigating this risk, studies have shown that kids retain information better if they are allowed to practice escape techniques. Virtual Reality (VR) has been used both to simulate situations that are too dangerous to practice in real life and as a tool to help children learn. This thesis presents the two stage development of the Fire Safety Project, a game-based VR training environment to increase children’s understanding of fire safety. In the first iteration students help firefighters to identify home fire hazards and then practice escaping from a simulated fire in a virtual environment. Surveys administered show that participants felt that they had learned something during training. Many young participants also wanted to have active control over the virtual environment. In response, the second iteration is more game-based and allows children to explore the environment independently and “zap” fire hazards with the help of a tracked 6DOF wand. A user study was carried out and results indicate that students enjoyed the program; however there were no concrete learning gains from the use of the VR simulation.
- AI Loom: a generic development framework for multi-agent systems ideally suited for virtual worlds
  Author(s): Josh Brown
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
  This thesis discusses the use of a multiagent system as a framework for the development of a distributed virtual world. The research has resulted in the development of a distributed generic multiagent system called AI Loom and a prototype distributed virtual world called Plane. The discussion in this thesis focuses on the approach taken and the discussions made in the design and implementation of both of these technologies.
- Effects of field of view and stereo graphics on memory in immersive command and control
  Author(s): K.C. Dohse
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
  Understanding what factors contribute to performance in virtual environments is key to designing future systems for training and teleoperation. The military is already a large user of virtual reality for training and may use virtual reality for real-time operations in the future for command and control. This research aims to identify what effects manipulating the field of view and the use of stereoscopic graphics have on performance of memory-based tasks. Presence, situation awareness, workload and simulator sickness were measured. The results of a controlled study with 100 subjects did not find a statistically significant relationship between field of view or stereo and memory performance. The results also indicated that memory performance is significantly correlated positively with situation awareness and negatively with frustration. This research indicates that the use of stereo graphics and large displays do not necessarily increase situation awareness in all contexts, but that systems should strive for higher situation awareness in order to increase a user's memory of the simulation.
- Methods for Augmented Reality E-commerce
  Author(s): Yuzhu Lu
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2007
  A new type of e-commerce system and related techniques are presented in this dissertation that customers of this type of e-commerce could visually bring product into their physical environment for interaction. The development and user study of this e-commerce system are provided. A new modeling method, which recovers 3D model directly from 2D photos without knowing camera information, is also presented to reduce the modeling cost of this new type of e-commerce. Also an immersive AR environment with GPU based occlusion is also presented to improve the rendering and usability of AR applications. Experiment results and data show the validity of these new technologies.
- Real-time water simulation and rendering using features of the latest Ope-capable graphics hardware
  Author(s): Ken Kopecky
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2007
  This thesis discusses methods of easily rendering and simulating water, as well as simulating its effect on, and the effects on it from, physical objects.
- Synesthetic music experience communicator
  Author(s): Lew Hill
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2006
  The Synesthetic Music Experience Communicator combines research in the areas of human computer interaction, music technology, and human perception to illustrate the experience of synesthesian mental imagery in response to musical sounds. Synesthesian musicians have reported positive benefits from their augmented awareness of sound in the areas of pitch identification, memorization, composition, and improvisation. This dissertation attempts to communicate both the experience and performance benefits associated with this cognitive phenomenon. Several virtual worlds have been developed to explore group education, rehearsal, and the artistic transformation of live performances into informative and entertaining visual presentations. Initial inspirations, background research, development stages, iterations, user evaluation, and future directions are discussed. Two virtual reality prototype systems are overviewed. The first demonstrates chromesthetic translations of real-time Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) events. The second demonstrates real-time transformations of multi-band Fast Fourier Transform processed audio into visual scenery. Observations and feedback about the initial prototype systems are summarized. Three systems are proposed which expand the initial prototypes and demonstrate concepts for computer augmented ensemble rehearsals. The Synesthetic Visualizer modules combine real-time audio and MIDI data to demonstrate synesthesia and photism-like imagery. The Computer Augmented Percussion Trainer and Small Ensemble Trainer are proposed to augment musical practices and rehearsals by providing real-time displays of ensemble members’ performances and displaying transformations between instrument fingerings. An introductory user study is conducted to determine which aspects of music are best communicated by the visual displays and to evaluate the potential benefits of this synesthetic approach. The user study asks participants to consider this research in relationship to existing music visualization and education methods. Exhibitions and publication efforts are reviewed. The user study, observations, and exhibitions serve to validate the core hypothesis of this research. The dissertation concludes by proposing an intelligent interactive synesthetic software agent to facilitate profile driven multimedia content creation.
