Research & Development Projects
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This document outlines research and development projects conducted by the Electronics-ICT department. It describes 4 phases of projects: 1) developing graphical interfaces for the SCILAB software, 2) exploring various topics including multimedia, networking, and smart objects, 3) creating sensor-driven natural user interfaces, and 4) securing external funding for a "LocoTrack" project using an Arduino sensor module and cloud connection. The department's work involves publishing results, building a technology pool in areas like embedded systems and software development, and pursuing future externally-funded collaborative projects.
Research & Development Projects
- 1. Research & Development Projects Electronics-ICT Jeroen Doggen, Tom Peeters, Tim Dams jeroen.doggen@artesis.be May 14, 2013
- 2. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 2/42
- 3. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 3/42
- 4. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 4/42
- 5. What is Research? Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Scientific research relies on the application of the scientific method and provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties of the world. 5/42
- 6. What is Research & Development (R&D)? R&D is the conception and implementation of new products and ideas. The research portion of R&D refers to the investigation and experimentation stage of creating a new product or improving an existing product. The development portion is the process of designing and testing the effectiveness of the new product or product improvement. 6/42
- 7. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 7/42
- 8. Why do we need R&D? On a personal level: To keep up with current technology To make sure that we are following current trends in technology in our classes. 8/42
- 9. Why do we need R&D? On a personal level: To keep up with current technology To make sure that we are following current trends in technology in our classes. On a departmental/university level: Extra funding (hire colleagues, buy new lab equipment, ...) Cooperate with industry, other departments of our university and international partners. 8/42
- 10. Why do we need R&D? On a personal level: To keep up with current technology To make sure that we are following current trends in technology in our classes. On a departmental/university level: Extra funding (hire colleagues, buy new lab equipment, ...) Cooperate with industry, other departments of our university and international partners. On a national level: R&D is needed to stay competitive at the international level. 8/42
- 11. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 9/42
- 12. What are we going to do in practice? What are we supposed to research or develop? There was/is no clear vision on what applied research at university colleges should be. There are no tools or guidelines to measure R&D output. Should we just copy the universities? ... 10/42
- 13. Do we have the right people? Our current personnel backgrounds: (prior professional experience) 3x university researcher Performance analysis of telecommunication systems Digital watermarking in image and video data Wireless localisation technologies 1x developer in industry 3x educational background 1x financial/management 11/42
- 14. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 12/42
- 15. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 13/42
- 16. User Interfaces for SCILAB (2006-2008) Graphical front-end for various SCILAB signal processing tools. 14/42
- 17. User Interfaces for SCILAB (2006-2008) Various problems: The project was based on one course: “Digital signal processing” The number of colleagues involved in the project was too low. The main person working on this project is no longer working in our department. The results where never disseminated to the general public. 15/42
- 18. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 16/42
- 19. Various Topics (2009-2012) Several smaller projects where started. Two colleagues working on every project. All our current 3rd year classes are connected to these topics. Multimedia systems Network security Smart objects Embedded systems 17/42
- 20. Example: Arduino based Smart Objects 1 We developed a wireless sensor module based on the Arduino development board. 1 Doggen J., Neefs J., Brands E., Peeters T., Bracke J., Smets M., Van der Schueren F.: “Smart Objects for Human Computer Interaction, Experimental Study,” ECUMICT, European Conference on the Use of Modern Information and Communication Technologies, Ghent, March 2012. 18/42
