Prototyping Approach Research Articles

Passive Monitoring of Parkinson Tremor in Daily Life: A Prototypical Network Approach

Objective and continuous monitoring of Parkinson’s disease (PD) tremor in free-living conditions could benefit both individual patient care and clinical trials, by overcoming the snapshot nature of clinical assessments. To enable robust detection of tremor in the context of limited amounts of labeled training data, we propose to use prototypical networks, which can embed domain expertise about the heterogeneous tremor and non-tremor sub-classes. We evaluated our approach using data from the Parkinson@Home Validation study, including 8 PD patients with tremor, 16 PD patients without tremor, and 24 age-matched controls. We used wrist accelerometer data and synchronous expert video annotations for the presence of tremor, captured during unscripted daily life activities in and around the participants’ own homes. Based on leave-one-subject-out cross-validation, we demonstrate the ability of prototypical networks to capture free-living tremor episodes. Specifically, we demonstrate that prototypical networks can be used to enforce robust performance across domain-informed sub-classes, including different tremor phenotypes and daily life activities.

Development of Sharia-based Financial: An Implementation in the Halal Food Industry

Islamic studies in Indonesia are rapidly expanding in the financial realm. Sharia-based financial calculations are an important element in ensuring compliance with Islamic Sharia in various financial products and services affiliated with the halal food industry. The principle of sharia calculation in the halal industry includes the formulation of prohibitions such as interest (riba), gambling, fraud, and loss. As a Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia holds significant potential to lead in Islamic economics, particularly in finance. However, the management of information systems in the halal food sector remains underdeveloped, with many halal companies relying on conventional systems instead of Sharia-compliant solutions. This study seeks to address the identified issue by developing a Sharia-compliant information system for the food and beverage industry where the existing information system acquires halal, infaq, sadaqah, and waqf calculations by uploading without involving tax obligations. Data collection was conducted from halal-certified companies with branch offices in Semarang and Surakarta, while user requirements were defined through technical discussions with main managers and branch heads to ensure system relevance. Implementation of system development methods using a prototype approach by acquiring system development theory. In its contribution, feedback from users who are business people in the halal industry includes sharia after tax, displaying suppliers of products that have the legality of halal certification and product prices that are above the price of potential products: so that even though halal production costs more, the resulting information system will be able to control these costs. This system is able to reduce and control costs so that the company remains in the profit corridor.

Empowering Islamic Hospitality: Designing A Halal Tourism Information System for Muslim Travelers in Bali, Indonesia

Indonesia has great potential as a halal tourism destination, and based on the 2023 Global Muslim Index, Indonesia is ranked first as a halal tourism destination. Bali, as one of the favorite tourist destinations in Indonesia, is, of course, also attractive for Muslim travelers. Unfortunately, there is still limited information regarding various Muslim Friendly tourist attractions and facilities there. The existing halal tourism information system also still has a low rating. This study uses a prototyping approach to design a halal tourism information system that is easy to use and access, especially for halal tourism in Bali. The prototype tested with the usability test obtained an average value of 3.9 on a 5 scale and got a higher score of 4.3 on ease of use and application expectations. The score shows that the system fulfilled its proposal to create an information system for halal tourism in Bali, Indonesia, which is easy to access and use.

Fostering technical skills and creativity in the digital fabrication spaces: an open-ended prototyping approach

AbstractThis paper explores the impact of a digital fabrication course on the development of digital fabrication skills and creativity. The course focused on open-ended prototyping and aimed to investigate its effects on students’ motivation, enjoyment, and confidence. Students’ creativity levels were measured using a creativity test at the beginning and end of a seven-week course. Additionally, the students shared their subjective feedback on their skills and experiences in designing and fabricating prototypes using digital fabrication tools. The results showed that prototyping activities significantly improved students’ overall creativity and perceived proficiency in 2D and 3D modeling, prototyping, embedded programming, and operating fabrication machines. Students’ confidence increased across most skills, although some of their motivation and enjoyment for certain skills decreased by the end of the course. It was also revealed that collaborative learning was perceived as enjoyable and not always suitable for developing certain personal skills, such as 2D modelling and programming. Future research could investigate pedagogical approaches tailored to individual needs and collaborative configurations for optimal skill development.

