Computer Engineering Commons^™

Thermal Robotic Arm Controlled Spraying Via Robotic Arm And Vision System, Dermot Breen

Doctoral

The Tribology Surface Engineering industry is a worldwide multi billion euro industry with significant health and safety risks. The thermal spraying sector of this industry employs the technique of applying molten surface coating material to a substrate via a thermal spray process which is implemented either by manual spraying or pre-programmed robotic systems. The development of autonomous robotic systems for thermal spraying surface coating would significantly improve production and profitability over pre-programmed systems and improve health and safety over manual spraying. The aim of this research was to investigate and develop through software simulation, physical modelling and testing the development …

On The Applications Of Deterministic Chaos For Encrypting Data On The Cloud, Jonathan Blackledge, Nikolai Ptitsyn

Conference papers

Cloud computing is expected to grow considerably in the future because it has so many advantages with regard to sale and cost, change management, next generation architectures, choice and agility. However, one of the principal concerns for users of the Cloud is lack of control and above all, data security. This paper considers an approach to encrypting information before it is ‘place’ on the Cloud where each user has access to their own encryption algorithm, an algorithm that is based on a set of Iterative Function Systems that outputs a chaotic number stream, designed to produce a cryptographically secure cipher. …

E-Fraud Prevention Based On The Self-Authentication Of E-Documents, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

We consider a method for preventing e-Fraud in which a binary image is encrypted with a floating point cipher using a convolution operation and the output quantized into a 1-bit array generating a binary image ciphertext. The output is then ‘embedded’ in a host image to hide the encrypted information. Embedding is undertaken either in the lowest 1-bit layer or multiple 1-bit layers. Decryption is accomplished by: (i) extracting the binary image from the host image; (ii) correlating the result with the original cipher. In principle, any cipher generator can be used for this purpose and the method has been …

Authentication Of Biometric Features Using Texture Coding For Id Cards, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

The use of image based information exchange has grown rapidly over the years in terms of both e-to-e image storage and transmission and in terms of maintaining paper documents in electronic form. Further, with the dramatic improvements in the quality of COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) printing and scanning devices, the ability to counterfeit electronic and printed documents has become a widespread problem. Consequently, there has been an increasing demand to develop digital watermarking techniques which can be applied to both electronic and printed images (and documents) that can be authenticated, prevent unauthorized copying of their content and, in the case of printed …

An Investigation Of Semantic Links To Archetypes In An External Clinical Terminology Through The Construction Of Terminological "Shadows", Sheng Yu, Damon Berry, Jesús Bisbal

Conference Papers

The two-level model based specifications for electronic health record communication EHRcom (ISO 13606) and openEHR both support the embedding of terminological references in Archetypes. This terminological binding can be created manually by a health terminology expert during Archetype design, and the binding is assessed during Archetype evaluation. There has also been some recent work on using lexical queries to generate term sets to represent concepts in Archetypes. This work created an information construct which we call a Terminological Shadow that links Archetype nodes to sets of candidate concepts from a terminology system. The coding scheme used for this work is …

Speech Intelligibility From Image Processing, Andrew Hines, Naomi Harte

Articles

Hearing loss research has traditionally been based on perceptual criteria, speech intelligibility and threshold levels. The development of computational models of the auditory-periphery has allowed experimentation via simulation to provide quantitative, repeatable results at a more granular level than would be practical with clinical research on human subjects.

Social Networking Sites: Evaluating And Investigating Their Use In Academic Research, Fiona Redmond

Dissertations

Researchers must collect and analyse new data that will enhance the body of knowledge. It is for this reason that data is of major importance to researchers. All aspects of a research project involve data, from navigating existing data, to understanding how data is used in the world and why it is important to learn to collect data and make predictions. Researchers need to consider the types of data that are possible and examine and weight each option so they can determine what sources of data will answer the research questions or hypotheses.

