Visual Programming Language Research Articles

Mathematical pattern for parametric design: the case study of Grey-Scott cross diffusion model.

Mathematics offers a virtually infinite range of incomparably beautiful shapes and patterns that can be used in the production of design objects. In particular, the generation of a large number of patterns can be achieved by varying input parameters of reaction-diffusion models, which simulate the distribution of chemicals. These patterns can be used in the customization of objects whose prototypes are made through additive manufacturing (3D printers). This technique allows very complex shapes and unique pieces to be physicalized in a short period of time. This study highlighted the possibility of creating, through a visual script, a potentially infinite catalog of objects based on mathematical patterns, identified using a Grey Scott reaction-diffusion model, those pattern are mapped on a customizable target surface.

Open-source tool for real-time and automated analysis of droplet-based microfluidic.

Droplet-based microfluidic technology is a powerful tool for generating large numbers of monodispersed nanoliter-sized droplets for ultra-high throughput screening of molecules or single cells. Yet further progress in the development of methods for the real-time detection and measurement of passing droplets is needed for achieving fully automated systems and ultimately scalability. Existing droplet monitoring technologies are either difficult to implement by non-experts or require complex experimentation setups. Moreover, commercially available monitoring equipment is expensive and therefore limited to a few laboratories worldwide. In this work, we validated for the first time an easy-to-use, open-source Bonsai visual programming language to accurately measure in real-time droplets generated in a microfluidic device. With this method, droplets are found and characterized from bright-field images with high processing speed. We used off-the-shelf components to achieve an optical system that allows sensitive image-based, label-free, and cost-effective monitoring. As a test of its use we present the results, in terms of droplet radius, circulation speed and production frequency, of our method and compared its performance with that of the widely-used ImageJ software. Moreover, we show that similar results are obtained regardless of the degree of expertise. Finally, our goal is to provide a robust, simple to integrate, and user-friendly tool for monitoring droplets, capable of helping researchers to get started in the laboratory immediately, even without programming experience, enabling analysis and reporting of droplet data in real-time and closed-loop experiments.

IMFSegNet: Cost-effective and objective quantification of intramuscular fat in histological sections by deep learning

The assessment of muscle condition is of great importance in various research areas. In particular, evaluating the degree of intramuscular fat (IMF) in tissue sections is a challenging task, which today is still mostly performed qualitatively or quantitatively by a highly subjective and error-prone manual analysis. We here realize the mission to make automated IMF analysis possible that (i) minimizes subjectivity, (ii) provides accurate and quantitative results quickly, and (iii) is cost-effective using standard hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained tissue sections. To address all these needs in a deep learning approach, we utilized the convolutional encoder-decoder network SegNet to train the specialized network IMFSegNet allowing to accurately quantify the spatial distribution of IMF in histological sections. Our fully automated analysis was validated on 17 H&E-stained muscle sections from individual sheep and compared to various state-of-the-art approaches. Not only does IMFSegNet outperform all other approaches, but this neural network also provides fully automated and highly accurate results utilizing the most cost-effective procedures of sample preparation and imaging. Furthermore, we shed light on the opacity of black-box approaches such as neural networks by applying an explainable artificial intelligence technique to clarify that the success of IMFSegNet actually lies in identifying the hard-to-detect IMF structures. Embedded in our open-source visual programming language JIPipe that does not require programming skills, it can be expected that IMFSegNet advances muscle condition assessment in basic research across multiple areas as well as in research fields focusing on translational clinical applications.

ChatGPT for Computational Materials Science: A Perspective

ChatGPT has become a very popular artificial intelligence tool recently, with the ability to “chat” with human beings. It can perform some challenging tasks such as writing essays, coding, composing, painting, etc. While the roles of ChatGPT in helping with literature reviews and language editing have been widely debated, the potential applications of ChatGPT in computational materials science have yet to be discussed. Herein, we will briefly discuss 3 aspects that ChatGPT could potentially be applied for computational materials science, i.e., building structures, writing codes for specific scientific software, and preparing data visualization scripts. It is found that while ChatGPT can make some simple mistakes when trying to accomplish general tasks, it has the ability to learn from our words when interacting with us. Meanwhile, we should also pay attention to some problems such as the consistency of the output, hidden errors, and ethical concerns. We hope that this perspective will spur further interest in the potential applications of ChatGPT in computational materials science.

