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- User-Experience with Haptic Feedback Technologies and Text Input in Interactive Multimedia DevicesPublication . Silva, Bruno; Costelha, Hugo; C. Bento, Luis; Barata, Marcio; Assuncao, PedroRemote control devices are commonly used for interaction with multimedia equipment and applications (e.g., smart TVs, gaming, etc.). To improve conventional keypad-based technologies, haptic feedback and user input capabilities are being developed for enhancing the UX and providing advanced functionalities in remote control devices. Although the sensation provided by haptic feedback is similar to mechanical push buttons, the former offers much greater flexibility, due to the possibility of dynamically choosing different mechanical effects and associating different functions to each of them. However, selecting the best haptic feedback effects among the wide variety that is currently enabled by recent technologies, remains a challenge for design engineers aiming to optimise the UX. Rich interaction further requires text input capability, which greatly influences the UX. This work is a contribution towards UX evaluation of remote control devices with haptic feedback and text input. A user evaluation study of a wide variety of haptic feedback effects and text input methods is presented, considering different technologies and different number of actuators on a device. The user preferences, given by subjective evaluation scores, demonstrate that haptic feedback has undoubtedly a positive impact on the UX. Moreover, it is also shown that different levels of UX are obtained, according to the technological characteristics of the haptic actuators and how many of them are used on the device.
- Subjective Evaluation of Haptic Feedback Technologies for Interactive MultimediaPublication . Silva, Bruno; Costelha, Hugo; Bento, Luís Conde; Barata, Márcio; Assunção, Pedro A. AmadoCurrent trends in the development of remote control devices for user interaction with multimedia equipment and applications are increasingly advancing the traditional keypad-based technologies, in order to improve the functionality of remote control devices and also to enhance the user experience. Haptic feedback allows the user to have a similar sensation to that provided by conventional buttons, with the advantage of a much greater flexibility, including dynamic choice of mechanical effects capable of discriminating between different functions. However, selection of haptic feedback effects that are capable of enhancing the user experience remains a great challenge for engineers and product designers. This work is a contribution towards this goal by presenting a usability study of two technologies (eccentric rotating mass and linear resonant actuator) capable of providing different haptic feedback effects in remote control devices. A subjective evaluation study was carried out to obtain subjective scores for a significant number of haptic feedback effects. The number of preferred actuators of each type and whether haptic feedback is suitable in remote control devices for interactive multimedia, were also evaluated. The results of this study show that most users prefer an interface with haptic feedback and different scores were obtained for different haptic feedback effects, according to the characteristics and number of the actuators.
- An approach to integrating manufacturing data from legacy Injection Moulding Machines using OPC UAPublication . Martins, André; Miguel Lopes e Silva, Bruno; Costelha, Hugo; Neves, Carlos; Lyons, John; Cosgrove, JohnTo achieve the ambitions related with the concept of a Smart Factory, manufacturers of new industrial devices have been developing and releasing products capable of integrating themselves into fully-connected environments, with the communication capabilities and advanced specifications required. In these environments, the automatic retrieval of data across the shop floor is a must, allowing the analysis of machine performance for increased production quality and outputs. On most of the recently released industrial devices this machine data is readily available. However, the same is not true when using legacy devices. It is also well established that most SMEs are unable or do not intend to radically replace their industrial devices with this purpose only, since that would imply a high investment, and mainly because many of these legacy machines remain highly productive. That said, there is a need to develop integration methodologies for these legacy industrial devices and provide them with smart factory communication capabilities that make them suitable for the new Smart Factory environments. In this work, an approach is proposed, using as a case study an industrial shop floor, to integrate data from a range of injection moulding machines, from different generations and different models / manufacturers. This equipment diversity renders the automatic interconnection extremely challenging, but is also representative of many existing industrial scenarios. This research will contribute to the development of integration methodologies and, consequently, improve equipment compatibility. To apply these methodologies, information about specific machines within the shop floor was gathered, as well as their communication and I/O capabilities, together with other features deemed relevant. A trend in recently released machines can be identified, revealing a special focus on the use of OPC UA standard, making use of its address space based on the structured Euromap information models. On the other hand, the legacy devices mainly allow outputting a text file to an external storage unit connected to the machine, containing machine and injection cycles related information. Regarding the communication interfaces available, the Ethernet interface reveals to be the most common among the recently acquired machines, while USB is the main interface in older equipment. An experimental solution was developed for the presented case study, which uses the machine's USB interface to access these files at each injection cycle, mapping the acquired data to structured information model variables, according with Euromap specifications, and making it available through an OPC UA server address space. The developed server provides a standardized, interoperable, scalable, and secure approach for data exchange between the injection moulding machines and various OPC UA clients, allowing device monitoring and control during operation, as well as transmitting this data to higher-level management systems, e.g., MES and ERP systems. This solution shows that older legacy devices, available across the shop floors, can be retrofitted and integrated in Smart Factory scenarios, side-by-side with recently released equipment, giving production managers access to information needed to monitor and improve the production process, thus moving towards the Factories of the Future.