Researchers, who require a large amount of …

Forty Years Of Movie Hacking: Considering The Potential Implications Of The Popular Media Representation Of Computer Hackers From 1968 To 2008, Damian Gordon

Articles

Increasingly movies are being produced which feature plots that incorporate elements of computer security and hacking, and cumulatively these movies are creating a public perception as to the nature of computer security. This research examines movies that feature hackers (and hacking) to identify if any common themes emerge from these movies in their representation of these issues. To achieve this, first a corpus of hacking movies is created, and then using a qualitative data analysis technique, guidelines are developed which distinguish those movies that actually have the potential to create a perception with the general public. The resultant dataset is …

Defending Privacy: The Development And Deployment Of A Darknet, Conor Mcmanamon, Fredrick Mtenzi

Conference papers

New measures imposed by governments, Internet service providers and other third parties which threaten the state of privacy are also opening new avenues to protecting it. The unwarranted scrutiny of legitimate services such as file hosters and the BitTorrent protocol, once relatively unknown to the casual Internet user, is becoming more obvious. The darknet is a rising contender against these new measures and will preserve the default right to privacy of Internet users. A darknet is defined in the context of file sharing as a network which operates on top of another network such as the Internet for the purpose …

Helmsman, Set A Course : Using A Compass And Rfid Tags For Indoor Localisation And Navigation, Yan Li, Brian Mac Namee, John D. Kelleher

Conference papers

Localisation and navigation are still two of the most important issues in mobile robotics. In certain indoor application scenarios RFID (radio frequency identification)-based absolute localisation has been found to be especially successful in supporting navigation. In this paper we evaluate the feasibility of an RFID and compass based approach to robot localisation and navigation for indoor environments that are dominated by corridors. We describe our system and evaluate its performance in a small, but full-scale, test environment.

Navigating The Corridors Of Power : Using Rfid And Compass Sensors For Robot Localisation And Navigation, Yan Lee, Brian Mac Namee, John D. Kelleher

Conference papers

Localisation and navigation are still of the most important issues in mobile robotics. In certain indoor application scenarios Radio frequency identification (RFID) based absolute localisation has been found to be especially successful in supporting navigation. In this paper we examine the feasibility of an RFID and compass based approach to robot localisation and navigation for indoor environments that are dominated by corridors. We present a proof of concept system and show how it can be used to localized within and navigate through an environment.

Evaluating Sensorineural Hearing Loss With An Auditory Nerve Model Using A Mean Structural Similarity Measure, Andrew Hines, Naomi Harte

Conference papers

Hearing loss research has traditionally been based on perceptual criteria, speech intelligibility and threshold levels. The development of computational models of the auditory-periphery has allowed experimentation via simulation to provide quantitative, repeatable results at a more granular level than would be practical with clinical research on human subjects. This work seeks to create an objective measure to automate this inspection process and ranks hearing losses based on auditory-nerve discharge patterns. A systematic way of assessing phonemic degradation using the outputs of an auditory nerve model for a range of sensorineural hearing losses would aid in rapid prototyping development of speech-processing …

A Machine Learning Approach To Hierarchical Categorisation Of Auditory Objects, William Coleman, Sarah Jane Delany, Charlie Cullen, Ming Yan Dr.

Articles

With the advent of new audio delivery technologies comes opportunities and challenges for content creators and providers. The proliferation of consumption modes (stereo headphones, home cinema systems, ‘hearables’), media formats (mp3, CD, video and audio streaming) and content types (gaming, music, drama & current affairs broadcasting) has given rise to a complicated landscape where content must often be adapted for multiple end-use scenarios. The concept of object-based audio envisages content delivery not via a fixed mix but as a series of auditory objects which can then be controlled either by consumers or by content creators & providers via accompanying metadata. …

Using Virtual Reality To Enhance Electrical Safety And Design In The Built Environment, Martin Barrett, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Coyle

Articles

Electricity and the inherent risks associated with its use in the built environment have long since been a priority for the electrical services industry and also the general public who must live and work in this environment. By its nature virtual reality has the advantage of being safe for both the user and equipment. In addition, it offers the user an opportunity to be exposed to a range of scenarios and conditions that either occur infrequently or are hazardous to replicate. This paper presents a prototype desktop virtual reality model, to enhance electrical safety and design in the built environment. …

Egoviz – A Mobile Based Spatial Interaction System, Keith Gardiner, Junjun Yin, James Carswell

Articles

This paper describes research carried out in the area of mobile spatial interaction and the development of a mobile (i.e. on-device) version of a simulated web-based 2D directional query processor. The TellMe application integrates location (from GPS, GSM, WiFi) and orientation (from digital compass/tilt sensors) sensing technologies into an enhanced spatial query processing module capable of exploiting a mobile device’s position and orientation for querying real-world 3D spatial datasets. This paper outlines the technique used to combine these technologies and the architecture needed to deploy them on a sensor enabled smartphone (i.e. Nokia 6210 Navigator). With all these sensor technologies …

A Bandwidth Aware Modification To The Dsr Routing Protocol For Wireless Mesh Networks, Mustafa Ramadhan, Mark Davis

