Vital signs, such as heart rate and respiration rate, are useful to health monitoring because they can provide important physiological insights for medical diagnosis and well-being management. Most traditional methods for measuring vital signs require a person to wear biomedical devices, such as a capnometer, a pulse oximeter, or an electrocardiogram sensor. These contact-based technologies are inconvenient, cumbersome, and uncomfortable to use. There is a compelling need for technologies that enable contact-free, easily deployable, and long-term monitoring of vital signs for healthcare. Contactless Vital Signs Monitoring presents a systematic and in-depth review on the principles, methodologies, and opportunities of using different wavelengths of an electromagnetic spectrum to measure vital signs from the human face and body contactlessly. The volume brings together pioneering researchers active in the field to report the latest progress made, in an intensive and structured way. It also presents various healthcare applications using camera and radio frequency-based monitoring, from clinical care to home care, to sport training and automotive, such as patient/neonatal monitoring in intensive care units, general wards, emergency department triage, MR/CT cardiac and respiratory gating, sleep centers, baby/elderly care, fitness cardio training, driver monitoring in automotive settings, and more. This book will be an important educational source for biomedical researchers, AI healthcare researchers, computer vision researchers, wireless-sensing researchers, doctors/clinicians, physicians/psychologists, and medical equipment manufacturers.

This book is a collection of papers presented by renowned researchers, keynote speakers, and academicians in the International Conference on VLSI, Communication, Analog Designs, Signals & Systems and Networking (VCASAN-2013), organized by B.N.M. Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India during July 17 19, 2013. The book provides global trends in cutting-edge technologies in electronics and communication engineering. The content of the book is useful to engineers, researchers, and academicians as well as industry professionals.

Geometric modelling has been an important and interesting subject for many years from the purely mathematical and computer science viewpoint, and also from the standpoint of engineering and various other applications, such as CAD/CAM, entertainment, animation, and multimedia. This book focuses on the interaction between the theoretical foundation of geometric modelling and practical applications in CAD and related areas. Geometric Modelling: Theoretical and Computational Basis towards Advanced CAD Applications starts with two position papers, discussing basic computational theory and practical system solutions. The well-organized seven review papers give a systematic overview of the current situation and deep insight for future research and development directions towards the reality of shape representation and processing. They discuss various aspects of important issues, such as geometric computation for space search and shape generation, parametric modelling, feature modelling, user interface for geometric modelling, geometric modelling for the Next Generation CAD, and geometric/shape standard. Other papers discuss features and new research directions in geometric modelling, solid modeling, free-form surface modeling, intersection calculation, mesh modeling and reverse engineering. They cover a wide range of geometric modelling issues to show the problem scope and the technological importance. Researchers interested in the current status of geometric modelling research and developments will find this volume to be an essential reference.

Gindis introduces AutoCAD with step-by-step instructions, stripping away complexities to begin working in AutoCAD immediately. All concepts are explained first in theory, and then shown in practice, helping the reader understand "what "it is they are doing and why before they do it.

The book contains supporting graphics (screen shots) and a summary with a self-test section at the end of each chapter. Also included are drawing examples and exercises, and two running projects that the reader works on as they progresses through the chaptersExplains the why and how of AutoCAD commands: all concepts are explained first in theory andthencovered in step-by-step detailExtensive use of screen shots, chapter summaries, and aself-test section at the end of each chapter Includesdrawing examples and exercises, and two running projects that the reader works on as he/she progresses through the chaptersEach chapter features a "Spotlight On..." section, highlighting theuse of AutoCAD in various industries Fully updated for AutoCAD 2010 release, including introduction of the ribbon menu structurein chapter 1Strips away complexities, both real and perceived, and reduces AutoCAD to easy-to-understand basic concepts; using the author's extensive multi-industry knowledge of what is widely used in practice, the material is presented by immediately immersing the reader in practical, critically essential knowledge
Strips away complexities, both real and perceived, and reduces AutoCAD to easy-to-understand basic concepts; using the author's extensive multi-industry knowledge of what is widely used in practice, the material is presented by immediately immersing the reader in practical, critically essential knowledgeExplains the why and how of AutoCAD commands: all concepts are explained first in theory andthencovered in step-by-step detailExtensive use of screen shots, chapter summaries, and aself-test section at the end of each chapter Includesdrawing examples and exercises, and two running projects that the reader works on as he/she progresses through the chaptersEach chapter features a "Spotlight On..." section, highlighting theuse of AutoCAD in various industries Fully updated for AutoCAD 2010 release, including introduction of the ribbon menu structurein chapter 1"

