Engineering Commons^™

Emotional Speech Corpora For Analysis And Media Production, Charlie Cullen, Brian Vaughan, Spyros Kousidis

Conference papers

Research into the acoustic correlates of emotional speech as part of the SALERO project has led to the construction of high quality emotional speech corpora, which contain both IMDI metadata and acoustic analysis data for each asset. Research into semi-automated, re-usable character animation has considered the development of online workflows based on speech corpus assets that would provide a single point of origin for character animation in media production. In this paper, a brief description of the corpus design and construction is given. Further, a prototype workflow for semi-automated emotional character animation is also provided, alongside a description of current …

Damping Of Magnetorheological Elastomers, Lin Chen

Articles

The damping property of magnetorheological (MR) elastomers is characterized by a modified dynamic mechanical-magnetic coupled analyzer. The influences of the external magnetic flux density, damping of the matrix, content of iron particles, dynamic strain and driving frequency on the damping properties of MR elastomers were investigated experimentally. The experimental results indicate that the damping properties of MR elastomers greatly depend on the interfacial slipping between the inner particles and the matrix. Different from general composite materials, the interfacial slipping in MR elastomers is affected by the external applied magnetic field.

A Low Polarization Sensitivity All-Fiber Wavelength Measurement System, Ginu Rajan, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell, Qian Wang, Pengfei Wang

Articles

A low polarization-sensitive all-fiber wavelength measurement system using a twisted macro-bend fiber edge filter together with polarization-insensitive (PI) 3-dB coupler is presented. Eliminating the polarization-dependent loss (PDL) is essential when macro-bending single-mode fiber is utilized as an edge filter. A new bending configuration to eliminate the PDL of a fiber edge filter is proposed in this letter by twisting the fiber by 90deg between two bending sections with equal length. The PDL of this configuration retains a low value even while the bending length is increased to achieve a steeper response for the edge filter. This configuration together with a …

An All-Fiber Temperature Sensor Based On A Macro-Bend Singlemode Fiber Loop, Ginu Rajan, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell

Articles

An all-fibre temperature sensor is proposed based on a macro-bend singlemode fibre loop using a ratiometric power measurement scheme. The sensor has a linear characteristic with temperature at a fixed wavelength and bend radius. A direct linear relationship between the bend loss of the singlemode fibre and temperature is reported for the first time. By measuring the change in bend loss of the system a change in temperature can be measured assuming the system is calibrated. The proposed sensor has a higher temperature resolution than other conventional fibre-optic sensors and also benefits from simplicity.

Investigation On Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Fiber Structure, Qian Wang, Gerald Farrell, W. Yan

Articles

This paper presents an investigation on a single-mode-multimode-single-mode fiber structure. A one-way guided-mode propagation analysis for the circular symmetry waveguide is employed to model the light propagation and the approximated formulations are derived and evaluated concerning the accuracy. Phase conjunction of the multimode interference within the fiber structure is revealed. A simple way to predict and analyze the spectral response of the structure is presented through the space to wavelength mapping with the derived approximated formulations. The prediction of spectral response is verified numerically and experimentally.

Dual Frequency Dual Circularly-Polarised Patch Antenna With Wide Beamwidth, Xiulong Bao, Max Ammann

Articles

A dual-frequency dual-circularly polarised patch antenna with wide beamwidth is proposed. The two-layer structure comprises circular patches with offset circular slots connected to rectangular slots. They provide orthogonal perturbations realising RHCP and LHCP for the lower and upper bands, respectively. The wide beamwidth is realised by extending the substrate beyond the groundplane. Measurements show a maximum beamwidth of 180deg and gains of 3.9 and 0.5 dBic for zenith and 10deg elevation, respectively, for the upper band. The measured beamwidth for the low band is 130deg with a maximum gain of 3.9 and -0.7 dBic for zenith and 10deg elevation, respectively. …

Ratiometric Wavelength Monitor Based On Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Fiber Structure, Agus Hatta, Gerald Farrell, Qian Wang, Ginu Rajan, Pengfei Wang, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

An all-fiber ratiometric wavelength monitor for optical wavelength measurement is proposed and is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Two edge filters with opposite slope spectral responses based on singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber structures are developed. A ratiometric wavelength measurement system employing the developed SMS edge filters demonstrates a high discrimination range of 20.41 dB and a potential wavelength measurement resolution of 10 pm over a wavelength range from 1530 to 1560 nm.