Conference papers

This work proposes a bandwidth aware cross-layer modification to the DSR routing protocol. We include the Access Efficiency Factor (AEF) parameter in addition to the hop-count in the routing discovery mechanism. AEF is a measure to the local availability of bandwidth at a node. Employing the AEF as a metric in the routing discovery mechanism attempts to avoid routing through a congested area in the network. In this modification, we impose a limit on the hop-count in order to control the delay time in the network. The path selection procedure operates by finding a path with the highest minimum AEF …

Self-Authentication Of Audio Signals By Chirp Coding, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

This paper discusses a new approach to ‘watermarking’ digital signals using linear frequency modulated or ‘chirp’ coding. The principles underlying this approach are based on the use of a matched filter to provide a reconstruction of a chirped code that is uniquely robust in the case of signals with very low signal-to-noise ratios. Chirp coding for authenticating data is generic in the sense that it can be used for a range of data types and applications (the authentication of speech and audio signals, for example). The theoretical and computational aspects of the matched filter and the properties of a chirp …

An Electrooculogram-Based Binary Saccade Sequence Classification (Bssc) Technique For Augmentative Communication And Control, Johnalan Keegan, Ted Burke, James Condron

Conference Papers

In the field of assistive technology, the electroocu-logram (EOG) can be used as a channel of communication and the basis of a man-machine interface. For many people with severe motor disabilities, simple actions such as changing the TV channel require assistance. This paper describes a method of detecting saccadic eye movements and the use of a saccade sequence classification algorithm to facilitate communication and control. Saccades are fast eye movements that occurs when a person's gaze jumps from one fixation point to another. The classification is based on pre-defined sequences of saccades, guided by a static visual template (e.g. a …

Defining A Framework For Knowledge Sharing In A Dynamic Sales Oriented Organisation, Joern Hussock

Dissertations

The analysts of Datamonitor describe the knowledge management and collaboration as 2009 trends to watch. Why is collaboration and KM so important? It can be managed for unstructured business processes through sharing knowledge, best practices and experience on the business process context, soliciting feedback on problem resolution, seeking support from colleagues or communicating with other partner and customer communities. The challenge for organisations, especially for sales oriented teams is finding a way of structured managing and supporting the combination of the benefits based on the exchange of information in already existing unstructured activities in collaborative environments. This research aims to …

Learning Without Default: A Study Of One-Class Classification And The Low-Default Portfolio Problem, Kenneth Kennedy, Brian Mac Namee, Sarah Jane Delany

Conference papers

This paper asks at what level of class imbalance one-class classifiers outperform two-class classifiers in credit scoring problems in which class imbalance, referred to as the low-default portfolio problem, is a serious issue. The question is answered by comparing the performance of a variety of one-class and two-class classifiers on a selection of credit scoring datasets as the class imbalance is manipulated. We also include random oversampling as this is one of the most common approaches to addressing class imbalance. This study analyses the suitability and performance of recognised two-class classifiers and one-class classifiers. Based on our study we conclude …

Computing For Knowledge Management: From Nonaka To Visualisation And Knowledge Maps, Helmut Huber

Dissertations

Management itself is not always clearly understood, however, the confusion can be sorted if the underlying theory is clearly distinguished from its implementations. There also may be a specific role for computing in Knowledge Management. It is suggested that Knowledge Management technologists seek a unique strategic position for Computing in Knowledge Management, for reasons of clarity and differentiation from Information Systems. The effective transfer of knowledge is one of the main themes or core competency in Knowledge Management. This is also one of the areas where Knowledge Management technologists may find the niche for a distinct and unique contribution the …

An Investigation Of The Use Of A High Resolution Adc As A Digital Biopotential Amplifier, Damon Berry, Frank Duignan, Richard Hayes

Conference Papers

Sigma delta analogue to digital converters have been used in many signal processing applications including some commercially available systems for sampling of bio-signals Bio-potential amplifiers have traditionally utilised specialised highquality analogue components to amplify bio-signals.

The central aim of this work is to investigate the benefits of using high-resolution sigma delta conversion as a digital amplification stage in the signal path of a bio-potential amplifier. A number of system arrangements specific to bio-potential measurement are presented and discussed. These arrangements are designed to use the high resolution capacity of the sigma delta converter in different ways, providing different benefits. To …

Knowledge Transfer Within A Software Development Team, Geraldine Conway

Dissertations

Knowledge in a software company is the blood of the company, not surviving without

the valuable knowledge running through its veins. Knowledge is no longer seen as an

object of competitive advantage but is the core of how an organisation operates.