Viralizando em um Vídeo Publicitário no YouTube: Motivos de Influências

ABSTRACT Objective: this research aims to identify the key characteristics that influence viewers to watch and share ads. Theoretical approach: by exploring both technical and subjective attributes, this study provides valuable insights for advertisers to enhance their video performance. It farsighted to study the attributes that motivate the sharing video ads behavior using the characteristics present in the videos altogether. Method: the research employed a multi-method approach. The qualitative study analyzed 35 YouTube ads to identify potential attributes for evoking sharing behavior. Subsequently, an experimental study was conducted based on the derived qualitative propositions. Result: the propositions produced the attributes: narrative, purpose, interaction, real characters, celebrities, technical themes, humor, and market. With them, we formed 16 bundles, converted into ad visual scripts analyzed by a conjoint. Conclusions: the study highlighted that congruency of service announcements from service companies, addressing real problems with non-technical themes, have the highest potential for sharing, while ads focusing on technical topics with elements of humor performed poorly. This research sheds light on the discussion of two goals established by the United Nations - SDG 9 and SDG 12, providing valuable insights for advertisers.

Data Migration from Visual Basic Interfaces to Excel Tables Prevent Conflict Using Proposed Models

In relational and complex spreadsheets, relational and non-relational database models, high-speed data migration with scalable structure using visual Basic Excel programming language implementations with proposed migration model. One of the primary purposes behind making a point of interaction through the Visual Basic Application (VBA) is that most PC clients with logical preparation will currently know about Succeed and its significant capabilities (like arranging furthermore, plotting datasets). Even though Excel itself is in many cases utilized as an information storehouse by clients. The time factor, reliability, and credibility of migrating this data from one table to another through programming interfaces were measured using the link codes between the tables. In this paper, the migration and migration of homogeneous and heterogeneous data are investigated by using two types of different migration models of data to measure and match these data and the extent of their integration after migration. Specifies the target data for migration from the input tables in the Excel program to the target tables in larger databases. Furthermore, the two models (A, B) middleware provide an architecture that can be extended to support Relational database management systems (RDBMS) and other graphing databases. Experiments were performed using excel tables, both of which are related as source information bases, and as the data set for the source and target datasets, the migration time between these tables for the two models was calculated While retaining the same characteristics.

Observation on The Use of Visual Scripting for Interaction Design Students

Programming for Visual Communication Design students is a challenge in learning it. Their competencies are developing visual communication materials for interactive media designs. Programming competence in learning interaction design in the Visual Programming course focuses on programming logic. This study observes the method of visual programming using the Bolt add-on (visual scripting). This data was collected from students majoring in Interaction Design, Visual Communication Design Study Program at Universitas Multimedia Nusantara when they took Visual Programming courses. The indicators of this research are studying the understanding of programming logic from several materials and the learning outcomes of each observed material. The researcher found positive results using visual scripting in understanding programming logic for Visual Communication Design students on some of the material observed. In general, it can be concluded that the Bolt add-on in the UNITY game engine software can help students work on interactive media design projects. Observasi Penggunaan Pemrograman Visual untuk Mahasiswa Desain Interaksi Abstrak Pemrograman bagi mahasiswa Desain Komunikasi Visual menjadi tantangan tersendiri dalam mempelajarinya. Kompetensi mereka adalah mengembangkan materi komunikasi visual untuk desain media interaktif. Kompetensi pemrograman dalam pembelajaran desain interaksi pada mata kuliah Pemrograman Visual berfokus pada logika pemrograman. Penelitian ini mengamati penggunaan metode pemrograman visual dengan menggunakan aplikasi tambahan Bolt (visual scripting). Pengumpulan data ini dilakukan kepada mahasiswa peminatan Desain Interaksi, Program Studi Desain Komunikasi Visual, Universitas Multimedia Nusantara di saat mereka mengambil mata kuliah Pemrograman Visual. Indikator penelitian ini adalah mempelajari pemahaman logika pemrograman dari beberapa materi dan hasil belajar dari setiap materi yang diamati. Peneliti menemukan hasil positif menggunakan pemrograman visual dalam proses pemahaman logika pemrograman bagi mahasiswa Desain Komunikasi Visual pada beberapa materi yang diamati. Secara umum dapat disimpulkan bahwa aplikasi tambahan Bolt pada piranti lunak UNITY (game engine) dapat membantu mahasiswa dalam mengerjakan proyek perancangan media interaktif.

