Integrated Human Factors Design Guidelines for Sound Interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul; Cha, Woo Chang

2004-05-01

Digital MMI, such as CRT, LCD etc., has been used increasingly in the design of main control room of the Korean standard nuclear power plants following the YGN units 3 and 4. The utilization of digital MMI may introduce various kind of sound interface into the control room design. In this project, for five top-level guideline items, including Sound Formats, Alarms, Sound Controls, Communications, and Environments, a total of 147 detail guidelines were developed and a database system for these guidelines was developed. The integrated human factors design guidelines for sound interface and the database system developed in this project will be useful for the design of sound interface of digital MMI in Korean NPPs

Integrated Human Factors Design Guidelines for Sound Interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, Woo Chang [Kumoh National Univ. of Technology, Gumi (Korea, Republic of)

2004-05-15

Digital MMI, such as CRT, LCD etc., has been used increasingly in the design of main control room of the Korean standard nuclear power plants following the YGN units 3 and 4. The utilization of digital MMI may introduce various kind of sound interface into the control room design. In this project, for five top-level guideline items, including Sound Formats, Alarms, Sound Controls, Communications, and Environments, a total of 147 detail guidelines were developed and a database system for these guidelines was developed. The integrated human factors design guidelines for sound interface and the database system developed in this project will be useful for the design of sound interface of digital MMI in Korean NPPs.

Human factors evaluation of a novel digital medicine system in psychiatry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peters-Strickland T

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Timothy Peters-Strickland,1 Ainslie Hatch,2 Anke Adenwala,3 Katie Atkinson,4 Benjamin Bartfeld5 1Global Clinical Development, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA; 2Clinical Sciences, Digital Medicine, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA; 3Biostatistics, GfK Custom Research, LLC, Chicago, IL, USA; 4Human Factors Engineering, Proteus Digital Health, Redwood, CA, USA; 5Industrial Design Specialist, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA Background: The digital medicine system (DMS, a drug–device combination developed for patients with serious mental illness, integrates adherence measurement with pharmacologic treatment by embedding an ingestible sensor in a pill, allowing for information sharing among patients, health care providers (HCPs, and caregivers via a mobile interface. Studies conducted during the DMS development process aimed to minimize cognitive burden and use-related risks and demonstrated effective use of the technology. Methods: Human factors (HF studies assessed the system’s safe and effective use by the intended users for the intended uses. The patient interface was tested in six formative HF studies followed by a validation study. The HCP/caregiver interface was tested in one study before validation. All tasks critical to safety or necessary for effective use were included. Formative studies identified use-related risks and the causes of use problems to guide design modification. Validation of the patient and HCP/caregiver interfaces assessed risks of the final product. Results: During the patient formative studies, design improvements were made to address problems and mitigate risks thought to be associated with a suboptimal system design or patient understanding of the system. In the validation study of the patient interface, 35 patients attempted 23 performance tasks, for a total of 805 attempts; 783/805 attempts were

A HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING PROCESS TO SUPPORT HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERFACE DESIGN IN CONTROL ROOM MODERNIZATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kovesdi, C.; Joe, J.; Boring, R.

2017-05-01

The primary objective of the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is to sustain operation of the existing commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) through a multi-pathway approach in conducting research and development (R&D). The Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) System Technologies pathway conducts targeted R&D to address aging and reliability concerns with legacy instrumentation and control (I&C) and other information systems in existing U.S. NPPs. Control room modernization is an important part following this pathway, and human factors experts at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have been involved in conducting R&D to support migration of new digital main control room (MCR) technologies from legacy analog and legacy digital I&C. This paper describes a human factors engineering (HFE) process that supports human-system interface (HSI) design in MCR modernization activities, particularly with migration of old digital to new digital I&C. The process described in this work is an expansion from the LWRS Report INL/EXT-16-38576, and is a requirements-driven approach that aligns with NUREG-0711 requirements. The work described builds upon the existing literature by adding more detail around key tasks and decisions to make when transitioning from HSI Design into Verification and Validation (V&V). The overall objective of this process is to inform HSI design and elicit specific, measurable, and achievable human factors criteria for new digital technologies. Upon following this process, utilities should have greater confidence with transitioning from HSI design into V&V.

Study on HRA-based method for assessing digital man-machine interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Pengcheng; Dai Licao; Zhang Li; Zhao Ming; Hu Hong

2014-01-01

In order to identify the design flaws of digital man-machine interface (MMI) that may trigger human errors or weaken the performance of operators, a HRA-based method (namely HCR + CREAM + HEC) for assessing digital MMI was established. Firstly, the HCR method was used to identify the risk scenarios of high human error probability from the overall event as a whole perspective. Then, for the identified high-risk scenarios, the CREAM was adopted to determine the various error modes and its error probability, and the failure probability was ranked. Finally, the human factors engineering checklist of digital MMI was established according to the characteristics of digital MMI, it was used to check the digital MMI with high error probability in order to identify the design flaws of digital MMI, and the suggestions of optimization were provided. The results show that the provided assessment method can quickly and efficiently identify the design flaws of digital MMI which easily trigger human errors, and the safety of operation of the digital control system for nuclear power plants can be enhanced by optimization of design. (authors)

A Tool for Assessing the Text Legibility of Digital Human Machine Interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roger Lew; Ronald L. Boring; Thomas A. Ulrich

2015-08-01

A tool intended to aid qualified professionals in the assessment of the legibility of text presented on a digital display is described. The assessment of legibility is primarily for the purposes of designing and analyzing human machine interfaces in accordance with NUREG-0700 and MIL-STD 1472G. The tool addresses shortcomings of existing guidelines by providing more accurate metrics of text legibility with greater sensitivity to design alternatives.

Optimal design method for a digital human–computer interface based on human reliability in a nuclear power plant. Part 3: Optimization method for interface task layout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Jianjun; Wang, Yiqun; Zhang, Li; Xie, Tian; Li, Min; Peng, Yuyuan; Wu, Daqing; Li, Peiyao; Ma, Congmin; Shen, Mengxu; Wu, Xing; Weng, Mengyun; Wang, Shiwei; Xie, Cen

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The authors present an optimization algorithm for interface task layout. • The performing process of the proposed algorithm was depicted. • The performance evaluation method adopted neural network method. • The optimization layouts of an event interface tasks were obtained by experiments. - Abstract: This is the last in a series of papers describing the optimal design for a digital human–computer interface of a nuclear power plant (NPP) from three different points based on human reliability. The purpose of this series is to propose different optimization methods from varying perspectives to decrease human factor events that arise from the defects of a human–computer interface. The present paper mainly solves the optimization method as to how to effectively layout interface tasks into different screens. The purpose of this paper is to decrease human errors by reducing the distance that an operator moves among different screens in each operation. In order to resolve the problem, the authors propose an optimization process of interface task layout for digital human–computer interface of a NPP. As to how to automatically layout each interface task into one of screens in each operation, the paper presents a shortest moving path optimization algorithm with dynamic flag based on human reliability. To test the algorithm performance, the evaluation method uses neural network based on human reliability. The less the human error probabilities are, the better the interface task layouts among different screens are. Thus, by analyzing the performance of each interface task layout, the optimization result is obtained. Finally, the optimization layouts of spurious safety injection event interface tasks of the NPP are obtained by an experiment, the proposed methods has a good accuracy and stabilization.

Applying Human Factors Evaluation and Design Guidance to a Nuclear Power Plant Digital Control System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas Ulrich; Ronald Boring; William Phoenix; Emily Dehority; Tim Whiting; Jonathan Morrell; Rhett Backstrom

2012-08-01

The United States (U.S.) nuclear industry, like similar process control industries, has moved toward upgrading its control rooms. The upgraded control rooms typically feature digital control system (DCS) displays embedded in the panels. These displays gather information from the system and represent that information on a single display surface. In this manner, the DCS combines many previously separate analog indicators and controls into a single digital display, whereby the operators can toggle between multiple windows to monitor and control different aspects of the plant. The design of the DCS depends on the function of the system it monitors, but revolves around presenting the information most germane to an operator at any point in time. DCSs require a carefully designed human system interface. This report centers on redesigning existing DCS displays for an example chemical volume control system (CVCS) at a U.S. nuclear power plant. The crucial nature of the CVCS, which controls coolant levels and boration in the primary system, requires a thorough human factors evaluation of its supporting DCS. The initial digital controls being developed for the DCSs tend to directly mimic the former analog controls. There are, however, unique operator interactions with a digital vs. analog interface, and the differences have not always been carefully factored in the translation of an analog interface to a replacement DCS. To ensure safety, efficiency, and usability of the emerging DCSs, a human factors usability evaluation was conducted on a CVCS DCS currently being used and refined at an existing U.S. nuclear power plant. Subject matter experts from process control engineering, software development, and human factors evaluated the DCS displays to document potential usability issues and propose design recommendations. The evaluation yielded 167 potential usability issues with the DCS. These issues should not be considered operator performance problems but rather opportunities

Human-system Interfaces for Automatic Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

OHara, J.M.; Higgins,J. (BNL); Fleger, S.; Barnes V. (NRC)

2010-11-07

Automation is ubiquitous in modern complex systems, and commercial nuclear- power plants are no exception. Automation is applied to a wide range of functions including monitoring and detection, situation assessment, response planning, and response implementation. Automation has become a 'team player' supporting personnel in nearly all aspects of system operation. In light of its increasing use and importance in new- and future-plants, guidance is needed to conduct safety reviews of the operator's interface with automation. The objective of this research was to develop such guidance. We first characterized the important HFE aspects of automation, including six dimensions: levels, functions, processes, modes, flexibility, and reliability. Next, we reviewed literature on the effects of all of these aspects of automation on human performance, and on the design of human-system interfaces (HSIs). Then, we used this technical basis established from the literature to identify general principles for human-automation interaction and to develop review guidelines. The guidelines consist of the following seven topics: automation displays, interaction and control, automation modes, automation levels, adaptive automation, error tolerance and failure management, and HSI integration. In addition, our study identified several topics for additional research.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF DETAILED HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL CONTROL ROOM UPGRADES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BROWN, W.; O'HARA, J.M.

2004-01-01

As part of the Department of Energy and Electric Power Research Institute's hybrid control room project, detailed human factors engineering guidance was developed for designing human-system interfaces that may be affected by introduction of additional digital technology during modernization of nuclear power plants. The guidance addresses several aspects of human-system interaction: information display, interface management, soft controls, alarms, computer-based procedures, computerized operator support systems, communications, and workstation/workplace design. In this paper, the ways in which digital upgrades might affect users' interaction with systems in each of these contexts are briefly described, and the contents of the guidance developed for each of the topics is also described

Development of digital safety system logic and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, H.; Sakamoto, H.

1995-01-01

Advanced-BWR (ABWR) uses total digital control and instrumentation (C and I) system. In particular, ABWR adopts a newly developed safety system using advanced digital technology. In the presentation the digital safety system design, manufacturing and factory validation test method are shortly overviewed. The digital safety system consists of micro-processor based digital controllers, data and information transmission by optical fibers and human-machine interface using color flat displays. This new developed safety system meet the nuclear safety requirements such as high reliability, independence of divisions, operability and maintainability. (2 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.)

Investigation of human system interface design in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Yan; Zhang Yunbo; Wang Zhongqiu

2012-01-01

The paper introduces the importance of HFE in designing nuclear power plant, and introduces briefly the content and scope of HFE, discusses human system interface design of new built nuclear power plants. This paper also describes human system interface design of foreign nuclear power plant, and describes in detail human system interface design of domestic nuclear power plant. (authors)

Human machine interface for research reactor instrumentation and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Sabri Minhat; Mohd Idris Taib; Izhar Abu Hussin; Zareen Khan Abdul Jalil Khan; Nurfarhana Ayuni Joha

2010-01-01

Most present design of Human Machine Interface for Research Reactor Instrumentation and Control System is modular-based, comprise of several cabinets such as Reactor Protection System, Control Console, Information Console as well as Communication Console. The safety, engineering and human factor will be concerned for the design. Redundancy and separation of signal and power supply are the main factor for safety consideration. The design of Operator Interface absolutely takes consideration of human and environmental factors. Physical parameters, experiences, trainability and long-established habit patterns are very important for user interface, instead of the Aesthetic and Operator-Interface Geometry. Physical design for New Instrumentation and Control System of RTP are proposed base on the state-of- the-art Human Machine Interface design. (author)

Integrated digital control and man-machine interface for complex remote handing systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowe, J.C.; Spille, R.F.; Zimmermann, S.D.

1987-01-01

The Advanced Integrated Maintenance System (AIMS) is part of a continuing effort within the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop and extend the capabilities of remote manipulation and maintenance technology. The AIMS is a totally integrated approach to remote handling in hazardous environments. State-of-the-art computer systems connected through a high-speed distributed control system that supports the flexibility and expandability needed for large integrated maintenance applications. A man-Machine Interface provides high-level human interaction through a powerful color graphics menu-controlled operator console. An auxiliary control system handles the real-time processing needs for a variety of support hardware. A pair of dedicated fiber-optic-linked master/slave computer systems control the Advanced Servomanipulator master/slave arms using powerful distributed digital processing methods. The FORTH language was used as a real-time operating and development environment for the entire system, and all of these components are integrated into a control room concept that represents the latest advancements in the development of remote maintenance facilities for hazardous environments

Integrated digital control and man-machine interface for complex remote handling systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowe, J.C.; Spille, R.F.; Zimmermann, S.D.

1986-12-01

The Advanced Integrated Maintenance System (AIMS) is part of a continuing effort within the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop and extend the capabilities of remote manipulation and maintenance technology. The AIMS is a totally integrated approach to remote handling in hazardous environments. State-of-the-art computer systems connected through a high-speed communication network provide a real-time distributed control system that supports the flexibility and expandability needed for large integrated maintenance applications. A Man-Machine Interface provides high-level human interaction through a powerful color graphics menu-controlled operator console. An auxiliary control system handles the real-time processing needs for a variety of support hardware. A pair of dedicated fiber-optic-linked master/slave computer system control the Advanced Servomanipulator master/slave arms using powerful distributed digital processing methods. The FORTH language was used as a real-time operating and development environment for the entire system, and all of these components are integrated into a control room concept that represents the latest advancements in the development of remote maintenance facilities for hazardous environments

Two-wire Interface for Digital Microphones

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groothedde, Wouter; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Nauta, Bram; Eschauzier, Rudolphe Gustave Hubertus; van Rijn, Nico

2003-01-01

A two-wire interface for a digital microphone circuit includes a power line and a ground line. The interface utilizes the ground line as a "voltage active line" to transmit both clock and data signals between the digital microphone circuit and a receiving circuit. The digital microphone circuit

Two-Wire interface for digital microphones

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groothedde, Wouter; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Nauta, Bram; Eschauzier, Rudolphe Gustave Hubertus; van Rijn, Nico

2005-01-01

A two-wire interface for a digital microphone circuit includes a power line and a ground line. The interface utilizes the ground line as a "voltage active line" to transmit both clock and data signals between the digital microphone circuit and a receiving circuit. The digital microphone circuit

Network device interface for digitally interfacing data channels to a controller via a network

Science.gov (United States)

Ellerbrock, Philip J. (Inventor); Grant, Robert L. (Inventor); Konz, Daniel W. (Inventor); Winkelmann, Joseph P. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

A communications system and method are provided for digitally connecting a plurality of data channels, such as sensors, actuators, and subsystems, to a controller using a network bus. The network device interface interprets commands and data received from the controller and polls the data channels in accordance with these commands. Specifically, the network device interface receives digital commands and data from the controller, and based on these commands and data, communicates with the data channels to either retrieve data in the case of a sensor or send data to activate an actuator. Data retrieved from the sensor is converted into digital signals and transmitted to the controller. Network device interfaces associated with different data channels can coordinate communications with the other interfaces based on either a transition in a command message sent by the bus controller or a synchronous clock signal.

A New Human-Machine Interfaces of Computer-based Procedure System to Reduce the Team Errors in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sa Kil; Sim, Joo Hyun; Lee, Hyun Chul

2016-01-01

In this study, we identify the emerging types of team errors, especially, in digitalized control room of nuclear power plants such as the APR-1400 main control room of Korea. Most works in nuclear industry are to be performed by a team of more than two persons. Even though the individual errors can be detected and recovered by the qualified others and/or the well trained team, it is rather seldom that the errors by team could be easily detected and properly recovered by the team itself. Note that the team is defined as two or more people who are appropriately interacting with each other, and the team is a dependent aggregate, which accomplishes a valuable goal. Organizational errors sometimes increase the likelihood of operator errors through the active failure pathway and, at the same time, enhance the possibility of adverse outcomes through defensive weaknesses. We incorporate the crew resource management as a representative approach to deal with the team factors of the human errors. We suggest a set of crew resource management training procedures under the unsafe environments where human errors can have devastating effects. We are on the way to develop alternative interfaces against team error in a condition of using a computer-based procedure system in a digitalized main control room. The computer-based procedure system is a representative feature of digitalized control room. In this study, we will propose new interfaces of computer-based procedure system to reduce feasible team errors. We are on the way of effectiveness test to validate whether the new interface can reduce team errors during operating with a computer-based procedure system in a digitalized control room

A New Human-Machine Interfaces of Computer-based Procedure System to Reduce the Team Errors in Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sa Kil; Sim, Joo Hyun; Lee, Hyun Chul [Korea Atomic Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In this study, we identify the emerging types of team errors, especially, in digitalized control room of nuclear power plants such as the APR-1400 main control room of Korea. Most works in nuclear industry are to be performed by a team of more than two persons. Even though the individual errors can be detected and recovered by the qualified others and/or the well trained team, it is rather seldom that the errors by team could be easily detected and properly recovered by the team itself. Note that the team is defined as two or more people who are appropriately interacting with each other, and the team is a dependent aggregate, which accomplishes a valuable goal. Organizational errors sometimes increase the likelihood of operator errors through the active failure pathway and, at the same time, enhance the possibility of adverse outcomes through defensive weaknesses. We incorporate the crew resource management as a representative approach to deal with the team factors of the human errors. We suggest a set of crew resource management training procedures under the unsafe environments where human errors can have devastating effects. We are on the way to develop alternative interfaces against team error in a condition of using a computer-based procedure system in a digitalized main control room. The computer-based procedure system is a representative feature of digitalized control room. In this study, we will propose new interfaces of computer-based procedure system to reduce feasible team errors. We are on the way of effectiveness test to validate whether the new interface can reduce team errors during operating with a computer-based procedure system in a digitalized control room.

Interactive Editing and Cataloging Interfaces for Modern Digital Library Systems

CERN Document Server

Raae, L C; Helstrup, H

2009-01-01

The next-generation High Energy Physics information system, INSPIRE, is being built by combining the content from the successful SPIRES database of bibliographic information with the CDS Invenio software being developed at CERN, an open-source platform for large digital library systems. The project is a collaboration between four major particle physics laboratories in Europe and the U.S. New tools are being developed to enable the global cooperation between catalogers at these labs. The BibEdit module will provide a central interface for the editing, enrichment, correction and verification of a record on its way into the system, by processing and presenting data from several supporting modules to the cataloger. The objective is to minimize the time and actions needed by the cataloger to process the record. To create a fast and powerful web application we make use of modern AJAX technology to create a dynamic and responsive user interface, where server communication happens in the background without delaying t...

Digital control system of advanced reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Huaqing; Zhang Rui; Liu Lixin

2001-01-01

This article produced the Digital Control System For Advanced Reactor made by NPIC. This system uses Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system and includes five control system: reactor power control system, pressurizer level control system, pressurizer pressure control system, steam generator water level control system and dump control system. This system uses three automatic station to realize the function of five control system. Because the safety requisition of reactor is very strict, the system is redundant. The system configuration uses CFC and SCL. the human-machine interface is configured by Wincc. Finally the system passed the test of simulation by using RETRAN 02 to simulate the control object. The research solved the key technology of digital control system of reactor and will be very helpful for the nationalization of digital reactor control system

Human-centered design of the human-system interfaces of medical equipment: thyroid uptake system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monteiro, Jonathan K.R.; Farias, Marcos S.; Santos, Isaac J.A. Luquetti; Monteiro, Beany G.

2013-01-01

Technology plays an important role in modern medical centers, making healthcare increasingly complex, relying on complex technical equipment. This technical complexity is particularly noticeable in the nuclear medicine. Poorly design human-system interfaces can increase the risks for human error. The human-centered approach emphasizes the development of the equipment with a deep understanding of the users activities, current work practices, needs and abilities of the users. An important concept of human-centered design is that the ease-of-use of the equipment can be ensured only if users are actively incorporated in all phases of the life cycle of design process. Representative groups of users are exposed to the equipment at various stages in development, in a variety of testing, evaluation and interviewing situations. The users feedback obtained is then used to refine the design, with the result serving as input to the next interaction of design process. The limits of the approach are that the users cannot address any particular future needs without prior experience or knowledge about the equipment operation. The aim of this paper is to present a methodological framework that contributes to the design of the human-system interfaces, through an approach related to the users and their activities. A case study is described in which the methodological framework is being applied in development of new human-system interfaces of the thyroid uptake system. (author)

Use of a graphical user interface approach for digital and physical simulation in power systems control education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shoults, R.R.; Barrera-Cardiel, E.

1992-01-01

This paper presents the design of a laboratory with software and hardware structures for digital and physical simulation in the area of Power Systems Control Education. The hardware structure includes a special man-machine interface designed with a graphical user interface approach. This interface allows the user full control over the simulation and provides facilities for the study of the response of the simulated system. This approach is illustrated with the design of a control system for a physically based HVDC transmission system model

Guidance for Human-system Interfaces to Automatic Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Hara, J.M.; Higgins, J.; Stephen Fleger; Valerie Barnes

2010-09-27

Automation is ubiquitous in modern complex systems, and commercial nuclear- power plants are no exception. Automation is applied to a wide range of functions, including monitoring and detection, situation assessment, response planning, and response implementation. Automation has become a 'team player' supporting personnel in nearly all aspects of system operation. In light of its increasing use and importance in new- and future-plants, guidance is needed to conduct safety reviews of the operator's interface with automation. The objective of this research was to develop such guidance. We first characterized the important HFE aspects of automation, including six dimensions: Levels, functions, processes, modes, flexibility, and reliability. Next, we reviewed literature on the effects of all of these aspects of automation on human performance, and on the design of human-system interfaces (HSIs). Then, we used this technical basis established from the literature to identify general principles for human-automation interaction and to develop review guidelines. The guidelines consist of the following seven topics: Automation displays, interaction and control, automation modes, automation levels, adaptive automation, error tolerance and failure management, and HSI integration.

Advanced human-system interface design review guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.

1990-01-01

Advanced, computer-based, human-system interface designs are emerging in nuclear power plant (NPP) control rooms. These developments may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will greatly affect the ways in which operators interact with systems. At present, however, the only guidance available to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the review of control room-operator interfaces, NUREG-0700, was written prior to these technological changes and is thus not designed to address them. The objective of the project reported in this paper is to develop an Advanced Control Room Design Review Guideline for use in performing human factors reviews of advanced operator interfaces. This guideline will be implemented, in part, as a portable, computer-based, interactive document for field use. The paper describes the overall guideline development methodology, the present status of the document, and the plans for further guideline testing and development. 21 refs., 3 figs

Applying emerging digital video interface standards to airborne avionics sensor and digital map integrations: benefits outweigh the initial costs

Science.gov (United States)

Kuehl, C. Stephen

1996-06-01

Video signal system performance can be compromised in a military aircraft cockpit management system (CMS) with the tailoring of vintage Electronics Industries Association (EIA) RS170 and RS343A video interface standards. Video analog interfaces degrade when induced system noise is present. Further signal degradation has been traditionally associated with signal data conversions between avionics sensor outputs and the cockpit display system. If the CMS engineering process is not carefully applied during the avionics video and computing architecture development, extensive and costly redesign will occur when visual sensor technology upgrades are incorporated. Close monitoring and technical involvement in video standards groups provides the knowledge-base necessary for avionic systems engineering organizations to architect adaptable and extendible cockpit management systems. With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the process of adopting the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance System standard proposed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), the entertainment and telecommunications industries are adopting and supporting the emergence of new serial/parallel digital video interfaces and data compression standards that will drastically alter present NTSC-M video processing architectures. The re-engineering of the U.S. Broadcasting system must initially preserve the electronic equipment wiring networks within broadcast facilities to make the transition to HDTV affordable. International committee activities in technical forums like ITU-R (former CCIR), ANSI/SMPTE, IEEE, and ISO/IEC are establishing global consensus on video signal parameterizations that support a smooth transition from existing analog based broadcasting facilities to fully digital computerized systems. An opportunity exists for implementing these new video interface standards over existing video coax/triax cabling in military aircraft cockpit management systems. Reductions in signal

Disposable world-to-chip interface for digital microfluidics

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dam, R. Michael; Shah, Gaurav; Keng, Pei-Yuin

2017-05-16

The present disclosure sets forth incorporating microfluidic chips interfaces for use with digital microfluidic processes. Methods and devices according to the present disclosure utilize compact, integrated platforms that interface with a chip upstream and downstream of the reaction, as well as between intermediate reaction steps if needed. In some embodiments these interfaces are automated, including automation of a multiple reagent process. Various reagent delivery systems and methods are also disclosed.

User Interface Aspects of a Human-Hand Simulation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beifang Yi

2005-10-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the user interface design for a human-hand simulation system, a virtual environment that produces ground truth data (life-like human hand gestures and animations and provides visualization support for experiments on computer vision-based hand pose estimation and tracking. The system allows users to save time in data generation and easily create any hand gestures. We have designed and implemented this user interface with the consideration of usability goals and software engineering issues.

Interface of the transport systems research vehicle monochrome display system to the digital autonomous terminal access communication data bus

Science.gov (United States)

Easley, W. C.; Tanguy, J. S.

1986-01-01

An upgrade of the transport systems research vehicle (TSRV) experimental flight system retained the original monochrome display system. The original host computer was replaced with a Norden 11/70, a new digital autonomous terminal access communication (DATAC) data bus was installed for data transfer between display system and host, while a new data interface method was required. The new display data interface uses four split phase bipolar (SPBP) serial busses. The DATAC bus uses a shared interface ram (SIR) for intermediate storage of its data transfer. A display interface unit (DIU) was designed and configured to read from and write to the SIR to properly convert the data from parallel to SPBP serial and vice versa. It is found that separation of data for use by each SPBP bus and synchronization of data tranfer throughout the entire experimental flight system are major problems which require solution in DIU design. The techniques used to accomplish these new data interface requirements are described.

Digital Signal Processing for In-Vehicle Systems and Safety

CERN Document Server

Boyraz, Pinar; Takeda, Kazuya; Abut, Hüseyin

2012-01-01

Compiled from papers of the 4th Biennial Workshop on DSP (Digital Signal Processing) for In-Vehicle Systems and Safety this edited collection features world-class experts from diverse fields focusing on integrating smart in-vehicle systems with human factors to enhance safety in automobiles. Digital Signal Processing for In-Vehicle Systems and Safety presents new approaches on how to reduce driver inattention and prevent road accidents. The material addresses DSP technologies in adaptive automobiles, in-vehicle dialogue systems, human machine interfaces, video and audio processing, and in-vehicle speech systems. The volume also features: Recent advances in Smart-Car technology – vehicles that take into account and conform to the driver Driver-vehicle interfaces that take into account the driving task and cognitive load of the driver Best practices for In-Vehicle Corpus Development and distribution Information on multi-sensor analysis and fusion techniques for robust driver monitoring and driver recognition ...

Human-system interface for CAREM nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abaurre, Norberto F.; Flury, Celso A.; Pierini, Juan P.; Etchepareborda, Andres; Breitembuecher, Alfredo J.; Lema, Fabian M.

2009-01-01

Associated with activities to be developed by our working group on the construction of the reactor training simulator for the CAREM, we have planned the design of human-system interface (HSI) of the main control room. The goal of this study is to describe the planning and methodology used for the HSI interface design. The products of this process are the layout specifications of the Control Room and the screens specifications for control software. (author)

Designing Interactions for Learning: Physicality, Interactivity, and Interface Effects in Digital Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Daniel L.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study is to better understand the role of physicality, interactivity, and interface effects in learning with digital content. Drawing on work in cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and multimedia learning, the study argues that interfaces that promote physical interaction can provide "conceptual leverage"…

A Framework for Evaluating the Effects of Degraded Digital I and C Systems on Human Performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

OHara, J.; Gunther, B.; Hughes, N.; Barnes, V.

2009-01-01

New and advanced reactors will use integrated digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems to support operators in their monitoring and control functions. Even though digital systems are typically highly reliable, their potential for degradation or failure could significantly affect operator situation awareness and performance and, consequently, impact plant safety. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has initiated a research project to investigate the effects of degraded I and C systems on human performance and plant operations. The ultimate objective of this project is to develop the technical basis for human factors review guidance for conditions of degraded I and C, including complete failure. Based on the results of this effort, NRC will determine the need for developing new guidance or revising NUREG-0800, NUREG-0711, NUREG-0700 and other pertinent NRC review guidance. This paper reports on the first phase of the research, the development of a framework for linking degraded I and C system conditions to human performance. The framework consists of three levels: I and C subsystems, human-system interfaces, and human performance. Each level is composed of a number of discrete elements. This paper will describe the elements at each level and their integration. In the next phase of the research, the framework will be used to systematically investigate the human performance consequences of various classes of failures

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE DIGITAL HOME CONTROL INTERFACE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Pastorino

2013-05-01

Full Text Available An inquiry of the National Statistics Institute of Spain shows that 74% of the Spanish population with disabilities suffers some kind of limitation performing Daily Basic Activities, while 1.39 million cannot perform them at all without the assistance of specialized personnel. Digital Home Systems could mitigate disabled people’s difficulties to carry out those activities, giving the opportunity to manage home appliances through a single control. Digital Home Systems have to provide specific and adapted control interfaces based on Augmentative and Alternative Communication languages in order to be an efficient solution to the problem and to allow most vulnerable groups of people with disabilities to reach the highest level of autonomy.  This paper describes a Digital Home Interface capable of adapting layouts, styles and contents to device capability, user preferences and appliances’ features; designed with a combination of web technologies, standard languages for abstract interface definition and AAC systems.

Digital tripwire: a small automated human detection system

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Amber D.; Redd, Emmett; Younger, A. Steven

2009-05-01

A low cost, lightweight, easily deployable imaging sensor that can dependably discriminate threats from other activities within its field of view and, only then, alert the distant duty officer by transmitting a visual confirmation of the threat would provide a valuable asset to modern defense. At present, current solutions suffer from a multitude of deficiencies - size, cost, power endurance, but most notably, an inability to assess an image and conclude that it contains a threat. The human attention span cannot maintain critical surveillance over banks of displays constantly conveying such images from the field. DigitalTripwire is a small, self-contained, automated human-detection system capable of running for 1-5 days on two AA batteries. To achieve such long endurance, the DigitalTripwire system utilizes an FPGA designed with sleep functionality. The system uses robust vision algorithms, such as a partially unsupervised innovative backgroundmodeling algorithm, which employ several data reduction strategies to operate in real-time, and achieve high detection rates. When it detects human activity, either mounted or dismounted, it sends an alert including images to notify the command center. In this paper, we describe the hardware and software design of the DigitalTripwire system. In addition, we provide detection and false alarm rates across several challenging data sets demonstrating the performance of the vision algorithms in autonomously analyzing the video stream and classifying moving objects into four primary categories - dismounted human, vehicle, non-human, or unknown. Performance results across several challenging data sets are provided.

Activities of IAEA related to human interface in man-machine system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishiwaki, Yasushi

1988-01-01

The present paper outlines some activities of IAEA related to human interface in man-machine systems. It has been recognized for quite some time that in large and complex man-machine interactive systems human errors can contribute substantially to failures of these systems, and that the improvement in the human interface in man-machine systems is essential for the safety of the plant. Many important surveys have been made in some member countries. These studies and operational experience have shown that it is possible to substantially reduce this adverse impact of human errors in nuclear power plant operations by the application of human factors technology. This technology. This technology includes: (1) selection of people with the requisite skills and knowledge and providing them with job-relevant training, (2) maintenance of the necessary job qualifications for each person in the plant, (3) design of man-machine interfaces which are fully compatible with the capabilities and limitations of the people in the system, and (4) design of job operations, including written materials, to facilitate required quality of human performance. A review is made of education/training, operator support systems, human error data collection, analysis of safety significant events and future activities. (Nogami, K.)

Ecological Design of Cooperative Human-Machine Interfaces for Safety of Intelligent Transport Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orekhov Aleksandr

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper describes research results in the domain of cooperative intelligent transport systems. The requirements for human-machine interface considering safety issue of for intelligent transport systems (ITSare analyzed. Profiling of the requirements to cooperative human-machine interface (CHMI for such systems including requirements to usability and safety is based on a set of standards for ITSs. An approach and design technique of cooperative human-machine interface for ITSs are suggested. The architecture of cloud-based CHMI for intelligent transport systems has been developed. The prototype of software system CHMI4ITSis described.

Design Concept of Human Interface System for Risk Monitoring for Proactive Trouble Prevention

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Yang, Ming; Zhang, Zhijian; Hashim, Muhammad [Harbin Engineering University, Harbin (China); Lind, Morten [Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby (Djibouti); Tamayama, Kiyoshi; Okusa, Kyoichi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tsuruga (Japan)

2011-08-15

A new concept is first proposed of distributed human interface system to integrate both operation and maintenance of nuclear power plant. Then, a method of constructing human interface system is introduced by integrating the plant knowledge database system based on Multilevel Flow Model (MFM) with the risk monitor to watch Defense-in Depth plant safety functions. The proposed concept is applied for a liquid metal fast reactor Monju and necessary R and D subjects are reviewed to realize human interface system for the maintenance work in Monju plant. Because of using high temperature liquid sodium as reactor coolant in Monju plant, the maintenance for Monju should utilize more automated equipment of remote control and robotics than that of light water reactor. It is necessary to design optimum task allocation between human and automated machine as the requisites for good communication design of human interface systems to support the collaboration work between workers at local workplace and the main control room. In this paper, the general issues are reviewed on how to configure the whole human interface system for helping proactive trouble prevention and risk evaluation on the basis of the presented target plant model before the concrete proposition of the hardware and software systems development to be used by both the staffs of operation and maintenance of NPP.

Design Concept of Human Interface System for Risk Monitoring for Proactive Trouble Prevention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Yang, Ming; Zhang, Zhijian; Hashim, Muhammad; Lind, Morten; Tamayama, Kiyoshi; Okusa, Kyoichi

2011-01-01

A new concept is first proposed of distributed human interface system to integrate both operation and maintenance of nuclear power plant. Then, a method of constructing human interface system is introduced by integrating the plant knowledge database system based on Multilevel Flow Model (MFM) with the risk monitor to watch Defense-in Depth plant safety functions. The proposed concept is applied for a liquid metal fast reactor Monju and necessary R and D subjects are reviewed to realize human interface system for the maintenance work in Monju plant. Because of using high temperature liquid sodium as reactor coolant in Monju plant, the maintenance for Monju should utilize more automated equipment of remote control and robotics than that of light water reactor. It is necessary to design optimum task allocation between human and automated machine as the requisites for good communication design of human interface systems to support the collaboration work between workers at local workplace and the main control room. In this paper, the general issues are reviewed on how to configure the whole human interface system for helping proactive trouble prevention and risk evaluation on the basis of the presented target plant model before the concrete proposition of the hardware and software systems development to be used by both the staffs of operation and maintenance of NPP

Control Board Digital Interface Input Devices – Touchscreen, Trackpad, or Mouse?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas A. Ulrich; Ronald L. Boring; Roger Lew

2015-08-01

The authors collaborated with a power utility to evaluate input devices for use in the human system interface (HSI) for a new digital Turbine Control System (TCS) at a nuclear power plant (NPP) undergoing a TCS upgrade. A standalone dynamic software simulation of the new digital TCS and a mobile kiosk were developed to conduct an input device study to evaluate operator preference and input device effectiveness. The TCS software presented the anticipated HSI for the TCS and mimicked (i.e., simulated) the turbine systems’ responses to operator commands. Twenty-four licensed operators from the two nuclear power units participated in the study. Three input devices were tested: a trackpad, mouse, and touchscreen. The subjective feedback from the survey indicates the operators preferred the touchscreen interface. The operators subjectively rated the touchscreen as the fastest and most comfortable input device given the range of tasks they performed during the study, but also noted a lack of accuracy for selecting small targets. The empirical data suggest the mouse input device provides the most consistent performance for screen navigation and manipulating on screen controls. The trackpad input device was both empirically and subjectively found to be the least effective and least desired input device.

Human-system Interfaces to Automatic Systems: Review Guidance and Technical Basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.; Higgins, J.C.

2010-01-01

Automation has become ubiquitous in modern complex systems and commercial nuclear power plants are no exception. Beyond the control of plant functions and systems, automation is applied to a wide range of additional functions including monitoring and detection, situation assessment, response planning, response implementation, and interface management. Automation has become a 'team player' supporting plant personnel in nearly all aspects of plant operation. In light of the increasing use and importance of automation in new and future plants, guidance is needed to enable the NRC staff to conduct safety reviews of the human factors engineering (HFE) aspects of modern automation. The objective of the research described in this report was to develop guidance for reviewing the operator's interface with automation. We first developed a characterization of the important HFE aspects of automation based on how it is implemented in current systems. The characterization included five dimensions: Level of automation, function of automation, modes of automation, flexibility of allocation, and reliability of automation. Next, we reviewed literature pertaining to the effects of these aspects of automation on human performance and the design of human-system interfaces (HSIs) for automation. Then, we used the technical basis established by the literature to develop design review guidance. The guidance is divided into the following seven topics: Automation displays, interaction and control, automation modes, automation levels, adaptive automation, error tolerance and failure management, and HSI integration. In addition, we identified insights into the automaton design process, operator training, and operations.