Fast And Simple High Resolution Optical Spectrum Analyser, Kai-Uwe Lauterback, Thomas Schneider, Ronny Henker, Max Ammann, Andreas Schwarzbacher

Conference papers

A simple method for fast optical spectroscopy with high resolution is shown. The method is based on the narrowband Brillouin gain process in optical fibers.

Effects Of Klopfenstein Tapered Feedlines On The Frequency-And-Time Domain Performance Of Planar Monopole Uwb Antennas, Giuseppe Ruvio, Max Ammann

Conference papers

The effects of a Klopfenstein tapered transmission line used to feed a typical planar monopole UWB antenna have been investigated in terms of impedance bandwidth, phase linearity and radiation properties. The analysis shows that the taper allows manipulation of the resonances occurring within the operating bandwidth. A Klopfenstein tapered feedline that matches the 50 Omega input impedance to 30 Omega along 50 mm is able to reduce the maximum group delay variation by 85% with an acceptable variation of the impedance bandwidth and minor changes in the radiation pattern.

Augmented Control Of Hands Free Voice Prostheses, Brian Madden, James Condron, Ted Burke, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

Laryngectomy patients often use an electrolarynx to facilitate speech following a tracheotomy. Devices of this type provide the most intelligible means of communication for tracheotomy patients. However, the electro-larynx has inherent drawbacks such as the buzzing monotonic sound emitted, the need for a free hand to operate the device, and the difficulty experienced by many tracheotomy patients in adapting to use it. The most effective means of addressing the shortcomings of existing electro-larynges is to provide the user with a hands-free facility. This allows the user to perform other manual tasks whilst speaking, or simply to communicate more effectively through …

The New Engineer: Between Employability And Social Responsibility, Eddie Conlon

Articles

The reasons behind the demand for what is sometimes called the New Engineer are critically examined and it is argued that a focus on employability alone is not sufficient to prepare socially responsible engineers. By examining issues around work organisation and sustainability it is proposed that engineers need to understand the wider social context in which they work. It is argued that the focus of ethics education should be broadened to focus on the social structure and the way it both enables and constrains socially responsible conduct. There is a call to refocus engineers’ attitudes towards the systems of regulation …

Ict And Innovation Processes In Small Logistics Companies, Pietro Evangelista, Alan Mckinnon, Edward Sweeney

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

Integrating Engineering Ethics And Research Skills In A First Year Programme, Eddie Conlon

Conference papers

A first year module which introduces students to the social dimension of engineering is described. The key teaching tool is the use of group projects to develop students’ learning skills. The importance of addressing the motivation for engineering students studying non-technical modules is emphasised. Data used to evaluate the module is presented. It is shown that the nature of the project undertaken affects the attainment of learning outcomes. The conclusion focuses on some shortcomings of the module and highlights the importance of appropriately structuring the learning environment to facilitate self-directed learning by early year students.

Volcanic Activity: Processing Of Observation And Remote Sensing Data (Vapor), Mark Wylie

Reports

The World Bank makes a very clear distinction between disasters and natural phenomena. Natural phenomena are events like volcanic eruptions. A disaster only occurs when the ability of the community to cope with natural phenomenon has been surpassed, causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses. By these definitions, volcanic eruptions do not have to lead to disasters. On November 13, 1985, the second most deadly eruption of the twentieth century occurred in Colombia. Within a few hours of the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, 23,000 people were dead because no infrastructure existed to respond to such an …

Software Agents Representing Medical Guidelines, John Mcgrory, Jane Grimson, Frank Clarke, Peter Gaffney

Conference Papers

Guidelines are self-contained documents which healthcare professionals reference to obtain specific disease or medical condition knowledge for a particular population cohort. They view these documents and apply known facts about their patients to access useful supportive information to aid in developing a diagnosis or manage a condition. Traditional CIG models decompose these guidelines into workflow plans, which are then called using certain motivational trigger conditions controlled by a centralised management engine.

