TUGS – The tactile user guidance system

The Electronic System and Information Technology Research Group at Brunel University has designed a multifaceted navigation system for blind and visually impaired pedestrians. The primary operation of the system mimics the advantages of an informed sighted guide by using Global Positioning Systems and remote (sighted on the user) video cameras as navigational sensors. The information generated is streamed to a central control centre. This allows the system to operate in a fully automatic or operator assisted mode dependent on the users requirements. Initially the system used an audio link to transfer information to the user, however this has proved problematic. Clear unimpeded access to ambient sound is vital for visually impaired and blind pedestrians, both for efficient wayfinding and safety. Any system which has a continuing dialogue with the user, for example, navigational instructions received through an audio link, interferes with the users ability to process ambient sounds. To solve this problem a novel Tactile User Guidance System (TUGS) with vibrating actuators, has been designed and experimentally tested. In this paper we present the design and experimental verification of TUGS with both visually impaired and sighted users. Although we have taken the visually impaired user as the ‘worst case scenario’ a practical ability to transfer information through the tactile sense has considerable value to other groups who may find themselves in restricted or overloaded visual or audio situations. These groups include; front line responders in the emergency services, railroad workers, pilots and remote vehicle operators

An Ontological Approach to Chemical Engineering Curriculum Development

Continuous reflection and evolution of curricula in chemical engineering is beneficial for adaptation to evolving industries and technologies and for improving student experience. To this end it was necessary to develop a method to enable a holistic reflection on the curriculum and to examine potential areas of improvement and change. The curriculum was modelled using knowledge modelling through the development of an ontology, Chemical Engineering Education Ontology (ChEEdO) in the Protégé 3.5 environment. ChEEdO models topics, taught modules and the learning outcomes of the modules within the domain of chemical engineering. The learning outcomes were related to the topics using verb properties from Bloom’s taxonomy and the context of each learning outcome. The functionality of semantic reasoning via the ontology was demonstrated with a case study. The modelling results showed that the ontology could be successfully utilised for curriculum development, horizontal and vertical integration and to identify appropriate pre-requisite learning

Comparison between audio and tactile systems for delivering simple navigational information to visually impaired pedestrians

Many of the current GPS (Global Positioning Systems) navigation aids use an audio method to deliver navigation information to the user. For the visually impaired person this method can be problematic. The visually impaired pedestrian relies heavily on information contained within the ambient sound environment; for location and orientation information, navigation information, and importantly, safety information. In this paper we present the design of an innovative tactile interface and verification of results obtained through experimental trials. This pilot study compared the efficiency of the tactile interface, to an audio method of delivering simple navigational information. The findings indicate that the tactile interface could be used successfully by blind and sighted pedestrians and may offer advantages over auditory interfaces

Perceptual impact of environmental factors in sighted and visually impaired individuals

To a visually impaired individual the physical world presents many challenges. For a person with impaired sight, wayfinding through a complex environment is fraught with dangers, both actual and imagined. The current generation of mobility aids have the possibility of addressing a broad range of physical issues through technological solutions. The perception of difficulty however, can mean that many visually impaired individuals are fearful or uncomfortable about independent mobility or travel. In this context it becomes necessary to discover exactly what environments, environmental factors or items constitute a ‘perception of difficulty’ in the individuals mental landscape and may trigger a negative response before they interact with the physical environment. This paper reports on research, which sought to ascertain what levels of perceptual difficulties specific environments and factors presented to individuals. The research was conducted with both visually impaired and sighted groups and compared differences and similarities in perceptual difficulty between these two groups

Industrial symbiosis implementation by leveraging on process efficiency methodologies

Resource efficiency is a crucial step for manufacturing companies to improve their operations performance and to reduce waste generation. However, there is no guarantee of a zero waste scenario and companies need to look for new strategies to complement their resource efficiency vision. Therefore, it is important to enroll in an industrial symbiosis strategy as a means to maximize industrial value capturing through the exchange of resources (waste, energy, water and by-products) between different processes and companies. Within this, it is crucial to quantify and characterize the waste, e.g. to have clear understanding of the potential industrial symbiosis hot spots among the processes. For such characterization, it is proposed to use an innovative process efficiency assessment approach. This empowers a clear understanding and quantification of efficiency that identifies industrial symbiosis hot spots (donors) in low efficiency process steps, and enables a plausible definition of potential cold spots (receivers), in order to promote the symbiotic exchanges

Integrated multiomics approach identifies calcium and integrin-binding protein-2 as a novel gene for pulse wave velocity

Background: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an important measure of arterial stiffness, which is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In this study, we used an integrated genetic, epigenetic and transcriptomics approach to uncover novel molecular mechanisms contributing to PWV. Methods and results: We measured PWV in 1505 healthy twins of European descendent. A genomewide association analysis was performed using standardized residual of the inverse of PWV. We identified one single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs7164338) in the calcium and integrin-binding protein-2 (CIB2) gene on chromosome 15q25.1 associated with PWV [beta = -0.359, standard error (SE) = 0.07, P = 4.8 x 10(-8)]. The same variant was also associated with increased CIB2 expression in leucocytes (beta = 0.034, SE = 0.008, P = 4.95 x 10(-5)) and skin (beta = 0.072, SE = 0.01, P = 2.35 x 10(-9)) and with hypomethylation of the gene promoter (beta = -.899, SE = 0.098, P = 3.63 x 10(-20)). Conclusion: Our data indicate that reduced methylation of the CIB2 promoter in individuals carrying rs7164338 may lead to increased CIB2 expression. Given that CIB2 is thought to regulate intracellular calcium levels, an increase in protein levels may prevent the accumulation of serum calcium and phosphate, ultimately slowing down the process of vascular calcification. This study shows the power of integrating multiple omics to discover novel cardiovascular mechanisms

Material reutilization cycles across industries and production lines

The concept of Industrial Symbiosis aims at organizing industrial activity like a living ecosystem where the by-product outputs of one process are used as valuable raw material input for another process. A significant method for the systematic planning of Industrial Symbiosis is found in input–output matching, which is aimed at collecting material input and output data from companies, and using the results to establish links across industries. The collection and classification of data is crucial to the development of synergies in Industrial Symbiosis. Public and private institutions involved in the planning and development of Industrial Symbiosis rely however on manual interpretation of information in the course of creating synergies. Yet, the evaluation and analysis of these data sources on Industrial Symbiosis topics is a tall order. Within this chapter a method is presented which describes value creation activities according to the Value Creation Module (VCM). They are assessed before they are integrated in Value Creation Networks (VCNs), where alternative uses for by-products are proposed by means of iterative input-output matching of selected value creation factors

MAESTRI Toolkit for Industrial Symbiosis: overview, lessons learnt and implications

This paper presents a structured approach to support the development of self-organized industrial symbiosis, the Toolkit for Industrial Symbiosis. Developed within MAESTRI project, it provides a set of tools and methods to help companies gain value from wasted resources and contributes to MAESTRI goal of advancing the sustainability of European manufacturing and process industry. A participatory approach was taken for its development. The ultimate objective of this work is to encourage companies to change their attitude and consider waste as a resource and potential source for value creation