TA-55 facility control system upgrade project - human-system interface functional requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atkins, W.H.; Pope, N.G.; Turner, W.J.; Brown, R.E.

1995-11-01

The functional requirements for that part of the Technical Area (TA)-55 Operations Center Upgrade Project that involves the human-system interface (HSI) are described in this document. The upgrade project seeks to replace completely the center's existing computerized data acquisition and display system, which consists of the field multiplexer units, Data General computer systems, and associated peripherals and software. The upgrade project has two parts-the Facility Data Acquisition Interface System (FDAIS) and the HSI. The HSI comprises software and hardware to provide a high-level graphical operator interface to the data acquisition system, as well as data archiving, alarm annunciation, and logging. The new system will be built with modern, commercially available components; it will improve reliability and maintainability, and it can be expanded for future needs

Model for impact assessment in human factors engineering project of PWR plants with digital control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roedel, Frederico G.; Schirru, Roberto

2017-01-01

New nuclear power plants are being designed with the digital Instrumentation and Control (I and C) as the backbone for the functions of protection, control, monitoring and display and with digital Human-System Interface (HSI). In this new environment, rather than play physical control actions, the operators begin to act as decision makers and, within this context, the Human Factors Engineering (HFE) has become an integral part of the projects. As the operational experience with the use of digital I and C systems and HSI is limited since, besides the small number of applications, it is proprietary, the objective of this work is to carry out an assessment in order to identify the most relevant aspects of a digital HSI project. The proposed model is based on concepts of fuzzy logic, uses MATLAB for data processing, defines criteria for evaluation and quantification of impacts in the project and has been applied to the General Principles and the Guidelines presented in the NUREG-0700. The assessment indicated that the Guidelines for User-Interface Interaction and Management, for Information Display and for Computer-Based Procedures System should be carefully evaluated in the design of a digital HSI considering the new Users Tasks Demand, the Organization of HSI Elements and the Work Environment. (author)

Model for impact assessment in human factors engineering project of PWR plants with digital control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roedel, Frederico G.; Schirru, Roberto, E-mail: froedel@nuclear.ufrj.br, E-mail: schirru@lmp.ufrj.br [Coordenacao de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-07-01

New nuclear power plants are being designed with the digital Instrumentation and Control (I and C) as the backbone for the functions of protection, control, monitoring and display and with digital Human-System Interface (HSI). In this new environment, rather than play physical control actions, the operators begin to act as decision makers and, within this context, the Human Factors Engineering (HFE) has become an integral part of the projects. As the operational experience with the use of digital I and C systems and HSI is limited since, besides the small number of applications, it is proprietary, the objective of this work is to carry out an assessment in order to identify the most relevant aspects of a digital HSI project. The proposed model is based on concepts of fuzzy logic, uses MATLAB for data processing, defines criteria for evaluation and quantification of impacts in the project and has been applied to the General Principles and the Guidelines presented in the NUREG-0700. The assessment indicated that the Guidelines for User-Interface Interaction and Management, for Information Display and for Computer-Based Procedures System should be carefully evaluated in the design of a digital HSI considering the new Users Tasks Demand, the Organization of HSI Elements and the Work Environment. (author)

Perspective of next generation training system from the viewpoints of human interfaces. Human interface kara mita kyoiku kunren system no genjo to kongo no tenbo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishida, S [Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

1992-12-10

This paper describes an education and training system placing its emphasis on human interfaces. The paper indicates that the currently used education and training systems lack training functions to cultivate knowledge-based judgment abilities that can find adequate solutions to events that have not been experienced previously; such judgments require deep understanding on the objects; and this training requires a system to aid the comprehension based on knowledges in the realm of recognition science for the 'human understanding'. Next, a pedagogical interface is proposed for aiding the comprehension. The paper enumerates functions indispensable for the comprehension including setting the 'loop for representation and examination', aiding the representation to examination loop, aiding roles by others, and realizing interactions through a hypothetical world. Also enumerated as fundamental techniques to structure such interface are information structuring techniques, groupware techniques, and virtual reality techniques. 19 refs., 10 figs.

Nuclear instrumentation system for the integrated digital I and C system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isobe, Yuji; Nakamura, Shingo

2005-01-01

Development of a new nuclear instrumentation (NI) system has been done. The new system is suitable for the digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems. Higher reliability and lower development costs have been achieved by applying good performance circuits with sufficient experience of the conventional NI system. Human-system interface (HSI) and maintainability have been improved comparing with the conventional NI system because of the partial digitalisation. The new NI system has been manufactured and validated. We are finally verifying the total performance now

Nuclear instrumentation system for the integrated digital I and C system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Isobe, Yuji [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Tokyo (Japan); Nakamura, Shingo [Mitsubishi, Electric Corporation, Tokyo (Japan)

2005-11-15

Development of a new nuclear instrumentation (NI) system has been done. The new system is suitable for the digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems. Higher reliability and lower development costs have been achieved by applying good performance circuits with sufficient experience of the conventional NI system. Human-system interface (HSI) and maintainability have been improved comparing with the conventional NI system because of the partial digitalisation. The new NI system has been manufactured and validated. We are finally verifying the total performance now.

Human-system Interfaces to Automatic Systems: Review Guidance and Technical Basis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

OHara, J.M.; Higgins, J.C.

2010-01-31

Automation has become ubiquitous in modern complex systems and commercial nuclear power plants are no exception. Beyond the control of plant functions and systems, automation is applied to a wide range of additional functions including monitoring and detection, situation assessment, response planning, response implementation, and interface management. Automation has become a 'team player' supporting plant personnel in nearly all aspects of plant operation. In light of the increasing use and importance of automation in new and future plants, guidance is needed to enable the NRC staff to conduct safety reviews of the human factors engineering (HFE) aspects of modern automation. The objective of the research described in this report was to develop guidance for reviewing the operator's interface with automation. We first developed a characterization of the important HFE aspects of automation based on how it is implemented in current systems. The characterization included five dimensions: Level of automation, function of automation, modes of automation, flexibility of allocation, and reliability of automation. Next, we reviewed literature pertaining to the effects of these aspects of automation on human performance and the design of human-system interfaces (HSIs) for automation. Then, we used the technical basis established by the literature to develop design review guidance. The guidance is divided into the following seven topics: Automation displays, interaction and control, automation modes, automation levels, adaptive automation, error tolerance and failure management, and HSI integration. In addition, we identified insights into the automaton design process, operator training, and operations.

Roadmap for Research, Development, and Demonstration of Instrumentation, Controls, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, Don W.; Arndt, Steven A.; Bond, Leonard J.; Dudenhoeffer, Donald D.; Hallbert, Bruce P.; Holcomb, David E.; Wood, Richard T.; Naser, Joseph A.; O'Hara, John M.; Quinn, Edward L.

2008-01-01

Instrumentation, controls, and human-machine interfaces are essential enabling technologies that strongly influence nuclear power plant performance and operational costs. The nuclear power industry is currently engaged in a transition from traditional analog-based instrumentation, controls, and human-machine interface (ICHMI) systems to implementations employing digital technologies. This transition has primarily occurred in an ad hoc fashion through individual system upgrades at existing plants and has been constrained by a number of concerns. Although international implementation of evolutionary nuclear power plants and the progression toward new plants in the United States have spurred design of more fully digital plant-wide ICHMI systems, the experience base in the nuclear power application domain is limited. Additionally, design and development programs by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for advanced reactor concepts, such as the Generation IV Program and Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP), introduce different plant conditions and unique plant configurations that increase the need for enhanced ICHMI capabilities to fully achieve programmatic goals related to economic competitiveness, safety and reliability, sustainability, and proliferation resistance and physical protection. As a result, there are challenges that need to be addressed to enable the nuclear power industry to effectively and efficiently complete the transition to safe and comprehensive use of digital technology

Digital Human Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Dischinger, H. Charles, Jr.

2017-01-01

The development of models to represent human characteristics and behaviors in human factors is broad and general. The term "model" can refer to any metaphor to represent any aspect of the human; it is generally used in research to mean a mathematical tool for the simulation (often in software, which makes the simulation digital) of some aspect of human performance and for the prediction of future outcomes. This section is restricted to the application of human models in physical design, e.g., in human factors engineering. This design effort is typically human interface design, and the digital models used are anthropometric. That is, they are visual models that are the physical shape of humans and that have the capabilities and constraints of humans of a selected population. They are distinct from the avatars used in the entertainment industry (movies, video games, and the like) in precisely that regard: as models, they are created through the application of data on humans, and they are used to predict human response; body stresses workspaces. DHM enable iterative evaluation of a large number of concepts and support rapid analysis, as compared with use of physical mockups. They can be used to evaluate feasibility of escape of a suited astronaut from a damaged vehicle, before launch or after an abort (England, et al., 2012). Throughout most of human spaceflight, little attention has been paid to worksite design for ground workers. As a result of repeated damage to the Space Shuttle which adversely affected flight safety, DHM analyses of ground assembly and maintenance have been developed over the last five years for the design of new flight systems (Stambolian, 2012, Dischinger and Dunn Jackson, 2014). The intent of these analyses is to assure the design supports the work of the ground crew personnel and thereby protect the launch vehicle. They help the analyst address basic human factors engineering questions: can a worker reach the task site from the work platform

Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Human-system interfaces and procedures. Volume 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaye, R.D.; Henriksen, K.; Jones, R.; Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.I.

1995-07-01

A series of human factors evaluations was undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. The principal sources of radiation are a radioactive isotope, typically cobalt60 (Co-60), or a linear accelerator device capable of producing very high energy x-ray and electron beams. A team of human factors specialists conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. In addition, a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation technologists served as subject matter experts. A function and task analysis was initially performed to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of user-system interfaces, procedures, training and qualifications, and organizational policies and practices. The present report focuses on an evaluation of the human-system interfaces in relation to the treatment machines and supporting equipment (e.g., simulators, treatment planning computers, control consoles, patient charts) found in the teletherapy environment. The report also evaluates operating, maintenance and emergency procedures and practices involved in teletherapy. The evaluations are based on the function and task analysis and established human engineering guidelines, where applicable

Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Human-system interfaces and procedures. Volume 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaye, R.D.; Henriksen, K.; Jones, R. [Hughes Training, Inc., Falls Church, VA (United States); Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.I. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Systems Technology

1995-07-01

A series of human factors evaluations was undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. The principal sources of radiation are a radioactive isotope, typically cobalt60 (Co-60), or a linear accelerator device capable of producing very high energy x-ray and electron beams. A team of human factors specialists conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. In addition, a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation technologists served as subject matter experts. A function and task analysis was initially performed to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of user-system interfaces, procedures, training and qualifications, and organizational policies and practices. The present report focuses on an evaluation of the human-system interfaces in relation to the treatment machines and supporting equipment (e.g., simulators, treatment planning computers, control consoles, patient charts) found in the teletherapy environment. The report also evaluates operating, maintenance and emergency procedures and practices involved in teletherapy. The evaluations are based on the function and task analysis and established human engineering guidelines, where applicable.

Design Concept of Human Interface System for Risk Monitoring for Proactive Trouble Prevention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hidekazu, Yoshikawa; Ming, Yang; Zhijian, Zhang

2011-01-01

interface systems to support the collaboration work between workers at local workplace and the main control room. In this paper, the general issues are reviewed on how to configure the whole human interface system for helping proactive trouble prevention and risk evaluation on the basis of the presented......) with the risk monitor to watch Defense-in Depth plant safety functions. The proposed concept is applied for a liquid metal fast reactor Monju and necessary R&D subjects are reviewed to realize human interface system for the maintenance work in Monju plant. Because of using high temperature liquid sodium...... as reactor coolant in Monju plant, the maintenance for Monju should utilize more automated equipments of remote control and robotics than that of light water reactor. It is necessary to design optimum task allocation between human and automated machine as the requisites for good communication design of human...

Human factors issues in digital system design and implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galletti, Greg S.

1998-01-01

A goal of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is to ensure safety in the application of digital equipment upgrades to nuclear power plant control rooms and local control stations. One of the areas of specific interest is the integration of digital technology into existing analog control, display, and information systems and the implications of such integration for operators in regard to their use of this new equipment to safely operate the plant. This paper is a discussion of human performance issues related to the introduction of such digital equipment into operating nuclear power plants. (author)

A meta-analysis of human-system interfaces in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm management.

Science.gov (United States)

Hocraffer, Amy; Nam, Chang S

2017-01-01

A meta-analysis was conducted to systematically evaluate the current state of research on human-system interfaces for users controlling semi-autonomous swarms composed of groups of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAV swarms pose several human factors challenges, such as high cognitive demands, non-intuitive behavior, and serious consequences for errors. This article presents findings from a meta-analysis of 27 UAV swarm management papers focused on the human-system interface and human factors concerns, providing an overview of the advantages, challenges, and limitations of current UAV management interfaces, as well as information on how these interfaces are currently evaluated. In general allowing user and mission-specific customization to user interfaces and raising the swarm's level of autonomy to reduce operator cognitive workload are beneficial and improve situation awareness (SA). It is clear more research is needed in this rapidly evolving field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensor Interfaces for Private Home Automation: From Analog to Digital, Wireless and Autonomous

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erich Leder

2007-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper a flexible and reliable system for smart home automation is presented. It is based on standardized hardware and open source communication protocols. Firstly, a special sensor interface has been developed, which allows the measurement of (slow analog signals to be determined by inexpensive digital PLC input terminals. Right now, up to eleven different modules have been implemented and the system is being tested in several configurations. In a second step, the communication is digitized. With the digitalization of the sensor modules, based on the implementation of a PIC Microcontroller, more intelligence is provided to the module, which increases the power and flexibility of the whole system. Thirdly, a wireless sensor-system consisting of a base station and of a mobile measuring unit is developed. The autonomous mobile unit is realized by using solar powering, gold cap energy storage, low-power circuits and a radio communication interface.

Human performance interfaces in air traffic control.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yu-Hern; Yeh, Chung-Hsing

2010-01-01

This paper examines how human performance factors in air traffic control (ATC) affect each other through their mutual interactions. The paper extends the conceptual SHEL model of ergonomics to describe the ATC system as human performance interfaces in which the air traffic controllers interact with other human performance factors including other controllers, software, hardware, environment, and organisation. New research hypotheses about the relationships between human performance interfaces of the system are developed and tested on data collected from air traffic controllers, using structural equation modelling. The research result suggests that organisation influences play a more significant role than individual differences or peer influences on how the controllers interact with the software, hardware, and environment of the ATC system. There are mutual influences between the controller-software, controller-hardware, controller-environment, and controller-organisation interfaces of the ATC system, with the exception of the controller-controller interface. Research findings of this study provide practical insights in managing human performance interfaces of the ATC system in the face of internal or external change, particularly in understanding its possible consequences in relation to the interactions between human performance factors.

Interface design for digital courses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tabbers, Huib; Kester, Liesbeth; Hummel, Hans; Nadolski, Rob

2005-01-01

This text should be referred to as: Tabbers, H., Kester, L., Hummel, H. G. K., & Nadolski, R. J. (2003). Interface design for digital courses. In W. Jochems, J. van Merriënboer, & R. Koper (Eds). Integrated e-learning: implications for pedagogy, technology & organisation (pp. 100-111). London:

Digital Humanities and networked digital media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Finnemann, Niels Ole

2014-01-01

This article discusses digital humanities and the growing diversity of digital media, digital materials and digital methods. The first section describes the humanities computing tradition formed around the interpretation of computation as a rule-based process connected to a concept of digital...... materials centred on the digitisation of non-digital, finite works, corpora and oeuvres. The second section discusses “the big tent” of contemporary digital humanities. It is argued that there can be no unifying interpretation of digital humanities above the level of studying digital materials with the help...... of software-supported methods. This is so, in part, because of the complexity of the world and, in part, because digital media remain open to the projection of new epistemologies onto the functional architecture of these media. The third section discusses the heterogeneous character of digital materials...

The reactor power control system based on digital control in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Chong; Zhou Jianliang; Tan Ping

2010-01-01

The PLC (Programmable Logical Controller), digital communication and redundant techniques are applied in the rod control and position indication system(namely the reactor power control system) to perform the power control in the 300 MW reactor automatically and integrally in Qinshan Phase I project. This paper introduces the features, digital design methods of hardware of the instrumentation and control system (I and C) in the reactor power control. It is more convenient for the information exchange by human-machine interface (HMI), operation and maintenance, and the system reliability has been greatly improved after the project being reconstructed. (authors)

Impact of familiarity on information complexity in human-computer interfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bakaev Maxim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A quantitative measure of information complexity remains very much desirable in HCI field, since it may aid in optimization of user interfaces, especially in human-computer systems for controlling complex objects. Our paper is dedicated to exploration of subjective (subject-depended aspect of the complexity, conceptualized as information familiarity. Although research of familiarity in human cognition and behaviour is done in several fields, the accepted models in HCI, such as Human Processor or Hick-Hyman’s law do not generally consider this issue. In our experimental study the subjects performed search and selection of digits and letters, whose familiarity was conceptualized as frequency of occurrence in numbers and texts. The analysis showed significant effect of information familiarity on selection time and throughput in regression models, although the R2 values were somehow low. Still, we hope that our results might aid in quantification of information complexity and its further application for optimizing interaction in human-machine systems.

Proposal of digital interface for the system of the air conditioner's remote control: analysis of the system of feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva de Queiroz Pierre, Raisa; Kawada, Tarô Arthur Tavares; Fontes, André Guimarães

2012-01-01

Develop a proposal of digital interface for the system of the remote control, that functions as support system during the manipulation of air conditioner adjusted for the users in general, from ergonomic parameters, objectifying the reduction of the problems faced for the user and improving the process. 20 people with questionnaire with both qualitative and quantitative level. Linear Method consists of a sequence of steps in which the input of one of them depends on the output from the previous one, although they are independent. The process of feedback, when necessary, must occur within each step separately.

A Method and Support Tool for the Analysis of Human Error Hazards in Digital Devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yong Hee; Kim, Seon Soo; Lee, Yong Hee

2012-01-01

In recent years, many nuclear power plants have adopted modern digital I and C technologies since they are expected to significantly improve their performance and safety. Modern digital technologies were expected to significantly improve both the economical efficiency and safety of nuclear power plants. However, the introduction of an advanced main control room (MCR) is accompanied with lots of changes in forms and features and differences through virtue of new digital devices. Many user-friendly displays and new features in digital devices are not enough to prevent human errors in nuclear power plants (NPPs). It may be an urgent to matter find the human errors potentials due to digital devices, and their detailed mechanisms. We can then consider them during the design of digital devices and their interfaces. The characteristics of digital technologies and devices may give many opportunities to the interface management, and can be integrated into a compact single workstation in an advanced MCR, such that workers can operate the plant with minimum burden under any operating condition. However, these devices may introduce new types of human errors, and thus we need a means to evaluate and prevent such errors, especially within digital devices for NPPs. This research suggests a new method named HEA-BIS (Human Error Analysis based on Interaction Segment) to confirm and detect human errors associated with digital devices. This method can be facilitated by support tools when used to ensure the safety when applying digital devices in NPPs

Coping with human errors through system design: Implications for ecological interface design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Jens; Vicente, Kim J.

1989-01-01

Research during recent years has revealed that human errors are not stochastic events which can be removed through improved training programs or optimal interface design. Rather, errors tend to reflect either systematic interference between various models, rules, and schemata, or the effects...... of the adaptive mechanisms involved in learning. In terms of design implications, these findings suggest that reliable human-system interaction will be achieved by designing interfaces which tend to minimize the potential for control interference and support recovery from errors. In other words, the focus should...... be on control of the effects of errors rather than on the elimination of errors per se. In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework for interface design that attempts to satisfy these objectives. The goal of our framework, called ecological interface design, is to develop a meaningful representation...

Development of guidelines to review advanced human-system interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.

1993-01-01

Advanced control rooms (ACRs) will utilize advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator's overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than 10 yr ago, considerably prior to these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development, evaluation, and current status of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline

Regulatory issues of digital instrumentation and control system in Lungmen project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuang, C.F.; Chou, H.P.

2004-01-01

The Lungmen Nuclear Power Station (LNPS) is currently under construction in Taiwan, which consists of 2 advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) units. The instrumentation and control (IC) systems of the LNPS are based on the state-of-the-art modernized fully integrated digital design. These IC systems possess many advantages and distinguished features comparing to traditional analog IC systems, they enjoy set-point stability, self-diagnostic and automatic testing ability, fault tolerance and avoidance, low power requirements, data handling and storage capability, as well as enhanced human-machine interfaces. This paper presents regulatory overviews, regulatory requirements, current major regulatory issues, as well as the areas of regulatory concerns and the lessons learned on the digital IC systems in the Lungmen Project

Animation, embodiment, and digital media human experience of technological liveliness

CERN Document Server

Chow, K

2013-01-01

Animation, Embodiment and Digital Media articulates the human experience of technology-mediated animated phenomena in terms of sensory perception, bodily action and imaginative interpretation, suggesting a new theoretical framework with analyses of exemplary user interfaces, video games and interactive artworks.

Proceedings of the 5. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation Controls, and Human Machine Interface Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

' contains papers on digital systems reliability, digital I and C technology, control systems, and architectural configurations. 'Hardware and Communications' contains papers on advanced sensors and measurement techniques, cyber-security, wireless technology application, component aging, and environmental compatibility. 'Techniques' contains papers on reactor noise analysis, signal-processing methods, diagnostics, prognostics, predictive maintenance, and system analysis tools. 'Future and Applications' contains papers on educating the next generation of nuclear power ICHMI professionals, Generation IV and research reactor I and C, application of next-generation I and C systems, lessons learned in digital upgrades, and approaches to setpoints. 'Qualification and Regulation' contains papers on safety critical software, qualification issues in an evolving regulatory environment, current licensing issues for advanced I and C technologies, digital I and C assessment methodologies, and software quality assurance. The HMIT papers are organized into three tracks. 'Advances in Human-System Interfaces' contains papers dealing with topics such as advances in control room design, user interaction with automation, visualization technology, computerized procedure systems and other operator support technology, and new HMIT. 'Human Factors Engineering Design and Evaluation' focuses on recent developments, and paper topics include design and analysis tools, function-based approaches to control room design, use of knowledge capture and engineering, virtual reality, advances and challenges in human reliability analysis, and approaches to verification and validation. 'HMIT Operational Considerations' includes paper topics such as regulatory challenges and approaches to advanced systems, regulatory oversight and involvement in safety culture, and innovative approaches to training and training technologies

Proceedings of the 5. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation Controls, and Human Machine Interface Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

. 'Systems' contains papers on digital systems reliability, digital I and C technology, control systems, and architectural configurations. 'Hardware and Communications' contains papers on advanced sensors and measurement techniques, cyber-security, wireless technology application, component aging, and environmental compatibility. 'Techniques' contains papers on reactor noise analysis, signal-processing methods, diagnostics, prognostics, predictive maintenance, and system analysis tools. 'Future and Applications' contains papers on educating the next generation of nuclear power ICHMI professionals, Generation IV and research reactor I and C, application of next-generation I and C systems, lessons learned in digital upgrades, and approaches to setpoints. 'Qualification and Regulation' contains papers on safety critical software, qualification issues in an evolving regulatory environment, current licensing issues for advanced I and C technologies, digital I and C assessment methodologies, and software quality assurance. The HMIT papers are organized into three tracks. 'Advances in Human-System Interfaces' contains papers dealing with topics such as advances in control room design, user interaction with automation, visualization technology, computerized procedure systems and other operator support technology, and new HMIT. 'Human Factors Engineering Design and Evaluation' focuses on recent developments, and paper topics include design and analysis tools, function-based approaches to control room design, use of knowledge capture and engineering, virtual reality, advances and challenges in human reliability analysis, and approaches to verification and validation. 'HMIT Operational Considerations' includes paper topics such as regulatory challenges and approaches to advanced systems, regulatory oversight and involvement in safety culture, and innovative approaches to training and training

Step 1: Human System Integration Pilot-Technology Interface Requirements for Weather Management

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

This document involves definition of technology interface requirements for Hazardous Weather Avoidance. Technology concepts in use by the Access 5 Weather Management Work Package were considered. Beginning with the Human System Integration (HIS) high-level functional requirement for Hazardous Weather Avoidance, and Hazardous Weather Avoidance technology elements, HSI requirements for the interface to the pilot were identified. Results of the analysis describe (1) the information required by the pilot to have knowledge of hazardous weather, and (2) the control capability needed by the pilot to obtain hazardous weather information. Fundamentally, these requirements provide the candidate Hazardous Weather Avoidance technology concepts with the necessary human-related elements to make them compatible with human capabilities and limitations. The results of the analysis describe how Hazardous Weather Avoidance operations and functions should interface with the pilot to provide the necessary Weather Management functionality to the UA-pilot system. Requirements and guidelines for Hazardous Weather Avoidance are partitioned into four categories: (1) Planning En Route (2) Encountering Hazardous Weather En Route, (3) Planning to Destination, and (4) Diversion Planning Alternate Airport. Each requirement is stated and is supported with a rationale and associated reference(s).

Digital evaluation of sitting posture comfort in human-vehicle system under Industry 4.0 framework

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Qing; Kang, Jinsheng; Sun, Wenlei; Li, Zhaobo; Huo, Xiao

2016-09-01

Most of the previous studies on the vibration ride comfort of the human-vehicle system were focused only on one or two aspects of the investigation. A hybrid approach which integrates all kinds of investigation methods in real environment and virtual environment is described. The real experimental environment includes the WBV(whole body vibration) test, questionnaires for human subjective sensation and motion capture. The virtual experimental environment includes the theoretical calculation on simplified 5-DOF human body vibration model, the vibration simulation and analysis within ADAMS/VibrationTM module, and the digital human biomechanics and occupational health analysis in Jack software. While the real experimental environment provides realistic and accurate test results, it also serves as core and validation for the virtual experimental environment. The virtual experimental environment takes full advantages of current available vibration simulation and digital human modelling software, and makes it possible to evaluate the sitting posture comfort in a human-vehicle system with various human anthropometric parameters. How this digital evaluation system for car seat comfort design is fitted in the Industry 4.0 framework is also proposed.

Development of guidelines to review advanced human-system interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.

1993-01-01

Advanced control rooms (ACRS) will utilize advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operators overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported in order to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than ten years ago, well prior to these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development, evaluation, and current status of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline, hereafter referred to as the ''Guideline.''

Human-machine interface software package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, D.K.; Zhang, C.Z.

1992-01-01

The Man-Machine Interface software Package (MMISP) is designed to configure the console software of PLS 60 Mev LINAC control system. The control system of PLS 60 Mev LINAC is a distributed control system which includes the main computer (Intel 310) four local station, and two sets of industrial level console computer. The MMISP provides the operator with the display page editor, various I/O configuration such as digital signals In/Out, analog signal In/Out, waveform TV graphic display, and interactive with operator through graphic picture display, voice explanation, and touch panel. This paper describes its function and application. (author)

Digital Humanities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brügger, Niels

2016-01-01

, and preserving material to study, as an object of study in its own right, as an analytical tool, or for collaborating, and for disseminating results. The term "digital humanities" was coined around 2001, and gained currency within academia in the following years. However, computers had been used within......Digital humanities is an umbrella term for theories, methodologies, and practices related to humanities scholarship that use the digital computer as an integrated and essential part of its research and teaching activities. The computer can be used for establishing, finding, collecting...

The cyclical monitoring system for digital power supplies at SSRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Junlong; Li Deming; Shen Tianjian

2009-01-01

Based on available digital PS testing system and long-distance monitoring hardwares, the cyclical monitoring system for digital power supplies (PS) was developed at SSRF. Two models, i.e.long-distance cyclical monitoring and local cyclical monitoring, were established. The software developed in LabVIEW language was applied to the two models without any user interface modification. The user interface is simple. The system is suitable for debugging the digital PSs during long-distance monitoring and examining the performance. The long-distance model imitates the digital PSs' status for fault analysis and communication between the digital PS and the centre control room. The local model simultaneously examines stability of 18 new PSs for 24 h, monitors the PS controller, and detects malfunction. Parameters and status of the controller can be stored in Excel or Text file. The two models have been used at SSRF for monitoring the digital PSs. (authors)

INCORPORATION OF HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING ANALYSES AND TOOLS INTO THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR DIGITAL CONTROL ROOM UPGRADES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'HARA, J.M.; BROWN, W.

2004-01-01

Many nuclear power plants are modernizing with digital instrumentation and control systems and computer-based human-system interfaces (HSIs). The purpose of this paper is to summarize the human factors engineering (HFE) activities that can help to ensure that the design meets personnel needs. HFE activities should be integrated into the design process as a regular part of the engineering effort of a plant modification. The HFE activities will help ensure that human performance issues are addressed, that new technology supports task performance, and that the HSIs are designed in a manner that is compatible with human physiological, cognitive and social characteristics

Standardisation of digital human models.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Gunther; Wischniewski, Sascha

2012-01-01

Digital human models (DHM) have evolved as useful tools for ergonomic workplace design and product development, and found in various industries and education. DHM systems which dominate the market were developed for specific purposes and differ significantly, which is not only reflected in non-compatible results of DHM simulations, but also provoking misunderstanding of how DHM simulations relate to real world problems. While DHM developers are restricted by uncertainty about the user need and lack of model data related standards, users are confined to one specific product and cannot exchange results, or upgrade to another DHM system, as their previous results would be rendered worthless. Furthermore, origin and validity of anthropometric and biomechanical data is not transparent to the user. The lack of standardisation in DHM systems has become a major roadblock in further system development, affecting all stakeholders in the DHM industry. Evidently, a framework for standardising digital human models is necessary to overcome current obstructions. Practitioner Summary: This short communication addresses a standardisation issue for digital human models, which has been addressed at the International Ergonomics Association Technical Committee for Human Simulation and Virtual Environments. It is the outcome of a workshop at the DHM 2011 symposium in Lyon, which concluded steps towards DHM standardisation that need to be taken.

Development and Evaluation of Disaster Information Management System Using Digital Pens and Tabletop User Interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Fukada, Hidemi; Kobayashi, Kazue; Satou, Kenji; Kawana, Hideyuki; Masuda, Tomohiro

Most traditional disaster information systems are necessary to post expert staff with high computer literacy to operate the system quickly and correctly in the tense situation when a disaster occurs. However, in the current disaster response system of local governments, it is not easy for local governments to post such expert staff because they are struggling with staff cuts due to administrative and fiscal reform. In this research, we propose a disaster information management system that can be easily operated, even under the disorderly conditions of a disaster, by municipal personnel in charge of disaster management. This system achieves usability enabling easy input of damage information, even by local government staff with no expertise, by using a digital pen and tabletop user interface. Evaluation was conducted by prospective users using a prototype, and the evaluation results are satisfactory with regard to the function and operationality of the proposed system.

The Properties of Intelligent Human-Machine Interface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Alfimtsev

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Intelligent human-machine interfaces based on multimodal interaction are developed separately in different application areas. No unified opinion exists about the issue of what properties should these interfaces have to provide an intuitive and natural interaction. Having carried out an analytical survey of the papers that deal with intelligent interfaces a set of properties are presented, which are necessary for intelligent interface between an information system and a human: absolute response, justification, training, personification, adaptiveness, collectivity, security, hidden persistence, portability, filtering.

Smart Antenna UKM Testbed for Digital Beamforming System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2009-03-01

Full Text Available A new design of smart antenna testbed developed at UKM for digital beamforming purpose is proposed. The smart antenna UKM testbed developed based on modular design employing two novel designs of L-probe fed inverted hybrid E-H (LIEH array antenna and software reconfigurable digital beamforming system (DBS. The antenna is developed based on using the novel LIEH microstrip patch element design arranged into 4×1 uniform linear array antenna. An interface board is designed to interface to the ADC board with the RF front-end receiver. The modular concept of the system provides the capability to test the antenna hardware, beamforming unit, and beamforming algorithm in an independent manner, thus allowing the smart antenna system to be developed and tested in parallel, hence reduces the design time. The DBS was developed using a high-performance TMS320C6711TM floating-point DSP board and a 4-channel RF front-end receiver developed in-house. An interface board is designed to interface to the ADC board with the RF front-end receiver. A four-element receiving array testbed at 1.88–2.22 GHz frequency is constructed, and digital beamforming on this testbed is successfully demonstrated.

Integrated global digital image correlation for interface delamination characterization

KAUST Repository

Hoefnagels, Johan P.M.

2013-07-23

Interfacial delamination is a key reliability challenge in composites and micro-electronic systems due to (high-density) integration of dissimilar materials. Predictive finite element models are used to minimize delamination failures during design, but require accurate interface models to capture (irreversible) crack initiation and propagation behavior observed in experiments. Therefore, an Integrated Global Digital Image Correlation (I-GDIC) strategy is developed for accurate determination of mechanical interface behavior from in-situ delamination experiments. Recently, a novel miniature delamination setup was presented that enables in-situ microscopic characterization of interface delamination while sensitively measuring global load-displacement curves for all mode mixities. Nevertheless, extraction of detailed mechanical interface behavior from measured images is challenging, because deformations are tiny and measurement noise large. Therefore, an advanced I-GDIC methodology is developed which correlates the image patterns by only deforming the images using kinematically-admissible \\'eigenmodes\\' that correspond to the few parameters controlling the interface tractions in an analytic description of the crack tip deformation field, thereby greatly enhancing accuracy and robustness. This method is validated on virtual delamination experiments, simulated using a recently developed self-adaptive cohesive zone (CZ) finite element framework. © The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2014.

EBR-II Cover Gas Cleanup System (CGCS) upgrade graphical interface design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staffon, J.D.; Peters, G.G.

1992-01-01

Technology advances in the past few years have prompted an effort at Argonne National Laboratory to replace existing equipment with high performance digital computers and color graphic displays. Improved operation of process systems can be achieved by utilizing state-of-the-art computer technology in the areas of process control and process monitoring. The Cover Gas Cleanup System (CGCS) at EBR-II is the first system to be upgraded with high performance digital equipment. The upgrade consisted of a main control computer, a distributed control computer, a front end input/output computer, a main graphics interface terminal, and a remote graphics interface terminal. This paper describes the main control computer and the operator interface control software

A digital control and monitoring system for PWR waste-disposal systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Toshiharu; Fuchigami, Kazuyuki; Shimozato, Masao; Takazawa, Kazuo

1982-01-01

Mitsubishi Electric has developed a digital control and monitoring system for PWR waste-disposal systems. This novel system has improved operability due to its automated operations and control, and integrated supervisory functions. The system includes other features to improve operability: sequence control by a control computer, direct-digital process control, integrated supervision of operation states by a supervisory computer and a high-speed dataway, and CRT interfacing between the computer and dataway. (author)

Human-system interface evaluation system for advanced control room based on SQL database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yan; Zhou Zhiwei; Bian Zhiqiang; Xu Li

2005-01-01

User Interface (UI) plays an important role in the advanced control room (ACR) of a nuclear power plant (NPP). In this paper, we present a rule-based ACR Human-system Interface Evaluation System (AHSIES) using expert system technology, which can evaluate UI design shortcomings, propose modification suggestions, and help designer improve the ACR interface design. AHSIES consists of four programs: the UI Editor, the Operation Procedure Manager, the Operation Simulator and the UI Design Evaluator. These four parts respectively function for: editing a set of UI icons employed as the operation screens of an advanced control room; for editing operation procedures aiming at any specified operation with simple language; for simulate the operation sequences dynamically and recording the relevant information for design performance of the UIs; and for evaluating both static and dynamic performance of the ACR UI design according to well established design guidelines and criteria with the information gained from the first three programs. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 DBMS is adopted to manage the voluminous data and its complex relationships. The preliminary test application of AHSIES for a simplified ACR UI design of a PWR NPP has shown that the expert evaluation system is capable of achieving satisfactory evaluation results. (authors)

Investigating User Interfaces of Non-Iranian Digital Libraries based on Social Bookmarking Capabilities and Characteristics to Use by Iranian Digital Libraries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Naseri

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Current study aims to investigate the status of user interfaces of non-Iranian digital libraries’ based on social bookmarking capabilities and characteristics to use by Iranian digital libraries. This research studies the characteristics and capabilities of top digital libraries’ user interfaces in the world based on social bookmarking used by library users. This capability facilitates producing, identifying, organizing, and sharing contents using tags. Survey method was used with descriptive-analytical approach in this study. Populations include non-Iranian digital libraries interfaces. Top ten digital libraries’ interfaces were selected as the sample. A researcher-made checklist prepared based on literature review and investigating four distinguished websites (Library Thing, Delicious, Amazon, and Google Book. Faced validity evaluated by 10 experts’ viewpoints, then reliability calculated 0.87.Findings of this study are important because of two reasons: first, it provides a comprehensive and an unambiguous vision for recognizing user interfaces’ basic capabilities and characteristics based on social bookmarking. Second, it can provide a base for designing digital libraries in Iran. The results showed that the majority of digital libraries around the world had not used web 2.0 characteristics such as producing, identifying, organizing, and sharing contents except two digital libraries (Google Books, and Ibiblio.

