System Design Factors Research Articles

Design preferences on wearable e-nose systems for diabetes

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate potential users’ preferences and expectations for fabric-based wearable e-nose system designs in order to develop painless and non-invasive monitoring systems for diabetes. Design/methodology/approach After developing a fabric-based wearable sensor, this study used an online survey with a mixture of closed- and open-ended questions about people’s desires and preferences for use-contexts, product types, design styles, and other key design factors. Findings This study investigated the preferences and expectations on designs of wearable e-nose systems for diabetes. The results showed that designers and developers need to consider important design components including sizes, shapes, and colors for practical wearable e-nose system designs. There were strong positive and significant correlations between participant characteristics and preferred wearable e-nose system design factors. Research limitations/implications Future research could compare differences between different age groups with different types of diabetes. Practical implications Understanding these differences will help designers and marketers target consumers and create diverse designs with different versions for success in the market. Originality/value There is lack of research for considering designs of wearable monitoring systems for diabetes. This research will be the first research to understand design preferences and expectations for developing wearable e-nose monitoring systems for diabetes.

Design Flow of a Digital IC: The role of digital IC\/SOC design in CE products

The Central Module of Consumer Electronics (CE) products is a miniature-sized IC that finds wide-spectrum applicability from kitchen appliances to automobiles, aircraft, or any embedded systems. The system in these modern CE products is built as an analog/mixed-signal SOC (AMS-SOC). In a typical case, the digital circuits are the main computational modules, whereas the analog or mixed-signal components are interfacing circuits. Proficient design of digital ICs has become more important because it is one of the significant driving factors of efficient system design in this current mobile electronics era. The various factors involved during IC design, such as speed, power, and reliability, are shown in Figure 1.

Human Factors in Production System Design and Quality Performance – A Systematic Review

A systematic review of studies providing evidence of the linkage between human factors (HF) in the design and management of operations to production quality performance was conducted. 71 peer reviewed research papers were found to provide evidence of the HF-Quality relationship. These studies identified 178 design factors relating to quality. These included 1) Product Design (54), 2) Production Process Design (75), and 3) Workstation Design aspects (49). In addition 26 Individual quality risk factors were identified. Of the studies identified, about half studied the effects on the human finding associations with the operator workload and fatigue indicators and quality performance. These intermediary variables may provide insight into the mechanism by which HF flaws in the design of production lead to quality deficits in running manufacturing. These results provide useful information for operations managers and production system design teams to secure higher quality performance in their systems by applying human factors.

A Near-Hover Adaptive Attitude Control Strategy of a Ducted Fan Micro Aerial Vehicle with Actuator Dynamics

The aerodynamic parameters of ducted fan micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) are difficult and expensive to precisely measure and are, therefore, not available in most cases. Furthermore, the actuator dynamics with risks of potentially destabilizing the overall system are important but often neglected consideration factors in the control system design of ducted fan MAVs. This paper presents a near-hover adaptive attitude control strategy of a prototype ducted fan MAV with actuator dynamics and without any prior information about the behavior of the MAV. The proposed strategy consists of an online parameter estimation algorithm and an adaptive gain scheduling algorithm, with the former accommodating parametric uncertainties, and the latter approximately eliminating the coupling among axes and guaranteeing the control quality of the MAV. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is verified numerically and experimentally.

Solar thermal application for the livestock industry in Taiwan

Solar water heating systems have proven reliable and economical. In Taiwan, the cumulative area of installed solar collectors at the end of 2014 was approximately 2.39millionm2 and approximately 98% of those systems were installed in the domestic sector. Preheating water for livestock processing plants is cost-effective since heated water can be used for evisceration, sanitation during processing and for daily cleanup of plant. In this case study, detailed measurements are reported for parallel combined solar thermal and heat pump systems that are installed in a livestock processing plant. These results confirm that the hot water consumption, the mass flow rate and the operation of circulation and heat pumps affect the system's thermal efficiency. The combined operational effect is a factor in system design. The estimated payback period is less than the expected service period of the system, which validates the financial viability.