- The Mole: a Pressure-Sensitive Mouse
  Author(s): Jake Ingman
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2006
- Augmented reality tangible interfaces for CAD design review
  Author(s): Ronald Sidharta
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2006
  CAD programs have been in development for almost forty years. In the beginning, CAD was synonymous with the electronic creation and storage of 2D drawings, a replacement for the traditional draftsmen's table. Though CAD has evolved over the ensuing years to a primarily 3D tool, its 2D roots are clearly evident in the user interface. The creation of 2D drawings maps naturally to the interfaces provided by 2D desktop computers, but as the role of CAD programs has become increasingly three dimensional, the 2D analogy is extended beyond the breaking point. Unlike 2D drawing, the desktop metaphor does not provide an intuitive mechanism for the creation and manipulation of 3D objects. In order to adapt the 2D desktop to create and manage 3D objects, new interface methodologies and special purpose widgets were invented to map 2D actions into 3D, mappings that require significant training for users and increase their cognitive load. The goal of the research presented in this thesis is to consider an alternative to 2D desktop based interfaces for design review, an alternative that reduce the users' cognitive load while selecting and manipulating 3D objects during the design review process. In this thesis, we identify three specific interaction challenges common to design reviews: 3D browsing, 3D positioning/orientation, and 3D assembly/disassembly. We then describe a new set of Augmented Tangible Interfaces (ATI) designed to more naturally support these three tasks. ATI uses augmented reality techniques to allow a computer to recognize a set of tangible objects and generate virtual graphics that integrate with a user's vision, letting those users "see" and "handle" those virtual 3D objects naturally, as if they were real, physical objects. In this thesis, we discuss the research problem and the related research that motivated us to develop this new ATI. We then discuss the detailed implementation of our system, both hardware and software. In the HCI consideration chapter we discuss the usability of the system and then discuss future work.
- An integrated task manager for virtual command and control
  Author(s): Thomas Batkiewicz
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2006
  The Task Manager is a desktop/tablet PC interface to the Battlespace research project that provides interactions and displays for supervisory control of unmanned aerial vehicles. Utilizing a north-up map display, the Task Manager provides a direct-manipulation interface to the units involved in an engagement. Used in two primary modes, the Task Manager can be used either in a planning/review mode that can be used to generate mission scenarios or a live-streaming mode that connects to a live Battlespace simulation via a network connection to edit and update path information on the fly. The goal of this research is to combine the precision of 2D mouse and pen-based interaction with the increased situational awareness provided by 3D battlefield visualizations like the Battlespace application. Combined use of these interfaces, either by a single operator or a small team of operators with task-specific roles, is proposed to produce a more favorable ratio of operators to units in field operations with superior decision-making capabilities due to the specific nature of the interfaces.
- It came from the Internet: Media diffusion of computer security threats
  Author(s): Adam Patridge
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2006
  This study examined media coverage of computer security threats by print sources using diffusion of innovation as the theoretical background. A content analysis was done on 2322 articles from keyword searches on five computer security threat names. After limiting coverage to present-tense usage of threat names, 902 articles remained. The analysis was done based on the knowledge types presented in articles, the number of days spent covering threats, the distribution of coverage over that time span, the number of articles per single media sources, the distribution of knowledge types per week of coverage, and the placement of media sources within adopter categories. Across all threats, there articles were 35 percent awareness-knowledge, 42 percent how-to knowledge, and 23 percent principles-knowledge. Coverage spans ranged from 63 days to 567 days (with an average of 287 days). The distribution of coverage over time for all threats showed steep spikes coinciding with the release of an exploit to known vulnerabilities. The top 20 individual media
  sources were mostly wire services (75 percent, with 20 percent newspapers and five percent magazines); only 47 of the 176 individual sources had at least five articles across all threats. Knowledge types per week of coverage were varied across the threats. In the adopter categories, innovators were all wire services, early adopters were nine newspapers and 15 wire services, and early majority adopters were 37 newspapers, 16 wire services, and eleven magazines. Across all threats, there was a significant coverage spike that showed up following the release of an exploit to a vulnerability. Wire services were consistently part of the first sources to cover a threat and were often quite dense with repeated coverage compared to newspapers and magazines.