A Critique on the Effectiveness of Current Human Reliability Analysis Approach for the Human-Machine Interface Design in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yong Hee

2010-01-01

Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) in cooperation of PSA has been conducted to evaluate the safety of a system and the validity of a system design. HRA has been believed to provide a quantitative value of human error potential and the safety level of a design alternative in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). However, it becomes doubtful that current HRA is worth to conduct to evaluate the human factors of NPP design, since there have been many critiques upon the virtue of HRA. Inevitably, the newer the technology becomes, the larger endeavors bound for the new facilitated methods. This paper describes the limitations and the obsolescence of the current HRA, especially for the design evaluation of Human-Machine Interface (HMI) utilizing the recent digital technologies. An alternative approach to the assessment of the human error potential of HMI design is proposed

Human-machine interface upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kropik, M.; Matejka, K.; Sklenka, L.; Chab, V.

2002-01-01

The article describes a new human-machine interface that was installed at the VR-1 training reactor. The human-machine interface upgrade was completed in the summer 2001. The interface was designed with respect to functional, ergonomic and aesthetic requirements. The interface is based on a personal computer equipped with two displays. One display enables alphanumeric communication between the reactor operator and the nuclear reactor I and C. The second display is a graphical one. It presents the status of the reactor, principal parameters (as power, period), control rods positions, course of the reactor power. Furthermore, it is possible to set parameters, to show the active core configuration, to perform reactivity calculations, etc. The software for the new human-machine interface was produced with the InTouch developing tool of the Wonder-Ware Company. It is possible to switch the language of the interface between Czech and English because of many foreign students and visitors to the reactor. Microcomputer based communication units with proper software were developed to connect the new human-machine interface with the present reactor I and C. The new human-machine interface at the VR-1 training reactor improves the comfort and safety of the reactor utilisation, facilitates experiments and training, and provides better support for foreign visitors. (orig.)

Interface Realisms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pold, Søren

2005-01-01

This article argues for seeing the interface as an important representational and aesthetic form with implications for postmodern culture and digital aesthetics. The interface emphasizes realism due in part to the desire for transparency in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and partly...

New J-STAGE system accelerates digitization and distribution of academic journals from Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Ryuichi; Kubota, Soichi; Aoyama, Kota; Tsuchiya, Eri; Miyagawa, Yoshiyuki

13 years have passed since J-STAGE was launched. At present no one could deny that its user interface and functions were already out of date comparing to foreign established e-journals. So JST has developed a new system called “J-STAGE3” in order to offer better usability and give powerful dissemination of academic papers from Japan. As the result of it, they will be able to enjoy the following things: 1) integration of two databases, Journal@rchive and J-STAGE, 2) new design/interface, 3) introduction of international standard XML format, 4) advanced subscription management, 5) saving cost of publishers, and 6) improving J-STAGE online submission and review system. At the end of March 2011, we conducted a market research on current status of digitization on Japanese society journals. The report told us that digitization ratio of those was 62% in total but it was 34% in humanities/social sciences. Or it was 92% in English journals and 55% in Japanese ones. It means that we need further promotion of digitization. In this paper, we discuss functions and direction of J-STAGE3 as well as our role in promotion of digitization of Japanese society journals.

Treatment of human-computer interface in a decision support system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heger, A.S.; Duran, F.A.; Cox, R.G.

1992-01-01

One of the most challenging applications facing the computer community is development of effective adaptive human-computer interface. This challenge stems from the complex nature of the human part of this symbiosis. The application of this discipline to the environmental restoration and waste management is further complicated due to the nature of environmental data. The information that is required to manage environmental impacts of human activity is fundamentally complex. This paper will discuss the efforts at Sandia National Laboratories in developing the adaptive conceptual model manager within the constraint of the environmental decision-making. A computer workstation, that hosts the Conceptual Model Manager and the Sandia Environmental Decision Support System will also be discussed

Human-Manipulator Interface Using Particle Filter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guanglong Du

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper utilizes a human-robot interface system which incorporates particle filter (PF and adaptive multispace transformation (AMT to track the pose of the human hand for controlling the robot manipulator. This system employs a 3D camera (Kinect to determine the orientation and the translation of the human hand. We use Camshift algorithm to track the hand. PF is used to estimate the translation of the human hand. Although a PF is used for estimating the translation, the translation error increases in a short period of time when the sensors fail to detect the hand motion. Therefore, a methodology to correct the translation error is required. What is more, to be subject to the perceptive limitations and the motor limitations, human operator is hard to carry out the high precision operation. This paper proposes an adaptive multispace transformation (AMT method to assist the operator to improve the accuracy and reliability in determining the pose of the robot. The human-robot interface system was experimentally tested in a lab environment, and the results indicate that such a system can successfully control a robot manipulator.

Investigation and evaluation into the usability of human-computer interfaces using a typical CAD system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rickett, J D

1987-01-01

This research program covers three topics relating to the human-computer interface namely, voice recognition, tools and techniques for evaluation, and user and interface modeling. An investigation into the implementation of voice-recognition technologies examines how voice recognizers may be evaluated in commercial software. A prototype system was developed with the collaboration of FEMVIEW Ltd. (marketing a CAD package). A theoretical approach to evaluation leads to the hypothesis that human-computer interaction is affected by personality, influencing types of dialogue, preferred methods for providing helps, etc. A user model based on personality traits, or habitual-behavior patterns (HBP) is presented. Finally, a practical framework is provided for the evaluation of human-computer interfaces. It suggests that evaluation is an integral part of design and that the iterative use of evaluation techniques throughout the conceptualization, design, implementation and post-implementation stages will ensure systems that satisfy the needs of the users and fulfill the goal of usability.

A novel device for head gesture measurement system in combination with eye-controlled human machine interface

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chern-Sheng; Ho, Chien-Wa; Chang, Kai-Chieh; Hung, San-Shan; Shei, Hung-Jung; Yeh, Mau-Shiun

2006-06-01

This study describes the design and combination of an eye-controlled and a head-controlled human-machine interface system. This system is a highly effective human-machine interface, detecting head movement by changing positions and numbers of light sources on the head. When the users utilize the head-mounted display to browse a computer screen, the system will catch the images of the user's eyes with CCD cameras, which can also measure the angle and position of the light sources. In the eye-tracking system, the program in the computer will locate each center point of the pupils in the images, and record the information on moving traces and pupil diameters. In the head gesture measurement system, the user wears a double-source eyeglass frame, so the system catches images of the user's head by using a CCD camera in front of the user. The computer program will locate the center point of the head, transferring it to the screen coordinates, and then the user can control the cursor by head motions. We combine the eye-controlled and head-controlled human-machine interface system for the virtual reality applications.

Evaluasi Human Machine Interface Menggunakan Kriteria Usability Pada Sistem E-learning Perguruan Tinggi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akhmad Qashlim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Integration HMI with usability in user interface design process is a standart of the success of a website. The design process is done through the approach to the end user to find a problem solution of human machine interface phenomena. It can also generate the maximum level of satisfaction and success of implementation of the website. The purpose of this research is to evaluate HMI using usabilitycriteria to know the application of HMI concept in e-learning and provide proposals for improvements to the HMI. Questionnaire Data were processed using a descriptive analysis and methods of CFA to know the variables that are weakest and which indicators have an important role in shaping the research variables. Evaluation results indicate the application concept of HMI in the e-learning had been done but not the maximum. Data analysis of the results obtained that the main problem lies in the accessibility criteria in the meantime indicator latent variables from forming error prevention, learnability, memorability, visibility and accessibility of influential factor loading values indicated significantly (unidimensionalitas in shaping the criteria of latent variables in first-order CFA. The end result of this research is the proposal of improvement as a HMI solution in the form of principles and technicsuser interface design. This solution is focused on the development of standards for the quality of the interface in e-learning systems and not on the digital learning content presented on the e-learning system. Keywords: Descriptive analisis; Human machine interface; Usability; Confirmatory factor analisys; Elearning

New human machine interface for VR-1 training reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kropik, M.; Matejka, K.; Sklenka, L.; Chab, V.

2002-01-01

The contribution describes a new human machine interface that was installed at the VR-1 training reactor. The human machine interface update was completed in the summer 2001. The human machine interface enables to operate the training reactor. The interface was designed with respect to functional, ergonomic and aesthetic requirements. The interface is based on a personal computer equipped with two displays. One display enables alphanumeric communication between a reactor operator and the control and safety system of the nuclear reactor. Messages appear from the control system, the operator can write commands and send them there. The second display is a graphical one. It is possible to represent there the status of the reactor, principle parameters (as power, period), control rods' positions, the course of the reactor power. Furthermore, it is possible to set parameters, to show the active core configuration, to perform reactivity calculations, etc. The software for the new human machine interface was produced in the InTouch developing environment of the WonderWare Company. It is possible to switch the language of the interface between Czech and English because of many foreign students and visitors at the reactor. The former operator's desk was completely removed and superseded with a new one. Besides of the computer and the two displays, there are control buttons, indicators and individual numerical displays of instrumentation there. Utilised components guarantee high quality of the new equipment. Microcomputer based communication units with proper software were developed to connect the contemporary control and safety system with the personal computer of the human machine interface and the individual displays. New human machine interface at the VR-1 training reactor improves the safety and comfort of the reactor utilisation, facilitates experiments and training, and provides better support of foreign visitors.(author)

Control system oriented human interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barale, P.; Jacobson, V.; Kilgore, R.; Rondeau, D.

1976-11-01

The on-line control system interface for magnet beam steering and focusing in the Bevalac is described. An Aydin model 5205B display generator was chosen. This display generator will allow the computer to completely rewrite a monitor screen in less than 50 ms and is also capable of controlling a color monitor

The development of ZPRL digital control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, Jin-Den; Yang, Sheau-Yieh; Shieh, Der-Jhy.

1992-01-01

Zero Power Reactor at Lung-Tan (ZPRL) is a small open-pool type research reactor located at Lung-Tan, Taiwan. The reactor achieved its first criticality in 1971. An analog control system has been used for almost over 20 years and the power regulating function is found gradually out of order. Therefore, we decided to develop a digital control system to replace the existing analog one. A prototype system has been developed and under on-line test now. The proposed ZPRL digital control system consists of three personal computers. These computers are used as (1) operator console, (2) data acquisition and control system, and (3) auxiliary and backup system. The operator console contains all the man-machine interface functions in the form of graphic display. The data acquisition and control system converts the analog signals into digital ones and feeds to the other two computers. The auxiliary and backup system normally emulates a strip chart recorder for the linear and logarithmic neutron powers and also acts as a transient recorder to keep the trace of the operating conditions on demand or when the reactor scrams. On-line test shows that the system does assure a satisfactory performance. It is not only as good as the analog system but also has the advantages of flexibility, testibility, and a user friendly man-machine interface. (author)

An intelligent human-machine system based on an ecological interface design concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, N.

1995-01-01

It seems both necessary and promising to develop an intelligent human-machine system, considering the objective of the human-machine system and the recent advance in cognitive engineering and artificial intelligence together with the ever-increasing importance of human factor issues in nuclear power plant operation and maintenance. It should support human operators in their knowledge-based behaviour and allow them to cope with unanticipated abnormal events, including recovery from erroneous human actions. A top-down design approach has been adopted based on cognitive work analysis, and (1) an ecological interface, (2) a cognitive model-based advisor and (3) a robust automatic sequence controller have been established. These functions have been integrated into an experimental control room. A validation test was carried out by the participation of experienced operators and engineers. The results showed the usefulness of this system in supporting the operator's supervisory plant control tasks. ((orig.))

Digital twins of human robot collaboration in a production setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malik, Ali Ahmad; Bilberg, Arne

2018-01-01

This paper aims to present a digital twin framework to support the design, build and control of human-machine cooperation. In this study, computer simulations are used to develop a digital counterpart of a human-robot collaborative work environment for assembly work. The digital counterpart remains...... updated during the life cycle of the production system by continuously mirroring the physical system for quick and safe embed for continuous improvements. The case of a manufacturing company with human-robot work teams is presented for developing and validating the digital twin framework....

The development and evaluation of guidelines for the review of advanced human-system interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.; Wachtel, J.

1992-01-01

Advanced control rooms for future nuclear power plants are being designed utilizing computer-based technologies. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews the human engineering aspects of such control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported in order to protect public health and safety. This paper describes a general approach to advanced human-system interface review, development of human factors guidelines to support NRC safety reviews of advanced systems, and the results of a guideline test and evaluation program

Integrated global digital image correlation for interface delamination characterization

KAUST Repository

Hoefnagels, Johan P.M.; Blaysat, Benoî t; Lubineau, Gilles; Geers, Marc G D

2013-01-01

, but require accurate interface models to capture (irreversible) crack initiation and propagation behavior observed in experiments. Therefore, an Integrated Global Digital Image Correlation (I-GDIC) strategy is developed for accurate determination of mechanical

Digital PIV (DPIV) Software Analysis System

Science.gov (United States)

Blackshire, James L.

1997-01-01

A software package was developed to provide a Digital PIV (DPIV) capability for NASA LaRC. The system provides an automated image capture, test correlation, and autocorrelation analysis capability for the Kodak Megaplus 1.4 digital camera system for PIV measurements. The package includes three separate programs that, when used together with the PIV data validation algorithm, constitutes a complete DPIV analysis capability. The programs are run on an IBM PC/AT host computer running either Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 using a 'quickwin' format that allows simple user interface and output capabilities to the windows environment.

Human factor engineering analysis for computerized human machine interface design issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhifang; Gu Pengfei; Zhang Jianbo

2010-01-01

The application of digital I and C technology in nuclear power plants is a significant improvement in terms of functional performances and flexibility, and it also poses a challenge to operation safety. Most of the new NPPs under construction are adopting advanced control room design which utilizes the computerized human machine interface (HMI) as the main operating means. Thus, it greatly changes the way the operators interact with the plant. This paper introduces the main challenges brought out by computerized technology on the human factor engineering aspect and addresses the main issues to be dealt with in the computerized HMI design process. Based on a operator task-resources-cognitive model, it states that the root cause of human errors is the mismatch between resources demand and their supply. And a task-oriented HMI design principle is discussed. (authors)

A Human Error Analysis with Physiological Signals during Utilizing Digital Devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, Yeon Ju; Shin, Kwang Hyeon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

The introduction of advanced MCR is accompanied with lots of changes and different forms and features through the virtue of new digital technologies. There are various kinds of digital devices such as flat panel displays, touch screens, and so on. The characteristics of these digital devices give many chances to the interface management, and can be integrated into a compact single workstation in an advanced MCR so that workers can operate the plant with minimum burden during any operating condition. However, these devices may introduce new types of human errors, and thus we need a means to evaluate and prevent such error, especially those related to the digital devices. Human errors have been retrospectively assessed for accident reviews and quantitatively evaluated through HRA for PSA. However, the ergonomic verification and validation is an important process to defend all human error potential in the NPP design. HRA is a crucial part of a PSA, and helps in preparing a countermeasure for design by drawing potential human error items that affect the overall safety of NPPs. Various HRA techniques are available however: they reveal shortages of the HMI design in the digital era. - HRA techniques depend on PSFs: this means that the scope dealing with human factors is previously limited, and thus all attributes of new digital devices may not be considered in HRA. - The data used to HRA are not close to the evaluation items. So, human error analysis is not easy to apply to design by several individual experiments and cases. - The results of HRA are not statistically meaningful because accidents including human errors in NPPs are rare and have been estimated as having an extremely low probability

Low-cost digital counting interface for fermentation gas measurement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erdman, M.D.; Deluiche, S.R.

1985-05-01

Laboratory- and pilot-scale volumetric measurement of fermentation gas can be readily determined with a standard wet-test gas meter. The initial cost of the meter, however, is quite prohibitive for experimental work and researchers have searched for other means of quantifying gas production. Techniques using calibrated floating gas holders, liquid displacement, flexible membranes, and conventional gas meters have been reported. Many of these methods lack a high degree of accuracy for small gas volumes. Residential gas meters such as those manufactured by Singer company, and others appear well suited for this application as long as a relatively dry gas is passed through the meter and a method is developed to subdivide the meter scale and record the results. The objective of this report was to construct a low cost, accurate, digital counting interface for concurrent operation with a low cost bellows-type gas meter. Although initially constructed for use in gas measurement studies, the interface can be used in other applications where digital output or computer interfacing are desired. 2 references.

Flexible human machine interface for process diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reifman, J.; Graham, G.E.; Wei, T.Y.C.; Brown, K.R.; Chin, R.Y.

1996-01-01

A flexible human machine interface to design and display graphical and textual process diagnostic information is presented. The system operates on different computer hardware platforms, including PCs under MS Windows and UNIX Workstations under X-Windows, in a client-server architecture. The interface system is customized for specific process applications in a graphical user interface development environment by overlaying the image of the process piping and instrumentation diagram with display objects that are highlighted in color during diagnostic display. Customization of the system is presented for Commonwealth Edison's Braidwood PWR Chemical and Volume Control System with transients simulated by a full-scale operator-training simulator and diagnosed by a computer-based system

A review on progress of man-machine interface system designs for Japanese PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Yamamoto, Yoshihiro; Magari, Takayuki.

1994-01-01

Historical development of Instrumentation and Control (I and C) system designing for the PWR plants in Kansai Electric Co. Ltd is firstly reviewed with respect to the conventional PWRs in the past, brand-new PWRs (Ohi 3/4 units) and advanced PWRs (APWR) in Japan. The major features of the APWR I and C system design are extensive application of digital computer control technology and advanced man-machine interface in order to enhance safety and reliability of total I and C system and to improve human factors in nuclear power plant operation. Comparative study of the APWR's I and C system design with the EPRI's User Requirement Definitions (URD) resulted in that the current Japanese APWR I and C system design meets generally with the EPRI URD conditions except for those items mainly set by the present national regulatory guidelines. The remaining problems in the current I and C system design are discussed which include the issues on future direction of man-machine interface development. (author)

Enhanced Web Interfaces for Administering Invenio Digital Library

CERN Document Server

Batista, João

2012-01-01

Invenio is an open source web-based application that implements a digital library or document server, and it's used at CERN as the base of the CERN Document Server Institutional Repository and the Inspire High Energy Physics Subject Repository. The purpose of this work was to reimplement the administrative interface of the search engine in Invenio, using new and proved open source technologies, to simplify the code base and lay the foundations for the work that it will be done in porting the rest of the administrative interfaces to use these newer technologies. In my time as a CERN openlab summer student I was able to implement some of the features for the WebSearch Admin Interfaces, enhance some of the existing code with new features and find solutions to technical challenges that will be common when porting the other administrative interfaces modules.

The Information Seeking Interface with Spatial Icons for the Children Digital-learning Database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

吳可久、林佳蓉、陳泓均、柯皓仁 Ko-Chiu Wu,Chia-Jung Lin,Hung-Chun Chen,Hao-Ren Ke

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this age of information technology, children must develop the ability to search digital databases.However, the information-seeking behavior and cognitive abilities associated with language and images differ substantially between children and adults. Therefore there is an urgent need foran information-searching interface customized for children. Drawing on the design of computer games, we created a three-dimensional (3D human-computer interface (HCI. Children’s experience playing computer games can therefore inform way-finding and information-seeking behavior inthis spatially-oriented interface. Three types of HCI were developed: a 2D graphic hyperlink (GH,a 3D extended survey (ES, and a 3D extended route (ER. These were tested for efficiency, effectiveness, and time of operation by one-way analysis of variance. Our results indicated that children behave differently on the various interfaces. The proposed HCI is a helpful tool offering children a knowledge map that enables them to search for the information they need. Our results demonstrate that information visualization theory and concept association are topics worthy offurther study in the development of a child-oriented information-seeking interface. pp. 51-65

US Army Weapon Systems Human-Computer Interface (WSHCI) style guide, Version 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Avery, L.W.; O`Mara, P.A.; Shepard, A.P.

1996-09-30

A stated goal of the U.S. Army has been the standardization of the human computer interfaces (HCIS) of its system. Some of the tools being used to accomplish this standardization are HCI design guidelines and style guides. Currently, the Army is employing a number of style guides. While these style guides provide good guidance for the command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) domain, they do not necessarily represent the more unique requirements of the Army`s real time and near-real time (RT/NRT) weapon systems. The Office of the Director of Information for Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (DISC4), in conjunction with the Weapon Systems Technical Architecture Working Group (WSTAWG), recognized this need as part of their activities to revise the Army Technical Architecture (ATA). To address this need, DISC4 tasked the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop an Army weapon systems unique HCI style guide. This document, the U.S. Army Weapon Systems Human-Computer Interface (WSHCI) Style Guide, represents the first version of that style guide. The purpose of this document is to provide HCI design guidance for RT/NRT Army systems across the weapon systems domains of ground, aviation, missile, and soldier systems. Each domain should customize and extend this guidance by developing their domain-specific style guides, which will be used to guide the development of future systems within their domains.

Design and Implementation of an Embedded Digital Throwing System Based on MEMS Multiaxial Accelerometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhen GAO

2010-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel embedded digital throwing system for synchronously sensing the throwing force of shot-put athletes in real time. The three axes integrated accelerometer, as a crucial device in the force sensing system, can acquire the kinetics data along three orthogonal directions with reasonably high accuracy. The digital shot with almost the same size and weight as the standard shot for open female has been designed, fabricated and implemented. The mechanical structure, signal processing system, and human-machine interface are illuminated in detail. In this manner, the force sensing system serves as a powerful tool for coaches and sports scientists to make scientific researches on professional throwing techniques. It also provides an intuitive and reliable guidance for the throwing athletes to improve their skills.

Analogue to digital upgrade project-boiler feedwater control system for Bruce Power nuclear units 1 & 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, R.

2012-01-01

Bruce Power Nuclear Generating Station A, “Bruce A” is in the final stages of its Restart Project. This capital project will see a large scale rehabilitation of Units 1 and 2 resulting in addition of 1500MW of safe, reliable, clean electricity to the Ontario grid. Restart Project Scope 375, Boiler Feedwater Controls Upgrade was sanctioned to replace obsolete analog devices with a modern digital control system. This project replaced the existing Foxboro H Line analog controls which comprised of 81 individual control modules and support instrumentation. The replacement system was a Triconex Triple Modular Redundant PLC which interfaces with two redundant touch screen monitors. The upgraded digital system incorporates the following controls: 1. Boiler Level Control Loops 2. Dearator Level Control Loops 3. Dearator Pressure Control Loops 4. Boiler Feedwater Recirculation Flow Control Loops A number of technical challenges were addressed when installing a new digital system within the existing plant configuration. Interfaces to new, old and refurbished field devices must be understood as well as implications of connecting to the plant’s Digital Control Computers (DCC’s) and newly installed Steam Generators. The overall project involved many stakeholders to address various requirements from conceptual / design stage through procurement, construction, commissioning and return to service. In addition, the project highlighted the unique requirements found in Nuclear Industry with respect to Human Factors and Software Quality Assurance. (author)

Cognitive Human-Machine Interface Applied in Remote Support for Industrial Robot Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Kosicki

2013-10-01

Full Text Available An attempt is currently being made to widely introduce industrial robots to Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs. Since the enterprises usually employ too small number of robot units to afford specialized departments for robot maintenance, they must be provided with inexpensive and immediate support remotely. This paper evaluates whether the support can be provided by means of Cognitive Info-communication – communication in which human cognitive capabilities are extended irrespectively of geographical distances. The evaluations are given with an aid of experimental system that consists of local and remote rooms, which are physically separated – a six-degree-of-freedom NACHI SH133-03 industrial robot is situated in the local room, while the operator, who supervises the robot by means of audio-visual Cognitive Human-Machine Interface, is situated in the remote room. The results of simple experiments show that Cognitive Info-communication is not only efficient mean to provide the support remotely, but is probably also a powerful tool to enhance interaction with any data-rich environment that require good conceptual understanding of system's state and careful attention management. Furthermore, the paper discusses data presentation and reduction methods for data-rich environments, as well as introduces the concepts of Naturally Acquired Data and Cognitive Human-Machine Interfaces.

Human-Centric Interfaces for Ambient Intelligence

CERN Document Server

Aghajan, Hamid; Delgado, Ramon Lopez-Cozar

2009-01-01

To create truly effective human-centric ambient intelligence systems both engineering and computing methods are needed. This is the first book to bridge data processing and intelligent reasoning methods for the creation of human-centered ambient intelligence systems. Interdisciplinary in nature, the book covers topics such as multi-modal interfaces, human-computer interaction, smart environments and pervasive computing, addressing principles, paradigms, methods and applications. This book will be an ideal reference for university researchers, R&D engineers, computer engineers, and graduate s

Rhetoric and the digital humanities

CERN Document Server

Ridolfo, Jim

2015-01-01

The digital humanities is a rapidly growing field that is transforming humanities research through digital tools and resources. Researchers can now quickly trace every one of Issac Newton's annotations, use social media to engage academic and public audiences in the interpretation of cultural texts, and visualize travel via ox cart in third-century Rome or camel caravan in ancient Egypt. Rhetorical scholars are leading the revolution by fully utilizing the digital toolbox, finding themselves at the nexus of digital innovation. Rhetoric and the Digital Humanities is a timely, multidisciplinary collection that is the first to bridge scholarship in rhetorical studies and the digital humanities. It offers much-needed guidance on how the theories and methodologies of rhetorical studies can enhance all work in digital humanities, and vice versa. Twenty-three essays over three sections delve into connections, research methodology, and future directions in this field. Jim Ridolfo and William Hart-Davidson have assemb...

Using digital educational objects to teach human body systems at a countryside school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvio Ferreira dos Santos

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to assess the use of educational software and mobile device applications to teach about the human body at a rural school. It is an action research, with a qualitative approach, developed in 2016 and involving 14 students from the 8th year Elementary Education at the Escola Estadual Sol Nascente in Confresa-MT. The chosen software and application was the Human Body Atlas and 3D Human Body Systems, emphasizing on the digestive and circulation systems. The results from the pre-and post-test, which comprised 20 questions together, corroborate the hypothesis that the use of digital educational objects benefits the education process. Students learned better the systems in comparison with when only traditional resources, such as a didactic book, was used. Such advancement could be harnessed to the fact that the resources make use of 3D images and point out each part of the body, besides providing important information and curiosities about the subject. It is therefore expected that digital technologies may be increasingly inserted and explored in pedagogical practices, since those resources allow for studying and solving queries, by broadening educational space and time.

MIDAS, prototype Multivariate Interactive Digital Analysis System, phase 1. Volume 1: System description

Science.gov (United States)

Kriegler, F. J.

1974-01-01

The MIDAS System is described as a third-generation fast multispectral recognition system able to keep pace with the large quantity and high rates of data acquisition from present and projected sensors. A principal objective of the MIDAS program is to provide a system well interfaced with the human operator and thus to obtain large overall reductions in turnaround time and significant gains in throughput. The hardware and software are described. The system contains a mini-computer to control the various high-speed processing elements in the data path, and a classifier which implements an all-digital prototype multivariate-Gaussian maximum likelihood decision algorithm operating at 200,000 pixels/sec. Sufficient hardware was developed to perform signature extraction from computer-compatible tapes, compute classifier coefficients, control the classifier operation, and diagnose operation.

Visual design for the user interface, Part 1: Design fundamentals.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, P J

1994-01-01

Digital audiovisual media and computer-based documents will be the dominant forms of professional communication in both clinical medicine and the biomedical sciences. The design of highly interactive multimedia systems will shortly become a major activity for biocommunications professionals. The problems of human-computer interface design are intimately linked with graphic design for multimedia presentations and on-line document systems. This article outlines the history of graphic interface design and the theories that have influenced the development of today's major graphic user interfaces.

Neuromorphic neural interfaces: from neurophysiological inspiration to biohybrid coupling with nervous systems

Science.gov (United States)

Broccard, Frédéric D.; Joshi, Siddharth; Wang, Jun; Cauwenberghs, Gert

2017-08-01

Objective. Computation in nervous systems operates with different computational primitives, and on different hardware, than traditional digital computation and is thus subjected to different constraints from its digital counterpart regarding the use of physical resources such as time, space and energy. In an effort to better understand neural computation on a physical medium with similar spatiotemporal and energetic constraints, the field of neuromorphic engineering aims to design and implement electronic systems that emulate in very large-scale integration (VLSI) hardware the organization and functions of neural systems at multiple levels of biological organization, from individual neurons up to large circuits and networks. Mixed analog/digital neuromorphic VLSI systems are compact, consume little power and operate in real time independently of the size and complexity of the model. Approach. This article highlights the current efforts to interface neuromorphic systems with neural systems at multiple levels of biological organization, from the synaptic to the system level, and discusses the prospects for future biohybrid systems with neuromorphic circuits of greater complexity. Main results. Single silicon neurons have been interfaced successfully with invertebrate and vertebrate neural networks. This approach allowed the investigation of neural properties that are inaccessible with traditional techniques while providing a realistic biological context not achievable with traditional numerical modeling methods. At the network level, populations of neurons are envisioned to communicate bidirectionally with neuromorphic processors of hundreds or thousands of silicon neurons. Recent work on brain-machine interfaces suggests that this is feasible with current neuromorphic technology. Significance. Biohybrid interfaces between biological neurons and VLSI neuromorphic systems of varying complexity have started to emerge in the literature. Primarily intended as a

Experiences in the application of human factors engineering to human-system interface modernization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trueba Alonso, Pedro; Illobre, Luis Fernandez; Ortega Pascual, Fernando

2014-01-01

Almost all the existing Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) include plans to modernize their existing Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems and associated Human System Interfaces (HSIs), due to obsolescence problems. Tecnatom, S.A. has been participating in modernization programs in NPPs to help them to plan, specify, design and implement the modernization of control rooms and associated I and C and HSIs. The application of Human Factors Engineering (HFE) in modernization programs is nowadays unavoidable. This is because is becoming a regulatory requirement, and also because it is needed to ensure that any plant modification, involving the modernization of I and C and HSI, is well designed to improve overall plant operations, reliability, and safety. This paper shows some experiences obtained during the application of HFE to the modernization of these HSIs. The experience applying HFE in modernizations and design modifications show a positive effect, improving the associated HSIs, with the acceptability of the final user. (authors)

Experiences in the application of human factors engineering to human-system interface modernization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trueba Alonso, Pedro; Fernandez Illobre, Luis; Ortega Pascual, Fernando

2015-01-01

Almost all the existing Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) include plans to modernize their existing Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems and associated Human System Interfaces (HSIs), due to obsolescence problems. Tecnatom, S.A. has been participating in modernization programs in NPPs to help them to plan, specify, design and implement the modernization of control rooms and associated I and C and HSIs. The application of Human Factors Engineering (HFE) in modernization programs is nowadays unavoidable. This is because is becoming a regulatory requirement, and also because it is needed to ensure that any plant modification, involving the modernization of I and C and HSI, is well designed to improve overall plant operations, reliability, and safety. This paper shows some experiences obtained during the application of HFE to the modernization of these HSIs. The experience applying HFE in modernizations and design modifications show a positive effect, improving the associated HSIs, with the acceptability of the final user.

Experiences in the application of human factors engineering to human-system interface modernization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trueba Alonso, Pedro; Fernandez Illobre, Luis; Ortega Pascual, Fernando [Tecnatom S.A., San Sebastian de los Reyes (Spain). Simulation and Control Rooms Div.

2015-07-15

Almost all the existing Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) include plans to modernize their existing Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems and associated Human System Interfaces (HSIs), due to obsolescence problems. Tecnatom, S.A. has been participating in modernization programs in NPPs to help them to plan, specify, design and implement the modernization of control rooms and associated I and C and HSIs. The application of Human Factors Engineering (HFE) in modernization programs is nowadays unavoidable. This is because is becoming a regulatory requirement, and also because it is needed to ensure that any plant modification, involving the modernization of I and C and HSI, is well designed to improve overall plant operations, reliability, and safety. This paper shows some experiences obtained during the application of HFE to the modernization of these HSIs. The experience applying HFE in modernizations and design modifications show a positive effect, improving the associated HSIs, with the acceptability of the final user.

Interface Methods Renegotiating relations between digital social research, STS and the sociology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marres, N.; Gerlitz, C.

2015-01-01

This paper introduces a distinctive approach to methods development in digital social research called ‘interface methods’. We begin by discussing various methodological confluences between digital media, social studies of science and technology (STS) and sociology. Some authors have posited

Development of a user interface style guide for the reactor protection system cabinet operator module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyun-Chul; Lee, Dong-Young; Lee, Jung-Woon

2004-01-01

The reactor protection system (RPS) plays the roles of generating the reactor trip signal and the engineered safety features (ESF) actuation signal when the monitored plant processes reach the predefined limits. A Korean project group is developing a new digitalized RPS and the Cabinet Operator Module (COM) of the RPS is used for the RPS integrity testing and monitoring by an equipment operator. A flat panel display (FPD) with a touch screen capability is provided as a main user interface for the RPS operation. To support the RPS COM user interface design, actually the FPD screen design, we developed a user interface style guide because the system designer could not properly deal with the many general human factors design guidelines. To develop the user interface style guide, various design guideline gatherings, a walk-though with a video recorder, guideline selection with respect to user interface design elements, determination of the properties of the design elements, discussion with system designers, and a conversion of the properties into the screen design were carried out. This paper describes the process details and the findings in the course of the style guide development. (Author)

The Digital Humanities as a Humanities Project

Science.gov (United States)

Svensson, Patrik

2012-01-01

This article argues that the digital humanities can be seen as a humanities project in a time of significant change in the academy. The background is a number of scholarly, educational and technical challenges, the multiple epistemic traditions linked to the digital humanities, the potential reach of the field across and outside the humanities,…

Localization of equipment for digital plant protection system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koo, I. S.; Park, H. Y.; Lee, C. K. and others

2000-10-01

The objective of this project lies on the development of design requirements, establishment of structure and manufacture procedures, development of the software verification and validation(V and V) techniques of the digital plant protection system. The functional requirements based on the analog protection system and digital design requirements are introduced, the processor and system bus for safety grade equipment are selected and the interface requirements and the design specification have been developed in order to manufacture the quick prototype of the digital plant protection system. The selection guidelines of parts, software development and coding and testing for digital plant protection system have been performed through manufacturing the quick prototype based on the developed design specification. For the software verification and validation, the software review plan and techniques of verification and validation have been researched. The digital validation system is developed in order to verify the quick prototype. The digital design requirements are reviewed by the software safety plan and V and V plans. The formal methods for verifying the safety-grade software are researched, then the methodology of formal analysis and testing have been developed.

Localization of equipment for digital plant protection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, I. S.; Park, H. Y.; Lee, C. K. and others

2000-10-01

The objective of this project lies on the development of design requirements, establishment of structure and manufacture procedures, development of the software verification and validation(V and V) techniques of the digital plant protection system. The functional requirements based on the analog protection system and digital design requirements are introduced, the processor and system bus for safety grade equipment are selected and the interface requirements and the design specification have been developed in order to manufacture the quick prototype of the digital plant protection system. The selection guidelines of parts, software development and coding and testing for digital plant protection system have been performed through manufacturing the quick prototype based on the developed design specification. For the software verification and validation, the software review plan and techniques of verification and validation have been researched. The digital validation system is developed in order to verify the quick prototype. The digital design requirements are reviewed by the software safety plan and V and V plans. The formal methods for verifying the safety-grade software are researched, then the methodology of formal analysis and testing have been developed

Digital lock-in amplifier based on soundcard interface for physics laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Sinlapanuntakul, J.; Kijamnajsuk, P.; Jetjamnong, C.; Chotikaprakhan, S.

2017-09-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop a digital lock-in amplifier based on soundcard interface for undergraduate physics laboratory. Both series and parallel RLC circuit laboratory are tested because of its well-known, easy to understand and simple confirm. The sinusoidal signal at the frequency of 10 Hz - 15 kHz is generated to the circuits. The amplitude and phase of the voltage drop across the resistor, R are measured in 10 step decade. The signals from soundcard interface and lock-in amplifier are compared. The results give a good correlation. It indicates that the design digital lock-in amplifier is promising for undergraduate physic laboratory.

GUIDANCE FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONTROL ROOM AND HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERFACE MODERNIZATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naser, J.; Morris, G.