- 21. Example: Arduino based Smart Objects 1 We developed a wireless sensor module based on the Arduino development board. We use the “smart dice” to control computer applications. 1 Doggen J., Neefs J., Brands E., Peeters T., Bracke J., Smets M., Van der Schueren F.: “Smart Objects for Human Computer Interaction, Experimental Study,” ECUMICT, European Conference on the Use of Modern Information and Communication Technologies, Ghent, March 2012. 18/42
- 22. Example: Arduino based Smart Objects 1 We developed a wireless sensor module based on the Arduino development board. We use the “smart dice” to control computer applications. This basic concept can be adapted to implement various sensor based applications. 1 Doggen J., Neefs J., Brands E., Peeters T., Bracke J., Smets M., Van der Schueren F.: “Smart Objects for Human Computer Interaction, Experimental Study,” ECUMICT, European Conference on the Use of Modern Information and Communication Technologies, Ghent, March 2012. 18/42
- 23. Arduino based Smart Objects 19/42
- 25. Hardware Specifications Seeeduino development board Digi XBee wireless interface Freescale Semiconductor MMA7361 analogue accelerometer InvenSense ITG-3200 digital gyroscope Sharp GP2Y0A21YK infra-red distance sensor 21/42
- 26. Arduino Libraries Arduino software libraries make it straightforward for anyone to start embedded development. 22/42
- 27. Arduino Libraries Arduino software libraries make it straightforward for anyone to start embedded development. Used Arduino libraries ITG-3200 Gyro library 22/42
- 28. Arduino Libraries Arduino software libraries make it straightforward for anyone to start embedded development. Used Arduino libraries ITG-3200 Gyro library Developed Arduino libraries Sharp GP2Y0A21YK infra-red distance sensor MMA7361 accelerometer Signal filtering 22/42
- 29. Arduino Libraries Arduino software libraries make it straightforward for anyone to start embedded development. Used Arduino libraries ITG-3200 Gyro library Developed Arduino libraries Sharp GP2Y0A21YK infra-red distance sensor MMA7361 accelerometer Signal filtering XNA library to connect the module to C# applications 22/42
- 30. Arduino libraries: usage statistics MMA7361 accelerometer library2 2 http://code.google.com/p/mma7361-library 3 http://code.google.com/p/gp2y0a21yk-library/ 23/42
- 31. Arduino libraries: usage statistics MMA7361 accelerometer library2 Sharp GP2Y0A21YK infrared distance sensor library3 Total downloads: approx. 2000 & 3000 2 http://code.google.com/p/mma7361-library 3 http://code.google.com/p/gp2y0a21yk-library/ 23/42
- 32. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 24/42
- 33. Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces (2011-....) The two “successful projects” from phase 2 where merged and became our current R&D target. (Multimedia systems & Smart objects) 25/42
- 34. Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces (2011-....) The two “successful projects” from phase 2 where merged and became our current R&D target. (Multimedia systems & Smart objects) Still a very broad scope: Build applications where we use embedded systems to capture and process the data from various sensors. (Arduino & embedded Linux) Build mobile phone/internet based user interfaces for these applications. (Windows Phone, Android), (Javascript, SQL) 25/42
- 35. The Hacker Way4 4 Facebook’s S-1 Letter From Zuckerberg: http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/01/facebook-ipo-letter/ 26/42
- 36. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 27/42
- 37. LocoTrack Research Project (2012-2013) Part 1: Arduino Sensor Module Arduino module equipped with: 28/42
- 38. LocoTrack Research Project (2012-2013) Part 1: Arduino Sensor Module Arduino module equipped with: Multiple sensors: Distance, temperature, humidity,... 28/42
- 39. LocoTrack Research Project (2012-2013) Part 1: Arduino Sensor Module Arduino module equipped with: Multiple sensors: Distance, temperature, humidity,... Motor control 12V DC motor with a “reasonable power” 28/42
- 40. LocoTrack Research Project (2012-2013) Part 1: Arduino Sensor Module Arduino module equipped with: Multiple sensors: Distance, temperature, humidity,... Motor control 12V DC motor with a “reasonable power” Wireless communication WiFi, ZigBee, nRF24,... 28/42
- 41. LocoTrack Research Project (2012-2013) Part 2: Cloud Connection Data sink Collecting sensor data MySQL database 29/42
- 42. LocoTrack Research Project (2012-2013) Part 2: Cloud Connection Data sink Collecting sensor data MySQL database Send commands to module Motor control, change sampling rate,... Web interface: php, JavaScript 29/42