An integrated prototyping tool to enhance interdisciplinary communication in smart product design

The increasing integration of smart products into society is noteworthy in the field of Prospective Ergonomics (PE), as they herald the emergence of novel products featuring yet-to-be-discovered interaction modalities. Literature highlights a lack of front-end prototyping approaches that transcend disciplinary skills and aid communication across diverse design fields, highly relevant in early-stage smart product development. This paper introduces an integrated, low-fidelity prototyping tool to enhance interdisciplinary communication and understanding of future products’ interactive and environmental qualities. A survey provides preliminary validation of the integrated tool’s format and content. Findings endorse the tool’s structure and flexibility in supporting understanding and communication of interactive and environmental qualities of smart product concepts across a range of design disciplines. As such we advance the discourse on PE by envisioning a low-fidelity prototyping tool to create intermediary objects supporting design efforts towards future products and their new and emerging interaction modalities.

Loyalty from a personal point of view: A cross-cultural prototype study of loyalty.

Loyalty is considered central to people's moral life, yet little is known about how people think about what it means to be loyal. We used a prototype approach to understand how loyalty is represented in Colombia and the United States and how these representations mediate attributions of loyalty and moral judgments of loyalty violations. Across seven studies (N = 1,984), we found cross-cultural similarities in the associative meaning of loyalty (Study 1) but found differences in the centrality of features associated with loyalty (Study 2) and the latent structure of loyalty representations (Study 3). Colombians represent loyalty in terms of more general moral characteristics, while U.S. participants represent loyalty in terms of interpersonal commitment, both in contrast with current approaches to loyalty. By comparing representations of loyalty and honesty, we establish that differences in loyalty conceptualizations reflect a different way of thinking about loyalty rather than morality more generally (Study 4). Further, Colombians attributed greater loyalty to individuals with general moral characteristics compared to participants from the U.S. sample (Study 5) and were more likely to classify nonloyal values as loyalty-related (Study 6). While the centrality of prototypical features predicts categorizing norm violations as loyalty-related, differences in prototypical structure account for differences in the severity of moral judgment for such violations (Study 7), which suggests that loyalty representations have similar functions, even though these representations differ in structural characteristics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Systemic Perspective on Companies and the Digital Transformation: A Prototypical Methodological Approach as a Solution to Complex Business Problems

Due to changing market conditions, customer needs and environmental influences, organisations are facing increased pressure to transform in today’s world. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have made many organisations aware of the importance of digital transformation in order to remain successful even in times of disruptive change. However, the pandemic has also shown how connected and complex the world is. The aim of this work is to answer the question of what a possible systematic method for dealing with complex business problems might look like. Dealing with complexity is a critical factor for any organisation and determines how resilient it can position itself in the face of dynamic environmental influences. To answer the research question, a prototype was first developed based on Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory, from which a systematic method was derived. The prototypes were then further developed and validated in qualitative expert interviews. A systems theory approach was chosen because it claims to construct a holistic picture of the company as a social system and thus to capture the interactions of all system components. Qualitative interviews based on a semi-standardised approach were used to test the prototypes for comprehensibility, applicability, and validity. German experts in the fields of system technology, change management and digital transformation were interviewed.

Hardware Implementation of Fully Controlled Bridge Rectifier with Rapid Control Prototyping Approach

In industrial applications, rapid prototyping of digital controls is important in terms of time, cost, and getting easier design steps. Especially the complexity of different power electronic converter circuits and their necessity of providing various operating conditions make digital control inevitable. However, developing a digital control system has many unknown details. In-the-loop simulation techniques evolved to simplify this stage during the last few decades. In this paper, a fully controlled bridge rectifier is designed and implemented by using a rapid control prototyping approach; its steps are accelerated with processor-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop tests. Launchpad F28379D from Texas Instruments is used as an interface between the designed rectifier hardware circuit and MATLAB/Simulink Embedded Coder platform. Additionally, a driver control board is developed to provide switching signals and analog to digital measurements. The performance of the system is experimentally tested on a 500W rectifier prototype with a closed loop PI controller for voltage regulation at different parametric variations.