2004-01-01

Several nuclear power plants in the United States are starting instrumentation and control (I and C) modernization programs using digital equipment to address obsolescence issues and the need to improve plant performance while maintaining high levels of safety. As an integral part of the I and C modernization program at a nuclear power plant, the control room and other human-system interfaces (HSIs) are also being modernized. To support safe and effective operation, it is critical to plan, design, implement, train for, operate, and maintain the control room and HSI changes to take advantage of human cognitive processing abilities. A project, jointly funded by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) under the Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization (NEPO) Program, is developing guidance for specifying and designing control rooms, remote shut-down panels, HSIs etc. The guidance is intended for application by utilities and suppliers of control room and HSI modernization. The guidance will facilitate specification, design, implementation, operations, maintenance, training, and licensing activities. This guidance will be used to reduce the likelihood of human errors and licensing risk, to gain maximum benefit of implemented technology, and to increase performance. The guidance is of five types. The first is planning guidance to help a utility develop its plant-specific control room operating concepts, its plant-specific endpoint vision for the control room, its migration path to achieve that endpoint vision, and its regulatory, licensing, and human factors program plans. The second is process guidance for general HSI design and integration, human factors engineering analyses, verification and validation, in-service monitoring processes, etc. The third is detailed human factors engineering guidance for control room and HSI technical areas. The fourth is guidance for licensing. The fifth is guidance for special topics

Step 1: Human System Integration (HSI) FY05 Pilot-Technology Interface Requirements for Contingency Management

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

This document involves definition of technology interface requirements for Contingency Management. This was performed through a review of Contingency Management-related, HSI requirements documents, standards, and recommended practices. Technology concepts in use by the Contingency Management Work Package were considered. Beginning with HSI high-level functional requirements for Contingency Management, and Contingency Management technology elements, HSI requirements for the interface to the pilot were identified. Results of the analysis describe (1) the information required by the pilot to have knowledge of system failures and associated contingency procedures, and (2) the control capability needed by the pilot to obtain system status and procedure information. Fundamentally, these requirements provide the candidate Contingency Management technology concepts with the necessary human-related elements to make them compatible with human capabilities and limitations. The results of the analysis describe how Contingency Management operations and functions should interface with the pilot to provide the necessary Contingency Management functionality to the UA-pilot system. Requirements and guidelines for Contingency Management are partitioned into four categories: (1) Health and Status and (2) Contingency Management. Each requirement is stated and is supported with a rationale and associated reference(s).

Development and application of digital safety system in NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Keechoon; Kim, Changhwoi; Lee, Dongyoung

2012-01-01

This paper describes the development of digital safety system in NPPs based on safety- grade programmable logic controller (PLC) platform and its application to real NPP construction. The digital safety system consists of a reactor protection system and an engineered safety feature-component control system. The safety-grade PLC platform was developed so that it meets the requirements of the regulation. The PLC consists of various modules such as a power module, a processor module, communication modules, digital input/output modules, analog input/output modules, a LOCA bus extension module, and a high-speed pulse counter module. The reactor protection system is designed with a redundant 4-channel architecture, and every channel is implemented with the same architecture. A single channel consists of a redundant bi-stable processor, a redundant coincidence processor, an automatic test and interface processor, and a cabinet operator module. The engineered safety feature-component control system is designed with four redundant divisions, and implemented with the PLC platform. The principal components of an individual division are fault tolerant group controllers, loop controllers, a test and interface processor, a cabinet operator module and a control channel gateway. The topical report is submitted to the regulatory body, and got safety evaluation report from the regulatory body. Also, the developed system is tested in the integrated performance validation facility. It is decided that the digital safety system applied to Shin-Uljin unit 1 and 2 after a topical report approval and validation test. Design changes occur in the digital safety system that is applied to an actual nuclear power plant construction, and the PLC has also been upgraded

Development and application of digital safety system in NPPs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Keechoon; Kim, Changhwoi; Lee, Dongyoung [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-03-15

This paper describes the development of digital safety system in NPPs based on safety- grade programmable logic controller (PLC) platform and its application to real NPP construction. The digital safety system consists of a reactor protection system and an engineered safety feature-component control system. The safety-grade PLC platform was developed so that it meets the requirements of the regulation. The PLC consists of various modules such as a power module, a processor module, communication modules, digital input/output modules, analog input/output modules, a LOCA bus extension module, and a high-speed pulse counter module. The reactor protection system is designed with a redundant 4-channel architecture, and every channel is implemented with the same architecture. A single channel consists of a redundant bi-stable processor, a redundant coincidence processor, an automatic test and interface processor, and a cabinet operator module. The engineered safety feature-component control system is designed with four redundant divisions, and implemented with the PLC platform. The principal components of an individual division are fault tolerant group controllers, loop controllers, a test and interface processor, a cabinet operator module and a control channel gateway. The topical report is submitted to the regulatory body, and got safety evaluation report from the regulatory body. Also, the developed system is tested in the integrated performance validation facility. It is decided that the digital safety system applied to Shin-Uljin unit 1 and 2 after a topical report approval and validation test. Design changes occur in the digital safety system that is applied to an actual nuclear power plant construction, and the PLC has also been upgraded.

Study and simulation of human interface; Human interface kenkyu to simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishitani, H. [Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara (Japan)

1996-10-05

Validation researches have begun about the interrelationship between systems and human beings using a virtual-reality plant environment. This article introduces some recent studies about the human interface in an operation control system in a virtual-reality environment. The evaluation of a system from the viewpoint of ease of use is called a usability test, to which a psychological protocol analysis is applied for finding out problematic points by carefully observing the operator actually operating the system. For instance, in a boiler plant simulator constructed for DCS training, the operator is given some tasks, such as the prediction as to how a certain event will develop, probing of the cause of anomalies, and execution of related operations. Video cameras are installed at various spots for the minute observation of facial expressions and behavior of the operator, and the operator`s recognition, thought, behavior, and utterances, expressed by the operator facially or verbally, are recorded and analyzed, and the results are utilized for system improvement and operator training. 3 refs., 2 figs.

Digital mineral logging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

West, J.B.

1980-01-01

A digital mineral logging system acquires data from a mineral logging tool passing through a borehole and transmits the data uphole to an electronic digital signal processor. A predetermined combination of sensors, including a deviometer, is located in a logging tool for the acquisition of the desired data as the logging tool is raised from the borehole. Sensor data in analog format is converted in the logging tool to a digital format and periodically batch transmitted to the surface at a predetermined sampling rate. An identification code is provided for each mineral logging tool, and the code is transmitted to the surface along with the sensor data. The self-identifying tool code is transmitted to the digital signal processor to identify the code against a stored list of the range of numbers assigned to that type of tool. The data is transmitted up the d-c power lines of the tool by a frequency shift key transmission technique. At the surface, a frequency shift key demodulation unit transmits the decoupled data to an asynchronous receiver interfaced to the electronic digital signal processor. During a recording phase, the signals from the logging tool are read by the electronic digital signal processor and stored for later processing. During a calculating phase, the stored data is processed by the digital signal processor and the results are outputted to a printer or plotter, or both

Technical self reliance of digital safety systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Lee, Dong Young [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kook Hun [Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Changwon (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Seung Gap [POSCON, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

2009-04-15

This paper summarizes the development results of the Korea Nuclear Instrumentation and Control System (KNICS) project sponsored by the Korean government. In this project, Man Machine Interface System (MMIS) architecture, two digital platforms, and several control systems are developed. One platform is a programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for a safety system and another platform is a Distributed Control System (DCS) for a non safety system. With the POSAFE Q PLC, a Reactor Protection System (RPS) and an Engineered Safety Feature Component Control System (ESF CCS) are developed. A Power Control System (PCS) is developed based on the DCS. The safety grade platform and the digital safety systems obtained approval for the Topical Report from the Korean regulatory body in February of 2009. Also a Korean utility and a vendor company determined KNICS results to apply them to the planned Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in March 2009. This paper introduces the technical self reliance experiences of the safety grade platform and the digital safety systems developed in the KNICS R and D project.

Rapid Prototyping Human Interfaces Using Stretchable Strain Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tokiya Yamaji

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the modern society with a variety of information electronic devices, human interfaces increase their importance in a boundary of a human and a device. In general, the human is required to get used to the device. Even if the device is designed as a universal device or a high-usability device, the device is not suitable for all users. The usability of the device depends on the individual user. Therefore, personalized and customized human interfaces are effective for the user. To create customized interfaces, we propose rapid prototyping human interfaces using stretchable strain sensors. The human interfaces comprise parts formed by a three-dimensional printer and the four strain sensors. The three-dimensional printer easily makes customized human interfaces. The outputs of the interface are calculated based on the sensor’s lengths. Experiments evaluate three human interfaces: a sheet-shaped interface, a sliding lever interface, and a tilting lever interface. We confirm that the three human interfaces obtain input operations with a high accuracy.

U.S. Army weapon systems human-computer interface style guide. Version 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Avery, L.W.; O`Mara, P.A.; Shepard, A.P.; Donohoo, D.T.

1997-12-31

A stated goal of the US Army has been the standardization of the human computer interfaces (HCIs) of its system. Some of the tools being used to accomplish this standardization are HCI design guidelines and style guides. Currently, the Army is employing a number of HCI design guidance documents. While these style guides provide good guidance for the command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) domain, they do not necessarily represent the more unique requirements of the Army`s real time and near-real time (RT/NRT) weapon systems. The Office of the Director of Information for Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (DISC4), in conjunction with the Weapon Systems Technical Architecture Working Group (WSTAWG), recognized this need as part of their activities to revise the Army Technical Architecture (ATA), now termed the Joint Technical Architecture-Army (JTA-A). To address this need, DISC4 tasked the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop an Army weapon systems unique HCI style guide, which resulted in the US Army Weapon Systems Human-Computer Interface (WSHCI) Style Guide Version 1. Based on feedback from the user community, DISC4 further tasked PNNL to revise Version 1 and publish Version 2. The intent was to update some of the research and incorporate some enhancements. This document provides that revision. The purpose of this document is to provide HCI design guidance for the RT/NRT Army system domain across the weapon systems subdomains of ground, aviation, missile, and soldier systems. Each subdomain should customize and extend this guidance by developing their domain-specific style guides, which will be used to guide the development of future systems within their subdomains.

Human Reliability and the Current Dilemma in Human-Machine Interface Design Strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passalacqua, Roberto; Yamada, Fumiaki

2002-01-01

Since human error dominates the probability of failures of still-existing human-requiring systems (as the Monju reactor), the human-machine interface needs to be improved. Several rationales may lead to the conclusion that 'humans' should limit themselves to monitor the 'machine'. For example, this is the trend in the aviation industry: newest aircrafts are designed to be able to return to a safe state by the use of control systems, which do not need human intervention. Thus, the dilemma whether we really need operators (for example in the nuclear industry) might arise. However, social-technical approaches in recent human error analyses are pointing out the so-called 'organizational errors' and the importance of a human-machine interface harmonization. Typically plant's operators are a 'redundant' safety system with a much lower reliability (than the machine): organizational factors and harmonization requirements suggest designing the human-machine interface in a way that allows improvement of operator's reliability. In addition, taxonomy studies of accident databases have also proved that operators' training should promote processes of decision-making. This is accomplished in the latest trends of PSA technology by introducing the concept of a 'Safety Monitor' that is a computer-based tool that uses a level 1 PSA model of the plant. Operators and maintenance schedulers of the Monju FBR will be able to perform real-time estimations of the plant risk level. The main benefits are risk awareness and improvements in decision-making by operators. Also scheduled maintenance can be approached in a more rational (safe and economic) way. (authors)

More playful user interfaces interfaces that invite social and physical interaction

CERN Document Server

2015-01-01

This book covers the latest advances in playful user interfaces – interfaces that invite social and physical interaction. These new developments include the use of audio, visual, tactile and physiological sensors to monitor, provide feedback and anticipate the behavior of human users. The decreasing cost of sensor and actuator technology makes it possible to integrate physical behavior information in human-computer interactions. This leads to many new entertainment and game applications that allow or require social and physical interaction in sensor- and actuator-equipped smart environments. The topics discussed include: human-nature interaction, human-animal interaction and the interaction with tangibles that are naturally integrated in our smart environments. Digitally supported remote audience participation in artistic or sport events is also discussed. One important theme that emerges throughout the book is the involvement of users in the digital-entertainment design process or even design and implement...

Human-machine interface in mobile teleoperators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Draper, J.V.

1985-01-01

In this document the following point has been made: human-machine interface is not ideal, and may be improved upon: telepresence is ideal but not required; current interfaces degrade normal human inputs/outputs; available and developing technology can improve interfaces

Roughness based perceptual analysis towards digital skin imaging system with haptic feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, K

2016-08-01

To examine psoriasis or atopic eczema, analyzing skin roughness by palpation is essential to precisely diagnose skin diseases. However, optical sensor based skin imaging systems do not allow dermatologists to touch skin images. To solve the problem, a new haptic rendering technology that can accurately display skin roughness must be developed. In addition, the rendering algorithm must be able to filter spatial noises created during 2D to 3D image conversion without losing the original roughness on the skin image. In this study, a perceptual way to design a noise filter that will remove spatial noises and in the meantime recover maximized roughness is introduced by understanding human sensitivity on surface roughness. A visuohaptic rendering system that can provide a user with seeing and touching digital skin surface roughness has been developed including a geometric roughness estimation method from a meshed surface. In following, a psychophysical experiment was designed and conducted with 12 human subjects to measure human perception with the developed visual and haptic interfaces to examine surface roughness. From the psychophysical experiment, it was found that touch is more sensitive at lower surface roughness, and vice versa. Human perception with both senses, vision and touch, becomes less sensitive to surface distortions as roughness increases. When interact with both channels, visual and haptic interfaces, the performance to detect abnormalities on roughness is greatly improved by sensory integration with the developed visuohaptic rendering system. The result can be used as a guideline to design a noise filter that can perceptually remove spatial noises while recover maximized roughness values from a digital skin image obtained by optical sensors. In addition, the result also confirms that the developed visuohaptic rendering system can help dermatologists or skin care professionals examine skin conditions by using vision and touch at the same time. © 2015

US-APWR human systems interface system verification and validation results. Application of the Mitsubishi advanced design to the US market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, Robert E.; Easter, James; Roth, Emilie; Kabana, Leonard; Takahashi, Koichi; Clouser, Timothy

2009-01-01

The US-APWR, under Design Certification Review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is a four loop evolutionary pressurized water reactor with a four train active safety system by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Instrumentation and Control System (I and C)/Human Systems Interface (HSI) platform applied by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. This design is currently being applied to the latest Japanese PWR plant under construction and to the nuclear power plant I and C modernization program in Japan. The US-APWR's fully digital I and C system and HSI platform utilizes computerized systems, including computer based procedures and alarm prioritization, relying principally on an HSI system with soft controls, console based video display units and a large overview wall display panel. Conventional hard controls are limited to Safety System level manual actions and a Diverse Actuation System. The overall design philosophy is based on the concept that operator performance will be enhanced through the integration of safety- and non-safety display and control systems in a robust digital environment. This philosophy is augmented, for diversity, by the application of independent safety-only soft displays and controls. As with all advanced designs, the digital systems resolve many long- standing issues of human and system performance while opening a number of new, less understood, questions. This paper discusses a testing program that begins to address these new questions and specifically explores the needs of moving a mature design into the US market with minimum changes from its original design. Details for the program took shape during 2007 and early 2008, resulting in an eight-week testing program during the months of July and August 2008. This extensive verification and validation program on the advanced design was undertaken with the objective of assessing United States operators' performance in this digital design environment. This testing program included analyses that

Actuator digital interface unit (AIU). [control units for space shuttle data system

Science.gov (United States)

1973-01-01

Alternate versions of the actuator interface unit are presented. One alternate is a dual-failure immune configuration which feeds a look-and-switch dual-failure immune hydraulic system. The other alternate is a single-failure immune configuration which feeds a majority voting hydraulic system. Both systems communicate with the data bus through data terminals dedicated to each user subsystem. Both operational control data and configuration control information are processed in and out of the subsystem via the data terminal which yields the actuator interface subsystem, self-managing within its failure immunity capability.

Exploring the human body space: A geographical information system based anatomical atlas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Barbeito

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Anatomical atlases allow mapping the anatomical structures of the human body. Early versions of these systems consisted of analogical representations with informative text and labeled images of the human body. With computer systems, digital versions emerged and the third and fourth dimensions were introduced. Consequently, these systems increased their efficiency, allowing more realistic visualizations with improved interactivity and functionality. The 4D atlases allow modeling changes over time on the structures represented. The anatomical atlases based on geographic information system (GIS environments allow the creation of platforms with a high degree of interactivity and new tools to explore and analyze the human body. In this study we expand the functions of a human body representation system by creating new vector data, topology, functions, and an improved user interface. The new prototype emulates a 3D GIS with a topological model of the human body, replicates the information provided by anatomical atlases, and provides a higher level of functionality and interactivity. At this stage, the developed system is intended to be used as an educational tool and integrates into the same interface the typical representations of surface and sectional atlases.

DSH: Special Issue 'Digital Humanities 2014'

OpenAIRE

Terras Melissa; Clivaz Claire; Verhoeven Deb; Kaplan Frédéric

2015-01-01

The special issue presents selected proceedings from Digital Humanities 2014. Digital Humanities is the annual conference organized and sponsored by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO) and between 7th and 12th July 2014 over 700 attendees gathered for DH2014 at the University of Lausanne and the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland (http://dh2014.org/): to date this remains the largest ever meeting of Digital Humanities scholars worldwide. Traditionally the...

Digital Humanities: What Can Libraries Offer?

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Shun Han Rebekah

2016-01-01

The collaborative aspect of digital humanities is one of the core values of the field. Specialists and organizations involved in digital humanities partnerships may include individual scholars focusing on a particular area, multiple scholars across disciplines, computer scientists, or digital humanities centers. Through a quantitative analysis of…

Development of Alarm System link Drawing for Operation Support for APR1400 Digital Main Control Room

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ki-Hwan [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Digitalized MMI(Man-Machine Interface) including Digital Main Control Room(MCR) and digital I and C system was being applied for SKN 3 and 4 Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) and subsequent APR1400 NPP type. But, operators can not easily find instrument for alarm immediately. Therefore, Alarm system is required to easily find instrument for Alarm. For this implementation, we will plan system design considering design feature without affecting network load and CPU load. We have developed Alarm system link drawing for digital MCR. Operators of the digitalized MCR navigates from their consoles to the drawings related to the plant alarms and their instruments or the operation status. Such method gives cognitive load to the operators having to travel to different locations in finding the related information. Screen Sharing System, which is the fundamental technique for Drawing Interconnection Alarm System is close to completion, and it should be functionally tested and verified by the human factor engineering. For the actual application to the operating plants, the drawings to be interconnected to the alarms and the opinions from the operators/maintenance departments for designating alarm number should be surveyed, Also, another function that allows the access to the alarm related drawings not only from the MCR but also from the other offices.

Development of Alarm System link Drawing for Operation Support for APR1400 Digital Main Control Room

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ki-Hwan

2016-01-01

Digitalized MMI(Man-Machine Interface) including Digital Main Control Room(MCR) and digital I and C system was being applied for SKN 3 and 4 Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) and subsequent APR1400 NPP type. But, operators can not easily find instrument for alarm immediately. Therefore, Alarm system is required to easily find instrument for Alarm. For this implementation, we will plan system design considering design feature without affecting network load and CPU load. We have developed Alarm system link drawing for digital MCR. Operators of the digitalized MCR navigates from their consoles to the drawings related to the plant alarms and their instruments or the operation status. Such method gives cognitive load to the operators having to travel to different locations in finding the related information. Screen Sharing System, which is the fundamental technique for Drawing Interconnection Alarm System is close to completion, and it should be functionally tested and verified by the human factor engineering. For the actual application to the operating plants, the drawings to be interconnected to the alarms and the opinions from the operators/maintenance departments for designating alarm number should be surveyed, Also, another function that allows the access to the alarm related drawings not only from the MCR but also from the other offices

Interface design for digital courses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tabbers, H.; Kester, L.; Hummel, H.; Nadolski, R.; Jochems, W.; Merriënboer, J.; Koper, R.

2003-01-01

An important question in web-based education is how to deal with the design of the interface. What will the actual screen look like? Two main issues that are especially relevant for educational purposes are discussed, both from a Human-Computer Interaction and an Educational Psychology perspective.

MIDAS, prototype Multivariate Interactive Digital Analysis System, Phase 1. Volume 2: Diagnostic system

Science.gov (United States)

Kriegler, F. J.; Christenson, D.; Gordon, M.; Kistler, R.; Lampert, S.; Marshall, R.; Mclaughlin, R.

1974-01-01

The MIDAS System is a third-generation, fast, multispectral recognition system able to keep pace with the large quantity and high rates of data acquisition from present and projected sensors. A principal objective of the MIDAS Program is to provide a system well interfaced with the human operator and thus to obtain large overall reductions in turn-around time and significant gains in throughout. The hardware and software generated in Phase I of the over-all program are described. The system contains a mini-computer to control the various high-speed processing elements in the data path and a classifier which implements an all-digital prototype multivariate-Gaussian maximum likelihood decision algorithm operating 2 x 105 pixels/sec. Sufficient hardware was developed to perform signature extraction from computer-compatible tapes, compute classifier coefficients, control the classifier operation, and diagnose operation. Diagnostic programs used to test MIDAS' operations are presented.

A wireless transmission neural interface system for unconstrained non-human primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Leon, Jose A; Parajuli, Arun; Franklin, Robert; Sorenson, Michael; Felleman, Daniel J; Hansen, Bryan J; Hu, Ming; Dragoi, Valentin

2015-10-01

Studying the brain in large animal models in a restrained laboratory rig severely limits our capacity to examine brain circuits in experimental and clinical applications. To overcome these limitations, we developed a high-fidelity 96-channel wireless system to record extracellular spikes and local field potentials from the neocortex. A removable, external case of the wireless device is attached to a titanium pedestal placed in the animal skull. Broadband neural signals are amplified, multiplexed, and continuously transmitted as TCP/IP data at a sustained rate of 24 Mbps. A Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA assembles the digital signals into serial data frames for transmission at 20 kHz though an 802.11n wireless data link on a frequency-shift key-modulated signal at 5.7-5.8 GHz to a receiver up to 10 m away. The system is powered by two CR123A, 3 V batteries for 2 h of operation. We implanted a multi-electrode array in visual area V4 of one anesthetized monkey (Macaca fascicularis) and in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) of a freely moving monkey (Macaca mulatta). The implanted recording arrays were electrically stable and delivered broadband neural data over a year of testing. For the first time, we compared dlPFC neuronal responses to the same set of stimuli (food reward) in restrained and freely moving conditions. Although we did not find differences in neuronal responses as a function of reward type in the restrained and unrestrained conditions, there were significant differences in correlated activity. This demonstrates that measuring neural responses in freely moving animals can capture phenomena that are absent in the traditional head-fixed paradigm. We implemented a wireless neural interface for multi-electrode recordings in freely moving non-human primates, which can potentially move systems neuroscience to a new direction by allowing one to record neural signals while animals interact with their environment.

A wireless transmission neural interface system for unconstrained non-human primates

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Leon, Jose A.; Parajuli, Arun; Franklin, Robert; Sorenson, Michael; Felleman, Daniel J.; Hansen, Bryan J.; Hu, Ming; Dragoi, Valentin

2015-10-01

Objective. Studying the brain in large animal models in a restrained laboratory rig severely limits our capacity to examine brain circuits in experimental and clinical applications. Approach. To overcome these limitations, we developed a high-fidelity 96-channel wireless system to record extracellular spikes and local field potentials from the neocortex. A removable, external case of the wireless device is attached to a titanium pedestal placed in the animal skull. Broadband neural signals are amplified, multiplexed, and continuously transmitted as TCP/IP data at a sustained rate of 24 Mbps. A Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA assembles the digital signals into serial data frames for transmission at 20 kHz though an 802.11n wireless data link on a frequency-shift key-modulated signal at 5.7-5.8 GHz to a receiver up to 10 m away. The system is powered by two CR123A, 3 V batteries for 2 h of operation. Main results. We implanted a multi-electrode array in visual area V4 of one anesthetized monkey (Macaca fascicularis) and in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) of a freely moving monkey (Macaca mulatta). The implanted recording arrays were electrically stable and delivered broadband neural data over a year of testing. For the first time, we compared dlPFC neuronal responses to the same set of stimuli (food reward) in restrained and freely moving conditions. Although we did not find differences in neuronal responses as a function of reward type in the restrained and unrestrained conditions, there were significant differences in correlated activity. This demonstrates that measuring neural responses in freely moving animals can capture phenomena that are absent in the traditional head-fixed paradigm. Significance. We implemented a wireless neural interface for multi-electrode recordings in freely moving non-human primates, which can potentially move systems neuroscience to a new direction by allowing one to record neural signals while animals interact with their environment.

Step 1: Human System Interface (HSI) Functional Requirements Document (FRD). Version 2

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

This Functional Requirements Document (FRD) establishes a minimum set of Human System Interface (HSI) functional requirements to achieve the Access 5 Vision of "operating High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) routinely, safely, and reliably in the National Airspace System (NAS)". Basically, it provides what functions are necessary to fly UAS in the NAS. The framework used to identify the appropriate functions was the "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, and Avoid Hazards" structure identified in the Access 5 FRD. As a result, fifteen high-level functional requirements were developed. In addition, several of them have been decomposed into low-level functional requirements to provide more detail.

Innovative generativity of digital service encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henten, Anders; Sørensen, Jannick Kirk

2018-01-01

The research question examined in this chapter is how service encounters, based on digital interfaces, differ from face-to-face (f2f) encounters in terms of potential innovative generativity. New computer technologies facilitating big data processing and the development of advanced recommender...... systems and the recent developments of artificial intelligence with respect to cognitive and affective computing will certainly enhance the potential for innovations to be created on the basis of digital service encounters. However, the empathetic understanding of the needs and wants of the service users...... that can be part of the f2f service encounters cannot automatically result from digital service encounters. Digital tools can be developed and used to supplement the impressions that f2f encounters initiate. However, human interpretations and even human f2f encounters will also be needed to maintain...

Interfacing design and making of Ceramics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Flemming Tvede

2014-01-01

investigates the idea of an interactive digital design tool for designing wall like composition with 3d ceramics and is working on two levels. One which has to do with a digital interactive system that responds on the movement of the hands; at a certain distance the user’s hands appear on a monitor screen......This research investigates the relationship between crafting materiality and digital representation, and how experiential knowledge of crafts rooted in ceramics can be transformed and utilized in the use of digital technologies. Thus the research refers to the overall theme Materiality...... and Aesthetics in the conference. Digital technology as 3D printing with ceramic allows to bridge from the digital design environment to fabrication. At the same time novel digital means can create new interfaces between the human, space and the material. Here advances in 3d motion capture technology and sensors...

Enterprise Digital Asset Management System Pilot: Lessons Learned

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Mi Kim

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Enterprise digital asset management (DAM systems are beginning to be explored in higher education, but little information about their implementation issues is available. This article describes the University of Michigan’s investigation of managing and retrieving rich media assets in an enterprise DAM system. It includes the background of the pilot project and descriptions of its infrastructure and metadata schema. Two case studies are summarized—one in healthcare education, and one in teacher education and research. Experiences with five significant issues are summarized: privacy, intellectual ownership, digital rights management, uncataloged materials backlog, and user interface and integration with other systems.

Concept of software interface for BCI systems

Science.gov (United States)

Svejda, Jaromir; Zak, Roman; Jasek, Roman

2016-06-01

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology is intended to control external system by brain activity. One of main part of such system is software interface, which carries about clear communication between brain and either computer or additional devices connected to computer. This paper is organized as follows. Firstly, current knowledge about human brain is briefly summarized to points out its complexity. Secondly, there is described a concept of BCI system, which is then used to build an architecture of proposed software interface. Finally, there are mentioned disadvantages of sensing technology discovered during sensing part of our research.

Development of Reactor Protection System (RPS) in Reactor Digital Instrumentation and Control System (ReDICS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Khairulezwan Abdul Manan; Mohd Sabri Minhat; Ridzuan Abdul Mutalib

2013-01-01

RTP Research Reactor are in the process upgraded from analogue control console system to a digital control console system . Upgrade process requires a statistical study to improve safety during reactor operation. RPS was developed to meet the needs of operational safety and at the same time comply with the guidelines set by the IAEA. RPS is in analog and hardware with industry standard interfaced with digital DAC (Data Acquisition and Control) and OWS (Operator Work Station). (author)

Ultra-Low-Power Analog-to-Digital Converters for Medical Applications

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Dai

2014-01-01

Biomedical systems are commonly attached to or implanted into human bodies, and powered by harvested energy or small batteries. In these systems, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are key components as the interface between the analog world and the digital domain. Conversion of the low frequency bioelectric signals does not require high speed, but ultralow- power operation. This combined with the required conversion accuracy makes the design of such ADCs a major challenge. Among prevalent A...

Human Factors Support in the Design and Evaluation of the Reactor Protection System Cabinet Operator Module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyun Chul; Lee, Jung Woon

2005-01-01

A Korean project group, KNICS, is developing a new digitalized reactor protection system (RPS) and the developed system will be packaged into a cabinet with several racks. The cabinet of the RPS is used for the RPS function testing and monitoring by maintenance operators and is equipped with a flat panel display (FPD) with a touch screen capability as a main user interface for the RPS operation. This paper describes the human factors activities involved in the development process of the RPS: conceptual design, design guidance, and evaluation. The activities include a functional requirements analysis and task analysis, user interface style guide for the RPS cabinet operator module (COM), and a human factors evaluation through an experiment and questionnaires

Conversational module-based simulation system as a human interface to versatile dynamic simulation of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshikawa, H.; Nakaya, K.; Wakabayashi, J.

1986-01-01

A new conversational simulation system is proposed which aims at effective re-utilization of software resources as module database, and conducting versatile simulations easily by automatic module integration with the help of user-friendly interfaces. The whole simulation system is composed of the four parts: master module library and pre-compiler system as the core system, while module database management system and simulation execution support system for the user interfaces. Basic methods employed in the system are mentioned with their knowledge representation and the relationship with the human information processing. An example practice of an LMFBR reactor dynamic simulation by the system demonstrated its capability to integrate a large simulation program and the related input/output files automatically by a single user

DIII-D Neutral Beam control system operator interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, J.J.; Campbell, G.L.

1993-10-01

A centralized graphical user interface has been added to the DIII-D Neutral Beam (NB) control systems for status monitoring and remote control applications. This user interface provides for automatic data acquisition, alarm detection and supervisory control of the four NB programmable logic controllers (PLC) as well as the Mode Control PLC. These PLCs are used for interlocking, control and status of the NB vacuum pumping, gas delivery, and water cooling systems as well as beam mode status and control. The system allows for both a friendly user interface as well as a safe and convenient method of communicating with remote hardware that formerly required interns to access. In the future, to enable high level of control of PLC subsystems, complete procedures is written and executed at the touch of a screen control panel button. The system consists of an IBM compatible 486 computer running the FIX DMACS trademark for Windows trademark data acquisition and control interface software, a Texas Instruments/Siemens communication card and Phoenix Digital optical communications modules. Communication is achieved via the TIWAY (Texas Instruments protocol link utilizing both fiber optic communications and a copper local area network (LAN). Hardware and software capabilities will be reviewed. Data and alarm reporting, extended monitoring and control capabilities will also be discussed

Design of a 32-channel EEG system for brain control interface applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ching-Sung

2012-01-01

This study integrates the hardware circuit design and the development support of the software interface to achieve a 32-channel EEG system for BCI applications. Since the EEG signals of human bodies are generally very weak, in addition to preventing noise interference, it also requires avoiding the waveform distortion as well as waveform offset and so on; therefore, the design of a preamplifier with high common-mode rejection ratio and high signal-to-noise ratio is very important. Moreover, the friction between the electrode pads and the skin as well as the design of dual power supply will generate DC bias which affects the measurement signals. For this reason, this study specially designs an improved single-power AC-coupled circuit, which effectively reduces the DC bias and improves the error caused by the effects of part errors. At the same time, the digital way is applied to design the adjustable amplification and filter function, which can design for different EEG frequency bands. For the analog circuit, a frequency band will be taken out through the filtering circuit and then the digital filtering design will be used to adjust the extracted frequency band for the target frequency band, combining with MATLAB to design man-machine interface for displaying brain wave. Finally the measured signals are compared to the traditional 32-channel EEG signals. In addition to meeting the IFCN standards, the system design also conducted measurement verification in the standard EEG isolation room in order to demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of this system design.

Auditory interfaces: The human perceiver

Science.gov (United States)

Colburn, H. Steven

1991-01-01

A brief introduction to the basic auditory abilities of the human perceiver with particular attention toward issues that may be important for the design of auditory interfaces is presented. The importance of appropriate auditory inputs to observers with normal hearing is probably related to the role of hearing as an omnidirectional, early warning system and to its role as the primary vehicle for communication of strong personal feelings.

HCIDL: Human-computer interface description language for multi-target, multimodal, plastic user interfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lamia Gaouar

2018-06-01

Full Text Available From the human-computer interface perspectives, the challenges to be faced are related to the consideration of new, multiple interactions, and the diversity of devices. The large panel of interactions (touching, shaking, voice dictation, positioning … and the diversification of interaction devices can be seen as a factor of flexibility albeit introducing incidental complexity. Our work is part of the field of user interface description languages. After an analysis of the scientific context of our work, this paper introduces HCIDL, a modelling language staged in a model-driven engineering approach. Among the properties related to human-computer interface, our proposition is intended for modelling multi-target, multimodal, plastic interaction interfaces using user interface description languages. By combining plasticity and multimodality, HCIDL improves usability of user interfaces through adaptive behaviour by providing end-users with an interaction-set adapted to input/output of terminals and, an optimum layout. Keywords: Model driven engineering, Human-computer interface, User interface description languages, Multimodal applications, Plastic user interfaces

Linguistics and the digital humanities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kim Ebensgaard

2014-01-01

Corpus linguistics has been closely intertwined with digital technology since the introduction of university computer mainframes in the 1960s. Making use of both digitized data in the form of the language corpus and computational methods of analysis involving concordancers and statistics software......, corpus linguistics arguably has a place in the digital humanities. Still, it remains obscure and figures only sporadically in the literature on the digital humanities. This article provides an overview of the main principles of corpus linguistics and the role of computer technology in relation to data...... and method and also offers a bird's-eye view of the history of corpus linguistics with a focus on its intimate relationship with digital technology and how digital technology has impacted the very core of corpus linguistics and shaped the identity of the corpus linguist. Ultimately, the article is oriented...

Digital instrumentation and control - how not to do it

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1997-01-01

A report entitled ''Digital I and C systems in nuclear power plants: safety and reliability issues'' has been produced by the US National Research Council at the behest of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Phase 1 of the reported study identified eight key issues: software quality assurance; common-mode software failure potential; systems aspects of digital I and C technology; human factors and human-machine interfaces; safety and reliability assessment methods; dedication of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software; a case-by-case licensing process; adequacy of technical infrastructure. These were addressed by considering the impact of digital I and C systems against a set of standard regulatory approaches to assessing and ensuring safety. Phase 2 dealt with the criteria for reviewing and approving digital I and C technology, the characterisation and evaluation of alternative approaches to licensing the technology, and guidelines for the NRC to license and regulate it. (UK)

Study on modeling technology in digital reactor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xiaoping; Luo Yuetong; Tong Lili

2004-01-01

Modeling is the kernel part of a digital reactor system. As an extensible platform for reactor conceptual design, it is very important to study modeling technology and develop some kind of tools to speed up preparation of all classical computing models. This paper introduces the background of the project and basic conception of digital reactor. MCAM is taken as an example for modeling and its related technologies used are given. It is an interface program for MCNP geometry model developed by FDS team (ASIPP and HUT), and designed to run on windows system. MCAM aims at utilizing CAD technology to facilitate creation of MCNP geometry model. There have been two ways for MCAM to utilize CAD technology: (1) Making use of user interface technology in aid of generation of MCNP geometry model; (2) Making use of existing 3D CAD model to accelerate creation of MCNP geometry model. This paper gives an overview of MCAM's major function. At last, several examples are given to demonstrate MCAM's various capabilities. (authors)

Digital forestry in the wildland urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

Michael C. Wimberly; Yangjian Zhang; John A. Stanturf

2006-01-01

Growing human populations have led to the expansion of the Wildland-Urban interface (WUI) across the southeastern United States. The juxtaposition of buildings, infrastructure, and forests in the WUI creates challenges for natural resource managers. The presence of flammable vegetation, high rates of human-caused ignitions and high building densities combine to...

Digital forestry in the wildland-urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

Michael C. Wimberly; Yangjian Zhang; John A. Stanturf

2006-01-01

Growing human populations have led to the expansion of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) across the southeastern United States. The juxtaposition of buildings, infrastructure. and forests in the WUI creates challenges for natural resource managers. The presence of flammable vegetation. high rates of human-caused ignitions and high building densities combine to...

EOG-sEMG Human Interface for Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamura, Hiroki; Yan, Mingmin; Sakurai, Keiko; Tanno, Koichi

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to present electrooculogram (EOG) and surface electromyogram (sEMG) signals that can be used as a human-computer interface. Establishing an efficient alternative channel for communication without overt speech and hand movements is important for increasing the quality of life for patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, or other illnesses. In this paper, we propose an EOG-sEMG human-computer interface system for communication using both cross-channels and parallel lines channels on the face with the same electrodes. This system could record EOG and sEMG signals as "dual-modality" for pattern recognition simultaneously. Although as much as 4 patterns could be recognized, dealing with the state of the patients, we only choose two classes (left and right motion) of EOG and two classes (left blink and right blink) of sEMG which are easily to be realized for simulation and monitoring task. From the simulation results, our system achieved four-pattern classification with an accuracy of 95.1%.

Taking account of human factors for interface assessment and design in monitoring automated systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musso, J.-F.; Sicard, Y.; Martin, M.

