Input Hardware Research Articles

ViRgilites: Multilevel Feedforward for Multimodal Interaction in VR

Navigating the interaction landscape of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) presents significant complexities due to the plethora of available input hardware and interaction modalities, compounded by spatially diverse visual interfaces. Such complexities elevate the likelihood of user errors, necessitating frequent backtracking. To address this, we introduce ViRgilites, a virtual guidance framework that delivers multi-level feedforward information covering the available interaction techniques as well as the future possibilities to interact with virtual objects, anticipating the interaction effects and how they fit with the overall user's goal. ViRgilites is engineered to facilitate task execution, empowering users to make informed decisions about action methodologies and alternative courses of action. This paper presents the architecture and functionality of ViRgilites and demonstrates its efficacy through evaluation with a formative user study.

Fintech inputs, non-performing loans risk reduction and bank performance improvement

The function of Fintech is preventing and resolving financial risks, and the ability of small and medium-sized commercial banks to apply Fintech to resolve non-performing loan risks deserves attention. This paper uses as a sample the micro-survey data of 432 branches of the city commercial banks in Beijing from 2005 to 2022 and constructs an econometric model of the risk reduction effect of Fintech on non-performing loans.The findings are as follows.Firstly, Fintech inputs can significantly reduce the risk of non-performing loans. For every 1% increase in IT personnel inputs, software inputs, and hardware inputs, the non-performing loan ratio will reduce by 0.091%, 0.055%, and 0.024%, respectively. In other words, IT personnel inputs contribute the most to the reduction of non-performing loan risk, followed by software inputs.Fintech has a certain lag effect in alleviating the risk of non-performing loans in banks and tends to strengthen over time.Secondly, Fintech inputs has an indirect effect on banks' performance by reducing non-performing loan risk, And there is a positive feedback loop between Fintech inputs, non-performing loan risk mitigation, and improving performance. This effect is not significant in the current period but significant when lagged by three periods.Thirdly, Fintech inputs has a significant inhibitory effect on non-performing loans loans of concern and subprime. For every 1% increase in inputs in IT personnel, software, and hardware, concern will decrease by 0.263%, 0.358%, and 0.107%, respectively, while subprime will decrease by 0.115%, 0.216%, and 0.057%, respectively. Software and personnel inputs have a greater inhibitory effect on the above two types of loans than hardware inputs. Fourthly,mechanism analysis shows that data governance application, compliance enforcement, and internal control enforcement have a moderating effect on Fintech input's impact on banks' non-performing loan risk.

Design of distributed drive electric vehicle control architecture based on module division

At present, with the deepening of vehicle intelligence and electrification, the logic chaos of the whole vehicle control architecture leads to complex procedures, which cannot adapt to the large-scale, team, and parallel development work, and is not conducive to the later maintenance, upgrading, and platform of the controller. This paper analyzes the types and functions of the vehicle electrical appliances, compiles the vehicle electrical control circuit and CAN (Controller Area Network, CAN) communication network, decouples the control program design from the hardware input signal by reasonably dividing the signal processing flow of the control program, and then divides the vehicle control program into modules to meet the platform-based requirements of the control strategy.

VIRTUSOFT- The Virtual System

Many modules are developed to assist the physical world interact with the digital world. Here we present a very unique approach for Human Computer Interaction (HCI) where, we control Cursor movement, Keyboard typing with alternative input hardware collectively switch, and a Camera method presented integrates tricks operation like Clicking and Saving the photos in gallery are visiting be performed with the numerous hand gestures by using webcam as data device employing a real-time web camera. During this “VIRTUSOFT” Our method is to use a web camera and computer vision technology, like image segmentation, background subtraction and color tracking to manage mouse tasks (left clicking, right clicking, double clicking and scrolling actions) which we show how it can perform everything as current hardware devices can. For the thing recognition and tracking the color pointer has been used and implement the module with none physical contact with the system. Click events of the mouse are achieved by detecting the quantity of recommendations on the pictures.