- The development of a virtual reality based CAD system for design review
  Author(s): Thomas Erlemeier
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2006
  Virtual reality is currently utilized to view and evaluate product designs but is not used to alter designs. The design is typically completed on desktop workstations with CAD software and then evaluated within a virtual environment. Integrating VR and CAD could potentially improve designs by allowing several engineers and managers to critique and modify designs together, enabling concurrent engineering. This thesis discusses the development of a virtual reality based CAD system for altering designs during a design review. A list of criteria was first created to assess the system’s effectiveness in a design review which formed the basis for the development. The system integrates Pro/Engineer using the J-Link interface and VR Juggler. A wireless networked tablet PC along with a wand and tracker were chosen to operate the system. The developed system proved to meet the majority of the criteria and shows potential to meet all of the criteria.
- Low-cost eye-tracking for human computer interaction
  Author(s): Dongheng Li
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2006
  Knowing the user's point of gaze has long held the promise of being a useful methodology for human computer interaction. However, a number of barriers have stood in the way of the integration of eye tracking into everyday applications, including the intrusiveness, robustness, availability, and price of eye-tracking systems. The goal of this thesis is to lower these barriers so that eye tracking can be used to enhance current human computer interfaces. An eye-tracking system was developed. The system consists of an open-hardware design for a digital eye tracker that can be built from low-cost o -the-shelf components, and a set of open-source software tools for digital image capture, manipulation, and analysis in eye-tracking applications. Both infrared and visible spectrum eye-tracking algorithms were developed and used to calculate the user's point of gaze in two types of eye tracking systems, head-mounted and remote eye trackers. The accuracy of eye tracking was found to be approximately one degree of visual angle. It is expected that the availability of this system will facilitate the development of eyetracking applications and the eventual integration of eye tracking into the next generation of everyday human computer interfaces.
- Managing multiple unmanned aerial vehicles from a 3D virtual environment
  Author(s): Jared Knutzon
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2006
  One hundred and three years ago the aviation age began with the Wright brothers in Kittyhawk, North Carolina. It is well known that manned aviation has made tremendous progress over the decades that followed. Less familiar are the deep history and roots of unmanned aviation, which is often thought of as a recent phenomenon. Initially, modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were instruments of war, and the challenge was to develop an unmanned system that could fly a preplanned route and return home. Once this level of autonomy was reached, it became clear that UAVs would have a considerable impact on future conflicts, but the possibilities extend beyond the practice of war and have potential to affect almost everyone’s lives. This potential, however, will not be met with current interface technologies, which require a team of operators to control one UAV. New technologies must be created to reverse this ratio. One operator must be able to control multiple UAVs. To accomplish this goal, the operator must be able to manage the UAVs’ flight paths and sensor feeds. The operator must also be able to maintain good situational awareness. This dissertation presents a 3D immersive ground control station capable of dynamic real-time path re-planning and in-context target confirmation as one possible solution to these challenges.
- Virtual environment UAV swarm management using GPU calculated digital pheromones
  Author(s): Bryan Walter
  - Type: dissertation
  - Year: 2005
  Our future military force will be complex: a highly integrated mix of manned and unmanned units. These unmanned units could function individually or within a swarm. The readiness of future warfighters to work alongside and utilize these new forces depends on the creation of usable interfaces and training simulators. The difficulty is that current unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control interfaces require too much operator attention and common swarm control methods require expensive computational power. This dissertation discusses how to improve upon current user interfaces and how to improve the performance of a common swarm control method, the digital pheromone field. This method uses digital pheromones to bias the movements of individual units within a swarm toward areas that are attractive and away from areas that are dangerous or unattractive. A more efficient method for performing pheromone field calculations is introduced, one that harnesses the power of the GPU (graphics processing unit) in today's graphics cards by reshaping the ADAPTIV swarm control algorithm into a form acceptable to the GPU's pipeline [1]. The GPU ADAPTIV implementation is tested in scenarios that involve up to 50,000 virtual UAVs. When compared to its counterpart CPU implementation, the GPU version performed over 30 times faster than the CPU version. This gain translates directly into lower costs for training the future warfighter today and fielding the swarms of tomorrow. Finally, this dissertation presents a vision for combining these new interface ideas and performance enhancements into an effective swarm control interface and training simulator.
- Designs for a general purpose wearable computer
  Author(s): Brian Mila
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2005