1990-01-01

Optimum balance between control means and the operator capacities is sought for to achieve computerization of Man-Machine interfaces. Observation of the diagnosis activity of populations of operators in situation on simulators enables design criteria to be defined which are well-suited to the characteristics of the tasks with which they are confronted. This observation provides an assessment of the interfaces from the standpoint of the graphic layer, of the Human behaviour induced by the Machine and of the nature of the interaction between these two systems. This requires an original approach dialectically involving cognitive psychology, dynamic management of the knowledge bases (artificial intelligence) in a critical industrial control and monitoring application. (author)

Techniques and applications for binaural sound manipulation in human-machine interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Begault, Durand R.; Wenzel, Elizabeth M.

1992-01-01

The implementation of binaural sound to speech and auditory sound cues (auditory icons) is addressed from both an applications and technical standpoint. Techniques overviewed include processing by means of filtering with head-related transfer functions. Application to advanced cockpit human interface systems is discussed, although the techniques are extendable to any human-machine interface. Research issues pertaining to three-dimensional sound displays under investigation at the Aerospace Human Factors Division at NASA Ames Research Center are described.

Functional Mobility Testing: A Novel Method to Establish Human System Interface Design Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

England, Scott A.; Benson, Elizabeth A.; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2008-01-01

Across all fields of human-system interface design it is vital to posses a sound methodology dictating the constraints on the system based on the capabilities of the human user. These limitations may be based on strength, mobility, dexterity, cognitive ability, etc. and combinations thereof. Data collected in an isolated environment to determine, for example, maximal strength or maximal range of motion would indeed be adequate for establishing not-to-exceed type design limitations, however these restraints on the system may be excessive over what is basally needed. Resources may potentially be saved by having a technique to determine the minimum measurements a system must accommodate. This paper specifically deals with the creation of a novel methodology for establishing mobility requirements for a new generation of space suit design concepts. Historically, the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station vehicle and space hardware design requirements documents such as the Man-Systems Integration Standards and International Space Station Flight Crew Integration Standard explicitly stated that the designers should strive to provide the maximum joint range of motion capabilities exhibited by a minimally clothed human subject. In the course of developing the Human-Systems Integration Requirements (HSIR) for the new space exploration initiative (Constellation), an effort was made to redefine the mobility requirements in the interest of safety and cost. Systems designed for manned space exploration can receive compounded gains from simplified designs that are both initially less expensive to produce and lighter, thereby, cheaper to launch.

Application of embedded database to digital power supply system in HIRFL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Guanghua; Yan Huaihai; Chen Youxin; Huang Yuzhen; Zhou Zhongzu; Gao Daqing

2014-01-01

Background: This paper introduces the application of embedded MySQL database in the real-time monitoring system of the digital power supply system in Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). Purpose: The aim is to optimize the real-time monitoring system of the digital power supply system for better performance. Methods: The MySQL database is designed and implemented under Linux operation system running on ARM processor, together with the related functions for real-time data monitoring, such as collection, storage and query. All status parameters of digital power supply system is collected and communicated with ARM by a FPGA, whilst the user interface is realized by Qt toolkits at ARM end. Results: The actual operation indicates that digital power supply can realize the function of real-time data monitoring, collection, storage and so on. Conclusion: Through practical application, we have found some aspects we can improve and we will try to optimize them in the future. (authors)

Collaborative Research in the Digital Humanities

CERN Document Server

Deegan, Marilyn

2012-01-01

Collaboration within digital humanities is both a pertinent and a pressing topic as the traditional mode of the humanist, working alone in his or her study, is supplemented by explicitly co-operative, interdependent and collaborative research. This is particularly true where computational methods are employed in large-scale digital humanities projects. This book, which celebrates the contributions of Harold Short to this field, presents fourteen essays by leading authors in the digital humanities. It addresses several issues of collaboration, from the multiple perspectives of institutions, pro

"This Ever More Amorphous Thing called Digital Humanities": Whither the Humanities Project?

Science.gov (United States)

Deegan, Marilyn

2014-01-01

In 2012, Digital Humanities became one of the most talked-about topics in the humanities and was suggested as a movement that could possibly help halt the decline in the traditional humanities. A flurry of books appeared, and "AHHE" produced two special issues, "Digital humanities," "digital futures" and "The…

Development of comprehensive HFE guidelines for the evaluation of NPP human systems interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.; Brown, W.S.; Wachtel, J.

1994-01-01

Advanced control room (ACR) concepts are being developed in the commercial nuclear power industry as part of future reactor designs. The ACRs will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the ways in which the operator interacts with and supervises an increasingly complex system. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The NRC is developing guidelines to support its review of these advanced designs. This paper discusses (1) the development of guidelines for advanced HSI review, (2) the integration of those guidelines with existing guidance, and (3) a methodology for further guidance development

Afghanistan Digital Library Initiative: Revitalizing an Integrated Library System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan HAN

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes an Afghanistan digital library initiative of building an integrated library system (ILS for Afghanistan universities and colleges based on open-source software. As one of the goals of the Afghan eQuality Digital Libraries Alliance, the authors applied systems analysis approach, evaluated different open-source ILSs, and customized the selected software to accommodate users’ needs. Improvements include Arabic and Persian language support, user interface changes, call number label printing, and ISBN-13 support. To our knowledge, this ILS is the first at a large academic library running on open-source software.

Human Factors Interface with Systems Engineering for NASA Human Spaceflights

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Douglas T.

2009-01-01

This paper summarizes the past and present successes of the Habitability and Human Factors Branch (HHFB) at NASA Johnson Space Center s Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) in including the Human-As-A-System (HAAS) model in many NASA programs and what steps to be taken to integrate the Human-Centered Design Philosophy (HCDP) into NASA s Systems Engineering (SE) process. The HAAS model stresses systems are ultimately designed for the humans; the humans should therefore be considered as a system within the systems. Therefore, the model places strong emphasis on human factors engineering. Since 1987, the HHFB has been engaging with many major NASA programs with much success. The HHFB helped create the NASA Standard 3000 (a human factors engineering practice guide) and the Human Systems Integration Requirements document. These efforts resulted in the HAAS model being included in many NASA programs. As an example, the HAAS model has been successfully introduced into the programmatic and systems engineering structures of the International Space Station Program (ISSP). Success in the ISSP caused other NASA programs to recognize the importance of the HAAS concept. Also due to this success, the HHFB helped update NASA s Systems Engineering Handbook in December 2007 to include HAAS as a recommended practice. Nonetheless, the HAAS model has yet to become an integral part of the NASA SE process. Besides continuing in integrating HAAS into current and future NASA programs, the HHFB will investigate incorporating the Human-Centered Design Philosophy (HCDP) into the NASA SE Handbook. The HCDP goes further than the HAAS model by emphasizing a holistic and iterative human-centered systems design concept.

Front panel human interface for FASTBUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustavson, D.B.; Holmes, T.L.; Paffrath, L.; Steffani, J.P.

1980-01-01

A human interface based on the Snoop diagnostic module has been designed to facilitate checkout of FASTBUS devices, diagnosis of system faults, and monitoring of system performance. This system, which is a generalization of the usual computer front panel or control console, includes logic analyzer functions, display and manual-control access to other modules, a microprocessor which allows the user to create and execute diagnostic programs and store them on a minifloppy disk, and a diagnostic network which allows remote console operation and coordination of information from multiple segments' Snoops

End-User Control over Physical User-Interfaces: From Digital Fabrication to Real-Time Adaptability

OpenAIRE

Ramakers, Raf

2016-01-01

Graphical user interfaces are at the core of the majority of computing devices, including WIMP (windows, icons, menus, pointer) interaction styles and touch interactions. The popularity of graphical user interfaces stems from their ability to adapt to a multitude of tasks, such as document editing, messaging, browsing, etc. New tools and technologies also enabled users without a technical background to author these kind of digital interfaces, for example, filters for quick photo editing, inte...

How Digital Are the Digital Humanities? An Analysis of Two Scholarly Blogging Platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Puschmann, Cornelius; Bastos, Marco

2015-01-01

In this paper we compare two academic networking platforms, HASTAC and Hypotheses, to show the distinct ways in which they serve specific communities in the Digital Humanities (DH) in different national and disciplinary contexts. After providing background information on both platforms, we apply co-word analysis and topic modeling to show thematic similarities and differences between the two sites, focusing particularly on how they frame DH as a new paradigm in humanities research. We encounter a much higher ratio of posts using humanities-related terms compared to their digital counterparts, suggesting a one-way dependency of digital humanities-related terms on the corresponding unprefixed labels. The results also show that the terms digital archive, digital literacy, and digital pedagogy are relatively independent from the respective unprefixed terms, and that digital publishing, digital libraries, and digital media show considerable cross-pollination between the specialization and the general noun. The topic modeling reproduces these findings and reveals further differences between the two platforms. Our findings also indicate local differences in how the emerging field of DH is conceptualized and show dynamic topical shifts inside these respective contexts. PMID:25675441

Step 1: Human System Integration (HSI) FY05 Pilot-Technology Interface Requirements for Command, Control, and Communications (C3)

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

The document provides the Human System Integration(HSI) high-level functional C3 HSI requirements for the interface to the pilot. Description includes (1) the information required by the pilot to have knowledge C3 system status, and (2) the control capability needed by the pilot to obtain C3 information. Fundamentally, these requirements provide the candidate C3 technology concepts with the necessary human-related elements to make them compatible with human capabilities and limitations. The results of the analysis describe how C3 operations and functions should interface with the pilot to provide the necessary C3 functionality to the UA-pilot system. Requirements and guidelines for C3 are partitioned into three categories: (1) Pilot-Air Traffic Control (ATC) Voice Communications (2) Pilot-ATC Data Communications, and (3) command and control of the unmanned aircraft (UA). Each requirement is stated and is supported with a rationale and associated reference(s).

Progress of nuclear safety for symbiosis and sustainability advanced digital instrumentation, control and information systems for nuclear power plants

CERN Document Server

Yoshikawa, Hidekazu

2014-01-01

This book introduces advanced methods of computational and information systems allowing readers to better understand the state-of-the-art design and implementation technology needed to maintain and enhance the safe operation of nuclear power plants. The subjects dealt with in the book are (i) Full digital instrumentation and control systems and human?machine interface technologies (ii) Risk? monitoring methods for large and? complex? plants (iii) Condition monitors for plant components (iv) Virtual and augmented reality for nuclear power plants and (v) Software reliability verification and val

Interoperability, Scaling, and the Digital Libraries Research Agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Clifford; Garcia-Molina, Hector

1996-01-01

Summarizes reports and activities at the Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications workshop on digital libraries (Reston, Virginia, August 22, 1995). Defines digital library roles and identifies areas of needed research, including: interoperability; protocols for digital objects; collection management; interface design; human-computer…

The organizational context of error tolerant interface systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sepanloo, K.; Meshkati, N.; Kozuh, M.

1995-01-01

Human error has been recognized as the main contributor to the occurrence of incidents in large technological systems such as nuclear power plants. Recent researches have concluded that human errors are unavoidable side effects of exploration of acceptable performance during adaptation to the unknown changes in the environment. To assist the operators in coping with unforeseen situations, the innovative error tolerant interface systems have been proposed to provide the operators with opportunities to make hypothetical tests without having to carry them out directly on the plant in potentially irreversible conditions. On the other hand, the degree of success of introduction of any new system into a tightly-coupled complex socio-technological system is known to be a great deal dependent upon the degree of harmony of that system with the organization s framework and attitudes. Error tolerant interface systems with features of simplicity, transparency, error detectability and recoverability provide a forgiving cognition environment where the effects of errors are observable and recoverable. The nature of these systems are likely to be more consistent with flexible and rather plain organizational structures, in which static and punitive concepts of human error are modified on the favour of dynamic and adaptive approaches. In this paper the features of error tolerant interface systems are explained and their consistent organizational structures are explored. (author)

The organizational context of error tolerant interface systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sepanloo, K [Nuclear Safety Department, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Meshkati, N [Institute of Safety and Systems Management, Los Angeles (United States); Kozuh, M [Josef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

1996-12-31

Human error has been recognized as the main contributor to the occurrence of incidents in large technological systems such as nuclear power plants. Recent researches have concluded that human errors are unavoidable side effects of exploration of acceptable performance during adaptation to the unknown changes in the environment. To assist the operators in coping with unforeseen situations, the innovative error tolerant interface systems have been proposed to provide the operators with opportunities to make hypothetical tests without having to carry them out directly on the plant in potentially irreversible conditions. On the other hand, the degree of success of introduction of any new system into a tightly-coupled complex socio-technological system is known to be a great deal dependent upon the degree of harmony of that system with the organization s framework and attitudes. Error tolerant interface systems with features of simplicity, transparency, error detectability and recoverability provide a forgiving cognition environment where the effects of errors are observable and recoverable. The nature of these systems are likely to be more consistent with flexible and rather plain organizational structures, in which static and punitive concepts of human error are modified on the favour of dynamic and adaptive approaches. In this paper the features of error tolerant interface systems are explained and their consistent organizational structures are explored. (author) 11 refs.

Implementation considerations for digital control systems in power plants: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, S.C.; Lehman, L.L.; Sarchet, M.M.

1988-09-01

Conversion of nuclear power plants fron analog to digital control systems will require careful design, testing, and integration of the control algorithms, the software which implements the algorithms, the digital instrumentation, the digital communications network, and analog/digital device interfaces. Digital control systems are more flexible than their analog counterparts, and therefore greater attention must be paid by the customer to all stages of the control system design process. This flexibility also provides the framework for development of significant safety and reliability are inherant aspects of the chosen design processes. Digital control algorithms are capable of improving their performance by on-line self-tuning of the control parameters. It is therefore incumbant on system designers to choose self-tuning algorithms for power plant control. Implementation of these algorithms in software required a careful software design and development process to minimize errors in interpretation of the engineering design and prevent the inclusion of programming errors during software production. Digital control system and communications software must exhibit sufficient ''fault tolerance'' to maintain some level of safe plant operation or execute a safe plant shutdown in the event of both hard equipment failures and the appearance of software design faults. A number of standardized digital communications protocols are available to designers of digital control systems. These standardized digital communications protocols provide reliable fault tolerant communication between all digital elements of the plant control system and can be implemented redundantly to further enhance power plant operational safety. 5 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab

User interface design in safety parameter display systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, E.E. Jr.; Johnson, G.L.

1988-01-01

The extensive installation of computerized safety Parameter Display Systems (SPDSs) in nuclear power plants since the Three-Mile Island accident has enhanced plant safety. It has also raised new issues of how best to ensure an effective interface between human operators and the plant via computer systems. New developments in interface technologies since the current generation of SPDSs was installed can contribute to improving display interfaces. These technologies include new input devices, three-dimensional displays, delay indicators, and auditory displays. Examples of how they might be applied to improve current SPDSs are given. These examples illustrate how the new use interface technology could be applied to future nuclear plant displays

A Novel Wearable Forehead EOG Measurement System for Human Computer Interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Heo, Jeong; Yoon, Heenam; Park, Kwang Suk

2017-06-23

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients whose voluntary muscles are paralyzed commonly communicate with the outside world using eye movement. There have been many efforts to support this method of communication by tracking or detecting eye movement. An electrooculogram (EOG), an electro-physiological signal, is generated by eye movements and can be measured with electrodes placed around the eye. In this study, we proposed a new practical electrode position on the forehead to measure EOG signals, and we developed a wearable forehead EOG measurement system for use in Human Computer/Machine interfaces (HCIs/HMIs). Four electrodes, including the ground electrode, were placed on the forehead. The two channels were arranged vertically and horizontally, sharing a positive electrode. Additionally, a real-time eye movement classification algorithm was developed based on the characteristics of the forehead EOG. Three applications were employed to evaluate the proposed system: a virtual keyboard using a modified Bremen BCI speller and an automatic sequential row-column scanner, and a drivable power wheelchair. The mean typing speeds of the modified Bremen brain-computer interface (BCI) speller and automatic row-column scanner were 10.81 and 7.74 letters per minute, and the mean classification accuracies were 91.25% and 95.12%, respectively. In the power wheelchair demonstration, the user drove the wheelchair through an 8-shape course without collision with obstacles.

Analysis on nuclear power plant control room system design and improvement based on human factor engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Feng; Liu Yanzi; Sun Yongbin

2014-01-01

The design of nuclear power plant control room system is a process of improvement with the implementation of human factor engineering theory and guidance. The method of implementation human factor engineering principles into the nuclear power plant control room system design and improvement was discussed in this paper. It is recommended that comprehensive address should be done from control room system function, human machine interface, digital procedure, control room layout and environment design based on the human factor engineering theory and experience. The main issues which should be paid more attention during the control room system design and improvement also were addressed in this paper, and then advices and notices for the design and improvement of the nuclear power plant control room system were afforded. (authors)

Advanced human-system interface design review guideline. Evaluation procedures and guidelines for human factors engineering reviews

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O`Hara, J.M.; Brown, W.S. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States); Baker, C.C.; Welch, D.L.; Granda, T.M.; Vingelis, P.J. [Carlow International Inc., Falls Church, VA (United States)

1994-07-01

Advanced control rooms will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator`s overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than ten years ago, well before these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this project was to develop a general approach to advanced HSI review and the human factors guidelines to support. NRC safety reviews of advanced systems. This two-volume report provides the results of the project. Volume I describes the development of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline (DRG) including (1) its theoretical and technical foundation, (2) a general model for the review of advanced HSIs, (3) guideline development in both hard-copy and computer-based versions, and (4) the tests and evaluations performed to develop and validate the DRG. Volume I also includes a discussion of the gaps in available guidance and a methodology for addressing them. Volume 2 provides the guidelines to be used for advanced HSI review and the procedures for their use.

Advanced human-system interface design review guideline. Evaluation procedures and guidelines for human factors engineering reviews

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.; Brown, W.S.; Baker, C.C.; Welch, D.L.; Granda, T.M.; Vingelis, P.J.

1994-07-01

Advanced control rooms will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator's overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than ten years ago, well before these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this project was to develop a general approach to advanced HSI review and the human factors guidelines to support. NRC safety reviews of advanced systems. This two-volume report provides the results of the project. Volume I describes the development of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline (DRG) including (1) its theoretical and technical foundation, (2) a general model for the review of advanced HSIs, (3) guideline development in both hard-copy and computer-based versions, and (4) the tests and evaluations performed to develop and validate the DRG. Volume I also includes a discussion of the gaps in available guidance and a methodology for addressing them. Volume 2 provides the guidelines to be used for advanced HSI review and the procedures for their use

Digital Humanities in the 21st Century

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brügger, Niels

2016-01-01

In this article it is argued that one of the major transformative factors of the humanities at the beginning of the 21st century is the shift from analogue to digital source material, and that this shift will affect the humanities in a variety of ways. But various kinds of digital material...... are not digital in the same way, which a distinction between digitized, born-digital, and reborn-digital may help us acknowledge, thereby helping us to understand how each of these types of digital material affects different phases of scholarly work in its own way. This is illustrated by a detailed comparison...... of the nature of digitized collections and web archives....

Digital image processing and analysis human and computer vision applications with CVIPtools

CERN Document Server

Umbaugh, Scott E

2010-01-01

Section I Introduction to Digital Image Processing and AnalysisDigital Image Processing and AnalysisOverviewImage Analysis and Computer VisionImage Processing and Human VisionKey PointsExercisesReferencesFurther ReadingComputer Imaging SystemsImaging Systems OverviewImage Formation and SensingCVIPtools SoftwareImage RepresentationKey PointsExercisesSupplementary ExercisesReferencesFurther ReadingSection II Digital Image Analysis and Computer VisionIntroduction to Digital Image AnalysisIntroductionPreprocessingBinary Image AnalysisKey PointsExercisesSupplementary ExercisesReferencesFurther Read

Human-machine interfaces based on EMG and EEG applied to robotic systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarcinelli-Filho Mario

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Two different Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs were developed, both based on electro-biological signals. One is based on the EMG signal and the other is based on the EEG signal. Two major features of such interfaces are their relatively simple data acquisition and processing systems, which need just a few hardware and software resources, so that they are, computationally and financially speaking, low cost solutions. Both interfaces were applied to robotic systems, and their performances are analyzed here. The EMG-based HMI was tested in a mobile robot, while the EEG-based HMI was tested in a mobile robot and a robotic manipulator as well. Results Experiments using the EMG-based HMI were carried out by eight individuals, who were asked to accomplish ten eye blinks with each eye, in order to test the eye blink detection algorithm. An average rightness rate of about 95% reached by individuals with the ability to blink both eyes allowed to conclude that the system could be used to command devices. Experiments with EEG consisted of inviting 25 people (some of them had suffered cases of meningitis and epilepsy to test the system. All of them managed to deal with the HMI in only one training session. Most of them learnt how to use such HMI in less than 15 minutes. The minimum and maximum training times observed were 3 and 50 minutes, respectively. Conclusion Such works are the initial parts of a system to help people with neuromotor diseases, including those with severe dysfunctions. The next steps are to convert a commercial wheelchair in an autonomous mobile vehicle; to implement the HMI onboard the autonomous wheelchair thus obtained to assist people with motor diseases, and to explore the potentiality of EEG signals, making the EEG-based HMI more robust and faster, aiming at using it to help individuals with severe motor dysfunctions.

The test and control system for high performance digital power supplies of SSRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Junlong; Li Deming; Shen Tianjian

2009-01-01

A test and control system was designed to evaluate performance of the digital power supplies for SSRF. The software of serial communication (RS-232) and Ethernet interface was developed with Lab VIEW. The system can perform functions of instrument and power supply control, data acquisition and display, and store data for 24 h. LAN users can access the system and acquire data conveniently. The data are stored in Excel for analysis and establishment of database of digital PS in the future. (authors)

Advanced digital image archival system using MPEG technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Wo

2009-08-01

Digital information and records are vital to the human race regardless of the nationalities and eras in which they were produced. Digital image contents are produced at a rapid pace from cultural heritages via digitalization, scientific and experimental data via high speed imaging sensors, national defense satellite images from governments, medical and healthcare imaging records from hospitals, personal collection of photos from digital cameras. With these mass amounts of precious and irreplaceable data and knowledge, what standards technologies can be applied to preserve and yet provide an interoperable framework for accessing the data across varieties of systems and devices? This paper presents an advanced digital image archival system by applying the international standard of MPEG technologies to preserve digital image content.

User interface design principles for the SSM/PMAD automated power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakstas, L.M.; Myers, C.J.

1991-01-01

Computer-human interfaces are an integral part of developing software for spacecraft power systems. A well designed and efficient user interface enables an engineer to effectively operate the system, while it concurrently prevents the user from entering data which is beyond boundary conditions or performing operations which are out of context. A user interface should also be designed to ensure that the engineer easily obtains all useful and critical data for operating the system and is aware of all faults and states in the system. Martin Marietta, under contract to NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, has developed a user interface for the Space Station Module Power Management and Distribution (SSM/PMAD) automated power system testbed which provides human access to the functionality of the power system, as well as exemplifying current techniques in user interface design. The testbed user interface was designed to enable an engineer to operate the system easily without having significant knowledge of computer systems, as well as provide an environment in which the engineer can monitor and interact with the SSM/PMAD system hardware. The design of the interface supports a global view of the most important data form the various hardware and software components, as well as enabling the user to obtain additional or more detailed data when needed. The components and representations of the SSM/PMAD testbed user interface are examined in this paper. An engineer's interactions with the system are also described

Digitization of the human body in the present-day economy

Science.gov (United States)

D'Apuzzo, Nicola

2005-01-01

In this paper we report on the historic development of human body digitization and on the actual state of commercially available technology. Complete systems for the digitization of the human body exist since more than ten years. One of the main users of this technology was the entertainment industry. Every new movie excited with attractive visual effects, but only few people knew that the most thrilling cuts were realized by using virtual persons. The faces and bodies of actors were digitized and the "virtual twin" replaced the actor in the movie. Nowadays, the state of the human body digitization is so high that it is not possible any more to distinguish the real actor from the virtual one. Indeed, for the rush technical development has to be thanked the movie industry, which was one of the strong economic motors for this technology. Today, with the possibility of a massive cost reduction given by new technologies, methods for digitization of the human body are used also in other fields of application, such as ergonomics, medical applications, computer games, biometry and anthropometrics. With the time, this technology becomes interesting also for sport, fitness, fashion and beauty. A large expansion of human body digitization is expected in the near future. To date, different technologies are used commercially for the measurement of the human body. They can be divided into three distinguished groups: laser-scanning, projection of light patterns, combination modeling and image processing. The different solutions have strengths and weaknesses that profile their suitability for specific applications. This paper gives an overview of their differences and characteristics and expresses clues for the selection of the adequate method. Practical examples of commercial exploitation of human body digitization are also presented and new interesting perspectives are introduced.

The Digital Data Acquisition System for the Russian VLBI Network of New Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Fedotov, Leonid; Nosov, Eugeny; Grenkov, Sergey; Marshalov, Dmitry

2010-01-01

The system consists of several identical channels of 1024 MHz bandwidth each. In each channel, the RF band is frequency-translated to the intermediate frequency range 1 - 2 GHz. Each channel consists of two parts: the digitizer and Mark 5C recorder. The digitizer is placed on the antenna close to the corresponding Low-Noise Amplifier output and consists of the analog frequency converter, ADC, and a device for digital processing of the signals using FPGA. In the digitizer the subdigitization on frequency of 2048 MHz is used. For producing narrow-band channels and to interface with existing data acquisition systems, the polyphase filtering with FPGA can be used. Digital signals are re-quantized to 2-bits in the FPGA and are transferred to an input of Mark 5C through a fiber line. The breadboard model of the digitizer is being tested, and the data acquisition system is being designed.

Human-system interfaces for the ABWR control room

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutierrez, R.; O'Neil, T.J.

1993-01-01

The 1300-MW(electric) advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) design has been developed by General Electric Co. (G.E.) and its technical associates, Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corporation, under the sponsorship of the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Key features of the ABWR include simplification, improved safety and reliability, reduced occupational exposure and radwaste, improved maneuverability, and reduced construction, fuel, and operating costs. The ABWR incorporates the best proven features from BWR designs in Japan, Europe, and the United States, combined with the broad-scope application of leading-edge technology. The first application of the ABWR design will be at TEP-CO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station units 6 and 7, which are scheduled to begin commercial operation in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The ABWR is also the lead plant in the U.S. standard plant design certification program. It is scheduled to receive final approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in early 1994. The development of the human system interaces (HSI) for the ABWR is an extension of the operating experience of existing man-machine interfaces currently being used at GE-designed plants

Evaluation of operators' mental workload of human-system interface automation in the advanced nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jou, Y.-T.; Yenn, T.-C.; Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe; Yang, C.-W.; Chiang, C.-C.

2009-01-01

It has been expected that the automation of certain tasks in a control room would help decrease operators' mental workload, enhance situation awareness, and improve the whole system performance. However, there have been too many automation-induced system failures that would warrant a fresh look on the influences of automation. Automation problems include the reduction in the operator's system awareness, an increase in monitoring workload, and the degradation in manual skills. This study evaluates operators' mental workload and system performance during a human-system interface (HSI) automation in an advanced nuclear power plant (NPP). The reactor shutdown task and alarm reset task simulations were conducted in this study to evaluate operators' mental workload and performance. The results of this study indicated that for ensuring safe operating in NPPs, the design of automation needs to be carefully implemented. Task characteristics and degrees of automation should be carefully evaluated while designing HSIs. The reactor shutdown tasks studied in this paper suggest that a high level of automation design for the long period and low workload would be sufficient. On the other hand, the degree of automation of alarm reset task does not show a significant difference to the operator's mental workload. In conclusion, the human-system interface automation in advanced NPPs is suggested to be more flexible and needs to be continually improved.

Development and Design of a User Interface for a Computer Automated Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, B.

1999-01-01

A user interface is created to monitor and operate the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. The interface is networked to the system's programmable logic controller. The controller maintains automated control of the system. The user through the interface is able to see the status of the system and override or adjust the automatic control features. The interface is programmed to show digital readouts of system equipment as well as visual queues of system operational statuses. It also provides information for system design and component interaction. The interface is made easier to read by simple designs, color coordination, and graphics. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermi lab) conducts high energy particle physics research. Part of this research involves collision experiments with protons, and anti-protons. These interactions are contained within one of two massive detectors along Fermilab's largest particle accelerator the Tevatron. The D-Zero Assembly Building houses one of these detectors. At this time detector systems are being upgraded for a second experiment run, titled Run II. Unlike the previous run, systems at D-Zero must be computer automated so operators do not have to continually monitor and adjust these systems during the run. Human intervention should only be necessary for system start up and shut down, and equipment failure. Part of this upgrade includes the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC system). The HVAC system is responsible for controlling two subsystems, the air temperatures of the D-Zero Assembly Building and associated collision hall, as well as six separate water systems used in the heating and cooling of the air and detector components. The BYAC system is automated by a programmable logic controller. In order to provide system monitoring and operator control a user interface is required. This paper will address methods and strategies used to design and implement an effective user interface

Medical Signal-Conditioning and Data-Interface System

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, Jeffrey; Jacobus, charles; Booth, Scott; Suarez, Michael; Smith, Derek; Hartnagle, Jeffrey; LePrell, Glenn

2006-01-01

A general-purpose portable, wearable electronic signal-conditioning and data-interface system is being developed for medical applications. The system can acquire multiple physiological signals (e.g., electrocardiographic, electroencephalographic, and electromyographic signals) from sensors on the wearer s body, digitize those signals that are received in analog form, preprocess the resulting data, and transmit the data to one or more remote location(s) via a radiocommunication link and/or the Internet. The system includes a computer running data-object-oriented software that can be programmed to configure the system to accept almost any analog or digital input signals from medical devices. The computing hardware and software implement a general-purpose data-routing-and-encapsulation architecture that supports tagging of input data and routing the data in a standardized way through the Internet and other modern packet-switching networks to one or more computer(s) for review by physicians. The architecture supports multiple-site buffering of data for redundancy and reliability, and supports both real-time and slower-than-real-time collection, routing, and viewing of signal data. Routing and viewing stations support insertion of automated analysis routines to aid in encoding, analysis, viewing, and diagnosis.

Digital storytelling: New opportunities for humanities scholarship and pedagogy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John F. Barber

2016-12-01

Full Text Available At first thought, combining storytelling, digital tools, and humanities seems improbable. For example, digital storytelling is characterized by interactivity, nonlinearity, flexible outcomes, user participation, even co-creation. Such affordances may be disruptive to traditional humanities scholars accustomed to working alone, with physical objects, and following established theoretical guidelines. However, they may be quite appealing to those seeking new opportunities for cross-disciplinary, iterative approaches to practice-based humanities scholarship and pedagogy. This essay defines digital storytelling as a combination of storytelling techniques, digital affordances, and humanities foci, describes several forms of digital storytelling, outlines frameworks and outcomes associated with their use, and promotes digital storytelling as providing new opportunities for humanities scholarship and teaching, especially with regard to critical thinking, communication, digital literacy, and civic engagement.

Visible Watermarking Technique Based on Human Visual System for Single Sensor Digital Cameras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hector Santoyo-Garcia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we propose a visible watermarking algorithm, in which a visible watermark is embedded into the Bayer Colour Filter Array (CFA domain. The Bayer CFA is the most common raw image representation for images captured by single sensor digital cameras equipped in almost all mobile devices. In proposed scheme, the captured image is watermarked before it is compressed and stored in the storage system. Then this method enforces the rightful ownership of the watermarked image, since there is no other version of the image rather than the watermarked one. We also take into consideration the Human Visual System (HVS so that the proposed technique provides desired characteristics of a visible watermarking scheme, such that the embedded watermark is sufficiently perceptible and at same time not obtrusive in colour and grey-scale images. Unlike other Bayer CFA domain visible watermarking algorithms, in which only binary watermark pattern is supported, proposed watermarking algorithm allows grey-scale and colour images as watermark patterns. It is suitable for advertisement purpose, such as digital library and e-commerce, besides copyright protection.

Intelligent Human Machine Interface Design for Advanced Product Life Cycle Management Systems

OpenAIRE

Ahmed, Zeeshan

2010-01-01

Designing and implementing an intelligent and user friendly human machine interface for any kind of software or hardware oriented application is always be a challenging task for the designers and developers because it is very difficult to understand the psychology of the user, nature of the work and best suit of the environment. This research paper is basically about to propose an intelligent, flexible and user friendly machine interface for Product Life Cycle Management products or PDM Syste...

Development of a compact and cost effective multi-input digital signal processing system

Science.gov (United States)

Darvish-Molla, Sahar; Chin, Kenrick; Prestwich, William V.; Byun, Soo Hyun

2018-01-01

A prototype digital signal processing system (DSP) was developed using a microcontroller interfaced with a 12-bit sampling ADC, which offers a considerably inexpensive solution for processing multiple detectors with high throughput. After digitization of the incoming pulses, in order to maximize the output counting rate, a simple algorithm was employed for pulse height analysis. Moreover, an algorithm aiming at the real-time pulse pile-up deconvolution was implemented. The system was tested using a NaI(Tl) detector in comparison with a traditional analogue and commercial digital systems for a variety of count rates. The performance of the prototype system was consistently superior to the analogue and the commercial digital systems up to the input count rate of 61 kcps while was slightly inferior to the commercial digital system but still superior to the analogue system in the higher input rates. Considering overall cost, size and flexibility, this custom made multi-input digital signal processing system (MMI-DSP) was the best reliable choice for the purpose of the 2D microdosimetric data collection, or for any measurement in which simultaneous multi-data collection is required.

Digital subtraction radiography in the study of the lacrimal system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falaschi, F.; Pieri, L.; Perri, G.; Signorini, G.; Genovese Ebert, F.

1988-01-01

The authors emphasize the usefulness of digital dacrycystography (DCG), as compared with various current technoques. Utilizing a radiographic unit equipped with a video-fluoroscopic system and interfaced to a digital video-processor, several digitalized images are acquired before, during and after the injection of contrast medium. Final images are obtained by subtraction of suitable pairs of source frames. Twenty-six patients affected by epiphora have been examined so far. In 21 cases digital subtraction DCG allowed an accurate visualization of the lacrimal system; in the other five patients the amount of information was acceptable. This methodology allows the assessment of both the normal anatomy of the lacrimal passages and their pathological patterns, such as obstructions, stenoses, fistulas, chronic dacrycystites, lacrimal stones. The examination is easy and quick to perform, with no discomfort for the patient. Digital subtraction DCG proves thus to be a very valuable technique thanks to its possible electronic elaboration - i.e. the subtraction and the magnification of images - to its better contrast resolution, and to the possibility it yields of dynamic studies under radioscopic control

Resolution of digital instrumentation and control and human factors technical and regulatory issues for new plants and for modernization of operating plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naser, J.A.; Torok, R.C.; Canavan, K.T.

2008-01-01

There are several technical and regulatory issues in the areas of digital I and C, human factors, and control rooms needing generic resolution. If they are not generically resolved, they can contribute to protracted regulatory reviews for operating plant license amendments and substantial delays and increased costs for new plant COL approvals. Therefore; a coordinated, proactive program has been established to resolve key issues. Both Industry and NRC have roles in resolving these key issues and addressing them in future design efforts and regulatory reviews. The Industry initiative is led by the NEI Digital I and C and Human Factors Working Group. NRC has established Task Working Groups under the NRC Digital I and C Steering Committee to address the issues and interact with Industry. EPRI is providing technical input and resolution leadership for some of the issues being addressed in three of the task working groups. For the Highly Integrated Control Room - Human Factors Task area, EPRI has taken the lead in developing draft industry position technical reports for the following three issues: 1) Minimum inventory of human system interfaces, 2) Computerized procedures and associated topics of automation and soft controls, and 3) Methodology to determine the acceptability of manual operator actions response times for a BTP 7-19 software common cause failure. For the Diversity and Defense-in-Depth area, EPRI has taken the lead in developing two draft industry position technical papers on the following topics: 1) Integrating defensive measures and diversity attributes to protect against digital common cause failures and 2) Susceptibility of digital devices and components to common cause failures. For the Risk Informing area, EPRI has taken the lead in developing two draft industry position technical papers on the following topics: 1) Clarifying how to use current methods to model digital systems in a PRA and 2) Application of PRA to specific digital I and C issues

Effectiveness of caching in a distributed digital library system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hollmann, J.; Ardø, Anders; Stenstrom, P.

2007-01-01

as manifested by gateways that implement the interfaces to the many fulltext archives. A central research question in this approach is: What is the nature of locality in the user access stream to such a digital library? Based on access logs that drive the simulations, it is shown that client-side caching can......Today independent publishers are offering digital libraries with fulltext archives. In an attempt to provide a single user-interface to a large set of archives, the studied Article-Database-Service offers a consolidated interface to a geographically distributed set of archives. While this approach...

A journey from robot to digital human mathematical principles and applications with MATLAB programming

CERN Document Server

Gu, Edward Y L

2013-01-01

This book provides readers with a solid set of diversified and essential tools for the theoretical modeling and control of complex robotic systems, as well as for digital human modeling and realistic motion generation. Following a comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of robotic kinematics, dynamics and control systems design, the author extends robotic modeling procedures and motion algorithms to a much higher-dimensional, larger scale and more sophisticated research area, namely digital human modeling. Most of the methods are illustrated by MATLAB™ codes and sample graphical visualizations, offering a unique closed loop between conceptual understanding and visualization. Readers are guided through practicing and creating 3D graphics for robot arms as well as digital human models in MATLAB™, and through driving them for real-time animation. This work is intended to serve as a robotics textbook with an extension to digital human modeling for senior undergraduate and graduate engineering students....