Boosting Speech-to-Text software potential

The article focuses on finding ways of boosting efficiency and accuracy of Speech-to-Text (STT)-powered input. The effort is triggered by the growing popularity of the software among professional translators, which is in line with the general trend of abandoning typing in favor of speech-to-text applications. Insisting that better effectiveness of such programs is contingent on their accuracy, the researchers analyze major factors, both linguistic and technical in nature, affecting the computer-assisted speech transcribing quality. This leads to an experiment, putting the hypothesis to a test. Based on numerical and performance data, errors and their breakdown into categories in an attempt to figure out their origins, it dwells on various approaches to dictation in a combination with several hardware options and configurations. These pave the way for recommendations on the improvement of STT performance based on the Dragon software. The authors arrive at a conclusion that it is possible to boost the STT accuracy up to 99 percent by adjusting the program profile to accommodate phonetic features of the speaker with due consideration of his accent, adding to the dictionary the most complex and rare vocabulary beforehand, and fine-tuning input hardware. Other noteworthy results include ways to overcome the most complex transcribing challenges, i.e. proper names, placenames, abbreviations, etc.

A Smart System using Hand Gestures and Voice

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) grew enormously over the years. Hand gesture recognition technology brought a brand-new era to the artificial intelligence branch of human-computer interaction. Hand Gesture-based communication is one of the most effortless and natural methods. Identifying and interpreting hand gestures from a continuous sequential stream of input data is called gesture recognition. Amateur or aged people find it hard to identify and press the exact alphabet that they need. Overcoming this difficulty stands as the ultimate goal for our proposed system. Typing has taken many forms, first using a keyboard, gradually changing to touch screens, and now too much easier finger motion tracking systems. The gesture is made by the user is detected by the machine via the image processing techniques and the operation unique to the machine is carried out, thereby minimizing the requirement of any hardware input device. This paper proposes a virtually controlled system that uses hand gestures and voice to perform operations. The system will allow the user to manage cursor, keyboard, and writing functions using hand gestures, and also provides the user with an additional feature to convert the user’s voice to text. The proposed system utilizes a webcam as an input device. This application will add a brand-new era of HCI implementation for educational purposes.

Особливості реалізації багатозадачності на платформах Raspberry Pi та Arduino

The most popular platforms for developers of embedded systems among beginners are Arduino and Raspberry Pi. These platforms are different and have different purposes, but both may need to perform multiple operations in parallel. The article shows ways to implement multitasking on the above-mentioned platforms. Since Arduinos are mostly based on single-core AVR microcontrollers, with a rather low clock frequency, the multitasking of this platform is only conditional. Time-consuming operations will occupy the only core and the only thread of the microcontroller, which will not allow doing anything else. This does not apply to the hardware components of the microcontroller, such as timers, which work independently from the software part and allow the implementation of short tasks with a fixed period. There are libraries for simply writing a program that uses such controller capabilities. The most famous of them is TimedAction, which can be found on the official Arduino website. Also, most microcontrollers have a hardware input that can be used to generate software interrupts. During the interruption, operations can also be performed, after the completion of which the work of the main loop of the program will be resumed. On the Raspberry Pi, as on similar microcomputers running the Linux OS, you can fully consider threads and processes. A process is an instance of a program and is created by the operating system. Individual processes do not share a common memory. Parallel processes are used when complex calculations need to be accelerated. Threads are subtasks, which can be several within a process. There is a common amount of memory between several threads, which allows convenient data exchange. Parallel threads are used when you need to perform long I/O operations. In the Python language, which is widely used in embedded systems, the Threading library is used to implement multithreading. A feature of multitasking in Python is the Global Interpreter Lock. This mechanism ensures that the code of only one application process will be executed at a time. This feature of Python has supporters and detractors, as well as advantages and disadvantages.

Reaction Time-Based Cognitive Assessments in Virtual Reality - A Feasibility Study with an Age Diverse Sample.

While virtual reality (VR) is an emerging paradigm in a variety of research contexts, VR-based embodiment effects on behavior and performance still lack in sufficient evidence regarding to bias in cognitive performance assessment. In this methodological observational study, we compare the VR measurement of cognitive performance with a conventional computer-based testing approach in real life (RL) in younger and older adults. The differences between VR and RL scenarios are investigated using the background of two theoretical models from cognitive psychology. Furthermore, data assessment reliability and validity are analyzed, concerning the feasibility of technological and ergonomic aspects. A within-group comparison showed no change in information processing speed in either one of the two age groups, i.e., both groups perform equally well in RL and in a VR testing environment. The use of lifelike VR environments for cognitive performance tests seems not to lead to any performance changes compared to RL computer-based assessments, making VR suitable for similar applications. On technical concerns, we recommend the careful use of reaction time paradigms regarding to input hardware and stimuli presentation.