Reliability, Maintainability and Risk: Practical Methods for Engineers, Tenth Edition has taught reliability and safety engineers techniques to minimize process design, operation defects and failures for over 40 years. For beginners, the book provides tactics on how to avoid pitfalls in this complex and wide field. For experts in the field, well-described, realistic and illustrative examples and case studies add new insights and assistance. The author uses his more than 40 years of experience to create a comprehensive and detailed guide to the field, while also providing an excellent description of reliability and risk computation concepts. The book is organized into many parts, covering reliability parameters and costs, the history of reliability and safety technology, a cost-effective approach to quality, reliability and safety, how to interpret failure rates, a focus on the prediction of reliability and risk, a discussion of design and assurance techniques, and much more.

The rapid introduction of sophisticated computers, services, telecommunications systems, and manufacturing systems has caused a major shift in the way people use and work with technology. It is not surprising that computer-aided modeling has emerged as a promising method for ensuring products meet the requirements of the consumer. The Handbook of Digital Human Modeling provides comprehensive coverage of the theory, tools, and methods to effectively achieve this objective. The 56 chapters in this book, written by 113 contributing authorities from Canada, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan, UK, and the US, provide a wealth of international knowledge and guidelines. They cover applications in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, data visualization and simulation, defense and military systems, design for impaired mobility, healthcare and medicine, information systems, and product design. The text elucidates tools to help evaluate product and work design while reducing the need for physical prototyping. Additional software and demonstration materials on the CRC Press web site include a never-before-released 220-page step-by-step UGS-Siemens JackTM help manual developed at Purdue University. The current gap between capability to correctly predict outcomes and set expectation for new and existing products and processes affects human-system performance, market acceptance, product safety, and satisfaction at work. The handbook provides the fundamental concepts and tools for digital human modeling and simulation with a focus on its foundations in human factors and ergonomics. The tools identified and made available in this handbook help reduce the need for physical prototyping. They enable engineers to quantify acceptability and risk in design in terms of the human factors and ergonomics.

This is an edited collection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the Ninth International Conference of the Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry. Defined as the relationship between human body structure and function, kinanthropometry is an area of growing interest, and these proceedings will be of use to students, academics and professionals in the areas of ergonomics, sports science, nutrition, health, and other allied fields. The assembled works represent the latest research findings across kinanthropometry, moving the discipline forward and promoting good practice and the exchange of expertise.

Dealing with environmental issues should no longer be considered simply as a cost of doing business. Effective environmental improvements to a company's products and services can be turned into business opportunities. This book was written with the express purpose of helping managers of companies, in particular of Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), to better deal with environmental challenges and address customer requirements, all in order to turn their environmental inve- ments into competitive market advantages. Several examples are provided throughout the book, but also warning signs (Alert Boxes). These "Alerts" are posted to help managers avoid typical traps when working with environmental considerations in business processes. The authors have many years of experience in the various aspects of impleme- ing Ecodesign. This experience includes working in industry for many years; le- ing the environmental departments in a multinational company; managing research projects in eco-product development; Life Cycle Assessment; and national and international environmental communication and marketing. This book is the latest in a series. The 2002 "Ecodesign Pilot" introduced a tool and software to help design more environmentally compatible products. It was directed specifically at designers. The 2004 book, "Ecodesign Implementation," was written to help project managers optimize product development processes from an environmental perspective.