Digital coal mine integrated automation system based on Controlnet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin-yun Chen; Shen Zhang; Wei-ran Zuo [China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou (China). School of Chemical Engineering and Technology

2007-06-15

A three-layer model for digital communication in a mine is proposed. Two basic platforms are discussed: a uniform transmission network and a uniform data warehouse. An actual, ControlNet based, transmission network platform suitable for the Jining No.3 coal mine in China is presented. This network is an information superhighway intended to integrate all existing and new automation subsystems. Its standard interface can be used with future subsystems. The network, data structure and management decision-making all employ this uniform hardware and software. This effectively avoids the problems of system and information islands seen in traditional mine-automation systems. The construction of the network provides a stable foundation for digital communication in the Jining No.3 coal mine. 9 refs., 5 figs.

Digital radiology and digitally formatted image management systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, G.G.; Dwyer, S.J. III; Templeton, A.W.

1987-01-01

The number of diagnostic examinations performed with digitally formatted imaging equipment is increasing. Digital general-purpose and fluoroscopic radiology systems are being clinically evaluated. Digitizing conventional x-ray films, such as mammograms, frequently improves the diagnostic quality of the images. The digitizing process with laser has also afforded the opportunity to document required spatial resolution for digital imaging and network systems. The use of digitally formatted image instrumentation imposes new requirements on the acquisition, display and manipulation, transmission, hard copy image recording, and archiving of diagnostic data. Networking of digitally formatted image data offers many advantages for managing digital information. This paper identifies and describes digital radiographic systems. Parameters required for designing and implementing a digital image management system are outlined. Spatial and contrast resolution requirements are identified. The key parameters include the amount of image data generated each working day, the retrieval rate of the generated data, the display hardware and software needed for interactive diagnosis display stations, the requirements for analog hard copy generation, and on-line and long-term archiving requirements. These image management systems are often called PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems)

EPRI training to support digital upgrades in nuclear plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torok, R.; Naser, J.

2006-01-01

In response to the growing challenges of obsolescence and rising maintenance costs, utilities are increasingly upgrading or replacing their existing instrumentation and control (I and C) systems and components. In most cases, this involves analog-to-digital or digital-to-newer-digital replacements. However, the use of digital technology often raises new technical and licensing issues, particularly for safety-related applications. Examples include: new failure modes and the potential for common-mode failure of redundant components; electromagnetic compatibility (EMC); potential human-system interface problems; and software verification, validation, and configuration management. Successful implementation, operation and maintenance of digital systems depend to a great extent on having processes in place that are tailored for digital technology. Nuclear plants are therefore updating their processes as they start the migration to digital I and C. For several years, EPRI has been developing guidelines to address the key technical issues and interfacing with the U.S. NRC to ensure the acceptability of the approaches developed. A framework for implementing digital upgrades now exists, but practical experience under the current regulatory environment is sparse. Significant uncertainty exists in regard to both technical and licensing issues. Many utilities still need to prepare their staff and processes to properly handle the new technology. In recent years, this need has been exacerbated by staff reductions, changing job assignments, and declining training budgets. EPRI has responded by developing a training program to help utilities efficiently bring design and licensing engineers up to speed on the latest issues and guidance affecting the implementation of digital upgrades in nuclear plants. This paper describes the key technical issues in the context of the EPRI training program. (authors)

Human-machine interface based on muscular and brain signals applied to a robotic wheelchair

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, A; Silva, R L; Celeste, W C; Filho, T F Bastos; Filho, M Sarcinelli

2007-01-01

This paper presents a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) based on the signals generated by eye blinks or brain activity. The system structure and the signal acquisition and processing are shown. The signals used in this work are either the signal associated to the muscular movement corresponding to an eye blink or the brain signal corresponding to visual information processing. The variance is the feature extracted from such signals in order to detect the intention of the user. The classification is performed by a variance threshold which is experimentally determined for each user during the training stage. The command options, which are going to be sent to the commanded device, are presented to the user in the screen of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). In the experiments here reported, a robotic wheelchair is used as the device being commanded

Human-machine interface based on muscular and brain signals applied to a robotic wheelchair

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferreira, A; Silva, R L; Celeste, W C; Filho, T F Bastos; Filho, M Sarcinelli [Electrical Engineering Department, Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), Av. Fernando Ferrari, 514, Vitoria, 29075-910 (Brazil)

2007-11-15

This paper presents a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) based on the signals generated by eye blinks or brain activity. The system structure and the signal acquisition and processing are shown. The signals used in this work are either the signal associated to the muscular movement corresponding to an eye blink or the brain signal corresponding to visual information processing. The variance is the feature extracted from such signals in order to detect the intention of the user. The classification is performed by a variance threshold which is experimentally determined for each user during the training stage. The command options, which are going to be sent to the commanded device, are presented to the user in the screen of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). In the experiments here reported, a robotic wheelchair is used as the device being commanded.

Systems and technologies for high-speed inter-office/datacenter interface

Science.gov (United States)

Sone, Y.; Nishizawa, H.; Yamamoto, S.; Fukutoku, M.; Yoshimatsu, T.

2017-01-01

Emerging requirements for inter-office/inter-datacenter short reach links for data center interconnects (DCI) and metro transport networks have led to various inter-office and inter-datacenter optical interface technologies. These technologies are bringing significant changes to systems and network architectures. In this paper, we present a system and ZR optical interface technologies for DCI and metro transport networks, then introduce the latest challenges facing the system framework. There are two trends in reach extension; one is to use Ethernet and the other is to use digital coherent technologies. The first approach achieves reach extension while using as many existing Ethernet components as possible. It offers low costs as reuses the cost-effective components created for the large Ethernet market. The second approach adopts low-cost and low power coherent DSPs that implement the minimal set long haul transmission functions. This paper introduces an architecture that integrates both trends. The architecture satisfies both datacom and telecom needs with a common control and management interface and automated configuration.

A digital signal processor based rf control system for the TRIUMF ISAC RFQ prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fong, K.; Fang, S.; Laverty, M.

1996-01-01

A stand alone digital signal processor is used to control the RFQ prototype in the TRIUMF ISAC development program. The advantage of a digital control system over the traditional analogue system is that it offers the higher degree of flexibility necessary for a development system. For this application the system is designed to have the outward appearance of an analogue system, and uses dials, knobs, and switches as the operator interface. The digital signal processor is used as a feedback controller during CW rf operation, with the feedback gain parameters continually adjustable. It is also able to perform the same regulation during pulsed operation, with additional feedforward compensation for initial pulse on duration. Using a low cost analogue-to-digital converter with a sample rate of 100 kHz, a regulation bandwidth of 10 kHz is achieved. (author)

Telephone based speech interfaces in the developing world, from the perspective of human-human communication

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Naidoo, S

2005-07-01

Full Text Available recently, before computers systems were able to synthesize or recognize speech, speech was a capability unique to humans. The human brain has developed to differentiate between human speech and other audio occurrences. Therefore, the slowly- evolving... human brain reacts in certain ways to voice stimuli, and has certain expectations regarding communication by voice. Nass affirms that the human brain operates using the same mechanisms when interacting with speech interfaces as when conversing...

Design mobile satellite system architecture as an integral part of the cellular access digital network

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, E. S. K.; Marinho, J. A.; Russell, J. E., Sr.

1988-01-01

The Cellular Access Digital Network (CADN) is the access vehicle through which cellular technology is brought into the mainstream of the evolving integrated telecommunications network. Beyond the integrated end-to-end digital access and per call network services provisioning of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the CADN engenders the added capability of mobility freedom via wireless access. One key element of the CADN network architecture is the standard user to network interface that is independent of RF transmission technology. Since the Mobile Satellite System (MSS) is envisioned to not only complement but also enhance the capabilities of the terrestrial cellular telecommunications network, compatibility and interoperability between terrestrial cellular and mobile satellite systems are vitally important to provide an integrated moving telecommunications network of the future. From a network standpoint, there exist very strong commonalities between the terrestrial cellular system and the mobile satellite system. Therefore, the MSS architecture should be designed as an integral part of the CADN. This paper describes the concept of the CADN, the functional architecture of the MSS, and the user-network interface signaling protocols.

New digital control and power protection system of VR 1 training reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kropik, M.; Matejka, K.; Juoeickova, M.

2005-01-01

The contribution describes the new VR-1 training reactor control and power protection system at the Czech Technical University in Prague. The control system provides safety and control functions, calculates average values of the important variables and sends data and system status to the human-machine interface. The upgraded control system is based on a high quality industrial PC. The operating system of the PC is the Microsoft Windows XP with the real time support RTX of the VentureCom Company. The software was developed according to requirements in MS Visual C. The independent power protection system is a component of the reactor safety (protection) system with high quality and reliability requirements. The digital system is redundant; each channel evaluates the reactor power and the velocity of power changes and provides safety functions. The digital part of the channel is multiprocessor-based. The software was developed with respect to nuclear standards. The software design was coded in the C language regarding the NRC restrictions. Configuration management, verification and validation accompanied the software development. Both systems were thoroughly tested. Firstly, the non active tests were carried out. During these tests, the active core of the reactor was subcritical; the input signals were generated from HPIB and VXI controlled instruments to simulate different operational and safety events. The software for instruments control and tests evaluation utilized Agilent VEE development system. After the successful non active checking, the active tests followed. (author)

An ADC-free adaptive interface circuit of resistive sensor for electronic nose system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chia-Lin; Chiu, Shih-Wen; Tang, Kea-Tiong

2013-01-01

The initial resistance of chemiresistive gas sensors could be affected by temperature, humidity, and background odors. In a sensing system, the traditional interface circuit always requires an ADC to convert analog signal to digital signal. In this paper, we propose an ADC-free adaptive interface circuit for a resistive gas sensor to read sensor signal and cancel the baseline drift. Furthermore, methanol was used to test the proposed interface circuit, which was connected with a FIGARO® gas sensor. This circuit was fabricated by TSMC 0.18 µm CMOS process, and consumed 86.41 µW under 1 V supply voltage.

MIDAS, prototype Multivariate Interactive Digital Analysis System, phase 1. Volume 3: Wiring diagrams

Science.gov (United States)

Kriegler, F. J.; Christenson, D.; Gordon, M.; Kistler, R.; Lampert, S.; Marshall, R.; Mclaughlin, R.

1974-01-01

The Midas System is a third-generation, fast, multispectral recognition system able to keep pace with the large quantity and high rates of data acquisition from present and projected sensors. A principal objective of the MIDAS Program is to provide a system well interfaced with the human operator and thus to obtain large overall reductions in turn-around time and significant gains in throughput. The hardware and software generated in Phase I of the overall program are described. The system contains a mini-computer to control the various high-speed processing elements in the data path and a classifier which implements an all-digital prototype multivariate-Gaussian maximum likelihood decision algorithm operating at 2 x 100,000 pixels/sec. Sufficient hardware was developed to perform signature extraction from computer-compatible tapes, compute classifier coefficients, control the classifier operation, and diagnose operation. The MIDAS construction and wiring diagrams are given.

Improving the Usability of the User Interface for a Digital Textbook Platform for Elementary-School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Cheolil; Song, Hae-Deok; Lee, Yekyung

2012-01-01

Usability is critical to the development of a user-friendly digital textbook platform interface, yet thorough research on interface development based on usability principles is in short supply. This study addresses that need by looking at usability attributes and corresponding design elements from a learning perspective. The researchers used a…

Graphic Interface for the Gearhart-Owen 3500 Uranium Logging System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haller, I; Mendieta, C; Tenzi, A

2000-01-01

This work presents the design and development of a computing graphic interface in order to modernize the data acquisition of an old Gearhart-Owen uranium logging system.The paper describes the different items involved in the project: the system hardware developed to carry out the signal conditioning and data digitization the system software, which performs the monitoring and storing of the updated information.Finally, we compare the results of de recent field measurements with the previous one obtained with the original equipment and show the feasibility of the project

Evaluation method of human-system interface for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanji, Junichi; Kawai, Jun; Masui, Takao; Ezaki, Ikuko

2000-01-01

We have developed HSI evaluation method based on a model of human cognitive processes in order to provide the viewpoint of the evaluation on the operability of interface. The model describes systematically the human error categories of GEMS by Reason. Based on the model together with reference to the other published information such as NUREG-0700Rev.1, the evaluation items for HSI have embodied in the electronic handbook HIBISCUS. The applicability of HIBISCUS have been assessed by evaluating experimental results using a simulator equipped with control panel using CRTs and touch operations. From the results, the usefulness of the handbook has been confirmed. (author)

Evaluation method of human-system interface for nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanji, Junichi [Nuclear Power Engineering Corp. (NUPEC), Tokyo (Japan); Kawai, Jun; Masui, Takao; Ezaki, Ikuko [Mitsubishi Research Inst., Tokyo (Japan)

2000-10-01

We have developed HSI evaluation method based on a model of human cognitive processes in order to provide the viewpoint of the evaluation on the operability of interface. The model describes systematically the human error categories of GEMS by Reason. Based on the model together with reference to the other published information such as NUREG-0700Rev.1, the evaluation items for HSI have embodied in the electronic handbook HIBISCUS. The applicability of HIBISCUS have been assessed by evaluating experimental results using a simulator equipped with control panel using CRTs and touch operations. From the results, the usefulness of the handbook has been confirmed. (author)

Advanced control room design review guidelines: Integration of the NUREG-0700 guidelines and development of new human-system interface guidelines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carter, R.J.

1997-07-01

This report documents the work conducted in four tasks of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) project entitled Review Criteria for Human Factors Aspects of Advanced Controls and Instrumentation. The purpose of the first task was to integrate the applicable sections of NUREG-0700 into the advanced control room design review (ACRDR) guidelines to ensure that all applicable guidelines are together in one document and conveniently accessible to users. The primary objective of the second task was to formulate a strategy for the development of new ACRDR guidelines that have not otherwise been identified. The main focus of the third task was to modify the individual ACRDR guidelines generated to date to ensure that they are suitable for the intended nuclear power plant (NPP) control station system application. The goal of the fourth task was to develop human factors guidelines for two human-system interface categories that are missing from the current ACRDR guidelines document. During the first task those areas in NUREG-0700 that are not addressed by the ACRDR guidelines document were identified, the areas were subsequently reviewed against six recent industry human factors engineering review guidelines, and the NUREG-0700 guidelines were updated as necessary. In the second task 13 general categories of human-system interface guidelines that are either missing from or not adequately addressed by the ACRDR document were discovered. An approach was derived for the development of new ACRDR guidelines, a preliminary assessment of the available sources that may be useful in the creation of new guidelines and their applicability to the identified human-system interface categories was performed, and an estimate was made of the amount of time and level of effort required to complete the development of needed new ACRDR guidelines. During the third task those NPP control station systems to which the NUREG-0700 and ACRDR guidelines apply were identified, matrices of such

Advanced control room design review guidelines: Integration of the NUREG-0700 guidelines and development of new human-system interface guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, R.J.

1997-07-01

This report documents the work conducted in four tasks of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) project entitled Review Criteria for Human Factors Aspects of Advanced Controls and Instrumentation. The purpose of the first task was to integrate the applicable sections of NUREG-0700 into the advanced control room design review (ACRDR) guidelines to ensure that all applicable guidelines are together in one document and conveniently accessible to users. The primary objective of the second task was to formulate a strategy for the development of new ACRDR guidelines that have not otherwise been identified. The main focus of the third task was to modify the individual ACRDR guidelines generated to date to ensure that they are suitable for the intended nuclear power plant (NPP) control station system application. The goal of the fourth task was to develop human factors guidelines for two human-system interface categories that are missing from the current ACRDR guidelines document. During the first task those areas in NUREG-0700 that are not addressed by the ACRDR guidelines document were identified, the areas were subsequently reviewed against six recent industry human factors engineering review guidelines, and the NUREG-0700 guidelines were updated as necessary. In the second task 13 general categories of human-system interface guidelines that are either missing from or not adequately addressed by the ACRDR document were discovered. An approach was derived for the development of new ACRDR guidelines, a preliminary assessment of the available sources that may be useful in the creation of new guidelines and their applicability to the identified human-system interface categories was performed, and an estimate was made of the amount of time and level of effort required to complete the development of needed new ACRDR guidelines. During the third task those NPP control station systems to which the NUREG-0700 and ACRDR guidelines apply were identified, matrices of such

Human-machine interface (HMI) report for 241-SY-101 data acquisition system (DACS) upgrade study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Truitt, R.W.

1997-01-01

This report provides an independent evaluation of information for a Windows based Human Machine Interface (HMI) to replace the existing DOS based Iconics HMI currently used in the Data Acquisition and Control System (DACS) used at Tank 241-SY-101. A fundamental reason for this evaluation is because of the difficulty of maintaining the system with obsolete, unsupported software. The DACS uses a software operator interface (Genesis for DOS HMI) that is no longer supported by its manufacturer, Iconics. In addition to its obsolescence, it is complex and difficult to train additional personnel on. The FY 1997 budget allocated $40K for phase 1 of a software/hardware upgrade that would have allowed the old DOS based system to be replaced by a current Windows based system. Unfortunately, budget constraints during FY 1997 has prompted deferral of the upgrade. The upgrade needs to be performed at the earliest possible time, before other failures render the system useless. Once completed, the upgrade could alleviate other concerns: spare pump software may be able to be incorporated into the same software as the existing pump, thereby eliminating the parallel path dilemma; and the newer, less complex software should expedite training of future personnel, and in the process, require that less technical time be required to maintain the system

Man-machine interfaces analysis system based on computer simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xiaoming; Gao Zuying; Zhou Zhiwei; Zhao Bingquan

2004-01-01

The paper depicts a software assessment system, Dynamic Interaction Analysis Support (DIAS), based on computer simulation technology for man-machine interfaces (MMI) of a control room. It employs a computer to simulate the operation procedures of operations on man-machine interfaces in a control room, provides quantified assessment, and at the same time carries out analysis on operational error rate of operators by means of techniques for human error rate prediction. The problems of placing man-machine interfaces in a control room and of arranging instruments can be detected from simulation results. DIAS system can provide good technical supports to the design and improvement of man-machine interfaces of the main control room of a nuclear power plant

Interface of data transmission for a transcutaneous communication system using the human body as transmission medium.

Science.gov (United States)

Okamoto, Eiji; Kato, Yoshikuni; Seino, Kazuyuki; Mitamura, Yoshinori

2012-03-01

We have been developing a new transcutaneous communication system (TCS) that uses the human body as an electrical conductive medium. We studied an interface circuit of the TCS in order to optimize the leading data current into the human body effectively. Two types of LC circuits were examined for the interface circuit, one was an LC series-parallel circuit, and the other was a parallel-connected LC circuit. The LC series-parallel circuit connected to the body could be tuned to a resonant frequency, and the frequency was determined by the values of an external inductor and an external capacitor. Permittivity of the body did not influence the electrical resonance. Connection of the LC series-parallel circuit to the body degraded the quality factor Q because of the conductivity of the body. However, the LC parallel-connected circuit when connected to the body did not indicate electrical resonance. The LC series-parallel circuit restricts a direct current and a low-frequency current to flow into the body; thus, it can prevent a patient from getting a shock. According to the above results, an LC series-parallel circuit is an optimum interface circuit between the TCS and the body for leading data current into the body effectively and safely.

A Function-Behavior-State Approach to Designing Human Machine Interface for Nuclear Power Plant Operators

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Y.; Zhang, W. J.

2005-02-01

This paper presents an approach to human-machine interface design for control room operators of nuclear power plants. The first step in designing an interface for a particular application is to determine information content that needs to be displayed. The design methodology for this step is called the interface design framework (called framework ). Several frameworks have been proposed for applications at varying levels, including process plants. However, none is based on the design and manufacture of a plant system for which the interface is designed. This paper presents an interface design framework which originates from design theory and methodology for general technical systems. Specifically, the framework is based on a set of core concepts of a function-behavior-state model originally proposed by the artificial intelligence research community and widely applied in the design research community. Benefits of this new framework include the provision of a model-based fault diagnosis facility, and the seamless integration of the design (manufacture, maintenance) of plants and the design of human-machine interfaces. The missing linkage between design and operation of a plant was one of the causes of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor incident. A simulated plant system is presented to explain how to apply this framework in designing an interface. The resulting human-machine interface is discussed; specifically, several fault diagnosis examples are elaborated to demonstrate how this interface could support operators' fault diagnosis in an unanticipated situation.

An integrated energy-efficient capacitive sensor digital interface circuit

KAUST Repository

Omran, Hesham

2014-06-19

In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient 13-bit capacitive sensor interface circuit. The proposed design fully relies on successive approximation algorithm, which eliminates the need for oversampling and digital decimation filtering, and thus low-power consumption is achieved. The proposed architecture employs a charge amplifier stage to acheive parasitic insensitive operation and fine absolute resolution. Moreover, the output code is not affected by offset voltages or charge injection. The successive approximation algorithm is implemented in the capacitance-domain using a coarse-fine programmable capacitor array, which allows digitizing wide capacitance range in compact area. Analysis for the maximum achievable resolution due to mismatch is provided. The proposed design is insensitive to any reference voltage or current which translates to low temperature sensitivity. The operation of a prototype fabricated in a standard CMOS technology is experimentally verified using both on-chip and off-chip capacitive sensors. Compared to similar prior work, the fabricated prototype achieves and excellent energy efficiency of 34 pJ/step.

Digital measurement system for the LHC klystron high voltage modulator.

CERN Document Server

Mikkelsen, Anders

Accelerating voltage in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is created by a means of 16 superconducting standing wave RF cavities, each fed by a 400MHz/300kW continuous wave klystron amplifier. Part of the upgrade program for the LHC long shutdown one is to replace the obsolete analogue current and voltage measurement circuitry located in the high voltage bunkers by a new, digital system, using ADCs and optical fibres. A digital measurement card is implemented and integrated into the current HV modulator oil tank (floating at -58kV) and interfaced to the existing digital VME boards collecting the data for several klystrons at the ground potential. Measured signals are stored for the logging, diagnostics and post-mortem analysis purposes.

Quantitative evaluation of impedance perception characteristics of humans in the man-machine interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onish, Keiichi; Kim, Young Woo; Obinata, Goro; Hase, Kazunori

2013-01-01

We investigated impedance perception characteristics of humans in the man-machine interface. Sensibility or operational feel about physical properties of machine dynamics is obtained through perception process. We evaluated the impedance perception characteristics of humans who are operating a mechanical system, based on extended Scheffe's subjective evaluation method in full consideration of the influence of impedance level, impedance difference, experiment order, individual difference and so on. Constant method based quantitative evaluation was adopted to investigate the influence of motion frequency and change of the impedance on human impedance perception characteristics. Experimental results indicate that humans perceive impedance of mechanical systems based on comparison process of the dynamical characteristics of the systems. The proposed method can be applied to quantify the design requirement of man-machine interface. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through experimental results.

Quantitative evaluation of impedance perception characteristics of humans in the man-machine interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onish, Keiichi [Yamaha Motor Co., Shizuoka (Japan); Kim, Young Woo [Daegu Techno Park R and D Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Obinata, Goro [Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan); Hase, Kazunori [Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo (Japan)

2013-05-15

We investigated impedance perception characteristics of humans in the man-machine interface. Sensibility or operational feel about physical properties of machine dynamics is obtained through perception process. We evaluated the impedance perception characteristics of humans who are operating a mechanical system, based on extended Scheffe's subjective evaluation method in full consideration of the influence of impedance level, impedance difference, experiment order, individual difference and so on. Constant method based quantitative evaluation was adopted to investigate the influence of motion frequency and change of the impedance on human impedance perception characteristics. Experimental results indicate that humans perceive impedance of mechanical systems based on comparison process of the dynamical characteristics of the systems. The proposed method can be applied to quantify the design requirement of man-machine interface. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through experimental results.

The Engineering of Mixed Reality Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dubois, Emmanuel; Gray, Philip; Nigay, Laurence

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is no longer restricted to interaction between users and computers via keyboard and screen: Currently one of the most challenging aspects of interactive systems is the integration of the physical and digital aspects of interaction in a smooth and usable way. The design challenge of such mixed reality (MR) systems lies in the fluid and harmonious fusion of the physical and digital worlds. Examples of MR systems include tangible user interfaces, augmented reality, augmented virtuality and embodied interfaces. The diversity of terms highlights the ever growing interest in MR systems and the very dynamic and challenging domain they define.

User interface design principles for the SSM/PMAD automated power system

Science.gov (United States)

Jakstas, Laura M.; Myers, Chris J.

1991-01-01

Martin Marietta has developed a user interface for the space station module power management and distribution (SSM/PMAD) automated power system testbed which provides human access to the functionality of the power system, as well as exemplifying current techniques in user interface design. The testbed user interface was designed to enable an engineer to operate the system easily without having significant knowledge of computer systems, as well as provide an environment in which the engineer can monitor and interact with the SSM/PMAD system hardware. The design of the interface supports a global view of the most important data from the various hardware and software components, as well as enabling the user to obtain additional or more detailed data when needed. The components and representations of the SSM/PMAD testbed user interface are examined. An engineer's interactions with the system are also described.

Towards passive brain-computer interfaces: applying brain-computer interface technology to human-machine systems in general.

Science.gov (United States)

Zander, Thorsten O; Kothe, Christian

2011-04-01

Cognitive monitoring is an approach utilizing realtime brain signal decoding (RBSD) for gaining information on the ongoing cognitive user state. In recent decades this approach has brought valuable insight into the cognition of an interacting human. Automated RBSD can be used to set up a brain-computer interface (BCI) providing a novel input modality for technical systems solely based on brain activity. In BCIs the user usually sends voluntary and directed commands to control the connected computer system or to communicate through it. In this paper we propose an extension of this approach by fusing BCI technology with cognitive monitoring, providing valuable information about the users' intentions, situational interpretations and emotional states to the technical system. We call this approach passive BCI. In the following we give an overview of studies which utilize passive BCI, as well as other novel types of applications resulting from BCI technology. We especially focus on applications for healthy users, and the specific requirements and demands of this user group. Since the presented approach of combining cognitive monitoring with BCI technology is very similar to the concept of BCIs itself we propose a unifying categorization of BCI-based applications, including the novel approach of passive BCI.

Toward User Interfaces and Data Visualization Criteria for Learning Design of Digital Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Railean, Elena

2014-01-01

User interface and data visualisation criteria are central issues in digital textbooks design. However, when applying mathematical modelling of learning process to the analysis of the possible solutions, it could be observed that results differ. Mathematical learning views cognition in on the base on statistics and probability theory, graph…

Digital Low Level RF Systems for Fermilab Main Ring and Tevatron

Science.gov (United States)

Chase, B.; Barnes, B.; Meisner, K.

1997-05-01

At Fermilab, a new Low Level RF system is successfully installed and operating in the Main Ring. Installation is proceeding for a Tevatron system. This upgrade replaces aging CAMAC/NIM components for an increase in accuracy, reliability, and flexibility. These VXI systems are based on a custom three channel direct digital synthesizer(DDS) module. Each synthesizer channel is capable of independent or ganged operation for both frequency and phase modulation. New frequency and phase values are computed at a 100kHz rate on the module's Analog Devices ADSP21062 (SHARC) digital signal processor. The DSP concurrently handles feedforward, feedback, and beam manipulations. Higher level state machines and the control system interface are handled at the crate level using the VxWorks operating system. This paper discusses the hardware, software and operational aspects of these LLRF systems.

A Digital Interface for the Part Designers and the Fixture Designers for a Reconfigurable Assembly System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vishwa V. Kumar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a web-based framework for interfacing product designers and fixture designers to fetch the benefits of early supplier involvement (ESI to a reconfigurable assembly system (RAS. The interfacing of the two members requires four steps, namely, collaboration chain, fixture supplier selection, knowledge share, and accommodation of service facilities so as to produce multiple products on a single assembly line. The interfacing not only provokes concurrency in the activities of product and fixture designer but also enables the assembly systems to tackle the spatial and generational variety. Among the four stages of interfacing, two steps are characterized by optimization issues, one from the product customer side and the other from the fixture designer side. To impart promptness in the optimization and hence the interaction, computationally economic tools are also presented in the paper for both of the supplier selection and fixture design optimization.

South African sign language human-computer interface in the context of the national accessibility portal

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Olivrin, GJ

2006-02-01

Full Text Available example, between a deaf person who can sign and an able person or a person with a different disability who cannot sign). METHODOLOGY A signing avatar is set up to work together with a chatterbot. The chatterbot is a natural language dialogue interface... are then offered in sign language as the replies are interpreted by a signing avatar, a living character that can reproduce human-like gestures and expressions. To make South African Sign Language (SASL) available digitally, computational models of the language...

Human factors evaluation of remote afterloading brachytherapy. Supporting analyses of human-system interfaces, procedures and practices, training and organizational practices and policies. Volume 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callan, J.R.; Kelly, R.T.; Quinn, M.L.

1995-07-01

A human factors project on the use of nuclear by-product material to treat cancer using remotely operated afterloaders was undertaken by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The purpose of the project was to identify factors that contribute to human error in the system for remote afterloading brachytherapy (RAB). This report documents the findings from the second, third, fourth, and fifth phases of the project, which involved detailed analyses of four major aspects of the RAB system linked to human error: human-system interfaces; procedures and practices; training practices and policies; and organizational practices and policies, respectively. Findings based on these analyses provided factual and conceptual support for the final phase of this project, which identified factors leading to human error in RAB. The impact of those factors on RAB performance was then evaluated and prioritized in terms of safety significance, and alternative approaches for resolving safety significant problems were identified and evaluated

Human factors evaluation of remote afterloading brachytherapy. Supporting analyses of human-system interfaces, procedures and practices, training and organizational practices and policies. Volume 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Callan, J.R.; Kelly, R.T.; Quinn, M.L. [Pacific Science & Engineering Group, San Diego, CA (United States)] [and others

1995-07-01

A human factors project on the use of nuclear by-product material to treat cancer using remotely operated afterloaders was undertaken by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The purpose of the project was to identify factors that contribute to human error in the system for remote afterloading brachytherapy (RAB). This report documents the findings from the second, third, fourth, and fifth phases of the project, which involved detailed analyses of four major aspects of the RAB system linked to human error: human-system interfaces; procedures and practices; training practices and policies; and organizational practices and policies, respectively. Findings based on these analyses provided factual and conceptual support for the final phase of this project, which identified factors leading to human error in RAB. The impact of those factors on RAB performance was then evaluated and prioritized in terms of safety significance, and alternative approaches for resolving safety significant problems were identified and evaluated.

Programmable electronic system for analog and digital gamma cameras modernization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osorio Deliz, J. F.; Diaz Garcia, A.; Arista Omeu, E. J.

2013-01-01

At present the use of analog and digital gamma cameras is continuously increasing in developing countries. Many of them still largely rely in old hardware electronics, which in many cases limits their use in actual nuclear medicine diagnostic studies. For this reason worldwide there are different medical equipment manufacturing companies engaged into partial or total Gamma Cameras modernization. Nevertheless in several occasions acquisition prices are not affordable for developing countries. This work describes the basic features of a programmable electronic system that allows improving acquisitions functions and processing of analog and digital gamma cameras. This system is based on an electronic board for the acquisition and digitization of nuclear pulses which have been generated by gamma camera detector. It comprises a hardware interface with PC and the associated software to fully signal processing. Signal shaping and image processing are included. The extensive use of reference tables in the processing and signal imaging software allowed the optimization of the processing speed. Time design and system cost were also decreased. (Author)

Human Machine Interfaces for Teleoperators and Virtual Environments Conference

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

In a teleoperator system the human operator senses, moves within, and operates upon a remote or hazardous environment by means of a slave mechanism (a mechanism often referred to as a teleoperator). In a virtual environment system the interactive human machine interface is retained but the slave mechanism and its environment are replaced by a computer simulation. Video is replaced by computer graphics. The auditory and force sensations imparted to the human operator are similarly computer generated. In contrast to a teleoperator system, where the purpose is to extend the operator's sensorimotor system in a manner that facilitates exploration and manipulation of the physical environment, in a virtual environment system, the purpose is to train, inform, alter, or study the human operator to modify the state of the computer and the information environment. A major application in which the human operator is the target is that of flight simulation. Although flight simulators have been around for more than a decade, they had little impact outside aviation presumably because the application was so specialized and so expensive.

An intelligent multi-media human-computer dialogue system

Science.gov (United States)

Neal, J. G.; Bettinger, K. E.; Byoun, J. S.; Dobes, Z.; Thielman, C. Y.

1988-01-01

Sophisticated computer systems are being developed to assist in the human decision-making process for very complex tasks performed under stressful conditions. The human-computer interface is a critical factor in these systems. The human-computer interface should be simple and natural to use, require a minimal learning period, assist the user in accomplishing his task(s) with a minimum of distraction, present output in a form that best conveys information to the user, and reduce cognitive load for the user. In pursuit of this ideal, the Intelligent Multi-Media Interfaces project is devoted to the development of interface technology that integrates speech, natural language text, graphics, and pointing gestures for human-computer dialogues. The objective of the project is to develop interface technology that uses the media/modalities intelligently in a flexible, context-sensitive, and highly integrated manner modelled after the manner in which humans converse in simultaneous coordinated multiple modalities. As part of the project, a knowledge-based interface system, called CUBRICON (CUBRC Intelligent CONversationalist) is being developed as a research prototype. The application domain being used to drive the research is that of military tactical air control.

A Kinect-Based Gesture Recognition Approach for a Natural Human Robot Interface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grazia Cicirelli

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a gesture recognition system for the development of a human-robot interaction (HRI interface. Kinect cameras and the OpenNI framework are used to obtain real-time tracking of a human skeleton. Ten different gestures, performed by different persons, are defined. Quaternions of joint angles are first used as robust and significant features. Next, neural network (NN classifiers are trained to recognize the different gestures. This work deals with different challenging tasks, such as the real-time implementation of a gesture recognition system and the temporal resolution of gestures. The HRI interface developed in this work includes three Kinect cameras placed at different locations in an indoor environment and an autonomous mobile robot that can be remotely controlled by one operator standing in front of one of the Kinects. Moreover, the system is supplied with a people re-identification module which guarantees that only one person at a time has control of the robot. The system's performance is first validated offline, and then online experiments are carried out, proving the real-time operation of the system as required by a HRI interface.

Emotional reactions of different interface formats: Comparing digital and traditional board games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Min Fang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Some games provide both traditional board games and digital versions at the same time in the market. Why the rise of virtual games has not forced traditional physical board games to disappear? Do traditional physical games evoke different emotional reactions and interpersonal relationships? This article explored the subjects’ preferences toward traditional and digital versions of the same game and investigated social interaction while playing games. Based on Norman’s three emotional design levels—visceral, behavioral, and reflective levels—this study examined players’ satisfaction degree. This study also applied Positive and Negative Affect Schedule to measure subjects’ emotional reactions. Monopoly and Jenga games were selected as stimuli. A total of 77 subjects received tests of three different interface formats (physical, desktop, and tablet and then filled out the questionnaire. The findings successfully evidenced the significant differences between digital and traditional board games. The statistical results indicated that satisfaction degrees of digital games declined in visceral, behavioral, and reflective levels. Traditional games not only evoked users’ stronger emotional reactions but also received higher preferences. Traditional games could improve interpersonal relationships as well.

Developing a Prototype ALHAT Human System Interface for Landing

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsh, Robert L.; Chua, Zarrin K.; Heino, Todd A.; Strahan, Al; Major, Laura; Duda, Kevin

2011-01-01

The goal of the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project is to safely execute a precision landing anytime/anywhere on the moon. This means the system must operate in any lighting conditions, operate in the presence of any thruster generated regolith clouds, and operate without the help of redeployed navigational aids or prepared landing site at the landing site. In order to reach this ambitious goal, computer aided technologies such as ALHAT will be needed in order to permit these landings to be done safely. Although there will be advanced autonomous capabilities onboard future landers, humans will still be involved (either onboard as astronauts or remotely from mission control) in any mission to the moon or other planetary body. Because many time critical decisions must be made quickly and effectively during the landing sequence, the Descent and Landing displays need to be designed to be as effective as possible at presenting the pertinent information to the operator, and allow the operators decisions to be implemented as quickly as possible. The ALHAT project has established the Human System Interface (HSI) team to lead in the development of these displays and to study the best way to provide operators enhanced situational awareness during landing activities. These displays are prototypes that were developed based on multiple design and feedback sessions with the astronaut office at NASA/ Johnson Space Center. By working with the astronauts in a series of plan/build/evaluate cycles, the HSI team has obtained astronaut feedback from the very beginning of the design process. In addition to developing prototype displays, the HSI team has also worked to provide realistic lunar terrain (and shading) to simulate a "out the window" view that can be adjusted to various lighting conditions (based on a desired date/time) to allow the same terrain to be viewed under varying lighting terrain. This capability will be critical to determining the

High-speed multiple-channel analog to digital data-acquisition module for microprocessor systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ethridge, C.D.

