A quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of laparascopy and endoscopy virtual reality simulators

The increasing use of virtual reality (VR) simulators in surgical training makes it imperative that definitive studies be performed to assess their training effectiveness. Indeed in this paper we report the meta-analysis of the efficacy of virtual reality simulators in (1) the transference of skills from the simulator training environment to the operating room and (2) their ability to discriminate between the experience levels of its users. The task completion time and the error score were the two study outcomes collated and analyzed in this meta-analysis. Sixteen studies were identified from a computer-based literature search (1996-2004). The meta-analysis of the random-effects model (because of the heterogeneity of the data) revealed that training on virtual reality simulators did lessen the time taken to complete a given surgical task as also clearly differentiate between the experienced and the novice trainees. Meta-analytic studies such as the one reported here would be very helpful in the planning and setting up of surgical training programs and for the establishment of reference ‘learning curves’ for a specific simulator and surgical task. If any such programs already exist they can then indicate the improvements to be made in the simulator used such as providing for more variety in their case scenarios based on the state and/or rate of learning of the trainee.     

复杂串联制造系统仿真器的研究

介绍了一种专用于复杂制造系统的仿真器，并着重介绍了该仿真器的结构与功能、仿真器的动态仿真原理、动画显示原理等。这种仿真器已成功地应用在上海柴油机股份有限公司D114系列柴油机机体生产线的规划设计中。     

Human interaction with policy flight simulators

Policy flight simulators are designed for the purpose of exploring alternative management policies at levels ranging from individual organizations to national strategy. This article focuses on how such simulators are developed and on the nature of how people interact with these simulators. These interactions almost always involve groups of people rather than individuals, often with different stakeholders in conflict about priorities and courses of action. The ways in which these interactions are framed and conducted are discussed, as well as the nature of typical results.     

A structured overview on the use of computational simulators for teaching statistical methods

Modern technology is affecting what is taught and how statistics is taught. Computer intensive methods like bootstrapping, generalized regression, coordinate exchange algorithms and computer experiment emulators are now part of the statistical toolkit. In parallel with these new methods and tools, a similar evolution appears in statistical education. Simulators offer opportunities for hands-on experience in the classroom, bridging the gap between theory and practice. In this article, we map a wide range of simulation based tools used in teaching statistical methods, putting them in the context of a quality ladder representing various maturity levels of organizations and course level sophistication. The mapping is designed to help educators assess and integrate options related to the incorporation of simulators as teaching aids in an educational and pedagogical roadmap. The mapping is applied to specific simulation products but provides a general framework that can be expanded and used in a generic way.     

A multi-criteria comparative analysis of different Rayleigh fading channel simulators

In this paper, an in-depth comparative analysis of the most accepted and approved Rayleigh fading channel simulators is presented. Our study addresses the three common methods for generating time-correlated Rayleigh fading processes: the inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) method, the filtering white Gaussian noise (FWGN) method and the sum-of-sinusoids (SOS) method. Totally seven models, including the recently proposed models, are analyzed and compared with Clarke's reference model. We use four quantitative measures for judicious assessment of the quality of generated processes in terms of both first-order and second-order statistics. Additionally, these measures cover analysis in time domain as well as in frequency domain. An evaluation of the computational effort is also depicted. The simulation results suggest that the recently published Wang's model is very attractive and it outperforms all SOS-based models. We conclude that Zheng and Xiao's first model remains the best choice among Zheng and Xiao's family models. Several other important remarks and conclusions about the accuracy and the capability of the different Rayleigh fading simulators are driven from this study.     

Instruction Scheduling for Low Power

Reducing energy consumption has become an important issue in designing hardware and software systems in recent years. Although low power hardware components are critical for reducing energy consumption, the switching activity, which is the main source of dynamic power dissipation in electronic systems, is largely determined by the software running on these systems.In this paper, we present and evaluate several instruction scheduling algorithms that reorder a given sequence of instructions taking into account the energy considerations. We first compare a performance-oriented scheduling technique with three energy-oriented instruction scheduling algorithms from both performance (execution cycles of the resulting schedules) and energy consumption points of view. Then, we propose three scheduling algorithms that consider energy and performance at the same time. Our experimentation with these scheduling techniques shows that the best scheduling from the performance perspective is not necessarily the best scheduling from the energy perspective. Further, scheduling techniques that consider both energy and performance simultaneously are found to be desirable, that is, these techniques are quite successful in reducing energy consumption and their performance (in terms of execution cycles) is comparable to that of a pure performance-oriented scheduling. We also illuminate the inherent approximations and difficulties in building energy models for enabling energy-aware instruction scheduling and explore alternative options using cycle-accurate energy simulator. The simulation results show that the energy-oriented scheduling reduces energy consumption by up to 30% compared to the performance-oriented scheduling.     

Machine cycle simulator for a microprocessor

The technique used in the construction of a simulator for a processor affects the range of applications for which the simulator can be used. A machine cycle simulator has been constructed for the MC68000 microprocessor, and some of the advantages of this technique are discussed.     

CFD boundary conditions for contaminant dispersion,heat transfer and airflow simulations around human occupants in indoor environments

Indoor computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations can predict contaminant dispersion around human occupants and provide valuable information in resolving indoor air quality or homeland security problems. The accuracy of CFD simulations strongly depends on the appropriate setting of boundary conditions and numerical simulation parameters. The present study explores influence of the following three key boundary condition settings on the simulation accuracy: (1) contaminant source area size, (2) convective/radiative heat fluxes, and (3) shape/size of human simulators. For each of the boundary conditions, numerical simulations were validated with experimental data obtained in two different environmental chambers. In CFD simulations, a small release area of a contaminant point source causes locally high concentration gradients that require a very fine local grid system. This fine grid system can slow down the simulations substantially. The convergence speed of calculation is greatly increased by the source area enlargement. This method will not influence the simulation accuracy of passive point source within well-predicted airflow field. However, for active point source located within complicated airflow filed, such an enlargement should be carried out cautiously because simulation inaccuracy might be introduced. For setting thermal boundary conditions, convection to radiation heat flux ratio is critical for accurate CFD computations of temperature profiles around human simulators. The recommended convection to radiation (C:R) ratio is 30:70 for human simulators. Finally, simplified human simulators can provide accurate temperature profiles within the whole domain of interest. However, velocity and contaminant concentration simulations require further work in establishing the influence of simplifications on the simulation accuracy in the vicinity of the human simulator.     

Precise simulation of immittance functions using the CFOA

A simple new circuit realising negative immittances using a single commercially available CFOA is presented. The simulated immittance values can orthogonally be adjusted and all passive sensitivities are no more than unity. For the circuit the phase angle of the realised immittances are independent of the three CFOA non-idealities and the circuit allows easy compensation for these active errors.