The transfer of tacit knowledge into a format that is usable and can be transmitted to

other individuals is a challenge in any organisation due to the nature of this

knowledge. Tacit knowledge is a challenge to convert into an explicit form as it is hard

to contextualise this knowledge in order for it to be reusable for others. …

Investigating The Viability Of Virtual Communities Of Practice In The Public Sector, Sue Bolger

Dissertations

Communication and collaboration are very important topics in the domain of

Knowledge Management. Knowledge, which exists within the employees of an

organisation, can be extracted and harnessed effectively to become an extremely

valuable asset to the ongoing business goals and objectives of the organisation. This

embedded knowledge must be released in an appropriate manner in order for it to be

usable and, it has been shown that dialogue and discussion through the use of an online

tool, enables this release and re-use of vital concepts and knowledge.

This research investigates the area of communication and knowledge sharing amongst

disparate Irish …

The Genesis And Emergence Of Web 3.0: A Study In The Integration Of Artificial Intelligence And The Semantic Web In Knowledge Creation, David Mulpeter

Dissertations

The web as we know it has evolved rapidly over the last decade. We have gone from a phase of rapid growth as seen with the dot.com boom where business was king to the current web 2.0 phase where social networking, Wiki’s, Blogs and other related tools flood the bandwidth of the world wide web. The empowerment of the web user with web 2.0 technologies has led to the exponential growth of data, information and knowledge on the web. With this rapid change, there is a need to logically categorise this information and knowledge so it can be fully utilised …

Radial Ebg Cell Layout For Gps Patch Antennas, Giuseppe Ruvio, Max Ammann, Xiulong Bao

Articles

A novel radial layout for mushroom-like electromagnetic-bandgap (EBG) cells surrounding a printed circularly-polarised patch antenna is proposed. Two radial EBG configurations surrounding a circular patch are compared to a reference patch on a conventional ground plane of the same dimension. The radial shape and displacement of the EBG cells around the patch offers improvements in terms of gain and axial-ratio compared to the reference antenna and is more suitable for circular geometries compared to conventional Cartesian layouts. In particular, the distance between the patch and the surrounding EBG cells is independent of the cell period, which can be arbitrarily chosen, …

Machine Annotation Of Traditional Irish Dance Music, Bryan Duggan

Doctoral

The work presented in this thesis is validated in experiments using 130 realworld field recordings of traditional music from sessions, classes, concerts and commercial recordings. Test audio includes solo and ensemble playing on a variety of instruments recorded in real-world settings such as noisy public sessions. Results are reported using standard measures from the field of information retrieval (IR) including accuracy, error, precision and recall and the system is compared to alternative approaches for CBMIR common in the literature.

Opinion Mining With The Sentwordnet Lexical Resource, Bruno Ohana

Dissertations

Sentiment classification concerns the application of automatic methods for predicting the orientation of sentiment present on text documents. It is an important subject in opinion mining research, with applications on a number of areas including recommender and advertising systems, customer intelligence and information retrieval. SentiWordNet is a lexical resource of sentiment information for terms in the English language designed to assist in opinion mining tasks, where each term is associated with numerical scores for positive and negative sentiment information. A resource that makes term level sentiment information readily available could be of use in building more effective sentiment classification methods. …

Reusable, Interactive, Multilingual Online Avatars, Charlie Cullen, Carl Goodman, Paula Mcgloin, Anna Deegan

Conference papers

This paper details a system for delivering reusable, interactive multilingual avatars in online children’s games. The development of these avatars is based on the concept of an intelligent media object that can be repurposed across different productions. The system is both language and character independent, allowing content to be reused in a variety of contexts and locales. In the current implementation, the user is provided with an interactive animated robot character that can be dressed with a range of body parts chosen by the user in real-time. The robot character reacts to each selection of a new part in a …

Archetype Alignment: A Two-Level Driven Semantic Matching Approach To Interoperability In The Clinical Domain, Damon Berry, Jesus Bisbal

Conference Papers

Semantic interoperability between electronic health record systems and other information systems in the health domain implies agreement about the structure and the meaning of the information that is communicated. There are still a number of similar but different EHR system approaches. Some of the newer approaches adopt the two-layer model approach where a generic reference model is constrained by archetypes into valid clinical concepts which can be exchanged. The meaning of the concepts that are represented by an archetype can be conveyed by embedding codes from a commonly recognised terminology at appropriate points in the archetype. However, as the number …