1977-01-01

Intelligent data acquisition and instrumentation systems established by the incorporation of microprocessor technology require high-speed analog to digital conversion of multiple-channel input signals. Sophisticated data systems or subsystems are enabled by the microprocessor software flexibility to establish adaptive input data procedures. These adaptive procedures are enhanced by versatile interface circuitry which is software controlled

Layout Design of Human-Machine Interaction Interface of Cabin Based on Cognitive Ergonomics and GA-ACA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Deng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In order to consider the psychological cognitive characteristics affecting operating comfort and realize the automatic layout design, cognitive ergonomics and GA-ACA (genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm were introduced into the layout design of human-machine interaction interface. First, from the perspective of cognitive psychology, according to the information processing process, the cognitive model of human-machine interaction interface was established. Then, the human cognitive characteristics were analyzed, and the layout principles of human-machine interaction interface were summarized as the constraints in layout design. Again, the expression form of fitness function, pheromone, and heuristic information for the layout optimization of cabin was studied. The layout design model of human-machine interaction interface was established based on GA-ACA. At last, a layout design system was developed based on this model. For validation, the human-machine interaction interface layout design of drilling rig control room was taken as an example, and the optimization result showed the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Layout Design of Human-Machine Interaction Interface of Cabin Based on Cognitive Ergonomics and GA-ACA.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Li; Wang, Guohua; Yu, Suihuai

2016-01-01

In order to consider the psychological cognitive characteristics affecting operating comfort and realize the automatic layout design, cognitive ergonomics and GA-ACA (genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm) were introduced into the layout design of human-machine interaction interface. First, from the perspective of cognitive psychology, according to the information processing process, the cognitive model of human-machine interaction interface was established. Then, the human cognitive characteristics were analyzed, and the layout principles of human-machine interaction interface were summarized as the constraints in layout design. Again, the expression form of fitness function, pheromone, and heuristic information for the layout optimization of cabin was studied. The layout design model of human-machine interaction interface was established based on GA-ACA. At last, a layout design system was developed based on this model. For validation, the human-machine interaction interface layout design of drilling rig control room was taken as an example, and the optimization result showed the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Task planning systems with natural language interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kambayashi, Shaw; Uenaka, Junji

1989-12-01

In this report, a natural language analyzer and two different task planning systems are described. In 1988, we have introduced a Japanese language analyzer named CS-PARSER for the input interface of the task planning system in the Human Acts Simulation Program (HASP). For the purpose of a high speed analysis, we have modified a dictionary system of the CS-PARSER by using C language description. It is found that the new dictionary system is very useful for a high speed analysis and an efficient maintenance of the dictionary. For the study of the task planning problem, we have modified a story generating system named Micro TALE-SPIN to generate a story written in Japanese sentences. We have also constructed a planning system with natural language interface by using the CS-PARSER. Task planning processes and related knowledge bases of these systems are explained. A concept design for a new task planning system will be also discussed from evaluations of above mentioned systems. (author)

Ultra-high performance, solid-state, autoradiographic image digitization and analysis system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lear, J.L.; Pratt, J.P.; Ackermann, R.F.; Plotnick, J.; Rumley, S.

1990-01-01

We developed a Macintosh II-based, charge-coupled device (CCD), image digitization and analysis system for high-speed, high-resolution quantification of autoradiographic image data. A linear CCD array with 3,500 elements was attached to a precision drive assembly and mounted behind a high-uniformity lens. The drive assembly was used to sweep the array perpendicularly to its axis so that an entire 20 x 25-cm autoradiographic image-containing film could be digitized into 256 gray levels at 50-microns resolution in less than 30 sec. The scanner was interfaced to a Macintosh II computer through a specially constructed NuBus circuit board and software was developed for autoradiographic data analysis. The system was evaluated by scanning individual films multiple times, then measuring the variability of the digital data between the different scans. Image data were found to be virtually noise free. The coefficient of variation averaged less than 1%, a value significantly exceeding the accuracy of both high-speed, low-resolution, video camera (VC) systems and low-speed, high-resolution, rotating drum densitometers (RDD). Thus, the CCD scanner-Macintosh computer analysis system offers the advantage over VC systems of the ability to digitize entire films containing many autoradiograms, but with much greater speed and accuracy than achievable with RDD scanners

Descriptive markup languages and the development of digital humanities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boris Bosančić

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the role of descriptive markup languages in the development of digital humanities, a new research discipline that is part of social sciences and humanities, which focuses on the use of computers in research. A chronological review of the development of digital humanities, and then descriptive markup languages is exposed, through several developmental stages. It is shown that the development of digital humanities since the mid-1980s and the appearance of SGML, markup language that was the foundation of TEI, a key standard for the encoding and exchange of humanities texts in the digital environment, is inseparable from the development of markup languages. Special attention is dedicated to the presentation of the Text Encoding Initiative – TEI development, a key organization that developed the titled standard, both from organizational and markup perspectives. By this time, TEI standard is published in five versions, and during 2000s SGML is replaced by XML markup language. Key words: markup languages, digital humanities, text encoding, TEI, SGML, XML

Improvisation and co-expression in explorative digital music systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne-Marie Skriver

relationships. The benefit of the digitally networked electronic musical instruments is that particular patterns of co-expression can be found and mediated by the music system (that also contains all individual instruments) in ways that make players aware of their mutual play and perhaps will encourage players...... other when they are given a number of creative restrictions in the sonic/musical material that they interact with. The benefit with digital musical instruments is that non-musicians and novices can get access to limited musical material that they are immediately able to master without any musical...... be developed in future designs. The Wacom® pen tablet, a simple drawing interface, was turned into an array of digital musical instruments in order to investigate the benefit of networked musical instruments in the context of the genre of casual games. Through qualitative and quantitative studies of player...

Development of Digital I and C System using C4ISR Architect Framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Jae Cheon [KEPCO, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of); Quang, Phamle [Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Project Management Board, Province (Viet Nam)

2014-08-15

The architect framework for the digital I and C system is presented in this work. With rapid changes in digital I and C technology, there is a strong need to provide uniform methods to describe the system functions and their performance in context with the physical configuration and logical behavior. C4ISR framework would provide the process and method for the digital system in that it allows the three different views of operational, systems and services, and technical standards. Therefore, stake holders can share information that is related to the system interfaces, the actions or activities that those components perform, and rules or constraints for those activities from the initial state of system development. As a result, the life cycle cost and development time for the digital I and C system can also be optimized. These benefits can be obtained by introducing views and products to reveal the logical, behavioral, and performance characteristics of the architecture. To prove this approach, the plant protection system (PPS) is chosen and the measure of effectiveness (MOE) is evaluated. An MOE of PPS is introduced as: functional effectiveness, performance effectiveness, and interoperability effectiveness.

Attempt on construction of human friendly man-machine interface. Study and apply about human communication; Human friendly na man machine interface kochiku no kokoromi. Ningen no communication no kento to sono oyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tatsuno, J. [Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo (Japan); Kokubo, Y.; Matsumura, I.; Kobayashi, H. [Hosei University, Tokyo (Japan)

1998-04-01

This paper describes an attempt on a construction way of human friendly man-machine interface. At first, we do a simple experiment to find out the characteristic of human verbal communication. From the experimental results, we get some rules in case in human verbal communication. We construct the man-machine interface which is based on these rules. Through teaching process, we examine our verbal communication interface comparing with conventional interfaces. From this comparison, we recognize that the verbal communication interface is valid to construct the user-friendly man-machine interface. 12 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs.

Avatars and virtual agents - relationship interfaces for the elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaked, Nava A

2017-06-01

In the Digital Era, the authors witness a change in the relationship between the patient and the care-giver or Health Maintenance Organization's providing the health services. Another fact is the use of various technologies to increase the effectiveness and quality of health services across all primary and secondary users. These technologies range from telemedicine systems, decision making tools, online and self-services applications and virtual agents; all providing information and assistance. The common thread between all these digital implementations, is they all require human machine interfaces. These interfaces must be interactive, user friendly and inviting, to create user involvement and cooperation incentives. The challenge is to design interfaces which will best fit the target users and enable smooth interaction especially, for the elderly users. Avatars and Virtual Agents are one of the interfaces used for both home care monitoring and companionship. They are also inherently multimodal in nature and allow an intimate relation between the elderly users and the Avatar. This study discusses the need and nature of these relationship models, the challenges of designing for the elderly. The study proposes key features for the design and evaluation in the area of assistive applications using Avatar and Virtual agents for the elderly users.

Digital Humanities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Hans Jørn

2015-01-01

overgangen fra trykkekultur til digital kultur. For det første problemstillingen omkring digitalisering af litterær kulturarv med fokus på kodning og tagging af teksten samt organisering i hypertekststrukturer. For det andet reorganiseringen af det digitale dokument i dataelementer og database. For det......Artiklen præsenterer først nogle generelle problemstillinger omkring Digital Humanities (DH) med det formål at undersøge dem nærmere i relation til konkrete eksempler på forskellige digitaliseringsmåder og ændringer i dokumentproduktion. I en nærmere afgrænsning vælger artiklen den tendens i DH......, der betragter DH som forbundet med "making" og "building" af digitale objekter og former. Dette kan også karakteriseres som DH som praktisk-produktiv vending. Artiklen har valgt tre typer af digitalisering. De er valgt ud fra, at de skal repræsentere forskellige måder at håndtere digitaliseringen på...

Human error probability evaluation as part of reliability analysis of digital protection system of advanced pressurized water reactor - APR 1400

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varde, P. V.; Lee, D. Y.; Han, J. B.

2003-03-01

A case of study on human reliability analysis has been performed as part of reliability analysis of digital protection system of the reactor automatically actuates the shutdown system of the reactor when demanded. However, the safety analysis takes credit for operator action as a diverse mean for tripping the reactor for, though a low probability, ATWS scenario. Based on the available information two cases, viz., human error in tripping the reactor and calibration error for instrumentations in protection system, have been analyzed. Wherever applicable a parametric study has also been performed

IAEA technical meeting on integrating analog and digital instrumentation and control systems in hybrid main control rooms at nuclear power plants. Book of abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

The majority of instrumentation and control (I and C) equipment in nuclear power plants in the world was designed 30 to over 45 years ago with analog and relay components, and in some cases rudimentary digital technology. Today, most of these plants continue to operate with a substantial amount of this original I and C equipment that is or soon will be obsolete. Much of this equipment is approaching or exceeding its life expectancy, resulting in increasing maintenance efforts to sustain acceptable system performance. Decreasing availability of replacement parts, and the accelerating deterioration of the infrastructure of manufacturers that support analog technology, accentuate the obsolescence problems and cause operation and maintenance (O and M) cost increases. Refurbishments and license extensions mean that a plant must be supported longer, which will increase the obsolescence issues. In addition, the older technology limits the possibilities for adding new beneficial capabilities to the plant systems and interfaces. New technology provides the opportunity to improve plant performance, human system interface (HSI) functionality, and reliability; to enhance operator performance and reliability, and to address difficulties in finding young professionals with education and experience with older analog technology. Finally, there may be changes in regulatory requirements that could necessitate modernization activities. Modernization of I and C systems and components, using digital equipment to address these obsolescence issues and the need to improve plant performance (e.g., increase power output capacity, reliability, and availability) while maintaining high levels of safety, is a current major issue for nuclear power plants throughout the world. A number of nuclear power utilities are committing to major modernization programs. The need for this modernization will accelerate as plants age, obsolescence issues increase, plants receive license renewals, and features

Implementation of a Shoe-Embedded Human Interface and Collaborative Supplementation of Service Requirements on Smartphone System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaname Takaochi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Although a handsfree man-machine interface is useful when the user’s hands are not free, existing handsfree input devices are not the type of device that are normally worn by people. We have focused on a shoe as an input device because people normally wear it when they go out, and proposed a shoe-embedded interface. The input device is a sensor shoe. Weight sensors have been attached at three positions on a sole: the first metatarsal, the fifth metatarsal, and the calcaneal tuberosity. These positions have been selected based on the characteristics of the human foot skeleton. Two types of foot operation have been used: tap and push. By combining these operations, 10 commands have been defined. To make it possible to use web applications with a limited number of commands, we have proposed a method of supplementing the user’s service requirements using collaborative filtering. The sensor shoe houses an insole with hetero-core optical fiber sensor elements attached to it. These elements are sensitive to weight. We have built an experimental system that runs on a smartphone and provides the shoe-embedded interface, and conducted experiments with three test subjects to evaluate the system. The average rate of successful command identification was 89 %. We have also evaluated this service requirements supplementation method theoretically, and confirmed that the proposed service recommendation function can be applied to smartphone systems.

Human machine interface based on labview for vacuum system operation of cyclotron proton DECY-13 MeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fajar Sidik Permana; Saminto; Kurnia Wibowo; Vika Arwida Fanita Sari

2016-01-01

Center of Accelerator Science and Technology (CAST), BATAN is designing DECY-13 MeV Proton Cyclotron. So far, this operation system has been conducted conventionally. In this research, an Human Machine Interface system has been successfully built for simplifying operation and monitoring pressure inside vacuum chamber of cyclotron DECY-13 MeV. HMI system is built with LabVIEW software and integrated with Programmable Logic Controller FX-2424 series and NI cRIO (NI-9025 and NI-9870) module. HMI system consist of turning on/of pumps (rotary and diffusion), opening/ closing valve automatically, and retrieving of data from sensor in real time. (author)

Technology Roadmap Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface to Support DOE Advanced Nuclear Energy Programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donald D Dudenhoeffer; Burce P Hallbert

2007-03-01

Instrumentation, Controls, and Human-Machine Interface (ICHMI) technologies are essential to ensuring delivery and effective operation of optimized advanced Generation IV (Gen IV) nuclear energy systems. In 1996, the Watts Bar I nuclear power plant in Tennessee was the last U.S. nuclear power plant to go on line. It was, in fact, built based on pre-1990 technology. Since this last U.S. nuclear power plant was designed, there have been major advances in the field of ICHMI systems. Computer technology employed in other industries has advanced dramatically, and computing systems are now replaced every few years as they become functionally obsolete. Functional obsolescence occurs when newer, more functional technology replaces or supersedes an existing technology, even though an existing technology may well be in working order.Although ICHMI architectures are comprised of much of the same technology, they have not been updated nearly as often in the nuclear power industry. For example, some newer Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or handheld computers may, in fact, have more functionality than the 1996 computer control system at the Watts Bar I plant. This illustrates the need to transition and upgrade current nuclear power plant ICHMI technologies.

Future approaches to digital systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodrough, R.E.; Beckmann, E.; Jenkins, D.; Belcher, D.

1984-01-01

The introduction of the first digital imaging systems has led to the concept of a totally digital imaging department - the 'filmless department'. This concept and its associated network system for digital departments are briefly considered. A transducer system of scanned projection radiography with solid state detectors used in digital chest imaging is described. The principles of this transducer system are applicable to other forms of digital radiography. (U.K.)

Human-Machine interface for off normal and emergency situations in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Kee Choon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejeon (Korea)

2000-01-01

Many nuclear power plants (NPPs) have reported that a high percentage of all major failures in the plants are caused by human errors. Therefore, there has been much focus on elimination of human errors, enhancement of human performance, and general improvement of human machine interface (HMI). Both the utility management and the regulators are demanding improvement in this area. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Specialists' Meeting on 'Human-Machine Interface for Off Normal and Emergency Situations in Nuclear Power Plants' was co-organized by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and the Korea Power Engineering Company, INC (KOPEC), and took place in Taejeon, Republic of Korea, 1999 October 26-28. Fifty eight participants, representing nine member countries reviewed recent developments and discussed directions for future efforts in the Human-Machine Interface for Off Normal and Emergency Situations in NPPs. Twenty papers were presented, covering a wide spectrum of technical and scientific subjects including recent experience and benefits from Operational Experience with HMI, Development of HMI System, Licensing Issues for HMI and Future Development and Trends. (Author)

Human-Machine interface for off normal and emergency situations in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Kee Choon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejeon (Korea)

2000-01-01

Many nuclear power plants (NPPs) have reported that a high percentage of all major failures in the plants are caused by human errors. Therefore, there has been much focus on elimination of human errors, enhancement of human performance, and general improvement of human machine interface (HMI). Both the utility management and the regulators are demanding improvement in this area. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Specialists' Meeting on 'Human-Machine Interface for Off Normal and Emergency Situations in Nuclear Power Plants' was co-organized by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and the Korea Power Engineering Company, INC (KOPEC), and took place in Taejeon, Republic of Korea, 1999 October 26-28. Fifty eight participants, representing nine member countries reviewed recent developments and discussed directions for future efforts in the Human-Machine Interface for Off Normal and Emergency Situations in NPPs. Twenty papers were presented, covering a wide spectrum of technical and scientific subjects including recent experience and benefits from Operational Experience with HMI, Development of HMI System, Licensing Issues for HMI and Future Development and Trends. (Author)

CONTEMPORARY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND INNOVATIONS IN HUMAN INTELLIGENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riabtseva, N.K.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available New digital technologies not only “change language” (David Cristal, but also “upgrade” human intelligence making it perform new and uncommon operations. The present paper is an analysis and a survey of most prominent innovations in human intelligence, which are instigated by the latest digital information technologies. These innovations include, according to the point of view of outstanding specialists in contemporary digital technologies, such operations as multitasking, serendipity, connectivity, hypermodality, visuality, and cybersemiotic convergence of objective and virtual reality. The paper is based on the data presented in the publications of such outstanding “digital” specialists as Larry Rosen, Jay David Bolter, Steven Downes, Jay Lemke, Gunther Kress, Soren Brier, etc. In their works they particularly stress the impact of digital technologies and internet communication on all spheres of human activities, their role in the inner psychological and mental states, in professional and educational domain, as well as the importance of their investigation and a gap between the intensive development of digital technologies and their insufficient usage in scientific, didactic, social and cultural life. Special attention in the paper focuses on the tendency towards visualization in the global information flows and its role in information processing and knowledge transfer. The paper particularly stresses the fact that the impact of contemporary digital technologies on all spheres of human activities, including the intellectual one, needs further and profound investigation.

Introduction: Digital Humanities, Public Humanities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Christie

2014-07-01

Full Text Available NANO: New American Notes Online: An Interdisciplinary Academic Journal for Big Ideas in a Small World. This special issue shows how both public and digital humanities research can be rendered more persuasive through engagement with cultures beyond the academy. More specifically, the aim of this special issue is to demonstrate how investments in technologies and computation are not necessarily antithetical to investments in critical theory and social justice.

: Digital Humanities and the Place of Pedagogy

OpenAIRE

Hirsch, BD

2012-01-01

It is fitting that this collection of essays on “digital humanities” pedagogy should have its roots in discussions that followed the 2009 Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, where I was then a postdoctoral fellow. In the course of his plenary lecture, “How to Win Friends,” Donald Bruce noted how little focus there was on teaching in the extant critical literature on the digital humanities. To test this observation, after the lecture I turned to...

Human-Vehicle Interface for Semi-Autonomous Operation of Uninhabited Aero Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Henry L.; Frew, Eric W.; Woodley, Bruce R.; Rock, Stephen M.

2001-01-01

The robustness of autonomous robotic systems to unanticipated circumstances is typically insufficient for use in the field. The many skills of human user often fill this gap in robotic capability. To incorporate the human into the system, a useful interaction between man and machine must exist. This interaction should enable useful communication to be exchanged in a natural way between human and robot on a variety of levels. This report describes the current human-robot interaction for the Stanford HUMMINGBIRD autonomous helicopter. In particular, the report discusses the elements of the system that enable multiple levels of communication. An intelligent system agent manages the different inputs given to the helicopter. An advanced user interface gives the user and helicopter a method for exchanging useful information. Using this human-robot interaction, the HUMMINGBIRD has carried out various autonomous search, tracking, and retrieval missions.

Advanced interfacing techniques for sensors measurement circuits and systems for intelligent sensors

CERN Document Server

Roy, Joyanta; Kumar, V; Mukhopadhyay, Subhas

2017-01-01

This book presents ways of interfacing sensors to the digital world, and discusses the marriage between sensor systems and the IoT: the opportunities and challenges. As sensor output is often affected by noise and interference, the book presents effective schemes for recovering the data from a signal that is buried in noise. It also explores interesting applications in the area of health care, un-obstructive monitoring and the electronic nose and tongue. It is a valuable resource for engineers and scientists in the area of sensors and interfacing wanting to update their knowledge of the latest developments in the field and learn more about sensing applications and challenges.

The "Digital Friend": A knowledge-based decision support system for space crews

Science.gov (United States)

Hoermann, Hans-Juergen; Johannes, Bernd; Petrovich Salnitski, Vyacheslav

Space travel of far distances presents exceptional strain on the medical and psychological well-being of the astronauts who undertake such missions. An intelligent knowledge management system has been developed, to assist space crews on long-duration missions as an autonomous decision support system, called the "Digital Friend". This system will become available upon request for the purpose of coaching group processes and individual performance levels as well as aiding in tactical decision processes by taking crew condition parameters into account. In its initial stage, the "Digital Friend" utilizes interconnected layers of knowledge, which encompass relevant models of operational, situational, individual psycho-physiological as well as group processes. An example is the human life science model that contains historic, diagnostic, and prognostic knowledge about the habitual, actual, and anticipated patterns of physiological, cognitive, and group psychology parameters of the crew members. Depending on the available data derived from pre-mission screening, regular check-ups, or non-intrusive onboard monitoring, the "Digital Friend" can generate a situational analysis and diagnose potential problems. When coping with the effects of foreseeable and unforeseen stressors encountered during the mission, the system can provide feedback and support the crew with a recommended course of actions. The first prototype of the "Digital Friend" employs the Neurolab/Healthlab platform developed in a cooperation of DLR and IBMP. The prototype contains psycho-physiological sensors with multiple Heally Satellites that relay data to the intelligent Heally Masters and a telemetric Host station. The analysis of data from a long-term simulation study illustrates how the system can be used to estimate the operators' current level of skill reliability based on Salnitski's model [V. Salnitski, A. Bobrov, A. Dudukin, B. Johannes, Reanalysis of operators reliability in professional skills

NSSS Component Control System Design of Integral Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Joon Koo; Kwon, Ho Je; Jeong, Kwong Il; Park, Heui Youn; Koo, In Soo

2005-01-01

MMIS(Man Machine Interface System) of an integral reactor is composed of a Control Room, Plant Protection System, Control System and Monitoring System which are related with the overall plant operation. MMIS is being developed with a new design concept and digital technology to reduce the Human Factor Error and improve the systems' safety, reliability and availability. And CCS(component control system) is also being developed with a new design concept and digital hardware technology A fully digitalized system and design concept are introduced in the NSSS CCS

Digital and analog communication systems

Science.gov (United States)

Shanmugam, K. S.

1979-01-01

The book presents an introductory treatment of digital and analog communication systems with emphasis on digital systems. Attention is given to the following topics: systems and signal analysis, random signal theory, information and channel capacity, baseband data transmission, analog signal transmission, noise in analog communication systems, digital carrier modulation schemes, error control coding, and the digital transmission of analog signals.

Human Factors and Technical Considerations for a Computerized Operator Support System Prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ulrich, Thomas Anthony [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Lew, Roger Thomas [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Medema, Heather Dawne [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Boring, Ronald Laurids [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Thomas, Kenneth David [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-09-01

A prototype computerized operator support system (COSS) has been developed in order to demonstrate the concept and provide a test bed for further research. The prototype is based on four underlying elements consisting of a digital alarm system, computer-based procedures, PI&D system representations, and a recommender module for mitigation actions. At this point, the prototype simulates an interface to a sensor validation module and a fault diagnosis module. These two modules will be fully integrated in the next version of the prototype. The initial version of the prototype is now operational at the Idaho National Laboratory using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). The HSSL is a full-scope, full-scale glass top simulator capable of simulating existing and future nuclear power plant main control rooms. The COSS is interfaced to the Generic Pressurized Water Reactor (gPWR) simulator with industry-typical control board layouts. The glass top panels display realistic images of the control boards that can be operated by touch gestures. A section of the simulated control board was dedicated to the COSS human-system interface (HSI), which resulted in a seamless integration of the COSS into the normal control room environment. A COSS demonstration scenario has been developed for the prototype involving the Chemical & Volume Control System (CVCS) of the PWR simulator. It involves a primary coolant leak outside of containment that would require tripping the reactor if not mitigated in a very short timeframe. The COSS prototype presents a series of operator screens that provide the needed information and soft controls to successfully mitigate the event.

Visualization tool for human-machine interface designers

Science.gov (United States)

Prevost, Michael P.; Banda, Carolyn P.

1991-06-01

As modern human-machine systems continue to grow in capabilities and complexity, system operators are faced with integrating and managing increased quantities of information. Since many information components are highly related to each other, optimizing the spatial and temporal aspects of presenting information to the operator has become a formidable task for the human-machine interface (HMI) designer. The authors describe a tool in an early stage of development, the Information Source Layout Editor (ISLE). This tool is to be used for information presentation design and analysis; it uses human factors guidelines to assist the HMI designer in the spatial layout of the information required by machine operators to perform their tasks effectively. These human factors guidelines address such areas as the functional and physical relatedness of information sources. By representing these relationships with metaphors such as spring tension, attractors, and repellers, the tool can help designers visualize the complex constraint space and interacting effects of moving displays to various alternate locations. The tool contains techniques for visualizing the relative 'goodness' of a configuration, as well as mechanisms such as optimization vectors to provide guidance toward a more optimal design. Also available is a rule-based design checker to determine compliance with selected human factors guidelines.

Through the Interface - a human activity approach to user interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Susanne

In providing a theoretical framework for understanding human- computer interaction as well as design of user interfaces, this book combines elements of anthropology, psychology, cognitive science, software engineering, and computer science. The framework examines the everyday work practices of us...

An Approach to Establish Design Requirements for Human-System Interface (HSI) of Automatic Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuraslinda, Anuar; Kim, Jonghyun [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

This paper aims to demonstrate an approach to establish the design requirements for automatic systems in nuclear power plant (NPP) by using a powerful tool called Itemized Sequence Diagram (ISD). The process starts with function allocation by defining a set of levels of automation (LOAs). Then, task allocation is done using the ISD and finally the design requirements are established by examining the interaction points between human operator and automation, which are all located on the interface as modeled in the ISD. The strengths of this approach are discussed and a suggestion to integrate with that of the methodology employed to produce the existing guidelines or guidance is included in this paper. Some issues of automation have been addressed earlier in this paper and 12 design requirements that address human-system interaction were suggested by using the ISD as a tool to identify the interaction points between human operator and automation. The integration of the proposed approach in this paper with that of existing guidance could result in the new issue identification that would call for the establishment of new guidance. For example, Requirement 11 states that the HSI should provide the means for take-over from automatic to manual control was not mentioned in the existing guidance.

Advanced human-system interface design review guideline. General evaluation model, technical development, and guideline description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.

1994-07-01

Advanced control rooms will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator's overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than ten years ago, well before these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this project was to develop a general approach to advanced HSI review and the human factors guidelines to support NRC safety reviews of advanced systems. This two-volume report provides the results of the project. Volume I describes the development of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline (DRG) including (1) its theoretical and technical foundation, (2) a general model for the review of advanced HSIs, (3) guideline development in both hard-copy and computer-based versions, and (4) the tests and evaluations performed to develop and validate the DRG. Volume I also includes a discussion of the gaps in available guidance and a methodology for addressing them. Volume 2 provides the guidelines to be used for advanced HSI review and the procedures for their use

Advanced human-system interface design review guideline. General evaluation model, technical development, and guideline description

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O`Hara, J.M.

1994-07-01

Advanced control rooms will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator`s overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than ten years ago, well before these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this project was to develop a general approach to advanced HSI review and the human factors guidelines to support NRC safety reviews of advanced systems. This two-volume report provides the results of the project. Volume I describes the development of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline (DRG) including (1) its theoretical and technical foundation, (2) a general model for the review of advanced HSIs, (3) guideline development in both hard-copy and computer-based versions, and (4) the tests and evaluations performed to develop and validate the DRG. Volume I also includes a discussion of the gaps in available guidance and a methodology for addressing them. Volume 2 provides the guidelines to be used for advanced HSI review and the procedures for their use.

A mobile Nursing Information System based on human-computer interaction design for improving quality of nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Kuo-Wei; Liu, Cheng-Li

2012-06-01

A conventional Nursing Information System (NIS), which supports the role of nurse in some areas, is typically deployed as an immobile system. However, the traditional information system can't response to patients' conditions in real-time, causing delays on the availability of this information. With the advances of information technology, mobile devices are increasingly being used to extend the human mind's limited capacity to recall and process large numbers of relevant variables and to support information management, general administration, and clinical practice. Unfortunately, there have been few studies about the combination of a well-designed small-screen interface with a personal digital assistant (PDA) in clinical nursing. Some researchers found that user interface design is an important factor in determining the usability and potential use of a mobile system. Therefore, this study proposed a systematic approach to the development of a mobile nursing information system (MNIS) based on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction (M-HCI) for use in clinical nursing. The system combines principles of small-screen interface design with user-specified requirements. In addition, the iconic functions were designed with metaphor concept that will help users learn the system more quickly with less working-memory. An experiment involving learnability testing, thinking aloud and a questionnaire investigation was conducted for evaluating the effect of MNIS on PDA. The results show that the proposed MNIS is good on learning and higher satisfaction on symbol investigation, terminology and system information.

Human-machine interface (HMI) report for 241-SY-101 data acquisition [and control] system (DACS) upgrade study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Truitt, R.W.

1997-10-22

This report provides an independent evaluation of information for a Windows based Human Machine Interface (HMI) to replace the existing DOS based Iconics HMI currently used in the Data Acquisition and Control System (DACS) used at Tank 241-SY-101. A fundamental reason for this evaluation is because of the difficulty of maintaining the system with obsolete, unsupported software. The DACS uses a software operator interface (Genesis for DOS HMI) that is no longer supported by its manufacturer, Iconics. In addition to its obsolescence, it is complex and difficult to train additional personnel on. The FY 1997 budget allocated $40K for phase 1 of a software/hardware upgrade that would have allowed the old DOS based system to be replaced by a current Windows based system. Unfortunately, budget constraints during FY 1997 has prompted deferral of the upgrade. The upgrade needs to be performed at the earliest possible time, before other failures render the system useless. Once completed, the upgrade could alleviate other concerns: spare pump software may be able to be incorporated into the same software as the existing pump, thereby eliminating the parallel path dilemma; and the newer, less complex software should expedite training of future personnel, and in the process, require that less technical time be required to maintain the system.

Interfacing to accelerator instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shea, T.J.

1995-01-01

As the sensory system for an accelerator, the beam instrumentation provides a tremendous amount of diagnostic information. Access to this information can vary from periodic spot checks by operators to high bandwidth data acquisition during studies. In this paper, example applications will illustrate the requirements on interfaces between the control system and the instrumentation hardware. A survey of the major accelerator facilities will identify the most popular interface standards. The impact of developments such as isochronous protocols and embedded digital signal processing will also be discussed

Impact of Advanced Alarm Systems and Information Displays on Human Reliability in the Digital Control Room of Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Hyun; Dang, Vinh N

2011-01-01

This paper discusses the potential impacts of two advanced features of digital control rooms, alarm systems and information display systems, on the Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) in nuclear power plants. Although the features of digital control rooms have already been implemented in new or upgraded nuclear power plants, HRAs have so far not taken much credit for these features. In this circumstance, this paper aims at examining the potential effects of these features on human performance and discussing how these effects can be addressed with existing HRA methods. A conclusion derivable from past experimental studies is that those features are supportive in the severe conditions such as complex scenarios and knowledge-based works. However, in the less complex scenarios and rule-based work, they may have no difference with or sometimes negative impacts on operator performance. The discussion about the impact on the HRA is provided on the basis on the THERP method

Development of an interface for an ultrareliable fault-tolerant control system and an electronic servo-control unit

Science.gov (United States)

Shaver, Charles; Williamson, Michael

1986-01-01

The NASA Ames Research Center sponsors a research program for the investigation of Intelligent Flight Control Actuation systems. The use of artificial intelligence techniques in conjunction with algorithmic techniques for autonomous, decentralized fault management of flight-control actuation systems is explored under this program. The design, development, and operation of the interface for laboratory investigation of this program is documented. The interface, architecturally based on the Intel 8751 microcontroller, is an interrupt-driven system designed to receive a digital message from an ultrareliable fault-tolerant control system (UFTCS). The interface links the UFTCS to an electronic servo-control unit, which controls a set of hydraulic actuators. It was necessary to build a UFTCS emulator (also based on the Intel 8751) to provide signal sources for testing the equipment.

The PennBMBI: Design of a General Purpose Wireless Brain-Machine-Brain Interface System.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xilin; Zhang, Milin; Subei, Basheer; Richardson, Andrew G; Lucas, Timothy H; Van der Spiegel, Jan

2015-04-01

In this paper, a general purpose wireless Brain-Machine-Brain Interface (BMBI) system is presented. The system integrates four battery-powered wireless devices for the implementation of a closed-loop sensorimotor neural interface, including a neural signal analyzer, a neural stimulator, a body-area sensor node and a graphic user interface implemented on the PC end. The neural signal analyzer features a four channel analog front-end with configurable bandpass filter, gain stage, digitization resolution, and sampling rate. The target frequency band is configurable from EEG to single unit activity. A noise floor of 4.69 μVrms is achieved over a bandwidth from 0.05 Hz to 6 kHz. Digital filtering, neural feature extraction, spike detection, sensing-stimulating modulation, and compressed sensing measurement are realized in a central processing unit integrated in the analyzer. A flash memory card is also integrated in the analyzer. A 2-channel neural stimulator with a compliance voltage up to ± 12 V is included. The stimulator is capable of delivering unipolar or bipolar, charge-balanced current pulses with programmable pulse shape, amplitude, width, pulse train frequency and latency. A multi-functional sensor node, including an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a flexiforce sensor and a general sensor extension port has been designed. A computer interface is designed to monitor, control and configure all aforementioned devices via a wireless link, according to a custom designed communication protocol. Wireless closed-loop operation between the sensory devices, neural stimulator, and neural signal analyzer can be configured. The proposed system was designed to link two sites in the brain, bridging the brain and external hardware, as well as creating new sensory and motor pathways for clinical practice. Bench test and in vivo experiments are performed to verify the functions and performances of the system.

Software Graphical User Interface For Analysis Of Images

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, Desiree M.; Nolf, Scott R.; Avis, Elizabeth L.; Stacy, Kathryn

1992-01-01

CAMTOOL software provides graphical interface between Sun Microsystems workstation and Eikonix Model 1412 digitizing camera system. Camera scans and digitizes images, halftones, reflectives, transmissives, rigid or flexible flat material, or three-dimensional objects. Users digitize images and select from three destinations: work-station display screen, magnetic-tape drive, or hard disk. Written in C.

Camac interface for digitally recording infrared camera images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyer, G.R.

1986-01-01

An instrument has been built to store the digital signals from a modified imaging infrared scanner directly in a digital memory. This procedure avoids the signal-to-noise degradation and dynamic range limitations associated with successive analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversions and the analog recording method normally used to store data from the scanner. This technique also allows digital data processing methods to be applied directly to recorded data and permits processing and image reconstruction to be done using either a mainframe or a microcomputer. If a suitable computer and CAMAC-based data collection system are already available, digital storage of up to 12 scanner images can be implemented for less than $1750 in materials cost. Each image is stored as a frame of 60 x 80 eight-bit pixels, with an acquisition rate of one frame every 16.7 ms. The number of frames stored is limited only by the available memory. Initially, data processing for this equipment was done on a VAX 11-780, but images may also be displayed on the screen of a microcomputer. Software for setting the displayed gray scale, generating contour plots and false-color displays, and subtracting one image from another (e.g., background suppression) has been developed for IBM-compatible personal computers

Development of RESTful services and map-based user interface tools for access and delivery of data and metadata from the Marine-Geo Digital Library

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, J. J.; Ferrini, V. L.

2015-12-01

The Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS, www.marine-geo.org) operates an interactive digital data repository and metadata catalog that provides access to a variety of marine geology and geophysical data from throughout the global oceans. Its Marine-Geo Digital Library includes common marine geophysical data types and supporting data and metadata, as well as complementary long-tail data. The Digital Library also includes community data collections and custom data portals for the GeoPRISMS, MARGINS and Ridge2000 programs, for active source reflection data (Academic Seismic Portal), and for marine data acquired by the US Antarctic Program (Antarctic and Southern Ocean Data Portal). Ensuring that these data are discoverable not only through our own interfaces but also through standards-compliant web services is critical for enabling investigators to find data of interest.Over the past two years, MGDS has developed several new RESTful web services that enable programmatic access to metadata and data holdings. These web services are compliant with the EarthCube GeoWS Building Blocks specifications and are currently used to drive our own user interfaces. New web applications have also been deployed to provide a more intuitive user experience for searching, accessing and browsing metadata and data. Our new map-based search interface combines components of the Google Maps API with our web services for dynamic searching and exploration of geospatially constrained data sets. Direct introspection of nearly all data formats for hundreds of thousands of data files curated in the Marine-Geo Digital Library has allowed for precise geographic bounds, which allow geographic searches to an extent not previously possible. All MGDS map interfaces utilize the web services of the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) synthesis for displaying global basemap imagery and for dynamically provide depth values at the cursor location.

State transition storyboards: A tool for designing the Goldstone solar system radar data acquisition system user interface software

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, S. D.

1987-01-01

Effective user interface design in software systems is a complex task that takes place without adequate modeling tools. By combining state transition diagrams and the storyboard technique of filmmakers, State Transition Storyboards were developed to provide a detailed modeling technique for the Goldstone Solar System Radar Data Acquisition System human-machine interface. Illustrations are included with a description of the modeling technique.

