LED and Servo Motor Control Via Bluetooth Based on Android Applications

Remote control is needed to control household appliances and office equipment from a distance by turning them on/off. This control is designed using Bluetooth connected to the circuit using an LED for light control indicator and a servo motor circuit for curtain control connected to the Arduino UNO microcontroller as a minimum system. The Arduino microcontroller is used to process command data from the input of the Android-based Bluetooth signal receiver used as the remote-control button to control the LED and rotate servo motor. This hardware is designed using the Arduino UNO module, LED circuit and servo motor. A serial Bluetooth module was used for communication between the hardware and Android smartphones. Having tested the entire tool system and the Android control application, it was found that the device and the application worked well. However, it is only able to receive the data sent from the Android application, but not able to transfer the data from the system to the Android handset.

Estimation of Driver’s Danger Level when Accessing the Center Console for Safe Driving

This paper proposes a system for estimating the level of danger when a driver accesses the center console of a vehicle while driving. The proposed system uses a driver monitoring platform to measure the distance between the driver’s hand and the center console during driving, as well as the time taken for the driver to access the center console. Three infrared sensors on the center console are used to detect the movement of the driver’s hand. These sensors are installed in three locations: the air conditioner or heater (temperature control) button, wind direction control button, and wind intensity control button. A driver’s danger level is estimated to be based on a linear regression analysis of the distance and time of movement between the driver’s hand and the center console, as measured in the proposed scenarios. In the experimental results of the proposed scenarios, the root mean square error of driver H using distance and time of movement between the driver’s hand and the center console is 0.0043, which indicates the best estimation of a driver’s danger level.

Human Design Parameters for Safety of Products and Systems

Designers spend much efforts in defining their products and systems, planning how they work during normal operation. Design assisting tools like Design Matrices in Axiomatic Design (AD) or Design Record Graphs (DRG) are available to the designer in search for ways to improve their work. Majority of accidents, however, take place during irregular operations like maintenance when interlocks are often bypassed and automatic processing are switched to manual. System safety is then in the hands of human operators. A number of past AD studies have addressed safety in products and systems, however, design parameters (DPs) have been physical parts or structures. This paper shows assignment of human actions, like, “reading the quantity display,” “making judgement,” or “pressing a control button,” as DPs in axiomatic design. Such human DPs play important roles during maintenance, nevertheless, designers often leave out safety evaluation of their designs in this maintenance mode. When a human DP fails to meet its functional requirement (FR), the product often faces failure and the system often heads into an accident. Identifying human DPs in products or systems thus alerts maintenance phase workers about actions that are critical for safety. Most accidents take place with excessive dependence on human DP of memory.

A Wheelchair Design for the Elderly with Small Strength

WHO reports the world population is rapidly ageing. The number of people aged 60 years and over is expected to 2 billion. The muscle strength of the elderly was decreased the ability of movement was therefore limited. Designing a facility to facilitate assist elderly for transportation is important and required. This study aims to propose a leverage wheelchair for the elderly. A serial design procedure including concept design, mechanism design, ergonomic design, and appearance design were performed in the study to create the new product. Finally, a leverage wheelchair was then proposed with following features: (1) the appearance of the leverage wheelchair demonstrated a powerful and friendly image; (2) the power transfer mechanism is designed with a power transfer mechanism which enables user to move wheelchair with a small strength; (3) the cover of the power transfer mechanism is an protection and visual element for the wheelchair; (4) the handlebar was designed with a power-saving mechanism to facilitate the elderly to move the wheelchair. It is also designed to assist user to stand up easily, (5) the handlebar was design at a position where the user can operate easily and comfortably; (6) a control button was deigned to control wheelchair going forward or backward; (7) the push handle was designed for fitting the hand of the caregiver. The results of design works, the methods and procedure used in this study can be a reference for product design and development.

Correct

Last summer I took my family on a driving holiday in the American south-western desert covering many national parks. While driving along some of the long tracts of razor-straight highways, such as between Las Vegas and St George, Utah, I often fought drowsiness, not because of lack of sleep, but from the sheer monotony. A familiar experience for many, no doubt. Hardly any conscious thought is needed during such drives. It must be one’s ‘System’, as per Kahneman, which is most certainly doing what ever work is needed. Nevertheless, sleep is not an option. In spite of all the marvellous features embedded in the modern car, the ability to drive itself is, sadly, still missing. The cruise control button helps a bit, allowing one’s feet torelax as the car’s speed remains on an even keel. But the eyes and mind must remain awake and alert. When, if ever, one wonders, will cars with a ‘drive’ button become as common as those with an automatic transmission? Is driving along a perfectly straight stretch of highway really that difficult? After all, we all know that a modern jetliner can fly on autopilot, allowing even a single pilot to read a novel while ‘flying’ the aircraft on a long transcontinental flight. In fact, the jetliner would fly itself perfectly even if the pilot dozed off for many minutes or even hours. We insist that at least one pilot be awake and alert only for our own peace of mind, so as to be able to adequately respond to any emergency situation that might arise. First of all, the ubiquitous autopilot is itself quite a complex piece of equipment. Even to get a plane to fly perfectly straight along a desired heading at a fixed altitude takes a lot of work. The reason, as you must have guessed, is that nature, in the guise of the air on which our jetliner rides, can be quite unpredictable. Wind speeds and directions change continuously, even ever so slightly, requiring constant adjustments to the plane’s engine power, ailerons, flaps, and rudder. In the absence of such adjustments, our jetliner would most certainly veer off course, or lose or gain speed, even dangerously enough to trigger a powered dive or a stall.

Interactive Television Accessibility and Usability

Today, there are more than 70 million people aged 60 and above in the European Union. According to Eurostat, over the next 15 years, the population aged 65 and over will increase by 22%. Many of these citizens will experience dexterity, cognitive, hearing, and sight problems in later life. This means that more than one in seven adults in Europe will have hearing problems. Some 7.4 million people already suffering uncorrectable sight loss will add to the number of European citizens experiencing some form of sensory impairment (Stallard, 2003). Interactive digital television (iTV) is evolving into an enhanced entertainment and information service. There are various degrees of interactivity in digital television: pressing a simple remote control button, sending information back and forth, or servicing providers by means of a return path. If they are to be adopted, interactive facilities need to be usable by viewers, even because, as Jacob Neilsen points out, “increased accessibility for users with disabilities almost invariably leads directly to improved usability for all users” (Slatin & Rush, 2003). Unfortunately, interactive digital television design appears to have been based on the conceptual models of keyboard-based systems, but their users, skills, goals and attitude of interaction differ. The TV audience is more diverse, some having no prior computer experience. It must be realised that iTV is not a PC and therefore cannot be treated as such.