Optimal BIM and LCA integration approach for embodied environmental impact assessment

It has been widely acknowledged that applications of building information modeling (BIM) can facilitate the effectiveness of embodied environmental impact assessment of buildings. Various approaches for integrating BIM software and life cycle assessment (LCA) tools have been developed in recent years. However, limited research has been conducted in defining appropriate BIM-LCA integration approaches for embodied environmental impact assessment. To address this issue, this research develops a way of selecting the optimal BIM-LCA integration approach that incorporates the needs of different scenarios for the performance of the integration approach. Three scenarios of environmental impact assessment are designed to demonstrate the application of the proposed way, including 1) environmental impact assessment in early design stage, 2) environmental impact assessment in the detailed design stage, and 3) environmental impact assessment in construction design stage. The demonstration results indicate that the method of “using visual programming languages” is the optimal BIM-LCA integration approach for assessing environmental impacts in the early and construction design stages. The methods of “adopting LCA plugin for BIM-software” and “using visual programming languages” are the optimal approaches for environmental assessment in the scenario of detailed design stages. This research assists LCA practitioners in selecting optimal BIM-LCA integration approaches in different scenarios and further promotes the applications of BIM-LCA integration approaches during the whole design process of a building.

A Block-Based Interactive Programming Environment for Large-Scale Machine Learning Education

The existing block-based machine learning educational environments have a drawback in that they do not support model training based on large-scale data. This makes it difficult for young students to learn the importance of large amounts of data when creating machine learning models. In this paper, we present a novel programming environment in which students can easily train machine learning models based on large-scale data using a block-based programming language. We redefine the interfaces of existing machine learning blocks and also develop an effective model training algorithm suitable for block-based programming languages to enable “instant training” and “large-scale training”. As example educational applications based on this environment, we presented what is termed a “Question-Answering Chatbot” program trained on 11,822 text data instances with 7784 classes as well as a “Celebrity Look-Alike” program trained on 4431 image data instances with 7 classes. The experimental results show that teachers and pre-service teachers give high scores on all four evaluation measures for this environment.

An Experimental Study in Determining Basic Robotic Coding Skills of Pre-School Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Today, it can be said that coding has become a key competence for students and people working in many different fields in the business world. It is assumed that those who seek and develop new ways to learn-teach coding will be one step ahead. The educational use of coding started with the use of the Logo programming language in the 60s.This concept has started to revive in recent years with visual programming languages such as “Alice, its code, code.org and Scratch”. These visual programming structures enable young learners to write applications without having to learn the complex code structures of traditional programming languages. In this study to develop an experimental study to determine the basic robotic coding skills of preschool students with intellectual disabilities. The sample of the study consists of a total of 20 students with studying in pre-school education institutions in a city in Türkiye. The ages of the students are between 5 years old. Semi-experimental design, one of the experimental research designs, was used in the research. In this context, 1 experimental and 1 control group was formed with the random assignment method. The materials used in both the experimental and control groups were determined as the pre-school robotic coding set U-bot starter package.5 weeks were determined as the teaching process and a total of 12 activities that served the purpose were applied to the students. During the applications, the data of the students were collected with the help of the observation form, coding skill test and after the application, they were collected through focus group interviews. As a result, at the end of the 5-week period, it was observed that there were positive significant changes in the two dependent variables (academic achievement andlearning rate) that were used as a basis for measuring the learning skills of both the experimental group and the control group students.

Simulation of electric field lines produced by electric point charges

The paper proposes o method of solving differential equations using Runge-Kutta method and presents an application made in a Visual programming language that solves two differential equations step by step drawing the graph obtained for two electrically charged particles that interact by their electrical fields

A Novel Computational-Based Visual Brand Identity (CbVBI) Product Design Methodology

Product design is a promising field for the application of new technologies and methodologies emerging from the digital evolution of Industry 4.0. A great number of tools have been developed in order to accentuate the use of modern Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems and computational design techniques for design customization in product applications. The present paper deals with the development of two different applications for designing furniture based on the Computational-based Visual Brand Identity (CbVBI) design methodology. For the first case study, the Application Programming Interface (API) SolidworksTM (VBA event-driven programming language) is used. The second case study focuses on the visual programming language of GrasshopperTM, which is incorporated within Rhinoceros3DTM. The proposed case studies offer a great deal of flexibility in both design and manufacturing, while many design alternatives could become available in a very short period.