This book presents the scientific principles and real-world best practices of behavioral safety, one of the most mature and impactful applications of behavioral science to reduce injuries in industrial workplaces. The authors review the core principles of behavioral science and their application to modern safety processes. Process components are discussed in detail, including risk analysis and pinpointing, direct observation, performance feedback, reinforcing engagement, trending and functional analysis, behavior change interventions, and program evaluation. Discussions are complemented by industry best-practice case studies from world-class behavioral safety programs accredited by the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies (CCBS), which provide compelling evidence of the effectiveness of these behavioral science principles in reducing injury. The Science and Best Practices of Behavioral Safety is essential reading for safety professionals, process safety engineers, and leaders in companies who have implemented, or are considering implementing, behavioral safety; or as an aid to learning more about the scientific background behind effective and practical safety practices. Researchers, expert consultants, and students who are already familiar with the practice will also find the book a valuable source to further develop their expertise.

This book covers recent advances in the field of logic synthesis and design, including Boolean Matching, Logic Decomposition, Boolean satisfiability, Advanced Synthesis Techniques and Applications of Logic Design. All of these topics are valuable to CAD engineers working in Logic Design, Logic Optimization, and Verification. Engineers seeking opportunities for optimizing VLSI integrated circuits will find this book as an invaluable reference, since there is no existing book that covers this material in a systematic fashion.

This professional treatise on engineering graphics emphasizes engineering geometry as the theoretical foundation for communication of design ideas with real world structures and products. It considers each theoretical notion of engineering geometry as a complex solution of direct- and inverse-problems of descriptive geometry and each solution of basic engineering problems presented is accompanied by construction of biunique two- and three-dimension models of geometrical images. The book explains the universal structure of formal algorithms of the solutions of positional, metric, and axonometric problems, as well as the solutions of problems of construction in developing a curvilinear surface. The book further characterizes and explains the added laws of projective connections to facilitate construction of geometrical images in any of eight octants. Laws of projective connections allow constructing the complex drawing of a geometrical image in the American system of measurement and the European system of measurement without errors and mistakes. The arrangement of projections of a geometrical image on the complex drawing corresponds to an arrangement of views of a product in the projective drawing for the European system of measurement. The volume is ideal for engineers working on a range of design projects as well as for students of civil, structural, and industrial engineering and engineering design.

This book offers psychologists and those who are involved with systems design an overview of changing technology and guidelines for using new techniques in the design and development of systems in the workplace. The first part of the book concerns productivity and cognitive assessment. The papers provide state of the art appraisals of robotic perception, artificial intelligence, knowledge representation, decision making and the control of automation systems. The second part, on systems design research, discusses a number of key applied human factors problems, including supervisory control systems, human workloads, methods of systems design, job aiding, and human factors considerations.

The importance of research and education in design continues to grow. For example, government agencies are gradually increasing funding of design research, and increasing numbers of engineering schools are revising their curricula to emphasize design. This is because of an increasing realization that design is part of the wealth creation of a nation and needs to be better understood and taught. The continuing globalization of industry and trade has required nations to re-examine where their core contributions lie if not in production efficiency. Design is a precursor to manufacturing for phy- cal objects and is the precursor to implementation for virtual objects. At the same time, the need for sustainable development is requiring design of new products and processes, and feeding a movement towards design - novations and inventions. There are now three sources for design research: design computing, design cognition and human-centered information technology. The foun- tions for much of design computing remains artificial intelligence with its focus on ways of representation and on processes that support simulation and generation. Artificial intelligence continues to provide an environm- tally rich paradigm within which design research based on computational constructions can be carried out. Design cognition is founded on concepts from cognitive science, an even newer area than artificial intelligence. It provides tools and methods to study human designers in both laboratory and practice settings.

Moving from theory into practical reality, ergonomics has come of age as a useful tool for generating safe, comfortable, and productive working environments. Tackling both the simple and complex aspects of a variety of workplaces, Office Ergonomics: Practical Applications demonstrates how to create offices that accommodate all workers. The book contains practical advice on how to maintain an office environment that promotes a healthy, safe, and efficient workforce.

Covering workstation design, selection, layout, and use, the book details the impact of computers on worker well-being, particularly when used under unfavorable conditions, and discusses how ergonomics can accommodate disabled workers. The author emphasizes the need to offer 'protection' to people involved in manual handling in offices, an issue that is frequently overlooked, and offers advice on how to work satisfactorily in non-office environments. She explores the possible negative outcomes, such as back pain, headaches, and upper limb disorders, of a poorly designed workstation.