- 43. LocoTrack Research Project (2012-2013) Part 2: Cloud Connection Data sink Collecting sensor data MySQL database Send commands to module Motor control, change sampling rate,... Web interface: php, JavaScript GUI for data analysis 29/42
- 44. Embedded Hardware Prototype Hardware: Demo module on a breadboard Sensors: Temperature & Humidity Distance (IR & ultrasonic) Pushbuttons RF: WiFly modules (IEEE 802.11) 30/42
- 45. Embedded Hardware Prototype Motor control: Ardumoto shield to control a DC motor. Connected with three wires for an early demo. To show the concept, the next version was on one PCB. 31/42
- 46. Embedded Arduino Software Level 1 software libraries: LGPL (currently online at Google Code) Ardumoto, DistanceSensor, TemperatureTMP, HumidityHIH4030 SerialPacket: minimal packet based serial communication SignalFilter: filtering sensor data SerialConfigMenu: change module setting over the serial port Level 2 software libraries (not available online) AmbientSensing: combination of temperature and humidity DistanceSensing: sensor fusion distance + filtering Level 3 software libraries: Project specific code, not available online Implementation of complete system, demo applications, unit tests,... 32/42
- 47. Summary of Server Side Software Database design Web interface: php, JavaScript, ... SerialForwarder: parsing “SerialPacket-data” and connection to MySQL (first version in C#, second in C++) Serial packet forwarder: connection between Arduino and database Test applications with node.js Serial packet analyser (Java) RRDtool plugin (data logging tool for IT systems) 33/42
- 48. Current Work: Embedded Linux data-sink Server-side application is moved to an embedded Linux board: BeagleBone PCB design: Beagluino: “BeagleBone Cape“ Extension module for BeagleBone Contains: Arduino, motor driver IC, sensors, multiple I/O connectors 34/42
- 49. Current Work: System Controller in Python Many new features requested in phase 2 of the project Barcode reader, RFID reader, multiple data flows,... The existing software blocks have been rewritten and merged into one application written in Python. serial read thread, serial write thread, databasepush sensor thread, databasepush cmd thread, databasepoll thread, erase monitoring thread Debian package, PyPI compatible package5 5 the Python Package Index 35/42
- 50. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 36/42
- 51. Publications & Conference Presentations 6 Some of our research results are presented at scientific conferences and published in research journals. Recent Publications: Ostiz L., Pita C., Doggen J., Dams T., Van Houtven P.: “Wireless Sensor Network Protocol for Smart Parking Application, Experimental Study on the Arduino Platform” AMBIENT 2012, The Second International Conference on Ambient Computing, Applications, Services and Technologies Barcelona, September 2012. Doggen J., Neefs J., Brands E., Peeters T., Bracke J., Smets M., Van der Schueren F.: “Smart Objects for Human Computer Interaction, Experimental Study,” ECUMICT, European Conference on the Use of Modern Information and Communication Technologies, Ghent, March 2012. 6 Full list available at http://eaict.wordpress.com/research/ 37/42
- 52. Technology Pool While doing research we gained experience in various technologies. Developing software applications and libraries: C/C++, C#, Python, JavaScript, PHP,... Development platforms: Arduino, BeagleBone, PaspberryPI Using various sensors and actuators in prototypes PCB design: Arduino shield, BeagleBone capes Hardware/software interfacing: communication protocols ... 38/42
- 53. Software development7 Arduino libraries (all freely available: LGPL licensed) Arduino libraries for sensor interfacing (5x) Arduino libraries for actuators (2x) Arduino library for signal filtering Arduino library for nRF24 based cluster networking Arduino TestSuite for automated Arduino Unit Tests 7 Full list available at http://eaict.wordpress.com/development/ 39/42
- 54. Outline Introduction What is R&D? Why R&D? Our problems Research Projects Phase 1: User Interfaces for SCILAB Phase 2: Various R&D Topics Phase 3: Sensor Driven Natural User Interfaces Phase 4: First Externally Funded Project Research Output Future Projects 40/42
- 55. (Possible) Future Projects Locotrack project: part 2 (Funded by Flemisch agency: “Enterprise Flanders”) In cooperation with other university departments: Electronics-ICT engineering: IWT-TETRA (Wireless Sensor Networks) Healthcare: partner in an internally funded project Product development: IWT-CICI funded project (creative industy: “Inspector Viola”) Civil engineering: IWT-TETRA funded project (technology transfer) 41/42