Processed data and scripts for visualization of Kotsuki et al. (2022) submitted to JGR-A

Processed data and scripts for visualization of Kotsuki et al. (2022) submitted to JGR-A

Computational LEED: computational thinking strategies and Visual Programming Languages to support environmental design and LEED credits achievement

Since environmental and energy issues and challenges continues to emerge as key global concerns, Green Building Certification Systems are becoming increasingly relevant in the construction industry.In this regard, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is considered one of the most widely recognized environmental assessment methods used globally in the construction industry today.However, due to the high level of complexity of the LEED system, the tools usually used to verify the achievement of the credits lack of “design friendliness” and hardly communicate effectively with the conventional tools used by architects and engineers (e.g. CAD, BIM). This makes difficult to fully take into account, especially at the early design stage, the many interconnected aspects that contribute to the green certification, with consequent issues often arising in the design validation and/or construction phases, resulting in time delays and cost increments.The application of innovative problem-solving methods, such as computational thinking, together with coding techniques, represents an effective way to deal with this issue. This kind of methodology, in fact, allows the requirements of a specific LEED credit to be digitally parametrised and flexibly incorporated into a “designer friendly” working environment.In particular, Visual Programming Languages (VPLs), due to their high simplicity of usage, allow architects and engineers to develop algorithms and thus implement their technical knowledge in the field of environmental design with computer programming skills, useful to improve their tools and keep them constantly updated.The aim of this paper is to illustrate a methodology through which, by merging computational thinking strategies with VPL tools, is possible to keep under control, in the same working environment, all the parameters required to verify in real time the achievement of LEED credits. To demonstrate the flexibility of the approach, dedicated tools developed for the verification of some specific credits at different scales – neighbourhood and building – are illustrated as operational examples of the proposed methodology.

The design of expert system to determine the university majoring based on multiple intelligence using forward chaining method

An expert system is one of artificial intelligence that uses a computer to work like and as well as humans do. An expert system is a computer system that is designed so that it has the ability and reasoning like an expert. But, the expert system is not used for replacing an expert who in this problem im a psychologist as a consultant for students want to recognize the potential and their abilities. The expert system is only used as equipment and limited tools. There is a problem is how to design tools to help students recognize their potential and abilities, so that they can choose the right department in the University based on their potential and abilities. Expert system design for assign department in the University based Multiple Intelligence use visual basic programming language and Microsoft Office Access as database.

Adaptive Finite Element Modeling of Linear Elastic Fatigue Crack Growth.

This paper proposed an efficient two-dimensional fatigue crack growth simulation program for linear elastic materials using an incremental crack growth procedure. The Visual Fortran programming language was used to develop the finite element code. The adaptive finite element mesh was generated using the advancing front method. Stress analysis for each increment was carried out using the adaptive mesh finite element technique. The equivalent stress intensity factor is the most essential parameter that should be accurately estimated for the mixed-mode loading condition which was used as the onset criterion for the crack growth. The node splitting and relaxation method advances the crack once the failure mechanism and crack direction have been determined. The displacement extrapolation technique (DET) was used to calculate stress intensity factors (SIFs) at each crack extension increment. Then, these SIFs were analyzed using the maximum circumferential stress theory (MCST) to predict the crack propagation trajectory and the fatigue life cycles using the Paris' law model. Finally, the performance and capability of the developed program are shown in the application examples.

Integration of manufacturers' product data in BIM platforms using semantic web technologies

As building information modeling (BIM) gains popularity in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, manufacturers are required to distribute their product specifications in digital product models. Currently, manufacturers mainly employ proprietary formats, such as BIM objects supplemented by PDF documents to represent their product data descriptions. However, these formats do not support flexible automated product search and data integration. This paper describes the use of Semantic Web technologies in combination with BIM-based visual programming language (VPL) to automatically integrate product data from external databases. To facilitate data integration, we introduced a method to semantically represent product data linked with the CEN/TS 17623:2021 standard using ontologies in web ontology language (OWL). The study has focused on the use case of a manufacturer of lighting products. Results show that building designers are able to execute a more efficient product search that satisfies their query requirements and returns suitable products of their choice from the manufacturer's database based on their requests. This approach eliminates the time-consuming and error-prone process of manually entering product data into BIM software.

