Engineering Commons^™

Investigating Bimanual Haptic Exploration With Arm-Support Exoskeletons, Balagopal Raveendranath

All Dissertations

The ability to judge properties like weight and length of hand-held objects is essential in industrial work. Sometimes workers use devices like exoskeletons, which can augment their ability to lift and move heavy objects. Previous studies have investigated the perceptual information available for one-handed weight and length judgments. The current study investigated how blindfolded participants bimanually heft and wield objects to explore haptic information, to perceive object heaviness or length. The study also investigated the effects of using an arm-support exoskeleton (ASE) on the perceived weight of hand-held objects. We empirically tested whether people wield and manipulate objects differently, depending …

The Development Of A Convenient And Consistent Methodology For Flight Proficiency To Certify Multi-Rotor Uas Pilots For State Departments Of Transportation, Colin Dees

All Dissertations

To fly an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly referred to as a “drone,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires pilots to pass a knowledge test. There is no requirement at the state or federal level for drone operators to demonstrate the ability to operate a UAS. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) has created an exam for public and private entities to assess basic UAS flight proficiency. It is the only nationally recognized flight proficiency protocol. NIST does not provide a scoring recommendation and leaves it to the user to determine the minimum criteria to pass. There is …

All Hands On Deck: Choosing Virtual End Effector Representations To Improve Near Field Object Manipulation Interactions In Extended Reality, Roshan Venkatakrishnan

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Extended reality, or "XR", is the adopted umbrella term that is heavily gaining traction to collectively describe Virtual reality (VR), Augmented reality (AR), and Mixed reality (MR) technologies. Together, these technologies extend the reality that we experience either by creating a fully immersive experience like in VR or by blending in the virtual and "real" worlds like in AR and MR.

The sustained success of XR in the workplace largely hinges on its ability to facilitate efficient user interactions. Similar to interacting with objects in the real world, users in XR typically interact with virtual integrants like objects, menus, windows, …

Investigating Drivers’ Knowledge And Experience With The Anti-Lock Braking System (Abs) Which Led To The Development And Evaluation Of An Emergency Braking Training Exercise Using A Driving Simulator With Haptic Pedal Feedback, Lauren Mims

All Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the extent to which drivers do or do not have knowledge of and experience with the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and then to explore the development and evaluation of a driving simulator task specifically designed to address emergency braking with haptic brake pedal feedback. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) was created to help drivers in emergency braking situations by preventing skidding and loss of control due to locked wheels. Vehicles with conventional (pre-ABS) brakes required the driver to “pump” the brake pedal, or to rapidly press and release the brake pedal, during …

Evaluation Of Life Cycle Costs, Benefits, And Public Perceptions Of Greywater Reuse Systems For Supplementing Conventional Water Delivery, Sreeganesh Reddy Yerri

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The water utility industry is under enormous pressure to meet the challenges of increasing demands due to population growth, lifestyle changes, and depleting freshwater resources. The current and predicted future deficit scenarios challenge water supply managers to come up with a sustainable and reliable alternative source while making the supply infrastructure smarter and resilient. One such alternative source is the greywater that is available at the point of consumption itself. With certain limitations, there have been studies performed to evaluate the life cycle costs and expected monetary benefits of decentralized greywater reuse systems, but the public and health bureaus are …

Examining The Impact Of Design Features Of Electronic Health Records Patient Portals On The Usability And Information Communication For Shared Decision Making, Rong Yin

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The use of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) patient portal has been shown to be effective in generating positive outcomes in patients’ healthcare, improving patient engagement and patient-provider communication. Government legislation also required proof of its meaningful use among patients by healthcare providers. Typical patient portals also include features such as health information and patient education materials. However, little research has examined the specific use of patient portals related to individuals with specific diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). IBDs are life-long, not curable, chronic diseases that can impact the whole population. Individuals with IBDs may have higher needs …

A Youthful Metaverse: Towards Designing Safe, Equitable, And Emotionally Fulfilling Social Virtual Reality Spaces For Younger Users, Divine Maloney

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Social virtual reality (VR) represents the modern rendition of the metaverse, this dissertation aims to fill the research gaps while highlighting trends of youth in VR. The scientific contributions of this research include 1) expanding the current HCI understanding of the social dynamics and the interactions of teens in emerging novel online digital spaces; 2) bridging two research areas that have not been widely studied in HCI, social VR and young users in social VR; and 3) generating design implications to inform the design of future social VR platforms to better support and protect teens’ online social experiences, results which …

Georgia's Water Policymaking Process And The Role Of Public Participation: Development And Analysis Of A Water Planning Process Evaluation Framework, Anna Eskridge

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This study analyzes the public's role in the regional water planning process that took place in the State of Georgia from 2009 to 2011. Specifically, this dissertation analyzes the extent to which a 'consensus-based' water planning process occurred by 1) examining the public participation plans that governed how the public was to contribute to the plan and policy formation, and 2) analyzing the public comments that were submitted at public meetings and commenting periods. By examining the participation plans and public comments, this study revealed the institutional, policy, legislative, and planning structures that influenced public participation in the regional water …

Integrating Visual Mnemonics And Input Feedback With Passphrases To Improve The Usability And Security Of Digital Authentication, Kevin Juang

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The need for both usable and secure authentication is more pronounced than ever before. Security researchers and professionals will need to have a deep understanding of human factors to address these issues. Due to their ubiquity, recoverability, and low barrier of entry, passwords remain the most common means of digital authentication. However, fundamental human nature dictates that it is exceedingly difficult for people to generate secure passwords on their own. System-generated random passwords can be secure but are often unusable, which is why most passwords are still created by humans. We developed a simple system for automatically generating mnemonic phrases …