A meta-analysis of virtual reality training programs

Virtual reality (VR) is the three-dimensional digital representation of a real or imagined space with interactive capabilities. The application of VR for organizational training purposes has been surrounded by much fanfare; however, mixed results have been provided for the effectiveness of VR training programs, and the attributes of effective VR training programs are still unknown. To address these issues, we perform a meta-analysis of controlled experimental studies that tests the effectiveness of VR training programs. We obtain an estimate of the overall effectiveness of VR training programs, and we identify features of VR training programs that systematically produce improved results. Our meta-analytic findings support that VR training programs produce better outcomes than tested alternatives. The results also show that few moderating effects were significant. The applied display hardware, input hardware, and inclusion of game attributes had non-significant moderating effects; however, task-technology fit and aspects of the research design did influence results. We suggest that task-technology fit theory is an essential paradigm for understanding VR training programs, and no set of VR technologies is “best” across all contexts. Future research should continue studying all types of VR training programs, and authors should more strongly integrate research and theory on employee training and development.

Analysis of Physical Education Teaching Evaluation System

In order to realize the accurate evaluation of physical education teaching quality, a big data analysis model of physical education teaching quality evaluation is proposed, and the system analysis the evaluation of physical education teaching .Big data classification and identification of physical education quality are carried out by using K-means clustering method. According to the results of statistical feature clustering of physical education quality, the input effectiveness of physical education hardware facilities is evaluated. Establish the quantitative evaluation model of financial expenditure and PE teaching quality evaluation project performance, adopt F statistic quantity analysis method to adjust the structure of physical education teaching hardware input and teacher force input. According to the statistical analysis results of physical education teaching quality evaluation, the self-adaptive evaluation of physical education teaching quality evaluation is carried out, and the optimization of physical education teaching quality evaluation is realized by combining the big data analysis method.

Open Sourcing as a Profit-Maximizing Strategy for Downstream Firms

This paper characterizes and explores a corporate strategy in which downstream firms collaborate to develop open substitute designs for proprietary hardware they would otherwise purchase from upstream suppliers. This strategy centrally involves the downstream firms distributing design costs over multiple downstream firms—a strategy that is routine to producers selling to multiple downstream firms but which has been in the past typically not practical for coalitions of downstream firms. Today, downstream firms find it increasingly feasible to codesign products they may all purchase because of two technological trends. First, computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing and other design technologies are lowering downstream firms’ costs to develop designs for purchased hardware inputs. Second, better communication technologies are lowering the costs of doing such projects collaboratively, even among large groups of downstream customer firms. Downstream firms collaborating to develop a design for a hardware input they can all purchase could in principle choose to protect their design as a club good. However, opening up collaboratively created designs to free riders can increase the profits of the contributing firms for several reasons we explore and model. Important among these is that free revealing draws free riders away from purchases of proprietary software or hardware to customer-developed free substitutes. This “scale-stealing” mechanism reduces the markets of upstream suppliers of competing proprietary inputs. In the case of hardware only, free riders also contribute to reducing the average manufacturing costs of the open hardware by increasing purchase volumes and so creating increased economies of scale. Resulting reduced unit purchase costs benefit downstream firms contributing to the free design as well as free riders.

Exploring the Potential of Full Body and Hand Gesture Teleoperation of Robots Inside Heterogeneous Human-Robot Teams

We present a within-subjects user study to compare robot teleoperation schemes based on traditional PC and game console input hardware, to a 3D spatial interaction interface. The goal of the study is to explore whether 3D spatial gestures can be an effective teleoperation scheme for multiple robot configurations in a heterogeneous Human-Robot Team (HRT). Our research explores the user’s performance and disposition towards each teleoperation scheme so as to study their preferences regarding the efficacy of gesture-based teleoperation. Our results indicate that despite little training and lack of exposure on using 3D spatial interaction schemes to control robots, users are able to complete a complex task with the robot team with no statistically significant difference in quantitative performance. Qualitative statistics are analyzed and a discussion of user preferences is provided.