  To provide input and control, wearable computer solutions must replace the familiar desktop interface devices of keyboard and mouse with specialized hardware. While successful wearable input solutions have been developed for domain specific applications, a standard input interface for general purpose wearable computing has yet to emerge. The steep learning curves and unruly hardware of the solutions proposed thus far are one of the factors keeping wearable computing out of the mainstream. This thesis proposes a new input and control approach that increases wearable computing usability by integrating several commonly available devices into a comprehensive system. The proposed system integrates commercial, off the shelf hardware together with generalized software applications that increase the usability and general utility of a wearable computer. The hardware consists of a wearable computer, a clip-on microdisplay eyepiece and a standard PDA running Pocket PC. Through a Bluetooth network, the PDA can wirelessly control the text input (keyboard) and pointer control (mouse) of the wearable computer. The software consists of two applications designed to provide easy access to new content and previously stored data. One application presents a user with a continuous scroll of new content which can be attended to at the user's discretion. The content is dynamically retrieved from any online sources, and can range from news feeds and stock quotes to calendars and weather reports. New content can be added to the user's persistent digital store at any time. The second application, a private peer-to-peer data sharing program called the Tangle, was developed to fuse the user's multiple data sources (home or work computer, wearable computer, PDA) into a single, searchable repository. Tangle also provides easy access to the digital assets of other, trusted Tangle users. Tangle makes it easy for virtually any content that a user encounters while using the system to be easily added to the user's persistent data store.
- Interaction in an immersive virtual Beijing courtyard house
  Author(s): Qian Chen
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2005
  Courtyard housing had been a standard dwelling type in China for more than 3000 years, which integrated tightly with local customs, aesthetics, philosophy, and natural conditions. As the representative of Chinese courtyard housing, Beijing's style has its unique features including structure, plan layout, and urban form. How to present these features effectively is of great importance to understand Beijing courtyard housing. The current major visualization methods in architecture include physical model, digital imaging, and hand drawing. All of them have two common limitations-- small dimensions and non-interaction. As an alternative, VR owns two advantages--immersion and interactivity. In a full-immersive VR environment, such as the C6, users can examine virtual buildings at full-scale and operate models interactively at real-time. Thus, this project attempts to implement an interactive simulation of Beijing courtyard house in C6, and find out if architectural knowledge can be presented through this environment. The methodological steps include VR modeling, interaction planning, and C6 implementation. A four-yard house in Beijing was used as the prototype of VR modeling. By generating the model into six versions with different nodes and textures, it was found that the fewer nodes a model has, the quicker it is in C6. The main interaction mechanism is to demonstrate the main hall's structure interactively through menu selection. The sequence to show the structure is based on its constructional process. Each menu item uses the name of structural components, and by clicking a menu item, the corresponding constructional step is shown in C6. There were five viewers invited to see the simulation and comment on the functionality of full-immersion and interactivity in this product. Overall, the results are positive that the full-immersive and interactive VR environment is potentially effective to present architectural knowledge. A major suggestion from the viewers is that more details can be added in the simulation, such as characters and furniture. Upon the accomplishment of this project, a method to implement architectural simulations efficiently in C6 could be found. In the future, this study could involve more complex interactions such as virtual inhabitants, as a means to show the Chinese culture vividly.
- Renaissance: a functional shading language
  Author(s): Chad Austin
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2005
  Programmable graphics hardware is growing in capability and flexibility at a rapid pace. Existing languages for programming this hardware make it difficult at best to build collections of custom graphics algorithms that can be combined as needed. We present a pure functional shading language, Renaissance, that uses the concepts of computational frequency and frequency inference to naturally allow composition of shader concepts without generating redundant code. We also provide most of the benefits of metaprogramming languages without the restriction of requiring a full host environment.
- Tangle: The creation of a trusted, task-based, distributed information system utilizing a peer-to-peer network
  Author(s): Jason Schneekloth
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2005
  Every day more and more people from all walks of life use computers to communicate. Using a wide variety of new tools, including email, instant messaging, online chat rooms, and blogs, people of all ages have adopted computers as a means to keep in touch. Typically, each of these communication forms requires its own application, regardless of whom information is being sent to. For example, an email client is needed send email to a friend, and a separate instant messaging client is needed to send instant messages to that same friend. Not only are different applications required to send information between the same two people, but the information is routed differently, using different network topologies and technologies, in order to complete what is essentially a simple form of communication between two people.
  
