Evert Jan Van Loenen

Applications of rare earth permanent magnets

Abstract Trends in the main application area of rare earth permanent magnets, data storage, are presented with the focus on miniaturization. Three examples of magnet applications, a CD-lens actuator, two spindle motors and the voice coil motor of hard disk drives, are discussed in detail and a brief sketch of other application areas is given. With respect to material properties we will focus on magnetization, high temperature use, shaping and shape integrity.

User centered research in experiencelab

With the introduction of the Ambient Intelligence vision, a shift from usability towards end user experience research has been proposed. Such experience research requires new methods and instruments beyond the traditional usability research labs. This paper describes the ExperienceLab infrastructure, its way of working and the lessons learned from using this infrastructure.

A room with a cue: The efficacy of movement parallax, occlusion, and blur in creating a virtual window

In indoor environments, having a view from a window plays an important role in human physical and psychological well-beingparticularly if the view contains natural elements. In places where physical windows are absent or the view is highly artifact-dominated, virtual windows can potentially play a beneficial role. The current paper presents a research experiment on the efficacy of three monocular depth cues, that is, movement parallax, blur, and occlusion, in engendering a window-like see-through experience using projected photorealistic scenes. Results indicate that all three cues have a significant main effect on the viewers see-through experience, with movement parallax yielding the greatest effect size. The effects of the remaining two cues are largely qualified by their interactions with each other and with movement parallax. These results provide a first step in identifying and testing the perceptual elements that are essential in creating a convincing virtual window.

Deconstructing ambient intelligence into ambient narratives: the intelligent shop window

Producing intelligent environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of users and their environment on a large scale is difficult. On one hand, it is technologically very hard to mass produce a device so smart that it is capable of generating a truly personal ambient experience for each situational context, on the other hand, tailor-made solutions are often economically infeasible. In this paper we discuss a mass customization approach towards Ambient Intelligence that tries to balance variety and cost by breaking up an intelligent environment into small, interrelated modular fragments. Through interaction with their environment users assemble these fragments in a personal story that is experienced as Ambient Intelligence. We describe the requirements derived through a series of workshops with retailers and designers and illustrate the design of the physical hypermedia model and system. Using a test case, the intelligent shop window environment, we evaluate the feasibility of the approach.

Ultrasonic 3D Position Estimation Using a Single Base Station

In indoor context awareness applications the location of people, devices or objects is often required. Ultrasound technology enables high resolution indoor position measurements. A disadvantage of state-of-the-art ultrasonic systems is that several base stations are required to estimate 3D position. Since fewer base stations leads to lower cost and easier setup, a novel method is presented that requires just one base station. The method uses information from acoustic reflections in a room, and estimates 3D positions using an acoustic room-model. The method has been implemented, and verified within an empty room. It can be concluded that ultrasonic reflection data provides useful clues about the 3D position of a device.

How Not to Become a Buffoon in Front of a Shop Window: A Solution Allowing Natural Head Movement for Interaction with a Public Display

The user interaction solution described in this paper was developed in the context of an Intelligent Shop Window (ISW) with an aim to offer a user the interaction solution where system response would be triggered by naturally gazing at products. We have analyzed a possibility to realize such a user interaction solution using gaze tracking and concluded that remote calibration free eye tracking is still a subject of academic research, but that head tracking could be used instead. We argue that conventional use of head tracking requires conscious intentional head movements and thus does not fit into the context of applications such as the ISW. We further describe our experiment aimed to explore how head movements relate to eye movements when looking at objects in a shop window context. We show large variability in head movement and that per individual the gaze-head data could well be approximated with a straight line. Based on these results we propose a new solution that enables natural gaze interaction by means of head tracking.

Performing in Ambient Narratives: Supporting Everyday Life Performances with Technology

Consumer electronics, telecommunications, and computing increasingly inhabit the background of everyday lifeguiding peoples behavior sometimes without their knowledge. What are the possibilities and limitations of ambient intelligence? What will the future bring as the boundaries between the real and the virtual dissolve?

Impact of Blinds Usage on Energy Consumption: Automatic Versus Manual Control

This paper reports a study on the impact of different usage patterns of an automated blinds system on the energy consumption for heating and cooling in a Dutch office building. A five-month observational field study in 40 offices resulted into a dataset on the blinds usage of four types of blind users. This data was used to simulate the effect of the blinds usage on the energy consumption for heating and cooling. The results of the field study show that a majority of the building occupants switched off the automatic mode of the blinds system permanently. The simulation results indicate that this significantly impacts the energy consumption in the building. The total daily average energy consumption for heating and cooling was significantly lower for occupants using the automatic mode than for the three groups of manual users (871W/day versus 2573W/day; T=-5.98, p=0.000).

The Impact of the Environment on the Experience of Hospitalized Stroke Patients – An Exploratory Study

The aim of this study is to understand neurology patients, family and caregivers experiences of in-patient care environments and to investigate the aspects of the healing process that can be supported by the environment. Our goal is to identify the role the environment plays during the process of being treated for and recovering from a stroke. The stroke patient’s description of experiences during hospitalization will help researchers, medical professionals and architects in adjusting the environment according to their specific needs. A set of research methods was used to capture the experience, changing the role of researcher as an observer to a participatory approach, integrating the caregivers as creators of the research data [1], [2]. These methods included: shadowing, observation and interviewing, allowing nurses to describe their experiences and to obtain a voice in decision making. We built insights from healing environment literature combined with own field studies. Specific environmental needs identified include: dosing stimulus load, having social support, having access to single patient rooms, balancing clinical and personal environments, having a clear structure of the day, undisturbed sleeping and the need for information.

On the role of experiencelab in professional domain ambient intelligence research

Concept development for professional domain AmI solutions involves different stakeholders than those for consumer products, and puts different requirements on experience test methods and facilities. Philips ExperienceLab facility for experience research is described, as well as trends and lessons learned from its use in the two domains.