Effective quality factors of multimodal interaction in simple and complex tasks of using a smart television

Influencing quality factors, related to the user and system, need to be considered when building a well-designed multimodal interaction system. User groups, access to input modes and tasks were defined as the user and system factors to examine effective factors of multimodal interaction with a smart TV, and its input modes consisted of voice, arrow key, and motion-based pointer modes and their combinations. User group 1 had experience of multimodal interaction with another device, while user group 2 had only experience of unimodal interaction. In addition, the sequential/simultaneous input modes and simple/complex tasks were considered as the system factors. Depending on the task complexity, two experiments were conducted. Nine input modes (three unimodes and six multimodes), sequentially and simultaneously given to both user groups, were investigated for the simple task of menu traversal and the complex task of manipulating broadcasting content, menu traversal, and web content navigation. A subjective rating of the level of preference was recorded in the sequential input mode using a modified Likert-type rating scale, while each participant’s preferred mode was observed in the simultaneous scenario. Additionally, the completion time and error rate were measured in both experiments. When performing the simple task, user group 1 used multimodes more so than group 2. However, in the complex task, both user groups preferred multimodes when modes were simultaneously presented. Considering effective quality factors, input modes of a smart TV should be simultaneously provided with a voice and motion-based pointer multimode.     

Design space exploration of on-chip ring interconnection for a CPU–GPU heterogeneous architecture

Incorporating a GPU architecture into CMP, which is more efficient with certain types of applications, is a popular architecture trend in recent processors. This heterogeneous mix of architectures will use an on-chip interconnection to access shared resources such as last-level cache tiles and memory controllers. The configuration of this on-chip network will likely have a significant impact on resource distribution, fairness, and overall performance.     

Synergistic effect of potassium metal siliconate on silicate conversion coating for corrosion protection of galvanized steel

Silicate conversion coating is considered as an alternative to hexavalent chromium conversion coating for corrosion protection of galvanized steels. However, the coating must be treated with hot air afterward in order to obtain a water resistant silicate layer and to increase corrosion resistance of the coating. Moreover, it is difficult to apply the uniform thermal treatments on the large irregular shaped metal parts. Furthermore, the heat treatment is an energy consuming process. In this work, the effects of adding potassium methyl siliconate (PMS) into the silicate conversion coating on the anti-corrosion properties were studied. The silicate coating layers were formed by the simple immersion into the silicate solutions and the subsequent ambient drying at room temperature. It was verified that the addition of PMS increased the temporary corrosion protection ability without the post-thermal treatments. Coating thickness was around 100 nm and K ion was distributed preferentially at zinc-silicate interface. It was proved that the more hydrophobic surface was formed mainly due to the substantial decrease of the concentration of K ion at the coating surface by the addition of PMS. It was a methyl group of PMS that changed the hydrophilic silicate layers into hydrophobic ones. Subsequently, the enhanced water barrier property of the hydrophobic silicate layers increased the corrosion resistance of the silicate-coated galvanized steel.     

SARIF: A novel framework for integrating wireless sensor and RFID networks

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a promising technology for ubiquitous computing. When we embed RFID tags into environment-sensitive objects, RFID networks must be integrated with wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this article, we first identify key requirements for designing an efficient and flexible integration framework. Based on the requirements, we propose a sensor and an RFID integration framework (SARIF). As middleware that operates on top of RFID networks and WSNs, SARIF enables the design of diverse applications flexibly and manages network resources efficiently. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of SARIF by implementing a prototype.     

Impacts and implications of implementing voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in major countries and Korea

This study analyses the pledges submitted by Korea and other major parties to the UNFCCC secretariat as part of the Copenhagen Accord, using the global CGE model. The analysis shows that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the developed countries decrease by up to 14.0% by 2020 compared to the 1990 level. These results show the need to raise the targets amongst developed countries in order to reach to the reduction levels (25–40%) recommended by the IPCC to meet 450 ppm CO₂ eq. On the other hand, the full implementation of those pledges of Annex I and non-Annex I countries was found to contribute to the decrease of the global GHG emissions by about 15.9% compared to Business as Usual (BaU). Such results imply the need for developed countries to step up their reduction targets, as well as for developing ones to participate comprehensively and to reduce GHG emissions at a considerable level in order to enhance the environmental effectiveness of the Post-Kyoto framework hereafter. Meanwhile, it is analyzed that the implementation of voluntary target among major countries would reduce the global real GDP by 1.2%, and in the case of Korea, the real GDP was projected to diminish by 1.5%.     

Navigation-oriented design for in-pipe robot in recursively divided sampling space with rapidly exploring random tree

Gas pipelines are subject to periodic inspection and maintenance for safety and longevity. Many robotic inspection systems have been developed for in-pipe applications, but systematic geometric design methodology that is suitable for in-pipe navigation has not been well studied so far due to difficulties in predicting the capability of maneuvering through the obstacles inside of pipelines such as bend, miter, and T-branch joint. The geometric design of the robot is critical to the performance of such in-pipe robots because the actuation and the measurement are constrained by the shape and the size of the robot. In this paper, we propose a design methodology that finds the maximum value of geometric design parameters of the robot with recursive evaluation of the parameter values in the design parameter space. The role of the design space division is to reduce the search region and to increase the number of parametric samples to near optimal values. As a parameter evaluation method, we adapt Rapidly exploring random tree (RRT) because it is known to be suitable for solving narrow passage problems for high-dimensional systems. Our design method makes it possible to find an optimal parameter set without computing complex cost functions. The design result of the in-pipe robot is 8 % larger than that of a heuristic geometry-based approach in three-parameter design problem.

     

Valuation of marginal CO2 abatement options for electric power plants in Korea

The electricity generation sector in Korea is under pressure to mitigate greenhouse gases as directed by the Kyoto Protocol. The principal compliance options for power companies under the cap-and-trade include the application of direct CO₂ emission abatement and the procurement of emission allowances. The objective of this paper is to provide an analytical framework for assessing the cost-effectiveness of these options. We attempt to derive the marginal abatement cost for CO₂ using the output distance function and analyze the relative advantages of emission allowance procurement option as compared to direct abatement option. Real-option approach is adopted to incorporate emission allowance price uncertainty. Empirical result shows the marginal abatement cost with an average of €14.04/ton CO₂ for fossil-fueled power plants and confirms the existence of substantial cost heterogeneity among plants which is sufficient to achieve trading gains in allowance market. The comparison of two options enables us to identify the optimal position of the compliance for each plant. Sensitivity analyses are also presented with regard to several key parameters including the initial allowance prices and interest rate. The result of this paper may help Korean power plants to prepare for upcoming regulations targeted toward the reduction of domestic greenhouse gases.     

Input Behavior When Using Two Fingers on a Multi-Touch Device

The purpose of this study is to analyze device input patterns using fingers in multi-touch mode and to derive Fitts’ law for multi-touch methods. Three specific input behaviors—dragging, rotating, and pinching—are investigated. Test participants performed two Fitts’ law experiments, a single-touch experiment using the thumb only and a multi-touch experiment using both the thumb and index finger. Within-subject factorial design was implemented with two levels of touch behavior (single-touch) and three levels of touch behavior (multi-touch), six levels of the index of difficulty (ID), four levels of direction, and two levels of repetition. The results indicate that a revised model of Fitts’ law is more appropriate for the multi-touch mode, achieving R² values above 0.895, and identifying the best nonlinear model among several regression models. The results of this study are used to determine the relationship between ID and movement time in terms of Fitts’ law and to investigate whether this relationship is sufficient to serve as a model to predict movement times. This study contributes to the prediction of movement times for products with multi-touch interfaces.