The Born Digital Graduate: Multiple Representations of and within Digital Humanities PhD Theses

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Sharon; Teehan, Aja; Keating, John

2013-01-01

This chapter examines the production and utilisation of digital tools to create and present a born-digital theses, and in so doing, considers the changing function of traditional theses. It asks how (relatively) new technologies and methodologies should affect the representation and function of graduate scholarship in the Digital Humanities (DH),…

Technology Roadmap on Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface to Support DOE Advanced Nuclear Energy Programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donald D Dudenhoeffer; Burce P Hallbert

2007-01-01

Instrumentation, Controls, and Human-Machine Interface (ICHMI) technologies are essential to ensuring delivery and effective operation of optimized advanced Generation IV (Gen IV) nuclear energy systems. In 1996, the Watts Bar I nuclear power plant in Tennessee was the last U.S. nuclear power plant to go on line. It was, in fact, built based on pre-1990 technology. Since this last U.S. nuclear power plant was designed, there have been major advances in the field of ICHMI systems. Computer technology employed in other industries has advanced dramatically, and computing systems are now replaced every few years as they become functionally obsolete. Functional obsolescence occurs when newer, more functional technology replaces or supersedes an existing technology, even though an existing technology may well be in working order. Although ICHMI architectures are comprised of much of the same technology, they have not been updated nearly as often in the nuclear power industry. For example, some newer Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or handheld computers may, in fact, have more functionality than the 1996 computer control system at the Watts Bar I plant. This illustrates the need to transition and upgrade current nuclear power plant ICHMI technologies

Digital closed orbit feedback system for the Advanced Photon Source storage ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.; Barr, D.; Decker, G.; Galayda, J.; Lenkszus, F.; Lumpkin, A.; Votaw, A.J.

1995-01-01

Closed orbit feedback for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring employs unified global an local feedback systems for stabilization of particle and photon beams based on digital signal processing (DSP). Hardware and software aspects of the system will be described. In particular, we will discuss global and local orbit feedback algorithms, PID (proportional, integral, and derivative) control algorithm. application of digital signal processing to compensate for vacuum chamber eddy current effects, resolution of the interaction between global and local systems through decoupling, self-correction of the local bump closure error, user interface through the APS control system, and system performance in the frequency and time domains. The system hardware, including the DSPS, is distributed in 20 VNE crates around the ring, and the entire feedback system runs synchronously at 4-kHz sampling frequency in order to achieve a correction bandwidth exceeding 100 Hz. The required data sharing between the global and local feedback systems is facilitated via the use of fiber-optically-networked reflective memories

A new ion detector array and digital-signal-processor-based interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langstaff, D.P.; McGinnity, T.M.; Forbes, D.M.; Birkinshaw, K.; Lawton, M.W.

1994-01-01

A new one-dimensional ion detector array on a silicon chip has been developed for use in mass spectrometry. It is much smaller and simpler than electro-optical arrays currently in use and in addition has a higher resolution and a zero noise level. The array consists of a one-dimensional array of metal strips (electrodes) with a pitch of 25 μm on the top surface of a silicon chip, each electrode having its own charge pulse sensor, 8-bit counter and control/interface circuitry. The chip is mounted on a ceramic substrate and is preceded by a micro-channel plate electron multiplier. Chips are butted to give a longer array. Test results show a stable operating region. A digital-signal-processor-based interface is described, which controls the mode of operation and reads the accumulated array data at the maximum rate to avoid counter overflow. (author)

A new ion detector array and digital-signal-processor-based interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langstaff, D.P.; McGinnity, T.M.; Forbes, D.M.; Birkinshaw, K. (University Coll. of Wales, Aberystwyth (United Kingdom). Dept. of Physics); Lawton, M.W. (University of Wales Aberystwyth (United Kingdom). Dept. of Computer Science)

1994-04-01

A new one-dimensional ion detector array on a silicon chip has been developed for use in mass spectrometry. It is much smaller and simpler than electro-optical arrays currently in use and in addition has a higher resolution and a zero noise level. The array consists of a one-dimensional array of metal strips (electrodes) with a pitch of 25 [mu]m on the top surface of a silicon chip, each electrode having its own charge pulse sensor, 8-bit counter and control/interface circuitry. The chip is mounted on a ceramic substrate and is preceded by a micro-channel plate electron multiplier. Chips are butted to give a longer array. Test results show a stable operating region. A digital-signal-processor-based interface is described, which controls the mode of operation and reads the accumulated array data at the maximum rate to avoid counter overflow. (author).

A study of digital hardware architectures for nuclear reactors protection systems applications - reliability and safety analysis methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benko, Pedro Luiz

1997-01-01

A study of digital hardware architectures, including experience in many countries, topologies and solutions to interface circuits for protection systems of nuclear reactors is presented. Methods for developing digital systems architectures based on fault tolerant and safety requirements is proposed. Directives for assessing such conditions are suggested. Techniques and the most common tools employed in reliability, safety evaluation and modeling of hardware architectures is also presented. Markov chain modeling is used to evaluate the reliability of redundant architectures. In order to estimate software quality, several mechanisms to be used in design, specification, and validation and verification (V and V) procedures are suggested. A digital protection system architecture has been analyzed as a case study. (author)

Documenting control system functionality for digital control implementations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harber, J.; Borairi, M.; Tikku, S.; Josefowicz, A.

2006-01-01

In past CANDU designs, plant control was accomplished by a combination of digital control computers, analogue controllers, and hardwired relay logic. Functionality for these various control systems, each using different hardware, was documented in varied formats such as text based program specifications, relay logic diagrams, and other various specification documents. The choice of formats was influenced by the hardware used and often required different specialized skills for different applications. The programmable electronic systems in new CANDU designs are realized in a manner consistent with latest international standards (e.g., the IEC 61513 standard). New CANDU designs make extensive use of modern digital control technology, with the benefit that functionality can be implemented on a limited number of control platforms, reducing development and maintenance cost. This approach can take advantage of tools that allow the plant control system functional and performance requirements to be documented using graphical representations. Modern graphical methods supplemented by information databases can be used to provide a clear and comprehensive set of requirements for software and system development. Overview diagrams of system functionality provide a common understanding of the system boundaries and interfaces. Important requirements are readily traced through the development process. This improved reviewability helps to ensure consistency with the safety and and production design requirements of the system. Encapsulation of commonly used functions into custom-defined function blocks, such as typical motor control centre interfaces, process interlocks, median selects etc, eases the burden on designers to understand and analyze the detailed functionality of each instance of use of this logic. A library of encapsulated functions will be established for complex functions that are reused in the control logic development. By encapsulation and standardisation of such

Need Assessment of the Digital Archives Industry Human Resources in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsueh-Hua Chen

2005-03-01

Full Text Available For an industry to develop successfully, one of the most important factors is to have sufficient and high quality human resources. Digital archives industry will be one of the major industries in Taiwan. We need sufficient human resources in different areas, therefore the job categories, job descriptions, and core technologies of these human resources shall be closely tightened to the need of digital content industry in different development stages. The purpose of this study is to investigate the present status and issues of human resource development of the digital archives industry. It then will study the planning of learning map of the digital archives industry to serve as guideline for Digital Content Institute, educational training and enterprise personnel recruitment. To achieve the above objectives, the method of depth interview is used in this study. We also try to design modular training courses for human resource development of the digital archives industry. [Article Content in Chinese

Application of digital human modeling and simulation for vision analysis of pilots in a jet aircraft: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Karmakar, Sougata; Pal, Madhu Sudan; Majumdar, Deepti; Majumdar, Dhurjati

2012-01-01

Ergonomic evaluation of visual demands becomes crucial for the operators/users when rapid decision making is needed under extreme time constraint like navigation task of jet aircraft. Research reported here comprises ergonomic evaluation of pilot's vision in a jet aircraft in virtual environment to demonstrate how vision analysis tools of digital human modeling software can be used effectively for such study. Three (03) dynamic digital pilot models, representative of smallest, average and largest Indian pilot population were generated from anthropometric database and interfaced with digital prototype of the cockpit in Jack software for analysis of vision within and outside the cockpit. Vision analysis tools like view cones, eye view windows, blind spot area, obscuration zone, reflection zone etc. were employed during evaluation of visual fields. Vision analysis tool was also used for studying kinematic changes of pilot's body joints during simulated gazing activity. From present study, it can be concluded that vision analysis tool of digital human modeling software was found very effective in evaluation of position and alignment of different displays and controls in the workstation based upon their priorities within the visual fields and anthropometry of the targeted users, long before the development of its physical prototype.

UNIVERSAL INTERFACE TO MULTIPLE OPERATIONS SYSTEMS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenwald, Diane H.

1986-01-01

Alternative ways to provide access to operations systems that maintain, test, and configure complex telephone networks are being explored. It is suggested that a universal interface that provides simultaneous access to multiple operations systems that execute in different hardware and software...... environments, can be provided by an architecture that is based on the separation of presentation issues from application issues and on a modular interface management system that consists of a virtual user interface, physical user interface, and interface agent. The interface functionality that is needed...

The graphics-based human interface to the DISYS diagnostic/control guidance system at EBR-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edwards, R.M.; Chavez, C.; Kamarthi, S.; Dharap, S.; Lindsay, R.W.; Staffon, J.

1990-01-01

An initial graphics based interface to the real-time DISYS diagnostic system has been developed using the multi-tasking capabilities of the UNIX operating system and X-Windows 11 Xlib graphics library. This system is interfaced to live plant data at the Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-2) for the Argon Cooling System of fuel handling operations and the steam plant. The interface includes an intelligent process schematic which highlights problematic components and sensors based on the results of the diagnostic computations. If further explanation of a faulted component is required, the user can call up a display of the diagnostic computations presented in a tree-like diagram. Numerical data on the process schematic and optional diagnostic tree are updated as new real-time data becomes available. The initial X-Windows 11 based interface will be further enhanced using VI Corporation DATAVIEWS graphical data base software. 5 refs., 6 figs

Rethinking Design Process: Using 3D Digital Models as an Interface in Collaborative Session

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Suining

2008-01-01

This paper describes a pilot study for an alternative design process by integrating a designer-user collaborative session with digital models. The collaborative session took place in a 3D AutoCAD class for a real world project. The 3D models served as an interface for designer-user collaboration during the design process. Students not only learned…

High speed digital interfacing for a neural data acquisition system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahr Andreas

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Diseases like schizophrenia and genetic epilepsy are supposed to be caused by disorders in the early development of the brain. For the further investigation of these relationships a custom designed application specific integrated circuit (ASIC was developed that is optimized for the recording from neonatal mice [Bahr A, Abu-Saleh L, Schroeder D, Krautschneider W. 16 Channel Neural Recording Integrated Circuit with SPI Interface and Error Correction Coding. Proc. 9th BIOSTEC 2016. Biodevices: Rome, Italy, 2016; 1: 263; Bahr A, Abu-Saleh L, Schroeder D, Krautschneider W. Development of a neural recording mixed signal integrated circuit for biomedical signal acquisition. Biomed Eng Biomed Tech Abstracts 2015; 60(S1: 298–299; Bahr A, Abu-Saleh L, Schroeder D, Krautschneider WH. 16 Channel Neural Recording Mixed Signal ASIC. CDNLive EMEA 2015 Conference Proceedings, 2015.]. To enable the live display of the neural signals a multichannel neural data acquisition system with live display functionality is presented. It implements a high speed data transmission from the ASIC to a computer with a live display functionality. The system has been successfully implemented and was used in a neural recording of a head-fixed mouse.

Does Every Research Library Need a Digital Humanities Center?

Science.gov (United States)

Schaffner, Jennifer; Erway, Ricky

2014-01-01

The digital humanities (DH) are attracting considerable attention and funding at the same time that this nascent field is striving for an identity. Some research libraries are making significant investments by creating digital humanities centers. However, questions about whether such investments are warranted persist across the cultural heritage…

The Web and Digital Humanities: Theoretical and Methodological Concerns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brügger, Niels; Finnemann, Niels Ole

2013-01-01

Since the mid-1990s the Web has constituted an increasingly important source for studies of the recent history of society and culture, and a number of national and international Web archiving institutions have been established. This article discusses the different characteristics of Web materials...... and archived Web materials. It is argued that both of these characteristics differ from the concepts of digital materials developed within the frameworks of digital humanities and that the growing variety of different kinds of digital materials and processes calls for a reinterpretation of the computer....... This article discusses the different characteristics of Web materials and archived Web materials. It is argued that both of these characteristics differ from the concepts of digital materials developed within the frameworks of digital humanities and that the growing variety of different kinds of digital...

Superconductor Digital-RF Receiver Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhanov, Oleg A.; Kirichenko, Dmitri; Vernik, Igor V.; Filippov, Timur V.; Kirichenko, Alexander; Webber, Robert; Dotsenko, Vladimir; Talalaevskii, Andrei; Tang, Jia Cao; Sahu, Anubhav; Shevchenko, Pavel; Miller, Robert; Kaplan, Steven B.; Sarwana, Saad; Gupta, Deepnarayan

Digital superconductor electronics has been experiencing rapid maturation with the emergence of smaller-scale, lower-cost communications applications which became the major technology drivers. These applications are primarily in the area of wireless communications, radar, and surveillance as well as in imaging and sensor systems. In these areas, the fundamental advantages of superconductivity translate into system benefits through novel Digital-RF architectures with direct digitization of wide band, high frequency radio frequency (RF) signals. At the same time the availability of relatively small 4K cryocoolers has lowered the foremost market barrier for cryogenically-cooled digital electronic systems. Recently, we have achieved a major breakthrough in the development, demonstration, and successful delivery of the cryocooled superconductor digital-RF receivers directly digitizing signals in a broad range from kilohertz to gigahertz. These essentially hybrid-technology systems combine a variety of superconductor and semiconductor technologies packaged with two-stage commercial cryocoolers: cryogenic Nb mixed-signal and digital circuits based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) technology, room-temperature amplifiers, FPGA processing and control circuitry. The demonstrated cryocooled digital-RF systems are the world's first and fastest directly digitizing receivers operating with live satellite signals in X-band and performing signal acquisition in HF to L-band at ˜30GHz clock frequencies.

Human-machine Interface for Presentation Robot

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krejsa, Jiří; Ondroušek, V.

2012-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 2 (2012), s. 17-21 ISSN 1897-8649 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20760514 Keywords : human-robot interface * mobile robot * presentation robot Subject RIV: JD - Computer Applications, Robotics

The use of graphics in the design of the human-telerobot interface

Science.gov (United States)

Stuart, Mark A.; Smith, Randy L.

1989-01-01

The Man-Systems Telerobotics Laboratory (MSTL) of NASA's Johnson Space Center employs computer graphics tools in their design and evaluation of the Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) human/telerobot interface on the Shuttle and on the Space Station. It has been determined by the MSTL that the use of computer graphics can promote more expedient and less costly design endeavors. Several specific examples of computer graphics applied to the FTS user interface by the MSTL are described.

The importance of simulation facilities for the development of review criteria for advanced human system interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.; Wachtel, J.

1994-01-01

Advanced control room (ACR) concepts are being developed in the commercial nuclear industry as part of future reactor designs. The ACRs will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator's overall role (function) in the system, the method of information presentation, the ways in which the operator interacts with the system, and the requirements on the operator to understand and supervise an increasingly complex system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The NRC is developing guidelines to support their review of these advanced designs. As part of this effort, a methodology for guidance development was established, and topics in need of further research were identified. Simulators of various kinds are likely to play important roles in the development of review guidelines and in the evaluation of ACRs. This paper describes a general approach to review criteria development, and discusses the role of simulators in addressing research needs

Compare the user interface of digital libraries\\' websites between the developing and developed countries in content analysis method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gholam Abbas Mousavi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This study performed with goals of determining the Items in designing and developing the user interface of digital libraries' websites and to determine the best digital libraries' websites and discuss their advantages and disadvantages; to analyze and compare digital libraries' websites in developing countries with those in the developed countries. Methodology: to do so, 50 digital libraries' websites were selected by purposive sampling method. By analyzing the level of development of the countries in the sample regarding their digital libraries' websites, 12 websites were classified as belonging to developing and 38 countries to developed counties. Then, their content was studied by using a qualitative content analysis. The study was conducted by using a research-constructed checklist containing 12 main categories and 44 items, whose validity was decided by content validity method. The data was analyzed in SPSS (version 16. Findings: The results showed that in terms of “online resources”, “library collection,” and “navigation”, there is a significant relationship between the digital library' user interface design in both types of countries. Results: The items of “online public access catalogue (OPAC” and “visits statistics” were observed in more developing countries’ digital libraries' websites. However, the item of “menu and submenus to introduce library' sections” was presented in more developed countries’ digital libraries' websites. Moreover, by analyzing the number of items in the selected websites, “American Memory” with 44 items, “International Children Digital Library” with 40 items, and “California” with 39 items were the best, and “Berkeley Sun Site” with 10 items was the worst website. Despite more and better quality digital libraries in developed countries, the quality of digital libraries websites in developing countries is considerable. In general, some of the newly established

Methodology for advanced control rooms assessment of nuclear reactors: case study using Laboratory of Human System Interface (LABIHS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carvalho, Eduardo Ferro; Verboonen, Monique; Carvalho, Bruno Batista de

2005-01-01

A control room of a nuclear reactor is a complex system that controls a thermodynamic process used to produce electric energy. The operators interact with the control room through interfaces and several monitoring stations. These interfaces present significant implications for the safety of the nuclear power plant, once they influence the activities of the operators, affect the way how operators receive information related with the status from the main systems and determine the necessary requirements so that the operators understand and supervise the main parameters. This article intends to present the methodology and the results of the evaluation carried through in the advanced control room of a compact simulator, that uses as reference a nuclear plant PWR of the Westinghouse. The structure used for evaluation of the simulator is formed by the guideline of human factors of the NRC, the NUREG 700, checklist, questionnaires and the analysis of the operator's activity. (author)

A study of the electrode/solution interface during electrochemical reactions by digital holography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SHENHAO CHEN

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Digital holography was used to study in situ the dynamic changes of the electrode/solution interface and the solution near the electrode during the anodic process of iron in a sulfuric acid solution. The effects of chloride, bromide and iodine ions on this process were also investigated. The magnetic field also has effects on the process. The effects are discussed in combination with SEM results.

Digital quality control of the camera computer interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todd-Pokropek, A.

1983-01-01

A brief description is given of how the gamma camera-computer interface works and what kind of errors can occur. Quality control tests of the interface are then described which include 1) tests of static performance e.g. uniformity, linearity, 2) tests of dynamic performance e.g. basic timing, interface count-rate, system count-rate, 3) tests of special functions e.g. gated acquisition, 4) tests of the gamma camera head, and 5) tests of the computer software. The tests described are mainly acceptance and routine tests. Many of the tests discussed are those recommended by an IAEA Advisory Group for inclusion in the IAEA control schedules for nuclear medicine instrumentation. (U.K.)

Intelligent Systems and Advanced User Interfaces for Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Command Management Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Christine M.

1998-01-01

Historically Command Management Systems (CMS) have been large, expensive, spacecraft-specific software systems that were costly to build, operate, and maintain. Current and emerging hardware, software, and user interface technologies may offer an opportunity to facilitate the initial formulation and design of a spacecraft-specific CMS as well as a to develop a more generic or a set of core components for CMS systems. Current MOC (mission operations center) hardware and software include Unix workstations, the C/C++ and Java programming languages, and X and Java window interfaces representations. This configuration provides the power and flexibility to support sophisticated systems and intelligent user interfaces that exploit state-of-the-art technologies in human-machine systems engineering, decision making, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. One of the goals of this research is to explore the extent to which technologies developed in the research laboratory can be productively applied in a complex system such as spacecraft command management. Initial examination of some of the issues in CMS design and operation suggests that application of technologies such as intelligent planning, case-based reasoning, design and analysis tools from a human-machine systems engineering point of view (e.g., operator and designer models) and human-computer interaction tools, (e.g., graphics, visualization, and animation), may provide significant savings in the design, operation, and maintenance of a spacecraft-specific CMS as well as continuity for CMS design and development across spacecraft with varying needs. The savings in this case is in software reuse at all stages of the software engineering process.

Technology insertion of a COTS RAID server as an image buffer in the image chain of the Defense Mapping Agency's Digital Production System

Science.gov (United States)

Mehring, James W.; Thomas, Scott D.

1995-11-01

The Data Services Segment of the Defense Mapping Agency's Digital Production System provides a digital archive of imagery source data for use by DMA's cartographic user's. This system was developed in the mid-1980's and is currently undergoing modernization. This paper addresses the modernization of the imagery buffer function that was performed by custom hardware in the baseline system and is being replaced by a RAID Server based on commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware. The paper briefly describes the baseline DMA image system and the modernization program, that is currently under way. Throughput benchmark measurements were made to make design configuration decisions for a commercial off the shelf (COTS) RAID Server to perform as system image buffer. The test program began with performance measurements of the RAID read and write operations between the RAID arrays and the server CPU for RAID levels 0, 5 and 0+1. Interface throughput measurements were made for the HiPPI interface between the RAID Server and the image archive and processing system as well as the client side interface between a custom interface board that provides the interface between the internal bus of the RAID Server and the Input- Output Processor (IOP) external wideband network currently in place in the DMA system to service client workstations. End to end measurements were taken from the HiPPI interface through the RAID write and read operations to the IOP output interface.

Accelerator-control-system interface for intelligent power supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, S.

1992-01-01

A number of high-current high-precision magnet power supplies have been installed at the proton storage ring at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Accelerator Complex. The units replace existing supplies, powering large dipole magnets in the ring. These bending magnets require a high-current supply that is precise and stable. The control and interface design for these power supplies represents a departure from all others on-site. The supplies have sophisticated microprocessor control on-board and communicate with the accelerator control system via RS-422 (serial communications). The units, built by Alpha Scientific Electronics, Hayward, CA use a high-level ASCII control protocol. The low-level ''front-end'' software used by the accelerator control system has been written to accommodate these new devices. They communicate with the control system through a terminal server port connected to the site-wide ethernet backbone. Details of the software implementation for the analog and digital control of the supplies through the accelerator control system will be presented

All printed touchless human-machine interface based on only five functional materials

Science.gov (United States)

Scheipl, G.; Zirkl, M.; Sawatdee, A.; Helbig, U.; Krause, M.; Kraker, E.; Andersson Ersman, P.; Nilsson, D.; Platt, D.; Bodö, P.; Bauer, S.; Domann, G.; Mogessie, A.; Hartmann, Paul; Stadlober, B.

2012-02-01

We demonstrate the printing of a complex smart integrated system using only five functional inks: the fluoropolymer P(VDF:TrFE) (Poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) sensor ink, the conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) ink, a conductive carbon paste, a polymeric electrolyte and SU8 for separation. The result is a touchless human-machine interface, including piezo- and pyroelectric sensor pixels (sensitive to pressure changes and impinging infrared light), transistors for impedance matching and signal conditioning, and an electrochromic display. Applications may not only emerge in human-machine interfaces, but also in transient temperature or pressure sensing used in safety technology, in artificial skins and in disposable sensor labels.

The design and implementation of a windowing interface pinch force measurement system

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Tze-Yee; Chen, Yuanu-Joan; Chung, Chin-Teng; Hsiao, Ming-Heng

2010-02-01

This paper presents a novel windowing interface pinch force measurement system that is basically based on an USB (Universal Series Bus) microcontroller which mainly processes the sensing data from the force sensing resistance sensors mounted on five digits. It possesses several friendly functions, such as the value and curve trace of the applied force by a hand injured patient displayed in real time on a monitoring screen, consequently, not only the physician can easily evaluate the effect of hand injury rehabilitation, but also the patients get more progressive during the hand physical therapy by interacting with the screen of pinch force measurement. In order to facilitate the pinch force measurement system and make it friendly, the detail hardware design and software programming flowchart are described in this paper. Through a series of carefully and detailed experimental tests, first of all, the relationship between the applying force and the FSR sensors are measured and verified. Later, the different type of pinch force measurements are verified by the oscilloscope and compared with the corresponding values and waveform traces in the window interface display panel to obtain the consistency. Finally, a windowing interface pinch force measurement system based on the USB microcontroller is implemented and demonstrated. The experimental results show the verification and feasibility of the designed system.

Utilization of digital I and C system for the US-APWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oba, Masato; Ishimoto, Shunsuke; Kitamura, Masashi; Sugitani, Shigeru

2007-01-01

The digital safety instrumentation and control (I and C) system has been developed and approved in Japan. Based on this proven technology, the digital platform will be also applied to the I and C system in US-APWR. The fully computerized system provides more benefit such as reduction of operator's load, potential for human error and maintenance workload, and improvement of reliability and availability. In addition, the I and C system in US-APWR has some specific features to meet U.S. requirement. For example 4 train systems is completely applied for safety and safety related systems, and the other remarkable feature is that non-safety consoles are used for control of safety systems and components, which is generally called multi-channel operation. Thus this system is slightly improved and modified from the previous digital system architecture, and the approved digital platform is the same in Japan. In this work, we provide the system description and design basis for US-APWR and some discussion for the specific design features. (author)

Colloquium: Digital Technologies--Help or Hindrance for the Humanities?

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Elton; Bissell, Chris; Hardwick, Lorna; Jones, Allan; Ridge, Mia; Wolffe, John

2012-01-01

This article offers reflections arising from a recent colloquium at the Open University on the implications of the development of digital humanities for research in arts disciplines, and also for their interactions with computing and technology. Particular issues explored include the ways in which the digital turn in humanities research is also a…

Use of digital computing devices in systems important to safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

The incorporation of digital computing devices in systems important to safety now is progressing fast in several countries, including Canada, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, USA. There are now reactors with microprocessors in some trip systems. The major functions of those systems are: reactor trip initiation, display, monitoring, testing, re-calibration of detectors. The benefits of moving to a fully computerized shut-down system should be improved reliability, greater flexibility, better man-machine interface, improved testing, higher reactor output and lower overall cost. With the introduction of computer devices in systems important to safety, plant availability and safety are improved because disturbances are treated before they lead to safety action, in this way helping the operator to avoid errors. The Meeting presentations were divided into sessions devoted to the following topics: Needs for the use of digital devices (DCD) in safety important systems (SIS) (5 papers); Problems raised by the integration SIS in the NPP control (7 papers); Description and presentation of DCD of SIS (6 papers); Results of experiences in engineering, manufacture, qualification operation of DCD hardware and software (5 papers). A separate abstract was prepared for each of these papers

Introduction to digital communication systems

CERN Document Server

Wesolowski, Krzysztof

2009-01-01

Combining theoretical knowledge and practical applications, this advanced-level textbook covers the most important aspects of contemporary digital communication systems. Introduction to Digital Communication Systems focuses on the rules of functioning digital communication system blocks, starting with the performance limits set by the information theory. Drawing on information relating to turbo codes and LDPC codes, the text presents the basic methods of error correction and detection, followed by baseband transmission methods, and single- and multi-carrier digital modulations. The basi

Human-system interface design review guideline -- Process and guidelines: Final report. Revision 1, Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-06-01

NUREG-0700, Revision 1, provides human factors engineering (HFE) guidance to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff for its: (1) review of the human system interface (HSI) design submittals prepared by licensees or applications for a license or design certification of commercial nuclear power plants, and (2) performance of HSI reviews that could be undertaken as part of an inspection or other type of regulatory review involving HSI design or incidents involving human performance. The guidance consists of a review process and HFE guidelines. The document describes those aspects of the HSI design review process that are important to the identification and resolution of human engineering discrepancies that could adversely affect plant safety. Guidance is provided that could be used by the staff to review an applicant's HSI design review process or to guide the development of an HSI design review plan, e.g., as part of an inspection activity. The document also provides detailed HFE guidelines for the assessment of HSI design implementations. NUREG-0700, Revision 1, consists of three stand-alone volumes. Volume 1 consists of two major parts. Part 1 describes those aspects of the review process of the HSI design that are important to identifying and resolving human engineering discrepancies. Part 2 contains detailed guidelines for a human factors engineering review which identify criteria for assessing the implementation of an applicant's or licensee's HSI design

Reliability analysis of digital I and C systems at KAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Man Cheol

2013-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the ongoing research activities on a reliability analysis of digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs) performed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). The research activities include the development of a new safety-critical software reliability analysis method by integrating the advantages of existing software reliability analysis methods, a fault coverage estimation method based on fault injection experiments, and a new human reliability analysis method for computer-based main control rooms (MCRs) based on human performance data from the APR-1400 full-scope simulator. The research results are expected to be used to address various issues such as the licensing issues related to digital I and C probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for advanced digital-based NPPs. (author)

Development of basic technology for instrumentation and control - Development of digital automatic supervisory limitation system and its design= validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jung In; Chung, Sung Wook; Koh, Won Seok [Kyungwon University, Sungman (Korea, Republic of); Suh, Duk Young; Cheon, Sei Young [Kyunghee University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sang Kyung; Kim, Sung Hun [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1995-07-01

A major objective of the project is to develop a digital automatic supervisory limitation system and validate its design for the next generation= nuclear power plant. The limitation system assures that the plant does not exceed the operating limits by regulation the plant operations through on-line monitoring the operating margins of the critical parameters. A new conceptual model of power maneuverability has been proposed for the design of the limitation system and for its validation. Also, the limitation system monitors overall operation processes throughout a nuclear power plant by implementing hierarchical communication networks. Based on the conceptual design in software of the 1 st year results, the detailed design of the limitation system has been performed during the 2 nd year with constructing a prototype digital system. The system consists of the software module for plant simulation and the hardware module for implementation of limitation system and the associated interfaces in hardware. The limitation algorithm were implemented into the microprocessor and the interfaces were realized through the I/O modules. Also, these modules are incorporated into the communication networks. The products of the project could be directly applicable to the following nuclear unit adopting the limitation system, providing the bumpless transition to the commercial design phase. And the prototype evaluation scheme will be very useful for the succeeding studies related to the digital nuclear I and C fields, such as fault-tolerance design methods, software verification and validation and response time execution of digital systems. 69 refs., 3 tabs., 44 figs. (author)

You make me happy : Using an adaptive affective interface to investigate the effect of social presence on positive emotion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shahid, S.; Krahmer, E.J.; Swerts, M.G.J.; Melder, W.; Neerincx, M.; Cohn, J.; Nijholt, A.; Pantic, P.

2009-01-01

Affective user interfaces are usually characterized as interfaces that try to recognize, interpret and respond to human emotions. In this paper, we take a different perspective and investigate if and how a digital, interactive adaptive mirror, which is a game-like affective interface, can induce

ENEA-Frascati inertial confinement fusion: Multi-channel digitizer control, acquisition and analysis system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caruso, A.; Strangio, C.; Elman, G.; Hugh, J. Mc; Rogers, G.; Pastina, E.; Raimondi, F.; Umbro, A.

1991-09-01

The ICF (Inertial Confinement Fusion) data acquisition and analysis system described in this paper incorporates digitizer channels, signal switching, an instrument controller, a graphic hardcopy unit, laser printer and software. The digitizers, signal switching and instrument controller are standard components appropriate to acquire the single fast shot signals (rise-time: from about 100 picoseconds to nanoseconds). The input signals are switched to the digitizers through the TSI-8150 test system interface by TSS40 switch controller cards and TSS46 18GHz microwave switches. Graphic hardcopy is accomplished using either a 4693PX colour hardcopy unit or a laser printer connected through a printer spooler/multiplexer. The software is based on an existing package from Ressler called RAI/DAC reviewed by Fus-Inerz and Tektronix-Italy to define the modifications needed for data acquisition and handling. The adopted software solution is based on an IBM PC compatible instrument controller running software developed by Ressler Associates.

A human activity approach to User Interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Susanne

1989-01-01

the work situations in which computer-based artifacts are used: The framework deals with the role of the user interface in purposeful human work. Human activity theory is used in this analysis. The purpose of this article is to make the reader curious and hopefully open his or her eyes to a somewhat...

A Classification of Human-to-Human Communication during the Use of Immersive Teleoperation Interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kraus, Martin; Kibsgaard, Martin

2015-01-01

We propose a new classification of the human-to-human communication during the use of immersive teleoperation interfaces based on real-life examples. While a large body of research is concerned with communication in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs), less research focuses on cases where...... of the proposed classification to real environments can offer useful reference cases. Using this extended classification not only allows us to discuss and understand differences and similarities of various forms of communication in a more systematic way, but it also provides guidelines and reference cases...... for the design of immersive teleoperation interfaces that support human-to-human communication....

Minimally-Invasive Neural Interface for Distributed Wireless Electrocorticogram Recording Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Sun-Il; Park, Sung-Yun; Yoon, Euisik

2018-01-17

This paper presents a minimally-invasive neural interface for distributed wireless electrocorticogram (ECoG) recording systems. The proposed interface equips all necessary components for ECoG recording, such as the high performance front-end integrated circuits, a fabricated flexible microelectrode array, and wireless communication inside a miniaturized custom-made platform. The multiple units of the interface systems can be deployed to cover a broad range of the target brain region and transmit signals via a built-in intra-skin communication (ISCOM) module. The core integrated circuit (IC) consists of 16-channel, low-power push-pull double-gated preamplifiers, in-channel successive approximation register analog-to-digital converters (SAR ADC) with a single-clocked bootstrapping switch and a time-delayed control unit, an ISCOM module for wireless data transfer through the skin instead of a power-hungry RF wireless transmitter, and a monolithic voltage/current reference generator to support the aforementioned analog and mixed-signal circuit blocks. The IC was fabricated using 250 nm CMOS processes in an area of 3.2 × 0.9 mm² and achieved the low-power operation of 2.5 µW per channel. Input-referred noise was measured as 5.62 µV rms for 10 Hz to 10 kHz and ENOB of 7.21 at 31.25 kS/s. The implemented system successfully recorded multi-channel neural activities in vivo from a primate and demonstrated modular expandability using the ISCOM with power consumption of 160 µW.

Human-computer interface glove using flexible piezoelectric sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Youngsu; Seo, Jeonggyu; Kim, Jun-Sik; Park, Jung-Min

2017-05-01

In this note, we propose a human-computer interface glove based on flexible piezoelectric sensors. We select polyvinylidene fluoride as the piezoelectric material for the sensors because of advantages such as a steady piezoelectric characteristic and good flexibility. The sensors are installed in a fabric glove by means of pockets and Velcro bands. We detect changes in the angles of the finger joints from the outputs of the sensors, and use them for controlling a virtual hand that is utilized in virtual object manipulation. To assess the sensing ability of the piezoelectric sensors, we compare the processed angles from the sensor outputs with the real angles from a camera recoding. With good agreement between the processed and real angles, we successfully demonstrate the user interaction system with the virtual hand and interface glove based on the flexible piezoelectric sensors, for four hand motions: fist clenching, pinching, touching, and grasping.

Review report: safety and reliability issues on digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants and United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's dispositions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Norio; Suzudo, Tomoaki

1998-09-01

Recently, digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems have been applied to nuclear power plants (NPPs) in various countries. Introduction of digital I and C systems, however, raises special issues on design, implementation, safety and licensing. Since FY 1997, the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been carrying out a project, Study on Reliability of Digital I and C Systems, which includes extensive reviews of design approaches, technical standards, regulatory processes, especially, in the United States. This report summarizes the results from the study of National Research Council (NRC) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (USNRC's) responses to the recommendations made by the NRC's study. That study identified six technical key issues (system aspects of digital I and C technology, software quality assurance, common-mode software failure potential, safety and reliability assessment methods, human factors and man-machine interface, dedication of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software) and two strategic key issues (case-by-case licensing process, adequacy of technical infrastructure) that arise from the introduction of digital I and C technology and then, made recommendations to the USNRC for coping with digital I and C applications. The USNRC responded to each recommendation and showed their own dispositions in which the USNRC agreed with most of the recommendations. In Japan, it is expected that introduction of digital I and C technology is inevitable in NPPs because the vendors are gradually discontinuing support and stocking of analog components. To cope with such situations, there is a need to develop and update the standards and guidelines applicable to digital I and C technology. The key issues and the USNRC's dispositions provided in this report is believed to be useful for developing and updating them. (J.P.N.)

Digital LLRF System for RFQ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agashe, Alok; Motiwala, P.D.; Bharade, S.K.; Mohan, Shyam; Joshi, Gopal; Das, D.

2015-01-01

A Low level RF (LLRF) system based on digital techniques has been developed for RFQ of Low Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (LEHIPA). The basic LLRF system for RFQ is composed of a Front end analog module housed in a 19 inch bin and a 6U cPCI based Digital board having a high speed and high density FPGA onboard, supporting 32 bit/33MHz PCI ver2.0 protocol and housed in a 19 inch cPCI crate. It also has a cPCI based CPU board with QNX operating system. The cPCI crate is connected to control room via Ethernet. Analog module conditions the input field signals from RF cavity and makes it compatible to digital board. It also amplifies RF Drive signal (Modulator output) from digital board, which goes to high power amplifier. The digital board digitally processes the input RF signals, and generates RF drive signal, which after amplification, used for driving the resonant cavity. The main features of digital board are under-sampling of input RF signals, digital in-phase and quadrature detection, and a proportional- integral (PI) controller algorithm implemented in a FPGA. The LLRF system works in CW as well as in PULSE mode. It also has a DDS implemented in VHDL, used for conditioning and tracking/tuning of the cavity. LLRF system operates under QNX based equipment frontend application and client running from control room. One analog module and one digital board set, supports one resonant cavity. The present paper describes the development of an LLRF system and its results with a test cavity. (author)