Walking you through all the features of an office, the book provides insight into the potential problem areas that workers often encounter. The book explains how to identify suitable workstation furniture, test it, trial it, and introduce the final selection so the workforce accepts it. The author draws on first-hand experience dealing with difficulties in many types of office situations to provide straightforward, easily applicable advice on how to improve the workplace to reduce the likelihood of workers experiencing discomfort, ill-health, and dissatisfaction.

Anthony Dear argues that just-in-time is essentially a philosophy rather than a rigid methodology and that the important thing is to grasp the fundamental ideas involved and then to see where, how and to what extent they can be applied in the context of any particular enterprise. The book is written in a refreshingly direct manner and the discussion focuses on the kind of practical issues which are likely to concern working managers. Illustrated with a wealth of examples drawn from the author's own experience, Working Towards Just-in-Time tackles its subject in a fashion which has direct and immediate relevance to managers of small and medium-sized companies and to middle management in larger firms. This book should be of interest to managers of small and medium-sized companies; middle management in larger firms.

This book deals with the analysis, the design and the implementation of the mechatronic systems. Classical and modern tools are developed for the analysis and the design for such systems. Robust control, H-Infinity and guaranteed cost control theory are also used for analysis and design of mechatronic systems. Different controller such as state feedback, static output feedback and dynamic output feedback controllers are used to stabilize mechatronic systems.

Heuristic algorithms are provided to solve the design of the classical controller such as PID, phase lead, phase lag and phase lead-lag controllers while linear matrix inequalities (LMI) algorithms are provided for finding solutions to the state feedback, static output feedback and dynamic output feedback controllers.

The theory presented in the different chapters of the volume is applied to numerical examples to show the usefulness of the theoretical results. Some case studies are also provided to show how the developed concepts apply for real system.

Emphasis is also put on the implementation in real-time for some real systems that we have developed in our mechatronic laboratory and all the detail is provided to give an idea to the reader how to implement its own mechatronic system.

Mechatronics Systems: Analysis, Design and Implementation is an excellent textbook for undergraduate and graduate students in mechatronic system and control theory and as a reference for academic researchers in control or mathematics with interest in control theory. The reader should have completed first-year graduate courses in control theory, linear algebra, and linear systems. It will also be of great value to engineers practising in fields where the systems can be modeled by linear time invariant systems.

Direct Engineering (DE) is the creation of a product development cycle into a single, unified process. The design process in most industries is an evolutionary one (i.e., incremental changes to some existing design). DE is a manufacturing process that seeks to improve the design processes by providing complete archival documentation of existing designs. It uses three-dimensional geometric models with integrated manufacturing information throughout the design process. DE reduces the design cycle, and the variety and number of engineering changes. This process decreases the design cycle time, increases productivity, and provides a higher quality product. The required technologies and methodologies that will support the development of the DE environment are: (1) product representation using feature-based modeling; (2) knowledge-based applications that will support the entire product development cycle; (3) an engineering environment implemented around distributed computing and object-oriented systems; (4) direct manufacturing techniques using rapid prototyping. Direct Engineering: Toward Intelligent Manufacturing addresses the following recent topics related to the development, implementation, and integration of the DE environment: (1) the current scope of the research in intelligent manufacturing; (2) the results of the technologies and tools developed for integrated product and process designs, and (3) examination of the methodologies and algorithms used for the implementation of direct engineering.

With the unprecedented advancements in computing power coupled with the societal movement towards inclusive settings, there is no better time than today to strive for assistive technology equity in terms of universal implementation within a transdisciplinary perspective. The Handbook of Research on Human Cognition and Assistive Technology: Design, Accessibility and Transdisciplinary Perspectives marks a critical milestone in the history of implementation and practice of assistive technology. The intent of this book is to assist researchers, practitioners, and the users of assistive technology to augment the accessibility of assistive technology by implementing human cognition into its design and practice. Consequently, this book presents assistive technology as an intervention for people with disabilities from a transdisciplinary perspective.