THE EFFECT OF THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES VEHICLE LOCATION AND RESPONSE STRATEGY ON RESPONSE TIMES

Response time is currently considered to be an important performance indicator in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems. A number of factors may affect response times, including the location of emergency vehicles and the type of response system design used. This study aimed to assess the effects of emergency vehicle location and response system design on response time performance in a model of a large South African urban EMS system, using discrete-event simulation. Results indicated that both the emergency vehicle location and response system design factors had a significant effect on r

Examining micro-level knowledge sharing discussions in online communities

Online communities of practice have become a popular knowledge source for both individuals and organizations. It is important to understand how to facilitate virtual knowledge sharing in online communities. Existing studies generally focus on system design factors or motivations behind knowledge sharing behavior. In this study we aim to investigate the knowledge sharing processes in online communities and identify process patterns that are indicative of effective knowledge sharing processes. We propose a computational framework to examine individual knowledge sharing processes in online communities from a process perspective. Our empirical evaluations show that effective knowledge sharing processes have distinct structural characteristics and communication network patterns compared to unhelpful knowledge sharing processes. Our research findings have practical implications for online community practitioners.

Attitudes of Metro Drivers Towards Design of Immediate Physical Environment and System Layout

In this study, the authors examined attitudes of the Tyne & Wear (T&W) Metro drivers towards system design-related factors and their influence on the propagation of driver-related incidents. The system design features assessed include the position of running signals, visibility of different signal types, and platform location in relation to the travelling direction. The methodology based on data gathering through a self-administered questionnaire distributed among the drivers has been used. These data have been evaluated using multivariate analysis techniques against historic data on incidents to uncover potential relationships between drivers’ perceptions and incident occurrence. The results show that the participants do not tend to consider system design factors as influential towards incident propagation. However, the analysis shows correlation between the driver responses and historical incident data such as corroboration of the increased incident propagation risks during the engineering works and the possessions.

Approach for parameter estimation in Markov model of software reliability for early prediction: a case study

Early prediction of software reliability may be used to evaluate design feasibility, compare design alternatives, identify potential failure areas, trade-off system design factors, track reliability improvements, identify the cost overrun at an early stage and to provide optimal development strategies. Many researchers have proposed different approaches to predict the software reliability based on Markov model but the uncertainty associated with these approaches is to find the transition probabilities in between the two states of the Markov chain. The authors propose an approach to address this problem by modelling the software system through Petri Net, converting it into Markov chain and solving the linear system mathematically. The validation of the proposed approach has also been shown by comparing the predicted reliability, based on predicted transition probability, with computed reliability, based on operational profile of safety critical software of Nuclear Power Plant.

Human Factors in Order Picking System Design: A Content Analysis

Order picking is considered as one of the most labor- and time-intensive processes in internal logistics. Over the last decades, researchers have developed various planning models that help to increase the efficiency of order picking systems, while important human characteristics of the order pickers have widely been ignored.This paper presents an attempt to systematically evaluate the literature on order picking planning models and uses a content analysis approach to analyses the literature sample with a special focus on human factors. The results show a clear research gap in considering human factors aspects in order picking planning models.

Supplying MV Motors From LV Adjustable-Speed Drives

In some cases where a medium-voltage (MV) motor is to be used in an adjustable-speed application, the system design, equipment availability, or other factors might favor supplying the motor from a low-voltage system by way of a step-up transformer. While simple in concept, the use of a transformer to step up the drive output voltage to MV level is not a common practice. This paper discusses the characteristics of the drive, transformer, and load that affect system performance. Using a case study for a pump application, this paper develops a method using voltage drop and starting torque calculations to analyze the system.