Therefore, CIG guidelines are not self-contained documents, which specialise in a particular condition or disease, but are effectively a list of workflow plans, which are called and used when …

Implications Of Future Heavier Trucks For Europe's Bridges, Colin C. Caprani, Bernard Enright, Eugene O'Brien

Conference papers

European road freight transport has increased by 38% between 1995 and 2005 and this strong growth trajectory seems likely to continue into the future. To address this growth without compromising the competitativeness of European transport, some countries are contemplating the introduction of longer and heavier trucks, with up to 8 axles and gross weights of up to 60 t. This has the advantage of reducing the number of vehicles for a given volume or mass of freights, reducing labour, fuel and other costs. However, many roads authorities are concerned about the implications for Europe's bridge infrastructure. For bridge loading, it …

Interacting With Large Music Collections: Towards The Use Of Environmental Metadata, Gordon Reynolds, Dan Barry, Ted Burke, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

Large music collections afford the listener flexibility in the form of choice, which enables the listener to choose the appropriate piece of music to enhance or complement their listening scenario on-demand. However, bundled with such a large music collection is the demanding task of manually searching through each entry in the collection to find the appropriate song required by the listener. This paper highlights the need for contextual and environmental information, which ultimately defines the listenerpsilas listening scenario. Here, the preliminary results of an online music survey are analysed. These results indicate the possibility of how environmental features may be …

Machine Annotation Of Sets Of Traditional Irish Dance Tunes, Bryan Duggan, Mikel Gainza, Padraig Cunningham

Conference papers

A set in traditional Irish music is a sequence of two or more dance tunes in the same time signature, where each tune is repeated an arbitrary number of times. A turn in a set represents the point at which either a tune repeats or a new tune is introduced. Tunes in sets are played in a segue (without a pause) and so detecting the turn is a significant challenge. This paper presents the MATS alogrithm, a novel algorithm for identifying turns in sets of traditional Irish music. MATS works on digitised audio files of monophonic flute and tin-whistle music. …

Structural Segmentation Using Set Accented Tones, Cillian Kelly, Mikel Gainza, David Dorran, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

An approach which efficiently segments Irish Traditional Music into its constituent structural segments is presented. The complexity of the segmentation process is greatly increased due to melodic variation existent within this music type. In order to deal with these variations, a novel method using ‘set accented tones’ is introduced. The premise is that these tones are less susceptible to variation than all other tones. Thus, the location of the accented tones is estimated and pitch information is extracted at these specific locations. Following this, a vector containing the pitch values is used to extract similar patterns using heuristics specific to …

Single Channel Sound Source Separation Combining Delay Estimation And The Adress Algorithm, Mark Leddy, Dan Barry, David Dorran, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

A method for single channel source separation is proposed in this paper, which uses estimates fo the delay co-efficient of individual sources within an echoic mixture using autocorrelation, following which a "pseudo-stereo mixture" is generated, to which the ADRess algorithm can be applied. The system is evaluated in a theoretical situation, where the mixture signal to be separated consists of two individual source signals, and a delayed version of each signal. Estimates of the individual delay lengths are made and then used to create a pseudo stereo mix, where one channel consists of the orginal mixture signal, and the second …

Pitch Tracking And Voiced/Unvoiced Detection In Noisy Environment Using Optimat Sequence Estimation, Moshe Wasserblat, Mikel Gainza, David Dorran, Yuval Domb

Conference papers

This paper addresses the problem of pitch tracking and voiced/unvoiced detection in noisy speech environments. An algorithm is presented which uses a number of variable thresholds to track pitch contour with minimal error. This is achieved by modeling the pitch tracking problem in such a way that allows the use of optimal estimation methods, such MLSE. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using the Keele pitch detection database with realistic background noise. Results show best performance in comparison to other state of the art pitch detector and successful pitch tracking is possible in low signal to noise conditions.

A Macro-Bend Fiber Based Wavelength Demodulation System For Optical Fiber Sensing Applications, Ginu Rajan

Doctoral

This thesis considers the design and development of a wide range all fiber interrogation system with a rapid measurement capability for extracting reliable measure and information from fiber Bragg grating sensors. Existing passive and active interrogation systems have certain limitations and do not satisfy all requirements. In this thesis a wavelength demodulation system is proposed, based on a macro-bend fiber filter employed in a ratiometric detection scheme. A theoretical model and analysis of an edge filter based ratiometric wavelength measurement (RWM) system is presented. A fiber edge filter is realized by carefully selecting an appropriate bend radius and number of …

Building Organisationally Sensitive Technological Solutions For Knowledge Management In It Support Services, David Tonade

Dissertations

With the advent of the internet, information and communications technology has changed the way organisations operate and do business. There now exist an extremely dynamic and competitive business landscape, where information and knowledge are continuously created, used and distributed across business units. People have become more involved with the use of technology to aid them in their business tasks. In the course of generating and transmitting information comes the realization that knowledge is a vital asset of the company. Thus, most firms embark on various initiatives to enable Knowledge Management (KM). This study revolves around the IT tools involved in …