  Email and instant messaging are just two of the many examples of computer mediated communication. Everyday it seems, people find another way to use computers to share information with one another. Many other examples exist, such as sharing pictures between friends, sharing music, sharing knowledge —the list goes on and on. These ommunications typically occur within groups – friends and family, a project team, a group or division within an nterprise. The information exchanged within these groups does not respect application boundaries. For example, the people a person shares pictures with are also likely to receive email and instant messages from that person. This thesis discusses the design and creation of a comprehensive peer-to-peer communication system referred to as Tangle. The goal of Tangle is to provide a common framework and communication network to support communication in any form between a group of people, providing a common entry point for any type of communication between groups of trusted peers. With this underlying infrastructure created, Tangle provides a base set of functionality which the veryday computer user would find most useful. Tangle also defines a mechanism to create new forms of communication within a group, called a Tangle Extension. These extensions provide unlimited extensibility to the set of task oriented communications possible between groups of peers using Tangle.
- Design and implementation of general purpose reinforcement learning agents
  Author(s): Tyler Streeter
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2005
  Intelligent agents are becoming increasingly important in our society. We currently have house cleaning robots, computer-controlled opponents in video games, unmanned aerial combat vehicles, entertainment robots, and autonomous explorers in outer space. But there are many problems with the current generation of intelligent agents. Most of these problems stem from the fact that they are designed for very specific problems. Each intelligent agenthas limited adaptability to new tasks; if conditions change slightly, the agent may quicklybecome confused. Additionally, a huge engineering effort is required to design an agent foreach new task. Ideally, we would have a reusable general purpose agent design. Such ageneral purpose agent would be able to adapt to changing environments and would be easy to train to handle new tasks. To implement this agent design, we can use ideas from the field of reinforcement learning, an approach with strong mathematical foundations and intriguing biological implications. The available reinforcement learning algorithms are powerful because of their generality: agents simply receive a scalar reward value representing successor failure. Additionally, these algorithms can be combined with other powerful ideas (e.g.planning from a learned internal model). This thesis provides a step towards the goal of general purpose agents. It discusses a detailed agent design and provides a concrete software implementation of these ideas. It covers the components necessary for such a general purpose agent, starting with a minimal design andproceeding to develop a more powerful learning architecture. The final design uses temporaldifference learning, radial basis functions, planning, uncertainty estimations, and curiosity.The main contributions of this thesis are: a novel combination of temporal differencelearning with planning, uncertainty, and curiosity; a discussion of correlations betweentheoretical reinforcement learning and reward processing in biological brains; a practicalOpen Source implementation of general purpose reinforcement learning agents; andexperimental results showing learning performance on several tasks, including two physicalcontrol problems.
- Human movement tracking using a wearable wireless sensor network
  Author(s): Yifei Wang
  - Type: thesis
  - Year: 2005
  Human movement tracking systems have been used in many fields, from medical rehabilitation to virtual reality user interfaces. Most movement tracking systems are expensive, difficult to implement, and lack flexibility. Furthermore, they tend to be cumbersome when wired, making them impractical for general purpose applications. Wireless sensor network technology has been developed and widely used in outdoor environmental monitoring applications, such as, in agriculture, sensor networks are used to provide early alerts for frost damage and help in precision harvesting to maximize crop quality. It has shown that wireless sensor network is effective, efficient, inexpensive, and easy to implement. This research proposes to utilize the advantages of wireless sensor networks in the field of human movement tracking. A wearable wireless sensor network is implemented according to the guidelines of wearable systems, and its performance is evaluated with respect to the number of sensors and the communications bandwidth. A test case application involving an interactive dance performance is discussed to validate the effectiveness of our wireless sensor network and how it integrates into a virtual reality application.
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HCI Publications