Moments of angst

Purpose– Competitive dynamics are placing greater emphasis on customer experience, making the management of the last 100 meters of the supply chain critical to differential performance. Traditionally, supply chain design has emphasized two processes: new product development and order fulfillment. Today, a third process must be designed and managed for competitive advantage. That is, the authors need to learn to design service value systems to enhance the customer experience and promote loyalty and lifetime streams of profit. This research informs the enduring challenge that underlies the delivery of high levels of customer satisfaction by enriching theory related to the design and provision of distinctive customer experience. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– The critical incident technique (CIT), an inductive method, is employed to explore two core dimensions of expectancy theory and to identify the phenomenological and underlying systems design factors that bring about both positive and negative customer experiences.Findings– The analysis shows that few companies use customer experience as a competitive lever. Customer service failures persist from a lack of managerial commitment and poor service-delivery process design. A holistic view of customer service that emphasizes policy, people, performance measurement, and processes emerges.Originality/value– Identifying and describing the customer-experience system as a third fundamental supply chain process is an important contribution. By linking a CIT approach with cause-and-effect analysis, the authors go beyond the frequently analyzed cognitive phenomenology to identify vital systems design issues. By enhancing the customer experience at the end of the supply chain, greater advantage for all participants in the chain emerges.

Reverse logistics network design for spent batteries: a simulation study

End of life (EOL) product management, which encompasses reuse, remanufacturing and materials recycling, requires a structured reverse logistic network in order to collect products efficiently at the end of their life cycle. This work describes modelling and simulation of reverse logistics network design for collection of spent batteries for Sangrur District of North India. To compare different order assignment, a simulation model of forward and reverse logistics networks has been developed. Several simulation experiments have been designed to analyse impact of the system design factors on the operational performance of the reverse logistics system. The simulation results show that the model presented in this paper calculates the battery collection cost, transfer time, transfer cost, and resource utilisation in a predictable manner. Moreover, it provides a tool to understand how the system behaves by carrying out ‘what-if’ assessments and to identify which parameters are most important for more detailed analysis.

It Is Possible

It Is Possible

Optimal Seismic Network Density for Earthquake Early Warning: A Case Study from California

Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS) rapidly detect the initiation of earthquakes and issue warning alerts of possible forthcoming ground shaking. Currently, public warning systems exist in Japan and Mexico, and the development of other EEWS are ongoing in many other regions of the world including the U.S. West Coast (Allen et al. , 2009). Probing the way business and the public actively use early warning information is a crucial factor in early warning system design (Aktas et al. , 2010; Kuyuk, 2010; Kuyuk et al. , 2008; Nakamura, 1988). During the 2011 M 9 Tohoku‐oki, Japan, earthquake, an earthquake warning was successfully issued although the magnitude was underestimated (Hoshiba et al. , 2011). To determine the usefulness of the alerts, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) conducted a public survey (JMA, 2012). Results from the ∼2000 people who answered the survey indicated that most people want two main pieces of information from an EEW message: the time when strong shaking is expected to begin at their location and the estimated shaking intensity. The survey also showed that although the JMA warnings provide additional information about the earthquake location, magnitude, and depth, people are less interested in this information and more interested in the potential impending dangers the large earthquake might cause at their location. Many factors contribute to the time between the issued earthquake warning and the subsequent ground shaking at a given location. In this paper, we refer to this period as the warning time. The warning‐time duration is dictated by many factors, of which the most important are the proximity of stations to the earthquake epicenter, data telemetry speed, data processing time, and the time needed to disseminate the warning. Once an …

The Possibilities of the Communication Methods of iCIM 3000 System and their Main Functions

Actual trends in manufacturing are characterized by production broadening, innovation cycle shortening, and the products having a new shape, material and functions. The production strategy focused on time needed change from the traditional functional production structure to flexible manufacturing cells and lines. Production by automated manufacturing system (AMS) is one of the most important manufacturing philosophies in the last years. The main goals of the project we are involved in lies on building a laboratory in which will be located a flexible manufacturing system consisting of at least two production machines with NC control (milling machines, lathe). These machines will be linked to a transport system and they will be served by industrial robots. Within this flexible manufacturing system a station for the quality control consisting of a camera system and storage system will be also located. The design, analysis and improvement of this manufacturing system, specially with a special focus on the communication among devices constitute the main aims of this paper. The key determining factors for the manufacturing system design are: the product, the production volume, the used machines, the disposable manpower, the disposable infrastructure and the legislative frame for the specific cases.