Virtual Reality Interventions for Personal Development: A Meta-Analysis of Hardware and Software

Virtual reality (VR) has been repeatedly applied for personal development purposes, ranging from learning and training (cognitive outcomes), to psychological therapies (emotional outcomes), to physical rehabilitation (physical outcomes). Several factors lead to a successful VR intervention, most notably the hardware and software. In the current article, a meta-analysis is performed to test the effect of specialized input hardware (e.g motion sensors, floor pads, etc.), advanced output hardware (i.e., head-mounted displays, surround-screen displays, etc.), and game elements (i.e., score, competition, etc.) across and within the three noted applications of VR intervention. When analyzing the overall effects, only game elements had a significant impact on outcomes. When analyzing specific applications, input hardware did not have a notable impact on outcomes for any application; output hardware had a notable impact on cognitive and emotional outcomes but not physical; and game elements had a notable impact on cognitive outcomes but not emotional or physical. From these results, the current article provides direct suggestions for future research and practice. Particularly, certain mediating mechanisms are suggested to explain the impact of output hardware and game elements on VR intervention outcomes, sparking possible new directions for research and practice.

Real-time shape recognition scheme on projected capacitive touchscreens

Most modern mobile devices are equipped with touchscreens as the main input hardware. Users can write text or draw shapes on the touchscreen to interact with apps. Therefore, accurate recognition of users’ freehand sketches becomes crucial for a device to receive correct instructions from users. This paper proposes a real-time scheme to recognize shapes drawn on the touchscreen. The proposed shape recognition scheme includes preprocessing, feature extraction and shape classification stages. Freehand strokes drawn by users are usually distorted and inaccurate. In preprocessing, this study uses the sampling technique to remove drawing imperfections such as small jagged noise or distorted strokes. In the feature extraction, we use a state machine to extract the length and curvature as the intrinsic features of a shape. In the final shape classification stage, a template-based approach is used to classify the input shape. A fitness score of the input shape to a template is calculated and the template with the highest score is chosen as the most matched shape. Experiment results show that the proposed real-time shape recognition has high accuracy and good performance.

'Open Inputs' as a Profit-Maximizing Strategy by Customers

This paper characterizes and explores a corporate strategy in which downstream firms collaborate to develop open substitute designs for proprietary hardware they would otherwise purchase from upstream suppliers. This strategy centrally involves customers themselves distributing design costs over multiple customers – a strategy that is routine to producers selling to multiple customers, but which has been impractical for coalitions of customers until fairly recently. Today customers find it increasingly feasible to co-design products they may all purchase due to two technological trends. First, CAD-CAM and other design technologies are lowering downstream firms’ costs to develop designs for purchased hardware inputs. Second, better communication technologies are lowering the costs of doing such projects collaboratively, even among large groups of downstream customer firms. Customer firms collaborating to develop a design for a hardware input they all purchase could in principle choose to protect their design as a club good. However, opening up collaboratively-created designs to free riders can increase the profits of the contributing firms for several reasons that we explore and model. Important among these is that free revealing draws free riders away from purchases of proprietary software or hardware to customer-developed free substitutes. This reduces the markets of upstream suppliers of competing proprietary inputs. Free riders also, in the case of hardware only, contribute to reducing the average manufacturing costs of the open hardware by increasing purchase volumes and so creating increased economies of scale. Resulting reduced unit purchase costs benefit customers contributing to the free design as well as free riders.

Expenditure and Input of Chinese Community Health Service Institution: A Study Based on Grey System Theory

Based on statistical data of expenditure and input of community health service institution in China, this paper predicts the growth of expenditure of community health service institution, and analyzes the relationship between expenditure and input of community health service institution in China, using GM(1, 1) Grey prediction model and Grey correlation analysis method. The results include: (1) the expenditure in 2020 will be three times as much as the expenditure of community health service institution in 2014; (2) in the inputs of community health service institution, the correlation between the number of health technical personnel and expenditure has the highest rank; (3) the correlations between expenditure and input factors including area of health professional houses, number of managerial personnel, number of logistics workers, number of medical beds, number of medical equipments priced 10, 000 yuan and above, number of other technical personnel rank from two to seven. Based on the results, related conclusions could be drawn, including: (1) the input structure of medical personnel of community health service institution needs to be adjusted; (2) hardware inputs should be in line with the development requirement of community health service institution.