Papers

Addressing Internal Security Threats with Roaming User-Based Distributed Firewalls

IT-Adventures -- A Program to Spark IT Interest in High School Students using Inquiry-Based Learning with Robotics, Game Design, and Cyber Defense

Team conflict in ICT-rich environments:Roles of technologies in conflict management.

Intersecting communities of practice in distance education.

A Usability and Accessibility Evaluation of the Census-in-Schools Web Site

Viability of virtual reality exposure therapy as a treatment alternative

Firewalls and Intrusion Prevention Systems

Software Implementation using Hardware-Based Verification for Secure Content Delivery

Improving Quality of Public Domain Digital Elevation Models through Data Fusion

Investigating the use of 3D Graphics, Haptics, and Sound for Highway Location Planning.

Exploring the use of 3-D computer graphics for teaching relative geologic time concepts in large introductory geology classes.

Interactive Geovisualization and Geometric Modelling of 3D Data - A Case Study from the Aknes Rockslide Site, Norway

Audio Platform Game (APG) Design for Players with Visual Impairments

Firewalls: Continuing Solutions for Network Security

A Virtual Reality Environment for Patient Data Visualization and Endoscopic Surgical Planning

Podcast Pilots for Distance Planning, Programming and Development

Top Five Ways to Prepare for a Virtual Collaboration

Tumor Segmentation from Computed Tomography (CT) Image Data using a Probabilistic Pixel Selection Approach

A Comprehensive Tool for Recovering 3D Models from 2D Photos with Wide Baselines

Yield improvement via minimisation of step height non-uniformity in chemical mechanical planarisation (CMP) with pressure and velocity as control variables

International Collaboration in Open Source Software Development: Implications for Enhancing Educational Practice

Comparison of Mobile Text Entry Methods

Proceedings

Utilizing Visualization Mechanisms to Improve User Performance during Cyber Defense Competitions

An Augmented Reality Tool for Conceptual Design

Supporting Interactive Haptic Shaping of 3D Geologic Surfaces with Deformation Property Painting

Skype, Elluminate, Adobe Connect, and iVisit: A Comparison of Web-Based Video Conferencing Systems for Learning and Teaching.