Low-cost microirrigation system supplied by groundwater: An application to pepper and vineyard crops in Spain

The PRESUD tool was developed using MATLAB™ to identify the optimum microirrigation system design. The lowest cost was determined by calculating the annual water application cost per unit of irrigated area (CT). This is defined as the cost of one cubic meter of water applied to crops, and is the sum of investment (Ca), maintenance (Cm) and energy (Ce) costs. This tool optimizes the shape of the characteristic and efficiency curves of the pump and the pumping pipe, distribution pipe, and irrigation system pipes diameters with a holistic approach.All subunits are rectangular, with the well pipe in the center. The lateral and manifold pipe parameters are calculated using a stepwise method. The analysis includes the effects of the main factors in irrigation system design: dynamic lift in the aquifer (DL), number of subunits (NS), irrigated area (S) and crop irrigation water requirements (Rg), among others.The tool was applied to the specific conditions in Spain. Results show that CT decreases with an increase in plot size, and costs are high for plots smaller than 3–5ha. This is due to the percentage of total costs that the tube well and electrical line contribute. CT has a positive relationship with DL. In these case studies, diesel fuel electrical generators are recommended for plots <4ha for pepper crops and up to 15ha for grapevine if DL is 40m. These limits vary with different DL values or changes in the cost and length of the electrical line.

Privacy-Aware Profiling and Statistical Data Extraction for Smart Sustainable Energy Systems

The growing population and global warming have been calling for more effective energy usage, which have stimulated the emergence of smart sustainable energy technology. The distinct feature of this newly emerging technology is the incorporation of advanced information and communication technologies (ICT), which collects more detailed information on how energy is generated, distributed, and consumed. Various smart metering technologies have also been proposed to support the optimization on sustainable energy usage. Despite the obvious benefits of these technologies, people may still hesitate to adopt them because of possible privacy breach. On the other hand, we observe that the major target information for making the sustainable energy system smart is the aggregated statistics of energy usage, not the full detailed usage profiles which would compromise customers' privacy. Thus, how to design schemes to collect aggregated statistics while preserving customers' privacy becomes an important research problem. In this paper, we propose two schemes to deal with this problem. The first one can support dynamic profiling, which can extract aggregated statistical information without compromising individual privacy. The second one aims to extract correlation information among various factors for the smart system design and can also be used as an underlying tool for baseline inference and association rule mining.

Analysis of Resistance Loss’s Impact Factors in Ash Transportation System

The resistance loss of pipeline is one of the main factors in wet-ash transportation system design, and it has a big influence on the economy of the wet-ash transportation. Based on a lot of experimental results, the multi-factor analyzing method on main factors such as flux, velocity, the diameter of pipe, slurry concentration, and slurry specific gravity that influence resistance loss of wet-ash transportation system was employed to find the degree of impact factor on resistance loss. These contents can be referenced in wet-ash transportation system design later.

The effect of community identity on continuance intention of microblogging

Given the growing population of microblogging, predicting users’ continuance intention is getting important. This study explores the relationship among system design of microblog, perceived quality of microblog, community identity, and continuance intention. It extends TAM model with information accessibility, community adaptivity, and perceived playfulness, and provides analytical insight into microblog continuance intention with community identity as a mediator. The study collected research data online through a questionnaire collection website. The respondents are the users from microblog websites (e.g., PLURK, Twitter, etc.) in Taiwan. There are 502 valid surveys returned as the data input for structural equation model (SEM) analysis. The results reveal that community identity is the important factor on continuance intention of microblog usage, and microblog system design factors significantly affect the attitudinal perceptions of microbloggers. Moreover, community identity is a significant mediator between users’ perceptions and continuance intention. The findings from this study are helpful to microblog service providers for increasing user’s continuance intention of microblogging and improving the long term relationship with users.