Development Of A Framework To Leverage Knowledge Management Systems To Improve Security Awareness., Dennis Lupiana

Dissertations

Security awareness is very essential in securing intellectual property, in particular internal corporate information assets and its “Knowledge”. The dynamic nature of security attacks and the need to comply with government policies in protecting organisation’s data has a major influence on seeing organisations focus on strengthening against threats from the human element. This is a difficult challenge. Organisations must have a degree of trust their employees. They must trust their employees to interact responsibly as end-users with their information systems. They must trust their employees who work as developers to work responsibly and be motivated to develop systems with the …

Noise Abatement And Night Deliveries, Hugh Finlay

Masters

ABSTRACT The hypothesis is tested that – Acoustic materials are available or can be developed and applied to Heavy Goods Vehicles and ancillaries, which effectively and economically abate the noise caused by night deliveries The MPhil is a part of a wider innovation research partnership that aimed to develop sustainable solutions for the growing trend to night deliveries in Dublin city centre. The methodology involves; a review of international best practice for urban traffic noise abatement: a social and commercial justification for developing low noise products and procedures: field trials of kerb-side deliveries to city centre shops to identify the …

The Research And Implementation Of Maintenance Excellence On Clean Utility Systems In The Pharmaceutical Indusry, Padraig Liggan

Dissertations

Maintenance Excellence is the implementation of best maintenance practices within industry; it is the balance of performance, risk, and cost to achieve an optimal solution. This thesis has been structured around the 5 main areas of maintenance excellence; it has documented all the important functions of the maintenance department that contributes towards maintenance excellence. Demonstrating maintenance excellence is a big achievement however demonstrating it on pharmaceutical clean utility systems with strict regulatory controls is a major challenge. Pharmaceutical production is one of the most heavily regulated industries. With such an emphasis on product quality in the pharmaceutical industry, and with …

Elimu 2.0: Investigating The Use Of Web 2.0 For Facilitating Collaboration In Higher Education., Bajuna R. Salehe

Dissertations

The latest web innovations and technologies which has made the Web into a ‘Platform’, are become increasingly applied in the higher education arena. Tools such as Google docs, Google groups, Wikis, Blogs, RSS and Podcasting are gradually becoming more popular within higher education in teaching and learning. Yet their huge potentials have not been fully explored. Collaboration and knowledge sharing are common terms in higher education, and in the corporate world of the today’s knowledge economy. However better infrastructure and facilities that enable these important issues are yet to be set and fully utilised in higher education. In the higher …

Knowledge Sharing: Using Searchable Email Databases, Frank Wedgeworth

Dissertations

In today’s knowledge driven economy, a company’s intellectual capital is increasingly becoming its most important asset. The knowledge of how to create value defines a company’s success. Through knowledge management the value of knowledge within a company can be increased. One way of increasing the value of knowledge is by making it more accessible. The accessibility of knowledge can be facilitated by integrating the search for knowledge into the user’s workflow. Another way to increase the value of knowledge is through the capture of undocumented, tacit knowledge and converting it into explicit, documented knowledge. Email has been identified as the …

A Knowledge Management Initiative In A Juvenile Detention School, Noel Sweeney

Dissertations

The preservation of knowledge has been a human endeavour since the dawn of time. Using whatever resources possible, humans have recorded knowledge for the purpose of bequeathing it to the next generations. With each technological advance, it would appear that the resources available for recording knowledge have improved. Not only this, but with each advance, the accessibility and availability to this knowledge has been enhanced; and in our present times, the impact of technology has made it easier than ever before. As with education, the consequence of making knowledge more available and accessible is the creation of more knowledgeable individuals …

Using Xml Topic Maps To Create A Knowledge Model Of Postgraduate Computer Science Degrees In Ireland For The Purpose Of Marketing Analysis, Catherine Mulwa

Dissertations

Marketing intelligence is a future-oriented activity that helps an organization cope in its market. It includes all ways an organization acquires and uses information. It is comprised of all kinds of information on the market and marketing research; the collection and analysis of internal data, competitive analysis; analysis and reverse engineering of competitor’s products; understanding how and where to add value for customers; and the process of synthesizing large amounts of informally gathered information about the industry and business environment. While marketing and marketing intelligence are widely used in business, they are less used in non-business organisations such as academic …