Ontologies are increasingly recognized as essential tools in information science. Although the concepts are well understood theoretically , the practical implementation of ontologies remains challenging. In this book, researchers in computer science, information systems, ontology engineering, urban planning and design, civil and building engineering, and architecture present an interdisciplinary study of ontology engineering and its application in urban development projects. The first part of the book introduces the general notion of ontology, describing variations in abstraction level, coverage, and formality. It also discusses the use of ontologies to achieve interoperability, and to represent multiple points of view and multilingualism. This is illustrated with examples from the urban domain. The second part is specific to urban development. It covers spatial and geographical knowledge representation, the creation of urban ontologies from various knowledge sources, the interconnection of urban models and the interaction between standards and domain models. The third part presents case studies of the development of ontologies for urban mobility, urban morphological processes, road systems, and cultural heritage. Other cases report on the use of ontologies to solve urban development problems, in construction business models, building regulations and urban regeneration. It concludes with a discussion of key challenges for the future deployment of ontologies in this domain. This book bridges the gap between urban practitioners and computer scientists. As the essence of most urban projects lies in making connections between worldviews, ontology development has an important role to play, in promoting interoperability between data sources, both formal (urban databases, Building Integrated Models, Geographical Information Systems etc.) and less formal (thesauri, text records, web sources etc.). This volume offers a comprehensive introduction to ontology engineering for urban development. It is essential reading for practitioners and ontology designers working in urban development.

Originally published in 1967, this title reveals how the missionaries, so often misguided and short-sighted, were in fact pioneers of modernization, science and freedom. The structure of the book allows for comparative analysis and the volume illustrates how some of the social consequences of action through the schools could be foreseen. In addition light is thrown on the results of Imperial rule during the nineteenth century and on the nature of the impact of Western education in Asia and Africa.

IFIP Working Group 5.2 has organized a series of workshops aimed at presenting and discussing current issues and future perspectives of Geometric Modeling in the CAD environment. From Geometric Modeling to Shape Modeling comprises the proceedings of the seventh GEO workshop, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in Parma, Italy in October 2000. The workshop looked at new paradigms for CAD including the evolution of geometric-centric CAD systems, modeling of non-rigid materials, shape modeling, geometric modeling and virtual prototyping, and new methods of interaction with geometric models. The seventeen included papers provide an interesting overview of the evolution of geometric centric modeling into shape modeling. Also included is an invited speaker paper, which discusses the foundation of the next generation of CAD systems, where shape and function enhance geometric descriptions. The main topics discussed in the book are: Theoretical foundation for solids and surfaces; Computational basis for geometric modeling; Methods of interaction with geometric models; Industrial and other applications of geometric modeling; New paradigms of geometric modeling for CAD; Shape modeling. From Geometric Modeling to Shape Modeling is essential reading for researchers, graduate and postgraduate students, systems developers of advanced computer-aided design and manufacturing systems, and engineers involved in industrial applications.

* One of the first critiques of participatory design processes that are currently the fashion in design and business * highlights political, social and methodological obstacles when designers turn to design thinking, participation and "living labs" * uses global examples to introduce a more critical and post-colonial perspective on participation and social innovation throughout the book

The chapters of this book summarize the lectures delivered du ring the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on Computational Methods in Mechanisms, that took place in the Sts. Constantin and Elena Resort, near Varna, on the Bulgarian Coast of the Black Sea, June 16-28, 1997. The purpose of the ASI was to bring together leading researchers in the area of mechanical systems at large, with special emphasis in the computational issues around their analysis, synthesis, and optimization, during two weeks of lectures and discussion. A total of 89 participants from 23 count ries played an active role during the lectures and sessions of contributed papers. Many of the latter are being currently reviewed for publication in specialized journals. The subject of the book is mechanical systems, Le., systems composed of rigid and flexible bodies, coupled by mechanical means so as to constrain their various bodies in a goal-oriented manner, usually driven under computer con trol. Applications of the discipline are thus of the most varied nature, ranging from transportation systems to biomedical devices. U nder normal operation conditions, the constitutive bodies of a mechanical system can be consid ered to be rigid, the rigidity property then easing dramatically the analysis of the kinematics and dynamics of the system at hand. Examples of these systems are the suspension of a terrestrial vehicle negotiating a curve at speeds within the allowed or recommended limits and the links of multiaxis industrial robots performing conventional pick-and-place operations."