COSINUS:TES-instrumented NaI Crystals for Direct Dark Matter Search

In the last years, the COSINUS (Cryogenic Observatory for SIgnals seen in Next generation Underground Searches) experiment has made significant progress both in the construction of its facility and in pursuing its physics goals: At Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy, an underground facility was constructed, which will house experimental detectors for dark matter direct detection in a dry dilution cryostat. Construction of the main structures at the COSINUS site is finished, including the control building, the cryostat access level, and the water tank which will serve as a Cherenkov muon veto around the cryostat. With a nuclear recoil threshold of 4 keV, the latest COSINUS detector prototype approaches the design goal of 1 keV, and particle discrimination on event-by-event basis has been demonstrated. This contribution gives a brief overview on the status of COSINUS.

«Русская душа» как модус русского менталитета: семантический подход

In the article the concept of "Russian soul" is considered as a modus of Russian mentality. Soul as a personal category in combination with the characteristic "Russian" has subjective qualities. It is shown that the semantic method is an important part of the strategies for studying the mental characteristics of the Russian soul. The method allows us to identify its essential properties through the analysis of words and expressions that have become entrenched in the language of "folk culture" to denote habitualized, familiar behavioral patterns and social practices of the bearers of "Russianness." Semantic groups associated with the concept of "Russian soul" include alternative characteristics inherent in the Russian character, which is explained by its inherent inconsistency. The main ambivalent meanings invested in the expression "Russian soul" are highlighted. It is shown that the main drawback of the semantic approach to the analysis of the Russian mentality and its manifestations is the detachment from reality. Although the semantic method has great potential, it cannot be considered universal and sufficient for revealing the content of mental characteristics by analyzing the conceptual sphere of Russian culture due to its inherent subjective and formal nature. Subjectivity is expressed in the fact that in the process of studying individual meanings and determining the frequency of word use, it is impossible to take into account all terms that are close in meaning, united by a dominant idea, but differ in nuances. The insufficiency of the semantic method for studying the "Russian soul" as a modus of Russian mentality is due to the peculiarities of the use of typification techniques in it and can be compensated for by using a prototypical approach, in which specific subjects – historical figures, literary, mythological, or fairy-tale characters, folk heroes, etc. – act as prototypical bearers of "Russianness," thanks to which a consensus of ideas about the "Russian soul" is formed in the national community, ensuring the "recognition" of its manifestations.

Development of a hybrid ANFIS method for optimising laser beam welding of dissimilar metals: a virtual prototype approach

Development of a hybrid ANFIS method for optimising laser beam welding of dissimilar metals: a virtual prototype approach

Developing and Testing a Portable Soil Nutrient Detector in Irrigated and Rainfed Paddy Soils from Java, Indonesia

Data on the soil nutrient content are required to calculate fertilizer rate recommendations. The soil laboratory determines these soil properties, yet the measurement is time-consuming and costly. Meanwhile, portable devices to assess the soil nutrient content in real-time are limited. However, a proprietary and low-cost NPK sensor is available and commonly used in IoT for agriculture. This study aimed to assemble and test a portable, NPK sensor-based device in irrigated and rainfed paddy soils from Java, Indonesia. The device development followed a prototyping approach. The device building included market surveys and opted for an inexpensive, light, and compact soil sensor, power storage, monitor, and wire connectors. Arduino programming language was used to write scripts for data display and sub-device communication. The result is a real-time, portable soil nutrient detector that measures the soil temperature, moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, and N, P, and K contents. Field tests show that the device is sensitive to soil properties and location. The portable soil nutrient detector may be an alternative tool for the real-time measurement of soil nutrients in paddy fields in Indonesia.