"I don't want to be empowered:" The challenge of involving real-world clients in instructional design experiences.

A Practical Instructional Design Approach for Instructional Multimedia Production in an Instructional Consulting Environment.

Students as Facilitators in Online Discussions: How Do Different Facilitation Strategies Impact the Quality of the Interaction?

Investigating Collaborative Learning Experiences: A Case of Cross-Border Virtual Teams.

Trust Building in Virtual Learning Teams

Virtual Reality Escapism: A New Approach to Coping with Workplace Stress

Combining 3-D Geovisualization with Force Feedback Driven User Interaction

Metamodeling for the Quantitative Assessment of Conceptual Designs

Interactive Deformation Through Mesh-Free Stress in Virtual Reality

Developing Effective Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge (TPACK) in PreK-6 Teachers

Learn to Use and Use to Learn: Technology in Virtual Learning Environments

Convergence of Physical and Logical Security: A Pre-implementation Checklist

GuardDV: A Proximity Detection Device for Homeless Survivors of Domestic Violence

Improving Direction-Giving Through Utilization of an RFID-Enabled Kiosk

A Location-based Approach for Distributed Kiosk Design

Parallel Implementation of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Through Digital Pheromone Sharing

Implementation of Digital pheromones in Particle Swarm Optimization for Constrained Optimization Problems

Three-Dimensional Multi-Objective UAVPath Planner Using Meta-Paths for Decision Making and Visualization

What determines where you look in photographs of complex objects?

An Empirical Investigation of Affordances and Conventions

Virtual Reality: A Treatment Oriented Approach to Workplace Stress, poster presentation

A Framework for Interactive Examination of Automatic Segmented Tumors in a Virtual Environment

Interactive Multi-Modal Visualization Environment for Complex System Decision Making

Virtual Reality Based Multi-Modal Teleoperation Using Mixed Autonomy

Enhancing Multi-user Interaction with Multi-touch Tabletop Displays using Hand Tracking

Effectiveness of Using an Intelligent Tutoring System to Train Users on Off-the-Shelf Software

Designing cross-border online collaborative learning experiences.

Teacher Education Goes Into Virtual Schooling: Developing National Models for Virtual Schooling Experiences.

The Design of Collaboration in the Virtual Classroom.

Improving Introductory Calculus Education with 3-D Visualization and Virtual Touch (Haptics).

Invariant Features Detected with Computer Vision Allow Better Human Object Recognition in Photographs (poster)

Allowing for Greater Network Security Management through Incorporation of a Distributed Management System

Viewpoint invariant object features attract overt visual attention (poster)

Towards Sensor Enhanced Virtual Reality Teleoperation in Dynamic Environment

Three-Dimensional Multi-objective Path Planner for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Immersive Product Configurator for Conceptual Design

A Statistical Analysis of Particle Swarm Optimization With and Without Digital Pheromones

An Integrated Cerebro-Cerebellar Model Demonstrating Associative Learning and Motor Control

Using Video-case Based Instruction in an Introduction to Teaching Profession Course

The Effects of Video-cases on Students' Perceptions of the Characteristics and Skills of a Good Teacher

Designing cross-border online collaborative learning experiences

Videoblogging as an Emerging Technology in Education

3D Reconstruction and Non linear Finite Element Analysis of the Embryonic Left Ventricle

Interactive Mesh-Free Stress Analysis for Mechanical Design Assembly with Haptics

Adaptive Fuzzy Segmentation of Tumors in Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography (CT) Image

Life Within the Empire: A Framework for Using the Internet as a Research Collaboration Space.

A Multi-Modal Interface for Road Planning using Vision, Haptics and Sound

Excuse me professor but when are you passing out the podcasts?

Big wings, No bull: Do-it-yourself podcasts for the distributed course

Implementation of Digital Pheromones for Use in Particle Swarm Optimization

Multinodal UAV Ground Control System