Application of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in Crude Oil Production Optimization Using Pump Efficiency Control

The collapse of oil prices in mid-2014 and early 2016 was the biggest in modern history that witnessed more than a 70% drop in the price to around $40 barrel. It prompted companies to think seriously to maintain profitability. Most companies were able to survive partly by simplifying their operations. Price recovery in 2021 is only 70% of its peak value. Companies are focusing on reducing the cost of operations, increasing production simultaneously, and finding new and different strategies to survive. The current scenario is witnessing strong research focusing on the development of process control for oil and gas upstream and downstream to improve the control and preventive maintenance to reduce operating costs and increase production. This paper presents the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) practical solution that improves the oil production rate from the well and increases the average pump efficiency (fillage) to 90%. This paper proposes a mechanism for collecting, storing, and analyzing all required parameters to build valuable charts. These charts’ data help optimize the values and parameters for controller setpoints to prevent pump gas lock problems. An artificial lift is required to lift the oil from the well. In this paper, the sucker rod pump is driven by a gas engine fed by the well’s gas. At the same time, SCADAPack 535E remote terminal unit collects all pump and well parameters such as hydraulic pressure, casing pressure, tubing pressure, and pump speed in stroke per minute (SPM). The remote terminal unit sends the data through a wireless network using a 5 GHz antenna to the main control room. The IIoT platform is designed using a visual basic programming language. Microsoft DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) and Kepware OPC server were used to work on the received data to monitor, generate charts, and apply the controllers.

Introduction of an Assistance System to Support Domain Experts in Programming Low-Code to Leverage Industry 5.0

The rapid technological leaps of Industry 4.0 increase the pressure and demands on humans working in automation, which is one of the main motivators of Industry 5.0. In particular, automation software development for mechatronic systems becomes increasingly challenging, as both domain knowledge and programming skills are required for high-quality, maintainable software. Especially for small companies from automation and robotics without dedicated software engineering departments, domain-specific low-code platforms become indispensable that enable domain experts to develop code intuitively using visual programming languages, e.g., for tasks such as retrofitting mobile machines. However, for extensive functionalities, visual programs may become overwhelming due to the scaling-up problem. In addition, the ever-shortening time-to-market increases the time pressure on programmers. Thus, an assistance system concept is introduced that can be implemented by low-code platform suppliers based on combining data mining and static code analysis. Domain experts are supported in developing low-code by targeted recommendations, metric-based complexity measurement, and reducing complexity by encapsulating functionalities. The concept is implemented for the industrial low-code platform HAWE eDesign to program hydraulic components in mobile machines, and its benefits are confirmed in a user study and an industrial expert workshop.

CAD-Integrated Form-Finding of Structural Membranes Using Extended Catmull–Clark Subdivision Surfaces

Extended Catmull–Clark subdivision surfaces are implemented within a CAD-integrated analysis workflow for form-finding by using the updated reference strategy. In this context, form-finding determines the shape of a structure that is in equilibrium for a predefined stress state. Following the principles of isogeometric analysis, the geometry for the form-finding is described by the control mesh of the subdivision surface. Using the subdivision scheme, the coarse control mesh is recursively refined to a smooth limit surface. The shape functions are obtained from the refinement process by applying algorithmic differentiation to the subdivision algorithm. This approach also supports sharp features like creases and corners. In this way, the modeling functionalities of common CAD environments are covered which allows seamless integration of the analysis into the CAD system. A core-congruential element formulation enables the efficient combination of mechanical properties with different geometric discretizations. This allows an existing framework to be extended easily with subdivision surfaces. Within this work, form-finding is applied to prestressed cable and membrane structures. Weak boundary conditions allow the modeling of oriented edge supports. The CAD-integrated implementation within the framework of a visual programming language is outlined. Using selected numerical examples, the method is demonstrated and verified. • Form-finding of tensile structures based on extended Catmull–Clark surfaces. • FEM-based form-finding using the updated reference strategy. • Modular implementation within an interactive CAD-integrated IGA environment.