Sub-national scale mapping of individual olive trees integrating Earth observation and deep learning

The olive tree holds great cultural, environmental, and economic significance in the Mediterranean region. In particular, Morocco has been making dedicated investments over $10 billion since 2008 to fuel the transition from cereal to olive production. Understanding the spatial extent of this large-scale land conversion is critical for a variety of socioeconomic purposes. In response to this demand, we conducted a study to map individual olive trees in northern Morocco using satellite imagery and deep learning techniques at a sub-national scale. This study utilized cloud-free, very-high-resolution DigitalGlobe imagery collected between 2018 and 2022 to identify each individual olive tree in six northern Morocco provinces. We compared various deep learning models, including both transformer-based and CNN-based models, to generate patch-level spatial constraints and pixel-level tree identification. We found that transformer-based models outperformed CNN-based models in both tasks. Additionally, spatially constraining the pixel-level results improved olive tree mapping accuracy to varying degrees, depending on the initial performance of the model. The evaluation of the olive map generated from this study shows high accuracy in both surveyed and unsampled regions. This research represents the first-of-its-kind individual olive tree mapping at the sub-national scale that can help monitor the large-scale land conversions such as about 110,000 ha of olive plantings in the six Moroccan provinces studies here. Meanwhile it demonstrates a cost-effective and efficient prototype approach that can be adapted to identify similar tree crop expansion occurring in other parts of the world.

Fabrication of high-resolution, flexible, laser-induced graphene sensors via stencil masking

The advent of wearable sensing platforms capable of continuously monitoring physiological parameters indicative of health status have resulted in a paradigm shift for clinical medicine. The accessibility and adaptability of such portable, unobtrusive devices enables proactive, personalized care based on real-time physiological insights. While wearable sensing platforms exhibit powerful capabilities for continuously monitoring physiological parameters, device fabrication often requires specialized facilities and technical expertise, restricting deployment opportunities and innovation potential. The recent emergence of rapid prototyping approaches to sensor fabrication, such as laser-induced graphene (LIG), provides a pathway for circumventing these barriers through low-cost, scalable fabrication. However, inherent limitations in laser processing restrict the spatial resolution of LIG-based flexible electronic devices to the minimum laser spot size. For a CO2 laser–a commonly reported laser for device production–this corresponds to a feature size of ∼120 μm. Here, we demonstrate a facile, low-cost stencil-masking technique to reduce the minimum resolvable feature size of a LIG-based device from 120 ± 20 μm to 45 ± 3 μm when fabricated by CO2 laser. Characterization of device performance reveals this stencil-masked LIG (s-LIG) method yields a concomitant improvement in electrical properties, which we hypothesize is the result of changes in macrostructure of the patterned LIG. We showcase the performance of this fabrication method via production of common sensors including temperature and multi-electrode electrochemical sensors. We fabricate fine-line microarray electrodes not typically achievable via native CO2 laser processing, demonstrating the potential of the expanded design capabilities. Comparing microarray sensors made with and without the stencil to traditional macro LIG electrodes reveals the s-LIG sensors have significantly reduced capacitance for similar electroactive surface areas. Beyond improving sensor performance, the increased resolution enabled by this metal stencil technique expands capabilities for scalable fabrication of high-performance wearable sensors in low-resource settings without reliance on traditional fabrication pathways.

Sistem Informasi Logistik PT. Atri Distribusindo Banda Aceh

The utilization of information technology at PT. Atri Distribusindo Banda Aceh is still limited, particularly in logistics management, which is conducted manually. This situation complicates administrative processes, leading to delays and a high risk of errors in inventory management. To address these issues, this study develops a computerized logistics information system using the prototyping method, PHP, and MySQL. The prototyping approach allows for iterative feedback during system development, ensuring the system meets operational needs more effectively. The system is designed to enhance data accuracy and improve workflow efficiency in logistics operations. Based on observations and analysis, the logistics information system is expected to provide accurate and timely information, ultimately supporting better decision-making within PT. Atri Distribusindo Banda Aceh.

Structural integrity assessment and optimization of control surfaces in coaxial unmanned aerial vehicles: A case study of a micro coaxial UAV