Controlling VR games: control schemes and the player experience

Control schemes are central to the player experience as they dictate how users interact with the game world. Since the 1990s, desktop 3D games have used a standard control scheme (often called “mouselook”) in which the mouse simultaneously rotates the camera view, aims, and steers the player’s avatar. Virtual reality games require a different approach because head-mounted displays introduce an additional input channel. To date, research has focused on the usability of hardware input devices, while control schemes have received little attention. Furthermore, VR games do not have a standard control scheme as of yet. To address this gap, we conducted a mixed-methods study that compared three types of control schemes for first-person virtual reality games and measured their effect on player experience, performance and immersion. We found that familiar control schemes that coupled control of the camera view and steering the avatar, had no dead zone (i.e., “keyhole” or area of the screen in which input is not recognized), and allowed players to use the mouse to control all in-game functions were preferred and resulted in the best performance and immersion scores.

Global MPPT algorithm with coordinated control of PSO and INC for rooftop PV array

Considering the characteristics of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) array, a new mathematical model of PV array that is suitable for partial shading condition is built based on an engineering model of a solar cell. It is derived theoretically that output voltage of PV array can be expressed by piecewise function. Moreover, a global maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control method based on particle swarm optimisation (PSO) and incremental conductance algorithm (INC) coordination control is put forward under partial shading. When the environmental conditions are stable, MPPT can be achieved by INC control; otherwise, when the external conditions change, global maximum power point of PV systems can be located fast and accurately by PSO. So, the tracking efficiency is improved. Simulation results show that the PSO and INC coordination control methods have better tracking precision. It can be achieved easily and reduce hardware input costs. It also improves the PV array output efficiency.

Analysis of capabilities of microscopic examinations of Plasmodium in Dongxihu District, Wuhan City

To investigate and analyze the capabilities of Plasmodium microscopic examinations in medical and health organizations in Dongxihu District, Wuhan City, so as to provide evidences for achieving the standard of malaria elimination and malaria control in the future. The basic information of the laboratorians and the hardware facilities in 15 microscopic examination stations of Plasmodium were collected and analyzed from 2010 to 2015. Meanwhile, the quality of making, dyeing, cleanliness of all the negatives blood smears were evaluated, and all the positive smears were re-checked in the district during the period above mentioned. Totally, there were 28 laboratorians and 9 qualified microscopes in 15 microscopy stations in Dongxihu District. The age of the laboratorians in the first-level and third-level organizations was mainly from 40 to 50 years old, but the age of those in the second-level organizations was from 20 to 30 years old. The years for microscopic examination working of most of the laboratorians in the first-level and third-level organizations were more than 15 years, while the working years of those in the second-level organizations were mainly less than 10 years. The education level of the laboratorians in the first-level organization was mainly (50.00%) junior college, while the education levels of those in the second and third organizations were mainly bachelor. From 2010 to 2015, 8 561 blood smears were produced and 539 of them were reviewed, the coincidence rates of review were all 100%, and the average qualified rates of making, dyeing, and cleanliness of the negative blood smears were 82.08%, 79.92% and 83.33%, respectively. All the rates mentioned above in 2015 were higher than those in 2010 (χ2 = 26.45, 16.85, 13.93, all P ＜ 0.01). The capability of microscopic examinations of Plasmodium has improved obviously in Dongxihu District, but the human resources construction and hardware input in this district should be improved, meanwhile, the check on the quality control of microscopic examinations of Plasmodium should be continued, so as to guarantee the sustainable and healthy development of malaria control work in this district.

Design of the reliable collection and control scheme of the relay node status of the train carborne control system

Train operation control system is the core of urban rail transit system, and the train carborne control system is an important part of the whole train operation control systems, and its reliability will directly affect the safety of the train. In this paper, two out of three closed-loop dynamic input detection technology and hardware dynamic two out of two voting output technology and time synchronization technology were used to design relay node status acquisition and control scheme of the train carborne control system respectively, and effectively guaranteed the reliability of relay node status acquisition and control of the train carborne control system and therefore ensure the safety of operation of the train.