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) play a pivotal role in modern society which requires lightweight yet robust structures to fulfill increasingly complex tasks. This study presents a cost-effective prototyping approach to assess the structural integrity of control surfaces within the innovative Coaxial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle version 3.0 (MCR UAV v3.0). Integrating a hybrid design with coaxial propulsion for vertical stabilization and yaw control, the MCR UAV v3.0 incorporates control surfaces (ailerons) to manage roll and pitch movements during flight. The design process relies on a comprehensive understanding of material mechanical properties, particularly polylactic acid (PLA) specimens fabricated via fused deposition modeling (FDM) with varying infill percentages and building angles. A novel fluid-structure interaction method is developed in order to analyze four control surface topologies: concave (A), optimized concave (B), convex (C), and optimized convex (D). Findings reveal that the optimized design significantly improves stress distribution in the fuselage-control surface interface while reducing aileron weight by approximately 70%. Subsequently, a functional UAV prototype incorporating optimized ailerons is manufactured. Flight tests affirm the efficacy of the ailerons in controlling roll and pitch motions. This work significantly contributes by introducing the novel MCR UAV v3.0 and conducting a comprehensive assessment of fuselage-control surface structural stability, offering insights into enhanced UAV design and performance for diverse applications.

In Search of the Prototype of Forced Marriage

Abstract This article discusses the categorization of the phenomenon of bush wives as forced marriage under the residual category of other inhumane acts in the Ongwen case. It reveals how judges at the International Criminal Court have used an Aristotelian Approach to characterization which entailed them to examine, on the basis of a jurisprudentially established checklist, whether the bush wives phenomenon shares the properties of the crime category of other inhumane acts. By discussing the forced marriage practices through an ‘other inhumane acts’ categorization, this article reveals the limits and pitfalls of the Aristotelian Approach. The main problem is that the Aristotelian Approach fails to grasp that categorization does not merely work on the basis of a checklist logic but also is a culturally determined process in which cultural prototypes need to be examined. This article’s main proposition is to consider an alternative way of categorization drawing from the philosophy of language and social sciences and suggests judges adopt a Prototype Approach. This approach enables judges to move away from a generic way of labelling different fact patterns through a checklist of properties and take on a more tailor-made and culturally sensitive approach that involves categorization through the discussion of the similarity and distinctiveness of a certain fact pattern to a prototype. In this way, judges can diversify interpretation of the other inhumane acts category in light of local practices as it requires a fresh decision of the facts by engaging with cultural practices in a more sensitive way and examining whether this phenomenon entails prototypical marriage practices. In this way, prototype theory opens new pathways in terms of how we label cultural practices and how we use the residual category of other inhumane acts.

Optimalisasi Pendataan Anak Serta Donatur Yayasan Kasih Mandiri Bersinar dengan Metode Prototype

The Yayasan Kasih Mandiri Bersinar (YKMB) is a child welfare institution established in May 1996. However, data management for foster children and donors is still performed manually using notebooks or Microsoft Excel, leading to challenges such as data entry errors, difficulties in report generation, data loss, and limitations in information retrieval. This study employs a prototyping method to develop a web-based application using PHP and MySQL. The prototyping approach allows iterative testing and refinement of the application based on user feedback throughout the development process. The results indicate that the application meets the foundation’s requirements, enhances data management efficiency, and reduces the risks of errors and data loss. Additionally, the application facilitates faster and more structured report generation, supporting better data management practices at YKMB.

Cocreating eating disorder education solutions: A design thinking approach to dietetics curricula in Australia.

As the prevalence of eating disorders continues to increase, there is an urgent need to equip the emerging dietetics workforce to provide care to this growing population. The present study aimed to describe a five-step design thinking process that was applied to brainstorm ideas and develop and test solutions for consideration in the future. A pragmatic, five-step design thinking approach was used during a 1-day, in-person design thinking retreat. Purposive sampling was used to identify key stakeholders, including subject matter, learning and teaching, as well as lived experience experts, dietetics students and recent graduates. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse brainstormed and design solution ideas. Seventeen participants attended the design thinking retreat in April 2023. Four education prototypes were developed and tested by stakeholders including: (1) a change to accreditation requirements for dietetics curricula; (2) a multimodal learning package for penultimate year students; (3) embedding disordered eating and eating disorder content into existing curriculum and upskilling educators; and (4) codesigning an eating disorder module. The design thinking retreat engaged a variety of stakeholders in curriculum design resulting in an array of prototype approaches that aimed to embed eating disorder content into university curricula. Further research is needed to test the prototypes and understand what impact this has on dietetics students' feelings of preparedness to provide care to people seeking this support.

Development of a Collaborative Intelligent Individual Education Program System using a Prototyping Approach

Development of a Collaborative Intelligent Individual Education Program System using a Prototyping Approach